[Worm]

With Quash's best friend beaten to a pulp beside him, he felt nothing. When the brothers asked about Marco, he struggled to respond. After all, he was capturing Marco for Ino... And now... He couldn't even pilot their craft... He was trapped. As he spiraled into the darkest part of his reptilian mind, bubbling, hissing sounds expanded from Tennan's head. It rolled around, blood and black oozing from the stump of a neck. What looked like long, worm-like tentacles roped their way out in an unbelievable manner. In less than a minute, the mass of knotted, fleshy strings made up the skeleton of a woman. And shortly after that, skin grew. Quash had never seen something like this before. He cringed, scuttling a safe distance away as he watched Tennan reform her body.

The pulsating mass became more and more humanlike. Before long, the creature flung itself to its feet. Tennan released an agonizing scream. "I fucking hate this." This was probably the most painful way for her to regenerate. She had to look at her old body in disgust from her distance. It betrayed her, it let her down. She stomped over to it, her new body fully nude and glistening with afterbirth. The old body was drenched in blood on the top half. She slung her old body over her shoulder. Her metal mask was only slightly dented, which was an annoyance by itself. Now she was exposed to these fools, and now she had to train this body to its original potential.

She threw her body into the body of water outside of their ship. It floated at the surface for a moment. Tennan crossed her arms, watching it ruefully. "I hate when fuckers do this..." She steamed, her new body almost childlike in its muscle tone. Her old one had danced for ten years and it was toned like a gymnast. She didn't even want to look that lizard in the face.

"Yeah. And I'll do it again, slither." Quash spat out, his British accent focusing on slither.

"WE are taking Marco." Tennan pointed to her chest, staring down at the reptile. Quash didn't speak, he geared up his venom once again aiming at his target. Now with no master to guide him, he had no self preservation, no care in the world. Revenge never seemed sweeter than getting to kill your prey twice. He licked his choppers in threat.

"You boys can have Marco. I'll take her." His tongue flitted, hissing.

Tennan growled, her rage heightened once again, but little energy to back it up. Plus, she was standing naked in front of three men, which just made her feel even more vulnerable.

---

Ilan could taste the fruit of Qi's land. He could see the fabrics of the marketplace, he could smell the ripeness of culture. The purity of her heart, the sweetness of her love. "How time changes all." Was all he could say when he felt the breaking of her heart. His arms were now draped over her shoulders, dangerously hovering above her breasts. His forehead nudged into the back of her head as he fed on her memories. "You loved a woman." He thought to himself, wondering if her family judged her for this, or if there were some evolutionary aspect to being gay in Guangda.

"I can show you love." Ilan whispered into Qi's shoulder blades, his breath hot on her nape. He wasn't lying. He'd felt it many times in his past and being an empath tended to have its benefits. Though no benefit was without struggle. He had a tear in his eye, and a gaping hole where his heart was, where Qi's pain resided.