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#snake man
nodensart · 6 months
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My archivist Arssairessed from 2019! Still beautiful - but I'm thinking about redrawing him with my current skill!
Reblogs and shares are very welcome!
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cak3o · 2 months
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Topman moment. Also a lot of doodles that might never receive context for.
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hiort · 9 months
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dumbest girl alive..
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evaslytherpuff · 3 months
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Dark Secrets, Deeper Tongues
Slightly Dark!Ominis x f!OC (Reader's OC)
Characters are 18+!!! MDNI!!!
CW: Light stalking, Manipulation, Corruption Kink, Predator/Prey behavior, Dubious consent, Oral (f!receiving), Fingering, Some blood, Slight monster f***ing (PinV)
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Plot: Ominis grows to have strong and possessive feelings for his close friend, OC. She's everything he could want and so much more. There is only one problem, and it's a big one, Ominis has a dark and disturbing secret. This side of him has been clawing its way to the surface, wanting to come out and play with OC, and Ominis is willing to do anything to make that happen.
I'll be using OC for this fic instead of MC. Because MC is a sexy sweetheart and...he's screwing Sebastian! Hehe.😜
Tagging: @myrachondria @ashisgreedy @abeltownshipslittlebitch
Ominis knew it was disapprovingly wrong, his heart pounding rapidly within his chest, as he followed closely behind the unsuspecting young woman. Her scent lingered in the hall and made his mouth water as he inhaled what remained of her sweet perfume. He stifled a groan at the thought of burying his face in her delicate neck, breathing in her sensual essence. Ominis' next step hit the ground a little too harshly, echoing in the long and almost empty hallway. She spun around towards his direction but he was already hidden from her view as he flattened himself against a wall around the corner.
"Hello? Is someone there?" Her lulling voice called out but Ominis chose to remain silent and hidden in the shadows until he heard her footsteps continue to move on towards her destination.
Ominis let out a soft sigh in relief and was glad he wasn't caught by the girl who made him ache for her. OC had become an obsession of his for the past few months and he tried so hard to fight these urges to follow her, be wherever she was, and claim her as his own. He always had a dark side, a part of himself that he desperately tried to hide out of shame. Lately this wicked aspect of himself kept rearing its ugly head and made Ominis feel like he was losing his mind if he didn't have her. He needed her, and he would make sure that he had her tonight, nothing would stop him or get in his way.
Ominis was surprisingly sneaky and had memorized the castle by heart, he knew exactly where she was heading and he decided to cut her off, pretending that their encounter was merely an accident. She slammed right into his chest with a shriek and stumbled backwards but Ominis was fast, poised and accurate, as he caught her in his arms.
"You freighted me! I didn't even hear you coming, Ominis." She giggled softly and huffed in relief as he helped her stand up straight again.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?" He asked softly as he clutched his wand in one hand and still held her forearm with the other. He noticed that her heart was pounding and he couldn't take his eyes off her chest as it would rise and fall with every breath. As long as he held his beloved wand it helped him see in a completely different way. He saw auras around objects and structures but when it came to people and animals, he saw veins and arteries. OC's veins were just begging to be tapped by the fangs he fiercely tried to conceal.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just heading to the Room Of Requirement. MC said I could borrow his space to study and work on my potions. He's in the undercroft…with Sebastian." OC giggled and Ominis raised a brow at her until he finally caught on to what she had said.
"Oh...oh! You mean?" He smiled and trailed off.
"Yeah, together together. So I probably have a few hours to myself to get some work done." She laughed and Ominis could feel the fluttering in his stomach increase as a naughty idea crossed his mind and a voice whispered deep inside—now is your chance—and Ominis was willing to listen.
"OC? May I join you?" He asked kindly as he did his best to smile warmly at her. He didn't want to appear sinister but lately, that was exactly how he felt. He noticed that her heart began to beat even faster and she gasped softly.
"Of course, Ominis. You know I love your company." She looped her arm through his as they made their way to the Astronomy Tower. Oh, did he love hers as well. Increasingly she was all he could think about and he found it harder and harder to resist her and fight temptation. He finally decided to give up and allow himself some form of happiness. The question was, would she want him as badly as he desired her?
Ominis was in the Room Of Requirement alone with OC. She was sighing heavily at a potions station and Ominis was growing agitated while she grumbled about "ridiculous concoctions." They had been holed up in the spacious room together for what seemed like hours and all she wanted to do was study. This would have been fine if Ominis wasn't feeling so antsy. He wanted her to turn her attention to him, to come sit down on the couch beside him, he needed her closer and was thinking of all the different ways he could make that happen.
"You seem frustrated, OC. Why don't you come sit down and take a break? I think you need it." He said as he patted the seat next to him. Ominis was hoping—praying—that she would take the bait. His heart nearly dropped to his stomach as she did as he asked and moved to sit beside him. Her thigh was brushing his and the intoxicating smell of orange blossoms wafted over him. He had to stop himself from burying his nose in her hair and inhaling more of her sweet scent.
"You're right. I do need a moment to ease my nerves and frustration. This potion is really getting the better of me." She groaned as she leaned against the back of the sofa.
"Well, why don't we play a little game to help you unwind?" Ominis asked mischievously.
"What kind of game, Ominis?" She asked in pure curiosity. She was so amiable and innocent, so naive, and Ominis had the palpable urge to ruin her. He wanted to defile her and ravage her precious body while she screamed his name. His depraved thoughts grew louder and louder, blood already rushing to his groin, and he had to reposition himself on the couch to cover up the fact that he was slightly aroused.
"Truth or dare. Are you up for it?" He asked with a sly grin.
"Alright, I'm in. Ask me first." She said eagerly and sat up straight. His mind wandered to even darker scenarios and Ominis was surprisingly enjoying the idea of taking her innocence. Normally he would be sorely against situations like this but with her, she made him feel more animal than human, he felt like he didn't have control over himself and was running on savage instincts.
"Truth or dare?" He asked as he draped his arm around the back of the couch and leaned towards her. He heard her gulp loudly before answering him.
"Dare." She said then cleared her throat. She was obviously flustered by how close he was to her and it made him smile to himself.
"Okay, I dare you to take a few shots of MC's Firewhiskey." He pointed to the little bar he knew was positioned in the corner of the room.
"Fine, but only if you take a few with me." She said as she walked over to the shelf of alcohol and grabbed the bottle.
"Not really how the game goes but alright. I'll enjoy a drink with you." He chuckled as she sat back down next to him and set two shot glasses on the table in front of them. He reached over her, making sure to brush her fingers with his, as he took the Firewhiskey bottle and poured them their shots.
"I'll be honest. l've never had Firewhiskey. It's usually just Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks." She said softly.
"You might like it. We will take our shots together, how about that?" He asked as he held up her glass and she gently took it from him.
"Okay, I like that idea." He could hear the smile in her voice as she handed him his shot.
"On the count of three. One. Two. Three." Ominis said, then tipped the small glass to his lips as she did the same. Poor OC started to cough and sputter as the drink poured down her throat. Ominis reached over to softly pat her back and comfort her although he couldn't help but laugh a bit.
"Are you okay, OC?" He asked with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah, I'm alright, it's just strong." She giggled as she gained her composure again and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
After a few shots together, the night was starting to get interesting. OC was more relaxed and clearly a little intoxicated as she had her stocking covered feet placed over Ominis' lap and her words slurred a smidge when she spoke.
"Okay okay. Your turn. Truth or dare?" She asked him.
"Dare. Let's see what you've got." He grinned over at her sitting at the other end of the couch.
"I dare you...to tell me your biggest secret."
She shifted in her seat to move closer to him again. This time she was kneeling beside him as she sat on her heels. He liked this position, he just wished that she was kneeling between his legs instead. He swallowed hard before letting out a drawn sigh.
"Are you absolutely sure that's what you want to know, OC?" His tone went from playful to stern in a heartbeat and he noticed how hers began to race again. It was as if he could hear the pounding of her pulse within his own ears.
"Yes. It's what I want to know, you have to complete the dare or I win." She chuckled as she awaited his answer. Here goes nothing, he thought.
"I'm—I'm part snake." He finally revealed his darkest secret to her and the room grew absolutely quiet. It stayed like this for a long moment before she finally spoke.
"No way, you're joking." She slid forward across the couch to sit closer to him. Her knees were now pressed against his thigh. He had to resist snatching her up or pinning her down on the plush couch.
"No, OC. I'm not. I wouldn't lie to you or tease you about this. I really am part snake." He said with a sigh. He knew it! He already had an idea of how she would react and he was right. She would never accept him for who he truly was. She couldn't ever be with someone, something, like him and it tore his heart to shreds. He clenched his jaw as he fought back tears and balled his hands into fists. Why couldn't someone accept him? That's all he truly wanted, to be loved.
"How is that even possible?" She asked softly.
"Well, when I was just a baby and all throughout my childhood, my parents tried to cure my blindness. What I never told anyone was…they were willing to do anything to supposedly "fix me." They ran experiments on me, injected me with what they thought were miracle cures, put me through hell all because I was born blind and they couldn't accept that. Whatever they did to me, it changed me, altered me somehow. My DNA was never the same again after their experimentation. I became a monster, something I was truly ashamed of. I've been hiding it ever since. Only Sebastian knows the truth and he is the only one. Until now." Ominis said solemnly as he twirled his wand in his hands nervously.
"Ominis. I'm so sorry they did that to you. You are not a monster. Please don't say things like that." She placed a hand on his shoulder and he scoffed.
"OC, you don't understand. It's more than just Parseltongue. That's a trait inherited from Salazar Slytherin. This, what I truly am, is completely different." He bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head.
"Then...show me." She said as her fingers brushed down his arm, making him shiver under her touch.
"That's not part of the game." He said as his voice grew deeper, more husky, while she sat so close beside him. Was she actually curious about this side of him? He started to feel a slight sliver of hope and thought that maybe tonight would end the way he wanted it to. Could she love him for who he truly was?
"Fine. We'll keep playing but I am not letting this subject go," She pointed at him and he watched the arteries move in her little finger. "I pick truth." She said with a little huff and Ominis couldn't help but chuckle.
"Alright then, do you have feelings for anyone and is it someone I know?" He asked with a raised brow.
She hesitated before finally speaking. "Yes. I do have feelings for someone. Strong feelings. You do know him, very well too." She said quietly and surprisingly took another shot of Firewhiskey all on her own.
"Is it—is it Sebastian?" He asked and failed to hide the jealousy in his voice, realizing that he sort of raised it at her.
"Oh, good heavens no! He is like a brother to me. It's not MC either because he's in love with Seb. Which I think is really cute. You said certain things aren't part of the game. I don't have to tell you his name." He thought this slightly cocky side of her was so refreshing and ridiculously alluring. He was fighting everything within telling him to just pounce on her.
"You're right. I did say that." He laughed and shook his head.
"Your turn, truth or dare?" She poked his shoulder and giggled so he poked her back, pushing her against the length of the sofa. Now she was lying down again with her legs draped over his thighs.
"I choose dare, OC." He smiled at her and she hummed as she thought about what dare to give him. He already knew what she would ask and he was hoping for this. She truly was naive and precious and didn't even realize that she was walking into his trap. Again, he knew it was wrong, but he had to have her. There was no denying it anymore.
"I dare you to show me your snake side. I want to see what you look like." She said sternly.
"Fine. If that is what you wish. I'm warning you though, it may be disturbing. You will be the first girl to ever see me like this. Are you sure you're ready for that?" He asked but was already undoing his tie and removing it from his neck.
"Yes I'm sure. I want to see the truth. Please, Ominis." The tone in her voice, the level of her curiosity and how much they drank, had his head spinning. He nodded at her before standing up to remove his shirt. He slowly undid his buttons, making a meal of it, before pulling the remaining fabric from his trousers. He let the material slide down his arms and fall to the floor and she gasped. Why? He didn't even shift yet but she seemed shocked. Then he realized, this is the first time she has seen him without his shirt.
"What's the matter, OC?" He asked as he held back his grin.
"I've never seen you without a shirt. I—I won't lie to you. I'm—I'm a little flustered." She said and he took notice of her racing heart.
"Do you still want to see?" He said as he stepped closer to the couch, now standing over her. He loved that she appeared so small compared to him. It gave him a rush knowing that, if he really wanted to, he could easily overpower her.
"Yes—I still want to see." She said and the shy sweet girl was back again.
He took a deep breath and set his wand down on the table beside the empty bottle of firewhiskey. He allowed this forbidden side to take over, opening himself up to the thought of becoming one with this darkness that he harbored within himself. He felt the shift wash over him, like ripples of rolling waves moving under his skin. It was as if a massive snake was slithering through his body and he sighed in relief once the transformation was complete. He slowly opened his eyes and adjusted to the world around him, trying to get used to the infrared vision he now possessed. He rolled his head on his shoulders and practically moaned when his canines elongated to the fangs that were aching to sink into delicate flesh. He looked down and ran his hands over rough skin that used to be soft and smooth. Then his eyes locked with hers.
She was breathing heavily with her hands clasped together over her chest. He had rendered her speechless.
"This is my secret, OC. The side of me that I have kept hidden for a very long time."
"Your eyes...and parts of your skin. Ominis this is—this is mind blowing. I can't believe this is even possible! Are—are you okay?" She asked with complete sincerity.
"Yeah, I'm okay. It just feels different. It's really good though. It feels like I've been locked in a trunk for ages and I've finally been set free." He chuckled.
"May I-may I touch you?" She asked and her inquisitiveness made him smirk.
"You want to touch me, OC?" He asked a little too flirtatiously but she didn't seem to care or notice. She nodded as she sat up on the couch and hesitated as she brought her hand up towards his body but finally brushed his hip with her fingertips and he smiled down at her. She was slow and tender, just brushing his skin with feather-like touches. Then, she became more sure of herself and started to run her palms up and down his torso then over his arms as she shook her head in bewilderment.
"You're scaly in some spots but then smooth and well, human, in others. Your eyes are slit like a snake but a pretty blue green color. The patches of snake skin match your irises. This is insane!" She laughed a little in shock over what she was seeing and feeling.
"If you think this is insane, you should see my tongue." He smirked down at her and her hands stilled on his stomach.
"Your—your tongue?" She stuttered and slowly pulled her hands away.
He lowered himself to his knees and sat in front of her, his face just inches from hers, as her breathing slowly began to increase. He nodded at her as he bit his bottom lip before opening his mouth to stick his tongue out at her. She gasped loudly and jumped back, flattening herself against the back of the couch.
"Ominis! Why is it— why is it so long?" She asked with a hint of fear in her voice.
"Comes with being part snake I guess." He playfully hissed at her and she let out a small scream while he laughed and held his stomach.
"Don't do that!" She scowled and smacked his arm but joined in on the laughter.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." He wiped a tear from his eye and moved to sit next to her on the sofa.
"So, what do you think?" He asked seriously. He needed to know. He had to make sure she wasn't terrified of him.
"I think—that you are intimidating but—this just makes you more fascinating to me. You're not like anyone else on this earth and I think that makes you special. I'm sorry your parents did this to you. I really am. I'll keep your secret and won't tell a soul. You can trust me." She said warmly and placed her hand on his thigh. He couldn't take it anymore and had enough teasing, it was now or never for the trap had already been set, she just had to fully walk into it.
"On to the next round. Truth or dare?" He asked with a smirk.
"Truth this time." She responded without taking her hand from his thigh.
"Am I the man you have feelings for, OC?" He asked as his leg tingled under her warm and delicate touch.
It took her a moment to answer and he could tell that she was chewing her lip but she finally turned to him and reached up to caress his cheek.
"Yes, you are." She answered softly and took his breath away. He couldn't believe it, she had feelings...for him. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to close the gap between them and press his lips to hers, but he held back and decided to continue playing.
"I pick truth, OC." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and moved closer to her.
"Do you—do you have a crush on someone?" She asked in a hopeful tone.
"Yes, I do. It's more than a crush though. I have strong feelings for this woman. Feelings that are so intense they sometimes pain me. She's sitting right beside me. It's you, OC. I want you."
She hitched in a breath and ran her hand down his thigh and he bit his lip to stop himself from moaning. The room grew quiet for a moment but he broke the silence, hoping the game would end the way he wanted it to.
"Truth or dare?" He asked as they moved closer, her shoulder touching his now and her face just inches from his.
"Dare." She said breathlessly.
"I dare you to let me kiss you wherever I want tonight." His breathing increased to match hers and his heart was beating frantically. Please say yes, he thought when she wouldn't move or answer him.
"Anywhere?" She asked and ran her thumb over his cheekbone, the pad of her little finger was so soft. He could smell the Firewhiskey still lingering on her breath and his other hand moved to grab her hip so he could hold her steady.
"Yes, anywhere. Answer me." He jokingly nipped at the air in front of them and she giggled.
"Okay. You can kiss me, Ominis." She responded and he could see the blush that flooded her cheeks. Her body heat was giving away her emotions and he wanted to kiss every inch of her that burned a deep red.
He didn't need to be told twice. He snatched her up by her waist and she gasped as he hoisted the hem of her skirt up a bit so she could straddle his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, one hand resting on the small of her back and the other on the nape of her neck, as he pulled her in for a kiss.
Her lips were so luscious against his, so silky, while her mouth was warm and inviting. Ominis felt like the room was spinning around him and she was the only thing keeping him steady as his mouth moved over hers. He increased the intensity by entwining his tongue with hers until it began to slip down her throat. She moaned loudly into his mouth, not used to the sudden and deep intrusion, but she did her best to accommodate him and started sucking on the long muscle. He groaned and gripped the back of her head by latching onto her hair. They stayed like this as time passed by but he was craving more of the exquisite beauty writhing on his lap. He retracted his tongue from her mouth which left her panting and trying to catch her breath as she held onto his shoulders.
He didn't want to stop, not now, so he pulled her in and brought his mouth to her delicate neck to kiss the soft and thin skin. Her scent washed over him as he buried his face against her and growled as he sucked on her throat. He was sure he left marks and was proud of this, now everyone would see that she was his, but he needed to claim her completely. In his eyes, kissing her wasn't enough, he desperately needed more of her. He trailed his lips from her jaw down to her collarbone as he moved his hands to grip the front of her top.
"Ominis...please." She softly begged so he ripped open her blouse, exposing her corset and camisole. Too many layers, he thought. He needed more of her, more skin to grab and caress, more of her body to explore. If he could burn away her clothes without hurting her, he would.
"I want—I want to keep playing with you." She said between heavy breaths. He smiled wickedly at her as he pulled her top down her slender arms and tossed it to the floor.
"Then play, Darling." He whispered against her chest before gripping the nape of her neck to tilt her head back and lick along the front of her throat up to her chin. She shivered over him and it gave him such a rush as he licked along her neck once more.
"Truth or dare." She said with a whimper when he thrust his hips up to feel the heat radiating from between her legs. Even through her clothes, he could easily tell she was a wet mess. Ominis knew that her knickers had to be ruined and he adored that he had such a palpable effect on her.
"Truth, OC." He groaned softly as she began to gently grind down on his concealed arousal and his head fell back against the couch.
"Do you—do you have—dirty fantasies about me?" She asked sensually then gasped as he grabbed her hips and brought his clothed cock up to meet her sex.
"All the fucking time." His chest heaved up and down as they rocked against each other. "Some-are more innocent than others. Tonight they are far from pure. I want you to come undone. I need you to beg for more, to scream my name, while I pound into your delicate little cunt." He growled and pulled her in to lick and suck on her neck again. "I want to sink my fangs into your flesh as you cry out in ecstasy." He snarled against her damp skin.
Her moans grew louder and she tossed her head back to allow him more access to her vulnerable throat. "That's what—you want to do to me?" The pitch of her voice was growing higher with every thrust. She was losing it and Ominis was reveling in how desirous she was becoming for him.
"That's just the beginning. I want to ravage you! Turn you into this needy, quivering, mess that is just begging for her holes to be fucked by me and only me. I want to make you mine and mine alone. If any other man would try to have you, he will have to go through me first and trust me, OC. I can be pretty dangerous if need be. For you, I would do anything." He wrapped his arms around her waist and she buried her face in his neck to hide her expression.
"Omi, that's so—so filthy. I've never seen this side of you. Even out of your snakelike form." She stilled her hips and he held her tightly to his body.
"Never had the chance to but now…it's all I can think about. Keep going. Truth or dare, OC?" He said as he tried to steady his racing heart.
"I choose...dare." She said as her breaths fanned against his skin.
"I dare you to hide anywhere in MC's rooms, and if I can find you in under five minutes, I get to have my way with you however I want. I can do anything I please. All night." He wasn't playing games anymore, it was all or nothing, and he was hoping she would give in.
"That's asking a lot, Ominis. I'm—I'm not sure." She hesitated as she rested her head on his chest, her breathing was back to normal but he could still feel the heat between her lovely legs.
"You can say no, but then I will win this game. If you say yes and I don't find you, you win. You've been so naughty tonight. Why stop now?" He whispered in her ear before kissing the top of her head as his hand slipped under her skirt to rub her thigh through her underwear. She shivered against him and whimpered as she tried to hide her face.
"Whatever happens in this room between the two of us will remain between you and I. You can trust me, OC. He tried his best to soothe and convince her that they both needed this night.
"O—okay. I'll hide. Then you can try to find me." She deftly kissed his neck and he smiled up at the ceiling feeling like he had already won.
"You have time to hide. I'll give you five minutes. Then five to try and find you." He said as she moved off his lap to stand up and start looking for the perfect spot.
The poor girl didn't realize that he now had the advantage in this form. It would be so easy to pick up on her heat signature and find her no matter where she chose to hide. Ominis gave OC her time, relaxing on the sofa and envisioning what he will do to her when he finds her. His mind felt so dark right now but he was too far gone to care and enjoyed bathing in the shadows of his twisted desires. He longed for her, he wanted her tremendously, and tonight all his dreams were coming true.
Five minutes passed by quickly and Ominis began his hunt for his precious lover. He tracked her down by scent and sound, listening for the telltale signs of her beating heart. He held his wand in his hand and it almost felt like cheating.
Not only did he have infrared vision when he allowed this side of himself to come out and play but he could still see veins and arteries while he clutched his wand. It was like a best friend to him, a beloved sibling if you will, that would guide his way throughout life. With his wand, and in his snakelike embodiment, he was a force to be reckoned with and could easily find his demur prey.
He entered one of MC's potion rooms and grinned to himself. She was a clever young woman but not clever enough. She used the scents and sounds of the energetic room to cover her presence but Ominis was far more cunning than she was.
"I can't wait to get my hands on you. You know, I have this insatiable desire to sink my fangs into your lovely flesh, OC but I have to stop myself. My parents experimented on me, you know this, what you didn't know is that my bite is venomous and connected to my magic. I bit Sebastian once, by accident of course, and do you know what happened?" He heard a faint gasp come from one of the potion cabinets and picked up on her body heat. A wicked smile spread across his face as he crept closer to her hiding place.
"He grew perfectly still, collapsed to the floor and didn't move, but he could still feel everything. I sort of paralyzed him, OC and he couldn't fight back but he could feel all the pain I dealt him. We were fighting and I don't even remember why but I shifted and attacked him. It's what I wanted my magic and venom to do to him. To leave him powerless while we fought. It didn't last long and he was back to normal without any problems although he sported quite a few bruises and a black eye. To this day, he thinks I should use this gift. Do you think I should, OC? Should I bite you and leave you motionless while I enjoy all your beautiful body has to offer? Let you feel everything I do to you but you can't fight back?" He teased as he stood in front of the wooden doors that kept her from him.
"Let's find out!" He ripped the cabinet open and snatched her up while she screamed and flailed. Ominis flung her over his shoulder with all his newfound strength and carried her to a nearby room. It shifted and rearranged itself to an elaborate bedroom which was exactly what he needed while she kicked and struggled against him.
"Wait! Slow down, Ominis!" She shouted as he tossed her onto the four post bed and she tried to scramble away from him. He swiftly pounced on her and tore at the clasps of her skirt before pulling it off of her body. This left her in her drawers, stockings and garter, corset, and camisole. This was still too much. He needed her bare, exposed, completely vulnerable for what he had planned for her.
"That wasn't part of the game, Love. I won fair and square and now I want my prize! You agreed to anything I want and I want this. I want us!" He growled as he ripped open her corset, the metal clasps flying across the room and clattered to the floor. He pressed his body against hers, pinning her to the soft mattress, as he brought his lips down to take hers.
He devoured her muffled protests as his tongue delved into her mouth once more. He felt like he was running on pure adrenaline, high on how powerful he was in his shifted form. His hands snaked over her body until he met the stiff peaks of her breasts. He groaned against her lips as he pinched and toyed with her nipples. She shoved at his shoulders so he pulled back from the kiss and rose to his knees on the bed as he looked down at her. Her heat signature seemed to be on fire and he loved that she was trying her best to cover it up. He was affecting her as much as she was affecting him and he would make her see that they were meant to be together.
"Take off the rest of your clothes but leave the stockings." He hissed as she hesitated.
"Ominis, you're kind of scaring me right now! Please. Give me a moment to wrap my head around this." She sat up and moved further away from him.
"OC, at this very moment, I feel like I'm losing control but please. Please trust me." He wrapped his fingers around her calf and rubbed the smooth material of her stockings a little and felt her relax under his tender touch.
She shifted to remove her cami and let it fall to the floor then she lifted her hips slightly to pull on the waistband of her underwear and tugged them off as well.
Ominis wanted to shout in victory knowing that she was naked for him now. His stiff cock twitched within his pants over the thought of her bare body. She brought her knees up to her chest as he stood up to remove his trousers and underwear as well, tossing them to the other side of the room. After taking off his socks, he climbed back onto the bed with the woman he fantasized about daily. He sat in front of her and lifted her chin to look at him directly.
"You don't need to be shy, OC. Let me take care of you tonight. I want this to be a night to remember." He said softly as he ran his thumb along her bottom lip. She nodded against his fingers and that was all the approval he needed.
"Lie down, spread your legs for me." He whispered as he released her face. She did as she was told and rested her head against the plush pillows. Ominis moved to lay over her, feeling her flushed heat radiating from her lovely figure. Their bodies were barely touching but he could already feel her trembling beneath him. Was she scared? Excited and nervous about what he would do next? He didn't know. His only thought was to take her, make her his forever, show her how much he loves her by pleasing her magnificent body.
Ominis leaned in, balancing himself up on his elbows, bringing his lips to her jaw. A sensual hiss escaped his lips as he trailed them down to her neck...but it wasn't English. He spoke Parseltongue and she gasped as he felt her shiver beneath his powerful frame. Her breathing increased again and he could actually hear her heartbeat pick up. He smirked against her skin and decided to push her even further. He spoke again, this time his tongue flicking out to tickle her neck. She arched up a little which made him smile even more.
"Do you like when I speak Parseltongue, Darling?" He asked in the dark language again.
"I—I don't know what you're saying but—keep going." She whispered and her hands came up to caress his chest. They were so hot against his skin and he sighed happily as she explored his body. Her palms were all over him yet kept stopping when she got too close to his pelvis as if she was afraid to touch him below the waist.
"The things I want to do to you. I need to taste you, OC. I need my tongue buried deep inside you." He enjoyed teasing her with the hisses and sighs that spilled from his lips as he grinned down at her.
"You're so intimidating like this. My heart is pounding right now." She whimpered and turned her face away from him.
"No, don't look away. Trust me, Love. Tonight you're mine and I'm going to enjoy ravaging this beautiful body of yours." He said, this time with more venom in the forbidden language, as he gently cupped her face and made her look up at him again.
Ominis brushed her lips with his before he started to kiss down her jaw and stopped at her tantalizing throat. He sucked and lapped at the soft skin for a moment before moving down to her chest. He stuck his tongue out fully and wrapped the tip around one of her nipples. He used one hand to pinch the other tip between his thumb and forefinger. His other hand was placed on her shoulder to hold her down as he laid between her soft legs. His cock twitched against the sheets as she arched her back against his mouth and busy fingers. He moved to give the other breast the same attention and she moaned softly while she writhed against him.
"Ominis..." She whimpered as she moved her hands to tangle them in his hair and hold his head to her chest while he showered her breasts with loving attention. He could stay there forever if she allowed him and he growled as he nipped at her stiff peaks. She yelped when his teeth grazed her skin and he chuckled against her stomach as he worked his way down to kiss her hips.
"So sensitive. I love the way your body trembles under my fingertips and my mouth." He licked along her hip then blew on the wet trail he left behind. He continued from hip to hip as she moaned loudly and passionately said his name. She was panting and wiggling her pelvis so he grabbed her hips and gripped her body tightly, holding her in place so he could leave hickies below her hip bones. She cried out and struggled against his hold but he was too strong and determined to leave all the marks he could on her beautiful body. Her roommates would know, the school would know, that she was his and only his and he was the one to please her.
"Ominis I—I've never. I've never been—with anyone." She said softly as she covered her face with her hands.
"Wait, you're a—you're a virgin?" He asked as he shifted a little lower to rest his head on the inside of her thigh.
"Yes is—is that bad?" He could hear the worry laced into her voice but he smiled widely against her sensitive skin.
"No, that's perfect. You're perfect, OC. I'll make tonight special for you, I promise." He kissed her thigh and gently ran his hand down her leg to place it over his shoulder. He turned his head to kiss and nip at her other thigh and place that leg over his shoulder as well. Now his head was between her supple limbs and the scent of her arousal washed over him as he placed kisses where her thighs met her damp sex. He sighed against her and she quivered below him. He wrapped his arms around her legs and placed his palms on the front of her thighs to keep a strong hold on her.
"Omi, please..." She was begging, but for what he didn't know, all he could comprehend at the moment was how badly he needed to taste her, to savor her juices on his tongue. It felt like he was in a dream and if he didn't continue then he would wake up and she wouldn't be here in his arms. Maybe it was all the shots they took but everything just felt so surreal to him as she whispered his name.
"OC, I need more. I need more of you. Spread your legs a little wider, Darling." She did as she was told and her heat signature was absolutely flaring. His eyes fell on her clit and he licked his lips, salivating at the thought of pleasing her dripping cunt with his mouth.
"Ominis. Be gentle." She reached down to run her fingers through his hair and he smiled at her.
He would try but he felt more and more animalistic by the second. He nodded up at her then brought his mouth down to kiss her sex. She cried out at the first contact and arched her back, making him more eager to satisfy her.
"Relax, Sweetheart. I've got you." He brushed her thigh with his fingertips to soothe her. She pet his head once again before he kissed her little bundle of nerves, making her moan loudly. He took his time with his actions as he licked and sucked on her delicate folds. He was ecstatic feeling her writhe and jerk against his seeking tongue and lips. She was crying out his name as she gripped fistfulls of his disheveled hair so Ominis decided to step things up a notch. He lapped and kissed her dripping entrance before breaching her core with his tongue.
"Oh! Omi! Don't stop!" Her heels were digging into his back as he fucked her with his long tongue, making sure to hit her sweet spot with every lick and thrust, OC was trying to close her thighs around his head but he held her tightly in place. His growls and groans echoed throughout the room as his hand snaked down her leg to reach her aching heat. His cock pulsed against the bedsheets, dripping onto the soft material, as he inserted one of his fingers.
"Ominis! Oh fuck! This feels—it feels so good! She cried and thrust her hips against his face. One hand held her firmly against the bed while the other worked his finger in and out of her core paired with his tongue. Her taste was exquisite and he needed to push her closer and closer to her building orgasm. He was truly enjoying watching her come undone, the shy girl who usually kept to herself, now became a wanton little mess in the palm of his hand. The sheets were now soaked from him devouring her sweet and dripping cunt. He was laying in a small puddle of his own due to grinding his cock against the mattress.
Her moans and pants became more and more frantic and Ominis knew she was close, he could feel it against his tongue and pulsing finger so he decided to add another one and spread her open so he could bury his tongue further inside her.
She wailed as the long muscle bottomed out in her throbbing core. His nose was pressed against her clit and he thrust his fingers even harder and faster in her soaked slit.
"Ominis! I'm—I'm close!" She cried and both of her hands flew to press down on his head. Yes!Come for me, come on my tongue, let me taste your pleasure! He thought as the tip of his tongue pressed strongly against her sweet spot.
Her core swiftly clamped down around his fingers and tongue as her orgasm tore through her trembling body. Ominis moaned when the taste of her climax washed over his tongue and his eyes slid shut in pure bliss. He slowly withdrew his fingers followed by his tongue only when her body ceased quivering. He rested his head on her thigh and they both shared a moment to catch their breath. Ominis then took notice of her body heat starting to cool down and saw that as a signal to keep going. He slowly maneuvered himself to crawl over her, prowling like a hungry beast.
"Ominis...your eyes. They're—they're almost glowing." She whispered as he wiped her slick from his mouth and chin. He smirked down at her when they were lying face to face, his body hovering above her's.
"This is what you do to me. You drive me insane, you make me crave you, OC." He placed his lips on her neck and gently tugged at her pulse with his lips. She wrapped her arms around him as he pressed his body down on top of her delicate figure. She gasped when the head of his cock gently brushed against her folds. He hissed in a breath at the warm contact and pressed his forehead against her's.
"You're ready. I know you are. I made sure that you are properly prepared for me. You can take it, My Love." He said as he placed a single kiss on her head then moved to slant his mouth over her plump and inviting lips. He wedged his hips between her legs and she groaned into his mouth as the tip of his erection breached her entrance.
"That's it, Sweetheart. Relax and let me in." He nuzzled her neck and sank deeper inside her wet core. Her nails dug into his back as she whimpered and arched beneath his flushed frame. He pressed his weight on her and caged her in place with his arms as his lips moved to tickle her sensitive throat. Ominis plunged further and further in OC's tight channel.
"Omi, it—it hurts." She shivered as he deftly kissed her temple.
"It will—It will at first, Darling. Breathe and relax with me. You're so nervous." He whispered against her cheek before placing delicate kisses all along her face then moving to her jaw and neck once again.
"I can make you feel good. My fangs ache, OC. Let me sink them into this supple flesh. Please." He let his words ghost over her damp skin and she stiffened.
"Ominis...no. I'm—I'm not ready for that. Please." She softly begged but his mind was already in a haze at the thought of biting her delectable skin.
"I want you to feel pleasure. It won't hurt. It won't! I need you to feel good. Please, OC. Let me bite you. My fangs are throbbing. The pressure is too much. Please!" He pleaded against her throat and she swallowed hard.
"Omi. I—I don't know. Your bite will paralyze me." He felt a tear fall down her temple and splash on his face.
"No. No! You'll feel what my magic wants you to feel. I want you to need me, OC. I'm begging." His fangs brushed her neck and she yelped and jumped to the best of her ability under his weight.
"Ominis. I—I don't know. I don't..." Her words were cut off by her groan as his fangs sank into her skin. He could literally see his venom working its way through her veins as she grew limp beneath him. Her head lolled to the side as he bit down harder on her tender tissue. He snarled against her as the metallic tang of her blood hit his tongue.
"Ominis!" She cried as he bottomed out inside her sweet sex. He removed his fangs from her beautiful body with a deep sigh as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even deeper into her throbbing core.
"Oh fuck, OC!" He shouted as she thrust her hips up to meet his, losing all inhibitions.
"Make love to me, Ominis. It—it doesn't hurt anymore." She said as she placed a kiss on both of his cheeks. He couldn't believe how quickly his venom was working but he wasn't going to let this moment slip away.
"I'll give you whatever you want. I'm yours." He whimpered as he pulled out as far as he could before plunging back into her heat. She tossed her head back and mewled softly in his ear. They held each other so tightly as he picked up his pace and began to thrust harder and faster making her moan his name.
"Ominis! You feel so amazing." She purred as she moved to cup his face in her soft hands. He couldn't help but shed a tear over the sheer amount of love they were sharing with one another. He knew his venom was a part of it but he couldn't help but feel overjoyed over the intimacy they were creating. Her head thrashed against the pillows as he began to pound deep inside her precious cunt, their breathing becoming in sync with each other.
"More, I'm close, Ominis!" She moaned loudly as her legs wrapped around him tightly and her nails dug deep into his shoulders. He was eager to give her exactly what she wanted as his hips drove into her again and again. Their pants filled the room as he continued to thoroughly love her dripping core and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
With one harsh thrust she screamed his name in pleasure as she gripped down on his throbbing cock in heavy waves. He wasn't done with her just yet and continued to piston his pelvis harder and harder within her cunt. She was an absolute wreck as she mumbled and clutched him close to her body. He could feel the warmth in his stomach continue to grow and spread further down his body. The tension in his groin was building with every thrust of his length inside her aching sex.
He gave one final thrust as he spilled his seed deep inside her, claiming her for his own. His holler echoed throughout the room as the tendons in his neck grew taut from the strain of his orgasm. He gasped harshly as his body collapsed to lay over hers. She held him close to her as she cradled his head against her chest. He listened to her rapid heartbeat pounding against her rib cage as she ran her fingers through his damp hair.
"You were right, your bite didn't hurt, it actually made me feel...safe." She said softly then kissed the top of his head.
"I didn't want you to feel pain. I wanted you to feel comfortable with me. I couldn't help it. I'm sorry I bit you. The ache was just too much. Are you mad at me now?" He asked as he pulled out and groaned at the loss of her wonderful warmth.
"No, I don't want you to feel pain either. If your fangs are hurting you, my neck is here for the taking, you should be able to feel safe and comfortable as well, Ominis. Let me be that for you, let me be the one you can truly be yourself with. I—| love you, Ominis Gaunt. I always have." They shifted so she could curl up next to him and wrap her legs and arms around his body. He pulled her in as close as he possibly could and tilted her face up to look at him.
"I love you too, OC. You're mine now, do you understand?" He asked as he gently kissed her lips.
"I don't want to be with anyone else but you. You have my heart." She kissed him passionately before yawning and nestling her head in the crook of his neck.
Ominis felt his eyes getting heavy as he smiled from ear to ear. Tonight was the perfect night and he was so thankful to call OC his. He didn't have to hold back or hide who he truly was with her anymore and it felt magnificent. The woman he loved more than anything in the world, the one he coveted above all others, was sleeping soundly within his arms and he couldn't be happier.
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constesplanetarium · 3 months
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✩╔═*.·:·.✧✦✧.·:·.*═╗✩
Scales Scraping against Wood.
☾⚠︎ Stalker Naga x GN! Researcher-ish Reader
✩╚═*.·:·.✧✦✧.·:·.*═╝✩
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✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
a/n: something small, more in notes at the bottom. this is my first oc fic not made for tumblr, but instead, one i made on my own time :)
Darkness: 2/10: "The smallest mention ever."
TW!!! Light Yandere shenanigans (possessiveness, stalking, collecting your fallen things as a collection.).
Word count: around 800
₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊
Dark brown eyes look your way as the leaves and twigs crunch under you with every step. Shame you haven’t noticed him yet, up there in the trees, his pale white hands grasping onto the branches as he hopes, for just a little, that you’ll look his way. His tail flicks back and forth happily as he sees that adorable smile on your face that he loves so dear.
Humans never venture into this part of the forest, that he knows, so it’s intriguing to find you here, observing the wildlife without a care. Whether it be nagas like himself, or orcs, or even werewolves, you’ve seen it. Even more, this isn’t your first time. You don't even know about the poisonous, and perhaps carnivorous flowers that lie deep down here, do you? How silly.
Why do the other species get your attention, but not him? Why not?
Maybe one day you’ll observe him from afar, just like he’s watching you now.
White strands of hair fall off his shoulders as he stares at you dreamily, claws scraping at the darkened bark as his white tail, speckled with dark orange and brown, curls around the branch in content as you pick and peer at the daffodils, writing down some things in your small journal, than plucking some up and setting them into your basket.
What he would do for just a peek into your head…
Just a small one. It’s all he needs.
Having lived for so long, humans come and go everyday that passes, as he’s witnessed first hand, but why’re you still here? Why do you keep coming back after all of these days? What’s the purpose? To just gaze at the flowers? It must be more than that, surely.
Medicinal purposes, maybe? Or just for the sake of it?
He jolts up, breaking out of his daydream-like state to see you wandering off again, humming that familiar tune he’s heard from you before.
A wince forms and twitches on his face as he watches you go farther, and farther away from him, claws digging into the branch with frustration. You might hear him if he moves from branch to branch, so maybe moving on the ground is a bit better…
His eyes stay put on you for just a bit longer, watching you bend down to pluck up more flowers and herbs, and you set them down into the basket.
Finally, after some time, he sprawls out his body slowly against the trunk of the tree, claws digging into the bark as he starts to slither down.
The branch feels weak around his tail. Ah, wait, the branch-!
The branch snaps loudly as it falls to the ground with a thud, and you look around as your eyes dart to it, shakily grasping your journal harder as you fidget with the basket in your other hand, rising up onto your feet to make a run for it.
“Wait.” He tries to murmur, reaching a hand out to you, but before he can even get a syllable out, you’re already running away in fear, slipping onto some mud, in which the basket tosses itself out of your grasp. You wince, yet swiftly get up and run off, leaving the basket in fear of your life.
… How pitiful. How unlucky.
Or maybe not unlucky?
It looks like you left a small gift for him.
Slithering down the tree, he gazes dreamily at the fallen flowers on the ground, covered in dirt and mud with the basket beside it all. With a small look around to make sure no one's nearby, he scoops up the flowers and tosses them back into the basket, snatching the handle up. If only you had dropped your journal too…
Well, it doesn’t matter.
Wiping the filth and muck off the petals of each flower with a finger, and flicking it onto the ground, he holds a daffodil up to the sun, small bits of sunshine raying through the petals. He twists it around as the petals become semi-transparent due to the light. How pretty.
Oh, he got so lucky today, to finally have a small piece of you, after watching you for all these days and nights.
Hopefully, you do come back to the forest sometime soon. Did he scare you too much? Ah, what a terrible thing to think about! No way! No way, no way, no way! You’ll come back, won’t you?
Right?
Right? You will, right? Won’t you? He could even give you a small bunch of flowers from deeper inside the forest, so much deeper that no human in their right mind would go there! No one else would ever do that for you, so it makes him special. So, so, very special. And you're so special to him too, even from afar.
Without even noticing it, the flower he was holding has been crushed and ripped beyond repair, his twitching hands wrapped tightly around the basket as he fights back the urge to chase you, never stopping until he finally gets the chance to wrap his arms around you.
Please, do come back.
ミ★ 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴. ★彡
heyy, im back again, sorry for leaving :( i'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but it might take me some time.
it wasn’t burnout, i just had a really big disinterest in writing ever since thanksgiving, and i think its mainly bc of lack of ideas, but also restricting myself to that yandere label, so i think ima branch out a bit from here on out :)
still expect yandere’s though!!!
also i’ve been watching jujutsu kaisen recently, but lets not talk abt that…
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theletterwsartflap · 5 months
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Happy Halloween!
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megamanaddicted · 4 months
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they both hate slugs
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teazingsassy · 1 year
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Luffy and his different gears! 
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shalobitch · 6 days
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It's been way too long since I've given Actor some attention here lol
Decided to fix it by re-drawing the very first piece I had ever made of him back in 2021
Old version will be under the cut lmao
I'm so so so proud of this drawing and my progress, y'all have no idea
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Yea also this version will be chilling here too
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yoshimiilk · 6 months
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Did I?? Finally draw him right?????
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deadlygoldfish22 · 2 months
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linesonwhite · 5 days
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Just a simple and quick drawing of Snake Man and some Search Snakes for today.
I was helping move some big furniture pieces yesterday, and I think I wore my wrist out in the process of that. >__>
Got this up on twitter toooooooo
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rabid-mercenary15 · 1 month
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He mute :3
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lunarlicorice · 2 months
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snake man
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love-and-monsters · 2 months
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The Pit and the Serpent
M Naga X GN reader, 11047 words
Content warning: discussions of rape/sexual coercion, sexual coercion described with minimal detail, descriptions of a cult.
You have been sentenced to death. You are going to be fed to the beast in the pit. Unless, of course, the beast does not eat the ones given to it.
Sweat beaded on the back of your neck as you took another trembling step forward. A knife sat against the small of your back. The threat wasn’t that they would kill you- they didn’t have to. A quick slice to the small of your back would have your legs useless. They could leave you to die, limp and pathetic, at the claws of the creature in the pen. The only reason they hadn’t done it at all was that it was a lot less work to have you walk than to drag your limp body in.
The pen loomed in front of you. It wasn’t much of a pen, to be honest. It was more of a pit, with barbed wire fence surrounding it. People didn’t approach it- in fact, there isn’t anyone within a hundred feet. Just you and the soldier nudging you ever closer.
As soon as you were past the gate, the soldier slammed it shut and stepped back, almost a scramble. There was no reason for him to be near you anymore. There was only a tiny strip of land surrounding the dropoff of the pit, and you couldn’t climb back out over the fence thanks to the barbed wire. You probably couldn’t even if there wasn’t barbed wire. You’d never been athletic.
You hunched down on the little area you had, knees tucked close to your chest to avoid the drop. No limbs dangling. The image of letting an arm or leg hang over the opening and something grabbing you, like a monster under the bed, rose in your mind.
You sat on the edge of the pit all throughout the scorching afternoon, dripping sweat into a small puddle in the dirt below you. The sun set and the chill of night against your sweaty skin made you shiver. The thing in the pit hadn’t moved. Was it nocturnal? You’d never seen a feeding before. Maybe you should have. Maybe that would have discouraged you from-
The thing in the pit moved. You heard it shifting before you saw it, the great shadow twisting and slinking until a tendril of it was lifting out of the pit and stretching slowly toward you. You scrambled back until the barbed wire dug into your skin, uncaring of exactly how rusty it was. Of course it didn’t matter. You were going to die, right now, and a little tetanus hardly compared to exactly how this thing was going to rip you to shreds.
Its head dropped into your line of sight, close enough that you could make out some features despite the lack of light. You stared. You had been expecting a mouth- they called it a feeding, after all. Not strange at all to imagine you were about to be eaten. And there was a mouth. It was just attached to a human face. Which was attached to a human head. Which was attached to a human torso. Which was not attached to human hips, but to the body of an enormous snake. Like, a huge snake. Like, at-least-40-feet-long snake.
It yawned. Fangs, long and thin, just where canines would be in a human mouth, glinted in the faint moonlight. Then it slumped downward, flopping to rest its torso on the edge of the pit right next to you.
It blinked at you. The light was dim enough that you couldn’t see the color of its eyes, but the white gleaming in the moonlight told you it was staring right at you. “Hello there.”
You stared back. He didn’t seem like he was going to eat you. He didn’t seem big enough to eat you. You’d been expecting an enormous snake mouth, something appropriate for the enormous thing, something that could swallow you whole. But this was… well, the person-part of the snake was bigger thana typical human, but not by that much. Its mouth was far too small to eat you effectively. Then again, you were smaller than a cow, and you ate those, so perhaps the creature was simply going to drag you into its pit and eat you little by little. You hoped it killed you quickly, at least- getting slowly eaten seemed like the worst possible way to die.
“You aren’t much of a talker, are you,” the serpent groused. His mass of coils shifted slowly, undulating in the pit beneath. You couldn’t make out the individual coils with the distance and the darkness- it just looked like a shifting, twisting mass. The serpent moved closer, practically hovering in front of you, using his muscular trunk as support. “Ain’t much to look at, are ya?” He spoke in a drawling, lazy tone. “Can’t imagine ya did anything impressive to get stuck in here. Are they finally chucking the dissidents down here instead of shoving them into the reeducation work prison?”
“Thievery.” You forced the word up through your dry throat and mouth. The serpent fixed his gaze back on you. “I- I took something that wasn’t mine to take.”
“Huh.” He slumped back to the ground next to you, propping his chin up on his fist. “Why?”
You ground your teeth. “He… took something from me, first. So, I wanted to take something from him. But I got caught.”
The serpent nodded. “A little thief, then? I suppose they would throw you in here for that.”
You eyed him as he stretched. The question was stupid, but you couldn’t help yourself from asking it. “Aren’t you going to eat me?”
He was mid-yawn when you asked, and blinked one eye open to look at you. “Am I supposed to?”
You paused. Everyone called it a ‘feeding’ when people were put in the pit. People who went for feedings were never seen again. What else was happening expect for them being eaten? “I think so.”
“Perhaps,” he said, “I’m not hungry today.” He slumped back toward the pit, slinking down and vanishing in the mass of his own coils.
You stared. And shivered. Your sweat was still drying on your skin in the chilly night air and the hot terror was fading. The creature had emerged from the pit, you’d had a pleasant (if you stretched the definition of the word) chat, and then it had left.
That was… not what was supposed to happen. You’d seen people be taken away to the pit- you’d never seen them actually go in, of course, the pit was nearly three hours away from the town by walking, and you’d never had reason to go in a car until today. Yesterday. Was it past midnight? They never came back. Did the creature ever eat anyone? It must, or they wouldn’t have bothered with the pit at all. They could just shoot people. Or stab them, if wasted bullets were a concern. Why go through the whole rigamarole of taking people out here and then leaving them alive for the creature if it didn’t eat them?
But if it did eat them, why hadn’t it eaten you?
It got late for a while, and then it was so late that it looped around to being early. The sun started to stretch thin tendrils of light over the horizon. Your stomach growled. You had to pee. Your legs were cramping from being in the same position for so long. Were the guards going to come back? Did they come back for the prisoners, if only to see if there were any bones or limbs left? Or were you just trapped out here until you died of thirst or the creature decided it was hungry after all and ate you?
(It had better hurry the hell up, you decided. If it waited until you died of natural causes, t would probably have a tough, unpleasant meal. Your somewhat-delirious mind found that idea funny.)
It was less funny when a hand wrapped around your ankle and hauled you bodily toward the pit.
The entire thing was fast. One second you were registering the warm hand on your skin, and the next you were being dragged down a slope. You caught a glimpse of your captor’s face, too dark to make out expressions, before you were hauled under a mass of coils.
They weren’t cold to the touch, though they weren’t warm, either. You could feel the ridges of the scales, each one nearly the size of your palm. It was heavy, a weight that nearly knocked the breath out of you, though their constant shifting helped lessen that impact. It wasn’t crushing, though, and you could feel the hard-packed dirt under your back. Strange. You would have thought they’d be coiling around you to crush you. Even just being underneath them, you could tell they were powerful enough to do it. You could feel the power of the muscles just from minute movements alone.
“Stop panicking!” The voice came a lot closer to your ear than you’d expected and you struck out. Maybe he’d been expecting it, because your first hit a wall of scaly flesh.’ “I ain’t gonna hurt ya, if you don’t try to hurt me again.”
You stopped moving. The serpent huffed out a breath, and you felt the edges of it against your… temple, on your right side. He was partially concealed by one of his own coils, but he was there. “Sorry for the delay, sweetcheeks. Woulda taken you down here right away, but we’ve had some problems recently. Delays. You’ll find out soon, anyway.”
You didn’t understand, but bemoaning that lack of understanding seemed like the worst possible move at the moment. Instead, you flipped onto your stomach and started army crawling back toward the wall of the pit. The coils were heavy, but not crushing, at least not at the moment. You were going to crawl and get out of the pit, and what you were going to do then could be decided after you got out.
“Woah.” The hand was on your back now, having gotten a fistful of your shirt. Well, it was more of a dress-tunic than a shirt, one of the ones that was both oversized and stretched, and made more out of patches than material. They could have made you go into the pit naked, but you suspected that this made a convenient excuse to get rid of something no one really wanted. You thrashed against the grip and, sure enough, the tunic ripped with ease. Before you could continue your mad crawl, the hand managed to lock around your calf. “Woah, woah! Where do ya think you’re going?”
You try to continue forward at the pace of a determined slug. The hand on your leg is doing a good job of hindering that, though. “Quit freaking out! Sorry I scared ya, but I said before, I ain’t gonna hurt ya, so stop it!”
In fairness, he wasn’t hurting you at that moment. He could have, certainly- his coils could have crushed you by weight alone, if he’d dropped them on you, but he just lay them across your path, effectively blocking your way unless you wanted to crawl over him. The hand around your calf remained firm, a grip tight enough to almost bruise, but not vicious. More like he was just desperate to keep you from squirming away.
Surrounded by coils of snake and held fast by the grip on your leg, you finally went still. You were flat on your stomach, so the dust, of course, immediately went up your nose and you snorted out an awkward sneeze. The serpent’s human part moved forward, almost hovering over you, suspended by its muscular trunk. He folded his arms over his chest, no longer holding onto you. “Didn’t mean to scare ya that bad. S’pose I should’ve been more forthcoming, but ya don’t get much fun out here, y’know?” He shrugged. “Sorry. Kinda a fighter, aren’t ya, though? Most people just curl into a ball and scream.”
You stared at him. He was silhouetted by moonlight, so you could make out his long, somewhat tangled black hair and his dark brown skin. There were a few patches of scales on his belly, creeping up from where his snake body ended. “I thought,” you said, after a moment of thought, “that you were going to eat me.”
He shrugged. “I’m not.”
That had become pretty clear. Unless this was a game, though you couldn’t see the point of it, if it was. “Then what are you going to do?”
He grinned, at that. His canines were still too long and sharp, more like a snake’s than a human’s- though still not totally like either. “Look.”
He turned his body to point at a spot beyond the shifting weight of his coils. In the wall of the pit, there was… a hole.
It wasn’t a big hole. Large enough for a person to fit through, provided they were crawling and not standing up straight. It sloped a little, down into the ground. The idea of it made you shudder. Perhaps the serpent didn’t pick up on that, because he said, “You’re going to go in there.”
“I’m not,” you insisted. The serpent considered you for a moment, not quite irritated, but certainly not pleased.
“Ya are,” he said. “Unless you’re plannin’ on staying here and dyin’ when they come back and find ya completely uneaten.”
You glared. “Fine.” The serpent nodded, clearly believing you meant ‘fine, I’ll go in there.’ His expression changed to plain annoyance when you, through lack of motion, convinced him that you meant ‘fine, I’ll stay here and die.”
“You’re claustrophobic,” he reasoned. You glared. It was true, but you didn’t like it. The idea of close earth, pressing in on you- unbearable. The idea of having nowhere to run, nowhere to go or flee to, no open space within which to seek safety-
“Alright, alright! Don’t- don’t do that, just- Damn, this makes it much harder than I thought it was gonna be.” The serpent patted awkwardly at your shoulder. You squirmed away from his touch and he held his hands up. Your breathing, which had spun wildly out of control for a moment, dropped back to a steady (or at least steadier) rhythm. “Look. The only way out of here is through the tunnel. It’s only twenty feet of tunnel, and once you’re through that, it’s not so tight.”
“I can’t get through the twenty feet,” you ground out. Even three feet, less than your body length, would be close to intolerable. As long as your head and arms were trapped, there was panic.
The serpent heaved a sigh. “Erg… You’re gonna have to.”
“I can’t.” Clearly, he was slow. Otherwise, he would be getting that it was physically impossible for you to do so. You could not, unless under immediate threat of death, force yourself through it. And maybe not even that.
The serpent rubbed his face. “Sonova- If you get caught, I’m gonna be fucked too, y’know?” His coils shifted, lifting and writhing. Above you, through the gaps in his coils, you could see the sky lightening. It was going to be day soon. That seemed to be agitating him. “Okay. You’re not gonna like this, but we’re doing it anyway.”
You stiffened. “We’re not going to-”
The serpent seized you by hooking an arm under your armpits and hauled. You were half lifted off the ground and pulled toward the hole in the wall. Panic seized you and you started to kick your legs. The serpent wholly ignored you. For a moment, you wondered about how he was going to manage to pull you through- there wasn’t enough space for both of you to fit going through at the same time.
It was a question that was quickly answered. As you got within a foot of the hole, he dropped you and plunged in himself.
Within seconds, his human part was gone, leaving only his snake portion, It flowed in and in and in, an endless-seeming mass of scaled flesh moving into the tunnel. It was almost hypnotic. So hypnotic, in fact, that you didn’t register it when the last foot or so of his tail wrapped around your legs and hauled you into the tunnel after him.
It happened fast- one second you were just registering the fact that you were moving, the next you were in the tunnel with the walls pressing close in on you. The press of the walls, combined with the warm squeeze of the serpent’s tail around you was- was- your brain scrambled, sheer terror blotting out every thought you could have summoned up.
And then the walls lessened. Not a lot, but their squeeze was reduced. The tail wrapped around you, so tight you couldn’t move your arms or legs, was still bad, but the walls weren’t so tight. Lifting your head didn’t whack it on the ceiling anymore, and you couldn’t feel your shoulders rubbing against the walls. You felt the movement of air on your legs first, and then you were pulled into a bright, open room.
The made your eyes tear up. You squeezed them shut against it. The tail around your body relaxed, drawing away. The sheer relief was incredible, so much that you couldn’t bring yourself to move. You lay there, gasping and shivering on the floor, eyes squeezed shut. Your brain was so utterly scrambled that you didn’t even question why there were bright lights underground for a few minutes.
People talking, though, that got your attention.
“I’m gonna need to be back out there in a couple minutes, just in case they come lookin’,” the serpent was saying.
“Of course. Though you really couldn’t have thought of a better solution? Or explained more?” The second voice was female, probably older by the sound of it. Kind of weary, too. You blinked your eyes open. The serpent was coiled as tight as he was able, and was bending to speak to an older woman, brown hair shot through with gray, in something like a lab coat.
“You were the ones delayin’ everything.”
“Well, you could have told her in the meantime. You didn’t have to wait for us to be ready.”
The serpent grimaced. “Sure, if I wasn’t so busy prepping the tunnel. It’s not easy to dig that shit back out every time you guys want to-”
“Who are you?” Your voice wasn’t a yell, but it wasn’t quiet. The conversation stopped. Both of them looked at you.
The woman straightened out her lab coat. It was a bit stained and yellowed in some places, and there was a button missing. “My name is Elise Markov. This-” She gestured to the massive serpent-person beside her. “-Is Hana. I apologize for… well, for him.” He clucked his tongue. “Hush. You should be kinder to our new arrivals.”
“Perhaps.” Hana flexed his tail. “It’s not like I get much practice with people, trapped up there without-”
“Speaking of,” Elise said, cutting him off. He fell silent, sulky. “You should go back up. You were saying they might be back soon.”
Hana grimaced but he obediently slipped toward the tunnel. After a few moments, his tail was vanishing into the tunnel. Elise watched him go, then headed over to you. “Come along. I will explain on the way.”
Getting up gave you a chance to look a little more around the room. It wasn’t terribly big, maybe about the size of a single room in a house, and lit entirely by floodlights. Another tunnel, this one much larger than the one you had entered through, allowed you to exit the room. You could stand up in it, and almost extend your arms before hitting the wall while inside, it, so the terror was only a minor scream in the back of your mind.
As you walked, Elise explained. “We have been out here since the, well, apocalypse, for lack of a better term, recruiting as we can. Sometimes we take in runaways, sometimes strays, sometimes people like you- people who have been set to death by the various collectives and compounds that now litter the world. You will stay here now, and work with us. There will be a task you can do, I assure you, be it caring for the assets or cooking food or cleaning.”
You trotted along after her. “I don’t underst-”
“I’m aware. You will.” Elise’s tone was clipped. “For now, just know that you are safe and you will remain safe for the foreseeable future. We have an organization, relative protection, and, the basic necessities of life.”
Well. Good enough for you. It was significantly better to have a place that didn’t want to kill you. At least, not immediately.
The tunnel went on for what must have been at least a few miles. Your legs ached and you felt dizzy. It had been some time since you’d had proper food. You swayed, exhausted, even as Elise kept up her ruthless pace. Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a tall, illuminated room. You hurried toward it, ready for your journey to end, and-
There were people. Many of them wore lab coats, like Elise, though they were all about as dirty as Elise’s as well. But there were also many… things. Creatures. Beasts you couldn’t understand. One of them, a creature with the torso of a human, but the lower body of a massive, pale spider approached. “Ah, Thierry. If you could-”
You were taken to a room and told it was yours. It was a tiny room, big enough for a bed and a hanging rack of clothes. But it was at least nicer than the communal bunks you’d had previously. You didn’t feel comfortable sleeping with other people.
After a full day of resting, and a fairly simple meal of vegetables and a biscuit, you were given the beginnings of orientation. It was fairly extensive, starting at the exact moment the world fell apart, about ten years ago.
The end of the world was something you remembered, though not in any great detail. It hadn’t been an abrupt thing, like it always was in dystopian fiction. It had just been, over the course of a few years, a gradual downturn of things getting worse until you were in a barrack with a couple dozen other people and you realized you had no hope of anything ever getting better. The world had just seemed to get more and more frightened of everything going on, more desperate and sad and clawing until everything had been torn to shreds.
Apparently, that hadn’t quite been an accident.
The details were vague- you weren’t sure if that was because the details were unknown, or if the people in charge just didn’t want you to know them. But the government (or several governments- again, the details were unclear) had been running experiments on fear. Fear was, after all, one of the most effective motivators ad weapons ever known. Enough fear could kill, could make a person commit atrocities. And so, it needed to be studied, understood, and potentially weaponized.
After years of research, they had managed to create… something. Tapped into some collective unconscious, some extra-physical resource, and created, from humans, creatures that embodied the fears of the world.
The outpouring of fear from their initial creation spread the world over. It wasn’t strong, but it lingered, like background radiation in the minds of everyone on the planet. And that fear drove everyone to the brink of madness and destruction. Even after the initial burst of it settled, everyone had already settled into their new lives and routines too thoroughly to go back.
This particular organization had been created by a small group of the scientists who’d escaped the panic-induced deaths of everyone who’d worked on the initial project. They’d managed to gather a small group of the fear-creatures, who worked with them, as much as they could.
You even got to meet a few of them. All of them seemed to embody a specific type of fear, usually a phobia. Thierry, the spider-person you’d met initially was the embodiment of arachnophobia. There was a person who seemed to be entirely made of water that represented thassolophobia, though you saw her pretty infrequently. Her proper body took up a massive swimming pool that had needed to be dug out special. The only time you saw her was when she sent out a segment of her body that was roughly person sized and shaped, something that was apparently difficult and uncomfortable to do. Another person, a hulking figure of dirt with a hole in their middle that seemed to constantly draw your eyes and body, represented claustrophobia. You didn’t go near him often.
Of course, your Hana was representative of a fear of snakes. Never a fear you’d had, but you could see how he would be horrific for someone who was afraid of scaly ropes.
He was apparently a recruiter, of some description. His capture by your old compound was an accident, but given that he was regularly fed a stream of dissenters, he could smuggle people they determined to be relatively safe out of the pit. Apparently your thievery was determined to be a non-harmful pastime that earned you a free ticket out.
You were told all this by the person you were supposed to be shadowing, a middle-aged woman who had been in this little group since just after its founding. You followed her around while she showed you how to do a variety of tasks. Mostly cleaning or fetching things for other people. A day after you’d arrived, she handed you a massive tray of raw meat and gestured for your to follow her.
“This will likely be one of your tasks on a daily basis,” she said. “Along with general cleaning. I assume you’re willing to complete janitorial tasks.”
Her tone said ‘you don’t think you’re too good for this, right?’ with an undertone of ‘because if you do, we’re going to have problems.’ “I’m fine with it,” you said. You legitimately didn’t have a problem with it. It wasn’t any different from the shit you’d been doing at the compound.
You walked through a familiar hall that opened into a familiar, cavernous room. You had to switch the floodlights on. Obviously you didn’t have the power to run them all the time.
“Mind warning me before you do that?” Hana groused, half covering his face with his hand. “Oh, it’s you!”
You nodded. “It’s… good to see you again?”
“Sure. Glad you’re doin’ all right,” Hana said. “Ya gonna give me the food or what?”
Your supervisor left at that moment, telling you to bring the tray back to the kitchens when you were done, since she needed to take care of something. Everyone seemed busy all the time. Probably took a lot of work to run the place. You’d probably be busy too, once you were more settled in.
Hana didn’t really chew his food. He just swallowed big chunks at once, like- well, like a snake. It was impressive, but also kind of gross to watch. “Guess you’ve decided to stay,” he said between huge mouthfuls.
“What other options do I have?” you asked back, complete rhetorical.
He decided to answer it anyway, though. “Out there.” He gestured vaguely toward the ceiling with an expansive motion. “Y’know. Anywhere out there.”
“I’d die,” you said. Society might have collapsed when you were a teen, but the past ten years or so, you’d been hopping from little settlement to little settlement. You didn’t have the skills or the tools to survive on your own in the wilderness.
“You might live,” he said. “It’s a lot of scrubland, but I ‘member people saying there’s root vegetables and stuff growin’ out there. You could eat those.”
“Not without cooking them. I can’t actually identify any of them, either. I’d probably eat something toxic by accident. Or get caught by marauders. Or the wild dog packs.” A lot of people had dogs before the apocalypse. A lot of those dogs didn’t have people anymore by the time things settled. And, well, dogs are descended from wolves. In times of necessity, a lot of them just remembered what they used to be. Packs of larger dogs could be a real issue, especially because no one was giving out rabies vaccines anymore.
“Maybe,” Hana allowed. “Maybe not.” He swallowed another chunk of meat. “Maybe ya could befriend a dog and get it to bring ya meat. They can hunt, right? And they’re stupid loyal?”
You laughed a little. “Have you never met a dog before?”
“Nah. Where would I have seen one, huh?” Hana paused, tapping a finger on his chin. There’s a thin line of meat-juice running along it. “Hm. Though I guess I could have seen one and not realized it, ‘cause I don’t really know what they look like.”
“You’ve never even seen a dog?” you asked. “Not even before you were changed into-” You skittered to a stop, not quite managing to pause the words before they’re almost all out. Oops. You didn’t mean to do that. It was probably a rather touchy subject for him.
He shrugged, still eating. “Nah. Don’t remember a thing before I got all scaly.” He gestures to his waist. A majority of his body is still stretching up through the tunnel and out into the pit, but there’s enough there to see his dark scales. “Probably good, though, huh? Can’t imagine turnin’ into this was a fun time for me.”             “You don’t remember what it was like to be human at all?” you asked. He fixed you with an irritated look.
“I just said I didn’t. Open your ears. I remember some stuff, clearly. Like, I woke up knowin’ English and what the sky and grass was an’ all that.”
“But not dogs,” you mused. He gave you a wry, somewhat irritated expression.
“No. Not dogs.”
Hm. That was interesting. You mulled that over while he finished his meal. Once he was done, you gathered up the dishes. “See ya around,” he said, waving.
As if turned out, you did see him after that quite often. Your initial tasks seemed to be focused on delivering food to the ‘phobic assets.’ Not all of them were still human enough to eat, but the ones who had fused with animals definitely needed to. Thierry was your favorite. He was typically quite polite, and you’d never had any issue with spiders before, so his spider half was a source of fascination rather than disgust.
Hana was always waiting for you when you brought food to him, and he always stuck around to chat for as long as you wanted. Maybe he was lonely, or maybe he was just bored. But he always listened attentively, and given that everyone else was rushing around all the time, speaking to him was nearly the highlight of your day.
“I mean, it’s nicer being here than it was being there, obviously. I just wish people weren’t so…” You waved a hand. “I don’t know. Rushed? At least I felt like I was a part of a community over there. We all had meals together and we talked and worked together. Here, it’s just different. I don’t think I’ve had a conversation with anyone except a couple people for more than two minutes.”
“Everyone’s trying to save the world. Makes ‘em busy. Plus, you’re kinda an outsider. It’ll take a while to get you on their radar. Or into their precious schedules.” Hana shrugged, gulping down his meal with reckless abandon. “Who’s the second?”
“Huh?” He had a habit of jumping topics like that. It was hard to keep up.
“Ya said there were two people ya could have conversations longer than two minutes. One’s me. Who’s the other?”
“Oh. Thierry.” To your surprise, Hana’s face contorted into a sulky expression.
“Thierry? Really? That pompous spider prick?” He shifted and you could hear distant thumping, like he was slapping the end of his tail against the ground.
“What’s wrong with Thierry?” you asked, creeping back a little. He didn’t seem overly pissed, but it was probably best to get out of the way. Just in case.
“He’s stuck up. Thinks he’s so good ‘cause he’s the embodiment of some massive fear and he’s the one who works the closest with all the scientists.” Hana rolled his eyes so aggressively you were surprised he didn’t strain something.
“He’s nice to me,” you said. Hana grumbled incoherently, tail thumping. One of his hands dug furrows in the dirt. You watched his fingers as they made the scraping motions over and over. Something in your brain itched, drawing up the image of those strong fingers seizing you and squeezing until it hurt as you kicked against it-
The room was large. But the walls felt too much like they were pressing in on you.
The tray was empty and you hurried forward to grab it before jolting back to the door. Hana looked up from his sulking, alarm and maybe concern crossing his face. “Wh- Ya doin’ okay?”
“Yes.” The word came out steady, but mechanical in its steadiness. It almost hissed past your lips. Hana started to lift himself up, pulling more of his massive serpent’s tail in through the hole in order to support himself. You scrambled back from his rapidly more imposing form.
“Woah, easy there. I didn’t mean to startle ya.” He held his hands up, but that made him look even more imposing. “Uh. Maybe you should sit down? Ya don’t look so-”
You turned and fled down the hallway that led back to the relative safety of the entrance room. Hana yelled after you to wait, but his voice was distorted and echoing down the tunnel and you didn’t bother to listen. You just fled.
Perhaps your room was the safest place to go, but you couldn’t bring yourself to spend time there, given its small size. It was fine normally, but you couldn’t manage it while already keyed up. Fortunately, the lab techs could use someone to help them wipe down their equipment, so you stayed in there. There were too many people bustling around for your liking, but it was, on the whole, a good distraction.
For the next couple of days, you didn’t see Hana. It wasn’t terribly hard to pawn your task off onto someone else, as long as you agreed to pick up whatever they were working on. You learned a lot of simple tasks- cleaning, a lot about cleaning, as well as how to operate their computer system, and even a few mechanical skills from repairing things. That had been completely disallowed in the compound you’d spent you life in- at least, for someone as low-ranking as you.
Hana sent you messages a couple of times. Some of the people who did your job of delivering meals came back and told you he’d asked them to tell you that he wanted to talk. You ignored it. There was a part of you that felt bad about it. Then you remembered him getting all pissy about you talking to Thierry and those bad feelings went right back out the window. What had been his problem about all that anyway?
The answer had come to you midway through washing out a series of trays in the cafeteria- he was jealous.
That thought gave you pause. You hadn’t even really been thinking about it, just kind of turning things over idly in your mind. But it made sense, didn’t it? He’d gotten sulky right after finding out that you were spending time with someone else, and that matched up with jealousy. He’d gotten annoyed about Thierry, specifically. Was he just pissed that he wasn’t the oh-so-special fear monster that you were picking to spend all of your time with?             Or maybe he was upset because you visited him at mealtimes, when you had to, and you could see Thierry whenever you wanted. People didn’t visit him very often, did they? Even Thierry, who lived in the main compound, seemed surprised to get visitors. Maybe he was jealous because he was lonely.
That idea didn’t make you feel very good. Not that it was an excuse for him getting all annoyed, but… it was understandable. And maybe you’d overreacted a little bit. You had your own reasons for that, of course. But looking back on it, you probably could have handled the whole thing better.
You grimaced, placing all the dishes into their rack and sliding it onto a shelf above your head. Fine. You would go back to him. Apologize. It would be swallowing your pride, but… You remembered him calling after you. His reaching out. The idea of you ignoring him out of some petty hurt feelings? It made you feel awful.
The next day, you went to gather his food from the kitchen and found no tray waiting for you. After a bit of looking around, to make sure you hadn’t missed something, you approached the kitchen head. “Hey. When are we feeding Hana?”
He glanced back at you. “Thought you didn’t want to feed him anymore.”
A nervous prickle wound its way down your spine. “Uh. I’ve been wanting to try out some other jobs, but I am still interested in helping- look, did you give the food to someone else or not?”
He sighed. He was older, and clearly didn’t like you talking back to him and ruining his quiet kitchen. “No. He’s getting a later feeding. We’re inviting someone new in today.”
“What? Seriously?” You leaned over the serving window. “Who is it?”
He glared at you. “You’ll have to ask someone else for that information.”
You headed out, looking for… someone who knew what was going on, you guessed. Fortunately, you only needed to go down a couple halls before running into the very woman who had welcomed you to this place.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m glad to see you. You’ve been settling in well?”
Her voice had that tone to it, the tone of someone asking perfunctory questions out of politeness without really caring about the answers they were getting. “Yes, it’s fine,” you said, another response out of obligated politeness. “You’re going to see the new person?”
“Yes. You’re wanting to come with?” she asked, barely slowing in her step. You continued alongside her.
“Am I allowed to?”
She shrugged. “Certainly. They’ll be from your compound. It may help them to see a friendly face.”
There was a solid chance it would be a face you didn’t know, and even if you did know them, they may not have been friendly. But it got you closer to Hana, and maybe you could stay behind for a bit to talk to him. You tagged along after her, drawing closer to the entrance to the tunnel with every step.
The woman was quick and sure and it took a little time to emerge into the open room lit with floodlights. There was no one there. No one continued to be there for several minutes. You were about to sarcastically ask if you got the time wrong when a small avalanche of pebbles fell down the tunnel.
There was another small avalanche of pebbles, then another, then a scraping noise. Then a head and shoulders emerged into the room. It was a person, pale-skinned, with curly blonde hair. She was quite skinny and smeared with dirt, teeth gritted. As soon as she was partially freed from the tunnel, she struggled forward, fingers clawing at the ground. The woman stepped forward, pulling the newcomer out of the hole. A moment later, Hana slithered out, groaning and stretching.
“Cuttin’ it close there, aren’t y-” His eyes fell on you and a look of clear surprise flitted across his face. He blinked a couple times. You felt a bit sheepish under his gaze.
The newcomer coughed as she stood up. “Son of a bitch, that’s rough. You need to have a better greeting system for people arriving here, because getting grabbed by a massive snake is not it, seriously.” She stared around the room, taking it all in, and her gaze fell on you. Her face twisted. “You!”             It came back in a rush- she was a familiar face. Not a friendly one, though. One of the ones who’d seen- she knew you. She’d helped get you thrown into the pit. What had led her here, you didn’t know, but she was clearly pissed that you were in the same place.
“What are you doing here?” she said.
“Same thing you are,” you snapped. “Shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here, to be honest. How long until you tattled on the wrong person and got yourself thrown away?”
“Tattled?” Her face grew splotched with red. “That’s what you call it? Because I told people you murdered someone?”
There was the cold shock of silence for a few moments. “Murder?” Hana said. His voice was faintly shocked. “Ya said ya stole something.”
“It’s technically stealing. Stole someone’s life,” you said. “But it- it wasn’t like that, I didn’t just- I didn’t want to, really, but it happened and-”
“While we are willing to accept those who’ve been driven out of the compound for multiple reasons, we are much more hesitant when it involves murder,” the woman said. “That you haven’t disclosed it until now gives us much more reason for concern.” She stepped forward, ushering the newcomer behind her. There was a glint of metal and there was a gun pointed at you. You hadn’t even seen where she was carrying it. “If you’ll come with me-”
“Wait, wait,” Hana said. He slithered forward, pulling more of himself into the room to go almost between you and the woman. “No need for a gun, yeah? S’not necessary. Nothin’s happened, right? No one’s done anything here. And livin’ in that compound- there’s gotta be a good reason for the murder, yeah?”
“Reasons can be determined later. For now- containment. For safety.”
“Containment?” The word made your skin crawl like it was trying to get off your body. It brings to mind the containment you were kept in when you were initially convicted in the compound. It was barely a room. Not enough space to lie down. Barely enough to sit, with your legs tucked against your chest and your arms tight against your sides. Not enough room to move, not even to eat. Not that it mattered. You were kept there for nearly two full days. They didn’t bother to feed you.
“C’mon,” Hana was speaking, his voice wheedling. “Someone just shows up here and you’re gonna take her word? Y’think this one’s gonna kill someone? Really?” He jerked a thumb back at you, and you couldn’t even be offended. “S’not exactly a tough lookin’ piece of work.”
The woman hesitated, lowering the pistol a little. “It wouldn’t be permanent. Just for a couple days, while we review work details and determine if there should be an escort. It’s for safety.”
Hana rolled his eyes, a great, overexaggerated movement. “Sure. Fine. Look, if ya want to do containment, do it here.”
The woman’s gun lowered a little more, out of sheer confusion. “I beg your pardon?”
“Do the containment here.” Hana lifted his hands to gesture at the room around you. “Ya can shut the door that connects this place and the main facility, right? Do that and keep the little killer here.” He waved a hand toward you again.
“I’m not certain that’s a good idea,” the woman said.
“What d’ya think is gonna happen? Little killer can’t get through the door once it’s closed. Not without your permission.” He paused, likely for dramatic effect. “Unless ya think she’s gonna pull something on me.” And then he grinned, showing off his teeth, especially the ones that were too pointed to be a human.
The woman looked at you, then him. Then you, then him again. Then she sighed. “Fine. If you’re determined to keep an eye on her, then I’m not going to stop you.” She placed the gun back under her jacket in a holster you hadn’t noticed before, then grabbed the newcomer by the arm. They walked out together, the newcomer’s eyes locked on you until they vanished down the tunnel. A moment later, the door at the end of the hall shut and locked.
The tension vanished at once, and you sank to the ground. Your heart raced along in your chest, your breathing quick and trembling. You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to calm yourself. Hana didn’t approach, but he didn’t leave either. He just studied a wall, waiting for you to pull yourself together.
You did, eventually. “Thanks,” you mumbled. Hana glanced at you. “I mean it. You didn’t have to do that.”
He hummed, turning away from the wall. “So. Ya kill someone?”             Straight to the point, huh? You took a deep breath. “Yeah.” You paused. “Have you ever, uh. Y’know.”
“Killed someone? Couple times, yeah.” He stretched. “Well. Actually. Probably a lot more than that, but I don’t know if they count.”
You stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He shrugged, plucking at some of his hair. It was in really good shape, considering that he’d been outside for ages. Actually, he was also rather clean. Did they give him access to a shower or something? How did he fit? Did he just get hosed down?
“This big ol’ thing,” he said gesturing to his body, “has been around for a bit longer than this.” He tapped a finger against his head. “We were all like that for a while.” You assumed he meant the other phobics. “‘Ventually we woke up, but I killed quite a few before I got there. Wasn’t really me doing the killing, though- didn’t have my sparkling personality.” He threw you a wink. You rolled your eyes. “Not like I remember what happened then, anyway.”
He fell silent after that until you piped up. “What about the other two people you killed?”
“Oh.” He finger-combed his hair, seeming very interested in picking out the knots. “One of ‘em tried to kill me. Came at me with a big ol’ knife. That was before I ended up here.”
“The other?” you prompted when he fell quiet again. He snorted, lips curling up over his fangs.
“The other was after I came here. Nasty piece of work. A criminal from your compound, though I dunno if he was a part of the compound itself. Didn’t seem like it. Asked him about what he did to get sent here.” Hana’s lips curled further. “Don’t think he was in his right mind. Said he was pickin’ off people from the farms, raping them, then chucking their bodies somewhere in the fields to rot.” Hana hissed. It was low, inhuman. It made your hair stand on end. “So I killed ‘im. Don’t think he appreciated being on the receiving end.”
Your chest clenched so hard you couldn’t get in a breath. You remembered that. It had happened a few years ago. You had been so grateful that you worked closer to the inner compound, so that something like that could never happen to you. You’d been so sure it would never happen. So, so sure.
“Woah there.” Hana reared up a little, looking at you with clear alarm. “Easy. I didn’t mean to freak ya out. Take a breath before you pass out, all right?”
The choking sobs eased enough for you to do just that. Hana came hesitantly closer, caution in his eyes. “S’okay. He’s dead now. Did you, uh. Know him or somethin’?”
Your voice was strange, strangled, but you got the words out. “Knew of him, more like. I thought- I thought it was so good when he was gone because- I would never- worry about it-” You kept having to pause to gasp for air. Hana winced.
“Maybe we should talk about somethin’ else now, yeah? Uh. Damn, they didn’t give us water, I think ya could use some…” He scrounged around. “Thought there was a spigot somewhere around here… not that it’d be super clean water, I guess.”
“I’m fine,” you said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry about things ya don’t need to be sorry for. It sets a bad precedent.” He finished fumbling his way along the wall and sighed. “Hmph. I don’t see it. Maybe I can bang on the door and make them-”
“Don’t bother. Like I said, I’m fine.” You took in a deep breath. Water would have been nice -your mouth was getting kind of tacky- but it wasn’t necessary. Hana gave you a skeptical look, but he didn’t bang on the door. That was probably for the best- the space was small enough that the sound would have echoed and that would have freaked you out more.
“Suppose it’s a bad time to ask and all,” Hana said. “But, uh. Y’ever gonna tell me why you killed someone? Just seems fair, is all.”
You took a deep breath, and then another. And then another and another. Hana waited, not really looking at you. His tail was still partially in the tunnel, but you could imagine his tail tip flicking idly, back and forth, while he waited.
“It’s not easy to talk about,” you said eventually.
Hana nodded, accepting. “I can see that.”
“I didn’t mean to- no.” You didn’t want to lie to him. “I did. I knew what was going to happen when I went there and I went anyway. I knew.”
Hana remained silent, his eyes flicking over to look at you. Another deep breath. “When I was there, I worked mostly in the town. It was a lot of stuff that I did. Repair work, maintenance, animal care, that kind of thing. Outside, but close to the center of the compound. That’s how you knew how important someone was. How close to the center they were. Eventually, I started getting called for other things. Maintenance on the hall itself, being a gopher for messages from the hall to the other workers or even bringing food into the officials. That was the first problem, I guess. The officials.
“There were a bunch of them, people who kind of ran things in the compound. I mean, I say a bunch. Probably around five or six. We never saw all of them. But Peter was one of the ones we saw, often. He was the… I don’t know. The charisma, maybe. His official job was something to do with assigning tasks and population management, but he really made people want to stay. He could talk to you and make you feel like the most important person in the world, or like the shit under his shoe. Peter could make you feel good about doing the most menial, backbreaking work every day because he could make you feel like you were doing something important.” You paused. You’d expected to feel upset or near tears, but you just felt oddly numb. “He made me feel important. About everything.”
Hana was a short distance away, watching with rapt attention. You couldn’t quite bring yourself to look at him, but you could tell he was paying attention. “He was nice to me, and I thought he was kind. I was so happy when he started getting me to work more in the hall. I thought it meant I was doing well. And eventually he started getting close. Asking me to take meals with just him. I thought it was strange, but I was happy. And then he started to ask for other things. And I thought… I can’t refuse him. Ever.
“The first time he tried to have sex with me, he was drunk. Like, pretty damn drunk. I let it happen because I wasn’t sure if he would remember it. I didn’t want to offend him if he did. I thought it was just a one-time thing. Except… the next time he was less drunk. And then the third time he wasn’t drunk at all. And every time I thought he wouldn’t do it again. By the time I realized it was going to keep happening, I had no idea how I was supposed to stop it. Refusing felt like I was suddenly kicking up a fuss over something that hadn’t been a big deal at first, but it had been a big deal all along!”
Your voice broke, rising in volume. Hana bristled, looking alarmed, but uncertain. Should he move closer? Back away? Comfort you? Seeing his panicked bewilderment, you took a deep breath and tried to relax. “It’s- I tried to stop it in small measures. Tried to tell him not now, or another time, or even tried to just cuddle.” You giggled, a little hysterically. “He wasn’t pleased. He got pushier. More demanding and more controlling. I started to get a little desperate. I talked about what was happening with some other people, but those who weren’t jealous or thought I was being ungrateful were scared of him. And then when he found out I was telling people, he was furious. Said I was trying to make other people jealous or get attention, even when I said that wasn’t what I was doing at all. He got more aggressive. Angrier with me. I couldn’t do anything right anymore, and every time I did something wrong, he threatened to send me away. I didn’t want to stay with him, but I didn’t want to leave, either. It was awful.
“I think I went crazy for a while. I was so stressed I couldn’t even think straight for ages. I just wanted him out of my life. I had access to a lot of things in the hall at that point, including the medicine storage. I thought if I slipped something into his wine when he was drunk enough, maybe I could pin it on his drinking, that he’d just had too much. It wasn’t like we could do autopsies. And that’s what I tried. Put a bunch of crushed-up sleeping pills into the wine and brought it too him when I thought he might already be too drunk to notice the taste. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong. Maybe he didn’t drink enough, or I put too little in, or maybe he was just in death throes. But he came at me, and I hit him. I think it killed him, or it was a combination of that and the medicine. So I panicked, tried to hide the body, and then, well. You know what happened after that.”
Hana was silent for a moment. He took in a deep breath, released it slowly. His eyes closed for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s really, really not,” Hana said. “It’s gross. And fucked. And horrible. I’m glad ya killed him.” He turned toward the door with a murderous look in his eyes. “And that bitch was going to-”
“She didn’t know. Why would she? It’s not like most people knew what happened. She knows what they told her. I murdered one of our leaders. Honestly, getting thrown into the pit was a mercy for me. I thought they might string me up and have a torture free for all.”
Hana shuddered. It traveled along his shoulders and all down his tail. It was sort of funny to watch. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.” You weren’t sure what else to say. You were just tired.
Hana moved a little closer to you, but stayed out of touching distance. “I’ll talk to ‘em. If you want. Tell them not to- not to have ya here anymore. Ya don’t deserve it.”
“It’s fine.”
“It ain’t fine! Ya don’t deserve it!” There was a thump from outside, Hana’s tail swinging wildly. “It’s about not lettin’ them punish people who shouldn’t be punished!”
“I did kill a man,” you observe mildly.
“Yeah, and ya should have gotten a medal for it,” Hana huffed.
“I don’t really mind being here. It’s not so bad. Company’s nice.” You smiled at him. He frowned back.
“Thought ya didn’t like me.” He wasn’t saying it accusingly. Just as an observation.
“Oh. No, I don’t not like you. I know I freaked out last time I saw you. I got… worried when you were upset about Thierry.”
Hana drooped. “Eh. Yeah. That wasn’t my best moment. I didn’t mean to scare ya. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Running wasn’t my best moment, either,” you said. “I thought about coming back soon after I ran, but I was kinda embarrassed. Sorry.”
Hana laughed. “We both fucked up then, huh? Maybe me more than you. Glad you’re here now, though. S’good to see ya.”
“It’s good to see you too,” you said. “Like I said before.” Hana grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners.
Eventually, he departed back to the surface, but he spent much more of his time down in the cave with you. It was quietly peaceful. After what you estimated to be a few hours, the door banged and Hana perked up as food was slipped through the door. He managed to catch it before it closed completely and there were a few minutes of mumbled conversation. Hana retreated, letting the door close. He seemed smugly pleased with himself.
“I gave them a piece of my mind,” he said. “Not as much as I wanted to, but ya know. They wanted it to be all quick.” He shrugged. “They’re gonna let ya out soon. Didn’t tell ‘em too much, but I did say it was self-defense.”
“They believed you?” you asked, a bit skeptical.
“More or less. Honestly, I think they’d already gotten the idea that you killed someone high-ranking, and they’re more likely to call self-defense for that. When I told ‘em you’d killed someone in self-defense and they were a high-up, they seemed to be content.”
“It wasn’t really self-defense,” you said. “It was premeditated murder.”
Hana snorted. “He was raping ya. Ya stopped him. It was self-defense.”
It was such a simple sentence, but the way he’d said it, like it was obvious and clear, that you should have done it, that it was as simple as protecting yourself- it made you crumble. You dropped your head into your hands and whimpered. Hana froze, then slid closer. He seemed momentarily lost, until you slumped against him. You didn’t hold him back, but you allowed him to hold you while you shivered and whimpered. He was careful, keeping his touch light, but there. It wasn’t restrictive- just a reminder he was there for you.
Once you were done crying yourself out, you lay down and closed your eyes, exhausted. “I’m going to sleep,” you mumbled. “Let me know when they come to get me.”
Hana nodded. “Will do.” He lay down next to you, watching you lazily. “When ya get out of here… come back to visit me, yeah?”
You opened your eyes. Hana seemed… melancholy, tense. He was waiting for your answer. “Yeah,” you said. You slid your hand out over his. “You’re never going to get rid of me after this. Promise.”
Before you closed your eyes again, you saw Hana grinning.
True to his word, you were released from the cell and allowed to go back to your room. The newcomer still glared at you, but she never made any effort to do anything. In fact, a week later, she came up and gave a mumbled apology. You forgave her, at least enough to tolerate her presence.
And you were back on feeding duty for Hana. He was pleased every time you came by, always attentive and waiting. The feedings took longer now- sometimes so long that people had to come get you. It was just nice talking to Hana. The only issue was that it was uncomfortable for him to stay down for a long time. You hadn’t realized it before, as he never complained, but the tunnel was little tight around him, and his tail could cramp if he spent too long in there.
One day, as he was carefully retreating back through the tunnel, (he had to hold his arms out in front of him, lest they catch awkwardly on the uneven walls), you caught his attention. “I, uh. I couldn’t go up there with you, could I?”
He froze, arms still outstretched. “Ya want to?”
You huffed. “You don’t need to sound like it’s insane to want that.”             “No, no, s’not what I meant.” He wriggled a little ways back out. “I meant, ya never want to go through here. It’s too tight for ya.”
“It’s tight,” you agreed. “But I want to try anyway.” Your heart was thundering just thinking about it, but you liked the idea of the fresh air and sunlight on the other side.
Hana pursed his lips. “Are ya sure? Not to doubt ya, but if ya get in and decide ya don’t like it, it’s gonna be hard to get back out.”
“I got it. Trust me.” You gave him a pleading look. He squirmed, restless in his worry. Then he sighed.
“I can’t stop ya. Just be careful.” He retreated again, slower this time. You took a deep breath and pressed inward.
You were going forward, instead of in reverse, so your arms were pinned to your sides within a few moments. You couldn’t move them an inch, could barely lift your head. You could kick your legs and wriggle to force yourself forward.
There was panic from the moment the stone walls restricted your arms, but the moment when they pinched in so tight you couldn’t move without some scratches was when it really set in. You tried not to breathe in great, whooping gasps, because that make dust fly up your nose and mouth and only increased the terror that you couldn’t breathe, but it was hard. The walls were so tight. You could barely breathe enough to scream, but you could make little noises of terror. There was a pale light distantly above and in front of you, but you couldn’t reach it. You could see the sun, but you were in the dark and you couldn’t bring yourself to move forward.
The pale light wobbled, then a shape moved across it. A head and shoulders. “Hey!” Hana called out. His voice echoed faintly down the tunnel. “Ya stopped moving.”
You tried to speak, but it came out as a thin squeak. Hana went very still. Then he spoke again, in a soft, gentle voice. “Hey. S’okay. Ya got this. It’s scary, yeah? Being stuck in there. But if ya just move your legs a little, ya can keep moving forward. Ya can get out. Just a little further.”
You groaned. But you kicked. Your legs thrust you forward. And Hana’s shape, backlit by the sun, got clearer and clearer.
His hand reached in as soon as you were close enough and he pulled, gripping your collar until you had wriggled free.
“There ya go!” Hana sagged in relief as you scrambled onto the dirt floor. “Whoo! Was a little worried.” He lowered himself to look into your face. “You’re okay? Nothin’ hurt?”
“Nah. Fine.” You could steady your breathing. “It was tighter than I remembered. But I’m okay now.”
You rolled onto your back, letting the warm kiss of the sun land across your face. “It’s a nice day.”
“Yeah,” Hana said, staring down at you. “It is.” He curled his body closer in around you, surrounding you in snaky coils. He didn’t block out the sun, careful to keep his body to the sides, rather than directly overtop you.
You reached out and tentatively patted his side. The snake body shifted under your touch, the scales slightly warm. Hana watched indulgently as you traced the scales with a finger. Then, finally, he lowered his upper body to the ground next to you. You lay there together for a bit, basking in the sun.
Hana shifted next to you, a little restless. “Are ya goin’ to be up here long?”
“Trying to get rid of me,” you teased. You couldn’t see his face from your angle, but you knew he was rolling his eyes.
“No. ‘Course not. Just wonderin’ if they were missing ya down there.” He was quiet for a moment. “Just thought ya might want to stay up here a bit longer.”
“I’m not eager to go into the tunnel again,” you agreed. “And it’s nice up here. The sun’s nice. Haven’t seen it in a while.” Hana shifted, as if impatient. “And the company is nice.”
“Just nice?” Hana poked. “Faint praise, isn’t it?”
“Well, maybe I could think of someone else I might want to hang out with. Thierry cou-” Hana lifted himself so he was leaning over you, practically pouting. His tail moved, curling even tighter around you. It could have been threatening, but you couldn’t stop yourself from giggling.
“Hey. What did I ever do to ya?” he complained. “I’ve been nothin’ but cordial to ya and now you’re just-”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you huffed. You reached up and petted his face. He closed his eyes, instantly melting into your touch. You brushed your fingers along his cheekbones. He looked quite peaceful. Happy. You had a sudden impulse.
Before you could think better of it, you pulled his face in and gave him a kiss on his forehead.
Hana’s eyes flew open. He blinked once, twice, startled. You wanted to giggle, but a flicker of nervousness in your guts stifled it. His tail curled in close, a tight mass of muscle. Despite that, he kept it from tightening so much that it would make you uncomfortable. “Did ya mean to do that?” he asked. You nodded. A slow grin spread across his face. “Then I’m going to have to return the favor. If ya don’t mind…”
No sooner had you nodded than you were covered in enthusiastic kisses from a snake man. Giggling at the ticklish feeling and wrapped in coils and arms, you felt… surprisingly safe. And not even a little afraid.
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shockmagnum · 3 months
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I am going to chew on all of the wiressss >:) (@the-real-dwn-022)
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I don’t think you were built to tolerate that.
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