Special Delivery

~ 6 ~

"Who was he?"

"... that's not relevant."

Scott was being dragged along through the darkness, his hand gripped in Vincent's. He felt strange. It was so... human. He was unceremoniously pulled into the cave, and went over to the dry spot where he'd slept last night. "Seems relevant to me. You know that guy."

"We're... acquaintancesss." Vincent retreated into the shadows once again. But Scott wouldn't accept mystery when everything surrounding what he'd gotten himself into was strange enough.

"Vincent. Look at me--" He reached out and grabbed the naga's hand, causing him to hiss violently and pull away, trying to return to the comfort of the darkness.

"Don't touch me!" A scarred arm fell backwards. "No human may touch me unlessss I wisssh it!"

"Vincent, I'm... I'm sorry, I just have questions... come out where I can see you. Please."

"I'll only ssscare you. I'm a monssster, remember? And an ugly one, even by monssster ssstanardsss..."

"I'm not gonna care... besides, I've probably seen worse. Have you seen some of the people I deliver letters for?"

The naga giggled, which was strange to Scott. He'd never thought of a naga as a creature that could giggle. "Oh, fine... if you insssissst. But, it'sss not my fault..." Vincent slowly slithered forward. And Scott rose to his feet, stunned.

Standing before him was the dark torso of a man, connected below the belly button to the purple tail of a snake. His eyes were white, his hair shoulder-length and of the same regal hue as his tail. His forked tongue stuck out of his mouth, anxiously flicking. His chest and arms were covered in straight white scars, going out in random places and at many angles, as if they'd been left by a foe's blade. His tail was long, and it wound along the ground like a ribbon. By any measure, he was absolutely stunning.

"... wow."

"Oh, s-sssee? I told you..."

"No, no, you're... you're..." He stepped forward, running a finger across a large scar on Vincent's chest. "You're... mystical."

"I think you mean mythical..." Vincent blushed and turned away, covering his mouth to keep from giggling.

"Well, that too."