Her future, gone.  Her sister, gone.  Her freedom, gone.  Her father, who the fuck cares?  Estelle Lautner looked around through the bars of her four foot by two foot cage, her legs curled against her chest.  Adorning her torso was the white collared shirt she had put on two mornings ago for her speech presentation.  Covering her lean, lithe legs were the black dress pants she had picked out that same morning.  The only difference now was that both pieces of clothing were wrinkled, had a few tears, and the owner of them seemed lifeless.  Her emerald green eyes were un-focused, just drifted through the slave shop's browsing customers and merchandise.

Hanging from the edge of Estelle's "prison" was a small information card.

Name: Estelle Cailyn Lautner
Age: Nineteen and three months
Height: Five foot six inches
Weight: One hundreds and twenty-one pounds
Type of Slave: Companian, servant, pleasure, nanny.
Status: Virgin
Notes:  Call her Cailyn or she won't reply.  

The woman's hand drifted through her bronze brown hair, before descending over her beautifully sculpted face, with full lips and high cheekbones, finally drifting to her side.  On her striking face was a look of absolute sadness and rage.  More so than ever before, the woman wished she could be free of this demeaning slave shop and that she could find her sister.  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-04 00:43:35 --

Slowly, the card was taken from her cage by a guard, who read it, wrote something down on it, and walked away. Soon after, three guards moved towards the cage, unlocking it and opened the iron door to it. One of the guards pulled her out without a word and quickly restrained her hands behind her back with iron shackles, heavy and uncomfortable. They placed a gag in her mouth, a blindfold over her eyes, a collar on her neck, and finally stripped her of her clothes, carrying her out to a van where they sat her in the back. They locked her now-shackled ankles to the floor so that she was able to kneel, lay on her stomach, try to stand, or lay on her back. The doors came closed with a crash, and one of the guards climbed into the front to begin the long drive ahead.

The woman hardly noticed the guard handling her information card, her eyes drifting shut in boredom.  They shot open when a trio of guards pulled her from the cage and bound her hands behind her back.  The cold iron of the shackles dug into her wrists, and Cailyn opened her mouth to protest when a gag was shoved in.  She began shouting into it, all of her profanities being muffled.  Her rage-filled narrowed eyes were covered, causing the woman to become unsteady.  What made her most angry was when they peeled away all of her clothing, revealing plump breasts, a slender waist and an overall appealing physique.  She gasped when they picked her up, before throwing her into a vehicle and chaining her further to the floor.  The ride was uncomfortable, Cailyn ended up lying on her back and half sleeping.  After who knows how many hours, she woke up when the vehicle lurched to a stop.  Hardly knowing one way from another, the blind-folded woman sat up and waited for something to happen.  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-04 02:04:05 --

Soon, the guard opened the bag doors, unlocked her ankles from the floor, and carried her towards a large castle. Even compared to old European palaces and fortress towns, this was huge. It was like an entire city within walls, separated from all the outside world by one large set of doors. Soon, both of the doors opened, and the guard froze in his tracks, nearly dropping her at the sheer sight of the man who came out.

Man was only half right. A handsome, yet frightening creature moved from the doors and onto the gravel path that lead towards the palace. His upper body that of a slender, pale man. His lower body, however, that of a serpent. Larger than any snake found to date. The man had two horns on his head, and other than a white cloak, wore no clothing. His hair was silver, and his body tattooed by several sharp patterns. His eyes were cloudy, showing that he was blind. But, his moves were too graceful and calculating to possibly be that of a completely blind man. "Those horrid things off of her at once." The naga said, his voice surprisingly deep, but it sounded old. Wise, even? He sounded like he was decently well aged, but he sure didn't look it.

The guard, nearly passing out from a sudden fear, quickly complied, taking off the blindfold and gag. He left the girl's arms behind her back, though quickly took off the shackles on her ankles. He then set her on her feet, stepping back. The naga directed his empty gaze to the girl, ignoring the guard completely now.

((Just a note. This naga is the father-character of the others. Semi-decent appearance image .))

Fighting the guard, who picked up Cailyn after un-locking her ankle shackles, would be pointless; the slave knew all hopes of escaping had vanished when her arms were bound.  She instead lay limply over the man's shoulder, her entire face contorted in discomfort and anger.  She longed to say something, longed to see, longed to run when the man carrying her stumbled and halted for an unknown reason.  The next vocals that came Cailyn welcomed, happy to be un-bound.  

Her mouth dropped open at the sight that greeted her, green eyes widening with shock at the odd creature and the magnificant walls of stone surrounding her.  Quickly, the woman recovered her calm composure just before the guard set her down on her feet.  Having not been fed for two days, Cailyn's legs buckled beneath her, but quickly straightened out.  The slave examined the man she guessed to be her master because of the way he ordered the guard around.  His white and clouded eyes surprised her, for he showed no signs of being blind.  It however, made her more comfortable with being nude, knowing she could not be seen.  Neverless, she inquired about clothes,

"Sir,"  Cailyn began, not willing to call anyone master, "thank you for having him release me, but I wonder if I could possibly have clothes to wear and my wrists unbound?"  Her voice was controlled and light, her not wanting to start of wrong with the serpent creature, who had not yet acted cruel, by speaking disrespectfully or asking to much.  "I assume you are my master, or am I mistaken?"  She shifted from one foot to another, trying to keep her raw wrists immobilized so they would not rub against the chains further.  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-04 21:55:29 --

"Not quite. Please, come inside. There is a bit we must speak about. And of course, I will have my sons give you some clothing once inside..." The naga said, snapping his fingers, watching the chains and shackles break. The guard was ready to go before he saw that, but after what the naga did, he seemed take off in the van like a bat out of hell. The naga didn't even spare the van or guard another glance.

He moved towards the large wooden door. Running away would probably be a vain effort at this point. All that looked to be around this palace was a forest, and a single gravel path, what could have gone on for miles and miles. How far would she really get? Besides... This Naga seemed nice, a strange fatherly air about him. Wise and stern, but kind and fatherly. This man, or serpent possibly, was probably something she'd never seen before. Of course. Things like this were only real in drams or legends, as far as humans were concerned.

The naga turned to see if she was following, smiling a small bit. "Tell me, child. Have you ever seen something like me before? Or do you not know what I am?" he asked, and the cape seemed to rise and fall with the breeze. On the back was an uroboros mark, the snake eating it's own tail. Ironic, really. The symbol had represented the world for many years, even since ancient times. But to see it as an emblem on a naga's clothing was still a little funny.  

--Last edited by Alexander the Darkangel on 2009-10-05 05:59:02 --

Thin black eyebrows knitted together when the serpent creature said he would not be her master.  He already seemed kind and fatherly, someone who would not be horrible to her so naturally the slave was a bit dissapointed.  She assumed when he mentioned his sons providing clothing that they would be her new masters, and then hoped that they would act as civil to her as their father had.  A gasp escaped Cailyn's mouth when the naga broke her chains with a snap of her fingers. She quickly recovered from the surprise and brought her now unbound hands across her chest, covering it as best she could.  

Tenatively the woman followed the strange creature through the wooden doors, knowing that any defiance or attempt at escape wouldn't be worth the effort.  Not feeling any happiness, Cailyn still managed to return the serpent's smile with a grimace like grin of her own, "No, I have never seen anything like you, not even in movies or comics.  What exactly are you?  And if you don't mind answering a second, third and fourth question:  How many sons do you have and what are they like, personality wise?  Also, what is your name, sir?"  

Waiting for a reply, the nineteen year old girl let her eyes wonder over the beast that she was oddly not frightened of.  Never had Cailyn judged someone on what they looked like, just how they acted and spoke.  Yet even with this background of not caring about appearances, this man's physique would be difficult to get accustomed to.  The markings upon his back were quite strange, but she paid them no notice.  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-05 19:26:53 --

The naga laughed a small bit. "I don't mind. I'll try to answer everything in order. I am a Naga. I have a total of four sons living within the palace. They are... well they're each quite a bit different from each other. Phyrus is lazy, sarcastic, and sort of fiery. But, he's also affectionate, and he's god a good sense of honor. Thaloc is sweet, gentle, and probably the most innocent of my sons. Onyx is a little cold and calculating, but he's smart, and he knows how to get things done. And I think he'll eventually learn that their are lessons no book can teach. And finally, there's Kaito. He's like a mix of all of them. The only problem is, he has mood swings because of it." The naga said, laughing as he tried to explain his sons in a somewhat short way. "And I am King Valryn. If you can't tell from that in itself, my sons are the princes."

The naga said, trying to explain everything as he moved forward, down one hall and another. He moved up a sort of ramp, which functioned as a staircase in a way. "Oh... and the reason you've probably never seen one of us is that we only live in a few areas of this world. And when we do move amongst humans, we use our shape-shifting abilities to give ourselves legs, like your kind." The king explained, trying to keep things relatively simple. Taking in too much information at once could be bad, in the long run. "But, I'm sure you'll come to learn a lot here. And there's still  bit for me to explain. Such as why I purchased you."

Cailyn listened, quite interested in all the serpent man had to say.  From what was said, she could tell that all of his sons had positives, as well of negatives to their character. She could not tell which one would be most pleasant to be around.  The woman wished she could meet them under different terms, that she could be a free person, but nevertheless, she was eager to meet them, eager to make the best of her unfortunate situation.  Cailyn got just a bit nervous when Valryn mentioned his title, that he and his family were royalty.  It suddenly made her feel self-consious, like she was a bit insignificant compared to her masters.  

Her weary legs carried her body down the halls and up the stairless incline as her ears tuned in to what King Valryn was saying about his species, mildly interested when he said they could shape-shift.  She absorbed everything quickly, noticing how the king was taking things quite slow in effort not to cram her brain.  "I like listening, so you can explain why you purchased me, if you wish."  The question following her statement had been bothering her since her arrival, "Your sons, will any of them cause me pain or be cruel if I do not listen? Don't answer untruthfully, please.  I of course, will not be defiant just for the sake of being a pain, but I don't know what will be asked of me and if it something I don't agree with..." She trailed off, hoping not to anger King Valryn.  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-05 20:55:05 --

"The reason your here sort of answers your question. Let me explain a small bit. I have four sons, four princes. And yet, not a single eldest son. They were all born on the same night. And I'm getting old, really. My final chapter will be written shortly. I need your help in choosing a new king. Of course, you don't have to pick now. Quite the opposite." The naga explained, stopping in a room which looked to be an office. He moved behind a desk, coiling up on a cushion-like mat. "I'd like you to spend a week with each of my sons, as a servant. Once that is done, out of them, you will choose one to be king. There is only one catch. When that day comes, if you choose a king, you must be willing to marry them. From the day that you choose a king, you will become a queen, and gain every right that one would have. Should you choose not to marry any of my sons, you will simply be set free. But remember this. To us, marriage and love are things to be cherished. Once a couple agrees to be with one another, there is no divorce. Well... unless the circumstance is extreme, of course." The naga explained, talking a little about his idea. It was crazy, but at the same time, made sense. Once the final day of her servitude came, they'd have no right to command her. She'd be free to choose her own fate, and the fate each of them had. "As to answer your earlier question, I do not believe that any of them will beat you. Our people is not one of war or death. While we are by no means pacifists, we are not barbarians like your people. No offense intended."

King Valryn looked so young, nearly her age, that it surprised Cailyn when he said he was elderly.  What also astonished her was that he would want a woman he hardly knew to pick a new king and marry his son.  She bit her lip; any man, that is, serpent creature she did not love she would not marry without knowing she could leave if things took a turn for the worst.  "So if I do choose one of your sons as king, why would need to forever be their wife?  At least until my life or their life is up?  How long is a... a typical naga's life?"  Once again, Cailyn's voice trailed, fearing nothing she said was coherent, that to many questions were thrown into it.  

"No offense taken, some of our people are quiet violent.  Which of your sons will I spend my first week with, and may I meet them?"  She began to shift her weight. once again. between her two feet, her arms still crossed over her chest.  She was anxious to meet the men that one of them she could potentially spend the rest of her life with.

((Short post, sorry))  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-06 14:18:55 --

((Trust me. It's not all that short. Look at some of the others posts here. It's nice to see someone who actually uses paragraphs. If even half these people did that, I'd be more than happy...))

"If you choose one, make it out of love. Not out of greed or anything else. Above all, choose the one, if any of them, who makes you feel happy. That is really the only right choice. If your happy with them, then should spending your life with them as a queen matter? Granted, our lives are quite extensive. I myself am a little more than seven centuries old..." He said, trailing off, but then shrugging a small bit. "In any case, I will let you pick which one you stay with first. Follow me." The man said, leading her out of the office and into a larger room, where the others were gathered doing various things.

Thaloc was working with a chessboard-sized zen garden, using a small bit of magic to help plants grow, and moving the rocks to make it perfect. Kaito was doing something on the computer, which was honestly something you didn't expect an ancient race of creature to be doing. Phyrus was lazily sleeping on a couch, apparently quite bored with everything. And Onyx was reading out of a book, taking notes on a piece of paper. As their father and the girl walked in, three of the nagas looked up. Thaloc smiled, and Kaito looked a bit puzzled. Onyx simply looked back down at his book, trying to finish up a bit of work.

Cailyn solemly nodded to what Valryn said, knowing that she would only pick someone she loved.  The only thing that troubled her for the time-being about the situation was the Naga's life span.  If she did indeed fell into a romance with one of them and then married him, what would happen after seventy years when she died?  Cailyn could not imagine living so long a life without someone you loved, and having to move on.  She let the worry show on her face, the King could not see her distress anyways.  

When in the room containing the four sons, though, all negative emotions, except embaressment for being nude, was swept away.  Make the best of the situation, the woman continually told herself as she observed the other inhabitants of the room.  Immediately she knew Phyrus was the sleeping one, Valryn had said Phyrus was lazy.  After just a moment, she knew the reading, rather uninterested naga was Onyx, the king had mention Onyx being cold and calculating.  And then between the smiling and confused one she could not guess tell which one was Thaloc, which was Kaito.

She took a wild guess, and looking to the smiling one said "You're Thaloc?" She then looked at the confused one, "Then you must be Kaito."  Kailyn said something to Onyx, not knowing if he would respond because of how interested in his book he was, "Leaving you, Onyx. And then Phyrus."  She said nodding her head to the sleeping naga before looking to Valryn, "Is that right?"

King Valryn smiled a small bit. "You hit the nail on the head." He said, and then pat her head. "Still, I think a formal introduction is in order." He said, and Thaloc smiled a small bit. "Should we wake up the bum first?" He asked, and his voice was light, easy going, innocent... it didn't at all sound like that of a young adult. But, it didn't sound dumb, either. Just really friendly, an unrefined kindness. No wonder people could describe him as overly friendly. The king nodded to his question, and Onyx smirked and tossed a book from a stack at Phyrus. The sleepy naga grabbed it from mid air. "Do that again, and I'll set it on fire." Phyrus said, yawning a little bit and sitting up. Thaloc laughed and Kaito sighed. "Don't go about starting fires every five minutes. They're troublesome to put out..." Said the blue naga. Each one was a strange character, so far.

"Guess we might as well get it over with. I'm Phyrus, of the Ash." The red naga said, looking over at the girl before closing his eyes, not really getting up yet. His voice was leisurely, and a little bored. Deeper than Thaloc's, of course, and not holding the same kindness. Though, his voice wasn't harsh.
"Onyx, of the Stone. Pleased to meet you, human." The cold one said, his scales an almost-black blue, which may have been how he got the name Onyx. His voice was serious and stern, a no-shit attitude apparently. Melodramatic people probably annoyed the piss out of him. His voice was even a bit harsh, really, making him sound a little annoyed. Though, he didn't seem all to mean, just cold.
"Thaloc, of the Forest. Don't worry about those two. They're just a little cranky." The green one said, his emerald scales seeming to shimmer a small bit.
And finally it was down to the nearly sky-blue naga. He smiled a small bit, though it was small and sort of soft, unlike Thaloc's. "I'm Kaito, of the Waves. Glad you could join us." He said, his voice not quite as deep or dark as Phyrus's, and not nearly as cold as Onyx's. It wasn't too serious, though it was curious, and a little kind. He probably sounded the most normal out of them, and though this was true, this in itself made him another interesting character.

The silver scaled naga then smiled. "And formally, I am King Valryn, of the Storm. Now that they've introduced themselves, I think it's be nice for them to know your name." The naga said, smiling and gently nudging her forward, towards the four. He seemed to move back a bit, to see how she would react to all of them.

The corners of Cailyn's lips tugged up when King Valryn said her guesses had been correct, but it faded when he patted her head, like she was a young child or a pet.  Yet the woman did not dwell on it because compared to his age, she was like a little kid, but also because the actions of the other nagas distracted her.  Her mouth dropped when the black-blue scaled one threw the book at his brother, but when the target caught it, she closed her mouth and listened to the conversation, and then the introductions.

When they said "of the ash/stone/forest/water/storm", Cailyn assumed that meant the element they controlled, because clearly they were not average serpant/human crosses.  So far, the slave liked Thaloc and Kaito the best, just because they came off as interested and kind, while Onyx was a bit emotionally detached and Phyrus was half-asleep.  She was not judging them, though, because she did not know how she appeared and acted to them.  

Cailyn looked back at Valryn when he nudged her forward with a bit of horror and nervousness filling her face, along with apprehension of making the transition from him, so comforting and mild, to his four intriguing, if not intimidating, sons.  Not yet had she gotten use to their scaled lower bodies and diverse personalities, but nevertheless spoke a greeting, "Hello... My name is Cailyn."  Her vocals had regained a bit of confidence, but her body was still in motion as she shifted from foot to foot, and adjusted her crossed arms so they wrapped tighter around her chest.

"It is nice to meet you guys, despite the circumstances," of her being a slave she meant.  "I don't mean to like jump on this, but I was wondering if one of you could, uhm, fetch me some clothes or something to cover me..."  She took a step back, looking back at Valryn for some type of reassurance from the fatherly naga.  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-11 11:52:31 --

Thaloc tilted his head to the side a small bit, and Kaito smiled and laughed a small bit at his brother's confusion. Thaloc spoke up after a few minutes, happily. "I'll get you something to wear. It I can find anything, anyways." Kaito then explained. "We have a lot of legged creatures here, such as elves and humans, but we naga don't actually wear much as far as clothing goes." The water serpent explained, slowly moving closer to her. "If we don't have anything here, one of us can take you out into town later to get some clothes. Luckily, the shops here carry things for all residents of our kingdom."

Phyrus sighed a bit and leaned up, smiling as he finally looked towards Cailyn. He then looked at his father. "For a blind you, you sure can pick out a cute girl." Phyrus said, laughing a small bit to himself and finally getting up. Onyx looked at Phyrus, closing his books and stacking everything up. He then looked at his father. "Let her stay with one of the others for now. I don't have the time available to keep her around, right now." He said, and without another word, he turned to sand, which then spread out, leaving no real mess on the floor.

Phyrus rolled his eyes. "He's really going to work himself into the ground. How has he not died of boredom yet?"
Kaito shrugged a small bit. "I was just wondering that myself, actually." He said, sighing a small bit. He then looked back at Cailyn. "So how old are you?" Kaito asked, trying to find out a little more about her.

"I can tell." Cailyn responded lightly-heartedly to Thaloc when he said nagas did not wear much clothing, having noted how they had bare torsos.  Yet of course, going without clothes was different for a female human, who had certain areas that needed to be covered in order to be decent.  The nineteen-year old's curiosity jumped in when elves and other humans were mentioned.  "Elves?  I only thought they existed in Santa Claus stories and "Lord of the Rings".  Do the other humans here work as slaves, or just members of society?  Have they always known about nagas, or was it a shock like it is to me, when they came here?"  Cailyn paused for a moment, "Sorry if I ask to many questions..."  Then she looked down mad at herself for overloading them with questions.  "But thank you in advance for getting me clothes."  

What the red one, Phyrus, said shocked Cailyn.  She immediately looked at the floor, flushing a faint pink in embaressment.  Of course, like any other girl, she was not mad about the indirect compliment, but it did make things awkward.  Yet what shocked her more and caught her attention was Onyx.  It wasn't him saying he did not want her this week, but when he burst into sand and disinegrated into the ground.  "Uhm..."  she started, finding her voice, "Do you all do that sand dissapearance thing?"

Cailyn listened to Phyrus and Kaito talk, wondering herself what it would be like to have four brothers, four twins.  "I am nineteen.  When I was taken away, the slaver interupted my sophmore year of college.  Everything was perfect until they came..."  The woman trailed off bitterly, before remembering the three remaining nagas were listening.  "But I don't hold it against you guys.  I mean, you aren't my father who sold me into slavery, or the horrid people who came and took me away."  Once again, her tones were bitter and full of regret and betrayal.  

--Last edited by bacon bits on 2009-10-13 22:18:49 --

"More hired servants, actually. We're not a country that believes in slavery, normally. Only the royal family can own a slave." Kaito said, shrugging a small bit. "In any case, about thirty percent of the population would be elves, humans, and other non-naga creatures. Most of them were either born here or have been abandoned by their own countries." Kaito said, sighing a small bit as his bottom coiled and he relaxed, apparently what they did to sit. When she asked if they all moved through sand, he laughed a small bit. "Sort of. Some naga are born with powers, thus our titles. If we aren't born with one, then we are simply given another befitting title."

When she told them about the slavers and her father, Phyrus scowled a bit to himself. Kaito shook his head, sighing a small bit. Phyrus was the only one to speak. "People like that should be killed on sight. The idea of doing such a thing to your own loved ones... It's just fucking pathetic. I wouldn't hesitate to rip someone like that apart." His spat, his voice equally as bitter as her's, strangely enough. And even though Phyrus was the only one who spoke, it seemed that Kaito and Valryn had the same opinion.

Soon, Thaloc came back, holding some clothes in his arms. The tension of the room seemed oblivious to the emerald-colored naga, who seemed strangely immune to all of it. He shrugged a small bit and moved over to Cailyn, handing her a dress. "It's not much, but it's all I could find on such short notice. It's a good thing Belle went to the store recently." He said, referring to the snow-white dress, which was actually more of a gown than anything. Sleeveless, and it went down to just-above her knees.

Cailyn listened intently to what Kaito was saying, happy that she wasn't alone, even though the Nagas had been making her feel at home so far.  Also, she was still very interested in elves, how accurate stories had been about them, as well as Onyx's dissapearance.  Cailyn smiled at his laugh, liking the sound of something so friendly and warm.  "So you would burst into beads of water or something, and Thaloc into leaves, Phyrus into flames, or am I wrong?  If I was a Naga, and born without powers, what do you think my title would be, how would that be decided?"  

When Phyrus scowled, Cailyn remembered what Valryn had said earlier about his temper, but did not fear an outburst.  Yet she was quick to jump to her father's defense with fiery tones, surprising herself.  "He should not be killed on sight!  There are a lot of good things about my father, and when he told the slavers they could have my sister and I for a certain amount of money, he was just a shadow of his former self."  Cailyn remembered how full of humor and light hearted her father had been before her mother's death, and then grimaced when she thought of his current state of mind.  

The slave's anger finally broke when her eyes moved to Thaloc, with a white dress in his arms.  She gently took the silk dress, not bothering to mention the lack of undergarments because something was better than nothing.  "Thank you, it's beautiful.  May I ask, who is Belle?"  Her inquiring voice was quite cheery, Thaloc's happiness rubbing off on her.  Cailyn did not bother stepping out of the room to put it on, she just slipped it over her torso and legs quickly.  Her hands quickly smoothed it out over her frame, before she looked back up at the Nagas.  "I almost forgot, who will I be staying with this week?"

Phyrus snickered and rolled his eyes. "If he's only a shadow of his former self, then he's already dead..." The naga said, under his breath of course, but still probably loud enough for her to catch the drift of his emotion. He wasn't one to forgive a person easily. Ironically, neither was Onyx, a similarity amongst brothers that seemed to be polar opposites. Kaito was half and half, really. Should the man never meet him, Kaito would not worry. Should the father come here, or even the daughter go out to find him, it would be a different story. Thaloc seemed like he'd be one eager to forgive, but in reality, he was about like Kaito. He didn't go out to start trouble, being little above pacifist in the long run, though he could be merciless if someone innocent or kind was in trouble.

"Belle is my apprentice." Thaloc said, smiling a small bit. "You'll meet her eventually, no doubt." Thaloc said, happily. Phyrus and Kaito looked at each other, shrugging a small bit. Kaito spoke up. "I honestly think it would be best if you went with Thaloc for the moment. You need to need to be with someone like him, anyways." The sapphire naga of water said, noting how comforting Thaloc's presence was to her. Phyrus rolled his eyes. "All I know is that I'll do something to piss her off, so I'll let one of you handle it." And with that, the fiery naga proved her point and turned to flame. Kaito turned to mist, as well, leaving Cailyn with Thaloc and their father.

"Guess that decided it." The elder naga said, smiling softly and fatherly, gently patting the human girl on her head. "You'll spend the first week with Thaloc. Neither of you have any objection to that, do you?" Valryn asked, not really worried. Everything would probably work out fine between them, after all.