I watched as she busied herself, she pulled dried herbs from the ceiling and headed to a small alchemic setup in the corner. I followed, curious as to how she was able to concentrate so well with my venom coursing through her veins.

I let myself get distracted then, examining the herbs that she had hanging about the shop. Many of them were familiar to me, or very close to it - things I was quite familiar with, used to mixing my own poisons when I had no trustworthy poisoner to work with. But there were others that I couldn't even begin to place, and I wondered if they would be effective on me, or less useful. I'd have to experiment when I had time. And victims. My eyes slid back to the felinoid, and the herbs she had chosen.

She had crushed them between mortar and pestle, added a strange oil like substance to it then set it to boil. She added several powders to it, reds, blues, a few yellows. I narrowed my eyes, and shifted into a patient, waiting stance, arms still bound in front of me - mostly because I hadn't cared enough to shrug off the loosely bound rope, not yet.

The whole process took a good half hour, but I was long used to sitting and waiting for hours on end for the perfect opportunity to strike. This was less violent, but patience was a virtue I had long ago engraved into my very bones. One of few, I admitted to myself.


She picked up the beaker and took a swig before she handed it to me. The liquid still bubbled from the heat. She again, pointed to her throat then to mine. If it was poisoned...she just dosed herself. Hm. Or - she had already displayed a resistance to toxins, even bizarre ones that she never could have encountered before. For something she knew how to make? No, I was not dumb enough to just trust her. I shifted the sacs in my jaw bone, switching which venom was ready to be unleashed by my fangs. If I was going to die - well, I would take one person from this land with me.

I slowly brought the vial up to my lips. The contents were bitter, earthy and muddled, like a thick, sludgey smoothie. I choked down as much as she had swallowed, then lowered it from my mouth, my forked tongue flicking out to sample clean air instead of that concoction.

“Hows that? Hear me now? We peachy fuckin’ keen?” My eyebrows raised. Well. That was.. A very, very convenient potion to know how to make.

“Now that is better. Yes, yes I can hear you. And understand you, this time.” I shivered my arms, the loosely coiled ropes sliding free finally and hitting the floor. I stretched out my arms, rolling my shoulders. “I take it this is… HmHmm. This language feels odd, doesn't quite match you. No, it doesn't seem like it fits your tongue.”


She smirked, bearing two small pointed canines. “Tradespeak. It’s the common tongue.” She switched languages, I could tell, but I still understood it just as easily. “This is Akashiman. My native tongue. That concoction will last you a day. You want more you pay. You don’t have coin, you can pay in other ways.” I raised an eyebrow as she grabbed an empty vial and tapped it against her desk. “What the fuck are you and where the fuck do you get off on attacking me like that? What the ever loving shit did you try to poison me with?”

My, my. What a crass tongue. I grinned wide, baring far too many teeth even as inwardly I turned her words over in my head. She didn't recognize me. I really was on a different world, if a Ssulitani wasn't known on sight. Damn you, fucking owl.

“Little kitten, I am a Ssulitani. Or Serpent man, in a more common parlance.” I slid closer to her, invading her space as I loomed above her. “And as for where the fuck do I get off - where I please. But how about you, little kitten? You like pilfering the recently deceased, and think you can do it without retribution? For all you know, that which you took was vital to a burial ritual for the Yulku.” Not that I gave an everloving damn, but hey, she didn't know. Yet.

“And as for poisoning you, little kitten? Who the fuck says I did that?” This last was whispered, purred along my tongue right by her ear. It swivelled forward, then back and I could practically taste the tepidation that she breathed.

She had her back against the desk, I had her trapped but she still had that spitfire gaze. She placed the hand that held the small empty vial against my chest and pushed me away. I relented, just a little.

“No idea what the fuck Yulku is. But I damn well know you don’t give two shits about it. If you did, you would have paid that mess far more mind. You’d be at the site of the death not slinking around in the bushes, and yeh fuckin poison. What did you inject me with?”

“Or maybe I saw someone coming, and considering I'd just plunged from the sky, and was concerned and afraid?” I smirked and stepped back, splaying my hands wide. “But no, you're right. I don’t give two fucks about the Yulku. He was dead before he hit the ground. And it was not a poison, little kitten. Here, you got any meat around?” Felinoids were carnivores, so there was a good chance she did. I was going to play a trick on her - freak her out. The grin on my lips turned a bit cruel.

“What?” She blinked. Confused. Good. She pushed me away as she headed to another corner, she opened up what looked like a prehistoric fridge. I guess these people didn’t have electricity. Hmmph. Great, barbarians. She pulled out a plate with a few hunks of steak. It was perfectly cut and marbled. She seemed to have high standards. Shame it would go to waste.

Long fingers shot out and snatched up one of the chunks of meat and flipped it up into the air. I toyed with it, making sure I had her attention. Good, it was just the right size.

“I’m adding this to what you owe me.” She muttered, her eyes flicking up and down as she followed the meat. Then I shot my head forward, stretching out my fangs - and I injected my primary toxin into it. Far worse than a mere venom, it immediately began dissolving the steak, and I let it fall to the ground as it turned into a goopy sludge. I smirked at her.

“It was a part of that, little kitten. An insurance agent, much like your language serum. You're already infected, but it's currently passive - that was the warmth you no doubt felt. If I hadn't… Well. You d have lost part of that arm, at the least.” She thought she could hold me hostage for coin? She had no idea who she was dealing with. I had no issues lying through my fangs to her. “I’d say you're good for about… Twelve hours, without more?” I smirked, and deliberately licked my fangs.

“What?” She looked surprised. Then angry. I had expected fear. Full of surprises this one, She stalked over to me and gripped my clothing between her fists. “What the ever loving fuck? You better tell me that next bite is a fuckin’ antidote. You probably didn’t fuckin’ understand but I am the High Priestess. Those guards? They will hunt you the fuck down - and failing that I am a Priestess” She shook me. “I will have a Thayne- a God come crashing down so hard on you you’ll be flatter than your little Yook friend. Fix it. Now.”


“And if I died, so would you.” I smirked. She was trying to threaten me, but I didn't care. I was in a different world, knew no one. Fuck it. “It's in your best interests to keep me alive. But… I Suppose. A gesture of good faith. I like you, little kitten.” I shifted the sacs again, bringing the aphrodisiac back to bare. I opened my mouth wide, fangs jutting out. Inwardly, I was laughing my ass off. A gesture of good faith, as I lied to her and got her progressively more addicted to the aphrodisiac in my venom. And here she was, literally offering herself up to it.

Speaking of - her hands shot up and grappled the back of my head, and forcefully yanked me down. It seemed she was wasting no time, and I felt my fangs slip into her flesh smoothly. That had to hurt - so I decided to be good and help her out. By drugging her to the Shadows and back with my aphrodisiac.

Her knees buckled. “L-liar.” She hissed. Ah. Caught out. Not that I was particularly invested in that lie - I hadn't lied that I liked her, and I wasn't going to kill her.

“When it suits me. I am an assassin, dear little kitten.” I smirked against her flesh, and gripped her tightly with my hands.. Her hands fell away from my head and down to my arms. She was still fighting it, her breathing had grown heavy and I could feel the heat prickle through her skin. Still, she hadn’t tried jumping me. Credit where credit is due.

“You know Kitten you made a mistake in letting me speak your tongue.” I smirked. I pulled my head back, and began weaving it slowly around in a circle in front of her eyes, keeping my orange gaze locked on hers.