Loving A Snake

Chapter 8: Safe and Sound

(Author-chan's timeskip to morning) The sun shone brightly through the window, landing on Pythor, waking him almost instantly. He turned to wake Karasu, only to discover that she wasn't there, and it was full on panic mode. An ancient primal instinct that demanded he find his mate, as soon a possible, and that caused Pythor to shift, using an ability only a general possessed: The ability to turn into a dragon. Pythor checked himself once before leaving. His patterns and markings all in the same place, large leathery wings spread from his back, the pattern that ran down his back extending to them, a quick light flap to make sure that they weren't stiff from lack of using the ability, and Pythor was off, leaving the building and taking off into the air, eyes scanning the ground searching for Karasu. (Meanwhile with Karasu) Karasu was slowly creeping behind some rocks, having spotted some Jackrabbits, and was getting ready to go in for the kill. Normally she would have had problems hunting at this hour combined with her coloration, but that had been quickly fixed with a quick roll in the sand, which helped her blend in perfectly. One Jackrabbit came too close, and Karasu pounced, making the Rabbit utter a distress cry, which alerted the others, causing them to run. Karasu gave chase, and used her speed to an advantage, quickly closing in on two older ones which were far slower than the other ones. Karasu pushed herself to move a little bit faster, and stretched her neck forward, biting down when she felt just a little bit of fur touched the sensitive scales around her mouth, to which Karasu snapped her jaws snapped shut, feeling a crunch in between her teeth. Karasu swiftly dug her claws into the ground, helping her to stop, stirring up a dust cloud, unaware that the very sake/dragon that was looking for, spotted the commotion, and decided to land. A loud call of Karasu's name had her looking up sharply, the two Jackrabbits still in her mouth. What looked like another dragon landed, and Karasu instantly began to think differently. It was possibly a male looking to take her, or fight her for the meal she had just secured, the list went on and on. Karasu took a good whiff of the air to determine what the situation was, and was instantly confused. It smelled like Pythor, but he was a Serpentine, not a dragon. Her name was called again, and Karasu hissed a little bit, raising her wings, and flapped them just a small bit, helping to clear the dust, and the sight before her was almost a jaw dropper. Karasu recognized those ruby eyes everywhere, and the markings were just the icing on the cake. "Pyfor?" The attempt to talk with the meal in her mouth was a poor one. "Don't talk with your mouth full of Jackrabbit. And where have you been, I was worried sick." Karasu used her tail to gesture to the rabbits in her mouth, and then gestured to herself and Pythor. "You were getting us breakfast?" Karasu nodded. "I wish you had told someone." Karasu stepped over to Pythor, and lightly wrapped her tail around Pythor's neck, and squeezed lightly, it took him a few seconds to figure out what she meant. "You told Skalidor?" Karasu confirmed his inquiry. "I guess I didn't really ask anyone if they knew where you were, I just panicked, and left. I wasn't thinking. It's just that after yesterday, I can't help but worry about you. And I guess the stress of being a leader is getting to me, along with you being mine now, and I want to spend as much time with you as I can." Karasu used her magic to pull out a map, and opened it, using her tail to point to two different spots, one in what Pythor assumed to be the Sea of Sand, and another in a forested area, a small clearing barely visible on the peice of paper. Karasu then pointed to the sun, and moved her tail in the direction the sun would set. "Umm. You want to take me somewhere at sunset, or after it?" Karasu nodded excitedly, before pointing to Pythor again, gesturing to herself and flapping her wings a bit, then pointing to her saddle, and the forest spot again. "We have to fly there, and since you...know I can turn into a dragon...you won't let me ride you anymore?" Karasu sat on her haunches, and made a no motion with her front paws. "I can still ride, but you want me to fly with you to the mystery spot?" Karasu nodded, before standing normally, then turned her head in the direction of Ouroboros. "You want to get back?" Karasu nodded, and started to take off. "Wait for me." Pythor quickly took to the air as well, and flew as close to her as he could, sneaking in an occasional nuzzle, making Karasu giggle through her catch. Once the city was in sight, the couple began their decent, Karasu being the first to touch down, with Pythor right behind her. "Let's get back to the room." Karasu put a paw on Pythor's shoulder, then make a motion like she was looking around for something, then made a fainting like motion. "Uhhh..Are you talking about Lloyd?" Karasu nodded. "Do you want me to show you where he is?" Another nod. "After we eat. I don't think two dead animals is something he would want to see." Karasu rolled her eyes, and proceed to follow Pythor back to their shared room. Pythor layed down on his stomach, and almost instantly had on of the rabbits placed infront of him. Karasu layed next to him, and began to eat her meal, quickly taking note that Pythor seemed a bit wary of the kill. "What's wrong, do you not like your meal?" "Not, it's just that I've never had jackrabbit before. My brother and sisters did, but I was never able to catch one. And as heir to the staff, I wasn't allowed to ask anyone to catch anything for me, unless I was unable to catch anything myself, and I was always able bodied, then the war started, and I never got the chance to try again. During that, it was catch the easiest thing you could, and save energy." Karasu smirked, and gave Pythor a small lick on the cheek. "Well first off. Try not to eat the bones, they're not exactly sweet, and start with the stomach. It tastes the best, and they don't have any bones there, except for the spine. Then when you get to the ribs, just use your paw to crush it, then blow the bone bits away." Karasu went back to eating her meal, watching Pythor from the corner of her eye, getting a good laugh when Pythor accidentally bit into the bladder, to which her was offered a floating ball of water from Karasu, after that there wasn't much. Pythor licked his lips, and turned to Karasu, who had begun to groom herself. "Let's go to your brother." Karasu was up and next Pythor in a heartbeat. "Let's go." Pythor proceed to escort Karasu down the hall to a heavily guarded room. At the sight of Pythor, the guards move to the side, and actually bowed, with a few muttering congratulations to him. "What was that about?" "I consider your brother a threat to my plans.." "Not Lloyd, the guards muttering." "Many of the Serpentine had become curious of my protectiveness and concern for you, so I had to inform them of our courtship. It was applauded, I was sure this love was going to be rejected." Pythor stopped, and gestured to a door. "He's in here. I will be closing the door behind you, and you may open the cage, but he must be put back in it when you leave." Karasu nodded, and pushed open the door with her muzzle, spotting the cage, and Lloyd inside it, crying his eyes out. "Lloyd? Lloyd can you hear me?" Karasu went over to the cage, and chuffed, getting her brother's attention. "K-K-Karasu?" Karasu gently nodded, and opened the cage with her magic, Lloyd instantly hopped out, and ran to his sister, who was nuzzled immediately. "I was so scared, and they kept poking me, and laughing at me, and told me I couldn't defend myself because I'm weak and worthless." Karasu was fuming now, nobody got away with messing with her brother. Karasu raised her head and yelled at the top of her lungs. "PYTHOR! GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW, WE NEED TO TALK!" Pythor poked his head in, and saw Karasu, sitting on her haunches, using both her front legs to hold Lloyd close to her chest, and she was fuming, black smoke was billowing from her nostrils, but there was thankfully a window in the room for the smoke to escape. "WERE YOU AWARE OF THE INSULTS THROWN TOWARDS MY BROTHER?!" "No. Please calm down, and quit shouting. Now calmly tell me what happened." Karasu took a deep breath, and began her explanation. "According to Lloyd. Some Serpentine had apparently poked him, laughed at him, and told him he couldn't defend himself because he's weak and worthless. I will not tolerate this. Any insult towards my brother is an insult towards me. Pythor stepped forward, and layed a wing over the angry dragoness, before carefully nuzzling Lloyd, hoping it would calm down Karasu some. "Pythor, a wing on my back, and a nuzzle for my brother isn't going to help anything." There was a sudden loud crack, and the floor underneath the trio gave away.