For some transhumans the dining hall acted as a sanctuary despite the din of conversation surrounded it, and of course the foot traffic  that all but constantly worked through it evening. In reality, the modest cafeteria was more like a rest stop on a higheway and highway diners always had their regulars. Nesea was one of these regulars, a transhuman who thrived in the perpetually chaotic state of the Arthur's Rest mess hall. It gave her a place to think, a place to rest, and most importantly her favorite table offered the perfect perch to be on the lookout for new arrivals. See, the serpentine woman fancied herself a sort of mother hen around the Shelter and ever since the doors had opened the lamia had done her best to prove her worth in helping all the new faces find their place in the Shelter. Sometimes this meant placing them where it best suited them, or perhaps giving them an outlet for their unusual skills. Often, it just involved a little comfort and some mothering.<br/><br/>In preparation of her nightly watch, Nesea had perched herself at the far end of the hall with a table that had a clear view of the door. As usual her fingers were clutched tight around a old, faded ceramic mug and in that mug steamed a generous serving of pitch black coffee. Occasionally she sipped at the boiling liquid but mostly she just clutched the vessel close to her chest, letting the dull heat transferring through the cup warm her fingers, palms, and her chest. She wasn't cold blooded, none of her kind were, but heating so many feet of tail and your human half well, it was a task where help was often appreciated. Hours had passed where the blonde haired woman sat there in silence, serpentine blue eyes locked on the door and searching for any sign of a face she didn't recognize. It was just as she was about to give up her post  that the bellowing voice of an ogre combined with the clatter of metal and plastic finally drew her attention to the newest arrival to the shelter.<br/><br/>The lamia watched on with wide eyes as she saw the door of the cage come undone and saw its occupants scatter throughout the hall. Quickly her gem-like pupils flitted back to the new arrival only to see the young Kitsune transfixed on the spot and nearly in tears! Not all arrivals to the shelters were this painful, but Nesea had experience in even the worst of them. What the unknown girl needed right now was a friend, a gentle voice to tell her it was alright and maybe someone to help organize a search for the kittens that had darted off to wherever it was they'd gone. Mercifully, Nesea was qualified for all of that and was not cold hearted enough to ignore the young kitsune as tears began to well up in the pits of her eyes and stream down her cheeks. The sight made the woman's hear break and was ultimately the impetus for what happened next.<br/><br/>As silently as she could, the serpentine street performer pushed her human torso away from the table and quickly unwound her powerful coils of tail. She was do doubt quite the sight as she slithered way way down the hall. Her torso was that of a beautiful human woman. Pale skin, brilliant blue slitted eyes and wavy platinum hair pulled into a high sitting ponytail. Her features were vaguely serpentine, meeting at sharp angles that added an exotic flair to her beauty. She was dressed in a simple wrap, a sari of amethyst colored faux silks that  provided her with all the modesty she needed. Her lower half was of course a powerful tail. Fourteen feet of writhing muscle that was more often than not the source of many a transhuman's mistrust. Her scales glittered like tiny sapphires and her underbelly was so white that it was nearly blinding in the right light.<br/><br/>Swaying like a sidewider she quickly cleared a  path through the crowd, abusing her massive size to  push aside even the most obstinate of the shelter's larger residents. It the seconds that it took her to reach the upset arrival her  heart had begun to pound and it was all she could hear in her ears as she circled around the young woman and loosely coiled up upon herself so that she could 'stand' just below Meguri's already demure height, the top of her head falling just below the Kitsune's eye level. She counted to three before she reached out with a gentle hand and gave the crying fox-girl's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She waited again and counted another space of three before finally speaking up, her lips spread in a warm smile that the glimmer in her naturally wet eyes mirroed.<br/><br/>“Shhh..” Her forked tongue rolled out from between her lips as she made the sound, her voice naturally sibilant and strangely soothing.<br/><br/>“He did not mean it, little fox.” Her smiled widened slightly and she risked another squeeze of the shoulder to see if she could  stem those tears just a little. “ Come now, tell Nesea what happened and maybe we can work to find what you lost, hrm?”<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>