Finally, Sunday has arrived. The Shade is closed for today, my sexy girls are visiting their families, and I can now catch up with the latest issues of 'Krupien's Cases of mystery'.

The healing salvos of the Jacuzzi's water turned the usually hot bath into a play of fumes and smells comforting Pale's blue skin as well as seducing his sense of smell. The merfolk was fully relaxed enjoying his off-day to its fullest. Just him, his thoughts and his local hero were occupying his world at that point. Neither the sound nor the smell of orgies, not even the erotic tension of his red-light pub, the 'Flustering Shade', was distorting the sweet sensation of privacy.

Privacy, yeah...about that. It's not like that this room has a full-on panorama view to enjoy the look outside...or giving passing people on the street a taste of the fun happening here, inviting them to join. But the fumes are currently preventing exposing too much to the outside world.

Pale turned the page of the popular new comic series, that got recently published and produced here in Gemenskap. A comic re-telling in its comedy fashion the real cases of the famous raven detective Lucius Kruipen. This time its Plot told about the detective deducing and blowing up a crime ring in development forming here in his very city.

Good thing Lucius invested his time in following the tip given to him by his client, a cheetah, who claimed to have escaped from the grasp of this human trafficking program.

Pale chuckled heartily. He was reading right now through one of the hilarious sex scenes of his favourite detective with one of his clients. Casual and fully platonic as it was usual up here in the city, where sex means nothing and actual interest beyond the simple craving of the flesh literally everything in senses of intimacy.

Nice, pal. Enjoy that hot session fully and thoroughly. That cheetah is so lucky to have you take her case with all your professionality. . .and her butt as well. Such a cute bum, but not nearly as cute as Silta's...wait a hot second! That girl is oddly comfortable with our way of life. Hasn't she claimed to be a case of human trafficking? Shouldn't she be alienated as all our first-time visitors? Could it be? Oh, man!? Such a cliffhanger!

Finishing the final page, Pale put the comic angrily aside knowing pretty well, that he will re-read the entire case later searching for clues.

The merfolk stretched his limbs and sunk deeper in the hot water of the Jacuzzi. He was just about to close his eyes to enjoy the scented water cleaning his body as he noticed something quite familiar appearing on the ceiling. He squinted his purple eyes and re-painted with his thumb the lovely curves of the entity looking down at Pale through a grinning red eye. Parts of the ceiling were now painted in a carpet of pitch-black shadows devouring any form behind them; a carpet forming the lovely curvy shadow body of the Co-Founder of the 'Flustering Shade':

"I thought I closed the inn today having some private time to spoil myself. And now a deep shadow clouds the atmosphere disturbing the peace.", Pale lowered his voice seductively continuing, "A weather forecast I am most welcoming. It got quite boring having no one to share this pleasure with. Please hop in, Byta!"

A heartily chuckle echoed through the room and Byta's eye glowed up joyfully! 

"Tell me. What brings my favourite identity snatching Shade to me on this lovely afternoon? But first, you should really join me in the Jacuzzi with your other body. The water is hot and smelling lovely."

Pale's eyes followed the shadow, searching for its legs, searching for what resides on the leg's toes. Then he saw her in all her fragile glory.
An obsidian figurine waltzed slowly over to the Jacuzzi, throwing away her grey jacket in a trained motion. Pale couldn't help himself but adoring the small naked body of his friend. 

Some call the Arcadian Shade a lesser demon when seeing the horned head, the unusually long arms with sharp pinchers and the digitigrade legs with multiple sharply formed attachments. Many fear the true form of those Identity Vampires, especially when noticing the vastly different formed shadow of them. A demonic-looking shadow of pitch-black darkness starring the eye of the Shade in their two-dimensional skull.
It was an unusual sight to spot Byta in that form; normally she would have preferred to wear the identity of her latest mating partner.

The Shade dipped her toes into the warm water of the Jacuzzi and then bent down at the edge. Elegantly she jumped in, waves rippling the silent water tickling Pale's chest. A high-pitched joyful scream escaped the invisible mouth of her puppet form and she swam on her back over to Pale. Snuggling into a spot next to him Byta let out a sigh of enjoyment spreading apart her legs leaning her back against the edge. The shadow on the ceiling repositioned itself to remain in eye contact with the merfolk observing the whole room from its elevated position. Pale sat up slightly to be able to give both halves of his friend his attention. A soft grin ran across his face:

"So, you just came here to enjoy the water with me, Byta? Can't blame ya. Couldn't find a narcissist to fool around with?", then Pale noticed something he took for granted, "I-I am noticing you appear not transformed. You know love, you look so beautiful that way. My adorable obsidian flower."

The eyeless obsidian puppet blushed hearing the compliments imminently shushing Pale holding her insect-like claw in front of his mouth touching him slightly:

"No, Pale, no sex yet. Today I wanna try to remain all day in my true form. No identity snatching on the third Sunday of the month. At least is that the plan trying to get more comfortable with myself."

The joyous looking eye of the shadow appeared now much more serious. Byta noticeably lowered her sizzling voice coming from her horned head from Pale's right like a broken Stereo player. It was difficult pinpointing the location of her voice, as there was no mouth present on her empty face now looking at him staring with her empty eye sockets:

"But I am not only here for shit and giggles. I much rather came to tell you about something I overheard when enjoying the sun glare on the upper deck a few hours ago. Listened, while my main body was undergoing photosynthesis, to an interesting conversation between two joy girls from the 'Arcadian Emporium' down the street. They talked about something you might find interesting. . .oh, you will definitely find it interesting, my soft-hearted puppy."

The claw pinched Pale's cheek softly, and a slight chuckle rummaged through Byta's body:

"When they talked about the rumour they heard, I couldn't stop thinking of you, darling. Just as you took me in all these years ago, I imagined you might enjoy rescuing that poor thing from her ugly fate."

A sudden laugh escaped Pale's throat, and the pool turned into a wavy ocean. He grabbed softly Byta's chitinous pincher, caressing her softly and gently allowing her body to intake probes of his smell and taste through her skin. A compliment from Byta later Pals answered still silently chuckling:

"First of all, Byta. Helping you out with your homework and teaching you algebra for our mid-terms all these years ago is not what I would call 'taking you in'. But please tell me more about that poor critter. You tickled my interest. What kind of animal will I be able to nurse back to health this time? Please tell me that it is a crimsonwolf cub! Is it!?"  

Byta leaned further back, her small boobs now half emerged in the water. Her empty eyes looked worried up to her shadow with it looking back in even more worried:

"Not a crimsonwolf, no. Sorry to pop your bubble of raising a puppy. Nope. They mentioned something quite worrisome. You are for sure aware of the continuing issue our mobile city is facing. Runaways boarding the ship when we are welcoming visitors. Visitors, who don't intend on leaving trying to escape their former life."

Byta's shadow was now in a flux of change, trying to provide Pale with some visuals to support her story. The black surface reformed into an oddly familiar outline:

"A Kobold?"

"Yes, a Kobold. Sure, it is nothing unusual that Kobolds try to join Gemenskap with the simple-minded intention to use our open-mindedness regarding our sex life for their pleasure. But this case seems to be different. That Kobold, who is now seemingly living in the Sewers since. . .who knows how long, is only barely mature with 17. They heard from a citizen visiting the Emporium that this particular Kobold desperately tries to earn money for survival. He called her a sad display of scales and bones, sick and tired. No idea why that guy didn't intervene further."

Byta focussed now Pale, who looked at his toes with a chilly veil of sadness and pain clouding his visage. The warm water got noticeably colder as the cryomancer's emotions bubbled up inside his guts. She smiled softly; her friend and boss was already plotting his next moves. A trait she admired of him; a righteous sense of righteousness of caring for the troubled:

"That sounds vastly different than the usual blind passenger Kobold. Most risk everything to mix themselves into the ongoing orgies, just to be identified immediately. No cunning moves, no prudence at all. But that particular one. . .hiding away. Not trying to follow her primal desires. I fear that Kobold is no blind passenger but a serious case of a Runaway. Maybe even one who doesn't want to leave any traces. Byta?"

"Yes, boss?"

"Please prepare my room for the future visitor. I should at least try to approach that Kobold trying to find out why she is here and why she is hiding away. Caution is advised. . .even if she won't tell me anything, I will at least offer her a temporary place to stay and nurture herself back to health. Giving her enough time and space to recuperate before figuring the rest out. The sewers are no place for such a young lady."

Without wasting any time, Pale stood up after gently patting the head of his friend. He walked over to the clothes pile he prepared on the dresser. An oddly formed dresser to support the steampunk appeal the Shade was trying to bring back to modernity..with success. Paleput on his brown leather pants and buckled up his colourful clothing strap. 

Up here in the Moondistrict clothes were nothing more than a statement to tell others that they currently have no time for some lewd distraction. It was an unspoken law in the Redlight-District, that those, who were wearing anything would be let alone to assure the cities functionality. The atmosphere within the belly of the airship Leviathan got artificially temperated to support the traditional nudist lifestyle of its denizen so freezing was no issue when sporting a naked look.

I think I should take with me some basic medication, water. . .I think the Kobold would appreciate the remains from dinner out of the fridge. Something else? Oh, a clean blanket could be nice as well. She is for sure quite scared and warily of strangers approaching her. I should put up my best self to gain her trust to talk with me. 

Will be a first-timer to approach a sapient and not a sentient being with the intention to help. I just hope I won't screw it up.

"I am on my way, Byta!", Pale shouted back to the pool room while preparing his knapsack, "Wish me luck with finding and convincing her."

"Good luck!"