Forever Captive

Chapter 7

I never did get around to asking the naga about how its response to the challenge went. We fell into a rather calm but boring cycle of it leaving, coming back with a few seemingly stubborn splotches of blood and a handful of food items for me, and wrapping itself around me for warmth while exchanging questions and answers. This continued for four days. It has been eight, now? So... just six more and they will be leaving. Likely without me. 

It comes back once again, right on time with the first sign of dawn, carrying a small handful of fruits in its claws. I frown slightly, "You were like that all night?"

It never did transform into that full snake body after the initial time, at least in front of me, but I was under the impression that it still wanted the humans to believe it was a snake and not a genuine mythical creature.

"I did not..." It hisses slightly as it beaches itself on the rock, slithering up to me, "I did not intend hunt the intruders. I do want to know..."

It trails off as it drops the fruit at my feet before delicately placing a rifle and dart gun next to it. It hesitantly pushes it forward, "I understand that the first is a familiar weapon. This does not... seem to fling the same substance at me."

I stare at the dart gun for a while longer than it seems to prefer before I finally force myself to look at its face. Its eyes are yellow once again, a color I haven't seen in a while, but they seem... duller than usual.

"Did it land? Did you get shot?" I ask, reaching towards it as I ignore the sharp pain in my calf. 

Its non-expressive face looks away and it sharply inhales into a much higher hiss than I have heard before, "I do not wish to answer that."

It was swimming slower than usual. Considering that almost all of its answers have been straightforward and refreshingly honest, the omittance of an answer is as good as the truth. I finally manage to gently grab its arm and turn it around, finding a small dart in its skin.

I curse. Not only is it now obvious that it is not just a snake, it's also obvious where to hit it. If it retreated, which it seems to have done, it's also now obvious that the tranquilizer has some effect on it.

"You'll have to sleep it off." I state calmly, despite the noticeable shaking in my voice as I remember my own first experience with several of the drugs they might have used, "You may... be unable to move, and it may be harder to breathe. Reptiles often have a harder time on sedatives, and I imagine that it will be similar for you."

I gently grab a hold of the dart, finding that some part of it failed to go all the way into the naga's system. Maybe about a quarter of it didn't. Still, it seems far weaker than normal. I sigh slightly, "Would you like to remove it yourself, or should I? There's still more in there. We need to get it out."

The naga hisses softly before placing its clawed fingers over my own, "You know better than I."

I gently tug on the dart and it falls out fairly quickly. I let out a soft breath before its hand clenches around mine slightly, its eyes a dull, absent brown. I quickly sit back against my singular good knee and carefully comb my hand through its hair, "It will be alright. If anybody comes near while you're sleeping, I'll... figure something out. It will be far more agonizing to stay awake when you cannot move. I understand if you do not fully trust me, but please trust in my experience."

The growl that follows is nearly more like a purr as it resonates throughout the naga's chest, its outer eyelids already drooping. It nearly falls on top of me and I gently reposition myself underneath it, ignoring the screaming that persists from my lame limb. With any luck, the warmth of my body might help it recover faster. I have to keep my warmth near its chest, however, and I am far too weak to lift it up on my own. 

I slowly inch myself upwards until its very human face is pressed against my neck, gently cradling its torso in my arms while I straddle my legs around its scaled hips. Its purr-like growl remains even as its clear that the naga is asleep, and I very gently comb my fingers through its hair like I am comforting a child.

I don't know its age or gender. Perhaps I should ask that. I wonder if it has a name? It has yet to ask mine, though, so I do wonder if it even knows about them. That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that it is clueless, scared, and facing its likely very first bout of what it is liked to be poisoned by a human creation. Its likely trying to equate the tranquilizer to something similar to another snake's venom. They are similar, after all.

In which case, maybe talking to it might help, even as it sleeps?

I whisper softly above its ear in gentle breaths, noticing the occasional twitch with some of my harsher consonants, "These are called tranquilizers or sedatives. They're designed to put something or somebody to sleep to make it safer to approach them. Sometimes, they're used to stop a creature from feeling pain and sleeping while humans cut into them, whether to help or hurt. They're scary, but they wear off eventually. You may feel a little sick when you wake up, like you got stuck in the current of the ocean and spun around until you lost track of what is up or down. That will wear off, too. You might not be able to eat and your eyes might not adjust to the sunlight for a day or so, but I can help you stay in the shade until you're recovered. Try to breathe as calmly and regularly as you can."

I gently but subtly place my free hand over its heart to keep track of the slow but steady beats and listen to its soft breaths with a hint of anxiety. Even three quarters of the dose was enough to slow them down considerably. As worrying as it is, I don't have a reversal agent. All I can do is wait and hope that the idiot who used the dart did not see where the naga slithered off to. In fact, I hope they're dead.