Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 4

"You've been writing a lot of things down," Jyushi's voice rumbled against my chest, his head partially tilting down to see whatever I've been doing in the field journal. Scribbles of naga in various poses were dotting the entire page, almost looking like an art study book rather than a scientific field journal. With no holotype or first specimen to work from, I was flying blind in this new world.

"I find you and your clutchmates interesting," I turned over the page and began writing notes about the naga flexibility based on what I've seen Jyushi do, "In fact, I find most wildlife interesting, but snakes are my forte."

"Four-tay?"

"A strong point. Something that someone is really passionate about studying or doing," I began transcribing the multitude of theories that were floating around in my head, "One of your forte's would be climbing trees."

"I do like doing that a lot," Jyushi nodded before laying his head back down, seemingly satisfied with my answer. I felt one of his coils adjust along my leg, feeling the muscles ripple underneath the scales as it widened to grip more of the branch underneath us.

"(Y/n)?"

Both Jyushi and I froze, Erika's familiar voice calling out from down below. I heard Jyushi sharply exhale, a whisper of a hiss escaping through his parted fangs and nostrils. Pulling myself out from his tightening coils, I tried to motion for him to be silent as I scrambled towards one of the nearby branches. Jyushi looked partially confused as I gripped my field journal tightly, mentally yelling at myself that I should've checked in with her earlier.

I exhaled through my teeth, the air passing through in a shushing sound and catching her attention. She looked up towards me and followed the finger I was pointing towards Jyushi. He had tucked away behind the tree, hiding his humanoid torso and head to just leave his python tail exposed to her vision. Erika's eyes widened before nodding in acknowledgement, slowly raising an arm and motioning for me to come down. Tucking my field journal underneath my arm, I slowly climbed down from the branch, acting like I didn't want to disturb the 'large snake'.

"Nice find, (y/n)," Erika whispered as I got closer.

"What did you need me for?" I gave a nod.

"The motion cameras need collecting on the far side of the island, and I was about to head that way. Are you able to come with, or would you like more time with that retic?" She pointed towards the retreating tail of Jyushi.

"I've got enough notes for now," Motioning towards the warped field journal with my head, I looked back at her, "Just let me get geared up, and I'll be good to head out with you."

With a nod of confirmation, we headed back towards the lab and went through the entry process. I left to set my field journal with my personal belongings before gearing up for the deeper jungle, swapping the cargo shorts for heavy pants that were thick enough to repel insects that wanted to feed on me. The short sleeve shirt was exchanged for a long-sleeve shirt, the material designed to wick away sweat. Slipping my mesh vest back on, I grabbed the lab's camera and dialed in my GPS again, ensuring that I could find my way back if I ever became lost.

"I'm happy that you found that snake," Erika gave me a smile before opening the outer door of the lab, the inner flap shut tight behind us, "I know what it feels like when you try to track down something that keeps avoiding you."

"I'm glad, too. Karl was right with what he said; I never thought I'd see a reticulated python grow to be that size back State-side."

"How big was it?" She dug out her GPS locator device and started to follow the signal for the trail cameras.

"The track I had found put it around forty-eight centimeters, but I couldn't get a rid on its actual length since I couldn't disturb it," I pushed aside a branch as we walked single file, avoiding the spiderwebs and following the faint footpath. It wasn't a lie, since I hadn't been able to fully measure out Jyushi's length. I could safely guess that he was way past six meters, though.

"That's pretty large! Don't they normally get to about thirty-two centimeters?" She glanced back at me before looking back down at her tracker.

"Normally, yeah. That's why I didn't want to try messing with it."

----

Pushing past the last bit of overgrowth, Erika and I found ourselves standing in a near oasis. The walk was definitely draining, almost an hour from the lab, but the view was spectacular.

The river downstream definitely started here, a small creek that was fed from a spring close by, twisting around the moss-covered rocks and gathering speed as it rolled downhill. The water itself seemed to be just as clear as it was closer to the lab, revealing the small colorful fish that darted around within.

Letting Erika grab what she needed from the trail cameras positioned around the area, I looked up towards the tree canopy, shading my eyes from the sunlight as I tried to catch a glimpse of anything that decided to watch us. After a few moments of fruitless staring, I sighed and looked back towards Erika, seeing her swap out the batteries and SD memory cards for fresh ones.

"How long will that last us?"

"A few days. There's a chart back in the lab with dates of when everything gets switched out," She closed the carrying case and clipped it back to her vest, looking around before making a satisfied sound as she squatted down in front of a thick bush, "So, this is where it is...he put it at the wrong coordinates."

"New growth maybe?" I leaned around to see what she was looking at, something teal underneath the deep green catching my eye. She turned towards me as she lifted up the first layer of leaves, revealing a coiled snake with its mouth open as it launched from the tightly formed striking position, "Erika!"

She dropped the branch she was lifting and jumped backwards, moving out of range of the snake's mouth as her hand pulled back just as fast as its maw. Stringing a few choice words together, she scrambled back and behind me, bringing her hand up for a close examination.

"The fuck was that?"

"Well, it definitely wasn't a blue racer, if that's what you're asking," I scooted forward a little, grabbing a lengthy stick and using it to lift up the branch again. The same teal snake stared at me, opening its mouth again to show off the pink color inside. I could see the fangs adjust as the threat turned into a yawn, the snake closing its mouth but I still felt the threat of another bite present. The brilliant teal color of its scales made it stand out against the bush we had caught it in, probably coming down from the trees to drink from the spring.

I slowly lowered the branch down and discarded the stick, helping Erika stand back up.

"Next time you're out here, be more cautious. I don't think it nests near here, but it never hurts to be careful."

"Could you tell what it was?" She rubbed her palm against her shirt, the previous nervousness gone as she found out that she wasn't bitten.

"Blue insularis pit viper. They're normally found in Indonesia, but I guess a few made their way here a while ago," I raised a finger to my jawline. We were near the middle of nowhere where the closest mainland was Australia. How did an arboreal snake get to this island? My guess was that found its way here when the water levels were lower, possibly, cut off from when the ocean rose.

"It's not gonna hunt me, is it?" Erika couldn't hide the fear in her voice. I'd be scared, too, if a venomous snake lashed out when I wasn't paying attention.

"You scared it. You're also way too big for it to eat, so you're not even close to being on the menu," I shook my head, reminded of the common fear that humans had towards reptiles.

Erika and I trudged back to the lab in silence, me wishing I had brought something to sketch it out with, and Erika probably dealing with her own internal musings. With the sun setting, we staggered into the lab and washed off the day, laying on our respective bunks.

I didn't notice my naga field journal was missing until the next evening.