Send in Scarlett

The plan is simple: send in someone that Violet is unlikely to want to hurt, and have them verify if the lamia is inside the tree house or not. If she is, then you’ll have her blindfolded and escorted to your team’s hut, where you hope to have an open and honest chat about whatever the fuck just happened to you. If she’s not inside, well, then you’ll have to assemble a team to find her. The perfect ‘someone’ for the plan is Scarlett, who you waste no time in tracking down. The poker-faced harpy takes some convincing to play her role, but you win her over after making it clear that Violet is being given the benefit of the doubt. Her disappearance doesn’t make her look very innocent, but what happened to you still could have been someone else’s doing. Or your body could have locked up on its own, for some reason. Or Violet did it completely by accident, got scared, and hid. The possibilities are endless, and the only way to get to the truth is to find Violet and ask her directly. The blindfold and change of location are merely precautions; if Violet honestly wants to have a peaceful talk, then such things shouldn’t be a bother. Once you explain all of that and send the harpy on her way, you and Blythe head back to the hut.

Your catkin companion was just on her way out when the two of you came in. Now she is sitting on the bed, listening to Blythe explain the situation. While they talk, you stand by the door and take in Lia’s new outfit for the day: a black dress, with its skirt torn above the knees and its sleeves completely removed; the same fingerless gloves that she obtained in the Trials, their enchanted leather matching the color of her dress; a worn out, faded pair of boots that unfortunately doesn’t match well with the overall look, and to top it off, she has a strip of red cloth tied around her wrist, which you assume to be all that remains of your original tunic at this point. Around the time you finish looking her up and down, Lia stands and walks right up to you. “I’m just… gonna check on you,” is all she says. Then, the catkin begins to gingerly poke, rub, and manipulate various points on your body until she is satisfied that you’re in perfect, non-petrified shape again. Once her test is complete, she gives you a hug, then heads for the door. “I’ll be close,” she says before dropping the cover over the doorway and moving out of sight. You were distracted by her outfit and didn’t hear the specifics, but you’re pretty sure Blythe asked her to hide somewhere and listen to the meeting in secret.

After that, you and Blythe settle in at the foot of the bed and wait for a few minutes before the guests of the hour arrive. Scarlett enters first, followed by a dire wolf who can just barely squeeze through the doorway. On the wolf’s back is Violet, blindfolded and looking very red in the face. The bird woman helps her fellow monster girl slide off of the big, furry beast, then sends the wolf back out into the village. Violet, left alone for a moment, loses her balance and falls to the ground. She groans in frustration, until Scarlett kneels down and helps her into a sitting position. The harpy then remains beside her, giving Violet her shoulder to lean on, and the two monster girls sit quietly, waiting for you to speak.

“Alright, Violet,” you begin. “You have my attention now. Let’s talk.”

“Let’s talk!?” she says. “Sure, let’s talk about this!” Violet points to the blindfold. “Let’s talk about you parading me through the whole village just now, too. What was that about, huh? You couldn’t have just climbed up the ladder? Why make me come to you? I can’t walk! Thanks to you!”

You feel a vein popping out around your temple. Something about this woman’s attitude always seems to tick you off. With some effort, though, you manage to hold in your anger. “I’m sure Scarlett brought you straight here. No parading involved,” you say, trying hard to keep a level tone. “The reason for the blindfold is something we can figure out together, though. See, outside your house earlier, you called out to me. When I turned around and looked you in the eye, every inch of my body froze up. Why do you think that happened?”

“I — uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Violet says, the color in her cheeks betraying the fact that she knows exactly what you’re talking about. She must know how guilty she looks, because she takes back her answer only a moment later, saying, “Look, I don’t know what that was! I yelled to keep you from walking away, we stared at each other for a weirdly long time, and then I just felt really tired all of a sudden. I almost…”

“Almost what?” you ask.

“No, I just, well…” The monster girl struggles to produce the words. Her face can’t get any more red at this point. “I got a little lightheaded is all,” she finally explains. “Almost fell off the balcony, but I caught myself in time…” Violet’s head sinks, and she leans into Scarlett a little more. The harpy’s free arm transforms into a wing, then drapes itself over the snake woman to comfort her. The sight of one woman gently consoling another disarms you of most of your anger, leaving you to calmly analyze Violet’s view of what happened.

If she’s not lying, you think, then she either didn’t do it, or didn’t do it on purpose. Probably the second one, considering she got lightheaded after it happened. Almost like a side effect. You turn your head and meet eyes with Blythe. “What do you think?” you ask.

“At the very least, I do not believe she intended for it to happen,” says the elf. You smile, happy to know that she came to the same conclusion as you did.

You turn your attention back to the pair of monster girls. “Okay, Violet. You say you don’t know what happened. You just looked at me, I froze up, and then you felt lightheaded. Is that right?”

“Yeah. That’s what happened.”

“I believe you,” you say. “You can remove the blindfold now. I don’t think we’ll need it anymore.” The strip of cloth comes off before the last word leaves your throat. Violet’s amber eyes dart around the room, looking into every corner, analyzing every face, until she knows exactly where she is. Then, done with her scan, she settles back into Scarlett’s supportive embrace and stares deliberately out the window. You stare at her eyes for a few seconds, flexing your index finger back and forth and daring the paralysis to once again take hold of your body, but nothing happens. Despite feeling your eyes on her, Violet seems determined not to look your way. “Now,” you say, forcing her ears to give you the attention that her eyes will not. “I know you have something you want to talk about, but we need to get to the bottom of this before I can hear you out.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I said I didn’t do anything.”

“Now, Violet.” You give her a stern look, one that’s enough for her to feel even through her peripheral vision. “Work with me, here. Given the facts, don’t you think it’s possible that you used some kind of power that you didn’t know you have? Besides your new legs, hasn’t anything else changed about you after your evolution?” The lamia’s eyes open a little wider, as if she hadn’t even considered that possibility. Finally, she turns to look your way.