Scales scraped across the cold, hard surface of the cave. He could barely see anything. The dancing shadows against the dim the lights were the only subjects he could capture with his clouded eyes. Not that he relied on his eyes to transverse the cave, but sight was a luxury to have nonetheless. Septiezal's forked tongue slid from his mouth and tapped the ground. There was water in a crevice not to far from him. He could taste the heavy molecules on the roof of his mouth. After downing a belly full of mice, he found himself to be quite parched, so water was a much welcome find. Septiezal dipped his snout into the puddle and sipped. It was not as fresh as running water but at least it cooled his throat.

The young serpent had grown some since the day he slithered into the world. One mouse a week soon became two, then three. Before Septiezal knew it he was beginning to loose count of his kills. He thought about moving on to those big, lumbering cave rats, but the python was not sure if he could swallow such a creature yet. His body was intent on growing, his muscles becoming, stronger, bulkier, but his skin was not. Septiezal hated this period of growth. If there was one thing he would change about being a snake, it would be shedding. This horrid phase dulled his beautiful scales, made him itchy, and stole his eyesight. Without his eyes, Septiezal felt vulnerable and exposed, much like the prey he hunted.

Continuing across the cave floor, he flicked his tongue again, this time tasting the damp odor of an empty den-like formation in the wall. His muscles, sore from constricting the life force from small rodents, rippled underneath his scales as he slithered towards the hole. His stomach felt like it was about to explode, so much so, that he was convinced mice would come spilling out of his gut if he twisted his body a certain way.

Maybe I can sleep it off in there. He thought to himself.

Septiezal slid into the small hole, his cylinder body flowing behind him. The young python tucked himself into a ball and buried his head underneath his coils, snout peeking out from under. Satisfied he let out a little sigh. No one would bother him in here.

Ahh.. peace and quiet..

From the land of water, to the place of trees, and into the hill of bones... The young pup was trying to see it all! His quest for knowledge was never done, his thirst for adventure was unquenchable and so the hill of bones was his natural next stop. While heading from one place to the other he couldn't help but call upon the forces which had aided him in catching a rabbit before, he didn't know exactly how it was done but he tried it and the result was a weak gust of wind that pushed him from behind. He had a naturally fast run, even as a pup, and he found his legs and the wind speeding him ahead. A surge of joy ripped through his chest as this burst of speed as he ran into the room and straight towards a pile of bones.

At the last moment he managed to dodge to the side but in his great speed managed to fall down onto his chest with an "oof". Quickly, he rose to his paws and dusted himself off, hastily peering around to make sure that no one had seen his embarrassing entrance. And, no... No one was here. With a grin he turned to sniff at the pile of bones that he missed and took one for himself. He was about to turn away but decided another bone would do well, Hawke would love one of these and he needed to keep the little guy happy.

Satisfied he decided to go exploring which he did by using his nose to find the best places to search out which he followed a very intriguing smell. A smell that he followed right to a back chamber where the bone piles seemed to end. There were actually a lot of smells but they were rather faint and did not worry the male in the slightest, if something were to happen then he could easily deal with it, so he kept going until he saw a strange curled up shape. It was like a colored bone, it almost smelled as appetizing as one but he curbed his instincts to hunt in favor of learning. The hound dropped his bones gently on the ground and crept forward, nose extended as he took in all the information that he could about the creature before saying,"Hello? Are you... a friend?" Friend? Yes, that was good. Using "friend" would signifty some sort of bond at the lowest level at the very least... and if this thing on the off-chance wasn't a friend then it could easily be killed and given as a prize. After all, it resembled some of the food-things that crawled along the ground.

_____________

words| 455
tagged| @Septiezal
ooc| ---
muse| 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

with a thousand lies

and a good disguise

hit 'em right between the eyes

...And it was nice while it lasted.

Septiezal could feel it, the vibrations. It pulsed across his whole body, tickling his jaw. They belonged to paws and they were headed straight towards him. His gut sank as he realized his mistake. This den was easily accessible to potential predators, and there was no where to escape. Cautiously, Septiezal poked his head out of his mass of coils and tasted the air. It was, undeniably, the stench of a canine. Strangely, he had mixed feelings about this dog's scent. It smelled young, fresh, something he would eat if he was bigger. If only he were bigger...

The python puffed his body as a large shadow blotted out the light. Oh, how he wished the shedding had not clouded his vision and how he was envious of Egahi and her potent venom, a useful weapon which his own fangs lacked. The creature's soft, wet nose was too close for comfort and it took almost every ounce of effort to not sink his teeth into it. The heat this pup gave off, too big to be prey, but big enough to be a predator. Septiezal's stomach writhed, ready to regurgitate the feast of mice stewing in his gut, as nervousness gnawed at his entire being. He drew his serpentine body into a defensive stance, his tongue sliding in and out of his mouth, adamant on knowing where this dog was at all times. Luckily, the hound seemed more interested in talking than chewing on his flesh, but Septiezal dared not drop his guard. An idea lit up in the serpent's brain, an idea that his instincts urged him to do. Keeping his vulnerable head hidden in the shadows, the little python curled the tip of his tail into a hard spiral. Maybe this will look like a head. He thought and eased it towards the opening.

"That depends." Septiezal hissed, his voice sizzled like burning leaves. "Do you come as a friend.. or a foe?"

@Pharoah

The pups ears were perked, nose twitching as he continued to take in molecular information about the reptile curled in front of him. Perhaps if he were older he would have known better than to provoke a sleeping snake but in his inexperience no such information came to him and he foolishly kept his nose close to the creature up until its head popped out.. or what looked like a head. Pharoah tilted his own head to the side as he stared at the strange looking thing. Now, he'd never seen a snake's head before but he didn't think it would look like this... how peculiar.

Did its mouth not move when it talked? His head tilted in the other direction as he tried to gather more information about this strange new creature. Well, one thing was for certain. It wasn't food if it could speak. Even with that hissing voice he found that he should be cordial, perhaps he could win the creature over with sweet talk. "I come as a friend... a good one!" The smile that eased its way onto the pup's face easily sounded in his voice as he spoke. Truly he seemed like a genuine guy that only wanted to make a new ally. At this point in time, making new allies and friends just meant he'd have more playmates for Hawke and buddies for himself, nothing else clouded his mind at the moment beyond the use others could give to while away the time.

What should he do to help ease this snake's mind? Oh! Names! He and Hawke had done that and now look at them! "My name's Pharoah... Do you have a name?" His childish voice asked the question innocently while he lowered himself into a play-bow --as if that would mean anything to a snake-- and wagged his tail.

_____________

words| 308
tagged| @Septiezal
ooc| ---
muse| 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

with a thousand lies

and a good disguise

hit 'em right between the eyes

If Septiezal could narrow his lidless eyes he would. This "Pharoah" seemed suspicious. His mannerism, the way he spoke, that... sly grin, claiming to be a friend and a "good" one, it was all a ruse to get him to slither out this hole so he could snack on his head, he just knew it. At least Septiezal thought so. Now this canine was wanting his name. The little python mused at the thought of playing along. Maybe if he bluffed he'll go away.

"Yes, Septiezal." He replied, wiggling his false head.

The coiled tail tip reared like a cobra. "I have deadly venom in my teeth so don't make me mad... or I'll bite you." It hissed once more as it swayed. "Also, I taste really bad, so don't even think about eating me."

Yes.. this bluffing was perfect. Pharoah should think twice about trying to lure him out in the open. Maybe he'll go away now that he claimed to be venomous and unappetizing. Septiezal wondered if he should pop him in that invasive, wet nose of his for extra measure... or would that just make Pharoah angry? The young python coiled his body tighter in the darkness, tongue flickering, picking up on the pup's next moves.

@Pharoah

"Sept-eee-aayy-zal?" Wow, what a strange name. Or at least it was strange for him since he'd only met one other gem thus far and they had simple names. Even so, this Septiezal... the name seemed fitting for a snake in some way. Before he could even say as such the creature lifted its head and proceeded to threaten him. The small pup was taken aback and rose out of his play-bow position to put a few more inches between him and Septiezal. Why had he gotten so defensive? All he was trying to do was be nice, after all, you had to play nice to get people on your side.

Perhaps a little nice talk would fix this brutish situation.

His brows furrowed and he let a slight whine slip into his voice as he tried to defuse the ticking time bomb of what he thought was some sort of deadly snake, "I'm sorry," For what he didn't know but he felt that saying it would help. "I don't want to eat you and I didn't mean to make you mad, I really just wanted to be friends. I only want someone to play with, you see. Has no one ever wanted to play with you before?" This guy's voice sounded young so maybe they were around the same age. If things continued to spiral out of control he supposed he could bolt out of there, he was awfully fast.

_____________

words| 240
tagged| @Septiezal
ooc| ---
muse| 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

with a thousand lies

and a good disguise

hit 'em right between the eyes

The serpent lowered his tail as the meaning Pharoah's words danced around in his head. The bluff hadn't made him go away, but perhaps it brought him closer to the truth. Septiezal could not help but feel like he had misjudged this pup. Maybe he really was just looking for a friend. He remembered how he thought Egahi was going to eat him, and if the little python had not taken that leap of faith and followed her, he would not have discovered that there was indeed life among the bones. Either way, despite his young age, Septiezal had never felt the need to play with anyone. His reptilian instincts had driven him ever since his emergence from the chrysalis. Survival, it had preached, and playtime did not exactly fit in with his definition of survival. Nonetheless, there was a side of the young snake that yearned to slither beyond the boundries of reptilian thinking. No one had ever asked Septiezal to play with him. The very offer made him blush under his dulled scales. But, true to his dubious nature, he could not help but to feel wary about the whole situation.

Septiezal uncurled his tail and reeled it back into the den. After a few heartbeats of silence, an arrow shaped head crept out with caution from the inky blackness. Milky, slit eyes, resembling iridescent opalite gazed, unfocused, at Pharoah. A long, sooty, forked tongue slid out of his mouth, tasting the dog's scent.

"No, no one has ever wanted to play with me." He sighed, facing the hound. Septiezal could not believe he was exposing himself like this. This has got to be one of the dumbest things he had done so far. He reasoned with himself that if his suspicions were confirmed, he could always burn him, or at least die trying. Swallowing his innate fear, the little serpent stretched his neck further from the safety of the hole and flicked his tongue. "No one has ever offered, mostly, they try to eat me."

@Pharoah

As he was watching the snake's head seemed to change before his eyes. The strangely formed thing seemed to unfurl and turn into... a tail? Pharoah gave a confused grunt while he watched the uncurled tail retreat into the darkness and then another arrow-shaped head seemed to poke up. Now this look way more like a head than the other thing had. On the topof the head was a black-ish gem and its eyes seemed... strange. Like they weren't focusing on anything. Hopefully that wouldn't mean anything because he still wanted to play. How could he play if the other couldn't see him?

At the snake's confession he shook his head sadly. "Well, that's no good! No one should ever have to be afraid to be eaten and they should always have a friend to play with! And I would love to play with you." Yeah, that sounded about right. "You know what? You were really good at hiding your real head, I really thought that your tail was your head!" The little dog gave out a laugh, showing just how amused he was to have been tricked by the tiny serpent. "I bet you'd be great at hide-and-seek! You wanna try?" His young voice was kind and full of enthusiasm. He had to get this guy's confidence up. He needed someone to play with!

_____________

words| 225
tagged| @Septiezal
ooc| ---
muse| 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

with a thousand lies

and a good disguise

hit 'em right between the eyes

Was it just him or were his scales were getting a little toasty? All the praise Pharoah spilled out of his mouth blanketed him in humble embarrassment. Septiezal drew his head back in the hole as if the darkness would shield him from the hound's kind words. It brought so many foreign emotions, he did not know what to do with them.

"I.. don't know." He mumbled, his voice echoing from the depths of his stone fortress. He did not feel as bloated now that his feast of mice had digested some, but Septiezal still felt uneasy about his obstructed vision. Still, he was curious about this game of hide and seek. Was it played like the title described, or was it misleading?

A snout crept out from the blackness."So this game... hide and seek.. is it like.. hunting?" His slimy tongue flickered from his mouth before the snake's head reappeared from his shelter. "Because, I'm great at hunting."

Septiezal hoped it was like hunting for a mouse, he could do that without any eyes. Gathering his courage, he slinked out of the stony den, his long body flowing from the crack like a stream of scales. The serpent spilled out into a tight, protective coil, finding complete trust in this Gemboud still hard to grasp.

@Pharoah

Had he done something wrong? Why was his little snake-friend hiding again? The puppy stood on his tippy-toes but even with this new standpoint he could see nothing inside of the dark space. He hoped that he hadn't completely scared him away... but no, the voice echoed out of the hole in an uncertain mumble. The puppy grinned, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he found the little snake amusing. He was... cute in his uncertainty. "Yes! Yes, a lot like hunting actually!" He confirmed with a firm nod of his head. "See? You'll be great at it just like I thought!" Because he knew he was always right... or mostly right.

"What you have to do is well, one of us will go hide and the other will try to find that person! When you're the 'finder' or I guess 'the hunter' you have to close your eyes and count to ten so that 'the hider' can go find a good spot to hide!" The rules were easy enough to him and he'd played it once before so it shouldn't be too difficult now. "So what do you say, Septiezal? Will you play with me?"

_____________

words| 197
tagged| @Septiezal
ooc| ---
muse| 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

with a thousand lies

and a good disguise

hit 'em right between the eyes