"Time and a half?" the attendant asked.

"....very well." he said.

'Is she TRYING to kill him?' he wondered.

"Back to swimming! Now!" he then ordered them, to which Jake and the child jumped into the water immediately. The attendant then pressed a lever down, causing a good amount of ice to tumble into the water, lowering the temperature.

"How long until your next check-in?" he asked Vanessa.

"And what sort of improvement are you looking for?" he asked further.

"Of course." the attendant responded.

The months passed, and eventually Jake and the child were separated for different training. Jake's conditioning for the cold was getting greater and greater, but Vanessa kept raising the bar again and again.

She was also having him run various... 'errands'... for her. Many of which were unpleasant and most certainly immoral.

He was now returning from one such errand, carrying a bag filled with... items. It was quite heavy, and it seemed to be stained on the bottom with a crimson red liquid.

"Mistress?" he called in as he descended into the hidden lair.

"I have returned with what you asked."

Jake was silent, before doing as he was told. He deposited the payload where he was supposed to and then headed back to his room to wait for further instructions.

However, after a few minutes, he paused for a moment.

"......" he was silent, before getting up and making his way through the halls. He made his way to a specific room, where he knocked on the closed door.

"Mistress?" he asked quietly through it.

"May I be excused to go outside?" Jake asked.

"It's... it's time for me." he said.

"My cycle is ending, and I don't think you want my sheddings left here in any way." he told her.

That was the thing about Ramaarin. Like snakes, they shed their outer scales every so often... and they needed to be out of sight to so it, so they weren't discovered, and so they could clean up the evidence of them existing.

"I promise it won't be too terribly long."

Jake nodded as the door was harshly shut in his face, before rushing outside. He looked around, before heading to where there was a small river, and a clump of large bushes. Once there, he looked around, before taking off all his clothes and hiding behind the larger bushes that were there.

Once they were obscuring him completely, he allowed what needed to happen... happen. He gritted his teeth as the skin-like scales all over him started to rise up and seemingly peel off of him, revealing fresh, slightly green-tinted scales underneath. He clenched his fists and clamped his eyes shut, as the scales fell off in large clumps, landing around him. Then, at the very end of it, he initiated the final part of the process, and expelled any foreign presences in his body. It was a purification and shedding of both the inside, AND the outside.

However, his body recognized Vanessa's mana as foreign, even if his mind hadn't... and when he completed the 'ritual', his eyes widened with clarity.

"...she had no desire to help me." he said quietly. "I was little more than a resource to be run into the ground." he said further, looking back in the direction of the underground complex.

He was feeling extremely conflicted right now. And it wasn't because of any loyalty towards Vanessa. He remembered that child that was still there. That child had to be helped. But he knew that if he went back there, Vanessa's mind controlling drow mana would certainly take hold again, and he would be lost to her, trapped once more... until his current cycle ended. But who knew if he would survive that long?

He also knew that, if he ran, before he could get any help (who would listen to him anyway?), odds were good that Vanessa would have abandoned the place, for fear of him returning with reinforcements.

'If only I was still in contact with Sydney...' he cursed mentally, as he grabbed the tattered and dirty clothing that he had discarded earlier.

He clamped his eyes shut once more as he redressed himself, and gathered the discarded scales that he had shed, rolling them together into a crumpled ball.

'I have no choice.' he realized. With that, he ran. He ran away from the complex, and he did not look back. He ran until his legs were tired and aching, but continued to run. He had to get away from her, and that was all there was to it. It was all he COULD do, and he hated it.

-Years and years later-

A gorgeous young woman was walking down the street, on an errand for the one she lived with. She had been told to go to the market to get fruit and vegetables, and she was not in a position to argue or deny him... for... various reasons.

As she walked, though, she overheard some people talking amongst themselves, seemingly trying to hide their conversation from prying ears. They weren't doing the best job, though, as she was clearly hearing parts of the conversation... and very interesting parts of it, as well.

"...shedding like a reptile..." she heard one say.

"...see those slitted eyes?" another asked.

"Not human.... a demon...?" hey another asked.

"....old cereal factory, I heard..." the last one said, before it turned into murmurs and whispers.

As she walked, she heard more and more whispers about the mysterious being.

She heard wild rumours, lies, and speculation, but there was one thing that all she heard had in common... they all thought it was a monster, and were mobilizing to kill him.

Eventually, she was able to piece together all the info.

It seemed that a human-like reptilian had been spotted, and was rumoured to be seeking refuge in an abandoned and decaying cereal factory in the nearby industrial district.

Also, from what she could piece together, the creature was actually docile and non-threatening... not that anyone was picking up on THAT...

As soon as she entered the alley, everything went dead silent.

However, she noticed two things.

The first one was a small jar lid that had just finished rolling out from somewhere, and had settled on the ground.

The second one was a stray feline. It was adult and seemed to be doing well for itself, but it was definitely interested in SOMETHING in the alley.

Something that was hiding behind the side of a dumpster.

The cat continued to sniff at whatever was there, but then backed off somewhat, as a face peered out slightly from behind the dumpster.

"....that's a first in a long while." the man said.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"And I don't mean the cat." he then said. "I mean in this alley." he clarified.

"This is a dead-end alley that barely gets any usage. Nobody has any need to check down here for any reason." he said further.

"How did you find me?"

The man looked out even further, and she could see that he had faint green scaly skin.

Instantly, she knew what he was.

"Help?" he asked.

"If you could just tell me of a place where someone like me can be safe, then that would be a massive help." he told her.

"As you can see, I can't be seen in public, and whenever my cycle ends, someone always sees me." he growled further.

"But... you really don't mean me any harm?" he then asked her.

The man sighed when she said what she did.

"It's still appreciated." he said.

"Seriously, I can count the number of people that have been genuinely kind to me throughout my life on... both my hands." he admitted.

"Life isn't easy for one such as me, as you can see." he went on.

"Why are you helping me?" he then asked.

"Not that I doubt you or anything, but the last one that tried to help me ended up enslaving me for a long while." he muttered, remembering Vanessa.