Welcome to Gaia! ::

The faint rosy glow of the setting sun stretched the shadow of the island across the ocean as the citizens of Tarkeena steadily began to close up their shops and retreat to their homes, sleepily ascending and descending ladders and stairs, until only the revelers of the nights and a few odd strangers lingered around in the open night bars, their lights attracting them as easily as the moths that fluttered and shivered around their lamps.

Higher still, on the rare flat plain of jungle, a road, slowly becoming overtaken by nature, crept with the vines and grasses of the steadily advancing jungle. The soft, dusky rose marble of a once magnificent palace, able to house every man, woman and child on the island, had weeds poking through the fine smooth stone. Still...it had not fallen into complete disrepair. There was still someone who swept the courtyards, watered the wild roses and lilies and blossoms, and pulled away insistent vines from the wide brass doors.

Yes...there was still someone there...

But there was still much to do before one could retire to the rooms of the palace. There was a larder to fill, attending to the health of an elderly master, much much much sweeping and polishing, and of course, hygiene.

Being a monster however, made it much harder on Lamia's hygiene.

With the smooth silence of her patron beast, Lamia slid through the underbrush, the silken scales of her lower half brushing lightly against the ferns and leaves. Her clawed hands pulled her along as always, firm and strong from years of dragging her legless self about, from cooking and cleaning and attending to her beloved Master Yobu who loved her like a daughter...

Thankfully, her eyes were always the same pitch black they had always been. The faint yellowed scar across her eye still twinged, even though it had long since healed and sealed her sight there. Even so, she only ever needed one eye for this errand.

Her prey was in sights; a flock of capercallies, wandering around stunned in the dark. They were young ones, probably seperated from their group and lost their way from their nests. They were fairly sized...and four would feed her and Master Yobu for at least a week-

-so she pounced, sinking her fangs into one while her left hand crushed the windpipe of another. With frantic and terrified squawks they began running about. She quickly dropped her first two, one dying quickly from poison, another already dead from a broken neck. She lunged at another pair, grabbing them by their necks and squeezing. As the others fled, they shrieked and flapped in her tightening grasp, and Lamia almost felt sorry they did not die at once...

Then it was all over, and they slumped with a faint, desperate cluck in her claws. The poisoned capercallie twitched slightly, but otherwise could not move. Stringing together the necks of her prey, she heard the faint calls of men. Obviously she'd made more of a racket then she'd anticipated. She'd left a mess of feathers and blood everywhere, but there was no time to clean up. With her booty in one hand she slunk away towards the palace as the men of the town investigated the scene. She could hear their cries of shock and fear...but everyone thought she was a monster anyways. A few dumb birds to add to her record would be nothing new.

She reached the hole in the marble wall at the back of the palace, closest to the kitchen and scullery. Slipping easily through, she observed the approaching vines around the wall with disdain. She'd have to attend to that tomorrow morning, before the hot sun made her work much harder.

After pulling the feathers from the capercallies and properly draining the fouled blood from the poisoned one, Lamia set to dinner, roasting the cloves of meat from the birds with crunchy fried rice and bay leaves. She put this on a tray along with a bowl of fresh cut fruits and cooked vegetables. She added a small pot of tea with a cup to the large tray and slithered to her special elevator, tugging on the rope until she reached the third floor, where her Master Yobu awaited a hot meal from his devoted ward.

Careful not to spill the precious food, she opened the door. Although the thick velour of the curtains was faded,and the rug worn threadbare, the room was quite clean. In a large bed at the corner of the room, and elderly man with long wispy hair and tanned skin that hung off his frail frame like paper read from a book, embroidery on the cover. He and Lamia couldn't have been more different, with Lamia as pale and young, like the rumored snow princesses in the icy caps of the North Blue. He saw Lamia and smiled, causing her to smile in turn.

"Master Yobu," she spoke reverently. He nodded back in equal reverence.

"Dear Lamia. It's good to see one so dutiful to an old man like me..."

As Lamia ate with Master Yobu he spoke slowly, but animatedly about the book he'd been reading.

"I was thinking about you all the way Beaufillie," he spoke cheerfully, "Due to the fact that it's a mythological book on the Naga." Lamia nodded. She'd heard the story from Master Yobu himself many times a little girl.

"They're jungle spirits to begin with, but all of Tarkeena believes they were born right in the belly of the volcano here," he continued, while Lamia listened in rapture, "They were given shrines and temples and worshiped like gods, and ruled over everything."

"I on the other hand dear Master," chuckled Lamia, "Presume to rule over nothing."

"Things may change yet Beaufillie," he spoke softly, "Why someday you may venture to you and your mother's birthplace and discover you're a long lost princess." This made Lamia laugh, a sweet clear sound.

"Don't get my hopes up!"
__________

After dishes, tucking the Master into bed, and finishing the laundry, Lamia went to the bathhouse. The waters poured in from natural springs on the island, hot and steaming, and provided water for most of the island. The most irritable business of hygiene was the tail. Because it was the nature of serpents to shed their skin, it very often peeling and flaked, which left a most annoying mess as she worked. Taking a piece of pumice she had plucked from the mountaintop, she scrubbed at the offending tail vigorously.

It wasn't that she hated it. She knew it would forever be a part of her and was as much a part of her as wings on a bird were. But it could not be forgotten, the blasted tail, among other things, was the reason she'd been abandoned in the first place.

The scales flecked off into the water, creating an appeasing, shimmery look like speckled pepper water. She quickly washed the rest of her down before pulling on a long dark blue shift for bed. But as always, there was one last chore to do.

Crawling back into her elevator, she pulled until she reached the fourth and highest floor, a wide and broad veranda surrounding the domed watch tower where once Master Yobu and his family would collect for breakfast to watch the sun rise once again on Tarkeena. Slithering up to the watchtower window, she looked out for any sign of unrest in the village.

It had not been the first time they'd threatened the palace. Although mostly drunken revelers, they rouse themselves enough to charge headlong into the woods towards the palace. On such occasions, it was Lamia's duty to herd them away from the palace and frighten them off.

As she peered through the window, she spied upon a great galleon, almost half the size of the entire town. The flag was a crisp, pure white, with a great spiralling dragon snarling in the center. The ship might not have been much worry...

But someone was now approaching the palace alone.

The familiar feeling of panic rose in her chest as she tried to calm her speeding heart. She musn't panic. He was only one man and his intentions may not strictly be cruel ones. She however must anticipate they would be.

Hands grasping at the steps she slid down. They had a guest.

She very nearly fell over as he began ascending to the tower...on black flames.

She let out a short cry before fleeing to the curtain. Attempting to hide her long, scaly tail, she fell back in shock.

"Wait! Who are you?!"

Lamia's shoulders were tense and shaking. Science division? She'd hate to think of what they'd do if they'd see such a monster of herself.

"There isn't m-much sheep here," she squeaked, but with haunches raised should he make any suspicious moves, "But there's always game to be had in the jungles..."

She prefferred not to answer the cutthroat question. If not her father, probably spitting curses in her name a few islands away, or the drunks roaming the streets, she would much rather he crew with decent people.

(In case you hadn't noticed, she's still freakin' out. She's super suspicious now, just as a heads up and might go a little wild before she trusts you)

She flinched at his term. Mob?

"There are a few who rouse themselves up enough, when they're drunk." she spoke, still very, very suspicious, "Otherwise no."

He really oughtn't have flared himself up like that. The tone in his voice was making her panic as it is.

"I ca-cannot leave!" she shrilled, sinking back further into the curtain, "I am needed here and I have a duty to fufill as a servant in the house of Tark!" She could resist the slight tone of pride. The House of Tark had long since housed rulers here and she was proud to be a part of it.

(LOL. Burns me up. And you're a flame dude XD)

She yelped as he clamped an arm around her. She'd never, ever ever been so close to a man befor eand was seriously uncomfortable.

"I've chased them off before!" she shrieked, thrashing in his grip, "And if there is no one here to stop them and to care for the house then who will care for Master Yobu?!"