A stranger like me(Cheesigator, closed)

[ValamLym]

Albedo had spend most of her time travelling from town to town, celebrating and grieving with the townsfolk through her song. She was extremely amazed about the impact her music had on them, even without her magical interference. Of course, her music was usually otherworldly, they had never heard anything like it.. That was of course hardly surprising, as all these songs were made up in her own head, her magic simply made it work for her.

She sighed as she strolled through the hunting town. The people seemed somewhat down, probably due to a lack of a successful hunt. Quietly she put down her bag and sat down on a local bench, in the center of town. Simply watching people walk by for a moment. As per usual, she began humming, her melodic voice carried towards the ears of those close by through the wind.  She had her eyes closed, her angelic features relaxed and simply enjoying her own singing. When she opened them again she realized she had gather a little crowd, curiously looking at her. ''How is your voice so angelic!?'' a woman practically screeched at her, she wondered if it was jealousy or simply curiosity, Albedo was pretty bad at telling apart human emotions.

Before long she was urged to continue, to silence their grief for the slightest of moment with her voice. She figured she could do that, and more. Perhaps these people needed a little song from her, to inspire. Truly, she had no real idea what type of song was good at that, she merely sung what felt right, as such she finally rose, lips parting as a magical hue appeared around her, vibrating and thumping, almost as if it was already playing a song. She finally parted her lips, her singing voice filling the local area.

''Born in captivity, Time's your worst enemy ,Your face is getting older...''

You try to keep your age, Inside this golden cage ,Your heart is getting colder...''

Her voice grew somewhat more firm and demanding, though keeping up the gentle melodic undertones. Her magical aura began playing a song, never heard before by the ears of these people, its tones created through unknown instruments.

''Don't you feel,You're slowly dying? Day by day,They treat you like an animal...''

she spread her arms. Her voice growing invigorated as she stepped to stand on top of the bench, clearly reveling in her own song

You've gotta fight, You've gotta start a battle , So let's wake up...Your sleeping lion!

''Catch fire, catch catch fire!
Wake up the sleeping lion
And use your mind
Catch fire, catch catch fire!
Wake up the sleeping lion
Do you feel alive?!
Don't let it get you down''

Her attention turned to a man close to her, his excitement hiding an relatively somber outlook beneath his skin.

''Do you know the reason why, Why they never let you sleep at night, And you're running round in circles?''

She turned her attention to another, her singing becoming almost questioning.

''Their frozen fingertips, Against your burning lips, A fight without heroes...''

Her voice sparked up again, fervour back within them.

''You've gotta fight, you've gotta start a battle, So let's wake up, Your sleeping lion!''

''Catch fire, catch catch fire!
Wake up the sleeping lion
And use your mind
Catch fire, catch catch fire!
Wake up the sleeping lion
Do you feel alive?!
Don't let it get you down''

She jumped off the bench, having gather an considerable amount of on lookers now. Either for her voice or for the strange music she was playing. Or maybe even both? She wrapped her hand around the man, gently tucking him against her shoulder as she continued singing.

''Come baby ,Come baby, Burn tonight.. One step across the border won't hurt your mind''

She let go of him, giving him a smile while continueing to sing
''The fire will get you baby don't you know? Easy come, easy go!''

She then turned her attention back to the group in front of her, singing to all of them at once.
''Now run baby, Run baby, Run tonight, One step across the border won't hurt your mind''

''The fire will get you baby don't you know, Easy come, easy go!''

She smirked spreading her arms again.

''Easy go!!''

She stood up, extending her arms above it, taking a moment for a breather and to speak to her newfound fans ''Come on, you know the words by now!'' she snickered, before continueing, to her absolutely joy a lot of folks joined in with the chorus.

''Catch fire, catch catch fire!
Wake up the sleeping lion
And use your mind
Catch fire, catch catch fire!
Wake up the sleeping lion!''

She paused letting the people sing the last few words

''Do you feel alive?!''

She smirked, finalising her song with a

''Don't let them get you down..''

Spoiler

The song for those who want the complete experience, this is pretty much how she sung it as well.

Jenix - Catch fire

[close]

Before jumping down the bench. Giving a short bow. The people seemed exctatic about her performance and wanted her to continue. To which she simply smiled. If they really wanted to why not? she could sing it a few times for them, she just didn't want to sing any different songs as they'd require her to use one of her different voices and that would betray her true side. Although, perhaps she had already? most people seemed to simply be concerned with her singing again.

She crawled back onto the bench, to the relief of her newfound fans and simply repeated the same song. She figured it was the least she could do.
[/color]

[Cheesigator]

Ketra was a town that Kirkley found himself returning to often; it was the home of his good (and so far, longest) friend, the only person on this earth who had a chance at understanding where he truly came from, and even yet even she would never know.

A gentle breeze rustled through the streets, and he found himself pausing when he heard the sound of a particular melody unlike one he'd heard before. Golden animal eyes scanned the streets as he looked for the source, and decided moreso out of curiosity than anything else that perhaps the sound might be something worth checking out. A soft voice in the back of his head told him it might lead to a new adventure, or a new friend perhaps. But it was hard for the rest of him to get equally as excited or positive about it.

Regardless, he found himself pacing through the streets, hands in the pockets of the tattered pants that hung from his muscular frame, trying to find the source of the sound. Eventually he found it, and he realized he really wasn't all that different from other humans--there was a crowd surrounding the person singing, a woman, he assumed. Curiosity was a thing that spanned all species, and thinking that made him feel a bit more comforted, as he looked over the tops of heads to see a beautiful person sitting on the bench.

Her sweeping locks of black hair against such pale skin reminded Kirkley of the bright moon in the midnight sky, and he found her eyes, though snake-like in appearance, somewhat captivating. Whatever she was, he knew that she wasn't human, as if her somewhat otherworldly singing voice wasn't evidence enough of that.

He decided to stay back and wait; rather than attempt to push and shove his way into the crowd like everyone else. It took a while--after all, she was magical. It kept the humans lingering, wanting more. But once they had all mostly cleared away, he stepped forward, a soft smile on his lips.

"That was very well done. I haven't heard many other beings that can sing like that."

There was a hint of a spark to his eyes; these days he got much more involved when it came to other creatures of supernatural origins. They usually tended to live longer, and were in general, much less painful to deal with over time. It took him many thousands of years to finally learn and understand that.

[ValamLym]

Albedo quietly sighed as she finally decided to cut her singing off and simply sat down on the bench ''Sorry everyone but I am -beat-'' She chuckled, the crowd awed but seemed to respect her decision, eventually slowly dissipating. She could finally relax, as she let one of her arms dangle behind the bench.

Soon however she found herself face to face with a rather muscular fellow, his golden eyes immediately catching her attention, as well as his inked frame. She snickered, looking at him as he spoke.

''Thank you, I do my best to cheer folks up where I can.''

She pondered if he thought her human or something else, most people seemed to prefer the easy way out but there was something about the passion in his eyes that made her doubt he was one of those people. Gently, she skipped a bit to the side, giving him some room to sit on the bench should he want to.

''You look like you must do a lot of fighting, or just working out... got to admit I've never seen someone inked up that bad.''

She chuckled, simply nudging her head toward her shoulder as she spoke. An innocent smile resting on her lips as she tried to make herself seem a lot more innocent then she actually is.

[Cheesigator]

Aw, how kind of her. His smile widened as she scooted to give him space, and he sat down next to her, the bench creaking a little bit at the uneven weight distribution. It made him only slightly nervous--just slightly, but not enough to let it bother him or show.

"Cheering people up, huh?" He raised his eyebrows a little. "An odd hobby there." But he'd done similar things, at various points in his life. Sometimes it was just a nice thing to do to pass the time.

She commented on his appearance and he snorted a little. "When you've lived as long as I have, there's not much else to do with your time except fight and get an extra tattoo when you're bored."

Admittedly, he really should find more ways to spend his time that were less dangerous, but it wasn't like he exactly had anything to worry about. His current state of being didn't seem like it would be ending any time soon, though there were periods where he wished it would.

"You, on the other hand, look much more like an angel than any other kind of creature. But your eyes have me doubting even that." He said with a simple shrug as he leaned back against the bench, draping an arm across the back of it and crossing his legs loosely.

"Where do you come from?" He hadn't come across someone like her in his travels yet, and that was a rarity in and of itself--perhaps why he found her so oddly fascinating.

[ValamLym]

Albedo chuckled as the man sat down, his heavier frame causing the bench to creak with discomfort. She herself didn't mind it at all though and simply kept on smiling like she always did. She listened to him talk, an amused giggle passing her lips as he spoke about her hobby ''That's just it though.. its just a hobby.'' she muttered in between his sentences.

As he told his tale she listened intently, her free hand coiled around her chin, taking in his words and dragging them through the filter that was her mind. When he said he had lived long her mind immediately jumped to a couple of hundred years at most, but immortality was always an option. After all, she could take on a human form. She sighed, it would all remain pondering for a while yet. But she couldn't help but wonder.

''So you ink your body when your bored? and you question my hobbies!''

She let out an amused giggle, tucking her hand in front of her mouth before resting it upon her lap again, curiously eyeing him as she let him continue, eventually giving him a soft smile as spoke about her appearance.

''Hooh, that's sweet of you to say. My eyes are a bit deformed I know. Most people seem to notice that my pupils aren't exactly normal.''

She contemplated his second question a bit longer, taking the arm that had been resting behind the bench and straightening up, laying both of them on her lap as she thought about his question. Pondering whether to tell him a half truth, a lie or the truth. The truth was her favorite simply because she preferred to talk without lying to someone but it would also give away her identity. So for now, a lie would have to do.

''Well.. I come from Serendipity, my family used to have a mill there. It was pretty.. dull to say the least. So long story short I eventually moved out.''

She smiled at him once more, despite the fact that she had just lied gnawing at the back of her mind. It was a pretty decent lie though, at-least so she thought. She figured that if he turned out to be a friendly and trustworthy guy she could tell him. But for now, she had to be careful about where she took the conversation.

''What about you, you aren't exactly a local either mister...''

[Cheesigator]

Her response about hobbies made him smile, showing his teeth, oddly canine-like in quality.

"I wouldn't say your eyes are deformed, that sounds so negative when they're so captivating." The eyes told everything; they often said that eyes were windows to the soul, and Kirkley was a firm believer in that. Perhaps that was why his were so dull, when his own soul was so tired.

And yet as she continued to speak, Kirkley had no doubt in his mind as he looked at her that that sentiment was true. Windows to the soul, and such obvious give-aways when someone was lying. She was most definitely lying. Someone like her wouldn't just come from a mill--perhaps she had been human once and changed into something else, sure, but that wasn't what he'd meant and clearly she knew it--why else would she lie? But everyone has their reasons for hiding; she had hers clearly just as he had his.

But at least if you were going to lie, come up with something believable. All he had to say was that he came from a family of physical laborers, working class; he hadn't had anyone call bullshit on that one just yet.

She asked about himself, pointing out that he wasn't a local. Once upon a time that would have stung, but he was so used to it now--he didn't look like anyone alive today anymore. He was an ancient relic of a people long gone.

He thought for a moment before answering her question honestly.

"I don't remember."

He sat up a bit, planting both feet on the ground and resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together and shrugging as he looked over at her.

"It's been so long, I've forgotten my own name, my parents, everything. So I just tell everyone to call me Kirkley." He nodded at her. "What do people call you?"

He decided he wouldn't pry too much out of her--he wasn't interested in making someone uncomfortable for the sake of satiating his own curiosity. Particularly when it was a person this interesting and unique; those were so hard to come by these days. The last thing he would ever want to do is scare her off.

[ValamLym]

Albedo smiled softly as she listened to the man speaking, a small lizard crawling out from between her dress. It gently strut across her arm and into her palm, where she held it against her cheek as Kirkley spoke. She felt some discomfort from the man, or at-least so she thought. She figured he had caught on to her lie, but decided against speaking out about it.

Gently she placed the lizard in her lap, where it simply coiled around itself and laid down, clearly just wanting some fresh air. When he mentioned not remembering where he was from she sighed, she knew that feeling once, until Amira showed her.

''Kirkley is a beautiful name to have.'' she smiled warmly at him, running a finger along the small lizard in her lap. She pondered telling him her true name or a lie.. She couldn't bear to lie to him again, so she decided to give her real name. Although it would no doubt raise even more suspicion ''Most people call me Sai, but my real name is Albedo... or in reality, both are.'' She smiled, she realized she may have just given him something cryptic, but this time she wasn't lying, both of those names were hers.

She ran a hand through her hair, twirling her hair around one of her fingers as she did. Turning her gaze to him. Realizing she hadn't responded to his compliment yet. Truly, she had been given so many compliments and sweet words that she just began overlooking them. ''Thank you for the compliment, by the way, about my eyes.'' She snickered at her own clumsiness before looking back down on her little pet.

''Are you human?''

The question was blunt and perhaps even rude, she knew that. But she had to know what he was. She didn't quite believe he was an old human anymore, or maybe he was... She doubted herself again so she quickly added.

''Or better yet, are you a mortal?''

She hoped her second question fixed whatever controversy her first may have caused and quietly continued looking down on her pet, trying to refrain from making eye contact after her humiliating potential insult.

[Cheesigator]

Kirkley couldn't help but smile as he took note of the lizard. It certainly wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen before; he'd seen many a strange person with an equally strange pet. But it was cute. It just reaffirmed this person's--Albedo's, it seemed--gentleness. He certainly didn't know everything about her, but the fact that she had a soft side at all like this spoke many miles about her character. It was a rare trait to find someone like this these days--or at all, really. The world they lived in was too cruel and cold for a person to be soft or forgiving, it seemed.

His gaze was drawn back to her's when she commented on his name and he shrugged. It was a bit unusual, he knew that much. But both of them were; not that a person having multiple names was a new idea to him--he technically had at least two names as well, if he could be assed to think hard enough to remember his first. Oh, there was probably a village somewhere on this continent that cursed him and called him The Evil Beast of -Insert Town Name Here- or something.

"Ah, no problem." He said with another smile, only to be caught off guard by her next question.

He hesitated for a moment--not because he felt he particularly had anything to hide, but mostly because there were other humans around. And you could never tell how they were going to react to otherworldly creatures in their presence, especially something like him.

He opened his mouth to respond, and then Albedo followed her first question with another--was he mortal?

He kind of chuckled; he couldn't really help it, whenever someone asked that question.

"I wish." He said, in response to both of her inquiries.

What he wouldn't give to finally lay down to rest and sleep for eternity in the earth. There had been times in his lifespan where he'd particularly chased those dreams and desires, yet his curse always prevented them from coming true. He figured by now that it was for some kind of reason; something was keeping him here in this world. Perhaps he had unfinished business--a mission he would never complete, because he couldn't remember anymore what it was.

"And yourself?" He asked her, partially out of genuine curiosity, partially in an attempt to keep such depressing and dark thoughts at bay just a little bit longer.

There were so many days and night he'd spent staring at the boundless life around himself, and wondered what his purpose was. He'd lost count how many minutes he'd wasted in doing so, and he wasn't particularly keen on making that a consistent habit anymore.

[ValamLym]

Albedo quietly sighed. His short off responses made her wonder if she was really -that- boring, maybe she was? But if that were true why hadn't he just left yet? She shook her head, listening to his acknowledgements. He sure was a man of few words, that much was certain. At-least she now knew that he wasn't human, when he inquired about herself though she was un-certain, she herself didn't know what she was anymore. She supposed shifter was the proper word, but it didn't quite cut it either.

''I wish I could tell you, I don't think there's a label for someone like me.'' she simply muttered, continuing to drag her finger over the small lizard in her hands, smiling at it. Sinfully enjoying talking to the man beside her without making eye contact, it wasn't because she was afraid or shy, she just didn't quite know how to deal with her eyes around him, he was very... manly. And even Albedo wasn't immune to that kind of thing.

''If we were somewhere more private I'd happily show you.'' She added, perhaps that could make up for her previous lie. She had felt that back then that telling a lie was a better plan, but right now she realized he looked right through them anyway. She chuckled ''I really don't know how I would describe what I am.''

She got up, taking the lizard and putting it on her shoulder, where it disappeared under her clothes, she then dusted herself off, finally looking at Kirkley again ''Maybe it'll loosen your tongue.''

[Cheesigator]

Kirkley smiled when she said that she really didn't know what she was. He could sympathize with that statement all too well. He'd gone his whole life without knowing what he was--he couldn't even remember how he got like this in the first place. All he knew was that he used to be mortal, once, a really long time ago. He used to be a human. He used to be like all of the simple folks walking around them right now--well, not exactly like them. But close. Hell, perhaps some of these might even be his own descendants. Now that was an odd thought.

However, Albedo stood up from the bench, suddenly declaring that they should go somewhere more private, that it might perhaps make Kirkley a bit more talkative, although with the way she phrased it he couldn't tell if it was a come-on or her just being genuinely curious to learn more about him. Either way, he figured he could roll with it.

There was always the possibility that she was leading him into some kind of trap of course, that this kindness could always be an act, but usually Kirkley's instincts were pretty spot on--and there was nothing going on in this situation right now that made his gut squirm, nothing trying to tell him that he was in any kind of danger.

So he stood up with her and shrugged. "It likely would; I've been chased out of too many a town because of nosy strangers listening in a bit too closely to my business."

He looked around, not really sure of any places in this town that could be considered more private, other than a room at an inn. It wasn't exactly like he had a home here--though he'd tried to settle down and have homes before, he'd found that for the most part they weren't very fitting for him. He preferred sleeping out in the wilderness to sleeping in an itchy bed of hay.

Unfortunately, he was mostly coming up blank, so he looked over at Albedo and gave her a half-shrug. "Really the only place I can think of is the forest on the edge of town--shouldn't be too far away from here."

He started walking in that general direction, hooking his thumbs in his pants and keeping a fairly laid back pace, not like they were in any hurry--unless if she was, but he kind of doubted that. Glancing over at his companion, he gave her a soft smile.

"But you know, I think it might be a good thing that there isn't a label for creatures like us." He paused for a moment, thinking about it before continuing. "Personally I think it gives me a feeling of being someone truly unique--I've been around for a lot longer than I'd like to admit, and I have yet to meet someone in a similar predicament. Or if I have, I guess I can't remember them."

As they neared the forest, he pushed aside branches to clear the way for her, until they were still within mostly earshot of the village, but far enough away that it was unlikely any random human would walk in on them and start screaming about monsters. He turned back to Albedo once they stopped, leaning against the trunk of a tree.

"It just means that nobody can force us into any kind of box, I suppose."

[ValamLym]

Albedo nudged her head, quietly follow Kirkley as he casually walked off. stating that the only place where they could get some privacy close by would be the forest, she nodded when he smiled at her and quickly ran after him, stopping and adjusting to his pace when she was next to him again. Unlike Kirkley she didn't really worry about potential betrayals, as cute and soft she may initially seem, she knew that she could put up one heck of a fight. That and she didn't feel like he would attack her, what would he gain from it?

When he spoke about creatures about them she simply smiled. She had never really thought of it, neither negatively nor positively, she just was what she was in her own mind. She didn't really believe you could label anyone but she understood his point. ''I get what you're saying, though I believe most people are different enough from each other to stop them from being labeled.'' she smiled when they got outside of the town, inhaling deeply. Taking in the fresh air, although the town was far from vile, she always felt better when she felt the walls slink away behind her.

When he held aside some branches for her she smiled ''Thank you!'' she exclaimed giddily. Stepping along the path he had opened for her and into the small clearing beyond, here nobody would ever note. She let a sigh of relief pass her lips, horns forming around the dome of her head and wings sprouting from just above her hips. ''Indeed, but I don't think you'd fit in any kind of box.'' she added jokingly, sticking her tongue at him playfully, the forked thing quickly slinking back behind her lips.

''So.. I got a few forms... three to be exact. This is one.'' she spun around for him, almost as if it were a fashion show. Then, her lower body began melding together into thick black scales that soon began extending into a snake like form, it took only a few seconds for it to extend her length considerably, while also forcing some branches and trees to snap as her thick lower half grew to the size of a carriage. She let out a short yawn, coiling around herself and leaning her upper half on her snake like lower body, neatly tucked away in several rows of her own tail. ''This is the best form!'' she exclaimed, wiggling her hips. ''It makes me hungry though..'' she seemed distant for only seconds before turning her attention back to him ''what do you eat anyway? want to hunt? waiiiit! I want to see your form!'' as if her snake form gave her a sugar rush, she suddenly became a lot more talkative, probably because this form made her feel much more free.

[Cheesigator]

Kirkley just smiled and nodded in response to her comment, taking it as a compliment that she thought he couldn't fit in any kind of box. Yet there was still a tiny part of him that felt a bit hurt; not having a box to fit into could also mean that he really was as alone as he'd felt all these thousands of years. But he chose not to focus on that; not like Albedo wasn't enough of a distraction as it was.

He watched, captivated, as wings sprouted from her lower back, horns growing to form around her head. The placement of the wings just drew even more attention to already curvy hips and slender waist; it emphasized her ethereal persona that was so easy for Kirkley to lose himself in in the midst of his awe and admiration.

She stuck her tongue out at him and he blinked, managing to pull himself from his stupor just in time for her to change yet again and show him another form, her lower half extending into the glittering length of a snake's tail, black as night and looking smoother than water. Apparently this was her favorite form, because she grew quite excitable from it, saying that she was itching to see his form and also wondering what he ate.

He let out a short yet almost nervous "Heh--" before he looked down at the clothes on his body and back up at Albedo.

"Uh--" Right. Uh. Changing. He hadn't really thought this one through, had he?

"Well, my powers are more a curse, not something I can entirely control, which means," He said, taking note of the overzealous expression on her face which made him regret even more his lack of forethought prior. "I can't change with clothes on. So, you've been warned, if you need to look away then now is the time."

He finally spat the rest out, forcing himself to get over his temporary 'Kirkley you big dumb lugnut' mindset and pulled off his bag and vest, stuffing the clothing inside. He turned around so Albedo was faced with his backside, equally muscular, scarred and tattooed as his front side, and busied himself with tugging off his boots.

Right as he was about to shimmy out of his pants however, a high pitched woman's scream reached them through the trees from the town square. As if on queue, the cries of other villagers quickly followed and Kirkley froze, glancing back at Albedo before quickly jumping up onto the knots of roots lifted higher off the ground from a large tree, pushing branches out of the way so they could see what was causing the problem.

It seemed the people were being terrorized by a clutch of harpies, making everyone's ears hurt with their ear-piercing shrieks as they dove down into the masses of people and picked up whatever they could get their massively-taloned feet on--mostly women and children.

Well, Kirkley for one wasn't about to let those innocent people get hurt; his heart leapt into his throat as he quickly threw off his pants and started the transformation, darting from the bushes and falling onto all fours as he grew in size, bones audibly snapping and cracking into place, a tail springing forth and his muzzle extending. He wasn't just any werewolf; he was a massive beast, and a harpy should know better than to try to attack the likes of him.

Whether Albedo followed or not, he ran back into the town, arguably terrifying the people even more as he charged through and tackled a harpy off of a young woman trying to protect her infant, the two monsters hitting the ground and rolling, all manor of shrieks and snarling roars almost drowning out the screams of the humans who ran away.

[ValamLym]

Albedo giggled quietly as he mentioned not being able to transform without dropping his clothes. She sure as hell didn't mind that, at all. Snickering she folded her lower body in circles around herself, tugging herself between them like a normal snake would, so that she couldn't see him undress. Within the safety of the fortress made of her own body she chuckled, somewhat curious as to what he looked like nude. She was a healthy girl after all. ''Don't worry, I won't peek.'' she said, her voice perhaps somewhat muffled through the thick layers of tail around her.

Contrary to Kirkley, she didn't hear screaming, instead, she picked up an familiar scent. ''harpies'' she said to herself, unfolding herself and looking toward the direction of the scent, which was now further emphasized by screaming and a nude Kirkley running off. She noted his transformation begin only for the shortest of seconds before he disappeared. She ran a hand along her stomach, she had forgotten how hungry she was, luckily for her dinner had brought itself to town, truly harpies weren't very delicious, but she couldn't go about eating innocent human beings.

With a sigh, she unfolded herself further and slithered after Kirkley, surprisingly fast for a Lamia of her size. She didn't really seemed concerned with being recognized at this point, she doubted anyone really had the time to worry about it anyway. ''A whole flock.'' she muttered, tongue running along her lips as she looked back on her snake form ''More then enough room for everyone..'' she thought happily, before slithering toward one of the harpies, catching it off-guard with her speed, she coiled around it, pressing it tightly against her scales, almost crushing it, when it stopped resisting she leaned her own body down, jaws popping as they un-hinged, swallowing the poor harpy as quickly as she could.

She felt her primal hunger make her selfish, she was taking her sweet time while the humans around her were running for her lives, attempting to adjust herself to her own hunger she swallowed the harpy down quickly, taking a few moments to allow it to settle in her lower body, the bird being pushed all the way down to the tip of her tail. Before long, she turned her attention to another harpy, charging at it and biting down on its wing as it attempted to fly away, it flew for a moments before simply falling limp on the ground. 

She continued this assault on all other harpies, attempting to keep herself from just swallowing them on the spot, with her paralyzing poison she could simply bite them and recover them later, she couldn't help herself for long though, still swallowing the occasional harpy to fill that void within herself. She noted the massive form she thought was Kirkley fight harpies, somewhat impressed by his feral side, a small grin forming on her face as she coiled herself around a group of harpies.

[Cheesigator]

In the heat of the moment, the only thing Kirkley was currently focused on was taking down the nasty bird-women, and protecting as many of the villagers as possible. So he didn't really notice yet if Albedo was coming to join the bird party or not; he was rather focused on the two that were clinging to him and scratching the shit out of him if anything.

With 1,000 pounds per square inch of bite pressure, Kirkley's massive jaws locked around one harpy and nearly snapped her in half, blood spraying on the ground as he gave her a vicious shake and tossed the body. He rolled and crushed the one clinging to his back with ease, considering he was likely a couple hundred pounds heavier.

He tackled another bird out of the sky as she swooped down, getting her down underneath his paws and biting down on her torso; the feeling of bones breaking and organs exploding under the pressure was oddly satisfying.

Between Kirkley and Albedo, the threat was finished in a matter of minutes; almost as quickly as it began it was over, with the remaining harpies quickly flying off in retreat as fast as their wings could take them. Kirkley had taken down four by the time it was done, and he couldn't count how many the Lamia had killed, though the lumps in her otherwise slender snake-like body gave him a general idea.

Well, that's one way to do it I suppose. He thought.

However, once they were finished with the harpies, it seemed like they had more problems to worry about--like the village warriors all starting to form a circle around the two companions, threatening them with spears, swords, and pitchforks. It wasn't like it was the first time Kirkley had saved a village like this and immediately been chased back out of it--in fact, it didn't surprise him at all. Normally he would have leapt over them and left of his own accord, however now he had Albedo here, and he wasn't exactly sure how easily a Lamia could get through a wall of armored guards and angry villagers.

[ValamLym]

Albedo happily gobbled up the last of the harpies. Giving Kirkley an excited thumps up, her lower frame now littered with bulges every so often, some still squirming, some motionless. She didn't even seem to notice they were surrounded until a while after. Carefully observing the people who pointed their weapons at her. her first instinct was to attack, to add them all to the already growing number of creatures waiting to be digested in her snake like body. But she was better then that, she had restraint, even if hunger clawed at her mind.

Quietly, she observed for a moment, before turning to Kirkley, motioning to him to block his ears. She would wait until he did, before simply beginning to hum. It wasn't a very melodic song like her previous one. To all familiar, they would immediately recognize it as a siren's song, although normally restricted to that species, Lamia where practically long lost cousin's of the siren, and thus had a song like that of her own to either put people to sleep or to make them do her bidding.

As Albedo continued humming it intensified, the men and women in front of them slinking to the ground, sleep forcing its way into their brains whether they liked it or not. When the last man hit the ground, the unified snoring made her giggle. She then motioned for Kirkley that he could stop blocking his hearing. ''When they wake up, they will think we were but creatures in their dream.'' she whispered, slithering over to him. She took the four harpies he had slain and began gulping them down to, to make sure when the humans woke up, they wouldn't have any reason to believe that what happened was anything other then a dream.

''We will simply have to hope they oversee the blood.'' she muttered, spitting out a few feathers. Quietly, she slithered around the group, figuring Kirkley would follow her back to their old hangout outside the town. This time, she simply forced herself past the branches and slithered into the clearing, coiling herself in several rows of circles before using one of the bulges to lean her head on. ''That was amazing, I'm so full... I think we took down like fifteen or so!'' she chuckled, rubbing the bulge with a wicked grin. ''I love that form of yours, its really impressive and powerful.''

She gently patted next to the buldge, smirking at him. ''Turn back so we can talk!'' she snickered, forked tongue flicking in and out of her mouth. ''I don't biiite!'' whether it was because of her snake form, the food or simply due to circumstances, she seemed a lot more energetic and giddy then before, almost purring as she lied on herself, a deep satisfied sigh passing her lips.

[Cheesigator]

At first Kirkley was really worried they might've gotten themselves in a situation they might have to fight their way out of, and it was always hard to fight in this form without actually killing someone. Humans were so fragile, and when he had size on them, not to mention strength and natural weapons like sharp teeth and claws, there was barely any contest.

However, Albedo pulled him from his thoughts by motioning that he should cover his ears. He let out a soft whine of confusion before flopping down, putting his head on the ground and hefting his two heavy paws on top of his ears, blocking out most of the noise. He still heard enough of her humming though that he realized it was some kind of magic; he watched as the mortals fell left and right, and found himself feeling a little drowsy as well. Luckily, the singing stopped and he slowly pulled his paws away, shaking his head and getting back up onto all fours while the Lamia went around taking care of the rest of the harpy bodies.

Well, she was certainly unlike most snakes he'd ever observed; usually they ate one thing and let it digest over a long period of time, but she was eating all of these harpies, and it seemed like she could easily still have room for more. What a hell of a digestive system.

She led the way back into the forest and he followed, swiping his tongue over his muzzle, a set of scratches stinging and burning across the bridge from eyes to nose, and he shook his head a little yet again. She told him to change back and he just snorted in response. He padded back over to his bag of belongings and tensed; his whole body rippled and then began to shrink. Fur shortened and disappeared, and the skin that had been stretched taught over quadruped bone and muscle structure was readjusted with the cracking and popping of each bone. Tendons and vertebrae realigned and snapped back into place, and when he finally was a human man once again he growled a little, staying in his spot on his hands and knees for a moment.

His wounds, mainly surface scratches, still stung like a bitch and made an already excruciatingly painful transition that much more difficult. He hated changing when he was hurt. It was hell.

After a moment he stood up, a light sheen of sweat coating his skin, scratches and cuts shining bright red on the browns of his skin tone. He glanced over at her and decided to wait on giving her a proper response, grabbing his pants and pulling them on instead; he swiped some of the blood off the bridge of his nose and winced a little, looking at the crimson now on his fingers.

"Thanks for the compliment; I'd be lying if I said I didn't find yours impressive, too. You sure can eat a lot more than I would've thought for your size." He rolled his shoulders, trying to get tense shoulders to loosen up as he rubbed at the back of his neck, pectorals, deltoids and biceps shining softly in the light.

"That was a nifty trick you pulled back there, that singing." He said, stifling a yawn just by remembering it, his arms dropping to his sides while his thumbs hooked themselves in the waistline of his pants, tugging them down naturally just slightly enough to make the slope of his abdominal muscles that led down his pelvis that much more noticeable.

[ValamLym]

Albedo curiously looked at Kirkley change, it didn't look all that comfortable at all, unlike her own. He only confirmed this with his growl, causing her to nudge her head in wonder when he remained on his hands and knees, causing her to raise a brow. She had little idea what it meant to feel prolonged pain, being able to regenerate after all. She seemed somewhat concerned until he finally got up again.

She felt somewhat bad, she had been so busy with stuffing herself he had gotten hurt. It was unrealistic to think that, even she knew that deep down, but Albedo absolutely loved beating herself up over thinks she couldn't have done anything about. However, as per her nature she quickly slithered over to him, coiling herself up around him, allowing him to sit on the ground or on top of her lower body, whichever he preferred. ''You okay?'' she began first before smiling at his comment about her eating habits. ''My lower body is basically one big stomach, as long as it fits I can eat. But I'm going to be a while with these.. Should last me a good long while.'' she shrugged ''I'll also be stuck in this form for a bit.''

When he yawned, she couldn't help but catch on, the infectious yawn causing her to do the same, before simply using a hand to snap her lower jaw back in place. ''Thanks, I see the singing didn't go completely by you.'' she curled around him, placing her hands on his shoulders ''If you want to nap I'll protect you!'' she said jokingly, she knew he wouldn't need her protection.

Regardless of his response, she curled around him a little tighter, layers upon layers of snake body forming a bit of a arena around him, despite the obvious fact she made sure he could climb out, she just felt more comfortable speaking this way, her upper body curled up between layers of lower body to keep it almost untouchable. ''Sorry if my gluttony disturbed you, I can't really help it when I'm hungry.'' she snickered, scratching the back of her head ''I suppose that's the nature of the little beast I am.'' she paused a moment, clearly trying to talk about anything else then her eating habits, despite being the type that loved talking about it.

''You should disinfect those wounds, small or not if they get infected they'll sting like a bitch.'' she added pointedly, a somewhat concerned look on her face. She really didn't know how he'd go about disinfecting them, her first instinct was always to lick them, but she figured he'd freak out of she just suddenly started lapping at his face and chest. The thought did cause her to blush a little, blissfully unaware initially about how she almost had suggested it. ''Should I get you some cloth?'' she quickly added, smearing the thought from her own mind.