The beast nodded weakly before his two horn-tendrils slithered down from their perch across his chest, coiling around Somnus with a strength disproportionate to what Tacito seemed to display. They were smooth- the feeling could be compared to laminate, but thinner. The tips of them paused as they reached Somnus's head.

This is it, I guess... so my host is this guy. Might be okay. Tacito sighed, before the spades of his tendrils forced themselves against the sides of Somnus's skull. They passed through his skull, ghost-like, to latch onto his mind. Yes, Somnus was ready for this; he could feel no resistance as he forced his will onto the fragile consciousness before him.

The feel of air hit his skin. It was really Somnus's skin, which was a great deal softer than Tacito's hide, he realized, as he lifted Somnus's hand up and wiggled the fingers. It always fascinated him to do that to his hosts, he chuckled. But enough of that. The spirit flicked open the boy's eyes.

For a good few minutes, Tacito simply stared. Images flooded him- what was this, a shack? And what lay there... some kind of... device. Tacito had no clue what this object was. He reached Somnus's hand out and gripped it. Hard. A helmet? Perhaps. He had other things to worry about right now.

A grunt. Tacito forced his host's body into an upright position. God! This guy was weak. It was a struggle to get him standing. Shakily, he placed one foot in front of the other. Again. Walking was equally difficult in this body. Poor kid.

He looked around for some kind of knife... didn't humans always have these kinds of things? Oh, well maybe in that corner- Fuck that. He wasn't going to drag this decrepit body around to go hunting for knives. Somnus was probably frightened beyond belief at this invasion of his own body. Best to end it as soon as possible.

Tacito dropped the boy to a kneeling position on the ground. Shakily, he raised an arm to Somnus's mouth and bit down as hard as he could. No. Not hard enough. It hurt. It hurt like hell, especially to someone who hadn't felt pain in many years. Just... keep on... you're almost there. Tacito growled at himself. With renewed vigor, he bit down yet again on the already sore flesh. A coppery taste gushed into Somnus's mouth. Good.

With his finger, Tacito gathered some of the blood that flowed down. He flipped some of Somnus's hair back and began to scrawl across the floor. Deep red on wood- it was a beautiful color, he mused. He had always found human blood to be such a pretty tone, especially as it gleaned wet and smeared translucent.

"Ta safa on ra va Elysan, fina Tacito kasay halsay."

Tacito chanted this mantra repeatedly through his host as he wrote, lines upon lines of runes arranged in geometric patterns of blood, I'seum wound in tight circles and many-pointed stars. He wrote with a fury that suggested frenzy. Had anyone seen the process, they would have assumed that Somnus was some kind of crazy cultist.

"Si i, rai ka kasay; rasay, Tacito!"

He slumped Somnus's body against the ground as he recited the final line. Almost immediately, he felt himself separate from the heap of flesh and bone that was his host. Sensations grew numb, and he had been cut off from Somnus's muscles.

The blood on the floor seemed to bubble and clot, moving inwards towards a center and molding itself into a small sphere. The grotesque ball of liquid seemed to hiss and boil, splattering strings of blood across its surface. There were a thousand things happening to it- foaming, smoking, growing larger- and now it began to pulse. Tacito's eyes widened. Though he had been summoned so many times, he had never summoned himself, nor had he watched the process through another's eyes.

He felt split down the middle, part of him residing in Somnus, and part of him shifting into the developing being. He felt himself elongate, swirls of now-black liquid rising into forms that crashed inwards upon themselves, repeatedly, building up flesh and sinew. Struts of black bone condensed within a sea of foam and tissue. The scent of burning flesh and blood hung in the air heavily, though Tacito felt it grow dimmer and dimmer as his mind withdrew into this material body.

At last, Somnus's vision no longer reached the spirit. He was blind for a moment while his own eyes formed within sockets. The thin skin across his eyes melted open and he stared. The vessel was nearly complete now. All that remained was his tough, spiked hide, which was cooling now into a formidable armor.

He let out a hissing breath, his version of a sigh, and lay placidly on the ground. It felt so good to feel the ground again, but he was so very tired; celebration would have to wait until tomorrow. His eyelids drooped, and the monstrous being fell into a slumber before his host.