[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/78671-artificial-spirits/char#post-2515528]Vaul[/url] ran his tongue along the irregularities of his teeth, against the elastic resistance of his cheeks, and the unyielding quality of the roof of his mouth. Vigor was slowly returning to his body as he sat there on his comfy little rock, and finally he stood up after some time. Using his rather ornate staff as a walking stick, he stepped over the small underground stream in the dim light, managing not to wet the hem of his robes. It felt good to move, to relax and contract his muscles to construct a more or less steady gait. Eventually, he neared the figures clustered around the statue at the center of the temple.

His ears twitched as he caught the lamia whispering "Who is she? Why is it down here? Who am I and why am I here?" and at such a relatively far distance that he was surprised himself.

"Why indeed?" Vaul replied, as he came up behind her, more to catch her attention than to offer anything useful. His eyes had a strange glimmer about them as he eyed the scales of [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/78671-artificial-spirits/char#post-2515549]Alyona[/url]'s serpentine tail, walking with close steps in a semicircle around her before stopping at her front.

"You're a snake down there..." he breathed out in genuine amazement, with a rather nonplussed expression on his face as the gravitas of the fact sunk in. "A snake starting from," he brought his eyes up to her midriff, "And then it's humanoid," then to her face, "Thereafter..."

The moment of silence hung thickly still in the air as he stared into her eyes, his face unreadable.

"Huh," concluded Vaul, failing to come up with anything more profound. "Isn't that something."