ANGEL

MORTUARY - PART 2

Even so, I was at her meeting, willing to talk about that man that so much caught my attention, I asked and begged to the brother lizards, that are the guards of the queen, even being guards, they are not very tall, they have middle length and only are taller than me when I am on all fours as crocodile and have to stay at that position all the time while I am at the presence of the queen, it’s an old tradition and mean that all the reptiles of Mortuary may and must walk around raised up to show impressiveness and threaten to anyone that threats them too, but mainly to their hunts and this way get an easy hunting and prey, but while at her presence and her wise and veteran snake´s, we must to be on all fours, so that we can remember ourselves that before the venerable wisdom of the snake, we are nothing more than reptiles that crawl and sneaks about, mere inferior beings that have to thanks all we have to the cunning and good strategies of the snake.

The lizards are called Smolo, Rohax and Vuni and are very kind, gentle and patient while inside the rooms of Grona, but don´t deceive yourselves, they can be much more dangerous than myself when at some stress moment and total fury, they use many colors, hues and shapes and easily could to adapt and fit to any place of the entire Mortuary, but their main colors are blue, green and pink, respectively.

Smolo has an intense blue as hue of skin that´s very straight and soft, his eyes are very restless and keep moving to all the sides, I always find myself asking if it’s to search flies and insects, his favorite meal or just to make sure that no intruder will get through his barrier; his tail keep slashing back and forth as his eyes and he likes to cross his arms above his chest, always with an unfriendly face.

Rohax it’s the tallest of the three ones, but even so, he´s small, he has a white-green scale with brown spots and has a crest at the top of his head that half stand half lean in to one side, that´s funny, it just highlight and stand out his taller length regarding his lizard fellows, but even so, between he and Smolo at one fight till the death, I bet Smolo would win, just look at his feral face and you could realize it. Rohax´s tail and eyes keep not moving back and forth, but on the other hand, his tongue doesn´t stop even for a second, and stretch out to catch the most gaunt and appetizing beetles, and that´s nothing compared with the terrible, distressing and unbearable sound that he makes when chewing the blessed meal, it’s almost like if he´s gathering up the remains of his last few meals from the bottom of his bowels and were ready to spit it at your face at any moment, it mainly take me out of control when we are inside an silent room and he keep doing that and looking at me fixedly as if testing my patience, he knows me since we are little tadpoles, know my rage, my fury, my basic instinct of hunter, knows my stubbornness when I want to do something at my will, but knows certain profound secrets that even myself forget when at some moments… I think I am talking too much.

Shortly, he stays there at a corner staring mindedly from my head to tail, to my dark gray-green scales, very dry and hard, to my sharp claws, able to torn and destroy at seconds his skin and the scales and slayers of animals much more powerful and stronger than them three together, to my jaw, huge and furious that keep opening and closing, showing my scaring handful of teeth, so sharp as one knife and so bright as the very mirror, finally he stare at my eyes that now are one dark green because I am very wary, but irritable as well, he know if he want to keep that false and diabolical little smile of his, he must shut his blood mouth up and mainly  avert his gaze away, that one know too much, hear too much, Grona should not keep him as her main guard, Smolo and Vuni are the unwary and careless ones of the story, but not he.

Lastly but not least, comes Vuni, the pink lizard, but it´s not he, it´s she, Vuni it´s the female lizard of the three and far the most sympathetic and tolerable. She´s the one which more use her talents and hues as lizard too, her main and favorite color it´s pink, but many a time she comes to job with an pearly and showy orange-colored hue of scale that fits perfectly with her good mood and only has to change to pink or any other neutral hue again when the queen´s at danger or she has to take a detailed work of search and investigation that demand it of her; her tail keep moving back and forth as the others, but as female, she move it far more  slowly and graciously than Smolo and Rohax, both of her hindpaws and flat of her hands are enormous, straight and sharp and you can bet that she will use that to scratch anyone’s back as urgency, attack or simply fun.

I went to speak with the queen to talk about that man down at the dungeons, but it was not as easy as I thought.

-why not?- I asked looking at the three ones the same time, still raised up because I had not still entered into the room of the queen and feeling my fury taking hold of me as one hurricane on the verging to erupt.

-don´t ask nothing to us, stinking crocodile, you doesn´t have that right- said the abominable Rohax with his terrible interference as ever.

-shut your mouth up, Rohax- I said now coming closer of him and clenching my fangs as if I am about to lunge at him but he kept motionless and his expression, calm and unchangeable, that frightened me much more than if he had attacked me with all his strength and madness.

-oh! Why should i? If I shut my mouth up, I won´t take pleasure at one of my better amusements anymore- he came closer of Logo this time and stared at him with a mix of sarcasm and defiance- to eat my beloved beetles, don´t you think?

I lose my patience and felt myself explode into an enormous rage and violence as few times I ever felt at my life, I opened my big and sharp fangs and that time I really was ready to shear and to bite each inch of that wretched white-green scales, but unfortunately before I even think about fall upon him, the unfriendly and sullen Smolo and the clever and quick Vuni were already on me, Smolo up on my back, retaining and sticking me out with his incredible strength at his paws and practically slashing and whipping me with his long and powerful tail that was almost as straight as his whole length and Vuni, scratching all over my paws, face and back with those sharp hind paws of hers, I always knew it was piercing and dangerous, but never so painful as I feel it straightforward inside me, because she´s not only scratching softly and on the outside, the damned it´s tucking the thing right into the depths of my body and it is a female, you can imagine if it was an male, but I hold myself the maxim I can and I don´t scream, I never scream, but damn it, three against one, that´s not fair and I say that because when I finally give up and say:

-Enough- they let go of me, but the wretched Rohax don´t be satisfied and to end the show up completely he makes what I fear he´s making, a big beetle comes up from nowhere, he see it, catch with his sticky and disgusting tongue, chew it with that nerve-racking sound and spit at my face mercilessly.

-a gift of the reptiles- he says and open a large smile of gibe at my pathetic face- no, no, even better, a gift of the lizards, from us to you and he suddenly give an stormy laugh that echo deeply into my ears, but surprisingly Smolo and Vuni that let go of me already and moved away, aren´t laughing with him, Smolo is showing that same sullen expression as ever, but not with gibe or derision, something between indifference and something like “ go away now if you want escape from that less unharmed ” and Vuni, making sure that she didn´t break any claw but at the same time staring at me with pity.

- one day we will settle that matter still, you can get ready, Rohax- I threat lastly and that time, only that time, I go away.

And without speak with Grona about that man, but… why should I get in trouble, just by his account? I do not know him, I was not supposed to worry about anyone but me, I am a crocodile, a hunter, well, a hunter that has just escape from his prey, aye, but a hunter anyway.

Before me, I see the vastness that´s Mortuary, here there´s no streets, but mud, puddles to hide and spend a good time, there´s no buildings and towers but our immense and strong trees, they may to be very dry, lifeless and ugly, but they are strong enough to bear our weights upon its shoulders that make good shadows and shadows it´s essential to hide, to plan attacks and defense and go unnoticed by some prey or hunt, namely, when you are not a lizard that may change their countless hues to others when they will.

No, Logo, you won´t think about those stupid ones again, please not now.