AN: This was supposed to be up two days ago. That is a testament to how busy I am. For personal reasons I've chosen not to say just where in the Keep Nemo and I were located. If you wish to know our door opened to a hallway but it did not take long for me to emerge in the bright sunlight. It was growing less cool as the month of March moved forward but conversely I noticed the temperature more. I also had begun to notice people more as I wanted them to stay far, far away from me. ' Stay calm. You've got this under control.' I walked out from between two buildings into the main square of the Keep. After a morning of walking just from my abode, with lots of time spent in hiding, I was growing tired. Nemo was right though, I needed to leave my room lest I turn into a mad man. Or a more mad man, I digress. I emerged in an open square with throngs of phantoms mulled about. A cacophony of voices and an ocean of incidental sound created a symphony of noise. For the first time in days I felt myself begin to relax. Metamor Keep is inconsistent and loud. Except when it's quiet. It's also both open and cramped at once. You can see why descriptions escape my aged mind. Various creatures in shapes, sizes and colors milled about. I stood in the shadow of a building, trying to remain invisible. A massive bovine carrying logs walked by. I sniffed the air. ' If I have an improved sense of smell it's not working'. The bovine's tail swatted back and forth. My eyes followed it while my hands drifted to the back of my skirt. "No no no no. Gods no no no." I took a step forward, into the light. Stress briefly let go of me as the light fell onto my inhuman form. One hand, uncovered and scaled shielded my face from the bright light. My other hand, still gloved, instinctively covered the lump above my rear. 'I can see well.' I could see the fur ripple on a silver fox talking to some kind of dark furred creature. I turned to the bovine from earlier as he turned around a corner. Drops of mud tossed up by his hooves, flies buzzing around his back. "If I were up high...I could see everything." I grinned. ...snap... My head snapped around to the sound of footsteps on something. A stick, a stone, something. 'What is that?' I spun around. 'Sounds. Distinct.' My heart began to pound. 'Out in the open. No! Relax James.' The air was cold but the sun warmed it and me rapidly. It felt amazing on my scales. I closed my eyes for just a moment and let it wash over me. "He looks happy." My eyes snapped open again. I moved forward, each step was trembling. The voice had come from a human of indeterminate gender and ebony colored skin. They were dressed in a light blue tabard and cloak with an emblem of a lantern. I barely noticed them. Beside them was a solidly built, blue female lizard. She stood just shorter than me but possessed a form more muscular than my spindly one. Her shoulders were stiff and her hands clasped behind her back. Her scales reminded me of lapis lazuli while her eyes two large opals. They focused on me with perfect precision. Her tail was massive and the only other part of her body moving. Running up it I could see a massive sail fin. She wore the same uniform of the androgen. Except hers was unlined, unwrinkled and seemingly untouched by light or dirt. How do I know it's a she? She has no breasts. I did know though. She cocked her head and I mirrored her. "Why are you so happy lizard man?" The androgen asked. "Uh...what..." The rest of the Keep fell away. Now was just me, the speaker and the watcher. "Happy? I'm not happy." "You're smiling aren't you?" The androgen said. "Who...what do you do here?" The androgen shot the lizard a glance. "By here do you mean the Keep? Keeptown? The continent? The planet? As to all of them, I'm Bantry of the Watch." "Who names their child Bantry?" I asked. Bantry frowned. "Watch? Are you...you're guards. Isenport had a watch also." Except in Isenport when I passed the City Watch, they moved out of my way. They took notice of who I was. They did not speak to me because I did not want to speak to them. And their emblem was more sylish. "Ah you're from Isenport!" Bantry said, continuing to talk to me on equal terms. "And rapidly becoming a lizard like my friend here," They gestured to the female lizard. "I wonder what. Want to place a bet on what you're becoming?" "Excuse me?" "Place a bet. It's fun, you set down a sum of money on what you think you're becoming, if you're right you double your money." I frowned at this. "If you're on the city watch, should you be taking bets from people?" The female who had yet to speak smirked at this. "Actually I'm off now." Bantry said. "This is a side business I run." "You don't know me. You just met me!" "Money never waits!" He/she/it grinned. I took a step back. "I bet that's a no?" "You bet correct." I snapped. "Do you know who I am?" "Somebody new to the Keep." Bantry said. "If not for the scales I'd assume you were a transgender like me, especially since you're wearing a skirt." "It's not a skirt!" I yelled. If people weren't looking at me before, they were now. "I am nobility; you should not just come up talking to me." The female snorted and Bantry rolled their eyes. "I'm sorry your highness, I didn't know we had to follow protocol." "Don't talk to me. Stay the hell away from me." I started to walk away but my eyes fixated on the blue lizard. "I mean...I don't want to be here." I turned and stomped off.
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