[MillietheWarrior]

(Human Form)

It was raining again.

It seemed to rain a lot in this place. Rhythm chanced a glance at the sky, her eyes quickly scanning over the clouds before a raindrop could blind her. She quickly dropped her head again, pulling her hood up over her dark purple hair; it didn’t seem to matter though. Rhythm was destined to be soaked.

A low growl rumbled at the back of her throat, long, serpentine spiked tail weaving in intricate patterns behind her as she sauntered down the boardwalk. Her boots thudded against the hard wood, and Rhythm glanced to the side to stare into the murky water surrounding the small, floating town.

For a minute, she was mesmerized by the sight of the raindrops splashing in the muddy water, but when something large drifted beneath the surface, creating a small wave in it’s wake, Rhythm decided it would be best if she hurried along.  A few other brave souls had dared the storm as well; they passed her without much of a fuss, and occasional glance thrown this way or that. Rhythm didn’t seem to concerned with them; they were strangers after all.

Why should she concern herself with the opinions of someone she didn’t know? She’d never see them again anyways. She knew she looked rather odd; a purple haired woman in dark street clothes and a long, black and white tail? That would’ve made anyone pause, or so she thought. Did she truly look that strange?

[1/40]

[MillietheWarrior]

Rhythm’s gloved hands came up to rest on the sides of her hood, pulling it down further to shade her face from both the rain, and the view of the other townspeople who passed her by. Her boots made odd squelching noises as they hit each plank of wood, landing in large puddle created by the almost ceaseless rain the town saw day after day.

What a dark, gloomy and depressing place. Rhythm couldn’t imagine living here permanently; wouldn’t that have been a bit depressing? Her eyes narrowed slightly as a man openly stopped to stare at her, hiding beneath a bright green umbrella. Rhythm paused as well, and turned her face to glare at him, a low hiss managing to escape her lips.

The man took one look at her ever darkening ivory eyes, and then her lashing, spiked tail, and quickly hurried on his way; he didn’t want to be involved with someone like that, that was for sure.

[2/41]

[MillietheWarrior]

Snorting, the Paragon woman continued down the seemingly never-ending boardwalk; seriously, why on earth was it so long? Her eyes strayed to the town up ahead, build on an overly large dock in the middle of a swamp. For such a depressing place, it certainly seemed cheery enough. Although the buildings weren’t exactly beautiful, the occupants of the town had valiantly tried to make them appear a little more enticing. Red and blue and bright green roofs sat over dark colored houses.

Everywhere she managed to look, there sat strange and exotic plants, no doubt local inhabitants of the swamp as well. An occasional washer woman or small family would walk down the street, huddled under an umbrella, but looking rather cheerful; they did, after all live here. They must’ve been quite used to this weather by now. Rhythm watched from a distance, legs still subconsciously moving her down the boardwalk, as a small family stepped out of a clever looking café.

The man had his arm around his wife, and two little boys ran and tumbled in the puddles ahead of them, looking quite excited to be able to go out and play even in such dreary weather. The woman’s face was awash with a contented, happy light, and Rhythm instantly felt her blood boil. Why couldn’t she have something like that?

[3/42]

[MillietheWarrior]

The two children reminded her of her own sons, both now out on their own and starting their own families as well. Rhythm was, more often than not, alone. She hardly ever got a call from her children, let alone a visit. That certainly was gratitude for you; she’d carried them for nine months, birthed them, taken care of them as babies, then children, then adolescents, and when they’d gotten old enough to leave her, they’d jumped ship.

Rhythm closed her eyes briefly, folding her arms across her chest as she tried to ignore the happy couple and their happy family. It just wasn’t fair. She wanted that for herself. Rhythm decided that she should just forget about it; maybe wanting it was what made it so impossible to attain. Her heart ached painfully, and she rubbed her chest as if trying to soothe the pain she felt.

She finally made it to the town, stepping off the boardwalk and onto wood that was far more solid and sturdy and supported by solid, concrete beams. Rhythm felt a little safer here than on the flimsy boardwalk that connected the town to the mainland. Her eyes followed the small family with an annoyed gaze, before she tore them away to stare at the café they had exited. Maybe sitting down and relaxing for a few minutes out of the rain would be a good idea.

[4/43]

[MillietheWarrior]

Rhythm stepped through the door of the café, inwardly cursing when seven or with sets of eyes turned towards her. She narrowed her eyes, fixing each with a dark stare until they quickly turned back to whatever it was they were doing, settling for watching her with their peripheral vision. She snorted, stepping up to the counter and looking over their menu. She fixed the woman behind the counter with a placid gaze; it wouldn’t do to annoy someone who was in charge of making your food. What if she spit in her coffee or something?

“I’ll take a regular coffee, please. Sugar, cream, the works. And, er, one of those things.” She pointed at a spiraled pastry with some sort of fruit filling inside of it. She had no idea what it was, but it looked good regardless. Digging in her pockets, she pulled out a few keystones and dropped them into the woman’s hand. The woman smiled and turned; Rhythm watched her avidly, making sure she didn’t do anything weird with her drink, before the woman returned and set the coffee cup on the counter alongside the pastry. “Thanks,” the paragon said lamely, grabbing her food and turning.

She glanced around the café, looking for a table out of the way of everyone. When she didn’t find one, she snorted and walked back out the door onto their covered patio; it was deserted. No one wanted to be outside while it was raining. Rhythm grumbled and settled herself into one of the cold, upholstered chair, watching the rain as it dropped from the roof onto the ground. She tentatively took a bite of her pastry, folding one leg over the other as she leaned back in her chair. She had a feeling today was going to be a lot more boring than she’d ever anticipated.

[5/44]

[Jaykobell]

In his travels, he had seen many places. But never had he seen a place where it rained so much. He'd been staying here in a nearby hotel for a few days, and the weather had refused to change whatsoever. It had been raining, raining, raining, and raining some more. It had gotten to a point where his clothes would get ridiculously soaked, even though he was wearing an umbrella, a rain coat, a rain hat, and rain boots. Benjamin had gotten rid of it fairly quickly. There was no point in putting anything on; you got drenched either way. So instead of bothering with washing the rain coat and every little add-on along with his clothes. So Benjamin had just dropped the extra clothing, which left him walking in the city without anything on. He was fine with the rain soaking him to the bone; it made no difference to him. Better the rain than the sun.

"You'll catch a cold," a voice complained behind Benjamin, a soft hissing sound at the S's. The boy didn't bother to look back, and he pretty much acted like he hadn't heard anything. But the voice kept hissing behind him. "You'll catch a cold if you don't put anything on," it added, and whatever was speaking slithering besides the boy.



The Slydra was almost as tall as the boy himself. It craned its reptilian neck towards the ear of the boy and insisted some more. "You'll catch a cold."

[Jaykobell]

Benjamin didn't reply back to the nagging. He didn't mind the rain as much as his companions seemed to hate it. Sarcoma had agreed to go out with Benjamin while Carcinoma was busy complaining about the bad weather. The Malice Wyrm seemed to have an extreme hatred towards the rain, but fortunately, Sarcoma could bear it. Rarely had Benjamin been accompanied by only one of the two snakes, but never had the two stayed behind. It was an unwritten golden rule to the two wyrms: one had to go with Benjamin, no matter the circumstances. "You'll catch a cold," Sarcoma insisted, and yet again, Benjamind didn't reply.

The scenery wasn't the most appealing thing the Slydra had seen, but it was different. It a town like he had not seen before, and it was intriguing, despite its ugly weather. The muddy water besides the wooden sidewalk was mystifying. Sarcoma tilted his neck towards the water while his body continued to slither forward. Well, he sure hoped he wouldn't fall in that ugly water. Clean water was okay, but muddy water? And you had no idea what was in there, either. The Slydra blinked and craned his neck back as he noticed something bubbling out out of that nasty water. And what was that supposed to be, now? "Want a snack?" he asked Benjamin, to which Sarcoma got no reply. The Slydra waved his head from left to right, as if to imitate a shrug. "Suit yourself."

[Jaykobell]

Benjamin, despite being of a typical vampire family, didn't feed on human blood. Unlike the other vampires, he only fed on animals. He could also bear to eat human food, although the taste wasn't as appealing to him. It felt like it all tasted relatively the same, and everything left a strange taste in his mouth. If he could, avoided regular human food. But while traveling, some of the cities had failed to provide him with enough animals to eat, and Baian was one of those cities. Benjamin sighed deeply at the thought of having to eat human food again. "Let's find a restaurant."

The Slydra snickered and tilted his head around. "Now you reply, when it concerns what you want," Sarcoma hissed, his tongue flickering through his lips. "You'll catch a cold if you don't put anything on when it's raining like this," the Slydra added, taking this as an opportunity to nag Benjamin some more.

The boy sighed again. "I don't like repeating myself," Benjamin muttered, getting closer to a small café. "We've already talked about it," he reminded the Slydra, not even bothering to look at the snake. The two were so close now that they didn't need to look at each other.

Sarcoma hissed and slipped his head to Benjamin's hair, gripping a bit of hair and pulling it up slightly. The hair was soaked like a sponge, and water dripped as Sarcoma lifted it up and let it go down. "I still insist that you'll catch a cold."

[Jaykobell]

Benjamin continued to ignore, not even twitching when Sarcoma grabbed his hair. A few passersby stopped to take a look at the two, and some even stared wide-eyed as Benjamin let the Slydra grab his hair. A few had probably thought the snake was about to swallow Benjamin's head whole; some of them sighed or stared with relief as the snake backed away from Benjamin's head. It was surprising enough to see someone without any protection for the rain; one would believe Benjamin was just a vagabond passing through town. But his clothes said otherwise; he wouldn't be wearing such nice clothes if he were a vagabond.

As they arrived at the café, more people gave them looks. They especially stared at the Slydra, the snake almost towering over Benjamin; what if the thing went wild and ate people? But once more, Benjamin ignored the looks and simply walked towards the entrance. As he did so, he noticed that little family sitting at a table: the two parents and two children. Family, how interesting. It was a concept long forgotten to Benjamin; once precious, and now obsolete. You soon learned, while in exile, that family was very much like a regular friendship. You get attached, you feel like you can tell them anything, and you know they're there for you. And then one day, without any warning.... everything crumbles down from the poison that slipped in years ago, and the whole bond dissolved. The only remnants of Benjamin's family was his family name, his whip — the coiled leather strip attached to his back —, and the two snakes that stuck with him: Carcinoma and Sarcoma. Everything else was forgotten.

As he stepped inside, many customers stared uncomfortably. The Slydra was now inside, and many people were unnerved at the idea of eating in the same building as a Slydra. Even the atmosphere Benjamin emanated made some people uncomfortable. It just told them that he wasn't human, and of course, people are afraid of what they don't know.

A servant walked over to them, trying to hide his obvious discomfort at serving somebody with such a dangerous-looking pet. "Ah, hello. What will you order?"

How very quick. "We'll take any meat you have." Scanning the café fairly quickly, this obviously wasn't a very big restaurant. "This kind of small steak," he described, pointing at a table close by. "For two. Medium rare for me."

"Don't even bother to cook mine," the Slydra hissed delightfully, flicking his tongue out and running it up and down, as if to lick his lips. The servant's face paled slightly, but he nodded and headed off for the kitchen nonetheless.

[Jaykobell]

After a short while, their order came. Benjamin had been busy looking for a good seat; he preferred one that wasn't crowded with people, both for his own comfort and because the two Slydras usually unsettled many people, especially Carcinoma. Maybe it was a good thing that he had stayed behind at the hotel.

There didn't seem to be any good free seats inside, but either way, the servant had another idea in mind. "Your order, sir," he said as he showed the plates. "But, ah. It would be advised that you eat on the terrace outside." He handed the plates over to Benjamin, and the boy had to hold both of them; clearly, a snake couldn't hold a plate. Sarcoma flickered his tongue some more hungrily as he noticed just how bloody and raw his own meal looked. Unlike Benjamin, the Slydra enjoyed that kind of food. Very much, in fact.

At the proposition of going outside on the terrace, Benjamin just shrugged indifferently. "There should be better seats," he mused as he nodded for the plates and headed towards the door that lead to the terrace. Sarcoma followed, his body slithering from left to right, and he used this as an opportunity to flick his tongue at the customers, just to watch their reactions. Some of them just backed away, while others became as white as sheets. It was always so amusing, scaring the customers.

The terrace was what it was: a terrace. Nothing special, but at least it was covered. A single person was outside on said terrace; a woman with purple hair and a black tail. The strangeness, for lack of a better word, didn't faze Benjamin; he simply walked past and sat down a few tables away. But while Benjamin didn't care, Sarcoma was intrigued by this person. The Slydra stopped right in front of Rhythm's table and simply stood there, staring at the Paragon woman. After a short stare, he asked, "Did they 'advise' you out here, too?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Rhythm barely twitched a muscle as the door to the terrace opened and two more people came by. She did, however, stare as they passed her. What an odd…couple. A boy and a very large…snake. Rhythm stared for a moment longer, before remembering herself and lowering her gaze to her cup. She lifted it, taking a long sip and smiling as the warmth of it rolled down her throat and settled comfortably in her belly; it certainly did the trick when trying to get rid of the chill that seemed to permanently hang in the air.

Rhythm was about to lift her pastry and take another delicious bite, when a shadow fell over her table. It wasn’t as if it was too noticeable, what with the fact that the whole place was darkened anyways from the storm, but it was rather obvious when she looked up to see the giant snake watching her steadily. Then it spoke, startling Rhythm slightly, though her face remained impassive; it wasn’t everyday that a snake spoke to you.

“Ah, I’m afraid not. I came out here because I’d rather…be alone. It’s a bit too stifling in there, what with the staring and all,” she said pointedly, referring to the fact that the snake, too, was staring at her. “I don’t enjoy being stared at, thank you.”

[6/45]

[Jaykobell]

While Sarcoma was busy making friends with a complete stranger, Benjamin settled down to actually eat. He poked the steak with a fork (which he had gotten along with the plates), and a little bit of blood oozed out of it. Medium rare, a little bit more on the rare side. Without paying much attention to his surroundings, Benjamin grabbed the steak in his hands and opened his mouth to bite into it. And if anyone was paying close attention, one would notice the two fangs sticking out in Benjamin's mouth; a typical vampire thing. He bit into the steak and held on while the meat dripped with a mix of blood, sauce, and spices.

Sarcoma tilted his head at the reply. He then hissed amusingly, which probably equaled a chuckle. "Alone, eh. Café's not a good place to be alone, I'd say," he remarked, slithering a little closer to Rhythm now, but still not right beside her. "Staring can be a good thing," the Slydra argued, tilting his head around. His body slithered in this angle and that one as he spoke; it seemed like the Slydra couldn't stop moving, in one way or another. "Staring can mean you're weird, but staring can also mean that you're pretty." He slithered right beside Rhythm this time, flicking his tongue near her arm. "Maybe I was staring because I think the latter." A joke with bad taste, but all alone, he had to find a way to amuse himself.

[MillietheWarrior]

Rhythm stared right back at the snake, completely confused. What did this stupid thing want? She narrowed her eyes as it slithered closer, not amused in the least. Her gaze flickered to it’s companion, silently willing him to come and get his pet before she decided to turn it into a giant belt. “Oh, I’d say it is, especially for someone like me,” she growled out, tail lashing behind her dangerously.

Her eyes followed his darting movements, and she frowned; if he’d stay still, it would be easier to tell him to buzz off. Her tail wound around her, the sharpened crystal spikes clanking against the metal of the table; it very nearly seemed as though she were getting ready to impale him. He was right beside her now, tongue flicking in and out in a very serpentine movement. “Maybe you need to get your eyes checked. I don’t need any attention from some overgrown worm.” Her tail weaved lazily, the dark purple spikes catching the light from the lamps of the terrace.

She lifted her cup of coffee, sipping it carefully as her sharp ivory eyes watched the snake with growing annoyance. “Why don’t you head back over to your friend, and I might reconsider turning you into pair of boots,” she stated calmly, lifting her pastry to take a small bite. She chewed thoughtfully and seemed to ignore the snake completely; if she ignored it, maybe it would get bored and go away.

[7/46]

[Jaykobell]

Sarcoma got amused by messing with people. The angrier they got, the more they amused him. It was so sad, how people couldn't take a joke or just lighten up. Some people were always so serious and uptight; they never got to enjoy themselves. Benjamin was one of those people, quite often. He was always so... distant. Nothing interesting happened anymore. At least bickering with Carcinoma kept Benjamin occupied, most of the time.

The Slydra hissed and flicked his tongue out amusingly, enjoying himself very much with this lady. "Someone like you? Now what would that mean? Looks like a typical Paragon-in-human-form to me," he commented, tilting his head around in a waving pattern, either because it was a habit of his, or because he just wanted to annoy Rhythm even more. "At best, people are jealous of the power they don't have," the Slydra hissed, his reptilian lips drawing back into some sort of grin.

He heard the sound of something hitting the metal of the table; his eyes darted down to spot Rhythm's tail down there, flailing lazily about. Sarcoma didn't have much of a tail, himself; and it was quite frustrating. But instead of having a huge body, a huge tail, and huge wings, Sarcoma did have other abilities that proved to be just as deadly. And clearly, either that Paragon was overconfident in her skills, or she just had no idea what kind of pet she was dealing with. "A worm?" Sarcoma repeated, hissing and twisting his body a little, as if to indicate he was laughing pretty hard now. "I do look like a worm, but let me tell you I'm no 'worm' to take lightly." His voice felt like a warning, but it was still coated in that obnoxious tone.

When he spotted the spikes again, Sarcoma slithered a little ways away. He really wasn't so stupid as to get hit by this lady in a small café; keeping his distance was best, yes. A pair of boots? Well! That one was indeed very amusing. "Do you know about Slydras, my lady? We may not be as powerful and big as you mythical Paragons, but we do have a certain set of abilities to pay for what we lack." He hissed again, still only laughing. The hissing didn't indicate any threats or aggressiveness. He had no idea if he really stood a chance against a Paragon; but he was confident in his venom, and he was confident that it could lethally poison anything, no matter how big. "The only one who would be worthy of wearing me as 'boots' would be my master, as you call my companion. One of the most special vampires there is..."

While Benjamin didn't say anything, he did stare at the Slydra a few tables away. Well, what had been said had been said; there was no helping it. But he kept an eye out on Sarcoma now, to make sure the Slydra wouldn't 'accidentally' say more. Benjamin was already done eating, and there was no need for Sarcoma to communicate with that lady. But he was glad; had Carcinoma been the one to come with him, he had a feeling things would've turned for the worst in the blink of an eye.

[MillietheWarrior]

Rhythm was starting to get fairly annoyed. The snake had passed from ‘only slightly annoying’ to ‘I’m seriously considering throwing him in the swamp’ annoying. She regarded him over the rim of her cup, before setting it down with a gentle ‘clink’ of china. “It means whatever you want it to mean,” she rumbled, waving one hand dismissively. She was very tempted to get up and walk out of the café, but her pastry lay uneaten, and her coffee wasn’t even half finished…And she wasn’t about to walk away from something she paid for, no matter how cheap it had been.

Rhythm stared straight ahead, fingers running along the rim of her coffee cup as she drew in a slow, calming breath. ‘I will not make a scene. I will not try to turn him into a belt. I will ignore him. I will- Is he talking again?’ She rolled her eyes towards the snake. “Oh really? I highly doubt that,” she said sarcastically, head lolling to the side to fix him with a wry gaze. Her tail curled in amusement, much like that of a giant cat, twitching back and forth.

So, he wasn’t stupid after all. He’d backed off a little upon seeing the spikes on her tail; Rhythm knew just how lethal they could be. Even she had to be careful not to cut herself on them; it certainly made folding one’s wings a bit difficult. “I know little about Slydras, and I don’t care to learn. Your abilities don’t interest me in the least.” What he’d said about his master, however, did. She narrowed her gaze, her smile sly as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips.

“Oh really? A vampire? I find that very hard to believe. Aren’t they supposed to only come out at night, and feed on humans instead of steaks? Your ‘master’ is a very…poor example of a vampire, it seems.”

[8/47]