Always by my Side

What's Wrong With Me

Almost four years had passed since Zell was born, Sadi and her now catching up to each other, as his aging had begun to slow down again. His baby scales of sand tone had all fallen away revealing a rich green underneath, a commoners color but fitting none the less. Zell however was still very much petite and mud colored. She never showed more signs of magic after her birth, and rarely spoke. She was quite and scared of most things, every time Kyrissian would walk through the temple and see her, he would swiftly kick her. It caused Zell to spend most of her time in the chamber where she slept, braiding leaves. Her crafting was advancing much farther than any of her other skills, and it showed. Sadi was the only person that Zell even dared talk to

"Look Sadi, I made a bracelet!" She holds it up for him to see. He takes it and looks over the delicate braid. He looks at her, proud of his friend. With a fairly swift movement he clasps the bracelet to her. She smiles brightly at him.

"You should make more, for other kids" He mentions, trying to encourage her to make more friends now that she's in the temple school.

Later that day he sees Zell crying under a tree, strange for a Yuan-ti as they were typically emotionless. As he comes up to her, he sees several of the girls with their adult scales pointing and laughing at Zell from a distance. Taking a seat next to her on the ground he lifts her face to look him in the eyes. Her eyes turned ocean blue shortly after her birth and have remained a swirling blue since. Her brown cheeks stained with tears,

"Have you come to hound me as well?" She sniffles as she stares back into his amber brown eyes.

"Why are they hounding you at all?" He asks softly, drying her tears. It hurts him to see her cry, he feels something odd whenever he's around her still, almost as if he's meant to be there. His instincts tell him that Zell is different, and his memories of her magic at a young age confirm that. A magic that prominent at such a young age, means there is something very special about Zell.

"Cause I'm ugly! I'm still brown like a baby." She murmurs, looking down again at her muddy scales.

"So? You just haven't matured yet."

"All the other kids have their adult color. What if something is wrong with me, what if I'm brown forever?" Her eyes growing stormy and darker, as tears well up once again.

"Zell, you will get your adult scales, and even if you don't then you'll still be pretty. Don't worry about how you look." He smiles down at her, trying to comfort her.

All that week Zell keeps her distance from the other girls, knowing that it just means more insults and laughter. Sadi notices that everyday when they take their lunch break that Zell sits far away. She sits right on the edge of the woods. Sadi makes sure to keep a close eye on her, watch for danger from the woods but not bothering Zell. He understands that she just wants to stay away. Late in the week Zell comes running up to him excitedly.

'"Sadi! Sadi! I-" Not seeing a large vine on the path, Zell falls scraping her arms and knees on the ground and other foliage. As she sits back up, pain in her eyes he sees that where her skin was gashed that beautiful dark purple scales are peeking out. He comes up to her and using some water from his canteen he washes away the dirt, knocking more of the baby skin away. It's like no color he's ever seen before, a rich violet purple. She gasps when she sees it

"I'm finally molting!" Her pain is all forgotten as she begins to admire the dark purple hidden underneath. No Yuan-ti that he ever remembers seeing has been purple, not even Zell's parents or grandparents were anything remotely close to purple.

Just days later, the tables are completely turned as now ever young girl in the tribe is jealous of her beautiful adult color. Zell doesn't flaunt it, but she does have a new sense of pride. Sadi often finds himself staring at his younger friend, somewhat worried about her. However she definitely comes out of her shell a lot and begins to make more trinkets and jewelry for everyone. This doesn't go unnoticed to the shaman, who takes note of the special little girl. The information of her maturity reachs Kyrissian, and his plan begins to form.