Character Sheet
The Mysterious Orphan

Name: Lotte, daughter of Henrik and Anelie
Sexuality: Pansexual
Age: 18
Species: Lamia, Central Lands Human Culture
Level: 3
Class: Hunter
Weapons: Bow, Knife

XP: 2/18

Description: A tall lamia, with short blond hair, and blue eyes, dressed in a protective vest and a noble's hunting shirt. They are muscular, well-formed and handsome, and have slightly yellowish eyes and a forked tongue. Their snake-half is in a forest pattern that helps for blending in, except for the occasional splash of Tyrian purple.

Traits:

Just Devotions (Racial--Human, Central, Cultural)(Level 0): Humans in some parts of the world worship the Gods, vast and sometimes unknowable beings that do grant blessings to those that believe in them, magical blessings. But even the lowliest of the pious knows how to pray to them, how to do the right supplications, how to act in the proper ways. This knowledge can sometimes be put to good use, though the Gods rarely turn their eyes to every little prayer.

Wholesome Farm Looks (Human, Central, Physical, Level 1): Though most of the people of the Central lands, that mass of Kingdoms, Princedoms, Dukedoms, Duchess States, and more, are of course quite poor, they are a hardy, hard-working people, and sometimes this life less beats a person down and more hones them. They have reasonably good looks, and even more importantly, look trustworthy, clean-cut, and otherwise like the kind of person who'd never lied a day in their life or slacked off a single hour, either. This remains even after becoming a lamia, though it is... tempered, obviously.

Snake Eyes (Level 1, Physical, Lamia): You can see in the dark pretty well. It isn't perfect, but the night is not nearly so dark and full of dangers as you expected it would be, for whatever reason.


Forest Wanderer (0, Pre-Class): The forest is a fascinating place for a child, as long as they don't go too far. As one gets used to it, one learns more about its ins and outs, and while some of it only applies to the forest that such a child lived in at first, much of it is quite helpful later.

Forest Eyes (Level 1. Class): As one could have eyes that pick out every tiny detail of the tundra, so can one be used to seeing in the dark forest tracks, possibilities, old growth, traps, and anything else, especially when one knows how to use your ears and nose to aid it. It is remarkable how much you can see, when you see what is actually there.

Hunter's Mettle (Level 1, Class): To hunt, one needs a bow, an arrow, and perhaps a knife for self-defense. Having some skill at them is inevitable, having solid skill at them is admirable, and quite useful.

Steady Arm (Level 2, Class): You have a strong, consistent aim. You're not a superlative archer, at least by the standards of adventurers, but you don't have off moments, and you don't waver from being able to hit your target, even if you're not doing the fancier tricks.

Leave Few Traces (Level 2, Class): The experience of being on one side of the hunt makes you wonder how you'd hide your tracks if you were being hunted, or tracked by hostile enemies, as sometimes does happen in adventures. You've begun to practice how not to be followed in the woods, and perhaps elsewhere.


Mending Knowledge, Basic (Level 0, Pre-Class, Healing Priest): You know how to apply poultrices, and you know the basic ingredients of a number of potions that cure headaches, deal with common pains, put someone into a gentle sleep, and other minor things. You can also bandage someone properly. You are not very good at this, merely adequate... but that's more than what most people are.


Whitlin' Ways (Level 1, Common): A man or woman who knows how to whittle will never want for whistles, or spoons, or any number of goods. It's a useful, solid sort of skill, and one that could be made into a trade. It also makes a pretty decent way to pass the time, and the person who whittles never lacks for a knife in sticky situations.

Penny Pincher (Level 1, General): You know the value of a Pfin, and how to keep from wasting all of your money, even if you're far from a merchant. Money is something you're familiar with.

Steel Nerves (General, Level 3): You've seen enough strange places and done enough fantastic things that you are less likely to panic in terrible situations, and more likely to think things through, however difficult. This doesn't mean you can't panic at all, but you have a grip on those nerves. In battle and danger only, this unfortunately doesn't help at all with social anxiety.


Divine Sense (Level 0, Divine): You can sense when someone is a Demigod, and there's at least the potential ability--though you have not figured it out yet--to try to track people through their divine 'scent.' A person's 'scent' gets stronger as they get more magically and divinely powerful... but on the other hand, you now have a 'scent' of your own, that will allow other demigods to know you for what you are, increasingly as you grow more powerful yourself.

Captivating Eyes (Level 2, Divine): You can sometimes 'catch' people with your eyes. If you're concentrating, they'll find it slightly more difficult to look away, though any sense of threat or danger breaks it immediately, and they'll hear your words clearly, actually listening… or at least hearing them. There's no requirement to listen to them, nor does it seem as if anyone's mind is being altered in any way, but it's an interesting, if bizarre, power, and certainly is a new take on 'lost in their eyes.'

Slithering Shadows (Level 3, Divine): You can blend into the shadows better than you should be able to. At night, and in darker areas, you can seem to shift away from sight. It doesn't work well in a wide-open space, but that little bit of extra secrecy can be very useful as a hunter, and as someone who might need to sneak through various areas.
 
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[X] Yes. She trusts and loves her parents, even if this is clearly not the sort of thing they'd have experience in. And she might as well tell everything now. Perhaps saying it aloud to someone would help make it real, and help it all to make sense.

"I… I've never seen one quite that large," Anelie said.

"I've never seen one at all. Anelie, where did you--"

"When I was adventuring, of course."

Naja looked at the woman. She was an ex-adventurer?
Its not definitive...but adventurers tend to see a lot of the world and if not necessarily understand, they're a bit more tolerant.

I mean, your daughter came back a completely different species, and you accept that.
This should be similar.
 
[X] Yes. She trusts and loves her parents, even if this is clearly not the sort of thing they'd have experience in. And she might as well tell everything now. Perhaps saying it aloud to someone would help make it real, and help it all to make sense.
 
[X] Yes. She trusts and loves her parents, even if this is clearly not the sort of thing they'd have experience in. And she might as well tell everything now. Perhaps saying it aloud to someone would help make it real, and help it all to make sense.
 
[X] No. They're dealing with enough to try to understand about how she's changed. Plus, what if they think it's a mental change, or… something like that. Besides, Lotte really isn't sure of her own feelings, so perhaps talking now, when she doesn't know whether it's anything or not would be a mistake.
 
2:3
2:3

"I suppose I will, Ma," Lotte answered, smiling a little weakly. "I've made friends, and if I ever go on a wrong path, they'll help set me back in the right direction before too long."

"That's important, out there," Anelie admitted, quietly, as she stepped closer. "It's a dangerous world without allies. Keep them however you have to, even if you have to lie to do it." She said it casually, even as Lotte's father looked faintly outraged at the idea of encouraging such deception. Henrik was an honest man, at least about things that mattered. He wouldn't reveal his every thought to anyone who asked, but neither would he cheat someone the way Lotte was, offer them an animal that had been drugged to be lively, or which had been stuffed full of rotten food to increase its weight just long enough to sell.

Lotte, in this metaphor of hers, was just such a beast, and yet the seller also. But she couldn't admit it, for the same reason that half of those cheats were simply desperate men and women. What other choice did she have? None, at least not yet, and she cared for them as more than just people who could be replaced if they left. Aisling was kind in her way, Naja was interesting, Karle intelligent and odd, and even the one woman that Lotte knew nothing about she'd miss… especially since it meant that Karle would have left as well, mercenaries being as they were.

"...I'll try not to lie to them any more than I have to," Lotte assured Henrik, just as Anelie got close enough to hug Lotte tight.

Lotte hugged her back, and closed her eyes, imagining that the world had not changed nearly as much as she thought it had. Her mother's fingers carded through her hair, carefully and yet soothingly. "You'll always be my miracle child. All those years I waited, and did not know it was for a child like you. You've made us proud, and you've done so much already. I can tell that you've gotten stronger, and not just in your body." She patted his arm. "In your heart as well. Which does bring me around to something I've been meaning to ask."

Lotte swallowed but took the bait, "Yes?"

"Have you been getting up to anything on the road? It's common enough, whatever my husband may say of it, so I was curious."

"I… not long out of the village I ran across a Rat Piper and his apprentice, who he was cruel to. The Piper was tormenting an old, childless couple because the husband wouldn't pay his price. I captured him before he did worse, with the help of that apprentice. Her name was Lisbeth, and she was a Ratfolk, influenced by his pipes, raised by him, and yet aware that he'd taken a dark turn once he started to think of murder for vengenace."

"And… you?" Anelie asked.

"We shared a kiss, and then parted," Lotte said.

"That is sweet, Lotte. I assume that is where you first met Beastfolk… other Beastfolk?"

Henrik, though he looked uncertain, was listening intently, no doubt just as curious as Anelie.

"Yes, it is. And a few days ago, I kissed an archivist, Frederick, in a hidden library where we were researching what happened to me. Many times," Lotte said, her cheeks heating up. "But nothing more than that. Then we slept together, actually slept and nothing more, and he left in the morning."

"Interesting," Anelie said. "Husband, you will be happy to know that thus far she takes after her mother. Far more flirtation than action, and only then with people that she seems to care for."

Lotte didn't mind if that was evident in her voice. They were not subtle people: Henrik's odd sort of relief was evident in his shoulders.

"I admit… that does reassure me."

"That's good, because I need to talk to Lotte for a while, and I need you to get a bag with all of my supplies, husband dear. I skimped on some things owning to your fears. If they are… dealt with, than I can be more honest." Anelie said it in the tone of voice Lotte was familiar with, the one that worked against both Henrik and Lotte alike, both of them jumping to do what they could. At least usually.

This time Henrik nodded, and said, "Though that Naja girl will be back before too long."

"Well, then we'll have to talk fast. There's plenty to teach, if you can afford the time for your old woman," Anelie said, her voice soft and quiet, in that almost teasing tone.

"Of course I can, ma!"

"You might want to leave, Henrik, before you hear too much." Henrik hurried away, as Lotte tried to consider what exactly was going to be learning.

Soon they were alone in the clearing, birds chirping in the distance.

"Was Frederick naked when you slept together?"

"Y-yes," Lotte confessed.

"I thought so. Did you want to have sex with him, though I can tell you're not lying when you said you didn't, dear." Anelie said it so casually, though Lotte had to resist nervously slithering backwards.

"Did I… I…" Lotte began, not sure how to answer it. She had felt desire, and now she felt it again, coiling in her belly. But the thought of…

"You don't want to get pregnant? Is that it? Or you don't think it's done?" Anelie asked, frowning. "In my experience, simply telling yourself never to give into temptation does not work."

Lotte winced. It wasn't quite that, though the idea of getting pregnant was enough to make Lotte want to run away. But it was more that the very idea of being penetrated made her physically ill. This seemed like another obvious sign that perhaps she wasn't… that she… she wasn't sure, though. She bit her lip.

"But were you still attracted to him?" Anelie asked.

Lotte hid her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, dear, I just… do need to state it obviously."

"...Yes, but I didn't want to…"

"Which is one thing I'm going to tell you about. There are potions that can weaken the menses along with your chance of having children. But even beyond it, there are things I can tell you about, ways that a woman might pleasure a man, or a man or woman a woman, that have no chance of having a child, nor of failing to… satisfy one." Anelie had to pause, to look away. "This is going to be awkward, but I believe it might help you, and who else is going to tell you?"

Naja walked in as Anelie was explaining things that could be done with fingers and tongues… and then turned right around and walked away, face as red as if she had not probably had plenty of experience with all of those things and more with Aisling.

(It should have been at least a little gross to think of. Surely they'd be sweaty, and why would one put one's mouth…

Except, when she summoned up the image of Frederick's cock and imagined those sorts of things, it had felt like anything but disgusting.)

By the time Henrik had returned, Lotte was longing for release from the torment. It was all interesting, but hearing it from one's mother was an absolutely nightmare.

"I have the supplies, dear," Henrik said, thrusting them at her--Anelie had sat down at some point, and Lotte had settled low to the ground--and then retreating.

"You could almost stay, because I'm just going to be making sure Lotte remembers a little about the art of bandaging wounds, applying herbal remedies… that sort of thing. Because you're going to have to rely on yourself. So please, be diligent in learning this, Lotte."

******

Lotte's head was swimming with the names of herbs and where to find them by the time she finally managed to get away… but she also had a good deal of potion meant especially for the problem of menses. (And sex, but Lotte just thought of how much better it'd feel never to be haunted by control of the moon, again. She wasn't going to have to test the ability of the potions to prevent a pregnancy. Not now, not ever.)

But Naja finally arrived, and she asked, "So was it a good talk?"

"It was," Lotte said, her face red.

"You really didn't know about--" Naja began.

"No. Animals don't exactly get up to any of that," Lotte muttered. All of her sexual knowledge came from the fact that she lived on a farm. Besides that, she wasn't one of those youths who had sought out inappropriate songs, and she certainly hadn't been the kind of person who had fooled around with half the village by the time she was sixteen. Instead, she'd all but told the Minnesängers to skip any details even having a little to do with sex.

"And that's… well, I'd believe it. We should go. Was it a good experience with your parents?"

"Yes, it was," Lotte said, setting aside her thoughts about what she'd been told. "I hadn't expected they'd be so… understanding."

"Did you tell them about the thing Aisling thinks?"

"It's just an idea." Lotte shook her head. "Maybe it's true, and maybe it's not, but I'm not going to worry them for nothing."

"Worry them? Aren't you their child?"

"I… yes," Lotte said. "But there's already a lot for them to go through. D-do you tell your father about your feelings for Aisling?"

"What feelings?! We're just having sex," Naja said, so loud that a few birds flew away in fear and protest.

Lotte realized that if the world was cruel, Aisling would somehow have been in hearing range of that. Thankfully for Naja it wasn't. "I believe you," Lotte said, trying and failing to sound like she meant it. She grimaced at her own words.

"Either way… what matters now is getting back. Perhaps all those supplies will help."

"Maybe."

******

"It will be four days of travel to reach our destination," Karle said. "It would be fewer, but some of us can't ride, and more importantly, others of us aren't used to walking a long way. Or slithering." He coughed, looking over at Lotte. "Naja told me your parents were approving? This is a good thing. Just to be clear, if you were moving on your own, you'd no doubt improve on that time by a considerable amount. However, Naja is weak."

"I am not," Naja said, with a childish pout. "But it is true that my feet get sore if I walk everywhere."

"Well, most people's asses get sore if they ride everywhere," Pippa pointed out, bluntly. "It will be good exercise."

It was, though it wasn't the only exercise Lotte engaged in. She tried to sneak up on animals, she went wandering in the safer parts of the forest at night, she tried everything except for the strange ability of her eyes to catch that of another.

She whistled in the day, and tried and failed to ignore the glares in one village when she went along to gather supplies. A woman had come up to her, and mumbled words of holy verse as if they would drive her off. The woman was old, and half-toothless, but she cursed up a storm when she realized that Lotte was trying to ignore her. Her words stung, "Forked tongue worthless whoreson, how dare you come into our village to spread your poison--"

"Excuse me, but go away, ma'am," Aisling said, stepping up, weapons undrawn but ears tense and high on her head. "Out of respect for your age and obviously failing mind, I will excuse the insult to a loyal and brave adventurer. But I am an elf, and you know we do not respect the infirmities of human age." She shook her head. "Leave, if you would."

"You can't talk to my mother like that," a dark-haired man who was the leader of this village. "I'll have you thrown out."

"Will you?" Aisling asked, with a cruelly raised eyebrow. "A noble's money is no good, anymore?"

"A snake's isn't!" the old woman cursed, spittle flecking onto Lotte's clothing.

"Take the supplies and leave!" the village headman yelled, and Lotte retreated, shamefaced and unwilling to hear anyone's reassurances. It wasn't as if they'd not face something like that in plenty of villages. It was better if Lotte simply stayed away. She wandered the forests and roads, and tried to enjoy the labor she did. She had plenty to lift and haul, whether it was animals or supplies, and she tried to lose herself in her usual patterns. She wasn't someone like Naja or Karle, who thought all the time about everything. Sometimes she just liked sinking into her duties. There were entire weeks, during some of her most miserable months as a teenager, where she didn't have a single original thought.

She'd gotten up, she'd moved through the instincts and learned behaviors of farm life and hunting alike, coming alive only enough to do her task well. It was not something she could ever imagine Naja doing.

She slipped a little into that mindset, until they finally stopped for the day at noon, in a clearing in a rather new looking woods, an area that must have been cut, and recently. "Very well. Tonight we will walk the route. There is a specific order of torches we will follow, into the woods, and then beyond the woods, into a space warped and twisted by a Sepult who owed the village a debt of gratitude. Tonight, guided by these torches, we will reach our destination. There is supposed to be a small camp outside the village, where travelers can stay until they are deemed safe."

*****

That night, they made their way through what should have been a dark, difficult forest to navigate, the moon only half-revealed. But Lotte could see perfectly well in the dark, and could even see the occasional sign in a language she didn't understand, nailed to the trees as they moved from a red torch, to a green, to a red, to a blue, to a yellow… it was a long path, and they moved in silence, nobody quite trusting decades old instructions.

And then they saw it.

It wasn't a village. No, a village didn't have walls. They were not high walls, not the walls of a city, but there were walls nonetheless, the marking of a town, and buildings beyond it, just visible in the dim light. And before the gates, there were a small clump of tents, and an old man with ears like a cat and a greying tail, who stood up and said, "Ah, visitors. Please, make yourself welcome. Like any town, it is closed after dark, and we can assure no safety in the night if you went inside. There are thieves everywhere."

"Wait, town? I thought this was a village," Naja said.

"Oh. It's a town now. These things grow," the old man rasped. "So I suppose I will be the first to introduce you to the Town of Allswell!"

In the morning, what does Lotte do? (Choose 2)

[] The market day is tomorrow. Go visit the market and see what there is to see.
[] Go straight to the lamia quarters, and try to find the Temple, or someone who knows what's going on.
[] Find somewhere to get a drink… oh no, not in the morning, though as a Central Lander, that wouldn't be entirely uncharacteristic… but for future reference. That'll also tell you more about commerce outside the market in all its forms.
[] Wander around the nicer parts of town, seeing what there is, and trying to get a grasp on the kinds of beastfolk here.
[] Stick close with the others, especially Naja, who is likely to be wandering in strange places out of curiosity.
[] Write-in.

******

A/N: If the ending seems slightly rushed, it is. I might at some point go back to add to that section, but that's still the gist of things.

I don't even have a good excuse, and I'm going to have to skip next week's update because I'm really behind on my Master's Thesis.
 
[X] Go straight to the lamia quarters, and try to find the Temple, or someone who knows what's going on.
[X] The market day is tomorrow. Go visit the market and see what there is to see.
 
[X] Find somewhere to get a drink… oh no, not in the morning, though as a Central Lander, that wouldn't be entirely uncharacteristic… but for future reference. That'll also tell you more about commerce outside the market in all its forms.
[X] Stick close with the others, especially Naja, who is likely to be wandering in strange places out of curiosity.
 
[X] Go straight to the lamia quarters, and try to find the Temple, or someone who knows what's going on.
[X] Stick close with the others, especially Naja, who is likely to be wandering in strange places out of curiosity.
 
[X] Go straight to the lamia quarters, and try to find the Temple, or someone who knows what's going on.
[X] Wander around the nicer parts of town, seeing what there is, and trying to get a grasp on the kinds of beastfolk here.
 
[X] Go straight to the lamia quarters, and try to find the Temple, or someone who knows what's going on.
[X] Wander around the nicer parts of town, seeing what there is, and trying to get a grasp on the kinds of beastfolk here.
 
[X] Wander around the nicer parts of town, seeing what there is, and trying to get a grasp on the kinds of beastfolk here.
[X] Stick close with the others, especially Naja, who is likely to be wandering in strange places out of curiosity.
 
[X] Go straight to the lamia quarters, and try to find the Temple, or someone who knows what's going on.
[X] Stick close with the others, especially Naja, who is likely to be wandering in strange places out of curiosity.
 
[x] Go straight to the lamia quarters, and try to find the Temple, or someone who knows what's going on.
[x] Stick close with the others, especially Naja, who is likely to be wandering in strange places out of curiosity.
 
2:4
2:4

"It was supposed to be a village," Naja muttered in the morning, squinting against the light of the sun in her eyes at the town before her. It wasn't even a small town, though neither was it big. Lotte had no experience with judging how many people might be in a town, and so she wasn't even going to guess. But it was certainly far more than were in her home village, and that'd been complex enough. In the light of the sun, some of the roofs gleamed, though there was plenty of thatching, and a few buildings here and there that stood above all the others. Some looked like large homes… but not castles. Others were clearly places of worship.

They circled around the town, twice, as if they were dogs trying to catch a scent.

"Well, it is not," Karle said. "It seems as if you must adapt to the differences of the world."

"You're the University boy," Naja retorted, frowning.

At the outskirts of the town to the north, of course, were the blacksmiths, leatherworkers, and more. All of the professions that fouled the air tended to get pushed together, towards the edge of town. Along the south, the wall gave way to farmland, stretching out of sight, no doubt a result of the Sepult's manipulation of space itself.

The stories told of how, in the days of their greatest glory, they'd had entire huge crops in a crack in time and space underground, so that it was impossible to besiege Sepult cities and castles in a mountain, even if you could somehow ring every possible exit with troops and keep them there, against mortal and rightful fear of what they'd do.

This was nothing like that, but it did make Lotte think. It also made Lotte think to see the men and women going out to a small stream to the west, which seemed to be a place for laundry. Ratfolk, bearfolk--women with great big bodies, and claws carefully filed down, and brown skin--a satyr or something like it, a man with cloven hooves who went distractingly shirtless…

There was only a single human, and he was in rougher looking clothing than any of the others. If Lotte had to guess, some sort of servant. But she knew she could be wrong. She'd never want to be so arrogant as to assume. Besides, she'd heard it said that werewolves looked just like humans most of the time, and they were reckoned beastfolk.

There were men with rough looking backs and slightly greenish looking skin, women with feathers in their hair that didn't seem to be placed in it, and one young lamia boy who glanced up at Lotte as she passed, and stared for a moment, as if struck by something.

Lotte didn't know whether to feel more or less comfortable for it. On the one hand, there was nobody who would spit and curse at her for being a lamia… she hoped. On the other, even a month ago she would be as out of place as Naja looked, worrying at her lip with her teeth. It took almost two hours for Naja to get up the nerve to go to the front gate, where she'd find two guards and a wide open gate. One of the guards was a tall, dark-haired man, with a cat's tail dark pointed ears, and a beautiful shortbow that he was in the process of restringing as Lotte came up.

The other was a short blonde woman, stout looking and with a large nose, who wore her mail armor with ease and grace, and stepped towards them with her axe when they approached. "Ah, so these are the visitors," she snorted, her blue eyes narrowed. She had a fine smile, and callused hands as she reached out towards Lotte. "I suppose you thought that because you knew some relative here, you were free to bring along any humans you wanted, hm?"

"I have no relatives here," Lotte said, as she looked closer at him.

"Well, sir… or madam? I find that hard to believe. A strapping young thing like you, with an unstrung bow and good looks? You'd be anyone's choice for a relative."

Lotte knew that this was the way of things, especially among nobles who had more to lose. Couples who couldn't have children adopted distant cousins, nephews, nieces, and more all the time. It was a subject of quite a few silly stories about one adventurer or another being adopted. Though her mother had said that it had happened at least once, just as at least once adventurers had found chests full of gold relatively unguarded.

"I'm not interested," Lotte said, honestly. She had a mother and a father already.

"Yeah, now may we all pass?" Naja asked, peering uncertainly at the woman. Lotte guessed she must be a boarfolk or pigfolk or whatever it was called, based on her ears, among other things.

"Of course, of course. Just obey the rules, keep your hands to yourself, and you'll be fine. But I will be watching you."

"There is no need to be so dramatic," the catfolk man said, with a wave of her hand. "It's just a few guests, Olga."

"You can keep your opinion to yourself, Kätzchen," Olga purred, with a gesture meant to approximate a cat batting around yarn.

"Please don't call me that," the man said, with a sigh. "I am Kulbert Smithson."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kulbert," Karle said, his voice formal and carefully controlled. "Would you happen to know where, if anywhere, most lamia live?"

"Right in the center, but to the west," Olga said with a shrug. "You won't be able to miss it. You really won't. They're pretty high and mighty for clans half the town hates. Well, some of them, at least."

Lotte frowned at that, but what could she say? She knew nothing about what actual lamia did, ones who had been born lamia. (She knew technically she had been born a lamia, but what did that really matter? She hadn't lived as one, and didn't even know how she would. A part of her thought that perhaps it'd be better not to try.)

So they were nodded in, and then there was the town before them.

It was a lot to take in, and Lotte just inhaled the scent of bodies and sweat and dung and everything else that always came with people squished together in close quarters, her eyes darting and finding a half-dozen new species of beastfolk in a matter of seconds. A horned man's ears, combined with his horns, marked him as some sort of bullfolk? Cowfolk? Lotte wasn't sure. A strange woman seemed to have eyes like some insect, and a person whose gender she couldn't determine had a sheep's tail, and hair on their head that looked as light, soft and tangled as the finest wool.

The buildings themselves could have been in any of the towns she passed by, other than having somewhat wider entrances. There was the same riot of color enthusiastically thrown onto the walls where they had a chance to, the same slightly ramshackle look to some of the houses, and the sturdy, solid look of others. The road was solid, good cobbles, and there were carts going here and there, as the people dodged around it.

Lotte didn't get any curious looks at all, but she noticed a lot of looks thrown towards the humans.

There were indeed other humans on the streets, but just a few individuals, among the dozens and dozens Lotte could see at any moment, all streaming by fast enough that even she knew that the population of this whole town might reach over a thousand.

How much over? How would she know.

"What a village," Naja muttered. "How did they get this big in just two generations?"

"It doesn't matter," Aisling said, wincing as a ratfolk pushed past the whole group, carrying supplies on his back. His tail had whipped against her leg, entirely by accident Lotte guessed. (What if it wasn't?)

Slowly they made their way towards the west, through narrow streets and wide streets, beastfolk visible everywhere, until at last Lotte saw her first lamia. They were a child, with a child's uncertainty--boy or girl Lotte could not guess--slithering along after a ball. Their tail was green-brown, their shift a little big on them. Perhaps a hand-me-down from older siblings?

Lotte couldn't help but gape as they passed the child, who barely spared them a glance. Then they were out on the streets, and the number of lamia for Lotte to gape at increased. Lotte couldn't help it, they were in all sizes and body types, though they seemed to trend towards thinner than she was, though there were plenty of reasons that could be, including that she wasn't seeing any lamia laborers. Either way, they all seemed to wear clothing stopping at most a foot down their tail, in styles not all that different than those of humans, though with hoods that were somewhat larger, as if they were trying to block out the sun. Which made no sense, considering how nice the sun felt on Lotte's body now.

"Once we find the temple, we should probably leave you to it," Naja said. "You can tell us what they say later, if they even see you yet."

Lotte nodded, aware that the most popular temples often had supplicants waiting for days to talk to the head priests if it was for less pressing matter. If it was just a wish for a blessing, or to talk about the wisdom of a God. "I understand that," Lotte said.

She slithered along, the rest of the team in her wake, and tried to keep an eye out for a Temple. In this part of the town, there were a lot more buildings that were only one story high, and there were a lot more signs of basements dug into the earth, no doubt because of their bodies.

Finally, Lotte saw it. The building was three floors high, curved at the top and bigger than anything around it, with wide open wooden doors and symbols and patterns painted on the stone walls of the temple.

"Well, that is certainly something. We're going to be walking around the whole perimeter of this place."

"No we won't," Karle said, with a sniff. "We should find their scholars quarter, and--"

"We'll do all of that and more. If you get done early, you can look for us, or you can meet us outside of town. That's where we'll be," Aisling said, looking over at Pippa with eyes that asked her to help in making sure they didn't get distracted.

Lotte smiled, trying not to seem nervous, and slithered into the darkened temple.

*****

Ayda hadn't meant to fall asleep. She blinked awake as she heard someone slithering up to her, and she started, looking around for a second, her tail throbbing with pain. She'd had a nightmare last night so bad that somehow her tail had wound up wrapped around one of the pillars in the inner sanctum, squeezing for dear life. It left her sore and exhausted, and so she had drifted off.

Her long, dark hair, which she had spent ten years growing out after deciding that she would try being a woman for a while, was often thought of as her best quality. It was silky smooth and beautiful, running all down her back… except, falling asleep on it, and having nightmares with it, made it a terrible tangle. She flushed and wished she'd had time to comb it in the morning, when faced with the man in front of her.

He was tall, his tail with fascinating patterns compared to the browns, reds, and greens that most men and women in her life had. He was blond, with a strong jaw and gorgeous blue eyes, and a full, mobile sort of mouth, currently bound up in a frown. She noted the bow at his back. An archer? Or perhaps even an adventurer. That would make sense. She straightened up and said, "Who is it that disturbs the Temple?" She glanced around. She was, despite her years of experience, relegated to acting as a buffer between the outside world and the rest of the Temple, in a somewhat small room filled with incense, dark but with high ceilings. He felt familiar, but she'd have known this man if he lived in town.

"My name is Lotte, and I need to talk to the head priest, about matters involving souls…"

"Lotte? That's not a name I thought I would hear. May I know what you seek, so that I may pass on your request?"

Ayda said it all by rote, even as she stared, vague surmises refusing to become specific. She was very good at saying things while her mind panicked, and she knew it was part of the blessing of the Forgotten God. People thought lamia were natural liars, and that wasn't true. But Priests of the Forgotten God had to learn how to dance around the truth, how to play with it, how to be safe.

(To be safe was to be hidden, at least for now. It had been for generations. Though she knew it wasn't enough. This town was one of a kind, and her great, great grandmother had lost her life in a purge, as had a number of people who might have been her great aunts and uncles, had they not died when the houses burned and cold-eyed adventurers had made sure not to leave survivors to contradict their lies about dread cults sacrificing human children.)

"I need to know more about my soul. I've heard, honored Priestess, that this Temple is especially known for it."

"That's true, but I don't know what about your soul could worry you," she said, with a shake of her head, fingers brushing through her hair distractedly. Did he wonder whether he was still a good person? The Head Priest was one of the greatest experts on souls alive, and he always said that souls had very little to do with morality. The kindest person in the world might have a cracked soul, damaged in ways that were difficult to repair. The basest murderer could have a perfectly functioning soul. Souls broke as hearts did, as minds did, but they were not hearts or minds.

"I want to know more about what it is," Lotte said, his voice soft, a little feminine, she supposed. Slightly high. But there was a heft and strength to his voice that made Ayda look him over again.

She saw plenty that impressed her, and plenty that would have interested her if she was less tired, but nothing extraordinary.

"Do you mind if I take a quick look at your soul?" Ayda asked, quietly.

"Yes." Lotte hesitated, "N-no, I mean. And… how long until I can meet with the head priest?"

"A few days, under a week. Now, come closer, child." Ayda gestured, and he came close enough that she could lay a hand on his broad shoulder, inhaling the scent of sweat and wood and hard work. Then she probed, a little carelessly, not bringing up the barriers she probably should have.

Fangs, blood, glowing yellow eyes, pain, power, hate, kindness--all of it rushed in, battering against her sleepy, tired mind in a single moment as she slowly withdrew her hand, trying to keep from passing out or throwing up. Her face was an unconvincing mask as she said, "Interesting. Come back in f-four days." Ayda straightened up, hissing thoughtfully. "I believe we can help you."

"Four days, I understand," the man said, as if it was normal. She hadn't let anything show of the bad night of sleep she had. At least, he hadn't noticed anything. So either she was an impressive liar, or he just didn't notice these things.

*******

For a moment, the priestess had looked terrified. Lotte bit her lip, nervously sliding through the town as she could. If she could have stepped, her steps would have stabbed against the ground. As it was, she fidgeted, not sure how to let off her nervous energy. She needed to find Naja. She'd gotten her answer, and she'd gotten an answer from the moment the priestess had failed to hide how much her soul terrified her.

Lotte knew that wasn't a normal reaction at all. She hurried along, dodging the crowds as they gathered, looking for Naja. Instead she stopped in her tracks. It wasn't because of the crowd, most of whom seemed skilled at dodging around a lamia's long tail. No, it was about one particular person in the crowd.

She looked different. Her hair was in a tail, her body looked like she'd just begun to fill out after having been starved, and her dress was far nicer, her boots far more likely to keep out the damp. But Lotte could recognize Lisbeth. She couldn't help but remember her kiss, and Lotte's breath was taken away just from seeing her.

Then Lisbeth turned, and…

(Lotte didn't know how.)

Lisbeth recognized her.

What does Lotte do?

[] Run… er, slither away in a blind animal panic at how Lisbeth might react to meeting her again.
[] Head towards her as rapidly as possible, rather… perhaps a little too dramatically.
[] Wait to greet her, holding back, fearful and cowed and very, very uncertain.
[] Try to hide, terrified of her reaction, and yet panicking too much to actually run.
[] Write-in.

*****

A/N: I won't take an option that isn't at least a little awkward.

Also, there was a plan to have art for you with this, but it fell through and so will hopefully be next week.
 
"Four days, I understand," the man said, as if it was normal. She hadn't let anything show of the bad night of sleep she had. At least, he hadn't noticed anything. So either she was an impressive liar, or he just didn't notice these things.

*******

For a moment, the priestess had looked terrified. Lotte bit her lip, nervously sliding through the town as she could. If she could have stepped, her steps would have stabbed against the ground. As it was, she fidgeted, not sure how to let off her nervous energy. She needed to find Naja. She'd gotten her answer, and she'd gotten an answer from the moment the priestess had failed to hide how much her soul terrified her.

Nope, our MC is just a better liar than you are, somehow.
A/N: I won't take an option that isn't at least a little awkward.
I gotcha fam.

[Q] Slither towards her and try a joke
-[Q] "You see, the last time we've met, I was hiding this beauty," point at your tail, "In my pants. Like what you see?" Wiggle eyebrows.
 
Okay, okay, I'll vote seriously, sheesh.

[X] Wait to greet her, holding back, fearful and cowed and very, very uncertain.

That somehow seems more in character for Lotte's body image issues.
I think?
Well, feels like it to me.
 
[X] Wait to greet her, holding back, fearful and cowed and very, very uncertain.

The least overreaction.
 
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