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Sammy’s legs ached from crouching for so long, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the creature she spied upon through the gaps in the leafy foliage. The creature, a fabled water snake with the upper half of a humanoid man, had been sleeping for the last thirty minutes. She hadn’t been able to note any behavior while he slept, but she had been able to sketch out the beautiful creature's likeness onto various pages in her notebook. Certainly one image was sufficient, but Sammy was the type of person that obsessed. She had several images that portrayed the same pose with miniscule differences, many of them on the same page.
She finished tracing the strange cap-like appendage with a bolder outline and looked up. She withheld a disappointed gasp. How has the snake so silently disappeared? While she knew they were notorious for their silent hunting methods and sneaky get-aways, she had assumed the short distance between them would allow her the chance to hear something that indicated his exit.
“So this is what you’ve been up to. Capturing my essence onto a page.”
She spun around, tired legs failing to hold her up and folding underneath her. Mud caught her fall eagerly, painting her jeans and the back of her notebook in a stray splash. She hurriedly smeared the mud off the leather brown cover with the cuff of her long sleeve. She froze when she finished, realizing she had removed her eyes from a predator.
She hesitantly looked up.
The water snake grinned at her, the tail-end of the appendage on his head wagging gently from side to side. Her fingers itched to document this. What caused the wagging? Was it a sign of joy? Was he excited for an easy lunch?
“I’ve had stranger proposals.” He tilted his head. “But I am vain, so this will do.”
Hands grasped at her waist, claws gently prodding her flesh.
“I will be sure to offer you a proposal of equal worth.” He told her as he carried her off. Her legs wrapped around his waist, cautious of frills uncharacteristic of snakes.
She hurriedly wrote her new observations of him into her notebook.
Will continue to observe snake husband.