Introductions on Stage

The light shines through the curtains, warming the white-walled room. Still curled up in the fetal position in the silk sheets, Little Miss slowly opens her eyes, and after having pushed aside the teddy bear that she had been holding tight to her until then, she sits up and looks around her. She does not immediately recognize the place and her memories are still foggy. She glances at the bear and sees a medallion marked "Muffin" hanging around his neck... She lets out an exasperated sigh and puts it aside.

Her outfit has changed, she is in a sort of silk pajamas in a dark pink, which really is not her favorite color. She puts a hand to her head and feels the cat ears, but luckily she doesn't feel the tail that goes with it, that's at least that.

She gets out of bed and looks around the room. White walls decorated with gilding, a chandelier on the ceiling, a large window overlooking the vast snowy interior courtyard, a dark lacquered wooden floor, a huge bed with green silk sheets. There is also a wardrobe, a desk and, above all, three huge doors with, in the frame of one of them, the host who stands to her full height in the doorway clearly designed for her stature. Upon reflection, the bed is also the right size for the dragon woman.

Little Miss doesn't say a word, trying to keep a neutral face while waiting to find out what order the host will have to give her.

The host, wearing a new dress and her scales and horns reflecting the morning light, says with a smile that is meant to be warm :

"Good morning! I wondered how long you'd sleep. Really pushed yourself there, but fear not, I saved everything from that collapsing singularity you left behind and moved it all here. Oh, and the contestant as well."

She remains in the doorway, preferring to give the cat girl her space to be comfortable. The latter nods and takes the time to register each piece of information, then she asks :

"How long did I sleep?"

"You've been out for a few days now. Might have been longer, but I wanted to make sure you regained your full strength, so gave you a few healing potions. There might have been a few side effects, but nothing serious. I sent the masters into their own pocket time to watch the interviews and the contestants are all still paused. Far as anyone outside this space is concerned no time at all has passed."

"Side effects?" The assistant asks as she heads to the closet to change her outfit.

"Nothing too bad. You'll keep working even with that."

The pink-haired girl frowns and her ears twitch for a moment, but she doesn't say anything more. She looks at her stuff and notices the return of her green suit. She also notices the absence of a tail and cat ears.

“There are no more accessories to go with my outfits?” She asks as she grabs a suit that she's about to put on.

"That won't be necessary anymore, you look better like this."

That's when the assistant notices two things. First, her ears twitching on her head. Then another element that now comes from the base of her back and not lower down and is stuck in the pants of her pajamas...

"You... that's... that was the side effects?" She says, feeling a slight hint of annoyance rising. She tries to change her appearance to get rid of it, but quickly realizes that the dragon woman's words earlier are forcing her to keep these side effects.

Without taking the time to respond, and still with the same smile, Wrynn adds :

"Feel free to keep Muffin too, he was quite diligent in guarding your sleep despite some really quite fierce nightmares trying to intrude."

Little Miss glances at the teddy bear, her gaze a little darker.

“I know its effects… I was the one who designed it in the first place”

"Don't be so defensive Kitten, bad dreams have been around long before you were."

“I’m not so sure…”

"Trust me, the stuff of nightmares was out in the darkness long before there was any light. I'm one of them." She said, winking at her.

“I know... But you know my job, and you know where I work. Time doesn't have the same meaning for me. Even though I have a birthdate, I have to work for every season of the Harem Hotel, past and future.”

For a moment, the weight of her role is almost apparent on the assistant's shoulders. Trying to comfort her a little, the host replies :

"There is a beginning and an ending to all things, Kitten. And while you were sleeping I got word you do well on this season and you may be rewarded with a lightening of your load. So let's do this thing! Now, do we fetch the contestants to the stage or would you like to get some food first?"

"I'll be fine, I just need time to put this on and we can go back."

After a short commercial break, the show returns to the air. The camera pans from the sky, showing the vastness of the castle as the theme music starts, then quickly arrives at the main courtyard where a series of luxurious seats in various colors have been arranged in an arc, facing a pearly white throne placed on a platform. After a short rotating tracking shot, the camera stops on the host and her assistant who have reappeared. The dragon woman is now in a new black dress and towers over her assistant who has put her green suit back on. Her cat ears twitch and it seems that what was originally a headband is now a real pair of ears.

"Greetings and welcome back to the newest season of Harem Hotel: They Asked For It Edition!" Says the host, triggering a series of explosions off-screen.

"And welcome back to you too." She adds, casting an amused glance at her assistant, whose gaze is focused on the origin of the explosions. The orange glow emanating from them seems to indicate the start of a fire. The cat girl nods before running off-screen to put out the fire. Wrynn shrugs and then focuses on the camera.

"It is time to officially introduce our first contestant!"

As she says this, she spreads her huge wings, momentarily hiding the rest of the scenery, then, as she moves aside to give the camera a free view, a woman with pink hair appears on the first of the seats, this one being blue.

"Sophia Nafari!"

"Wha... Where am I? What's going on? Who are you?" Asks the young woman whose panicked gaze quickly observes around her, noticing a huge black dragon woman in front of her and, in the background, a pink-haired cat-girl fighting a fire.

"Greetings, Sophia, to Harem Hotel! You are our first candidate. Why don't you introduce yourself to the audience."

After a moment of surprise, the streamer's face begins to light up.

"Harem Hotel? Really? It's... wow, incredible!"

Excitement begins to build in her, but she pulls herself together.

"Sorry. Introduce myself. Yes."

She then takes the time to introduce herself, already knowing the show quite well and what is expected of her. She fidgets a little in her seat, the urge to question the women who must be the host burns her lips, but she restrains herself. As she finishes, the catgirl comes back to stand next to the dragon lady, looking slightly upset but without saying anything.

"Very nice, dear. Now I can see you are practically bursting with questions, but do try and hold them in until everyone is here."

The host then turns so she is looking back to the cameras. "Well, isn't she just adorable? I could just eat her up." Wrynn throws her head back and laughs. "And now for contestant number two." Another dramatic gesture towards the next chair, which is black, as this contestant has great taste. "Primrose Farrier!" Who abruptly appears before her seat.

A woman in a black dress appears. She scowls as she asks : “Where am I?” What am I doing here?” She looks up at the tall woman, and her look of anger turns to one of confusion. “Who are you?”

"Greetings, Primrose. I am Wrynn Soulcatcher, your host on this season of Harem Hotel. Why don't you introduce yourself to the audience?" She gestures towards the nearest camera.

"Hello, my name is Prim Farrier. I’m an up-and-coming lawyer at Whitney Gage. I live in New York with my honest and trustworthy friend Donna." She then turns to ask the tall woman "What else are you expecting?”

"Oooo, feisty. Good thing for me, here I am the law." She gives the lawyer a grin full of sharp teeth. "And honestly, what I am expecting from you are great things indeed. Now if you will have a seat, it is time for our next contestant." The tall woman gestures to the turquoise chair past Prim as a naked woman appears on stage. "Katie Wu!"

The naked woman blinked a moment before looking down. She shrieks and crouches down, trying to cover herself. She looks up and asks : "What's going on? Why am I naked? Could someone give me a jacket or something?"

Without looking, Wrynn reaches over and plucks Little Miss' green jacket off of her and tosses it to the crouching woman.

"Welcome to Harem Hotel! You will have clothes in your room, but you can borrow this until then."

The catgirl looks surprised, but, by chance, she's still wearing her shirt, so she doesn't say anything.

Katie catches the jacket and pulls it on. "Um, ok, I guess I am on a set. So I need to introduce myself, right?"

"Very good, Ms. Wu, an introduction would be fantastic." The draconic woman waves a hand towards a camera, trying to direct the naked woman's gaze.

Katie carefully gets up and looks at the camera. "Hi, I am Katie Wu. I'm a IT specialist at the University of Deneri. I'm not without clothes most of the time. This is a first."

Once done, she sits down on the turquoise chair and pulls her legs up into her chest.

"Simple and to the point, as any engineer should be. Thank you, dear. And now our next contestant." A sweeping gesture towards the next, this time a very dark red chair. "Joshua Hale!"

"What the..." Says the young man, looking as if he just removed something from his head. He cast a quick look around, his eyes widening as he noticed the host and her assistant, the latter seeming familiar for some reason.

"Welcome to Harem Hotel, Joshua! How about an introduction for the folks at home?"

"... Yeah, ok." Joshua answers, still processing what's happening before shaking his head to try to clear his thoughts. "Right. Hum, I'm Joshua Hale, 28, I'm... Not sure what else to say?"

The tall woman rolls her eyes at the hesitant young man. "What do you do for a living? Pets, a girlfriend? What makes you interesting?"

Joshua shakes his head. "No, no pets. I've never been in a relationship. Hm... Well, I like reading, writing, anime, and video games? Oh, and drawing too, but it's been a while since I last drew..."

"Mhmmm. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to make you interesting then. Go ahead and have a seat." Looking back to the camera, she grins again. "Now for our next contestant, who I trust you will find far more interesting." She gestures towards the purple chair past Joshua. "Synn Jordan!"

A young woman appears in the purple chair as if she had just fallen. "Uh... wow. Magic truly is something," she mumbles as she looks around and notices the host and everyone else.

"Welcome to Harem Hotel! How about a quick introduction for our audience?"

Synn looks at the dragon woman a bit confused and like the host is crazy, since she did this not long ago. "Uh, I'm Synn Jordan. I'm a teacher at a college. I'm bi and I'm a nerd. I mean, if you'd like me to go into more detail, I guess I can. But I'd rather you tell me what you want rather than give an open mic to me to just 'introduce myself'. That's rather ambiguous, to say the least. If you wanna know my fantasies, just ask. If you wanna know my history, just ask. I'm a rather open book. I have no issue with saying anything, its whether you want to know things. Cuz I'll tell you anything you ask."

The cat girl approaches the dragon woman to try to get her attention. It seems like she wants to say something in private.

Wrynn raises an eyebrow but turns back to the contestants. "Just one moment, ladies and gentleman." She turns back to the pink cat girl and, with a wave of her hand, creates a zone of silence so only they can hear each other. "What's wrong now?"

"Um... It seems... In my rush... I... Kinda... Forgot to tell her that she had to hide the fact that she had volunteered to participate in the show." The short woman's face turns red as she admits her mistake.

"Hmmm, well, no worries. Easily fixed." Synn then hears the host in her mind. Slight oversight, you were supposed to be told that you needed to keep the fact you volunteered a secret from the others. So do try to blend in, and good luck hunting~. Wyrnn turns back to the contestants as she dispels the barrier. "Sorry about that, folks, some technical difficulties. Was that all, Ms. Jordan?"

The catgirl, still red in the face, returns to her place.

"If that's all you want." Synn nods and makes herself comfortable.

"That will do for now, I'm sure we'll all learn much more about you in time." Wrynn gives Synn a bawdy wink, then turns back to the cameras. "And now to balance the bundle of sensual emotion with one of clinical intellect." She gestures to the black and red striped chair. "Sylvana Herbert!"

A shadow forms on the seat, and the next moment, a woman dressed in a white shirt and black capris appears. She opens her eyes, seeming surprised at first. She looks around her. The dragon woman is there, so she is still in the show. On one side there are two empty seats, so she is not the last one expected, on the other side there are four women and a man. They all seem relatively calm, one of them is just wearing a jacket for clothing. In front there is a white throne with no one on it. The master is not there? Or there is a change of rules... But there is no time to think any longer, she has a role to play.

"Que ... Où suis-je ? Qui êtes vous ?"

Little Miss makes a slight gesture, and subtitles appear above the French woman without her noticing.

<"What... Where am I? Who are you?">

"Welcome to Harem Hotel! You have been chosen for a very special season." Wrynn answers as she gestures towards the nearest camera. "How about an introduction for the folks at home."

The woman switches to English effortlessly.

"Harem Hotel? Is this a joke?"

"No joke, but we have a killer punch line. Now come on, tell the audience a bit about you before we reel the next participant in."

She frowns but after a few moments, answers. "I.. I'm Sylvana Herbert, but people just call me Sylv. I'm 32, and I'm a lab technician."

"Short and to the point, much like you. Very well, I'm sure you'll open up more later. Now!" Wrynn whirls back to point at the camera as her tail barely clears the pink cat girl's head. "For our next contestant! Something very special, or should I say someone!" Pointing back at the dark blue open chair with an explosion of confetti. "Iona Forester!"

Iona appears before a dark blue chair. She looks about a bit frantically but is swiftly drawn to the giant woman in front of her. Before Wrynn can get a word out, Iona's eyes go wide as she gets pale. "A real dragon?!" Iona blurts before her eyes roll back and she begins to collapse in a faint, swiftly caught by one large clawed hand before she can hit the floor.

"Well, haven't had anyone give that reaction in a while." The dragon woman smiles out at the audience while holding up Iona's **** form. Quickly checking Iona over with magically keen senses, the tall woman is able to deduce that complications to her health from the medications she is on, compounded by her excitement, led to the collapse. Well, they would be flushed from Iona's body soon if the dragon had anything to say about it, and she did. "She may be just a bit overwrought. We'll just let her have a nice little nap and move on." After setting the sleeping Iona in her chair, Wrynn turns back to the cameras as Sylvana sneaks over to check on the sleeping woman as well. "So this is Iona Forester, twenty-eight years old and from England. We'll be sure to get more information about her as the show goes on. And now for our final contestant, for now..." Wrynn whirls to point to the last open chair, which happens to be red. "Gerald Richards!"

A man with black curly hair, blue eyes behind glasses, wearing black shirt and pants materialized, looking a bit pale.

Gerald did very much find this second experience with teleportation as horrid as the first one. Fortunately, it also was much shorter than this first taste of magic.

Still feeling a bit stiff after getting his two feet back on the ground, Gerald took a quick look at the surroundings. The dragon-woman that was likely the host was there, next to an empty throne - No Master (or Mistress) yet then. Her assistant was also back, still looking a bit pale... and without her jacket, and with cat ears and a tail to boot. At this rate, she's going to be joining us befor-

Gerald had begun taking a look at the other contestants, and blushed a bit after realizing where Little Miss' jacket now was.

Talk about a hard start. Hopefully it gets better for her. The fact the Hosts didn't leave her naked was at least a good sign. The other women present looked sympathetic enough, from what one could tell with only one glance. No idea about the last one, though, was she asleep? What happened? And lastly, it turned out there was another man among the contestants. Guess I'm not going to be the only one about to 'switch team'. Hope he'll take it well enough when it happens.

Gerald then took a short bow "Hello to everyone... I guess. Where are we?"

"You are on Harem Hotel! And let me be clear, you are not in fact dreaming. So any drunken adventures are on you. Now if you would be so kind as to introduce yourself to the audience."

Gerald took a short moment to answer: "A-alright. My name is Gerald Richards" , not for much longer, "recently turned 31. I'm a school librarian in a middle school to the north of Paris..." A short grimace followed before the rest of the sentence. "And yes, we are real teachers, with the same exams as the other teachers to get the posts we get. I did also got to watch Harem Hotel in the past. Never thought I'd end up here, though. I... Hope this will not be like the worst seasons this show can get."

"Worry not, with me in charge this will be the best season of Harem Hotel ever! And before we get a Me Too moment, yes, you all know about Harem Hotel. That's part of why you were all chosen for this special season."

"Ah. G-good to know. Mind if I sit down, if this is all you want for now?"

The tall woman waves Gerald to sit. "That will do for now." Turning back to look at the camera with a wink for a moment, Wrynn then turns back to address the cast as a whole. "And now for the big moment you're all waiting for. The reveal of this season's master!" With a flash of lightning overhead and a roar of thunder, the host disappears for a moment of time from the stage. Meanwhile, in the pocket of time where the master and his companion have just finished reviewing the footage of the interviews and made their choices, Wyrnn appears before them.

Stepping through the portal, the dragon woman enters a small, dark room furnished with a fine leather chair before a table with a small television set and another small table next to it with a single sheet of paper on a clipboard. Arley sits in the chair looking overwhelmed by the videos that just finished, and the situation in general. His ephemeral companion just looks bored. Both look up at the tall woman as she enters the dimly lit space. "Well, I do hope you found that entertaining and educational." At the master's loss for words, she just shrugs and picks up the clipboard, looking over the changes made. "Very interesting." At his puzzled look, she thought that was even more interesting and shared a smirk with the spirit. "Well, that's all done then. Any questions about your harem now that you've watched the videos?"

"I don't understand," Arley said, shivering slightly. "Are you saying these women... they're all here because they want to be with me?"

"Not you specifically, no, but they do want a master. And a master they will have in you, so that works out quite nicely. The men too, of course, but I wouldn't be too concerned about that, they're not likely to remain men much longer..."

"But... but I've never even been with a woman before... Or a man-!" Arley clenched their legs together and seemed to turn even paler. "And I..." Their eyes turned towards the ethereal visage of Isolde and they froze. "Isolde... she wouldn't... be okay with something like that, anyway."

With that the tall woman looks at the spirit. "Well, Isolde, is this going to be a problem?"

"It is unnecessary." Isolde hissed. "What exactly is your plan here with my dear Arley? He's far too fragile for something like this. What right do you have to try and get your... hooks into him?"

The draconic woman gives a full throated-laugh in response. "Right? This is Harem Hotel. We care nothing about right or wrong, only what the audience finds entertaining. Now Arley here was not my first choice for this role, but it's the one that has been handed to him. If you are concerned about his fragility, I suggest you help him with what he needs to do instead of getting in his way."

"What he needs to do?" Isolde snarled. "If he had any sense to do what he needs to do, he wouldn't have tried to-!"

"ISOLDE!" Arley shouted, clutching their ears and curling up into a ball. "Please, just..."

Isolde was stunned into silence momentarily, but she glided back, her golden eyes narrowing into a glare at the dragon woman. "Now look what you've done. You've gone and upset him. You see? He's not fit for this. Those things you've gathered for him out there? Women? Little boys? Do you think any of them will be able to control him and keep him docile and obedient, like he needs?"

Wrynn shakes her head while crossing her arms. "Of course not. Arley is the master, not them. He needs to control them, and if that means you pull his strings, all the better, as you're the master I wanted for this harem."

Isolde blinked. "So herding kittens then? How unnecessary. You had the power to bring him to this place, didn't you? It would be a far more effective use of those powers to give me a corporeal body. Then I can control him to your heart's content." She flexed her fingers open and closed and sneered. Arley froze, and their eyes widened like saucers. Trembling, they shook their head frantically back and forth.

The towering woman gave the spirit a feral grin full of sharp teeth. "Be very careful what you wish for, a fleshbag for yourself is a very real possibility. But then you'd find yourself contestant number seven. Not that you couldn't dominate him from inside the harem, it's certainly been done before."

"No! Please, don't do that!" Arley pleaded, clutching their head. "You can't! Please!"

Turning back to the cowering master, Wrynn gave him a placating gesture. "Nothing like that now, of course, we've barely begun. Still, I must ask if you have any questions about your harem. Surely you must be curious about this collection of strangers waiting for you."

Arley gulped. "Um... what... what kind of questions?" They had a sinking feeling that if they didn't go along with what this strange woman said, then they would be in for a bad time.

"Why clarifications on what you saw in the videos, of course. I expect the real questions to come on your dates while you get to know them personally."

Arley looked warily at Isolde. She sniffed and turned up her nose. "I'm not helping you out this time."

Gulping, Arley clutched their knees and turned back to the host. "Just tell me what you want me to say, and I'll say it."

"You see?" Isolde scoffed. "Useless."

Wrynn sighed. "What I want is honest curiosity, not to put words in your mouth. Our time here is going to be full of challenges. You will be challenged to build a rapport with your harem and rise to lead them. Isolde will be challenged to stay first in your heart. And I, well, I will be the one herding cats, it would seem."

Isolde laughed. "First? In his heart? What good would that do me?" Her translucent fingers crawled up the sides of Arley's face like the legs of a spider, and she tapped both index fingers against their temples. "I'm in here... locked away in here..."

"... The men!" Arley gasped out, shaking free of her grasp. "Can you, um... tell me more... about them? You said they... they were going to turn into women, or something like that-?"

"For now." She told the spirit before addressing Arley's question. "It is something of a running theme on Harem Hotel that no men in the harem itself stays a man for long. In fact, we've had whole harems of men turned into women in one fell swoop before in the past. Seems to be something the audience is into." She shrugged in indifference. "Both of them have such options in the first round of transformations, and I fully expect them to win."

"Can you tell me about... um... what was her name again?" Arley started to sweat. "The first girl, Sophia. The one who wanted to be here."

Isolde rolled her eyes. "Of course you would start with the e-girl thot."

"They all want to be here in one way or another, but she is certainly one of the most enthusiastic about it. She is looking forward to being turned into your pet of all things."

"Then... she really is a nice person?" Arley asked, trying desperately to ignore the sniggering laugh of the spirit beside them. "I know she's playing to the cameras, but... She's not faking? For popularity? She's really, really nice?"

"Why don't you ask her that yourself?" Isolde cut them off. "This is precisely the problem with you."

"I would say she seems quite sincere, as for nice, Isolde has a point in that you are really going to have to get to know them yourself. You have quite the advantage here in that these are all volunteers, things are usually quite different, you know, with people panicking, and trying to find secret ways out, or even attacking the host of all things."

"If he could do that, do you think he would be the coward he is today?" Isolde asked pointedly. "Unable to reach out to someone because he's too afraid that they might reject him? Like I said, there's a reason this coward latched on to the skanky streamer and her fake bimbo personality. Like all the other streamers he fawns over."

Arley gulped. "B-but, she's not fake... right?"

"They all genuinely want to be here Arley, they want a master, or they would not have volunteered. You can use that, they've taken the first step. And do not forget that for them this is a contest, they need to reach out to you."

"But... what about that one woman, Primrose? It seemed like... you tricked her into being here, though?" Arley pointed out. "I mean, from what I saw anyway..."

The tall black haired woman makes a vague gesture with one hand. "Volunteered may be a loose interpretation, but they are all willing. Even the one who thinks she's just escaped the Matrix. And that brings us to secrets. None of them know each other are volunteers, except you, of course. But you need to keep that secret from them, just as we're keeping dear Isolde secret."

"**** is bad!" Arley argued. "And so is lying to them!"

Wrynn sighed again. Why couldn't she just have gotten the ruthless spirit she wanted? "Arley, trust me when I say this is by far the least **** harem the show has ever seen."

"That isn't better, though."

"Perhaps not, but it is what we have. Feel free, of course, to be concerned with their consent. No one is making you do anything to them. We aren't even doing eliminations this season. And as for your own consent, well, any of them doing something you don't like will receive a penalty for that."

"Okay... is that all you need from me, then?" Arley asked hopefully. "You don't need me to ask any more questions about the girls?"

"Why would she?" Isolde sneered. "You've pretty clearly found your favorite already."

"No!" Arley protested helplessly.

Wrynn laughs at the couple's interplay. They certainly aren't boring, even if he is a bit of a dishrag right now, she thought. Well, hopefully he'll improve with time and the harem's efforts. "No, that's plenty." With a wave of one arm, the dark portal returns. "Right this way to the stage where you will meet your harem in the flesh, and I'll go over the rules for everyone."

"Stage? You mean with... people?" Arley turned pale. "Um... what about, um... tell me about that other girl?"

"Specifics." Isolde reminded them.

"Katie, the one who thinks this is some big... what was it again? A role-play?"

The tall woman smirks at his delaying tactics but complies. "Yes, she thinks she is in an advanced game, that we are merely playing parts. It will be fun to see if that belief holds up to the transformations."

Arley gulped. "He's just worried about her because she's another isolated loner nerd." Isolde smirked. "Isn't that right?"

Wrynn shrugged. "They are all loners in their own way, or they wouldn't be seeking a place here. A place with you."

"At least that one actually has friends. Considering she role-plays." Isolde pointed out. "Now, Arley, are you quite done? Can we move on with this now?"

"No!" Arley gasped out. "Um... Synn, she... she likes nerd things too, right? Like anime and video games and stuff like that? Is there anything you can tell me about her?"

"Nothing more than you've already seen, unless you'd like a detailed inventory of all of her sex toys?" The draconic woman gave him a bawdy wink. "It's really quite extensive."

"Then why did you even ask if I have any questions?!" Arley wailed. "You were putting all this pressure on me to have questions to ask, but then you won't tell me anything substantial!"

"Clarifying questions, I said. I don't have their life stories memorized." Wrynn answered. "I can tell you she wants to be turned into your perfect wife, but that was in the form you ignored."

"Wait... what?" Arley is confused now

Wrynn holds up the clipboard with the transformation paths. "It's right here. Princess, Sin, and Stepford Wife. You do know what a Stepford Wife is, right?"

"I... okay... um... I don't think I'm ready for something serious like that..." Arley mumbled shyly. "Can we just... move on, please? Um... Sylvana... she at least is happy about being here... about... receiving transformations... but what about the other women? How are they going to feel about their transformations? And the men..."

"Oh, no worries there, these paths came from them in one way or another. Iona would just about do anything for hers. Poor thing." Wrynn said the last in a hushed tone that still carried through the small room. "And I don't believe the men will be at all upset to find themselves women if that's what you're worried about."

"Wait... what about Iona?" Arley asked worriedly. "Poor? What?"

Wrynn makes another vague gesture. "Nothing to be concerned about, she just got a bit overexcited on stage and passed out. It happens, she'll be fine."

"Passed out?! Is she going to be alright?!" Arley gasped. "Why are you interviewing me when someone passed out?!"

"As I said, she's fine. I wouldn't be here otherwise. Believe it or not, but I have the utmost concern for the well-being of you and all the contestants. Even the staff. You should be happy to know that for the duration of the show I've taken steps to make all of you fireproof."

"Why would that be needed?! And why... oh, just forget it," Arley sighed, sinking back into their seat. They had more questions about Iona, but they knew there was little chance of answering them. For instance, wouldn't it be easy enough with Wrynn's powers to take care of all of Iona's problems in the first place? Why wouldn't she just do that? If the goal here was really to make everybody happy? But somehow they knew that if they asked that question, they wouldn't get a straight answer.

So with a resigned sigh, they hung their head. "Okay... I just have to go onstage then, is that it?"

"Indeed." She gestures back to the still open portal. "And your concern for Iona does you credit, by the way. Don't think that her problems aren't being handled, just in the Harem Hotel way."

Arley sighed and rose from their seat. "Might as well get it over with, then," they decided. "It's fine."

Isolde smirked. She remained right where she was. "Good boy." she purred after them.