“Then it's time you tried trusting me like I trusted you. Let me loose, let me see you. Please Serafina, you don't have to be afraid," he told her soothingly.

For a moment all was silent.

“... you're right," she finally said, appearing to regain some confidence.

“It's really quite shameful of me to act like this, I'm proud of what I am. So here goes..."

His bonds came undone quite strangely, like he was being unwrapped rather than untied. The fleshy, cool impression he had of them was reinforced as they glided over his skin. His eyes freed seconds before his body was, he tried to get his bearings while his eyes adjusted to the low Light level of his surroundings. He was facing away from where his bonds were unwrapping and so the first thing he saw was that he was laying on the floor of a Large cavern, a small stream running in front of the entrance. The air felt pleasantly cool and moist compared to the heat outside. A few feet away lay his pack of supplies, including the pepper powder, while his knife had been taken from his pants and placed with his pack.

He also now realized he was still fully clothed, which actually surprised him a bit given how much Serafina Liked to grope him. Rolling over and looking up, he squinted at beams of light that holes in the cavern ceiling let in. Rubbing his eyes, he finally Looked to where his abductor/love interest had moved herself near one of the Light rays. In those seconds he poured his attention on every detail he could make out as he finally Laid eyes on his mystery lover.

She still wore her cloak, but it was open in the front now and her hood was down, revealing her face. And what a face it was. Her eyes were the most obvious, each a crimson red with a wide vertical slit for a pupil.

As she turned away nervously, looking more toward the sunlight, he noted how her pupils thinned into finer slits. Clearly she had good night vision. But that was a minor observation compared to everything else.

Her hair was a Light violet and done up in a long ponytail that she had let hang over the front of her shoulder. In addition to looking very smooth and silky her hair appeared long enough, if undone from the ponytail, to extend down the full Length of her back. Her skin appeared unblemished and creamy in color, smooth in texture. Her ears were pointed much Like an elf's and the ears of a number of other mamono types and from them hung a pair of golden earrings. Overall her face gave off a mature, sultry feel with a hint of softness in her features.

Drawing his gaze to her upper body he took in her build, she was thin but not overly so, a obviously substantial bust supported and partially hidden by a brassiere-Like wrapping of cloth colored to match her red eyes.

Her waist narrowed an attractive degree, though it was far from stick-thin, before splaying smoothly at her hips where she wore a short sarong wrap colored the same crimson as her top.

In the seconds it took him to take this in he got up from his hands and knees and stepped toward her, his eyes widening at what he saw below the short skirt of the sarong. For what above the wrap was pale creamy skin, below became a row of broad, darker but still creamy belly scales, small brick red scales forming to each side of the belly scales to cover the rest of her lower body.

Her quite substantial Lower body.

For below her waist stretched what appeared to be at least sixteen feet of serpentine form, her reddish scales shimmering where the light from the ceiling openings hit them. In response to his astonished stare and perhaps on defensive reflex, she meekly began drawing her Lower body into a tight coil, as if in a attempt to make it less noticeable.

"A snake woman... but I see no snakes in her hair... that would make her a lamia... Serafina is... a lamia...'

He knelt back down on one knee, never taking his eyes off her. Dozens of questions ran through Van's mind, not the least of which being how when he saw her earlier she had legs. However, the uncertainty, even fear, in her eyes made him soon realize there was something more important he needed to say

“By the gods..." he smiled at her, “you're even more beautiful than I'd imagined."

Serafina let out a held breath and closed her eyes with a relieved sigh.

“If you weren't such an awful Liar I might think you were just saying that... but I can't deny it anymore." Her succulent Lips turned up in a pleased grin, "Now I know, even having never seen me, your feelings for me really were real. To think, things would work out like this... it's already more than I had ever hoped for..." she seemed to say to herself in wonderment as she turned fully back to him. With her bright smile he noted another feature, short but sharp white fangs.

They both chuckled in sudden awkwardness, and for a time continued to take each other in, till Van felt the need to break the silence. He stood up and took a few steps toward her, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, unsure of himself again.