Fox gasped at the sight of a man resting on a branch high above him. His arms were folded on top of the tree limb, propping his chest up. He wore no shirt, and Fox could see the same dark green scales dotting his pecs and shoulders. The man had light brown skin, and long dark yellow hair that reached his waist. A pair of intense golden eyes were staring at him.

For a moment, neither spoke. Fox swallowed down his shock. “Hello,” he greeted, uncertain. 

A long forked tongue darted out from the man’s mouth, flicking in the air before disappearing. “Hello,” the man replied.

Fox was very aware of the sound of slithering all around him. He gathered his stunned thoughts and mentally pulled up the information he knew. The man’s waist didn’t end in legs, but instead the body of a large snake. The conservatory housed tropical plants, reminiscent of a rainforest. Fox knew other mythical creatures aside from werewolves existed. During his homeschooling, he had learned that nagas existed, but were extremely rare; endangered. They typically thrived in harsher environments, such as deserts and rainforests. Venomous types lived in the deserts, and constrictor types lived in the rainforests. 

Fox didn’t have to worry about being struck by a pair of fangs, but he did have to worry about being crushed to death. Fox studied the naga’s face. Fox had been on the receiving end of more than a few predatory gazes, and this man wasn’t giving him one. He seemed only curious, his eyes watchful and body relaxed.

“Who are you?” the naga asked.

“My name is Fox. I’m… new here,” Fox answered. 

The naga hummed thoughtfully. “It is rare that I get willing visitors.” He adjusted himself, the snake body slithering faster. Fox’s heart leapt up into his throat as a strong tail quickly wrapped around his thighs and waist, lifting him off his feet. He tried not to panic as the naga lifted him high up into the trees so that they were closer, face to face. 

Fox marveled at the strength this naga had. He had lifted him like he weighed no lighter than a mouse, and he had no doubt that he could kill him just as effortlessly. Fox forced himself not to show his fear, though. He had a feeling that acting like prey would trigger the naga’s predatory instincts. 

To distract himself, he asked him a question. “Do you have a name?”

The naga flicked his forked tongue out between their faces. “Anodyne,” he stated.

“Anodyne…” Fox repeated in a whisper. He found himself caught in the snake’s gaze. His golden eyes truly were intense, especially this close, and they seemed to almost glow. His pupils were partial slits, partial circles. 

Fox’s hands came to rest on the coils that held him. He felt Anodyne’s tail slowly add another coil, slithering up closer to his stomach and chest. The scales slid smoothly under his palms, a gentle rasp. Anodyne could’ve easily made his grip tight, suffocating, but Fox mused that his grip felt gentle, only tight enough to keep him from slipping out and falling. Fox studied the scales on his chest, mesmerized by their sheen. He was even more enraptured by the way his body morphed from man to snake, skin melding with scales. He watched the way the patterns shifted as Anodyne adjusted himself again, tucking another coil under Fox’s legs and moving them up, so Fox was basically sitting in his tail.

Fox brushed his hand down Anodyne’s tail. The end of it had tucked itself against his stomach, but at the attention, it moved up and slithered slowly around his forearm, brushing up against his palm. Fox splayed his fingers, and the tail wound around them. It was so interesting to see how flexible a snake could be.

“How long have you been here?” Fox asked. He realized his fear had melted away in the midst of his wonderment. The thick strong muscles around his body didn’t feel life threatening, but more like a comfortable chair with an accompanied weighted blanket.

Anodyne’s tongue flicked out again, a couple times, tasting the scent in the air between them. Tasting Fox’s scent. “I arrived here in summer. Twenty-three summers have passed since then.”

Fox studied Anodyne’s physique and facial features. He looked as young as Fox, if not a little bit older. His abdomen and arms held just as much muscle as a Beta. He couldn’t remember if nagas lived for far longer than werewolves and humans. 

“Were you a child when you came here?” Fox asked him. Anodyne shook his head.

“This is merely my latest home,” Anodyne replied. 

“Latest?” Fox echoed, curious. 

“I was born in a sanctuary, and released into the wild. In the wild, I was captured by different humans. I was kept in a cage, a live trophy in a rich man’s house. The rich man died, and I was moved to an underground market. In the underground market, an Alpha werewolf purchased me, and I was brought here. I have been here since,” Anodyne told him. 

Fox guessed this snake had been around for a long time. “Who purchased you? Do you know their name, or what they look like?” Fox asked. He was very intrigued at the notion that one of the Alphas had purposely bought the naga.

“His name was Oriand. He was… he had some age on him. He had a very young son at the time of my arrival. That son is Evander,” Anodyne replied. Fox found his interest further piqued.

“Why did they buy you?” Fox asked next.

“To eat their enemies. To eat the lone wolves who trespassed,” he said.

Fox’s face blanched, his stomach dropping so quickly he almost grew nauseous. His heart pounded in his chest as adrenaline rushed through his system.

He reminded himself to keep calm, to feign indifference. He swallowed and took a steadying breath. “S-Seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to get rid of your enemies.”

Anodyne’s tongue flicked out again, gliding between his lips with quick ease. He lifted a hand and propped his chin on his palm, and the tip of his tail played with Fox’s fingers. “I have not spent much time with the werewolves, but I am under the impression that Oriand had a dark side. He did not stay Alpha for long.”

Fox carefully exhaled. “I see…” This new information on the pack’s past made him curious about Evander and the others. He wasn’t entirely sure how one became an Alpha, if they were positions that were inherited, or earned by show of strength and leadership. He didn’t think it was a good idea to go up and ask Evander about something like that, though. Maybe Ahren would be more likely to answer his questions.

Anodyne calmly tilted his head, studying Fox. “Are you a lone wolf?”

Fox swallowed again. He immediately thought to lie in order to protect himself, but a certain thought crossed his mind just as he parted his lips. 

Fox had been heading West for a reason. He’d had a plan in mind, one that he had made peace with ages ago. Fox did not want to die by the hands of others, in the midst of terror or anger. He wanted to die by his own, in the midst of quiet and tranquility. Fox reminded himself that he was at peace with dying, because he did not have anything left to live for. If Anodyne wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t be very happy with how he would die, but he wouldn’t fight back.

Fox turned his head to the side and gazed at the foliage around him. It was close enough to the environment he’d wanted to die in. No one around, aside from the naga, nature surrounding him on all sides, no one knowing he was there. 

Fox took a deep breath, his fear gone again. “I am.”

Fox flinched when he felt Anodyne trace one of the bruises on his arm. “You could have lied,” the naga stated. 

“I could have…” Fox agreed, watching the naga carefully press on the bruises, light and testing. “But I have nothing to live for. If you want to eat me, you can. Just… snap my neck beforehand, so I don’t have to suffocate.”

Anodyne lifted his gaze from the bruises to Fox’s eyes. Golden glow mesmerized him again, holding his gaze in place, unwavering and calming. “Would you say that I also have nothing to live for?”

Fox hadn’t been expecting that. He furrowed his brows a little and looked around the conservatory again. The naga was all alone, most likely only fed intermittently, and probably barely entertained or cared for. Anodyne was kind of like him, in a way. Presumably no family or friends, and trapped here for however long he was useful for. 

Fox was sure that the naga had more than enough strength to break the glass walls of the conservatory. He could escape if he wanted to, but judging by the difference in environment, maybe Anodyne couldn’t survive very well on his own, in this forested mountainous region. He could get by for a little while, but he would need his humidity and warmth. He would not survive a winter outside this building. Without help, he was indeed trapped here.

“I… I suppose so, yes,” Fox answered in a whisper. 

“Would you eat me?” Anodyne asked. Fox frowned at him. Anodyne held his gaze again. His coils tightened ever so slightly around Fox, but once again, he didn’t feel like he was in danger. 

“No,” Fox stated simply. He had no reason to eat him, to attack him or hurt him. Fox didn’t want to, anyway, even if he did have a reason.

Anodyne’s tongue flicked out again. Something clicked in his head, and Fox understood what the naga was getting at. “You are the first willing visitor I’ve had. The Alphas come, but they only come to give me deer or boar, or another werewolf.”

Fox brushed his hand over Anodyne’s tail, feeling his smooth glistening scales. He couldn’t imagine how lonely the naga must feel. Or maybe he could imagine it very well, and he knew how much it hurt to go without friends or family for so long. 

“If you’re not going to eat me, then… I can come back and visit you more. I can bring stuff for us to do, so you’re not bored or left without,” Fox suggested. “Do you need anything?”

Anodyne’s expression morphed from calm observation to surprised interest. “Do I need anything?” he repeated. One of his hands absently brushed through his long dark yellow hair. 

“A brush? Do you have soap?” Fox suggested.

“I have a means to keep clean. But I would love a brush,” Anodyne replied. Fox nodded.

“I can bring a brush next time,” he said. Anodyne inhaled, his coils tightening around Fox.

“You will return?” he queried. Fox nodded again. How could he not, after discovering him here in this abandoned building, all by himself. 

“I will,” he said, and he meant it. Anodyne smiled, his golden eyes glowing brighter. 

“I should probably head back soon, though. If I don’t show up to dinner, they’ll get upset and punish me,” Fox told him. Anodyne’s happy expression fell into disappointment, but it was quickly accepted. 

“I see,” the naga replied, his hand tracing the bruises again. “I enjoyed talking with you.”

“Me too. I’ve never met a naga before,” Fox said. 

“Never?” Anodyne echoed. Fox shook his head, and the naga smiled again. 

“Thank you for not running away screaming,” he said. Fox brushed his palms over the snake’s tail again.

“I’ve been on the receiving end of that before, so I know how it feels. Anyways, can you please set me down?” Fox responded. Anodyne shifted his body and lowered Fox down to the ground, setting him lightly on his feet. When Fox gained his footing, the tail slithered away, freeing him from its grip. 

“You are going to come back?” Anodyne checked. Fox’s heart ached in sympathy for him. He knew abandonment all too well. 

“I will. I promise,” Fox told him, his tone sincere. He held Anodyne’s gaze for a long moment, and then he lifted his hand in a wave goodbye. Anodyne waved back, and Fox trekked back through the conservatory to the broken door.