Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 15

"Ugh, you stink."

I rolled my eyes in frustration before turning towards the pink-spotted naga, lowering my eyelids at the exaggerated gesture he was making: pinching his nose with his left hand and waving his right hand in front of his face as if the offending smell was overpowering. I shook my head as I started to rake through the deep substrate.

"Why do you smell so strongly of Kara? It's disgusting..." Todo coughed to accentuate his words.

"I was just in his room, so I wouldn't be surprised if I stank to high heaven for your senses," Leaning down to remove the larger chunks of wood from the waste pile, I began to lift handfuls into the trash bin next to me, "With all of this, I'm going to smell like you for the others, too. I can't exactly win the 'scent battle' between you guys."

"You could've taken a bath before you came in, at least," He moved from his resting place along the lower limbs of the tree behind me, the scales rubbing against the fake bark as the naga moved to the tree in front of me, "A change of clothes would've suited you, too."

"Are you just going to harass me because I've got an offending smell to you?" I paused in my chore, raising an eyebrow towards Todo.

"Depends...are you going to keep coming in here smelling awful?" Todo rested his chin on his hands, laying completely flat along the branch as a smug look rested on his face.

"Depends. Will you keep bitching about what I do in your room?" I sent him the same smug look he was giving me, seeing him flinch back a little before looking away.

"You suck at your job."

"Yup, absolutely."

"You should get fired."

"Wouldn't that be amazing."

He stared down at me, his eyes narrowed into slits as he regarded me with some kind of emotion as I looked back up at him. His forked tongue flicked out between his lips, lifting up and down in a lazy wave before slipping back in, and I returned the gesture before finishing up the grueling chore.

"Why is it always you?"

I hummed a question as I turned back towards him, seeing that Todo had shifted from laying flat to propping his upper body up with his elbows.

"You're the only one we ever see, ever since we were put in these...rooms. Why is that?"

"Because you're too much of a pain to deal with," I lugged the half full can out into the back area, grunting a little.

"Oh, ha ha," He chided, "I was being serious, human."

"I don't know the reason myself. I was just told to make sure that you're happy and healthy," Standing in the doorway, I looked up towards him, "If you needed a deeper reason than that, then you're out of luck because I don't know."

"Well, if you find someone to take your job, make sure they're easier on the eyes than you," His lips curled into a smile, "And more hygienic, too."

"Of course, your majesty."

I slammed the door closed, turning the lock with a hefty finality before moving towards my room, taking off my shirt as I went.

----

After the brief shower, I slipped into fresh clothes before rubbing the back of my neck, stretching out and sighing. With the zoo closed, I only had a few more chores to do before I could even think of going to bed, and even then I wanted to explore some more of my escape plans online. Counting out what I had already done on my left fingers, I moved my gaze towards the cage that I hadn't entered in almost a week.