You’ve lived by the coast all your life and you’re well aware that the seaside attracts the odd and unusual. One summer you’d taken a job at a local tourist trap as a tour guide. You basically drove this glass-bottomed boat around a lagoon where the people could see the sealife that would filter in and out as the tides shifted. Every now and again a merperson would make an appearance and wave at the gawking vacationers. Inside was an eating area, a giftshop, and a small aquarium. All in all, a pretty sweet gig.
One day you come into work and your manager takes you over to the back office and explains that you’ll be spending the day training the new hire. You instinctively make a face, because despite the popular addage, two heads aren’t always better than one. You come back into the main building and are surprised when a fresh faced and excited Naga slithers through the front door.
They’re already wearing the company work shirt and have oppted to place a novelty sailor hat atop their head of thick oaken colored hair. Deep emerald and cobalt colored scales line their tail and shimmer in the sunlight making the customers perusing the knick-knacks stare. You approach them and introduce yourself and then your manager explains the situation for the day. They grasp your hand eagerly and introduce themselves as Hachi. As they speak you notice that they have small fangs lining their mouth and what seems to be a forked tongue.
The boats are docked at the end of a barnacle coated pier where customers are also allowed to buy cups of fish food to use during the tour. You and Hachi make your way onto one of the boats. Peering through the glass you can see a mermaid and her child picking seaweed for weaving. Turning the boat on causes both merpeople to wave then go back to their business. Hachi sits on their coils patiently as you explain the ins and outs of how to opperate the boat. You finish by telling them that if they have any questions throughout the day to simply ask. They raise their hand. “Are all the staff members as cute as you?”
…………………
You don’t know how to respond and so you try your damndest to brush off the question as a joke. Your new coworker cocks their head in slight disappointment but moves on. The day proceeds smoothly, with the only major problem being a narrowly avoided collision when Hachi’s hat fell into their face due to the wind. Other than this, Hachi does wonderfully and goes on to shadow a tour where they proove to be quite the hit with the kids who, admittedly, seem more interested in the colorful naga than the tour.
As you’re preparing to leave at the end of your shift, Hachi approaches you. “I’m sorry about earlier. I realize that was an awkward thing to say.” They blush and somewhat curl in on themselves. You explain that it’s ok and that you find it very flattering that they think you’re cute. Hachi’s eyes light up and they slither closer. “Great! Then you’ll come by my place for dinner tonight?” You’re somewhat intimidated by the tail now wrapped around your legs and so stammering you agree. “Awesome! Ill just text my roommate and let her know you’ll be coming. Oh and here’s my number.” They produce a piece of paper from their pocket that is suspiciously pre-written.
You get home and collapse onto your couch, sinking your aching feet into some cool water. A smile plays on your lips and you find yourself very excited for the evening to come.
Omg, I actually wrote something you guys. This one is for sure to be continued! 😎🐍❤
Several hours ago Hachi texted you and sent you their address, told you to arrive at 7, and to come hungry. So here you were, showering the stink of work off your body and thinking about the evening to come. They said you were cute and they invited you to dinner, so what did that mean? Was this absolutely a date with a cute snake person or were you just over stressing yourself due to standing in a shower? Regardless, you actually took some time to get your appearance together and opted to wear a floral printed Hawaiian shirt that matched your eyes and a pair of casual pants. With that, you grabbed your keys and hit the road.
Hachi lived about 10 minutes away closer to the older central part of town. This didn’t surprise you, they seemed new to the area and those apartments tended to be much cheaper than the ocean front alternatives. When you arrived at the address you found a row of stilted houses with a garage underneath. Hachi’s addess had no cars but a large motorcycle with an oversized side car attached to the side. The rest of the garage was a strange combination of workshop and outdoor kitchen, in fact from the very back sweet smelling smoke was wafting out. In this area you saw two orcs tending to a BBQ grill. They looked almost completely similar except one of them had an apron on that read “Arm Wrestle The Cook” across the chest and a bushy beard.
While the one orc continued cooking, the second approached you as you got out of the car. She was as tall as the first and wore a plain blue workout shirt with the label for the local gym smack in the middle. She also had a serious face and carried a tire iron. “Hey there. You Hachi’s friend?” She asked. You quickly said yes and introduced yourself. The orc’s face broke into a massive grin, “Great! Just great!” She grabbed your hand and shook it firmly. “I’m Lila, and over there’s my little bro Paul.” She gestured to the cooking orc who raised some tongs in a greating while sporting a similar grin. Lila walked with you up to the garage where the smell truly was amazing and after a long day the food on the grill looked amazing. You heard a clunk as Lila set the tire iron on a shelf. “I’ll go get Hachi, you tell Paul what kind of kebab you want and he’ll set you up.” She gave you a pat on the back and then began huffing up the stairs.
Before you lay a tray of various ingrediants and a stainless stell skewer. “Well I think Lila introduced me, but I’m Paul.” You received another handshake. “Couple things my friend, firstly your choice in shirts is impeccable.” He pulled his apron back to reveal a similarly colorful Hawaiian shirt. “Secondly, you fit as much on there as you want, and I’ll grill that bad boy up for you.” You thanked him and constructed a tasty enough looking skewer. To his word, Paul grilled it to perfection, in fact you were so mesmerized by his cooking ability you didn’t notice a slightly familiar slither coming down the stairs.
“Hey there!” You turned to see Hachi coming down the stairs wearing a Def Leppard t-shirt. You could see that their hair and a good number of their scales were wet, probably having just rushed out of the shower. “I hope you found the place ok?” They asked. You said yes and complimented their shirt. “Oh well thanks.” They said. “I picked this up a couple years ago when I was living in Miami.” They slithered towards you and Paul and began putting together several kebabs. “By the by, please don’t get freaked out by how much I’m about to eat. Let’s just say naga’s bodies work differently than humans.” You just shrugged. Who were you to judge how another person enjoyed their food.
Paul pulled your kebab off the grill and passed it off to you, “Now be careful, It’ll be hot.” he said. You took a seat in a cozy looking lawn chair next to Hachi, who was coiled on a fluffy looking pillow, and took a bite. It was delicious, probably some of the tastiest food you’ve ever eaten. You were complimenting Paul’s cooking when Lila came back down the stairs.
“Now don’t get my little bro’s ego too big.” She winked at Paul who grunted and made a rude gesture causing both Lila and Hachi to snicker. Lila came and sat down across from you and crossed her legs. “So,” she said “tell me a little bit about yourself.” You told her about work and about your future aspirations, you also noticed Hachi shift a little uncomfortably next to you. “Well,” continued Lila “do you have any prejudice against non-humans?” Her face was hard as stone again and for a moment the only sound was the crackling of the BBQ.
Hachi broke the silence, “Are you seriously gonna do this now?” They asked. For another moment it was silent then Lila’s face broke and she began laughing.
“Aw, Hatch, I’m just messing with ‘em.” She stood and gave you another clap on the back. “Besides, I’d know if they didn’t like us in a heartbeat. Lemme get you a Coke kid.” You were passed a chilly drink which you thanked her for. It was just now that you noticed that Hachi had curled their tail, somewhat defensively, around the back of your chair.
Lila excused herself on the basis of ‘needing to use the restroom.’ After she left you couldn’t help yourself and asked what the hell that was about. Paul signed and got a soda for himself and sat across from you. “She and I have been chased out of places before by bigots.” He said. “Most folks don’t care about non-humans being different, but all it takes are the ones who really don’t like us for things to go bad. She feels the need to intimidate any human she meets, so don’t take it personally kid.” He stood and took your empty plate, “Want another kebab?”
After that, the rest of the evening was perfectly enjoyable and fun. True to their word, Hachi was ravenous and easily ate the most food out of anyone in the group, if you had to guess, at least 12 kababs. After dinner, Paul announced that he was an amateur guitar player and you all proceeded to sing a good number of songs. It was here that you learned Hachi had no ability to hold a pitch, but loved singing anyway. Eventually, Lila came back downstairs with some marshmallows and everyone used their cleaned skewers to roast them over the dying coals.
As everyone sat around talking, you noticed that Hachi was slowly scooting closer to you. You looked their way and locked with their green eyes and you slowly felt yourself being lost in them. Before you knew it, your hand crept into their and your fingers intertwined. You noticed that, unlike human skin, theirs was very cool and felt much like the underbelly of a reptile. They smiled at you, showing off their fangs “thanks for coming” they said “this was really a wonderful evening. Just what I needed.” You blushed and agreed. You were elated, for the rest of the evening Hachi insisted on holding your hand.
When it was time to go, you were walked to your car by all three of your hosts. Lila shook your hand again and left to go start dishes, Paul pulled you into a, possibly intoxicated, hug and told you that you were welcome back anytime, then he went to help his sister. Hachi slithered close and for a time you two stared up at the moon through the fronds of a swaying palm tree. “I hope we can do this again sometime.” Hachi said suddenly. You told them that you agreed and gave their hand a little squeeze before letting it go. As you said your final goodbyes you thought to yourself how amazing their scales and their smile looked in the coastal moonlight.
Hey all! I had a wonderful time writing this part 2 story. I’d love to hear feedback and ideas for what next to do with this precious little snek 😎🐍
I don’t know if you meant erasermight or the au so here you go (Naptime is sacred and Cat!zawa tolerates a certain amount of noiseness per day which Mic consumes all by himself)
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Toad's Cave 