'She' seemed to be smiling at them.

A smile that made Ophelia perk up instantly while he felt rather uneasy.

Morgana remained stoic at their side and simply looked on as they went up to meet her.

Soon, all the snakes were assembled in neat rows behind Typhon and Ophelia with Morgana not far behind, in the same way he had them practice countless times.

A chill emanated from their leader as her dark, mysterious eyes observed them. Typhon saw an image of himself reflecting in her dark eyes, but they quickly passed over him to settle on the snakes behind him. Seemingly observing everyone, they passed from one snake to the next, staring at something only she could see.

Typhon was so used to being probed by her, he didn't feel the sting anymore, but for some of the snakes it was a new experience. Some exclaimed in shock while others recoiled after experiencing discomfort that left them feeling exposed, like all their secrets had just been laid bare.

The feeling went away as soon as she moved on from them, but it was still frightening to experience.

On his left side, Morgana suddenly exclaimed with delight. [I got a new title! I think she just made me [Captain]!]

Ophelia cheered her on and the two giggled with happiness.

Morgana's claim was soon repeated by others as more of the named nestlings began to check their stats. Galahad noticed he also had the title, as did Cygnus, and Artemis. But it wasn't every nestling with a name that reported this change. Typhon noticed the twin snakes, Lyra and Europa and Apollo were noticeably silent.

Now, Typhon was truly suspicious of her. What was the reason to make them captains all of a sudden?

The twin had improved a lot after training under him and Morgana and they weren't as weak as before, with their abilities improving from their dismal state to above average. They had also stopped trying to heal everything they saw, much to his relief.

Apollo was also doing well, although he seemed a little withdrawn. He hadn't recovered to his former self yet, but his training was progressing smoothly. They were risky choices, so for them not to be picked was obvious, but he was also wary of her other choices.

Typhon was not shocked about Morgana and Cygnus getting picked. Morgana was strict, and she had been instrumental in keeping the snakes together while they were away. And Cygnus who rarely spoke, had improved his speed immensely since he had been named. He had even started teaching some nestlings how to move like he did and had even amassed a group of followers.

However, Galahad was a bit of a surprise. Aside from levelling up his skills, he hadn't shown any notable skills or leadership qualities, but perhaps 'she' has some hidden plans for him or maybe his creature.

Artemis on the other hand was even more shocking. He was studious and always keen on improving his shortcomings, but what he lacked most was the confidence to be a leader. While Galahad could pull it off by falling back on his enthusiasm to lead, Artemis was logical to a fault and somewhat stiff.

He wasn't sure what to make of the two being picked. When he looked at their leader, he saw she was coiled up on her perch, resting without a care. This left the nestlings to disperse from their organised rows to congratulate their new captains.

However, not every snake took this news happily.

The spaded snake stared daggers at their leader, barely managing to conceal her anger as she spoke. [First she named the sprinkled weakling and now she makes him a captain? Are we really following someone who doesn't know what she is doing?]

Artemis, who got called out, didn't seem offended at all and replied calmly. [I am no longer Sprinkles, you may refer to me as Artemis like everybody else.]

[She made me Captain too.] Morgana disagreed. [I wouldn't call anything that happens to me a mistake.]

[You can't expect to be made Captain by doing nothing.] Cygnus added definitively.

[Are you still upset you don't have a name?] Galahad innocently asked.

[I'm not!]

The spaded snake was furious and distressed but Morgana went over to comfort her.

Typhon shook his head and left them to talk. Their leader wasn't paying attention to their conversation either and seemed to be staring off into space. Just what was she looking at?

He noticed something faint next to her, shimmering out of the corner of his eyes, like a disturbance in the space he couldn't quite make out.

[Why aren't you saying anything?] Ophelia asked.

Typhon snapped back to the discussion when the question was posed to him.

[I agree with Cygnus.] He hastily added, without hearing anything. [She does everything for a reason, this isn't any different.]

But suddenly the spaded snake burst into tears.

[Cheer up, you'll get your chance soon.] Morgana smiled at the spaded snake. ['She' would have noticed you by now, if you didn't spend so much time staring at Typhon during training.]

The spaded snake leapt away from her in shock. [I-I wasn't!]

[I saw you looking, and so did Hestia.] Galahad firmly added.

[You followed him outside.] Artemis confirmed.

[T-That's not true!] The spaded snake couldn't speak, between her frustrated glare at Morgana and avoiding Typhons eyes, there was nothing else she could do but run away.

Morgana burst into laughter as she rushed away, and Ophelia sighed. [You shouldn't tease her too much.]

[She makes it too easy.] Morgana laughed.

[I don't think she likes me very much.] Artemis looked upset.

[Nobody does.] Cygnus added with a smirk, before he left too.

This unsettled Artemis so much that he started to stare at each of them in turn in panic. [What? Is this true?]

Morgana slithered away with Ophelia without giving an answer and Typhon wasn't interested in the topic so he left with a frown, leaving Galahad alone with Artemis.

Galahad laughed and shook his head at the panicked snake. [He's only joking.]

However, Typhon was soon dealing with a separate mess of his own. When he found the spaded snake in the training grounds, he knew she was still angry.

[Morgana is evil. Artemis is…stupid!] she grumbled out loud as she paced around. [If 'she' names them instead of me – then she's wrong!]

[Yes, you're way smarter than they are.] A mischievous voice added.

[You were right to follow her.] Another mischievous voice said. [If you didn't, we wouldn't know about her second cave, or the other creature, or the treasures. Now tell us…where did she get those shiny hard things?]

[I just want to know where she got the food…]

Typhon recognised those voices. These were the two snakes he'd told off not too long ago for placing bets. Now here they were, doing something much worse. It was obvious they weren't truly on her side and were just using her to gather information.

The shiny things they were referring to was probably the armour 'she' had revealed to them one time. Much like everything about their leader, its origin was unknown, but she had shown it to them when she tried to teach them about the dangers on the outside.

Sometime ago she had drawn some squiggly lines in the ground, that looked like a face with scary sharp teeth and long ears. She labelled them as 'elves' and said they were to be avoided.

As for the armour, she showed it to them, labelling it as 'human' and emphasized that they were extremely dangerous, more than the elves, and to be avoided at all cost.

She then drew some monsters to run away from, along with plants, and mushrooms they were never supposed to eat.

It was very important information and Typhon had a feeling 'she' was preparing them for a long trip outside, by teaching them about dangers.

But the nestlings seemed more interested in her drawings, food, and the shiny things she showed them than the important information. And this was the result of that.

The spaded snake was confused. [Why are you asking me about food? Don't you care that she's ruining everything?]

[We care. That's why we want to know everything.] The two snakes pressured her.

They were no different from the rest, except they always seemed to know everything that was going on in the cave before anyone else did and Typhon was beginning to see why.

They preferred to stay hidden – only trading what they knew, for things that interested them.

He wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones spurring her on this entire time.

[That's enough.] Typhon interrupted their conversation, and the three scheming snakes froze. [What are you all doing here? Explain yourselves.]

The two mischievous snakes knew they were cornered and instead of running away, they dropped their heads in fear. [It's not what it looks like, Captain. We were just talking...]

Typhon glared at them, making them more nervous. [Oh, really?]

The two snakes began to panic and blurted out everything. [We just want to know where she hides the food. We want more, that's it.]

[There's plenty of food on the training grounds!] Typhon snapped.

[Not that. It's bitter.] One snake hissed. [We want the nice stuff.]

Typhon frowned. He couldn't believe it.

Were they really scheming just so they could get hold of 'her' secret stash? What childish motive.

[We won't do it again.]

[We promise to be good.]

The two snakes pleaded but he was fed up with them.

Typhon wondered if she would punish them or let them go? She didn't seem cruel, but then again, he couldn't make any guesses as to what went on in her mind.

He brought the two troublemakers with him, but unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to report them just yet as 'she' had called for everyone to assemble again.

[Don't even think about running away.] He glared at the two before leaving to meet Ophelia at the front.

All the snakes had assembled, only this time they were split into six teams, according to her instructions. And assigned to each team was a captain.

Once the teams were organised, she created many small orbs of liquid in the air and made them drink.

Thinking it to be a normal health potion Typhon did so without hesitation, but he soon began to feel strange.

Why did his body burn hot like he just swallowed something poisonous? And why were his surroundings suddenly hazy?

[Brother…I don't feel too good.] Ophelia whimpered beside him. Her slitted eyes were thin like needles and sparkled with feverish delirium. He expected her to be uncomfortable, but why did she look excited instead?

However, he soon felt an insane craving for bloodshed like he was no longer in control of his body's instincts or thoughts. When he looked around, he saw all the nestlings were all reacting in the same way.

It was everything he feared come to life – just what did she feed them with?