Crimson Coils (The Snake Men Book 2)

Chapter 12

After watching the warriors train with Rezran at her side, one of the warriors came up to them while they had a little break. It was a woman, with dark red hair it was almost the color of blood. The scales on her tail were no different. She grinned as her green eyes seemed to light up at the sight of both of them. "Hello Rezran! Bring a friend today?" she asked as she approached. Before she could speak she looked at Mari. "Ah yes, I saw you earlier! The new human girl right?" She gave Mari a playful bump, which nearly knocked her over.

"Um yes, my name is Mari." Mari quickly said as she gripped on a chair behind her to steady herself so she could stand again. As soon as she stood the snakewoman spoke again.

"Nice! My name is Ziva!" 

When Ziva grinned Mari couldn't help but grin back. Her smile was just absolutely infectious. That dark wave that had crashed over her had now subsided, and the room seemed just a little bit brighter.

"Ziva is my cousin." Rezran said as he looked to Ziva. "I was just showing Mari around. She wanted to know what we do for fun around here." he explained. That earned a laugh from Ziva. She looked to Mari and gave her a little clap on the shoulder, making sure not to knock her over this time. 

"So of course he would bring you here. Men, they don't know what "fun" is to women, do they?" Ziva winked at Mari, and Mari laughed at that while Rezran looked between them, completely confused. "Is this place not fun?" he asked Ziva, which earned him an eyeroll.

"Oh I'm sure it's fun to you some days." Ziva responded, throwing a playful glance at him before looking back to Mari. "You're welcome here any time Mari. I'm sure you'd like more friends than this oaf." She gestured to Rezran with a head tilt and he pouted. "Here I am bringing you a new friend and you throw insults with me as soon as I slither in the door." He huffed. 

"I'm just messing with ya!" She laughed. The other three Naga who were still in the ring called Rezran over, and he stuck his nose up in the air in a sassy manner as he descended down the stairs to them. "At least someone  likes me!" he yelled, causing the girls to laugh.

Mari watched as the Naga spoke with Rezran, patting him on the back and talking with him. She smiled, thinking that Rezran was well liked among his people. He seemed so comfortable around them, and they were comfortable around him. Nothing like her people, who only spoke to certain people or weren't even allowed to speak to others if they were some sort of tier above them. Among the Noduin women hardly had any right to speak at all. Thinking of her people, Mari clenched her fist. Here, she had a new life, a free life. She didn't have to have someone speak for her, she didn't have to travel around the Ash Wastes when she didn't want to in order to get things that someone else wanted. She didn't have to rely on someone else to protect her, and most of all: she didn't have to be a victim.

Mari turned to Ziva. "Ziva, I know we just met, but could I ask a favor?" she asked. Ziva turned to her and gave her a slight nod, her eyes now glimmering with curiosity. "Could you...train me on how to defend myself?" she asked. "I'm not looking to become a warrior, I just would like to learn to take care of myself should I ever get attacked." she then added quickly, "Of course if you're too busy then I understand, I'm probably not the best student-"

"Stop, stop, stop! Of course I'll train you!"

Mari paused when Ziva interrupted her rambling, and she looked up at the woman with a hopeful gaze. "You will?" she said in surprise, and at Ziva's nod she nearly jumped for joy. "Oh thank you! Thank you!" she said happily, another wave of relief washing over her. Ziva laughed. "You're welcome! Just make sure that if you have a master then you let them know we'll be training. How about in the afternoons?" she asked. 

Mari was over the moon. "Yes! I'm looking forward to it!" she said happily. At that moment Rezran seemed to finish his conversations with the others, and rejoined Mari with Ziva. The two of them said goodbye to the group, and left the room.

~/~

As they exited the Coliseum the first thing Mari noticed was a set of stairs leading down to the village off to the left. Her eye twitch, and she slowly turned to look at Rezran. He almost seemed to pale this time as she looked at him, and he nervously rubbed his hands together. Fully facing him, she spoke. "There were stairs?" she demanded.

He shrugged it off, playing it cool with a smile. "Yeah but I can't help showing-" He didn't get to finish that sentence as Mari flung a clump of sand and ash in his face. He coughed and nearly fell backwards. He was trying to laugh as she continued her onslaught, though she started coughing because some of the sand flew back into her own face. 
"You dragged us up the side of the cliff instead of using the stairs!? What is wrong with you?" Mari demanded between coughs. "I could've fallen from you!" she yelled. Something hard collided with her and grabbed her hands. Rezran had wrapped his tail around her, holding her still while he placed himself in front of her and his hands held hers gently but firmly. "But did you?" He asked calmly.

That question was enough to stop her struggling. She stared at his now ash covered face, which strangely made him a little more handsome. After a moment, she lowered her gaze. "No, I didn't." she muttered like a child who had been scolded by her father. He had climbed up slowly, carefully, so he wouldn't jostle her. He was focused as he had climbed, and took every care to keep her safe. She wasn't foolish enough to keep a loose grip on him either. 
Sensing she had calmed down, he let her go. "You should learn to trust in yourself and other people more Mari." Rezran chuckled as he lifted an arm to his face to wipe off the ash and sand. "I'm going home to clean this up. Look at me Mari, this is your fault." he laughed. "You might want to get cleaned up yourself." He gestured to her clothes and face.

Mari nodded and chuckled. "Sorry, it was a little funny though. So, there's my payback for all your teasing." she pointed out, not that she minded his teasing. He chuckled back. "I can walk you back to your home if you want." he offered, but she politely shook her head. "No, we both need to get cleaned up, and I can find my way home just fine." she said softly. Rezran nodded, and his gaze almost seemed to warm at her. "Goodnight then, Mari." he said with a slight rumble to his voice that seemed to vibrate in Mari's bones. He then slithered off, heading down the stairs. Mari followed after him before splitting off from him and heading to her small home.

Once she stepped in and closed the door, Mari practically peeled off her shirt, pants, and boots then threw them around the room as she made her way to the bathroom. She filled the tub with water, and watched as the water spilled forth from the faucet into the tub. Kneeling down, she ran her hand over the water to gauge the temperature. The fact that water could come to them through pipes from underground springs, and then heated or cooled with magic crystals, was fascinating to her. She hardly wrapped her head around it when Madame Savari explained it to her. 

When the tub was filled to her liking and the water was the right temperature, Mari stepped in and began to clean herself. She washed her body with a cloth and some lovely soap, turning the clear water in a murky dusty water in seconds. She didn't stay long in the tub, cleaning just as she needed and then stepping out and drying off as it drained. As she dried off with a towel she thought about her upcoming training. She felt happy to learn how to keep herself safe, or to protect herself at least. After she tried off she put on her sleepwear and laid down in her bed. As she did, she couldn't help but feel Rezran's coils around her legs, and his hands gently pinning her down by her wrists. His beautiful eyes bore into hers and she felt a heat rush over her body. She shook herself out of it, but that heat was still there. So she rolled onto her side and shut her eyes, thinking of other things. Though his gaze still lingered in her mind as she drifted off to sleep.