A hard cot, a nearby cold lizard, and the cold weather does little for helping Xander drift off. But eventually he does manage to fall asleep. Thankfully, the sleep turns out to be restful and quiet. By the time Xander feels a cool breeze drift over his face, he feels more than ready to get up and face the day! Or, well, so he thought. When his eyes open, the Lapi finds himself sitting beneath an ornate tree; its limbs cut and stylized with precision.

"This is… nice," he comments to himself. He stands up, and starts to look about. "Springer would love this place," he notes to himself.

Everything around Xander is artistically placed. It's not much of a stretch of the imagination that even each pebble in the cobblestone paths that cut through the garden were all placed according to some grand design. For the moment, it appears the Lapi is alone here.

Unable to resist, Xander leans over the pond to check out his reflection in the fancy kimono.

Xander sees … a brownish Lapi with a darker patch over one eye in a kimono staring back at him. Somehow, it does make him look a little more impressive than normal, at least. The reflection is soon broken by a rather large fishy mouth that surfaces and 'begs' for a snack.

"Hello there," the Lapi greets the fish, and absently rubs at the spot above his eye. "I don't have any treats for you… I think," he notes, than checks to see if he even has pockets.

Alas, no pockets and no food.

Shrugging apologetically to the fish, Xander turns and follows the manicured path to see if there is anything – or anyone – beyond the garden.

The chirping of birds and breeze through the leaves do much to break the silence. Up ahead is an ornate wood and paper house, where the pillars carry intricate carvings of stylized reptiles along their length and the paper walls scenes of nature. His sensitive ears can make out movement inside. So … it doesn't seem like he's completely alone here.

He pauses at the sliding paper… wall… and wonders how to announce himself. "Uh," he finally begins, brushing his ears back, "Hello?"

The wall slides away and Xander finds himself staring eye to eye with a completely black scaled and maned Kiriga. The slenderness of the body betrays the gender as female, of course. Not to mention the flowing white kimono she wears with only a few streaks of black 'grass' to intrude on how … plain it is. "Ah, Master Lightfoot," she hisses in Imperial, and yet Xander can understand her perfectly, "I see you have woken from your nap. I pray you found it pleasing? It is such a lovely time of year to rest under the trees." Her tone and way of speaking in reminiscent of Umeko, but somehow her voice comes across as softer and more … submissive.

"Oh, yes… very relaxing," the buck notes, rocking on his heels now. "You… ah… you know who I am already, I see. Have we been introduced yet?"

The woman dips her head and shies her eyes away. "We have, but I do not expect you to remember such a lowly one as I," she murmurs. "I am Xiao, servant to House Tsuguri, may they shine forever. We were introduced when Lady Umeko Tsuguri brought you here. But, I do imagine with the announcement and all, it was quite a trying experience. Forgetting of the servants names is to be expected."

"Umm," Xander begins, and rubs the spot over his eye once more. "Forgive me, Xiao, for my poor memory… but how long have I been here? And… ah… what was this announcement?"

"Oh, Lady Tsuguri told me you were one for jokes," the Kiriga comments, "And to humor you when you were acting … I believe she called it 'silly'. You arrived a couple weeks ago; right after the great celebration in Nagai city, of course. As for the announcement … surely you are just teasing her poor servant. You announced you were to wed her and join the Tsuguri family!"

Xander freezes in place, and counts his heartbeats for a few moments. "I… really?" he asks, finally.

"I would not dare lie to a future Lord," Xiao claims. Her head tilts and twists in the same sort of way Umeko does when she's thinking about something, just before she asks, "Do you now not wish to? I have heard of something called 'cold feet' in your culture? If you wish to withdraw your claim upon Umeko, that is, of course, your right."

"Wait… I claimed her?" Xander asks. "Is… is Lady Umeko around? I need to talk to her, I think… "

"She is in her room brushing out her mane," Xiao answers and glides backwards to clear the doorway. "Do you wish me to take you to her?"

"Please do, Xiao," Xander says, giving a little bow. "I… don't recall the way."

"Then please follow my tail," Xiao says with a short bow. She turns around and glides off through the house, tail rippling and snaking behind her like, well, a lure.

I wonder if that is a common phrase around here, Xander thinks, as he does follow the tail and tries not to walk into anything.

Thankfully the house is spartan, so there is little to trip over or run into. After a short walk Xander finds himself outside another closed door. Xiao bows deeply to him, then says, "I shall leave you to attend to her needs and her to yours." The black Kiriga glides off, her footsteps barely making any sound on the matted flooring.

Carefully, Xander scratches at the door. "Umeko?" he calls, a bit squeakily.

"Yes, Master Lightfoot?" comes the very familiar voice of the golden Kiriga. "Was your rest satisfactory?"

"Uhhh, I think I hit my head," Xander notes. Master Lightfoot? He begins to get worried now. "Can I come in?"

"Of course. I would not deny my rooms to the one who has so often shared them," Umeko answers. He can definitely hear the sound of brushing; so it seems like she is brushing out her mane.

Sliding the door open, Xander slips inside. "I… think I've got some amnesia, Umeko," he notes before turning to look around.

Umeko is sitting on a large low bed, her tail coiled around herself in typical serpentine fashion. She's dressed in immaculate gold and purple zolk that hangs loosely on her body, allowing much of her gold scaling to show. Her head is canted to the side and she's drawing a brush through the long white mane. The Kiriga stops in her brushing and lowers the brush down to rest in her lap. "You do? What happened? What have you forgotten?" she asks, a hint of worry reflected in her voice.

Xander comes over and sits on the edge of the bed, clutching his hands together nervously. "Well… I remember arriving in Sylvania, and setting out for Rookery… and then I woke up in the garden here."

Umeko peers at Xander for a few minutes. "You're talking about that nightmare you had before we left Nagai city? The one where everyone nearly died in those terrible swamps? That's when we decided to not go to Sylvania, but instead visit my home," she says worriedly. The brush is set aside and she reaches over to put her hand lightly on his forehead. "We have been here for weeks getting ready for the wedding. You've had a lot to prepare for and … maybe this is one of the side effects."

"We… never went?" Xander asks. "What about… Lilac and Anisa and Gibson then? And… did I propose or did you?"

"They went without us," Umeko explains as she pets the Lapi's head lightly. At the second question, she frowns, asking, "You don't remember that, either?"

"I… no," Xander admits, rubbing the back of his head.

"But … " Umeko says and draws her hand away, "It was so … you were … when you finally came to me and told me how you felt and what you wanted I … " She looks down at her hands now, mumbling, "You did. It was very charming. And when you said what you would do to be sure we could be together … and the sacrifice that would be … how could I refuse?"

"Oh, really? I was charming?" Xander asks, smiling now. Then the rest sinks in. "Err… sacrifice?"

"You were. I could tell you were scared, but still you told me everything. Then after what you offered … " Umeko says quietly, still looking at her hands. "Maybe all the preparations for it is why you can't remember. They warned there would be side effects."

"Side effects?" Xander repeats. "C-could you explain just… what sort of preparations these are? Not picking out flowers and entrees is it?"

"The arrangement with the life mages and the extra money to keep the knowledge of that orb from becoming common," Umeko begins as she fidgets with her hands. "All those potions you've been drinking to ready your body. You … said you would become a Kiriga so you would be accepted by the family. The mages believed it possible with the orb… "

"Oh… is that… all," Xander says, a bit… out of it. "The orb. Right. I'll be a dragon like you," he goes on. "Or a monster if they don't do it right… " he whimpers.

"I tried to talk you out of it, but you were insistent," Umeko says, voice almost a whisper. "If you wish to back out now … I understand. I could not ask you to undergo such … pain for me."

"Pain?" Xander asks, snapping back to attention. "Wait… Umeko, if I hadn't offered to change… I mean, that's not the only reason you're marrying me, is it?"

"Of course not!" Umeko says quickly, "It was … just the only way my parents would accept you, you thought. You've always been there for me when I needed you, that has always been more than enough." Looking embarrassed now, the Kiriga looks towards the wall, adding, "And that night we … well. We threw away that small flask of yours; as I promised to be a better outlet than drugs."

Xander blinks at that. "What? We… you and I… I mean, we were compatible?" he stammers.

"Compatible half a dozen times that night," Umeko mutters and refuses to look directly at Xander now.

The Lapi just… makes a gurgling noise for a moment. "If I were a Kiriga though… " he asks, "would it be … better?"

"I don't know," Umeko admits. "I have never had a Kiriga share my bed."

"You never asked your mother?" Xander asks in surprise. Then wonders if that was over the line for the culture, belatedly.

"She has not been with a non-Kiriga. It would not be easy to compare. And I do not think she would bed you to find out and tell me," Umeko says.

Xander chokes on that notion.

"I could ask Xiao to share her bed with you and tell me," Umeko considers, "She is already married. Her husband is one of our house guards."

"I… don't think that it the solution," Xander notes, a bit hoarsely. "I suppose what I meant is: are you satisfied with me? I mean… well, I couldn't marry you because we couldn't have kids… gah, I never thought this would be so complicated!" The Lapi tugs on his ears in frustration.

"Why wouldn't I be satisfied with you? There is nothing wrong with you," Umeko says as she finally looks back to the Lapi. "And it was never a concern with me if we could have kids. I told you that when you insisted to become one of us, and you still wanted to do it."

"I must have felt… " Xander starts to say, and then pauses. "Well, we'd be going back to the Savan, and… Long Shadow would be there… "

Umeko's webbed ears wilt. "So, you do wish to withdraw your offer," she says as she swallows. Lightly she reaches over and pats Xander's leg, adding, "I understand. Truly."

"I… don't know!" Xander says, pulling on his ears again. "I can't remember what I was feeling or thinking, but… but I did say I'd do it, and have been preparing. So, I must love you enough to do it!"

"You don't even know if you love me?" Umeko asks next, drawing back a bit as her webbed ears flatten.

"I do… I mean, I must!" Xander says. "Don't you love me just as much, if you said yes?"

Umeko reaches over and curls her fingers around Xander's neck. She draws him closer and gently kisses the Lapi, then whispers, "Dearly."

"Then I'll finish it," Xander says with a smile. "I'm sure I can get my memory back too, in time."

"Then the rest was enough? The final part of the ritual is to begin in an hour. Have you decided on a scale color? The mages cannot promise exact color, but they have offered to try," Umeko says.

"What's your favorite?" Xander asks. He'd figured he'd just end up brown…

"You have to live with the color, so the choice is yours," Umeko counters as she folds her hands together.

"Well… uh… hmm," Xander ponders. "Do brighter colors mean more polishing?" he asks. "And are there any colors that Jadaians find… distasteful?"

"Brighter metallics require more polishing. White is difficult to keep clean. Black is the simplest, because even without polishing it just makes a Kiriga look like soot instead of glass," Umeko explains. "And I can understand if you do not wish to endure polishing. Having your wife work over your scaling for hours would be most tedious for you, I am certain."

Xander blinks at that. "How about blue? Do you like blue?" he asks. Hours of grooming? How could that be tedious? "Or… my personality won't change, will it? I mean… I guess my brain will be different… but… "

"Wouldn't you get tired of hours of my hands caressing over your body?" Umeko inquires in lilting tone. "And I think blue is beautiful. The color of the sky and deep sea. A symbol of the infinite. You might become a bit more … reptilian in mind, yes. But not as much as if you were born one … your entire life cannot be undone, of course. How your experiences shaped you will remain."

"So… I'd still find that really enjoyable then!" Xander notes. "Blue it is! The worst then would be purple, which at least isn't pink. I don't think I could handle being pink… "

"You might briefly when your fur falls out," Umeko notes as she reaches over and lightly tugs a tuft out. "Part of the preparation was to help remove the more mammalian aspects early. It's starting to work, see?"

"I… don't want to see that!" Xander wails. "I'm still a mammal, and… wait, the more mammalian… " he opens his kimono and pulls his shorts out to check.

Umeko covers her mouth to hide the starting giggle. So … the other part mammalian aspects are there there … for now. "That doesn't … draw back until the ritual," Umeko comments as she really tries to not giggle. "You will still have similar as a Kiriga. Just … internal and … "

"And?" Xander asks, realizing he knows almost nothing about male Kiriga.

" … doubled," Umeko whispers and looks away again. "Like most reptiles."

"Well… that will take some getting used to," Xander admits. Then immediately starts to worry: is there some reason he doesn't know about that would require them to have a spare handy?

There's a soft rapping on the door to the room. A moment later a deep voice says, "It is time. We only await the Lapi to begin. If he still wishes to shed his skin and become one of us … then bring him."

"I am… crazy," Xander notes, but gets up. He waits for his legs to stop shaking before walking to the door, where he turns and says, "If… if things turn out bad, Umeko… it was still worth it… "

---

Umeko slides off her bed. Her toe claws click softly against the matted floor as she walks over to Xander and slips her arm around his. "You will be fine," she tells him as she pats his hand reassuringly. "I will be there with you." The next several minutes are a daze of walking through corridors lined with intricate carvings of all sorts of fantastical creatures. Eventually, they come to a large set of double doors. The Kiriga raps her knuckles on one and after a moment they part. Beyond is a dimly lit room. Though he cannot see the figures in the shadows, he can hear them. The slow hissing breathing of reptiles. In the center of the room is a small padded bed. Surrounding that bed is a multi-layered magic circle with complex runes that Xander immediately recognizes from the sphere of life.

The Lapi takes a deep breath to calm himself, and brushes his ears back – then realizes it may be for the last time! He'll miss his ears, his teeth… and he'll have to learn to eat meat. Can Kiriga still eat veggies, he wonders. "W-well… uhmm… I don't suppose I'll be knocked out for this?" he asks nervously.

"No," Umeko explains as she pauses to caress the Lapi's cheek, "You can still withdraw if you wish. No one will think less of you for it."

"I'm sure… well, it can go both ways, if… if it doesn't take, or some weird mutation happens later," Xander says. He tries not to think of all the obvious pain that Umeko was in when the orb transformed her. "I'm… ready," he says quietly. Did I ever tell my own family about this? It's a secret procedure though, so I couldn't have, he also realizes. But then, he'll also be Xander Tsuguri after this…

Umeko pats Xander's hand again and then leads him into the room. The Lapi can feel all the eyes upon him, watching. To his left he can now see the flicker of green; the orb recovered from the Beast Lands. Umeko takes the Lapi to the round bed in the center of the chamber and there slips her arm from his. "I cannot be in the circle when it begin … so," she says then cups his cheeks and lightly kisses him. "I promise when it is done to show you all of your new body," she whispers, then steps back.

"She must have a lot of mirrors," Xander mutters, and sits on the bed. Maybe he'd feel better if there was at least one non-reptilian in the room with him. He'd fill less like an experimental subject then.

"He chose sapphire," Umeko tells someone in the shadows when she too vanishes in them. The room grows quiet and the light dims even further. Save for the flicker of green ahead, there is little more to see. The chanting begins as a low hiss, rhythmic and controlled. The acoustics of the room seem to make it echo, hiding just how many people might be present, even for a Lapi's keen hearing. After a few minutes he can feel the energies in the room build, even before the circle around him starts to glow with a sickly green light. As it starts to throb, so does the green orb…

Anisa should be here, she's in tune with that thing, Xander thinks, trying not to panic. But she'd laugh at me. She's probably laughing now. I hope she's alright, he thinks, trying to distract himself.

Distractions are good … when his back starts to hurt. At first it's just sore, as if he slept bad … but it quickly builds to a burning pain. To make matters worse he can hear crackling in his spine … and then one by one, he feels new vertebrae pop into place as his torso starts to lengthen. And if that wasn't enough, he starts to itch all over.

The Lapi closes his eyes, not wanting to see the changes as they take place. Feeling them is hard enough. And I'm going to have a long tail too, he thinks, wondering if he'll have to relearn how to sit afterward. This is awful! And itchy! He can't help but try to scratch at his skin.

The scratching helps at first … then his fingers feel odd … and suddenly it starts hurting too. He the oddness quickly becomes realization that sharp talons pushing out of the tips of his fingers. But thankfully the pain from scratching fades quickly, replaced by an odd feeling of his skin being loose where scratched. And speaking of tails, his butt has started to ache something fierce, he has to lean forward as the pressure there grows steadily worse.

Leaning makes him want to vomit… but of course his stomach is empty. It's hard to think at all now, through the pain and oddness. Must focus on… something! he tells himself. Umeko! Of course, he thinks of her, holding her image in his mind like a golden angel. Everything will be fine…

Things become hazy and lost in the pain. At one point it feels like some great beast is pulling hard on his jaw and the flesh and bone stretches to compensate. His ears, so loved by the Lapi … he feels draw in and thin bone-like projections grow inside them, stretching the flesh thinner as it forms scalloping edges along their back. Legs and feet crack, teeth burn. Everything burns. Even if he wanted to look, all he could see is blurry redness. At one point, he hears a terrifying roar, a reptile in agony. And then the bed he sits on seems to rush up and meet him as he collapses. As darkness takes hold, the realization hits," the roar was his own.

Just laying as still as possible for now, Xander takes in deep breaths. He still doesn't try to open his eyes, as just breathing takes getting used to: nose, mouth and throat are all different.

Time seems to pass in the darkness. But eventually slits of light break into the calm world. He feels … cold. But not a cold he remembers, one that makes everything feel sluggish and heavy. The light brightens and he realizes … those are his eyes opening. His surroundings have changed. The ceiling above him is one he recognizes from earlier; he's laying in Umeko's bed. He's tilted slightly to the side as a ridge down his back makes it hard to lay completely flat on it. And something long, thick, and smooth presses against his leg, all the way down to his feet. It reminds him of how it felt when Umeko's tail was draped over him.

"Ugh," Xander moans, rather than trying to speak right away. He waits for his eyes to finish adjusting, and then tries to lift his head to look around more.

Just saying ugh feels really strange. A heavier jaw moves and a much longer tongue along with it. Eventually, his eyes focus on the ceiling and he can make out the tip of the blue-scaled nose ridge. And as he lifts his head up, he sees a stretch of blue scales before him along a thin and muscular torso. As he breathes in, he can see the scaled chest raise. The wider scale-plates along the chest and down the stomach are a lighter blue, almost aqua in color, where the smaller scales that line it are a deep sapphire blue. When his head tilts just a bit, a long swathe of golden hair falls over his right eye.

"It worked," he tries to say, and ends up almost biting his tongue. He'll obviously need to learn Imperial now to avoid sounding… silly. And he has to admit the scales look nice. Now… if only something could be done about the coldness. Until he gets a better grip on speaking, he won't be able to try and warmth spells, after all.

Everything feels … different. Contact is a bit less sensitive as Xander explores, as pressure on scale tends to diffuse it. Speech also sounds a bit silly, especially since the slight fork in his tongue is causing him to lisp a bit. The oddest part is well, while he's completely nude … he can't see anything obviously male, either.

Realizing he'll have to undergo toilet training again, Xander blushes. Or whatever the reptilian equivalent is. At least his ears don't feel cold from it.

There's a light rapping on the door. "Xander?" comes Umeko's voice, "Are you awake? I thought I heard you say something… "

"Yeththth," Xander tries to say. He wonders if he should cover up… but it seems pointless. Reptiles must only wear clothes for warmth and to display status, he reasons.

The door slides back and Umeko enters. In her arms she carries a small bundle of clothing. Without a word, she goes and sets it on a low dresser. Turning, she goes and sits down on the bed next to the other Kiriga. "How are you feeling?" she asks. It's at this point Xander realizes something … he's a head taller than Umeko now. She seems so … small.

"Bigger?" he slurs out. "Not cold… but… not warm… " Xander goes on. He supposes being whatever the ambient temperature is makes feeling 'warm' or 'cold' pretty rare for Kiriga.

Umeko reaches over and brushes his gold mane out of Xander's eyes. She looks … worried when she asks, "Do you regret it? You look amazing … but … you did before too."

"I… dunno," Xander admits. He doesn't know how to even show how he feels yet. "Have to get ussss… ah… familiar with it all. Need to warm up to… do anything."

Umeko leans in and wraps her arms lightly around Xander. She feels cool to the touch … but slowly her body starts warming up. And when the warmth hits him … it feels wonderful; all tingly. Those tired and sluggish limbs also seem a lot more willing to move.

"Ooooo," Xander goes, and hugs Umeko tighter. "No wonder you liked me from the sssstart," he mumbles, trying to soak up all the warmth.

Umeko eases Xander back down on the bed and curls up against him, tail entwined with is. It feels incredible. Something as simple as warmth feeling this good is … hard to imagine. "I liked you because you were kind to me," she murmurs.

Xander feels a bit intoxicated from it all. "You were nice to me too," the man says. "And you put up with me whenever I did something… foolish."

Umeko's smaller body slides against his and the feeling of scale on scale is … spine tingling. Soon, she's lying atop the blue Kiriga. As she caresses his cheek, she says, "It made you charming… " That golden head dips down and Xander discovers how it feels to a Kiriga to be kissed. Very strange … but a good kind of strange. He also finds Umeko's slightly lactic acid scent to be … stimulating.

"Umm… we aren't married yet," Xander notes, despite the sensations. "I could get you… you know… if we do anything now. Or… not? I don't know… "

"Just close your eyes," Umeko murmurs to him, "And relax. I will take care of everything… "

Xander does as told, giving himself over to Umeko and her wonderful warmth.

The kiss comes again, and lingers. Everything feels foggy at that point as he grows warmer. At some point the soft bed seems to give way to a rather uncomfortable and worn pad. What remains, though, are scaled lips pressed against his. He can tell he's on his side and and he realizes his hand is lightly holding the side of Umeko's head. When he cracks an eye open, he sees Umeko staring at him, one white brow arched in a 'What are you doing?' sort of way. His brown-furred hand can be seen cupped under her ear.

Carefully, Xander pulls back from the kiss and smiles. "Oh… umm… this isn't what it looks like," he whispers. "I mean, we were about to be married, and I'd been turned into a blue Kiriga and you were really warm and… am I babbling?"

"Yes," Umeko tells him and slowly sits up. Her mane is a mess and hangs limply around her face. "You dreamed you were turned into a Kiriga? Was it some sort of accident?" she asks. Well, one good thing, she doesn't look angry. A little tired and disheveled, perhaps, but not angry.

"N-no," Xander says. "It was done with the orb, so that I could become a Tsuguri… Did I disturb your sleep? It was just a kiss, right?"

"Surprised me, but it was not a bad surprise," Umeko notes as she scoots closer to the edge of her cot so that's nearer to him. "You dreamt you willingly gave away who you are to be with me?" she asks.

"J-just my body," Xander notes. "It was very painful and strange… "

Umeko brushes the Lapi's ears back. "While I think you would make a beautiful Kiriga, I like you as you are," she tells the Lapi. "But, I suppose if I must be in someone's dream, at least it was a pleasant one."

"Well, it was getting pleasant," Xander says, and licks Umeko's nose. "But I guess you want to get more rest… "

Umeko's head actually tilts at that. "Xander … that is the first time you have actually asked… " she says with a soft and surprised tone in her voice. "Still, indirectly, but… "

"I was never quite this inspired before," Xander admits. "Soooo… Well, then again, this isn't exactly a romantic setting."

Umeko eases herself over into Xander's cot. "Romance is found with the person, not the place," she tells him as she rests her muzzle against his neck. "But, I do understand it isn't the best place," she murmurs, "When we get back to town and a real inn … the answer is yes. Unless, of course … you wish to risk waking the others… "

"Gods, I'd forgotten about them," Xander says, blushing. "Uh… a little more privacy would be better. And I may want to prepare a special spell first… "

"Please do not blow up. That would be hard to explain to the inn staff," Umeko says with a sleepy giggle.

The Lapi nods, and then chants a quick warmth cantrip to warm up Umeko.

The Kiriga is soon fast asleep, curled gently against the Lapi. And of all the things he could be thinking of right now … what sticks in his head the most is the ridiculous poster he had in his dorm room. The one with the mighty knight in the clutches of the evil dragoness. She was even wearing chain-mail lingerie as she taunted the poor knight…