It's been an unusual day for Kaira of the Knife. Well, if one can even call it a day, given the oddities of time in this place. For the first time ever, the dragon-spell sensed Alptraum enter the dagger, and yet … he didn't come to her. In fact, he seemed to bounce around from location to location for a bit, before settling down, signature-wise, on the crystalline beach that Kaira took them to some months ago. Curious, or perhaps mad, the dragon-spell has now traveled to this world to find out just what the Eeee/Shadow hybrid is up to.

Crystalline Beach
A sunrise on an alien shore line. It isn't a sunrise that many are familiar with because the sun is red and fills half of the horizon. Globules of silvery liquid fall slowly through the air. Lining the oily looking, bright green, ocean is a beach of multicolored bliss, the sand of this world a wild array of prismatic colors. Behind the beach, a forest of sorts spreads out, full of crystal trees that sprout tiny bells and chimes instead of leaves.

The beach is much as Kaira remembers it when her two feet set upon the sand … except that someone has set up a reclining chair near the gently rolling ocean. Next to that appears to be some sort of makeshift stand assembled from the odd glassine foliage. The Eeee, however, is nowhere in sight currently.

"Alp-" Kaira begins to say, until she notices the absence of her quarry. As she heads for the recliner, her grass skirt makes a swishing noise. That, a necklace of tropical flowers (although clearly not native to this particular word) that drapes across her chest and a few other flowers woven into her mane are the total of her attire. She always tries to fit into the environment, fashion-wise. "Okay, where'd the little sky-rat get to?" she mutters.

"Sky rat? That's not very kind. I suppose you're still mad at me over the whole Phlagaea … incident?" comes Alptraum's voice from somewhere behind her. Probably in the woods a bit, judging from the volume. "And you're earlier than I expected! I'm not, well … quite ready."

"Aha!" Kaira says, spinning around to face the trees. "I figured that would flush you out, if the bare chest didn't," she claims. "What's going on here? Why didn't you come see me directly this time? And as for Phlagaea… hmmm. I'm a bit mixed on that whole thing."

The Eeee isn't visible in the odd crystalline trees. "What's going on? I'm not allowed to plan a surprise for you? You were … very tolerant of that whole thing with Phlagaea, so I thought I would, well, do something to return the favor. The chair is for you if you want to wait a few minutes. Why don't you tell me how you feel about what happened while I finish a bit of … well … you'll see in a bit," Alptraum's voice comes. The blasted Eeee is using his echo-location ability to actually make his voice bounce around in the trees, making it hard to tell exactly where it is coming from.

Kaira actually is surprised by the notion of someone wanting to surprise her, so she goes and tries out the lounge chair. "Well, first off, you don't have to worry about me being traumatized by watching you and Phlagaea go at it for a couple of hours on end. There are whole Echoes here where that's what the population decided to do while waiting for Vorg to come eat them. And of course they had to relive it every day until recently… "

"Still, it was cute that you reacted to me like that," the dragon admits.

"Until recently? What are you talking about? Were they some you helped, ah, release?" Alptraum calls back. "But I'm not so much worried about you being traumatized as to, well, how you felt about it. I mean, dragons by nature are very jealous, right? And I have seen you be a little possessive of me at times." There's this pause, a grunt, then followed by, "Ow. Wish I had more time to practice this."

"Am I jealous of Phlagaea, you mean?" Kaira asks with a chuckle. "That would be like feeling threatened by a puppy. And until recently as in when you defeated Vorgulremik and broke the forced cycle."

"So, you consider yourself far more appealing than Phlagaea, then?" Alptraum calls out. The lounge chair is pretty comfortable and does recline a fair ways. "And since you arrived early, I want you to close your eyes before I come out. Promise?"

"Aren't I more appealing?" Kaira asks, and then covers her eyes with a hand. "Okay, I promise not to peek."

"You'll have to figure out what I think on your own, sorry," Alptraum calls out. Another minute or two passes, then Kaira can finally hear footsteps approaching. Their rate is slow, as he's probably watching her to make sure she doesn't peek. "Just another moment," she can hear him say … right next to her now. There's an odd rustle as he sits down on the sand beside the chair. "Okay … open your eyes," he finally says.

The dragon spreads her fingers and looks to the side.

What Kaira finds herself looking at certainly isn't the usual Alptraum. She can tell immediately that most of it is shadow-cloak work (with an occasional mix of actual physical shifts that he has actually had practice with). He's layered and shaped it so that it overlays his form from head to toe … and taken on, well, a rather draconic appearance. From this angle it's readily apparent that he used her as the model. His normally white hair has shifted to flowing more like a mane down the center of his head and along his spine … to even trailing along the ridge of his tail. Scale wise … he's completely black; the only breaks in the color being his silvery eyes, silvery tipped claws, the starburst-white scar on his chest, the two swept-back ivory horns growing back from his forehead, and the flowing, white-feathered, wings behind him. He holds up a split-glass fruit of some sort. Its been filled with a milky-red liquid.

"Drink?" he offers, grinning. "You once commented I didn't have anything marking me physically like the earrings, showing you as important to me. Well, I figured that wouldn't show just how much I look up to you … so I thought this might be more appropriate. And it was not easy to craft the shadow this much … the tail was particularly hard. The wings, well, I have the memory of Tulani's kenning to help with that, at least."

Kaira gapes at the change, and takes one of the offered drinks. "That's really impressive, Alptraum!" she comments. "Almost as good as a succubus transformation, even!"

"I wasn't sure I could manage it," Alptraum admits, "I wasn't even sure you would appreciate it … but well, I had to do something. But I had been practicing a lot with scaling outside … and with the knowledge of feathers … I thought I could come close. The rest was just, well, remembering what you looked like. Wait, what's this about a succubus transformation?"

"Oh, they always change into the ideal form to seduce their victims with," Kaira comments, and gives Alptraum a sly grin. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Not exactly, no. I wanted, well, okay, maybe it was stupid. But you served Phlagaea, so I thought I would serve you today. I guess you know I've been echo-hopping a bit. I had to collect a few things. Some had a few suggestions. Er, anyway, I was going for something similar to what I saw while visiting Gigi. The girls on the beach were doted on by a bunch of hunks … and I thought, well, you might appreciate your own dragon doting on you. The dark Elves suggested I should wear a cute little collar too, to show servitude to you, but … I didn't think you would care for that," Alptraum admits with a sheepish (and still vampire-fangy), grin.

"Collars are for dogs," Kaira agrees. "But doting is acceptable, I think. I can enjoy that without a physical body, after all," she notes with a grin. Then she asks, "And there are no ulterior motives to this?"

"Do I have to have an ulterior motive for trying to entertain my friends?" Alptraum asks as he scoots himself a bit further down the chair. Picking up one of Kaira's feet in his hands, he peers at it a bit, traces a few of the tendons, then actually tries to massage it firmly.

"Urf," Kaira goes. "Well, usually there are. Maybe you're trying to distract me from something, or feel guilty about something and you and Melusine did, or can't stop thinking about me… " she suggests, and has a sip of the beverage.

Alptraum shudders a bit. "You would have to bring up Melusine," he complains, "If anything, I really don't want to think about her right now. I'd rather think about you."

"Well, that's only proper!" Kaira says. Then goes ahead and asks anyway, "What atrocity has she committed on your person this time?"

"Do you really want to know?" Alptraum asks.

"Of course," the dragoness says. "I love gossip about other dragons. And I have to protect you from her, after all."

"Well, she examined me to make sure Phlagaea didn't leave any remnants," Alptraum starts explaining as he continues working on Kaira's feet (in between toes now). "When she released me, though … she had, ah, removed certain important aspects of myself for further examination." Ears wilting, he adds very quietly, "Then threatened to turn me into a girl in the interim so I would have something… "

"Tsk," Kaira says, swirling her drink. "I'd never castrate you, Alptraum. I'm sure Tulani wouldn't either. Can't be sure about that Mave yet though. But you seem to have come through intact, right? Everything back where it belongs and working?"

"Yes, thankfully!" Alptraum says, silently relieved she didn't laugh at him. "And I know you wouldn't; that's why you're my number one dragon. It also didn't help matters that she … well, I think she, uh, is starting to find me interesting."

"Interesting as in amusing, or more like how a collection of bugs under glass is interesting?" Kaira asks.

"She was purring," Alptraum says by way of an answer. "And coiled around me."

Kaira goes very still. "There weren't any melons involved, were there?" she then asks.

"And asked if I enjoyed being kenned," Alptraum adds, "But nothing beyond that! No melons."

"She must want something from you then," Kaira declares. "Melusine is so cold-hearted she'd crack if she moved too fast."

"Well, what could she possibly want from me?" Alptraum inquires. "What can I offer her that Rose can't?"

"Well, you've got another Shadow for one thing," Kaira points out, waving her non-drink-holding hand. "Shadow Dragons aren't known for getting particularly lonely though. Hmmm."

Back to looking at Kaira's feet, Alptraum asks, "So … want me to paint your claws? Women like that in my world. I was able to find some proper paint in here and brought it." Pausing there, he thinks for a moment, then asks, "My shadow is incomplete without its heart, right? This crystal world just got me thinking … if a new heart could be found … what could be done with it and me?"

"Well, nothing as far as you're concerned," Kaira points out, and wiggles her toes in contemplation of painting. "Your Shadow was dead after all. The only thing you could do with a new crystal is make a new Shadow for it. What color paint?"

"Well, gold, silver, blue, red, and black are the options," Alptraum offers. He then blinks and asks, "I could make a new Shadow? Wouldn't that be a bad thing?"

"Well, the Shadow Dragons are a nasty lot, in general," Kaira points out. "Gold would be nice, I think. But it wouldn't be a real Shadow Dragon anyway, but some sort of hybrid based in Sinaian magic. Which would probably be worse than a real one. If you could make one, then you could make an army probably."

"That's a scary thought," Alptraum admits as he stands up. Kaira can now tell he's wearing some ridiculously colorful and floral shorts as he wants to the makeshift stand and digs around. "I guess, for a Shadow Dragon hybrid, I'm okay, right? You don't think I'm nasty, I hope."

"Well, you're not starting out as a Shadow Dragon, but as a mortal," Kaira notes. "So yes, you're actually nice. But one starting out from scratch would be just as bad as a normal Shadow Dragon, but without the fey limitations they have. Sort of like how a dracul has all the same undead vampire abilities without the drawbacks of being undead… "

"That's a really scary thought," Alptraum comments as he walks back and settles at her feet again. He unscrews a small bottle and bobs the lid a few times. Lifting it off, he uses the small brush attached to the tip, he starts carefully layering the gold on her foot-talons. "So … I have to ask, do you enjoy having your own Shadow Dragon, even if he's just a flawed hybrid?" the draconic-Alptraum inquires, lips curling a bit in a playful grin.

"It doesn't matter that you've got Shadow abilities," Kaira notes. "And last I checked, I was your dragon. But you're still the same Alptraum who freed me from the Last Echo and is helping save the souls held captive in here. The scales do look nice though, I'll admit… "

"You're my friend," Alptraum corrects, still grinning as he works. Pausing on the second talon, his brow-ridge arches up a bit as he looks up along the lounge chair. "I always thought they looked good on you," he notes. "So, are there any alterations to this form you would prefer over what I came up with? With a bit of work, I can reshape it a bit more for you… "

"No, don't change it," Kaira says, grinning. "It's better as what you thought I'd like. That means more. If my original hadn't considered it unnecessary information to include in me, I could probably have all sorts of fun with you right now."

"I could always teach you what she didn't include," Alptraum offers playfully. He wipes off the little paint brush, then tickles the bottom of her foot with it. "I'm sure it wouldn't be dragon-quality, of course, but… "

"Eh, without the proper context I probably wouldn't experience it right," Kaira notes. "Maybe if I had a real body and life, it would be more 'natural'. But you can't put everything into a construct like me, otherwise… I wouldn't be as effective."

"Okay. I'll save it for when I find a way to give you a real body. Don't think I haven't forgotten that promise to you," Alptraum notes as he resumes painting her talons. "Of course, in a proper body … I'm not sure I could manage this body outside of the dagger. It was hard enough in here … out there, well."

"I probably wouldn't mind," Kaira notes. "After all, I might not even be a dragon anymore."

"True enough. And speaking of current matters, what can I do for you in here? I know you're having problems with the Elves. Do you want me to go … deal with them?" the dragon-Eeee asks as he finishes one foot and starts on the next.

Setting her drink aside, Kaira puts her hands behind her head in thought. "Well, I might be able to get them to agree to a meeting. And they might listen to you, if you threaten them big enough. Which reminds me; be sure to let me know if Melusine asks you to do any errands or favors for her."

"Worried she might ask me to do something dangerous?" Alptraum inquires. "As for threatening them big enough, I could threaten to do something humiliating, like find, say, female hogs to insert their souls into, but not enough to cause release, then oh, release them into a breeding pen, or some such. "

"Hmmmm, may have to test that out first," Kaira notes. "Never bluff an immortal if you can help it. And yeah, anything she asks you to do is probably going to be dangerous or lead to trouble."

"Who said I would be bluffing? I have transferred people out before into bodies," Alptraum notes, "But ultimately, my biggest weapon is that I control their freedom. Piss me, or you off enough, and we can assure that they go to oblivion instead of escape." Pausing in thought, Alptraum asks, "Regarding Melusine … she hinted at something I had pushed out of my mind because it was horrible to think about. She hinted that in order for the Countess to bear a child, she would have to become pregnant too. Is that true or was she trying to horrify me?"

Kaira chokes and sits up abruptly. "What?!" she demands. "That's… got to be a trick!" she says after a moment.

"She alluded to it. As disturbing as it sounds … could it be true?" Alptraum inquires as he sits back, careful to not spill the talon paint. "She said she would have to merge with the Countess completely during our … union so that she would share in it. Why did you have to remind me that she did suggest something? Gah."

"Damn, there's no way to confirm it," Kaira mutters. "Melusine's bond probably gives her the ability to suppress Rosalind's fertility, so she could have been creating the whole situation from the beginning for her own purposes. But then, I don't see how she could have known someone like you would show up. How many lovers has the Countess had since assuming the position, anyway?"

"She had a husband once, and at least another boyfriend," Alptraum answers with a sigh. "And her former husband makes me feel … inferior. He was amazing, from how she talked about him … and I'm … nothing."

"Maybe Melusine didn't want him undermining her influence on Rosalind," Kaira notes, spinning conspiracies like a spider spins silk. "Dig around, find out about the wives of the former Counts. And try to get Mave to mix you up more of her Pregnancy Potion to try out on Rosalind."

"Don't you think you're being a little too paranoid? As even you said, there's no way she could have expected someone like me, someone compatible to shadow-fusion to have shown up," Alptraum points out. "And frankly, her former husband was the ruler of the land, more or less. She went to him for advice."

"A ruler that Melusine wasn't linked to," Kaira points out. "Mel isn't the sort to share power. No dragon is. If I were in her place, I'd have tried to get the guy killed off while making sure there wasn't an heir as well."

"Then why is she encouraging my relationship with Rosalind? Just to get something from me, then kill me too?" Alptraum inquires. shaking his head.

"Who knows? Maybe she just can't cover it up, since you fit the description of the solution that she told Rosalind was necessary," Kaira dragon-reasons. "The point is, Melusine is a ruthless evil bitch of a dragon who can't be trusted, but who at least has a nature you can understand and use to guess at what she really wants. And it sounds like she wants children. Plural! One heir wouldn't be enough, since they would still age normally. You need a lot of them, spaced out every few years. That would mean multiple new Shadow children as well. And once she has enough of those, she wouldn't need you or Rosalind anymore."

"Fair enough, I guess," Alptraum has to concede. The draconic-Alptraum then frowns, noting, "I hate living sometimes."

"It's still better than the alternatives," Kaira points out. "And you need to understand the difference between male and female dragons too. Males like Vorgulremik see the optimal number of dragons per planet as being one, so long as they are that one. Females like to found dynasties, with their children doing the conquering and such for them. And pitting them against one another afterward to stave off boredom."

"You don't get it," Alptraum says and waves one of his hands, "You have no idea how this makes me feel. I feel worthless is how I feel. I sacrificed a lot to help Rosalind; Gods, I care about her in so many ways. When I'm around her, I tend to feel like she just 'settled' for me because I could offer some sort of hope. And here you tell me that the hope is a joke, too. I just … gah." He stops talking and just rubs his brow for a bit.

"Hey, you can still help her!" Kaira claims. "You just have to… try not to help Melusine if possible… "

"Unless this is all a trick to drive a wedge between us," the dragon notes quietly, and rubs her chin in thought. "She must have known you'd tell me about this, after all… "

"Yeah, but what's the point?" Alptraum says with a shake of his head. "Why bother helping anyone? Everything you've said simply says no matter what I do, it'll end badly."

"Well, I could be wrong you know," Kaira points out. "I'm a dragon too. I'll always suspect Melusine's motives, just as she'll always suspect mine. If I could have it my way, you'd never interact with her directly at all, and I'm sure Mel feels the same way about you and me."

Alptraum lowers his head and wraps his hands on the back of his neck. His claws tap silently for a bit. "I just can't believe … " the Eeee mutters quietly.

"Well, you don't have to believe then!" Kaira suggests. "I mean… you need to look into the lives of the past Counts. That will tell if something nefarious is going on or not."

There's no reply from Alptraum. He just continues to tap his claws on the back of his neck. Finally, he draws in a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. Sitting back, he says, "Today was supposed to be about you. I shouldn't bother you with my issues."

Kaira blinks at that. "What? I'm clearly making things harder on you, aren't I?" she asks.

"No, you just reminded me how useless I really am," Alptraum notes as he gets up and heads back to the bar. He starts digging behind it again, now saying, "So, anyway, I also got a bunch of different sun oils to use on the beach. People without fur use these for lots of things and I thought you might appreciate them. A couple are laced with something called 'peppermint' which makes it tingle after applied."

The dragoness looks worried now, but says, "Tingle? Is there enough for both of us?"

"No, I just got enough for you, really. Like I said, this day was for you," Alptraum replies, "I wasn't thinking about getting things for myself. None of this is quite like what I saw on the Gigi coast, but it's pretty close." He pauses there, then actually laughs, adding, "You know what? I screwed up there too."

Kaira hmms. "Well… maybe if it tingles… then we could try some of that other stuff you offered to teach me," she notes. "I mean… one little romp on the beach won't deprogram my self-destruct imperative, right?"

Alptraum hangs his head and leans heavily on the makeshift stand. "Why do I do it? Why do I risk myself for other people? Rosalind is just another in a long line of the Nightmare trying to help people. Tried to save a Savanite once, name was Autumn-Storm. In truth, she was … well, a bad person. But, I just thought I saw some good in her; she had been beaten, abused, hell, tortured, when she was younger. Stood by her side through so many things. She left me on the Gigi beach. I went looking for her and was nearly killed," Alptraum notes, then pats his right leg. "Shot with a poisoned dart and sold into some sort of slavery or sacrifice group. Escaped that barely. Met up with her again in Babel by chance, tried to help her there. Know how that turned out? Children were sent to their death, and she just screamed at me because I refused to believe her Savanite friend who had sent them was not an ally. Mind you, this is the same 'friend' who used to beat her. Gods, Kaira, I nearly died for her. You say you could be wrong? Look at my lifetime of poor judgment."

"Hey, nobody's all good or all bad," Kaira points out. "I mean, you stick by me, and I'm not all that helpful to you in the real world. But isn't Rosalind worth helping? Phlagaea? Even the Yodhblakat? Just because you can't save them all doesn't mean it isn't worth it to try. Just trying… makes people feel like they're worth something."

"Except I don't help, I make it worse," Alptraum comments as he continues to lean on the stand, looking down. "Do you realize you just told me that because I merged with the Shadow I've given Melusine her weapon to seek world domination or worse? Wait, of course, you do, you pretty much said it. You just said any Sinai born Shadow Dragons would be worse. So, by helping Rosalind, I doom the world. There was a good decision. I should just have that Reaper dive an iron spike through my chest and be done with it. At least the world would be safe, which is all he's concerned about."

"No way, I need you alive!" Kaira says. "Merging with the Shadow was a good thing for you. You can save people who want to be saved, Alptraum. I mean, look at Phlagaea! Hasn't it been better that you rescued her back in Babel?"

"Has it? I don't know," is all Alptraum says. "She never seems that happy. Except, well, now that she believes I could help her father a child."

"You can't be expected to make them happy on top of everything else," Kaira notes. "You give them hope. Hope is something everyone needs. It's enough to make them change their lives if they really believe in it. Do you think I'd still be around if I didn't have hope? If I didn't believe in you, I'd have snuffed out Vorgulremik and everyone else in here rather than risk him getting loose again."

"That's not what you said last time. I asked why you didn't just destroy this place and everyone inside it. You said you couldn't," Alptraum notes, "Because went against the will of your creator to try and save them."

"Okay, so that's my flaw, not yours," Kaira admits. "The disappointment with Autumn-Storm? Again, her flaws, not yours. Your only flaw, Alptraum, is that you try to see the best in everyone but yourself."

"I'm just a tool, Kaira," Alptraum notes. "Don't think I don't know you try to use me. Melusine does too. Maybe even Rosalind does. I can't think of the last time someone did something for me. Dagh, I can't even remember the last time someone told me 'Thank you'." He shakes his head again, then changes subjects again as he resumes digging, "There's also something here called 'Wintergreen', but that stuff just feels cold. Well, to me, anyway."

Kaira gets up and comes over to kneel next to Alptraum. "This is getting weird now, Alptraum. Please change back to your normal self," she asks.

Alptraum almost says something else, then just lets out a sigh. As the sigh trails off, his current appearance breaks up like so much smoke and wafts away on the light breeze. What is left behind is the usual Alptraum.

The dragon hugs Alptraum from behind, and rests her jaw on his shoulder. "This is better. You don't have to wear any masks to make me happy, okay? And I'm sorry for not treating you fairly from the beginning. I've deliberately tried to keep you… at arm's length."

Getting hugged actually causes the Eeee to tense up. "It wasn't about having to, it was about wanting to. It was about … entertaining. Showing something, trying. Making an attempt. Lots of people like to talk. I like to do, to show," Alptraum tries to explain. "Maybe it's from growing up an entertainer. Anyway, I never expected you to treat me like a friend. But it never stops me from treating you that way. I just … it's how I show appreciation."

"You have a lot of power over me, you know," Kaira says, still just holding on. "You treat me like a friend, but if you actually commanded me to do something, I'd do it. I didn't want you to know that, though. I was afraid you'd use it to stop me from self-destructing when the time came. That maybe you'd grow too fond of me to let go."

"A friend doesn't force others to do things. I wouldn't make you do anything you weren't willing to do. I asked you to help with Phlagaea; I asked you about Mave. I wouldn't stop you from completing your mission; I would just … try to find alternatives," Alptraum admits, "But if it came down to no other choice … then what can I do? I'd ask for a hug and try to have some sort of memorial stone made so that at least people knew what you did and why."

"I'd be happier if you just didn't doubt yourself so much," the dragon says. "It hurts, especially when I'm the one that triggers it. Do you forgive me for that?"

"You … just remind me of all the things I've thought too," Alptraum admits. "I can't be angry that you speak your mind. At least you're honest about it; you spoke your concerns, even if they are true or imagined. I don't talk about even a quarter of mine."

"Maybe you should then, just to let them out so they don't burrow into your guts," Kaira suggests. "You don't have to talk about them to me, either. Rosalind has probably dealt with all the same feelings before."

"Hah. She's one of my biggest. I look at her and all I find is wishing I were … more," Alptraum notes, "You should have seen the portrait of her husband. Confidant, strong, noble. I look in a mirror and see a gypsy playing pretend. I'm not near enough of what she really needs."

"She's had a long time to develop those qualities in herself though," Kaira points out. "They may not be what she needs now, you know."

"Besides, you aren't here to replace what she had, you're here to give her what he couldn't."

"She said she wished he were still there to seek advice from," Alptraum counters, "And other than an heir, what do I really offer?"

"You'll just have to find out," Kaira offers. "But remember this: you are the only being in this world worthy of being my master. Do not insult me by claiming to be anything less. Or I'll feel bad."

That actually gets a short laugh from the bat. "Can I consider you a partner? I feel weird being called a master," the bat notes as he reaches back and pats Kaira's neck.

"A 'partner', eh?" Kaira asks. "Does that still include rubbing peppermint oils into my scales and maybe fooling around a little?"

"Only if I can restore the dragon cloak. Oil in fur is messy and unpleasant," Alptraum explains. "Particularly any of them that tingle. I know this because, I, uh, tested one of Mave's once. About drove me crazy because it just won't wash out of fur"

Kaira laughs this time, and says, "Okay, I can agree to that."

Alptraum turns himself around and grins a bit. "At least this time, you get to watch, now … let's see," the Eeee notes. Having someone's body shift and squirm while close might be a little disconcerting, but that's what it does as the cloak ripples across his body. It takes a few minutes as the liquid flows, forms, then textures and hardens back into the much more reptilian version of the bat. "I, er, I'm sorry that this degraded like it did. I really did plan this as a sort of a 'day on the beach' for you so we could just talk and you relax. I didn't expect, well, what you said brought up a lot of insecurities I have," the now dragon-Alptraum admits. "And a lot of fears."

Smiling, Kaira seems a bit more vulnerable herself now. "Well, it'll just be that much better now that it's all out of the way."

"Do you really think I should talk to to Rosalind about my fears?" Alptraum inquires.

"Yes," Kaira says firmly, and eyes Alptraum's now white, feathered wings and looks thoughtful.

"Are my wings crooked?" Alptraum has to ask and looks over his shoulders. "I thought I got the feathers right. But it's hard for me to see them well."

"No, just wondering… do you know what sort of guy Tulani finds attractive?" Kaira asks. "I mean, have you ever seen her go for someone?"

"Honestly, no, I haven't," Alptraum admits, "Why, trying to set her up with someone?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that!" Kaira says. "It's just that when you kenned her, you might have picked up something like that. But I doubt you'd run into someone she'd go ga-ga over!"

"I didn't pick up any personality traits I'm aware of," Alptraum comments, "What, were you worried I mind find a guy attractive now because she would?" His brow-ridge arches a bit.

The dragon chuckles and shakes her head. "No, you're more likely to develop a craving for fish I think. I never claimed that my thought processes had to make sense."

"The only guy I vaguely remember was this odd horned Lapi in a place called Worms that she seemed to have fun with. But I think I drunk too much that night because I barely remember it," Alptraum admits as he pauses to scratch his cheek.

"Well, not much chance of running into one of those again, I imagine," Kaira says, sniffs at the oil.

"Right, anyway, I owe you a massage don't I? I think you'll find the peppermint oil interesting. Quite the tingle, really. It's not like being tickled. It's like … well, I'm not sure I can describe it," Alptraum replies as he pulls away and then pulls out a huge beach-towel from the makeshift stand. "As for doing anything else … well, that is not required. Like I said, I wanted to thank you for your help and treat you to a nice day."

"Will it flavor my scales too?" Kaira asks as she lies on the towel.

"Probably," Alptraum comments. "Why, want me to lick it off?" he teases as he settles down beside her and starts working copious amounts of oil into his palms.

"Sure, but only if you don't make any melon jokes," Kaira says.

"And I just realized something," Alptraum notes, looking rather bemused.

"Something embarrassing I bet," Kaira comments, then looks at Alptraum. "Okay, what is it?"

Alptraum leans down and slides his now oiled hands along Kaira's sides. Nose tip to nose tip with her, scaled black lips curl as he says, "Oh, that if we do decide to … experiment physically … you'll have beaten Melusine to it … if her goal is to have children. And willingly, without blackmail."

"Oh, I'm sure that would just be a fringe benefit at best," Kaira comments with a grin. "But feel free to tell her all about it… "

"Well, we'll see where the day goes. Now just relax. If it gets too tingly, just let me know," Alptraum says. And if one thing Alptraum has managed to learn through his experiences and all the strange women he's helped over the years, not to mention all the injuries sustained, he does know how to make a massage slow and enjoyable…