Guest Suite – Tinian Manor
This guest suite is probably not the most opulent one available, but it is certainly suitable for overnight guests. There are two bedrooms (with one bed apiece) and a single bathroom complete with bathtub. The main room is cozy, and has a couch and fireplace but no large table or desks. The decor is typical Sylvanian with a few Olympian knickknacks, such as marble busts of notable human ancestors.

The dour-faced Rhian butler was still wearing his tuxedo, even at the late hour in which the various monster hunters returned from the graveyard. He did not even blink at the sudden appearance of a second apparent shrine maiden, and led them all to the suite with a minimum of fuss. He promised to bring some hot food around once he had the cook roused.

Still a bit sticky, Sister Toadstool announced she would be making use of the bath, while Mort insisted on taking Sister Dusk – the pseudo-succubus – into one of the bedrooms to give her a thorough examination and make sure she was really harmless. At least that's what he claimed, as Alptraum could clearly hear the door being latched from the other side.

The bat is left alone with the fireplace, at least for a minute or two, before Snow pops her head out of the bathroom and asks him if he can help her with something.

The bat was already half-asleep in a nearby chair when the request came (apparently he can fall asleep quickly!). He sits up with a loud snort that's quickly followed by him blurting, "No, don't put the kyootcumber there!" Blinking soon follows, along with a relieved sigh of, "Oh, whew, it was a dream." So, he stretches out and flicks his ears towards Snow. "Need me to get you some extra towels? Soap?" the bat inquires.

"Just… can you come in here for a moment?" the girl asks, sounding embarrassed.

Alptraum pushes himself out of the clutches of the terribly comfy chair and heads towards the bathroom. "Sure, anything for the girl who let me lick her," the bat jokes.

The bathroom has clearly been upgraded recently, as it sports Chronotopian fixtures. This generally means there is more metal on display than usual, as well as a plethora of valves, levers and gauges – at least for the bathtub. The toilet and sink seem simple enough at first glance.

The shrine maiden points to the horribly complicated bath system, and asks, "Do… do you know how to work this? I'm not used to plumbing. And… why did you lick me, anyway?"

"Egad, it looks like a pipe monster," Alptraum claims when he spots the bathroom. "Or something out of a mad scientists lair … and I should know!" The question elicits a fit of coughing from the bat before he can manage to admit, "I couldn't resist. With that spell you were weaving and such … I was compelled to."

"Really?" Snow asks, in genuine surprise. "What did it feel like? The lure, I mean?"

"Hard to think, to put it simply. A lot of overwhelming urges, from biting you, to jumping you and, well, pillaging the shrine," Alptraum explains while he begins his examination of the odd piping. Seems as long as he's looking at the pipes he doesn't find it too hard to … talk about it.

Things are helpfully labeled… in Chronotopian. Still, a bit of pipe-tracing lets Alptraum figure things out. Step one is to turn a valve that fills the big ceramic cistern. Step two is to turn on the oil burner and use the color-coded gauge to set the temperature. Then, apparently, you just wait until it indicates the water is ready.

"It never affected anyone like that in the Temple," Snow notes. "You're a man, right?" she asks.

Biting his tongue, the bat goes about getting the tub to fill. "There, a few minutes to fill, then another few minutes to warm up. The question causes his ears to skew. "Don't I look male?" the bat has to ask as he glances back at the albino.

"Uh… I haven't seen many men," Snow admits. "And with Eeee it can be hard to tell. I mean… Sister Stiletto has about the same build as you… "

The Eeee stifles a sigh. "Do you want me to prove I'm male?" Alptraum asks and flashes a fangy grin. "And who is this Sister Stiletto?"

"An Eeee Shrine Maiden, of the shrine of Kasaris," Snow replies. Then she asks, "How would you prove it? And can I see your hand? The armored one, I mean."

"The easy way would be to drop my pants," Alptraum jokes as he shuts off the water and then lights the burner. At the question, he flexes his right hand slowly (still gloved). "With, or without, the glove?" the bat asks.

"Without of course," Snow says, then looks Alptraum in the eyes and asks, "Why? Is it dangerous?"

"Only if I want it to be," Alptraum answers vaguely as he goes about unstrapping the various buckles. It actually takes a couple minutes before he's completely extracted the spiny chitin from is leathery encasing. He flexes his fingers a few times, then slides himself along the floor until he's sitting at Snow's feet. He almost puts his hand right on her leg, but at the last minute seems to think better of it and just offers his right hand to her, palm up.

The albino girl kneels down and gingerly takes the bat's hand. She feels the scaled skin of the palm, moves his fingers to see how the joints work, and even rubs a finger over the lightly glowing orb. "It's not wholly a spirit manifestation, is it? How'd you get it?" she asks.

"Well, that's a long story," Alptraum says, "The plating is formed from the blood of the dragon I helped kill. I wasn't kidding about that. Anyway, ever hear of an old legend called the Shadow of Amena?"

"The source of Black Heart zombies," Snow recites. "Lost in the Necromancer War, the Power behind the Necromancer King."

"Found, moved, and isn't a threat anymore. More or less," Alptraum adds to that. "The condition of my hand is due to direct contact. Well, immersion, really, in the Shadow of Amena. I survived its attempt to infect me with a black heart, but as you see, I didn't completely recover from the damage. It used the blood residue that was left from the fight I had to effect some reshaping of my hand."

The girl looks skeptical at first, but then asks, "What about the dragon you had in it?"

Alptraum takes the girl;s hand in his left, then slightly presses her fingers against the scaled palm, tracing it along the thin ridge running along its length. "Feel that? That's the scar from where I cut out the black heart," he explains. "As for the dragon, she's a spell manifestation. She represents a force binding the soul of an ancient evil. She's not in my hand she's actually in my dagger. She can just make use of the orb on my hand to manifest herself."

"That is the strangest thing I have ever seen attached to someone," Snow admits, and blushes for some reason.

"It's taken me quite a while to get used to it," Alptraum admits, "For example my hand is mostly numb. I can feel pressure and touch on my palm, but not gentler things. I feel nothing on the shelled parts at all." It's there that his head tilts and he asks, "And why are you blushing?"

"You offered to take your pants off," Snow recalls.

Alptraum laughs. "And you want me to?" the bat teases, "Or, ah, your mind is wandering." He wiggles his fingers, then curls the scaled and armored ones around Snow's as they still rest in his hand. "My exposure to the shadow gave me some interesting abilities, at least, which make up for the mutation it induced."

"What sorts of abilities?" Snow asks, still blushing. "Licking isn't one of them, right?"

"No, that one I've always had. Need me to demonstrate again?" Alptraum says and waggles his brow. "The tub is still warming, I could continue the bath I was giving you earlier until it's ready… "

"Well, it did feel… interesting… when you licked me," Snow admits. "Nobody has ever done that before. You're the first man I've spent this much time with. Others don't seem to find me interesting. Or maybe it's because I'm awake at night and asleep during the day, and hang out in graveyards and such… "

"You sound more Eeee than human," Alptraum points out. He crawls upwards now, his hands gripping the sides of the bench Snow sits on and comes face to face with her. "Now, you asked about abilities, right? Watch." The Eeee's brow furrows, his expression shifting to one of strain. It's slow at first, almost unnoticeable really; a trick of the light making his fur look like the tips are frosted. No … now she can see it, the color is bleeding out of his fur, leaving it stark white. The effect currently is localized to his his head and neck, though. "I can change colors if I try hard enough. It's only temporary, though," the now completely white-headed Eeee explains.

"Wow! I wish I could do that," Snow admits. "I can only turn pink and red."

"What color would you want to be if you could?" Alptraum asks as he sits back to give the girl some room.

"Brown, so I could look like a normal person," Snow says. "And not like a ghost."

"For what it's worth, I think you look fine the way you are," Alptraum comments. He shakes his head. It's almost like ink flowing down the tip of a quill as the black coloration returns. "I don't think 'abnormal' when I look at you."

"So, you think of me as a girl?" Snow asks, tilting her head a little.

"That's an odd question. Of course I do," Alptraum says as he tilts his head opposite.

"I'm sorry if I was a bit… gruff… in the cemetery," the girl says out of the blue. "I was on the job, and Shrine Maidens can have to show that they are in control of a situation."

"I've dealt with all kinds. I'm used to it," Alptraum says as he waves his hand. It's right then that the bat's stomach makes a complaining rumble. So … the Eeee frowns. "It seems my stomach is still thinking of you as food."

"Oh, I promised I'd let you have some of my blood, yeah," Snow remembers. "Uh, how does that work? There weren't any vampires in the Temple."

"Well, several ways. But he stereotypical one is where I slink up behind you and bite your neck," Alptraum declares and tries to sound ominous about it, right down to folding one of his wings over the lower part of his face. "It actually only hurts for about a second, then supposedly feels very good for the one bitten," he adds as he just can't keep up trying to look all spooky and evil. "Vampire saliva is sort of an anesthetic."

Snow's hand pulls free and goes to her neck. "Wait… have you ever done that to a human before?" she asks. "We don't have fur to hide the bite mark! I can't have a bite mark showing… "

"Well, I can try to heal it," Alptraum offers, "And what's wrong with showing a bite mark?"

"I'll be embarrassed," Snow says, blushing. "Can't you bite somewhere else?" she asks, and then opens up her cloak. "It won't be noticeable if you bite me here, and it's more suitable to… you know… suckling… than a neck."

Alptraum does an amazing feat of not bursting out laughing at the suggestion. "I've met some people who have had a vampire do that so they could hang jewelry there," he says, barely managing to keep a straight face. "And I suppose I could," he adds, "But you're still all sticky and that needs to be dealt with before I get that close." And of course he then waggles his brow and asks, "So … bathtub or tongue?"

"Let me see your tongue," Snow asks, holding out her hand.

Alptraum sticks out his tongue, and in the process perhaps educating Snow that Eeee tend to have long tongues. He even lowers his head so that his tongue rests in her palm.

The girl rubs it between her fingers, and nods. Releasing it, she says, "It doesn't feel too rough. So it should be okay until the water is ready. Unless you want to use my special cloth and soap instead?"

Alptraum just shakes his head. "First time anyone has examined my tongue," he comments. The bat then nudges Snow to lay back on the bench as he says, "No, I think I'd prefer this way. So, just relax."

"Shouldn't we be in the tub?" the girl asks uncertainly. "It's a bath, after all… "

"If you'd rather," Alptraum says and nods. So, he gets up and offers a hand to the woman.

The girl removes her cloak and slippers first – revealing the insides to be lined with what looks like Lapi fur – before taking the offered hand.

Alptraum leads her over to the tub and helps her in. He joins her soon after, only he does remain fully clothed. "You've never had this done? Not even in the temple?" he has to ask.

"No vampires there," Snow reminds him. "And I have a special Lapi-fur washcloth that I normally use. Any other fabric is too abrasive against my skin."

"Still, I'm surprised the other followers of Inala didn't … oh never mind," The Eeee concedes. Again he nudges the girl to lay back against the tub. "I promise to behave," he claims.

As Snow lies back, she asks, "Behave how?"

"Mindful of your title and job," Alptraum offers, then leans in. And the next several minutes are probably a new experience for both of them as Alptraum does carefully lick the woman, trying to at least leave her less sticky than she was before he started. It's a slow process and a difficult one, as Alptraum keeps having to stop himself from venturing too close to certain areas of her body. And when she seems relaxed and quiet, that's when he strikes! Or well, that's at least when he bites down on the spot she indicated earlier. To pinpricks alight where his fangs sink in; i burns hotly for a few seconds, then fades away to an almost pleasant sensation. What follows as the bat finally has a meal certainly feels different for the Shrine Maiden.

Snow gasps, and not necessarily from the bite. As naive as she may be, her body knows how to respond, and this triggers a tidbit lodged in Alptraum's memory from earlier in the night: Snow had commented that 'staying aroused for so long' was tiring. The lure – whether it be magic or something else – appears to be tied into the girl's own physical state. And as such, it's starting up and broadcasting literally under Alptraum's nose.

"Try to ignore it, try to ignore it!" Alptraum pleads with himself as his jaws remain right where they are. He discovers much to his own dismay that this area doesn't bleed quickly … so to get any sort of a meal means he has to stay close to Snow for quite a while.

The shrine maiden is blissfully unaware of the effect she's producing, and seems to shiver each time the Eeee sucks out some more blood. She's even kneading the back of his neck with one hand.

Alptraum hangs his right hand out of the tub in case the shadow starts to react to the lure again. He can already feel his mind slipping into that foggy state of mostly instinct. He can't help, though, that his right hand starts kneading at the air.

The urge to ken Snow is a little ember that seems to burn in Alptraum's chest, right behind his scar. But before it gets too hot, something goes ding in the water heater, and a deluge of warm water hits the Eeee in the back of the head. Apparently the valve for the shower head had been left open.

Gurgle! goes the bat when the water hits the back of his head. He sputters as his jaws let go and he sits back, arms and legs flailing. His eyes are wide and he clutches at his chest with his right hand. Normally he'd be pissed for being interrupted … but right now he's thankful. A few more seconds and he would have kenned the woman and probably more.

"Are you okay?" Snow asks, sitting up when Alptraum shows signs of distress. "Is… is the water supposed to spray like this? You're getting your clothes all wet. Will I have a bruise? That was pretty fun… "

"I think I'll be fine. You were doing … that again," Alptraum wheezes and sputters as he climbs out of the tub. He pulls off his now wet shirt and looks terribly soggy. He feels over and around the scar in the center of his chest with his left hand now (the more sensitive one), then follows by feeling with his right in case it reacts differently. "I … I think it's called a shower," he manages as the answer on the spray of water, "And yes you probably will, but I think I can prevent it."

"Don't forget your pants," the girl notes, reaching over the edge of the tub and into her bag. There is more in it than the jar of worm goo apparently, as Snow pulls out a bottle of clear liquid and a very soft looking washcloth.

Alptraum is too concerned with inspecting his chest and feeling the skin beneath the white fur to do anything about his soggy pants quite yet. "Okay, a moment," he says, sounding distracted. "I still wonder if Melusine … left something behind when she stabbed me," the bat thinks in paranoia.

"Where you enjoying that too?" Snow asks, as she starts applying her soap or lotion or whatever it is. "How can you stop the bruise? Did you drink enough?"

"Yes, yes, I was enjoying it and I think I go enough," Alptraum admits as his hands finally fall away from his chest, "But you were using your lure again … which causes very strong reactions within me. I … I want you to try that again without me being too close. I want to see if I physically react."

"What, now?" Snow asks, suddenly blushing. "I'm still tingly… so… okay," she says. She strikes a pose in the cascading water and seems to concentrate. Her whole body blushes again, turning pink. In the lamplight it's easy to see how the blood concentrates in certain areas. From a technical standpoint, Snow seems to be bringing it on by some sort of breathing technique – but soon enough it seems to Alptraum that she's just begging to be ravished.

Alptraum stands there, visibly twitching. It's hard enough to even manage thoughts much less anything else. He takes several deep breaths himself and looks down at his bared chest and right hand, watching for any visible reactions to go along with the ones he soon expects to feel.

At this point, his urges seem mostly physical. It's likely that the more hunger-related ones develop when those urges are frustrated.

"I'm sorry if I'm not very good at this," Snow tells him. "I can't take the advanced training yet, since I'm still a virgin."

"Okay, you can stop," Alptraum hisses out. "In fact, please … stop." And of course that last bit causes him to blink repeatedly. "There is advanced training?"

"Well, yeah," Snow says, after taking a few deep breaths to calm down. "I mean, Inala is the Angel of Fertility and all. I can't be a midwife, since nobody wants their baby delivered by a freak, and I'm nearly too old to keep being a lure. I have to learn the techniques to really control monsters. I figured I could learn some of that from Dusk, but really I'd need to return to the Temple… "

"You're not a freak," Alptraum says rather firmly. "Not even close to one. You're a beautiful woman. And right now, well, I'm fighting the urge to do certain things because you are a shrine maiden. It wouldn't be right for me to … well, ruin your ability to be a lure."

"Oh, I can always be a lure," Snow says. "It's just that there's a lot more I can learn. Can I go back to bathing now?"

"So, you're saying if I ravished you, it wouldn't hurt your status?" Alptraum asks. Wow, he also didn't mean to sound so, so, hopeful.

"No, it'd let me advance," Snow says, and then blinks and looks at Alptraum. "Wait… you mean you want to ravish me?"

"What do you think that lure has been doing to me?" Alptraum remarks as he undoes his pants finally (now that things have calmed down). "It's been quite a force of willpower to keep from doing anything to you."

Snow stares. "Wow… that… isn't as scary looking as I thought it would be," she admits. "Well, just remember that I bruise easily, so your 'cure' had better work. And you have to do the licking thing some more – I like that."

"I'm not going to ravish you," Alptraum says, "It just … I feel like I'd be taking advantage of you."

"Does that mean… no more licking?" Snow asks, blushing again. "It's nice to be licked by something other than a giant amorous worm… "

Alptraum rubs the ridge of his nose as he thinks. By his expression, he's probably thinking about things he shouldn't be. "You said you needed to learn advanced techniques?" the Eeee asks nervously.

"Yeah," Snow says. "But I like you too. You're the first man who doesn't look like he's seen a ghost when he looks at me. And I'm curious. I mean… having to work myself up all the time and never… you know. It gets to me. But I understand if you don't want to. I mean, I'm still pretty fragile I guess. I can't even wear clothes without hurting myself."

"Well, I can't believe I'm about to suggest this," Alptraum says as he shifts back and forth nervously, "Here's your chance to start learning advanced things. Use your lure on me. Get me to, well, be the first 'monster' to ravish you and practice trying to, well, control me during and get what you want." He even grins rather sheepishly after the suggestion, "I won't feel so, well, like I'm doing something wrong if it's you in control of it all… "

"Oh… but I don't know how to do any of that yet," Snow says. "How about you just kiss me first?"

Alptraum considers that. "Well … since you asked," he concedes and goes to join the woman in the shower. Before he kisses her, he can't help but ask, "Wouldn't you prefer a human?"

"Humans don't like me that much," Snow says. "Are they much different from you?"

"Well, they're hairless, don't have wings, don't have a mutated hand, don't have fangs, can't hear heartbeats, can't … " Alptraum checks off as he actually tries to answer the question honestly. In the end, though, he just cups his hand behind Snow's neck and kisses the woman.

The 'lure' flares briefly and then dies away. Alptraum doesn't feel anything pushing or urging him on now – beyond just being with an attractive female kissing in a shower together.

When the kiss ends, Alptraum cups his right hand under her chin so he can tilt her head up and look her in the eyes. "Never consider yourself a freak," he tells her softly. "I could probably give you some color for a time if I tried, but I prefer that you remain as you are." Still, he considers one thing and places the fingertip over her heart. "Will you forgive me a moment of silliness?" he asks.

"As long as it won't hurt," Snow says.

Alptraum slowly and carefully draws his fingertip over Snow's heart. It feels … funny. Wet, but not in the same way the water is. He repeats this motion over and over, tracing out a small shape of a stylized flower, no more than an inch and a half long. The skin slowly takes on a different hue as his finger traces, an almost metallic gold tone. When he finally lifts his finger away, it has left a small script-symbol traced in gold on her skin, or rather her skin has taken on that tone where he touched. "That symbol means Inala," the Eeee explains, "And will fade by morning. It's the same trick I did with my hair just imposed on a very small patch of your skin. I know the 'pattern' for that color, thanks to a Yodhinala I know. I dare not try anything more extensive. I just … it seemed appropriate." He flashes that goofy grin again.

Pink eyes go wide and bright with delight, and Snow looks up at Alptraum with a big smile on her face!

"Now, let's finish the shower. Then I'll show you some of the things that Yodhinala taught me to do by licking. I think you'll find it … educational," Alptraum whispers after leaning in, "And after that, well … it'll be time for the shrine maiden to finally be caught ravished by a monster. Gently, of course… "