• Graded • Pieces (Rey'na)

[Varthakh]

23rd Zi'da 716

He'd never tried this before, testing his limits as a mage was an amazing idea. He'd never been a horse this long or travelled this far as one. Why had he chosen to venture to Andaris of all places? Well, he'd never been to the city before and needed work. Lots of people went to Andaris for work, right? He'd find something to make a use of himself, for sure. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it however, for now he'd gallop through the cold Zi'da air under the light of the stars. The horse was a machine for endurance, he could run so very far without taking a break, further and faster than he ever could as his two-legged form.

The thud of his hooves on the frozen dirt was rhythmic, satisfying to the ears as he galloped freely on the beaten path to Andaris. He'd earned a few baffled glances from farmers and travellers in previous trials, they must have thought someone had fallen of their horse, saddle and all! He whinnied in place of a chuckle, the looks on their faces still hilarious trials later. He'd taken rests, plenty of rests as to avoid over stepping and even slept most nights, but thought he'd might aswell continue his journey tonight since he was so close to the gates. He'd carried all his belongings in the bag around his neck along with his totem necklace. He'd been on the road for nine trials, it was a long journey from Warrick to Andaris, but he could have done it faster if he didn't have to change to his human form from time to time - or sleep for that matter.

With the cold air blowing in his mane and a slight burn in his lungs, he felt alive and free. So glad to have learned under Eric to become. His little toe was a small price to pay for this sense of freedom, he'd gladly give the other 9! Eric had warned him that if he delved any further into becoming then he'd have to pay a price - not that he cared, take all the toes or fingers you want!

While approaching the gates of Andaris, he slowed to a halt, he'd made it? After nine trials straight of resting and galloping? He reared onto his hind legs and neighed victoriously, waving his front hooves about as natural horses did. he soon had to stop himself however, feeling his weight shift back almost too far. He still wasn't completely comfortable with the dimensions and such of a horse, not as comfortable with his bear form at least. He continued his exhausted laugh once he'd got all fours back on the ground firmly. It was probably for the best that he didn't venture into the city to become himself again, so he stood up straight and turned for the path once more, clopping along until he'd turned a bend where he couldn't see the gate anymore then ventured into the woods that lined the path.

He'd have to find a suitable place to transform, he wouldn't have his clothes or anything on when he was a lotharro again - a very good reason not to shape shift in public. That and magic was forbidden, if he'd get caught the pigs would surely cut his head off with a rusty spoon. He grimaced at the thought. He walked some depth into the woods, leaving the path behind completely - No one would see him if he could help it. travelling deeper into the woods, he eventually stopped by a very shaded tree, this oughta do the trick. He lowered his head, allowing the bag to slide from his neck, hitting the floor with a thud. He raised his head and shook it, re-aligning his mane. While shaking his head, he saw a house. A house? This deep in the woods?

Curiously, he picked the bag from the floor with his teeth and approached the building carefully. He peeked through the window, checking to see if anyone was home. All the lights were off, they might be sleeping? Testing the waters, he neighed at the top of his lungs and bashed his hoof on the door. For one, it was locked and for two, the racket would have awoken anyone previously sleep in the building. He continued to stir hell in this neck of the woods for an entire bit without getting a response. Satisfied that he was alone, he dropped his bag and slid the necklace from his neck to the frozen ground with the aid of gravity. He turned all his focus to the far-left totem, his smallest toe. While sinking all his attention and being into it, he controlled his breathing, laying down suddenly in front of it as he meditated on his own flesh and bone. One ready, he reached out with his hoof and touched it, careful not to destroy the small bone under the weight of his hoof.

Pain erupted inside him, filling his senses with agony. Feeling as his organs and bones broke down and began to re-arrange themselves to their prior-state. He cried out a 'Neigh' as his form began to break down. He kept pushing the transformation while counting down until the end of the agony. 'Only eight bits left... Keep going.' he told himself as he writhed in torment. 'A small... Price... To pay...' spoke his inner voice, determined to see this through.

[Rey'na]

Rey made her way home, her long cloak flowing down her back. She'd gotten into the habit of going on long walks at night. At first she'd hoped the walks would find her trouble, or perhaps a man to trick home and experiment on with poison. But as of late, she just enjoyed the peace. Stars decorating the sky and the pitch black, it was a beautiful sight to behold.
She walked along the woodland path, snow all around her. The forest was seemingly abandoned, empty with no life to be seen. The silence added to the beauty. She knew creatures were out there, but she knew they were peaceful - it gave her a comfortable feeling in her stomach. It had always been a weakness of hers - beauty. She loved it. That didn't mean, however, she couldn't see through it. Behind a lot of beautiful faces lay the ugliest person you would meet.

Eventually, she arrived back at her house. As much as she loved the long walks, she loved her warm house a lot more during the cold. However, seeing a horse on her doorstep was something that took away from the pleasant mood. Especially due to the fact that it was writhing in pain. Rey'na froze. What was really worrying was how misshapen it was. As if it's body was forcibly changing shape. What the hell was happening?
Rey'na watched with awe, wondering what she should do. She had her throwing daggers with her, and her normal dagger. She could put the creature out of it's misery pretty quick. Perhaps that was the best she could do. But the way it was writhing and moving meant it would take her head off if she went too close, and she liked her head - all things considered. She could throw the knives as well, but her aim wasn't good and she would probably just leave the creature in more pain. Instead, she just watched, curious.

For a moment she considered what it could be, then she realized. Perhaps it was a poison of some kind? One that messed with skin or bone growth. She was certain it was possible. Then again, anyone that had to rely on poisoning animals when they lived in a city as thriving as Andaris was a coward. Just as her mother did, Rey devoted her poison to people. After all, they gave a much better response to it than animals, and could fight back. Targeting an animal was cowardly. People deserved it, horses didn't.
Rey waited for a few bits, noticing something strange. What was a horse was changing shape, no doubt. But it wasn't misshapen anymore - it was a human. A human male. The worst part? He was nude.

[Varthakh]

Continuing the count down, Fridgar continued to writhe. The churning of his guts, muscles and bones giving so many different sensations of pain and discomfort - the kind of sensations that a man could lose his mind to, regardless, he'd commit to the transformation. Roughly two trils into the becoming, he discovered that he wasn't alone. A woman stood in front of him, looking astounded. Crap. he immediately tried to stand, but to no avail. His nerves had already shifted, leaving him no control over his limbs. This is bad, very bad. If she stuck around, she'd see that he was a mage - a naked one too! Saying that, his bear and wolf totems rested on the ground in front of him and he hadn't used his unleash this trial.

He kept most his focus on the becoming but kept an eye on the female also as the trils went by. He neighed and whinny'd at her aggressively, hoping to scare her off - she didn't flinch. Damn it. What, did she enjoy watching animals suffer? What a sicko! He examined her closely as the pain died down toward the middle of the transformation, what had she been doing in town at this hour? Hell, what was she doing in the woods alone at this hour? Did she live in this cabin? he didn't have the time to ponder further, the agony fired up to high once more as the second half of his transformation started. She didn't appear to be armed at least, he might not even need to use unleash to silence the girl, regardless, he'd give her the benefit of the doubt.

His voice slowly shifted from a horse's neigh to a man's scream as the transformation neared completion. Finally, control over his shifting body returned with his nerves. He was forced to sit upright as some of the final bones snapped and clicked into place along his spine and back, then fell back against the wall of the cabin as the last details straightened themselves out, teeth, nails, hair, beard. Finally, he was sat against the wall in a few inches of snow while covering his privates with his hand, gathering his breath. He notices that his arms and legs were in agony, probably from the 9 days of running he'd just done. He looked to the woman with wide eyes, unsure of how to react. A few moments of silence passed while he shivered in the snow, butt-naked. His eyes settled before speaking "...Like what you see?" with a raised eyebrow. While the girl responded, he carefully wrapped his frozen toe around the string of the totem necklace and dragged it toward him slowly.

"I-I've got a license for magic, I swear..." he started, keeping his eye on the girl. He was blatantly lying, deception wasn't his strong point in the slightest. It didn't matter however, he took his necklace from his toe with his free hand and waited for the girl’s response - she certainly didn't look amused. He put his necklace on before reaching for his bag, remaining wary of the woman in front of him.

[Rey'na]

Rey'na smiled politely at the man, a smile that seemed genuine as if she was about to compliment him. It had become a habit to smile politely at people despite the situation. She pondered how to answer his question for a moment, before answering.
"Well, no, I can't say I do" she stated, as if it was a matter-of-fact. "To put it blunt, I don't care if you decide to not wear clothes or not. But you're sweating all over my cabin. Do you mind?"
After a few seconds, she looked to him with curiosity. "So how does a horse go about transforming into a human? Or are you a human that became a horse and is now a human again?" she asked. Then she stopped herself. "You don't look like a normal human, so I can only assume you're a Lothar, yes?"

Rey'na smiled, seeing through the man's lies with ease. Her smile fell to a small giggle as she thought of how to handle the man. In his defense, he wasn't trying to cause a ruckus, he just seemed to be naturally good at it.
"Well, licence to use magic or not, I don't believe there's a licence to be nude in public. So would you like to come in?" she asked. "Not for any of the reasons going through your head, more for the fact I don't want a frozen corpse on my doorstep come tomorrow."
Rey opened the door and walked in, before turning back to the man. "My name is Rey'na, by the way. But more importantly, you do have some clothes, yes?"

Regardless of whether he came in or not, Rey would walk over to the table and take a seat. She then remembered her dagger. Making sure that nobody was looking suggestively, she took the dagger out from under her dress and put it on the table.
Should the man enter, Rey would make small conversation. "So, what's it like being a horse?"

[Varthakh]

Fridgar shrugged off the girl's distasteful tone, 'You win some, you lose some.' he thought to himself. She probably thought that her sarcasm was hilarious and, admittedly, it sort-of was. He hadn't expected to be torn apart by a savage girl in a dress in the middle of the woods upon reaching Andaris - it was amusing. He stood himself up on his tired, burning legs as she spoke and took his cotton undergarments from his bag. That's a good question, should he pretend to have been a horse blessed with the ability to turn into a man? The thought forced a chuckle from his lips, he'd almost imitated a horse's whinny as he did - an unhealthy habit he'd picked up in the past 9 trials. Regardless, he'd have given away any attempt of pretending to be a horse turning to man.

He sighed "Yeah, I'm a Lothar that can turn into a horse..." He confessed, he didn't have to tell her about his other transformations however, she hadn't asked after all! "...But I like to think I'm a stallion either way." he smirked as he slipped on his underwear with difficulty - his limbs had started to stiffen now that he'd stopped running, he was still relieved that his lower region was spared from the biting cold, regardless of the effort it took to budge his fatigued limbs. He shivered as his sweat started to freeze over however. He looked to the girl as she next spoke and raised an eyebrow, perhaps he shouldn't have put his undergarments back on? No, he wasn't so lucky - as the girl clarified. "Good call, I'm not too fond of shape shifting into ice sculptures." He joked, still grinning.

"Rey'na, huh? It's Fridgar, and yeah - I came to Andaris with more than just my underwear, bag and necklace." He pondered what reason she thought he'd be out in the woods if not with some clothes, maybe she just thought he'd destroyed them when he turned into a horse? A rookie mistake, Eric had taught him better. He remained on guard as he picked up his bag and entered her home, closing the door behind him. Why on earth would a girl invite some weird naked mage into her home if she couldn't handle herself at the least? His suspicions were confirmed as she put her knife on the table - from under her dress? Was this girl a psycho in disguise? Why was she walking around at night concealing a dagger!? "It's a lot of fun." he spoke, hiding his discomfort of the fact that she'd been armed the whole time.

"I mean, turning back into a man is less fun and more painful, as you saw." he stretched, rolling his shoulders and flexing a little as he tried to loosen up from his 9 day run. "But it's worth it. I've actually ran here from Warrick, believe it or not." While what he said was true, he didn't include the fact that he'd spent roughly 3 days of resting between running sessions. He waltzed up to the table she'd put her dagger on with confidence, despite only wearing his underwear and necklace, and put his bag down. He took his socks from the bag and put those on - giving his nine toes a wiggle just to make sure they worked still. Once satisfied, he took his attention from Rey'na, feeling a little more comfortable in her presence and almost 60% sure that she wouldn't stab him to death with a moment’s notice.

She had a rather nice house admittedly, if it weren't a little standard that is. He shrugged and went to work putting his clothes on, "Rey'na..." he pondered out loud. "As nice of a name as it is, it's a bit of a mouthful. Mind if I call you 'Rey'?" He asked, almost 40% certain that she'd be cool with it. Regardless of her answer, he'd probably address her as so. "What do people do in this city for fun anyway?" he asked once he was fully dressed, occasionally stretching and loosening up his tired, weakened limbs. "Better question, what were you doing out so late?" he asked, not meaning to pry but he'd best ask before progressing any further. "Do you have a secret partner or something?" he asked, looking to her with subtle hope.

[Rey'na]

Fridgar - what a curious name. Perhaps it originated from the Lotharro, but it was a unique one that she had never heard before. Curiosity was clear on her face.
"Does that name originate from somewhere?" she asked with a thoughtful tone, trying to think about it herself. Her voice spoke soft, almost formal. She didn't know if it originated from his Lothar form or his horse one? Was he even limited to just a horse? What if he could become a puppy? That would be cute. She snapped back to reality and stopped imagining the somewhat handsome Lothar turning into a cute dog. "I'm just wondering, it's not a name I've ever heard before. Is it common to Lotharro? Or is it a horses name?"

Rey'na imagined what it would be like to be a horse. It would be fun, perhaps, until someone tried to ride you. Then it would just hurt. Rey wasn't as strong as this man, so it would hurt her a lot more than it hurt him. He said it was fun, maybe it didn't hurt him at all? Did that mean he was really strong enough to carry an entire human for hours on end? He was a Lothar, sure, but was he really that strong?
"Fun wasn't the answer I expected. Is it not hard or strenuous to be a different animal? Is it just a horse or can you do more than just that?" she asked, taking few breaths between sentences. She was curious, and it got the better of her.

"Rey should be fine, if that's easier for you" Rey replied. She hadn't been called much other than Rey'na, so being told it was a mouthful confused her. Perhaps she could change it? Could one change their name by law? If they could, it sounded complicated and probably had a lot of boring procedures and protocols.
When asked, Rey had to think for a few trills about what people did for fun. She wasn't exactly 'people'. For fun, she would browse poisons and the like. That was near enough to it. Dancing as well, but she'd only done that once thus far - and wouldn't feel right dancing with anyone else. "Usually boring things, I imagine. I can't say I do much the same as them. I live a much more interesting life than mindlessly going about work and not having anything but a small family to show for it."

Rey had few secrets, and why she was out was not one of them. But it did have her thinking. Was he as curious about her as she was about him? Few people were, they thought she was rather boring on the surface - and that was right. She wasn't one to brag about her less common hobbies publicly.
"I was out walking. The fresh air is soothing, and I needed it" she replied. When asked about a secret lover, her mind went to Denebah. She hated him for leaving, but loved him nonetheless. The pain was clear on her face. "No, I wasn't with a secret lover."

[Varthakh]

He paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. What origin even was his name? Was it human, from his mother's side or Lotharro from Robek's? He looked to Rey'na and shrugged "I don't know, I think it's common Lotharro...?" What kind of question was that anyway? It struck him that she might still be confused about the whole horse thing. "Nah, it can't be a horse's name. I wasn't born to a family of mages..." he clarified. It was a miracle that he'd ended up being found by Eric, he was beyond grateful for his teachings and hospitality.

His hand strayed to his necklace, it had been a brilliant idea on Eric's part - his totems were never out of reach. Then, Rey'na asked the question he feared she would. Could he turn into more than just a horse? He sighed audibly before stepping to a chair, turning it around and sitting on it with the back rest between his thighs and his arms resting on the top while crossed. "Nah, Well... Yeah. 'Depends what I'm doing while transformed. A horse can run much longer than people for example, I won't tire as easy from that sorta thing." he started, dreading to have to answer the next part of her question. "As for more animals... I have 6, if you include the one I'm in right now." Ooph, he felt hard as nails calling his current form an animal. Was it not accurate though? He looked to her without moving his head, a suggestive, confident look in his eye. "Wanna see another? Meat eater or plant eater?" he offered, almost completely sure that she'd want to see it in action - most people did.

Seeing a twinge of confusion about her, he clarified "Don't get me wrong, Rey'na's a nice name." as to not dig himself a deeper hole. His offering should be enough to make up for his rudeness, the agony that would come with it if she accepted ought to quench any anger he'd made Rey'na feel. "But just 'Rey' suits you more - it's cuter." he grinned, a nice save on his part. He raised an eyebrow at her next reply, she considered herself to have an interesting life? But not the life of the typical city dweller...? She had a point - Just the sound of it was interesting. "You're right, that does sound usual and boring. What sorta life do you live then, Rey?" he asked, most curious as of what the girl did with herself.

"That's fair." he replied, looking away briefly, almost accepting the answer. Wait, fresh air? A little too fresh for some. Something wasn't right - Either Rey had the lungs of a champion athlete or she hadn't been out in the woods. Even he had felt cold in the 'fresh' Zi'da air, and he was durable for days. This small, seemingly innocent girl can't possibly just enjoy the stinging, biting pain of the cold? Why would she willingly subject herself to that discomfort? Most women would much rather just cuddle up by the fire and keep comfortable and warm, apparently not Rey'na - he wouldn't give away that he was on to her though. Then again, he might have just been kicking up a fuss about nothing - She had said she was interesting after all, and she hadn't disappointed. His eyes lit up briefly when she confessed to not having a secret lover. Briefly. The painful expression she gave exchanged his joy for guilt. Had he struck a nerve? A sore spot perhaps? Maybe she'd lost someone recently, or just been dumped? Regardless - he didn't think it wise or fair to try it with her for a little while, he'd have to back up the flirting a little and give her some time.

"Umm, sorry. That was probably a little too personal." Why was he apologising? He wasn't the type to apologise, not to anyone. Then again, he did have a soft spot for women, but not to that extent normally. He sighed, feeling a little guilty for having reminded the girl of painful experiences - if that's what it was. His eyes drifted to the room's window, it was snowing outside! He took hold of his excitement as quickly as it had started and maintained his calm visage. It wasn't light snow either, it was the heavy stuff, the kind that he'd normally spend all of his time in bear form to feel comfortable in. "I love the snow." He confessed, breaking what felt like a long silence. Seeing an opportunity, he asked "What about you? Are you a fan of the cold, Rey?" almost trying to catch her out on the story she'd given him about taking a walk through the woods.

"Random question, completely unrelated. Do you know if any landlords are renting out some nice flats in the area?" he asked, figuring it was better to ask the locals on real estate advice than to follow his nose. "I'm moving in to the city, see. Just wanted to know what you think?" he explained, giving his question some context and looking to her blue eyes, waiting for a response.

[Rey'na]

Rey considered her choices for a minute. Meat-eater or plant-eater? It was an interesting question. All animals fascinated her, and she thought they were all beautiful. But one particular animal came to mind, and excitement filled her eyes.
"Can you become a dog?" she asked, her foot twitching like she was a child waiting for her birthday to come or for the soldiers to march through. She often imagined what people would look like as a dog, or a puppy particularly, and in him she saw a wolfhound. She'd heard stories of wolves being tamed, and this man was far too bestial to become just a small dog. Although, he would make a cute Chihuahua.

"Cuter?" she wondered. She had never been called cute before, let alone for her name. Or was he insulting her name, saying 'Rey' was cuter than her real name? Men were confusing. Normally, Rey would assume that people calling her cute were flirting, but she wasn't so sure with this man. Maybe he was just genuinely nice?
Now came the cannonball of a question - what sort of life did she live? She couldn't exactly answer that she poisoned people, it was frowned upon. But she didn't do much else. Could she really be honest with this man? It would be a huge risk, one that could end her up in prison. Then again, he clearly had no licence for his magic.
"I work as a mercenary, of sorts. Sword for hire, just not using a sword - you could say" she confessed. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth. Then again, she just put herself on the same level as mercenaries - her line of work was much more skillful than that. Anyone good with a sword would be in the military or directly opposing them, not a mercenary.

Rey pondered his question about liking the cold. "I suppose, yes. It looks pretty. But it's also destructive to an extent. The plants we need to grow and survive, the snow kills them all. Despite it's beauty, it is lethal - and that's evident you more you watch a snowy landscape" she said calmly. She wasn't one to get excited over weather, especially that which killed a majority of poisonous plants.
"I can't say I know many landlords. It's rare you meet people out in the woods" Rey explained. She didn't know what to say other than that. But then he asked her opinion on moving in to the city. She frowned. "My opinion? Don't. It's not a nice place, by any means. Hence why I stay out here."

[Varthakh]

A dog, of course. 'What else would the girl want?' he pondered as he stood up from the chair, stretching his back, arms and legs. "One meat eater coming right up." he declared, removing his boots. His shoulders were relaxed and his stance comfortable - he didn't seem to mind stripping again in the slightest, or so spoke his confidence and apparent comfort. The look in her eyes was one he just couldn't say no to, even the thought of refusing someone with that sort of excitement lighting up their face was enough to bring on a twinge of pain in his chest.

Occasionally looking to Rey'na with an alluring look in his eyes, he continued to strip as he continued their conversation. He nodded in response to her question as he bent over and balanced on one foot to remove his sock, he didn't look at her as he did and instead focused on the task at hand, but the tone in her voice told him that he might have just been digging himself a deeper hole rather than jumping out of one by calling her cute. All the more reason not to look her in the eyes, it almost looked forceful that he kept his focus on his undressing.

"A mercenary?" he asked, tilting his head and finally looking Rey'na in the eyes again. His eyes drifted to the right as the thought to himself briefly then back to Rey'na as he stood up properly and discarded his socks. "I'll be honest, that surprises me. You don't look like much of a fighter, Rey." he removed his jute coat, putting it on the backrest of the chair. he looked to Her with concern for a moment 'Is it polite to ask before throwing your clothes around someone else’s home? Nah, Eric didn't seem to mind.'. "You sure weren't lying when you said about having a more interesting life!" He bellowed with a chuckle, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the floor. "I'll have to ask you more when I'm a Lothar again!" he spoke with genuine interest in his eyes.

He'd unbuttoned his jute trousers and slide them about halfway down his legs before he froze and looked up to Rey'na slowly with wide eyes. He gulped and opened his mouth to say something - no words formed. Digressing from trying to speak, he closed his mouth and faced the floor. ..."I like snowball fights." He spoke after a few moments of silence had passed in response to Rey's pleasant view of the snow. Now that she'd mentioned it however, Rey'na was beautiful, was she more talking about herself than the snow in its lethality? Would he come to find her to be lethal the more he spent time with her should they again meet after tonight? He stepped out of his jute trousers and kicked them away, sending them sliding across the floor for a moment - Perhaps he ought to consider being a better house guest.

With her response to his question, his hand moved in for a palm strike to his forehead, but stopped himself half way. A dumb question on his part, of course she didn't meet many people out in the woods. He lowered his hand before speaking "Of course yeah, should'a thought of that.". Then looked to her with a raised eyebrow, concern in his eyes. "Not a fan of the city then?" He bit his lip while he stood there nearly completely nude - something weird was going on with this Rey'na, for sure.

Exhaling deeply, he walked to the table, keeping his peripheral vision on Rey'na. "I can't talk when I transform, and it's gonna take me about six minutes to turn back too..." He sighed, psyching himself up for an unleash. He'd never done it before, but Eric had told him he was ready and taught him how, but warned that it would be incredibly taxing on his body. Well, how else would he show off to Rey'na? "And uhh, the screaming is natural. I'm not being a wuss." he explained, a twinge of red embarrassment filling his cheeks. He reached behind his head and loosened his necklace, making plenty of room for the neck he would soon have.

After a moment of debating whether his underwear would remain intact after the transformation or be torn to shreds, he decided to take them off - better safe than sorry. He covered his privates with his hand as he focused his attention on the wolf totem around his neck. He found he couldn’t focus however, he hadn't become while someone else was watching before, let alone unleashed. With a sigh, he put his faith in the girl in the room with him and focused entirely on the totem. He absorbed its energy and in return, it seemed to absorb his. As the environment around him felt like it disappeared into the void, his hand drifted almost effortlessly to the necklace around his neck. This time with a twist, he stirred the ether within him, quickening to a point that the energy within him felt as though it were sprinting laps through his core. His veins bulged and his skin reddened, with sweat trickling from his pores quite visibly - his body shook under the strain of the magic he was attempting.

Finally, ready, he grasped the totem with a clenched fist. At first, baring his teeth with clear pain for a split tril, then screaming with agony as his body morphed rapidly, snapping and crunching most gruesomely as his limbs bent unnaturally and shrunk, growing fur all over his skin as he was forced to his knees. His face elongated from the nose, forming a snout and his ears moved to the top of his head and changed shape completely. With the shifting of his face, his voice turned from scream to howl. He fell to all fours as balanced quickly shifted, far faster than he was used to. Having rode out the worst of it, he quit his howl and grimaced as the last of his insides slid into place, the last of his fur grew, the claws on his paws formed among other details.

Once finished completely, he looked up with wide orange eyes in shock and swiftly turned to his rear - as hoped, the tail had formed, a big bushy, brown wolf tail that he promptly swished as to make sure it worked. Looking over his form some more, he made sure the transformation was a success by testing out his paws, flicking his ears, opening and closing his jaw. Once satisfied that everything was in working order, he turned to look at Rey'na, though had to look up for a change. Well impressed with himself, he planted his rear on the floor and dropped his jaw, panting as he recovered from the strain of the unleash. In truth, he wasn't all that fond of being a wolf - it was weird that they sweat from the tongue and wasn't terribly fond of panting. He tilted his head to the right at Rey'na and closed his mouth briefly as if to ask 'What do you think?'.

[Rey'na]

Did she ask why he was undressing again? Was her house too warm for him? Maybe he was naturally heated, or he just didn't like the warmth? But outside he had complained about the cold? Were all men just naturally more comfortable in the nude? Or was it a sign of his affection for her? If it was the last of those options, he was going about it the wrong way. Flowers normally worked just as well, even for a girl like Rey. Or puppies. Rey did love puppies.
He was staring so intently as he undressed at a sock, it seemed. Was he alright? Rey wanted to offer the poor man a hand, maybe the warmth affected his balance or something. But Rey knew how inappropriate that would be, he was a fully grown man who could easily take care of himself - socks and all.

As she was about to ask why the man was surprised she was a mercenary, she stopped herself. She didn't look like much of a fighter, admittedly, and she wasn't one. She hid, used poisons and the like. She wasn't at all a fighter. How did she show that without making herself look like an assassin?
Rey then walked over to a draw and pulled out her throwing knives, showing them to the now-nude Lotharro. "I don't fight, not much at least. I prefer to deal with someone as far away as possible. But I normally don't even need knives, it's rare we need to kill" she explained. Now she was lying.
"I suppose, but it's become routine. Not too interesting for me, not anymore. But it brings in money, and keeps me busy. What two more things could I ask for?" she asked. In honesty, she was looking for a flare. But once she started her work as Masque, that flare would become more than possible.

"You could say that" she replied to hating the city. It was hard to hide, and her voice spoke with bitterness for the first time in this conversation. It was rare to hear her speak without some kind of composure, but this was one of those situations.
"It's not the actual city, much. But what it represents. The people in it. It's not a place I like visiting, but one I know I have to if I want to survive."

Ignoring all nudity, Rey watched his transformation. It was much faster. Her only concern was his screams. Though he had warned her, he screamed as if he was being tortured. But from the looks of things, he was. His bones moving and breaking like that was beyond unnatural, and presumably beyond painful. But the result was worth it, in her opinion at least. Maybe not so much in his.
"You're...beautiful" she said, putting her hand out to stroke him before pulling it back. "May I?"