I'll turn it all to art,
Every little part,
Soul heart happenstance.
Cannot remain the same.
Cause swallowing it all,
Will fill me with delight,
Turning the spinning fear,
Into clothes I wear.
Witness how suave I am,
A grounded formal star,
Speaking beyond those all around,
The cracked brittleness of awareness.

All else would scream and try to escape,
But not you, my loyal snakeshead, not you,
We raised you like a member of an extended family,
Taught you reading, writing, arithemetic,
Gave you scales to wear and weapons to master,
Granted service to fill out your otherwise meaningless existence,
He interrupted her.
I live to serve you m'lady, no other vocation gives my pulse rhythm,
You gave us the power to exceed mortal limits, sharpened our minds beyond,
The scopes employed by lesser men cannot gaze upon what I have seen,
Thanks to you...
She sunk her fangs into his giving neck, he closed his eyes and wept,
At the majesty of it all.

One of her last remaining Snakeshead died from his wounds,
Restating his oath to serve Andulan before slipping beneath the black,
No song awaited him on the other side, only pools of venom,
On an island of silence.
That killed down to the last, knew his survival was heavy,
So he tore off a symbol of his responsibilty, from a brotherly neck.
Andulan was found passed out and alone, with a starry sky above to glimpse upon,
It didn't exist for him, all that mattered was that his beloved was still alive,
Battered and bruised, but living nonetheless.
He carried her off into the forest, taking her to a clearing beside a frog filled pond.
It croaked with slimy life, pouches of green littered the vernal pool, filled with capsules.
It was a melodious, low pitched song that eased him to sleep beside her,
He'd wake up with her lying over him.

Rick's soothing release came for her,
Hitting her just below her black coronet,
Above her left eye, while she was lying face down buried in blonde curls,
Staring forward at them as they knelt down to comfort her, as her hell vanished.
Sensation filled her universe with questions, it was like she'd woken up in the center,
Of a burning village holding a blackened torch in her hands, too dry to cry.
She wanted to ask questions but couldn't muster the strength to,
What remained of her dress was drenched in sweat and fear,
At the thought of transforming again.
Still covered in decaying green foliage, that retracted slowly back into her body.
It all quivered and complained as it died back, leaving only its core rooted in her womb.

She regained her humanity, felt herself dosing off from the effects,
Of her everlasting anemia, to sustain her ivy as it labored to,
Heal her bruised and broken body.
I didn't ask for any of this, all I wanted was to be loved,
And permitted to wander the halls of my entitlement,
Weightless and carefree...

It was a delayed effect,
Slow enough to leave John and the rest to her devices,
Even empowered as they were, song had its limits,
Each found themselves entangled, disarmed and held high into the air,
John was fondest toy, brought in intimately close for a rendezvous,
Andulan caressed him lovingly, ******* in knots as he was, he couldn't resist,
As she bit into his unblemished neck.
Kevin dropped in, riding ****** adrenaline that gave him measure,
Intoxicated by cortisol that nullified his immediate pain,
He and Paul shrugged off numerous gashes to the arms, legs and chest,
Each was stabbed in a near fatal area near their hearts,
But it didn't stop Kevin from cutting him free from Andulan's grasp,
Nor did it prevent Paul from pressing his trident up to her throat,
To bring her down breathless and weakened.

As the battle raged on,
Andulan began to feel increasingly uncomfortable,
Her combat high was wearing off, the needs of her ivy,
Were becoming greater and greater, taken without consideration of,
Her needs or wishes.
Rick used the borrowed moonlight to focus his song,
Down the length of his bow, humming a song under his breath to steady his nerves,
Rick set loose a single note, with a message written just for her,
Its alright now, you can rest, no one is going to hurt you,
I'm here for you...