Inhumans (Main Thread)

Lamia staggered out of the glass and righted herself, hoping none had seen her stagger. She needn’t have worried. Apart from her fellow initiates in their mist-filled tubes, she was alone in the chamber. That was odd. She could have sworn she’d heard the ritual words as her body burned with the transformation, the Terrigen Mist unlocking the secrets hidden within her genetic code.

An empty podium stood in the center of the dark, barren chamber where an upper caste noble was meant to read off the betrothals. Doubtless the information was still there, but for once her curiosity was turned towards a different type of investigation. Her bare feet didn’t feel any different on the cool metal floor, nor did her hands seem any different. She hands over her face and hair. Unchanged. Had her transformation been so subtle that she could not see it without a mirror? Or perhaps she was like the king, apparently human but possessing great power.

But what if…what if she had not changed at all. The idea sent ice shooting into her belly and her tail thumped the floor with her agitation. Her tail? No sooner had she thought it than the appendage lifted from the ground to twist through the air in front of her. Scales dark like liquid oil, iridescent in the dim light with sheens of blues and purples hidden among the black decorated the massive length. Thick as her torso near the base, it slowly tapered like that of a snake’s to a point after stretching several times the length of her body. It felt heavy, but also powerful.

She reached out and touched it. The scales reminded her of glossy ivory beneath her fingers. Smooth and soft. The chamber hissed as another containment unit opened. She turned her attention away from her new appendage to see who would be next to join her in Inhumanity.

He felt his skin was on fire. Releasing a slight wail as he felt the myst ensgroud him. He was certain that he blacked out, only to awaken moments later to fresh air of the chamber. He felt lightheaded as he stood up from his kneeling position. The after effects of his terrigenesis made him feel slightly nauseous, and he had difficulty breathing for a moment.

Once he finally stood he exited his chamber. The womb of his new birth, and let his hands traverse his own skin. Feeling nothing that he hadn't felt numerous times before. Surprised by the similar sensations of his own hands, he worried that he had been one of those unforunate souls who were not blessed with the gifts provided by the myst. He looked down, and his fears were somewhat allieviated as he noticed a slight silvery tint to his pigmentation. Nothing that was overly ostentatious, but was still noticble. However, still worried that he would be left solely with nothing more than a cosmetic change to his skin.

He walked, as best he could towards the center of the room. Noticing one individual already waiting near the podium, still feeling dissoriented, and lightheaded. A strange pulsing sensation writhing within his own brain as he looked to the female.

Munelon grunted in pain as the myst filled the chamber, awakening his hidden potential. After what seemed like days, though in reality only a fraction of that, normal air vented around him to clear the myst away.

Slowly he emerged from the glass cocoon into the chamber proper, where two others waited. He frowned as he felt his body, it seemed unchanged. His hair was darker, but only by a few shades. Hopefully he had actually gotten something from the myst besides that headache...

Perhaps his power was mental instead of physical? He turned to face the wall and willed something to happen...

And stumbled backwards as a small, transparent ball of violet energy slammed into the wall, denting the smooth metal slightly. Embarrassed at his lack of control, Munelon turned to the others and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oops... Hopefully they won't notice that."

Apelarious was the next to emerge, his skin turned a shimmering silver that was oddly attractive. Lamia’d always had an appreciation for things that shone and glittered, though she kept herself from partaking of jewelry. Too much could go wrong with it in her profession.

As an investigator, she’d made it a point to memorize the names of everyone undergoing the transformation with her. A lower caste builder, the man was surprisingly appealing. He smelled of sword oil and the cologne her father always wore. The combination was enough to make her tingly and take notice of the hard musculature of his body. Being a builder had its advantages, she supposed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the emergence of Munelon the healer. His hair had taken a rich, golden hue and unless she was mistaken, his eyes were darker as well. Almost the same shade as the orb of something flew from his hands to crash into the wall with an echoing crash. That was impressive, she reluctantly admitted, stroking her new tail as if to reassure herself that she too had been gifted with an amazing power. She smirked as he thought out loud.

“Notice what?” she asked, cocking a hip. “I couldn’t see what you were up to behind this enormous crowd. Don’t worry about it, we’ll all take a bit of time adjusting.”

She closed the distance between her and Apelarious. There was just something about him that made her want to share his presence, if not openly admire his form. “Do you think your new skin might be unbreakable? I’ve heard of powers like that before.”

He still felt a slight throbbing sensation within his head. Unsure of what was causing it, or where it was coming from. He tried to push it out of his most immediate concerns, he was still trying to figure out if he was left with nothing of useful value. He heard a loud crashing noise, and looked behind as another indivdiaul stepped out from the chambers. Apelarious smiled a bit, nodding to the male as he stepped further, though he still remained rather silent for that moment.

Looking back, he noticed the woman that he had noticed earlier move closer towards him. He was a little surprised by her action, as he would often be the last indivdiaul to be approached in most common circumstances. His eyes trailed up and down her form, taking interest in the tail that was obviously gifted to her through her genesis. More than surprised by her continued interest in him, he let her continue to watch him. When she finally spoke up, he managed to forget about the dull throbing in his head. "I am not sure... Though I have also heard of such things as well. I think I would rather like to be in a more secure environment before that is determined." He said, smiling a little towards her as a gesture of honest friendliness.

He had to admit that he seemed to have difficulty looking away from her, especially the tail that she had been granted. "That is a rather interesting gift that you have been granted. It suits you rather nicely I think...Miss?"

Munelon chuckled softly at Lamia's comment, then glanced over to Apelarious in curiosity. Oddly enough, he seemed to smell of soap and cleaner, familiar smells of the hospital Munelon's parents worked at. He returned Apelarious' nod with his own.

Suddenly he noticed that his headache was gone, probably when he launched that... thing at the wall. Speaking of which...

Munelon cupped his hand as if holding a ball, then focused on the area the ball would be. After a moment, another violet ball appeared, seemingly solid despite its transparency. A few moments later he was lightly juggling three of them as he began looking around once more.

There were still a few chambers unopened, which worried Munelon a little. "Why are the others taking so long? Were we just finished faster or something?"

“Lamia,” she replied. “You’re Apelarious, he’s Munelon, and I can’t say I blame you.”

Apelarious spoke like someone not used to being the center of attention. Awkward and oddly endearing, which was odd since she’d always found confidence to be a big turn on. Maybe the terigenesis had done more to her than simply changing her physical body. Supposedly the mist revealed the true you. She’d never seen enough evidence to truly support that claim and as an investigator, evidence mattered much more to her than the promises of a high techno-priest.

“Show off,” she said to Munelon as he began to juggle. “Men. You just have to play with your balls. The change is different for all of us, maybe we were simply faster with ours. I’m more interested in where everybody else is. Our families, the speaker…they should all be here to greet us and witness the change. Where do you suppose they’ve gone off to?”

A sinking feeling in weighed in the pit of her stomach; whatever had drawn them away had to have been very important. The change was an enormous day in an Inhuman’s life, a joyous celebration shared by the entire kingdom. If something had happened, it was either very good or very bad. Maybe it had something to do with being an investigator, but Lamia never bet on the positive side.

The sensation of the Terrigen mists was something that many scholars still had failed to document. Possibly because the sensation felt a little different from person to person, assuming they felt anything at all, or if the pain of being transformed was so vast and traumatic that they forced the memory from their heads. The latter seemed to be the kind of experience Dragul was getting from all this. Normally the stoic he had howled and writhed as the mists filled his very being, making every cell in his formerly average body burn and ache.

And then finally Dragul was able to push free from his tube, panting for gasping for fresh air as he staggered and then fell to his hands and knees. He winced from the tingling effecting his skin, and then he finally let his gaze rest on his hands. Scales, lime green ones running up his entire body! And a tail to boot, long thin and very very dexterous.

Dragul forced himself to stand, trying to regulate his breathing before pushing himself to stand in a formal posture "Well...this is certainly dreadful..." he remarked, continuing to inspect his hands, seeming to be unaware of the other initiates milling about him. "If this was all I received, I think I shall be frightfully furious..." he grumbled.

He was still focused upon the woman currently looking at him. His eyes widened just a tad as she seemed to introduce him aloud as if she knew whom he was already. "I am indeed. A pleasure to meet you Lamia. You as well Munelon." He nodded to both of them, a smile still on his face. He was not used to the attention in any way, and although he was slightly uncomfortable by it, he didn't try to back down or shun away.

Watching as Munelon seemed to start the process of controlling his powers. Apelarious was more than impressed by the display. The dull throb in his brain only seemed to subside slightly, the sensation moving from the deep core of his mind, and dispersing out into his temples. He tried not to show that it was bothering him in the slightest, though he couldn't be sure that he was succeeding in any capacity.

"It is my understanding, and I would wish this on no one, that some are not...capable of surviving the terrigenesis. Though to be honest I think that is rather rare occurance. I do know that sometimes the process takes much longer for some." He looked around for a moment, " My family long ago once worked on the construction of some of the older versions of the chambers. I am not sure how different these are to those." He said, his eyes trailing over the scene for a moment, spotting a newcomer as they came from the terrigen myst chambers.

In the chambers, Lucia was last to wake. She could feel the terrigen myst covering her body, altering her. She was told that it would awaken her hidden potential. What that meant and how it worked completely eluded her. Feeling the myst's effect, she simply stood, enhaling the strange gas. She after all had to breath. Her parent's powers were also more than unknown to her. She did little to speculate the outcome of her experience in the chamber.

She shambled out, nearly falling on herself. The woman looked up to see the others there. Timid, she did not say a word. She only watched in silence, listening to their conversation. Hearing that she may not have even survived, a shock was sent up Lucia's spine. She felt a little betrayed being sent into a place she could have possibly died in. Nonetheless, she was glad the experience was over. For whatever reason, she felt little change. It didn't hurt at all.

In fact, she felt better than ever. Just, she felt different- things were brighter. Lucia realized that she was in fact glowing! As she came to think this a small high-pitched gasp escaped her lips.

Munelon noticed the newly transformed and concentrated on dissipating the three balls. It proved a bit difficult, seeing as his original idea of allowing them to expand into nothingness only resulted in the becoming the size of beach balls. Thankfully, his next idea of absorbing the energy worked better, and he turned to face the two as they emerged.

Munelon couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Lucia's reaction to her now glowing form, but tried to hide it for her sake. While Lamia and Apelarious discussed the possibilities of reactions to the myst, Munelon simply nodded and offered his hand to Lucia.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Munelon, and these are Lamia and Apelarious. We just emerged a few minutes ago ourselves."

He then turned to Dragul, his smile shifting into a look of mild concern as the draconian struggled to his feet. "Are you alright over there? I apparently don't have any healing-related powers, but I picked up some first-aid from my parents if you need any help."

Another pair emerged from their chambers, one of whom actually fell to the floor. He was large, reptilian, and grouchy. Everybody who underwent the transformation came out with different gifts. Sure, many people went in hoping for something to rival the king’s own power, but what did he expect? Sometimes the only changes were cosmetic, like with Apelarious, unless he had something that hadn’t revealed itself yet. At any rate, Dragul seemed to have undergone a change at least as dramatic as her own, so what cause had he to complain?

She didn’t bother stifling her giggle at the lady Lucia’s gasp. The girl was glowing like something out of a romance novel. Fitting for one of her station, doubtless she’d go far. Long had the Inhumans believed that the mist exposed one’s true self. If that was the case, she would watch lady Lucia’s political career with great interest. A woman who glowed…no, she seemed to be made of light…had to be something special.

Seeing as how Munelon was taking care of her and Dragul was a grouchy gunlark, she elected to remain alongside Apelarious. She delivered a quick slap to his back with her tail, almost reflexively, no stronger than a slap upside the head. Lamia wanted to be mad at him, making a careless comment about the mists killing people like that. It was exceedingly rare and with everyone on edge from the lack of people was completely tactless. But it was also an intelligent point to bring up…if not one she particularly liked.

She forced a scowl on her face though and did her best to glare at him for scaring the poor lady. After a moment she shook her head and turned away before her expression broke. “I don’t know about you all, but I want to know where everybody’s gone. Our brethren still in the midst of their change will be fine, it’s more important to discover why the ceremony was interrupted than it is to wait around for them to finish.”

That said, she made her way to the podium where the priest had initially stood. The screen displayed holy texts, though she knew it might also contain his notes. Priests were frequently given the tasks of arranging marriages for the newly transformed, if their houses didn’t already have a match in mind of course. Maybe there would be some clue there. Better to find out before she left the chamber altogether than to leave it behind and forget.

"I've been worse. I'm simply having trouble balancing with an extra foot of spinal cord." he remarked, swing his tail up and down in an effort to see how flexible his newest limb could be. Very apparently, able to curl and bend and twist and even coil up like a rope if he willed it to. He could get used to it, he supposed, but unless he could breathe fire now he felt cheated.

He cleared his throat, and sure enough not even a bit of soot passed his lips. Damn. He leaned up against a pillar while waiting for the full sensation of touch to return to his limbs. Well at the very least he'd get a mate soon.

The world disappeared, and with her first panicked thought, Raina believed the Mist had simply killed her. Yet as she found herself able to have that thought, able to move in the blackness, and able to hear the Mist still hissing into the tube, she feared instead that she had gone blind.

Yet steadily, shapes were outlined in the dark: her own hands, splayed against the tube's thick glass, were faintly lit to her eyes. As her hands grew clearer in her sight, figures in the chamber beyond came into view, albeit obscured by the Mist around her, and slowly, other forms emerged from out of the black: the tube itself and the walls of the room beyond.

When the Mist had been removed from the tube with another prolonged hiss, she seemed to see everything, uncertain whether she was seeing through the dark or if the dark was no longer there. In fact, was anything truly dark or bright? A strange thought, but it was now difficult to be sure...

The door slid open, and the girl stepped out with some bewilderment. Her posture was confident but her face told another story for the moment. The shadows that deepened around her seemed to her eyes quite normal, while what seemed normal to the others appeared curiously flatly-lit to her. Her wide eyes narrowed, and she cocked her head at the figures of the others as if wondering for a moment at their reality.

She turned from them to look back at the machines. If there would be more to follow, it was hard to say. Turning back again, she examined the others more closely. Some had changed quite obviously, for sure. Others, she guessed at, much as she was still left to wonder about herself.

The form of her sister she recognized, but squinted to try to see her clearly. She seemed to strain her eyes with the effort and looked away from Lucia to end the discomfort. Some things never change, she joked to herself silently and laughed lightly, as if at nothing.

"Um... Thank you?" Lucia said. Her tone of voice was very bright but the way she spoke was breathy. It was almost as though she were whispering to Munelon. Lucia took his hand reluctantly to stand up. She looked around taking in her surroundings to see if anything was different from her transformation. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She then tried to take a look at the others with her. There were four.

"M-my name is... um... Lucia. It's uh... really nice to meet you guys" she said shyly, looking away. Her voice trailed off as she finished her last sentence. Taking another look around, she realized that her sister was not in the room. 'Oh no!" she squeeked, before turning around to see Raina.

Lucia sighed and walked over to help her sister up.

As the mist filled her chamber, Ariadne began to breathe more deeply. It felt heavy in her lungs, denser than the air she was used to breathing. Which wasn't strange, as it was different from the air she was used to breathing. Activating her potential, it was supposed to do, which she was excited about. When she was born, she was amongst the lowest caste, yet her family had fought tooth and nail to better their position. They had much success, launching a profitable business. They were elevated in status, in a way that was almost unheard of beyond the usual methods of powers and marriage. Now she would have her powers unlocked, and she would rise further still. She had her sights set on the throne.

Something was wrong, with her transformation. Her back was throbbing something powerful, a pain she could not identify with in all her life. Her muscles and bones felt as though they were being stretched impossibly, bursting from her skin in terrible agony. Worst still, the mist was getting too thick, and she was gasping for air, flailing desperately against her tube, anything to fight against the drowning sensation she was feeling. When her tube finally opened, she fell to her knees , her massive wings unfurling above her. She stayed like that for a moment, on her hands and knees, breathing deeply and coughing occasionally. She felt so fragile, so light, as though she were no longer corporeal, as though a strong breeze might carry her away. She knew the others were staring at her, concerned looks on their faces as she struggled for air.

She forced herself, to her feet, despite the dizziness she felt as she did. She was much more slender than she remembered, and over course there were the substantial wings that grew from her back. She tested them quickly, concerntrating on them, to see if she could move them. Slowly, steadily, they began to flap, and she was rising into the air, inches at first, then a few feet. When she was nearly five feet in the air she came back down, stumbling a bit as she tried to land. She turned as scarlet as her hair as laughs could be heard.

"Hey, these things are hard to handle!" She stammered, embarrassed to come off so ineptly right off the bat.

He had not meant to cause concern. Though in actuaality, he should have realized what he was saying. He supposed he got so lost witihn the moment, that he forgot how to be tactful. Something that was rather out of character for him. The act itself caused the Inhuman to blush a bit, the dark pattern on his cheeks even more apparent now due to the silvery tone to his skin. The reaction occured even before he felt something slap him against the back. Though it wasn't hard, it certainly wasn't the most gentle thing either. He released a slight groan of shock, and felt the location throb for a moment. Clearly he could still feel pain, and supposing that the rough spot would remain for a short amount of time, his skin was certainly not invincible.

"I am sorry. I certainly did not mean to frighten anyone...It must have been a nervous exclamation." He said apologetically, raising a hand to scratch at his hair. He paused a moment, watching as the others became open to the chambers around them, becoming more confident in their powers and able to walk a bit more freely. He smiled and nodded to the new comers, but remained near Lamia. "Yes...We were supposed to be greeted by the priests, and the scientists I believe. I wonder what is going on." With little thought he followed behind Lamia, thinking that she had either some kind of advanced knowledge, or that she had some instinct that he knew he should follow. "What does it say? Anything?"

Two more emerged from their chambers, disproving Apelarius’ theory that there may have been some accident with the transformation. Centuries the change had been safe, if not exactly pleasant in and of itself, and the results joyous. A thing to be celebrated. That they might bring about an inhuman’s death was…terrifying to conceive and not something Lamia cared to dwell on.

What was with their group falling to their knees after they emerged? She supposed they should all consider themselves lucky they still had knees to fall too considering some of the bizarre changes the mist had occasionally rendered. She herself had probably only been a few genomes away from losing her legs altogether to be replaced by her massive tail.

Lady Raina and Lady Lucia, they seemed a touch off. Shy perhaps? Odd traits for nobles but then they were easily the youngest in the chamber, so that might’ve had something to do with it. Raina though…the mists were supposed to reveal their true selves, what did that say about a woman who came out wreathed in shadows and laughing at nothing in particular?

The last one out she recognized as Ariadne, and she found herself grinning as the young girl played with her newfound wings. Fliers were rare and always considered doubly blessed. It made sense that someone who had risen through the ranks would merit such an ability.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lamia called to her. “I don’t think anyone’s come out knowing exactly what they’re capable of. Should see the dents Munelon put in the wall already.” She jerked a thumb at the damaged wall in question where the young man had accidentally let fly one of his purple energy balls a short while ago.

That said, she returned her attention to the priest’s datapad on the podium and began perusing it. Mostly holy scripture, but a few notes as well. Unfortunately it didn’t connect to the Attilan news network so they’d actually have to go outside before they could discover what had happened to drive everyone else from the chamber. But while she was looking, a certain page caught her eye.

The priest had intended her to marry straight out of the chamber. She’d known it was a possibility but to find out so suddenly, see it written out in digital script with such finality was a shock. Almost as shocking to discover that he intended her to someone from a lower class. She found herself glancing up at Apelarius, cheeks burning with sudden heat. She’d only just met him, but maybe he wasn’t so bad. Everything about him screamed endearing after all, even if he was prone to morbid ideas. Least he was pretty to look at.

Suddenly she realized she was staring and jerked her gaze back down to the datapad. "Nothing in here about where everyone's disappeared to," she said to the room at large.

The vanishing act that everyone else in the room had pulled off was indeed rather odd, and Dragul seemed genuinely curious about the turn of events. Some of the officials should have been around, surely, just in case there was a malfunction in the mists chambers. If anyone died during the change, that priest would have been liable.

"Then perhaps we need to go and investigate." Dragul added, looking over at the girl who had moved to the podium. He had checked around with his newly mutated eyes, taking note of a few other females who had emerged from the mist chambers. Well, he supposed the mating system wouldn't be imbalanced now. He pushed himself off the wall and padded to the door with his new scaly feet. "Whatever happened, must be quite serious."

When Tyro entered the mists he had no idea what to expect. As the terrigen mist filled the chamber he clenched, wished, hoped, prayed, begged for something that would please help his family. Something that would give him power. Something to make them once again relevant, respected, feared, loved, trusted.

What he absolutely did not expect was a vision.

As the green mist curled over his feet he felt a tingling, a crawling, a strange pain crowded along his jaw. He closed his eyes and retreated into his mind.

He was standing on an Attilan cliff. It was red as though it had been painted with ochre and iron ore. Below him was a fisherman, hunched over, in churning water. A storm was coming. Sharks were circling around his little rowboat.

Before he knew it Tyro had begun climbing down the near sheer surface of the cliff. His fingers scrabbled across the rocky face, clutched, tears streamed from his eyes as his vision changed. The rain beat against him, loosening his grasp, dragging him down towards the rocks.

As he slid down his skin changed. His face slammed against the cliff face, his fingernails tore off, his skin abraded and bled as he tumbled down the side of the cliffs towards the rocks. In a last, desperate attempt to avoid dying on the rocks he flailed, kicking and pushing until he slammed one leg into the rock face.

Tyro’s body went spiraling out towards the fisherman in the rowboat. He arched his back, brought his hands forward and breached the water into—
His eyes snapped open. He was in the tank.

The twenty three year old pounded his changed fists against the glass until it popped open, leaving him stumbling forward and then falling onto his hands and knees. He spasmed as he coughed up a spray of blood and porcelain shards—no, not shards, not porcelain but bone: teeth. His crimson stained teeth were sprayed across the floor in front of him.

An increasing sense of disquiet crept along his mind as he stood with a surprising fluidity, a grace that he lacked before. He turned, ignoring the rest of the Inhumans, and gazed at his reflection in the glass of the pod he had just been released from. Night-black eyes, light gray skin and vicious, carnivorous serrated blade teeth covered in his own blood. His thick hair was still present, his lips still thick though now alabaster, his fingernails were missing and he bet the same was true for his toenails, both now replaced with that light grey flesh.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he felt his body, entranced with the changes. His muscles were thicker now, giving him a more cut experience, while simultaneously being hard like carved wood. It occurred to him what he looked like now: a shark. A predator.

A ruthless killer.

Tyro turned to the assembled Inhumans, breathing a sigh of relief to see that someone else had been as drastically—more, even—changed than he had been. That was something. As he looked at Dragul he sniffed, cocked his head to the side. “Huh…” That was strange. Scent was new. He could tell volumes about someone based off of their smell, like the fact that the dragon-man would be able to collect knowledge imprinted in material through touch alone.

That the silver skinned one could manipulate people’s pleasure, that he was inherently likeable. His blood chilled when he saw the shadow woman and knew, in a heartbeat, that she could murder with a touch if she so wished. That she could live eternally through that murder.

Tyro regained control, blinked, rubbed his face, did his best to wipe the blood off of his chin, mouth, cheeks. “Hey, guys…” He turned his head to look at them. “I’m Tyro.” Only Apelarious looked familiar: he had seen the other man around construction sites and vaguely knew his name, but no more than that.

“So nobody’s here yet? How long have you all been waiting for?”

Ariadne took a quick scan of the people around her. Three other women, and three men. She took note of each of them, making a note of what changes they underwent. A couple were obvious, like the woman with the long serpentine tail, or the other woman who was enveloped in light. One man had taken on a draconian appearance, with scales and even a long tail. She stay quiet for the moment, watching as her companions experimented with new powers, met and mingled.

She looked to the woman who had spoken to her, the one with the massive tail and bronzed skin, nodding at her comforting words. She was the only one trying to discover what had happened here, why the priest was not here to greet them. Ariadne waited, seeing if anything came up for her. Something caught the woman's eye, and Ariadne saw her looking up at the lower class man, the muscular one with silvery skin. There was something rather alluring about him, it certainly couldn't be denied, not by her at least. The tailed woman must have thought so too, as she was staring at him, her dark skin blushing as she did. She must have read something about him, something rather intimate. Perhaps she had discovered the intended pairings, in particular, her intended pairing. Ariadne was about to ask her, when she heard another pod opening up.

She turned around to see who would emerge this time. She nearly gasped when it was someone she had recognized, at least somewhat. Tyros, a man from the lower caste. The same lower caste that she herself had once belonged to, before he family had made success for themselves. It was Tyros' own family that had a hand in her own family's accomplishments. They were the loan sharks that had made the business possible. Even with their high terms threatening to squelch their endeavor before it began, her family managed to find success, enough to pay off their loans in full, and move up a caste.

That wasn't the only reason Ariadne recognized him, however. His family's history stood as a painfully reminder that the caste system was fluid, and like fluid, it moved downwards more powerfully than upward. She remember her parents discussing how that family had once been so influential, before falling into obscurity from corruption and greed. Ariadne found it to be a strange juxtaposition, the risen and the fallen exiting their pods within mere moments of one another. She was the one staring now, As he looked past her, to the others around her. She was surprised she was so easy to miss, with nearly 15 feet of red wings protruding from her back, but she didn't take it too personally. When he introduced herself, she took the opportunity to do the same.

"Ariadne Sheval." She told him, her hand extending to his. She found herself immediately interested in him, his new appearance just terrifying enough to be fascinating. She thought about the data pad, and the possibility that the details of her arranged marriage was within the pad. She decided against it, did she need sanction from the High Priest to pursue what she wanted? Had it stopped her before?

As the multi-winged woman approached, Tyro was struck for a moment. He knew her? Then she said her name. That was it.

“Ah, always a pleasure to see a Sheval, Ariadne.” He gave a courteous bow and took her proffered hand for a lightly playful kiss. His lips were surprisingly soft given the sandpaper texture of the rest of his body. As surprising as it may have seemed, Tyro’s family took an inordinate amount of pride in those who had taken upon themselves the burden of usurious debt and succeeded.

It afforded them a certain social connection. The family way was to be unfailing polite and respectful, right up and until that point where promises were compromised. As Tyro recalled his mother had boasted of how wise the Sheval family had been in utilizing their services versus that of their competitors.

He let her hand fall from his own as he turned his gaze back to the remainders. “This is wrong. I’m going to find out what’s happening: you can feel free to join me or stay.” With the assumption that the others would follow him Tyro began to stride certainly from the hall where they were supposed to have met the technopriest and instead towards…

There was a scent in the air. It smelled like hysteria, panic, ruffled feathers. For some reason the scent was sweet. “I think something’s wrong. A lot of people might be in trouble or… I don’t know.”