"WHAT IS THAT! Aruka, I will NOT be getting in that thing!" I exclaim, using water pockets to amplify my voice so he can hear properly. Back home I did not need to keep a water pocket up for others to hear me. It was always quiet enough with only sounds of nature, that I could usually be heard. Here, it is completely different. My ears are in pain from all the sounds, and Aruka cannot hear me over the noise either. I will have to remember to keep a water pocket up so I can be heard at all times.
"Come on Arymyr, it is not that hard, just, tuck your tail or something, and jump, you will not touch the metal at all so your skin will not suffer! I promise. I could also carry you." Aruka chuckles with a playful wink, knowing full well I would kill him if he did. He is very much like a brother to me now, and my family has already adopted him as such, but that does not mean I want him to put his filthy, metal smelling hands on me! I cross my arms over my chest, my lips turned down in a frown, stomping my foot in agitation. "I will not be getting into that metal, monster! Is there not some other way to get there? Without walking through this metal jungle?" I hiss in frustration.
Aruka puts a hand over his mouth, his shoulders visibly shaking as he tries to hide his laughter. "Ah, Arymyr, you do not understand the ways of this realm. You see-" before Aruka could finish, his kit bounds up to us, eyeing me in my current stance, before giggling. "Daddy, why is the cat lady having a tantrum?" She giggles while tugging on her fathers shirt. Aruka scoops her up with a loud, boisterous laugh, "Ah, my sweet Elly, Arymyr here has never encountered anything like this before, so it is freaking her out a little bit." Elly's eyes go round, her bright green eyes finding mine as she pats her father's shoulder to be put down.
Walking up to me, my scowl deeper, my stance a bit more hostile. Elly reaches her arms up to me, her large, round green eyes the look of pure innocence as she requests that I pick her up. Instantly I become a soft puddle, scooping little Elly into my arms and curling my tail around her. I take a deep breath, inhaling her tiny kit scent. "Miss Arymyr, you do not have to be afraid of the car, it will help you get to work faster, then hurry and get you back home. Please get in the car so Daddy can be home faster." Elly says in a soft voice, her large green eyes filling slightly with small tears. My heart constricts as I think of Nanih. The two would love each other.
Nodding my head once, I set Elly down. As part sea lamia, I have the ability to shift into a form more elf-like, maybe that will help? I am sure it will probably help in this meeting if I go off of what Aruka has said so far about appearances. Sighing, I shift into my elf-like form, my large feline ears changing to skin covered, pointed things on the sides of my head. My tail all but disappears from my body, and my skin becomes a bit more pale, losing most of the sea green and purple coloration my fur and scales usually give off. My hair remains the same, my paws are now feet, my hands are no longer sharp claws, but delicate fingers and nails. My teeth lose some of their fierce look, but as a cheshire, my smile will always be there, no matter the form. My tongue remains unchanged, staying forked as a serpent's, and my eyes remain slitted similar to that of a feline's.
I stand regaining my composure for a minute. I have not used this form in a very long time. Taking a tentative step forward, I allow my body to adjust to the lack of my tail, relearning how to walk and balance. After a bit of walking and adjusting my body to accommodate the lack of a tail and paws to walk, I approach the car once more, narrowing my eyes at the metal beast cage. Sighing, I walk a bit closer, poking my hand through the open door, then my head and leg, one at a time. Finally, I jump into the car, diving nose first into the seat, and tucking my legs in close to my chest, growling lowly at the beast.
Looking outside the metal beast, I see Aruka doubled over, clutching his stomach in boisterous laughter. Tears stream down his face from the laughter that he quickly wipes away as he climbs in the car beside me, tapping the roof twice to let the Chancellor's driver know that we are ready to go. "Oh, Arymyr, you amaze me. You are this hardened assassin, a future queen, and an ambassador, and you are scared of a car. The way you jumped in! I am impressed." I growl at Aruka, my eyes narrowed as I bare my teeth at him in a hiss. "It is not funny, Aruka. We do not have metal beast cages back home! Did I mention metal?" Aruka continues laughing, shaking his head as he points out various locations of interest along the way. Noting the food places, shopping centers, and more.
The buildings are large, tall as the sky, and are blinding with the amount of glass and metal the sun reflects off of. There are so many metal beasts on the road with us, I do not know how they manage to get around each other without problem! I hope the building we meet the Chancellor in is not going to be as big as these buildings we are passing. Hopefully not as much metal either. I cannot stand the smells of this realm! They are so suffocating! Aruka said this was a city, and that there are different cities and towns all over the land here. I cannot believe they have more than one of these metal infested places! This should be taboo.
After what feels like years, we finally arrive at one of the biggest buildings I have seen, and it is also, covered, in metal. A groan escapes my lips as I look up at the building in disapproval, allowing Aruka to usher me out of the vehicle and into the building. There are a lot of electrical lights, similar to what the humans often use back home, and they are EVERYWHERE. The buzzing from all the lights is overwhelming, I do not understand how they handle all of these sounds. It does help that I am not using my cheshire ears at the moment as well. I may have to stay in this form for the duration of my stay in Atlas, just to dull some of the sounds and sights and smells that are overwhelming in my other form.