Spirits of the Earth

@Kingfisher

---

She'd really just wanted the book. Why couldn't things ever be simple?

Alleaya clutched her prize to her chest as she was backed against the dead-end of the alley, eyes flicking between the three rather rough-looking figures that had blocked her escape. "Please...I- I don't have anything," she stammered as her back fetched up against the wall.

The lead thug smirked, and a flick of his wrist accompanied by a glint of metal drew her attention to the blade in his hand. "Pretty little thing like you, in those nice Serenian clothes? I'm sure you've got somethin' we want," he chuckled, and his companions sneered as they spread out to close her in.

Her heartbeat picked up and she looked desperately from side to side. If she could only control the changes... Anytime now would be great! she shrieked internally at her uncooperative body.

Trying to buy some time, she threw a hand up and focused, summoning a tiny spark of flame to her fingers. "Stay- stay back!"

The thieves barely paused, snickering at the admittedly rather pathetic display of magic. "That all you got, girlie?"

Before she could react, the man on the left darted forward, there was a flash of steel, and a long gash opened along her collar. She cried out, reeling back so her head thumped against the stone wall behind her and she dropped her book. Fire and fear raced through her veins, burning and stretching and twisting-

The would-be muggers began to back away as her form twisted and shimmered, the air around her suddenly scorching. With a pained roar, Ally nearly exploded into dragon form, and her attackers turned to flee with startled cries and curses.

Three targets.  Samuel had been hired to kill three men and by all the gods and devils, he would do it.  They had been poaching on another gang's turf and that was just something that could not be allowed.  So, here he was, tracking three hoods for three silver an ear - he had had to haggle up from the head count.  He had been easily able to track the trio to an alley...they did not come across as particularly bright.  At this rate, he would be done by noon.

Then there came a surge of heat and power the likes of which the Assassin had never seen.  He was colored curious but ths snivelling 'toughs' came running out of the alley they had chased their own prey into.  Cowards.  Still, coin was coin and the mercenary stepped off of the short, blocky structure he had perched himself atop.  His right arm twisted into a gnarled mesh of tendrils that acted as a cushion as he landed.  "Nice day for a walk, gentlemen?"  Before they had a chance to do anything else, his arm excreted the shape of a long saber, standing parallel to his forearm and he surged forward.

The fight was pleasantly brief -three strokes in three seconds - and within moments the assassin's thoughts returned to the alley.  He could collect heads in a moment but right now, he wanted to see what the commotion had been.  What he found was a dragon and the human girl he had seen earlier was nowhere as far as he could tell.  The black-clad contractor shrugged then gave an odd chuckle.  "Miss Dragon, I do so wish to apologize for the rudeness of our city's denizens.  These streets can be rather mean."

Samuel noticed the book on the ground but mad no move to take it, nor to introduce himself until he knew more of this shapeshifting beast...

"Oh!" Ally's claws scrabbled on the cobblestone as she tried to twist herself around so she wasn't quite so squeezed into the alley. Fruitlessly, it seemed. She huffed out a hot, irritated breath and craned her neck to look down at this newest Zantaric thug.

Though small for a dragon, Alleaya had a decent amount of height on the man, not to mention sheer bulk and fire power, which she hoped would deter him from any potential thievery. Though that didn't seem to be his intent. Voice surprisingly light and lilting for a creature of fire and power, she mumbled, "I...had noticed that, as a matter of fact," She dipped her head to him politely. Manners reflected well on a person, even in a place like this.

She hoped.

Her eyes followed his to the book and she reached out with a foreclaw to drag it closer- only to be freeze with a sharp yowl of discomfort as her scales scraped infuriatingly against the stone walls of the buildings, her wings pinned uncomfortably to her back.

She was stuck.

Oh, WONDERFUL! Dejected, her head slumped nearly to the ground and she gave a little noise that in a less formidable creature might have been considered a whimper. "I, um, I suppose...those men aren't coming back?" she checked hopefully with the stranger.

That would be just her luck, to find herself pinned down when the thieves recovered their nerve.

The assassin took note of the dragon's struggle, realizing she was trapped, unable to reach her book and apparently desperately afraid they three muggers might return.  That told him a great deal, not least of which was that she could not breath fire.  The young man was able to keep from laughing, but only just.

"Those men are not going to cause you any more trouble," he assure her, even while wondering how she might react if she knew they had been eviscerated only moments ago.  Instead, he offered a polite bow, saying, "My name is Samuel.  It is truly a rare pleasure to meet you Miss Dragon."  He doubted that would be her real name, but it was a working place holder for now.

As he stood back up, Samuel strode forward toward the curious book, hoping to get a better look at it as he went to pick it up.  He neglected to call out the poor girl's predicament or offer assistance.  The killer's curiosity overrode his kindness.

Her eyes widened. "W-wait!" She scrabbled for the book, only succeeding in rubbing a few scales loose on the walls, which made her wince in discomfort. "Please don't take that," she begged, eyes trained on the book.

It was a little ridiculous to see a dragon beg, but she'd never quite gotten the hang of owning the imposing aura this form lent her. "Please..."

"I promise," Samuel said.  "I have no intention of stealing your book."  He held up both hands, book in hand, showing that it was undamaged.  Without backing away from the poor girl, the assassin began to study the tome.  "My I ask what is so special about this book?"  He had a hunch and he could easily check the book himself but Samuel wanted a chance to guage the dragon's honesty first.

"It's..." Ally hesitated, her eyes flicking between the stranger and the book. "It's an...alchemical work," she hedged. "And it's special because- because as far as I know it's the only surviving copy of that particular scholar's work."

She lowered her head and looked at him plaintively, the motion entirely unconscious. "Please, just give it back..."

"Really now?" Samuel said looking at the book, he could tell she was not sharing the whole story.  Still, as he tucked the book under his accursed arm, the assassin looked back at the dragon.  "Well, either way, we should see if we can't free you from your bondage.  Once you have hands again, I'm sure carrying a book will be much easier."  Maybe if he could help, she would answer his question more honestly.  It was just a thought, though.

If dragons could blush, she would have. Fiercely. "Well see, I really want to, but that's...sort of a problem." She shifted her bulk and the buildings to either side of her groaned. "Unfortunately, quite apart from being stuck here, I also can't- exactly- change...back..."

Her voice petered out as she said it aloud and once again heard how truly ridiculous it sounded.

Samuel shook his head with a sigh.  Glancing at the book in his hand, the assassin wondered if he could just run off with the volume and learn some of its secrets.  But the girl shapeshifter was not in any real danger with the three thugs dead and she would eventually free herself and come for the tome; he did not relish the risk of fighting a dragon, even an incompetent one.  And he did not want to do away with her himself.

"Tell me," he began, looking into the creature's eyes.  "When you changed, what was going through you mind?  Was it a particular thought or an emotion?"  If he was going to help free her, he needed to know what he was working with.

Ally scowled and pouted, as much as a dragon could pout. "Typically, anger or panic will trigger a change, but any strong enough emotion will do," she admitted with a huff, seeing where his questions were going. "And believe me, I've tried making it go in reverse. It doesn't work."

Her tail twitched in irritation and she yelped as it smacked rather solidly against the wall to her right.

"Hm," Samuel mused, pinching his chin.  He had figured that was the case.  She mentioned the "opposite" not working to counteract the shift so his attempt at a solution seemed to potentially problematic.  "So to clarify, the change is tied to your fight or flight response?  So transforming back only happens once the emotion runs its course?"

Looking back at the creature, the assassin asked, "How long does it normally take to revert to human form?"  He did not have all day and he still had three heads to harvest.  They would not be going anywhere on their own but that did not mean they could not have 'help.'

The dragoness sighed and her head drooped almost to rest on the cobblestone. "It...varies. Anywhere from several minutes to- well, once it took almost three days."

She averted her eyes huffing and scowling at nothing. "Normally it doesn't take that long, but-"

No sooner had she spoken when her voice cut off in a sharp, pained cry and she seemed to curl in on herself. That shimmer of heat surrounded her body again and her eyes went wide, crying out again as pain wracked her frame. Her bones seemed to melt and reform, skin bunching and stretching and twisting: it was agony.

But it only lasted a few moments. Between one breath and the next, she was suddenly huddled on her hands and knees on the street, panting as the aftershocks of the change rippled through her body. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as she curled tighter, trying to preserve warmth; the initial shift had torn her clothes, and this one left her naked and shivering in the alley.

Samuel placed a hand over his face, not so much for the girl's modesty but rather to hide his struggle to keep from laughing.  At the moment, he actually did not have anything to offer aside from his waist length cape and a tunic.  Though given their sudden height difference...

"Now my dear, we cannot have you wandering around in such a state.  It would simply cause a scandal."  The assassin undid the azure canvas drapped over his shoulders and passed it to the girl.  He also held up the book for her, adding, "And if you will permit me, I would invite you to my home so that you might collect yourself.  I only ask that you wait a moment while I finish an errend."  After all, the three red sacks on his belt were woefully empty...

Blushing furiously, Ally took the offered cloak quickly and murmured her thanks as she wrapped it tight around her body.

She paused at his offer to return to his home, eyeing him warily. Young she might be, but she wasn't exactly naive. Still...she currently wasn't seeing that she had any better options.

She took the book back with a small sigh and a nod. "I would...very much appreciate that, sir. Thank you."

As he had said, it had not taken long for Samuel to tuck the severed heads into the sacks at his waist, which now appeared larger than before.  He soon returned to the alley and escorted the girl in the opposite direction.  It would not do to scare the poor girl, what with three mutilated corpses lying in the middle of the street.  Besides, his home was the other way...

---

Turns out, an assassin/mage can earn a decent living in Zantaric.  Samuel's home was a cozy one, rather elegantly appointed.  The front room was fairly simple, with a central hearth, a handful of comfortable seats, and almost an entire wall of book shelves.  Off of this room were three others, though these were closed.  "Welcome to my humble abode.  Have a seat and I'll see about finding you something more...complete to wear."  The darkly dress man passed a glance to the poor girl's bare legs as he paused.

Samuel hurried toward one of the doors, seeming to pull a black metal key from now where as he ducked into his bedroom.  Shouting, he asked, "What do you normally wear?  I have some tunics and trousers but if you prefer, I also own some robes you could pull off wearing as a dress."  As he rifled through though his wardrobe, the assassin took the chance to stash his heads.

Ally was greatly relieved when Samuel returned for her- then she froze. The scent of blood hit her nose and her eyes flickered to the sacks he wore strapped to his waist. No, surely not...

She didn't have too long to think about it, because then she was being ushered through the streets to his home. She hovered a little awkwardly in the front room, casting her eyes around. Curious, but still a little nervous.

"Ah...trousers are fine, thank you." She cleared her throat, flushing, and called back, "I- I just realized I don't believe I ever properly introduced myself?" Honestly she wasn't sure if she had; the last few minutes had been so hectic it was sort of a blur.

The assassin quickly returned, sackless, and with a few articles of clothing draped over each arm.  "Actually, now that you mention it, I have only called you Miss Dragon, Miss Dragon.  So, at the moment, you have me at a disadvantage."  Laying out his garbs, there were three tunics: on a sort of woodland green, another the hue of merlot, and last was dyed teal.  Samuel also laid out two pairs of trousers, on a light tan, the other a darker brown.

The man offered his guest a modicum of privacy by stepping away.  "Take your time," he said over his shoulder.  "If you're hungery, let me know.  I'll be getting tea set out."

"Thank you." She took the clothing gratefully and did her best to dress under the relative modesty provided by the cloak he'd wrapped her in.

"My name is Alleaya," she added softly as she slipped into the brown trousers and deep red tunic. Her hair fell into her face and she tried to brush it back with her fingers, wishing she had some sort of tie. "Ally, usually."

She wanted to protest that she didn't want to trespass on his hospitality, but before she could her stomach rumbled. Loudly. She flushed. "Um...some food would be very much appreciated."

Samuel was not out of the room very long and when he returned, he held a kettle in one hand and a platter in the other.  Setting these down, the host went to check the hearth, striking up a fire as to heat the kettle which was quickly set in place on a stand, letting the glowing orange tongues lick at the iron surface.

Taking a seat near to Alleaya, the assassin used a dull knife to slice into a thick wheel of cheese.  Offering the shapeshifting girl a slice, he said, "Have a seat, Ally.  Help yourself."  Aside from the white cheese, there were crackers, cured sausages, a pile of flatbreads, a mortar full of bean spread and to empty tea cups.  "If you'd like something more substantial, I have some fresh quail I can cook up."  He was fighting the urge to ask about the book.  Being a good host was so taxing...

"Oh no, this is fine, thank you." She smiled gratefully as she picked at the food. She was honestly starving, but couldn't quite drown out an instinctive wariness.

"You, um...you're being awfully nice," she noted after a moment. "I- I don't mean to pass judgement, but it's...not something I've really come to expect in this city."

Samuel smirked as he leaned forward, cutting off a piece of meat for himself.  "Nor should you expect it," he admitted.  "In this city greed, pride, envy are all virtues.  It's a haven for madmen and morons, and someday soon it'll implode.  Until then, it will swallow any misguided fool who thinks they can harness this maelstrom of corruption for anything other then an early grave."

By now, the kettle was already whistling and using his black hand he took it up by the handle.  Samuel poured the steaming water as he admitted, "I am not truly altruistic, either."  Offering one of the ceramic cups and a packet of tea leaves, he explained, "I fancy myself an academic and I find myself interested in that book of yours."  The host turned back to the fire as he hung the kettle over it; keeping it out of reach of the flickering fingers that continued to reach for it.

Her grip on the book suddenly tightened, clutching it to her chest. She eyed him warily. "Interested...how?"

Sitting back back, the peculiar man eyed Alleaya as he took up his tea.  The contents of the baggy leeched into the steaming fluid now and Samuel set the packet aside as sipped the drink.  "Nothing particularly villainous," he assured her.  "I seek only knowledge, a chance to make coppies of the book's pages.  I cannot be certain they will be of real use to me, but I think it would be better to have and not need, than to need and not have."  The assassin sliced again into the cheese, eating it with a bit of meat before adding, "I won't hold you to any obligation; my hospitality is freely given.  I'd just like you to show me that same kindness..."

That...did not sound like it was "freely given" if he wanted her- her kindness in return.

"I, ah." Ally cleared her throat and clutched her book a little tighter to her chest. "I'm n-not sure- are you even familiar with alchemical works? What could you want with it?"

"I dabble," Samuel admitted.  "One can never have too many advantages in this city."  Especially given my line of work.  However, he could see the girl was not interested in sharing, so the assassin raised a hand in mock surrender.  "As I said, I won't hold you to anything.  You're free to go whenever you wish.  I'll even escort you to a safe distance from town should you so choose."

"Dabble?" She eyed him warily still, but I curled her protective posture. "How much do you...dabble?"

"A little, here and there," Samuel admitted.  "I don't have much need of it in most cases, but I have a small lab in the cellar fore when I do."  The assassin tapped the floorboards with the toe of his shoe for effect.

It was hard to tell, but Samuel turned to the front door a fraction of a moment before a sharp rapping came from the front of the building.  "Their early..." he muttered, setting aside his half finished tea.  Standing, the assassin strode toward the door.

Almost as soon as the door was open, two brutish figures muscled their way inside.  They were closely followed by a short, round man with no hair on his head or face.  He had the look of a man allergic to an honest days work and was dressed in silk robes and covered in jewelry.  "Samuel," he 'greeted' in a high pitched voice.  "How good to see you again."  The louse scanned the room, laying eyes on Alleaya and cracked a smile that would have made most women feel dirty by the mere suggestion behind it.  "Why, Sammy, I had no idea you were enteraining a young lady.  Is this a bad time?  I can come back later if you'd like some privacy."[/b]

Samuel did not like the look of the two stooges, but liked dealing with the corpulent employer even less.  "No need.  I have your package.  I'll only take a moment."  Looking toward the nearer of the goons, the assassin said, "Make sure your pets don't pee on the furniture."  Yet, even as he huried to retrieve the heads, he caught a look in the eye of the other.  He had been leering at the guest.  Placing a hand on Ally's shoulder as he passed, Samuel said, "The girl is off limits."  He then hurried off to retrieve the previous spoils.

A lab? A real lab?

Ally nearly burst off the chair as her eyes widened. She'd been working with scavenged materials and a campfire for months, if she had a proper lab, even a rudimentary one-

Before she could question her host further there was a knock and Samuel was speaking to two strangers at his door. She shrunk back a little in her seat, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. It didn't seem to be working.

The girl is most certainly off limits. If she hadn't been quite so terrified, she might have said it aloud. As it was, she just curved her shoulders in and tried not to look at the men. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she realized how it must look, her huddled in place with Samuel's too-large clothes draped over her frame.

It was not long before Samuel returned, holding the three sacks from earlier.  The vaguely metallic scent of blood might linger, though the assassin did not notice.  Perhaps he was desensitized to it.  Either way, the man returned quickly, showing his half of the exchange.  "I've shown you mine, now where's yours?"

The pudgy man chuckled.  "You don't know much about negotiations, do you."  Flashing his stupid smile, the man opened his mouth to speak further.  "I-"

Samuel cut him off.  "You will be silent while I explain something."  The look of contempt on the young man's face was now obvious.  "You know who I am...What I am.  You hired me to do a job. I did it.  Now you pay me.  Otherwise, I add a fourth head to my little collection."  He had been reluctant to tell Alleaya about his profession, but now she knew.

The tubby midget cringed at the assassin's tone.  "Are you threatening me?"

"Sure, call it that.  Call me a horrible person, a demon.  But first, pay your debts."

And then he saw it; the shift of the eyes, the nervous tension.  Samuel had positioned himself between the Ally and one of the goons and that goon, now behind the assassin, began to move.  He did not get far.  Samuel's right arm looked to be wrapped in some long, black, fleshy glove that vanished into his shirt.  The truth became clear when a large, grotesque yellow eye snapped open and locked on the assailant.  Everything below the eye seemed to shiver for an instant, then the demon 'smiled,' a tulip full of teeth where the demonlord's hand should have been.  The thug froze with the nightmare looming over him.

"Go home," Samuel said over the monster.  "Whatever he's paying you is not enough to die over."  As predicted, the goons, quickly made for the door.  The demon's eye shifted, facing forward now, leering at the fat man with what could only be described as gluttonous intent.  "As I said: pay me, else, I decide to cut my losses."  The toothy maw snapped shut inches from the small man's face.  As the demon retracted, a smirk appeared on the Assassin's face.  "Tomorrow."

The rotund figure could not get out of there fast enough, stumbling over himself in his haste.  The demon returned to looking like an arm, albeit an odd one and as Samuel sat back down, he glanced at the shapeshifting girl.  "So, is it comforting to know you are the least horrifying thing in the room?"  The joke was in poor taste, but at the moment, he did not care.

Ally found herself shrinking further and further into her seat- then one of the thugs was shimmying closer to her, intentionally or not, and she squeaked quietly, unsure if she should try to bolt.

Then...something happened to Samuel's arm and the debate between fight and flight became an easily made choice as she sprang backward, nearly knocking over the small table before she pressed herself back against the wall, eyes large and chest heaving with pants.

She hardly noticed as Samuel drove the thugs from the house, trying desperately to keep a hold on her draconic reflex.

"W-wait," she gasped, holding up a hand and clenching her eyes shut. "Wait...please. I...have to..."

She shuddered violently, a wave of violet scales following the ripple down her form like a wave lapping at sand, her eyes blinked open to reveal vertical pupils. Then she took another breath and in the space of less than a heartbeat her form seemed to settle fully back into human.

Still breathing raggedly, she whispered, "Don't scare me like that." Another deep breath.

A beat of silence.

Breath.

Silence.

"What are you?"

Raising an eyebrow at the question, an utterance of "Me?" laced with mock wonder.  Touching an obsidian fingernail to his chest, the assassin said, "I'm human.  Completely mortal and limited to what humans can do.  This," he continued, tapping a pale finger to black flesh, "Is just a passenger I picked up a while back.  I gave it my arm and took it as trade.  It is my slave, nothing more."

Tossing the bagged heads to the far corner of the room, the man leaned forward looking into the fire.  Tilting his head, he asked, "What, then, are you?  A girl trying to become a dragon?  Or a dragon seeking to become a girl?"

He shook off his curiosity for the time being.  "Thank you," Samuel said, "For not transforming inside my home.  I'm not fond of the thought of having to rebuild after on little mishap."

Eyeing his arm warily, Ally risked stepping away from the wall, just a bit. "Um, yeah. Well, I've already gotten stuck that way once today, so..." She trailed off, clearing her throat.

"I'm human," she said quietly after a long moment. "I mean, I was born human. My mother, she was this- this amazing figure, this brilliant, witty, beautiful alchemist who was doing things no one had previously thought possible."

Maybe it was because she felt a little trapped, maybe she wanted to get her mind off of Samuel's terrifying display, or maybe she just needed to talk, but suddenly the words were spilling out. "I wanted to be just like her. I don't even really remember her, but I knew I had to be like her. So...I found her old journals. I started performing some of her experiments."

She shrugged, eyes on the floor. "One of the last things she was working on was a- a potion that made you stronger, healthier, more powerful, heavily based in draconic ingredients. So I..." Another shrug. "I tried it. I guess I thought if I could make it work, if I could prove I could finish something my mother couldn't- I don't know."

Ally looked away, flushing. "I guess I'm saying...I get it. Sometimes...things happen to us that- that change us. And we can't always control it." Even if we started it ourselves.

Samuel thought about correcting the young woman.  He had even openned his mouth to explain that he maintained full control of his arm-shaped demon.  He quickly stopped himself when he realized Alleaya was speaking more of herself.  His mouth quickly shut as the assassin took on a pensive expression.

It was not long before another realization came to the man.  "Is that book one of those your mother wrote?" he asked.  That might explain why she had been so resistant to sharing...maybe.  Sitting up, he added, "If you're still interested, I'm willing to share my lab with you.  I noticed you grew excited when I mentioned it earlier."  He was still being selfish.  Giving the girl an excuse to stick around would give the demonlord more chances to look through the book.

Slowly she shook her head, still clutching the book to her chest. "No, it's...older than that. There aren't many copies left, and I thought maybe there might be...something I could use."

At the suggestion of using his lab her eyes brightened a bit, though she tried not to seem too eager. "That- that would be incredibly helpful, yes, thank you."

All the more reason to let him make a copy.  Samuel chose not to voice his opinion.  He doubted anything would sway Alleaya.  Still, the girl seemed interested in his lab so the mage resolved to share his resources with her...within reason.  "If you'd like, after we eat, I'll show you what I've put together.  No need to rush."  It would give him time to put his heads away.

The young alchemist nodded warily, though her eyes kept flickering around constantly tacking stock of her surroundings as though she expected them to suddenly change.

"Thank you." She took a seat again and cautiously nibbled at the offered food. Despite the fact that she hadn't eaten since noon the day before, she suddenly wasn't very hungry.

After putting away his morbid trophies and wrapping up the unfinished food, Samuel unlocked the door to his lab.  The room itself was only a staircase and he took a moment to light a couple of lanterns.  The lab was in a basement only a short way underground.  Packed stone walls acted as the foundation of the room above and a number of luminous crystals flodded the chamber with soft light.

A number of Grimoires filled a bookcase in one wall, another shelf was full of reagents.  Against one wall was a workbench, over which hung a cabinet full of crystal vessels used in alchemy and the center of the room was clear of debris, though the remnants of chalk drawings lingered where the slate flooring had not been scrubbed enough.  It was not a large room, but Samuel found it adequate.  "Welcome to my workspace."  Leaning against the desk, gave Alleaya a chance to take things in.  "As I said, I'm willing to share..."  However, he was still looking for a way to access the book.  He held back for a moment, fully aware he had lost much of the girl's trust.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Ally whispered as she looked around the small lab. The book was still clutched tight to her chest.

Some of her curiosity overrode her sense of wariness and she moved closer to examine one of the glowing crystals. "What are these?"

"Those?"  Samuel followed the girl's attention.  He sometimes forgot that most people did not respect his school of magic.  "Those are fire demons.  They've been sealed inside crystals and they provide me with a steady source of light, without giving off heat."  Plucking up one of the shards, he offered it to Alleaya.  "I wouldn't recommend leaving with one but feel free to examine it."

Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped the crystal as he handed it to her. "But..." She stared at it, then back up at him. "Aren't they- you just trap them in there? Are they conscious?!"

It was hard to tell if Alleaya was fascinated or horrified.  Trying toward neutrality, Samuel gave her his take on demons.  "It depends what you mean by 'concious.'  These guys..."  The demonlord gave the crystal a slight flick.  "They're barely above plants in their world.  Power there is related to intelligence.  As a demon ages, it grows in power and wisdom.  Most don't survive that long since many demons are so chaotic and violent."  This was all hypothesis, though, since the man still had no safe way of visitig that place.

"Anyway," the assassin said, shifting the topic a little.  "I use these guys because they are both common and weak.  I can have quite a few and if they get free, there's little risk of burning down the city."

"So...they're like bioluminescent flowers?" That she could live with- imprisoning sentient creatures turned her stomach.

With a little hmm she held the crystal out for him to take again. "You must be very talented at what you do- I've never actually met a demonlord in person before."

It's...no really that hard," Samuel commented.  And in his mind, it really was not.  The main issue was that many believed that demons were inately evil, as though an entire universe could be populated exclusively by such entities.

Accepting the crystal, the demonlord set it back into its sconce.  "I don't doubt it," he said.  "We're a rare breed.  Mostly 'cause we all carry a standing bounty on our heads."  Samuel gestured outward for effect, adding, "Zantaric is basically our only haven, so you might find a few more if you stick around..."  After all, it was not like they had to hide.

But that was not why the girl hade come down to his lab.  Pointing too the book in Alleaya's arms, Samuel said, "You said you were trying to make something, though?"  Still avoiding an Ultimatum, he went to the shelf of components and asked, "What sort of ingredients does an ancient dragon potion take?"

At the reminder Ally sighed and sort of shuffled after him. "A lot of eclectic, powerful components," she muttered in response, obviously a little bitter about it. "Lots of pieces of dragons are involved, as well as some general alchemical staples. Unfortunately success with the potion seems to be more in its execution than its creation."

Samuel looked disappointed as well.  "I have most of the conventional sundries, but I don't have many dragon parts."  He also had no clear way of finding such things.  He had burned most of his bridges back home, so he doubted he would be able to do use a visit to Adela to get his supplies.  There might be some black market vendors, but they charged an arm and a leg...sometimes literally.

He had one more play.  "Tell you what.  I'll look into things on my end, see if I can't get my hands on what you need.  You do the same and..."  There was a beat as he quickly cycled through a dozen ideas.  Then he came to his conclusion and said, "I could make a pair of void bags.  Demons bound to a pair of sacks would give us shared access to a collection."  Fixing Alleaya with a look, Samuel asked, "Would you be willing to try that?  Or do you just want to put things together and come see me afterward?"

She thought about it for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright...alright, that should work."

Clearing her throat, she glanced away and added with a bit of a blush, "Getting a couple of the dragon bits won't be too difficult. Scales, blood, that sort of stuff...I can just...get that." She cleared her throat again, then snapped her eyes back to look him up and down.

"Why are you so invested in this? Really." She held the book a little tighter to her chest. "It can't just be to get a look at this."

Samuel had begun pulling together pulling together some of his summoning supplied when Alleaya mentioned acting as the source of dragon components.  He had thought of that but had written it off as too easy.  If she could provide viable dragon components, the assassin probably had everything else they might need. "Convenient," he muttered.

Still, other issues still had to be addressed.  Turning back toward his guest, the demonlord scratched his chin with his human hand.  "Is that so hard to believe?" he asked.  "Granted, I would like to do a bit more than just look at it, but at the end of the day, that's the jist of my request.  Plus..." he continued, seeing another angle to try.  "You're a traveller, I assume.  Can you guarantee that that book will survive on the road?  Knowing there was another copy could go a long way toward giving you peace of mind."

"Well..." She bit her lip, hedging. There was a hint of wariness in her stance; could she really be responsible for letting someone like him get his hands on this knowledge?

Then again, who was Samuel, really? And did she have any right not to let him look at the book?

"Alright," Ally sighed after a moment. "Deal."

Truthfully, Samuel was not entirely sure anything in the book would be of real use to him.  Whatever professional advantage he got from it would pale compared to calling out demons to do as he bid.  But one does not survive in his line of work by assuming anything is truly worthless.  But, she had agreed to his deal, and was fine by him.

Nodding his head in thanks, Samuel decided to move the conversation forward.  "So, since we have an accord, what say we get to work on your little project?  What will you be needing?"  As he had explained, if it was a run of the mill agent, he would likely have access to it.

Ally flushed, then admitted in a mumble, "I'm...not entirely sure, yet. I need to compare this book with my mother's notes, but I haven't really had a chance to- to read-" A yawn cut her off and she clapped a hand over her mouth, her blush worsening. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I'll get started right away-"

Her eyes widened and she cursed under her breath. "I'm so sorry, I...left my mother's journals at the inn where I'm staying. I have to go fetch them."

Samuel could not help but smirk at the poor girl's anxious reaction to his inquiry.  "We are in no hurry," the man reminded her.  "If you wanted to start tomorrow, I could walk you back to your inn."  Glancing in the direction of the discarded trophies, the assassin admitted, "I had something I needed to finish up, anyway."  Thinking about it, he really did not want to give the small man an excuse to return.  "I'd be able to meet up with you tomorrow and escort you back here?"

The alchemist nodded, still blushing, but she tried for a small smile. "Thank you, I think that's a good idea," she murmured.

She clutched the book a little tighter to her chest, then glanced down at herself. Her blush deepened and she glanced back up at Samuel through her bangs with a mumbled, "Um, I can wash your clothes and return them to you tomorrow, if that's alright?"

"That will be fine," Samuel admitted.  His clothes were clearly larger than what the girl should have been wearing so a quick change would do her well.  Striding toward his door, the host opened it, gesturing.  "After you, my lady?" he offered.

"Thank you," she mumbled, slipping past him through the door, the book still clutched tightly to her chest. She hesitated a moment, then turned to ask warily, "Um...d-did you want to walk me back?"

She tried to phrase it to make it his idea...but honestly she was a little afraid that she'd loose her way.

The youth had already shut the door behind him when Alleaya questioned him.  Samuel tilted his head.  "That was the plan," he reminded her.  His human hand came to rest on the girl's shoulder.  "Where was it you were staying?" he asked.  He knee much of the city so he could easily find their way...

"An inn called the Drunken Dragon." Ally rolled her eyes- it was one of the cheaper beds she could find in the city that was at least reasonably safe, so she wasn't much to question the name."

She tilted her head to the side just a bit to eye his hand on her shoulder, unsure if she should ask him to remove it. It wasn't like he was hurting her, and she wasn't exactly uncomfortable with it...

The assassin withdrew his hand; Alleaya had seemed to visibly tense at the protective gesture.  Samuel, though not truly infamous, had a small if frightening reputation as a killer and few would risk attacking him if they thought he was worth killing in the first place.  So, he simply walked with the girl, winding their way toward the inn...

It was hardly the best looking establisment in Zantaric's only true city.  It had a doorman, and too a layman, the burly figure would have seemed frightening.  Samuel was not a layman; few enough here were.  Still, the Family that owned it was small time and they seemed to like it that way.  In spite of that, the assassin made an offer: "If you wanted, I could pull out another bed at my home.  It would be cheaper and more comfortable there than here."  Samuel would abide the girl's decision either way and if she prefered her own room over a soft bed, the assassin would simply take his leave.

"Um..." She hedged, debating the possibility as she gathered up her supplies, stuffing her change of clothes into her pack on top of her alchemical components, and her mother's journals.

"I suppose that would make sense," she decided after a moment, nodding briskly. "It would be easiest to have access to your lab if I need it, too."

"It would be a pleasure to play host for a little longer," Samuel said.  Once the dragon girl had collected her supplies, the assassin offered an arm to carry Alleaya's luggage.  The trip back would be much the same as it was the first time and the rules did not change.

The small dwelling was still fairly well lit as the raised hearth still burned.  Samuel opened up the bedroom, to show Alleaya where she could sleep.  There was only one bed in his house and normally he used it.  "You can take the bed," he offered anyway.  He had other bedding he could set out on the floor and set to work pulling an excess of blankets out of a large trunk in the corner of the room.

There was little privacy in the small room but it was small with a fireplace set toward on side.  Samuel said, "I can vacate when you feel a need to change clothes so feel free to let me know."  It was easier to keep one room heated at night, so it seemed inconvenient for both of them to keep one person to a room...

"Oh- I don't feel right kicking you out of your own bed!" Ally protested, her grip white-knuckled on her pack. She bit nervously at her lower lip- she really wanted to get into another change of clothes, but she thought she should argue this whole bed thing.

Samuel paused as he was setting out a pile of blankets as an attempt at a second bed.  "No, I think you should take it.  I almost never use it, anyway."  The assassin found he often spent his nights working, the best way to avoid retaliation after a job.  He chose not to mention more; especially since worked had been unusually slow lately.  "Trust me," he assured her.  "It is no inconvenience."

"Well...thank you." Hesitantly, she ducked behind the bed and pulled out her change of clothes. "Um...could I...change now?" she squeaked, feeling incredibly awkward. About everything.

"Of course,"  Samuel said.  Offering a slight bow, the host stepped out of the room, pile of makeshift bedding left in the corner.  Putting away the meager meal from earlier, the young man set to work cleaning the room up.  Wrapped in wax paper, the cured food would keep well enough in the dry pantry.  The tea kettle was cleaned out and put away as well as the small platter.  The hearth would go out on its own eventually, so that was not a big deal.

The only troubling thing were the three gory head bags: Samuel decided to tuck them into a basket, making them easier to transport that night.

Ally relaxed just slightly as he stepped out of the room, changing quickly into a fresh set of clothes. She hesitated a moment as she eyed the bed, then shook herself and climbed in, burrowing into the covers.

Mature Content Warning: Violence, Gore

---

Samuel, on the other hand, never went to bed that night.  Collecting the three grisly trophies once more, the assassin slipped out the door, locking up after him.  The man made a point of learning everything he could about those he worked for and it was easy enough to walk up to the home of the small man from earlier.  It was simple enough to offer the three heads for payment.

"Now if there is no more business, you can see yourself out."  The host was rude, obviously because the dozen or so bodyguards that loomed around the man's study.  He stood, a shallow attempt at false graciousness.

"Actually," the contractor began, making no move to leave.  "There is one outstanding issue that needs to be settled."  He offered the small man a contemptuous smile.

"And that would be?" the employer wondered, equal parts confused and irritated.

What happened next was both sudden hand horrifying.  The demonic arm rippled, twisted, took the shape of knotted coils and then surged outward.  The twelve guards vanished in a whirl of black flesh.  When the darkness receded, all that remained were stains and shredded flesh.  Severed and ruined bodies littered the ground.  The demonic hand clutched half a man's face and Samuel tossed it upon thw small man's desk.  Flecks of blood spattered the small man's pudgy face as he fell back into his chair.  "You see, I don't take kindly to self important nobodies trying to weasel out of their contracts."  It was then that the assassin rose, offering a sadistic grin basically stepped atop the desk, crouching so his face was inches from the crime 'lord.'  "I should thank you.  Those in my profession often need...'volunteers' to make an example of.  To ensure we recieve proper respect."  There were no screams in the night.  The body was only found the next morning: every bone had been broken, crushed beneath incredible force.

---

Samuel took his time going home.  He was not tired at all.  When he finally reached his front door and stepped inside, the man noticed blood on his sleeve.  Rather than touching his makeshift bedding, he went on a hunt for a change of clothes: a loose fitting red vest and trousers would do for the day.  He'd have to wash his face too, ideally before Alleaya woke up...

For all her wariness, the alchemist was a deep sleeper. Perhaps that spoke more to her exhaustion than a lack of caution, she wasn't really sure, but regardless she had truly no idea how long she slept. It felt like she blinked. One minute it was night, she laid in bed and closed her eyes, then she opened them again and it was morning.

"Uunhhhg." Groaning, she rolled over in bed and threw one arm over her eyes. Sleep-fuzzy, she didn't entirely remember where she was. "Lovely bed," she murmured, patting the mattress blindly. "I'm never leaving you. You are my one constant love."

The guest's commentary went unheard.  Samuel normally slept lightly and briefly and woke easily in the morning.  By now, he was wide awake, cooking up a pot of oatmeal for breakfast over the foyer hearth.  By the time Alleaya was dressed, the food would be ready.  He was dressed in a green surcoat, a pair of black leggings and simple ankle boots barely visible under neat.  The assassin's arms were bare, demonic symbiote clearly visible to whose who knew what it was.

It would be a slow workday again: no contracts coming in so Samuel had the day to himself...he wondered if the young alchemist would would wish to start her project.

Blinking sleepily, Ally stumbled out of the bedroom and into the main room of the house. She leaned against the door frame and just barely managed to cover a yawn.

"Mornin'..."

"Good morning," Samuel greeted his guest.  "Breakfast is nearly ready so have a seat."  Filling a bowl with the simple porridge, he set the meal down beside a cup of milk.  Serving himself as well, the host took a seat, stirring the bowl with a spoon that was dull in the firelight.  Waiting for it to cool, Samuel siezed on the chance to ask, "Did you wish to start on your potion later?  I can escort you out of town if you wanted to retrieve the dragon components."  It seemed the post difficult part of the potion so it seemed the most wise course of action would be to get that out of the way first...

"Oh. Thank you." She took a seat hesitantly, then nodded. "Yes, I think that...would be best. Thank you, Samuel."

His name tasted almost foreign in her mouth. She licked her lips, frowning at the oddity of the sensation.

Noticing the girl's odd reaction to his name, Samuel paused as he tasted his porridge.  "Is something wrong?"  The host gestured to the bowl on the table, saying, "That one was yours, by the way."  He quickly returned to his own meal, sipping at his own cup of milk.  "If you prefer it a certain way, I'm sure I have some spices that would match your pallet."

After a moment, Samuel's attention returned to Ally's potion.  "By the way," he asked, "What sort of ingredients will I need to collect from your dragon form?"  He was a little surprised, hearing that the components did not revert to human forms alongside the girl.

Ally took a careful seat and pulled the bowl toward her with another murmured thanks. His question brought her head snapping up and she blinked, then cleared her throat and blushed a bit.

"Oh. Um, scales and blood, and some claw shavings if we can manage it." She rubbed at the back of her neck. "Dragon claws are very hard, but if you're good with a knife it shouldn't be too difficult..."

Samael offered the alchemist a cocky smirk.  The pinky of his demonic hand quivered before taking the shape of a long, slender jet black knife.  "I assure you, there are few better."

There was little else to plan, so the assassin doubted they had anything else meaningful to discuss over breakfast.  Instead, they could make small talk until it came time to go, at which point Samuel would lead the way to a secluded area where she might be able begin...

She quickly realized her host wasn't much for small talk, so she ate her meal in relative silence as quickly as possible. Once she was done, she tilted her head at Samuel. "So, um...you know where we should go for this?"

Samuel was piling the bowls and spoons into a bucket to take outside when Allaeya worked up the nerve to speak.  Turning, iron kettle over his shoulder, the host said, "There's a forest not too far from town.  There are a number of clearings we can duck into large enough for you to turn without getting seen by casual observers."  And not-so-casual observers could be easily dealt with when the time came.

Dumping the dishes in a wash basin for later, the assassin returned to his room to fetch an azure cape.  It obscured much of his arms, but they remained free to move should the need arise.  Rejoining the dragon girl, he offered a kind, if deceptive, smile.  "Shall we be off then?"

Ally summoned a smile of her own and nodded as she stood from the chair. "Um, sure. I'll just...follow you then."

As it were, Samuel led the way.  The pair had to be cautious, though.  It was not uncommon for bandits and corrupt mages to hunt people they saw as weak this far from town.  Even in a dying village like Zantaric, people made friends, and friends could come for revenge.  So if someone, kin to one of his victims sought satisfaction, this would likely be the best chance...

Still, he seemed to have caught a good day.  Even as the assassin theaded his way between trees, no one seemed to have come looking for a fight...though the day was still young.  He glanced back to ensure that Allaeya was still following.  "How're you holding up back their?" he asked.  "We should be there in a moment but keep your eyes open."

The alchemist nodded quickly. "I'm alright," she murmured in reply, shoulders hunched forward and eyes darting around warily. "Are you, um, sure this place will be safe?"

"Uh."  Samuel was between motions when he began to reply and took a moment to find the right answer.  "I'm almost certain we'll be fine."  The assassin was unsure whether his vague response was intentionally so.  He really did not think of himself as a sadist but now he wondered.

There was not much time to contemplate that concern as the leader of the pair stepped into the clearing.  Many of the surrounding trees bore scorch marks, revealing that the hollow had been created by a fire.  What ash had been made by the accident had long since vanished under the grass that flourished in the area.  "Here we are," Samuel said.  He paced the perimeter, looking into the tree line.  The demonlord wondered about summoning a scout to look around but elected not to.

"So?"  The assassin turned back to Allaeya.  "How did you want to get started?"

"Um, well..." Allaeya looked down at herself, then up at him. "You may want to stand back a bit," she advised, turning in a slow circle to take stock. There was plenty of room for her to shift, but it was a rather...explosive experience. She didn't want to hurt him accidentallly.

Samuel simply shrugged.  Turning, the assassin padded toward the treeline.  His black arm coiled, biting into a limb and slinging him to a perch.  Safely out of the way, he turned back to the clearing, his arm returning to a more human form.  "When you're ready," he called.

Ally nodded, then took a breath and closed her eyes.

This was always the more difficult part-- changing on purpose. She had to reach deep into that core of power in the very center of her self, that spark she could only really feel half the time.

It took several moments before anything seemed to be happening, and when it did it was very slight, just a shimmer around her form, like a slight heat haze. Then, all at once, something snapped.

Her body froze, back arched, form twisted, and exploded out into scales and wings, claws sinking into the earth and a low, thrumming growl vibrating through her chest.

Samuel offered an impressed whistle at the alchemist's sudden and very flashy transformation.  Slinging down from the tree, he entered the clearing.  "That truly is a frightening sight."  Stepping close to Ally, the placed a hand on the dragon's claw.  He noticed it had taken a bit of time to activate her transition but held back on commentary.

Now that he was at Alleaya's side, the assassin inquired, "Any preferances on where to extract the ingredients?"  His demonic arm was already warping into a tool he assumed they might need as he extracted containers with his left...

The dragoness panted gently, head hung low as he approached. "If you think...that's scary," she muttered wryly, "try doing it." Gods, she hated this part. She ached all over. Forcing a change never seemed to sit right.

At the mention of "ingredients" her eyes snapped up and she shuffled a few steps away instinctively, eyeing his arm. "We-well we need scales and b-blood and probably some claw shavings..." She swallowed. This was not going to be pleasant.

Sighing, she dropped her head again and tilted it to the side slightly. "If you nick that bit of skin under my cheek it should be easiest. My hide's thinner there, but I won't loose blood too quickly."

Understanding his role, Samuel reshaped his hand into a narrow stiletto, pricking the dragon where she had indicated.  A swell of dark blood oozed from the wound; he had hit the vein as intended and from the gentle flow, the assassin filled a pair of opaque vials.  First ingredient: check.

Next was the claws.  The man's black hand reshapped into a pair of sturdy shears as he shifted towards Alleaya's extremity.  The apparently metallic scrape of shears as he went to work.  As he started, Samuel tried small talk.  "You know," he began, trying to carve into the hardened material.  "In most lizards, I've found that claws, scales and feathers are all functionally interchangeable.  If I can I can get this off, we should be good."  Of course, that depended on whether his demonic blades could manage...

Ally snorted and resisted the urge to jerk back from him. It was not a comfortable sensation. She winced, screwing her eyes shut and digging her talons into the earth and an effort to resist the urge to retract them. The ear-grating scrape of metal over claws made her grit her jaw.

"Just-- hurry up, please," she whimpered.

Samuel did as asked, clipping off pieces of material until he seemed to have enough and slipping them into a pouch.  "That should do it..." he said, stepping back.  Looking up toward the dragoness, the assassin said, "I think that should do it.  I think you...can..."

Samuel stopped speaking for a moment, peering over his shoulder.  "You know, you guys aren't as sneaky as you thing you are."  The demonic arm seemed to quiver as the abomination shifted to face the woods.  "You might as well come out of hiding."

Around half a dozen goons crept out of the tree line into the light.  They were all armed with clubs and swords.  One well dressed man in a robe carrying a two handed saber seemed to be the leader.  He addressed the crafter.  "Sorry to show up uninvited," he said in the cocky tone of a man who thought he had answers.  "I had heard there was a dragon in town and I just had to see it with my own eyes."

"You mean you thought you might be able to capture a shapeshifting dragon in a weaker form.  Sell her into slavery for parts."  They were not questions, but rather clarifications for Alleaya's benefit.  "Maybe catch me off guard so I wouldn't interfere?"

The lead thug clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed at being called out.  "Tell you what, you help us catch this beasty, we'll cut you in on the-"

"Sale, yeah," Samuel interrupted, pleased as he saw the leader start to turn red.  Too easy.  "Here's the thing.  You guys are clearly amateurs.  You come here hoping to catch a dragon-slash-human alive with clubs and swords.  Your plan 'B' is to deal with a man you originally intended to kill.  What's plan C; six morons versus a fire breathing dragon?"

"I noticed you didn't include yourself in that equation," the leader said.  So he was not a total fool.  The boss came closer, continuing.  "Seems a waste to die over such a small thing as some lizard.  I've seen your handiwork.  With you, we could capture it and make a killing at auction.  What d'you say?"  He offered Samuel a hand, thinking he had the assassin.

Samuel glanced sadly back at the dragon, wondering how she would react to his decision.  Clasping his forearm and shaking it.  Hook, line and sinker.  The demon twisted, moving up with the other man's arm.  There was sound akin to branches under food as his elbow snapped the wrong direction..."Oops."  Turn to Alleaya, the assassin asked, "You think that's all the warning they'll need?"  He firgure he knew the girl's answer but really, he was just giving the others a chance to run.

The dragon was had gone very still and quiet, eyes wide as she watched the exchange. She hadn’t reacted much when Samuel seemed ready to betray her, but the crunch of breaking bone was enough to draw an instinctive wince, and she skittered back a step.

Rather than answer her companion, she tried to crane her head up and shouted, “Leave us alone!”

Well, at least she meant to shout. It came out as more of a squeak, which was exponentially more ridiculous in her current form than it would have been otherwise.

The dichotomy of the pair was striking.  The small assassin stood confident, intimidating while the much larger beast whimpered like the scared little girl she was.  It left the assailants in an awkward position, unsure how to move forward.  A handful advance, others started to retreat.

A quarrel arced from the treeline, one of the goons clearly thinking they had the advantage.  The serpenting arm shivered, taking the form of a broad triangular shield as the projectile hit.  Samuel winced, feeling the sting as the bolt pierced demonic flesh.  "Is that it," he mocked.  But as confident as he acted something was off.  The other thugs seemed just as shocked by the stocky shaft.

That was when the pain began to build.  Threads of pale light began to crawl outward from the wound, demon curling in rising agony.  The demonlord had never had the misfortune of this sort of encounter, but he knew what had hit him: only a blessed arrowhead could hurt this much.  He would not be able to fight effectively.  Shifting back, Samuel whispered, "Can you fly us out of here?"  It seemed the only way out as the other goons recovered from their shock.  It seemed the crossbowman was not a part of the group but that raised the question: Who could afford to waste divine arrowheads on him?

"Y-yes." The dragoness nodded quickly and lowered herself slightly so the assassin could climb onto her back. "Hurry, hurry," she breathed, shivering as she stared at their attackers.

The ripple in the black arm cracked the quarrel, leaving it in the chared dirt.  Samuel paid it little mind as he shifted toward the dragoness.  Gritting through the pain he heaved himself over Alleaya's scaled shoulders, bracing for her inevitable take off.

All the while, the other goons advanced, pressing their advantage...

Ally craned her neck back to nudge Samuel into place on her back. "Hold on," she urged, then surged to her feet and bounded forward, snapping her wings out and beating them twice to force them into the air.

The assassin wordlessly did as he was commanded.  Gripping onto one to the dragon's spines, he clung as her movement forced him against her scales.  The thugs who had tried to rush in were swept backward, toppled by the air hurled against them.  All the while, Samuel did his best to ignore the heat pulsing through his "arm."

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear dear dear..." Ally's mumbled monologue continued well into their ascent, and when it faded it was only replaced by panicked questions. "Are they following? What do we do? Are you alright? Your arm feels weird, it's hot against my scales-- oh gods do you need healing? Medicine?"

"Just," Samuel hissed.  "Just put distance between them and us.  We can land and then be away before they can find us."  The thugs were barely a footnote in his concerns.  The demon hunter was the real danger.  He had not even heard them, likely using the mob as cover.

The pain was still intense, enough to blur his vision as he looked for a place to land.  The quarrel head must have been some reforged artifact.  Whatever 'celestial' magic lingered within was keeping his familiar unstable.  It would have to be cut out soon...

Finding a likely spot at the edge of the treeline, the assassin pointed.  "Land there and shift back.  Then we can find cover..."

She nodded, banking toward the small clearing he'd indicated and spiraling into a slow, careful landing.

She decided not to point out the obvious problem-- she wasn't always able to change back at will.

When the pair hit the ground, Samuel spilled off the dragon.  Gritting his teeth, he looked about; the pursuers were thankfully absent as the assassin pressed himself against a tree.  Turning back to Allaeya, he tried to focus his vision.  He had a sense of where her transformation came from, given their first meeting.  Lucking up at her scaled face, he said, "Close your eyes and focus on my voice."  Despite his pain, Samuel managed to steady his voice.  Softening, he continued.  "Think back.  Remember a moment you felt safe and secure."

Now came the odd part.  "Do you remember a smell?" he asked.  "Perhaps something from your mother?  Find that scent and hold onto it; follow it..."  The assassin waivered, slumping slightly against the tree.  He knew by experience that smells were evocative of memory and emotion but the pain was making it hard to focus on speech.

Ally took a breath, then did as he said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

A smell? She thought back, trying to find a memory, something, anything.

Lavender.

Another breath. Was something happening? She fidgeted, unable to contain her anxious energy. With a huff, her eyes opened and she shook her head, irritated. "I'm sorry, I-- Samuel?" Concern quickly colored her tone. "Oh no. Are-- are you alright?"

"I really thought that would work..." Samuel muttered, largely to himself.  The pain in his familiar was still building but with Alleaya trapped in her dragonic form, there was no good wah to return to Zantaric.  The mage  retreated inward, focused on his next problem.  He found a fallen branch nearby and quickly took hold with his pale human hand.  He would have prefered a knife but at the moment, he had to make do.

The dull wood skewer pressed hard against black flesh as a dozen pained eyes opened to glare at their master.  A shuddering claw took shape to menace the demonlord but quickly deformed into writhing tentacles, and then a thick, shapeless fluid.  Samuel was screaming now, makeshift blade going nowhere as the demon rebelled.

"I really thought that...would work..." he repeated, casting the stick away.  One last option came to mind.  Looking to the dragon, he hissed, "You...I need you to cut it out.  Press your talon against my arm and cut into it."  Sweat beaded on his furrowed brow as he tried to stay conscious.  "I can get the head out and...then...hide us..." the assassin explained weakly.

Oh.

Oh no.

"Samuel, oh gods..." Swallowing, Alleaya quickly nodded and shuffled forward. "Here, sit, I'll...I'll try to be quick, okay?" Urging him to sit with a gentle tap from her muzzle, she eyed his demonic arm warily.

She had to be very, very careful.

"Okay. Okay, just...just breathe. It'll be fine." As delicately as she could, the young dragon lifted a forepaw and slowly let one talon prick against the black skin. A shudder rippled along her skins, but she pushed it aside and let her claw dig into his skin.

The tip of her talon caught against the head of the shaft and she let out a careful breath, whispering, "Sorry, sorry, sorry," as she flicked her claw back, opening a long, narrow gash and pulling the head out above his skin.

It was a little surprising but beside the pain of magic transfering through the demonic arm, Alleaya's law was nearly drowned out.  Samuel watched the furrow left and the quarrel come to the surface and quickly snatched it free before the demon could try and close up.

Suddenly, the pain was gone and the black arm began to calm, closing back into the form of and arm, the shuddering knot of evershifting black ooze once more looking like an oily glove.  He could not have been happier.

Sadly, though, they had wasted time and the sound of the thug drew closer.  The assassin was not up to the task of fighting at the moment and they could not return to Zantaric with the dragoness in her current state.  She also did not seem ready to fight and if he could help it, it was better not to rely on her.  Hiding was a much better option.  Luckily, there was another demon he could use for that.

Plucking a paper talisman from the pouch on his belt he tore it, recognizing the seal.  In a puff of acrid purple, a grotesquery took shape.  It was nothing more than a ball of green flesh with thousands of pores that oozed a strange light.  The creature simply hovered, without will or intention, as Samuel said, "Quick, curl into a ball under the Deceit."  The creature had a hypnotic effect on most mortals and as the thug drew closer the mage warned, "Don't look directly at it."  It was the best he could do.  Hopefully it worked...

Oh gods.

Oh gods oh gods oh gods.

Whimpering quietly as she swallowed back a thousand questions, the dragon curled herself as small as she could and tucked herself under the..."Deceit".

"How long do we wait?" she whispered. "What if it doesn't work?"

The assassin hissed, urging the dragon to remain silent as one of the the thugs stepped into view.  The pair remained where they were, cowering beneath the demon as unnatural light flooded out.  The demonic arm was still trembling, not yet recovered from the damage earlier so fighting was out of the question for him.  They would have to wait indefinitely...

The goon with a club over his shoulder glanced away at first, seeking the fugitives in one direction before scanning back towards them.  His eyes seemed to fix on them and for a moment, he seemed to have his focus trained on them.  Then, his gaze slid away as he failed to register the pair, strobing lights twisting his mind to the creature's purpose.

The thug passed them by, unconciously avoiding the duo as he approached a comrade who came out of the woods behind him.  "They're gone," he grumbled.

"Figures," said the other man.  "No chance of finding anything now.  We headin' home?"

"Pro'lly best we do.  Come on."  They were already leaving, bitching growing faint as they passed out of ear shot.  Still, Samuel remained quite without releasing his demon, wanting to ensure they were truly safe.

As the hunters came into view Ally fell silent, hardly daring to breathe. It was only once they'd seemed to determine their prey had escaped and began to amble away that she let out a shaky sigh of relief, her forelegs relaxing just slightly under her wait.

"Is...that it? Are we safe?"

The assassin hissed for quiet.  Waiting another long moment, he allowed the demon to fade back to the other world.  There was little more they could do but hope the goons or the demon hunter did not return.  They could not return to town with Alleaya in her current state and at the moment, Samuel was useless in a fight.

"Stay quiet," the man ordered.  "Let the change run its course."  His patience was growing short.  Dragon shifting seemed like an interesting gift but without some degree of control, it was a liability above all else.

Slumping against a tree, the man seemed to stare through the dragon as he waited, whether for their chance to run for safety or one of their impending deaths.  He slipped the ingredients from their containers, in case the hunter found them first...

Ally snapped her mouth shut-- both at his urging, and to stifle a sudden, sharp cry of pain as her body began to twist and warp and shrink.

She took a deep breath, then another, then she was stumbling forward on two legs, collapsing to her knees as her body just folded in on itself and she panted, digging her fingers into the grass. Almost immediately she began to shiver, wrapping her arms around herself in an effort to preserve some warmth.

Samuel watched as Allaeya's energy surged inward, form collapsing into the shape of a human.  Given the circumstances, he might have thanked the gods but they were in a hurry and hardly out of the woods...in more ways than one.

Seeing the girl shiver, the assassin wished he had brought more than a short mantle.  Still, he unhooked the short garment, slipping it of as he rose.  His coat came off as well, pulled up over his head and the demonlord tossed it to his guest.  His red vest was still on but now fully visible, helping, preventing Allaeya from being scandalized.

"Put that on," he ordered.  "Hurry. They missed us once but they might double back.". And he did not have the strength to fight...

The once-dragon nodded quickly, throwing the coat over her body as she staggered to her feet, still trembling.

"We need to get back to your house," she whispered, wide-eyed and shivering like a startled doe.

Samuel gave a painned grunt in agreement.  Enough time had been wasted waiting and now they were fully defenseless.  The mage had recovered, though only slightly as his demon's shuddering subsided.  Grasping for the girl's arm, he made for the relative safety of the city, shedding the rapidly declining cover of the woods.

The way was not long but it was slow, so as to avoid making noise to draw their pursuers.  It unnerved him that he had not seen another hint of the demon hunter, as though they had given up the chase long ago.  Thank the gods for small favors...

If all went well, the pair of fugitives might reach the assassin's home unmolested.

Unsure what else she should-- or really could-- do, Ally followed Samuel closely, hugging his coat tight around her form. Bare feet padded almost silently over the cobblestones, and she winced a few times as loose stones jabbed at that soles of her feet.

The pair moved rapidly, largely unseen.  Zantaric was an odd place full of self absorbed people.  The few people they passed paid the pair little mind as before they eventually reached the assassin's home.  Even if they had an interest, the girl's slightly disheveled appearance might have sold them on a different theory...

Once the thick wooden door was bolted, Samuel released Allaeya's arm, giving his own exhausted sigh as he fell against a nearby chair.  "At least we kept the supplies," he said inwardly.  For the time being, he did not have the energy to try again.

A nagging feeling told him to expand his cellar all the same.

Allaeya practically collapsed to the floor, panting and shivering. The change of form had taken a lot out of her-- more than usual it seemed, for some reason.

"Right. Supplies," she gasped out, wrapping her arms around herself and huddling deeper into Samuel's coat.

The assassin allowed himself to calm down, checking the state of his familiar briefly.  As expected, it was still shivering, aftereffects of the traumatic injury.  It would draw from his strength gradually, rebuilding itself, repairing its damage over the next few days.  Already, Samuel bore a telltale craving for raw meat through his link with the beast. 

But that could wait.  Turning back to the still disoriented girl, tightly hugging the fabric of his long robe close to her.  It would to to check on her.  Shifting from his seat, the man slid close.  "Are you gonna be all right?" he asked.  "Did you want something to eat?  Drink for your nerves?"  He had a small stash of whiskey he could share, and made toward his larder.

"Maybe...some food?" She looked up at him with an almost sheepish smile, eyes seeming a little sunken into her pale face. "Sometimes changing like that can be really draining..."

Offering a brief glance toward the girl, Samuel shrugged and started to sort out his food stock.  He had a moment of privacy though and took up the leather wrapped decanter, pouring a shot into a nearby glass.  It had tremendous bit, burning all the way down.  He was tempted to take more, for medicinal purposes, almost told himself but quickly recapped the vessel.

Collecting the pot from earlier, the oddly proficient homemaker began to pile together ingredients for a midday stew.  He still had most of a pale wheel of hard cheese and sliced of a wedge, gathered with a batch of dry biscuits an the same small platter as the other day.

He set the stew pot over the cold hearth, striking sparks from a piece of steel saw the flame returning to life.  As the stew cooked, the smell of barley and wild greens filling the small room, Samuel returned to Allaeya, offering her on of the dry biscuits and a cup of water.

"Th-thanks." The alchemist took the offered food and drink gratefully, quickly guzzling the water before she took a couple cautious nibbles of the biscuit. "Is, um... Your arm, I mean, is it--? Are you alright?"

Samuel was standing over his hearth, watching his stew as it began to simmer.  The girl's question brought his attention back to his still aching, black arm.  It continued to shiver as hit recovered, sucking nutrients from its willing host.  The assassin almost shot Allaeya an irritated glance for exposing him to danger but he quickly dropped his disinterested mask back into place as he responded.  "I'll recover.  Do not worry."

Lunch cooked quickly and the host brought out a pair of bowls, offering one to the alchemist after he filled it befor serving himself and dropping into his seat...

For the life of him, he found this girl perplexing.  For all the power she had, she seemed to loathe her gift.  Her inability to master and contol it seemed proof of that.  Instead, she was going out of her way to destroy that power.  Samuel could only hope the book was worth the trouble.

"I, ah..." Alleaya swallowed, picking listlessly at her food. "I'm sorry," she murmured after a few moments, almost inaudible. "If I were...I mean, if I could just...you shouldn't have had to--"

She sighed. "Sorry."

The assassin stared at the human-dragon for a moment.  Before long, he made a show of waving off the girl's concern as he repeated his earlier sentiment.  "I'm fine, really."

Samuel returned to his own meal, quickly finishing half his stew before speaking again.  "After you eat, we can get to work on that book of yours."  He had meant it to sound like a question, but it came out much harsher than expected.

Ally winced, but nodded. "Alright," she murmured, returning her attention to her food. She really wasn't all that hungry-- in fact she felt a little sick-- but she knew she should eat while she had the chance.

Eventually, the meal ended and Samuel began to clean up, stowing his crockery after cleaning it.  In that time, he calmed down, feeling less put out by his guest's earlier inaction.  He offered the tense girl a calm smile that likely seemed empty of all feeling as he made for his basement door.

"Shall we?" he offered, gesturing for the alchemist to follow him back down to his secret laboratory.

"Oh. Right. Yes." A little shakily, the alchemist got to her feet, already wringing her hands nervously in front of her body. She tried to take deep, steadying breaths as she followed Samuel back down into the laboratory.

Predictably, the moderately small chamber had not changed since they had been their earlier and Samuel set about collecting his tools.  He gestured to a raised stand, saying, "Put your book there, please."  The tilted device would keep the tome visible while also keeping it away from the the various reagents.

The mage quickly returned to setting up, calling over his should.  "Let me know what else you need for your potion and I'll grab that too."

Cautiously, still moving as though she was afraid any wrong step might set off some sort of booby trap, Ally laid the book on the stand and took a few steps back, already wracking her brain.

"We need a quartz base, along with the, um...dragon parts. And gold for perfection, mercury for changeability, and a few basic herbs. What do you have in your stores?"

Samual had been retrieving his components as Allaeya listed them off.  He found himself pausing rather that continuing, finding the odd list of inorganics off putting.  Though he had all the ingredients, he had never found them useful in the making of potions.  Most of them were nothing more than inert substances, according to his own study...

The assassin kept these thoughts to himself.  Whatever magic the girl thought they had, they likely drew from her belief in them.  After all, he had never had dragon components so he had know idea how much magic they might carry with them.

Pulling down a few vials of quicksilver, thumbing a few gold coins form his belt and placing all of that beside a hardy quartz crystal, he pointed toward a cupboard behind the dragonic mage.  "Dried herbs are there.  Grab anything you think you need."

"Thanks." She turned to the cabinet he'd indicated and set about sorting through the jars of herbs, murmuring to herself under her breath as she did.

Once the supplies were in her arms, she turned and moved back to the pedestal, reading the book with a quick glance before dropping her armload of herbs and fetching out her mother's grimoire. She flipped to the page she needed, reading quietly to herself.

"Quartz for grounding...quicksilver for change, yes yes..."

There was little for Samuel to do.  He simply stood back, reading the tome over Allaeya's shoulder as she set to work.  He doubted he would find much use from it now, but one never knew.  Either way, whatever came of the book's magic would be on the girl, not him.  Still, he had a pair of hands and if the dragon-girl had need of those, they were there.

"Um, Samuel?"

Ally glanced up at him, eyes brighter than they'd been in days. The thrill of her work was taking over, though she tried to keep herself in check. "I need to make sure the heat stays steady while I make this potion. I don't suppose you have a set of bellows or something?"

Honestly, Samuel could do better than brazier and bellows.  Ducking back into a the cupboard, the assassin retrieved an odd looking box covered in strange warding.  The wards were painted in a flowing script in an almost iridescent ink that glittered in the demon-light.  Setting it on the table, he slide of the wooden lid, revealing a polished golden plate set into the top of the box.

The box housed a fire demon and would be able to maintain its a constant output based on which wards were triggered...

Grabbing a knife from nearby and a cotton blotter, she set the heat box up, asking, "How hot do you need?"  He did not exactly trust her to use the device, but it he could turn it on for her with a series of bloody fingerprints...

"Keep the liquid boiling," Ally replied briskly as she moved her supplies to settle over the apparatus. Now that she was more in her element, she seemed almost a different person, her stutterings and flinches fading away to be replaced with cool professionalism and a brusque sort of confidence.

There was little more for Samuel to do at this point.  The heater was designed to be self maintaining and would only stop when the blood was washed off.  That aside, curiosity got the better of him and the assassin stayed close, watching the project over Ally's shoulder.

He could tell this was her element.  She seemed infinitely more certain of herself now, meaning she was less likely to make a mistake.  He did what he could not to change that, lest the girl wipe out his workshop.  Still, he would be there in case another hand was needed...

Ally worked for close to two hours, sweat beading on her brow and her face drawn in stony concentration as she darted between ingredients in her pouch and the recipe in the book.

Finally, she stepped back and allowed her shoulders to slump forward with a long sigh. "Okay. Do-- do you have a place where I can expose this to moonlight? It needs to charge for about three hours."


She looked exhausted, but somehow thrilled. Her face was flushed, eyes bright with excitement.

The assassin had stood off to one side for the duration of the girl's project and now that she seemed finished, he moved to join her.  "You could put it outside?"  He suggested.  Again, this was not a part of his alchemy so such a think would have been useless to him.

There was space in his garden to set up a stool so that the potion could charge.  He scraped dried blood from the heat box so it might begin to cool down before leading the way back upstairs to grab a basket to flip over as a short table outside.  It was honestly the best he could manage at this late stage...

The young alchemist blinked at him, considering the idea. "Will it be safe? I mean-- you can put it somewhere that no one will move or touch it?"

In her own practice she typically charged things with moonlight by leaving them on a windowsill, but direct exposure by leaving it outside would be preferable, if he was sure they could keep it safe.

Samuel lived within the village limits, but his few neighbors knew well who he was.  His home and garden were warded and several would be thieve had died in the attempt to trespass.  He did not bother telling Ally that much; it would have only concerned her.

"Most know not to bother me; It should be perfectly safe."  Grabbing a wooden pale, the oddly accommodating assassin left to set up the stand, bleeding an extra layer of security into the wood so that the potion would not be disturbed.

Ally smiled, a little relieved, and nodded. "Then yes, I think that should do very nicely. Thank you." She sighed and rolled her neck, rubbing absently at her shoulders. She was stiff from so long hunched over potion and book.

Almost to herself, she murmured, "Three hours under moonlight, then boiled again, and the color should change..." She continued muttering, a line drawn between her brows as she sank into contemplation.

Once the potion was set aside, the assassin returned to a tired Ally.  "If you wish to rest, you should lie down upstairs.  I will clean up down here..."  He had caught the tail end of Ally's brief monologue and after wiping the blood off the heat box, left it on the bench before putting away the various reagents.

He made no direct move to usher the girl from the lab, despite his suggestion, though he continued to pass glances to the tomb, hoping she might fall asleep, offering a chance to rifle though its pages.

"Oh. Um, well..." Ally hedged awkwardly, her eyes wide as they flicked from him to the book to the potion and back several times. "I don't really...like leaving an unfinished project," she mumbled slowly. "I mean, if it's just the three hours I can...I can..."

A massive yawn cut her off and she flushed, clapping a hand over her mouth. Alright, maybe she was a bit tired, but she could still keep going!

Samuel caught Ally's motion.  She very much was tired, but clearly resistant to the idea of respite.  "Why?  You've had a stressful day.  None of this will be going anywhere.  I can wake you when things are ready."

However, the assassin made no move to press the issue, heading up to his garden to arrange his trapped station.  He took his time, hoping it would give the girl time to slip into a light nap; hoping she would let her defenses fall so he might leave through the tome at some leisure...

"No really, I'm...I'm fine--"

Ally tried to fight down another yawn, blinking determinedly in an effort to force her eyes open fully. By the time she'd managed to pull herself together, Samuel had already gone back upstairs.

She glanced around and another wave of exhaustion washed over her. She rubbed at her eyes. Stay awake, stay awake...

It wasn't that she didn't trust Samuel, exactly--okay, yes. It was that. But...well, he had helped her, and he'd protected her out in the forest. Maybe she could just...close her eyes for a second...

Her head lulled back as her eyes fluttered closed. Just for a few minutes...

The small stand for the alchemic took almost no time and before long the host was returning.  He soon found the girl where he had left her; it seemed Allaeya had slumped down against the wall, unable to remain standing as sleep took her.

There was a brief dilemma regarding his next choice, but the assassin crouched down, scooping her up to carry the girl upstairs.  She would be more comfortable there in the long run...but really, it would give him greater security as he rifled through her grimoire.  After all, that was his reward for helping her, regardless of the dragon's opinion of him.

If she woke, she would find herself laying across a settee, Samuel having crept downstairs to look over the ancient work...

Ally stirred slightly when Samuel lifted her, but she didn't wake. She murmured sleepily as he placed her on the settee--possible something about formulas, but it was too indistinct to make out--and curled up a little tighter, one hand under her cheek.

---

She wasn't sure how much later it was when she finally next opened her eyes. Groggy, she pushed herself up into a semi-seated position and looked around, still frowning sleepily. Then:

"Oh!"

She suddenly scrambled to her feet, abruptly more awake--though not awake enough to avoid stumbling as she moved toward the window, intending to check on her solution.

It had been nearly two and half hours - give or take; Samuel did not have space in his home for a chronometer - since the assassin began to transcribe notes from the borrowed grimoire when the sound of movement creaked through the floor above him.  Unfortunate but not unexpected.  Not wanting his work to be discovered, he slipped a parchment into his own nondescript tome before tucking it amid his other volumes, and closed Allaeya's own book before heading upstairs.

Finding the girl by his garden window, the host walk up beside her.  He made no effort to hide his presence, so it was likely the dragon would have felt his approach through the floor.  "It's still early yet," he informed, examining the vial along side.  "Don't worry.  I wouldn't have let you miss it."  It was true enough and his own curiosity spurred him on; he wanted to see if this potion the girl had made would even work.

Ally twitched her head toward him slightly when she heard his approach, but her attention was mostly focused on the vial, intently examining the silvery glint of the moonlight off the liquid.

...No, not quite ready yet.

Straightening up a bit with a soft huff, she offered Samuel a smile and a tired nod. "Right. Of course. I just...wanted to check." She rolled her head from side to side, wincing at the stiffness in her neck. "Gods, I can't wait until I fix this. All the involuntary shapeshifting gives you kinks all over."

Samuel offered only a sideways glance toward the shifter.  "I'll have to take your word for that..."  Only his arm could shift and it had no foundational architecture to become strained.

Still, given how unaccustomed she was to her ability, it was clear it was no natural part of her.  "How does one attain the form of a dragon?" he asked.  "It is not something most would take for granted so readily..."

((@DragonSong - Sorry for the slow reply.  Heads been elsewhere...))

[No worries!]

---

The young alchemist twitched, almost flinched, and shot him a strangely wary look. Then she seemed to catch herself, sighed, and reached up to rake a hand through her hair, inadvertently turning it into even more of a tousled mess.

"Well...to my understanding, it is...not an easy process. And usually involves positively mad amounts of magical power and, if you're lucky, a bit of dragon ancestry." She huffed another breath and frowned down at her hands. "Or, if you're attempting to succeed in the one area where your absolute savant of a mother failed, it involves attempting to perfect an alchemical solution meant to imbue the human body with the power of a dragon." She dragged a hand down her face and looked away again, frowning. "And then it goes horribly, horribly wrong."

Samuel went a long while without speaking, pondering the girl's words.  The former scenario seemed like it could be written off outright.  Meanwhile, the latter seemed specific enough to be what she had done.  He had little use himself for such a project as far as he could imagine but still, he wondered at its potential value...

Beyond that, there was not much left to say anyway and the pair waited for the new potion to finish charging.

"...Can I ask you something, then?"

She wasn't looking at him, the faintest flush to her cheeks. Embarrassed, and nervous. But she was a scholar, above everything else, and after a while her curiosity always seemed to get the better of her.

"Your, um...the arm. How does that...?"

She trailed off, flicking her eyes back toward him and then to the potion again. She wasn't sure how to finish the question--or even precisely what she was asking.

It was far from an unreasonable subject to broach.  Glancing at his black palm as though it were some vague curiousity, Samuel shrugged.  "It's not something easy to explain," he remarked.  "I sought strength and was willing to trade away my right arm for it."

He was not ashamed about it.  To much was made of many punishing themselves for simply being who they were.  "I guess, unlike you, I knew what I was getting into, so it's not something worth worrying over."  A half-smirk crept to his lip.  "I admit, it was a bit off putting at first, but you'd be surprised by what you can get used to."

"It's demonic, isn't it?"

She was tilting her head at him. Now that he'd actually answered a question, she seemed to have the courage for more. "I mean, I thought it was. But I don't actually have all that much magic of my own--I'm just good with potions--and I'm not very good at identifying origins of power most of the time. But that..."

Her eyes flicked down to his arm, then back up to his face. She shrugged. "It seems pretty distinctly demonic."

Ah, that was what she was asking.  Perhaps he was so accustomed to it he had forgotten how little experience most people had with demons.  Still, passing his guest a sidelong glance he admitted, "There's actually remarkably little 'distinct' about demons beyond their mere existance."  Much of the magic associated with demons was nearly indestinguishable from what mortals could achieve; "Even this," he said holding up his palm for Ally to examine, "Is remarkably similar to Thanati Primal magic."

"Why do you ask?"  An antagonistic smirk crept to his lips as he seemed to wonder.  "You looking to dabble in the 'forbidden arts' yourself?"

Almost despite herself, Ally snorted and shot him a dry look. "Right, sure I am. Because that's gone so well for me before," she said with a general gesture toward herself.

Still, with his hand extended in invitation like that, she really couldn't stop herself from stepping toward him for a better look. She reached out, hesitated, then looked up into his face, biting almost anxiously at her lower lip. "Um, can I...?"

For the moment, her alchemical solution seemed to be forgotten--they still had about a quarter of an hour left to keep it in the moonlight, anyway.

He had no issue with the girl touching the creature, and the being had little real will of its own.  "Go ahead," he offered, holding the black arm toward Ally.  The black, leathery substance would shiver and ripple under her touch but aside from its uncanny nature, there seemed little remarkable about the thing unless Samuel chose to reveal it...

Once given permission, Ally had to work to physically restrain herself from just grabbing his arm in one hand and her notebook in the other and start asking questions.

Well. Maybe just a few questions.

"So is it a symbiotic relationship, or a parasitic one?" she asked curiously as her fingers traced cautiously over the almost oily-looking substance. Her nose crinkled, not expecting the leathery texture. "Or neither? Is it replacing your arm, or coexisting with it? Can you feel this?" She pressed her thumb into his palm, finally lifting her eyes to his face as she asked her last question. Her gaze was bright, fascination clearly lighting a new fire in her.

( @DragonSong - Sorry for the wait )

Samuel found himself smiling at the girl's curiousity.  It was refreshing to see one who was not belligerent toward toward Demoncraft, even if he became little more than an oddity to them.

Answering in reverse order, even as the creature continued to wripple following her touch, he said, "I can actually feel through them; they have created a facsimile of most of the features of my arm: blood-vessels, nerves, muscles...replacing what was lost...  He paused, not inclined to go deeper into the specifics of that topic.

"We are partner's, after a fashion," Samuel admitted.  "I nurture them and in exchange, they serve me, guided only by my will..."  It was hard to know how much he could tell Ally.  There was danger in sharing too much...And the assassin did not want to traumatize her.

...At least, not just yet...

((No worries! ^.^))

---

"So is it...sorry, are they...sentient?" Her brow furrowed, then she abruptly realized she was still holding his demonic arm and pulled her hands back quickly, taking a sharp step back. Her cheeks were suddenly flaming and she shuffled her feet awkwardly. "I--I'm sorry, I'm being--I know I get sorta single-minded when I'm curious about something, I didn't mean to be rude..."

Ally tugged absently at a lock of her hair as she flicked her eyes away, glancing toward the window sill where the little vial of potion still sat before looking back down at the floor between their feet. "Sorry," she mumbled again, feeling bumbling and foolish, though her curiosity had hardly abated. She tried to keep a lid on it for the risk of putting her foot in her mouth.

"It's fine," the demonlord assured Ally.  He withdrew his familiar, assuming his curious companion had finished her investigation for the most part.  She seemed suddenly nervous; perhaps her study had inadvertently revealed an embarrassing side of herself...

Samuel decided to wordlessly offer his guest some space, shifting away from her as he found the back of a settee to lean against.  "I don't think they are sentient...at least not the way you or I might consider ourselves sentient."  His gaze slipped high, as though searching for words scribbled on the ceiling.  "In theory, they can't think at all.  Yet, they can read and follow my own thoughts and follow my will with more precision than my real arm."  Though he had hypotheses, as Ally might guess, he kept them to himself, leaving his explanation there for the moment.

"Fascinating." Ally eyed his arm for a moment longer, then shook her head and shot him a quick smile. "Right. Ah...thank you. For letting me--ahem. Thanks."

She shook herself again and glanced toward the window, judging the angel of the moon. She drew in a deep breath. "Oh. Wow. Well, I think it--I might be able to stop the charge now..."

The killer simply nodded to acknowledge Ally's expressed gratitude before attention shifted back toward her project.  He was not exactly sure what to look for regarding the potion's progress and so would have to trust he guest's judgement on the matter.

Samuel moved to the door to pull it open, giving his temporary cohort a chance to retrieve the concoction.

The alchemist snatched up her potion and scurried back to Samuel's side quickly, clutching the vial to her chest as though it was a baby bird that she feared harming but was desperately trying to shelter.

She looked down at it for several long moments, biting her lower lip. "If, um..." She narrowed her eyes. "If this works...it should fix me. It should. I'll just...be normal again. But--but just in case--!"

Her voice squeaked a bit and she cleared her throat as she looked up at her host. "I should...you should probably stand back. Just in case something goes wrong." Whatever "wrong" might be--this was so experimental she honestly had no idea.

But it's the best and only chance I've got. Before she could talk herself out of it, Ally tipped the vial against her lips and downed the entire thing in one quick swallow. She let her hand fall to her sides and squeezed her eyes shut, body tensing as though preparing for a blow.

Nothing happened.

And nothing kept happening.

After almost a full minute, she cracked one eye open and slowly let out a breath. A tiny smile started to quirk at her lips. "I...I think it worked--"

Pain ripped through her abdomen and she doubled over, gasping, unable to even cry out as her blood burned and magic shimmered and shifted under the surface of her skin.

Samuel had initially assumed the girl's potion would make some sign of curing her curse; magic itself had been bound to her being and such power could not simply be shed without going somewhere.

Still, the assassin had not expected the upsurge of the girl's magic.  Though he had heeded her adviced before, Samuel darted to the dragon's side, unsure if she was shifting yet or otherwise, and whether she was putting his home in danger.

Drawing a glyph-carved wooden coin from a container at his waist, the demon lord held it between his first fingers as a precaution.  "Do you know what is happening?" he asked.  "Is this the Dragon?"  There were thinks he could do - things his minions could do that might help the girl if need be but that required he know what was happening...

"I--"

It was all she could get out before her throat went tight again and she gasped desperately, raggedly. It felt like she was on fire, burning from the inside out. The thin threads of magic writhing beneath her skin had twisted to mirror the path of her veins, shimmering gold and creating something like a heat haze in the air around her.

She looked up at Samuel, shaking her head. I don't know. I don't know what's happening. It's like a shift, but caught in the middle. Something is pulling me apart and putting me back together wrong, over and over...

Scales spread from her brow down over her cheeks in a ripple of movement, a graceful curve of lavender and violet, before they sank beneath her skin again. She whimpered, then cried out, and her teeth her too sharp, too many. Claws slid from her fingertips, then back in. Her back hunched and she finally was able to scream as wings tore through her shoulder blades, twisted and too bony, before they folded against her body and tried to melt back into her still-not-quite-human shape.

"Can't...can't stop...it," she gasped, eyes clenched shut. "Need potion...out...of system--ahh!"

She dropped to her knees, curling forward with her arms wrapped tight around her middle. It felt like she was trying to hold herself together as the dragon tried again and again to find a way out through her skin before diving back in.

Samuel had few options available to treat the contorting, misshapen girl.  He was no healer, no apothecary and despite being a hired killer, had little relevant use for poison to even use as a baseline of his understanding of medicine from its wicked side.

He could not be sure of the danger he was in, his relaxing hold letting his right arm contort into a grim mockery as he pondered his options.  Perhaps an extract to induce vomiting...no, the girl's body had already absorbed enough of her potion.  He was moving quickly to the cupboards downstairs, sorting though his reagents for possible options.

Perhaps charcoal.  It might pull the potion from her body and begin to counter the effect.  Taking a black nugget, he dropped it into a rough powder; he did not have time to do a better job.  Mixing it with a bit of water, he hurried back to the deformed girl, offering the ugly mixture to the girl.  "Drink.  It might make things more bearable."  His writhing familiar lingered behind him, holding a skin of water to help wash it down...

Desperate, Ally grabbed for whatever it was he was holding out to her—she didn’t have the presence of mind to question, she just drank. Anything was better than this, the making and unmaking and unraveling and the fire in her veins and it was sharp and hot and oh. Anything was better. Death itself would have been a relief at this point.

The black sludge oozed down her throat and she gagged, but managed to keep it down. Her hands—claws—hands curled against the floor and a low, shattered keening sound was wrung from her lips. Breathe, just breathe through it. Breathe. It had to stop. No matter what happens, it eventually has to stop...

Her stomach rebelled. She curved forward, heaving, gasping as tears ran down her face.

Whatever was left of the potion in her system came back up with the charcoal mixture. A ripple of scales ran down her spine and she shuddered—but it was not followed by fangs or a tail. Slowly, with each new breath, her form reshuffled itself, melting back into a human girl, crouched and shivering, clothes ripped where the dragon had torn through her skin.

She took a breath. Another. Everything hurt, but it was no longer the hot agony it had been. And it was fading. Slowly, but it was fading.

“Well...” Her voice was wrecked, raw and shaking. “That...didn’t work.”

She looked up at Samuel, shaking in earnest now, new tear tracks twining their way down her cheeks. “Thank—thank...you.”

And she fainted.

It had not been wholly unexpected, given the intensity of the earlier reaction, so Samuel was quick to catch the unconcious girl before she fell.  The demonlord decided if she needed to rest, such would best be done in his bedroom, carrying her to the place he had relinquished to her earlier.

He elected not to worry greatly, reterning to the main room to clean up the mess.  The charcoal slime was his first priority, needing to be scrubbed out before it stained as Samuel took a bucket from his closet.  He filled outside, before adding a closed pyre-bottle to heat it and adding a cake of soap to the rapidly steaming agent.

Ally's draconic mishap had also scattered some of his furniture so he would have to pick those up as well.  Ideally, Samuel hoped to have another chance with the tome before his guest woke once again...

The dragon-shifter's body had well and truly exhausted itself. She slept so deeply that she didn't even dream, which was something of a rare occurrence for her.

She had no idea how long she was unconscious, but she imagined it was quite a while, because by the time she opened her eyes again she was simply sore and tired, rather than aching and utterly drained. She blinked fuzzily and sat up, looking around.

"Oh." Samuel had given up his bed for her. Again. That was...kind. Her stomach tightened guiltily. She really needed to figure out a way to pay this man back for everything he was doing for her. And for making what she assumed was quite a mess of his home...

In the time it had taken for Ally to rest, Samuel had managed to flip through a few pages of her pilfered tome, copying what he could and when possible, neglecting anecdotes that added nothing to the formulas and the like.  A slight creeking from the direction of his quarters told the host that his guest was stirring and slipped his own grimoire back into hiding before slipping upstairs.

Glancing though the latticed window, he saw that it was nearly sunrise and put a clay pot on the hearth, beginning to prepare a morning porridge in case the shifter was hungry...

 The smell of food made Ally's stomach rumble in a sound that was rather reminiscent of the dragon's growl. She flushed and cleared her throat as she peered out into the main room, then cautiously made her way out of his quarters.

She sort of hovered behind him for a few moments, wringing her hands nervously in front of her body.  Then:

"....I'm sorry." She took a breath, shaking a little on the exhale. "I didn't—I didn't know it would—could go wrong...like that." Another breath, her eyes now fixed on the floor. "Thank you..."

The host payed his guest little mind at first, focused on finishing morning meal.  Eventually, he reasured her without looking up: "It's fine.  There was no real harm."  Spooning a helping of the spiced mash into a bowl, alongside a piece of flat bread, he offered the portion to Ally before taking his own.

"I assume you are still looking for a way to cure yourself," he said.  "Do you know what you plan to try next?"

Her stomach churned at the sight of food, but she knew she needed to eat. And under pretty much any other circumstances, it might have been rather appealing. She tried a few bites, pausing between each to make sure she wasn't going to be sick.

When that seemed to go alright, she kept eating, a little more enthusiastically. "I am," she answered his first question, then sighed. "And...I don't know. My mother's notes...there were all I really had to go on, I--I don't have anymore leads."

She nibbled on the bread, looking up at him. After a moment, she exhaled again and murmured, "And I owe you. A lot. For everything you've done for me the past few days. And I'd like to get that debt squared before I do anything else."

(( @DragonSong - Sorry for the delay ))

The summoner seemed to focus on his own bowl of food as the girl pondered aloud.  As she made her vague offer, Samuel was dipping his bread to scrape of a mound of porridge.  "Well," he began through a full mouth, though he quickly thought better of it and quicky swallowed.

"If you don't think you have any use for that book, I'd like a chance to make a copy.  Even a chance to give it a look over might reveal a few potions of interest to me."  He'd already looked through the book, so even if she called him out, he could alway write down what he remembered and test things to make sure they worked...

"Oh!" Ally blinked at him, a little taken aback. She hadn't been expecting that, for some reason. Though she supposed it made a certain amount of sense. "I, um..."

She glanced away, shifting awkwardly as she bit her lip. She didn't really have a reason to tell him no—but she would admit she was anxious about relinquishing custody of the tome, even temporarily.

No, stop that. You're being silly, and you owe him far more than a look at an old book.

Shaking herself, she looked back to him with a small smile and nodded. "I don't see why not. I would—I would like it back, though. Would three days be enough time to copy what you need? Oh!" She blinked, then flushed and added sheepishly, "Also, some of it is encoded. My mother had the key to the encryption in her notes—I could help you with that part, if you like?"