First Death

In a crowded, smoke-filled room, sentient races of many kinds mingled at tables spaced roughly evenly throughout the venue. Lizardmen raised champagne glasses, mollusk-faced insectoids downed pints of beer, and smooth-skinned dark elves cast lots at a table in the corner. A few main screens on the walls displayed carefully selected channels, the volume turned up just enough so that those nearby could hear. There were many who paid close attention to these screens, laughing heartily and joking with one another as they mocked the participants or speculated over what they might do next. Others watched different channels at their tables, either alone or in small groups. At the bar, a woman with a preying mantis's head polished a wine glass, eyeing a nearby elk-headed patron and licking her mandibles hungrily. 

Walled off from the main area, there were several private booths in which wealthy patrons could spectate in peace. Some of these patrons had the wall between them and the main area turned to "one-way-window" mode so that they could watch not just the Games, but also the crowds of viewers in the main area. In one such room, with the settings turned to what was just described, Zorhellian Fa Qinfeerus, the host of the Games, sat with his digitigrade legs propped up on the table in front of him.

He scrolled lazily through various channels, making sure each and every one of them was functioning properly as he cycled through. 

"Don't you ever get bored of doing that?" A baritone voice asked lazily from off to Zorhellian's left.

"Not at all," Zorhellian replied calmly, glancing towards the troublesome owner of the voice. 

Lounging in a pose that mirrored but exaggerated Zorhellian's, the visiting humanoid dragon had his two main arms crossed behind his head while his little arms laced their fingers together in a relaxed manner across his chest. Two fairly large wings extended from the middle of his back, poking out from between himself and the chair to rest across various nearby surfaces, including the wall, the floor, his chair, and Zorhellian's chair as well. The wings were simply too big for the small room. If those were the only protruding limbs of his younger visitor's, Zorhellian would be (albeit grumpily) content. However, the Chaos Demon had no such luck. This particular dragonling had not only wings and a second pair of arms, but also a tail -- and for some reason, the troublesome young visitor was using the tip of that tail to tickle the pads of Zorhellian's sensitive, 3-toed feet. 

Zorhellian's foot twitched as the dragonling's tail tip danced gently along the underside of his toes. Then, the tail tip found a sensitive spot, making the Chaos Demon's whole leg jerk reflexively. "Orochi!" Zorhellian snapped, finally losing his temper. "Either transform into your damn bird form or walk out that door right now!"

Orochi burst into laughter, then selected a specific channel on his own screen before shifting into the form of a goshawk with deep charcoal body feathers and a solid gray underbelly, rimmed with white. He continued to laugh in his bird form. Of course, now it came out as avian screeching, but he was careful to be quiet enough not to bother Zorhellian further.

As much as he loved playing pranks, he knew when not to push his luck.

He turned his attention fully to the Game on display. On the screen, a certain brown-haired woman that had caught his eye early on was chatting amicably with a red-haired lass he barely remembered seeing.

----

When Alesha finally found a source of clean water, she discovered that she wasn't the first to do so. A red-haired girl was in the middle of cupping her hands to drink from the quick-flowing stream. Alesha recalled that her name was Layla -- even though this girl obviously wasn't her sister, the fact that they shared a name made the girl's name easier to remember. 

"Hey, Layla!" Alesha called cheerfully. "Guess you beat me to it! Great job," she praised. 

Looking up, Layla flinched in surprise, choking on her mouthful of water. A short while later, they both laughed over her mistake. 

"Haha, sorry about that," Layla apologized. "Didn't mean to beat you to your job."

"Nah, no worries," Alesha said, settling down by the stream. "In the shade, this island isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Still hot, though. Definitely reason enough to seek out nice, cool water like this!" She sent a playful splash of the water at Layla, who flinched away from it unhappily.

Alesha noticed that she didn't like it and quietly decided not to do it again. She turned her attention forward and sighed, closing her eyes and taking in the sounds of the forest. 

Insects were buzzing, birds chirped and sang, monkeys hooted -- it was a lively place.

She smiled, enjoying the quiet. She leaned back and let her weight hang from her hands as they gripped her knees, balancing so that she didn't fall backwards. Layla shifted around some but Alesha paid her no mind.

Unexpectedly, Alesha felt four pinpricks of sharp pressure -- enough to draw blood -- on her upper right arm. Her eyes snapped open and she jerked away from whatever it was.

It was… Layla?!

Layla dropped limply to the ground, a tiny bit of blood from Alesha's arm smeared on her slack lips and on the tips of her four fangs. 

[Fledgeling Vampire Killed! +50 XP]

"What?!" Alesha yelped, utterly at a loss. "Do I have poisonous blood now?! What in Elantris's third hell just happened?!?"