Phovos blinked with confusion as the room around her melted away, replaced with a single, rocky platform in the middle of a dense, jungle landscape. On the platform was a table, two chairs and a feast large enough to feed a whole village.
“Welcome, Phovos Tromou, welcome to my little dining area!”
A massive, serpentine being appeared from the bushes. The bottom half was nothing but scaly, glowing, purple snake, but the top half belonged to the most beautiful Temthan Phovos had ever seen. With massive, naked breasts and a curvy waist that most would kill to have.
“Kayar…” Phovos muttered.
“Actually my name is Yisini. But you call me whatever you want, dear!” Yisini pulled a chair out for Phovos to sit down. “Please. Come join me.”
Phovos did as she was asked, knowing she had no other options. The food in front of her looked absolutely delicious. There was a pang of hunger in Phovos’s stomach even though she had just eaten.
“Take what you want, Phovos.”
The Raptor hesitated, before gingerly taking what looked like a leg of poultry meat and placing it on her plate. The plate was made of bone, with blue and red gems embedded in the edge.
“Why am I here?” Phovos finally asked. She was tempted to rip the flesh off that leg, but decided to not eat anything just yet.
“Because I want to talk to you!” Yisini grabbed a plate of food, swallowed it all in one go, then grabbed another. “I have an offer for you.”
Phovos eyed the food. It was tempting. A glass of mead magically appeared next to her, filling up on its own.
“What sort of offer?”
“I would like your kind to rejoin the Temthan Empire.”
Phovos patiently waited for Yisini to explain further, then realised that she was done, that was all she had to say.
“Why?”
“Because you deserve to be with your fellow Temthaic races.”
“But they don’t like us.”
“You never gave them a second chance.”
“Because they hate us.” Phovos had no idea where this was going. But it occurred to her that someone else had mentioned this to her. “They have always hated us. We are only good for bedding and baby-making.”
“Times change.”
Phovos blinked. She suddenly remembered where she had heard similar claims from. “Uh… If I say no, I don’t want to join the Temthans again, will you kill me?”
Yisini shrugged. “Why would I do that?”
“Because that was what happened to my friend Kayel of the Skyavok. The Temthans made an offer, he said no, they tried to kill him!” Phovos gasped. “I don’t want that happening to me! Or the Ksithanai in general!”
“I wouldn’t do that to you, dear!” Phovos could feel something brushing up behind her. It was Yisini’s coiling tail. “I love all life, and it pains me to see the Ksithanai so far away from their kin!”
Phovos sighed. “We are happy as we are. We don’t want to rejoin them.”
“You sure?”
“I am.”
The Allbirther tutted. “Very well then.”
Phovos swore she felt a cold breeze. Was Yisini, one of her figures of worship, angry at her? “I can’t help but ask, Holy Allbirther, are you… angry with me?”
Yisini shook her head. “No. Just disappointed. But I respect your decision. I’m not like OTHER gods, getting angry at mortals and their strange choices…” Yisini smiled. “Plus, you are absolutely beautiful. It would be a shame to harm something as precious as you… I promise…”
Phovos shuddered as Yisini’s tail rubbed up against her.
“I’ll leave you to it. Eat what you want, play around if you wish, click your tongue when you want to go home. Alright?” The disappointment had quickly faded from Yisini’s voice. She coiled her tail around Phovos’s hips and kissed her on the cheek, then swiftly let go and disappeared into the jungle.
Feeling unnerved, Phovos decided to head straight home. She did as she was told, and before she knew it, she was back in her apartment. Straight away, the Ksithan rushed around, making sure everything was locked.
“That was horrible…” Phovos sighed. “I hope she keeps her promises. Last thing I need is to be attacked by Temthans again…”