It took a full sixteen hours—sixteen painful, dragging hours—for that idiotic snake to finally get Kaya to agree to let him travel with her.
And honestly? If it weren’t for Cutie, she would’ve kicked him out the mont he opened his smug mouth. But for so reason, even Cutie—the little ball of sass and instincts—seed unusually keen on this snake tagging along.
Kaya didn’t know why. Maybe Cutie saw sothing she didn’t. Maybe the snake had hypnotized her. Who knows.
All Kaya knew was that she had only one more day before she left this cursed place to travel toward the next tribe—or whatever ss waited out there.
And she was already exhausted.
"I’ve t two beastn," she mumbled to herself that night, lying flat on her back, staring up at the cave ceiling. "Two. And I’m this tired. What’s gonna happen when I et more? When the whole damn zoo shows up?"
That night, her overworked brain conjured a nightmare so disgusting it made her sit up in bed with cold sweat and a gag reflex—cockroaches and centipedes, turning into humans and clinging to her. So even proposed marriage.
She didn’t sleep the rest of the night. Just sat there, nauseous, swearing at the universe and all its strange, shape-shifting inhabitants.
By morning, her eyes were heavy and her soul already halfway done with the day.
And then—
Two white eggs appeared in front of her.
Held delicately by a long, pale, slender arm.
Kaya blinked.
Slowly, her gaze followed the arm upward... only to find him.
That snake. Vayu. Sitting there like it was the most natural thing in the world, head slightly tilted, expression blank, no smile, no explanation—just holding two eggs out to her like he was offering a breakfast tray.
Kaya stared at the eggs.
Then at him.
Then back at the eggs.
Her lips parted, and what ca out was the only thing her fried brain could produce:
"...Do male serpents also lay eggs?"
Hearing her question, Vayu blinked and—for the first ti—actually tilted his head in genuine confusion.
"...Huh?"
Kaya stared at him.
"...Huh?" she echoed, just as lost.
For a solid second, both of them just looked at each other like their brains had stopped working.
And then—because of course he would—that damn sparrow popped out of nowhere and started screeching again like it owned the place.
"Chrippp"
(Shut up)
Kaya snapped out of the daze with an annoyed blink. She turned toward the sound and spotted the bird flapping its wings like it had sothing important to say. And weirdly enough... she was a tiny bit thankful for it.
Because who knows what dumb, embarrassing thing she might’ve said next?
She rubbed her forehead, sighing hard. Then looked at the snake and asked again, trying to sound sowhat normal:
"No—I an, where did you get this egg?"
Vayu glanced at the egg in his hand. Then at her. Then back at the egg.
"Oh," he said casually, "I found it inside the forest. About half a kiloter away. It was on a tree."
Kaya groaned internally, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her headache was getting worse.
"I’m not asking where you got it," she said slowly, like explaining math to a toddler. "I’m asking what kind of egg it is. Like—is this a beastman egg? A bird’s? A cursed forest creature’s baby? What kind of egg?!"
Vayu looked at her like she had just spoken an ancient forgotten language.
Then, in the flattest tone imaginable, he replied, "It’s a bird egg."
Kaya let out a groan that ca straight from the soul. She stood up, brushing off her clothes, and muttered under her breath, "Forget it. I’m vegetarian."
That was a lie.
She wasn’t vegetarian. Not even close. She could down a steak if it looked at her wrong.
But she absolutely wasn’t about to boil so random forest egg and then crack it open only to find so half-ford baby bird staring back at her like, "Mama?"
Just the thought made her gag.
Disgusting.
"I’m going to take a bath," she said quickly and walked off without another glance, muttering to herself, "Bird eggs, beastn, nightmares... what’s next? Lizard people selling tea?"
Vayu sat at the entrance of the cave, staring at the egg in his hand with a confused look on his face.
"Vegetarian..." he mumbled, tilting his head slightly.
What did that even an? Was it a kind of food? A plant? Maybe a nickna? He didn’t understand. Kaya always used strange words, and this one just made his head hurt.
anwhile, Kaya was already by the river. She had walked there quietly, needing space, needing calm. The mont her feet touched the water, she sighed. Then slowly, she walked in, deeper and deeper, until the water reached her chest. It was cold, but peaceful.
She let her body relax. Her arms floated. Her head tilted back, and then—she sank under the surface.
It felt nice.
So quiet. So still. Her head had been hurting again, and her thoughts wouldn’t stop. But here, underwater, everything slowed down. She could finally breathe—strangely enough—by not breathing at all. She had trained herself long ago to hold her breath for a long ti. She could stay under for nearly half an hour if she wanted.
She didn’t want to co back up.
But before she could go deeper, strong hands grabbed her.
Suddenly, she was being pulled up, fast. Water splashed everywhere as she broke the surface, coughing once from surprise. Her eyes opened—and right in front of her was Cutie, dripping wet, panic written all over his face.
"Kaya! Are you okay?" he shouted, slapping her cheek gently, trying to wake her up.
"I—what?" Kaya blinked, confused.
Cutie was pale and shaking. His eyes were full of fear, and he held onto her tightly like she might disappear again.
She stared at him. She had only gone underwater for a mont. She was fine. But he didn’t know that. He must have thought she was drowning.
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