<blockquote class="uncited"><div>"I guess, if...he...really wants to?"</div></blockquote><br/>"Thanks a bunch," Brady said as she accepted the anklet. "I promise that Crew and I will take good care of it. Won't we, Crew?" She gave a pointed look down at her psicrystal, waving the borrowed bangle in front of her glimmering pocket.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Yeah yeah yeah, sure. Can I have it now? Please?~</span>Crew's voice hovered somewhere between insistence and mania.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Alright,~</span>Brady relented.<span style="font-style: italic">~But remember, no taking this one apart. It's not your toy to break.~</span>Tugging her pocket open, she slipped the anklet in next to her psicrystal, then closed and buttoned it for privacy. The manic flicker within slowly faded to an occasional pulse as Crew settled next to his new obsession, his presence likewise fading into a quiet background voice amidst Brady's thoughts.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Jaaaaade,~</span>he murmured contentedly.<br/><br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>"A little extra weight is nothing, I promise you."</div></blockquote><br/>Brady nodded, beaming with admiration up at her companion - as if she needed another reason to admire the busty cowgirl. In the span of less than an hour, Sunete had already proven herself to be an expert kisser, a talented pred, and a flirt to rival Brady herself - and now, a capable treasure-hauler as well. Was there anything the cowgirl couldn't do?<br/><br/>"Sunete... You are something else, you know that?" Brady laughed and rested a hand on the cowgirl's belly, kneading gently. "Just be sure not to strain yourself, okay? I know you're carrying a lot of weight in here already, and we've still got to fit a succubus somewhere. Besides... I want you to be good and limber for tonight." Grinning impishly, she let her hand slip downward until it rested on Sunete's thigh and gave it an affectionate squeeze, imagining those powerful legs wrapped around one of her masculine forms...<br/><br/>A second later, Brady found herself appreciating Sunete's thigh for an entirely different reason - if it hadn't been for her grip on the cowgirl, the blast of magic that rocked the room would have almost certainly sent her flying. As it was, she barely managed to keep her feet, leaning hard against Sunete as she raised her free hand to guard against the flurry of rust and rotted wood. Pinpricks of shock ran up and down her limbs, threatening to break her grip and steal her legs from under her, while the clatter of ancient weapons filled her ears with disorienting cacophony. And then... it was over. The tingling sensation in her limbs began to fade as the magic retreated, leaving the room and its occupants shaken but none the worse for wear. Brady took a deep breath, and slowly relaxed her grip on Sunete's thigh...<br/><br/>Only to hastily grab the cowgirl's belt as a second wave of magic washed over the room, larger and more powerful than the first. The force of the blast was enough to drive the wind from her lungs, and the prickling sensation of raw energy on her skin was almost painful. The prickling was joined by a cold numbness as the wave receded, leaving Brady with the impression that both her hands and feet had decided to fall asleep at the same time - a mercifully short-lived sensation, but unpleasant nonetheless.<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Laebras wrote:</cite>"I don’t know about you all, but I don’t want to wait and see if those…pulses continue."</div></blockquote><br/>"Ugh... seconding that." Brady nodded in affirmation, slowly relaxing her grip on Sunete's belt as she decided a third wave wasn't incoming. Without another word, she fell into place behind Laebras and Teran, waiting for her other companions to do the same before heading back into the corridor. There wasn't much else that needed to be said - if the ritual was that close to completion, they needed to find it,<span style="font-weight: bold">now.</span><br/><br/>The walk couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes, but the thick cloud of dust raised by the explosions made even that short distance decidedly uncomfortable. Brady alternated between blinking back tears and straining her eyes against the dusty haze, wary of every broken door that might conceal an ambush. Thankfully, none came, and as the dust began to settle, she could make out what had to be their destination ahead: a massive pair of stone double doors, intricately carved with the symbols of the ennead gods of old. It would have been beautiful, had it not been for the  smears of fresh blood vandalizing the ancient carvings- no doubt the work of the succubus and her minions. Careful not to touch the dripping gore, Brady slipped in next to Laebras and Asulf to survey the ritual chamber.<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Laebras wrote:</cite>"Well, they…don’t expect us yet. What’s the game plan? Are we just going to rush in there and smash heads, or…does anyone else have a better idea…? I dunno if we can all sneak in without alerting…well, all of them…"</div></blockquote><br/>"Not all of us, no," Brady replied. "But I could probably reach the altar by myself, if their attention was occupied." She paused, and nodded in the direction of the catgirl. "She's priority one. Get her eyes off the door, and I should be able to make it without anyone else noticing. I'll try to do something about that orb while you guys take care of the succubus and her bodyguards. All I need is a few seconds to prep..."<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;">Brady manifests <span style="font-style: italic">chameleon</span>. 15/27 power points remaining.</div></div></div><br/>Stepping back from the door, Brady reached again for her psychic reserve, turning her thoughts this time to her skin - specifically, to her chromatophores, and the pigments contained therein. A neural signal awakened the reptilian color cells, mottling her skin with grays and browns as her pigmentation quickly adjusted to match the hues of the surrounding stone. A second thought adjusted the pigment of her eyes and hair, and in seconds they too were the same dingy gray as the wall behind her. Finally, allowed the remaining energy to flow into her black vest and bodysuit, fading the garments to the same mottled hue as the rest of her body. So disguised, the lizardgirl was practically invisible; little more than an outline that shifted occasionally as she moved and adjusted her pigments to the new location.<br/><br/>"Okay," she said. "That ought to do it. I'm ready to move as soon as you've got that catgirl distracted. Does anyone else need to spell up, or are we good to go?"