Warmth spread through the darkness as small sparks of magic spread. They greedily ate into the black, tore open the cloak and broke it into pieces.

Light stung his eyes and a moment later Gale found himself in a room. Thick bars of rusty iron appeared in front of him.

The floor was made of the same stone as the tunnel had been. This place had to be part of it. Curious and a little exhausted, Gale looked around.

He had ended up in a cell, in a cellar that resembled the dungeon of a castle. Not that he knew what something like this actually looked like, he had never been arrested before.

At least not that he could remember.

"Where am I?", Gale frowned.

Maybe it was just a habit he had of talking to himself. Most of the time, Tara even answered his questions. What he definitely hadn't expected was the voice of a woman.

"This is my tower.", your words echoed in the vastness of the dungeon.

Gale raised his gaze in surprise, his eyes narrowed sceptically.

"Who is this?", Magic crackled between his fingers.

A chuckle made your lips form an amused smirk.

"A strange man indeed.", slowly you stepped out of the shadows.

Gale had seen much in his life, so much that it was perhaps too much for a single mortal lifetime. But something like you was alien even to him.

It wasn't your first time being stared at. Many years before, when you had lived among mortals, you had often been looked at like that.

But his dark eyes sparkled with genuine interest in finding out who you were. Or rather what.

"I might as well ask you who you are, stranger.", you tilted your head, strands of your (H/C) hair falling into your face.

His eyes followed the movement, travelling higher and lingering on the two unmistakable things growing out of your head: horns.

"A Tiefling woman.", he murmured, but frowned the next moment.

"No.", your eyes narrowed and the scales that framed them contracted. "Try again."

The light from the torches awoke a shimmering rainbow in the black. A tail danced around your legs, the end adorned with spikes that could have ripped open a grown man's chest.

"The horns don't grow from your forehead.", he rubbed his bearded chin and leaned further forward for a better look. "But you've got a tail like a tiefling."

"I was told you were clever. Try again. I'm not a tiefling.", your lips puckered to expose your teeth.

Only the canines were pointed, as one would expect from vampires. Tieflings had spikes on every single tooth. He frowned in confusion.

"You know me?", brown strands fell across his face as he tilted his head curiously.

You lifted your chin. Arms folded as if you were holding a child, you whispered a few words. The air vibrated with power. Darkness awoke, forming vivid swathes and weaving a cocoon of shadows. As they dissipated, a familiar figure lay in your embrace.

"Tara!", Gale gripped the bars.

Rust nestled against his palms.

Purring contentedly to herself, Tara lay on her back in your arms, her paws up in the air and enjoyed having her belly scratched by you. The collar with the blue stone was still dangling around her neck.

"You said he was clever.", you looked at Gale but your words were directed at Tara. "He hasn't said anything clever yet."

Tara purred.

"He's a good pet.", she laughed. "The most expensive pet in all of Waterdeep."

"Tara.", Gale rattled the bars of his prison. "That's my cat. I'd appreciate if you'd return her to me."

"She's a tressym.", you returned.

"He doesn't mean it, dear.", Tara's tail bobbed quietly in the air with the rhythm of your fingers scratching her belly. "Sometimes he just doesn't think as much as he should."

Her words made you chuckle. While she kneaded biscuits in the air with her paws, you took some time to look at him more closely.

He was unmistakably human. Although his height was far inferior to yours, he had to be tall for a human male. His brown hair was so sweaty that it stuck to his forehead.

Your sensitive nose could smell the salt that had dried on his skin. At the same time, there was the scent of old books and a fire in the fireplace that was chewing up good wood.

Hidden somewhere in this mixture was the flavour of good wine.

"What's your name?", you asked.

"Gale.", he frowned. "And I really don't want to be rude, but this is not the proper way to treat guests."

He pointed to the cell he was stuck in. Your tail twitched, kicking up dust from the floor.

"You're not a guest.", your (E/C) eyes travelled to Tara. "But she promised me you wouldn't cause any trouble."

A low groan escaped him.

"Did you know that such a...", again he hesitated, not knowing what you should be called. "...lady... was living in this tower."

Tara's wings bobbed.

"No my dear.", in one sweeping movement she jumped out of your arms and slowly strutted towards him. "I was surprised, but with proper education and courtesy, differences can be resolved."

"You are such an all-knowing cat."

"She's a tressym.", you repeated, folding your arms in front of your chest. "As the one who summoned her, you should know that."

Again his eyes travelled along your body. You were wearing clothes, but perhaps not the kind he would have called modest.

On large parts of your body, black scales had formed on your (S/C) skin. They were not like those of a fish but hard, armoured ones, similar to those of reptiles.

To avoid unpleasant friction, you wore a dress made of simple linen, white, with slits that reached all the way up to your hips. Both legs were completely visible from the side.

You wore chains of gold, silver and precious stones around your waist so that the fabric didn't ride up too high and showed things that weren't meant for the eyes of others. The sleeves were wide and ragged from your long, claw-like nails.

Now that he saw most of you, he realised that you were definitely not a tiefling.