Limitless Evolution As a Snake

Lyra props herself up on one arm, watching the whole thing happen with her eyebrows halfway up her forehead. ”What was that?”

”Nothing,” I say, smooth as anything, because deflecting is basically a skill at this point too; I should probably ask Old Mate if I can slot it in somewhere.

”Didn’t look like nothing.”

”You’re gorgeous when you’re suspicious, you know that.”

She gives me a long, unblinking look, clearly not buying the redirect for a second, but she leans in anyway and presses her forehead against my hood, right where the scales are softest. ”You’re impossible.”

”You bonded yourself to me anyway.”

”Best mistake I ever made,” she says, and she says it so easily, so sure, that it lands somewhere deep in my coils I didn’t know was still soft.

I nuzzle into her a little, just because I can, just because she lets me. ”You’re the reason any of this feels like a home instead of just a hideout.”

She goes quiet for a second, green eyes doing that wide, dilated thing they do when I actually manage to catch her off guard, and then she just kisses the top of my head, just behind my hood, as if that settles it.

Cherry pokes her head back in a minute later, hair a mess, coat thrown on inside out, clearly still recovering from whatever internal crisis she just had in the hallway. ”Sorry, sorry, I just, um, I forgot the- I didn’t forget anything; forget I said that.”

”Come here,” I say, voice low, and she does, dragging her feet the whole way like she’s shuffling toward her own execution, horn stumps twitching double time.

I bump my snout gently against her cheek. ”You’re allowed to enjoy yourself, you know. Nothing to apologise for.”

Her breath catches, and for a second she doesn’t stammer, doesn’t apologise, just stands there soaking it in like she doesn’t get told that enough. Probably doesn’t.

”Okay,” she whispers, and it’s small, but it’s real.

Cherry shuffles off toward the kitchen a minute later, still glowing a little, still tripping over her own feet, and once she’s out of earshot, I shift to face Lyra before she can get up and start doing whatever morning routine thing she does with her hair and her paperwork and all that.

”Hold up a sec,” I say, tail already sliding around her waist before she can protest.

”What now?” But she’s not pulling away; she’s just watching me with that look, half suspicious, half curious, the one where her mouth goes a little open like she doesn’t want to miss whatever I say next.

”You know that thing I do,” I say, tracing slowly up along her belly with the tip of my tail, ”when I bite you and your legs go all jelly, and you can hardly hold yourself up.”

Her cheeks go warm right in front of me; I can practically feel the heat rolling off her. ”Yeah, I’m familiar.”

”Well, you got it now. Stole it right off me last night, didn’t even ask.”

”Wait, what?”

”New skill,” I say, tail curling up higher, tracing along her collarbone slow and easy, ”you’re packing my lust thing now. All that mojo I use on you, it’s yours too. And you’re all filled up besides, topped off, good to go.”

She gulps, actually gulps, throat moving like she’s swallowing the whole idea down, and then she giggles, this bright, surprised sound she probably didn’t mean to let out. ”You’re telling me I can do that to someone now.”

”Telling you you already got the goods. Just gotta figure out how to use them; also I’d rather you only use that on me, thank you very much.”

My tail reaches her lips, and she catches the tip between them for half a second, just enough to make my whole body go tight, and then she pulls back with this wicked little grin creeping up her face.

”Well,” she says, winking at me slow and deliberate, ”I’ll enjoy figuring that out then.”

”Bet you will.”

She flops back down onto the bed, stretching out long and lazy like a cat that just got handed the keys to the whole house, green eyes gone bright and mischievous. ”You’re gonna regret giving me that, you know.”

”Already regretting a lot of things where you’re concerned,” I say, and she laughs, this real proper laugh, the kind that makes her whole body shake a little, and for a second I tighten my tail a fraction around her hip, feeling stupidly pleased with myself for absolutely no good reason.

Old Mate picks that exact moment to chime back in; he’s got timing worse than a smoke alarm at four in the morning.

[System: are you going for round two now? can i watch this time please!]

I ignore him, mostly because Lyra’s still lying there looking far too pleased with herself, tracing one finger along the red snake tattoo on her arm like she’s already plotting something.

”Don’t,” I say.

”Don’t what?”

”Whatever you’re thinking right now. Don’t- well, I mean, we could go for round three if you want?”

She just smiles wider and doesn’t say a word, which somehow is worse.

Eventually we all peel apart and get moving, because as much as I could stay curled up in that bed until the heat death of the universe, my body’s demanding caffeine and my girls need actual food that isn’t my meat.

The coffee shop down under our apartment is one of the few places in Twawi that actually smells clean, some kind of bean and steam smell that cuts straight through the usual drain-water backdrop of the Undercity. Little hole in the wall, mismatched chairs, and behind the counter, the same eight-eyed barista who always looks like he’s taken 20 happy pills and has never had a bad day in his life.

The second he clocks me sliding in through the door, his posture shifts, all eight legs perking up at once, mandibles twitching in what I’ve come to understand is spider-speak for genuine excitement.

”Oh, oh hey, hey it’s you, the, the snake guy, you’re back,” he says, voice climbing about three octaves, all eight eyes lit up like he’s just seen his favourite celebrity walk in.

And then something behind me makes every single one of those eyes go somewhere else, and the happiness drains right out of his face like someone pulled a plug; even his mandibles stop moving, all eight legs go still.

”Sir,” he says, very quietly, ”do you, um, do you know those people?”