Chapter Text
He couldn’t believe his luck.
Allen had been aimlessly wondering through this jungle for hours. At first, he wouldn’t admit he was lost. Panic slowly settled in the closer sunset drew near. Even though Allen didn’t believe in the monsters that were rumored to roam the jungle, it certainly housed predators that would have no problem turning him into a midnight snack. Just as he was going to scale a tree before the light faded, something caught his eye. Allen let out a sigh of relief at the sight of a building.
It looked ancient, adorned with murals and carvings. Despite its obvious age, the temple seemed to be in good condition. The small clearing was free from any overgrowth. The building itself seemed to have been colorful once but has since faded. Allen started to make his way towards the temple, too tired to question his luck. He was halfway through the clearing when he heard something that made him freeze. It sounded like something being dragged across the jungle floor. Whatever it was, it was big.
And it was coming up right behind him.
It stopped a few feet behind him for a moment. He heard the dragging sound again as it started going around him. What Allen saw made his heart stop. It was a woman. Well, half of a woman. Where her legs should have been was the long tail of a snake. Whatever this thing was, she had Allen frozen in terror. She starred at him for a second, then started to lean closer. This snapped him out of his shock. He turned around and ran.
Allen made it a good two steps before he tripped over the creature’s tail that was still mostly behind him. She hissed at him. Allen searched for something to defend himself with as the creature approached. All he had was a half-empty bag of trail-mix. He threw the bag at her in a sad attempt to scare her off. It landed right where her feet would have been. While the bag did not scare her in the slightest, it certainly caught her attention.
She carefully picked up the bag and began inspecting it. She opened it, looking through its contents. She briefly stuck a forked lounge in the bag. She smiled, seemingly satisfied by what she found. She then turned her attention back to a trembling Allen. He was currently trapped in front of the creature’s tail, unable to escape as she slowly approached. She started reaching a clawed hand towards him.
“Waitwaitwait! Please don’t-!” His words were cut off as her hand came to rest on top of his head. Allen flinched at the contact. After a few seconds of waiting, she started patting his head. This went on for the next few minutes, and he dared to open his eyes again. Noticing his eyes on her, the creature gave him a closed-mouth smile. Her hand slowly retreated from his hair as she offered it to him. Allen shakily took her hand as she helped him back on his feet. The small amount of relief he felt immediately vanished once he noticed she was leading him towards the temple entrance.
“Wait a second!” Allen began to dig his heels into the ground. The creature stopped and turned around at the resistance. She gave him a concerned look, tilting her head to one side. She pointed to the rapidly setting sun, then towards the temple entrance. She was letting him stay. “Oh, um, ok,” The creature smiled as Allen let her lead him into the temple. The inside was even more impressive. The walls were adorned with carvings, all having snakes incorporated into the design. The art was more colorful since it was shielded from the elements.
She led him down a corridor into a spacious room. She sat him down at a small table, pat his head once, then left. Allen remained seated, still getting over the shock. He started to look around the room a bit more as he calmed down. There was a shallow pit that took up a little less than half of the room, filled to the brim with soft looking pillows and blankets. The walls of this room were covered in beautiful tile murals, all still snake-themed.
She returned with a plate. It had all sorts of fruits, a pitcher and… his bag of trail mix.
She lay the plate in front of him and sat across from him. She gestured to the plate, then looked at him expectantly.
“Oh, thank you.” Allen took a piece of fruit and a little trail mix. She smiled and began to eat herself. She poured him some water from the pitcher, which he took gratefully. They ate in silence until the plate was empty. She gave a yawn, which made Allen yawn in turn. She gently took him by the hands and started to lead him to the pillow pit.
“Wait. Wait just, one minute.” Allen was tired but, “Um, do you have a bathroom?” She eventually understood his gesturing and led him to it. “Thank you.” A few minutes later, they were back in the pillow pit. She then hugged him.
“What are you doing?” She started wrapping her tail around them both as she spooned him. She soon had him entirely wrapped up in her coils and began nuzzling him. “O-ok.” She wouldn’t squish him if she was in here too, right?
She managed to wriggle one of her hands out from her coils and started playing with Allen’s hair. He started to relax despite himself. It was actually pretty comfortable once the initial panic of possibly being strangled went away. He had a long day of walking through (and getting lost in) the jungle. His eyelids grew heavy as time went on, and he was soon asleep.
~
As the sun peaked through the windows, Allen woke to the snug embrace he fell asleep in. It took him a moment for his memory to catch up to him, panic setting in for a second before he calmed himself down. The creature was still fast asleep. Allen figured that he would just have to wait until she woke up to get untangled. He dozed off for a moment until he felt her coils shift. She loosened her grip until they were completely free. She stretched, letting out a yawn as she did so. She smiled down at Allen as he stretched. She pat his head a few times before taking his hand and leading him to the entrance of the temple. She made a “stay” motion and went back inside. She reemerged a minute later with something in her hand. She placed it in Allen’s hands, and he realized it was a compass.
“Thank you.” Allen looked up at her in mild shock. She smiled at him and went back inside, leaving Allen to stand alone. It was a beautiful compass, golden and interlaid with gems. He tested it and it seemed to be working. He smiled as he headed in the right direction, reaching a town before noon.