Servant of the Serpent

Blue Sky Thinking

Even so, he wants to keep the little egg. It deserved a chance...right?

He turns to his lover, voice soft. "It needs me Eben...the way I needed someone..."

The gorgon cannot see his partner's face through the blindfold, but he can hear the quickened thrum of the man's heart beat. The half-elf twiddles with his braid anxiously. "Adder I—this is a big responsibility...I don't know if I can take care of a baby..."

"Take it then. Whatever you want to do with it I—I stand by your decision," the gorgon's voice warbles.

Eben takes the egg gently from Adder's grasp. "Adder..."

Unable to bear another moment, the gorgon makes a hasty retreat to his bedroom. He burrows under the covers, gritting his teeth as he attempts to not picture the little egg dying in the cold. He'd like to pretend that his emotional reaction is just his instincts, but he knows all too well that even long after his hormones have calmed he will still be heartbroken.

Even so, there's a small kernel of hope that the half-elf will come to agree with Adder and bring the egg back to him. All he can do is curl up in his room, and hope his worst fears don't come true. An hour passes by excruciatingly slowly, with the gorgon awaiting his lover's return impatiently. But as one hour becomes two, and two eventually becomes four, Adder's mood shifts from impatience, to despair, to fear.

Why hasn't Eben returned? The gorgon expected the half-elf to take his time making his choice, but this was taking much longer than he'd hoped. What if something happened? Adder thinks of all the dangerous beasts which call the forest home; chimeras, basilisks, Minotaurs—Eben is powerful, more powerful than even Sheppard was, but he could still be surprised or tricked.

Fear in his heart, the gorgon slithers out into the garden, eager to find his partner before all the horrible scenarios in his head can come to fruition.

He doesn't find Eben at the chicken coop, the rocky outcropping, or near the gate. But thinking on where the redhead goes when he's upset, the gorgon knows exactly where to look. He enters the forest, moving through the trees with haste until he arrives at his destination. And thank the Gods above—he finally finds Eben.

Most would find the man hard to spot as he lay among the field of crystal poppies, but with Adder's excellent senses, he can distinctly make out the heat signature of his partner. The gorgon approaches quietly, observing the person he loves most in the world in slumber.

The redhead is lying on his side, lithe form delicately framed by the opalescent blue-green flower petals. In his arms...the egg.

Adder's eyes water at the sight. "Eben, wake up..."

Hazel eyes blink open. "Adder...? What time is it?"

The gorgon laughs, coming to join the half-elf on his bed of poppies. "It's been four hours..."

Eben groans, hand raking down his face. "Damn it—I'm sorry. You must have been worried sick. I just meant to sit down for a minute to think and..."

He sighs, eyes closing. "I don't know what to do, Adder."

The gorgon frowns, hand coming to caress a freckled shoulder. "I'm sorry...I put too much pressure on you to choose so abruptly, didn't I? I can—I can give you more time..."

"Adder no I—" Eben opens his eyes, the rainbow fractals cast by the flower petals decorating his irises. "I don't want to drag this out for you. I just...I don't know what the right thing to do is."

He traces the eggshell, fingertips flitting over the spots and freckles that decorate the surface. "We both know that being born into a world without acceptance is painful. What if it's never able to rejoin its own kind because it was hatched by us?" Eben's eyes flick to Adder's. "I don't want to condemn a child to that fate..."