(Sorry for the late reply, the past week has been quite exhausting for me, and I didn't wanted to write a half-assed reply))<br/><br/>The otters jumps when Jaku collapses on the deck, all cuddling together, shivering as they've been soaked with Jaku's drool when inside her tight confines, and feeling a bit cold now that they're out of the warm tailgut of the large naga.<br/><br/>"Is it... dead?" asks one of the female otter, who is trying to comfort a few children.<br/><br/>"I don't think so," says the foreman, who walks to the naga, trying to look confident but it's not really a success. He kneels next to Jaku's head and checks for a pulse and breathing. "It's still alive, just exhausted, and probably hungry." He grabs Jaku's satchel as a few sailors come with towels for the otters and the sailors that Jaku more or less kidnapped, though they give her body a wide berth, unsure what to make of her.<br/><br/>"I wasn't expecting that kind of passengers," says the Captain to the foreman while he motions towards Jaku and Arkain, "and not certainly stowaways," he adds with a bit of humor. "But, given what you're fleeing from, I think that I will ignore the law for the time being and not throw you back to the port. My men will show you where you can wash and give you a cabin. However, I'm not sure we have a cabin large enough for this, or the other."<br/><br/>The Captain looks at Arkain. "You, come down here!" he orders with his best commanding voice. He may be an understanding man, he's still the sole master on board after God. "What's happening to your friend? And where do you think you're going like this? This boat is not a pleasure cruise. If you intend to stay the whole trip, you'll have to earn your passage!"<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>That's a lot to take in one time for Tamara, and she remains silent for a while once Suri is done making explanations. She holds the egg even more carefully now, having realized that it is indeed a jewel, a very special kind of jewel. Once Suri has completely relinquished control of her body to her, the tigress-naga slithers back once again to her mate, gently nuzzling his image and wrapping one arm around him to pull him close, basking in the feeling. Even though its only an image, she has been longing for such a contact since she woke up, and even before, while she was hibernating.<br/><br/>Suri, as a presence in Tamara's mind, get a glimpse of events that happened way before her birth, as Tamara closes her eyes and remembers everything they went through together. Jaku and her have a long story, ever since her rebirth as a naga, how he helped her get used to her new body, the bond that formed almost immediately when he helped her get out of her egg, until it evolved and blossomed into love and a lifelong mateship. The happy times in the forest, the arrival of Chimera, the fight against them, the experiments that did on her, how she avenged herself, the meeting with Arkain, Vega and others, friends or foes, the conception and birth of Tasu and Suri, and the joy they both felt when they gave birth to such beautiful children. Everything that led to this very moment.<br/><br/>Everyone can see tears running down Tamara's cheeks, soaking the very short fur on her face. Tears of joy and love for her beautiful mate, for the one who made her feel complete for the first time in her life, this one or the previous, before her transformation, even before Jaku found out about his powers. She has felt this special connection since they fell in love, and know she knows why, but it only makes it more precious.<br/><br/>"Thank you," she whispers to the image of her mate, who reacts like he would, hugging her tenderly and lapping the tears off her cheeks and eyes, in a very tiger-fashion since the image is still looking like a copy of Tamara. The tender licks make her smile and she kisses the image tenderly. She enjoys the contact for quite a bit, knowing that Jaku should feel it too, through he connection between her and her inside world, and surely even more through this image of her.<br/><br/>Then she slithers a bit away from the image, and begins manipulating the egg still held in her four paws. Slowly, cautiously at first, she shifts the eggs size and position, observing the various changes on Jaku's body. She is quite hesitant at first, and experiments with the various changes, more human or more tiger, more male or more female, mixing both to various degrees. Then she remembers one particular moment they spent together, when she ate him for the first time, and the words they exchanged back then, that they would always be one.<br/><br/>Tamara grows the egg as big as it would get, like a big watermelon, turning Jaku into a nearly exact copy of herself. Then the egg is turned downright, making JAaku's image looks like a big and very strong and sexy male tiger-naga. She purrs some at the sight, knowing full well that, despite his looks, he'll remain an herm, if only because she was going to leave so much of herself in him. Despite looking like a male, he'll still be able to unbirth and give birth, and even to feed his young if needed, she can feel it in the magic around them, in the egg that is the representation of the love they share, and how they complete each other.<br/><br/>She smiles lovingly at the image of her mate, then she plants the big egg/seed on the ground, as Suri instructed her to, using only two paws since the extra arms vanishes when not needed, as Tamara prefers to have only two arms. She watches as the massive egg parts the soil easily when she pushes, and is easily planted. Then she waits, not knowing what to expect after that.