• Mature • Thumb, Thumber, Thumbest

[Yanahalqah]

Things were going well, Dora found. Not only was she very much enjoying herself playing with Tristan’s thumbs, but the man did not seem to mind her doing so either. It was good. Very good in fact. She had a physical connection in place, so all she now needed to do was—

Quite suddenly, while Dora was lost in the moment, the Venoran Lord retracted his hands, causing the woman to snap her eyes wide open, uncertain at what had led to this action. Fortunately though, he just wanted to take charge himself, which was more than fine. It was excellent. He was playing right into her cards, without her having to do anything. Well, except having crafted this body that is. It had taken a long while, such a very long time for her to get all the necessary items together, to get all the necessary parts. Skin, blood and bone of many, many people. So many thumbs. But it had been worth it in the end. For it had allowed her to mix and match different parts of different people, creating a body for the task at hand.

Tristan Venora was but a small step on the social ladder, a stepping stone to the greater goal. A cog in the machine. She had done what she did best, blend in, change her face, her shape, her voice, her identity to quite literally become someone else so many times. She had followed Tristan for a while now, studying him. Observing him. Seeing inside his head. Gazing at that intricate weave of emotions swirling within his vain Venoran mind. Study his behavior, his day to day rhythm. His interactions with other people. But like the woman had said, she had not approached him. She had kept her distance, paranoid even though she had no reason to be.

It was only in her free time though, as she had a different life to lead apart from stalking the noble. She had a family who could not grow suspicious of her actions, whose name and face she needed to enter the right circles so she could climb even higher. As said, Tristan was but a step. The next step. Maybe one of the last she had to take. It was said he had gained the King’s interest. That the boy favored the young lord. If that was the case, than all she had to do was eliminate Tristan… or at least stuff him away someplace he would not be found. Not until her goal was reached. After all, the people would notice when a member of a major and important family went missing. Hunting for the right body parts, hair color and facial features was one thing; those were all people that could go missing without it causing a fuss, or without anyone caring. The upper echelons of society were different though. Small ripples made big waves there.

She smiled in bliss and satisfaction at both Tristan’s work with his thumbs, and her plan coming together finally. She was moaning again, she realized, louder than before. It made focusing harder than anticipated, but she did not mind. The fact he was doing this of his own volition was a good thing. She’d expected having to manipulate him during conversation, but only her body had been necessary. The best possible outcome. Well, given the time spent tracing the origins of Tristan’s lust and then finding people with those traits, it was only natural it would be. She had planned so long for this. Even now she was monitoring him, even while her eyes were closed and she guided one of his thumbs to her lips, where she started licking the appendage. Slowly, sensually. Not much later she had it in her mouth, her head bobbing up and down the thumb very much enjoying herself. In the meantime, she made sure to stealthily eliminate all traces of disgust the lord might feel in regards to her or her recent actions by knotting them away in the Tangle of his emotions. She embroidered thrill and excitement to it instead, gradually so it would seem he slowly began to enjoy her work himself too.

Not only that, but she had been nurturing his lust for a while now, ever since their skin had been touching, slowly and steadily increasing it with Strum. At one point it had merely been desire. Desire awoken by the body she’d crafted specifically for him, lust that had arisen from the man himself. To deepen it even more, she tied it to herself, making him fall deeper in her trap.

And it was a trap. One meticulously crafted, one that had taken seasons to develop and set up. One so intricate that neither the Mercenary nor the Lord had any idea they had not come here by accident. Yes, it was true that it had been a surprise that the two of them had shown up at her door this trial, but that was it. She’d known they’d come sooner or later. Or rather, she’d known Tristan would come. In hindsight, it was logical he’d take the merc with him as well. But that woman did not matter. Tristan did. His growing curiosity about her had led him to seek her out, and that curiosity had been planted in his mind by Dora herself. It had been secretly stuffed into his head, to remain there for a long time, only to gradually release more and more of it when someone would come to take his thumbs.

Naturally, the mercenary too had been implanted with a specific command. A desire to betray her clients. Something which was not out of character for the one-eyed woman anyway, so the chance of the manipulation being found out was minimal. As planned, when she came face to face with Tristan Venora, the idea of betraying her clients bubbled up. It had removed the usual desire of withholding information, making her spill both Dora’s name and her contract to the Lord without hesitation. In turn, Dora’s name had triggered more curiosity from Tristan, seeping into his mind without his notice. It was perfect. All according to plan.

There was little else standing in the way between her and Tristan’s thumbs. Only the mercenary who might interfere if Dora tried anything even remotely resembling a harmful action towards her client. On the other hand though, the woman cared little about others, and Dora had been strumming the snares of that selfishness also. Apathy too, as well as amplifying the greed of the woman. In Tristan she let irritation and annoyance manifest, which were tied towards the mercenary remaining in the room. There was also a subtle feeling of safety introduced, linked with Dora herself. She had to get the the merc out of the picture, and the best way to do so without either of them feeling like something was wrong, was by letting them think it was their decision. The illusion of choice. The perfect weapon of an empath.

► Show Spoiler

Here, have a wall of exposition.





Notice me, M. Night Shyamalan!

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan did of course not have any idea what was really going through the beautiful pervert’s head as he pulled her closer and kissed her. He didn’t know that she was entertaining thoughts of stuffing him away someplace he would not be found and trying to get closer to those that really mattered in the kingdom. No, he thought that she was enjoying this here as much as he was and just thinking about how she could get him to make love to her (It wouldn’t really require any persuasion on her part!). He was convinced that she had given up all of her evil plans at that point because he was just so irresistible!

She was moaning, with her eyes closed and licking his … thumb? Tristan paused momentarily and furrowed his brow. No woman had ever licked that part of his body before, and he hadn’t expected it to ever happen either. He very much preferred other, somewhat more conventional activities. He nearly told her to stop and reminded her that he was made of more than just thumbs, but then he decided that it was really quite pleasant, sensual even. On some level he knew that he should be disgusted or at least a little weirded out by her previous and current activities, but he just couldn’t bring himself to it.

He absolutely loved weird things!

Apart from being watched while he made out with a red-headed pervert. He had thought that it would be fun, but now he just couldn’t stop thinking about how Yana was sitting there and staring at him and silently judging him which was really ruining the mood. He raised his head for a moment – he had just been caressing Dora and trailing kisses down her cheek and her neck – and glared at her. She was getting on his nerves, and he didn’t need her protection anyway. Dora was a perfectly harmless and beautiful woman with wonderfully unique interests, and he was completely safe with her.

“What are you doing here?” he snapped at the Yludih. “Either join us or wait outside the door until we are done, but don’t just sit here and stare at me! You are making me really uncomfortable!” Having said that, he focused his attention on Dora again because she was much more interesting than Yana, and he didn’t want to waste any more time than he absolutely had to with the stupid, one-eyed mercenary.

[Yanahalqah]

Yana raised an eyebrow as her employer snapped at her, but she didn’t move a muscle more. After all, she really did not care at all. He could say what he wanted, but she was quite comfortable in the chair. She was getting paid for sitting around watching him make out, which was an easy way of making money. They had agreed that Yana would protect Tristan, and how could she do so outside the room? Not, that’s how. Well, to be honest she wasn’t too sure if she would act if something were to happen right in front of her. Thirty nels was a pathetically low price, now she thought about it. She’d ask for more if something came up.

“What? Afraid to pull your pants down in front of a woman who isn’t into you? Scared I will find your manhood less than impressive?” The Yludih had aimed for a more mocking delivery of the lines, but instead they came out bored and disinterested. Not that she noticed though. She was too busy with a brilliant idea that came bubbling up. “You know what? Sure, I will go stand outside the door.” A brief pause. “For another sixty nels.” She crossed her arms; there would be no room for negotiations.

***

Dora was thinking she had maybe overdone it a little bit. Sixty nels was one hell of a lot of coin just simply to get the woman to stand guard outside the room. Obviously Tristan would think so too. It was simply too ridiculous. However, it was not something some Empathy couldn’t fix. She got to work immediately, focusing on Tristan in particular. She had a physical connection with him, so her magic worked better on him. She increased his annoyance at the presence of the mercenary, making it so that he absolutely wanted her out of the room. She dissolved his attachment to his monetary wealth so he wouldn’t be bothered too much by the outrageous price asked for the simple task demanded.

The manipulatrix wanted to target the mercenary with her magic, to be honest, but introducing a desire to leave the room would clash with the contentment the woman felt with her situation. She would need more time to subtly work it in and increase it. The same was true for decreasing the greed. Irritation or anger would clash with the apathy she had already introduced. Dora was cursing at her mistake. She had meant to make the mercenary apathic so she would not care what was being asked from her, but do it anyway. Not have her lose interest in everything that was going on. Dora shouldn’t have increased her selfishness. It was meant to make it so that Yana would think of herself first, and Tristan and his demands second. Now though, it had backfired, keeping the merc in the room. Another silent curse, she shouldn’t have been as hasty. What a rookie mistake!

***

In the meantime Yana had risen from her seat, now standing right next to Tristan and his redheaded lover. “Sixty nels,” she said, “take it or leave it.” The way she said it really made it clear that it was the only offer he would get. Anything less and she’d simply return to her seat and continue getting on the man’s nerves.

“Just pay her already,” Dora murmured in Tristan’s ear, practically sitting in his lap now, pressing her body against his. His hands were free to roam her body freely; she had released his thumbs in favor of kissing his neck. It was a conscious choice, as she wasn’t sure if she could concentrate if she had continued. She needed her focus for her magic, plus she was already having a hard time not letting this situation slip out of hand. She was already getting off on Tristan’s thumbs, having to resist her basic urges far more than one should. “Just pay her so she’s gone and I have your full attention again~” she breathed sensually into his neck. Her words held promise and desire, and she did not bother to make the increase in arousal she manifested in the poor Lord all too subtle. It was just a small increase anyway. Small but noticeable. Not to mention powerful.

[Tristan Venora]

“On the contrary, I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to handle it!“ Tristan retorted and laughed because her accusation was just so very ridiculous. “I’m not afraid of pulling my pants down in front of you at all!” He proceeded to do just that, but stopped about half-way through and furrowed his brow as Yana demanded another sixty nels. Normally he wouldn’t have had any problems with her demanding more. He had too much money anyway, besides Dora looked as if she would be worth every single nel, but there was something about the one-eyed freak that irritated him beyond measure right now.

He had invited her to join Dora and him - and she honestly preferred to wait outside? What was wrong with her?

And now she was even standing next to him and staring at him! A part of him just wanted to punch her so that she would finally stop getting on his nerves even though it might scare Dora away, and he normally considered it to be totally unacceptable for a man to just punch a woman.

But then again, Ilaren hadn’t had a problem with him punching that man that had wanted to rob them. On the contrary, she had gotten really excited, and then … and then he stopped thinking about the beautiful Immortal again abruptly because Dora was practically sitting in his lap now, and he found it hard to concentrate on anything else.

“Fine”, he said because it didn’t look as if Yana would be giving up anytime soon, took his purse and tossed it towards her. He had no idea whether there really was enough money in it – he hadn’t exactly expected her to try and rob him - but in his opinion she should be happy that he had decided to give her any more money at all. “And now go!” With that he turned back to his red-headed lover, put his arms around her and pulled her close.

If Yana tried to bother him again, he would just pretend that he had suddenly gone deaf and ignore her completely. He wanted to finish what he had started and get to know Dora a whole lot better and sleep with her, and not constantly be interrupted by that ridiculous looking woman!

[Yanahalqah]

Yana was more than pleased when Tristan gave up his entire purse. She couldn’t be sure just how much money was in there, but she found it did not matter. The weight felt pleasing enough. It was odd though, normally she’d have started counting the coin. Hell, not even a full bit prior she’d decided to make sure she was paid at least sixty nels. Now though, she felt it was unnecessary. It did not feel entirely right, but she wasn’t consciously aware of it. The sensation was more some nagging voice in the back of her head, hard to hear clearly. The Yludih merely pocketed the pouch and left the room as a result.

Dora meanwhile, was more than ecstatic, and not only because the mercenary had finally gotten out of the way. Tristan himself was adding quite a bit of pleasure to the whole situation, pleasure and excitement she simply had trouble resisting. The thought of his thumbs on her body, caressing her skin, the feel of them, the smell of the Lordling himself… It all added to make her weak, her mind almost giving in to temptation. It was strong enough to make her lose control of her magic, to release the hold on both Tristan and Yana’s emotions. The latter she had all but forgotten, but the former she just did not mind slipping from her grasp anymore.

She kicked off her shoes, pushing Tristan down on the couch while she climbed on top of him. Her long red hair tickled his face, her own visage lowering itself closer and closer to the Lord’s. She counted on the sex appeal of her body to keep the man where she wanted him.
“I have a surprise,” she purred sensually, “close your eyes for me.”
She then started to kiss his neck slowly and lovingly, gradually speeding up for a flurry of butterfly kisses she planted on his skin. With each kiss though, her lips would feel to grow a little rougher, more leathery. Her face itself did too, as did the skin of her palms and feet. Every other part of her body grew more and more rough hairs, which were the complete opposite of the luscious, silky locks the woman had on her head.

Two hands grabbed the lordling’s wrists, pressing them down with surprising strength, and the same happened to his ankles. If Tristan were to open his eyes, which Dora was very much counting on, he would not see the gorgeous woman from before on top of him. Instead, there was some awful blend of a gorilla and Dora.

It was simply horrifying. At least the contrast between the woman and this… monkey-witch… thing was. Her body had grown a lot bigger, straining the dress almost to the point of tearing it to pieces. Her previous flawless skin had now been overgrown by bristly red hairs, a thick layer of fur covering it. Her feet had grown more hand-like. Her face probably was the most human thing about her, now leathery and slightly ape-esque. To top it all off, the red locks were kept intact, looking really out of place on the creature’s head.

She hoped he would scream, that was the point of this whole transformation after all; pinning him down and making him fill the air with horrified screeches. It was another of her quirks, another indulgence she couldn’t quite fathom but enjoyed nonetheless. It was the climax of the whole act, the cherry on top. Many a victim had screamed their lungs out at the ugly figure now on top of them –all but one deviant, who’d actually grown more aroused by it.

There was no fear in Dora’s mind for people in the vicinity to react to possible screaming. The range of her magic was fairly large, granting her access to the neighbors and the woman outside the door. The people in the street were of no concern; this was a quiet part of town where few people were about during working breaks. She instilled indifference to the possible ruckus that was to find place in the nearby people, making sure they would not interfere in any way. There was no way out.

Dora really hoped he would yell and struggle and shout, making her feel so dominant. She did not mess with his mind to make sure he would, no, that wouldn’t be as good. He had to scream out of pure shock and horror, not because she made him with her Empathy. And when he opened his mouth to shout or speak? She’d kiss him, deeply and passionately, just like they had done before. Only now the young Lord probably wasn’t so willing anymore. It was okay though, that was exactly what she wanted.

“Don’t you want me anymore, Tristan dear?” she managed to speak, voice distorted and low, her speech filled with small grunts and growls. “Am I not absolutely perfect anymore?” She laughed at that, throwing her head in her neck. The sound that came out was more akin to the screeching of an ape. “That’s okay, I never really wanted you either. I only want part of you…” What part should be fairly obvious to the Lord, Dora did not have to explain it.

One hand released his wrist, the ape-witch confident the Venora scion would be unable to hurt her at all. The thick musculature beneath her fur was able to withstand so much more than a few punches from a pampered lordling. The arm reached inside her hairy but still bountiful cleavage, drawing an item wrapped in leather from between the mounts. It was a dagger, clean and shiny and wicked sharp. Dora grinned, showing her beastly teeth. “Don’t you worry. It’ll only hurt for a bit. Then you’ll be going to sleep for a very long time.”

The ape woman made it a point to trace the flat of the blade over Tristan’s cheeks, her own face close to his. She was antagonizing him, showing who was boss. Nothing could stop her now. She had already won. “I call it Thumblade,” she spoke lovingly, showing off the hilt of the thing, which was shaped like –what do you know—a thumb. “Originally I was thinking along the lines of ‘Thumb cleaver’, or ‘Thumb Biter’, but that was just too cliché.”

While Dora rambled on about her blade, dragging it across Tristan’s face to make him shit himself in anticipation, the mage was not focused on what the Lord was doing with his free arm. Evidently, there was not much he could do, but perhaps by accident he might feel his fingers touch the smooth surface of one of Dora’s shoes. High heeled things she’d been wearing before everything went south for the young Venora. The kind of shoes men liked to joke about, the kind that looked as if they could double as the weapon they were named after. Maybe if he stretched his arm far enough he could grab it? There was a high chance it would be useless against the ape, there was a chance that Dora would notice his attempts. But it was better than doing nothing and losing his thumbs, right?

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan didn’t resist at all as Dora pushed him down on the couch. On the contrary, he was quite a willing participant. As she climbed on top of him, he pulled her closer and kissed her again, and he didn’t start to worry either as she asked him to close his eyes and claimed that she had a surprise for him. He only smiled and did as he was told because he was quite eager to find out just what it was. “I was wrong about you”, he whispered into her ear. “You are one of the most amazing women I have ever met!”

And then she began to cover him with kisses, and he stopped talking and just enjoyed what she did to him. At first it was very pleasant, but with each passing trill her lips seemed to grow a little rougher and more leathery. That alone didn’t concern him too much. As she started to get hairy, his eyes shot open abruptly though, and he just stared at her. That a woman grew such an insane amount of body hair in such a short time definitely wasn’t normal!

And she was so strong all of a sudden! He expected her to have turned into an especially hairy guy, but the creature that sat on top of him wasn’t even human anymore. It was a horrifying mixture of gorilla and woman and not attractive at all. Tristan hesitated for a moment, and then he screamed because he realized that he might be about to get raped by a monkey!

He wanted to call for help and order the ugly one-eyed mercenary to come in again right now – or maybe inform Dora that, thank you very much, he wasn’t into bestiality, and she would have been far more likely to get what she wanted if she had stayed human, but as he opened his mouth, she kissed him again. This time he didn’t enjoy it at all, but tried to turn his head away because he was so very disgusted. He didn’t think he’d ever get rid of the taste in his mouth!

As Dora released his wrist, he immediately took the opportunity and punched her with all of his strength, but unfortunately she didn’t even seem to have noticed it. He shuddered as she reached inside her cleavage and retrieved a dagger, and not only because he was about to get maimed. She even had fur on her breasts. It was absolutely horrifying!

“I’m sorry to inform you, but ‘Thumblade’ is cliché as well”, he replied. “Why does it have to be my thumbs anyway? Can’t you just take one of my toes? I don’t need all of my toes!” he tried to negotiate with her, but unfortunately she didn’t seem to listen. All that she seemed to be interested in was to maim and kill him. What else could she mean by ‘going to sleep for a very long time’?

He definitely didn’t plan on dying anytime soon, so he started to move his free arm to see if there was anything that he might be able to use as a weapon nearby.

There! He stretched his arm a little further and managed to grab one of her shoes. Without hesitation he drove the heel into whichever part of her body he could reach best – and then a second and a third time because it was better to be safe than sorry - and then he screamed as loudly as he could. “Help!”

Where was that stupid mercenary when he needed her?

[Yanahalqah]

Dora could not care less about what Tristan found of the name of her weapon, or the fact that he still had the nerve to talk back, even if he did seem a little unnerved to say the least. He was acting tough, and one of Dora’s favorite things to witness was seeing that façade crumble away as they realized resistance was futile. She simply giggled at his words, and grinned at his attempts at negotiation.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she spoke as teasingly as she could still muster in this form, baring her teeth in what would have been an endearing smile.

Her grin was short-lived though, as a burning pain suddenly shot through her face as Tristan stabbed her with the heel of her shoe. Blood flowed freely as the heel was pulled out of her eye socket, and more wounds were created nearby when Tristan attacked again and again. Dora’s focus was broken by this unexpected burst of pain. Sure, her magic had made her used to it, but that was only because she knew it was coming. She had resigned to the anguish, but this? She was not prepared for it. It shook her to her core, sending her staggering away from the young Lord’s body while she screamed in shock and anger. The shock broke her concentration and thus the grip her magic held over her victims.

***

Yana was quite content standing in the hallway. She had been paid already, and if she wanted to she could just leave already. Only, she had made a contract with Tristan, and was prepared to see it through. He had told her to go stand outside, so she did. If he was to be harmed while she was here, then that was his problem. He should have thought of that before he sent her away. As long there was no indication anything was wrong, she had no reason to go inside. Not that there would be anything wrong. He was just entertaining a woman, and she him. There was no reason for her to believe that something would go wrong at all.

So when the cry rang out from within the room, Yana was startled, but did not enter. It caused her to raise an eyebrow though. If he could make Dora scream like that, he had to be really, really good. Or maybe she was just really, really loud. Either way, Yana was slightly impressed.

But then came Tristan’s yell for help, and Yana was fairly sure that wasn’t some safe word they had agreed on. Well, that was her cue then, no? Bah, that did not bode well, best case scenario she was trying to cut off his thumbs, like she had asked Yana to do a couple seasons ago. She sighed and reluctantly opened the door, scanning the room for the enemy, and doing a double take when she found it. What the actual fuck was that thing?! It was simply horrible! Nightmare inducing, the monster living under the bed of children. Only the red hair, and the dress struggling to contain the beast’s monstrous form told the Yludih this was Dora.

“What in the blazes..!” she managed to force out of her mouth, both disgusted and surprised by the thing’s appearance. “You were trying to have sex with that?!”

This was no time for quips though, as the beast roared and straightened up to its full size, standing at least seven feet tall, one hand covering one side of its face. Blood dripped from underneath it. Yana drew her blade, wishing she’d brought her bow instead. She was certain that those beefy arms could snap her in half instantly, and the Yludih wasn’t good enough with a blade to compensate for the difference in strength and size. Maybe it was slow and clumsy though, which would help the Yludih in avoiding getting hit.

“Run!” she yelled at the young Venora, “call the guards!”
She could not take this thing down without some help. Not that she was planning to though. She could pretend to try and stop the beast as it chased down Tristan, and run away when it was distracted. That, and the guard’s help was really necessary.

“Like I’ll let you!” the sasquatch bellowed, her knees bending in preparation to pounce. The jump she made was quite far, but she did not reach the other end of the room, only managing to bound over the salon table. Yana was close by, and quickly stepped in before the beast could take another leap. She stabbed it in the flank, quickly retracting her blade in order to escape the flailing arms of the creature. Unfortunately, the Yludih just wasn’t fast enough, and the Thumblade managed to create a bloody line on her arm. She cursed, nearly having dropped her blade due to the pain, but soon enough a wave of adrenaline dulled it to a soft throbbing.

She tried to go for another attack when the beast was once again focused on Tristan, but was smacked in the face with a haymaker before she could draw blood. The blow sent her reeling back, seeing flashes of blue, green, red and yellow before her eyes. Her feet couldn’t keep up with the backwards motion of her body and she fell down on her rear against the wall. Her head felt as if it was about to split open, and she fairly certain that the crack she’d heard had been her nose breaking.

The beast shook its hand, a pained expression on its features. It was quite satisfying to see; Yludih were quite hard after all. Yana’s nose was still broken though, and her legs felt weak. To make matters worse, the beast had lifted the table off the ground, chucking it at her. The mercenary ducked to a side, barely managing to avoid the piece of furniture, which broke through the window and smashed into the street.

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan didn’t waste any time as Dora staggered away from him. He jumped up from the sofa and raced towards the door, still holding the bloody shoe in his hand because it was the only weapon in the room apart from the stupid “Thumblade”, and he didn’t think he’d be able to grab that before the monster had recovered from his attack. His heart was beating so quickly that he was convinced that he was going to suffer a heart attack.

He didn’t care in the least that he had probably ruined her eye. It served her right, and a part of him wished that she would just drop down and die from her wounds. It didn’t seem as if she was going to comply with his wishes though. Even as he moved towards the door, he could already hear her behind him again. He gripped the stiletto more tightly. He was fully prepared to stab her again and take out her other eye should it become necessary!

Fortunately his previous prayers seemed to have been answered. He breathed a huge sigh of relief as Yana opened the door and entered. He had never been so happy to see her ugly face! “You saw her before! She was hot!” he retorted. “I don’t know what happened. We were about to have sex … and then … and then …” He didn’t get the chance to finish the sentence. As the beast roared loudly, the young lord shuddered and abruptly stepped closer to the mercenary – much closer – even though he had sent her away just a few bits before. She would protect him. She would protect him and help him kill the beast!

Yana did no such thing though. As she told him to run and call the guards rather than stepping forward and heroically slaying the beast with a single strike, he shot her an incredulous look, but then Dora prepared to jump, and he ran as quickly as he could because he really didn’t want to lie under her again and loose his thumbs and, probably, his life.

Once he was out of the door, he put his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths before he cast a glance at the house. It occurred to him that he could just leave – he didn’t owe Yana anything, besides she had stolen his favourite sculpture – but nobody deserved to be eaten alive by a gigantic monkey – or whatever other perverted thing Dora would do to Yana.

Since it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to face the guards with a bloody stiletto in his hand – they might think he was a murderer and decide to arrest him – he threw it into a bush before he ran again. He ran and ran until he finally found the guards and informed them that a murderous shapeshifter was on the loose and about to kill his companion, and he didn’t give up until they agreed to come back with him and take care of the beast.

He just hoped that they wouldn’t arrive too late.

[Yanahalqah]

As Tristan ran through the street, some other citizens exited their houses, wondering just what was going on. There were loud roars along with an almighty ruckus coming from one residence, with shapes darting in and out of the view provided by the window. One of those was distinctly non-human. All of a sudden a coffee table broke through the glass, landing smackdab in the middle of the street, barely missing one of the curious neighbors. Now that there was no reflection to obscure the view, they saw a monster locked in combat with a woman, both fighters holding gleaming steel.

“Call the guard!” one sensible woman cried, only to run off to do so herself when the monstrosity appeared to have noticed them, roaring threateningly. Several others did the same thing, a couple of them heading the same way as the Venora scion.

Fortunately for Tristan, the guards he found were not instantly denying his claims as talk of a madman. For all his disheveled appearance and rabid visage, they did recognize him as the famous sculptor and playwright he was. Rumor had it he was friends with the King too, so appeasing him was in their best interest. That his clothes were crumpled, and his chest was bare due to an unbuttoned shirt did not make it all that easy to take him serious, but they tried anyway. They would accompany him for the sake of their head, they decided with a conspiratory glance at one another. The small patrol let themselves be led through the streets by the Venora Lord, pretending to hurry along. It was only when several residents arrived, panting heavily and looking nearly as hysterical as the Venora lad, giving a similar description of events that the patrol realized that this probably weren’t the ramblings of a madman. Something really was going on! With a nod towards one another they broke into a run after having been given directions.

***

In the meantime, Yana was in a bit of a pinch. She was getting tired, her body hurt, and it did not seem like the creature before her was suffering from any similar kind of fatigue. True, she had been able to dish out some damage, but apart from the initial stab, the lacerations given to the ape were shallow at best. In return for her efforts, the Yludih had been cut a couple times herself, the Thumblade lashing out in retaliation. Luckily, the length of the dagger along with Yana’s own attempts at getting out of the way had minimized the damage to nothing more than small wounds. However, the punches she’d received from the beast were worse. Though nothing had cracked her hard body yet, those hits packed quite a punch, and had left her bruised. To compensate for the difference in strength, she’d dropped the human act, not bothering to pretend to be winded by blows that should have reduced fleshlings to such a state.

They clashed again, blade against blade. The ape’s wild swings were parried by Yana’s efforts, though the sheer force of the swings of the Thumblade were enough to unbalance the Yludih. One particular lash made her stumble, catching right hook in the jaw mere moments later. She collapsed onto the floor, unable to stay upright. The beast growled in a satisfied tone, seemingly under the belief she had knocked the mercenary out cold.

If it had been up to her, the Yludih would have preferred to play dead, but sometimes that was not advantageous. Not when fighting with people that were not satisfied with just knocking their opponent out. She could see the woman kneel down next to her, blade at the ready. Yana cursed internally, then exploded into action, driving her sword into the monster’s chest. It stumbled backwards, giving the Yludih time to stand back up. Her jaw felt like it was dislocated, and it burned like hellfire. But it was not something that would take too long to heal.

“ ‘an’f yo ‘usf 'ie?” she tried to complain, not quite liking the fact her assailant had disarmed her by reeling back, the blade sticking out of her chest. Well, she did not fancy her chances unarmed, but there wasn’t much choice. If she did not defend herself, she’d die. If she tried to run, she’d die also. Showing your back to an enemy was never a good plan. The problem was that this beast probably thought the same, hence why it had remained her instead of going after Tristan. Deal with the threat first, then pursue.

“Just stay down for fuck’s sake!” the beast scowled, annoyed.

Yana sighed, preparing herself for the inevitable charge by assuming a combat stance. She wasn’t really sure whether this or running was the more stupid thing to do.

As Dora was about to lunge at her, the creature stopped itself, cocking its head to listen. The sound of several boots running closed in on their location, and the beast growled in frustration. It gave the mercenary a hateful snarl and jumped through the window onto the street, evoking a series of high-pitched screams of fear. The guards were real close now, mouth agape with shock as they laid eyes on the creature. One kept its cool though, a monster he might see, but he recognized that it was wearing a dress, and his mind clicked the puzzle pieces in place.

“Becomer!” he yelled, ordering the archers among his squad to open fire with the wave of his hand. Heavy crossbows fired their projectiles at the monstrosity, which had managed to grab the wrist of an older gentleman in hopes to use him as a hostage, or meat-shield. No such luck though, as its body was pierced in different places, causing it to release the poor man. It was time to leave without further delay, it decided, quickly pulling all bolts and even the sword out of its body while the archers were reloading their weapons. Its form pulsated then, wounds closing and healing quickly. With a final scowl it jumped at least six feet into the air and quickly transformed again, this time into a large bird of some sort. Its feet were replaced with human hands though. It cawed defiantly, made obscene gestures with both hand-feet, and flew off, dodging any further bolts shot at it.

Yana meanwhile, had taken to lying on the floor, wounded and exhausted, focusing her mind to steel herself for what she was about to do. She held her breath, closed her eyes, and placed her hands on her jaw. It hurt just to touch it, but with a swift and forceful push, she clicked it back into position. Still stung like a bitch though. Her nose underwent much the same treatment, returning it to a less crooked state. She moved the both of them experimentally, cursing when the pain flared up hotter, but mostly pleased with the result. Groaning she turned on her side, slowly hauling her body back onto its feet, hurting all over. Bandaging or stitching up those cuts would have to wait, they weren’t all that bad anyways. She wanted to know if the guards had managed to arrest that freaking monkey.

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan was completely out of breath by the time he finally reached the guards. He had somehow managed to put his pants back on at one point during his hurried flight from Dora’s house, but his shirt was unbuttoned, and his hair was a mess so that he looked more like somebody that had escaped from an insane asylum than a man who would be a duke in the near future. Somehow they still recognized him though which surprised him so much that he just stared at them for a moment. Apparently, he realized, he was even more famous than he had thought!

Had his been any other trial, he would have taken advantage of the situation and let himself be admired, but there was a monster on the loose that would probably kill everybody in the street if they didn’t manage to stop it, so he urged them to hurry along – repeatedly. Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately they encountered a number of panicked people on the way to Dora’s house that confirmed the story that he had told.

They reached their destination just as the monster jumped through the window and onto the street. At this point Tristan had regained most of his courage, probably because he was in the company of a few well-armed men and women. He didn’t try to hide or run or tremble in fear, but looked directly at Dora. By Zanik and Ilaren, she was the ugliest woman he had ever seen! He needed to make a sculpture of her or incorporate her into his newest play when this was over!

So that’s what Dora was. A Becomer. He’d been wondering whether there was a name for what she did. He also wondered if Becoming was something that he might be interested in in the future (Shapeshifting sounded like a lot of fun!), but then she took a hostage, and the guards started shooting, and he abruptly stopped thinking about magic and watched open-mouthed. He had never seen anything like that before! She healed incredibly quickly, and then she became a bird and – and just flew away!

He looked at the guards and then back at Dora and wanted to know, “Why are you not shooting anymore? You can’t let her escape! She’s dangerous!” Since the danger seemed to be over, no matter whether the guards continued to pursue Dora or not, he turned to the old man that she had taken hostage and made sure he was alright before he walked over to Yana. He hadn’t cared much about her before because she had stolen his beloved sculpture, and she was ugly on top of it, but now he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her – and admire her a little because she had bravely fought the beast while he had run.

“Are you alright?” he wanted to know. “She’s gone. If you want to …” he said, paused for a moment and furrowed his brow. “If you want to, you can keep my purse even though I gave it to you under the influence of what was probably magic. It should contain a few dozen nels.”