When she saw Vendra shamelessly referencing the earlier 'service' she had given her new master in the aftermath of the battle, and Kahimori's predictably enthusiastic response, Xali felt a faint pang of instinctive hostility towards the priestess. It was not jealousy, or at least not JUST jealousy. Xali decided that if Vendra was genuinely coming to terms with her new life as Kahimori's servant and simply wanted another taste of his majesty, that was all well and good. But the wily leopardess mage wondered if Vendra was as earnest and naive as she seemed. Xali's experience of Vanadiel had taught her that behind every veil of civility and decorum lurked ruthless strategists who smiled as they killed, whether with words or poison... or her. But then, it was a kingdom of many thousands, and Xali knew that many, particularly those well outside the halls of power, took Vanadiel's noble ideals more seriously. Regardless, Xali resolved not to try and influence the others against Vendra, at least for the moment.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>'Ooo! Look! Shimmer Plants! Ohhh, geez! I HATE vegetables, right? But I tried eating one, once...my tongue was glowing for a week! You don't even wanna know what else was glowing...'</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Xali had mostly been occupied with her own thoughts when a particularly unusual quip by Kahimori grabbed her attention and gave her a good opportunity to break her suspicious silence. "You ate a shimmer plant? An entire one?" Her voice was slightly incredulous. "If I'm not mistaken, they're rather poisonous. Let's see, the side effects of shimmer plant poisoning include..." Xali smiled and tilted her head back, as if deep in thought. "Hmmm... difficulty concentrating, an exaggerated sense of humor, impulsiveness, and an obsession with sex. Good thing you're resistant, yes?"<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>'Hey, Xali's butt! Best sight in all of Lakehaven, I tell you. Would love to get a closer view, but I have a feeling I'd get slapped if I got too close. I guess that is half the fun, though...'</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Xali did not respond to that, but felt privately vindicated. It was good to see that, even with all the other impressive figures Kahimori had become acquainted with today, he still had eyes for her. Coincidentally, her opinion of Vendra softened.<span style="font-style: italic">Yes, in all likelihood she is as she appears... I'll treat her charitably and won't act against her unless she gives me reason.</span><br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>"OOhhhh, yes. I know. Wish I'd had the presence of mind to stick around and watch. I bet it was...very enthralling." Grinning deviously, the tall kitsune sidles up beside Xali, wrapping his three tails smoothly around her waist and giving it a single, tiny squeeze "Should there be a repeat performance, you simply must allow me to get a much closer view...Missing it the first time is the only regret I've had in these past could of weeks."<br/></div></blockquote><br/><br/>Even as her skin warmed at his touch and an excited "Oh!" escaped her tongue, Xali noted that his tails were exceptionally strong, gripping her firmly and easily controlling her lithe body. The feeling of him being in total control was a small thrill in itself. Almost instinctively, her own thick-furred tail, not as strong as his but still as muscular as either of Xali's arms, coiled around his leg. "A ha ha..." she laughed in good humor as he explained his 'regrets'. "Judging by the look of our human 'guest' when I next saw her, you had nothing to complain about. You poured so much of yourself into her that her little belly was bulging." With that, she delicately disengaged herself from his strong grasp.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>"As for those fireballs!" Kahmori continues on, talking animatedly "Well, another good thing - we're partially resistant to fire, too! I can pick up a sword straight out of the forge and never get burned. Done it a few times, just to see jaws drop! Course, even it has it's limits - huge blasts of heat? Eh...it will get pretty uncomfortable.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>"Really?" Xali mused, a note of scholarly interest in her voice. "Of course I was only jesting; I have excellent control of my spells, even those as unpredictable as the fireball. But it is good to know that you are resistant to the flame. After all, I'm far from the only creature who can toss such destructive magics around."<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">At the Inn</span><br/><br/>Xali gazed intently at Chelsea as soon as she appeared. Unlike the other attractive creatures she'd encountered this day, like Helix and Sura, Chelsea was markedly less exotic and highly placed. Clearly she was a humble and gregarious person, content with a low station in life, attractive in an earthy and familiar way rather than a striking sort of beauty. The sort of beauty Chelsea represented was one Xali had a particular fondness for... but only for the worst of reasons. Sura and Helix, and those like them, made wonderful company, but they were too important for Xali to FULLY enjoy them. Attractive but replaceable creatures like Chelsea were ideal, the best food that one could hope to enjoy outside of special occasions. It was fortunate indeed for Chelsea that Xali had already indulged her predatory desires today, or else Xali might take advantage of their early departure the next morning to make a meal out of her.<br/><br/>"Oh, you are so very kind, dear Chelsea." Xali smiled graciously at their host, betraying none of her predatory intent. "Err, if I'm not mistaken, our rooms have already been paid for by the General, yes?"<br/><br/>At Chelsea's offer of a warm meal, she glanced at Kahimori and chuckled. Yes, he WOULD be hungry about now, wouldn't he? After seeing her and Alexei polish off Vendra's cute companions and digest them during the last leg of the trip, he was no doubt doubly conscious of his noble but less-fulfilling act of mercy. Xali considered having supper with the others, for politeness's sake... but then, the last thing her meal had said before Xali started digesting her rang in her mind.<span style="font-style: italic">"You can't afford for your thighs to expand any further!"</span>the human had shouted before the acids poured in. Glancing down at her body, Xali nonchalantly ran a hand along her thigh and squeezed lightly. Sure enough, they<span style="font-style: italic">did</span>feel a little wider than they had been this morning. Her breasts seemed a tiny bit firmer, as well.<br/><br/>Xali was torn. Even though another meal sounded appealing, and the extra fat that Satrina had given her seemed to have gone to the right places, overeating was a slippery slope. She had a quick metabolism, but that also meant that she could lose her figure rapidly if she got the balance wrong.<br/><br/>"Mmmm... I do appreciate the offer, but I had a rather filling mid-day meal. If you've any warm water, though, I should like to clean myself."<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">I'm imagining that they have some kind of system where you haul buckets of water heated over a fire to a tub, as far as bathing goes. Xali never got in the habit of tongue-bathing.<br/><br/>It's been about four or five hours since the caravan battle, right?</div></div></div>