Snake in the Grass [Melina's Awakening]

In an ironic twist for a city supposedly plagued by its nights, East Eden's true beauty only came out with the stars in the sky. One could not appear without the other; beneath the moonlight and the twinkles above, it was so obvious what endeared the district to its residents, what they found so enthralling and captivating about it. It was at its core (for good or ill) a simple way of life and its scenery reflected this all too well with only a cheaply paved road and the occasional lamppost guiding Melina down her path. Her likely intentions contrasted sharply with the serenity of the evening, but then again the same could be said of the moment itself; this night was its own antithesis. While to many it might be seen as peaceful and lulling, to others it could just as easily be taken as desolate and hollow, empty save for miles of fields and crops that on this specific eve went mysteriously unattended to. Not a soul wandered the path ahead save for the Shadow and she'd be left to stew in her thoughts and plans for the time being, a snake in the grass left alone in the dark.

Melina hated East Eden. It was boring, uninteresting and dull full of little outside of grass and expensive houses. It was these expensive houses, namely the one the Shadow was glaring at, that really irritated her. What made this one singular mansion so much more offensive than the rest was how it had, once upon a time, been home to Melina although home was perhaps not the correct word. Prison was a fair more accurate term.

"Oh this is going to be a very long night for one of us father..." A malicious grin split the Shadow's face, twisting her features as it spread from one cheek to the other. Oh it was going to be such a surprise for her to return home after all this time especially given the exact nature of just what her father had planned. Rising from her hiding spot in the bushes, Melina took one step after the other creeping towards the silent mansion.

As Melina arose from the bushes, faint cries and curses from a gruff voice would reach her ears. A sharp yet subdued boom would follow like the crack of a whip and some moderately far-off crops off in the opposite direction of the mansion would rustle and blow wildly. After the initial noises however, the dull silence and stillness of the district would return unceremoniously, with it being up to Melina whether or not she chose to pause her activities and investigate. It was plausible that the noises might attract attention from those in the mansion and cause a panic before she could, but for such to happen the ruckus would certainly have to escalate. As was it was unlikely anyone had heard it but her.

"If I didn't know better I'd say that was my father..." The word usage did sound a lot like her father but the voice seemed different. Perhaps it was merely her lack of familiarity, after all she hadn't seen her father for a good few weeks, or perhaps she didn't remember it as well as she thought she did. Hmmm....as smart as it would be to get this over with before anything unintended happening but Melina could not risk the owner of that voice making more noise.

It was decided then. She turned away from the house and slowly crept towards where she heard the crack of the whip. Silently putting one foot ahead of the other, she would attempt to silently stalk through the front garden creeping closer and closer to the origin point of the sound. She had no idea what awaited her but whatever it was could not possibly be worse than what awaited her inside the mansion. From the memories of her original self Melina knew her father was a monster worse than any demon.

With her decision to check on the disturbance, Melina would soon find herself wadding through increasingly large hordes of crops, the harvest stretching up toweringly into absurdity with a height that'd make it all too easy for her to sneak about in. After combing through them for a bit she'd discover an open field of flowers in the midst of the mass of crops and vegetation... and three Demons bickering amongst themselves within it. To normal eyes the figures and their speech would've been garbled, shrouded in darkness and obscurity, but to one who already dwelled in Shadows their words and forms would prove perfectly clear: a gargantuan crowned pig and two small cowering imps that floated slightly above the ground. The kinglike figure would wave its scepter menacingly at the two and with low oinks slowly begin to calm down from an obviously agitated state.





The king would ponder on this for a short time while his servants nervously jittered in place. It seemed none of them had noticed Melina yet. It'd be up to her how to approach this situation with that in mind. She could potentially even try to sneak back, but though the golden beast was calming down now, there no was telling whether or not that trend would stick. And with the brief reprieve from bickering the trio would be more capable of hearing any sudden movements; Melina would need to play it carefully if she wished to continue sneaking about.

This entire situation was growing more and more strange. Father would never have allowed his gardeners to get away with leaving the grass, and other assorted plants, at this height but do you know what she found even stranger? The fact all these plants had grown this long in the couple of weeks since Melina fled from her home. Grass grew quickly yes but it didn't reach heights equal to or greater than a full grown human adult in a space of two weeks! As the grass grew taller Melina found it easier to hide herself, crouching slightly to obscure her presence from prying eyes until finally she came to clearing.

What the Shadow saw in the clearing amused her greatly. The big pig dragon centaur was lording over his two underlings, barking orders at them as they bickered among themselves about work and breaks. Hmmm...so these demons were...thieves? Farmers? Farmer thieves? Thieve farmers? Very odd...... their theft was of no real concern to Melina. Melina knew demons were dangerous but....only dangerous to humans, or so she thought, which was why she burst out of the grass with a dramatic flurry of hand movements!

"Never thought I'd see demons around here! But I suppose you guys can show up anywhere huh?" With a soft, but hearty, chuckle under her breath Melina waved at the trio of demons hoping they would not take offence to her presence.

"Mmm mmmm you don't have to worry about me though~ I know other humans are kind of ooooh....your enemy but....I'm not a human although I'd be grateful of you could keep it down a bit. I'm trying to sneak into that big mansion and kill someone~" The moonlight reflected from Melina's yellow eyes as her lips twisted into a malicious grin. She had no real intention of picking a fight with these demons. In fact, she was actually ecstatic at the notion of having a conversation with them! They were probably much more entertaining than humans!

The two impish entities would pause in befuddlement as Melina approached them, but the hulking hybrid would answer her immediately and confidently, seemingly not grasping the implications of this new encounter. He stared down unamused with a piercing gaze, however, his regal scowl would shift into a wry crooked grin a few seconds after she made her demand. Sporting a bed of tiny yet greedy fangs, he'd shake his head and chuckle in kind in an admittedly poor attempt at feigning warmth, an opportunistic and arrogant glint growing in his eyes while he put his staff to his chin in faux-contemplation. "Foolish woman. Do you mean to deceive me? To deceive your ruler, your master? You are lucky I am so kind. I will not fall for your tricks, no respectable creature would wear the skin of its lesser, but as I said before it is not your purpose to think. If you wish for the generosity of your king you shall have it... after you prove your loyalty. Should idiots like these two excel in a task, it must be one befitting a buffoon, so I will charge you with aiding in gathering the harvest from my serfs. Return all their crops to me by tonight and I will consider abiding by your request for silence. Until then, however, I will not be constrained by your menial mortal concerns and pathetic excuses for assassinations. My voice is my own and any word that comes out from it is a law of the land in and of itself." As he spoke he'd lift up his crown slightly with his free-hand, grabbing a piece of parchment from underneath it, and flinging it in her direction carelessly. Should she pick it up and examine it after it crashed into the dirt, she'd discover it was an ordinary map of Endymion with the entire district of East Eden circled in red, a few haphazardly marked minuscule x's dotting the map to presumably signify the spots they'd already stolen from.

Meanwhile the two servants would whisper frantically amongst themselves, noticeably starting to shake a bit after Melina's eyes began to glow, plainly frightened by the rather blatant nature of the situation at hand. Should she prove perceptive enough she'd hear bits and pieces of their discussion like "she can see us" and "Psyche Terrorist", but their quiet mumbling was difficult to process even without taking into account the barking of the boisterous beast. Their gaze would dart to and fro before settling on their ignorant employer, but they wouldn't make any moves just yet, pausing in uncertainty while things played out between the Shadow and Demon.

"Well that was a shame....Oh well at least I offered an Olive Branch first." Melina was disappointed. She had no real issue with the demon's thievery, hell it might even negatively affect the government's control over the city, but nope...this self-appointed ruler just had to be arrogant huh? Oh well. There was more than one way to skin a cat. Deciding to play along for now Melina stooped down to pick up the piece of paper bringing it up to her face to read. It was a map of East Eden and the farm land it contained with numerous areas circled. They were most likely the locations of this boisterous king's subjects but Melina cared not.

"Yes yes oh great and mighty king...I will serve you...." That was when Melina's body began to change. Her clothes transformed into a partially see through dress, horns grew from her head, a mask appeared to hide her identity but the most extreme changes were yet to happen. With a horribly painful snapping sound her legs began to twist and elongate, growing into a long muscular tail out of which six serpentine forms grew. The Shadow's body grew and grew, growing bigger and bigger with every passing moment until finally the changes stopped.

Six serpentine heads hissed, snapped and made mock lunges towards the pig demon a clear liquid dipping from the pointed fangs. The cacophony of aggressive hissing was punctuated by a shrill laugh. It was a malicious horrible sounding laugh that resonated through the plant life.

"Ah....ahhhhhhh.....this feels good....I'm going to enjoy devouring you piece by piece...I always did like bacon ahahahahahahaha!" The snake that grew from Melina's tattoo rested on her right shoulder, baleful eyes locked on the over grown pig with a ravenous hunger. In fact, all of Melina's serpentine heads were focused on the pig centaur. This felt good...so so good....being stuck in a human body was a stuffy experience. In this form she was free! The power coursing though her body could easily be classed as stimulating! Oh she was definitely going to enjoy this.

That was when Melina's heads charged the fat pig king. All six of the serpentine heads would attempt to dog pile him, coiling around limbs and repeatedly biting injecting as much of their venom as they could while simultaneously attempting to twist the bones until they broke or at the very least that was what Melina attempted. In the light of the moon the wheel of fate rolled every onwards and who knew what it brought with it?

Recoiling in horror at the transformation and diving back just in the nick of time, the beast would dig its heels clumsily into the dirt, only barely stopping itself from toppling over and collapsing to the ground. Its emotions would wildly fluctuate as the sudden wave of fear turned to fury and he began to wave his flabby arms about like a child throwing a tantrum, stomping his foot against the ground and pointing his scepter at the snake, body shaking with indignation. Though huge on his own merits, Melina would easily tower over him in her current form, though that wouldn't stop him from lashing out as he entered fight-or-flight and started shrieking for his servants.

Horkos, Level 8:

Left Bilwis, Level 1:

Right Bilwis, Level 1:

"]Ahhhh.....don't judge a book by its cover." Melina softly caressed one of her snake's heads as they pulled back from the trio of demons, a smug smirk on her face at seeing the terror held displayed by this big fat ass. She was a little saddened his cronies had joined in but oh well. They had been given an opportunity to break free from their slave driving king but foolishly, they had made the wrong choice and would be dying for it. There was never anything wrong with having a desert after all...

"Mmmmmm you little imps had a chance to side with the truly superior being but alas, you passed it up...although I am rather happy about that. I'm sure you'll go down tasty!" Melina laughed manically as her serpentine heads reared up and from their mouths erupted a huge spout of flame. The burning flames flew directly towards the big pig (OH YOU CAN BE A BIG PIG TOO) and would, if it didn't get out of the way, envelop him in a short lived but very intense inferno of fire. Bacon was nice....Roasted pork was also nice....As was minced pork but it seemed roasted pig was on today's menu.

Melina>Agilao>Pig Demon>45 damage before defenses are applied.
Agilao chance to miss: 10%
Burn proc chance: 30%

Misses on a one.

Random number (1,10) :

10

Procs on a 1-30

Random number (1,100) :

83

stats:

Horkos, Level 8:

Left Bilwis, Level 1:

Right Bilwis, Level 1:

As the fighting raged on, a voice would ring out that only further startled the pig and imps, the former crying out in incoherent rage while the latter two broke out into somehow even more profuse sweating. A loaded gun would soar through the air and land with a thud at the snake's figurative and currently nonexistent feet. Should Melina look back, she'd be greeted with an encouraging smile from a white-haired man who'd say nothing, leaning back in the arms of his Persona as the two watched the proceedings in a mixture of intrigue, amusement, and confidence.

Stranger's Gift:

Melina snarled, recoiling from the counter attacks snarling angrily at the treachery of the pig's minions. Not only that but pig's own rather brutish attack would have hurt or at least if that pig not been a clumsy oaf and missed She had been willing to give them a chance to get a head start in fleeing so long as they didn't attack her but well, they had ruined that chance. Guess that wanted to get eaten. Her human head snapped to look towards the right Bilwas venom dripping from her mouth in an angry hiss. They stupid little worms had no idea just how much trouble they were in.

"You had your chanc-wait who the hell are you?!" She had been focusing on the two Bilwas but, out of nowhere, a strange eccentrically dressed man showed up and threw a gun (with ammo) towards Melina. The small sized snake that extended from Melina's tattoo caught the gun while Melina grabbed the ammo. A gun was a useful weapon but would it really be of use against these demons? Plus who in their right mind would use a gun when they were a giant multi-headed snake monster that could shoot fire balls?!

"Thanks I suppose...now as for you disrespectful little worms....!" Again, Melina rounded on the right Bilwas launching a fire ball from the mouths of her snakes hoping to roast her chosen victim alive! Originally she was going to just kill the pig and take control of his minions but alas, it seemed they needed violent disciplining. Said discipline Melina was all too happy to provide....That malicious grin returned to her lips, paired with a hungry look inside of her eyes.

attacks/damage:

stats:

The fireballs found their mark and the first Bilwas was incinerated. Whatever husk was left behind would soon find itself torn in two by Melina's snake heads and swallowed whole. With a sadistic, and satisfied, smile on her face Melina turned to the remaining Bilwas and chuckled.

"Mmm tastes just like chicken....you're next." And just like that, she repeated her actions attempting to roast the last remaining Bilwas with a barrage of fireballs.

Melina>Agilao (6SP)>Left Bilwas>56 damage before defenses are applied.
30 base + 50% (15) + 25% (11) = 56
Agilao chance to miss: 37% but rounded down so 30%
Burn proc chance: 30%

Misses on a 1-3:

Random number (1,10) :

10

Procs on a 1-30:

Random number (1,100) :

52

HP: 138 / 140
SP: 122 / 140
PEnd: 22%
MEnd: 22%
Ppstr: 18
Pmstr: 30
Dx: 30
Lk: 43

The second Bilwas suffered the same fate as the first, roasted alive and dying in screaming agony as his skin burned only to be eaten kicking and screaming. It was not a nice way to go but it served to set a VERY good example of why not to insult the giant multi-headed fire breathing snake monster.

"With the appetizer out of the way it's time for the main course..." Melina's bulk twisted and slithered to face the pig centaur, blasting yet another volly of fireballs towards him. Hopefully the smell of lovely cooked pork would be replacing that of singed flesh.

Melina>Agilao (6SP)>Porky McPorky>56 damage before defenses are applied.
30 base + 50% (15) + 25% (11) = 56
Agilao chance to miss: 10%
Misses on a one:

Random number (1,10) :

1

Burn proc chance: 30%
Procs on a 1-30:

Random number (1,100) :

11

HP: 138 / 140
SP: 116 / 140
PEnd: 22%
MEnd: 22%
Ppstr: 18
Pmstr: 30
Dx: 30
Lk: 43