The journey back to Castle Draco has been pleasant and scenic. The Countess took advantage of the slower pace of the carriage to catch up on correspondence by conjuring various spirit creatures that she would send off to deliver messages. She had a cheerful aura that seemed to make her seem younger. More significant still was the fact that her eyes did not change as they got closer to their destination, but remained the same all-over glowing red typical of most vampiric Eeee.

Mave and Phlagaea rode back in a separate carriage, while Lilith and Tulani flew off together on some unspecified task – but probably something related to Tulani's spy training. By the time Alptraum saw them again back at the castle, the temporary dye Phlagaea had used at the wedding was washed out, showing her now brown fur fully. For whatever reason, this change made her also seem shyer.

Alptraum would have liked to visit with Phlagaea and Mave a bit, but he had certain other priorities that needed to be seen too immediately. After a stop at the hog pens, he was ready to visit Melusine. So saturated was he with energy from nearly a dozen hogs that the orb of his armored hand shown like a beacon, as well as the scar on his chest (bright enough to see through his clothes) and even his eyes shown with a silver light. It was enough to make anyone he encountered in the halls beat a hasty retreat.

The Lair of Melusine
Deep in the base of a mountain, this dark cavern is of unknowable size. The only light comes from a circle of crystal embedded in the cavern floor, and the silence is oppressive – even echoes are somehow muted out.

If Alptraum had to describe how he felt right now it would be 'funky'. Its almost like having drunk far, far, too much mateh and feeling like he could stay awake for days. It has taken a force of will to keep from running down here. At the chamber entrance he reaches out and raps his chitinous claws on on the nearby stone, the sound echoing loudly. "Melusine," he says firmly, "May I enter and speak with you?"

"Of course," comes the hollow sounding voice of the Shadow Dragon. "And… congratulations. I am hoping for twins." The latter statement is delivered in a bit of a monotone, and a brief flickering of light shows where Melusine is within the cave: huddled near the ring of light embedded in the floor, as usual.

Alptraum walks into the chamber; feeling nervous as always when dealing with her. "I wish you would have told me your heart was damaged," he says as he approaches the flicker of light, "And how much you were dependent on Rosalind. I understand without the link you may die. Do you know how long you have?"

"How did you learn about this?" the dragon demands. "And I am… fine… for now. I am no weakling! Rosalind and I have been separated before."

"May I sit with you?" Alptraum offers and gestures to the floor near her mass.

"As for how I learned, well … Muriavan told me in a way," Alptraum adds.

Despite the harsh tone of voice, Melusine does not move threateningly. Instead, she seems to contract a bit. It takes several moments before she replies with, "You may sit with me. And tell me how Muriavan was able to give you this knowledge."

Alptraum sits down close to her shadowy mass. The nervousness he feels right now is … well, intense to put it mildly. "He showed me how he died. How his heart was damaged and leaking, and how he was then betrayed. Before I woke, he begged me to find a way to repair his heart. It would be no good to him now, but it would be to a certain other shadow dragon," Alptraum explains slowly to keep his fear from leaking into his voice. "And after talking in the morning with Rosalind, it was simple enough to deduce your condition. Being injured does not make you a weakling."

"Only a fool would admit to a weakness such as this," Melusine says, her voice becoming soft again. "And now it hardly matters. It will be six to seven Spheres before my link to Rosalind can be renewed. I will not survive that long. The life growing within her comes at the cost of my own."

"That is why I am here. I intend to make sure you survive," Alptraum says, "And I will explain why in terms I think you will understand. I'm selfish. You gift Rosalind with an extended life. I became what I am not so I could be with her. I want her to live a long life with me. So … that means you have to survive."

"Unless you have repaired Muriavan's heart, I do not know what you can do to ensure my survival," Melusine notes.

"First, I can empower you with what I can absorb. It's not enough to ensure your survival, but it will buy you time," Alptraum explains. "Secondly … there is a way to vastly slow the leak in your heart. I have been … conversing with steel dragons on the technique."

The flickering light that bobs within Melusine surfaces once more, showing that ripples are racing around her 'skin'. "Explain," she requests.

"Your heart is from the very steel dragon I helped kill. I still have some of his flesh," Alptraum explains, "I can flow it into the cracks in your heart to act as a bandage. But … it has two drawbacks. The first is it will be extremely painful for you … the second is it will be extremely dangerous for me. It is an option I do not want to pursue unless there is no other choice. It would have to be done while you are at your weakest and restrained, if there is hope for both of us to survive it."

The ripples turn into chaotic turbulence now. "Restrained… yes," Melusine replies in almost a whisper. "I cannot still my heart's motions myself. And I also cannot still my defensive reaction to having my heart touched. But… I do not want to die. I have little choice."

"Then you understand that I'm willingly offering to put myself in mortal danger for you?" Alptraum asks.

"You already explained your reasons for this," Melusine notes. "Do you demand some payment from me as well?"

"No. I demand nothing from you. I just wanted to be sure that you understood I was well aware of the risks and am still willing to help you," Alptraum says and folds his wings around himself. "It also means I will have to learn your true name so I can restrain you. I'm not asking you to tell me; that I will seek out myself. I am simply being completely honest."

"I am under no delusions that you like me, Melusine. You tolerate me, and only just. Therefore, I am laying all cards on the table, to use a gambling phrase. I want you to survive and therefore I cannot afford to keep secrets," Alptraum adds.

"I am powerless," Melusine laments. "To live, I must surrender myself completely to you. And accept that I will continue to be your slave for many centuries more. Because I am a coward."

"You see me as that horrible of a fate?" Alptraum has to ask.

"I would have preferred that you had repaired the heart, and given it to me first," Melusine notes. "I would be free then, and Rosalind would be mortal and happy. If this sealing of my wounds succeeds, you will have no reason to give me a new heart."

"You were also not honest about your motivations with me. Your fate, no matter how much you hate it, was your own choosing," Alptraum points out. "And I never said I wouldn't be trying to fix the heart. That too is an option on the list. But, the issue is I do not know how long that would take, either. Not to mention that after all this time, you still have not come to know me. I've helped people before where there was no benefit in it to me. An alien concept to you, I know." The bat then reaches out with his right hand and lays it lightly on Melusine's surface. "But I really do not want to get into an argument on this. I want you to live, I want Rosalind to live. The matter is now on what to do. And to decide that, I need to know how long you have before it will be too late to do anything."

The shadowy blob stills at Alptraum's touch. Finally she replies, "Four Spheres. After three there will be no stopping the decay, even with a new heart – I would not have the strength to make use of it."

"I have absorbed twelve hogs worth of life force I can give to you. I do not know how much time that will buy you, but you are welcome to it," Alptraum says. "Do you want it?"

"Yes!" Melusine says, and extends a pseudopod towards Alptraum's chest.

Alptraum pulls his shirt off and then takes that pseudopod in his right hand and guides it the rest of the way to touch the glowing scar on his chest (And to make sure she doesn't make any sudden moves to kill him!). At the contact of the odd flesh to the scar, the bat shivers. The Eeee then closes his eyes and thinks back to his lessons on magic; never force it. Instead, Alptraum tries to let that he absorbed flow out of him like a lazy river, and into the creature before him.

Melusine decides to help things along. Four sharp points – like vampiric fangs, actually – penetrate the tips of the star-shaped scar. The Shadow Dragon may be attempting to be gentle, for that is the only pain Alptraum feels, and it is brief. Melusine sucks the extra life out of the Eeee swiftly, and is done before he can even worry that she might take too much. As it is, he is left feeling light-headed and flushed as if from a strenuous flight when Melusine releases her grip.

Alptraum wavers and starts to tip over, only barely catching himself in time. "That was unnecessary, I was going to push it over," he says slowly, trying to recover his bearings. After a few breaths, Alptraum checks his chest and the places where the shadow dragon pierced him.

There are no signs of a wound. Maybe it was purely metaphysical after all.

"I was hungry," Melusine notes. "That was nearly enough to replenish two days worth of what I have lost already."

Not quite believing it, Alptraum feels the places he was penetrated for swelling or anything else, just to be certain. "Well, as long as you didn't leave anything behind, I can forgive you," he admits.

"Send me one mortal per day as sacrifice, and I can maintain my strength," the dragon all but coos to Alptraum, even wrapping a caressing wing of shadow around his shoulders. "Criminals, prisoners, volunteers… so long as they are not too old. There may be unwanted children available."

"Things aren't that desperate yet. I would rather endure you feeding off me over sending someone here," Alptraum admits as he eyes the shadowy creature. "I did not, unfortunately for you, pick up Muriavan's views on things when he fused with me."

"Bring me life, and I can make it more pleasurable," Melusine promises, her bulk moving closer. "So long as I am not starved. You know what it feels like for a Shadow to be starved, do you not?" she asks, a tendril caressing Alptraum's armored hand.

"Withered," Alptraum admits as he looks to his own right hand, "It is … not pleasant." Not even realizing he's doing it, but Alptraum moves closer to Melusine as well until he's lightly pressed up against to her. "When I am in the castle I can see about bringing you life. There is game to hunt in the forests and livestock to work with," he admits. His armored hand flexes a bit under the touch as the shadowy part of himself oozes forth to lightly touch Melusine's pseudopod."

There is a burst of light as the two shadow-skins connect, and an electric tingle of … something.

Alptraum's teeth clench and he sucks in a hissing breath between them. "I blame Muriavan right now; I'm finding you … attractive," the bat mutters, his cheek all but pressed into her shadowy side while the two tendrils … play. Something inside him nudges him a bit, but enough for him to regain some of his sense. He carefully eases himself off Melusine while saying, "I will try to being you life energy daily while I am here. I cannot promise how much, though. And … if my leads prove true, I may have a time where I must go out and seek the one with knowledge to repair my hea … I mean, Muriavan's heart."

"I will enter into an agreeable contract for an undamaged heart," Melusine all but purrs. "Better than whatever you have with your other dragon."

"Within three months if I have been unable to get it repaired, then I will pursue the other solution of bandaging your heart," Alptraum offers, "Its better to have multiple plans over just one."

The Shadow Dragon shivers at the thought of it. "Yes, always have an escape plan," she comments. "Every dragon wishes for one."

"I would ask if that means I'm thinking more like a dragon," Alptraum comments, "But dragons usually aren't self-sacrificing."

"If you were thinking more like a dragon, then I would already be dead," Melusine notes, matter-of-factly.

"I would have devoured you," Alptraum remarks, "It was an option, but it doesn't help Rosalind."

"In fact, that was the first suggestion a certain steel dragon made about you. That I should simply devour you and take your power," Alptraum adds.

"As a dragon, you wouldn't care, I imagine," Melusine notes. "She is bearing your offspring. After that, what difference if she lives long or not? There will always be others to serve you."

"Something I'm not quite sure I can explain in a way you would understand. Well, maybe you could. She saved my heart," Alptraum explains with a note of wry humor in his voice.

"Ah, love," the Shadow Dragon says, and suddenly surges under and around Alptraum, lifting him up so that he's cradled in a 'lap' of sorts. "Dragons know love. It is sentimentality we eschew."

"And it is our, as in Rosalind and my, offspring, not just mine. A child, or children, will share aspects of each of us," Alptraum points out. "For good and bad. I just hope none inherit aspects of my sire."

Of course, now that Alptraum said that and and finds himself cradled by Melusine, that sense of fear is returning full force.

"He is of Sylvanian stock, is he not?" Melusine asks, and Alptraum can feel her voice through his skin. "A vampire?"

"Half, I believe. And probably the most dangerous Eeee alive in this world," Alptraum comments, "He could probably give you lessons on how to use people."

"Ah, so why would you wish your children to not have such qualities?" the dragon asks. "They will be rulers in a harsh and unforgiving world. Your father sounds like a man who knows how to shape the fate of a nation. And I am sure you have some of those traits as well."

"His methods I find … questionable. He was more than able of destroying a ruler who ruled the Eeee nations for centuries. His technique, get that ruler to start a war with another nation and get them to remove him. From there he worked further by shattering the peoples beliefs," Alptraum comments a bit grimly. "He works through others, getting others to take risks without them even knowing it … and always to his benefit."

"Ahhh, that explains so much!" Melusine says, and almost giggles – or at least that's what it feels like as she vibrates under Alptraum. "A mortal-born dragon, perhaps. And so you are able to stand equal with dragons yourself, because it is in your blood."

"I wonder if she's humoring me, or mocking me," Alptraum wonders for a moment as he settles back nervously into the gelatinous softness that makes up Melusine's body … and feeling vaguely disturbed how comfortable he finds the contact. Changing topics, he explains more about the dream he had from Muriavan, about how the last fragment of Muriavan changed him so he could witness the Shadow Dragon's last moments. "Is that the last I will hear from Muriavan, or do I have a lifetime to worry about moments where he decides to impart moments of knowledge to me?" he asks.

"You are a unique case," Melusine comments. "I am surprised there was enough of him left to show you as much as he did. So I cannot guess as to what may come in the future."

"The way he did it was terrifying, I must admit. At the same time … it was somehow exciting," Alptraum explains, ears splayed a bit in confusion. "Are there ways to keep what is felt of him around that you know of?"

"He is dead," the Shadow Dragon turned couch comments. "Perhaps there are memories within your shadow that are merely inaccessible as yet."

"Mmm, then perhaps if I sought out places that he touched it would awaken them," Alptraum muses thoughtfully. "But that is for later. Right now your survival is the critical concern." The latter comment is punctuated by Alptraum's right hand actually caressing Melusine. "A living Shadow Dragon is worth far more than concerns over one gone."

"It is good to feel appreciated," Melusine purrs.

"But better to be served, I imagine," Alptraum quips. "Do you wish to tell Rosalind about the efforts that will be made to save you, or shall I?"

"You should tell her," Melusine notes. "It would be best for her and I to avoid contact."

"All right, then for the next few months I will act as your surrogate Rosalind," Alptraum says with a short nod. "And I should take extra care to not expose her to my shadow as well, correct?"

"Your shadow is safe," Melusine notes.

"I'm not sure Rosalind would agree," Alptraum comments with a playful tone. "Not when I use it to say, hold her down."

"Your fleshy methods of lovemaking always sound so amusing," Melusine notes. "Perhaps you will demonstrate them for me sometime."

"That is difficult to do without a partner," Alptraum points out.

"Rosalind will not be pregnant forever," Melusine notes. "Or I can transform my pet again… "

"Oh, I don't know, your pet could be interesting… " Alptraum jokes as he rubs his chin.

"I will require an extra dose of energy to perform the transformation," the dragon replies, sounding quite serious.

Alptraum makes a heroic effort to not laugh. "On the questions of lovemaking … how does your kind perform it?" he asks, trying to slightly change the subject.

"I will demonstrate when you next bring me a sufficiently large dose of life-force," Melusine promises.

"Ah, so it doesn't require a partne … wait. You mean on me? Don't I have to be a shadow dragon?" Alptraum asks nervously.

"It would help, but… I'm sure you are hearty enough to survive the experience," Melusine notes, and then bounces Alptraum once into the air.

"Yaah!" goes Alptraum as he flails while he's in the air. When he lands back on Melusine he clutches his chest. "I should probably leave you to resting and conserving energy," he says after a few deep breaths. "Around noon tomorrow I'll return with some life energy to feed you."

"Do not feed on blood that morning then," the Shadow Dragon warns, before sliding Alptraum back to the ground.

Alptraum blinks. "Why?" he asks.

"I do not want you to vomit," the dragon explains.

"Absorbing from me would make me vomit?" Alptraum asks and splays his ears. "I didn't feel that bad. Well, it hurt, but I didn't get nauseous."

"We will not be doing it the same way next time," Melusine purrs, and… pats Alptraum on the rear with a pseudopod.

Alptraum jumps! "Er, how will we be doing it, then?" the bat asks, though he's terrified of the answer…

"It will be a surprise," Melusine says. "You will enjoy it." That last almost seemed like a command rather than a statement.

"Ooookay," Alptraum says as he makes a somewhat quick path to the exit. "Until tomorrow, then!" And no sooner is he hurrying up the stairs, he's tapping his right hand and asking, "What did I get myself into?"

"Ah, she's afraid," Kaira replies, without making an appearance. "So she's trying to seduce you so that she'll feel like she has some control. Nothing to worry about, unless she actually pulls it off."

"What, pulls off seducing me?" Alptraum asks, "It's not helping that my shadowy side is finding her sexy. I'm not even sure how, since she has no shape."

"What, you wouldn't find me attractive if I were a blob?" Kaira asks.

"I like you better in scales. Or well, you as an elf wasn't bad either. When I had you in chains while I was licking … er, ahem," Alptraum says and coughs. "Why is it all dragons try to seduce me??

"It's not just you," Kaira notes. "It's just the way dragons are. They know they're like irresistible, so use it to their advantage. And Melusine, blob or not, is still a dragon where it counts. She's got as much charisma as Vorgulremik if she chooses to use it."

"Ah! Well, at least with Vorgulremik I'm safe. He can't seduce me," Alptraum declares, "Safety by gender!"

"Wait, what about that dream?" Kaira asks.

"I'm not sure that counts! It wasn't my body," Alptraum points out, "And he used drugs."

"Mmmm, okay," Kaira says. "Be careful tomorrow. She'll try to make you feel really good, probably."

"What do you think she'll do?" Alptraum asks as he pauses on the stairs. "And … well, you're okay with me trying to save her?"

"So long as she behaves I'm okay with it," the invisible dragon grumbles. "You need her for Rosalind. That's the only reason I go along with any of this. But I'd be willing to help pin her down when you do the tattoo on her heart. That could be fun!"

"Ah, there's the Kaira mean streak," Alptraum comments and leans against the wall. "And for the record, I'm sorry out of all the Eeee in the world, you got stuck with the soft hearted one. Your life would have been easier had I been more ruthless."

"It would have been easier if I'd just pulled the plug on Vorgy the first time," Kaira notes. "You aren't the only one with a soft heart."

"I guess that's why even though we argue, in the end we remain friends," Alptraum says and shrugs slightly. "For what its worth, Kaira … I'm glad you're a part of my life. Heck, a part of me, more or less."

"Well, you are lucky to know me," Kaira admits. "I'm so damned awesome after all!"

"Well, your awesomeness, I have some other ladies to check on. Anything else I should worry about after that little chat with Melusine?" Alptraum asks.

"Well, you've solved her problem of running out of Dracos," Kaira notes. "So… probably best not to let her detach your genitals again. She might not give them back."

Alptraum laughs at that. "Would she even try that?" he has to ask as he shakes his head.

"Are you asking me to guess, or to put myself in her place?" Kaira asks.

"Both," Alptraum claims.

After a moment, Kaira responds vaguely with, "Dragons are covetous, jealous and greedy. Your mileage may vary."

"So … you're saying she could be the type to remove my genitals to make sure I could only enjoy things when she decided?" Alptraum asks.

"She's looking for leverage," Kaira points out. "And honestly, what woman wouldn't do that if they could? Plus, they would have it on hand whether you were there or not… "

"Would you do that to me?" Alptraum jokes as he resumes climbing the stairs.

"Of course I wouldn't!" Kaira notes. "I'm not like those other women who will try to manipulate you for their own ends!"

"Sure you don't," Alptraum says with a laugh. "So, what you're saying is just watch out for her trying to get some sort of hold on me, either physically or other."

"Yes," Kaira notes. "She will try honey first, so it might be good to play along with that. You don't want her to resort to threats."

Alptraum nods slightly to himself. "Well, I'll enjoy the honey while it lasts," Alptraum admits, grinning, "I'm a sucker for feeling desirable!"

"Really?" Kaira asks. "I wish I'd known that sooner! I almost feel embarrassed that you seduced me now… "

"Oh hush. You enjoyed it. Keep practicing that elf form … and find a nice lair we can use! I have plans for you," Alptraum cackles as he heads up the final flight of stairs, "I promise you'll be devoured … in a nice way, of course!"