ORIGIN

Feeling the vibrations of bigger creatures and their footsteps, Midas paused in his little tracks and lifted his head. Who was that? An intruder? Putting himself in ‘guard dog mode’, the little snake pulled himself as high as he could, head barely poking out from the grasses of Pisces. What he saw was a big golden blob. And white. And Blue. Yes. That was an accurate description. It was a Cancer, but it was golden and white, with blue eyes and a blue thing in between its eyes. It’s gem, maybe? Either way, there was a big ‘ol fish in it’s jaws and Midas was interested. The Cancer revealed itself to be a female, speaking happily. Behind her scaly meal, the girl greeted the small snake happily. ”Hi! Are you a Cancer?” Why wouldn’t she be? She had four legs, a lot of fuzzy stuff on her, a stone in her forehead, and a big fluffy tail. And the same face thing. Yes. She had to be a Cancer.

The cub would approach, dropping her meal next to him and lying down as well. Boy, that fish looked super tasty if little Midas had anything to say about it. But he’d resist. He’d just eaten a nice-sized salmon and wouldn’t need to eat for a while. Gazing up at the furry beast with incredulous eyes, the snake listened as she asked why he was all alone in The Warrens. ”I went on a wiggle quest! I want to see what I am! Do you know what I am?” Would this Cancer specimen know? Or would she not? With eager little eyes, the snake nodded happily and slithered around the fish, brushing against the lioness with cool scales and staring up at her once again. Did she know? Who Midas was? What he was? Did she have some magic power for that? Midas was very well aware of magic being in the world, but he believed he did not possess any. Otherwise, it would have happened by now and he’d know what he could do!

Furrowing his eyes, the wiggly mininoodle wondered what was so funny. Why was the Cancer laughing? Was it something he'd said? Midas gave a half-hearted laugh himself, trying to fit into whatever the cub was laughing at. Finally, she'd speak. "A Makyna?" He'd ask out loud. So there were Cancers and Makynas? Where there Midas... s? Hm, how would plural of him be? Midases? Maybe. Maaaaybe.

Regardless, the snake tilted his little head and nodded. "Wiggle quests are serious, Makyna! You wiggle. And wiggle. And wiggle. Until you get somewhere, like an ultimate goal!" Bobbing his little head proudly, the snake pulled himsef up higher and used his tail to point at where his 'chest' would be, pretending to puff it out proudly. "I am an expert in wiggle quests, if I say so myself!" Snickering happily, the snake gazed back up at the Makyna to find that she did know what Midas was! A snek? A... snake. Yeah. "Snek? Midas the Snek! I like that!" Absolutely gleeful and happy, the snake coiled about himself into a little lump, vibrating from excitement. There was a lion that Makyna was, and Cancer was a leopard. Whatever those two things were!

Then... Midas suddenly had an amazing idea. Unfurling himself, the snake looked the aquamarine lioness dead in the eyes. "Wanna come on a wiggle quest with me? But you gotta wiggle. Can you wiggle?"

Scowling visibly at the Makyna cub, Midas hissed. "It's serious to meeeeeee..." He whined plaintively, lifting his head and waving his tail dramatically. If only he could get someone to understand! Okay, maybe he wasn't going on a wiggle quest now, because Makyna helped finish it. Smirking, the snake gave a teasing little laugh. "But you helped in this not serious wiggle quest! You helped me find out what I was. I WIN!" Bobbing his head up and down to the rhythm of the waterfall, the snake squealed happily. Somehow, the wiggle quest had become a game, and Midas was darn sure he was the winner! "Midas the Snake is a winnerrrrrr!" Yes. Great mental high-tail. He'd have to try that later. Maybe if he put his tail on his nose, that would be a high tail?

No matter. The problem at hand was Makyna's wiggling tactic. It was all wrong! Waving his tail and slithering toward the lioness, he shook his head. "No legs! You don't use your legs!" Tossing his head to the side, little Midas flashed his green eyes. "Lemme show you how it's done!" And so little Midas the Snake began to wiggle, showing Makyna how to do it. It was almost seductive, but... not quite... because he was a baby, after all.

The lioness smiled happily as he proclaimed that he won the game, doing a little dance himself. Midas' little crown bobbed up and down, throwing itself back and forth in glee. He gave a cheerful little hiss, waving his tail across the floor. It was just perfect! "I did get the best of you! But... Are you okay with that, Ky?" The serpent was pretty sure he wasn't hurting Ky's feelings since she was pretty happy, but he just wanted to make sure.

Then. Makyna tried to adjust her wiggle. She simply began to try to twist and turn, but she began to roll around on the floor. That was a little closer. But maybe she could go forward and backwards. Shaking his head, he wiggled forward and nosed the rolling lioness, retreating quickly to avoid being rolled on. "Well, you can wiggle right to left, but it should be forward and backwards!" Nodding sagely, he slithered on top of Makyna's back, disregarding personal space and nosing her shoulders and back. "Uh... Arch your shoulders, lift your head, arch your back, and slide your butt forward, then relax everything. That should work!" Well, the young prince didn't know that he was telling Makyna how to wiggle like a caterpillar, but what did it matter? At least it was still wiggling!