Snow purrs approvingly at the room's decor, noting the pile of skulls arranged so that the eye sockets can be used to hold scythe handles (or possibly umbrellas). "Very comfy, I am surprised," she notes to Alptraum.

"Well, I wouldn't call this comfortable, but I've gotten used to the strange decor. It hasn't caused any nightmares yet!" Alptraum remarks as he saunters in and stretches briefly. "How are you feeling, by the way? I hope our 'host' didn't unnerve you too much," he remarks as he reaches up to his right ear and eases out Mave's 'hoop' ring from his ear so he can quickly clean it off using his shirt.

The Shrine Maiden wastes no time, getting out of her cloak and spreading it over one of the slabs before sitting on it, and performing a long, languid feline stretch. "Oh, it's good to be out of that finally. The fur helps a little, but clothes still end up itching after awhile. And I thought I our host was charming, in an entirely faked sort of way."

"I don't trust him, but at the moment I don't have a lot of choice," Alptraum says as he re-inserts the hoop and squeezes it closed, then spins it through the hole in his ear to make sure it moves freely. "How is your body feeling? Do I need to re-enforce its current form?" the Eeee asks.

Snow flips her tail about, rustles her wings and twists and bends to inspect herself. "Is my fur thinner than before?" she asks, and smiles to show her teeth so Alptraum can see if they're changing back or not.

Alptraum hmms and tilts his head this way and that. "I should re-enforce it," he finally decides. The bat actually saunters over to the slab and slides in next to Snow. "I've been meaning to ask you, what did it feel like when I changed you?" he asks as he rolls his metallic-clad hand and watches the black skin of it squirm a bit as he 'wakes up' the shadow for some work.

The girl watches the squirming shadow-skin in fascination, and then says, "It was like going to sleep and having a funny dream, then waking up in a new body."

Alptraum holds out his hand to Snow in case she wants to feel the flesh move. "I'm still not used to having more sensation in this. I can feel it move around a lot more. It's pretty strange, like stuff squirming inside your arm," he says.

With grin, Snow plays with the loose skin – tugging and smooshing and rolling her fingers through it like she was trying to make bread. "At least it doesn't make any noise," she says. "That would be disturbing."

Alptraum grins fangily then lets the shadow skin ooze over Snow's fingers and hold onto them like some sort of taffy. "Relax a bit. This shouldn't take long," he promises, "And it just means I get to keep my sphynx servant!" He even winks.

"It's not like I have to cook for you or anything," Snow observes with a grin, and then closes her eyes and relaxes by resting her head on Alptraum's shoulder.

"Yet. I'm breaking you in slowly," Alptraum claims, "By making you want it." The Eeee then wraps his arms lightly around Snow. There he extends the shadow, enveloping her body in its inky 'goo'. His eyes droop closed as he focuses on her body contained within, checking what has begun to revert and gently nudging it back to its more feline shape. Fur, teeth, ears, eyes, and even her muzzle proportions are altered slightly, 'repairing' the slight regressions in their form. Once he's satisfied, the Eeee draws back the shadow into his right hand and the pulsating mass embedded deep in his wrist.

The process used very little energy, since it was only nudging things slightly. Snow 'wakes up' once the shadow has withdrawn, and asks, "So, what did you change?"

"Nothing much. Your fur had receded some and your muzzle shrunk a bit. I pushed them back out to their original proportions," Alptraum explains as he releases Snow from his embrace. "The good thing about all this is now that you're in this shape, it doesn't take much to keep you in it. I suppose I could have tried to make you even more sphynx-like, but I must admit I like how you look as a hybrid. That all said, you're beautiful in any form anyway."

Having thin fur and white skin makes a blush very vibrant – something that was nearly impossible on the original model, Tulani, with her black fur and skin. "So," she says, "why does Azrael hide what he is? His body, his mannerisms… it felt like it was all an act. A mask, or a puppet."

Alptraum removes his own shirt and tosses it over one of the skulls made to hold a scythe. He runs his right hand over the white scar in the center of his chest, feeling the raise in the flesh and bone due to the slightly thicker scar tissue there. "I wonder if this will ever change," he remarks, "Hopefully not in a gross way like my hand did, anyway." The question causes his ears to perk and he looks up. "Well, he's possessing that body, so it is a puppet of a sort," he answers, "And I suspect he's hiding from detection. There are many who would not be sympathetic to what he is and would actively try to destroy him. In truth what he is makes me nervous."

"Why does he make you nervous?" Snow asks, and touches the scar as well. "He hides, but… doesn't seem that different from a genius loci. I wonder if that makes Reapers his witches?"

"I also think he may be hiding from the Demon of Aztepa," Alptraum remarks and holds his chest forward a bit, letting Snow's hand press against the scar. "As for why, it is because I do not quite know what his limits are. He knows more about me than I about him. I don't like not knowing what I'm dealing with and how to manage it. It's all about card games, really," he says and grins. "And oh, let me know if you feel anything from that spot on my chest."

"It feels warm," Snow notes, and turns her attention back to Alptraum's face. "How does he know more about you? Other than because you're a Reaper, I mean?" she asks.

"He called me the original reaper. "I am the host of the Barsunala, after all," Alptraum points out. "And as long as nothing is going to explode out of my chest, I'll take a little warm as 'just fine'!"

"Explode?" Snow asks, pulling her hand away. "You mean like your shadow oozing out like a chest tentacle to suck the life out of your victims?" she asks with an odd grin.

"Something like that. There is shadow-flesh around my heart," Alptraum notes and grins right back. "I think you like that I'm some sort of strange chimera. I'm probably not the strangest person you've ever met, I imagine."

"I don't know many people, you realize," Snow says. "Since I could never go out in daylight, I never knew anyone growing up aside from my parents. And then there was training at the Temple, where maidens came and went, and I have little contact with normal people professionally of course. I've spent more time in your company than I have with any male aside from my father."

"I don't know if that is good or bad," Alptraum admits and shrugs, "I'm not the best person in the world. I've done bad things in my life. I'm … not some conquering hero out of the fantasy stories what sweep in and do everything 'just right'. You could likely do a lot better than me."

"No human has ever showed interest in me," Snow points out. "I'm a freak to my own kind; the ghost girl. Why should I try to find a perfect person? That seems silly. You're my friend, I don't expect you to be a hero."

Alptraum places his fingertip on Snow's nose tip. "Listen to me on this, you are not a freak," he says, "You weren't when you were just human, you aren't as a hybrid. You're a beautiful woman. Anyone who tells you otherwise … I'll turn into a hog!"

Alptraum actually tries to accentuate this point by turning his right hand and forearm back into the cloven hog-foot.

Snow's tongue is rough like cats when she licks the nose-pressed finger. "What I am is not the same as what people think of me," she points out, and actually reaches over to feel Alptraum's trotter. "Do you understand what Azrael meant when he said your dragon could serve as an altar?" she asks.

"Not entirely," Alptraum admits as his ears splay at the odd feeling of someone grabbing the compressed digits of the hog-foot. "I need to ask her about that and see what she thinks on it. And she's not my dragon, she's my friend."

"Well, the crystal is egg-shaped, so I'd think that would be a big clue," Snow points out.

"Er, do you think he would put it inside her? Or … just make her sit on it?" Alptraum asks. "I don't think she would be pleased with either option!"

Snow nods. "That was the impression I got from the way he talked about it," the Shrine Maiden says. "He also said it was optional, but I don't know much about how dragons think about these things."

"I can take you inside with me to visit her," Alptraum offers, "Or bring her out here. And oh, pick a form for my hand! Well, other than the hog. do you have any preferences."

"Can you make it a white hand?" Snow asks. "I don't know about going inside your magic thingy though – it sounds a bit scary."

"It's not that scary," Alptraum notes and concentrates on Mave's imprint, trying to apply it to his right hand and produce a while Eeee hand. "So, do you want to speak with her? I can just bring her out. Otherwise we could both get some sleep and I'll go into see her."

The black skin billows out to cover the exoskeleton, they sprouts into fur that turns white, along with the skin. It immediately reaches over and fondles Snow though, without Alptraum even thinking about it.

Alptraum acks and pulls his hand back. "Sorry, Yodhinala hand. It seems to like you," Alptraum says and grins a bit weakly.

Snow blinks at the sudden grab. "Well… I can't complain, I suppose, as a Shrine Maiden of Inala," she finally says, rubbing the spot that was grabbed.

So … of course Alptraum puts his hand right back and grins. "So, rest, or speak with the dragon?" he offers Snow.

"You seem to have a third option in mind too; or at least your hand does," Snow points out with a grin. "We should rest, but how long can it take to ask your dragon a question?"

"Depends on how many tangents we go on," Alptraum admits and grins. "And yes, there is a third option. I would like to, ah, enjoy your form," he adds with a brow waggle. "I'll summon Kaira out here, then. I just need to slot the dagger."

Snow sits up and tries to look presentable. She's learned how to please Kaira as far as attitude goes during her flying lessons.

"You will eventually let me explore that body, right?" Alptraum teases as he draws out the dagger and positions the tip at the entrance to the metallic sheath embedded in his arm. "I won't ever get used to this," he admits as he slides the dagger in and the rush of cold follows. The added squirming as some of the fleshy tubes activate the link is a new, and disturbing feeling. "Ah, yeah, never likely to get used to this," he repeats.

"Maybe if you tried to stimulate the sheath a little first it wouldn't be so bad?" Snow suggests with a giggle, just before Kaira's head pops up over the orb nestled in the white fur of Alptraum's hand. "How's it going?" Kaira asks, looking around at the tomb-like room. "Or should I ask?"

Alptraum actually swats Snow with a wing for that comment. "It's going okay, though I'm afraid we have an odd request from Azrael regarding you," the Eeee says as he tries to break the news gently to Kaira.

"If he wants a date, the answer is no," the dragon-head says. "If it's something else; I'm listening."

"He wants you to be the altar for the restoration ritual of the crystal egg. Heart!. I mean heart," Alptraum explains. "He said it was optional, but would help… "

"Mmm-hmmm," Kaira goes, but doesn't look immediately turned off by the notion. "Did he offer any incentive to make it worth my while?"

"He hasn't offered anything yet. What would make it worth your while? And … what exactly did he mean?" Alptraum asks.

"I'm pretty sure I know, but that's not important," the dragon claims. "He obviously doesn't expect me to agree to it. So, what would you offer me to do it? Or could I just claim a favor from you later?"

"Well, that depends," Alptraum admits and rubs his cheek, "How big of a favor would you want later?"

"Nothing you couldn't handle," Kaira claims, smiling. "Plus, of course, you'd let Melusine know how I helped."

"And how painful would it be for me?" Alptraum adds. "Telling Melusine would be pretty painful, but I suspect there is more."

"I have come to learn any time a dragon smiles that it is time to worry," Alptraum notes.

"It's not like I have a particular favor in mind you know," Kaira points out. "Do you think I just have a list that I keep in case the opportunity arises to have you owe me one?" Of course, from the way she has that forced innocent expression, it may very will be exactly the case.

"I believe you do have a list," Alptraum points out. "And if you ask me to kill randomly, or innocent people, you can forget it."

"Oh, I'd never ask you to go against your morals," Kaira declares. "That would be evil! Besides, I'm sure you'll run into people you want to kill in Babel or along the way there."

"Also, I won't loan you my body," Alptraum adds, "Because I'm afraid of what you would do!"

"I didn't think you could do that anyway?" Kaira asks, tilting her head. "Although, I think that I might be able to… well, that's something to try another time. Anyway, I'll help with the ritual if you'll promise to make it up to me sometime of my choosing. Deal?"

"As long as it doesn't go against my morals, involve letting you die, or any similar sorts of horrors, deal," Alptraum agrees and even nods.

"Now, what do you think he intends for you to do?" Alptraum asks.

"Hmmmm," Kaira goes. "I can live with those conditions, I suppose. And obviously he needs my womb to provide an ideal environment for repairing the heart."

"Ack! You're going to lay an egg," Alptraum says as a ripple of horror flows through him. "Oh well, better you than me!"

"Oh? Would you be willing to take my place if you could?" Kaira asks with an odd grin.

"Sure," Alptraum says and waves his hand, "But I know I can't so the question is silly!"

"Well now, we could try," the dragon teases. "I think you have enough charge left… "

"Charge left for what?" Alptraum counters, grinning.

"I could probably use your shadow to change you," the dragon admits. "Now that you've learned how to do it."

Alptraum blinks. "Are you serious?" he actually asks.

"What could you change him into?" Snow asks, curious.

"Oh, I've got lots of templates to work with," Kaira notes. "Including his own from before he was shadow-merged."

Alptraum rubs the back of his neck. "Would it work better with you as the altar … or someone fully living?" he asks.

"Well, really it would work better with me," Kaira admits. "But I'd like to try taking over the shadow-shift effect sometime as an experiment. Due to the way magic works in your world, it's possible that kenning is no different than copying a person's spirit form. And spirits can be conjured up from scratch."

"Then you should be the altar," Alptraum agrees and nods. "As for changing me, do I have enough energy to just try an experiment right now, then revert it, before its time to do the actual ritual?"

"If you like," Kaira says. "It would be easiest to use one of your stored body-states initially. So… feel like go-oink hog-wild? Or trying a little Sphynx-on-Sphynx action?" the dragon teases.

Alptraum looks between Snow and Kaira. "I'll let Snow decide," he says and smiles, "I trust her."

"So, hmmm," Snow the Sphynx says, tapping her chin. "I kind of like him as he is, though. I guess you could turn him into me, but… that would just be a little too weird."

"I could just alter his arm too," Kaira says, and Alptraum's arm turns from white to black, and fills out a little more until it looks just like his left one does.

Alptraum rubs his own chin, pondering. "I, hmm," he says as his ears splay and flick about. The Eeee then actually says, "Hog, for ten minutes. I'll then understand what the Countess prisoners are subjected to. I'm sure it'll be a perspective change."

"Well, here goes," Kaira says. "Although you might be a bit small… " And then Alptraum feels his own shadow spreading over him, slowly blocking out all sight and sound and sensation until he's just floating in the darkness.

"I hope this wasn't a bad idea," Alptraum thinks as he floats in a quiet place a sensation that is almost comforting. "But it would let me understand what this would feel like to another, I guess?" As he floats in the darkness, he tries to feel what is going on to his body.

That just produces a jumble of kinesthesia that makes no sense. At least for awhile, and then Alptraum finds himself on the floor, looking up at Snow. His vision is different – wider, although with less depth unless he tries to look straight ahead. His body feels heavy, but powerful, and he's hungry. Everything smells intense, as if smell has replaced his sonar sense – which is odd because it alters his perception of time as well, since the past is there, like a shadow fading into the distance from the present.

Alptraum blinks repeatedly as if trying to fix his vision, only it doesn't seem to correct. He looks away from snow and tries to turn back to look at himself and then ahead to look at his own nose, if he can. At one point he tries to say 'This is strange', but what comes out is entirely different. He blinks again and looks back up at Snow.

The woman leans down and rubs Alptraum behind his ears, which feels really nice. She smells good too, and it's tempting not to take a little nibble – which would be awkward since Alptraum can't really see where his snout is, and can only tell because of his sense of smell.

"Roll over," Snow tells him. "Can you still understand me?" It actually does take a little effort to figure out what she's saying.

Alptraum sits back, feeling a bit off in that he knows distantly that he's on four legs now, but somehow it isn't triggering any sort of panic in him. The transformed Eeee then bobs its thick head and lowers his front down too and rolls his heavy body until he is on his back. The sensation of being exposed is immense, yet he does trust this woman. As he lies there, looking at the world in upside-down he rolls his tongue inside his jaws, feeling out his teeth, or lack thereof.

His teeth feel… BIG. Everything feels bigger and stockier, even his tongue. When Snow runs her fingers through the hair on his chest, he can tell it's also much courser now… and his scar is still there too, as the woman's fingers trace around it. "You still have silver eyes," Snow says. "Your fur is black, except on your back where the bristles are white. And your right foreleg has the dagger in it still and a glowing wart."

It takes some time for Alptraum to actually figure out exactly what she is trying to tell him too, and that ends up being expressed with an confused-sounding grunt. Still, he finds the sensations pleasing in a strange way. Unique, perhaps, such a different perspective on the world. It's certainly not unpleasant in any sense. At one point Snow's exploring fingers actually elicit an almost-pleased sounding grunt from him. He only squirms a little bit in that he tries to lift his thick head and neck enough to get a look at both of his forelimbs.

This proves nearly impossible, since his neck is all but nonexistent. Snow gets the idea of what he's trying though, and tries to pulls one his forelegs out enough for him to see it, but it looks a distorted at the periphery of his vision, and then blurry as he can't focus on it clearly when it's up closer. The ultra-wide field of view makes it hard to focus on things in general.

There's a slight bob of the transformed-Eeee's head to try and tell Snow he saw what he could. He tries and tries to get his eyes to focus more on Snow, to see if she is scared or more fascinated, by everything. At one point he realizes he can feel the broad, flattened nose of his snout wiggling slightly as he starts trying to 'see' by smell more than with his eyes.

Snow gets down on her hands and knees to be closer to Alptraum's eye level, should he get back to his feet. "You're a very fine looking pig, Alptraum. I'm almost getting hungry just looking at you," she says with a grin.

Alptraum rolls back over so that he's at least looking at her right-side up, then gets up to his, well, hooves with a bit of difficulty. The transformed-Eeee grunts softly at the comment and takes a few steps forward, then actually nuzzles the Sphynx' cheek with his thick snout. The urge to nibble returns, but he manages to force it away for now. That's when he becomes aware of another odd sensation, he feels something small and curled located somewhere near his backside wiggle a bit. Even in his mentally questionable state and obscured senses, he realizes he just wagged his tail. If he were in a clearer mindset, he would be worried by now at just how much Snow is going to tease him after this.

The Sphynx giggles, and scratches Alptraum's head behind his ears and jowls, saying, "I've never had a pet before. But I'm not sure if you're house-trained anyway. Can hogs even control that? It'd be hard to explain the mess to Ysnor. And your nose tickles when you snuffle me like that too!"

So of course Alptraum snuffles her again and moves closer to rub a bit more against the nice sphynx. The scratching, naturally, generates a myriad of pleased grunts too. So, it takes even a bit longer for Alptraum to process what Snow just said to him, and the implications of it all don't seem to bother him too much. Since Snow is at his level, he takes the chance to snuffle all over her as he slowly circles and rubs against her.  And of course part of Alptraum's mind is still there, because he does snuffle Snow in quite a delicate area during his circle.

Snow laughs from the snuffles and rubs, which knock her over a few times. "You're heavier than me, be careful! I'll need to wash off your nose slobber after this," she claims.

Hog-Alptraum playfully does knock Snow over again and snuffle up along her front as he climbs and straddles her a few times as he explores her all over. Still, he does seem to be careful about it all and is trying not to hurt Snow. He's even very gentle when he snuffle-nuzzles her neck and chin in a display of affection for the sphynx. Of course to Alptraum everything is just a world of scent to him at the moment, from the strange human-sphynx smell, to his own clinging Eeee scent on her that helps at least keep his more cognitive aspects of his mind occasionally reminding him of who he is.

A chiming sound comes from the hog's right foreleg, and a voice says, "Ten minutes are up. Returning to same bat-time, same bat-channel!"

And of course it's about then that hog-Alptraum had straddled over Snow and 'sits' down on her. Not his entire weight of course, but just enough to 'pin' Snow beneath him while he's changed back to normal.

After the floating dark miasma passes, Alptraum finds himself face down on top of Snow. "Your pants are still on the slab," the Sphynx tells him helpfully. "And the floor is kind of cold, even through feathers."

Alptraum blinks a few times. "I don't need my pants right now," Alptraum teases and looks down at the woman beneath him. He does to a cursory feel over his entire body, though, to make sure that everything is back where it should be and that he's sans-tail and that his teeth and tongue are normal again.

"That was … different. I'm not sure I can quite explain it. It wasn't unpleasant, but I also couldn't think quite clearly. It was hard to understand you. I'm not sure what to make of the pet comment, though," Alptraum teases and doesn't get off Snow quite yet.

"Oh, well it was weird for me too," Snow admits, and since she's not being let up from the for just snuggles for warmth. "I suppose you aren't in the mood to rest now though, are you?" she asks with a purr.

"Not after getting to smell you so intently," Alptraum admits and grins. "It's a good thing I changed back when I did. I might have made amorous advances toward you while like that," he teases as he leans down and kisses Snow's nose. "So, it's a pity to waste a private room like this. Especially when the bed is a perfect place to explore the intricacies of little deaths."

"Well, in that case," Snow says, and brushes Alptraum's right arm, "I think you might want to take out the dagger. And keep in mind that there's no lock on this side of the door, either, so we have to keep an ear out for Ysnor… "

"I have good hearing again," Alptraum says as he eases off of Snow and then draws the dagger out of his arm, probably to the dismay of a certain nosy dragon. "Was I really handsome like that?" he asks.

"For a pig," Snow says, stretching before sitting up. "You'd have fetched a good price at the market, I'm sure!"

"You would have sold me?" Alptraum asks, sounding hurt. He even puts his hand on his chest as if wounded.

Snow stands and kisses Alptraum on the lips, saying, "I'd have kept you and used you to breed prize-winning pigs of course. Mmm! Your lips taste like bacon now!"

Alptraum then thinks about that and gets a huge grin after the kiss. "I guess if we're ever strapped for cash, I could assume that form, you could sell me, then I could revert back in private and sneak out! A foolproof way to wealth!" he declares. He takes a hold of Snow and sits back onto the slab, pulling her with him.

"But right now, I think I'll satisfy one urge I still have," Alptraum adds as he draws Snow on top of him. "I wanted to nibble you as a hog. You smelled so tasty. So … I think I'll satisfy that urge right now. Well, that and other urges involving a sphynx who tormented me /forever… "

Luckily, Alptraum and Snow were both relatively cleaned up by the time Ysnor threw the door open – only to freeze and gawk at Snow, who reluctantly put her cloak back one. "It… It… uh… It'th time," the hunchbacked Skreek finally managed, his ears blushing furiously. "The Mathter ith ready."

Alptraum looks Ysnor up and down as he's pulling on his own shirt. "And so are you, it seems," he teases the Skreek and grins widely, "Don't you know it is dangerous for a Skreek to be involved with someone feline… ?" As he heads towards the door, he also adds, "And by the way, we'll have a dragon altar. Onward to … something I really don't understand!"

"Oh, wonderful, I thuppothe," Ysnor says, still embarrassed but not blinking until Snow finally closes up her cloak. "If you'll follow me, pleathe?" he asks, before turning back to the hall.

"But of course," Alptraum says as he even bows slightly to the rat, then follows him back into the hall.

A large space has been cleared within the workshop to make room for the complicated magic (demonic?) circle drawn onto the floor. A small cauldron filled with… goo… is set within the center and gives off a tremendous stink, while the crystal heart itself just sits in a plain bowl off to the side. Azrael himself is dressed in an overly ornate robe with a stiff collar that stands up and is made to look like his head is rising from the palm of a clutching, clawed hand – surely, something only a necromancer could get away with wearing and not cause giggles.

"Ah, there you are," the wizened-looking Khatta says. "Did you find out if your dragon was willing to be the altar or not?"

And yet Alptraum giggles slightly before stifling it and suppressing the grin that threatens to make his head explode. "She agreed to it after a fashion," he says, trying to sound formal about it all. "Nothing is ever free, of course, but payment is my concern, not yours."

Snow is busy covering her nose. She may be used to graveyards and disgusting odors – but those at least are mixed with fresh air. "What is that stink?" she asks.

"Dragon tongue! Rendered down into… ah… goo," Azrael says cheerfully as he gestures to the cauldron. "Glad your dragon is obliging, Alptraum. Just toss your dagger into the cauldron and we can begin then."

"I learned it's better to never ask that," Alptraum tells Snow, "Just breathe through your mouth." Well, that explains why he hasn't turned green from the stench yet. He was also about to summon Kaira through the sheath in his arm and stops just before it was inserted. "I do not need to summon her, then?" he clarifies.

"Well, I suppose you could do that too," Azrael says, waving a hand. "The circle is charged, and the carnoran will bolster her form. Don't know if the dagger-blood needs to be in contact or not, quite frankly. Never done this before, after all!"

Alptraum inserts the dagger into his arm then to at least spare her a 'tongue bath' for now. That would make her requested favor all the worse anyway, he reasons. "Time to face the greatest fear I imagine any dragon has," he intones, "An egg."

Kaira appears, in her natural (if slightly smaller so as to fit inside the space provided) dragon form. "I am summoned!" she intones dramatically. "The enemies of my master shall be devoured! Their bones sucked dry! Their spirits torn asunder! Their wallets emptied! His allies shall be protected, they… good heavens what is that smell?"

"Boiled dragon tongue!" Alptraum chirps, sounding all too cheery about it. "He wanted me to throw the dagger into it, but I have tried to spare you from that stink… "

"Yes, yes," Azrael says, nodding, which makes his collar look like it's about to squeeze his head. "Now you just have to drink half of it, if you would? It will definitely improve it's… dragonicity."

Snow turns a bit green at the very notion.

"You didn't tell me that part," Alptraum complains at Azrael, "Are you secretly trying to kill me?" At this point even Alptraum is starting to look ill and he's been avoiding breathing through his nose as much as possible.

"Mmm," is all Kaira says, before sticking her muzzle into the cauldron and slurping down the goo with the most horrific of noises.

"Watch," Alptraum whispers to Snow. "She's going to smile at me when she's done, which means I'm in trouble. I see oink or worse in my future… "

The dragon pulls her head out, chin dripping with the horrible ichor, and smiles at Alptraum. "How about a kiss for good luck?" she asks, just as her stomach begins to gurgle.

Alptraum winces, but figures it's better to get this out of the way now. So … he saunters over and kisses Kaira. On the lips. The ichor covered, stinking, slimy, lips. His ears start doing the 'Oh dear Gods I'm gonna puke!' dance atop his head. His right leg even lifts off the floor while his toe-claws twitch and squirm about and his left holds all of his weight.

It probably doesn't help that Kaira grabs the back of his head to hold it steady – and uses her tongue. It's a long tongue, too! She finally releases the bat and tries not to look queasy herself.

"You are very brave, Alptraum," Snow whispers.

"I probably deserved that," Alptraum whispers to Kaira after fighting back the horrific urge to gag. He then actually pats Kaira's side and tells her, "Thank you." He looks like he's about to say more, but then there's this disturbing 'urp' nose and Alptraum's mouth clamps shut. He stands there twitching and seemingly forcing something back down before he steps backwards to stand near Snow. "I'd offer to kiss you too," he whispers to Snow, "But you don't deserve that… " His stomach starts to gurgle and the poor bat's ears wilt.

Ysnor is there with a bucket and cup of green 'tea' that bubbles and smokes. "You'd better drink thith and vomit it up, thir," the Skreek says. "It'th quite toxic."

Alptraum grabs the tea, downs it in one gulp, and for the next minute the sounds he makes while his head is in the bucket are not very dignified. "No worse than what happens if a vampire like me eats anything solid," he lies weakly to Snow when his head comes out of the bucket. It was much worse, really. Solid food doesn't feel like an army of spiders trying to crawl back up your throat and out your nostrils, after all.

The puking does at least spare Alptraum from seeing the other preparations, such as 'washing' the egg-shaped crystal in the remaining goo (while wearing very heavy gloves that still smoked and charred a bit from the exposure). When Kaira's big moment comes, the dragon uses her wings to hide things from Alptraum and the others – but forgets to hide her face, so it's easy to tell what's happening just from her expressions.

Alptraum turns around just in time to see Kaira's facial expression. "Okay, so it gets worse," Alptraum thinks to himself, "It'll have to come back out, too. The kiss was her being kind. The next will be worse." He slides back over to Snow and whispers to her, "Would you like a spirit infested dagger with one angry guardian? I'll pay you to take it… "

"I don't think I'm quite qualified to handle it," Snow says, looking apologetic.

"Will you at least take care of me when she enacts her revenge?" Alptraum asks hopefully.

"Alright, now for the fun part!" Azrael announces. "Everyone come and rub the dragon's belly and sing to her." This even gets a weird look from Kaira, who is urged to roll onto her side.

"If there's anything left, I'll make sure it is given the proper last rites," Snow promises.

Alptraum gets a rather funny look on his face too. "Sing what?" he asks as he approaches Kaira and looks down at her, particularly her stomach. His brow goes up a little bit and he smiles apologetically in a rather 'you're going to kill me, aren't you' way.

Kaira looks… non-committal about revenge for the moment, especially after Azrael brings some big overstuffed pillows for her to rest her head on. "Oh, lullabies, ballads… anything soothing," Azrael tells Alptraum. "Now my dear," he says to Kaira, "do you want some tea? Wine? Virgin flesh? I can have Ysnor marinate himself for that… "

Alptraum thinks about this for a moment. For the first time in this bizarre ritual he seems to take something serious and kneels down beside his dragon ally. His hand touches her stomach lightly and the Eeee begins to sing. The song is in Babelite, a language he doesn't speak often these days. Unless someone hear also speaks it, the meaning will be lost to them, but it has meaning, nonetheless. It's the first song Alptraum ever heard, the song of his own childhood. The lullaby the Yodhsunala Mariamara sung to him as he was taken far from his 'home'. For some reason it seemed … appropriate at this time.

The lullaby actually seems to calm the dragon (or her stomach at least, which stopped making disturbing noises). Then again, maybe the wine being poured down Kaira's throat helps too – although Ysnor still looks upset about the whole virgin flesh comment. Snow even pitches in with the rubbing.

"Not a very cheerful song," Alptraum admits when he finishes, "But it has meaning that is important to me. I was once told meaning is one of the most important parts to magic." Or … maybe he said that because he's using the time to rub and try to feel just where the poor crystal ended up…

Wherever it is, it's deeper into the dragon than can be felt from outside – and it's too small, relative to Kaira's body, to really show up.

"I don't feel so well," Kaira comments, and lets out a foul toxic cloud from her tail end.

"You don't smell so well, either," Alptraum admits as he clamps his free hand over his nose. He quickly resumes rubbing her stomach.

The dragon's belly begins to do thinks under Alptraum and Snow's hands. "Hmm, I think we should all back away a bit to a minimum safe distance," Azrael comments… from behind a table on the far side of the room.

"It's going to be a big favor, isn't it? Or several? Plus revenge?" Alptraum asks Kaira as he draws his hands away then starts scooting backwards rather quickly. "If you've killed my dragon you're going to get it!" he practically barks at Azrael.

Kaira rolls onto her feet as soon as everyone is clear, shows a really pained and scary expression as she squats over the cauldron - and then there's an odor that literally clouds everyone's vision, preventing them from seeing what happens next. But there's a definite crystal 'clunk' from the cauldron.

Even with the crystal clunk Alptraum has to lay there for several minutes with his eyes clenched shut and one of his hands firmly gripping his nose. "There are thinks worse than death!" he thinks, "Like this smell. And I thought Hexen smelled bad after a night of binging. Urp." When he can finally manage to speak again, he coughs out, "Kaira, are you okay?"

"There is a downside to being physical," the dragon mutters. "And I'm stuck this way until the Karnoran runs out."

"Will you at least feel better now? Or … are you going to be emitting those toxic clouds every few minutes?" Alptraum asks as he finally sits up and looks towards the caldron.

"I want a pizza," the dragon replies. "And donuts. Glazed donuts. Lots of them!"

"What's a pizza?" Snow asks Alptraum. "I've never heard of nuts like that either."

"What is a pizza?" Alptraum asks, echoing Snow, "And what is a donut?" The poor Eeee ends up shrugging to Snow. Seemingly gathering some courage, he scoots back towards the cauldron so he can peer into it, even if it does put him in strangling distance from Kaira.

"I feel fat too," the dragon moans. Meanwhile, Azrael has snuck around and recovered the crystal from the cauldron, which he quickly carries over to a bowl of clean water.

Alptraum peers to see if Kaira actually looks fat. The Eeee then blinks, realizing something. "Are you having pregnancy symptoms?" he asks, aghast.

"Potht-partum deprethion perhapth," Ysnor suggests, from a safe hiding place.

"How can you not have pizza or donuts?" Kaira demands. "Is this world that savage?!" Azrael has washed off the 'egg' and is holding it up to the light, looking pleased. "I don't see any cracks or flaws," he reports.

"We don't know what it is!" Alptraum counters as he starts scooting away from the dragon and then finally gets to his feet. He heads towards the crystal now, hoping all is well. He doesn't quite trust the old coot's eyes.

"Excuses!" Kaira roars, while Azrael shows Alptraum the heart. It does look whole and clear, without any cracks. It even seems to have a slight inner light that shows when the facets are glimpsed at the right angle.

Alptraum holds up his right hand, but not too close, and watches for any reaction. He's ready to yank his hand away if anything stirs too much! "Ysnor!" he shouts in a distracted voice, "Go get her lots of something good to eat! Surely you have leftover pastries or more of that fudge!"

Is there an inner glitter when the shadow-clad hand comes closer, or is it a trick of the light? Alptraum doesn't feel anything from proximity, so far. "There's fudge? Where?" Kaira demands, and starts rummaging around while Ysnor keeps his distance… and shoots Alptraum a dirty look.

"Get the bloody fudge!" Alptraum yells, "or she'll eat your virgin tail!" Alptraum then moves his hand slightly closer and watches the crystal.

"What are you doing?" Azrael asks the Eeee. "Afraid to touch it?"

"With shadow flesh? Yes," Alptraum hisses at the demon. "Especially since this shadow flesh used to belong to that heart! I'm seeing how much I react to it to know if I just need to let Snow carry it for me."

"So… why risk it at all?" the demoncat asks. "The only way to know is to touch it… and if you can't risk that, just give it to the girl and not worry about it."

"Curiosity! I want to know," Alptraum says as he glares at the demon. He almost tells him, "I ought to touch you and force you out of that body." but thinks better of it. "Snow, come get this, please? I may need you to carry it for me for the remainder of its journey," he grumbles.

The Shrine Maiden comes and picks up the crystal, then nestles it safely between her breasts.

"So much for touching Snow anymore," Alptraum mutters to himself and looks disappointed. He shakes his head and looks back to the demon. "Is there anything further that need be done?" he asks, "Or other required payment? If not I'll try to keep Kaira calm until she can return to her … realm and then we will be on our way."

"Ah yes, I will need your help with keeping the dragon happy," Azrael notes, looking thoughtful. "She's not too large to handle… but she's too large to fit down the spiral staircase."

"What will make you happy?" Alptraum just asks Kaira. His ears splay out to the sides in frustration.

"Tell me I'm pretty," Kaira says. "Rub my shoulders. Bring me some tea. With honey and lemon. Do you have Yak Butter? Ice-cream?"

Alptraum points to Azrael, then Ysnor. "You, and you," he says in an oddly authoritative tone, "Go get food. Some of the fudge, some tea, and this Ice Cream if you have it." He then turns and walks over to Kaira as if he expects his orders to be followed without question and proceeds to rub Kaira's shoulders. "You are beautiful," he tells her. He leaves out the part of 'for a scaly, scary, monster who just gave 'birth'' at least. He considers a few other things he could say, but given how much seemingly backfired on him tonight, this bat has learned discretion is the better part of valor. Particularly when the target is still linked to him via the dagger … not to mention in rage with some very sharp claws…