Lost in Transition

CH 2 Growing Pains

The Negavian Middle Tier

Ferris had been living in the Negavian Middle Tier for most of his adult life as an expert potions master. Having spent most of that time studying and taking notes of how everything contributes in some small way to making a potion of some sorts. Whether it be some simple potion of healing to something as complicated as restoring a lost limb from nothing he had studied and mastered their creation. Yet there was one potion he had as of yet to create and which he had hoped to be able to create sometime in the future.

Returning to his two floor plain exterior looking house Ferris looked around to ensure he was not being followed and once he was sure squinted his eyes and entered locking the door behind him. Going further in past the initial hallway the house quickly lost any semblance of a "house" to any normal standards and quickly turned into one large laboratory of sorts. With glass containers holding strange liquids with varying color's items stacked on shelf's and hanging in the middle of the room on ropes or strings. A strange faint odor could be smelt throughout the building and to Ferries; this was home quickly walking from the door inside Ferris checked on his many different potions and items and writing down notes on different pieces of parchment next to each item before moving on.

After making a complete round through the first floor Ferris made his way to the stairs and up to the next floor where strangely enough it looked far more normal then the rooms below. A few random items were still left on shelves their purpose unknown to any but Ferris yet not a single potion in sight. Entering in one room revealed it to be lined with shelf upon shelf of books and notes all of which Ferris had either written himself or collected over the years in his studies. And in the center of the room was a large table with more papers and items and more than a few books Ferris took his notes there and sat down and began to transcribe his notes from common to elfish where upon he destroyed the originals by fire.

Ferris day would have ended at that if not for one thing...

"Hello master. Welcome home I have kept the house well in your absence I hope my performance is to your liking." asked a young girlish voice from behind Ferris

At that, Ferris was reminded of what he was now sharing his home with for the last five years and his face instantly turned into a scowl before he rounded on the source of the offending voice.

"As I came inside the house I saw numerous things wrong! Many of my potions were left unattended going past their time needed to sit until being distilled into the next step! Several of the items had been moved and rearranged to the point I could not tell where anything was! And as I came in I noticed a particular odor that made the hairs in my nose cringe!" Ferris shouted at the small form of a little girl who looked to be only five years old with short red hair and a little tattered brown shirt who was bowing before him. That is where the semblance of any human part ended as after her waist was a back snake tail that was about three times her height.

"M... my apologies master at my failings. But you had instructed me to not touch your potions and to move around your items so that you could 'walk around without stepping on something' and the odor of which you speak is regretfully the potion you were working on in the lower working area I believe it has failed to come to fruition again." the little Naga child said sadly yet with enough confidence to finish her explanation

With a sneer Ferris reached back to slap the child but stopped inches from her face. As he looked at her, he saw a slight peeling piece of skin on her face.

"Creature what day is it exactly now?” Ferris demanded staring at the piece of skin on her face

"Master it is the 21st day of this monthly cycle which is the 4th month of the yearly cycle." the little Naga replied

"I know that beast! What I want to know is what day is today in your blasted cycle of life that blights this world!" Ferris demanded reaching out and yanking on the piece of skin peeling it from her face in one long pull that ended at her neck holding the skin in front of her.

"Master it would appear that today is the beginning of my shedding cycle... I shall endeavor more to ensure you find none of my shedding left lying about." she finished lifting her head up to stare at the piece of skin

"You had better damn well have! Or I will make sure you pay for each piece of skin I find left lying about!" Ferris shouted throwing the piece of skin at her face before returning to his notes and books.

"As you will master." the Naga replied simply and left the room quietly closing the door behind her.
......

Five years... it had been five years since Ferris had taken that egg from the female Naga down in Danny's shop and killed her. In in the first week after having killed the mother and stolen the egg it had hatched a small baby female Naga a sight that would have left many women going ah at the sight as it made its first in everything upon its first day in the world. But for Ferris all he saw was a blight to the world and something that he would have to put up with for the next several decades before he could do what he had intentioned to do with the small creature.

Having immediately put the thing to work from the first day Ferris mercilessly beat into her that he was her superior in every way imaginable. That if she were to try to do anything he deemed she should not be able to... well the many scars already upon her small body were proof enough to what were the consequences. As she left her master, alone she quietly fled down stairs into the small corner that Ferris had designated as "her" territory where she was allowed to stay at when he had no use for her and she had no other chores or tasking to accomplish for him.

Her little area being a small spot under a window so that she could get a few of the suns healthy rays to recharge her small body. However, it also was a reminder that if she was able to feel the sun on her skin she had slept to long and that Ferris would be more then upset at her. The large burn mark on her tail was a lesson itself for learning never to sleep in while Ferris was awake and unluckily for her Ferris rarely if ever needed more than four hours of sleep until he awoke and he always expected her to be awake and ready to do, as he wanted her to when he woke.

Coiling her tail into a small circle she gently laid her upper half down upon her make shift bed and tried to go to sleep. Yet that itchy feeling she always had when she began to shed just would not let her sleep and she knew if not taken care of soon would keep her from getting any sleep at all.

"Stupid shedding skin err... why must you keep me up!" she bemoaned quietly reaching all over her body to get at the area's that itched the most yet was unable to reach them all.

She would have kept going at this for all of the night to if not for a single tap on her window, which caused her to pause. Could it be? Was it time for him to give her visit again! Carefully and quietly, the little Naga looked up to the window and saw the smiling face of her only real friend she knew a little human boy. Who had found out by accident some time ago that Ferris was secretly keeping her in her house and had befriended her rather quickly and was the only reason she had not fallen into think herself a stupid mindless beast her master wanted her to believe she was.

"Sala! Hey Sala! Open the window!" he cried quietly seeing her up and awake and with a smile Sala quietly opened the window, reached outside, grabbed a hold of the small boy, and yanked him in with a very tight hug.

"Oh Sascha! I had almost thought you had forgotten me!" Sala squealed quietly hugging him tightly with her arms and tail a few tears of joy in her eyes

"Sala... you’re kinda squeezing me to hard... let go please...,” he cried as Sala instantly slacked off apologizing

"No, it’s alright Sala you didn't hurt me. But... you seem to be shedding again." Sascha said picking off a piece of her skin from his shoulder and holding it between the both of them with a smile

"Oh no you weren't supposed to see that!" Sala cried quickly grabbing the skin from him and stashing it between her coils for her to dispose of later before looking back at him a little bit ashamed and blushing.

"Don't worry Sala besides it's not like this is the first time you ever shed before right?" Sascha said with a knowing smile

"N... no it's just... I don't like people seeing me when I shed!" she cried out backing away from him slightly

"What people? Unless you actually leave his house the only people that ever actually see you are me and him." Sascha said with a not so subtle mark of dislike at the mention of Ferris

"Hu. Your right... but still it just seems like its nasty that I shed and leave my skin everywhere when I do!" Sala cried out shaking her head back and forth eyes closed in disgust. Sascha looked at his friend and crossed his arms looking at her like she was a bit crazy knowing full well that this was just another part of Ferris imparting his teachings into her.

"Salafeta." Sascha said in an ordering tone "Get a grip on yourself it is normal for you to shed! You should not be ashamed to do anything that your body normally does! Heck, you should be happy! Proud even! You’re shedding your skin! That means you are slowly growing bigger and will one day be more than a match for him and will be able to escape this place!" Sascha said defiantly grabbing a hold of her shoulders forcing her to look him in the eyes

"B... but!" Sala stuttered trying to voice an argument

"No, buts! And really you have no butt to speak of... but that's not the point! You really should never be ashamed of yourself you’re a unique person and it is only because he won’t let you see that you are that you think you’re not." Sascha started jokingly and finished seriously.

"Now turn around for me I bet you've been itching all day haven't you?" Sascha said with a smile. At that, Sala blushed a deep red and nodded turning her back to him slowly showing her skin peeling like mad on her back.

"Please be gentle... I don't want to wake him up." Sala warned already knowing that Sascha was going to go crazy and get just about every spot he could reach. At that, Sascha only smiled and leaned forward and began to get her back scratching her back getting all the spots she felt that had been itching her all day long. Gently oohing and ahing at his help she pointed to spots she would never have reached and as she felt the different spots shift she pointed them out as well until her entire back no longer itched and she sat there happily with a content look on her face something she hadn't felt in a while now.

"Thank you... that feels so much better now." Salafeta said quietly moving her back around happily, as it no longer itched

"No worries Sala." Sascha said with a smile as she turned around to face him "I'll be back tomorrow night to help you get the rest off. Oh and by the way your new skin is a lot softer when the old peels off it feels kinda funny yet neat." Sascha said picking off what little of her skin was still on his hands that were not on the floor now.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Sala said grabbing the pieces of sheded skin and stashing it away blushing yet again.

"Don't worry I'm a boy! Boys like gross things! And before you say anything, no you’re not gross. Now can you please help me get back outside?" Sascha asked with a smile

"Okay. But you promise you'll be back again tomorrow night?" Salafeta asked quietly helping him up to the window

"Of course! Were friends right? That’s what friends do! We make and keep promises!" Sascha said crawling back out the window "Now get some sleep and I will see you later I promise!" Sascha said once back outside looking at Sala

"Promise!" Sala said happily and closed the window as Sascha left and went to his own house

The next day went just pretty much just as yesterday had but her itch had returned and slowly crept its way up her tail to her neck again by the end of the day and was as such it was any wonder she had managed to get anything completed by the time Ferris returned that night expecting find to find the whole house covered in her old skin.

"Welcome home master the house is just as you had wished it I have completed all your tasks as wished and have kept all my old skins from your sight." Sala said bowing to the elf in his study once more

"I am actually impressed beast I came back to find the house completely ruined and a smoldering mess when I came back so when I did come back and it wasn't I must say I had my hopes up believing you had finally departed this life and ended your blight upon this world. Yet now I am forced to reconsider that fact as here you are still alive and your presence still befouling my house." Ferris said with so much venom as he stared down at Sala she could practically feel the venom on her skin as it made that strange crawling feeling like something was under her skin and wanted out.

It was at that point Sala lost her composure and began to scratch at herself trying to get her old skin off, as her whole body seemed to cry out at the now overly tight skin demanding to be let out.

"AHH!" Sala cried trying to scratch her body but felt the sting of Ferris slapping her across the face sending her falling backwards onto the ground on top of her tail.

"Stupid creature! Do not do that in front of me! Get out get out get out!" Ferris hollered pointing to the door standing the veins in his neck visibly bulging and his face set in expression of extreme hate and dislike as he had stood up at her shedding.

"As... you wish... master," Sala cried fleeing from his study at such a pace she almost forgot to close the door to his study.

"Stupid beast! Only a few more years Ferris. Only a few more years and then you can be done with this nightmare and claim the title of a renowned alchemist throughout the world!" Ferris said with a heavy sigh rubbing his brow trying to forget the damnable beast as he sat down slowly.

Sala had fled down the stairs and to her spot in such a hurry that she accidentally had hit a few of the tables with Ferris's potions and items on them knocking them around and spilling a few of them onto the table's. Normally this would have been a cause for her to stop and panic at what she had done yet her body cried out to be let out if the prison her old skin had become crying as she hurried to her spot. Once there she began to move about hurriedly scratching and tearing at every inch of her body trying to get the old skin off but to as of yet no avail as it just seemed as if it would not come off. Crying out Sala began to wonder why her skin just would not come off and where was Sascha he had promised to be here and help her with this!

So locked up in what she was doing she almost completely missed the small tap on the window and as soon as she heard, it locked her eyes on the source her eye's in tears of frustration. However, at seeing Sascha's smiling face she instantly felt relived a little and opened the window quickly for him to get inside.

"Quickly please! It... It itches so and it won’t come off!" Sala exclaimed stretching around all over to pick and scratch at her body.

"Hold on don't worry! I'll help!" Sascha said and began to pick at the skin on her back holding her as steady as he could with his own body while Sala continued to move about as if she was possessed. Scrabbling around at her whole body trying to get out of her old skin Sala continued to cry out not caring at this point if Ferris heard her or not she just could not take it anymore!

Then sweet release came as Sascha finally got the skin on her back that had already come off to peel further going up and over her head. It took a while to get up past her head but once it was it was only a matter of sliding her whole body out of its old skin. In the end, it took a total of about thirty minutes for the two of them to get all of the old skin completely off Salafeta.

Yet to them it felt like hours and both were left gasping for breath afterwards in the moon light. As Sala was left lying on her back and on top of her tail while Sascha was on top of her stomach eyes barely open. To their right a little bit out of the way in the center of the room a near exact skin replica of Salafeta laying useless and unseeingly of life.

"That... was long..." Sala said gasping for breath

"Yeah no kidding heh but look at you now!" Sascha said tiredly trying to sit up "You have to be twice as long as you were before!" Sascha said with a tired smile looking at Sala

"Hehe, maybe but I'm still small though compared to him." Sala giggled looking over her body and tail noticing how much bigger she was now as well and with a sigh sat up very very slowly and tiredly

"So what are you going to do with your old you?" Sascha said sitting with his back against the window looking at Salafeta's old skin

"Same thing I always do with old skin..." Sala paused as her stomach could be heard and she immediately blushed a bright red looking back at Sascha his eyes wide. Then he closed them tightly as he broke out in laughter.

"Pfft haha! Oh, so that's what you do with them huh? Well miss hungry I had better be going now before I become a part of the menu!" Sascha said laughing clutching his side and opened them giving his friend a knowing look he could trust her no matter what.

"What! I would never! Oh, hehe that was a joke hehe yeah you better go home before I eat you instead! Rawr! Hehe," Sala said happily giving a mock attempt to eat him by munching on the top of his head.

"Hey cut that out Salafeta! Heh, alright bye Sala talk to you later!" Sascha said climbing out of the window and took off running to his home.

"Hehe, I wonder if I should tell him how he tastes? Nah." Salafeta said to herself watching her friend leave again with a small childishly smile licking her lips before shaking her head erasing the thought from her head.

Salafeta then looked to her old skin, back to her spot by the window, and then back to her old skin again. "I'll take care of it in the morning." Salafeta shrugged taking the old skin and slept peacefully with dreams of one day being big enough to escape from this place and Ferris forever.