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Oh, I've been big into scran recently.

We should sell more classic dishes at the Cardiovascular Castle! I love Polycarp's stew and yogurt with cheese and cookies in it, but people love a good savory meal!

Steak and fries, pepperoni pizza, salt and pepper chips with a stromboli, buffalo chicken, peas and mash, Korean chicken, sausage rolls, pork rib sandwiches, monstrously huge burgers with butter chicken, a chicken breast with stretchy mozzarella, lots of chicken curry and Christmas meals, and UNLIMITED ALCOHOL! Oh, Alcides would love that...

If you have any menu suggestions, we'd love to hear it!

Flesh.

How I have hungered to slip into new skin. It's been forever since I could be unburdened, free of the chains that bind me to the earth.

And the perfect opportunity presents itself to me. No matter what it does to intimidate me, it is still a living animal. All I need to do is extend my reach into its very essence.

Unwilling creatures are harder to control than 100 mindless ants at the same time. They fight against your presence. They resist the temptation of letting go. The caracal of the hall stumbles back and swatted at the air, fruitlessly attacking something that's not there. Hissing, spitting, hoping someone can hear it.

That sense of determination IS admirable... but it's not full control. No matter what I do, prying my way into the cat's soul, a little defiant and aware bit still remains.

Then I remember. Of course. I haven't been using all my power. I'm the one who needs to let go.

As simple as plucking a string, I make my final push and smother the ferocity Koda has, and I step into a new perspective.

Feeling damp air on my fur. Flexing retractable claws one by one. Cracking bones into place and moving sedentary muscles. Inhaling dust, exhaling embers. Whipping tufted ears.

Pasketti Koda is gone.

Viper Zoologist remains.

I'm thoroughly impressed with myself on this one. I can't believe some caracal like this was going to attack me.

Because Hazel was here.

Because it was a trap.

Because the Adventures conspired against me.

My own team.

I make a quick pivot to the glass and pull back my lips to snarl. I see Hazel walking away, smugly, though she has just been "captured" moments before. I immediately have my reach lunge right for her, only to be met with a wall of screeching static and the smell of a melted candle that forces my being back.

The Hall of Unmaking is closed. Nothing goes in, nothing goes out. Not even the reach of a hopeful zoologist. So close, yet so far.

What do I do now?

My eyes catch the glint of the beautiful flowers again. It grew straight through the cracks in the floor like a dandelion. It reaches up for sunlight that doesn't exist, like a sunflower. It's the perfect shade of Efflorescent red. Such wonderful usage of a GMO... how clever. By design, it was meant to grab my attention. To lure me. The Adventures think they can cleanse me.

Me.

I've been trying to ignore the snake that's right next to the rose bush.

They're sprawled out on the floor, right on their back, spiked tongue lolling, drooling sap, shedding thorns and petals. Their suit is trashed from all of that Efflorescence-based growth. Their brilliant reds fade to a more modest orange-red. Their arms are freed from the leaves and roots that wrapped around them. They lay completely still.

I know that snake well enough not to be worried about their death. Faking it.

And, to prove my point, in a daze, the snake lifts themselves off the ground, eyes adjusting to the dimming blue candlelight. They freeze.

They probably haven't seen anything in a long time. I can tell, because they yell...

"Where am I?!"

Predictable question from them. They always ask that.

"No, no, not again," They slither in a rush, hyperventilating, staring death right in the face, "What happened this time?! It can't have been so long since the Bull Ritual..."

They speak of the time I resurrected Marc Clout so he could join the Adventures. That was years ago at this point. Their panic is quite amusing. They don't even remember...

Hold that thought. My whiskers twitch and my vision goes fuzzy, focused on this pathetic serpent. My ears lay flat. Something about them... something about them is making me yearn once again...

They shout, looking directly at me, as bold and fearless as the day we first met, "What did you do?!"

I have no clue if they are speaking to me or Koda.

But that hardly matters. My claws are out, my mind is focused, and I pinpoint what I desire out of them.

They still hold the residue of my Corruption.

It smells delicious.

What? No, it doesn't. Unless I-

Too late. One distraction, and I'm already pouncing at them.

I neglected to say this before, but that vessel is a speedy one. I would have never guessed, and I rarely have to dodge like this in day-to-day life. Being a manager requires no skill.

So, while I'm bounding off the walls, kicking over vases and trashing tables of herbs and incense, and gnashing my teeth at the snake's tail, they're gracefully (but oh so hurriedly) swerving around the supports and bolting beneath my feet. A minute in hunting mode feels like an hour, but still, I persist. For the Corruption.

Through heavy paw slams and desperation, I push the snake into a corner, snarling and huffing steam through my throat. I make my approach.

They're stressed. They're going to be ripped to shreds. They're begging and yelling about their family and their future, not that I care anymore. They quickly coil up and spring right over my head, but in a flash, I leap up and yank them out of the air. Caracals, the snake doesn't know, are excellent jumpers.

I'm squeezing their snout inches from my face. They can't even muster a squeak. They know I'm about to rip that sweet, sweet Corruption from them. A meal. Flowers and stems, roots and stalks, hips and buds...

But I take another sniff, just to get another chance to smell it...

And it's gone.

The Corruption has left this tattered old vessel entirely. The moment's lost. I set them down, and they immediately disappear into the far corner, confused and panting.

So now I'm left to lean against this wall and stare at the quivering mass of scales. I had no control over that. This natural urge to consume... worse than I thought. Its in her nature, I remind myself, to destroy.

Of course, when the Hall of Unmaking opens... What am I going to do?

I come out with the skin of a caracal, and I'll never be seen again. I might have her hunger, but my hunger for corruption is clearly the same. I'll be trapped again. Also, that thing will be running wild and free. Poor sap doesn't know I've started a baseball team. My reputation would be absolutely shattered if he started running his mouth. Another scandal for the MMOLB.

As much as I hate to be defeated, this isn't over. The Adventures have only proven to me that my old team was more loyal, more healthy, more collaborative.

I'll be sure to get these punks back for this prank.

My nose flares up with a new smell, this one coming from my skin. A curly green stalk has appeared on my arm. I am immediately salivating.

I'm still Effloresced.

Another reason why I can't go out like this. I'd eat myself alive. I have to make things quick.

The serpent is still freaking out in the corner when I make my strides.

"This vessel is... not an ideal one." I'm trying not to gnaw on my bones.

They recognize my tone of voice immediately, halting their sniveling to glare. "You."

"I know," I put my paws up to stop them from exploding all at once, "the old contract-maker. But in my defense, I did exactly what you wanted at a fair price."

"FAIR?!"

"I could have asked for you to kill three people for a fair an equivalent exchange, so you got off pretty easy." I mutter, scratching at the buds rising from my arm.

They hiss back with that hiss I hear all the time. "I don't see why you can't do anything for free."

"Well, how else do you boss people around these days? Also, rituals are EXPENSIVE, I have to outsource them all the time. A life for a life is the least I can offer, and you heard my terms loud and clear. Not my fault there are suckers like you born every minoaughff--" I say, shoving my arm into my mouth and trying to eat my fur, desperate to get a taste of the greenhouse that grows beneath. The snake chuckles.

I have to wrap things up. I pull my arm out and look right at the snake. They're well aware of what comes next, though they're rarely ever conscious for it.

"Don't you have kindness in your heart?" They looked at me so wet and pathetically. As if they're begging for me to finally break the contract.

I guffawed, "The size and contents of my heart depend on the bodies I'm using. Now, if you don't mind, it's showtime."

Just as easily as slipping on a jacket, I return to the weary, exhausted body I've worn for decades. It welcomes me in return, eagerly returning to producing flowers and stems. It knows me so well. Glad to be back.

I clasp my hands together and take my place next to the bush. Same as it ever was, I think, as the vines wrap themselves around my mind.

Pasketti Koda takes a few seconds to rub her eyes, brush her hair, and clean off her glasses. The Efflorescence barely got a chance to take hold on her. She doesn't remember me possessing her.

So when she regains control and is looking for an easy meal, she'll see me, waiting patiently, smug smirk on my face as a viscious beast brings their teeth down on my skull.

And I got the Efflorescence torn out of me.

#polycarp friedman

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