Beauties and Beasts

Chapter 137: brought to you by blue-eyed bunnies

A secret, metells, in today's episode of "Playing with Babies": the ending of our epic nears. What, did you think I could write this forever? I have a job, you know. As a WRITER nonetheless. Got to nag Tyndali for more. But there are still many chapters yet! Just...not that many. Only like *counts fingers* Thirteen? Maybe an epilogue or two? Though if you guys wanna write fanfiction continuing the story, I only require that you let me know so I can read it too. ^.^ 

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Hane did return. He took the full week, and he came back looking more battered than ever, but he came back, escorted by Stars. Shay could see the development of a rule that any patients would need to be escorted by a snake, or else be killed by one. Made sense in another way, as a baby snake could send word for Shay to cover her face ahead of time.

After the week they'd had taking care of the helpless babies, Curtis was actually happy to see the scorpion.

"They're the most helpless, weak things I've ever seen, and their mother can't even take care of herself let alone them," said Curtis. "I can't believe I'd see the day I'm actually happy to see a scorpion in my territory."

Shay was happy for a whole other reason. While taking care of babies, she had to restrain herself from loving them and wanting to take them away, unsuccessfully, and it left a considerable emotional and mental weight on her. The moment the scorpion bearing its bundled females upon his back left, she collapsed in the sunshine, which was growing increasingly rarer with the nearing of the wet season, and promptly fell asleep.

She woke up sometime later to a cloudy sky and, once more, surrounded by a wall of cuddling baby snakes and a dragon.

On seeing her awake, Asher picked up his head and prrbt at her, like a cat. His big, black, doleful eyes sparkled.

She smiled and pet his soft mane and his following opal scales. He really was such a pretty little beast, even if he was close to the size of large, very long dog.

Lazy Boi picked up his head from around her ear next, his tongue flickering out to leave a butterfly wing kiss on her cheek. She hugged his head to her and kissed his brow.

"Why'd you have to grow so quick," she murmured.

He puttered something, not quite a cry, more like a murmur, then tapped Sky awake from where she had slung herself across Shay's lap. She woke up slowly, as snakes were want to do when disturbed from a warm nap in the sun. The weather getting colder gave her cold-blooded babies all the more reason to want to nap with her in the sun.

Lazy Boi hissed something to her. Sky rubbed her eyes hard.

"Boi wants to know," Sky broke into a jaw-cracking yawn, which displayed her little fangs. "Wants to know how that lady pooped out those big babies."

Shay snorted. "Well, first off, babies aren't pooped out. Girls have a separate hole which babies come out of."

The snake pile twitched a bit and another curious head came up, tongue flickering. She saw the dots and recognized Dice. She wondered if all her babies were here, despite it not being their day to all come together.

"Secondly, the soft bits holding the hip bone soften so it can stretch a bit bigger, and the baby heads are soft too so they can squeeze out better."

Sky, who was obviously interested but still struggling to wake up, rubbed her eyes as she asked, "Mommy, why weren't we born that way?"

"You baby snakes?"

"No. Girls. Sisters."

When she gave another jaw-cracking yawn, Lazy Boi leaned his head across Sky for her to flop over, slightly nudging Asher aside from his spot on her stomach. He wasn't mean about it, though, even giving Asher a light nuzzle to show his well-meaning and let Asher lean against his neck. Shay couldn't help thinking that he really had become such a sweetheart.