Nillyna had expected a lot of things upon her return home, but hadn't expected this.
 
 
It had not been a simple task to sort through the discarded dragon hoard in search of objects she could enchant that would give Lily a mobile form. As beautiful as they are, gold and precious gemstones are not light materials, so Nillyna had to strain herself to sift through it all. The fact that most of the treasure consisted of scattered piles of gold coins hadn't helped either.
 
 
Nillyna's palms hurt from digging through the solid gold coins, and she also had a massive headache from the constant clattering and tinkling of metal as she shifted through the piles of treasure.
 
 
One would think that the smart thing for such an accomplished sorceress would be to use her magic to aid in the search, but several variables made Nillyna hesitant with such a taxing solution. First of all, it was the dead of night, so Nillyna would only have the reserves in her talisman cane to rely on to fuel her magic, which, sifting through a wide assortment of things composed of such a heavy metal like gold, would deplete its energy quite quickly. Secondly, the hoard was located deep in the bowels of a dark cave, meaning that even waiting around for daytime to fuel her magic with direct sunlight wouldn't greatly reduce the necessary effort, hence why Nillyna saw no reason to forestall till then and had headed out post haste.
 
 
Which meant Nillyna had been digging through coins and other such inconsequential treasure by hand for an extended period of time and was thoroughly exhausted.
 
 
But her efforts had bore fruit, at least. She had found a fair amount of trinkets that were capable of being housing the enchantments both she and Lily desire, all that was left to do was let Lily pick whatever one she liked. As for the rest, since only one was needed, well, they were still treasure, even if Nillyna was already overly wealthy. It was late now, Nillyna was tired, so the most she was going to do upon arriving home was inform Lily of her success then collapse into the first bed she came across in her house, intent on getting started on the task of providing Lily with legs first thing in the morning.
 
 
That is…until she saw Lily's current predicament.
 
 
Nillyna had arrived back at her lofty floating paradise just in time to see that Lily was apparently occupied with something, or someone…or two someones. A long, thrashing tail of a hot pink color was protruding from Lily's plant mouth, another individual, whose form she didn't recognize, strapped to said tail via Lily's vines as well. At first she didn't quite comprehend why, basically because she couldn't understand how these two, despite their current circumstances as her girls' late night snack, had gotten up here to begin with.
 
 
How had they bypassed her barrier?
 
 
But reasons why these people were on her property became irrelevant once she saw the smaller green one bite down on one of Lily's vines. Her girlfriend's call of pain alone was enough to make Nillyna's heart jump, her fatigue all but washed away in concern for her lover, and then what happened next made her blood boil with rage. After the initial bite Lily unsteadily swayed for a second then toppled over onto the ground and lay motionless, the individual that had been held in her mouth toppling free of her plant-mouth’s jaws, revealing that she bore a similar appearance to the one whom had been bound to her tail, what with having a slight resemblance to a weasel, but had no legs like the other, making her (Nillyna assumed it was a her, due to her ample bosom) resemblance more akin to a lamia, rather than an anthro rodent like her companion. With that comparison, Nillyna was also became aware that both seemed to possess somewhat reptilian features, meaning that it was more than likely that they were venomous, which would explain why Lily had buckled after the bite.
 
 
The thought of Lily being affected by some kind of venom made Nillyna all the angrier and, with a swift motion of her talisman cane, made sure both these aggressors never got the chance to escape from the retribution for what they had done.
 
 
They now hovered before her, suspended in her arcane entrapment that prevented them from even moving a muscle, the running rings circling them like divine shackles. Nillyna could see by the expression on their immobilized faces that their current predicament had them terrified right down to the very core of their souls, and that was good. They should be afraid.
 
 
Retribution was going to be swift.
 
 
After striding silently past her captives Nillyna crouched down to check on the status of her lover, and, after discovering that she was still breathing, turned to the two doomed individuals suspended in her magic.
 
 
"I don't know who you two are, or how you got here, but you will pay for hurting my girlfriend!"
 
 
 
 
—
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale could only hover there, suspended in this newcomer's magic as they stared at her with fearful expressions, their eyes actually being the only part of their bodies they still had control over, apart from hearing and breathing, for they had clearly heard their capturers declaration. Said newcomer was drawing ever closer to them, the gleam in her solid black eyes doing anything but assure Sonata and Grayscale that she didn't mean them harm. To make matters worse, her physical appearance didn't help in any regards either.
 
 
Her pure white form was elegant and beautiful, clad in an elegant flowing gown, but carried an air of strength that couldn't be denied. She had four arms, rather than just two, only adding to the ferocity of her appearance. If one were to guess, this strange individual had some insectoid traits to her being, what with her partially compound eyes, antenna, and six limbs to boot.
 
 
But both Sonata and Grayscale knew that this creature, whatever she is, was probably more dangerous than Lily had been.
 
 
 While neither of them had any extravagant skills in the arcane arts themselves, as said before, both had seen enough in their lives to recognize an expert when they saw it. Whomever this was, she was a pro when it comes to magic. Sonata and Grayscale had never even seen the likes of these binding rings before, outside of their fantasy RPGs, but the magical prison they were regrettably ensnared in was obviously the product of proficient magical skill work that no slouch could conjure.
 
 
Lily’s predatory nature and gnashing multiple limbs had been bad enough, now Sonata and Grayscale had to deal with this. And they had no means of retaliation either. They had escaped Lily through chance and Grayscale's quick thinking, but it looks like the variables that played in their favor won't apply now.
 
 
Neither Grayscale or Sonata could even move, and even if they could, how could they possibly escape from the wrath of this powerful sorceress? Fighting physically probably wouldn't do them any good against magic, and Grayscale had depleted his venom biting Lily. They couldn't even try reasoning with their captor, what with being silenced by the magic binding them as well.
 
 
They were powerless and helpless all at once, their heartbeats increasing as this realization merely increased their fears. Especially once the staff that had been dropped earlier suddenly came flying back into one of the four pearl white hands of its owner, summoned by a mere snap of a finger, pulsating with a neon blue light. They knew a magic staff when they saw it, no doubt meant to amplify the user's magic.
 
 
All Sonata and Grayscale could do was watch in horror as what would no doubt be their demise strode towards them, murderous intent flickering in her pupiless eyes.
 
 
—
 
 
Nillyna summoned her talisman cane with a snap of her fingers, grasping the elegant rod of platinum in her upper right hand and lifting it over her head, the eye's of the two immobilized in her magic widening in fear. Good. Nobody hurts Lily and gets away with it, no matter who they are.
 
 
Nillyna pondered how she should pass judgment.
 
 
The last person who had the gall to hurt Lily, Nillyna had punted bodily through a tree, before vaporizing her completely. Perhaps these two should be treated to the same fate? But Nillyna soon disregarded that course of action.
 
 
Shadow may have done horrible things to her and Lily alike, having lured Nillyna to Lily to be devoured, then turning on Lily herself to burn her alive in some twisted self vendetta, but as severely as Lily had been hurt in that incident, her injuries were not life threatening and had been easy enough to treat. These two had introduced some kind of venom into Lily through a bite and Nillyna had no way of knowing what state her love was in now. All she knew was Lily was lying prone on the ground, motionless other than to breathe, and who knows what else the venom could be doing to her internally even now.
 
 
After Nillyna was done here, she would need to divert all her energies into ensuring Lily was okay, and would recover.
 
 
Maybe she should take inspiration from the encounter with Shadow, but rather than repeat her own actions from them she should follow Shadow's example. Lighting these two on fire in enchanted flames that would consume their bodies at an agonizingly slow rate sound like the perfect retribution to Nillyna, and not just that, she also contemplated throwing their burning, still alive forms from her estate to plummet to the ground, exiled from her property like trespassers should be. The more Nillyna thought about it the more she wanted to see all that play out; see all that she had during her time as a mercenary had really hardened her resolve and thinned out her mercy, especially to those who injure and kill without reason.
 
 
Smirking thinly and cruelly, Nillyna channeled the stores in her talisman in preparation for the enchantments needed in order to dispense her own brand of justice to these two…
 
 
“Mmmnnngh…!”
 
 
Until a slight groaning from behind her caught her attention and she twirled around, watching as Lily started to stir, pressing her arms to the ground in an attempt to push herself up.
 
 
"LILY!" Nillyna called out worriedly, at her girlfriend's side in a second, kneeling down and placing a worried hand on her shoulder.
—
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale's terror only increased as the predator Lily began to rouse, pushing herself up with her arms, aided by her supposed girlfriend, who had wrapped two of her arms around her chest and was steadily helping her upright. As said before Snerret venom wasn't potent, and it was apparently wearing off, so now Lily would have full control of her facilities soon, and no doubt be just as eager to devour them as she had been before. Now that outcome seemed all too unavoidable, especially with a powerful sorceress there to make sure they couldn't try anything to escape again.
 
 
Grayscale and Sonata could not resist simultaneously shedding tears of both fear and desperation at how much more hopeless their situation had become now.
 
 
—
 
 
"Lily!" Cried Nillyna frantically again, a look of unrestrained worry on her face as she helped the plant-girl fully upright, not liking the woozy expression on her face. "Sweetheart, are you alright?!"
 
 
Lily groaned again and put a hand to her forehead, shaking her head slightly to try and clear away the lingering drowsiness. But Nillyna's words were able to register to her and she turned to meet her Lepidopteran lover with wide eyes, though one was once concealed by hair.
 
 
"Nillyna?" She inquired curiously in a weak voice, but with a hint of relief as she looked at her girlfriend. "Nillyna, you're back?"
 
 
Nillyna breathed a huge sigh of relief when it appeared that whatever toxins Lily had been exposed to seemed to be wearing off, leaving her seemingly unharmed. She placed a hand to Lily's face and gently drew her in for a relieved kiss. Lily was slightly caught off guard by the sudden instigation of the kiss but soon resigned to the euphoric contact and returned it, wrapping her arms around Nillyna in a tender embrace.
 
 
Grayscale and Sonata had a front row seat to this touching reunion, but didn't have much thought on it, too wrapped up in their own peril to care.
 
 
"Yes, I am back," said Nillyna in response to Lily's inquiry as soon as their lips parted before asking, "Are you okay?"
 
 
Lily shook her head one more time, blinking rapidly for a second, Nillyna noticing that her one visible pupil was dilating and undilating simultaneously. "I…think so. What…happened?"
 
 
Nillyna grew a vengeful scowl and cast a look to the two still bound in her restraint spell. "I believe you were just poisoned.”
 
 
Nillyna's words sparked Lily's memory of the past few minutes, remembering that just as she was about to feast upon two delectable morsels one of them had bitten her and, afterwards, everything became kinda woozy.
 
 
"Damnit! Those two got away, didn't they?" Lily almost shouted, an expression of anger and frustration forming on her face, Nillyna backing up in slight surprise at her girlfriend's outburst. "Damnit all, they looked so scrumptious, and that pink one had the most supple ass! If I ever see that green one again I swear I'll rip his fangs out and shove em up his ass before I devour him!"
 
 
—
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale both flinched inwardly as Lily ranted, the plant-girl having not noticed them yet due to being slightly turned away, Grayscale slightly more than Sonata. He didn't know he could be more fearful than when he was seeing Lily consuming Sonata, but at Lily's declaration of what she intended to do to him he wished with every fiber of his being that he could clench his lips shut in protection of his fangs, as well as use his hands to shield a certain tender area of his being he would appreciate to not be violated.
 
 
—
 
 
"I swear, the first thing I'll do the moment I have legs is track those two down and…" Lily's rage raving was cut off when she was subconsciously drawn to a blue light she had noticed through the corner of her eye, finding her two quarry's suspended in the air by glistening blue runic rings nearby.
 
 
She blinked once in shock and amazement, before a smile of relief, gratitude, and anticipation formed on her lips. She recognized Nillyna's handiwork when she saw it and deduced that Nillyna must have returned home and confronted these two before they could make a break for it. Now here they were, trapped by powerful magic, going nowhere…
 
 
…except maybe into her stomach.
 
 
"Ah, I see you beat me to it, my dear," she said, her smile growing sinister as she rubbed her hands together eagerly, her large plant mouth rearing up behind her menacingly.
 
 
Nillyna saw her girlfriend’s movements and immediately comprehended her intentions. Any idea of retribution against these two were immediately discarded, for, whatever she might be able to come up with, what would be a more fitting punishment for them than to suffer the same fate they had narrowly avoided before. That being eaten alive by a ravenous plant-girl.
 
 
"Indeed," Nillyna explained to Lily with just as much cruelty in her voice as her girlfriend's. "I got back just in time to ensnare them in my magic just as they dared to assault you. I take it…" Nillyna pointed her talisman cane at her two captives, both being drawn closer as if pulled by invisible ropes to be presented before Lily like offerings. "...you would like to finish what you started?"
 
 
"Oh, definitely," said Lily, her plant mouth leaning in and opening its maw, baring its teeth, its leaf shaped tongue lolling out to the side.
 
 
—
 
 
Grayscale and Sonata were no more able to resist being pulled forth than they were anything else, their fearful tears only increasing as they were brought before Lily's overbearing plant mouth. Grayscale flinched when he saw that Sonata became the focus, the plant-girl’s secondary mouth looming over his precious friend, obviously intending to start with her, same as before. Grayscale would almost have preferred to have been consumed first, to be spared the sight of Sonata's lithe form sliding past this creature's cruel throat, if nothing else, but it looked like he was going to be denied even that comfort. He contemplated closing his eyes, to spare himself the horrific sight, but steeled himself in preparation for watching until the end.
 
 
He may not be able to save himself or Sonata but he can at least watch, to show he was there, even if he couldn't convey this barest of inklings of support to her in any way.
 
 
Not that Sonata was aware of Grayscale's determination to be there for her in this smallest of ways anyway. She was too focused on the jaws that were towering over her, the gaping throat within clearly visible in the pale moonlight of the twin moons above. She would have struggled, resisted in any way, but the magic held firm, restricting her movements and rendering her helpless, same as before.
 
 
Sonata's teary eyes bulged as the vibrant green jaws extended its tongue, the large muscle reaching out for her like a fleshy ramp, ready to lead her within to be swallowed whole.
 
 
But rather than guide her into the wide jaws spread before her Sonata's eyes widened in shock and revolution as she felt the tongue land on her body, right on the sensitive skin of her sex. Sonata could only blink rapidly at the contact, her body still held firm by the magic, unable to produce even an involuntary reaction. That was probably the worst part.
 
 
Her body was even denied the responses to being touched in such a way. Her vulva could not wink, her tunnel could not begin opening, her clitoris couldn't even emerge from its hood, it was all still held in place stiffly. All Sonata could do was blink in response, the sensations becoming all the more intolerant once the tongue began to wiggle against her body, lapping up and down her sex lightly.
 
 
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Lily apparently didn't intend to keep her larger tongue there for long, the wide slab of flesh moving away from Sonata's groin to move up her form, passing over her taut stomach and to her perky breasts, lapping her pierced nipples. It was still a jarring sensation, but not as intense as the attack on her sex had been.
 
 
—
 
 
Nillyna watched with Lily's actions unfold with mild satisfaction as her plant mouth assaulted the female of the invaders, but also with a sense of mild relief. It had always slightly bothered her whenever Lily touched another in that way but until now had just accepted it through shear willpower. Now she watched on as Lily violated this lamia knock off with nothing grim satisfaction.
 
 
Maybe it was Nillyna finally fully contemplating that there was no passion in Lily's actions, just some unbridled lust, like with the dragoness. Plus, Lily seemed to genuinely enjoy the taste of those peculiar spots on female prey for purely consumption reasons. After all, that was what Lily's plant mouth was genuinely for, consuming prey.
 
 
And another thing, as much as Nillyna loves Lily and had accepted the fact that the large mouth was part of her, Nillyna was in love with her humanoid body, plain and simple. Whatever Lily did with her plant mouth Nillyna couldn't fully connect its action and Lily's humanoid body together. It was like, subconsciously at least, Nillyna saw their actions as separate scenarios.
 
 
Basically, Lily could do whatever with her plant mouth, even touch another, and Nillyna could accept it without getting jealous anymore. Nillyna might even be inclined to feel pity for the unfortunate female as Lily violated her, if not for the fact that she and her companion were intruder's, having trespassed on her property for any number of reasons, and Nillyna doubted any of them were benign.
 
 
"Mmm, she is so delicious," Lily cooed in pleasure, giving Nillyna an appreciative sideways glance. "I got to say, I really appreciate these occasional unique meals you send me, Nillyna."
 
 
Nillyna just gave her a look of acknowledgement for her gratitude. After all, these two had trespassed on her home, they deserve to…
 
 
"Wait, what?" Inquired Nillyna, turning to Lily fully. "Lily, what do you mean?”
 
 
Lily seemed slightly taken aback by her lover's reaction. "I'm just saying that I'm grateful that you occasionally send me some of the villains you are commissioned to take down. I find them very enjoyable." She looked to the individual she was still lapping, this time full bodily. "She is most especially delicious."
 
 
"Uh, Lily?" Inquired Nillyna in confusion, looking forward at the two part serpent part rodent individual's, one of which Lily's plant mouth was licking. "I didn't send these two to you."
 
 
Lily's look shifted to slightly confusion now too as she looked over at Nillyna again. "You didn't?"
 
 
"No," replied Nillyna, shaking her head.
 
 
Lily's confusion grew, as did Nillyna's as they both looked at the two again. If they hadn't been sent here intentionally for her to devour how had they gotten here?
 
 
"Then…they must have come on their own," contemplated Lily out loud, her plant mouth still licking one of them sloppily. "They must have come up here looking for something to steal from you, or," she leaned in closer to Nillyna and whispered in her ear. "Maybe they're after my fruit."
 
 
"That was my initial thought too," said Nillyna, rubbing her temple with the orb of her cane. "But you thought I brought them here for you to eat, Lily?" Lily replied with a nod. "So you didn't notice anything force itself passed the barrier?"
 
 
"No. Umm, would I have?" Asked Lily.
 
 
"Yes, most certainly," confirmed Nillyna, looking up at the night sky and towards the invisible protection around her home. "As I explained before, any magic that would break that barrier would have to be astronomically powerful, and it wouldn't be a subtle affair either." She looked at Lily again. "From your perspective, Lily, if something actually forced its way through the barrier it would result in such a racket it would seem like the sky itself was falling. I assumed you had experienced such when these two arrived before I got here, but you didn't, did you?"
 
 
Lily was perplexed by the description of how it would appear if Nillyna's barrier was penetrated and shook her head no.
 
 
"Well, if they didn't force their way in, and I didn't send them here, how did they get here?" Asked Nillyna mostly to herself.
 
 
Lily racked her own brain too, not sparing the two ahead of any mind at the moment. They were secured tightly, both her and Nillyna could contemplate how they came to be here without any worry of retaliation while they were distracted. "Is there any more subtle way for magic to be used to bypass the barrier?"
 
 
"Not that I am aware. And besides," Nillyna moved closer to her captives, shooting Lily an annoyed look when she found she was still licking one of them with her plant-mouth’s tongue. Lily sighed in frustration and withdrew her plant mouth, leaving Nillyna free to examine the pink female. "Thanks. As I was saying, now that I am really examining these two, I don't sense any magical ability in them at all."
 
 
"Huh, really?" Asked Lily curiously.
 
 
Nillyna replied with a nod before looking at the immobilized two again. "I sense a little bit of magic from them both, but it's unrefined and untapped. I don't think these two had ever so much as picked up a spell book, let alone even cast a single spell once in their lives."
 
 
"But…that cannot be," inquired Lily, extending forward on her stem below her waist to come up beside Nillyna, looking over the two mysterious individual's with more clarity now, looking into their terrified expressions. "They have to know magic, they had a talisman."
 
 
"A talisman?" Inquired Nillyna with interest. "Where?"
 
 
Lily pointed to where she had thrown the little rectangular object she had snatched from these two earlier, still lying in the clearing, its smooth red surface gleaming in the moonlight. Nillyna approached the object and bent down to examine it, her brow furrowing at its peculiar shape. She scooped it up into her lower left hand after a second and stood up, holding it before her and carefully looking it over with her keen eyes.
 
 
Only one side was that gleaming red material, the composition of Nillyna wasn't entirely sure of, with three slightly raised points that housed what appeared to be flat, black gems. The other side was composed of what Nillyna recognized as glass, smooth to the touch, and, surprisingly, pitch black. Nillyna ran a finger over the smooth surface to confirm it was indeed glass when it suddenly lit up and actually displayed a picture.
 
 
But it was unlikely anything Nillyna had ever seen.
 
 
It depicted a mass gathering of robed anthro people, which, in of itself, wasn't anything unusual, the Anthropomorphic people of Aquasa were varied, but what was unusual was the way they were portrayed. They appeared short in stature, in a way even describing them as children would be inadequate, and it also gave the image an almost creepy vibe. Made worse by the fact that everything was done up in varying shades of gray, the only color being the character displayed in the center of the image.
 
 
What appeared to be an anthro sheep stood in the center of a crimson pillar, jutting into the sky, the sheep's eyes glowing just as red, donned in an equally red robe. The pillar itself seemed to be projected by, of all things, a pentagram. Nillyna actually gulped at seeing the symbol. Pentagrams were often used in the darkest of magic, a branch Nillyna herself rarely delved in unless there was no other recourse.
 
 
What did this disturbing image represent?
 
 
But apart from the spine tingling image of an anthro sheep with her robed minions, there was something else upon the surface of this bizarre item that drew Nillyna's attention.
 
 
It was displaying words.
 
 
“Fingerprint not recognized”
 
 
Nillyna paused as she read the words. She was not unfamiliar with the word fingerprint and was grasping at the notion that this oddity was actually telling her it didn't recognize hers. Though, strictly speaking, that was understandable. As a Lepidopteran, Nillyna's fingers ended in chitinous tips, and, therefore, she lacked the swirling patterns some races had etched in their skin since birth. But Nillyna had never heard of anything that could recognize fingerprints before, let alone any talisman's capable of such.
 
 
And that meant one thing was certain.
 
 
"Lily," she said in a perplexed tone. "This isn't a talisman."
 
 
"What?!" Asked Lily in a flabbergasted voice. "It has to be a talisman! It was shining a really bright light and all sorts of other things!"
 
 
"I don't know what it is, Lily, but I guarantee you it's not a talisman," insisted Nillyna as she continued to examine the little object. "It's not made of the right material, for starters. Whatever it's made of would instantly buckle under the strain of any magic stored within it and fracture."
 
 
Nillyna flipped the object around and shook it to get a better feel of its weight and composition, determining that it would indeed be inadequate for storing magic. As she did so a bright light issued forth from what appeared to be a small white gem set in the back. Both Nillyna and Lily shielded their eyes at the blinding light before Nillyna shook the object again. As she suspected, the object went dark in her hands once more.
 
 
"Well, if it's not a talisman, how is it doing that?" Asked Lily, lowering her hands.
 
 
Nillyna didn't know so instead decided to channel a sensory spell into the object to see if she could get any information on how it worked. What she received shocked her. The little thing was more complex in its interior than anything Nillyna had ever encountered. She didn't understand most of it, but she could sense a fair amount of electrical energy pulsing through everything, being delivered on lines of certain material that seems specifically crafted to channel electricity, harnessing it, controlling it, powering the little object and all its functions.
 
 
Nillyna was flummoxed.
 
 
She had lived her life harnessing magic to do her bidding, performing extraordinary feats that most, even on Aquasa, would deem impossible. Yet, this little curiosity, whatever it is, was accomplishing extravagant things all on its own, with the aid of only electricity, no magic involved. True, she had thus far only seen a single protected sentence, a disturbing luminous image, and an exceedingly bright light, but all of those things Nillyna had only ever seen accomplished through magic before.
 
 
And this thing held no magic.
 
 
She looked over at her two bound captives again, finally registering their appearance. They seemed like…almost a mishmash of two different species. If that was the case Nillyna had a good assumption of what was going on.
 
 
"Lily," she said in a voice that was both nervous, eager, and suspicious, striding past her girlfriend and up to the hovering duo. "I think I might know what's going on here and who these two are and what they might be doing here."
 
 
"Huh?" Inquired Lily, not liking Nillyna's slightly overwhelmed tone. "What do you mean?"
 
 
"Lily," Nillyna started, turning to her girlfriend and presenting the mysterious item to her. "Not only have I never seen anything like this before, I have never seen the likes of these two before either."
 
 
"Never seen anything like them?" Lily repeated Nillyna's words, looking forward to the two again. She was well aware that Nillyna had traveled every corner of Pangaea so for her to say she had never come across people like these two was a fact that wasn't easily dismissed as simple ignorance.
 
 
 "Never in all my years of travel and study have I ever seen anything that resembles these two before," explained Nillyna, confirming Lily's earlier assumption, while Nillyna also looked ahead and examined the two suspended in her magic again. "Whatever they are, there's no documentation of their species on Aquasa."
 
 
Lily's confusion only grew at that statement, looking at her girlfriend with a look of bafflement. She herself had to admit she wasn't fully knowledgeable about the people that call Aquasa home, but she often contributed that to the fact that she was rooted in place with no means to explore her surroundings and any way to discern more about the world. It never bothered her too much in the past but attitude towards her stationary nature had changed recently, Lily developing a desire to explore. But, back to the matter at hand, Nillyna was saying that she had never seen the likes of these two before, in any of her long travels.
 
 
How does that play out, and what does it even mean really? Lily couldn't fully grasp what Nillyna was implying, everything was from Aquasa. Aquasa is the world in general, how can someone not be from it.
 
 
But before she could contemplate what Nillyna had said, she did something totally unexpected. Her talisman cane flashed, the arcane rings binding the two unknown individuals vanishing in a shower of glittering luminous flecks, resulting in both of them immediately plopping to the ground.
 
 
"Nillyna, what are you doing?!" Lily protested as Nillyna released the restraints on her meal, both lying still on ground for a second before scrambling towards each other and holding each other close.
 
 
—
 
 
 A few moments earlier Sonata was relieved when that horrible slimy tongue withdrew from licking her, but her and Grayscale were still in the same predicament that had been when this white individual showed up, restrained in magic, about to be fed to this plant thing. But, as luck would have it, the insectoid girl apparently deduced something from what her botany partner had said off handily and had intercepted their ingestion, at least momentarily. They also noticed her uncertainty seemed to increase once she stumbled upon Sonata's cell phone and examined it.
 
 
Could she possibly deduce what they were? That they weren't actually from this world? And would that help them any? Would realizing that Sonata and Grayscale were practically space aliens spare them from being ingested? Doubtful, but it was their only hope.
 
 
Then, much to the obvious disapproval of the plant-girl, whom they both remember introduced herself as Lily briefly, the magic rings binding Sonata and Grayscale in the air vanished and they found themselves falling to the ground in crumpled heaps. It took a second for them to regain any semblance of composure, although all they managed to do was scramble towards each other and draw themselves into a frightened embrace once they had.
 
 
It was more than obvious to both Sonata and Grayscale fleeing would be pointless. This magic user was far too powerful for them to even remotely put a significant distance between them before she used her magic to either bind them again or outright destroy them for defiance. And Lily was also a potential risk again, now that Grayscale's venom had worn off, meaning that even if her spell weaver companion didn't restrain them again if they fled it was unlikely that they could avoid her almost infinite vines spread all throughout the clearing.
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale could only hope to talk their way out of this, and hope they could garner some mercy.
 
 
"Please…" moaned Grayscale as he looked up with a desperate expression, cradling Sonata's trembling frame against his, her head to his chest. "Please don't hurt us!"
 
 
—
 
 
"That all depends on what you have to say," answered Nillyna in an authoritative tone at the smaller green individual’s plea for mercy. "I have questions, and you're going to answer them truthfully. And if I catch even a hint of deception there will be consequences, you got it?"
 
 
They both nodded, the female looking up from the male's chest to look up at Nillyna fearful.
 
 
"Good," said Nillyna, stamping her cane into the ground, causing another round of flinching. "First, I want names. Who are you both?"
 
 
The female gulped, trying to moisten her throat before she responded. "M…my name is Sonata."
 
 
"And…I'm Grayscale…but …most people call me Gray," answered the male, though Nillyna didn't understand why he was inclined to further explain he had a nickname.
 
 
"Grayscale and Sonata," repeated Nillyna, glad to have gotten through the first step of her interrogation, and, deciding it would be best if they had a title to address her by, as well as feeling that it would be rather rude not to introduce herself in turn, "I am Nillyna, the owner of the estate that you have so rudely invaded."
 
 
Grayscale and Sonata could only cringe further at the introduction, realizing that now this property belongs to this powerful sorceress, and she no doubt saw them as intruders. Not that they had intentionally come here, but how do they convince her of that?
 
 
"Next," continued Nillyna, narrowing her eyes, projecting the message that she expected the upcoming questions to be met with the same amount of truth. "What are you both?"
 
 
"We're Snerrets," replied Sonata, pressing herself deeper into Grayscale's form; he responded by putting a hand to the back of her neck. "Me and Gray are known as Snerrets."
 
 
They didn't like the competent smirk Nillyna had on her lips. "I thought so. Now tell me, who created you, and why did they send you here?"
 
 
Lily's clearing became eerily still after the final word of Nillyna's question left her mouth. Sonata and Grayscale were looking up at Nillyna, not in fear, as they had since she released them from her magic, but with looks of pure outrage, their mouths hung open as if they were unable to believe what Nillyna just said. Though not that it mattered to Nillyna.
 
 
She was more focused on the fact that there was a distinct lack of answers forthcoming.
 
 
"Well?" Inquired Nillyna impatiently. "I'm waiting."
 
 
As she said this though Lily couldn't help but indulge in her own lack of comprehension of the situation and asked a question of her own. "What do you mean 'created', Nillyna?"
 
 
Nillyna, temporarily forgetting her frustration that these two weren't being swift to deliver answers, replied to her girlfriend's question, though kept her sights on the two “snerrets” before her, not about to give them a chance to get the drop on her. "As I have never seen their kind, I have also never heard of a “Snerret” either,. Therefore, I deduce that these two are the product of Amalgamation magic."
 
 
"Amalgamation magic?" Inquired Lily, feeling the words roll off her tongue uncomfortably.
 
 
Nillyna nodded in confirmation. "It's a branch of magic that revolves around combining two or more objects into something singular, and its use is only limited by the imagination of the one using it. With it someone could create objects…" she eyed Sonata and Grayscale suspiciously. "...or creatures, hybrids, as they are known, with any number of unique traits and capabilities. Capabilities like, say, sneaking past a powerful forcefield undetected through unprecedented means. I suspect these two are the results of someone using such magic, designed and built with the necessary elements to slip through my magical defenses, either to simply spy on us or infiltrate.
 
 
"Even the name suggests so. Snerret sounds like “snake” and “ferret” combined. Probably derived from the organic creatures used as material to create these two hybrids." She gave Sonata and Grayscale a slight look of confusion briefly, fully taking note of their diverse appearances. "Though I don't know why anyone would bother making them with differing genders. To date, no Amalgamation formed life has ever been capable of procreating, not to mention just making them both the same would have been less taxing. To get two with different genders, like them, you would have to first make one then step back right to square one and begin with the other."
 
 
Lily, despite her feral background, was capable of comprehending what Nillyna was implying. She theorized that these unknown creatures, these Snerrets, were some kind of creation capable of penetrating the barrier surrounding Nillyna's estate without forcing their way through. If that was the case then they were more dangerous than her and Nillyna initially realized. It meant that their primary means of keeping invaders at bay was now useless.
 
 
Nillyna was thinking the same thing, especially when she remembers what she had seen projected on the little object Lily had found on these two. She may not know what it was in general, but she was beginning to suspect maybe it was some form of instructions. Hell, it might be the product of Amalgamation as well, created to function without magic so as to avoid alerting Nillyna to its presence. Get enough peculiar items together and meld them into one and there's no telling what could be the result. Maybe these two had been sent here to set up what was displayed in the picture, maybe the formula for some kind of arcane ritual.
 
 
If that was the case Nillyna didn't know the purpose of such a ritual was, for she had never seen its kind before, but it couldn't be good, especially if a pentagram was involved.
 
 
And if someone was targeting her through such methods, and, through association, Lily, Nillyna needed to deal with them quickly and without remorse. All she needed to do was coax the identity of the creator of these two from them and then she can…
 
 
"Hey, I resent that!" Snapped Sonata suddenly, standing upright, revealing that, propped on a good portion of her tail, she stood at least a head taller than Nillyna, who still stood barely five feet from them.
 
 
"We both resent that!" Snarled Grayscale, also standing up, but he was a good few inches shorter than Nillyna, his stance revealing that he might just be tall enough for the top fringe of his deep orange hair might be able to tickle her chin.
 
 
Nillyna was briefly taken aback by their sudden bluntness, while, moment's before, they quaked in fear at her mere gaze. She was about to retaliate, lifting her talisman in preparation to defend herself and Lily, who was also slightly surprised at the sudden bold move from both of them, but neither Snerret moved to attack. Instead they just stood there with sour frowns on both of their faces, Grayscale crossing his arms indignantly while Sonata responded similarly by putting her hands on her hips.
 
 
"We'll have you know, assholes, that we Snerrets are not some cobbled together hybrids," huffed Sonata, flicking her tongue in irritation.
 
 
"Hell yeah," agreed Grayscale, also flickering his tongue, his rattle shaking madly in his irritation. "We are our own unique species, and we're definitely not some… Frankenstein monster knock off built to invade wherever the hell you live! That’s just… presumptuous!”
 
 
"You said it Gray," agreed Sonata. "I really hate it when someone who first encountering a Snerret instantly jumps to the assumption that a ferret fucked a snake. I mean it happens, but it doesn’t result in something like us!” It was true: back home, anthros could mate with any other species, though hybrids tended to resemble one of their parents far more with perhaps one or two superficial traits from the other: a snake and ferret couple, for instance, would not give birth to a snerret, but perhaps a snake with the ferret’s eyes and hair, or a ferret with the snake’s coloration or at most, a cobra’s hood.
 
 
As the two raved, Nillyna and Lily exchanged uneasy glances. Not long ago these two were at their mercy, still were as a matter of fact, for Nillyna still believed she was more than a match for these two, same with Lily, not to mention they were on the verge of being devoured by Lily before hand, but now, after Nillyna's remark about her suspected origin of these two they were acting all defensive. The topic of being a byproduct or something was obviously a really sour subject for these two. And, if that was indeed the case, did that make Nillyna's theory unlikely?
 
 
Sure, they could deny it when accused, especially if they were involved with espionage, but to do so so passionately and in perfect sync with each other gave Nillyna the impression that this wasn't the first time this had happened for these two, at least with being accused of being not a legitimate species. But if that was the case it, and being accused of being hybrids happened more than once, which would be unlikely if these two were created solely for the purpose of infiltrating her home, especially considering such would have happened rather recently, does that mean Snerrets were indeed a species of their own? If so, why hadn’t Nillyna come across any before now?
 
 
She had done business with every race known to Aquasa, and she would know. She deliberately sought all sentient types of life on Aquasa in her youth to better grasp how to modify her services to profit from each race. After all, her commission status was known far and wide for a reason.
 
 
"Alright," exclaimed Nillyna to the two annoyed Snerrets, who, despite knowing they were still in the presence of a powerful sorceress, and a carnivorous plant monster, hadn't dropped their respective poses of aggravation and insult. "If you both aren't the product of Amalgamation magic then why have I never seen or heard of your kind before? I have travel far and wide across Aquasa and never even heard rumors of your kind."
 
 
'Aquasa, was that the name of this place?' Sonata and Grayscale thought at the same time while exchanging worried glances before turning back to Nillyna, worried about how to explain their current situation.
 
 
"Um… would you believe that we are space aliens from another world?" Asked Grayscale, deciding to just take a shot in the dark.
 
 
Silence hung over the clearing for a moment.
 
 
"What are they talking about?" Asked Lily. She may not be as instinct driven as her background might suggest but the most recent words of these two Snerrets’ explanations had finally pushed past her limits and left her flummoxed. "What are “aliens”? Sounds like some kind of flower."
 
 
Nillyna, on the other hand, wasn't entirely caught off guard, for the words did mean something to her. The source of all magic on Aquasa was the cyan rays of the sun it orbited, so naturally extensive study had been done on the sun since practically the beginning of Aquasa's arcane arts, and through these studies Aquasain scholars had long ago discovered the variables that govern the universe, about the nature of stars, nebulae, black holes, and planets, and how Aquasa was nowhere near the only one. Word of these variables had been common knowledge for generations…
 
 
…and so, therefore, it was a widely accepted concept that life could exist out there in the universe apart from here.
 
 
Not that Nillyna herself ever held the notion in very high regards. To her, if life exists out there in the stars, as long as it didn't affect her or her arcane pursuits, she didn't care. Not to say she believed what the Snerrets were implying.
 
 
Despite the wide acceptance of the notion of life on other planets there was no hard evidence to prove its existence. True, every now and then there would be reports of people seeing things that seemed "otherworldly" but on a world like Aquasa, six fantastical things could happen before breakfast, without involving otherworldly beings. In fact, the most popular notion of space aliens was mostly reserved for fictional books, unrealistic novels written by overly imaginative individuals meant to entertain.
 
 
So to just outright take the word of these two that they claimed to be space aliens was far from what Nillyna intended.
 
 
"You seriously expect me to believe you two are space aliens?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow.
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale exchanged nervous glances again, their unease returning slightly, though thankfully they could keep it reigned in enough to maintain control of their facilities and not have a mental breakdown. They both knew how farfetched it all sounded, especially if they imagined how they would react if the roles were reversed.
 
 
"It's the only explanation we got," implied Sonata, slight desperation in her voice. "You said it yourself, you've never seen a Snerret before."
 
 
"Yes, but I am far from convinced yet that you two aren't Amalgamations," rebutted Nillyna sharply. "For all I know, you both concocted this ridiculous space alien farce to try and divert me from learning the truth. Though, I have to admit, if that's the best cover story you could come up with, you both are sorely lacking in imagination when you were created."
 
 
"Of all the…!" Grumbled Grayscale with a look that was borderline pissed. "First you insult us by accusing us of being cobbled together snake-rat hybrids, but now you're saying we're stupid too?" He reached down and picking up the sharpened stick he had dropped earlier, brandishing it like a spear. "Lady, you're cruisin’ for a serious bitch slap."
 
 
Nillyna wasn't provoked by the jibe remarks from Grayscale. She had heard worse throughout her life, and wasn't nearly about to be intimidated by this furry reptile, who's only response was to, apparently, flash around a random stick more suited to act as kindling than function as any form of weapon. Though Nillyna felt it would be best to remind these two of their position and that pathetic rod of wood…
 
 
Nillyna blinked and the stick in Grayscale's hand burst into flickering yellow fire, Greyscale responded by letting out a high-pitched yelp as he threw the stick to the ground, which promptly shattered into hot splinters before settling into dying red embers on the ground.
 
 
"GRAY!" Called Sonata worriedly, quickly sliding over to his side. "Gray, are you alright?"
 
 
"I’m fine, I’m fine," he replied, examining his hand to find it unblemished by the flames thankfully, having not noticed that Nillyna had deliberately left the section of the stick he had gripped unaffected by her fire in order to give him time to drop it.
 
 
"Was that necessary?" Asked Sonata indignantly, crossing her arms in irritation as she looked back at Nillyna.
 
 
"I felt it necessary to remind you two of your place here," scowled Nillyna, tapping her cane. "You are on my property for reasons I do not yet know, and I fully intend to find the truth one way or another. And make no mistake, I do not make idle threats."
 
 
Grayscale and Sonata both agreed that Nillyna wasn't bluffing, and would end them without mercy. But what else could they do? They had already told Nillyna who and what they were yet she didn't seem open to the explanation.
 
 
"We're telling you the truth," insisted Sonata, a hint of desperation in her voice again. "Me and Grayscale here, we are not from your world."
 
 
Nillyna's aggravation was becoming unbearable at this point, several veins popping into view on her face as her scowl deepened. Why were these two clinging to such a stupid and unrealistic explanation for their presence here? Anything else she would believe, mostly, but to actually accept these two were from another world? Never.
 
 
But before she could decide whether or not to be more forceful, Lily, who had remained silent for some time, voiced her own incomprehension.
 
 
"I don't understand?" She asked, scratching her head. "What exactly is going on here?"
 
 
Nillyna paused. It never occurred to her if her girlfriend knew the fundamentals of reality to such a degree of what was being discussed and was now unsure of how to approach the subject. Was it even worth it to try and explain what Sonata and Grayscale were implying if Lily didn't even realize what lay beyond the sky? Still, she was involved with this, and not only that, these two had hurt her.
 
 
A little simple explanation couldn't hurt, Nillyna assumed. "They're claiming they came from the stars, Lily."
 
 
"The stars?" Repeated Lily, looking up at the expanse of twinkling lights above. "You mean, from another planet?"
 
 
Nillyna stared at Lily, dumbfounded.
 
 
"What?" The plant-girl inquired upon noticing her lover's shocked look.
 
 
"Um…?" Nillyna still had a look of incomprehension on her face. "You know about things like planets and such, Lily?"
 
 
Lily crossed her arms and gave Nillyna a look of deep consternation. "You seem to have a very low opinion of my intelligence, Nillyna."
 
 
"Sorry, sorry," Nillyna briefly apologized, realizing she was projecting a rather poor image of what she thought of Lily's intelligence, as she said. "It's just…" she looked at Lily's plant body, "Given your nature, I sometimes am unclear on how extensive your knowledge can be."
 
 
Lily seemed to understand what Nillyna was implying, looking down at her rooted body. It would stand to reason that, given this fact, Lily would give the impression that she would not be knowledgeable about anything other than what was around her. Sometimes, in fact, Lily would wonder how she knew so much about the world, what with having lived stationary in a forest for the entirety of her existence, at least until Nillyna replanted her here.
 
 
After all, Lily couldn't exactly go to school like this, to know what school is being another conundrum actually. But, the nature of one's existence aside, Lily realized that they had drifted off topic a little, bringing her attention to the two Snerrets who, for some reason, hadn't capitalized on their distraction to flee.
 
 
"So this term "space alien" is in reference to someone supposedly from another planet?" She asked.
 
 
Nillyna, partly glad to be off the topic of Lily's intelligence, partly realizing they had gotten off topic herself, also looked at Sonata and Grayscale. "Generally," was Nillyna's reply.
 
 
"Hmm," Lily stroked her chin in contemplation. "I would occasionally wonder what might be out there amongst the stars, but was unaware there is a general reference for it. But that's preposterous. There's no way something so ludicrous could be true."
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale exchanged nervous glances again for who knows how many times that night. Nillyna didn't seem to be open to the truth of their extraterrestrial nature, and, honestly, how could they blame her? Even back home such stories of abduction and encounters were either outright dismissed as hogwash or greatly frowned upon as hokey fabrications thought up to get publicity or some other form of attention seeking.
 
 
But what other explanation could they give?
 
 
Nillyna's own conclusion was that they were some kind of experiment meant to infiltrate her home, and if they didn't convince her otherwise Sonata and Grayscale were sure they would meet very unfavorable outcomes, either from the receiving end of Nillyna's magic or, worse still, and more likely, in the stomach of Lily. Their only solution at this point was proof of some kind, but both were stark naked as newborns, and, since their appearance wasn't enough evidence to prove their claims true to Nillyna and Lily, what else could prove where they came from?
 
 
Unless…
 
 
"Would you believe us if we prove it?" Asked Sonata desperately.
 
 
Doubt and disbelief became present on Nillyna and Lily's expressions again.
 
 
"I suppose I'm expected to believe that you are going to show me your spacecraft now?" Commented Nillyna with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, while Lily looked puzzled at more unknown references, namely what a spacecraft is.
 
 
Though it was inconceivable that societies like those on Aquasa would even have a notion of what a spacecraft is, but considering that airships are a real thing, it would be no small stretch of the imagination for someone to concoct a fictional version of the flying vehicles capable of traveling the stars at some point in Aquasa's history, though maybe based on arcane function than anything else. Sonata and Grayscale were also taken aback by Nillyna's slightly sarcastic statement, having suspected this strange multiple-limbed woman would even know what a spacecraft is either. It would actually be the perfect example of their origin, if such were the case, but alas, being fairied in a spaceship wasn't the method that brought Greyscale and Sonata here.
 
 
"That's…not actually how we arrived to your world," Sonata nervously admitted, feeling it would be better to just admit that there was no spaceship to display right off the bat.
 
 
Nillyna grew another competent look. "Then I fail to see how you two intend to prove your supposed otherworldly origins, as you claim is the case."
 
 
"I hate to admit it, but the bug lady has a point," Grayscale admitted reluctantly. "How do we prove to them that we are what we say we are?"
 
 
"I have an idea, Gray," Said Sonata, wiping the nervous sweat from her brow. "My phone. That should be more than enough."
 
 
Grayscale's eyes widened in comprehension as he looked at the little device Nillyna still held in her hands. It was obvious that Nillyna didn't know what it was, for both he and Sonata had both noticed that she portrayed nothing but incomprehension and apprehension when she first stumbled upon it, with her current assumption was that it was some type of arcane instructions after she saw Sonata's Cult of the Lamb wallpaper. If they could demonstrate more of its functions, they might just be able to convince Nillyna and Lily of the truth.
 
 
Exchanging an understanding nod, both Sonata and Grayscale turned back to Nillyna and Lily, Sonata inclining her head to her phone in Nillyna's hands.
 
 
"That device you hold, it's called a cellphone." Sonata began, Nillyna drawing her attention to the rectangular object in her hands. "Like us, it doesn't originate from this world, but from where me and Grayscale come from. It's got functions built into it that most likely have no equivalence in your world. If you allow me, I can show you."
 
 
Nillyna looked at the supposed cellphone with a pondering look. The thing held no magic and, as far she can tell, all it could do was project that foreboding image. Yet, Nillyna was still doubtful that it wasn't dangerous. After all, it had also displayed the need for a recognized fingerprint. Maybe that's what activates the ritual depicted in the image?
 
 
"I don't think so," said Nillyna defiantly, Sonata and Grayscale growing ever more hopeless at her words. "This 'cellphone' displayed a message saying it didn't recognize my fingerprint. I can only assume it needs one of yours to set off this ritual."
 
 
"Ritual?!" Sonata and Grayscale exclaimed at the same time in confusion.
 
 
"What ritual?" Asked Sonata with a look of incomprehension on her face, and Grayscale wore an identical look.
 
 
"The one displayed in the image," exclaimed Nillyna, thrusting the cellphone forward and revealing the image on the screen. "Anything utilizing a pentagram surely has wicked functions, and whatever they are, I intend to make sure you don't get the chance to activate it.”
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale blinked at the Cult of the Lamb wallpaper displayed in Sonata's phone, finally understanding Nillyna's misconceptions.
 
 
"You…think my wallpaper is some kind of instructions for some kind of spell?" Asked Sonata.
 
 
"Wallpaper? Is that what you call it?" Inquired Nillyna, her mind forming more theories. "So what is its function? Does it make walls as thin as paper or something? Ha, perhaps that’s your true intention, to weaken the structure of the walls of my house, so that you may break in and plunder my wealth."
 
 
Though if that was the case it was kind of overkill for a pentagram to be used for such rudimentary magic. Even a novice spellcasters could cast such a spell.
 
 
"Woah, woah! Let's just take a step back there lady," said Grayscale, waving his hands in front of him in a passive manner. "Wallpapers are just images used to decorate the background of the screen there! It’s just ornamental, like actual wallpaper! It’s from, uh…” He stumbled on his words, intending to describe the game but stopped himself once he remembered the possibly light-years-long cultural gap between them, and quickly simplified. “...It’s from a fictional story.”
 
 
Sonata nodded before turning her attention back to Nillyna. "Yeah, that image isn't some kind of arcane ritual. Both me and Grayscale actually really suck at magic. All it is is an expressive picture." Sonata held out her hand, a desperate plea in her voice. "So may I please have it back and prove ourselves? I promise we mean no harm."
 
 
But Nillyna's expression displayed no indication that she was about to give them the benefit of the doubt, in fact her stance only tightened further. Grayscale, for his part, began contemplating that maybe they were acting too desperate to get Sonata's phone back from Nillyna, possibly giving off the impression that it might be utilized as a weapon of some kind, especially given Nillyna's assumption of Sonata's “wallpaper”. They needed a way to assure Nillyna that they meant no harm, at least enough to where she might relinquish Sonata's cellphone and they can deliver their proof, and Grayscale just thought of a way they can pull that off.
 
 
"I think I might have a suggestion," said Grayscale, Nillyna and Lily looking towards him, along with Sonata.
 
 
But rather than a verbal suggestion like they were anticipating Grayscale instead slowly walked towards Lily.
 
 
"Hey, stay where you are!" Nillyna hissed aggressively, pointing her talisman cane at Grayscale.
 
 
"Hey hey, I’m unarmed!" Exclaimed Grayscale, lifting his hands in a submissive manner while continuing to approach Lily. "I just need your girlfriend's assistance with what I have in mind."
 
 
Lily grew a surprised look as Grayscale soon stood before her, wondering what he might do.
 
 
"Ma'am," he said politely. "Would you mind bringing your larger mouth over here, please?"
 
 
Lily grew more confused as she looked up to Nillyna for guidance, wondering if she should comply. Nillyna, for her part, couldn't fathom what this Grayscale might be thinking, but, up till now, he had stayed true to his word and not attacked Lily when he reached her body, simply kept his hands in the air. Nillyna didn't sense any hostile intent, mystical or otherwise, and, from what she had seen, his only effective tactic had been to bite with that less than potent venom.
 
 
So, still keeping an eye out for treachery, Nillyna nodded towards Lily.
 
 
Lily could only nod back, bringing her plant mouth forward and before Grayscale, who smiled at the compliance.
 
 
"Thank you," he said, approaching the massive jaws. "Now, can you open your mouth, please?"
 
 
Lily balked, looking up at Nillyna again.
 
 
Nillyna didn't know what Grayscale was intending, but gave Lily the confirmation to comply again and, somewhat curious as to why, began to open her mouth, the giant plant jaws parting to reveal its slimy interior.
 
 
"Thanks," he said before, much to everyone's surprise, clasped onto her jaws, hoisted himself up, and slid his lower body into Lily's maw, laying himself out on her tongue. If that wasn't enough, he then reached up and grabbed Lily's upper jaw and gently closed it over himself like a blanket, leaving only his head and shoulders protruding from the massive lips.
 
 
Lily was probably the most surprised than anyone else at this turn of events. Her sexual escapades with Nillyna not withstand, this was the first anyone had ever willingly entered her jaws of their own volition.
 
 
It was Sonata who spoke up first as soon as Grayscale was firmly held in Lily's jaws. "Gray?!" She exclaimed frantically and worriedly. "What the hell are you doing?"
 
 
Nillyna flinched slightly at the loud voice calling out in such close proximity to her but had to agree with the speaker. "I agree with your companion," she said, crossing her arms. "What do you plan to accomplish by doing this?"
 
 
"Isn't it obvious," stated Grayscale, tilting his head back to look directly at Nillyna and Sonata, though upside down from his current position. "I'm offering myself up as leverage."
 
 
Nillyna and Sonata grew identical looks of confusion, though, again, Sonata spoke first. "Gray, why? Why are you doing this?"
 
 
"Because the resident overpowered sorceress over there doesn't seem to be open to the possibility that we don't mean harm," explained Grayscale before directing his attention back to Nillyna. "We can assure you all day that there is nothing harmful about Sonata's phone, but since you seem so convinced to the contrary, how about this: You let Sonata have her phone long enough to access the the information that will prove what we are, all the while you can rest assured that, as long as I am in this compromising position, Sonata will make no attempt to inflict harm by whatever offensive capabilities you have concocted the phone might have. After all, you could have your girlfriend threaten to swallow me the moment you think she's about to attack."
 
 
Sonata, for her part, was not liking this solution. Sure, she could see the logistics of it, but the fact that Grayscale, her best friend in the whole world, and, given the circumstances, the whole universe, was deliberately offering himself as a hostage wasn't something she could readily take, especially considering that Nillyna had been nothing but suspicious of their every action from the start. What if the next time she so much as blinked Nillyna gave Lily the go-ahead?
 
 
There had to be another way…
 
 
"Very well."
 
 
The sudden words from Nillyna were so unexpected that Sonata took a second to register them, the female Snerret turning to the Lepidopteran with a baffled look. "Huh?"
 
 
Nillyna gave her a sidelong look. "I have my doubts about every aspect I have learned about the two of you thus far." She turned to regard Sonata with her full attention. "Except for one." She turned to look at Grayscale again as he protruded from Lily's plant mouth.
 
 
"And that is the bond I witnessed between the two of you." Nillyna turned her attention to Sonata again, "when I released the two of you from my magic neither of you tried to capitalize and attempt to flee. Instead you went to one another's side. That tells me that, regardless of what your origins might be, you two truly care for one another."
 
 
Sonata gulped nervously, regarding Grayscale again with a grateful smile. "Of course I care, Gray's my best friend."
 
 
"Ditto," said Grayscale with an upside down, supportive smile.
 
 
For the first time since her arrival Nillyna's hard expression had the barest of smiles to.
 
 
"That's why, against everything else, I know you won't try to pull anything as long as he's in that precarious position, willingly or not," said Nillyna, approaching Sonata and handing her phone out to her. "Very well, produced this evidence you are so sure of."
 
 
Sonata felt the first spark of hope flair in her heart as she reclaimed her precious phone that she had purchased just that morning.
 
 
"However…!"
 
 
Before Sonata had even had her phone for a second it suddenly began to pulse with a light teal aura. Sonata gasped in fright, fighting the urge to drop it. After all, with all they had been through, the last thing Sonata wanted was for the one thing that could prove her and Grayscale's predicament to be randomly dropped and shatter on a rock or something. That would not be good…not to mention anticlimactic.
 
 
But the teal aura hadn't stopped at just encompassing Sonata's phone. Two wavy tendrils extended out of the nimbus of light and, before she could move away it wrapped around Sonata's neck like a leash and a collar. Something similar happened to Grayscale, though his tendril had to extend out quite a bit farther to reach him. Sonata braced herself for whatever this spell might do, but after a few seconds she realized that she couldn't even feel the cord around her neck. Except for the slight glowing under her chin she wasn't even aware it was there.
 
 
"What…what is this?" She asked fearfully, swiping at the wispy limb. Her hand passed through it, which would disrupt it like a cloud of fog for a second, but it reformed instantly.
 
 
"A precaution against deception," was Nillyna's reply. "That spell is specifically designed to scan both you, your cohort, and whatever this evidence is, regardless of what form it takes, for any indication of lies or fabrication. If the spell detects any sense of treachery from either you both will find yourselves in the same situation the moment I arrived."
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale could easily pick up on Nillyna's meaning. If that spell detected any trace of a farce they would both find themselves suspended by arcane restraints again. It was safe to assume neither of them wanted that.
 
 
"Is…that really necessary?" Sonata asked timidly.
 
 
"Be thankful I am being so lenient, this spell usually just disintegrates deceivers," said Nillyna, crossing her arms. It was true, for this spell was a variant of the enchantment that protects the Meadow of the Tetra against thieves, but Nillyna still wanted answers, even if it turns out they were lying, so had slightly altered the effects to be less lethal.
 
 
Taken slightly aback by the revelation of what this spell usually did, Sonata decided that if she was going to get her and Grayscale out of this she had best make haste. At last, regardless of the luminous nimbus producing the arcane lie detector, Sonata was finally able to unlock her phone and access all the data stored within. With the image of the Cult of the Lamb still posted in the background, Sonata opened her videos folder and began to scroll through them.
 
 
At first she contemplated which one might be the most accurate to act as proof, or if she should show Nillyna multiple videos. After all, certain aspects could be addressed if she had multiple examples of the difference between this world and the one they came from. At least in one aspect regarding the sky, maybe more. After all, her and Grayscale weren't entirely sure that this place had daytime yet. Though someone with basic knowledge of astronomy should know that moonlight was actually refracted sunlight, and, despite there being two, Aquasa's moons shined, but, given all that had happened, it was understandable that Sonata and Grayscale had overlooked that detail.
 
 
Selecting a few videos she deemed would be sufficient, Sonata created a new folder and transferred them into it, so they would play one after the other. Now that the list of proof was built up all that remained was the demonstration. Tapping the play all function, Sonata held the phone out to Nillyna, the screen facing forward.
 
This was it, all or nothing.
 
 
Nillyna regarded the cellphone for a second before giving Sonata a quizzical look, wondering if she intended to provide this proof she was so assured of soon, but whatever inquiry she had was disrupted by the sudden sound of a voice Nillyna recognized as Sonata's.
 
 
Only the voice didn't originate from the Snerret before her, but from the object, the cellphone, she held before her.
 
 
"Good morning, my beloved viewers," said Sonata's voice and, to Nillyna's shock and awe, the very same Snerret became displayed on the screen that up until now, Nillyna had only seen display darkness and the image she had taken for ritual instructions.
 
 
It was a clear image of Sonata, standing upon what appeared to be a balcony, and, unlike the present person before her, this one was garbed.
 
 
She wore a skimpy red and gold harem outfit, her large breasts snugly held in a red silk top while her hips were adorned in a translucent red silk skirt with a gold waistband. On her forearms were a pair of gold gauntlets, and her hair was tied back in a long ponytail with a gold band.
 
 
"You all voted on who I should cosplay next, and now here it is!" continued the displayed image of Sonata. "I present to you Shantae, the Half-Genie!" The Sonata on the screen did a pirouette, displaying her outfit from all angles as her skirt and ponytail swished around her.
 
 
"And I must admit, despite the overall… skimpiness…” she emphasized that last word with a playful shake of her bosom towards the camera. “This has been one of my most challenging creations yet," said the projection as she spun around once more, displaying her back to the camera. “The place I usually get my fabrics from was all out of the silk I needed, so I had to special order this stuff.” As she spoke, the view started lowering down Sonata’s body, eventually centering on her swaying rump. “The gauntlets are 3-D printed and painted gold, and let me tell you, finding the right spray paint was- hey!”
 
 
The view snapped back up at Sonata’s face, now staring at the screen indignantly. "Gray! Get your head out of the gutter!"
 
 
“What?” Grayscale’s voice piped up, unseen from the camera’s view. “You said you wanted to show off the goods with a bit of booty-shaking, just wanted to get a good shot!”
 
 
Sonata crossed her arms, brow furrowed. “That’s for the second half of the video! I still gotta do the intro, you know that.”
 
 
“Sorry, sorry…” Grayscale replied, the camera shaking a bit before slowly lowering once more to focus on Sonata’s lower half. “It’s hard to focus sometimes with that ass of yours, y’know? And that see-thru skirt certainly doesn’t make it easy…”
 
 
"Is that so?" Sonata's voice had dropped its irritated tone for a more sultry one, the image shifting upward to display Sonata's face, which now wore a rather seductive look as she bent down to an angle that showed off more of her cleavage. "Well if you quit the tomfoolery and help me film this demo properly, maybe you can help me out of it later tonight,” she whispered with a wink.
 
 
"Yes, ma’am!" Was the eager reply of Grayscale's voice before the video ended.
 
 
But the conversation, even the entire scenario, wasn't Nillyna's focus. Hell, not even the fact that she was basically viewing a moving picture. Aquasain magic had its fair share of similarities in that regard, to spells that can project one's thoughts and memories outward, to enchantments one can put on a picture to make it practically come to life, if not still confined to the canvas.
 
 
No, what arrested Nillyna's attention was the sky that could be seen in the background beyond the balcony, at least until Grayscale, who was somehow manipulating the creation of this image in some unseen way, zoomed in on Sonata's butt. Rather than a familiar emerald green, the sky had been sapphire blue, and, if that wasn't enough, the sun, which could also be seen in the far off corner of the sky, wasn't a light cyan, it was yellow. Nillyna had been expecting a lot, from staged memories displayed by some rudimentary magic, or some type of function that the cellphone had that these Snerrets would think she would find otherworldly, but the sight of two absolutes like the color of the sun and sky being different, even in the form of such miniscule images was something Nillyna never thought she would have to contemplate, and, even though she had prepared herself to expect anything as soon as she handed Sonata her phone back, she wasn't prepared to see that. It left her slightly taken aback.
 
 
She…almost couldn't comprehend the notion of a different colored sky and sun.
 
 
But before she could contemplate further, the screen of the cellphone lit up again, once again, displaying a mobile image of Sonata, this time appearing somewhere outside, the blue sky behind her even more visible than previously, her extravagant bust restrained by a black shirt decorated with a sideview red silhouette of a fox with wings.
 
 
"We rollin’, Gray?" Asked Sonata cheerfully, standing on what appeared to be ground overlayed with flat, dark gray stone.
 
 
"All set," Grayscale's chipperly replied, his paw appearing briefly from the side of the frame in a thumbs-up gesture before retreating back.
 
 
"Good," Sonata replied, now looking straight at the camera. "Greetings, my beloved viewers! I'm here today to…"
 
 
VRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOSH!
 
 
Nillyna couldn't suppress a flinch of surprise as the displayed image of Sonata was suddenly cut off by a high pitch noise the likes of which Nillyna had never experienced, except when facing down the most gigantic monsters known to Aquasa, and even then it sounded unnatural. She briefly wondered what could produce such a noise until the image of Sonata spoke up over the awful din.
 
 
"Damn it!" She hollered, folding her ears back and clasping her hands over them, cringing, the whole image shaking on the screen of the phone. "Why the hell is the car lot so close to the airport?!"
 
 
"I told you we should have relocated," replied Grayscale's voice, still unseen. "Though, you gotta admit…" The screen shifted to what appeared to be a skyward view, the expanse of blue spread out across the screen, broken only by a few scatterings of clouds, as well as some huge flying… thing!
Nillyna once again was taken aback by what she was seeing: silhouetted against the vast blue sky was a massive object the likes of which Nillyna had never seen before. Its shape was like that of a bird or perhaps a dragon, but the smooth metal skin and angular wings revealed it to be some sort of titanic flying machine. The object appeared foreboding, whatever it was, and Nillyna could only watch, slightly dumbstruck as the image followed its movements as it flew across the blue sky.
 
 
"... that is kinda cool!" Finished Grayscale's voice as the rushing sound of the flying machine faded into the distance.
 
 
"Gray, focus!" Sonata shouted, the image shifting back to her with her hands on her hips and a sour look on her face.
 
 
"Right," said Grayscale, slight embarrassment in his voice. "Take two."
 
 
"Yes, if you don't mind…" Said Sonata, rubbing her chin. "Now where was I?"
 
 
"Greeting the viewer," suggested Grayscale.
 
 
"Ah, yes, quite right," said Sonata with a snap of her fingers, straightening herself up and correcting her pose to look dignified. "Greetings my beloved viewers. I'm here today to provide you with a special thanks for what all your love and support has provided me here today."
 
 
Sonata began to slither to the left, the image following her movements. Gradually, her movements brought a large object into view behind her.
 
 
"Isn't she a beauty?" said Sonata, laying her hands on a glossy purple surface. "And it's all because of you lovely people, I was finally able to get the car of my dreams!”
 
 
"Yeah, Sonata buying a Sonata, go figure?" Said Grayscale sarcastically.
 
 
"Oh get bent, Gray!" Said Sonata, a hint of a blush on her face. "It’s purely coincidental! I just thought the car looked cool."
 
 
As Nillyna watched she surmised that this “car” was some kind of a terrain vehicle like a carriage, on account of the wheels, but, other than that brief comparison, it was unlike anything she had seen before. And where were the harnesses for the horses?
 
 
"As I was saying," resumed Sonata, shaking off her embarrassment. "As a token of appreciation for all your contributions I will be featuring this beautiful beast of the road in my next video. We are all familiar with the classic image of ladies striking a hot pose on hot cars,” she demonstrated such a pose by leaning down and stretching her upper body across the hood of the car, breasts flattening against the shiny purple surface. “Which I most certainly will do. But of course, this little car show will be geared towards…" She opened her jaws and displayed the interior of her mouth. "My type of genre."
 
 
"Just don't look at me!" Said Grayscale.
 
 
"Oh, don't worry, Gray. You don't have the…" Sonata turned around and placed her hands against the side of the car, shaking her rear in the direction of all those who would be viewing the image, namely the unseen Grayscale and Nillyna. "Figure… for car posing."
 
 
"Hey! I'm plenty sexy!" said Grayscale indignantly.
 
 
"Oh, no doubt about that, dear Gray, but I think I need someone with more, should you say, 'ass'ets for this next bit."
 
 
"You got someone in mind?" Asked Grayscale.
 
 
"Oh, undoubtedly," said Sonata with a wink.
 
 
Nillyna watched as the image shifted again, this time to what appeared to be a grassy clearing with a few scatterings of trees. The same purple object Nillyna had seen Sonata demonstrate was visible in the distance and, to the Lepidopteran's shock, it was moving closer. Under its own volition, apparently. There were no horses or any hints of enchantments, the large object just moved steadily closer, rolling effortlessly across the grass with a low growling sound, two shining lights at the front glowing like lanterns.
 
 
The vehicle stopped a few paces away and, to Nillyna's further shock, the side opened like a door and Sonata slithered out onto the grass.
 
 
“Now, let’s get this show on the road!" With that terrible pun out of the way, Sonata sat atop the hood of her new car before removing her shirt and tossing it aside, her gorgeous D-cups now fully exposed. Her dumbbell piercings glistened in the golden sunlight as she leaned back against the hood. "Okay Sepia, that's your cue."
 
 
From the other side of the vehicle another person stepped out, who apparently belongs to a race just as unfamiliar to Nillyna as the Snerrets. She appeared to be a brown anthro bat female, barely taller than Grayscale without counting her large pointed ears. Her modest bust was wrapped in a plaid flannel crop top tied in the middle, while her far more generous hips were snugly wrapped in a pair of denim shorts with the legs cut so high the pockets could be seen poking out from the frayed ends. A pair of tiny bat wings sprouted from her back, far too small for proper flight though they flapped every now and then as she walked across the grass. What set her apart from other bats, however, were the sand-colored belly scales that stretched from under her neck and down along her front, seemingly going between her legs and along the bottom of the long, thick tail she sported, more akin to a snake (or a snerret, even) than any bat. One of those “hybrids'' that they mentioned before, Nillyna pondered to herself.
 
 
“Well howdy, bitches!” The bat-snake chirped as she waved to the camera. “The name’s Sepia! And I guess I'm the lucky guest star for Sonata's lil’ auto show.”
 
 
"Glad to see you, Sepia," Said an off screen Grayscale with another disembodied thumbs up. "Gotta say, I'm surprised you volunteered for this."
 
 
"You kiddin’, Gray?" Said the bat-snake cheerfully, shaking her clenched fists in front of her excitedly, the miniscule wing's on her back vibrating. "I've just been dying for an opportunity to volunteer my sexy ass for a spot on Sonata's blog, but whenever I have time from my stifling employment some zebra whore or gazelle bitch has already been given the spot for the week!"
 
 
"Colorful as always, Sepia," said Grayscale with a chuckle.
 
 
"Oh hush!" Said Sepia, sticking her tongue out at an unseen Grayscale, revealing its impressive foot long length. “Ain’t like this is a fuckin’ kiddy show anyhow!”
 
 
"Guys, guys," said Sonata, leaning on her side and propping her head on her hand, a seductive smile on her lips. "As much as I believe my audience likes a good friendly spat between friends, that's not why we're here."
 
 
The bat-snake Sepia suddenly lit up and her mouth split with a wide grin. In what appeared to be less than a blink she was suddenly straddling Sonata, pinning her to the hood of the car, her legs wrapped tightly around the thickness portion of Sonata's coils below the waist, the thin seat of her denim shorts practically slipping into the crevice of her butt as it pointed upwards, revealing the shimmering globe's of her glutes, her fuzzy tail swaying in excitement.
 
 
"I'm ready, Sonata!" She exclaimed into Sonata's face directly. "Please, eat me! Swallow me whole! Though I requested you do it head first. I want the world to see my glorious ass as it wiggles outside your lips as I thrash my legs…"
 
 
Sepia's rant was cut off when Sonata placed a hand to the back of her head and, unexpectedly to Nillyna, drew her in for a kiss. The bat-snake grew a wide eyed expression for a brief second before lazily closing her eyes, pressing deeper into the kiss herself.
 
 
Nillyna, for her part, was transfixed by the scene displayed by the tiny screen. Not only because of the blue sky and the strange contraption Sonata and this new species were riding on top of, as well as each other, but because of how enticing it all was. After all, despite the seriousness of the situation regarding Sonata and Grayscale, she would be lying if she said she wasn't drawing to Sonata's feminine allure- some part of her even felt envious of this “Sepia” creature and the position she was in.
 
 
But what did this Sepia mean when she insisted Sonata eat her? Nillyna was unsure if she was being serious.
 
 
Sonata and Sepia parted, revealing Sonata's barbed reptilian tongue wrapped up with Sepia's long bat tongue before they unwound and receded into their respective owners mouth, Sonata and Sepia slightly panting from the extrusion of the steamy kiss, the sight leaving Nillyna slightly bothered as she had to suppress certain 'desires' the sight brought on.
 
 
"Sepia, my dear, the consumption will come later. But that's not the only thing I have planned for us today," said Sonata, bumping her nose against Sepia's snout.
 
 
"What, you're not going to eat me right away?" Asked Sepia, her voice sounding almost disappointed.
 
 
"Why skip to the main course," said Sonata as she brought her tail up and ran the tip over Sepia's left buttock, trailing down until it stroked down her luscious crack and between her legs, resulting in a small, but passionate, moan from the bat-snake. "When the appetizer is just as tempting?"
 
 
Sepia just blinked in astonishment for the next second or two before another eager grin split her chiropteran features. “Oh ho ho! You mean I’m gonna get to fuck ya AND feed ya tonight? It must be my birthday already!”
 
 
“Funny you should say that,” said Sonata, placing her hand behind Sepia's head, staring into her eyes with a sensual expression of her own. “Because not only is this particular video the debit of ol’ Scarlet here…” she patted the hood of the car as she addressed it by name. “But it’s also my one hundredth vore video!”
 
 
"Wait, really?" Said Sepia, her eyes beaming with new excitement. "Holy cow, I didn't even realize. I knew you were a diligent video blogger, but one hundred videos?! Congratulations!” Sepia looked to the side, her expression dimming somewhat with doubt. "And I get to be the main course of it all? You shouldn’t have!"
 
 
"Nonsense, Sepia!" reassured Sonata, placing a gentle hand on the bat-snakes cheek and drawing her into their shared gaze again."You're one of our most beloved friends, so me and Gray have no qualms about sharing this with you. But other than that…" her tail struck forward, striking across Sepia's ample buttocks with all the force of a cracking whip, Sepia cringing for a second before moaning in bliss,"... you have all the right qualifications. Now, let's not leave the viewers waiting. Let's get to the girl on girl action."
 
 
Immediately picking up on Sonata's meaning, Sepia instantly dropped her doubtful expression and exchanged it for her lusty grin. She bolted up, and, straddling Sonata's hips with her waist, tore her shirt from her body and tossed it aside, revealing her perky breasts, clad in scales down the middle, the other side in her coarse fur, and, while not on par with Sonata's size, still possessed a respectable girth. But Sepia wasn't done there.
 
 
Leaning back down over Sonata's body, Sepia leaped her lower portions into the air and, with speed akin to lightning, used her tail to rip her shorts off, revealing the entirety of her supple ass, the soft glutes appearing even more perky once she lowered herself back over Sonata.
 
 
"Oh my," gasped Sonata as she took in the enticing sight of the now nude bat-snake, her eyes gleaming with appreciation upon spotting her butt once she took a glimpse over her shoulder. "I had no idea you were so acrobatic, Sepia."
 
 
"It's to be expected," she replied, pressing her nose to Sonata's, "With how pent up I am now."
 
 
With that Sepia slammed her lips over Sonata's and they both proceeded to start trying to eat each other's faces. Sloppy smacking could be heard as the two pairs of lips caressed each other, parting briefly to reveal two long, entwined tongues before the mouths descended into each other once more. Sonata was the first to escalate, sliding her hands down Sepia's back towards her supply rear.
 
 
She gave her tail a brief, playful tug, resulting in a surprised, but pleased, yelp from Sepia that was sent reverberating down Sonata's throat, then proceeded to grab the rounding bottom in a firm grip, the tips of her fingers leaving grooves in the muscles as the bat-snake’s tail flagged to give the camera an uncensored view of her damp pussy. Sepia could not help but react so strongly that she involuntarily broke away from Sonata's mouth to moan with pleasure before she captured Sonata mouth in another passionate kiss, almost wrapping her jaws sideways around the lower half of Sepia’s face.
 
 
While Sonata felt up her plush posterior, Sepia squashed her breasts against Sonata's, the fleshy orbs almost laid flat against the chests of their respective owners. It was Sonata's turn to moan, her sound of passion also being swallowed by Sepia. A few more minutes of butt squeezing and breast pressing found Sepia her next course of action, fully breaking her kiss with Sonata to trail down her body, leaving feather light kisses in her wake.
 
 
Sonata apparently didn't have any objections, laying back and letting Sepia explore her, a sly smile on her face as Sepia reached her breasts, massaging one and drawing the pierced nipple of the other into her mouth to suckle it.
 
 
"Oh my!" Moaned Sonata as Sepia tended to the mounds on her chest, enjoying the pleasurable sensations her mouth was providing her so far. "Oh…! Sepia, you really are talented with that mouth!"
 
 
"Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet!" Said Sepia, popping Sonata's piercing out of her mouth with a wiggle of her eyebrows. From there she moved down Sonata's body further, placing her mouth to her stomach and giving her scales some tender licks.
 
 
"Mmmm!" Sonata reclined her head against her hands, content with letting Sepia take the reins of the situation for now. Her permittance was rewarded once Sepia slid down lower, her agile tongue reaching a portion just above her coils.
 
 
To an outside point of view it would appear as if she wasn't doing anything but licking bare scales, but with how rapid Sonata's breathing began to grow would suggest whatever she was doing felt really good. Eventually, after about a dozen swipes of Sepia's tongue, a couple of the scales began to part, revealing an almost human looking vagina, if not for the fact that the skin was just as blue as the scales that had covered it, Nillyna unable to suppress a enticed shutter as Sepia began to perform cunnilingus on Sonata.
 
 
"Ooohh!" Sonata moaned as she felt the glorious tongue make contact with her bare labia, her hands slipping from beneath her head to clasp Sepia's scalp to hold her in place, though she had made no move to remove herself from Sonata's body anytime prior. "Yes, yessss! Yessss! Good girl, Sepia. Lick me! Eat me good!"
 
 
"Only if you intend to return the favor!" Said Sepia seductively, focusing her actions to the top portion of Sonata's sex, lavishing her emerging clitoris with her undivided attention, her tiny wing's flapping vigorously in response to the delectable flavor of Sonata's lower lips.
 
 
"Don't worry, I intend to," said Sonata, looking down at the bat-snake eating her out and stroking her hair affectionately. "In more ways than one." She finished her sentence with a wink.
 
 
Sepia responded by finally plunging her long tongue into Sonata's depths. Sonata responded to this by arching her back, the length of her coils providing enough height to lift Sepia into the air, only kept in place by the tight grip she had on the Snerret with her arms and waist, though the strength of the embrace was more due to Sepia's desire to keep feeding from Sonata's heavenly water fountain than any awareness that she was in danger of sliding off Sonata's body and slamming onto the hood of the car.
 
 
"Yes…yes…Sepia…I…I'm gonna cum!"
 
 
Taking the statement to heart, Sepia extracted her long tongue from within Sonata in favor of surrounding her entire opening with her whole mouth, prepared to catch the coming spend, but even with a prior warning Sepia wasn't able to claim all of Sonata's climax. Little clear dribbles trailed from between Sepia's undulating lips as she drank greedily, trailing past Sonata's hips and to the hood of the car. Eventually afterglow took effect and Sonata had to lower herself back to the hood, Sepia still suckling below her navel for anything she might have missed.
 
 
"Sepia," Sonata exclaimed soft between blissful pants, extending her arms out to the Bat-snake invitingly. "Come here, my dear."
 
 
Sepia placed one final lick on Sonata's mound before complying, sitting up on all fours and striding over Sonata's body, obviously making an effort to wiggle her ass at the camera with each movement. When she arrived atop Sonata's torso she found herself drawn close by a pair of lithe arms, and, quite swiftly, rolled over as Sonata reversed their positions, now being the one laying on top. They shared another seductive expression, Sonata leaning in and licking Sepia across the cheek.
 
 
The camera zoomed in close as the two gasping girls placed their foreheads together, panting passionately as a thin strand of drool dripped from Sonata’s tongue and in between the valley made from between their breasts. She whispered in a lustful hiss, “Are you ready, love?”
 
 
“Mmm…more than ever!” Sepia gasped, her shoulders heaving from anticipation. “I want to fill you up so bad!”
 
 
Sonata trembled with desire, spurred on by Sepia's colorful words. "Good… because I want you inside me.”
 
 
Sepia's eyes widened in desire as Sonata's head descended upon her with her mouth open, but, rather than initiate a kiss, Sonata drew Sepia's whole head into her mouth with apparently no effort at all.
 
Nillyna, who had been watching the entire steamy scenario unfold from the beginning, was finally given confirmation that Sonata was serious about eating this friend of hers, Sepia, quite literally. She could only stare as Sonata swallowed Sepia slowly and sensually, her tongue lashing out to slather the bat’s bouncing tits in saliva to better slip them into her maw. All the while Sepia writhed about, her cries muffled by the pulsing throat muscles of her predatory partner, but neither her struggles or her screams were that of fear, but of pleasure. Nillyna felt herself blush a bit as she witnessed this bizarrely erotic act- this was not merely a carnivore feeding on a morsel of food, nor some cruel act of execution; this was an act of carnal pleasure both for predator and prey. It wasn’t dissimilar from her own sexual experiences in Lily’s plant-maw, having her body slurped up and savored like a piece of candy, but from the context of their conversations before, this little bat-snake girl’s trip down the snerret’s gullet was to be a one-way trip.
 
 
The thought of someone willingly allowing themselves to be devoured and digested alive… it normally would have frightened Nillyna, yet the sheer confidence the bat-girl displayed made it seem like there was more to it than it seemed. She continued watching.
 
 
By then, Sonata had engulfed Sepia up to her waist and hoisted her up, standing herself up on her coils, the bat-snake’s bulbous butt and kicking legs protruding from her mouth, her tail wagging happily. Was she really looking forward to being eaten alive like this?
 
 
"Oh my," Sepia moaned from within, pressing her legs together and shifting her ass from side to side, as if to adjust her position, her voice surprisingly still audible by the layers of flesh that now separated her from the outside world.
 
 
"Is there a problem, Sepia?" Asked Sonata, even more surprising to Nillyna for her voice to be clear, despite her current mouthful.
 
 
"Oh no, it's really enjoyable in here," replied Sepia, resuming her kick. "It's just…more snug than I imagined."
 
 
Sonata smirked around her meal. "Well, don’t worry, you’ll find my belly far more accommodating once I’m done… unless you want me to spit you out now?”
 
 
"Oh no no no!" Said Sepia hyperactively. "I wasn't implying I wasn't enjoying it, it's just tighter in here than I was expecting. Your throat is hugging me so nicely, Sonata, and I bet my ass looks positively luscious protruding from your mouth!"
 
 
Sonata's smirk deepened as she gave Sepia's rump a couple of playful pats before rubbing them gleefully. "Won't argue that!"
 
 
"Tee hee hee, that tickles Sonata!" Sonata removed her fingers from the rounding muscle, but Sepia's kicking increased, as if in protest, "I didn't say stop!"
 
 
"Oh, you think you’re in a position to make demands, my callipygian co-star?" Said Sonata in a defiant tone, but did resume grabbing and keading Sepia’s buttocks.
 
 
"It would be appreciated, what with the skillful tongue work I gave you," said Sepia with false indignance, but, with apparently great effort, jutted her rear out to the side, almost directly pointing it at the camera. "Hey, how's my ass looking, Gray-Gray!"
 
 
"Positively radiant," complimented Grayscale simply. "Though you should extend your legs further forward. Makes the lean muscles of your booty more prominent."
 
 
"Like this?" Asked Sepia, kicking her legs out farther.
 
 
"Perfect!" Said Grayscale, giving another off screen thumbs up.
 
 
"Hey, if that's your idea of perfect, wait till you see this," said Sonata, Sepia's lower body suddenly jerking in the grip of her mouth.
 
 
 "Aah! aaah! Sonata,...is that…is that your tongue?!" Sepia asked, said Snerret's tongue could indeed be seen between her legs, having slipped under her belly to swipe at her crotch.
 
 
"Did you forget, my dear?" Inquired Sonata, still stroking her hand over Sepia's butt affectionately. "You're getting special treatment for this video. Do you like it?"
 
 
"Oh yes, I'm really enjoying this!" Said Sepia, wiggling in Sonata's mouth to try and grate her hips against the exploring tongue. "Oh! Oh! That feels so good!"
 
 
It wasn't long until Sepia experienced an orgasm of her own, each kicking of her legs momentarily sending out droplets flowing from her nethers that reflected in the yellow sunlight.
 
 
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh Sonata, that was so wonderful!" Said Sepia in appreciation.
 
 
"Glad you approve, Sepia," said Sonata, taking to petting Sepia's tail, resulting in a small coo emanating from within her body. "Now, are you ready for the finale?"
 
 
"Oh, you have no idea how long I have waited for this!" Sepia called out, whatever fatigue may have been the result from Sonata's tongue treatment washed away by renewed excitement. "Guzzle me, Sonata. I'm ready."
 
 
From the look on Sonata's face she was all too happy to comply, but before she could have a chance to proceed with her meal a voice which had been silent for a while spoke.
 
 
"Wait a minute, Sonata! We forgot one key detail!" Said Grayscale.
 
 
Sonata appeared perturbed about having her video interrupted but seemed to grasp that Grayscale wouldn't have interrupted like this without a reason. "What is it, Gray? What did we forget?"
 
 
"We need to collect a sample before you swallow her," explained Grayscale, his arm gesturing towards Sepia's protruding butt. "After all, we want darling Sepia to be around after this, don't we?"
 
 
Sonata blinked in realization of what Grayscale was implying, nodding her head in agreement, resulting in Sepia's butt bobbing up and down. "Yes, yes, quite right Gray. We need a sample for the Rejuvenators. Would you mind, Gray?"
 
 
"It would be a pleasure," replied Grayscale, the image shifting closer to Sonata and Sepia as Grayscale reached out towards the wriggling rump held tight in Sonata’s jaws.
 
 
"Thanks for remembering that little detail, Gray-man," said Sepia, her rounding bottom coming closer, practically filling the whole screen, her muscles rippling above her flailing legs. "I have some fur samples at home for that but a fresh sample won’t hurt."
 
 
"No problem, Sep," said Grayscale casually, reaching out and grabbing a tuft of Sepia’s fur from the base of her tail.
 
 
"Hey! Hey wait!" Said Sepia as she felt him grab such a thick clump of her fur. "You don't need to pull out that much!"
 
 
"No, I don't, but I will anyway," said Grayscale in agreement, pulling on the lock of hair until it came free.
 
 
"OUCH!" Cried Sepia from within Sonata, shaking her rear to try and dull the pain. "I’ll get back at you for that, jackass!"
 
 
"You said a fresh sample wouldn’t hurt," admitted Grayscale with a chuckle, backing up to reveal the full image of Sonata with a Sepia's rump, tail, and legs protruding from her mouth. "Besides, it gave me an excuse to get up close to that glorious ass of yours."
 
 
"PERV!" Declared Sepia, bounce her bottom indignantly.
 
 
"Hi, pot, I'm kettle."
 
 
"Guys!" Declared Sonata, interrupting the banter between the camera man and the one she was currently eating. "As cute as your bickering is, may we please finish the video? We're right to the best part."
 
 
"Oh! Right! Sorry," cried Sepia, eagerness returning to her voice as she shook her ass with excitement.
 
 
"Yeah, sorry," said Grayscale, resuming his role as well.
 
 
"Alright. Now," said Sonata, lilting her eyes down to the splendid sight of Sepia's exquisite derriere as it protruded from her jaws. "You ready, Sepia?"
 
 
"OH so much more than you can ever imagine!" Replied Sepia, lifting her rear up as high as she could while her upper body was confined within Sonata, shaking her hips from side to side. "Bottoms up, bitches!"
 
 
"An adequate statement, my dear," commented Sonata, actually tilting her head back, pointing Sepia's bottom skyward.
 
 
"Here we go. Three…two…one…!"
 
 
GULP! GULP! GULP!
 
 
Instantly, but not without a fare but of effort on Sonata's part, Sepia's bulbous glutes slid past the threshold of Sonata's maw, the dark curve of her crack vanishing past her lips to leave noticeable bulges on the sides of Sonata’s face before trailing down her neck.
 
 
"Woah! That looks like a mouthful," commented Grayscale.
 
 
"Yes- GULP! That was indeed challenging, more than I'm used to actually," said Sonata, looking at the camera, which resulted in her presenting Sepia's kicking legs and thrashing tail. "You really have a delectable ass, Sepia."
 
 
"Thanks!" Said Sepia appreciatively, still kicking her legs, though she began to twitch as the oral tissue encompassing her began to ungulate and ripple. "Oh! Oh my, I see you are getting a better taste."
 
 
"Try to stop me," said Sonata with a hint of smugness, knowing her prey can't resist the tongue slathering her ass from within her mouth. "But buttocks aside, as enjoyable as yours are, Sepia, there is a certain body part I always savor more from my volunteers."
 
 
Before Sepia could question Sonata tilted her head back and began flexing her jaws, sliding Sepia's kicking legs into her mouth up to her ankles. Only her feet, which could only wiggle their toes now, and the last few feet of her tail, still whipping all directions. And it became all to apparent what body part Sonata was referring to when her tongue emerged from her mouth.
 
 
"Ah! Ah! Hee hee hee! That tickles!" Sonata's tongue lavished Sepia's feet mercilessly, swooping over the bottoms, tops, and between each individual toe.
 
 
"MMMMM!" Moaned Sonata as the heavenly taste of a fresh victim's feet assaulted her senses.
 
 
She would never get tired of the pungent flavor of limbs like feet and hands no matter how many times she was given the opportunity. There was just something about those reasons that was unparalleled, except when compared to a girl's vagina. That was the only section of a person Sonata respected as much as she did feet, though it was anyone's guess which one she would choose as her absolute favorite.
 
 
But all that aside, Sonata couldn't spend forever perched on top of her new car with the bare minimum of a Bat-snake poking from her mouth, so, with great effort and reluctance, Sonata engulfed what remained of Sepia with a snap of her jaws, slurping the tip of her tail up like a pasta noodle.
 
 
"Aah," Sonata moaned contentedly as she reclined back on the hood of her car, putting a hand to her stomach, which had bulged to at least ten times its original size, Sepia squirming within, her movements dimpling the surface.
 
 
"Well, there you have it, folks," said Sonata onto the camera as she lay upon her car, posing with her new bulbous stomach. "My one hundredth video, featuring this beautiful vehicle that had the honor of being part of the theme, as well as the lovely Sepia, who volunteered to flash her goodies while I ate her up." Sonata petted her stomach affectionately, "Thanks for your contribution, my sexy friend."
 
 
"No need to thank me, Sonata, it was my pleasure," reverberated Sepia's voice from within. "Fuck! I should be thanking you! Not only did you give me my best screw session yet, you gave me the rare privilege of riding your throat! Hell, I even got to shake my ass for your blog! How was my tushy, by the way?! Was it memorable?!"
 
 
"Oh, I predicted at least a thousand likes in the next half hour at least," commented Grayscale with another off thumbs up. "Hell, I may have just found the perfect image to jack off to at night from now on."
 
 
"Gray!" Said Sonata with a pouty expression. "I thought my patootie was your favorite?"
 
 
If Grayscale was going to protest he never got the chance, because afterwards Sonata finally leaped from her car, her bulging stomach apparently of no hindrance, her head pointed up with an indignant expression. "Well for that slight you can drive me to the rejuvenating clinic."
 
 
"You shouldn't be driving in your current condition anyway," commented Grayscale mockingly, reaching out to give her bulging stomach a playful poke. "You want me to stuff you in the trunk, or tie you to the roof of the car?”
 
 
Sonata responded by putting her hands on her hips and thrusting her bulging belly forward, causing the view to shake and stumble backwards as she body-slammed Grayscale to the ground. “There’s still room in here for you too, buster!”
 
 
“Kidding, kidding!” Grayscale barked, laughing.
 
 
“Do it, Sonata!” Sepia bellowed from within her digestive prison. “I wanna give him a bite for that fur he pulled off!”
 
 
"Tempting as it would be, we gotta get going," said Sonata, slithering over to the passenger door of her car. "Not only do I want my dear Sepia back in the outside world but this is the perfect opportunity to silence those annoying hecklers hounding my blog once and for all."
 
 
Nillyna didn't understand half the exchanges happening between these three individuals, though even if she did, most of her mental facilities had been disrupted by the heinous act she had just bore witness to. This girl, Sepia, was supposedly a friend of Sonata and Grayscale, yet Sonata had just so callously eaten her alive, all while Grayscale apparently watched on, recording the situation through whatever means resulted in the moving images she had been observing. It was all so…disturbing.
 
 
Especially considering Sepia seemed to have enjoyed the experience just as much as the rest of them, despite the fact that it had resulted in her consumption. Nillyna herself had had such an experience and she would, without a doubt, not qualify it as something to look forward to. Didn't this Sepia realize that it just resulted in her death?
 
 
But before Nillyna could ponder any further the image on Sonata's phone shifted again, moving to an entirely different location in a blink. This time Sonata was indoors, but the only thing visible about the room she stood in was the wall behind her, plus the large, steel, cylindrical object she stood beside. Nillyna could only stare, for, same as with the car and the plane, she had never seen anything like it before.
 
 
"Now," began Sonata, crossing her arms over her chest, above her still bulging stomach, though it was noticeably smaller than before, indicating she had been digesting her bat-snake meal for a while. "As I said before, several of you have been heckling me about proper protocol regarding vore bloggers like me. You accuse me of merely saying that I have my guests who volunteer for my videos rejuvenated, but provide no proof of such. Well…"
 
 
A loud dinging sound emitted from the eight foot cylinder of metal, afterwards, it split open like a wardrobe, revealing itself full of steam that then flooded the room.
 
 
"Sepia might just have something to say about that." The silhouette of a bipedal figure emerged from the dissipating fog, revealing Sepia, nude as a newborn baby, but whole.
 
 
"I'm back, bitches!" she announced, turning her back to the camera and revealing her ass, glistening from the condensation from the steam as she gave it a shake. "In all my sexy glory. Now please quit talking shit about my main girl Sonata. But in the meantime," Sepia looked directly at the camera, or, more accurately, the one filming, her expression becoming sinister. "Oh, Graaaaaaayboooy!"
 
 
"Uhehe!" Chuckled Grayscale nervously, "And…that's a wrap, folks."
 
 
Before he had even finished Sepia lunged, knocking the camera out of Grayscale's hand, which landed lenses down on the floor, blotting the image out in darkness, but Grayscale's undignified cries could still be heard.
 
 
“HEY! WATCH THE TEETH! NOT THE-”
 
 
The image cut to a black screen at that point, and, with everything Nillyna had seen, from the sensual endeavors between Sepia and Sonata, from the bat-snake’s willing participation in her own consumption at the hands, or shall we say jaws, of Sonata, and the witty banter exchanged between all three of them, it was the situation at the end that became Nillyna's focus. After bearing witness to Sepia's consumption just moments prior, a lock of the bat-snake's hair was apparently utilized to reconstitute her, through the means of that large, cylindrical shaped device. Never before had Nillyna even considered something like that, let alone believe it could even be possible.
 
 
In a world like Aquasa, the concept of being eaten alive by something wasn't unheard of, what with dragons, sea monsters, lamias, and other such predators calling Pangaea home, but the idea that one could be brought back from such an encounter was hard to accept. Aquasa had its fair share of resurrection methods, but none of them measured up to what these Rejuvenators were capable of. Mostly what Nillyna was familiar with in regards to resurrecting the dead revolved around a dark branch of magic known as necromancy, but not only did such twisted magic require more than just a fraction of hair, a whole corpse at the least, to function, those brought back were never what they were in life, either existing as a mindless, decomposing zombie, subservient to the one responsible for animating the corpse, or as vessels for exceedingly dark magic that would usually twist them into something nothing like the person they were before, usually the worst kind of villain imaginable.
 
 
It was the primary reason Nillyna didn't delve into necromancy during her pursuit of eternal youth. She wanted to remain beautiful, both inside and outside, and the corruptive nature of necromancy made it impossible to achieve. Yet, with just a few fragments of hair, Sepia went from being Sonata's latest meal to back on her feet in no time, all through the capabilities of a Rejuvenator.
 
 
Nillyna had but a second to contemplate this before Sonata's phone lit up again, another video starting. At this point Nillyna was tempted to demand it to all stop, having seen things the likes of which she had never even once considered possible already, but once she viewed what was displayed her reservation halted in her mind, her dark eyes widening in shock and awe. The edge of a cliff was visible on the screen, the vehicle referred to as a car sitting stationary near the ledge, Sonata laying across the hood again. Behind her, visible from this apparently very high cliff Nillyna could make out what appeared to be a city, the dark silhouettes of buildings dotted with windows illuminated by interior light sources, but this was unlikely anything Nillyna had seen in a city before.
 
 
The sheer overbearing size and numbers of the buildings put places like Azhore to shame. But the most striking feature was the night sky above. Only a single moon occupied the heavens alongside the stars, no sign of a bigger or smaller sibling anywhere, the bizarre sight almost leaving Nillyna disoriented as she observed.
 
 
"Is it all set up yet, Gray?" Asked Sonata as she reclined on her car.
 
 
"Almost, I just need to adjust the tripod a little more to get the moon in focus." The video wobbled a little, the moon directly behind Sonata, bathing her in silver moonlight, became more clear before Grayscale's voice spoke out again. "And done!"
 
 
"Good, now get your spinach colored ass over here," Sonata all but demanded, stretching her arms out in preparation for an embrace. "It's almost time for the live feed, plus, it's cold as tit's out her, so come warm me up."
 
 
"Oh, you don't have to tell me," said Grayscale in agreement, soon to be seen walking over to Sonata and crawling over her bodily, staring down at her as he straddled her. "Though I have to ask, what are we doing? Not your typical work."
 
 
"Commission, dear Gray," explained Sonata, putting a delicate hand to Grayscale's cheek passionately. "Several of my more hopeless romantic viewers have requested a passionate make out moment between the two of us featuring a great view and a romantic night sky, and they've paid a large sum for it, so I can't really refuse."
 
 
Grayscale frowned and looked at the camera. "Well, I have no objections… though, I’m not much of a romantic.”
 
 
"Oh, you’re too hard on yourself," Sonata explained, bringing Grayscale's focus to her again with her hands on his cheeks.
 
 
"Indeed I do," said Grayscale with a half-lidded expression, lowering his face into hers, their lips meeting with an audible smacking.
 
 
That was where this video cut out, and, honestly, Nillyna didn't know if she could tolerate more, but she was still too stunned to voice objections and another video started soon after the last. This time Sonata and Grayscale were in some kind of confined space with barely room for both of them, but that didn't appear to be an issue for them at the moment. Both were just as liplocked as previously, only this time they were both standing, and obviously soaking wet, with how their fur glistened, most likely the result of the water drizzling over them.
 
 
Amongst the overexerted capabilities of her strained mind, Nillyna deduced that this was some kind of cleaning facilities, though, truth be told, that wasn't nearly as incomprehensible as the other things she had seen so far, due to the fact that she had something very similar for her own use herself, the only difference is that the water appeared to be produced and disposed of in different ways. What did catch Nillyna's attention was the song playing while Sonata and Grayscale made out. She had never heard music like that before, nor could she fathom what instruments might have been used to create it.
 
 
What happened next took her slightly off guard. Grayscale initiated consumption, taking Sonata in up to her waist, in apparent rhythm to the music. If it was another example of what had transpired with them and Sepia Nillyna didn't see the significance. She had already seen the Rejuvenators demonstrated.
 
 
But that apparently wasn't the case, for, right before Grayscale as he guzzled Sonata, a portal opened up right on the wet floor before him, startling the male snerret so much that he spat out Sonata, who appeared irritated for a second, before she to notice what had materialized on the floor. Both Snerrets obviously tried to skirt the portal, but amidst their attempts whatever was being used to record was knocked into the portal, and, after some blurred, blurry, incomprehensible images of movement, both Sonata and Grayscale emerged from what Nillyna recognized as the lake on her estate.
 
 
The phone went dark again after this, but presented nothing else, Lily's clearing going eerily silent, with said plant-girl being just as still, having slid her humanoid body out of her aperture so she could observe over Nillyna's shoulder and had been privy to everything too. Nillyna, for her part, was finally able to comprehend all that she had seen. The color of the sun and sky, the single moon at night, all the never before seen objects and people, it was all leading to one conclusion, a conclusion she had believed as a farce from the start.
 
 
Sonata and Grayscale were telling the truth. They were indeed from another world. She actually had otherworlders on her property.
 
 
She could still dismiss it, come up with some excuse that it was all some fabrication, but it was impossible to deny now. If everything she had seen had been anything but legitimate, due to being recorded from someone's vivid imagination or even having been staged somehow, Nillyna's deceit sensing would have detected the treachery and reacted accordingly, but it hadn't been triggered at all. Even if these two had even been bred to believe all this they had shown her was the truth, if her Amalgamation magic theory had been correct, her magic would still have detected the lie.
 
 
Nillyna had no choice but to submit to the obvious, if extravagant, truth. Her magic had never let her down before, she had no reason to doubt her skills now.
 
 
"Lily," she said, her voice lacking the aggression and accusations from before, replaced by shock, awe, and intrigue. "You may drop Grayscale now."