Elegy in Red

Eight

Ari had been quite startled the first time he’d seen Jin like this – it had been such a different sight from the snake’s usual, slick and tidy self – but eventually he got relatively used to his master wandering into the house in a state that could easily have him mistaken for a forest bandit. At times like this Jin looked almost normal; susceptible to whatever ugly emotions he put away the rest of the time, but also not quite himself; as if he was returning from some kind of a dream that no one else could see or understand.

Maybe Ari was wrong – this wasn’t Jin being more ‘normal’. Maybe the correct word was ‘unhinged’.

Another thing that eventually struck Ari as quite odd was the fact that, for whatever reason, his lord didn’t seem too keen on having people over. If he had any business to do with anyone, Jin went to visit them rather than invite them to his home – a quirk that continued puzzling Ari for quite some time until one day a sailor showed up out of nowhere to discuss something with Jin. This was the point when Ari discovered that his master had ships (according to the snake, “Two or three of them, I’m not quite sure.”). The sailor, actually a recently hired captain of one of the aforementioned vessels, had brought along a holy man, keeping the pastor nearby as he himself stuttered and wrung his hands into knots in his efforts to produce a proper report for his lord. He was afraid. He was so afraid that even Ari, who had hardly been in the room for very long and mostly stuck to the background, felt a sort of uneasy embarrassment for the guest. The sailor’s sheer inability to even attempt looking the snake in the eye was so painfully apparent that it was damn difficult to decide which one was worse – the presence of a priest, or the constantly shifting, shaking, shrinking mass of flesh and muscle that was the brand new captain with his gullet-blocking horror.

Unsurprisingly, very soon Jin got fed up with the situation, and, because it was the most logic-defying parameter at the minute, outright asked about the role of the holy man and his chanting. The explanation was delivered with a lot of blanching and fumbling and more prayers. Most of it made absolutely no sense. Excuses, excuses, Ari could see the conclusion painting itself across Jin’s face with ugly grey tones as the stammering continued, on and on, and then Jin leaned over the table, suddenly looking very amused.

“Have you come to rescue me, now? Is that what it is?” Jin asked, half-laughing as he narrowed his eyes with something that vaguely resembled interest. “I’ve not been put in a situation like this in a long time – I wonder what they come up with these days. Do it then. Come on. Salvage me. Purge me. Go ahead, I’m waiting.”

At that point Ari was about finished pouring the wine, but although it was his cue to leave, he lingered behind, held too tightly by the rigid hands of his curiosity. For the time being, Jin didn’t seem to notice his servant’s presence. He was too busy watching as the priest battled with himself over whether to comply or keep a safe distance from the man, in whose home he’d been brought unannounced. The sailor was of little to no use – whatever his initial intentions had been, now he was just scared, which consecutively irritated Jin even more.

“I’m waiting,” the snake repeated, emphasizing on each sound as he tapped a single finger on the table, once, twice, three times… The holy man looked at the captain for support, and when he received nothing more than a helpless and guilty stare, he visibly deflated before venturing to finally approach. At seeing the other obey, Jin immediately became as pleasant and hospitable as before, slumping in his chair and allowing the other to shakily place a hand on his forehead. As soon as the prayer began, Jin slipped his eyes shut and made a big show of being engulfed in the eternal glow of goodness. The fact that the religious man was taking everything completely seriously only made the joke that much crueler and Ari found himself frowning a little as he watched. To the boy’s surprise, Jin stayed completely still until the chanting finished, and then, looking utterly comfortable with himself, he peered at the pastor with one red iris and grinned.