White Flower, Black Feather

Snake Magic

The dinner room is decorated like everywhere in the house, full of meaningless trophies that both of them got years ago, as if they justified their general attitude towards the world, luckily my siblings and I just see them as something embarrassing and we swore to never decorate like this

‘The food is bland like usual… I really can’t taste anything’

I know that he can’t stand anything that has spices, but do we really have to eat the same thing as him?

‘She spoils him to much…’ my brother and sister are on the other side of the table, Jess is eating with the same expression I have right now and Max is just… staring ‘We already used the “sick” excuse this month… what to do…?’

“Max, you really should eat” I tell him, while making the gestures to tell Jess what I am saying

“What? More religious shit?” he interrupts before Max can say anything

“Is not a religious thing dad, the not wasting food is common sense” I still make the signs even if he did not

“Not hungry that’s all” Max finally answer, both speaking and with gestures before pushing his plate away, the pig to my left grabs it and start eating

“More for me!”

‘Yeah, there is something wrong…’ I look at Jess and meet her gaze, she knows too, even if the woman to her left says nothing while staring at the pig, to my right there is no one. I shake my head ‘Supply time then’

-Do you need more paints? Make me a list and we can go for it- she nods at me, knowing what I am trying to say

Max sighs, he does too

“Speak, not just sign while talking to your sister” she glares at me, something I have been noticing has been happening more and more lately

-Everyone here knows what I am saying, mom- she just keep glaring at me, but I keep speaking and gesturing “Max come with me to get the things, please”

“I don't-” I interrupt him this time

“You know that the arts shop girl likes you, come with me, she might give us a discount” the pig is distracted by my words and gives him a loud pat in the shoulder, Max’s wince is very telling for me

“That is my boy! Go get her!” he looks at me “But why my first son, hasn't got one though?”

That fucking word…

“With school and my part-times?” I shake my head and dismiss him with a gesture of my claw “Later… I am already busy” he doesn’t looks happy

“Come on! You are the only one missing!”

“Jess is also single” she looks terrified at my gestures, but the pig just shrugs and keeps eating -Relax, is not about you- I try to calm my sister with a small gesture, because someone never bothers to use sign language, after a few moments of silence she calms down

These two are way too… my life would become annoying for me if I tell the truth… some day, not now

Jess and I finish eating and after she comes back with the ‘list’ she gets the job of doing the dishes, her glare is also very telling

-Sorry- I apologize as she pouts and gives the paper to Max before we go out

The walk on the street is silent, he is not looking at me…

“So, what is the problem?” he just shakes his head, but I already have one idea, I move my claw and pat lightly his ribs with the back of it, he winces and stops, hugging his torso… I am angry “A bully then? Tell me his name and I’ll break his legs”

“Is not a problem, please don't do-” I place my tail on his shoulder, softly

He looks away, as if about to cry

“No one hurts my family, I can try and talk first, but if he doesn’t stops, or takes me seriously, I will hurt him” he looks at me wiping his eyes “And that is the truth, even if I were in a woman’s body” he just sighs, but nods and tells me a name… a name…

I shake my head as we walk… already making plans for the bully

“What did she write in the paper? Or is just blank?” he is the artist, not Jess, she accepted to take the hobby with Max being the ‘translator’ between her and the rest of the art’s class, but is him the one that wants to become an artist

I am the one paying for both of them since they can’t be bothered to give money for a ‘useless activity’ hence, me having to take part time jobs

“Choco-coco-nut…” he reads for me

“The snack? Or the ice cream?”

“She wrote ‘Yes’” he shows me the otherwise blank paper and I sigh

“We really don't deserve her, but she is becoming a mercenary nowadays…” he laughs

“She knows a secret of yours then?” he looks just a bit hurt at not knowing it

“I… I’ll tell you later… is not something to say in the streets” I look up

But I don't see the sky… I see an enormous green crystal with the shape of a snake…

-----

‘Ugh…’ I wake up? Everything looks hazy ‘What did I…?’

I barely can remember the dream… or the bully… I think he struck first and later I… threatened his father about demanding for assault? If he was older I could have done that, so I said something that made him pale and the bully stopped…

‘Maybe… we… moved later that year, I think…’ is getting hard to think ‘Status…’

‘As expected…’ I am still… under the rock, the light outside says early morning… but my body moved as I was sleeping and… ‘I feel… feverish? Not quite… but similar…’ I also could eat, but… ‘Need to deal with this disease…’

-IDIOT! How are you going to do THAT?!-

‘Magic of course…’ some part of me was aware that magic while sick was a dumb idea, but… ‘The alternative is death… EP Shop…?’

‘Do I get a jacket?’

-A hood is a section of the neck that expands to the sides. IMBECILE! Did you forgot that you can FOCUS! On an item?!-

‘Oh… right, well, the only time it was useful was to give me incomplete information about Absorb… I think I remember a snake like that… so its just an intimidation boost? Hide both of them, no idea… of how that would look on me has a humanoid… and I like girls, my fingers can’t be related to diseases…’

-Really…? Give me a logical reason, FOOL!-

‘Do you really want me to add monster’s parts to the Anomaly? You aren’t deleting them… I just don't want them…’ the screen flickers and the items disappear, but the red section remains ‘Ominous… Buy the sleep venom, please…’ I don't register the change in my body… but the very weak version costs 50 EP… ‘Ugh… need… heat…’

I slowly drag my body outside, it feels really, really stiff, and my sight is slanted to one side and down, as I get out of the stone I laid down

And wait…

‘The… void feels… in the middle point? Is just me or the… void, got bigger?’ I still have no idea what to think about magic, I curl and stare at the two wounds I have ‘Ugh! They have pus on them… ok, magic time… how do I do antibiotics…? No idea… concepts, perhaps…? An antibiotic kills foreign bacteria… anti life…? I don't want to kill me… just to… purge the infection…’

I think back to the feeling of the void inside me… focus on it… and try to move it… but the substance on it doesn’t change… I focus on my wounds, even if my gaze feels cloudy

‘Ia! Purge!’ the void remains the same ‘… maybe I need to think about what I want?’ the problem is the how… ‘I only have Imbue… it gives magic to something else… or at least that is how I used it before… are the descriptions of the spells, the real thing… or my experiences with it…?’

That gives me an idea… it could also just be the sickness…

‘Ia! Imbue Eyes!’ there is a yellow glow reflecting on my scales ‘Focus! Ia! That what doesn’t belongs in the body under my gaze, be purged! Cleanse!’ the glow focus in the wound I am looking and the substance on it starts boiling and oozes out, together with some blood

I do the same to the other festering injury, ignoring the sting of pain coming from both and soon my spell stops doing anything on my body

‘Ugh…’ my head is slightly spinning, even if I have been keeping it on the ground from the beginning ‘Now… the bleeding… what do I…?’ I take a moment to smell the air and look at my wounds ‘Ia… flesh, broken from the outside, grow back and take your place, Regrow!’

My gaze wavers and disperses, but I fight back the feeling of nausea as I see my flesh moving back together, it stops at just the flesh and my body feels better… but it didn't repaired my scales

‘Good enough… hey! I magic properly! Hehehe!’

-Ok DUMBASS! Stop imbuing your eyes, Or you want to get Magic Drain AGAIN?!-

‘Ia, Imbue Stop!’ the glow reflected in my scales is gone now ‘Thanks’ the window closes without giving me an answer ‘Hungry… and thirsty’ makes sense if what that spell did, was to use what I have been eating… to hurry the natural reparation of my body ‘Can’t evolve without eating then, if the healing is not fully “magical” there is no reason to believe that evolving is… need to make sure I have something else ready to eat before doing it too, thanks to Absorb…’

Ding

‘Status… oh? Spells’

‘Uh… good? Kinda… EP Shop… uh…’ I got “Magic Eyes” for 50 EP, is under the empty Absorb in a new section called Spell Focus… ‘Um~ kinda good, kinda bad… this means, I might just be hunted for my eyes in the future…’ I focus in the void… is almost empty ‘Not like yesterday… but I avoided to get Magic Drained again… I am at… like a tenth of my capacity? If I go below this I get drained?’

-Magic Drain means that, you used it ALL! Like an IDIOT!-

‘Um~ only then, is that it… uses my memories as fuel…’ but yesterday… ‘Yesterday… it said 95%, it can’t be that… I used nearly all my memories, right? I used 5%?’

-Using that many of your “Memories” as fuel would have killed you, far faster, than being beheaded, SIMPLETON!-

‘Good… thanks!’ I look at the store, ignoring the quotation around that word ‘Well… not bad overall… might buy it after I evolve, I won’t have the points to do it before, anyways’

I rest my head in the ground feeling the heat, my gaze is still slightly unfocused, like I was before without my glasses, so I rest

‘Should I make my whole body a Spell Focus…? Sounds expensive… and dangerous… hunters and greed would become my enemies, faster than I want them to be… perhaps just my hands and eyes… north, drink, follow it and hopefully fish, but for now… rest’

My state now says None, but if Cleanse works like I think, then what I did was remove the main forces of the attacking infection, my antibodies still need to do war with whatever is still there… I will cast the spell again tomorrow, just in case

-----

‘I am going to ignore what just happened behind that tree, and every future instance of that happening again’

-You just figured out how to use a cloaca, stop being an IDIOT! About it!-

‘Shut up!’

Hiss!

-----

It took a while for my gaze to refocus properly, but before going north I saw that the reason why the rock was making that gap I used to rest. In the past, something hit the other side of it, cracking and sinking it making a small “crater” and the gap, I only see weeds growing on this side

‘I wasn’t very keen into looking around yesterday, was more focused in smelling and hearing’ right now I am moving east with the brook, after drinking water I have seen nothing in terms of food, meat shaped food at least ‘Those berries are probably poisonous… I am surprised that I didn't got any resistances after the monster or the disease… multiple times uh? Ugh… um?’ I detect a smell

The smell of a small furry creature, I move forwards, slower than before, there is a bush nearby and at this distance I can smell something, so far the wind came from the north, so maybe that means that this prey is close by? I move around the foliage

‘Need to get some kind of camo, the light I am getting next to the water is good, but I am far too exposed… bunny!’ is a bunny with a horn in its forehead ‘Too big for me to eat… how do I eat something with horns…? I wanted to try deboning something… should I-?’

The forest trembles under the same enormous roar I have been hearing ever since I have gotten here, the rabbit looks to the south and freezes, this looks like an opportunity… aim-!

-STOP! YOU IDIOT!-

‘What?!’ because it surprised me I shake a bit, making a noise against the bush, the rabbit turns its head and makes eye contact with me ‘Crap… do we fight or…?’ remembering yesterday, I start counting to ten, but halfway in my count the horned bunny jumps away and flees ‘Great… at least bunnies don't get murder boners when they see me… but why did you stopped me?’

-I know its hard, for you, but THINK!-

‘Fine, lets see… big roar, coming from a big thing, probably in top of a mountain in that direction, always does it around the mornings, it as a big ego… is strong… it can attack anywhere in the forest from… that far away? Unless they don't move for a bit…’ I rest my head in the ground ‘I… am going to fight that thing eventually, aren’t I?’

-Only if you have a death wish-

The window closes and I am left hearing the sound of the brook, smelling the rabbit’s trail and there is something else around, but I can’t tell what it is, hunger makes me move forwards

‘Oh well… I don't know how to remove the fur from a bunny anyways… maybe if I had thumbs and a knife… River!’

I heard it before I see it, is a bit louder than the brook, but not much, is wide enough to stop any idea of crossing it as I am…

‘How do I fish…? Where do I fish? Is here good?’ I move closer to the merge of the clear waters and look at them ‘Some of them are… by the middle of the mixing area…’ at this angle even in the clear waters, I see mostly fish shaped shadows

The river flows from the north, I don't see anything near the banks, is somewhat exposed, not many trees are close enough, to cast a shadow on the water, some leaves are floating from further upstream but otherwise it looks peace-

Splash!

HISS!!!

I leap backwards, barely avoiding the enormous mouth jumping at me from the water, I get covered in dirt, mud and water but I manage to avoid the flailing head of the fish as it goes back into the liquid

‘Fuck you!’ I move further up, to look at the river from a vantage point, I end up climbing a nearby rock ‘Okay… water from brook, not this hell pond… I really need camouflage’ I have no idea of what kind of being just tried to eat me ‘It looked fishy at least… perhaps a shallower spot would be better?’

I move to the brook and clean the area where I was injured, no reason to tempt another infection due to mud, before going back to the rock

Looking south on this side, I see a tree that is closer to the water in a bend of the river, its branches blocking the blue stripe of the sky above it, some of its roots are in fact in the liquid near a rock… but… compared to the river is quite higher up… using it as a reference all the trees are very far away from the water…

‘Also it smells like… this place is visited often’ I move towards the tree looking around, but I don't see the animals that made this smell in the first place ‘As long I don't have to deal with a crocodile…’ the water in this place moves further out from the river thanks to the rock and is shallower… I have no idea of what this type of locations is called ‘Do I use my tail as a lure?’

Looking at my tail I try to move just the tip and do it in a “worm” like manner… I also notice that I am missing one scale

‘When did that happen?’ near the part of me that I call tip of my tail I see a zone that looks like a scar, I have a scale missing there… ‘I can’t remember having being hit there… a birth mark? Mental note, remember this when I evolve or shed’ I look at the pool ‘As long I just use the tip…’

Before I do that, I look around, some part of me is finding this place odd… as if…

‘The water is lower than it should be…?’ I look at the ground and poke at it with my claws ‘The soil here is… different than the rest of the forest floor… are we in a dry season? That would mean that I am moving in part of the riverbank… and would explain why this tree look higher than it should be’ it hasn’t rained, yet ‘I might want to climb on a tree the moment it begins raining…’

This pool in front of me, attached to the river, is a bit muddier and greener, I can still see the bottom, but somehow the water looks different from the river… slower perhaps?

‘Fishing time’ I readjust my body near the edge of the pond and place the tip in the water… ‘Time to wait… I’ll try to grab anything with my mouth and smack it against the rock’ I wiggle the tip again…

This will take a while…

‘I am hungry…’

-----

The only thing I have been doing is staring at the water, smelling around and worry about the cold under the shadow of the tree, at some point I realized that I wasn’t making venom and resumed the standard production…

‘I am bored… and hungry’ my body gives me a small pang of hunger ‘Need food, a few more minutes and I’ll go away, I might leave-!’

Something is near my tail… a few shiny spots floating in the water… getting closer… I aim… but… something is off… I move my aim a bit to the right and down… wait… closer…!

Launch! Grab! Pull! Smack!

Crack!

Ding

‘I almost hit my head…’ I pulled my prey out and in the motion of making it hit the rock, I got way too close to it… ‘Another thing to practice… Status?’

‘Really…?’ I look at the fish, is small, it has silver scales that glimmer with the light… the head is almost separated from the rest of the body… ‘Alright, yeah, breaking the neck, that is a one hit kill… but it was near invisible in the water… curious… Thanks you, I will do my best moving forwards, so that this moment doesn't becomes meaningless’ I look at its eyes, nod, and swallow it… ‘Small… maybe there is a better spot on the other side of the bend? Lets go there and see if it has more fish…’

I move out of the riverbank towards the other side of this… hill?

‘This place is… deeper’ I also could see bigger shadows… ‘Fishes have good stealth in the water, noted… I can’t fish efficiently… I need to be bigger…’ I look towards the trees and smell the air ‘Change of plans, fishing later, now I need to hunt, when I get bigger this could be a good place to get food, now I need to be active, not reactive’ there is a rotten smell coming from nearby ‘Round two?’

I move towards the smell, under a bush, between rocks, when I move behind a tree I see another monstrous Pest gnawing on an old bone…

‘Its completely bare… and looks like a femur… trying to find marrow…? Slowly this time’ I move towards it, its not looking at me and is distracted, unlike my previous encounter. I am behind it, aim ‘One quarter of my venom, ready’ Launch. Bite. Inject. Pull back

The monster screeches, jumps over the bone and turns to me, its just like the other, ugly. It snarls at me, I just aim and wait, it charges opening its mouth fully, I move to the side and as it passes, bite it again delivering another quarter, it screeches again and closes it jaw before running away

‘Those idiots… when they open their mouth, the eyes end up looking backwards… I really got hit by being a bigger idiot…’ the monster stops and turns towards me again, before charging with its mouth closed this time… and it drops

Twitching and screaming between spasm… I’m going to wait, no need to put me in danger… I open my Status

‘Ok… time to experiment, left fang full deathly venom production, right fang paralyze venom production…’ I remain still, and some part of me knows that I am making something different, with a portion of me in the right side of my head ‘Odd… will need to test if the effect of the venom is weaker now that is starting to mix-’

‘Good… but this means that “playing dead” is impossible… I’ll need to fight or flee, not act’ I look at the monster and the bone ‘I… have a bad feeling…’ I focus on my… “food” again ‘May your kin’s remains, stop corrupting this forest’ I move closer and start eating ‘Ugh!’

When its inside, I place my head down, waiting and smelling, looking at the bone

‘It looks like a femur, yes… a human one’ there is a… different, rotten smell, even after I ate the Pest… is not coming from the bone ‘Further south…’ I move and grab the clean bone with my right claw and drag it in that direction

Its hard, mostly because I can’t get a proper grip on it, but I keep it with me, moving towards the source

----

It’s about a half hour later, the new smell has gotten worse and my bad feeling is nagging at me… everything around feels… cold…

Passing a bush I enter a clearing and in front of me, “sitting” against a tree, is a human skeleton, that is missing the lower jaw and the bone I am dragging… and is covered in dark purple butterflies

‘What the…’ I drop the femur and get closer ‘Something is telling me no… but…’ what I can see from the bones under the wings, that slowly open and close, is mostly broken ribs, the missing jaw, and no skin remains… just some kind of fabric and leather on it, the wings move, leaving behind a shimmering trail… ‘Those… aren’t insects!’

HISS!!!

The things fly up, at my warning and congregate in three groups, hovering above the remains, its difficult to see, but there is something yellow hidden in the mass of wings

HISS!!!

I threaten the things again, but they don't go away… one of then is moving down and towards my right… looking at me… the yellow thing is near the front as it moves… I wait…

It stops, is inside my strike range and the “butterflies” move forwards as if going to encircle me, the other two move down. Strike! Bite! Fangs missed! Hold! Throw!

Crack!

Whatever I grabbed has a thin body and like the fish, I slammed it against the ground, the other two fly up again and I use my claws against the one near me, it looks like a yellow armored worm, with transparent wings and a nasty looking needle on its mouth. I hit the underside of it, staining my hands yellow and the “butterflies” around me vanish

HISS!!!

The other two remain floating… so I wait…

…

One of the yellow monsters buzzes and the “butterflies” around it move towards me… I know they aren’t real so I wait… the other does the same and now I am surrounded by the illusion… but the yellow monsters remain still, under my gaze…

‘Why…? Is it because I have magic, that I am not distracted by the…? They are waiting for me to get distracted… idiots…’ I move my head maintaining them in the edge of my vision and swipe to the “butterflies” surrounding me… they move closer ‘I win!’

They are moving at the same time, so I curl my tail next to me, as I “attack” at my enemies, the yellow ones move closer… and the right one, the one by my head, starts aiming its needle, Launch, bite, hold, throw!

Crack!

The other is by my tail, I hit it with it towards the ground. Hit! Hit! Hit! I use my claws again on the one by my head. And the other I squeeze until it cracks

Ding

The illusions fades, but the cold atmosphere remains… it comes from the human… its, as if smoke is gripping the surface of… its bones… the old clothes are beyond destroyed… its holding a shattered sword… the same smoke surrounds it and looks like is rusting most of the metal, the only thing that still looks good is the guard… I move towards the bone and drag it closer and place it near where it should be…

I look at their face… more smoke is gathering inside the sockets of the skull

‘Its okay… you can rest now… May your soul find peace, now that your remains are not longer disturbed by vile monsters. Now they can become nourishment, for the trees of one of the forest of the Huntress’ I move backwards and look at the ground in front of it and the tree ‘How did that symbol…? The mountain to the sky… and the roads… right?’

Using my claws I trace a triangle pointing at them, I made two lines crossing the sides aiming at the remains and joining them at the base. Below that union I dig a small hole and move to a nearby bush, I take some leaves, a couple of green berries and place them in the hole, I move to other bush and find a stick and a small rock, I also see a flower, but I place the stick and stone in the hole first before going for it

As careful as I can, I dig the small plant out, it has small green leaves and a single, beautiful, sweet smelling flower with five white petals that have light blue edges, and transplant it in the soil of the hole I made… the air feels warmer as I finish and I look at them… the smoke is gone and the bones stop trying to remain sitting, collapsing into a pile

‘May you find peace, hunter’ I nod to them, before looking at the monsters ‘Ugh… may your kin’s remains, stop corrupting this forest… and those that have fallen on it’ lacking fire, I only have a way of destroying them… I move to eat them

-----

‘Ugh…’ I am under the shadow of a tree… I overheated… and overeat… I look to the human… ‘Glad to see that the smoke is gone… my bad feeling went away with it… I am surprised that you didn't freak out, though’

-I knew you couldn’t screw this, Miss Faithful-

‘Why…? Status…’ three of the screens that appear, merge in to one

‘Good…’ I’m also going to rest for a bit…