It had been a conflicting end of the year for Amon. After everything he thought he’d known got turned on its head, he felt a deep and unfamiliar sense of exhaustion. Something in him just wanted to stop thinking. Stop analyzing. Stop rolling all these things through his mind.

To simply find some rest.

But even rest seemed hard to reach for right then. When everyone else was celebrating the coming of a new year, all he could do was look back at his past and wonder how much of it was his own.

Still, his friends had surrounded him for his Nameday - as awkward as it was to celebrate a day he wasn’t sure was even his own. They had brought him a celebration whether he was certain or not. Made him smile. Made him sing. Made him laugh again.

That was just as strange a sensation – to be surrounded by so many people who cared so much.

When he finally retired to his shop on the dawn of the new year - the poor place had hardly seen a holiday experience due to his state of mind - he found something strange among the leftover Starlight gift boxes.

A box that sat unopened. And strangely, it had a number of holes poked in the lid.

Had he forgotten to open a gift? Or was this something more recently placed?

As Amon approached, the package began to rattle and shake, ever so slightly. Taken aback, the Elezen paused and observed it. After a short time, it shook again, confirming this was not his imagination.

Hesitation mingled with curiosity. The only way to know for sure what was inside was to open it, he knew. And so, he worked up the courage to rush to it and quickly flip the lid off. Thankfully, it seemed that the top wasn’t fastened too tightly, allowing for the contents within to uncoil.

A pair of tiny onxy eyes regarded him as the slender green snake body rose up from within the packaging. The active pink tongue tasted every scent, studying Amon with curiosity in return.

A snake?

That’s when Amon realized there was a tag attached to the cover of the gift box. He reached over for the packaging carefully, watching the snake for any sign of aggression.

The snake placidly tongue-flicked in his direction.

Retrieving the gift tag, he opened it to read:

Amon,

I’m afraid this gift will come one day too late to make it on your Nameday, but I hope that you still like it. I know that you’ve been having a rough time of it lately, and thought that having a little companion might help take your mind off of things (I have one of my own). I know you’ve always been fond of snakes, and this little fellow needed a home.

-Tad

Amon folded the gift tag again, peering down at the tiny green face. This was the strangest time to be given a pet. Leave it to Tad to do something like this.

But maybe, he was right. Maybe it would be good for him to take on a charge – if nothing else, to have something to care about other than himself right now.

“Hi!” Amon said to the snake.

The snake silently tasted the air in return.

“My name’s Amon.”

The snake wove his head back and forth as if listening to a song that only it could hear.

“Can I call you… Caduceus?” Amon asked, pulling the name from the distant past. Why he consistently chose this name for his snakes, he didn’t know. It just felt right.

Caduceus slid out of the box and spun a quick circle on the floorboards, signaling approval. As the Elezen reached down, the snake then slowly wound his way around Amon’s glove and lower arm, seeming content to reside there.

Lifting his arm to observe the creature, Amon was content, too.