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Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/31326854.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category: F/M
Fandom: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Relationship: Viper (XCOM)/Original Male Character(s)
Stats: Published: 2021-05-16 Updated: 2021-07-18 Chapters: 10/? Words:
52259

Home
by R_Briar

Summary

Set after the events of Xcom 2, global communications are still down. No governments
have formed and a mad max style lawlessness still occupies much of the land, various city
centres owned by various factions are states unto themselves and anyone outside of these
aren't considered in safe areas.
 Chapter 1

I watched from beyond the treeline, the sun setting behind me helping to hide my presence. This
new group sure had set up fast, what remained of the small town centre had been surrounded by car
wrecks and random debris, only enough to cover a small amount of buildings, the buildings outside
of the central compound had been stripped to make parts for the wall. More like someone had
gotten creative with a forklift rather than a fortified position. Not the most effective of walls, but
hey if it makes you sleep better at night. To me it looked more like you were inviting someone in
by advertising you had something worth protecting, from what I'd seen of the people Id been
tracking it made sense, a ramshackle gang, probably recently formed and trying to gain some form
of power in this newly crumpled world. It was just about determining who these people were, were
they just trying to establish somewhere to live in a world gone to shit, or were they more fanatics.
People with a cause looking for a fight.

A shadow passed over me slightly and I almost spit out my tongue as a great big pink hand grabbed
my shoulder, shaking me from my thoughts. I'd almost forgotten we came here together. I twisted
around to see the great big bulky mass of Maverick, his pink features and rippling physique in
silhouette from the sun behind the treeline. His green armour had seen better days, mostly ripped
off, burnt and scorched by weapons fire but he had still refused to remove anything where the
jagged edges weren't actively digging into him. The mask his kind wore had been removed some
time ago but he habitually tied cloth or leather about himself to hide it, I didn't understand why but
I wasn't about to complain to a Muton about the way he decided to dress.

I raised my hands and signed 'You can't sneak up on me like that' He let go of my shoulder.

'You were staring too long, distracted' He signed back, as far as I was aware he could understand
English speech and could even speak some though he had much more skill in sign language, I
think it was more because it had something to do with his hands, his favourite tools to put to use.
Only having three fingers to each hand was more of a speech impediment than an outright inability
to communicate. You got used to it.

'I wasn't staring I was planning on the best way to get into the compound'. He huffed in that
snorting way and looked at the compound with his beady yellow eyes, almost out of place on his
face but drawn to with the shaping of his tribal tattoos layered across most of his flesh.

'sneaking in, so we aren't using the front door on this place either?' He signed to me wearily, his
hands almost dropping to his sides.

'*I*', I emphasised the hand motion, 'Am not, no, this group looks to stake a claim more than to
bring people in', I pointed out the various pieces of armour adorning some of the buildings past the
wall, Some green, some black. A lot of Advent. His eyes weren't as sharp as a humans but he
followed my finger easy enough, letting out a low growl as he spied the trophies hung up.

'You're still going in there?', his almost permanent scowl softened a little. For such a big assumed
brute he still showed some signs of caring, I think the looks were bred into them, all of them.

'I have to, I have to know if they're planning to move out of here and what kind of movement they
bring with them'.

'I wish people like this would stop setting up camp close to home' He motioned towards the camp
as he sunk to his haunches, preparing to wait until the darkness we needed. Close to home was a bit
of an over statement, but two days away was still too close for real comfort.
“Me too, buddy” I spoke quietly, turning back to the camp just as a generator fired up in the
distance. The soft glow of lights between certain buildings following it to try and stem the darkness
that was quickly approaching the ramshackle compound.

We waited there a few more hours for night to truly settle in. There was some companionable
shouting from the far end around the glow of a fire in the distance. Seems like these people had
managed to steal, or brew, some liquor from wherever they had come from and weren't particularly
fussed about making themselves known to the woods around them. Only minimal effort had been
made to reclaim the land back from the woods that had taken it, only the barricade could be said to
have been free from vines and growth. It only became so apparent now that I was approaching the
perimeter, keeping my body crouched to the ground, my profile low.

They didn't seem to be posting any rotating guards, not that Maverick and I had noticed during our
watch, they were either very confident or very stupid. Probably both, I would guess most new to
their own little slice of society were. Maverick was still upset that I'd left him behind as I made my
approach but hiding a giant, bright pink slab of muscle was difficult at the best of times, I still had
no idea how he managed to go hunting. I subconsciously pat the pistol at my waist, reassuring
myself it was still there, he knew the rapport it made and would come if needed, regardless of if I
wanted him to or not.

I wished I had my shotgun with me at that moment but shook it from my head, it would do no good
except make myself a kill on sight target if things went tits up. The smell of ozone mingled with
the grass as I waded through to the barrier. Rain, that's all I needed, I didn't look forward to
navigating the wall of wrecks in the wet, I'd have to make this is quick as I could.

Pressing my back against the side of a car that made up the base of the wall I caught my breath and
tried to slow my heart rate. I could still hear voices in the far distance but that didn't mean that
there were some quieter people closer to the wall where I was. I leant up to try and see through
what remained of the car, the roof had been crushed and the inside was filled with sharp metal and
debris. I couldn't see any shadows moving on the other side and decided it was now or never,
reaching up above the crushed roof I found the sturdiest objects and began to climb over.

On the other side of the wall I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding, this wasn't a
habit I was used to and the fear still got to me a times. I woke up to myself and quickly crossed the
gap to the closest building, overgrown with vines and moist to the touch as I pressed my back to it.

Still no one around, my fears were unfounded so far and I steeled myself to go in deeper, we
needed to know how these people really were. I'd been put through a bad experience one too many
times before. A metal door whined open a few houses up, on something looking like a rusted out
warehouse and I stopped in my tracks, ducking behind a corner wall to just stop and listen, pushing
myself into the overgrown vegetation that hung from the walls.

“I'm telling you, a day or two and it'll be perfect, just give it some patience” A gruff voice sounded
in the distance, I don't know what he'd found to smoke in the last decade but he'd smoked all of it.

“It better, we're taking a risk here” A smoother voice this time, of an older man, someone who
wanted to sound more refined than a man walking out of a rusted shed in an overgrown derelict
town.

“Trust me, it'll look great” There was some laughing and then a firm slap on the back, “Now don't
worry about it for now, come on, the boys have been getting into the case since nightfall to
celebrate, we better get to them before it's all gone!” A set of boots started moving but just the one.

“Are you sure he'll be alright in there?” The first voice again, the boots stopped moving.
“He'll be fine, he's out the front and needs to build some guts anyway, don't worry, now come,
celebrate!” He started moving again and after a time a second set of lighter shoes followed them. I
waited until I couldn't hear them anymore before peaking around the corner, they were long gone
but my heart rate didn't decrease. These people were way too comfortable here, and what were they
celebrating? In the days we tracked this place we hadn't heard any weapons fire, nothing flying
over head. Their freedom from another town? And what were they waiting for?

I tapped my finger against the wall softly, building up the courage, breathing in heavily before
rounding the corner. Trying to keep to the shadows. The flood lights they had strung up from the
awnings of buildings weren't strong and they all seemed to be running from the same power source
so the light was even lower, basically pathing lights. Flickers started to shine in the lights, soft
plaps sounding on my jacket as well, I needed to get this going or find another time.

Reaching the door I softly turned the wrought iron handle, it creaked even though I was careful, I
grit my teeth through the entire process before slipping myself inside.

Unlocked and unmanned, confident and stupid. I breathed in heavily through my teeth as I
remembered, not unmanned, I'd heard there was someone out the front, I'm the fucking idiot and
I'd just snuck in here by what I'm guessing to be the side entrance seeing as I'm not face to face
with someone.

Fast, very fast look and then I'm cracking that door and bolting back to the wall. I pulled the
rechargeable, wind up torch out of my jacket pocket and turned it on to try and break some of the
darkness, the light was low but hey, I can't remember the last time I'd seen batteries. The first thing
the torch played across were various shelves of nick nacks, empty bottles, cans, a knife. The dust in
the room filtered the light shining from the torch as it continued moving across the room. I stepped
a bit further inside when the smell hit me.

A rank smell of death and decay that made me gag, lifting my jacket sleeve to my nose to try and
block the smell as I tried to break through the gloom with my weak light. A steel slab dominated a
corner of the room, against a wall that separated one side of the warehouse from the other, except it
wasn't just steel. It was strewn with gore of all colours, orange, red, yellow. Various tools were
arrayed around, knives, scalpels, even some needles. I held my arm closer to my face as I inched
closer, picking up some of the needles and vials.

These people had raided a pharmacy somewhere; morphine, formaldehyde, ketamine, so many
different things. But why preserver? There was a rustle behind me and I spun around, the hand
covering my mouth darting down to grab my gun at my waist in an instant, holding it out.

The noise was coming from the other side of the wall. I sidestepped to get the view of the room in
my sights, slowly easing around the wall, my light moving around softly, I didn't see a reason to
turn it off at this point, if I was found it didn't matter. Perhaps I was stupid but I was mostly
terrified, it took everything I had to keep my gun from shaking violently and to hold my breathing
steady.

The light ran across the wall, not seeing anything except the slate grey of concrete, moisture stains
running the walls. The torch went lower and caught something yellow and brown, I nearly jumped
out of my skin.

The torch shone over long coils, stretched out and pinned to the ground with tarp. Moving to the
upper body most of her armour had been stripped away though she had still had an undershirt on.
The telltale hood armour had been removed and her neck was pulled close to her chest, a cloth tied
around her eyes, tape wrapped around her snout to keep her mouth closed and even a slip of tape
covering the front of her lips, her arms were tied rigid behind her back.
I'd seen Vipers before but never this close, we hadn't encountered many except some passers by,
and some... others.

Something was off about her though, it also didn't explain how she had come to be here. Her head
moved slightly when the light shone over her face as I inspected her. She was very lightly coloured
compared to the others I had seen, her skin appearing to be coming apart, before I understood.

She was in the middle of shedding. Then everything else started to make sense in horrifying detail.

They're waiting for her to finish shedding so they can make a trophy from her

I felt bile rising in my throat just thinking about it and before I knew it I was moving forwards to
her and leaning down. She tucked her head in further to her chest knowing someone was there.
How could people do this to someone who was clearly terrified? I gingerly reached up to the cloth
around her face, the knot coming undone in my fingers and slipping away to reveal bright crimson
eyes. Wide with fear but sharp with concentration under that permanent frown she sported from the
shape of her head. I held up my hands in front of me as she regarded me, her look had changed, like
she was evaluating me as someone unexpected.

“Do you understand me?” I softly spoke, keeping my hands raised. She slowly nodded her head in
response, “Good, now I'm going to untie you and then we need to leave, please don't bite me” I
said, adding a little bit of a smile out of pure nervousness. Her eyes widened more but she nodded
in understanding. I decided to start with the tape, kneeling down to her tied down height and
moving closer I slowly began pulling the strip off of the front of her mouth. No sooner than I had
her long forked tongue flicked out to taste the air, brushing alongside my neck and making me
flinch back in shock.

“Careful please” She quickly pulled her tongue back in in compliance, her eyes downcast while I
worked. I undid the tape from around her snout, the tape pulling off the loose skin that was ready
to come off as it did, “This doesn't hurt does it?” I could only think of pulling hairs out by the same
method but she shook her head slowly, looking back up at me with a soft expression, which might
have been confusion? I finished pulling the tape off and threw it aside, she kept her mouth closed
as I moved onto cutting the restraints on her arms, retrieving my knife from my waistband to cut
through it, purposefully making it somewhat jagged. Only once they were free did she reach up to
her mouth and start exercising her jaw, popping it in and out of place. I tried my best to ignore it,
when it was fully open her fangs reflexively stretched out and it was almost as if her face was
splitting in half with how far back her jaw line went. More skin split through this and I pulled my
eyes from her to work on her tail.

They were really careful on this part of her, but Id seen vipers before and understood why, these
coils killed people. They had her strapped down in a way that her muscles were pushed in the
opposite direction, like holding a crocodiles mouth closed, I made sure to cut these jagged as well.
Hopefully giving the slight impression they were torn or done in panic. When free she pulled
herself forwards and coiled up, flexing her muscles in and out, I had no idea how long she must
have been tied there, hopefully not too long.

“Can you travel?” I spoke quietly, Keeping myself level with her as she stretched.

“Weak...” she spoke from the front of her mouth, as if she wasn't used to it but knew the words, her
voice was very soft but pleasant.

“Can travel” She finished by looking at me softly, her tongue flicking out again before that look of
confusion crossed her features again, her tongue flicking out faster as she looked past me. I turned
around slowly, my hand moving to my waist to see someone in the dark of the room, wide eyed and
pointing a gun straight at us.
 Chapter 2

I was frozen in my half crouch, my side facing the man and my hand still hovering above the gun
at my belt. I risked a look at the viper, my eyes moving over to her. She was frozen as well, even
her tongue had stopped flicking out of her mouth, red eyes focused.

“H-hands up, slowly, both of you” he stammered out at us, he was just as terrified, rapidly shifting
the gun between us. The dim light from my torch catching the metal as it shifted. I moved the hand
from my waist and slowly raised them both, turning to face him. A gun fight at this point would be
death, we'd be surrounded very quickly by a bunch of drunk, and what I'd now consider to be
fanatic, armed combatants. I tried to hide my surprise when the viper did the same next to me,
slithering a little closer slowly to be beside me. The gun rattled in his grip as he shook it, “That's
enough... No more moving”, He was almost on the edge of a panic attack going by his voice.
Maybe he truly was green and they were trying to toughen him up by guarding a viper, as
defenseless as she was. We stood there for almost a minute, the sound of the rain outside steadily
increasing past a drizzle, he was sweating even in the cold, eyes like pinpricks. Enough time had
passed, I couldnt risk those people coming back and finding me – us, now.

“Listen” I breathed out softly. His gun immediately tracked to me and my breath caught but had to
continue, swallowing in a dry mouth, “Just put the gun down, no one wants to get hurt, we're just
going to leave” God I was a bad negotiator. He shook his head vehemently

“I-I was told to watch it and I can't let it go, I'd be called a coward... kicked out of the camp” His
breathing was becoming heavy, “Can't do it, already threw in when we broke away”. I was thinking
fast, thinking of ways to distract him, maybe the viper would pick up on it and go in.

Though this guy was young and didn't need to die, he was obviously confused. I wondered if he'd
ever even been trained in anything. The way he was speaking it sounded like letting us go would
mean his death, or close enough to it. I couldn't back out now though.

“My name is Nathan, what about yours?” I ventured slowly, He swallowed, not knowing if he
should answer or not.

“Chris...” He breathed out eventually.

“Ok then Chris, take me prisoner, add me to the collection” He groaned at this, almost a whine and
at that point I realised just how young this kid was, he didn't want to hurt anyone, so I pushed it.

"It's alright, I surrender” I put my hands in front of me and slowly moved forwards, carrying the
last piece of tarp I had. I heard the viper hiss beside me softly, if in anger or just to let me know I
was stupid I wasn't sure. He kept the gun pointed at me but lowered one of his hands, feeling a bit
more comfortable taking directions rather than demanding anything himself. The gun lowered
slightly so I could get a decent look at it, I walked slowly and he held out his hand.

I quickly shifted forwards and grabbed the top of the pistol sliding the rack backwards just as he
was about to pull the trigger, he was too shocked to yell as I twisted it in his grip causing him to
drop it the floor, the left side of my body pushing into him, my left hand wrapping around him to
put him in a head lock. He panicked and lifted his arms up, leaving my other hand free to cover his
mouth.

He was green, and not well fed it seems if his frame was anything to go by. He instantly gave up at
this point which surprised me, his body going slack in my grip as he let all of the air in his lungs
out in a long sigh.

I was facing back towards the Viper, in the scuffle the light had fallen to the floor and she was no
longer illuminated though her bright red eyes shone in the dark. She had lifted herself up as if to
move forwards but must have stopped half lunge when I had already got him.

“Now” I whispered into his ear, loud enough to be heard by the Viper, “I'm sorry I had to do that
but we cant be here, if you tell the others no one else was here, I'll do my best to make this look
like something you couldn't have prevented, I really am sorry for what's about to happen next” I
looked out at the viper and nodded towards his arm, “Bite him”

He instantly locked up and started struggling again, trying to whine through his mouth but I had
him locked up and instead of actually trying to break my hold his legs were kicking out wildly,
slipping on the floor, he kicked the torch and it skittered across the floor in a wild circle,
illuminating the whole scene in a great circle before resting on the approaching viper as she
hesitantly slithered forwards.

“Just a little though, don't kill him” I added just in case she didnt get the message, this information
didnt seem to settle him down though and he continued to protest in vain, I could feel tears and
snot move down my hands as he started to lose control. I used my grip on him to twist his head
away from her as she grabbed his arm, holding it out. She Looked back at me with apprehension,
she really didn't want to do this.

“I'm sorry but it needs to look like you got out of here alone, a random runaway Viper is less of a
concern for these people than conspirators breaking into camps, I don't know what they'll do if that
were the case” It didn't matter that my hostage heard what I said, he was too busy losing his mind
about the situation. She nodded to me, steeling her eyes as her jaw opened, fangs extending.
Holding him steady she made it quick, driving her fangs into his forearm with a loud squelch of
flesh giving way. Almost instantly his body fell limp in my arms, a complete dead weight. She
quickly retracted her fangs, scrunching up his sleeve to cover the wounds and help them clot.

“Wow, that works fast” I started to lower his body, moving my hand to his waist to feel for a blade,
grabbing a small knife there I threw it over near where the Viper was tied up to clatter in the
darkness. looking back up at her, her amber eyes looking at me with now what I definitely
recognised as confusion.

“I didn't start injecting him with venom, he just... Passed out”. I couldn't help but stifle a chuckle
which made her tilt her head.

“Well I guess that's a good thing, at least he'll wake up better later. But now, we need to get out of
here as fast as possible” She looked down before up and nodding at me again, already making her
way to the door but I reached after her, grabbing her shoulder, she turned sharply and I removed my
hand from her scales. “W-wait, we need to keep the charade up, you need to follow me out,
running over my footprints with your, uh, tail” she looked down at her long tail, giving it a twist.

“It's raining” she said, looking back up. I conceded that point.

“Just to be sure, please?” She looked at me for a moment before nodding again slowly, moving
aside and letting me walk past her towards the door. “Don't look around in the next room, just
follow me” I added moving past her.

“I know what was done here, I can smell it” She finished with a low hiss in her throat, I twisted
back a little with concern.
“There's nothing we can do about that right now except get you out of here and away from these
people” She looked a little taken aback, rearing up on her tail slightly before her eyes refocused and
she nodded with more conviction. I nodded back, hiding my own surprise, for such a creature to be
so concerned was a foreign concept. I was used to a Muton but not a Viper, and you'd be lucky to
get any reaction out of him a lot of the time.

I eased the door open, the sound of the rain drowning out the sound this time as the metal groaned.
I listened through the patter in the street. The voices in the distance drowned out, which made me
more panicked, at least when I could hear them I had some idea of where they were.

I reached behind me, holding my hand out so we could get out of here, after a moment I had to look
back though, forgetting for a moment I wasn't dealing with a human. She stood there on a coil
looking at my hand, then back up at my eyes

“I have nothing to hand you”. Again I chuckled, this was absurd.

“I'm holding my hand out for you to take it and follow me, you said you were weak”. Her tongue
flicked out of her mouth rapidly for a moment as she hesitated.

“I can follow you adequately”. My hand closed slowly.

“Fine” After all she had been through with people so far I probably couldn't blame her, “But if you
need help just say so”, she nodded again as I turned back outside. The gloom combined with the
rain drowning out the meagre illumination produced by the under powered floodlights, I had a
decent idea of the way back to the wall but we'd have to be fast, I had no idea how long Chris
would be passed out for.

“Alright, let's go” I made a move, not running to splash around in the mud, the pavement long ago
having given way to nature. I couldn't hear the Viper behind me so I turned and like I told her, she
was right behind me, following my footsteps, her movements were just so quiet she couldn't be
heard. I had to remind myself she wasn't chasing me, having a giant snake slithering after me was
unnerving.

Like getting into the compound, the way out was clear and the wall was in sight. Getting there, I
pressed my side against it, looking now for a side that the viper could slither up, but she seemed to
have already found an area suitable and was dragging herself up, taking time in places though to
ease the rest of her tail into position before breathing heavily, like a rasping hiss, before she went to
the next hold. Her tail slipped in places and she'd have to spend a moment dragging it back up
again before she could start on the next ledge, far from the lithe and limber movement I'd seen
from Vipers when they'd scaled objects before.

She was in worse shape than she let on and now it was showing. I started clambering up the wall
and quickly overtook her just, as the compound went completely dark.

I stopped near the top of the wall, atop a half wrecked loader, looking back into the compound. It
was completely black and quiet, the rain clouds above blocking out all light, the only sound was of
the rain falling on the metal around us as we froze. In the distant pitch various stablights started to
turn on, shining up into the sky and out in random directions, moving about rapidly.

“Shit” Now it was time to really move. I quickly clambered up to the top and lay on my stomach in
the wet, reaching down.

“Come on, we need to leave, now!” She looked up at me and my hand but understood the urgency
and reached up, the long fingers of her hand slipping into mine, the scales slippery in the wet but
her grip strong, I tried to help pull her up but she was exceedingly heavy, her long tail almost
completely muscle. I could see the effort in her red eyes, still managing to shine in the darkness as
she heaved herself up, flicking her tail around to heap it next to me and pull the rest up. The metal
gave a little under her weight and she slipped, reflexively gripping me hard. Her long claws
punctured my forearm, making me gasp but I couldn't let go of her even if I wanted to so I grit my
teeth and pulled her back up.

When she was up she slipped her claws out of me, the warmth of blood running freely down my
arm to be washed away in the deluge. I grunted from the pain but that could wait, I couldn't see the
expression on her face but she was leaning closer to me, as if to see if I were ok before looking over
the edge.

“Yeah now the hard part, getting back down again” I moved to the edge and started to climb down,
she took this much easier, slipping her coils over each ledge to just flop onto the next. When the
way beneath her was clear enough she simply fell off, catching the bulk of her body with her tail
like a spring before she waited for me.

It took what all the concentration I had to not slip, my injured arm giving way more than once, just
how deep did those claws go into me? I reached the bottom and gave a sigh, she came up next to
me, slowly as if it pained her after the climb

“Are you well?”, her voice was soft with concern.

“I'm fine, we need to get going” I looked back up, random lights were shining over the wall in
searching arcs every now and again, the rain seemed to have covered our tracks like she said, I
turned back to her “You made that climb down look easy”

I rubbed my arm as I moved forwards again, I'd need to stem the bleeding if it didnt stop on it's
own. Out there in the woods was Maverick, the stubborn bastard wouldn't have moved an inch in
that time if I knew him. We needed to get out there and meet up with him before these guys got
antsy and started moving out here despite the weather, if they even cared about her at all other than
her being some ornament for them, the thought still made me sick, I couldn't believe what-

“Nathan...”

I was shocked she remembered my name, I'd only said it once. I turned around, seeing those red
eyes in the dark, what little light there was shining off her dulled orange and yellow scaling. The
undershirt she wore torn from the metal and covered in grime, weighed down by the water so that
it stuck to her. She looked at me with wide amber eyes, her tongue flicking out before she tilted her
head and looked down

“Help... Please”

I moved back to her as she tried to move forwards, her movements laboured, she might have
reached her threshold. I grabbed her arm steadily as I got there, she let it up easy, letting me put it
around my shoulder.

“Hold on then, we just need to get beyond treeline” I took her weight on me and started trudging
forwards, “You shouldn't feel bad about asking for help” She didn't answer, she just meekly
slithered behind to try and help move her forwards. Her long neck and head resting across my
shoulder as she held on, both arms wrapped around my chest from above, she could be tall when
she wanted to be.

It wasn't that different to helping someone unable to walk properly except it had more of a rhythm
to it as her tail went from left to right. The wet grass and mud made it much easier as we left the
asphalt and roadworks behind, coming back into the regrown woods. The rain was coming down
heavier now, it was hitting her hood and sliding down so that only one side of my head was getting
really wet, I tried not to concentrate on it.

Scanning the line in the darkness I spied movement and stopped in my tracks, The Viper's tail
catching up to her and pushing her torso into the back of me as she stopped herself, scanning the
woods now as well, she must have closed her eyes at some point as we were moving. The shape in
the woods started to form and looked about 3 times the size of a person and I physically eased,
seeing the familiar shape of Maverick making his way out of the woods towards us, gun raised.
The distinctive green glow of the plasma weapon illuminating his silhouette in the darkness

Oh shit, This probably doesn't look the best. I pulled my torch from my jacket, still dripping wet
and tapped the Vipers hands with it, flicking it on

“Here, hold this, quickly”, She gripped it without letting go of me as I started signing out into the
dark.

'it's ok, it's ok', blood flowed down my hand as I'd brought it up, it hadn't stopped bleeding yet. He
slowed down, not lowering the gun, the dull green glow from the plasma charge started to dissipate
though, his yellow eyes tracking the Viper draped across me.

'She's hurt, the people there had killed many'. He looked down on me and then back up at the
Viper, spurting something in a language I didn't understand. She responded in the same language
but it was laboured and in a higher cadence rather than the guttural voice of Maverick, I quickly
interrupted

“Hey, don't talk to her, talk to me” I spoke as I signed. He slung the gun onto his back.

'I was just warning her' his thick fingers spoke to me.

'I'm touched but I'll be fine, can you give me my satchel please, I need some of your food as well'
He didn't question me, he never did. He simply looped the satchels from off of his back and started
transferring things between them, his sheer bulk protecting the contents from the rain. When done
he got up and passed mine to the viper, who let it fall over her neck.

'Thank you, now we need to leave, we'll meet you back at home. I need you to find where the road
leads to this place and sign it like the others, make sure you aren't seen and if you are, at least
make a bit or a racket and run to keep them away from us' I sighed with a smile, we had done this
too many times, 'and be careful, please'. I don't think the people in the compound we're going to go
out on the look out for a random unarmed Viper but they might just be crazy or vindictive enough,
you never could tell.

It was best that none of us were around this place for long. Maverick nodded and lent down,
callously ripping a piece of my jacket off and tying it around my arm where the bleeding was,
smearing some blood onto his hand he reached up and smeared it across my cheek. I still have no
fucking idea why he insists on doing that.

'yes yes, now please go, I'll see you at home. 2 days' I signed in exasperation. He nodded, slinging
his gun around he made off for the direction of the road, making sure to stay as far away from the
compound as he could. I watched him go, the weight of the viper shifting on my back possibly to
remind me she was still even there.

"You trust him" She spoke softly, like she couldn't believe the scenario.
"I do, he won't get himself hurt even if they spot him. Muton's are much faster than we are. I
would even say that none of them would have been killed if they weren't happy running directly at
people most of the time" I chuckled which made her twitch again.

"And he trusts you" I guess that might be a bit odd, humans and Mutons weren't seen in the same
groups as far as I'd come across.

"Yeah he does, what makes you say that though?" I quizzically tilted my head to try and see her
better but just managed to rub my cheek into her neck.

"He left you alone with me, he trusts you like one of his packmates" she shifted a little, pressing
herself in so that I wouldnt have to bear so much of her weight.

I feigned coughing, none of these aliens had a sense of personal space. It was true though, at least
he could have offered to carry her but he left me to do what I'd decided to do.

“Yes well, we've got a bit of travelling from here, there's a river a few hours from here, we can't
afford to stay any closer to this place. We'll stop for the night and continue in the morning after
you've rested a bit, can you manage that far?” I could feel her neck move on the side of my head.

“Yes, I will manage”. I started forwards again, the covering of the woods helping to protect from
the rain. A thought came to me as we were moving though, “What did you say back to Maverick
when he threatened you?” I could hear a hissing noise that kept cutting short for a moment before I
realised it might be a Vipers form of a laugh.

“You'll have to ask him when you see him”

 Chapter 3

The only interruptions to our travel were some slow rumbles in the distance as we had first set off.
I couldn't tell if it was thunder or some rather familiar plasma fire, I really hoped for the former, we
spent too long messing around making them think the viper had made her own way out just for
Maverick to stumble across some men in then wild. It was slow going, the Viper for her part was
moving along languidly, she would fall asleep every now and again but it didn't slow her down,
like the rhythmic pulses of her tail were subconscious actions. Working with a Muton everyday had
me in good shape but she was starting to slow me down, I was getting tired too after a few hours
into the trek. I took a look at our surroundings, I had an inclination of where we were headed but I
needed daylight to look for landmarks. The rain had let up to a drizzle but it was still unpleasant.
There were a few collapsed trees around that looked like they'd support a tarp. Finding a mostly dry
area underneath a large tree I reached up and softly pat the side of the Viper's hood, she instantly
opened her jaw, fangs outstretched, hissing loudly.

“Woah! hey hey, I'm just letting you know we're setting up here for the night” My heart had nearly
burst through my chest, her head was so close to mine. She settled as her hiss went down into a
mild rattle, her mouth coming back together softly

“Dozing... On edge. Apologies” She pulled herself off of my shoulder. Unwrapping her arms from
my chest to sit atop her coils.

“Yeah I get that, you've been in and out for a while now” my heart rate was coming back down, I
needed the bag she was still holding around her neck but I think I'd just ask for it this time.

“The bag you've got, can I have it please?” She nodded up a little, reaching up to her neck to pull it
off, handing it over to me. She seemed to be calming down as well. I can only imagine what she'd
been through. In fact I didn't really have to, I'd been tied up not knowing what was going to happen
to me as well. “Thanks, now relax, I'll set this up and we can get you to have a proper sleep. For
now though, I have something else for you” Her head picked up a little bit to look at what I was
reaching for. Underneath the tarp and various hiking items in the bag they were a few waxed
packages. One of the items Maverick had put in there. Her tongue was flicking in and out now,
more alert, that was good.

I pulled out a small light and forced it into the ground for some small area of illumination to help
me see what I was doing as I set the packages out.

Unwrapping the package, inside were a few solid bars of what looked like solid cereal, milk
included, but stained gore red. The smell of meat hit the air, the tongue reaction of the Viper
becoming faster. I thought for a moment, pulling out one of the bars and taking a bite of it, holding
in my mild distaste for the things just to show her it wasn't poisonous. I held the package out to her
and she gingerly took it, flicking her tongue over them.

“What are they?” Her large crimson eyes looked up at me, like she was just waiting for an excuse
to eat.

“They're basically rendered fat with bits of meat formed into a bar and dried” I sighed,
remembering the unpleasant smells, “Maverick needs a lot of fuel to get going and he seems to like
them so everything we catch gets most of itself rendered down. They're red because I mix tomatoes
in there. They grow all over the place and I don't know if you guys” I looked at her almost
apologetically, “Uh, I mean his guys, need vitamin C but it can't hurt right?” She flickered her
tongue across them, bringing them closer to her mouth. “They're all fat, protein and a bit of sugar
so it should make you feel bett-” Saying more didn't seem to be needed as she just pushed a whole
bar into her maw. Mulling it over a little before swallowing.

“Better than nutrient pastes, strange feeling” She seemed a bit perked up, I wondered how long
since she'd eaten anything.

“Strange texture, that's the word you're looking for. It's because it's mostly fat” I reached back into
the bag and pulled out a set of tarps and string. “Don't eat too many, we don't know how they'll
make you feel yet” I put the bigger tarps to the side and moved a smaller one out into the rain,
finding a small divet in the ground to dig out a little. When it was roughly even I put the tarp down,
it immediately started collecting clear rain water into a small pool. Now for the shelter.

As I turned, the Viper wasn't where I left her though, she was with the string and tarp, making a
small tent with what little tarp I had left. A simple triangular frame drawn tight to a tree, one end
and two sides pinned to the ground, only one opening with a smaller tarp over it to fold over the top
and close it off. All done in the little light of the torch stabbed into the ground.

“There's a small blanket in the bag as well” I could only really watch her slither about efficiently
putting everything in place, she looked down at the bag intently to reach for the blanket, spreading
it out inside. It was little more than an emergency blanket but better than nothing. I was amazed she
was moving at all, that food wasn't magic. Maverick was the same sometimes though, he'd be
halfway to death and then up again after only a few hours. What did the elders do to these
creatures?

“Stop, stop” I held up my hands and she froze. “You should be resting, you were barely moving
here. Come get some water and then lay down, we still have travelling in the morning” She had
that weird confused look on her features again and slowly slithered over. Moving past the light I
could see a lot more of her skin had come off, leaving vibrantly coloured patches where the new
scales were shining through.

I turned back to the pool, reaching down and cupping some, bringing it to my face. Fresh rain
water was always good. The viper laid down on her stomach, keeping her shoulders and chest off
the floor like she was halfway through a push up. Her long neck and hood stretched out as she
dipped the front of her snout into the pool. Her eyes closed and neck undulating, just drinking in
big gulps straight from the pool. With her hood so flared I could get a decent look at her chevron
patterning, stretched all the way across the hood leading down her neck into the back of her torn
undershirt. The differently coloured scales shining with moisture, the rain beading off her or
collecting gently where the skin was coming off. I caught myself staring as she peacefully drank
and turned away, slightly embarrassed with myself.

I walked softly over to the tent, taking off my jacket and putting it on the dry side of the tree the
tarp was tied to.

I ran my hands over the puncture wounds, they had long stopped bleeding but needed some
cleaning and bandaging. My bag was at the front of the awning, I reached inside for my
ramshackle first aid kit, finding some simple bandaging, unstitched from larger clothes and boiled
to have some form of cleanliness. Wiping my arm down I wrapped it up, pinning it tight.

The rain had almost completely let up now, the only dripping was coming from the leaves when
they were rustled by the mild breeze. I reached down to my pants to take them off to hang up to dry
as well, my hand brushing past my pistol and I froze, my mind running frantically for a moment.

What was I doing?

Maybe I had gotten complacent by being around Maverick for so long or maybe because she was
so tired and worn out, but I was here, considering resting with a Viper I knew nothing about, she
could kill me at any time. She had perfect opportunity before now though, her head was literally on
my neck for a few hours, it would only take one bite. I swallowed nervously.

“We need to talk” a voice spoke softly behind me, only a mild trace of a hiss, she still breathed out
a little too much when speaking. I spun around quickly, she was 2 metres from me, sitting atop her
coils, her hands on top of one another over her pelvis. She moved so quietly when she needed to.
Her crimson gaze stared at me, then slowly down to my hand on my hip, still hanging over my gun.

“We do...” I spoke just as quietly, my hand slowly moving away from my gun. Moving to the lip of
the tent to sit on the dry patch of ground, her eyes never leaving mine.

“Do you mind if I dry off a bit first?” She asked, tilting her head a bit. That was an odd question, I
didn't have any towels.

“Sure, feel free” I motioned with my hand, brows raised in confusion, which became shock as she
pulled her top straight off. I made a little effort to look away from her slightly. She didn't seem
fussed but it just seemed... Wrong to watch her. Out of the corner of my eye I could still see her
though, she rung her shirt out next to her, then started using it as a rag to wipe down the rest of her,
wringing it out every now and again. What would be her breasts seemed quite firm, matching her
toned stomach and sides. They weren't small or large, they were just there. No nipples but larger
scales moving across them. Splitting across off of the large chevron shapes moving down her neck.
They were obviously a little pliable because they moved when she wiped them. I started to get a
little antsy, my foot tapping idly. She seemed to finish up, inspecting herself, sliding her long
fingers over some loose skin, pulling it off idly and dropping it next to her, before wringing her
shirt one last time and just putting it on the tree next to my jacket.

Oh great so it's just gonna be like this

“Well” I breathed in, looking back at her, a tight lipped smile on my face as I tried to just
concentrate on her bright red eyes, “All done then?” She nodded.

“Yes, thank you. Other humans normally put us away when we needed to clean” That made my
head cock, but one thing at a time.

“Before we start, do you have a name?” I enquired gently. Her eyes darted from mine to her lap,
her long fingers wringing around each other as if I'd just asked her darkest secret.

“Kaylee...” She whispered eventually, looking back up at me. “I chose it for myself but nobody
called me that, I was just Kay”

“Kaylee, well, you heard my name is Nathan but it's actually Nathaniel” I saw her mouthing the
'aniel' part, as if trying to get a taste for it. “What would you like me to call you though?” This
question caught her off guard and her neck stiffened a little before relaxing.

“Kay is fine, is it normal for your full name to sound-” She looked around for the right word “Odd
when other people say it after others have been using the shorter name?” That made me laugh
which surprised her again. I remembered old family dinners, events, bad occasions. Nathaniel,
what the fuck did you do. Nathaniel, this is your mother. Nathaniel, dinner is ready. The last one
made me smile.

“It depends who says it. It can mean the world if the right person is saying it, that person is
important enough to know who you really are. Sounds weird but it's hard to explain” She could
only nod a little, trying to wrap her head around it. “Anyway” I slapped my knees lightly, “What
are we discussing Kay?” I was a little uneasy still, talking about names softened the mood up a
little. She looked at me softly after I used her name but the usual permanent scowl took its place
again quickly.

“Why? Why were you there, why help me?” She wanted to ask more, to just blurt it all out but
stopped herself, her head moving back on her neck to sit up a little straighter.

“Two questions, but ok” I sat back a little as well to match her posture, keeping my eyes on hers.
The way she was sitting poked her chest out more and I had to ignore it. “First question - Maverick
and I were tracking a group of men on our usual circuits around, they were sloppy but fresh.
Ragtag. There had been more like them and we'd looked at each in the past, some were ok, other
were monsters. One group held me prisoner when I knocked at what passed for their gate.
Anyway, we needed to know which sort of people these were. We found out” I took a breath
through my teeth, “I helped you because those people were in the monster category. No one should
be taken prisoner like that, least of all to be made into something” It still made me feel sick
thinking about it, “It's disgusting, and you needed help. So I did” I spread my hands out earnestly.

“It could be seen as a weakness, being naive” Kay spoke quietly, not turning away. I shrugged.

“It's who I am” I looked up through the trees absently, the clouds had started to move past, a soft
blue from the moon piercing the trees gently, “Now I get two, where did you come from and why
were you in that compound?” Kay shivered slightly and looked down at my hands, not meeting my
eyes.

“After the fall of ADVENT we were lost. A piece of my mind that used to talk to me and make me
so sure was no longer there, things that I had done came back to me, who I was with became
apparent. Most of us panicked and split into groups” She took a deep breath. Steadying herself a
little.

“Maverick told me much the same” She nodded, her breathing becoming more regular.

“Some of my sisters, a sectoid and a few Advent troopers had to leave the base we were stationed
at. No food, no aim. Messages on the radio, more bases being taken. After wandering we found a
human encampment and surrendered to them. We were promised refuge, it was something to be
happy about after being aimless” She caught her breath again, speaking for so long must be new to
her but she was adapting.

“We were put into buildings, told this was to keep us away from sight so that any other passing
humans didn't mistake the camp for traitors while things were still volatile - made sense. But not
all of us were there, the sectoid went missing” She sighed heavily, finally looking back up to me.
“We were taught - books, television, old broadcasts. We thought we were being prepared for a
new world, one without the conflicts and the voices in our heads. We had heard everything on the
radio about the cities of peace” She waited expectantly.

“City 31” I filled in. It had been over various bands. But that was basically unreachable, a pipe
dream. She nodded.

“Yes, we were told there would be more cities, closer cities, they just needed time. We were lied
to, our education to placate us and keep us hoping” Her tongue flicked out and her mouth pulled
down into a little snarl “We were a back up plan. In case Advent reformed, the humans could
claim they gave refuge to their troops and claim asylum, we were never leaving those warehouses.
We assumed the sectoid was killed, he would have gleaned this information far easier than we did
in our restlessness” I made to speak, to ask more but she beat me to it, spilling it all out now that
she had started.

“The camp must have been getting low on food. Some of us disappeared. Being moved to other
camps I was told. When it was my time I smelt it on them, the apprehension” She flicked her
tongue out in emphasis, “They were armed, and I ran. I slipped too easily through the woods” Her
hood drooped in sadness. “I was the last of my sisters, I can only hope they escaped as well. They
didnt even try to chase me, like they were glad I was gone” She had this look of overwhelming
sadness. Her mouth drooping a little, her eyes downcast. “I never found any others as I wandered,
even as I circuited the encampment. They were either dead or had fled” I didn't know what to say,
there was nothing I could do to comfort her, I'd need to move over to her and she seemed so
vulnerable, like it would shock her more than anything.

“Kay...” She looked up, stopping me with her gaze

“I moved for a long time, living off small game. Coming to the camp where you found me, I was
bound and put into one of their rooms. I wasn't even armed, I went willingly. After spending time
there, I was ready for what was coming. Maybe my people were all due for it, I didn't know. I was
scared, but prepared to meet my end. I am a soldier, even without the voices in my head I knew
every mission could mean my death” She glared at me, I was locked in place by that piercing gaze.
Illuminated in the darkness.

“Then you came” She half smiled, cocking her head a little. “I followed orders because it's what I'd
consigned myself to. I didn't think we'd actually get out of there. And if I did, that I was just
trading one imprisonment for another” She gestured in front of her like she was trying to hold
something. “And then I saw the Muton” She sighed

“Maverick” I didn't even realise I'd interrupted, I'd automatically corrected her and my hand slipped
up to my mouth. But she nodded fiercely.

“Maverick! He had a name, you use it fondly! He was there, waiting and even tried to protect you”
Her posture slackened a bit as she eased. “I felt the last piece of hope I must possess” She put a
hand over her chest, “If he weren't there I would have slipped away from you, tried moving on
again. Perhaps to my death” she smiled fully now “But things changed” Her head arched down, her
neck swinging from left to right as she thought, looking at me again.

“My last question, what is your plan?” I looked at her dumbly, I didn't even know how to follow
that all up. She'd bared her heart to me. I could only be honest with her as well.

“To survive. We don't have a community, it's just Maverick and I” She looked a little downcast at
this, perhaps expecting some utopian little village hidden in the wilds somewhere. “But, as I said
we look at people who are around, to find more like us, or people that might want to be” I shrugged
my shoulders, “So far we haven't found any. We have a home, but only we live there, maybe if we
could find somewhere it would change. For now, living is enough” She was lost in thought for a
moment, contemplating the new scenario.

“So what was your plan with me?” She asked gently, her tongue flicking out slowly. I shrugged
again.

“I didn't have a plan, it was a spur of the moment kind of thing” her eyes were still locked to mine,
waiting for a definitive answer, one I couldn't give her. “As for what you want to do, that's up to
you. You're welcome to come back with us and our shamble of a plan to find somewhere to live. Or
you're obviously free to leave whenever you want” She raised her hand to her neck, rubbing it
gently.
“A choice?”

“Everyone deserves a choice” My heavy eyelids were catching up with me now. I reached down
and pulled the gun off my waist, Kay's eyes widened as she followed my movements but I just
placed it under the front section of blanket that was covering the ground, “Just for protection, don't
know who's wandering the woods” I scratched my neck, trying to think of something to say to her,
“Thank you for telling me everything, I wish I could say something to you to make you feel better,
to comfort you, maybe Maverick and I can even go looking for more survivors from your group if
you decide to leave? After organising everything, maybe the group has changed? We're always
wandering” I scratched at my arm and then stopped myself. Don't touch it.

“My choice now is to go to bed and I can set off in the morning, you can choose to leave now, or
come with me. I don't have my gun” I raised my hands, “and even if I did you could probably kill
me anyway” Saying that brought me back to the fact that she's essentially a giant snake. Her story
and conviction had made her seem so vulnerable, but I kept my hands away from my gun, I'd
committed myself now. “You're free to leave or you can stay for as long as you need to, even if it's
just to heal up” Kay still sat there on her coils, that look of confusion but mixed with something
else, indecision? I wasn't familiar enough with Vipers to read her properly. I motioned to the torch.

“Can I turn this off please?” Her reverie didn't break, but her tail coiled over to it, wrapping it up
and putting it into her waiting hands. Shining on her scaly body one last time before it flicked off.
“Thank you” It was like I could still see her red eyes in the darkness, the soft blue light from the
moon gently waving across the forest, filtered through the trees. I tried not to just absolutely panic
and eased out of my wet pants, putting them over the string holding the tarp up, slowly backing
myself into the tarp cover. My socks scrunching into the end of the tarp as I laid my head down on
my rough bundle, trying to slow down my heart beat. She hadn't moved as far as I could tell.

Then she did. For once, in the stillness of night I heard her move. Uncoiling and slithering but I
couldn't tell where. In the darkness things sound like they're all around you, then I felt a tongue and
some scales on my shoulder and almost abandoned my skin. I controlled myself as she moved over
me. She kept sliding down the my left until her head was as far as it would go before doubling
back on my right, bringing herself up to my shoulder. Laying her neck on my back, her chin on my
shoulder. The rest of her tail managing to pull in, some of it bulging out the sides but the majority
was covered.

She was surprisingly warm, her scales rubbing against my bare skin made me shiver slightly.
Maybe this was just how they all slept? I didn't know but I tried to relax. She didn't say a word, her
tongue stopped flicking in and out, she just eased herself into me, her muscles relaxing as we both
tried to get some rest for the night.
 Chapter 4

The soft rustling of trees woke me up, shaking settled water in the tree above, the droplets landing
on top of the tarp with soft plops. My eyes creaked open, seeing mostly yellow. I blinked rapidly
for a bit trying to remember everything, one of my hands moving slowly to my eyes. Registering a
heavy weight on most of my body made me recall everything again, clearing my eyes I was looking
into Kay's hood, covering part of my head. She was still on my back a bit but most of her body had
coiled in during the night, laying on top of me in places. She still seemed asleep but I couldn't
blame her. I tilted my head up slowly, it was still early morning, dull orange light breaking through
the canopy. A bit of movement made me look a little lower. Some of Kay's tail was in front of my,
squirming a little. The loose skin was almost completely off in places, moving in the breeze to
show the deep colours underneath. Her colours really were quite pretty. I took a breath in and
gently blew on the skin, it flapped around a bit before breaking off, falling to the ground.

“I can feel that you know” I did a double take as the weight on my back moved a little, her head
lifted up a bit, curling around to look at me with some mild amusement on her face. I had to try and
hide the flush of colour to my face by turning a bit but she caught it and chuckled in that Viper
way, a stuttered hiss. I needed a way out of this.

“Yeah, well I can feel most of your weight on me” It was her turn to be shocked, she looked back
at the multiple coils brought into the tent overnight. She wriggled forwards, freeing herself and
moving out of the tent.

“I'm sorry, I didn't realise” I heard from outside, she collected herself together where I couldn't see
her. I stretched myself a bit. Leaning up to grab my pants – mostly dry, good enough.

“It's fine, I'm sure I move in the night too” I sat up to yawn a bit, slipping my pants on before
sitting up and shuffling myself outside into the morning light. She was stretching out herself,
coiling up and relaxing fully left then doing it again to the right. Idly picking off some skin on her
shoulders before trying to move further down her back and failing. She slumped her shoulders a bit,
taking a breath in.

“You were fine, very warm” She turned to me, her front claws poking each other as if she were
struggling for a question. “Could I ask for your help again please?” I nodded to her, though I think I
knew what she wanted.

“You want me to separate the skin on your lower back?” She nodded meekly, her tongue flitting
out. I stood up and started walking over, she turned around to let me see.

“But just that bit, once it's broken I can find a tree and get the rest off myself” She looked behind
her, having to turn a fair bit to see past her hood. I moved up, putting my hands where she was
trying to reach, seeing the seams in the skin there. We sat there for a while as I worked it all loose,
being careful if it got caught anywhere. For her part she sat still, letting me work, sometimes
humming softly. It wasn't a tune I knew, just a simple melody.

“Do you like to sing?” This broke her from her humming

“I never had the chance. There were just times when we weren't in battle and the voices in our head
grew softer. We used to just... make noise with each other” I smiled at that.

“We call that humming, you should try singing when you can, you have a lovely voice. Anyway, I
think that's all loose now” She seemed a bit shocked at the compliment, turning her head again,
looking down at me.

“Thank you” She moved forwards to some more trees, slithering slowly, touching the bark of trees
before thinking and moving to the next. I thought it probably best to leave her to it, turning back
around to grab my shirt off of the line. Moving hers to one side so I could untie the tarp. I think I
might have one that would fit her, the neck was split and work where it had hat to squeeze over her
hood. I'd need something quite big and baggy. I was halfway through folding up the tarps when I
heard heavy scraping out in the woods. Seems like she found her tree. I had packed everything,
leaving out two more of the wax packages before Kay turned back up. She moved through the
trees, the vibrancy of her colours and patterns clearly shining through after being cleaned off
completely. Her red eyes accentuating the flow of her patterns. Now that I could see all of her in
the light properly, it took me back.

“You look good” I say without thinking. God that was bad. But she shone, a smile pulling at the
edges of her maw.

“Really?”

“Uh...Yeah...” I looked around quickly and grabbed her shirt, balling it up and tossing it to her, she
deftly caught it “But you need to get your shirt back on” She smiled and slipped it back over her
head, pulling her hood through it. It was more holes than shirt at this point but better than nothing.
“Now we need to get going, are you feeling more capable today?” She nodded

“Much better” The Ethereals really made these guys heal fast. I stood, moving over to her, holding
out a wax package, the rest of the gear slung over my back, my pistol back at my waist. Before she
took it she looked right at me, that same piercing gaze I got last night.

“I need to ask you one more question” I looked back at her, waiting for her to continue. “You said I
can join you... Do you want me to though?” I was a bit taken aback. I was thinking the offer would
be enough but she wants to see how I feel as well. We were trying to set something up, to find
somewhere to live, to make something. It's easier with less people, but what happens when you
can't find anyone else? Anyone who wants what you want?

“Yes, of course” She stood still a moment, mulling it over before nodding, taking the wax package
from my hand. “I know the way, just follow me” I turned about, unsealing my own package to
reluctantly start eating. She moved behind me, keeping up easily. It was half true, I mostly knew
the way, I needed to see some markers to get our bearings properly.

Every now and again I turned back to her and saw a half formed question on her face, she stopped
herself before asking it each time I looked at her. Sighing

“Is there something else you wanted to ask?” I pushed.

“Where are you from?” She sounded hesitant this time. I don't know if she was afraid of the answer
or just thought it rude to ask. I sighed, I'd have to tell her eventually if we were to work together. I
hopped over a tree in the way, trying to figure out how to put this. She slithered over it to come
face to face with me.

“My parents were military, I have no idea what that involved, I was far too young. I just knew
that's what they did. I spent most of my time with my older sister before the war” I held up my
hands trying to rationalise the situation.

“After the occupation... I was in the resistance with my dad, he helped run a cell. It wasn't by
choice, it's just where I ended up” It was like I was trying to excuse being militant. Kay didn't seem
too phased though. That could make sense, the sides were polarising and she was on the other.

“And your mother?” I turned and kept moving, hearing her begin to follow behind me.

“She was the reason my dad even joined the resistance. I didn't know this for a very long time after
the fact, but she was X-Com” She stopped at this, making me turn to face her. I didn't know what
her expression was now, wonder?

“She helped bring down Advent? Setting my people free?” She hissed out softly, it was wonder in
her face but I had to smile sadly.

“No, she didn't. She was a member during the invasion” Her tongue flicked out in thought, she
knew what that most likely meant, that she was long dead after the world capitulated and X-Com
fell.

“Why did you leave your father?” Her voice was just above a whisper now.

“A great difference of opinion, he was an angry man after everything but I didn't have it in me to
continue a war that was over, I didn't want to fight in the first place but that's something else. I was
taught but not used” I moved over to her and she almost made to back away. I held out my arm that
she had injured, the same gesture I'd given to help her over the wall, after a moment she slipped her
fingers over and grabbed my hand, I smiled “And I don't regret leaving” Her tongue flitted out, she
just looked at me, I couldn't read the gaze now, it had changed again, eyes were wider, her scowl
very soft. I let go of her hand and turned.

“Now come on, you don't have to worry, I hope I've proved that much at least” I could hear her
following me almost instantly. That was good, I never heard her move unless she wanted me to.

We moved in silence for a few hours, she seemed to be thinking over a lot of things. The day
breaking properly before we'd reached something I recognised. The forest we were walking
through breaking into a large field, some lone silos and what was left of a farmstead basking in the
morning sun, overgrown plants in place of crops now surrounded it. The sunlight catching off the
rusted silos, the paint stripped off of them by weather and time, vines weaving in and out of the
remaining metal. The farmhouse itself looked like it had been struck by something large, coming
from above before the whole place had burst into flames.

“We're a little ways off course after fumbling around last night but not too badly” The farmhouse
was north and we needed to head northeast from here, we'd taken a bit of a scenic route to get
back. I could here Kay slithering up behind me, her tongue lapping up the new scents around us

“Down” a rapid hiss from behind me. I dropped, feeling Kay do the same, bringing her coils in
tight to make a small profile, her head moving left and right, tasting the air.

“What is it?” I whispered, turning back to look at the overgrown fields.

“Hybrids” She spoke softly, eyes scanning the horizon, looking for what she could already smell.

“Advent?”

“Can't tell” Between us we only had a pistol, we couldn't get into a fair fight here. I had banked on
this trip including a Muton and a large plasma rifle. For the second time in as many days I wish I
had had my shotgun.

“Are they headed this way?” She concentrated for a moment, her tongue flitting out. Even raising
her head slightly to taste a bit higher.
“Stationary, might be on watch. Small group” Crap, they were out further than usual.

“You remember how I said there were a few groups around this area? A small Advent cell is one
of them” I kept on looking but the sun glare from the silos was stopping me from getting a good
view. “This might not be them but we can't chance it, are you up to a fight if we need to get out of
here in a hurry?” She looked concerned, this may be the first time she'd have had to fight previous
allies. Her head darted suddenly

“I am, but we need to move. The scent is shifting, they may know someone is here”

What? But how?

“We need to get past the farm then” Retreating into the woods behind us to lead them on a chase
and then doubling back was appealing but I had no idea if there were still going to be people on the
other side coming this way, we couldn't risk it. It would start eating into our supplies as well. Kay's
confusion passed just as quickly as it came, her head pointing forward, eyes focused and resolute.
She looked more like the Vipers I had seen before in that moment.

“Stay low and on my outside flank, we need to be quick” She moved to my side, blocking me off
from the farm. Hearing her like this was a shock in itself, after being so vulnerable and consigned. I
squatted next to her and pat her flank, letting her know I was ready. She set off immediately into
the high grass and weeds, I was crouch running beside her. She was sticking close to the ground,
swishing left and right, her torso held off the ground by muscles and momentum. I'm sure she
could move much faster if she wanted but was holding herself back, letting me run beside her. Her
head looking towards the farm every so often, her tongue moving out quicker.

We were almost level with the farmhouse when the first shouting started, a harsh chromatic voice,
like it was doubled on top of itself, speaking a language I didn't understand. Kay lent down close to
me quickly.

“Silo, keep moving, lookout - mid centre” She went to move up slowly, as she did I instinctively
went to as well but she slapped me with her tail to keep me moving. I slowed down to stop the
grasses from moving as much but kept moving, she said to look out for the silo. Kay had moved up
slowly, speaking in Advent with her arms raised. It was the last I saw of her before her shape was
obscured by the growth. I could hear voices speaking, the harsh but almost human troopers and
Kay's sleeker voice. It always sounded as if those double layered voices were yelling and the
Advent language didn't help so I had no idea what they were doing, taking her hostage or just
holding her up. If it were me though, I know I'd just be dead.

The voices were getting louder, definitely more heated as I got to the side of the silo. I looked up
slowly, being this close the glare wasn't shining directly at me. I followed the vines reaching up
the ladder on the side of it, seeing an Advent trooper right at the centre, training his gun back at
where the yelling was coming from.

Jesus Christ, she had seen him up there

He was still wearing his helmet, his focus must be entirely on Kay talking to the rest of them. Now
that I'd seen him I was even more cautious, my heart racing. I pulled my pistol from my waist,
moving around to the back of the stairs. They were old wrought iron which made me grimace,
filled with creepers or not, they'd still squeak under too much pressure. I grabbed the railings,
testing them out gently, they seem stable enough. I started moving up slowly, putting one foot on a
step, most of my weight on the hand railings to try and hold myself aloft before taking the next
step.
I got about halfway up to the position of the trooper before I could get a good look over the field. It
was in stark contrast from the sun shining off of the remaining metal on the silo, everything cast in
a marble hue from the bare parts mixed with the rusted panels. There were two troopers standing
over Kay, she had lowered herself to the ground enough to be less threatening and they were taking
advantage of it. I don't know what they were saying but they were questioning her harshly, safe in
the knowledge that there was someone with a gun overlooking them probably. One was dressed in
grey armour plating, like the one above me. The other was a bright red with a sash moving over his
shoulder, I had fought enough of them to know this was the one in charge, they liked to display
rank a bit more openly than chevrons on their shoulder.

The leader yelled something at her and motioned back towards the woods. She answered
something softly and it mustn't have been to his liking, he raised his rifle and struck down at her
head with the butt, she shifted slightly to take the blow but not enough, it hit with a loud thunk but
he followed it through, the sharp metallic edge of the mag rifle slicing through her hood, opening
up a diagonal 'V' that started pouring out yellow blood.

“No!” I harshly whispered, looking up at the trooper above me I lunged the last steps. He instantly
heard me and swivelled around his gun levelling to the noise but mine was already ready, I shot
twice before reaching him, both hitting home in his torso, rocking his body. His finger gripped the
trigger in response. The mag rifle spitting a few rounds that sparked off the railing around me. My
adrenaline was running high, I reached the body and propped it up on the edge, wedging it up with
my torso as some impromptu cover. The troopers yellow blood leaking through my clothes from
the two wounds. I looked down to see the other two Advent turn to look up at the silo, trying to get
a bead on me, their view as seemingly impaired as ours was by the bright metal.

Kay took advantage of the situation and lunged towards the officer, her maw opened wide, taking
his neck with her fangs, driving them home, almost plunging them completely through out the
other side. The trooper fired, I heard a thud and felt a heavy pain in my chest, almost knocking me
from my feet. Kay pulled her fangs from the dying officer's neck with a harsh hiss, almost diving at
the trooper who fired to coil around him. I had to drop to my knees, the wind completely out of me
as I heard the gurgling cries, followed by a quick succession of snaps. Then nothing but the
pounding of blood in my ears.

My breathing was heavy, water streaming from my eyes with effort. My mind a rush of thoughts,
most of them about trying to take that next breath, if it might be my last. I could hear movement
around me, an arm slipping underneath my shoulder, helping to lift me down the stairs. I couldn't
see much except Kay's colours through the tears in my eyes. The pain in my chest was getting
worse but air was coming in slightly easier.

The ground levelled out, I felt Kay move behind me completely. A warmth gathering underneath
my legs, before moving around my legs, taking my weight. It took me a moment to realise she had
stacked me up on her coils, wrapping me up a little bit to hold me still. I made a move to wipe my
eyes but she grabbed my hand and wiped them herself.

“Stay still please” Her voice was soft, the small hiss in her throat barely recognisable. I opened my
eyes properly, blinking away the remnants of tears, Seeing her towering over me, leaning down
and in to be close. Her torso pulled back a bit, an arm moving to my shirt, a long claw moving
through my shirt, tearing away the stitching.

“What are you doing?” The pain was intense and spreading. It was lessening as it spread, maybe I
was fooling myself. She looked down at my exposed chest. I could feel her warm coils ripple
around me, It was odd to have it all around me.
“You've been hit with a mag rifle round. It penetrated the trooper in front of you, going through his
back but not making it all the way through his front armour” She moved her hands lightly on my
chest, feeling around my ribs, making me hiss a short breath “You took the kinetic force of the
blow, only a small puncture wound” She held up a finger with a smear of crimson blood on it,
matching her eyes, “it will be painful” I chuckled and regretted it, it hurt to laugh

“Yeah, I got that part” I wheezed out, “Why are you wrapped around me?” She cocked her head as
if it were obvious.

“I'm keeping you warm to prevent shock” She was right, that should have been obvious. I wasn't
panicking as much now that I knew there wasn't a round pushed through me. There'd be one hell of
a bruise forming though. Maverick would be proud.

“I'm alright Kay, we need to move after all that” I tried to move a bit but she held me firm, hands
on my shoulders.

“We'll move when your breathing is steady and I'm confident you'll be ok” Her hands eased,
“Don't worry, I was threatened enough by them to know there aren't any more nearby...” She
stroked her hood, there was no bruising on her head, she must have turned from the brunt of it. The
cut had split her hood, the bleeding had stopped but it needed cleaning. She looked down at me
smiling a little, “Thank you, but that was very stupid” Her coils eased a little and her torso dropped
now that she didn't need to hold me down and inspect me anymore.

“You're welcome" I had to let her have that one, "It was stupid. You were the one who ended up
saving me anyway” My breathing was coming in easier, the pain hadn't left and I wondered if I had
any ribs broken, “So, thank you” She smiled, her tongue flitting out to brush my cheek before she
spoke.

“I don't regret it”

I could only smile lightly and trust that she was right about who was around
 Chapter 5

It felt like hours before Kay let me go, resting me against the side of the silo. Putting my bag she
had taken off of me on the ground at my legs. At least it was on one of the smoother painted
surfaces.

The pain had ebbed considerably but felt like it would hamper me if I'd actually moved around, it
was possible that none of my ribs had actually broken, I wouldn't know for a few more days. The
skin tear felt like someone had stabbed me with a hook then ripped it out.

Kay wouldn't answer any of my questions whilst she had held me. Only shaking her head
obstinately, stating that getting into conversation would just make me breathe harder and aggravate
whatever the round had done to me. She stone walled me so well that eventually she just got what
she wanted and I sat there and dealt with it.

“I'm going to go and move the bodies, see if they have anything on them. Look around for some
supplies” She stared down on me, her gaze fierce, as if daring me to get up and move. I held up my
hands, nodding my head in submission. She visibly eased, I'd never seen a Viper get very
protective. I wondered, not for the first time, whether she thought she owed it to me after getting
her out of the compound I had found her in. She'd cut me off if I asked anything but I needed to get
one piece of information out.

“Don't-” Kay glowered down at me as soon as I started but I held up a finger, staring back, her
tongue flicked out but she let me continue, “Don't bother going in the house, we've cleared it
before. Shelled by overhead plasma, scorched to glass in the basement” My speech was stilted, I
couldn't get a deep enough breath but tried not to let it show. She nodded, lowering herself down
on her tail, turning away to slither towards the bodies, starting up the silo. “Be careful, please” I
tried calling out, it came out a lot softer than I would have liked. She heard it though and turned to
smile at me with a nod, ascending the stairs.

“Stay still, I won't be long”

I watched her as she worked, the unique slithering motion she used to go up and down the stairs.
Instead of carrying the body she simply tossed it over the side. After that she just slithered into the
grass, lucky it was so green otherwise I might have lost her bright yellow, brown body sooner than
I did. I could hear her working in the distance, unable to see after she'd gone far enough towards
the house.

I felt a bit useless, like I needed to do something. I rocked forwards, pain shooting through my
chest, flowing with my heart beat.

Yep, that was a big bruise.

Trying to stand it was like my legs were jelly. Probably more from being wrapped up by Kay than
the shot wound. After fumbling around for a minute I was on my feet, holding myself up by
leaning on the silo. I stretched myself out a bit before walking around the silo, holding myself up
while doing a few laps to get used to it. It wasn't so bad, it hurt but was bearable.

“I told you to stay still”

“Fuck me...” I heavily intoned, Kay had materialised out of the long grass. My hand to my chest to
help my breathing. “Don't sneak up on me, you're too good at just... Appearing” She raised one of
her eye ridges in what I took to be a look of amused condescension, a smile pulling at the corners of
her mouth.

“That was my job” She slithered over languidly, holding two rifles slung over a shoulder as well as
a few bags and packages, “How's it feeling?” She pulled a canteen out of one of the bags. Looked
fancier than a canteen ever needed to be but Advent design was like that. She poured some water
into her palm, holding it out a bit.

“Sore but I'll survive” I looked at the water, her small palms out-sized by her long fingers were
doing a poor job of holding it, “I can drink from the canteen, I'm not afraid of germs”

“This isn't for drinking, you've got a mix of blood in your... face hair” She moved closer, lifting her
torso up higher, “Stick your head out”

“A beard, I haven't seen a razor since I hit puberty” I had some scissors that were sharp enough to
at least keep it trim back at home. I moved my hand underneath hers and tilted her hand, bringing
what little water remained up there myself to flush out my chin a little, “I can clean it myself. I'll
get cleaned up properly when we get back” Kay's mouth hung open like she was about to say
something before closing, she nodded at me.

“There is something that needs cleaning before we keep going though, sit on your coils please” I
said seriously, she had to listen to me about this. She went to touch up the tear in her hood but
stopped herself. I grabbed the canteen off her before taking the rest of the gear, putting it on the
ground as she coiled up just enough to be at shoulder height, what was left of her tail trailing off
into the grass. Still that brilliant shade of yellow with brown and orange diamonds surrounded by
white stripes.

Moving back to the edge of the silo to get my own bag, I grabbed the impromptu gauze and some
cloth from within it.

“Would any of their bags have anything approaching antiseptic?” I called back over my shoulder.

“Red bag, if it's there, it will be a brown canister but be careful, it's a canister designed to empty at
once” I nodded to myself, moving back over to rummage through those bags. I found a canister and
held it up for her, she nodded sharply at me but didn't say anything. Her fingers were moving
restlessly, her claws kneading into her scales.

“Does this stuff hurt?”

“Yes” her response was sharp

“I'll try and be quick about this then” The top of the canister had something like a 360 degree
nozzle on it, it had tabs that would get stuck if it were pushed down so it would empty itself when
pushed. I wrapped a cloth around the nozzle for now, sticking to the water to clean her first. At
least it was a clean cut, how her shoulders were connected to her hood meant it was pulled apart
though, if it wanted to be a whole piece again it would need to be stitched up, which I couldn't do,
especially here.

“I won't be able to suture this back together, will it pull itself back together next time you shed?” It
was a bit of a stretch but I had to ask. She shook her head.

“No, I am fine with the mark, do not worry” She smiled softly, seemingly appreciative of the
gesture.

I nodded and started to gently clean around the wound. Getting a decent look at it. It was on the
left side of her head, about midway down her hood, an acute angled V that's end pointed up
towards her left eye, the follow through of a blow that was aimed at the centre of her head, thank
god she pivoted away from it.

She was dealing with the cleaning but was very on edge, like someone waiting for something bad
that was about to happen.

“So, what did those troopers want?” I tried to distract her

“They were after a group of humans that had been raiding them, from what they were saying I
think it was the group that was holding me” That made sense. The time of scavenging would go on
for years but people who had set up somewhere to live but not the resources for forced to raid. That
place didn't look to have any way to sustain itself.

“So why were they mad with you?” She hissed a little as I got to a fleshy spot. I should have done
this before she went trekking back through the grass I admonished myself, not that she would have
let me.

“We were coming from that direction, I was unarmed. I was an assumed collaborator or traitor.
These troopers were mindless, their heads so full of doctrine they didn't even need the voice of the
Ethereals to carry out their will” my lips pursed as I thought about the next question.

“Do you feel bad about having to kill them?” I'd seen Vipers kill before, I know what they do. But
they were individuals now. Some moreso than others.

“Do you feel bad about killing humans?” She countered

“I feel bad about killing in general” I thought for a moment, “But to survive I have to”

“Then you know how I felt about it” Her shoulders slumped a little, “I've killed a lot for reasons
not of my own” I had finished up cleaning, I moved a hand to her right shoulder and rubbed it
slightly, feeling the scales move under my touch.

“What are you doing?” She turned to look at me.

“I'm comforting you, it's what you do when you have nothing else to say, you just want to let the
other person know you're there” I looked at her trying not to be incredulous. Her eyes widened a
little, she put her hand up and placed it on top of mine, rubbing my skin mildly. The soft scales on
her palm moving slowly, her claws gently stroking further up my forearm.

“It's nice...” She managed softly.

Her hand dropped after a few moments and she sighed.

“Alright, apply the antiseptic”

I gave her shoulder one more squeeze before letting go. Laying out everything I needed to bandage
her properly as fast as I can, pressure always helps antiseptic, my childhood taught me that.

Grabbing the canister, it felt more like a grenade from the weight and density. My hand covered
the cloth on top of it, I squatted, holding it upside down and as far away from me as I could.
Turning away slightly I bonked it quickly against the ground. It released a quick burst of spray into
the cloth surrounding the end, even though it was pressed for a fraction of a second, the cloth was
soaked through. A strong chemical smell emanated from the cloth but I did my best to wring the
excess out onto the ground.
“Ok, breathe easy now, do you want to squeeze my hand?” I didn't get a verbal response, she just
shook her head a little, closing her eyes. A long breath coming in, her claws resting on her pelvis.

I didn't put it off any longer, supporting one side of her hood I put the agent to her wound. She
instantly tensed, a slow hiss easing from her, eyes clenching, claws curling. Not wasting any time I
applied it everywhere, not letting up once I had started. Pushing it into the wound and sliding it
down, coating both surfaces. Her breathing was getting heavier, I tried to hurry.

Putting the cloth down I picked up some spare and the gauze. Applying the spare, I wrapped it up,
having to go a long way around to the other side of her hood to get it tight. Once there was pressure
on it she steadied. I finished locking it in place and stood back, letting her collect herself. It took
her a moment before she uncoiled, more composed.

“Thank you” She gingerly touched the wrapping, moving some of it to hold better.

“You're welcome” I squatted down to pack everything back up, pushing some dirt over the stain on
the ground where I had wrung out the cloth. The stained cloth was there too, I thought for a
moment before I buried it, I had a wound as well. My shirt still hung open from where Kay had
ripped it open and pressure puncture shone a healthy red, I thought I may as well commit to it and
pushed a clean part of the rag onto it.

“Fuck!” I instantly tossed the rag on the ground, it felt like pushing an acid coated blade into my
skin.

“I told you it hurt” Kay smiled softly at me, stooping her lithe form to pick up some of the gear.

My chest felt funny, like it was slowly going numb.

“Is there an anaesthetic in this as well?” I slowly prodded my bruising, only a mild pressure
registered with me.

“Yes, it is to keep troops fighting, along with the talking in your head...” Her smiling stopped,
adopting a more pensive look.

Rising back up she started moving towards me, holding out one of the rifles, “A better weapon” I
reached out to hold it and she let it go into my hands. I'd seen them used but where I was from we
never had enough ammo to keep them around, especially for practice.

“You'll have to run me through using it” She nodded, collecting everything else off the ground.

“I mainly used plasma weaponry but we were trained for most items in the armoury” She stood still
for a moment, her red eyes looking in the distance, unfocused. Body drooping, she lost her
composure a little.

Ah crap.

I dropped the rifle, slinging the rest of the packs on my back. Walking over to stand in front of her,
I placed my hands on her shoulders again.

“Hey, it's ok. You don't have to, we can leave the guns here” Kay didn't respond, instead leaning
forwards, putting her head against my chest. I had to move one of my arms around her hood, being
careful of the injury. I could feel her breathing against my chest, I didn't know what else to do so
my right hand softly started stroking down her hood, like running your fingers over someone's hair,
“It's alright Kay, take your time”
She shuddered softly, placing her own arms around my waist to steady herself a bit better. Nuzzling
into me chest slowly, the soft scaling of her snout running across my skin. She was bigger than I
was, even though our faces were roughly the same size, there was just so much more of her. My
legs had to brace a little bit to help hold up her weight pushing against me.

We stood there for a minute or so, my hands constantly running down her head, not needing to say
anything. Her claws would periodically squeeze into my back, like she was trying to hold onto me
tighter.

“Kay?” I spoke softly, she didn't stir.

“Are you alright Kay?” Still no response, I needed her to talk to me, to at least let me know she
was dealing with this and not shutting me out completely.

“Kaylee?” her head twisted up, long neck letting her chin lay on my chest easily. I didn't know if
Vipers could cry but I could see some moisture glazing her crimson eyes, “Are you alright” I tried
smiling at her warmly, she smiled back at me. Letting go of my waist, she eased up slowly, the
back of her hand wiping at her eyes.

“I'm sorry, there is just gaps in my mind I cannot fill with voices no longer there, I haven't had
enough sleep and I've been-”

“Stop” I held up my hand, “It's alright”

She took a deep breath, calming herself a bit before starting again

"We cannot leave the guns behind, we should not squander resources"

I nodded, stooping down to grab the rifle again, making sure all our gear was accounted for. I'd
have to trust that she had gotten rid of the bodies and the other rifle properly, it wasn't doing her
any good to hand around here.

I reached into my original pack and handed her the second half of the wax package I hadn't eaten.
There was only one more between us.

“Here, eat this, eating always helps” Her tongue flicked out in what seemed to always be
excitement, kind of like when your mouth salivates, I don't think she was doing it on purpose. She
took it and held it softly.

“I did not mean to cry, everything just came out in a moment” She turned the package over
nervously.

“I said stop, it's fine. It happens to everyone. I'm just glad that numbing agent hasn't worn off yet”
Her eyes widened with shock looking at my chest then back up to my eyes, her mouth opened to
say more and I had to stop her again, “I said don't worry. Let's just get out of this place and get you
a nicer place to sleep” before she could apologise more I started walking off, hearing her slither up
behind me to move into place.

I could figure out the rifle later, we should be alright from here for firefights.

I hope.

“Aside from the fight and the slight swerve in our route we've made better time than I thought, I
didn't think you'd be able to move better. We should still be there tomorrow”
We moved in mostly silence. Only making small talk every now and again, identifying landmarks
as we passed them. Our campground for that evening was another small clearing in the woods. She
was content in sleeping in the same tarp again, at least it wasn't raining this time. I still didn't want
to risk a fire, nor did I want to speak to her about anything when she seemed to be contemplating it
all.

When sleep did come, she had wrapped herself around me the same as before, except this time
laying next to me. I was laying on my back, my head on a coil to keep pressure off my chest. The
numbing agent had worn off a few hours ago and I wasn't going to jam anymore of that awful stuff
on there again when I didn't need to. Why did they even develop it like that, why didn't they make
it numb you first? Like some sick Ethereal joke, probably just more proof they didn't give a shit
about their people.

We set off in the morning, She seemed in better spirits than yesterday but I wasn't going to broach
any topic until she had a proper bed and some real food in her, it wasn't worth her falling apart
again. She was happy just with the company, I could have guessed most of her trips would have
been alone or in utter silence.

The forest getting denser the further we went, until around midday it suddenly broke.

Old buildings and asphalt came into view, not a few metres from the forest. Kay became on edge
quickly, scanning her rifle around. The buildings were very old, some were still made of wood.
Moistness reeked through the air between them as we squeezed between two into what would have
been the main drag. Worn out signs hung from corners, you could still make out that one of them
was a fishing shop, an old petrol station, a few motels. All encrusted with vine growth and decay,
an old tourist stop left to the wilderness for decades. Kay's tongue was moving fast, the reason for
it was all around.

Most buildings were marked by long claw rakes, like they'd been torn into, some like they'd been
busted out of. Large holes dotted the landscape, going straight through the asphalt, even straight
through the concrete that made up building bases. Some of the buildings were strewn with old
gore, some old fleshy polyps hanging from paint torn walls and brick work. Kay started hissing
softly.

“Chryssalids” She hissed, looking at me urgently, astounded that I hadn't even taken my gun up.
Her head snapped towards a building, gun raised at the sound of something big rummaging around.
I reached over and held the barrel, pointing it to the ground. She looked at me like I'd gone crazy.

“That's right, there were chryssalids here”

The rummaging grew louder until a large, familiar pink and green shape burst from the vine strewn
growth of a storefront. I held my arms out and smiled in greeting as Maverick came forwards, then
put them down, I don't think my ribs were broken but he'd definitely break them now that they
were a bit soft. He walked forwards and stopped, Kay was still in mild shock.

'You both look terrible' he signed nonchalantly at me. I could only have a smile on my face, blunt
as ever.

“Why are you even down here, why aren't you at home?” I had to ask.

'Bored, thought I'd meet you halfway' He turned around and started stalking off towards the hills
that had materialised once we'd left the woods, not bothering to wait for an answer.

“That's fair” I called after him anyway. I turned back to Kay, she had managed to close her mouth
but still looked as confused as ever. “Nearly there now, a few more hours and we'll be home, if you
never knew where to look out in the wilderness, you'd never find it” She shook her head, like trying
to shake her thoughts loose.

“What happened to the chryssalids?” she asked finally, moving past me to follow Maverick, I did a
little jog and fell into step beside her.

“We killed them, though it was kind of an accident. Those fleshy growths they can grow in?
They're hollow, Maverick punched a hole in the walls behind them and scooped the insides out...”
my face twisted remembering it, “It was quite disgusting”

“But why, why even come here?” She looked around, as if she weren't sure about anything I'd said
at all. I shrugged.

“Because I knew it was here, besides” I held my arms and indicated all around us, “The best wall is
one you can't see, who's going to walk through this nightmare to just go further into the forests?”

She looked at me dumbly, like she wasn't sure if that was smart or completely stupid. She just
slowly shook her head as we reentered the forest on the other side of the strip, following the distant
Muton, barging his way through the forest.
 Chapter 6

We followed Maverick through the choked woods, my steps echoing through the trees. It was
around midday, the sun casting marbled shadows where it managed to break through the dense
canopy. Leaves had heaped up, shaken loose from the storm a few nights ago, their decomposition
adding an earthy loam smell to the richness of the woods. Kay pulled up alongside me after about
an hour into the hike, she seemed more alert after the town, like she was expecting to be ambushed
by Chryssalids at any time.

“So what am I to expect from this place, I do no want to be shocked again” She said matter of
factly, she had at least lowered her gun a few minutes into the journey.

“Nothing as dramatic, don't worry” I chuckled at her, “It's an old holiday home, the classic house
and a set of cabins in the woods, next to a small lake” She cocked her head in confusion. “Ah right,
holiday home” I fumbled with words for a moment, “A place people went to when they had time
off work, to enjoy themselves” This didn't erase her look of confusion.

“I have only read about human history, I have yet to experience 'time off'” She stated. That was
true I had to admit.

“You'll have your chance, you need some time off after everything” I turned and smiled at her, her
tongue slipped out and she looked forwards.

“I do not need time off if we are to survive, I can handle it” Her crimson eyes were locked ahead,
determination in her gaze. She was putting on a tough act after everything, it was admirable.

“If you're sure” I kept smiling, her eye turned to look at me, catching me staring. I quickly looked
away, up the trail Maverick was making. Her head tilted before her eyes tracked forwards again.

We walked for a few more hours, talking to each other about holidays, what people might do on
their time off for entertainment. She seemed very interested in the various activities and I was
happy to keep her mind off of everything that had happened.

At a point she started looking around the woods as if trying to catch sight of something, her tongue
slipping in and out of her mouth at regular intervals, head swerving as she seemed to chase a scent.

“I can smell water nearby” She said to me softly.

“Means we're almost there then” I smiled. We'd lost sight of Maverick through the trees but could
hear him moving about. Over the next few metres the treeline broke into dense shrubbery,
overgrown as if to keep the forest at bay. The sun shone through clearer, unimpeded by the canopy,
giving us our first sight of the house.

A two story house, sat imposingly at the far edge of a clearing, surrounded by the same sort of
thickets we had just pushed through. It was a mixture of wood and brickwork, not as old fashioned
as some of these lake houses might be. Square windows looked out towards us from both floors, an
out of place steel door marking the entrance at the centre of the house. The roof shone with the
reflection of solar panels that were a mish mash of designs, thick wiring snaking around to the back
of the house. A walled off garage sat on the left facing side, looking as if it could fit 2 cars in it.
Sleep outs had been built onto the other sides, some of which were open to the elements but all
look ramshackle in their construction. Two separate granny flats flanked the main house, old
cobblestone paving lead to the doorway of each but were strewn with mud and overgrown vines,
co-mingling with the power cables that ran across the ground. An old trail winding off the main
course almost visible through the growth led through the trees to the east you where could just
make out some bubbling water.

Maverick had already started moving to one of the make shift sleep outs around the side of the
house by the time we had fully cleared the growth. My boots along with Kay's tail crushing the
packed in dirt and moss, feeling the gravel that exists somewhere beneath.

“Well, it isn't much. But this is where we live right now” I breathed in deeply, I always enjoyed the
smell around here. Turning to Kay I saw that she had lowered her gun, tongue flicking out again
but more regularly, familiarising herself with the area. Her head moved back up at a crashing
sound followed by some scuffling. It stopped quickly, Maverick coming back into view holding up
a large rabbit by the hind legs, already dead. I frowned at him before signing.

'Was it on its way in or out?' He tucked it underneath his arm so he could sign back.

'In, it wasn't here when I left this morning'

That was a relief.

“That's dinner sorted for tonight” I called out for Kay's benefit, I turned my head to the side to look
at her, “There's my attempt at a vegetable garden in a room out the back, it's trapped against vermin
at the entrance”

I started toward the house, boots crunching gently, the note changing when I hit the cobblestone.
Maverick met me at the door, holding out the rabbit. It had eaten healthily, even without getting
into my vegetables. The unchecked regrowth of the forests in this mountainous terrain was doing
wonders for the wildlife. Taking the rabbit off of him, he nodded his large plated head at me before
turning away towards the granny flat closest to the water, already unhitching pieces of his upper
armour.

“Is he not coming in with us?” Kay seemed to have been following me the entire way, I was still
trying to get used to her sneaking around.

“He will, when he's ready” I said, checking the large metal door, unhitching the locks that would
keep any of the larger and more curious wildlife out, “He prefers to sleep on his own, so he took
one of the flats” I smiled at her, “Good thing too, have you ever heard a Muton sleep?” She nodded
back at me, completely serious with the horrified look on her face. I laughed, finally getting the
door open, “He eats alone as well, when we make something he takes it alone into his room until
he's done, I have no idea why”

Kay looked around, making sure Maverick really was gone before she brought her long hands to
her snout, holding them together and opening them in a clapping motion, palms held still.

“I know what their mouths look like, hell, I've seen his mouth” I pointed back towards his cabin,
“Anyone who's seen a Berserker knows what their mouth looks like” I shook my head, moving
inside, “No it's something else, but if it makes him comfortable then he can do it. I've offered to sit
with him regardless, he just doesn't like it”

Inside was dark and musty, not having been opened up for a week now. I reached over to the light
switch near the door and flicked it on, illuminating the main area. The solar batteries still holding
up well. The interior of the house was designed with the old fashioned log cabin in mind, just done
up to a far more comfortable degree. I motioned for Kay to drop her bags by the door as I did so
myself, after I went over to the far wall where the display for the solar system was displayed, it
was down a bit from the rain storm and the haphazard wiring but was holding healthy.

“How did you find this place?” Kay had moved inside and was rotating around on the spot, taking
it all in, poking her head through another doorway to peer beyond.

“I didn't, I knew it was here” I turned away from the panel, satisfied. Kay had turned back towards
me, her head tilted quizzically. “This place belonged to a friend of my parents, I had been here a
few times on trips my family used to take” I walked back over towards her into the darkness of the
next room, she slowly slithered in from behind. The only light in this room coming from the large
window looking outside, showing a large lounge room, the silhouette of a dining room through an
awning on the right.

“But why wouldn't they stay here themselves?” Kay asked from behind me. I winced a little,
moving through to the dining area, leaving the light off in the lounge.

“They did, this place was fully stocked and ready to wait out the apocalypse in the seclusion of the
woods” I flicked the lights on here, the kitchen and dining room.

I put the rabbit down on the counter. Seeing that Kay was waiting for me to continue, I pointed
towards the far wall, it was off coloured compared to the rest of the house. If you followed it down
the floor was scraped up as well, uneven from hard sanding work where I'd tried to remove the
claw marks that had covered most of the floor.

“They avoided the abductions and the invasion. But after the war, they couldn't avoid the terror
attacks. What was left of them was probably down in that tourist village we came through. Hunted
down by chryssalids who can track down life better than anything” Kay's head dipped down in
understanding, her hood drooping. I couldn't think of anything to say to her to make it seem like it
wasn't her fault without bringing up the subject of the war again, but had another idea.

“Kay, you said you watched some TV and read some books, did you like them?” her head picked
up, looking at me with barely disguised interest.

“Some of them, yes”

“Well, this was a holiday home, back in the lounge room there's big collections of both. Maverick
is a big fan of them so they're a bit scattered about but why don't you take a look and see what you
want to put on while we have dinner tonight?”

A smile pulled at the edges of her mouth, her back becoming a little straighter.

“How many?”

“This place runs off of solar batteries so not a huge amount, we normally have to ration between
lights, entertainment and water but I'm sure you can go through a few” I raised a finger at her, “As
long as they aren't hours long. Now go have a browse and I'll get something ready for you” Her
tongue flicked out and she look worried for a moment.

“Are you sure? I want to help if I am to stay here” She wrung her long fingers together. I sighed
heavily.

“You aren't going to relax until you do something are you?”

She shook here head, her body swaying with it. I held up my hands in consternation.

“Fine, fine...” I placed my hands on the kitchen bench, around the rabbit, my head tilting before
turning back to her, “Can you skin a rabbit?”

“I usually ate them whole”

“Lovely, but we need this one skinned” I pulled a suitable knife out of the drawers. Holding it up in
front of me, raising an eyebrow at her, asking the question again with my expression.

“I can do it, yes” she nodded confidently.

“Alright, that's your job then. There's an area around the back of the house with a water bucket that
smells like tallow from the bars we make, can you skin this there please?” She nodded, looking
pleased with herself she slithered over, picking the rabbit up off of the counter. I handed her the
knife and without another word she slithered around the corner heading outside. I shook my head
again, I don't know if it was the lack of being told what to do in her head, or if she truly wanted to
be as helpful as she could, even in her current state.

Feeling I had to do something to help her I moved into the offshoot laundry we had built onto the
side of the house. There was an old electric water heater in there. We had enough power and more
than enough water, the tanks would be close to full after the rainy nights, saves us moving barrels
between the lake and the house in the long run. I switched it on, a loud hum along with a slight
reverberation started to play along the heater. I dialed a timer on it so it wouldn't drain the whole
system once it reached a decent temperature. There was some more things to work out upstairs,
rooms to sort out. I dusted my hands off, moving back inside.

I organised a room for her upstairs before moving into my own, across the hall from the one I had
set up for Kay. I was trying to find a new shirt that would fit her, rummaging through everything
we had collected, maybe something button up so it wouldn't need to be torn over her hood?

“Nathan?” I dropped the shirt I was holding up at the sound of Kay's voice.

“Jesus Christ, Kay, could you make some more noise? At least when you're moving around the
house?” I picked the shirt back up, looking at her in the doorway eyeing if it would fit her, “how
did you even get up the stairs without them making noise? You've got to weigh more than I do by a
large margin”

“Skill” But she had stopped looking at me, even though she still wore a smile. Her eyes moved
behind me, looking up on my wall, “What is that?” her tone was almost awed.

I turned around, up on my wall was a truly massive gun. I had to push bolts into the wall to even
hold it up. The stock looked futuristic, sleekly moving into an oversized barrel, shaped like a large
cross. What looked like power cells lined the barrel section before ending in a multiple of endings,
each pushing out slightly more than the centre. I stood up, inviting her into the room, she slowly
slithered in. The room wasn't overly large but housed a large bed, just like her room across the hall.

“That is an Alloy Cannon” I put my hands on my hips and sighed, “According to dad it was my
mother's. If that's even true I don't know, But X-Com gear had to end up somewhere right?”

“How do you have it?”

“I stole it when I left, along with whatever else I could get my hands on. I'd never seen it used but it
was created at the peak of human engineering with the backing of the whole world, I couldn't leave
it with him” A brief moment of sadness crossed my features and Kay moved a little closer, almost
touching my arm. “If it was my mother's he didn't deserve it, what she fought for was gone. She
wouldn't want it used for what he had in mind” Kay's hand moved out, long fingers moving down
my arm.

“Does it still work?” Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

“Now that I don't know, it used to glow orange” I chuckled, “it did enough to save my life. When I
said we accidentally killed those chryssalids back in the town truth was we were jumped, I was
holding this and pulled the trigger, not even knowing what would happen. The one on top of me
was blown in half, the chryssalid behind it had its head removed”

“Why don't you still use it?” She was prompting me to continue.

“I went around and tried to find the rounds that came out of it, They were shards of metal I had
never seen before, machined by something that probably doesn't exist anymore” I reached a hand
up and stroked down the side of it, “I don't even know what powers it. That could have been the
last round in the chamber or the first, I have no way to tell and I'm not going to pull it apart to find
out” I pulled my hand away and turned back to Kay.

“Enough of that though, I've prepared your room for you” I held up the old, red button up flannel
shirt I'd found, “I think this might fit you too” Her hood perked up, quivering slightly.

“My own room?” She said it with reverence, like such a thing would be almost impossible.

“Of course! Come on” I motioned enthusiastically.

I moved past her, stepping over her tail that had spilled out of my room, still remaining mostly in
the hall. Moving into her room, she coiled back on herself to follow me in. It was basically a
cookie cutter print of my own room, wardrobe and all. Enough room for her to move her bulk
around, I didn't know if she wanted any more privacy by being placed further away from my room
down the hall but all those rooms were half the size.

“I know it's next to mine but I thought you'd want more room to move around-” She interrupted me
with a hand.

“It's perfect” She slithered forwards, putting her torso up onto the bed, pulling her tail in behind
her. Coiling around until she was all mostly on there, only the tip of her tail hanging off. Letting
her lay down properly on the pillows. “It's nice...”

“It's a bit sparse but you can hang up some things if you want to or shift the bed around” I lent
against the door frame, watching Kay relax, she was just looking up at the ceiling, her chest rising
and falling slowly. “I put all of the gear away into one of the spare rooms so you can go through
that when you want to as well” Her head lifted up, her long neck craning to twist in my direction,
she looked right at me, then quickly back down and up, her bright red eyes looking for something
to say, I decided to break the silence myself.

“Come on, one more thing” I moved my eyes away from her hypnotising gaze to look outside. It
was moving into late afternoon. I turned and motioned for her to follow me.

There was a cabinet in the hall, I opened it and grabbed some a towel, moving back from the door
to see Kay winding herself down the hall.

“Probably two” I grabbed another and closed the door.

“Two what”

“Two towels, you're pretty... Long” I moved towards the bathroom with Kay in tow. The shower in
the bathroom was much too small for her but the bath was quite large. The shower head could
come off of the wall so she should be able to clean herself in there. I showed her how everything
worked, the hot water and movable head.

“You should have enough hot water for about ten minutes, five at a minimum” Kay still looked at
me, looking down at the towels she now held. The long sleeve flannel shirt hung up on the wall.

“Thank you...” She looked almost shook by the whole situation. I rubbed her shoulder, how I did
the previous day, making her look up at me sharply.

“It's ok, you can relax here” She nodded at me slowly, “Now, I'm going downstairs to sort some
things out and then start dinner, you take as much time as you need” I had a look at her old shirt,
now with extra rabbit blood on the front in claw marks where she had wiped her hands on herself.
“Pass me out your shirt as well so I can get rid of it” She seemed to take this as a cue and went to
pull it off immediately to pass it to me. I locked up and just accepted it, nodding slightly and
excusing myself from the bathroom as she started taking off the bandaging around her hood.
Letting out a heavy breath as I closed the door behind me.

Downstairs I found Maverick waiting for me in the dining room, he had pulled out our map of the
area and laid it across the table. He sat in a seat I had reinforced for his sheer bulk. He had taken
off most of his armour and cleaned himself, probably by swimming in the lake. Above his waist
was bare, showing the giant ridges that went all the way down his spine, the intricate dark purple
tattoos that went about his skin and head, along his sides. The pink skin going paler towards his
stomach, it condensing into a darker mottled pattern on his back ridges. His large, rippling
physique taking up most of the room on his side of the table. At least he'd kept his pants on.

I saw the skinned rabbit placed neatly on the kitchen bench, the knife cleaned and put on the rack.
I'd brought in enough water for a stew, the vegetables I had available already picked and put on the
counter, Maverick knew what I'd need, we'd cooked rabbit before.

'Thank you' I signed, moving over to the counter, starting to prepare everything. He'd even turned
on the oven I noticed when I moved into its warmth, 'Too bad your hands are so big otherwise you
could do most of this yourself' He snorted at me from the table.

'I had to, you were busy with the snake' He signed back.

'Her name is Kay' I had to just sign the letter K, which he could at least do, holding two fingers up,
thumb across the palm. I poured myself a glass of water, offering him one which he declined. I
started to drink as he responded.

'It's no surprise she survived this long, she's one of the leading breed, you can tell from the large
flaps'

I coughed and snorted out the water I was drinking onto the bench, hacking the rest of it into the
sink quickly. Catching my breath, I wiped the snot from my face before I could respond.

'Hood, it's called a hood'

'It's the same thing' He looked amused now, even though I couldn't see his mouth I'd learnt to read
him over time.

'It most definitely is not' I was still trying to catch my breath, coughing up the last of the water that
I had ended up trying to breathe in.

I'd never even taken notice of the size of her hood. Maybe it was bigger, I couldn't tell, I had no
real context.

'Her hood then, it's bigger than the common viper'

'I'll take your word for it' He'd picked up on colloquialisms very fast, I was amazed he'd learnt
everything so fast honestly, but he'd managed to change my perceptions on all of the aliens. He
shrugged and went back to marking the map, it was updated each time we went out, we invariably
found something, or someone new to add to the area around us. I went back to preparing the food,
chopping everything up, the rabbit, tomatoes, potato and some onion, basic stew material. Before
adding it to the oven and joining Maverick at the table.

I heard distinct thumps moving down the stairs moments before Kay appeared, she'd listened to
what I asked and moved around with some noise.

She was wearing the red chequered flannel I had given her, the buttons done up to just above her
bust, letting her hood spread out fully. I guess it was pretty wide looking at her like this. She'd
rolled the sleeves up, her longer arms meaning they wouldn't have reached her wrists anyway,
otherwise it fit her well, moving down past where her navel would be to rest above her pelvis.
After cleaning off, her scales shone brilliantly, the diamond patterns down her back and tail
standing out vividly. She'd left the wrappings off, her wound seemingly closed enough that she felt
comfortable with it. Her eyes looked soft, she was even smiling and I had to admit, she looked
beautiful.

“You look like you're much more comfortable” I couldn't say what I thought.

“Thank you, I feel much better” She slithered over to the table, scanning the map quickly, “This is
quite extensive”

“We've had a lot of time to fill it out” I pointed to the marks that Maverick had made, “These are
our new local residents” And I moved my finger up, past the farms and into the base of the ranges,
“And this is us”

“And the other marks?” She asked, looking back up, Maverick looked like he was about to answer
but stopped. He didn't speak English, only Advent. This is the first time I'd seen him uncomfortable
here, like he didn't want to speak it in front of me, like he was embarrassed by it. I started quickly
to cover him up.

“The other groups in this area, here is the Advent loyalists we ran into” A town marked north west
of the new group. “There's also some human puritans here” Another mark, directly west from the
new group. “I think that's where they may have come from, and why we tracked them so easily.
They aren't set up for food, I wouldn't be surprised if they're stealing from the groups around them
to stay stable” I pointed out the various other small groups, mostly people worth ignoring before
getting to the one the furthest north. “These are the ones we aren't sure about, it's a bit far away at
this point. We've seen mixed patrols around though, both advent and human, maybe everyone is
keeping an eye on them”

Kay pointed to the newest mark on the map, tracing her long claw east, “This is the direction I
came from. I am not sure of the distance, in the last days I was not tracking progress”

“So there's people further out there, something else to keep an eye on” I sighed, “Only a few of
these groups are self sufficient, those that aren't are going to be leaching off of one another
eventually, or band together” I looked Kay in the eyes, “This is why we have to keep track of this,
no one has wandered this far into the wild but desperation might push them”
“Would it not be what you want if people started joining together?” her gaze didn't waver as she
spoke, like she was confirming something.

“It would, but it doesn't always turn out that way. There's normally a culling of people that don't
follow values. Exile or more extreme” I pointed to the mark of the puritans, “These are the people
who captured me for information, human or not, I wasn't one of them” The memory still made me
shudder, what they did, thank god Maverick was there for backup eventually. I tried to shake the
thought from my head, suddenly at odds with the whole situation.

It ran through my head, what those people were doing there. What they had done to me, what they
could be doing to others. It was like sparking some carnal rage, thinking about it pissed me off and
I had to stop it.

“Alright, that's enough of this for now” I rolled the map up, probably a little too aggressively,
knocking away some pencils. Both Maverick and Kay looked at me. I sighed through my teeth,
Maverick stood up, walking over to me. He took the map, giving me a pat on the back as he
walked to put it away. Kay looked about before bending down to pick up the pencils.

“No, stop. I did it” Her hand hovered over them for a moment before she grabbed them all anyway,
placing them on the table, I rubbed my temple, “I'm sorry, thank you” She just smiled at me softly,
not saying anything. That somehow made it worse.

“Maverick, can you put something on for Kay and yourself, I'll finish dinner” I called out, hearing a
distant grunt in response. I looked back to Kay, “Go on, sit down for a while. I'm going to go get
myself clean before finishing dinner” She looked at me and nodded softly, moving past me slowly
she rubbed the edge of my shoulder as I had done hers, that one notion alone almost broke me.

I guess we all needed some sleep. I nodded to her and tried to smile as she slithered away.

I moved up the stairs and collected my things, it was only going to be a short clean, the cold would
probably wake me up a bit. Stripping in the bathroom I prodded at my chest in the mirror, it looked
much better than it should have at this stage, felt better too. Maybe that antiseptic had some healing
properties I wasn't aware of. I shrugged it off and got myself clean, Kay hadn't actually used all of
the hot water, there was still some lukewarm water in the tank it seemed.

After cleaning myself I headed downstairs, the sounds of some random sitcom playing from the
lounge room. That made me chuckle, for some reason Maverick loved sitcoms and would be
torturing Kay with them. The smell in the kitchen meant I wouldn't wait long. I could hear noises
in the lounge, Kay and Maverick were speaking in Advent to each other. I quietly slipped around
the corner and saw them facing each other, speaking the same words over and over, Maverick
doing the hand signs that corresponded with them. He was taking the initiative and teaching her
himself, I smiled, it might even be easier, they both had the same amount of fingers.

When the stew was done, I served it into three bowls. I put spoons in each of them even though
Maverick's always came back from his flat clean, it was a habit I wouldn't lose.

I walked into the lounge balancing all three bowls. Maverick stopping what was playing and
reached a long arm out to grab one off me, standing up to take his usual leave for the night.

“Goodnight Mav, we'll see you in the morning” He nodded again, putting the bowl in the crook of
his massive elbow to sign goodnight to Kay, who attempted to sign it back but failed miserably. He
left the room chuckling, heading out the front I heard the steel door open and close. That just left
Kay and I. She had coiled herself up, not using a seat, after grabbing the bowl she placed it in the
centre of her coils, like a perfectly fit holder. She seemed excited to try something new but the
spoon was an adversary. I watched her fumble with the spoon for a bit before she just scooped the
stew and held her mouth up, dropping it into the back of her mouth. Mulling it over before
swallowing it fully.

“It is nice, an earthy taste” She tried to seem calm but I could tell from her body movement she was
struggling not to pour the whole thing down her throat in one go.

“An 'earthy taste'?” I laughed, having a spoonful myself, “Have you been reading some culinary
books?”

She looked away, embarrassed, “Perhaps”

That made me smile but I stopped chuckling at her, just let her enjoy herself.

I started playing what Maverick had on again while we ate. It was the usual pre-invasion trash,
canned laughter and all. I don't know how he could stand it. My view might be skewed though, the
only things I watched pre-invasion were cartoons.

We ate in silence. She finished before me and looked around sheepishly as I finished up.

“There's more in the pot if you want some” I said through a mouthful. She instantly shot up and
slithered into the kitchen. I stifled a chuckle, finishing up what I ate. She came back in just as I
finished up, placing the bowl on a stand next to me. I felt much better with something warm in my
stomach. I sat back and watched her head bobbing as she ate. The way her scales would shift over
each other, the patterns moving in rhythm. The blue light from the TV shining off of her scales, the
light getting darker and darker...

I felt a warm touch on the side of my face, slowly tapping against my cheek. My eyes opened up to
stare right into the deep red eyes of Kay, leaning close to my face. I breathed in rapidly through my
nose as I sat a bit more upright, she lent back to make room.

“Wh-what happened” I said groggily

“You fell asleep on the couch” I blinked rapidly, getting up a bit more to look around. It was dark
all around us, only the pale moonlight through the windows illuminating the house. “I turned all
the lights and television off, I thought that might wake you” I blinked and stood up, stretching a
little.

“Guess I needed sleep more than I thought, thank you for turning turning everything off” I could
see the hint of a smile in the darkness, “well... that's definitely bed time then” I said awkwardly,
holding back a yawn with my fist. She nodded her head, still waiting for me to make the first
move.

I turned and made for the stairs. I could hear her slithering underneath the background noise of the
wind through the trees outside. Maybe she was still doing it for my benefit, I could never normally
hear her.

We ascended the stairs and I got to my door, I turned around to say goodnight and she was right in
my face again. Her body hunched down a bit to be at my height, neck out and hood flared. If I
weren't half asleep and didn't know who this was it would be completely terrifying, the only lights
in the hall were a far window, her form was cast in a blue silhouette, only her darker markings and
deep crimson eyes made out in detail.

“Uhh... goodnight Kay” I managed not to stammer

She smiled, her hood retracting slightly, was she trying to scare me?

“Goodnight Nathan” She hissed out softly, her tongue moving out to touch my cheek. Her hands
moved down to grab mine. Her head moved forward slowly, her maw rubbing my cheek in a soft
nuzzle, eyes closed. Her hood vibrated slowly carrying a soft, hissing purr with it. I didn't know
what to do so I just lent into it, she continued for a moment before pulling back, putting her lips on
my cheek in an imitation of a kiss. Moving back completely, her fingers slipped out of mine.

“Thank you” She spoke gently

Kay turned slowly and entered her room, her tail flicking out gently before she closed it behind her.
Leaving me staring at the closed door, my hand moved to my face to rub my cheek dumbly. I
turned around and slowly retreated into my room, wondering what had just happened.
 Chapter 7

I was still thinking about last night when I woke up. I had no idea about Viper society, or relations.
If what Kay did was just a simple gesture between her people, like how she didn't mind sleeping in
close quarters or just getting naked.

Hell, Maverick didn't mind the latter.

I pulled a hand up out of the blankets to rub my eyes, getting rid of the last of the sleep. Weak
sunlight was filtering softly through my curtains, with the height of the forest around the house that
meant it was around mid morning, much later than when I'd usually get up. This wouldn't fly, I'd
usually have a rock through my window by now.

Breathing out through my teeth I tossed the blanket off, getting up to get dressed. Some fresher
clothes were in the cupboard. Opening the door I checked my chest out on the interior mirror. It
seemed to be healing really quickly, the bruise was very small now, the skin piercing almost gone.
Now I was certain there was some healing agent in that damn canister. I could accept Kay healing
faster from having an altered biology but this rate was just unnatural.

After getting dressed in some rugged gear I quietly opened my door onto the hall. Tip toeing across
the floor, slowly creaking open Kay's door to peak in. Her room faced west, the morning sun not
lighting it up at all, making it harder to see anything. I could still make out her distinctive bulk
underneath the blankets, slowly rising and falling. I pulled my head out and gently closed the door,
if she were still asleep she obviously needed it. From the things she told me, I wouldn't know how
long it might have been since she went to sleep comfortable with a full stomach.

Easing my way downstairs I made my way into the kitchen, grabbing some pulped up beans for
something to eat before collecting what was left of the rabbit carcass, wrapping it up in some hardy
cloth, putting it in a pouch I had slung over my shoulder before heading outside, being careful
around the steel door.

It was a bit late for a morning swim, meant it was straight to getting the place up to speed after
leaving it for so long, and preparing it for the next time.

I took a moment to stretch out in the sunlight, glad these storms were over. Only a gentle breeze
rocked the treeline around the house, sparse cloud cover doing little to filter the proud sun. Maybe
it would start to dry out the damp moss covering most of the gravel, but the season wasn't done, I
knew this was only just a lull.

I cricked my neck, seeing Maverick sitting on the ground out of the front of his flat, whittling
something with a large knife. A machete in his hands looked like a butter knife in a human's. He
hadn't put any of his armour back on, only keeping his under-leggings on when we weren't
planning on going anywhere.

'Enjoying your arts and crafts?' I signed out to him when he noticed me. He placed the objects
down next to him, laying his elbows on his thighs.

'Enjoy your sleep?' He decided to counter back.

'It was lovely, I'm surprised you didn't come and wake me up' I had started walking down the path
towards him, the light crunching of my boots adding to the sound of the forest.

'You looked like you needed the sleep, you got a pass today' He stood up to meet me, sometimes I
forgot how truly big he was, 'How's the snake?'

'Kay' I used the letter symbol for her name again, two fingers up, one across. I figured she could
tell him her full name if she felt like it, it seemed to be special to her. 'It looked like she needed the
sleep' I said the same back.

'What, you gave her her own room?' He had a tilt to his head now, which I'd learnt meant he was
being a jackass.

'Of course I did'

'I thought you'd want to keep more of an eye on her'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It was kind of obvious in the kitchen' I felt my face flush at this and it was clear he was enjoying
himself. But this reminded me of something else.

'What did she say to you outside the walls of that compound?' I tried to change the subject.

'You should ask her'

'She said to ask you!' I signed emphatically, leaning forwards to hunch over my hands.

'That's unfortunate'

“Is this some fucking game” I breathed out softly, my head hanging down. I pulled my head back
up, putting on a calm face. “Alright forget it, go grab some barrels and head to the lake so we can
prep them, the ones with the lids” I added at the end. He softly chuckled, that mild booming noise
in the back of his throat but stood up straighter, turning to make his way to the other flat, which we
were using as a shed for outdoor gear.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I turned to follow him. I could hear him fumbling around inside,
I waited just outside the door, letting him pass two small plastic barrels out to me. When he came
back out he grabbed them both and headed to the lake without a word, letting me get into the small
flat. It was stacked with mostly old camping gear, mostly eaten away by age to leave behind
skeletal remains of tents and survival gear. They came in handy for repairs so we didn't bother to
remove them all. I found the skeletal remains I was after though, a net inside of a triangular frame
with a large rope tied around the top. I grabbed it and headed out.

Pushing through the thickets Maverick had already flattened by his passing, I wound through the
last set of trees to see the lake. It wasn't large but had enough of a steady flow to survive, not large
enough to be stumbled across by just anybody. It must have been bigger when the house was built I
thought to myself, maybe even connecting to a river.

Maverick was sticking the barrels into the ground, having only filled one of them, setting them up
so they wouldn't move. I dropped the cage onto the ground, getting onto my knees next to it. I
brought out the rabbit remains, putting them into the cage, tying the sides up, leaving the top open
as a small hatch that fell into the base. The edges were slanted so if something climbed in, it
wouldn't be able to climb back out. I stood buck up, dusting the grime off my legs.

“Do you want to throw it today?” I turned to maverick. He answered this by simply picking up the
cage, handing me the end of the rope, then just shot-put tossing the cage near the middle of the
lake.
“I thought you might want to”. I walked the rope over to the barrel that had the water in it, tying it
around the base. Maverick grunted and turned to the treeline about to move back, before stopping
suddenly. I turned to see Kay at the treeline, patiently watching us, “Yeah, she's good at that” I
spoke quietly to Maverick.

She was wearing her red flannel, looking brighter and more perked up than I'd seen her before. The
clear wedge through her hood looking more healed than my chest, not diminishing her patterns in
any way, like a nick through someone's eyebrow.

“Just catching food” I called out, preempting her question, “We were just letting you sle-”

Maverick cut me off by putting a massive hand across my chest.

“What did you do? He's been smiling more, it's not normal” He spoke in Advent but signed it at the
same time. Teaching her overcame his discomfort and I had a moment of pride before intense
discomfort, seeing her genuinely smile from the treeline.

“Oh, I just kissed him” She spoke English, still wearing a true smile, unabashed.

I made a grunting noise in the back of my throat, trying to look away slightly, my brow furrowed,
holding a hand up so Maverick couldn't see my face.

These aliens might not have the same inhibitions humans do, in any other circumstance Maverick
might have just shrugged his shoulders and moved on. But he had spent almost a year watching old
Earth sitcoms, he knew what this would mean to me.

He gave a hearty laugh in that booming way of his, placing a hand firmly on my shoulder,
managing to cover most of my back. I could feel him tense moments before he shoved me over into
the semi dry muck a the edge of the river.

“Yeah, thanks” I chuckled half-heartedly, picking myself up off the ground again, wiping the
drying mud off. He was already walking away, chuckling now just for the sole purpose of making
fun of me. He waved me off, simply signing 'Bees' as he pushed back into the treeline.

“Is something wrong?” Kay asked, her smile faltering a little in confusion.

“No, no...” I tried to think of a way to put it, still dusting off the mud before it hardened, “humans
just don't usually discuss those things with people. There's even a phrase for it - don't kiss and tell”

“Is he not your friend though?” Kay's confusion hadn't left her face.

“He is, he was just making fun of me, I doubt he cares” She was still hesitant but her smile was
coming back, “You'll learn more about it, don't worry. You didn't do anything wrong” That seemed
to allay her worries.

“Where is he going?” She asked, now this was a more comfortable direction, I breathed easier,
cleaned up enough for now.

“Wild bees in the woods, he's going to collect honey and wax for the paper we use” I walked over
to her, “He's much better at getting it than me, even with the larger hands. His skin is too thick to
be stung” I moved past her with a smile, she turned to follow.

“Why did you not wake me when you got up?” She asked. I took a moment to answer, waiting until
we had cleared the trees so I could turn and face her.
“You needed the rest, I already said that” I could have backed that up with anything, her injury,
helping her to cope under new conditions, the breakdown she had suffered two days ago. I didn't
need to, she was smart, she just wasn't used to this treatment. Her face showed worry, her hood
pulled in. Even though she stood taller than me, she looked cowed, hesitating a little before
answering.

“In Advent I was a detachment leader, I was at the fore of many strikes, in command of others”
She was talking softly, like she was making sure I was the only one who could hear in this
secluded location. What she was saying added up with Maverick's outside perception of her
appearance. “But that was different, It was something I knew how to do. The voices in my head
helping me along the way, making everything seem easy”

“Kay... You don't have to talk about that” She held up a hand to my face gently, smiling softly.

“It is alright, I can deal with this. You care” She got stuck on her words a moment, her tongue
slipping out in the familiar fashion when she was thinking about something, “I am not familiar
with maintenance and I have no guidance. I will need your help to make myself a part of something
new” She paused, breathing in as if worried she might say something wrong, “I want to help” She
said this part with so much conviction. Like her choices really mattered to her, especially when
they were her own. I reached out and took her hands in my own, even though her fingers were
much longer than mine she still managed to wrap them about my palms tightly.

“Alright Kay, I understand” I rubbed the back of her scaled hands with my thumbs, letting them go.
“You aren't a burden to us but we can get you started” I put my hands to my hips and smiled at her.
She smiled back, seeming more confident after saying her piece. I looked around, thinking what
she could help with first before I spied the roof. “I've seen vipers climb pretty high before, is that
too much for a viper leader?” I cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Sarcasm, you two seem to use it a lot” the edges of her lips pulled up, “Yes, I am a capable
climber”

“Good, now this might not seem like much but after the weather the solar panels need to be wiped
down, they get stained” It felt wrong asking her to do such trivial things, like I was asking a guest
in my home to take out my trash. She nodded enthusiastically however, “Right, we'll get you some
equipment and you can go up there, after you've had something to eat. You came straight out here
after you woke up didn't you?” She nodded reluctantly.

“Food first” I waved her to follow me back to the house.

Heading to the kitchen I made sure she ate something before we headed back out so I could give
her the supplies she needed, a small bucket with some rags and cloths. She went to fill the bucket
at the lake while I set up the old ladder the house had kept for maintenance. I didn't want her
climbing the old gutters like how I normally saw vipers climb buildings. She hung the bucket and
cloths from her shoulder, pulling herself up the ladder using mainly her arms, her whole body
slithering behind her just as if she were crawling across the ground. She waved once reaching the
top, signalling that she was fine and I could be off now. I had to trust she could be fine, she was a
capable soldier, some glass panels would be fine.

I went about the rest of the chores, collecting some water for the vegetables, resetting the traps
after gathering what was ready. I had moved into the inverter room by the time Kay had made it
back down from the roof.

“You did not tell me you had radio operations” She slithered up behind me, poking her head over
my shoulder to see the panel readouts I was checking.
“You saw the antennas over the garage I'm guessing?” I motioned for her to back up so I could turn
around. Her body couldn't quite slither backwards so she had to lift herself higher, meaning I had to
look up to speak to her. I could tell how people found them scary like that, even without her hood
flared out and her eyes soft it was an intimidating presence.

“Yes, they are small, the communication range would be short” She stated, her height above me
not changing her demeanour.

“So what do you think it's for then?” I decided to quiz her. She thought for a second, her tongue
sliding out slowly.

“Listening”

“Got it in one” I smiled, “It's hardly a radio, just scavenged parts from old police stations, trucks.
Listen to news that can be broadcast far, or insults that can be broadcast short. Sometimes you even
catch movement plans” I held a hand out in front of her, leading her out of the door. “Maverick is
the one who listens to it, mostly, he understands more languages” She nodded in understanding.
“We'll show it to you later, little things at a time”

I showed Kay more things to work on during the day, keeping her busy with the day to day work
we needed to do, all in preparation for leaving the house for the next time we go out on patrol.
When Maverick returned, I spent the afternoon processing the honey whilst he showed Kay how to
melt down the wax for various things, candles when we were low on power, sealant for paper and
packages.

Later in the afternoon Kay and I dragged back in the pot we put out in the morning, the rabbit
carcass was gone, picked clean by small fresh water crayfish. Kay seemed fascinated by the
crustaceans, but scared of handling them, much to my amusement. We threw back the smaller ones,
before heading back to the house. Maverick coming out of the radio room as he heard us opening
the front door.

“Anything interesting Mav?” I called out, hauling the docile bucket of crayfish into the kitchen. He
walked up to the counter enthusiastically.

'Nothing any different from the usual propaganda' he could barely sign back. I breathed out with
effort, narrowing my eyebrows.

“Maverick go and sit down, you'll know when it's ready” I had to tell him forcefully, I couldn't
have him hanging around the kitchen. Once he left I turned to Kay, holding up a wriggling cray,
“he loves them” That made her smile, like knowing a secret of his.

“Do you like them? They smell... muddy” Her snout crinkled slightly, tongue retreating back into
her mouth as I started taking them out of the bucket to put them in the sink.

“No, I absolutely hate all forms of food that comes from water. But protein is protein, we eat what's
there” She nodded, patiently watching me as I worked from the opposite side of the counter. I
showed her everything I was doing, everything I was using. It would save on cooking lessons later
on if she just saw how I was doing it.

Once everything was done she helped me carry it out, Maverick was practically chomping at the
bit after smelling the muddy creatures for so long. Taking his large bowl and scampering to his flat
as fast as he could. Leaving Kay and I alone in front of a TV that wasn't even on.

“Did you want to put something on?” I asked Kay with a sideways looks.
“No, we can conserve power” She coiled herself on the floor. Taking a bite of dinner, pulling a
little face, nodding her head side to side, “It is not so bad” she stated with a grin, digging into the
rest.

“Yeah, well I was always the lone one in the family with my taste” I sat down and reluctantly got
to dinner. I had a feeling there was something Kay wanted to talk about, which is why she didn't
want anything on. I didn't have to wait long to be proven right.

“How did you learnt to speak with your hands?” She set her dishes down, putting her hands in her
lap, damn she ate quick. I swallowed a mouthful begrudgingly before I answered.

“I learnt it from birth, my older sister...” I hesitated a bit, before putting my own plate down, “She
was sick, a degenerative illness. When I was born she couldn't talk” I was staring at my fingers,
lacing them together into random signs absentmindedly.

“Was she stable?” Kay spoke softly, unsure if she was treading on paths she shouldn't. She had
been honest to me about everything that had happened to her, I could reciprocate that.

“She died about nine years after the invasion” I turned to look up at her, “I was ten when the
invasion started, she was eight years older than me” I just spilled out numbers once I had started.
Kay didn't respond immediately, just looking at me softly. I couldn't stand it, I grabbed my plate,
finishing what was on there in silence. She let me eat, not saying anything.

I finished with a sigh, placing it down, deciding to continue.

“There was nothing that could be done, I'd considered breaking her out of the last camp we were in
to go to an Advent city, take her to a gene clinic. Just to see if they could save her” I had started to
wring my hands together again.

“What stopped you?” Kay approached gently, moving over to my side slowly.

“Scanners at city entrances. Mum was X-com, they've got genetic databases of everyone, we we're
so sure. It would have just been killing us faster” I licked my lips. Kay had moved closer, resting
her arm on mine. I pulled a hesitant grin, I didn't want to go into the rest of it. Not tonight.

“Nathan, I'm sorry” She spoke quietly.

“It's alright Kay, it's not your fault, you weren't running the cities” I replied, “I'm sorry for bringing
down the mood” I laughed under my breath but it was forced. It had been a long time since she
passed, I had dealt with it in all ways but one, how my father had treated it.

Kay just sat next to me, her slowly moving left and right. Just sitting there like she was thinking,
her tongue slipping out. It was quiet like that for a few minutes, but I could notice a slight change
to her colour, I couldn't quite pick what it meant though.

“Is there anything you'd like to know about vipers?” She suddenly spurted out, her eyes waving
side to side like she couldn't believe what she'd just said. I turned my head at her, confusion plainly
on my features. Was she trying to make distracting small talk and this was the best she could
manage?

“What?” I genuinely chuckled at that. It just made her scaling go a deeper shade, like it was pulling
tighter to her skin beneath. I realised with a start it must be like a blush.

“I... learnt all about humans” She almost stammered, “Maybe you do not know all about us?”
She was serious about this, I didn't even know how to respond. I had to forcibly stop myself from
chuckling again from the absurdity of it, she had already put herself on the spot. I just needed to
make something up fast.

“Uhh” I fumbled for something, I was looking at her face now, her mouth slightly agape, that
would do “Your fangs, how do they work?” Her head pulled back a little like she wasn't expecting
that.

“My fangs?” She opened her mouth a little, bringing her hand to her jaw.

“Yeah, um” God I had to make this less awkward, “Are they really sharp, or, can you control how
they fold?” I said the last part with a high rising inflection, like I wasn't even sure what I was
asking. She seemed more a bit at ease now though, her colour lightening up a bit.

“I can control them” She opened her mouth and they didn't extend. The muscles on the roof of her
mouth flexed and they extended. She closed her mouth with them out, making her look like a sabre
toothed tiger. They weren't flush, her bottom jaw wasn't back far enough but the image was there.

“Is that uncomfortable?” I had to probe, interested despite myself.

“Vhery” She slurred, opening her mouth to tuck them back in. “As for sharpness, not really. The
end is not really that sharp either, the penetration comes from our jaw muscles”

“Really?” Now that was surprising, I'd expected them to be dagger tipped. She could see my shock,
a grin tugging at the edges of her mouth. She lent forwards more, putting her head closer to mine.
Her arms propping herself up on the arm of the couch.

“Yes, feel” She opened her mouth again, not completely, I knew their jaws could basically
separate. Her fangs were extended, head tilted down slightly so she could still look at me, waiting
to see if I would.

Now I just felt challenged.

I slowly put my hand out, even with her holding herself still it was disconcerting putting my hands
near her fangs. I gingerly put my fingers around the back of one of them, it was completely smooth,
sliding my fingers down to the tip. It was longer than I thought now that I was feeling it, about two
hand lengths. The tip was still sharp, but not like a serrated edge. I hooked two fingers around and
pulled a little, her head shifted with the movement, like leading someone by the nose. Her eyes
kept their crimson gaze on me, not widening at all, she truly was just letting me do what I wanted.

Ok, that's enough. I pulled my hand back, wiping what passed for her saliva onto my pants.

“Yeah, ok I get it” I said haltingly. She closed her mouth and smiled at me.

“See? Not so bad” she said, her head arcing back into an S bend.

“It was fine” I smiled back to try and make myself more comfortable. It really was fine, I just
never thought I'd get this comfortable with a viper. I hadn't been looking at her as a viper, only as
Kay, but experiencing her unique aspects always brought that fact back.

“Do you have many books?” She asked suddenly.

Oh thank god

“Yeah, plenty. Stuff we've found as well as the stuff already here” I moved to get up, she let go of
the arm of the couch to let me out. I moved to some of the cabinets around the lounge, sliding the
doors open to let her see most of what we had. “there's some more in the spare room upstairs if you
don't find anything you like here. There's all kinds, fiction and non fiction” She poked her nose
down to the racks, following the spines intently. I thought this might be a chance to leave her to it, I
needed to get my bearings after that.

“I'm going to go have a cold shower and get ready for bed, will you be alright down here?” I spoke
down to her, she turned her head, craning to look up at me.

“I will be fine, I know where all the switches are” She grinned again, “Thank you”

“You're welcome” I had to grin back, she was so genuine with her interactions. I couldn't imagine
how a race like the Ethereals managed to turn these people into cold killers. Maybe Kay was
unique in that aspect, maybe she thought of me the same way, having fought all her life.

I left her to her browsing, moving upstairs to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and some spare
clothes from my room. Kay must have cleaned up after herself, there was no evidence that a giant
snake had been in the bath tub the night before. The cold water helped me think a bit, helping me
wonder why I was acting like I did around Kay, was I really finding her attractive?

I finished up and got dressed, the last of the cold water gurgling away down the drains. I had my
own books in my room I could distract myself with before I would eventually fall asleep. Opening
the bathroom door and making my way into the hall I could hear Kay making her way up the
stairs, making noise just for my benefit. She was holding a moderate stack of books to take into her
room, what looked like a large variety too. She stopped in the hall outside of her door, waiting for
me to walk past, her head nodded down slightly, eyes angled up towards me to watch me in the
darkness that now enveloped the house.

“Some light reading before bed?” I asked, she nodded in response.

“Even when we were learning, I enjoyed reading. It was mainly books of learning, I have not had
the opportunity to read the more... Flavourful books” She said with a smile. God, what had she
found down there. I moved up to her to get into my room, turning to face her, wondering what an
appropriate goodnight would be after last night. I shouldn't have worried, she took the lead for the
second time, moving her nose up to me, nuzzling into my cheek affectionately again. Not able to
grab my hands for the books she had to lean over. She made that soft purring noise again, clearly
enjoying herself. Her soft scaling slightly scratching against the beard growth I'd accumulated.
“Goodnight Nathan” she whispered into my ear, pulling back again, moving to turn around.

Before she went I had to ask her something first.

“Why were you embarrassed when you asked me to question you?” I said softly. Her pupils dilated
a little, eyes widening. I couldn't tell if her scales were getting darker in the wane moonlight we
were getting but I had to assume they were from her other reactions.

“I... didn't know what you were going to ask” She stammered out, still holding my gaze. I chuckled
at her a bit.

“I wasn't going to ask anything personal Kay, don't worry” I smiled back. She grinned, her tongue
flicking out playfully as she completed turning. Opening the door to move inside, she turned her
head, crimson eyes locked to mine, the patterns of her hood glaring in the moonlight, her scar
marked out in darkness. Her mouth eased open to respond.

“I would have shown you anything”

My mouth just hung slack, she laughed lightly, entering her room

"Goodnight Kay..." was all I could muster as she closed the door behind her
 Chapter 8

It was still dark when I woke up, that was more usual than the sleep in I managed yesterday. It had
taken me a long while to get to sleep, even after trying to read myself into a stupor, I was still
worked up. Thinking about what Kay had said, I tried to convince myself she was just teasing me,
that she had seen the ways Maverick and had acted and picked up on it. I couldn't say for certain,
couldn't even fool myself into thinking it. Laying in bed wasn't going to help, it would be better just
to get up now to prepare for the morning.

Reluctantly getting out of bed I started to get ready. Dressing light, I'd just need to take it off again
soon. I started preparing a bag with some towels, some light wrappings too if they were needed.

Stepping outside of the room I stopped suddenly, hearing a clatter coming from downstairs. The
dim morning light had yet to break through to the home but a dull orange replaced the blue of
night.

“Kay?” I called out softly, moving to the stairs.

“Yes! It's just me down here!” She called back up, that made me breath easier. I was beginning to
wonder how she got down there without me noticing but dismissed it, she'd been sneakier. I trotted
down the stairs to see her in the kitchen, her tail coiled up inside the kitchen space as she cleaned
the dishes from the night before.

“Good morning Nathan, sleep well?” She treated me with a smile before turning back to the dishes,
having to work a bit harder because we only had cold water right now.

“Yeah I did, thanks” I moved to the counter, “Did I hear you use contractions?” I asked, cocking
my head at her, she beamed in response.

“I did, I took a dictionary up with the books so could learn the shortened terms better” She seemed
quite pleased with herself.

“How long did you spend reading up there?” I asked, moving the backpack on my shoulder.

“A few hours, not all night. I had slept long enough the previous night” She put a hand to her
mouth thoughtfully, “I'd slept long enough” she turned her head looking for confirmation, grinning
when I nodded. It was only then she recognised my lack of clothing and the bag. “Going for a
swim?” she asked.

“You could say that, Maverick has kind of morning rituals he likes to get done, it's good exercise” I
shrugged my shoulders, “He said it's a Muton thing and I don't know enough to argue with him so
may as well go along with it” She looked interested now, putting the last of the plates on the rack.

“May I see?” she asked softly.

“Can't see why not” I nodded my head tilting it towards the eay out behind me, “Come on then,
Maverick is probably already waiting” She made to follow me, long tail uncurling from behind the
counter, wiping her long claws off on her shirt. “And remind me we need to do some washing later
on, it's been a while” I indicated her shirt with an accusatory point, she smirked bashfully. We
headed towards thefront of the house, undoing the latches on the steel door, the cool outside air
breaching the threshold.

Outside the air was frosty, dew still melting off the tree leaves and moss around us, leaving the air
lightly misted. Fog on both of our breaths as we made our way to the path leading to the lake.
Maverick's door was open, that usually meant he was already down at the water, waiting for me to
arrive.

We pushed through the woods, the thickets were starting to get trampled down by our frequent
passages rather noticeably now. They'd spring back up and cover the area again after the next
patrol we set out on, or heavy rain that impeded us.

Maverick was there, shin deep in the lake, looking back at us with his great arms folded over his
chest. He was dressed in just his leggings as usual but his mask was off, revealing the seams in his
face I knew opened up in almost four directions, leading into a fang strewn maw.

He nodded to me but when he caught sight of Kay's big yellow and orange strewn form slithering
behind me his arms uncrossed rapidly, fumbling around his mouth in mild alarm

“Come on big guy, if you give me shit about acting weird around her I'm sure you can handle her
when training” I called out. He fumbled for a bit, knowing I was calling him out. His frame rippled
as he tensed before he dropped his arms to his sides in defeat, waving a big hand down at me in a
'fuck you' motion before he turned around and faced the centre of the lake.

“You aren't going to fight him are you?” Kay hissed softly in alarm. She must have seen Muton
fights before, the only reason I knew of where they removed their masks.

“God no” I almost laughed, “Just some exercise, more of a game of tag for him, a wrestle for me. I
just have to try and get to the drum” I pointed to one of the drums on the shore we had left there
the other day.

“Do you ever get past him?” She looked at me, genuinely curious.

“Sometimes he lets me” I grinned, we were almost at the water line before I motioned for her to
stop. She nodded, coiling up her tail to sit on.

I got to one of the drums Maverick had brought down yesterday, putting my bag on top of it,
slipping off my shirt to chuck it on there as well. The chill hit me, reminding me to check my chest.
Prodding around it, it had almost completely healed, I could only imagine the healing concoction
in that cannister only worked because of Advent soldiers, they needed to heal all forms of life.

I kicked off my boots, I hadn't even bothered to put on socks. Moving out into the water, the cold
bit into me as I pushed in deeper. Walking out past Maverick, deeper into the lake, needing to take
a deep breath when it hit my groin.

“Fuck me it's cold” I shuddered. Maverick grunted behind me, I knew he was basically just telling
me to get on with it. I took a breath and swan dived forwards, submerging myself completely to
just get it over with. The cold was like a spike driving directly into my brain, bringing with it the
sharp clarity that only cold water can. I swam in a small circle to stretch out a bit, coming back up
about a metre in front of Maverick. I stretched my arms out, water sloshing around my thighs.

“Alright, you all good?” I asked, giving a light slap on my thighs. Maverick gave a terse nod,
almost imperceptible on his non existent neck. His stance widened, arms moving out to his sides,
hands forwards as if about to catch something.

I moved to the right, his steps mimicking mine to keep the shore behind him. With a rush of water I
bolted forwards, feinting right before jinking left to try and duck his large reach. He wasn't fooled,
catching my movement with a large palm on my stomach, he lifted me almost gently as I tried to
struggle over him. With a small grunt he lobbed me back, I tried to twist to land in the water better
but still smacked against the water shoulder first, rising amidst the bubbling surface with a red welt
for my efforts. Wiping my eyes off, blinking rapidly, ready to try again.

This continued for almost an hour, my body sore and worn out from trying to push past Maverick,
sometimes even forcefully when I thought I could get a decent angle. Maverick for his part was
breathing a little heavier, his maw opening a little, his back heaving regularly. I hadn't done much
except wear out his legs from chasing me down, his arms from trying to hold me still and throwing
me back into the lake. His training wasn't strength, only endurance, I had to wear him down before
I had nothing left in me. Which was never very likely.

The water was brackish with swill around us, my body burned from exertion, muscles tensing. I
didn't have much more in me, he could probably see it. Making a quick dash forwards, Maverick
attempted to clothesline around my midsection but I saw it coming and ducked, he instinctively put
his leg in the way. I couldn't stop myself from moving forwards, clipping his leg turned my body
sideways, he gave a helpful shove to my shoulder, sending me down the rest of the way into the
swirling water.

My head lifted out of the water with a gasp, it was shallow enough here that I could hold myself up
at least. I knelt, wiping the muck from my face, waving that that was enough to Maverick. He held
out a hand, looping underneath my arm to haul me back to my feet. I turned to the shore, seeing
Kay still sitting there patiently.

“You were waiting there that entire time?” I called up to her, spitting out some water, trying to
regain my breath.

“It was very interesting, I'd never seen anything like it” She spoke back down, “And seeing you get
shoved in the mud was very entertaining” She laughed at the end.

Oh so that's how it is.

“Yeah well, you can blame him” I pointed at Maverick, “fighting is life for him” I sighed, "it didn't
help he found a bunch of old sports recordings in the house and got ideas”

“It does explain your form and stamina” she called back, was that a compliment? I decided to just
nod, hands on my hips.

“Why don't you come for a swim?” I asked, she looked at me covered in grime, then at the water,
far less clear where we were, at least until the silt settled on the floor.

“No thank you, I'm fine, maybe later” She smiled.

“You can swim can't you?” I asked, trying to get a rise out of her. Maverick turned up to look at her
accusingly at this.

“I'm a good swimmer, I just don't think I need the exercise right now”

So it was going to be the hard way then.

I tapped Maverick on the shoulder and signed something to him when he turned. His eyes widened
slowly and the Muton form of a grin crossed his features, it didn't involve his mouth, like a slight
cheek movement. He turned and ran up the shore immediately, going past Kay and into the
thickets. She turned her head tracking him, turning back to see me walking up the shore to her.

“What did you say to him? I'm still new to the language, The first two words were 'go get'?” She
tilted her head, “If you needed something from the house you could have asked” She uncoiled
herself and moved towards me. I met her with a smile.

“The last words were 'behind her'”

Her torso twisted instantly, just as Maverick stormed back through the thicket at a run. Before she
could move further I lurched forwards, grabbing around her stomach, pinning her arms to her sides.
Her tail tried to whip around but too slowly, Maverick was already on her, grabbing her tail in his
powerful arms and moving up.

“Nathan!” She shouted out, her tail trying to constrict, wrapping around Mavericks arm a number
of times but unable to pull free. He was holding most of her tail like a chain wrapped around his
arm, holding her out long enough she couldn't get anymore around while I had her torso pinned. I
could feel her strong abdominal muscles tensing and pulling, trying to bring her together, almost
lifting me from the ground. Her hood and back were rubbing against my face, her wriggling
desperately trying to get herself free. She could definitely have gotten away from me and maybe
even Maverick but not when we were both holding her apart like this.

I tilted my head, nodding towards the water, Maverick nodded and started moving with me,
carrying her between us as she writhed to escape.

“No! No! No!” She shouted but there was almost a hint of laughter to her voice. She tensed more
the closer we got to the water's edge, pulling me closer to Maverick, trying to get more coils around
him, “Nathan! Maverick! Stop!” There was definitely a little giggle there that time, she might even
be enjoying the challenge. I didn't have a plan from here, maybe that's why she was confident, we
couldn't just toss her in. She pulled more of her torso toward Maverick, my feet leaving the ground
slightly, damn she was strong. Maverick didn't seem to have an issue, laughing to himself even as
her tail wrapped up his whole arm, the excess trailing down his back and across the ground.

“You can't do anything now!” She yelled in triumph, turning her neck around as far as it would go,
her large crimson eye locked directly onto me.

“We're already dirty, we're all just hopping in together” I teased, her pupil narrowed in realisation.

“Nathan no!” Her wriggling increased ten fold, lifting me up fully now, Maverick kept calmly
walking us into the shallows.

“I will bite you!” She yelled out but still hearing some laughter coming through in her panic.

Maverick seemed to have made up his mind as to what was going to happen. He stopped dead and
raised his arm holding Kay and now myself, his other arm moved up to his shoulder and shoved
her tail off of him, as effortlessly as someone wipes off some dust. Both Kay and I were held aloft,
I was stuck holding onto her now, knowing if I let her go she could coil away.

“Mav, I'm still up here!”

Maybe that's what made him laugh harder as he tossed the both of us into the lake.

I let go mid air, seeing Kay as a blur of yellow before crashing into the water. I surfaced with a
gasp, treading water to stay afloat. A weight on my back caused me to dip down slightly, clawed
hands curling over my shoulders, Kay's hood moving above my head. Her scaly neck running
across the top of my back, the water making her smooth texture extra slippery.

She was moving us towards the shore, her long tail twisting to and fro in the water, I started
paddling to help us along, steering us to a less murky area of the shore.
“What's the rush?” I called up, she hadn't said a word, holding me a little tighter than somebody
just looking to get back to shore.

“Those mud insects are down there” She answered seriously. I chuckled, taking up a more even
breast stroke to even out her weight.

“They won't bother you, they hide in the mud” I tilted my head to try and see if she was being
serious, my head rubbing against her neck.

“They're still down there” I didn't argue, I was still sore from everything. Just steering us as Kay
did most of the work. Maverick was waiting for us at the shore line, filling up one of the barrels of
water, not wasting any time.

Kay let go as soon as she felt I could stand up, slithering her own way up the shore, unbuttoning
her top and slipping it off.

“I can't believe you didn't think I wouldn't bite you” She said, turning back around, wringing her
shirt out. I still really wasn't used to seeing her without any clothes, even if it was just a shirt, I
guess I had to start trying.

“You were laughing as you were saying it” I answered, moving around to where the drums were to
grab a towel and my spare clothes. At least the sun had come out properly now, helping us dry.

“Oh” Kay murmured.

“You enjoy yourself a little then?” I asked, grabbing the towel to start drying off my hair, turning
back to look at her. She was looking down at her wrung shirt, her head turned to look at me with a
small grin.

“Yeah, I guess I did” She pointed at me with one of her long claws, face turning serious, “Just don't
put me in there with those mud insects again. I'll find somewhere else to swim if I feel like it” I
laughed at her.

“Sure, I promise, what about you Maverick?” I turned to him, he was coming back up from the
water's edge with a full water barrel. He tried his hardest to roll his small yellow eyes, nodding
afterwards, moving straight past us to put the water through the filters. I turned to Kay as he
disappeared, giving a shrug.

“He's a man of few words, all business but he means well” I quickly dried myself up, holding out
the towel, Kay grabbed it with a nod of thanks.

“You get along well with each other” She remarked, running the towel down her hood, taking care
around so that it didn't get caught in the small missing section, “he was very gentle with you”

“He was” I agreed, “We've been doing it a while though, he was a bit over eager at first, I think he
needed to get used to play fighting with someone who wasn't a Muton”

“How did you two meet each other?” She finished her hood and went to drying her chest, I kept my
eyes on hers as much as I could but my eyes betrayed me with quick glimpses every now and
again.

“Uh, we met how most Mutons meet people...” I scratched my hair idly to distract myself from her,
one of her eye ridges raised at me, I quickly kept talking to cover myself, “on a battlefield far from
here”
“You were fighting each other?” Her head tilted incredulously.

“Oh no no” I raised my hands, “it was more of a free for all. I heard gunfire and thought to stick
around and scavenge the aftermath, got to close and got caught up in it” I breathed in remembering,
“you don't remember much of fights like that, Maverick was hit pretty badly, you've seen the state
of his armour. He was down and surrendered”

“Surrendered to you?” She moved the towel down to her stomach, that really wasn't much better.
She was so well toned and curved just right.

“No, to the others in the fight. There was only one left standing at that point, others injured. He
walked on Maverick with a gun and I intervened. He had given up, this was no longer a war” I
rubbed my temple, “It wasn't a proud hit but I punched him at a run. I made a choice then” I smiled
at her, “We've been travelling together since”

“What was your choice?” She had slowed down completely, her whole torso turned to look at me.

“That whoever needs help gets it, pretty simple I know. It's what we grew up learning, even in the
resistance. After Advent fell, the people who preached that we needed to band together and help
each other started becoming mobs where that didn't apply. I couldn't do it” I knew I had a sad grin
on my face, “The definition of people changed”

Kay started drying herself off again, her tongue flitting in and out in thought.

“There may have been many of us in Advent” She started, “But we weren't a people. We were
tools. Even from my side of the war, that's something to come to terms with” She finished wiping
down, tying the towel around her hips, “But since the fall, I've been willing to try” She smiled
softly.

“I cared for my sisters under my command, It stayed with me after the fog of the Ethereals left”
She smiled then, “that's when I knew it was my emotion, I felt care, genuinely. It feels... Nice” Her
crimson eyes were soft as she looked at me. Like she was waiting for something, I wasn't the best
with words, I just hope this is what she needed.

I dropped the bag and stepped forwards, putting my arms around her to embrace her. She didn't pull
away but moved into it. She squeezed my back, her long neck twisting around, rubbing her cheek
and hood into the side of my head, pushing against me.

“It does feel nice...” I said softly. Giving a squeeze before letting go. She reluctantly pulled her
arms away, her claws tracing down my arm. Her head moving back started tilting, I recognised
what she was doing and beat her to it, moving my own head forward quickly to kiss her on the
cheek. Because of how far back down her face her mouth went it was probably more intimate than
I intended but the result was what I wanted. She locked in place, the dark colour seeping into her
scales as I pulled away, I had taken command this time and she wasn't prepared for it.

I put some space between us, picking up the bag at my feet. Kay was still locked in place, arms
lowering slowly. I moved up the incline slowly, turning to look back at her.

“That's right, that's how you left me” I smiled down at her. She eyed me like a predator, her body
twisting like she was about to pounce at any moment. I poked my canine with my tongue in a shit
eating grin, “And later on I'm going to tell Maverick all about it” Her pupils became narrow slits,
her colour darkening even further.

“Nathan!” She called out with a hiss this time. I didn't wait around to see if she would charge me,
turning towards the house and bolting through the thickets.

I guess she could feel embarrassment like a human.

---------------------------------------

I regretted running back fairly quickly when the hard rocks that made up the lawn reminded me I'd
left my boots at the water. I couldn't go back now, instead waiting at the front of the door until Kay
made her way back up, not too long after. Her head was down, looking left and right as she
slithered towards me. Coming right up close before talking to me.

“You aren't going to tell him are you?” She asked softly. Now that was just cute. I smiled at her
gently.

“No, of course not. Now get inside and grab something to eat. Not as many chores on the exercise
days but some still need to be done” Her face showed relief, her head coming up higher. I opened
the door for her and she slithered inside, I didn't really want to tell her I needed to go back to fetch
my boots after acting up.

After getting the rest of my gear back we spent most of the day cleaning the house up, washing
clothes and linen and setting out to dry. I had to find something else for Kay to wear. I discovered a
large zip up hoodie eventually, I didn't tell her it's name though, she didn't need a lesson in irony.
Unfortunately for me she decided not to wear it whilst doing house work, claiming it was 'too
fluffy' and would get dirty.

Around midday the clouds started to filter through slowly, blocking out the harshness of the sun
with a slate grey cover. It meant we were under power restrictions now, the afternoon saw us
pouring beeswax into candles, making wicks for them. Before showing Kay how the water
filtration system worked, without power it just involved lighting a fire and boiling the water,
transferring it between drums.

With the last of the expendable power I decided to show Kay how the radio relay worked, before a
storm truly started, ruining anything on the airwaves. I invited her to join me in the room after she
was done with the last of the water, Maverick had stated he wanted to go out looking for game. I
think he just enjoyed a good run every now and again, the exercise that morning not being nearly
enough to tire him out.

The room was dark and dingy, the frame of the shed bare, the light from the home made lantern
running off of a mixture of rendered fat and tallow competing with the dull green thrown off by the
various radio equipment stacked on the desks. Cables spider webbed up the back of the units,
snaking their way across the 'A' frames to escape outside through some sealed holes in the roof.
Two seats sat before the desks, one a repurposed dining room chair, the other a reinforced metal
box with a lounge cushion on top of it. Even though the room was reasonably sized the equipment
inside it made it close and cosy.

A creak followed by a small amount of light let me know Kay had arrived, I turned to see her
silhouette in the doorway, looking around the areas as she slowly slithered inside. She had put on
the hoodie I had found her, the hood acting more like a scarf beneath her own, there was no way it
would cover her head. She'd left it unzipped at the front, the placket running over the top of her
breasts and opening up around her hips, leaving her cream belly and the inside of her breasts
exposed. Having her form slightly obscured was somehow worse than her just walking around
naked for me.

“The jumper zips up” I tried to say nonchalantly. She looked down and grabbed each side of the
zips.

“I know” Her head turned away slightly, “I just couldn't make it work” I had to hide the smirk that
attempted to cross my features. Conquered the Earth but the humble zip escapes them.

“Do you want me to show you how?” I offered.

“I prefer it this way” I don't know if she was being serious or obstinate but I had to turn back before
getting too distracted.

“Whatever you like, just get closer and I'll show you how this works” I started moving the dials,
thumbing in some of the far distant signals. The weather was already making it harder to dial in
exacts, it wasn't even raining yet. “Here's the furthest signal we've managed to get, it's kind of what
we've been using as a yard stick for distance”

Kay moved over to my shoulder, tongue slipping out as she paid attention to the movements. A
burst of static washed out from the speakers, I twisted a tuning dial to wind it in, a voice slowly
coming through, laden with static and distortion. A woman's voice, with a space between every
word.

'Foxtrot, uniform, whiskey, romeo, whiskey, charlie, oscar, X-ray, echo, india, uniform'

A brief pause, followed by a long beep like an old dial tone from the pre-war phones.

'Delta, lima, quebec, foxtrot, echo, india, quebec, india, foxtrot, uniform, whiskey, romeo, whiskey,
charlie, oscar, x-ray, echo, india, uniform'

“What does it mean?” Kay asked, transfixed during another long pause with a dial tone.

'Delta, lima'

“We don't know, it's old phonetic alphabet but just translates into nonsense. It must need a cipher” I
answered. There was a longer pause before it looped, starting from the beginning again. I reached
out and turned it down a little so it was just in the background. “It must be broadcasting from an
old city, or underground base. We don't know, but it still has power after all these years”

The tone was haunting in the mostly darkness that encompassed us. I reached over again and
dialled to something else, changing bands. I took her through the ordinary channels, the
propaganda from far off cities, the usual X-com and resistance messages that no one had bothered
to turn off. Showing Kay each step, getting her to tune into different frequencies, using various
bands.

“Alright, now for something a little special” I powered up a box under the main receiver, it looked
ramshackle, like it was made from garbage. Something that have might been a screen at some stage
hung uselessly from the side, various lights and diodes laid bare across the side panel.

“What's that?” Kay asked, I tilted my head to look at her, her eyes were focused on my hands, how
I was making it work.

“This is a Resistance radio” I smiled, turning back. “It's usually blank but you never know what
might be being broadc-”

'nd it better be the-' wow, way to make me look like a idiot, I almost panicked and stood up.
Instead I reached for a piece of charcoal and started marking on the desk, the voices were coming
in choppy and fragmented but this needed to be recorded.
'-st us -formation is goo-'

A second voice cut in.

'We're read- just nee- make sure we're on the same page' That signal must be closer to us, coming
through with less interference. My brow furrowed, it was clearer but sounded croaky, my eyes
widened at a realisation but Kay beat me to it.

“I know that voice” She said with a low hiss, almost a growl, deep in her throat.

It was the gruff man from the compound I had found Kay in.

I held up a hand to stop her hissing, she quietened down but my focus was on the radio, the static
was intense, I tried to focus it.

'-ll be, w- want th- same outcome, jus- -member -ocation'

What followed was a series of numbers and letters that I quickly noted down on the desk,
desperately scribbling with the charcoal.

'We know, 14 -ays. b- at the rend-ous. If your inf- is righ- you'll s- us'

'i- right'

'it's jus- a bonus I can ge- back what's mine'

'She's there, ra- ou'

There were a rush of numbers followed by a blurt of static, the line going dead, that last part was a
listening code - when the next communique was to take place. I stared down at the numbers I
scrawled, old habits drilled into me changing them into what they meant.

“That was a plan” Kay's tongue was flicking out rapidly, I could feel it pass my head, “But why
would they say it over the radio?” I was mouthing words, writing them down next to what was
there.

“Resistance radio...” I mumbled, my mind elsewhere, “If Advent could listen they would have beat
X-com long ago...”

Kay's head turned, looking at what I was scribbling. It was old, very old code ciphering. If I hadn't
grown up in a camp it wouldn't have meant anything.

“Was-” Kay's breath caught, “Was he talking about me?” She was strong, but being in that
compound would have been the weakest point of her life, the only time she sounded this concerned
was when she was talking about fitting in around the home.

“No” I breathed out slowly, putting the charcoal down, dusting my hand off on my pants. “Well,
maybe”

I stood up, running the numbers through my head so I wouldn't forget them, sliding past Kay into
the house proper. Moving at a jog toward the cabinet in the kitchen, pulling out the area map and
laying it flat on the table, I couldn't make anything out, the dark had set in too much. A light
moved in, I looked up to see Kay holding the lamp out.

“Thanks” Shit I had just squeezed past her to be out here, “I'm sorry” She nodded in understanding,
holding the light above the map, I ran through the numbers, marking out the position.
“He might have been talking about you, but it's not you” I stood back looking at the map, turning to
face her, "there's probably more than one viper out there" her features had changed from concerned
to focused.

“it's the town to the north”

 Chapter 9

'Two weeks?' Maverick signed to me.

He had gotten back from the woods a short time ago, a deer carcass draped about his shoulders. A
small trickle of blood down his right arm leading up to the buck a testament to the cracked skull
he'd given it to take it down.

“That's what they said” I replied, speaking aloud for Kay's benefit.

When Maverick had arrived he had knocked at the back door, waiting where we usually skinned
things to prepare them. When Kay and I met him outside he had already started to clean it down in
preparation, using a water barrel we kept there. While he worked I relayed what we had heard to
him, he listened quietly, not responding until I had finished. Kay had kept quiet as well, a sombre
look had crossed her features and had never left. It was hard to tell inside but in the waning light
outside she definitely looked a little paler.

'The next communication is in two days?' Maverick confirmed, reaching down for his knife,
stopping right before grabbing it in contemplation.

“Yes, at around midnight” I nodded. I had run through the numbers inside with Kay, awaiting
Maverick's return, “It was pure chance that we caught today's transmission on the Resistance
comms” Maverick tapped the hilt of the knife as it lay on the ground rather than picking it up,
looking away in thought before turning back and signing.

'I don't trust it' he said plainly, picking the knife up without hesitating this time, as if his mind was
made up on the issue, having no more to say.

“Not enough to act on. We don't know anything about that town as it is, there's also an Advent base
between that compound and the town. If they plan to move up there, they need to get over that
first” I put my hands on my hips, turning to Kay, her head was down slightly, her fingers wringing
together slowly. My brow furrowed slightly in concern, I reluctantly pulled my eyes away from her
to continue, “It doesn't hurt to listen to the next communique, if it happens at all. After that we'll
make a decision, if these people are out trying to hurt someone who isn't Advent, then I think they
deserve to be warned” Maverick cocked his head, raising an eye ridge at me, knowing full well
how most of our ventures to communicate have gone. I raised my hands up in consternation, “Fine,
at least investigating them then to see if they deserve it, happy?” He nodded his head before
turning back down. That was as good of an agreement as I would get at this stage. I turned around
fully to Kay, who still seemed out of sorts, her gaze lingering on nothing in the distance.

“Kay? Is something wrong?” I asked. She snapped as if woken up from a dream, twisting her head
on her long neck to look at me, regaining some composure.

“No" She whispered, "No, I'm alright” She tried to put on a smile. Her tail constantly shifting told a
different story though. I poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue in thought, coming to a
decision.

“You think you could wait for me in the lounge please Kay?” I asked softly, she didn't even
question me, just nodded slowly and slithered back inside. That movement didn't get by Maverick
either, his head turned to me.

'What's wrong with her?' He asked, making sure the knife was pointing down to not hit himself
whilst signing.

'I think she's panicking' I signed back, wanting to keep quiet, 'I might know what's wrong. If I use
some of the power later, don't yell at me' To my surprise he didn't even seem phased by this,
usually he was very conservative.

'Do what you need to do, I'll make dinner tonight' He conveyed, turning back down to start cutting
into the buck. I nodded my thanks, turning to move back inside.

“There's still some dead wood in the back of the shed” I spoke aloud, knowing he'd need to make a
fire in one of the pits to cook what he needed. I heard him grunt in response, learning enough from
my time with him to know that was basically an acknowledgement.

I stepped into the darkening interior of the house, closing the door behind me. At least it was
warmer in here, the insulation of the holiday home doing its job even after all these years. I
grabbed the small lantern off of the table where I'd left it when looking at the map, lighting it up a
little more to combat the coming of night, lifting it up before walking into the lounge room.

Kay had coiled herself up in the spot near the largest lounge that she usually took, her hands
wringing together idly despite her efforts at composure. I moved in closer, putting the lantern down
in the centre of the room, bathing the area in its soft orange glow. I looped my hand around one of
the armchairs, twisting it about to face Kay, sliding it closer to her before hopping down onto it to
face her.

Even sitting on a chair when she sat atop some loose coils she was taller then me. I motioned for
her to lower herself a little, she complied, lowering her body closer to the ground, her head curving
down towards mine. I held a hand out in front of me, moving it towards her face slowly.

“May I?” I asked, there was some confusion in her eyes but she nodded slowly. I moved my hand
to her cheek, stroking the soft scales there. Her eyes lidded softly, her head gently leaning into my
hand. I shifted it back further, just underneath the rear of her eye, her pupils twisted to look at me. I
was running a gamble here, hoping that our anatomies were similar enough in more than a few
ways. I put two fingers on her cheek under her eye, tracing them down and around her jaw onto her
neck, pushing in lightly after I rounded the bone, the scales there soft and yielding to my touch.

And there it was, the fast paced thump thump of her heartbeat beneath my fingertips, just where
you'd find it on anyone else.

I lent back, giving the underside of her chin a rub as I withdrew my hand, Kay's tongue sliding out
to rub against my palm when it left her scales.

“I don't know what your heart rate normally is Kay, but by my standards it's running a mile a
minute” I said softly, keeping my eyes on hers, a small flash of confusion ran over them, “It means
really fast” I shrugged, holding her gaze, “what's wrong?” I tried to make it sound as gentle as I
could but I think some of my worry made it through in my tone. Her eyes shifted away slightly,
almost a look of shame in them, “Hey, there's nothing wrong with being worried” I soothed, trying
to get her to open up to me. She looked back, taking a few slow breaths.

“I didn't think I'd ever hear that voice again, I just don't know how to feel” There was nothing but
sincerity in her voice, “I don't know what I'm feeling, scared, angry, confused. That man wanted to
skin me on the cold floor of a warehouse" She urged, her face more animated, "I had accepted my
death, as I told you when we first camped” She just started to vent it all out, “But I had nothing to
live for then" Her voice quietened, "that's no longer the case, I feel like I have a home” her brow
furrowed, eyes going narrow, “Hearing the voice of the man who would have prevented that, and
plans to take it away still, stirs emotions in me” She held out her hand experimentally, palm up
over my knee. I looked at it a moment before holding it, letting her grip me, her black talons
rubbing across my skin, she laughed softly, “It's a curious feeling” she sighed. I took a soft breath,
licking my lips lightly.

“Kay, if we end up going out there, you're welcome to just stay here, you don't need to think about
ever coming across that man again” I meant it too, Maverick and I had always been able to handle
going out before, I wasn't planning on putting us in any firefights either way. Kay rubbed my hand,
looking down at it before turning back up with a smile.

“I thought you would say something like that, you're too caring” her eyes had a glimmer at the
base, like she was about to start crying her emotions were so high. I moved forwards, about to say
something but she halted me with a gesture. “It's exactly why I have to come, I can't let anything
happen to you” She grinned a little, “even if you did orchestrate Maverick throwing me into an
infested lake”

“Kay... We'll be alright out there, we can take care of ourselves” I didn't know how to take this. No
one had cared about whether I was in the field or not since my sister had died.

“I know, but it's my choice right?” her nose pushed forwards, eyes widening somewhat.

“It is” my eyebrows wrinkled up as I shook my head with a smile, I can't believe I was saying this,
“I just want you to be safe-” I couldn't help cringing a little bit at myself, bringing how I felt into
words, “-and happy”

Kay's eyes lidded, her hood stretched out a little, a soft shudder running down the length of the
fringes, slightly out of sync on her left where it was split by her scar. A sound almost like a purr
sounded deep in her chest. She squeezed my hand a bit firmer, her claws almost at the point where
they'd start to puncture my skin if she tried any harder.

“I'll be ok” She whispered out at length, “I can deal with this, there's time” Her grip loosened,
thankfully. Her head pulled back a little, her shuddering coming to an end, “After seeing and
hearing the things that man did...” She paused a little, “Nathan, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead” I replied slowly, not knowing just what she was going to ask after that display of
emotion.

“Do you mean what you say?” her voice was little more than a whisper.

“Of course I do” I responded with a smile, breathing an internal sigh of relief, that wasn't such a
bad question. My head moved to look around the room, I held my hand up at the ceiling and waved
around, “I mean, we're in our house right-”

I couldn't get the rest of it out, Kay had lunged her body at me with enough force to knock some of
the breath out of me. Her arms wrapped around me, her neck and hood coiled about my head. Her
tail wrapped around the base of the lounge because she couldn't get to me, pinning my legs to the
base. I recovered enough from the impact to slide my hands across the scales on her sides, slipping
them through the open hoodie she still wore to hug her back, as close as she wanted to be to me.
Her scales slid across my skin, body rippling slowly with muscle movements as she squeezed. I let
my eyes close, breathing softly into her neck as she was breathing into mine.

We stayed like that for a while, I was allowing her to let everything go, to indulge a little. There
were moments where she'd loosen off slightly, as if to let go, before her body tightened again,
bringing her back against me. Like she just didn't want the embrace to be over. For my part I just
rode it out, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying this level of intimacy either. We were enough
company for each other in those minutes we stayed locked together.

Then there was a knock on the wall behind me.

Kay held on until I tapped her side, I could feel her neck swivel in place before her body snapped
back, she was so absorbed she didn't even hear it. She pulled back so fast that she would have
ripped hairs out if her scales weren't so smooth, sitting back on the section of her tail not wrapped
around the lounge multiple times, palms together in front of her chest awkwardly, her colour
deepening. I twisted my head about, a flush coming over my face as well as I saw maverick leaning
his shoulder against the wall leading into the room. Neither of us had heard him open the back
door to come inside and he knew it, if he had a normal mouth I had no doubt it would be wearing a
shit eating grin. He moved off of the wall and signed in quick succession at us, before chuckling
and turning to walk back outside.

My mouth hung open, a frown starting to crease my features, edges of my lips starting to point
downwards.

“Wh-what did he say? It was too fast for me” Kay whispered softly from beside me.

“He said everything was ready and he was going to start cooking dinner” I swallowed a lump in my
throat.

“What else?” She pushed.

“He said, he never thought he'd catch a snake on the back foot” I winced, “Before laughing at his
own joke and leaving” I let out a breath, “Truly awful”

“Oh” Kay looked down a little. I smiled at her to ease her a bit.

“Don't worry about it, tell you what. I'll go help Maverick with food, why don't you have a look
through the cupboards and see if there's anything you'd like to watch?” I asked.

“But we're not using any power” She replied slowly, though her eyes widening betrayed a little
excitement.

“There's enough in reserves, I checked earlier, don't worry. Just pick some out” In truth I hadn't
even checked the reserves, I knew there'd be enough for one night of indulgence at least. Kay
nodded, she moved herself forwards, uncoiling from the lounge as she did so. She lifted herself up
to her full height, standing much taller than me when she wanted to, her head poked down, cheek
nuzzling against mine affectionately.

“I'll look, thank you” she pulled away from me, she could probably guess why I was doing this but
she didn't question it. I was thankful she didn't see any derision in it, that I was only trying to
distract her to help.

I nodded, not needing to say anymore. I turned about, making my way outside. I left the lantern
with Kay, the sounds of her rummaging through the cabinets following me as I walked away.

I walked outside, an intense orange glow bathing the back of the house. The fire pit the home
already had had been extended and dug in deeper, filled and surrounded by rocks and a rotisserie
that Maverick had constructed, which he was now slowly turning. The first layers of boiling fat
sliding down the exposed meat to sizzle in the fire.

“You work fast” I spoke, walking towards him. He let the crank rest on the heavy side so he could
talk back to me.

'So do you' he signed, I couldn't see his face, cast in shadow by the fire behind him but I could
guess he still wore his form of a grin. I pulled a face at him, deciding to sign back instead of talking
from here to spare Kay any talk if she decided to listen from inside or step out suddenly.

'Now that's not fair' I responded, he held his hands out and twisted his head in an aproximation of a
shrug.

'Didn't say it was a bad thing, I don't care' He looked into my eyes and asked a question with his
own he didn't need his hands for. I had to reluctantly answer.

'Nothing has happened' As much as I might now wish it had, 'she's just hurting, likes to feel good
and honestly so do I. She's experiencing all this stuff after everything that she has been through' I
sighed, 'She just likes to feel good' I repeated, taking a pause, 'and... I like making her feel good'

'What has she been through?' Maverick asked, only curiosity in his face, no malevolence.

'She never told you?' That was surprising, the two had been talking together on occasion.

'I guess I'm not important enough for her' With enough flourishes in hand movement even signs
could be interpreted as sarcastic.

'Don't be like that' I looked around, like I was about to do something wrong by telling Maverick the
circumstances which I had found Kay in, I wouldn't divulge her past, only what was about to
happen to her. I gave a run down on the state she was in, what was about to happen to her, the
conditions she was kept in on that cold concrete floor wrapped and tied to the ground, who we had
heard on the radio and how he tied in to everything. Maverick kept on rotating the carcass as I
relayed the story, only looking down and stopping slightly once I was done.

'A terrible way to die' He was as astute as ever, 'I understand how she feels' He went back to
turning the meat, a heavy sizzling as the collected fat dripped off into the flames. I walked up close
to him and he eyed me warily.

'Don't worry, I still love you buddy, you won't be left out of the hugs' I reached down and hugged
as far as I could around his shoulder before he managed to shove me off. He laughed a little before
signing back.

'You're a dickhead, go turn on the power you need and leave me' I nodded with a smile, turning
around to make my way back into the power room, I had to put the power only to the lounge room,
there were various RCD's to flick on and off to channel it properly so only what we needed was
powered up.

Walking back into the lounge, Kay was sitting patiently on the floor, a stack of movies next to her,
the rest put away neatly.

“Made some decisions I see” I said, moving past her to the TV set, turning everything we needed
on.

“Yes, I think I have found some I'd like to see” She spoke almost hesitantly, as if scared I'd judge
her.

I chuckled, moving back over to her, sitting on the ground beside her and assessing the stack of
movies. When I was down cross legged on the floor Kay was almost intimidatingly large next to
me, she looped herself around a bit so her head was at the same height as mine, eyes darting
between the movies and my face to look for any reactions. I lifted them up and sorted through
them, smiling a little as I did so.

“Kay, these are all science fiction films with...” I puffed my cheeks up a bit in hesitation, just
blowing the word out, “bad aliens” she nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, I would love to see the human interpretation of alien life in this context” She smiled, I could
only grin at her.

“Well, it's not great in some circumstances and downright horrible in others” I held up some of the
films, “The Thing? Basically a horror film with great effects. Independence Day? Entertaining but I
think you'll find some flaws in there. War of the Worlds, the 50's version? You know this is in
black and white, as in it has no colour yeah?”

“I do now” She remained enthusiastic, I just shook my head.

“Fine, I did say it was your choice, I just ask you to suspend some of your disbelief here” I scooted
myself over to the base of the TV carrying most of the films.

“What does that phrase mean?” She asked quizzically.

“It means to try not to think too hard about it I guess, just be entertained and believe that what
you're seeing can happen in the context of the film” That sounded apt enough, “Which one do you
want to put on first?” I turned around, seeing her bright red eyes a little wide with excitement.

“The 'black and white' one” She held out a long arm, a curved talon pointing at the film, like I
would forget which one it was.

“Sure thing, just know that at some point Maverick is going to come in with the cuts of food for
tonight so prepare for an interruption a while into this, maybe even the next one” She nodded,
unfazed. “Fine, but we'll save Independence Day for last so he can watch it, he loves that movie” I
grinned, “he really likes planes”

I put the movie in the player, turning to Kay on the floor, shaking my head.

“That's not how you have a movie night, I'll grab some stuff from upstairs, can you go get some
water and some of the dried food please?” Wasn't quite the movie food from when I was a kid but
we'll work with what we have. She nodded eagerly, slithering her way into the kitchen. I headed
out of the room, stopping by the rear door to call to Maverick that we were going to be watching
one of his favourite films later, his reply came as an emphatic roar of approval.

I moved up the stairs, going into my room to grab the pillows and blanket, Kay's tail was long so I
think I'd need a spare. Grabbing one I headed downstairs, arms full of scrapped linen, Kay was next
to the longer of the lounges where she usually coiled up, I put everything down on the lounge. Kay
was stuck entranced by the menu roll, I had to snap my fingers to get her out of it.

“Come on, up on the lounge, make yourself comfortable” I patted the mound of pillows and
blankets, “but leave enough space for me” she eyed me with confusion at that.

“Won't you sit in the armchair like usual?” she asked.

“No, that's for Maverick, it's the only seat I reinforced for him and I'll be damned if I'm keeping it
warm for him” I moved forward to the TV, conventional batteries were long dead and I needed to
navigate the menus manually. I turned back to Kay, “You don't mind sharing the big lounge do
you?” she shook her head, crimson eyes wide in the glimmer of the lantern. I started the film,
quickly turning off the lantern and rushing back to the lounge, Kay had made herself a little bit of a
pillow fortress, taking off her hoodie to put one of the blankets over herself. Her tail was sliding
across the floor languidly, I moved over to one of the other blankets, throwing it over her exposed
tail before joining her. Putting the last of the blankets over myself, propping myself up on some
pillows against the arm rest.

Kay was paying close attention to the movie as it played, only asking contextual questions here
and there when she didn't understand something, for most of what she asked I had to guess, it was
made so long ago.

“Why were humans so concerned with invasion from Mars?” she asked quietly over scientific
conjecture on the screen.

“I'm not sure, maybe because it's our closest neighbour?” I whispered back.

“It's mostly not, Venus is usually closer” That stumped me.

“I don't know then, Venus doesn't sound as threatening as Mars, plus Mars is red, that's all I have” I
had to concede, she giggled a little under her breath, trying to stay quiet it came out more like a
series of hisses.

We went through the rest of the film discussing small bits and pieces, she laughed, claiming she
saw the strings holding up the saucers, asked how the aliens walked with such a long head but
heavy body, I just had to wave her off. She seemed to enjoy the more cheesy aspects of the film.
Slowly throughout the movie, as she was whispering to me she would edge a little closer,
eventually the pile of pillows she was lying on had tumbled forwards onto my lap. She just let her
body fall with it, her large hooded head resting on the pillow on my thigh, her chin hanging off it
slightly. Towards the end of the film she was paying close attention, wondering how it would wrap
up, the only noise from her was a slow rumble in her throat, echoing slightly whenever her tongue
slipped out of her mouth, it took me a moment to realise I had started to idly stroke her hood as she
was on my lap, I don't even remember starting it, it would be too awkward to just stop so I kept
going, she seemed to be enjoying the feeling of my hand running down her soft scales, her hood
even flaring out wider so there was more area.

The movie finished up in the cliché 50's way, the triumphant humans looking slightly off camera,
as if towards a shining horizon only they could see. Kay's head twitched up slightly, my hand
retracted from her head quickly as if shocked.

“Those martians did not plan their invasion very well” She spoke, raising herself up completely,
shrugging off the top of the blanket to stretch out her arms, I had forgotten she wasn't wearing her
top.

“They'd never been here before” I shrugged as if apologising for their incompetence, “They were
pretty hopeless outside of the extermination I guess” I thought for a moment, “You wouldn't have
been around during the invasion would you?” I didn't know if this was a taboo question, Maverick
didn't seem to mind them but everyone is different. She cocked her head and thought for a moment.

“I was born before the invasion started, technically I was around” she said nonchalantly, it didn't
seem she was worried about it either but that information shocked me, she would be older than
Maverick.

“But you were in the occupying force, why would you be born before the invasion even started?” I
asked quizzically.
“The Ethereals always expected victory” She spoke it as if it were obvious and that's all that there
was to it. It made sense if they were a force that had swept across the galaxy, but showed a level of
hubris I didn't expect. “Before the invasion proper does not mean before the abductions started
remember, it was in phases. Our DNA has been altered by this world, for this world” she followed
up.

“To be honest I was too young to appreciate any of it happening, I was just shifted across the world
with my family and that's it” I couldn't think of anything else to say, that memory was a blur, there
was so much happening. I decided to push it aside, motioning for Kay to lift herself up a bit,
“Alright, next movie then, you want to go through the pile in the order you put out then?” She
nodded with a smile, “Alright, I'll put it in and go see how Maverick is going before we start, The
Thing is pretty... Violent. Might see if we can eat first”

“I'm ok with violence, it's not real” She indicated a claw at the TV.

“People see things differently, you can get involved with something to the point it can affect you,
happens to lots of people” I gave her a smile, “You might be different but we'll see. I'm still going
to check” She nodded again, curling herself up a little tighter without my warmth there beneath her.

Opening the back door the chill from outside hit me, the clouds had dispersed for now, leaving us a
clear night sky that shone with distant stars and innumerable amounts of space wreckage if one had
access to a telescope and could be bothered to chart it. Every satellite that man had launched was
now just scrap, slowly decaying back into the atmosphere as a streak across the sky.

Maverick was still sitting by the fire, turning the meat much slower, the scent of the cooked meat
hanging in the crisp air. His breath was heavy with his own hunger, his naturally warmer body
making thick plumes of warm mist that seeped past his mask.

“How's the meat going?” I asked, rubbing my hands together to warm them a little, I hadn't brought
a jumper out. Maverick stopped turning the meat, he stuck his finger in a pail of water beside him,
swishing it around a bit before unceremoniously jamming it into a thick slab of meat. The first time
he used this as a way of checking temperature I almost jumped out of my skin, his skin was nearly
impervious. He pulled it out, shaking off the fat and grease before responding.

'Done enough, go grab some plates' He stood, getting his knife ready.

I was already turning to go back inside the house. I grabbed two large platters, save dish space,
Kay and I could just grab from the same one. Moving back out I saw Kay's head poking around the
door frame, her tongue flicking around frantically, the smell of the meat entering the house with
the wind.

“It's ready, I'm getting it” I couldn't help but laugh at her, her head ducking back around the corner
swiftly.

Maverick cut up the deer deftly, his strength making up for the lack of a proper carving knife.
Heaping meat onto the plates, enough to fill all of us. The rest would be taken into the colder
basement where we'd manage to pilfer a small supply of salt, that would run out eventually. Later
the bones would be separated for broth and the offal used in other dishes. We weren't in a position
to let anything go to waste. I'd take the offal over more freshwater crustaceans any day.

Maverick had said he'd take care of all of it before retreating to his cabin to eat, on the condition I
went and fetched him before the next movie started. He was being soft on me so I could sit with
Kay and I appreciated it, telling him so he just waved me off, telling me not to expect it more than
once.
Taking the plate in and putting it down in the lounge I could see Kay was eager to dig in, I hadn't
bothered mixing it with vegetables, we already had our dried out beans and peas, that was enough. I
sat back, waiting to go myself.

“Well, go on. Have as much as you need” I indicated to the plate, taking one of the burnt ends for
myself. God it was juicy. Kay wasn't too far behind, grabbing a dripping piece, letting it cool a bit
before lowering her head and dropping it into her mouth so that it didn't get juice everywhere. The
velvety meat came apart in her maw and her face melted, like it was the most delicious thing she'd
ever had. Her large crimson eyes closed slowly as she savoured it, her long tongue wiping around
her scaled maw after she swallowed.

“I've never had roast before...” her voice sounded like she was experiencing an epiphany. I had to
agree with the notion, it was delicious.

“Well there's plenty, eat up” I smiled, reaching for more.

We ate most of the plate, the workout from the morning making me extra hungry and Kay's size
helping her. The plate with scatterings of meat sat on the table as she nestled herself in, I had to
reluctantly get up and start the next movie, starting it and hopping back to the lounge, Kay lifted a
pillow back up and placed it on my lap after I sat, adopting the same position she had before,
taking my compliance with it as further permission. Her arms crossed in front of her head, laying
atop my other thigh. Honestly I was happy for it, the warm feeling in my stomach rising to my
chest as she laid herself down. I didn't know if I should start stroking down her hood again, it was
such an impulse the first time.

My right arm was on the arm rest but my left had no where else to go. I had to awkwardly place it
across my lap at the edge of her hood, she felt my skin slide against her scales, her head turned
slightly to see my hand, eye rotating slowly upwards, looking into my eyes. She smiled slightly, her
neck lifted, allowing her arm to move to mine. Clawed fingers wrapped around my wrist, lifting my
hand up gently to place it back on top of her head, her head moving to rub into it softly. She
beamed at me before her eyes shifted back to the TV. It's a good thing she looked away after that,
the warmth going all the way up and flushing my face.

Alright, calm down, watch the movie.

I stroked her again, calming down my breathing, she'd surely feel my heartbeat if I kept it up.

The start of the movie played out, the only thing she gave voice to this time was the soundtrack.

“I like the deep rhythm” She commented quietly, one of her talons tapping the double bass beat in
time on my thigh.

“Trust me, everyone who's seen this likes the main theme” I replied with a laugh.

She was much more involved in this one, much more concentrated on what was happening, how
thirty years of cinema had shaped a format. I thought I almost heard a gasp during the dog scene, I
couldn't blame her, it scared me shitless when I was a kid. Since then I'd seen a person change into
a Faceless, it was much kind of the same, much less visceral. I waited to a quiet part of the movie
before I talked.

“Do you think a Faceless could do that?” I asked.

“I don't think a Faceless would discharge its skeleton” she replied simply, seemingly engrossed
with the movie.
The blood test scene was coming up and I knew what would happen, one of Kay's hands was
resting on my thigh, tensing a little with anticipation, large talons scraping against my pant leg. I
wouldn't risk it. I slipped my right hand underneath hers, letting her hold onto me, she gave an
appreciative squeeze but this wasn't for her. As soon as the scare happened her hand clenched with
force, hood flaring wide, the muscles underneath my hand rippling. It took until the whole scene
was over before she started to relax, letting me withdraw my hand, trusting my leg to her claws
again.

As the credits rolled she lifted her head in confusion, looking at me in alarm.

“But what happened?” She asked urgently, “Is there more?”

“It's called an ambiguous ending” I grinned, “It's up to you to determine what you think would
happen” her brow furrowed, eyes narrowing.

“Why would someone make something like that?”

“Some people like an open ending” I shrugged, “Where they get to make things up, or just pretend
it keeps going. Also suits the horror theme” Her eyes remained focused, unconvinced.

“I'm not sure I agree”

“It's based on a book. That might have an ending” I tried to say, I saw the words forming on her
face and held up a hand to stop her, “I haven't read it and we don't have it. It's an old book”

Her tongue flicked out irritably, It surprised me how invested in a horror film she was, it didn't
seem her style.

“Anyway, I'll go get Maverick, can you keep the seat warm please?” I asked. Her look softened,
lifting her head so I could get up, her eyes looked around a bit sheepishly. She tried to ask
something a few times, I waited patiently, her claws came up to tap together in front of her chest
before she managed to get the words out.

“Can we still sit like this with Maverick here, please?” She asked, eyes locked onto mine. I could
almost feel my heart melt. Maverick would never let me hear the end of it but I don't think I cared
anymore.

“Sure, it'll be fine” I smiled reassuringly, she smiled back, looking relieved at the answer.

I hopped up off the warm couch, putting on a jumper before going to fetch Maverick. The moon
had risen over the course of the film, the cold only deepening. The speed at which Maverick
answered the door made me think he was waiting by it, eager to come and watch with us. That hurt
a little bit, I'd have to make it up to him later. I asked if he wanted to bring one of his blankets
before remembering he used tanned skins, luckily he said he was fine, walking back to the house
with me. I tapped him on the shoulder before we got to the door.

'Maverick, can you please not laugh at us tonight, I promise you can laugh as much as you want
later, directly at me' I signed, not knowing how to put the situation.

'You aren't getting cuddly in there are you?' He managed to say it easier without my
embarrassment. My hands fumbled around a bit, the sign language equivalent of just mumbling
before speaking.

'Yeah' was the only way to put it. He sighed and placed a large hand on my shoulder, weighing my
body down before drawing it back to talk.
'How did you survive out in the wilderness without me?'

'I managed' I didn't rise to his bait.

'Fine, do what you want. Looking at you I think I have to get used to it' He turned a little before
stopping, 'She's soft as well, I know her breed, on the field she's a killer, I'm more afraid of her' he
laughed, turning all the way and walking through the door.

I had seen Vipers in the field, even with Maverick, but it was true I'd never seen one like her, they
all had the same colours as far as I'd seen, her patterns might be a little different and as Maverick
said, her hood as well as her body were larger. Not that I'd studied Viper patterns, she was more
stripey, that's all I could gather.

I pushed it aside for now, moving back into the house. Maverick had taken his usual seat, he and
Kay were talking to one another, interspersed with Maverick signing for her, their silhouettes in
stark contrast in the dark room, highlighted by the deep blue light cast off by the waiting screen of
the TV. Kay looked at me in a little alarm but started smiling before continuing with Maverick, he
kept on going as if I hadn't moved in, he knew I wouldn't butt in on anything they were talking
about, as much as I dearly wanted to read his hands and figure out what they were talking about.

Going past the lounge and up to the player I slotted in the movie and started it up. Not waiting at
the menu, hitting play and turning around, both Kay and Maverick were looking at me, Kay had
lifted her body up on her powerful tail, waiting for me to sit back down. I took my spot, Kay laying
herself back down atop me. I looked to Maverick without meaning to but he wasn't even looking at
us, he was leaning forwards, elbows on his knees, intent on the screen. I wasn't truly worried about
what he thought, it was just the change that was bothering me. I was being stupid. I shook my head
lightly and lent back, resuming stroking down Kay's hood, as she took back up that deep yet soft
rumble I could feel as well as hear.

The movie was a much more casual watch, all three of us talking at points, laughing at the
stupidity but still being entertained, it took a bit for Kay to actually ask me a question related to
humans.

“What's a stripper do?” She asked plainly. Shit, I forgot this was in the movie.

“Someone who takes their clothes off and dances for the enjoyment of the opposite sex, or
sometimes the same sex” I decided to just be level with her, my voice staying completely even.
Maverick laughed from his armchair.

“You answered that without enthusiasm” Kay turned with a cheeky grin.

“What's that supposed to mean?” I turned between Maverick and Kay

“I know what a stripper is, I've studied human culture remember, your history is rife with various
forms of entertainment” Her tongue flicked out, “Maverick just told me to ask you when it showed
up on screen”

Maverick growled slightly, spurting some Advent and signing feverishly.

'You snitch!'

“Mav you utter bastard” I was having two realisations at the same time as I blanched, “And Kay,
you know about this stuff and still walk around with no clothes on?” I looked down in shock.

“I don't have any nipples” She lifted her chest up, head curved backwards on the large S bend of
her neck and poked her cream coloured bust out for emphasis, “I was led to believe those were the
erotic parts of breasts”

“Gah, stop” I put my hand on the back of her head again in an attempt to get her to lay back down,
realising halfway through doing it that that might be a bad idea. Maverick had started laughing
again, slapping the arm of his couch. “This is really a private conversation Kay” I awkwardly
grinned. She smiled and poked her tongue out, her body twisting around again to lay back down.
Thank god there was a small stack of pillows on my lap.

It took a while for Maverick's snickering to die down but he slowly got reinvested in just watching
and enjoying the film, signing about things and bantering with us every so often. It's a strange thing
to consider that this movie got a lot of it right looking back on it, pre-invasion abductions, psionics,
targeted strikes against capital cities. Different methods but the result was the same, in the end the
biggest difference was that we lost, the aliens were able to convince us to lay down our arms.
Maverick hooted in rapture during the final jet fight, the run through the mothership, enjoying
every second of flying. By the end he sat back, looking extremely pleased with himself.

'I wish I could try a cigar one day' he lamented, I have no idea how he'd try to smoke something
but I'd pay to see it.

“If we ever find some tobacco, maybe you can find someone who still knows how to make them” I
said with a laugh.

“That was very enjoyable” Kay surmised, “Not as good as the other but entertaining” She lifted her
body and stretched out, slithering off of the lounge to twist her back. I had to wiggle my toes to get
some feeling back after Kay was laying across my legs for so long, a noticeable chill creeping in
without her surprising warmth. Maverick rose as well, turning to face the closest wall so he could
let out a deep yawn, turning back to walk out.

'Sleep now, see you two in the morning' He started off, not even giving me a snarky comment on
the way out, just waving us off as we bid him goodnight.

I lit the lantern on the table before turning off the TV, bathing the room in an orange glow. I
grabbed one of the rechargeable from inside of a drawer, cranking it and turning it on
experimentally. It was mostly flat but I didn't need much light to shut everything off.

“Can you bring all of the blankets and pillows back upstairs please?” I asked Kay, turning around
to see her already stacking the linen into neat piles, “I need to go and turn all the switches off
again, change some to input for tomorrow” She turned, and nodded, the grin hadn't left her face.
She gathered up what she could, picking up the lantern in her long claws and slithering away to the
stairs.

“I'll be back for the rest!” She called from halfway up the stairs.

I was left with the narrow beam of yellowish light from the small torch, left to navigate my way
into the switch room. I checked the battery read outs while I was there, we had used a chunk of
power but it was nothing I didn't expect. We'd be on rationing for a bit, luckily the cloud cover had
been swept away last I was outside, hopefully it would stay that way tomorrow. I changed what I
needed to, moving everything to input circuitry.

When I came back the soft orange glow, along with Kay, were gone. I headed up the stairs, fully
expecting to find Kay in the hallway outside of her door like usual. I wasn't left wanting, even
preparing myself for her being there, turning a corner to see a giant yellow and orange snake taking
up most of the room in a hallway can still came as a bit of a shock. I walked up to her with a smile,
she only grinned a little, her tongue flicking out rapidly.

“Need your hug goodnight?” I asked, leaning against the wall next to my door, it was then I noticed
her hands were behind her back, usually they'd be out. She looked down slightly then back up into
my eyes.

“Actually...” She hissed out slowly, “I wanted to ask if I could sleep with you tonight?” She was
hesitant but a smile twitched at the edges of her mouth. My heart leapt into my throat.

Yes!

“Y-yeah, sure you can” I stammered out.

Pussy

I needed to convince myself this evening wasn't about me, that I didn't need to make it about me. It
was all just for her.

She smiled, hands moving from behind her back, holding a pillow and dragging a blanket over her
tail. My brow furrowed, I'd been played by some puppy dog eyes and a nervous smile.

“How did you know I'd say yes?” I asked. She slithered forwards, reaching beside me to open the
door. Her head bent on her long neck as she drew level, kissing me on the cheek affectionately.

“Because it's who you are” She smiled truthfully, reaching to hold my hand before leading me into
my own room.

I turned the torch off, the light from the moon was flooding through my window, providing enough
light for the both of us. She took a look at the bed briefly, scratching her chin as if figuring out
logistics.

“Just hop into bed as you usually would, I can move around you” She said eventually, making up
her mind. I could hear a little bit of what might have been a commanding tone in her voice, maybe
how she used to speak in the field when organising troops and delivering orders, it was another
side to her.

“I usually sleep naked” I chimed in, already unbuttoning my shirt, seeing if this would throw her
off a bit.

“I've seen you mostly naked, I'm familiar with the human anatomy” She turned and smiled, “Plus
I'm already naked” I gave a series of short nods, raising an eyebrow at her. She wasn't phased at all.

“Fine, fine” Even with my mock bravado my fingers fumbled on my buttons. I'd gone into
firefights less shaky than this, I tried to take a breath to calm myself down, deciding to just get it
over with. Unclothing myself completely and quickly sliding underneath my blanket. I knew she
was watching me, keeping track of her out of the corner of my eye.

“See, it's fine” She said, slithering slowly to the side of the bed, “You've been shot more times than
I thought”

God her eyes worked well in the dark. That couldn't be right though, she's tended wounds, slept on
my back and seen me in the lake, but has only brought it up now maybe to try and make me calm
down. I decided to roll with it.

“It's not just gunshot wounds” I said plainly, they were all old wounds, just scars now. She used the
opportunity to slip onto the bed, wrapping her tail around me as she usually did, bringing her head
around to my chest while she dragged another blanket over herself, her warmth washing over me
again. I swallowed, “Some of it is shrapnel, would you believe me if I told you that even though
fuel hasn't been produced for two decades and cars have become rusted out wrecks, they can still
explode?”

“I wouldn't, it makes no sense” She answered, her whole body rippling with muscles as she eased
herself into place.

“Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it either” I chuckled.

Now that Kay was in place it wasn't so bad, she was just sitting her chin on my chest, looking up at
me as I spoke. Her tongue flicked out a little, a heavy look in her eyes.

“I like you Nathan” She said slowly at length. Being on my chest I have no doubt she could feel my
heart increase, I went to respond but she moved a claw across my chest, holding it in front of my
mouth, “Do you like me?” It was only after she said this did she lower her claw, letting me
respond.

“I have a question first” I said softly, trying not to stare into her red eyes, glazed with the blue of
the moon. She nodded gently, her scales sliding across my skin at the motion. I swallowed
nervously, this was the question I had been dreading to ask, “Do you like me just because I saved
you?” She smiled at that.

“Even asking that question shows why I like you. I like you because of who you are and how you
act, saving me was just something you would have done, regardless of who was there” Her tongue
flicked across my chest, “Even all of this evening was compassion”

I could feel my cheeks flush, this was far worse than entering any fight. Even the small amount of
other women I'd met intimately in camps weren't like this. Her claw tapped on my chest with a
grin, still expecting her answer.

“Yes Kaylee, I like you too” I said honestly. Her eyes widened slightly at the use of her name, the
slight shudder she got when pleased rippling down her hood. She didn't even seem to need a follow
up, her eyes closing instead. She nuzzled into my chest softly, one of her arms wrapping around
me. I lifted a hand up so I could stroke down her hood, she stopped moving so much, instead
settling down, her breathing coming in slower.

Relaxing my muscles along with hers let me feel the deep ache from working this morning, I
breathed in a large yawn , taking one last look at Kay's striped head in the light of the moon before
closing my own eyes.

“Goodnight Nathaniel” was the last thing I heard, softly whispered before I slipped away, a smile
on my face.
 Chapter 10

My eyelid twitched slightly at a small knocking noise. I breathed in sharply through my nose, the
cold morning air cooling the back of my throat. I could feel a tickling at my neck, in rhythm to a
hissing noise. Blinking the sleep from my eyes I looked down to see Kay pushed up against my
neck, nuzzling into me softly while she slept, her tongue flicking out with her breathing to brush
across my skin. I smiled, closing my eyes to hold her and doze back off.

Ting

My eyes bolted back open, that wasn't imagined. I twisted my head around, looking as much as I
could without shifting Kay around. I was surprised the noise hadn't woken her up, she was far
more diligent than me.

Ting

Fuck, that was glass, I knew what was doing it now. I shifted beneath Kay, her eyes opening
slowly at the interruption. She lifted her head and yawned, her jaw unhinging, fangs protruding
before twisting her neck left and right. I took that moment to slip out from beneath her, quickly
putting on my pants beside the bed.

“Sorry Sweet, I have to see this, could you stay in the bed - just for now please?” I said to her,
trying to one legged hop into my pants.

Shit did I just call her Sweet?

“Did you call me Sweet?” Kay smiled up at me from the bed, her crimson eyes soft.

“Uhhh, yeah” Another knock against the window, this time louder, thankfully stopping my
awkwardness. I managed to get my pants on and moved to the window, drawing up the blinds so I
could open the glass. The early morning frost cracking, falling down from the frame to be blown
into my room by the brisk breeze. I looked down to see Maverick on the ground, a handful of rocks
in one arm, another rock primed and ready to throw in the other. He dropped them as I leaned out
of the window, signing up at me angrily.

'You're late, there's work to do' His brow furrowed, almost creasing the ridges on the top of his
head, his tattoos becoming skewed, 'Make sure you go get-'

His signing stopped, his eyes widening. I felt a slender hand against my back, pushing down as
more weight moved over me. I turned slightly to see Kay leaning out of the window above me, still
not wearing any clothes.

“Hey Maverick, we'll be down in a minute” Kay called down jovially, slithering off of my back to
get herself ready in the room. I slowly turned back to Maverick, his stare could have cut through
steel. He slowly raised one arm, pointing at me, his muscles visibly tensing. Shaking his whole fist
a little, he released the tension and dropped his arm, turning his body away whilst maintaining eye
contact for as long as he could as he walked away. I lent down on the window sill, bringing a hand
to my temple, rubbing my forehead.

I would pay for this.

-------------------------------------
Down at the lake Maverick didn't even wait for me to get ready, lobbing me into the lake as soon
as he caught sight of me, my body breaking the surface of the water like fracturing a mirror. The
cloud cover didn't come back overnight making the air particularly cold. Kay didn't sit around and
watch this time, instead doing her own routine of climbing trees as she did laps of the lake, twisting
around them in different motions to work out her body. I asked her if she wanted to join us in the
lake but she vehemently refused the proposal, much to our amusement.

The sun was coming up in full force by the time we finished our routines, the cloud cover all but
gone. It was good news for the now dwindling power reserves, I might even be able to organise a
hot shower later.

We moved back up to the house for breakfast before discussing the plans for the day, it was my
shift for short patrol, Maverick was going to stay back and clean up the rest of the deer carcass,
process the fat on the inside of the skin for both tallow and the skin itself.

“Where do you go on patrol?” Kay asked, sitting back next to the table as we talked.

“Maverick has already been out in the woods where he caught that buck, so I go down into the
town we came through to get here” I folded my arms across my chest, “Just to see if someone has
been poking around”

“What would you like me to do?” Kay questioned, her head swivelling between Maverick and
myself. Maverick looked at me, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly before signing.

'She can go with you, she should be a good tracker' It's like the act of signing physically pained
him, I smiled turning to Kay.

“He said you're probably a good tracker, is that true?” I asked, cocking my head. She smiled at me,
long tongue flicking out of her maw.

“Yes, tracking and vanguard deployment were what my units were for” Her smile faltered a little,
realising what she was saying involving her past life. I smiled at her reassuringly to try and comfort
her.

“Looks like you're with me then, go grab some food in one of the satchels and whatever clothes
you think you'll need. I'll meet you outside with the gear” She nodded without saying anything
else, slithering her way up the stairs now that she had something to do. Maverick was still eyeing
me suspiciously, following my movements.

'Don't mess around out there, you're doing a job' He signed, placing his hands back down on the
table. I rolled my eyes at him, strolling over to the doorway.

“Nothing happened Maverick, she just needed some company” I wasn't lying to him but I was
skipping some important details. He just held up one of his large hands, pointing at his eyes then at
me. “Yeah yeah, if something happens I'll let you know though seeing as you're so interested” His
only response to that was a heavy grunt, I shrugged at him and continued on my way outside.

The cool air was slowly giving way to the warming sun, the clouds remaining absent, it was
surprisingly pleasant as I went to retrieve the tools and guns. I wasn't leaving anything to chance
this time, deciding to take my shotgun with me. It was an old style over/under barrel configuration
with a two stage trigger for each hammer. I kept it folded in half whenever it wasn't being used, not
trusting the safety on it at all. My eyes roamed over the musty floor, spying the Advent rifles and
spare ammo. I don't know how Kay would take to handling these again but she'd have to face it
sooner or later. I put my shotgun through its loop on the side of the backpack, two boxes of shells
in the pouch underneath, if it needed to be loaded quickly. Standing up I threw the bag over my
shoulder, the weight of the gun was reassuring, where it belonged behind my right arm. I stooped
and picked up the Advent mag rifle, stuffing the mags for it into a bag I'd had next to them.

Kay was waiting for me outside, dressed back up in her outdoor flannel, the yellow and orange of
her scales shining brightly in the sun. She had some old belts hanging from one arm, she must have
found them in one of the other rooms where we kept things we couldn't use but were too valuable
to burn.

I walked towards her, the gravel crunching loudly underneath my boots, almost completely dry
now from the lack of rain. She held out her hand expectantly, looking between the rifle and myself.
I held it up and passed it to her, then watched as she looped the old belts around it, making herself a
makeshift sling to hold it around her shoulder like a standard issue rifle. I tossed her the bag of
magazines, which she deftly caught, tucking it into a low pocket on the shirt near her waist, tongue
flicking out as she turned back to look at me, the picture of discipline.

“I was a little worried you might not want to use one of these after what happened before” I
admitted to her.

“It's just a weapon. That was a moment” She said, “I appreciate the sentiment” she followed up
with a little smile. She looked down at the gun, moving a hand across the side of it and holding it
up for me to look at, “This is the one that shot you actually”

“I didn't even think about that” I said in surprise, it had slipped my mind completely when I was
preparing the weapons. I don't even know how she could tell the difference between them.

“Just like I didn't think about my previous experience with these guns” She said, “they're just guns”
She repeated with a shrug.

“I take your point” I laughed a little at her sincere grin.

“Not using one of the rifles yourself?” She asked, one of her long black claws indicating the
shotgun.

“Nah, they fire in bursts, I prefer single shot” I shrugged.

“A shotgun is hardly an accurate single fire weapon” She cocked her head, a hint of a smile playing
at the edges of her lips.

“Depends on the ammunition, I'm not using buck shot here” I smiled back, “Besides, I haven't seen
a proper bolt action rifle in years” I indicated beside me before moving away from the clearing,
hearing her heavy tail crunch the gravel as she moved into step beside me, I turned my head to look
at her with a smile, “Let me know if you see one” I added. She looked back at me, lowering her
torso enough so that we were at eye level with one another.

“I'll be sure to” She said back slyly, only the slightest amount of sarcasm in her voice doubting that
it would ever happen.

“Don't joke about it, I'd like to think I'm a decent shot” I laughed. We had made it to the thickets
surrounding the area, I pushed an arm through to separate them enough to walk through. Kay
lowered her whole body to the ground and swivelled herself through the undergrowth fluidly,
coming up on the other side, long claws dusting the dirt from her shirt waiting for me to catch up.

“Very graceful” I commented, kicking the last of the thickets out of my way, stepping into the
grass on the other side, entering the forest proper.
“Thank you” She smiled, without a trace of humility, “Or do you just like looking at my body?”
Her tongue flicked out cheekily, her body swivelling on the spot to turn back to the path, almost
like a dance. If she wanted to play chicken with words then I'd play her game.

“Oh of course, it's very nice” I jogged a little to catch up to her, already seeing her colours
darkening, I knew she was capable of taking command but when I fought back she blustered a bit, I
couldn't help but think it was cute as hell.

“You don't know the half of it” She countered, only managing to look at me a moment before
turning away, her colour rapidly changing. My eyes widened with a grin, it had cost her, but she'd
managed to have a go at banter.

“I'll have to take your word for it” I said simply, moving up beside her as we went further into the
forest. I decided to cut her a break, “You're a lot more nervous when talking than you are about
just doing things you know” She moved in silence a moment, the colour in her face going back to
normal while she thought.

“Doing it is easier, you're there and it seems right” Her head twisted to one side, “Talking is
different to me, I don't know how to explain it” I gave a chuckle.

“That's alright, normally people are just the opposite way about things, all talk and no action” I
said, we had started walking down one of the many hill scapes on the way to the down to the town,
my footsteps heavy catching my weight with each step, Kay had leaned further back on her tail to
compensate the same way, it ended up with her being much taller than me as we spoke.

“Is that a bad thing?” She questioned, looking at me with a bit of concern on her scaled features.

“Not at all” I looked up at her, “It's just who you are” I smiled. Some colour came back to her face
as I echoed her words from last night, she grinned sheepishly, head twisting forwards again to
follow our path through the woods.

We walked and talked the rest of the way towards town, our trip going much faster than when we
were drained of all energy making the trip last time.

When I started to recognise the signs we were getting closer I waved my hand down at Kay,
motioning for quiet, she nodded her head in understanding.

We'd talked about our approach on the way, sitting outside the periphery of the town for a few
minutes, making sure no one was waiting in the town before skirting the outside, looking for any
evidence someone might have dropped by.

The town looked as how we left it, the dampness soaked into the wood drying out in the full day's
sun making the colours lighten up a bit, .The vines holding onto the buildings, more structural now
than the foundations themselves, were bright green, to take advantage of the new light. Even in a
dead town there was verdant life.

The holes were in sight, the fleshy growths still intact, that was a good sign. I'd always thought if
you were clearing a town, those would be the first things you'd burn down. The pink pustules,
laden with purple veins were like a blight to the otherwise green and brown landscape.

A few minutes without anything noticeably out of place, I put my hand on Kay's shoulder, her
tongue had been flicking in and out relentlessly, looking for any foreign traces.

“Smell anything?” I lent down to whisper to her.

“Something, not fresh, not near either” Her statements came in quick bursts, like she was giving a
field report, her old training kicking in. The news wasn't welcome, we'd had wanderers but it was
never something to take lightly. I nodded to her, indicating the path around the north of the town
that led to what remained of the old road that was the only way in or out without going through the
woods.

Kay slithered in front of me, instinctively taking the lead to take us around the periphery of the
buildings. Her eyes stayed forward, tongue moving restlessly, my eyes were on the town, keeping
the tip of her tail in the corner of my vision to follow her.

We got nearer to the road before her tail stopped swishing making me stop, taking a knee. Turning
her way I saw she had lowered her torso to the ground, one arm holding her up, the other resting on
the butt of her rifle to keep it suspended, her hood flared out slightly. I hadn't seen anything in town
but it was obvious she'd spied something. I crawled up next to her, holding my own shotgun still so
that it wouldn't rock around.

“Tracks, multiple footprints, more than one person” Kay informed me, her tongue slipped out
quickly, her snout crinkling slightly, “and something else, further out, not familiar. Smells almost...
Industrial?” She struggled to find the words for it, leaving me guessing as well.

“Anything fresh, might anyone still be around?” I asked, she shook her head.

“All old, need to look closer” She replied, lifting up her torso slowly with a small push on the
ground. I raised myself with her, walking slowly over to where she indicated.

There were multiple footprints, like they'd danced around in one spot before heading back the way
they'd came, the hot sun had cemented their imprints in what was mud and crushed grass.

“They'd approached this way, noticed something was wrong with the town and doubled back” I
noted quietly.

“That would be my assessment” Kay nodded her agreement, looking out to where the footprints
led. I had to give myself a smile, the town was doing its job as a deterrent for this area. I twisted
around, scanning the area for anything more out of place.

“No sign of anything 'industrial'” I spoke out, turning back to Kay, her eyes locked to where the
trail led.

“No, we need to look further” She stated, already slithering forwards out to the road. I had to hop
along to catch up with her, she had taken the initiative on scouting and I was happy to let her take
it, this was her field of expertise.

It was about a half hour walk to reach the outer road from the edge of town, I don't know how long
it had been since it had been an actual road but it was what passed for one now. The forest thinned
out the further we went out of town, it was slowly retaking all the roads but it would still take time.
I would feel more on edge in normal circumstances but with Kay winding left and right ahead of
me, tasting the air with every motion I felt a bit more at ease. It almost made me feel lazy, like I
wasn't helping in any way. I knew that must be how Kay felt at home when Maverick and I were
working.

When the forest opened up the tracks started to become much more worrying. They led into a
heavily trampled path through the wilderness. There must have been dozens of sets of footprints
slogging through the mud. Kay moved where they were heading but I turned from where they
came from. My arms falling to my sides as I took everything in, there were heavy treaded patterns
going through the sluice, the footprints gathered heavily between them. I squatted down on the
ground in the centre, my hand wiping something off of the ground.

“This was the smell” Kay said from over my shoulder, she had snuck up behind me but I was
thinking too much to be surprised. My fingers rubbing the liquid together between them before I
wiped them off on my pants.

“Oil” I breathed out heavily, “Someone brought a vehicle through here” I didn't like the
implications at all, this changed a lot in my mind.

“I can't figure out why the positioning is like this, they double back on themselves multiple times,
grouping together at random” Kay spoke aloud. I had been thinking about it too but after having to
do the same thing more than once I recognised it for what it was.

“They had a forward group that found the town, they thought there were chryssalids there” I stood
up, turning to face her, “they didn't want to attract them, they pushed the truck through this area, I'd
guess they started it again to keep driving further on” I pointed far off into the distance, where the
forest had yet to retake the sweeping plains. I looked back the way the path had come from,
towards the purist base if you used some imagination. Then towards where it went, the only reason
it came this close to us, it was headed somewhere between the Advent base and the newcomers as
the crow flies.

“That makes sense, the tyre tracks are deep enough to suggest a truck or troop transport” Kay
mused, she eyed me, “What does this mean?”

“Things out there might be escalating” I sighed, “We need to know what's happening, we need to
listen to that communication tomorrow night” I emphasised, I hadn't seen movement and
coordination like this since Advent were mobilised.

“Do you think there might be a full scale conflict?” Kay asked, slithering up beside me.

“Before seeing this I would have said no, there's too much risk of attracting attention. We're too far
away from the cities to be a bother to any of them” I looked up into the sky, clear and blue, “but
there's always the chance X-Com or some other aerial force is around out there”

“You plan to go out and look regardless of what the message says, don't you?” She had lowered her
body, neck tilted down, chin up to look at me. I was getting far more familiar with her body
language the more time we spent together in different situations, she was worried.

“I do” I said plainly, “If that town out there is an innocent target, they need to know. Those people
also now know this place is here, we need to know their intentions if they decide to pay another
visit thinking they can clear out some chryssalids” Her neck lifted when I finished, as if she were
considering what I'd said, she couldn't find the words to say, her tongue moving out in little bursts.
“Hey, don't worry about it right now, we can figure all this out tomorrow, after we know more.
We're just scouting today” I motioned down the path leading back into town, “shall we head back
and tell Maverick then?” I added with a smile to try and ease the mood she was adopting. She
grinned back, lifting herself back up fully, seemingly glad to be out of the moment.

“Yes, home sounds good” She replied, nudging my shoulder a little with her own to get me
moving, I chuckled and started moving, Kay moving with me immediately. I pointed up at the sun,
waving my hand across the sky.

“With all this nice weather, I'm going to organise another hot shower” I said with a grin, “I could
use it after all the times I've been thrown into that lake now” Kay made that shallow hissing
chuckle.

“Could we put something else on the television?” Kay asked, a playful smile on her large maw. I
thought for a second, if things we're going the way they looked to be going, we'd be away for a bit
very soon.

“Sure, we can do that” I nodded to her smile, “It's Maverick's turn to pick what he wants though so
we have to deal with that” I added.

“What about you?” She asked, our path carrying us back into the woods, the darkness of the
canopy blocking out the majority of the sunlight.

“I chose the movies before we headed out last time, I'll get my chance again, there's always time” I
replied, moving my hand out to rub against her shoulder, my thumb catching the inside of her hood
at its base, running down the thicker, smooth scales that lined it. I felt a shiver move through her
body at the touch, her eyes closing slightly, her tongue lazily sliding from her mouth. I drew my
hand away after noticing this, she didn't seem phased but I couldn't shake the notion I had just done
something very intimate for a Viper.

Kay turned her head to me as we moved, her smile still there, she didn't bring the moment up, just
letting us continue on our way back into town before the trip home.

---------------------------------------------

Maverick took the report of what we'd seen there much more optimistically, it was true we had
seen people move about outside of the town before in his defence.

'It's probably just more refugees, heading towards the town or going even farther out to one of the
cities' He signed, leaning back against the wall of the house, wearing one of his old undershirts as
more of a singlet after ripping off the sleeves, “You're on edge after listening to the radio the other
night, the two don't need to be related'

Maverick's lackadaisical attitude towards the whole thing had made Kay feel better, it was visible
on her features.

It made me feel bad about it, maybe I had overreacted to the whole thing and gotten us all worked
up over nothing. Maverick must have seen it on my face, he walked over to me and slapped me on
the shoulder.

'Don't worry, we'll listen to your message tomorrow and figure out what to do, it will work out' He
lent back, 'it'll work out, now go sort out the water you wanted to, I'm not carting water up here just
for you' I chuckled at him, giving him a pat back. I turned to look at Kay, resting on her coils in a
loose patch of gravel.

“Do you want some water for a shower too?” I asked.

“No thank you, I can clean myself off. Scales are simple” She smiled, rubbing down her sides,
“I'm going to stay up here and talk to Maverick for a bit”

“Is that so?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. Maverick turned to look at me, a question
plain on his face. I shrugged at him, having no idea what Kay wanted, “Well I'll be back later on,
I'm going to fill up some water and strike up the heaters before it gets too dark” I looked around,
the trip back was a few hours, the sun setting in the distance, “Should be warm enough before bed
hopefully” I gave the two a wave and headed off to grab the water barrels I needed, hearing the two
speaking in Advent as I walked away.

After filling the water tanks and setting the heater coils I headed back inside, expecting to find
Maverick in the kitchen, preparing some of the meat from last night in another stew. Instead I
walked into the lantern lit kitchen to see Kay behind the counter, cutting up some of the many
tomatoes that I had managed to grow, a pot bubbling away on the oven behind her.

“You wanted to cook dinner tonight?” I asked, slipping off the jacket I had been wearing outside,
hanging it up on the back of one of the chairs.

“Yes, as you said about the entertainment 'it's my turn'” She smiled, brandishing the knife and
waving it at me.

“Uh huh, and what did Maverick have to say about this?” I probed, moving closer to her despite the
knife. She looked down but couldn't hide her grin, the myriad of stripes across her head deepening
in colour, she couldn't hide herself even if she tried to.

“He was ok, he has other plans for tonight” She answered slowly. As professional as she could be I
could still tell a bald faced lie when I heard one told so badly. I just gave her a grin, let her have her
secrets, she wouldn't be paying for it later but I saw another hard impact with a surface of water in
my future. Kay grouped the tomatoes together, turning to put them into the pot behind her.

“And what about the entertainment?” I asked, she turned her head to look at me, her hands
occupied with stirring the stew, with all the ingredients around I saw she was just remaking the
stew I had made with the rabbit but with different meat. She must have really been paying
attention.

“Maverick gave some suggestions, I've already pulled a few out” She answered, turning her head
back to the pot, “Could you go set up one of them please? This shouldn't be long” she asked, her
tongue slipping out to smell the food as it cooked. I was about to interrupt and say some of the
vegetables should have been put in a while ago for much longer but just shook my head, deciding
to just let her do her cooking.

“Alright, don't burn yourself” I said with a laugh, she just flashed me a grin, poking her tongue out.
I turned to enter the lounge, the light from the lantern barely reaching into the room. I could turn
the lights on for a bit, I'm sure, now it was on to see what nightmares Maverick had set me up with.

The stack was neatly placed next to the TV set, some were open to check if the contents were still
there. Crossing my legs to take a seat on the floor I started going through them, the plastic cases
clacking with each other as I sorted. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be, just plain old
action films, no brainers. That was confusing in its own right though, Maverick liked these movies
but I don't think Kay would after what we were enjoying last night. I think I'd just wait for her, see
if she had any input.

I wasn't waiting for long, Kay slithered in carrying the lantern and a bowl, setting both down on the
table with a soft clatter of porcelain.

“I'll just go take Maverick's out to him” She said, looking between myself and the TV, “You
haven't chosen anything?”

“I was going to wait for you, these are new for you” I answered, indicating the pile. She smiled at
me, her head lowering a bit.
“It doesn't matter, I think we'll just have dinner and watch one, you did want a shower tonight
didn't you?” She cocked her head. I shrugged in answer.

“I'd enjoy a shower” I gave her a grin, “But I also enjoy watching movies”

with you

I couldn't voice my feeling, it was stuck in my throat. Kay smiled gently regardless, perhaps even
picking up what I was trying to say.

“Don't worry, we'll have time, I'll be back in a minute” She twisted on the spot nimbly, going
around back into the kitchen to grab the other bowls. I moved over to the pile and just picked one
at random. I wasn't really a fan of any basic action movies, they always just reminded me of dad
falling asleep in his armchair more than anything else, which was nostalgic in its own way I
suppose. Die Hard? Pass, I chucked it back onto the pile grabbing another, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
that would do nicely enough.

By the time I had put the movie in I heard the front door swing shut, Kay's noisy slither she
adopted once inside letting me know she was in the house.

“An older film but a good one, this is my favourite of the set, though it's not a popular opinion” I
said, getting up off of the floor and moving to the lounge.

“I don't mind, it's all new to me” Kay slithered over to the lounge after turning the lights off. It
lacked the monstrous pillow and blanket fort we had set up last night so there was plenty of room
for the two of us. The couch sagging as she heaved her weight onto it, a long section of her tail
moving up and over the arm rest.

We got stuck into our dinner as the film began, I hadn't realised just how ravenously hungry I was,
the drills with Maverick in the morning followed by the hike to and from town, only having the
bars we made with a handful of imitation trail mix to tide me over. Kay seemed just as eager, not
even stopping for a breath as she ate. Some of the vegetables were still raw but it wasn't anything
awful, I happily ate it all before putting the bowl down.

“The ingredients weren't as soft as when you made it” Kay said with an inkling of disappointment,
putting her own bowl down.

“You just have to cook it for longer, it absorbs the water it's mixed with and goes soft” I was
almost shocked explaining this to her, she could tell me a thousand different ways to kill a man or
how to use an arsenal of weaponry but not how to make a soft stew. She nodded in thought, her
body stretching out.

“I'll remember that for next time” She turned her head to me, red eyes caught in between the
darkness of the room and the light playing off the TV, “Would we be able to lay like we were last
night please?” She asked, I laughed, not even bothering to answer her, just patting my thigh which
she rightly took as a sign to lay down so I could stroke her head.

We were talking about a lot of things happening in the film, I had to give her a brief rundown on
what a Nazi was in the context of the film, she knew what they were from the myriad of our history
that had been drilled into them but not what they meant, especially in cinema. It was about halfway
through the film that she started to shift her body, I was closer to her than the arm rest of the
lounge but she was coiling more of herself onto the lounge, trying to stretch out. She hummed
softly, I didn't quite know for what reason.
“Kay, are you alright? You're shifting around a lot” I asked, lifting my hand off of her head.

“Lay back” She stopped humming to say.

“What?” I tilted back slightly from the weight she was moving against me. Her arm reached up and
grabbed my shoulder, twisting my torso before she pushed harder, making me land on my back, her
body spreading out over me so that her head was on my chest.

“That's better” She said with a smile.

“You just wanted to lay like how we do in bed? You could have just asked” I chuckled.

“It's not quite how we lay in bed” She hissed slyly. I almost jumped from feeling a hard scratch on
my abdomen, I tried to twist my head to look but Kay's hood was blocking my view. It took me a
moment to realise she was running her claws up my sides, tracing them in circles around my skin,
moving them up to try and drag my shirt off.

Oh dear

“K-kay” I stammered, “I've still got the water on, the movie is still playing...” I didn't even know
why I was stammering, in that moment I had never felt so on the spot. But her eyes widened, her
claws retreating from underneath my shirt. Crap, I don't know if I'd upset her with this, I was about
to apologise when she cut me off.

“Oh right your cleaning! You were looking forward to that” She shifted her body off of mine
slightly, falling a little off the lounge in doing so. “You go do that before it's too late, I can take
care of things down here” She looked at the TV just in time to see a man get annihilated by a
propeller, “We can finish this later” She indicated the movie.

“Yeah, clean...” I was still in a kind of shell shock, she wasn't put off at all. I twisted off the couch
slowly, Kay's striped orange and yellow form already moving towards the equipment to turn it all
off and pack things away. I stood and made my way upstairs in the dark, the moonlight outside
shining through the windows was enough for me to fumble my way around. I got into the
bathroom, flicking on the lantern we kept solely in there. The tiling bathed in the dull orange glow
felt so alien, I felt detached from myself.

The cold water striking my skin woke me back up to the situation, It was obvious what Kay was
doing but I had never thought this far ahead. What was I doing was the question. I had gone along
with everything, I did find her attractive in an exotic way, she was fun to be around, caring, all the
things you think you'd want. What stuck out to me at that point was my humanity, there'd be no
going back past this point.

I was committed to treating all aliens as people, intimacy should be no different but it felt like
crossing a threshold. It was exciting as well, the mix of emotions didn't leave me knowing how to
feel. As the water started to get cold I made a resolve, did I care for her? Certainly. If she were a
human would I have made a move already? Undoubtedly.

So why did I hesitate?

I shook my head, cold water flicking off onto the walls. I was being stupid, treat this as normal and
stop being a bitch, she was a person to you anyway.

I turned off the water and grabbed one of the ramshackle towels we'd butchered, I don't even
remember scrubbing myself down in the shower, my thoughts had been racing. Wrapping the
towel about my waist, I steeled myself at the door, turning the lamp off to bathe myself in blue
moonlight. Creaking it open I wasn't surprised to see Kay at my doorway, not how I expected her
though. Her red flannel was still buttoned all the way up, her head down, hands folded above her
pelvis, the tip of her tail swaying slightly further towards the stairs. The glow of the moonlight
reflecting in her scales, casting her in deep blue contrast. It looked like something was wrong, my
footsteps sounded on the old ragged carpet as I walked over to her.

“Kay, is everything alright?” I asked, moving up to her. Her torso was lowered so that we were
about the same height, she looked up at me slowly, red eyes gleaming.

“I'm sorry, I should have asked you” She said slowly. In that moment, she was more human than
most people I'd known, she'd been thinking on this just as I had. “I just wanted to act, you observed
this-”

I cut her off, one hand moving to the side of her head, running down her neck to stroke the inside
of her hood where it connects to her neck, the soft scaling shifting beneath the pressure I applied,
her warmth soaking through. Her eyes lidded, a shudder running down from her head through her
torso, I could feel the muscle vibrations underneath my hand as it flooded down her. I moved my
other hand under her jaw to cup her cheek, pulling her towards me she offered no resistance, letting
me kiss her on her scaled lips. She started to kiss me back, her long tongue delicately running
against my own. Her head pushed forwards suddenly, the weight of her body coming behind it,
forcing me to stumble back into the wall as she voraciously took over, I coughed slightly at the
intrusion into my mouth and she pulled back.

“Careful, my mouth's not that big” I smiled, wiping at the side of my jaw. Her colour didn't deepen
in embarrassment, she had moved past that point now.

“Sorry, I got excited” She smiled, her body pulling back to let me out of the pin she had me in
against the wall. She grabbed my hand in her long fingers, claws scraping over my flesh smoothly.
She turned her body and pulled me into the room, her long tail coiling in behind us. I was pulled in
so that I was closest to the bed, her bulk filling out the rest of the moonlit room, closing the door
with the end of her tail.

Lifting up the hand that held my own, she placed it gently at the buttons on her collar, puffing her
chest out, neck bending back to rest on itself. I got the hint, my thumb and finger flicking open her
top, one button at a time it came away loosely. Her larger, cream coloured scaling down her breasts
and stomach being exposed to the night air, the light catching their sheen, showing off her toned
physique button by button. Looking at her like this was a totally different experience from when
she moved around without her top on normally.

Her hands were guiding my own as I reached the last of them. The hems of her top dropping to
hang by her hips, the bottom of her belly scales on display. Her hands tightened around the back of
my own, drawing them up her sides to push her shirt backwards. My fingertips brushing across
every smooth groove that marked where her scales joined each other, the heat radiating from her
centre was more intense than I'd felt before. She ended by placing my hands over her breasts,
squeezing in on my fingertips gently to force me into holding her, aside from the scaling and lack
of nipples they felt just like normal breasts, pliable beneath my fingertips. She let my hands go after
she was sure I was gripping her properly, my thumbs starting to rub around where her nipples
would have been, her deep red eyes looking into my face with a wry smile as she pulled her top the
rest of the way off, letting it fall behind her, slipping off her tail onto the ground.

“Does this feel good for you?” I ventured warily, we were both new to each others bodies at this
point. She gave a small shake of her head, tongue flicking out to brush against me.

“It doesn't feel like much of anything, maybe a muscle massage” I was about to stop, she felt me
ease my thumbs off, her hands went back to my own to keep them there, “But it feels good for you,
that is enough” She grinned, moving her head forwards to kiss again. I was more careful this time,
keeping my lips sealed a bit tighter in case she got carried away again. Her tail coiled up around my
ankle, slowly sliding its way up my thigh. I did my best to ignore it right up until it hooked around
the top of the towel at my waist. I broke the kiss and looked down, just as Kay pulled letting it
drop to the floor, exposing myself as well.

“It's only fair” She hissed out slowly, her arms raised up to my chest, splaying her large claws over
my shoulders, “Onto the bed” she gave me a light push, I smiled and let myself fall onto the bed at
her whim, pushing my way back up the bed to the pillows, the blanket collecting up around me.
Kay didn't waste any time, slithering her way up onto the bed, body pushing on top of mine. She
pulled herself over me, neck craning down to give me a quick kiss.

“Now, don't move” She spoke firmly.

“Kay, what are you planning?” I asked with a bit of worry, I couldn't move right now even if I
wanted to, a large snake laying on top of me restricted a lot of options.

“Something” She smiled, “Just trust me – and keep still” She added hurriedly. She gave me a peck
on the cheek, before opening her mouth up, letting her fangs hang out.

I felt my heart skip a beat.

She lowered her head, tilting it down, eyes up and on me as her fangs rested on my chest. Her arms
went out to either side of me, pushing herself backwards, her tail coiling up like a spring behind
her, dragging her fangs almost perfectly down my middle, only the faintest red mark to note their
passing. I stayed deathly still, eyes locked on hers, there was nothing but surety in the crimson gaze
she returned to me, it was the only thing keeping me locked solid, like prey in front of a predator.
When she got to my waist she was bunched up enough that her lower half uncoiled rapidly, spilling
off the bed in a heap. She gripped onto my hips and raised her head, letting her fangs back into her
maw, her eyes finally left mine to look down at my manhood, the fear had failed to drive away my
arousal, her tongue flicked out and I suddenly knew what she was about to do.

“Kay-”

It didn't stop her from lowering her maw, taking all of me into her mouth, the strong muscles used
for operating her jaws clenching down on me in a soft rhythmic motion. My fingers clawed at the
sheets as I let out a gasp, where did she even learn to do this? It was only when her head started
moving that I realised she hadn't, she was winging it. Outside of the muscles in her mouth working
me, her head movements were jerky and out of rhythm. Her large hood flared out completely,
larger than my entire torso, eyes turned back to me now to gauge my reactions.

“Kay...” I lent up on my elbows a little, breathing out my words, even out of rhythm she was trying
getting the job done, “You need to slow your head movements, straighter angles” I felt her muscles
let go of me, her jaw opening enough to let my length out of her, her hand moved up to wipe away
some saliva connecting her to me before she took my hand in her own, placing it on the flattest part
of her hood on the back of her head.

“You have to show me, I'm new to this” She said, before putting me back in, eyes looking up at me
expectantly. It felt slightly forced but I moved her head down, her neck obeying my push, going
down when I applied pressure, back up when I stopped. I had to let go of her head after a while,
gripping the blankets again, she grinned at the back edges of her maw. Maintaining the rhythm I
had set for her was bringing me closer, her mouth wringing me, her large head moving up and
down on her long neck. I tried to curl my knees as I felt it coming, her weight on my legs prevented
it, this must have let her know what was about to happen. She dived her head, snout resting against
my pelvis and held it there. I could see the muscles in her jaw working, squeezing me, her tongue
wrapping about my base.

There was nothing I could do, my body tensed, I let out a gasped breath and pushed my hips up,
letting go. Her wringing didn't stop as I released myself into her maw, her eyes only closing
slightly in pleasure as if she were congratulating herself on a job well done. Soon my movements
stopped, my body easing back down into the bed, breathing coming in deep and regular. Only then
did she let me go, her head moving up to smile at me.

“That wasn't so bad” She stated simply, her long tongue licking up around her scaled maw.

“N-no, it wasn't bad at all” I breathed out slowly. I winced slightly at a touch to my base, looking
back down to see Kay holding onto me, confusion on her face.

“There's still more coming out” She said, wiping off my head, making me wince again.

“That's normal, don't panic, you did amazing” I reassured her. Her eyes calmed down and she stuck
the finger she had used to wipe me into her mouth to clean it off. “Kay!” I said, laughing slightly.

“What?” She asked, “the rest of it's in there” she smiled. It was only when she pulled her claw back
out did I notice it had some green covering it. For the second time my heart skipped a beat.

“Kay, what's that?” I pointed at her finger.

“Hmm?” She looked around and then down at her claw, “Ohhhhh” She said with a grin, as if some
great revelation had been made to her, “that's why it tasted so familiar, you must have rubbed
against my venom ducts and pushed some out”

“Your what sorry?” I looked down in alarm but she just laughed.

“Venom ducts, it's just venom, not poison, it needs to be injected to do anything” She pulled herself
up off of me, “It's harmless just touching you but I'll go wash it out of my mouth anyway, it can
stick around” She hefted herself up and off the bed, slithering to the door, “I'll be back in a second”
She waved.

I just sat there in awe. Even though I trusted her words, something compelled me to twist sideways
onto the bed before wiping myself off thoroughly with the sheets. Hearing her slither back I
quickly let go of the sheets, tossing a blanket over the spot I'd made.

Entering the room, she slowly moved up the bed, slipping alongside me, shuffling herself close.
Laying on her back her head turned to me, a grin on her lips. My heart leapt back up at the sight of
her, eyes glittering in the moonlight. I think she expected for me to know what to do, so I took the
chance. Moving my head in close to hers I kissed her cheek, my hand running down the smooth
smooth scales of her belly.

My head moved down onto her neck, brushing against the inside of her hood. She gasped, her body
doing that familiar shudder as I run my mouth against her. My hand played down her side, index
finger tracing across her scales as it went lower. Her torso shifted as I moved, like she were trying
to line me up but I wouldn't let her have it that easily, not after she dragged her fangs down my
chest.

I pushed my head in deeper, her voice cooing softly, breath moving in sharper. Her arm slipped
underneath my head, claws running through my hair, holding me in place against her. My finger
danced around, In truth I didn't know where I was going, I just felt more warmth where a human
pelvis would be. Eventually my fingers ran across a slick surface, I couldn't see because of how
pressed into her hood I was, I had to just give it my best guess. Her scaling seemed to split on her
pelvis, I'd never noticed anything there before, my guess was it only opened up when aroused.

My index finger traced down between the scales, eliciting a sharp hiss from Kay. Everything felt
normal, the mons, clitoris, moving further down I experimentally pushed in with a finger, where
her juices ran thickest, her warmth most pronounced. She sighed, hood shuddering as I penetrated
her.

“T-that's it” she cooed, her moving stopped trying to line me up, letting me explore her. I pushed
my finger further in, her warms folds parting easily. I kept a light movement up, tracing up and
down her neck as my fingers worked. Her breathing coming in sharper with each moment, her
pelvis pushing up into my hand, my wrist pushing against her mons to hold her back down. Her
claws gripped the back of my head harder for an instant and she pulled me away. Her other hand
gripping the one inside her.

“That's enough, I can feel you ready beside me” She said, her breathing heavy. I only noticed that I
was ready, unceremoniously poking into her side at the hip.

“Alright, get up” She said, a slight hiss to her words.

“Up?” I asked, raising my head.

“Mount me” She laid a hand across her hip, indicating where, as if I'd miss it.

For as blunt as she was, it was effective. I lifted myself up, putting one leg over her to rest against
her hips, she reached a hand up to my head, cupping my cheek and bringing my head down to hers,
our mouths met and we kissed deeply, her other hand had moved down, lining me up with her.
With a push I was inside her, she instantly clenched, the muscles inside her gripping me hard, she
stopped the kiss, breathing hard, her whole body shuddering. It took her a moment to calm down,
returning to normal, her vice like grip on me loosened.

“Did you just cum from that?” I asked.

“I reached orgasm, yes, I was excited” She ran her fingers through my hair, her arms draped over
my shoulders. Her tail moved up and coiled around my waist, holding onto me the way someone
might wrap their legs around a lover. Her long neck arched out to reach my head, her nose bumping
gently against my cheek, “Please, keep going...” She cooed softly into my ear.

My heart raced, moving slowly at first, her slick folds gripping me with an intense texture, her heat
radiating through my body. Her tail let me work, loose enough about my waist that I could move
freely enough. Soon enough beads of sweat started to drip from me, making her scales shine out in
the dark. One of her hands gripped mine, long fingers intertwining with my own. Her head pushed
out into mine, my forehead against the top of her head, breathing heavily.

Her tail started constricting around me tighter, her breathing coming in more ragged. I could feel
her clutching against me inside, like a desperate dragging force that just wanted more. She gripped
harder, forcing me inside her deeper with every motion I took, not letting me out as far each time.
Her head pushed against mine, straining her neck as she clenched, a rasping hiss escaping her throat
as the pulsating grip took me inside her again, her tail almost pulling me into her as far as it could
as she rode out another orgasm. I couldn't hold it, letting myself go at the same time, sharp breaths
playing out across the top of her head. She finished up before I did, her tail letting me go slowly,
resting about my hips. I started to pull out of her, my breathing deep now, my body exhausted.
I hissed sharply as her tail coiled about me again, her eyes locked onto mine, her hand at my base
as I was trying to pull out of her.

“Not yet, there's that last little bit to get out...” She hissed softly, smiling up at me as I struggled,
head forced against hers. Only when she was satisfied that I was truly empty did she let me go, her
coils rolling away lazily. I got a leg up and promptly fell over next to her, stuck in a weary
afterglow, all the work from today had caught up to me in one single moment. Kay looped a hand
underneath my shoulder to drag me up to the pillows beside her.

“Thanks Kay” I managed.

She nuzzled against my cheek affectionately, moving herself close, tail moving up to the position
she usually sleeps in.

“Thank you Nathan” She nuzzled against me again, head resting atop mine, “And call me Kaylee”
She whispered softly. I couldn't help but chuckle.

“Alright, Kaylee” I whispered back.

Her body rippled in response, chin pushing into my head gently. I felt the muscles in her jaw move
as she went to speak.

"Is there anything you need to talk about?" There was a note of hesitation in her voice.

"No, everything is just fine" I yawned, "how about you?"

"It's perfect" she purred.

"I'm glad" I reached up to scratch underneath her neck to keep her purring, "We can talk later if you
want to"

She stayed quiet before talking again.

"As a warning, Maverick is going to hurt you tomorrow" she said softly.

"Yeah..." I closed my eyes trying not to think about it, "Yeah I know"

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