My eyes widened in surprise. “Oh,” I replied simply. My eyes then narrowed as I thought about her very normal mouth. I reached out automatically with my thumbs to feel the edges of her grimace, her soft lips frowning when I touched them. “H-How?” I wondered hesitantly.
“You’ve never seen a snake eat?” she asked in disbelief.
I had seen a snake eat before. I had been fishing once, tossing my catches on the shore behind me, only to turn around and find a black snake with half of a fish down its throat. Its mouth was massive as its body conformed to become like five times its normal size to fit its meal.
A bead of cold sweat trickle down my neck.
I really didn’t like snakes.
My shaky voice came out choked. “What’s the largest animal you’ve eaten?”
“Alyssa…” she whined quietly. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”
I felt my body start to tremble. “Could you eat a person?” I asked seriously.
She gasped. “I would never!”
“But you could,” I repeated, not asking a question this time.
“And a person could eat me,” she retorted, sounding annoyed now. “Maybe not whole, but it’s been done before.” She noticed my trembling then, since my hands had started to shake. She moved her palms to my unsteady shoulders. “Alyssa, I’d never hurt you,” she reassured me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It’s just the idea disturbs me.”
She groaned. “And that’s why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “I trust you, and I really like you…but, I’ve never really liked snakes.”
She was quiet then. I couldn’t judge her expression with my hands.
“But I really like you,” I repeated. “And that’s fine that you eat your rabbits whole.” I sighed heavily. “You’re my friend, and I want to know everything about you. I can get over it.”
I felt her hands return to my face, her thumbs gently caressing my cheeks. “You’re my only friend,” she replied. “The only one I’ve ever had.”
“Me too,” I admitted, though she already knew that. I’d never had real friends, as far as I was concerned. I sighed again. “So, can I watch you eat then?” I wondered hesitantly.
I felt her cringe.
“I want to accept all of you, Jasmyn. I don’t want you to be afraid to do something in front of me. Especially not something as simple as eating.”
She took a deep breath. “Are you sure?”
I nodded, feeling resolved now. I didn’t like snakes, but she wasn’t just a snake. She was my best friend. I just hoped my resolve didn’t waiver when I watched her mouth grow large enough to swallow an entire rabbit whole.
Chapter 2: Sacrifice
Yep. Watching Jasmyn eat was a little disturbing, but I did a good job of maintaining a neutral expression. I was pretty sure her jaw separated in at least three locations in order to swallow the dead rabbit whole. It was also creepy to watch her normal-sized neck expand to three times its girth as she swallowed it. But at least the weirdness was over once it got past her throat.
I didn’t even want to think about what it would look like if she swallowed a deer…or a person…
The whole process lasted barely half a minute. She looked at me with an apprehensive expression after she was done. Now that we were outside, standing in front of the cave, I could see her gold eyes clearly, along with her furrowed brow.
“It’s different,” I admitted after a second. “But I still like you.”
She slithered towards me slightly and wrapped her arms carefully around my shoulders. I returned the embrace, resting my head on her shoulder. After a moment, I scooted my temple closer to her neck because she had a hard patch on her shoulders where I knew there were sky-blue scales underneath the shirt. She also had some bright blue scales on the sides of her upper arms.
She was quiet for a few minutes while we hugged, before speaking up again. “I might have to find a new place to stay,” she said quietly. “It really scares me knowing a different human was around here.”
I pulled away slightly to look up at her. She lowered her upper body a few inches to be at my eye level. The slits in her golden irises were both alluring and made me feel uneasy at the same time. Her pretty face was ultimately the only reason why I could get past the anxiousness her eyes naturally elicited in me. “Maybe you can stay with me?” I suggested tentatively.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
I quickly continued. “My dad doesn’t know about you yet, but I trust him. I think he will be okay with you living with us. And you’d be safe. You wouldn’t have to worry about hunters.”
Jasmyn bit her bottom lip gently as she thought about it, her teeth appearing like a normal person’s except for having slightly elongated canines. “He won’t want to hurt me?” she asked cautiously.
“Definitely not,” I replied firmly. “And I won’t tell him where you are just to be on the safe side. I’ll just tell him I have a Naga friend, but I’ll leave out the details of your location. If he’s fine with you staying with us, then I’ll come get you.”
“And what if he’s not fine with it?” she asked timidly.
“Then we’ll find you a new home out here.”
She shook her head gently. “No. I mean, what if he’s not fine with me being your friend?”
I scoffed, tightening my embrace on her. “I love my dad, but no one is going to tell me I can’t be your friend.” I then looked at her meaningfully, holding her gaze for a long few seconds.
After a moment, she nodded hesitantly. “Okay,” she whispered.
“I’ll talk to him about it tonight,” I promised. “So hopefully I’ll have an answer by tomorrow when I stop by.”
She nodded again. “And I’ll stay here for tonight.” She paused. “I’m probably going to move a stone in front of the entrance on the inside.”
“Just be careful not to suffocate yourself,” I commented seriously.
She laughed, the charming sound warming my heart. “Oh, it will be fine. There’s enough air in there to last a few days. Plus, I would just block the entrance enough to prevent a person from coming in.”
“Okay,” I sighed. “I probably need to go for now.”
She looked dejected. “Okay,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry I was late today. My teacher made me stay after school,” I explained. “She didn’t like how I answered a question on my homework, so she made me redo the whole thing.” I sighed again. “Stupid woman.”
Jasmyn’s eyes were wide as she listened. “What didn’t she like about it?” she wondered.
I gave her a small smirk. “She asked a question about the Mayor of our town, wanting us to list three achievements he had accomplished in the last five years as a local history assignment. Instead, I listed three abominations he was responsible for, one of them being his son Ryker.” I took a deep breath. “So really it was my fault. Ryker is her favorite student. I should have just told her what she wanted to hear like I ended up doing.”
“He’s an abomination?” she wondered seriously.
I shook my head. “No, not really. He’s just extremely hateful. He’s one of the kids who throws rocks at me, and he has shoved and hit me before too.”
Jasmyn looked terrified as I spoke, seeming genuinely afraid for me. “He hurts you?” she whispered.
I sighed. “Not too bad,” I replied. “The rocks can sting a little, especially when he throws them, but usually he just says mean things.”
Her brow furrowed even more. “Why doesn’t your father stop them?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t really told my dad how bad it is. Ryker’s father is the most powerful man in town, and he would never believe that his son was anything other than a perfect angel. Telling my dad is just going to make him worry, and if he does try to stick up for me then we might get kicked out of town or something.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied, pulling away slightly and
reaching up to cup my cheek with her warm palm. “I wish I could make them leave you alone.”
I laughed humorlessly. “You probably could,” I mused.
She looked at me in shock, her hands beginning to tremble. She really was a scaredy-cat. Especially when it came to humans.
“I’m just kidding,” I quickly clarified. I tightened my embrace around her waist. “I don’t want you to get hurt either.”
She nodded somberly.
I sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. I hope you enjoy the other two rabbits.”
She gave another sharp nod, more confidently this time. “I will. Thank you, Alyssa.”
I gave her one last tight hug before heading back into the trees. I decided to take the long way home through the forest, hoping to not come across anyone I knew like before. I needed the time to think anyway, to consider my options on how to approach my dad about Jasmyn. He didn’t have too many rules for me, other than ‘don’t fight with anyone’ and ‘be home by sunset.’
I just hoped ‘don’t see Jasmyn anymore’ didn’t become a new rule. Because it was one I wasn’t going to obey.
Once I got home, I discovered that my dad already had dinner waiting for me, boiling on the kitchen stove in a pot sitting over the hole in the stone counter. Surprisingly, he didn’t comment about me being a little late, the sun having disappeared half an hour ago, with the last of the twilight transitioning to darkness just recently.
The first thing I did while he poured me a bowl of stew was tell him about my homework, showing him the note I had been sent home with. I wanted to get that out of the way before anything else. He listened attentively to me discuss it from my point of view.
I then apologized and told him I wouldn’t do it again.
My dad just shrugged with a sigh as he sat down. “Ms. Landerson has always been uptight,” he offered. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with you expressing your opinion, but obviously there might be consequences for doing so.”
“I know,” I admitted, my eyes lingering on the tattoo on his chest that was peeking out of his shirt. He had an exact replica on his back as well, though I had no idea what it represented. I sighed as I continued. “I was just irritated when I was writing it. I won’t do it again though. I don’t like staying late.” It meant less time with Jasmyn.
He nodded in acknowledgment to my spoken words.
My dad didn’t like the idea of making it seem like he had punished me for something so stupid, but he knew he had to respond to confirm the delivery of her note. So, he begrudgingly wrote her a simple message back that would appease her.
‘I apologize for my daughter’s behavior. It won’t happen again.’
I had been standing by my chair across the small table while speaking, but now that the school issue was taken care of, I sat down, discovering that I was hungrier than I realized. However, once I had eaten all the meat out of my stew, I ended up finding myself poking at it with my spoon. I certainly liked vegetables too, but now that the best part was gone, all I could think about was asking my dad about Jasmyn.
He was now thumbing through an old book as he ate, oblivious to the fact that I wanted to discuss something important.
An oil lamp sat between us on the small table, lighting up the kitchen brightly, even without the extra help of the stove coals behind me. I stared at the flame, watching it slowly sway while I contemplated my thoughts, working up the courage to speak. To talk about what I really wanted to discuss.
The orange and yellow flame reminded me a little of my father’s complexion. I envied his fiery red hair and bright blue eyes. I had been blessed with my mother’s black hair and brown eyes, which were pleasant in their own right, but I would have preferred having my dad’s appearance instead – even if it would have made me stick out more.
I admired his features.
Unlike Jasmyn’s yellow snake eyes, I found fire extremely comforting. I stared anxiously at first, before taking a deep breath as the dancing flame eased my mind.
My father’s blue eyes darted up towards me. “Something wrong?” he asked, noticing I wasn’t eating anymore.
“No, not exactly,” I hedged, shifting uneasily in my chair.
He slid his book to the side and rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, his elbows on the table. “What’s wrong?” he rephrased, eyeing me attentively.
I met his gaze for a moment, before glancing back at the flame. “Well…umm…” I took another deep breath. “I’ve made a friend…” I began.
His eyes widened slightly in surprise. He knew none of the kids were friendly with me, although he didn’t know the extent. “A boy?” he wondered.
I realized then that he was trying to guess at my hesitation. I leaned back in my chair. “No, it’s a girl. Well…sort of…”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Sort of? A pantherian?” he tried guessing again.
Pantherians were usually mixes between humans and non-human races, which meant Jasmyn didn’t fit that category even if she was more humanoid than some of the other races. I shook my head slowly. “No…a therian…” I paused. “A Naga,” I clarified hesitantly.
He abruptly sat up straight. “How big?” he demanded.
I gasped, feeling nervous now. “A-About my size – well, her upper body at least.” When he didn’t respond right away, I continued. “Are you mad?” I asked seriously. He didn’t look angry, but I couldn’t read his expression either.
He sighed heavily, ignoring my question. “How long have you known her?” he wondered.
“A week,” I said quietly. “She was injured. I’ve been bringing her food every day. She doesn’t have any friends either. She doesn’t even have her parents.”
He stared at me for a moment, before responding. “That’s a very dangerous friend to have,” he finally said. “Creatures like her can eat people.”
“I know,” I admitted quietly, feeling uneasy again. “But she promised she’d never hurt me.”
“It wouldn’t hurt,” he clarified. “Their venom has a paralyzing effect. It doesn’t kill by itself, but you certainly wouldn’t feel anything after being bitten. Not to mention, she could swallow you whole.”
“Dad,” I complained. I had lost my appetite now.
“I’m just saying,” he quickly retorted, before his brow furrowed. He was quiet for a moment. “I think I should meet her,” he added firmly, “before I let you two spend any more time together.”
“Well, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about…” I admitted quietly.
“Oh?” he leaned forward again, waiting for me to continue.
I was silent now. Hesitant. “It’s dangerous for her in the forest,” I blurted out. “She doesn’t have a safe place to stay.”
My father was pensive, prompting me to stare at the flame while I waited for him to respond. After a moment, I finally looked up at him to see him staring at me intently.
“Like I said, I need to meet her first.”
“Then you’ll consider it?” I asked hopefully.
His eyes narrowed. “It could be dangerous for all of us if anyone found out she was living here. The people in this town are not accepting of non-humans.”
“I won’t tell anyone,” I promised.
“And I believe you,” he offered. “But she couldn’t risk leaving the house unless it was at night.”
“Oh,” I said simply. I wasn’t sure how Jasmyn would feel about that, especially considering how scared she was all the time. Granted, she could see in the dark, so maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal to her. “Well, I’ll ask her tomorrow.”
“While you’re on your way here, right?” he clarified.
“Yes, of course. We’ll make our way around the town through the forest, and then I’ll come get you once she’s in the trees behind our house.”
He sighed heavily. “And she knows about all this, correct?”
I nodded, feeling confused now. “Yes. Why?”
He looked at me se
riously. “Because if she didn’t know you were planning to tell me, then she might get defensive when she finds out I know. Hostile even.”
I immediately thought back to when we were in the cave earlier – how she had grabbed me from behind and asked if I told anyone about her. She didn’t really seem hostile though. Just scared, and nervous.
“Well, she knows,” I reassured him. “I talked to her about it earlier before I came home.”
He leaned back in his seat, running his fingers through his fiery hair, and sighed again. “Well, just make sure you bring her straight here after you go see her tomorrow.”
“I will,” I promised. “Assuming I snag something in my traps tonight, then I’ll come home to kill my catches, and then go see her.” Jasmyn had told me she could eat meat that was several days old without a problem, but I was committed to only bringing her fresh food. Thus, I usually moved the small animals I caught to a temporary cage for the day until I came home.
I always reset my traps of course, but rarely did I catch anything while I was at school.
“That’s fine,” he agreed. “With how clever your traps are, we probably won’t have a difficult time feeding her. I wonder if she’ll eat vegetables too, in case you have a string of bad days.”
I shrugged in response, not having really thought about that.
I wasn’t that great with a bow, so she would probably have to do her own hunting at night if I couldn’t catch anything. Granted, she had survived on her own long before I started bringing her meals. I supposed I shouldn’t worry so much.
“I could always try fishing,” I suggested. “It’s been a while since I’ve done that.”
He smirked at me. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“I do,” I agreed. “She’s really sweet.”
“Then I look forward to meeting her.” He glanced back down at his book. “And I’m glad you’ve made a friend,” he added.
“Me too,” I admitted, my appetite finally returning. I went back to eating, feeling slightly excited now. Not only did I finally have a friend, but she might get to live with me! It seemed like things were finally looking up for my life.
Magicbound to a Snake Girl Page 2