[Flashback]Into the Snake Pit(Kalasshmalah)

[Wretch]

Winter, Day 64, 510AV Gotta fly. Gotta fly! Gotta fly! That's what his brain was screaming, but Wretch knew better. Kelvics may have been uncommon in Ahnatep, but if anyone saw a crow randomly fly away from a pile of discarded clothing, it wouldn't take a genius to draw the connection. And he was certain those blokes had gotten a good look at his face. As long as everyone went on thinking that Wretch was a foolish, naive human, he could continue working that to his advantage. If they realized he was more... well, then he'd lose the ace up his sleeve. Of course, being captured and sold into the local slave trade would be quite the inconvenience, as well. There was no telling how likely that really was if people were to find out that Wretch was a Kelvic, but after his experiences in Ravok, he wasn't about to take chances. Dashing through the dusty streets under a burning late-afternoon sun, Wretch was losing his edge and speed to utter exhaustion. A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead, spattered with a healthy sprinkling of sand, and he could feel his thin clothing sticking to his skin. He wasn't sure how long he'd been running, but he'd banged both of his shins on assorted alleyway debris and twisted one of his ankles, so the answer to that question was already 'too long.' And those men were still chasing him! Weren't they? He was fairly sure they were. Leaning with the flat of his palm on a gravelly sandstone wall, Wretch paused for a few seconds to catch his breath. He clutched at his knee with his free hand, wheezing as waves of exhaustion came over him, laced with jolts of odd and irritating pains. He remembered running like this quite a lot back in Sunberth when he was first getting into the gambling circuits (running was a lot easier than losing, much of the time), but he was leaner and much more spry in those days. Now every muscle burned, and his lungs ached with every breath. He cursed himself, then his age, then his luck in that order. When he was done, he found the wherewithal to look over his shoulder. "Get back here!" One of the Eypharians chasing him had the courtesy to announce himself before appearing around the corner. Helpful! Wretch was sprinting again by the time he saw the dark figure move toward him in his peripheral vision. "You're giving that back if I have to carve it out of your hands!" Wretch's foot slipped an inch as he dodged around the next corner, causing him to stumble, but he pushed himself back off the ground with one hand to keep from falling and hurried down the next street. He wasn't going to be able to last much longer. He hadn't entirely ruled out switching forms and flying away, but it would be an absolute last resort. Wretch was clever - or at least he thought so. He had a few tricks before he exhausted his one failsafe. "You'd—ah!" Wretch began to retort, but ahead, he'd seen that the Eypharian's friend - six-armer - had cut him off. But he'd arrived too quickly! Wretch had time to pivot and rush down another narrow alleyway. "You'd mutilate me just for a necklace?!" The Kelvic called back in his accented Arumenic. "You don't think that's a LITTLE crazy, mister?!" He leapt over a small pile of rubble and bolted around the next corner. He wasn't sure he recognized this part of the city. Where WAS he? "Really, I'm doing you a favor! I don't think brass pearls do much for your complexion!" "FOYSHA! That necklace is for my wife!" Suddenly, Wretch felt a sharp wind pass his ear, followed by the sight of a rock flying through the air and ricocheting off a sandy yellow wall. He grimaced - that was a near miss. This wasn't going to end well if he ended up getting brained with a rock. He was going to have to change tactics. Simply running wasn't getting him anywhere, so to speak. Up ahead, there was another corner that lead into a main street. He could make out several people calming going abut their daily business as they passed the thin bar of light between the two buildings that guarded the alleyway. He couldn't see much from where he was, but he was sure he could make out a few humans and even a Myrian ahead - this was certainly not the ritzier side of town. The Eypharians chasing him were the leaders of a small drug ring, and in retrospect it had probably not been the best idea to steal from them (but damn, the way that necklace sparkled...). With any luck, they wouldn't be able to tell him apart from the other humans once he got into the open. Still, that was quite a gamble, and he'd have to break their line of sight first. "You bought brass for your wife?" Almost there. "Couldn't you have picked a nicer metal? Silver is much more valuable! Women like that!" It was true. As a long-time collector of shiny things, Wretch had learned a thing or two about valuable metals and their admirers. A string of Arumenic curses sounding from behind him however told Wretch that his acquaintance was not so appreciative of his wisdom on the matter. Bursting from the alleyway and entering the main street, Wretch was suddenly bathed in hot sunlight. Nearly a dozen heads turned to look at him, but all he offered was a quick wave and a small smile before dashing to his left. Before those Eypharians could appear from the corner, Wretch had to disappear. Without even thinking, Wretch dashed into an open door and into the cool shade of a building. He slammed the door behind him, taking another few moments to catch his breath again and closing his eyes as he leaned his head back. He didn't have long before the confused citygoers pointed his pursuers to where he'd gone. Maybe this building would have a back exit somewhere. He only had a few seconds to look around. Forcing himself to breathe calmly, Wretch opened his eyes to search for his escape.

[Kalasshmalah]

Malah watched carefully as something scurried from where she moved some supplies from. It was a scorpion that could fit comfortably in her palm. Amazed by her own luck, she quickly went into action. Moving as slowly as possible, so as not to startle it, she worked her way behind the scorpion. It was a dusky tan color, dark brown to black areas accenting it around the joints. With the quickness only a viper Dhani can manage, she flung her right hand from the side and grabbed the scorpion by the tail, while simultaneously working the left to keep it pinned to the ground. Picking it up very carefully, she took it over to her lab. It fought relentlessly, but she managed to keep it from stinging or pinching her. Sliding the thumb of her left hand out to keep it's tail pinned, she reached out with the now-free right to pick up some needles. Placing several needles into the tail, legs, and pincers of the scorpion, it was firmly held down. Grabbing a small slicing instrument from a nearby shelf. As she began to cut away the top of it's chitin, it cringed and struggled, but was ultimately unable to move. Pulling the top of the hard exterior off, she marveled at the intricate muscle network to a little bit. Growing bored however, she began once again to slice at it. Removal of the muscles proved to be exceedingly hard, and she damaged much of it's innards beyond recognition. Cursing, she took a breath and attempted to salvage at least the venom glands in the tail. The scorpion was still fidgeting in an annoying fashion though, so she first cut the head off of it. After a few postmortem shakes, it settled down. Once more bringing the sting in her focus. Getting ready to cut the sting off, she put her knife in place and took a deep breath. SLAM! A loud noise through her off. Her blade cut straight through the sting, and the glands beneath, spilling their precious liquid. Petch! she swore inwardly as she looked for what had caused the disturbance. A tall, dark man stood at her door looking like he just ran a marathon. Anger possessing her, she moved as fast as she could to try to avoid him realizing she was there. Arriving to the side of him, she used her left hand to hold the door shut, while her right still held the knife. "What brings you in here?" she said sweetly enough, but she was frowning and tensed.

[Wretch]

And there was a knife. Just there, glinting in the dim light, both cheerfully and maliciously - the same as the voice of the girl holding onto it. Oh he saw her, in his peripheral vision - a small, waif-like thing with incredibly long (and for some reason white) hair - but Wretch's large brown eyes were locked only on the knife. He was still very, very aware of the two Eypharians chasing him down in the street, and suddenly he was wondering if he might have been better off throwing his lot in with them. "Um!" Wretch was grasping at straws. The girl had asked something. What was it, again? And where was he? From the look of the place, it looked like some kind of storage house, or more likely a shop. "You know! Shopping! Lovely day isn't it?" It looked like he was talking to the knife, and by he right he almost was. Now that he'd been staring so long, he began to catch the cloudy reflection of himself - dirty and roughed, needing a shave and scared out of his wits. "In a bit of a tight spot, actually. I really hope you aren't planning to gut me with that. I'm a really interesting person once you get to know me, and I'd very much like to live. You might like to know that there are some men after me who might come bursting through this door. I swear I'll make it worth your while if you let me hide in here until they go away." Through the door behind him, Wretch could hear mixed shouting from the street outside. The Eypharians had caught up, and someone was about to tell them where he'd run, he just knew it. Still, by the stark look of things, he began to feel strangely optimistic. Two blood thirsty Eypharians up in arms about a lousy brass necklace, or a soft-spoken girl of small stature with some kind of utility knife? He was certainly happier taking his chances with the girl, at least for the moment.

[Kalasshmalah]

"My sshop isss not open yet." Malah stated plainly, before wondering it was even like outside. It could have been raining for all she knew, though it she didn't particularly care. She didn't voice this though, keeping her eyes affixed upon the man. After he finished his spiel, Malah pointed the knife to him, holding it there for a moment. Almost reluctantly, she shifted it to point to the spare bedroom "Hide in there if you want, but you'll owe me." she said with a slight smile, then added slowly, "And break anything on the way, and men won't be the only ones after your hide." When Wretch made his way to the bedroom, she began pulling off her robes. Then came her underclothes, which were all folded and stacked neatly in a pile. When she finished, her muscles began to pulse. The white hair sunk into her skin, which began to develop scales. Malah's legs fused together, elongating and forming a tail. Stretching out all of her almost nine feet and looking over her Dhani form, she was pleased. She flexed and tested each muscle, getting used to their new positions, when a banging resounded off the door. Bringing herself to her full height, she reached out and flung the door open. "What do you want?!" she hissed out in snake-tongue, then repeated herself in common when they stared at her. It felt good to release some of her anger. The four-armed Eypharian was closest, out of breath with two of his arms frozen mid knock. His six-armed friend was bent over catching his breath behind him. "I-I want the man..." he muttered out before repeating with a less fear "I want the man who ran in here!" "Doesss it look like there is a man in here? And if any man did come in here, he would be ssupper very sssoon." Malah threatened, her hood flaring instinctively. "Now, leave me be, before I decide I'm in the mood for a little snack." The Eypharians reeled back from her anger. They weren't prepared to take down a Dhani at the moment, but that would change eventually. They just needed to get some friends first, and possibly some weapons. The six-armed man put a hand on the others shoulder, pulling him back "Perhaps we were mistaken, let's check the building next door." Four-arms agreed, and they walked off. Malah doubted they ment what they said though. She would have to worry about that later though, there was one more thing to take care of first. Shutting the door hard, she returned inside and began shifting back into her human form. She put her clothes back on, then went to the spare bedroom. Opening the door, she looked around for the reason she was in this mess.

[Wretch]

Wretch found it awkwardly difficult not to laugh when the white-haired girl remarked about her shop not being open. Of course, he hadn't really been shopping, but her stiff refusal of his patronage itself was halfway adorable - and would have been entirely so if she hadn't been brandishing that knife. To his stark surprise, however, not only did she quickly interpret the dire urgency of the situation, but she even offered to help! The nature of the hurry Wretch was in might have pressured her into agreeing, if only just for now, but hell, he'd take it! His hide was on the line, here! "Yes ma'am!" he barked happily, then quickly bolted toward the room she'd indicated. Not another instant later, he shut another door behind him, thankful to be alone and not running (or pleading) for his life for the moment. He heard what must have been the Eypharians banging on the front door, and as a muffled dialogue ensued in the next room, Wretch began looking for his next hiding spot. The girl was fetching, he'd give her that, but she didn't look like she could hold her own against two low class, but well armed (pun intended!) Eypharian thugs. Likely enough, they'd come after him in the room once they were finished with her. Poor girl. Searching the room, he realized there weren't many places for a grown man to hide in, not convincingly. The window didn't look large enough for him to slip out of. If he shifted forms, however... it meant he'd have to leave his clothing behind and... well wait, what if the girl DID survive! She did say he'd owe him. For all he knew, he'd left her to the wolves - and he was perfectly fine with that. But if she was more capable than he looked... well, honestly, he could stand to make a few allies in Ahnatep. Right, he would escape, but not before he saw just where this all could go. Still, shifting forms seemed like the best idea. Stripping his clothing, he kicked it into an unrecognizable pile in a corner between a pair of boxes. Shaking himself off, the Kelvic was suddenly a light, black-feathered crow just a minute later. The bird hopped forward, nudging through the clothing that smelled strongly like himself with his onyx beak. Ah! There it was! Grasping the sparkling, polished brass necklace between his beak, Wretch opened his wings and fluttered up into the air. He quickly found himself between two wooden crates, and stowed himself away behind them. His claws scratched against the wooden plank floor as he edged deeper into the shadow, waiting for the danger to pass. He could just barely hear an inaudible conversation through the wall. As he sat there, he began wondering suddenly just how a girl as small statured and young-looking as her could own her own shop in Ahnatep. She looked... unnatural. Not quite human. Wretch wasn't very good with races, he could never keep them straight. There must have been more than met the eye with her. Now that he thought about it, did she speak with a strange lisp? Or was he remembering things wrong? It was hard to say at this point, but presumably all things would become clear soon. He hoped the Eypharians wouldn't burst in looking for him. As the door latch opened, Wretch jumped involuntarily, his claws again scraping at the floor. No, no, just stay still. Every instinct screamed at him to fly, but his better intelligence reminded him there was nowhere to fly to. Just be still, and it would all be fine.

[Kalasshmalah]

"You're sssafe for now, ssstranger." Malah called out as she pushed the door slowly, looking around the room as it opened up to her. The first thing she saw was the straw mattress, then the window was revealed. No sign of him yet... Pushing the the rest of the way open, she saw that he wasn't at the table either. She was worried he might have escaped, but she knew the window to be far too small for him to get through. And she was sure he never came back out of the room. No, he had to still be in here somewhere. Continuing her entry, she led the way with the knife. Now that he was safe from the Eypharians, she didn't doubt the man might try to worm his way away from her, and she had no intention of letting that happen. As soon as she made it though, she shut the door behind her. Another cursory glance across the room found no sign of him. Stalking carefully forward, she checked behind the bed and the table "Petch!" she swore after they both turned out nothing. Where could he have gotten off to? Tentatively she looked up to the ceiling to see if he had managed to prop himself up there, and felt rather stupid when she saw nothing. Walking to the window in a foul mood, she let out her displeasure in a low hiss. Had he really been able to squeeze out of this tiny thing?

[Wretch]

Through the small space between his two crates, the bird watched the white-haired girl pass through the room. She still had that knife out, pointing it outward like a vigilant guard dog. Why? Hadn't the threat gone? Clearly, she still intended to gut him. That figured. Why did he even think a stranger in Ahnatep would help him, even if she was some small-framed, young-looking girl? How had she managed to convince those men to leave anyway? Again, Wretch found himself in a dilemma. The coward in him, the crow in him, and every bit of sense in him knew that it would be in his best interests to seek some kind of escape. Perhaps if she opened the window, Wretch could attempt to escape right past her. It had a very slim chance of being successful. Hiding until she lost interest may not work either. And presented with this impossibility, there was one nature in Wretch that begged him to investigate. The Kelvic wanted to bond, and knew he never could if he continued living the way he was. Wretch's indecision was swallowed by a startling swirl of light that engulfed the small bird's body and most of the corner he had taken to hiding in. As it passed, Wretch's human form remained, clutching the brass necklace in hand. The less polite parts of him were thankfully hidden from view as he knelt behind the boxes no longer large enough to hide him. Even if nudity was not a concept that particularly bothered him, he had been among humans long enough to know that there was something very disconcerting about being in a woman's bedroom, WITH the woman, without a scrap of clothing on. "Um," the Kelvic began, rubbing the back of his head. Wretch glanced down at himself, then back up at her. If the girl didn't know already that he was a Kelvic, by that display and his transformation, this was going to get REALLY awkward. "Thanks. And uh… don't jump to conclusions. I just can't switch forms if I'm wearing clothing. It gets very messy."

[Kalasshmalah]

A flurry of light distracted Malah from her fuming. Whirling around, she first looked to the door to see if that was where the flash came from. A naked man, the man she helped out she remembered belatedly, was crouched behind come boxes. What in Falyndar was this man doing...naked?! Is he trying to seduce me? Eyes wide and staring right at him, she couldn't help but notice he was in good shape. Unfortunately for him, though, Malah was neither able to copulate with him, nor attracted to humans. After the initial shock wore off, Malah was calmed down enough to see that he knew how awkward this was. This just left her wondering why he was unclothed. In an attempt to make the man feel safer, even if he wasn't, she set the knife on the table just behind her. She was quick, even for a Dhani, and positive she could reach it first should the need arise. For now though, the false sense of security could play into her hands quite well. Watching the man's reaction carefully, she slowly walked a few steps closer. "Ah. A ssshapesshifter assss well? I know the hasssle clothing can be with that." This explained quite a bit, including why she couldn't find him. Apparently he wasn't human when she was looking around the room. Thirst of knowledge overtook her, and she was quite curios as to just what this man could change into. He wasn't a Dhani, she could tell that much from his lack of accent and that she knew there weren't any large snakes in the room. "What are you then, that you can change formsss?" Realizing that talking to him while he was completely naked was a bit unnerving to her, and that he might appreciate having something on himself, she quickly looked around the room for his clothes. Unable to locate them, she turned her gaze back towards the naked male. "Where are your clothess? I'll leave the room for a moment while you dressss. Come on out when you are decent, then we'll talk." Not waiting for a real answer, she picked up the knife and retreated back into the lab area. Putting the knife on the center table for easy access, she turned to the door and awaited his return.