Shadowed Scales

Chapter 14: The Pines Often Whisper

_CHAPTER FOURTEEN_

The Pines Often Whisper

"Sameer, a phone call for you!"

The Egyptian cobra froze in place. Everyone at camp stared at him with the exception of Arthur hanging upside down on a tree branch. All of the campers knew that a phone call meant that their parents wanted to speak with them.

But Sameer's parents were a different story.

What did I do now? he thought to himself as he followed the counsellors to the office. He couldn't hear anyone since his mind was clouded with fear. His body was too focused on following the counsellor, who was a grey kangaroo.

Just pick up the phone, answer when asked and then put it down, he instructed himself, hoping it would calm him down. Knowing his parents, they can make a simple sentence sound like an interrogation.

He knew this because he had watched how his father could turn an upright client into a pool of jelly. So, what could be the reason his parents called him midway while he was relaxing with a book?

Can they actually see what he is doing?

Shakily, he picked up the phone with his tail, heart was close to his throat and his hood was slowly spreading out. With a shaky breath, he uttered out a 'hello'.

"Sameer, it's me!" His sister, Talia answered on the other end. Judging from her voice, he couldn't tell whether she was in a state of panic or just excited.

"Hi, big sister," he replied coolly, trying to push down the bubbling fear in his gut. "So how is everyone back home? Is everything okay?"

There was a sound of a low hiss on the other end. It was bad enough that the kangaroo counsellor was leaning against the door with her arms crossed like a security guard. It unnerved him since kangaroos have the strongest legs of any marsupials.

When his sister explained what was going on, Sameer's jaws dropped. He couldn't- Of course he knew it was coming but...

"Oh, that's great!" Sameer collected himself from the unexpected news. The curvature of his mouth formed a smile. It was something he could't tell anyone. Not the counsellors or other campers.

However, there was one exception.

Once he said his goodbyes to his sister, Sameer needed time to think. He doesn't mention what was going on during the call, telling the counsellor that it was a private family matter.

He wanted nothing more than to be alone.

...

"Hey, Arthur?"

The Honduran white bat turned his head towards the Egyptian cobra's direction. Both of them were paired up together for an evening fieldwork. Each team was tasked to find various plants, flowers and trees from their checklist.

Once they have found the plants from the list, they will tick off what they have found. Apparently, this activity was supposed to teach them plants and nature that they were surrounded in.

"Tek told me that during science class, he paired up with you because bats are good with plants. Is that true? You grow flowers?"

The Honduran white bat lowered his ears while his wings were close to his face. "Um...Not flowers per se but us bats can hear plants. Plants have their own voice and language, you know? Though, I can't understand a word they are saying..."

It was something Sameer did not expect. Nothing in the textbooks had ever mentioned that bats could hear the flowers!

"From your silence, I take it you can't believe it?" Arthur asked, a toothy smile was formed. "Of course not! Most animals would think of us as nutters if we do tell them that. Especially when one of the bats is blind like me."

Sameer slithered close to him as they moved to where Arthur's ears were picking up something. "Still, it's amazing that you could hear all that. I'm not big on plants but it's nice to know. Those gardeners must be jealous!"

"Tell me about it," Arthur laughed, swivelling his ears until they stopped at a large pine tree. "Can you hear this one? The trees are whispering or singing-No, it's whispering! Still don't understand how Grandpop does it..."

Sameer closed his eyes to listen. So far, he only felt the gentle breeze that caressed his scales and the rustling of leaves from the trees. He doesn't have a great sense of smell but he darted out his forked tongue to taste the chemicals in the air.

"Sorry Arthur, I can't hear anything unless you are talking about the wind."

Arthur only laughed, not in a mocking way that Sameer was used to if he doesn't know something. It was more of a light-hearted sort of laugh that made the cobra smile a little.

"I almost forgot that snakes don't have ears, but you can hear just as well," said Arthur, pressing an ear close to the tree trunk. Sameer copied him and heard some noises inside. There was a strange humming noise that vibrated inside the tree trunk. If the sounds were outside, they would be buzzing.

"Bees!" both of them announced simultaneously. Sameer quickly checked the list to see if there was anything about bees. Thankfully, there was a section for insects written under the pine tree category. He decided to write it down.

"I find it odd that there are bees inside the trunk rather than outside," Arthur murmured, tracing a line from the tree's bark. "Maybe it's a different kind of bee than the ones we know, right?"

"Maybe. I don't know much about insects aside from my pet tarantula, Dante."

Arthur's head suddenly turned back, revealing his curious expression. For someone with film over those cloudy blue eyes, Arthur looked like he could see from how he is facing Sameer.

"I missed him," Sameer admitted, coiling himself like a rope bunch. His hood stretched out of worry. "My tarantula and my sister. My parents- Oh, what am I saying! Sorry I went there..."

But Arthur shook his head. His smile was the most comforting thing Sameer had ever felt. Two of the Honduran white bat's fingers were holding his tail. Checking to see if there was no one around, Sameer flattened his hood.

"I heard about you, Sameer," said Arthur, sitting down on the grass. "My dad told me that your dad's a judge. He must be very important if everyone talks highly of him."

"He is," Sameer nodded, closing his eyes. "No matter where I go, everyone says I'm going to be just like him. But I'm not like him! The school, my parent's friends and even random beasts on the streets! Just because Judge Nadir is my father."

"But isn't that a good thing?" asked Arthur, his head was tilted to the side. "Those animals can back off from you if you just tell them who your dad is. It's cool that your dad's a judge. My dad's an astronomer. He works with the stars and outer space."

Sameer sighed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Arthur about how difficult it was being his father's son. All eyes on him, telling him to do great or else his father's reputation would be ruined. Not to mentioned since he was the only son, the adults would always say that he will be exactly like him.

Besides, him and Arthur aren't 'exactly' friends just yet.

"Come on," Sameer gestured to Arthur with a tug from his tail. "Let's find what is left on this list. Don't want to keep everyone waiting, yes?"

It was sad to watch Arthur's expression shifting from excited to disappointed. He doesn't want to do this but talking about his family was something he kept to himself. He wasn't ready to share it with anyone just yet.

However...

"Yasmin," he emphasised with a hiss as Arthur was walking in front of him. He turned his head around, cocking his head to the side again.

"Hmm?"

"The phone call," he began slowly, heart was racing faster than a mamba's. "I have a newly hatched sister name Yasmin."