"Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution."

― Kahlil G.

Ensign Rolland along with Lady Inez were entering the halls with two large-sized hyenas on each of their hands and four blue glowing orbs the size of a tiny moon were floating above their heads. "Ensign River," he said, startled when his gaze landed on hers.

Nodding her head once to him, "Ensign Rolland." she said, tamping down the skin-prickling effect of having an icy smooth snake rolling around her hips.

He frowned at her, disdain written on his face, "State your purpose here."

"I heard someone strolling down the hallways. I thought it was odd that someone should be up this late."

"It is of no concern to you." he said, his drooling hyena giving her a once-over with its large snout starting to double down on sniffing her in deep. "We are experiencing trouble with the prisoners. Don't fret. They escape from time to time but we always get them back with extra severe reparations."

Lady Inez's smile gleamed in the light, "Designed deliberately, of course. It gives us a chance to reinforce their lessons with added virulence."

River gulped at the lady's visible delight on inflicting torture. "Oh yes, the famous stronghold for notorious prisoners. How could I forget? From what I've seen so far, this place is an impressive establishment. I mean— to be juggling rehabilitation and imprisonment must have been no easy feat. Yet, what I see here before me," she said, motioning to the two of them "..are such paragon of excellence. Both of you have achieved so much leaving not much else to spare. I can only hope the council back at the base mountains would get the honor to witness your accomplishments. It is such an inspiration."

Ensign Rolland leered away like he had just been slapped, "Yes. Yes,.." he said, looking anywhere but at River's direction.

The lady moved to her "How you must wish to stay here— to learn from us, you poor thing. Life in the base mountains must have been harder than we thought" she said, turning sincere but it didn't have the intended soothing effect because right next to her, the couple of hyenas were flaring their noses open to bursting as if they were itching to find something out.

River nodded, clenching her fists "No disrespect was intended from leaving my quarters." she said, standing tall. She hoped that no one noticed her extra bulgy hunchback. Layers of clothing might have hid her extra passenger but at the most she wished that these two weren't too astute. After all, they have only met once earlier.

"Of course, of course." Lady Inez said, her voice cooing. "You are our neighbor from the base mountains and we have been keeping separate for far too long. Your behavior, poorly as it is, would do well to be more civilized. But what can we expect from someone from the base mountains?" she chuckled. "Whatever questions you might have, dearie. You can come to us. We'd gladly lend our aid."

Was she being patronized? The nerve!

Rolland cleared his throat, "With the tribal king's ordinance, of course. And only with such do we proceed. Lest not we forget. We already have our hands full."

Trying to play in to her smugness, River asked, "Are we safe, Lady Inez?"

"Do not doubt us." she said, showing her full teeth in a wide open grin.

Trembling at the fanged sight, she bowed and edged to the exit. "I fully understand. If I may be excused."

"No, you may not." the lady blocked her way and the hyena she was clutching had its pupils fully dilated, making it look even more crazed.

Ensign Rolland spoke up, "This grounds are forbidden. You are currently trespassing."

She blanched. "I didn't know. I'll take my leave immediately, then."

"I don't know how it is down there in the base mountains," the lady said, fully blocking the exit. "but up here we punish every transgression. Ignorance doesn't excuse your misgivings, I'm afraid, Ensign River."

"What is this?"

River twisted to see Ensign Rolland picking up a brown jacket, red scarf, and the grey pants Crow was wearing. "I followed a scent." she croaked, her mouth turning dry "I thought it odd that someone was awake at this time of night. I was curious to see who it was."

"What did you see?"

"I didn't see anything. I just discovered the scent was strongest here."

He gave her a sharp look when his eyes changed its colors from blue to yellow-green. Irises changing shape from dotted circles to strips of rectangle.

She heard clothes rustling from the entrance, it was Lady Inez shifting her complexion into hardened scale-like armor of a snake. Her body elongated, limbs stretching thin, and her face turned gaunt with clothes hanging loosely from her.

"Lies." they both said in unison.

He said, "Do you really believe we have come to a strong reputation" as he was gliding by her, his forked tongue snaked out of his mouth, "..without being able to spot a common filthy liar?"

Both of the hyenas took steps back with a sort of patient menace in their grins.

True predators stepped forward headfirst to her as if they were about to attack but they feinted with a drawback and started to slither around her in a circle.

At a time like this, she wished she wasn't wearing the bulky layers that was bogging her down to gravity with an extra passenger to boot. River had proved her strength long ago when she was just a kid and some of her training could be kicking in if only she wasn't bone-tired and disadvantaged in extra carry weight.

Snakes move lightning fast when they strike to bite. She swiveled her head left and right, watching both of the predators in their gliding movements. It could either be one of them to strike a move first.

Or both.

"You don't want to kill me." she said to them carefully.

"Just a little punishment for your excursion, dearie.'

Ensign Rolland dived forward then feinted at the last second before gliding around her again. "It won't leave you bedridden for too long." he said, his tongue forking in the air, "Assuming that is, if you have the immune system for it."

"I don't get what you mean by that."

A rattling sound began rumbling behind the lady's throat, "We had our suspicions that you weren't as you say you were."

In unison, they said, "You wouldn't be the first one."

It was then she felt a chilly snake head stirring up close to her throat, sending a tingling sensation down her spine.

Quit that! she thought, wishing she could communicate with snake Crow like she did with wolf Aidan. Out loud, she said to them, "I am exactly as I say I am. And the tribal council won't look too kindly on the delay of my return."

"It is hardly our fault, is it?" he chuckled.

Against her skin, she felt Crow snake his way pass through her shoulder and spiraled around her arm down to the wrist then stilled to a frozen statue like some overpriced heavy bricks jewelry. Suddenly, he weighed a hell of a ton and she was hard-pressed to lift her giant viper-filled arm. By the feel of him, his snake head alone was as big as four fists pressed together.

Get off my arm, bird boy, she thought, irritation overpowering her rising panic.

Then, his sultry resonating voice filled her head. Lift me up.

Pissed at his autocratic tone, she fired back. You lift yourself up. I could barely keep my arm from falling to the ground.

His tone turned snide. Here I thought I'd be spending the day sleeping.

At once, she felt scale-like muscles bunch against her skin nudging around her wrist, lifting her palm out to face them. Copying Crow's snide tone, she said, "Is this what you do? Play with your wards like your own personal play toys? And here I thought you take to your work seriously."

Ensign Rolland turned delighted, "Do you take us for fools? Knowing our prisoners, I take it you've been talking to the damned cursed behagthi."

Lad Inez tutted, "Lying. Trespassing. Deceit under false pretenses. Aiding the most dangerous fugitive in all the lands? Whatever must we do with you?"

A delighted mewl squeaked behind Ensign Rolland's throat, "Your torture will last for months on end."

A violent susurrus hummed above her wrist on the inside of her jacket sleeve. The moment Ensign Rolland sprang to jump towards her headfirst, a serpent Crow slithered from above her wrist into the open air in a lightning bolt action that had her arm snapping up as it lifted. His snake-head stood rigid, plumage feathers from the base of his spine sticking open like a proud peacock. Hissing sounds began to beat from him, eliciting an intimidating call and throaty clicking to the extent that its sound echoed a heavy palpable weight in the air.

He began to sway rhythmically from side to side in a curling come-hither motion that stole her breath away. Crow in full-on viper form was stunning in the way dangerous predators looked absolutely gorgeous to lure unsuspecting prey.

She swallowed in her dry mouth, and tried to reason her way out of this. "Hold on. I know what this looks like but I'm telling you, I am who I say I am. You cannot condemn me like this without any sort of evide—" words died from her lips. They weren't listening to her. Both of them had their facial features slack-jawed and dazed. Even more chilling was their lips drying and rotting into black ashen color right before her eyes. Tendrils of purple veins strained against their neck as though they were fighting hard for air.

Stop it, she thought.

In answer, a buzzing sound rang echoes inside her head, vibrating her skull. She tried pulling Crow off but he wouldn't budge, he was still undulating in that odd slow curling gesture even as she dug her heels on the ground and wrenched him backwards with both arms. "Bird boy, you're killing them! Stop it, now. I thought I told you murder isn't on the agenda today. Quit that!"

Her cries fell on deaf ears. She felt the room grew stuffy as though the very air was pulled from it. Looking around the empty throne room for directions, her glance fell on the hyenas who were still as a statue.

Her heart leapt wildly against her ribcage. Somehow their wild menacing grins were still fresh in her mind, and now they seemed entirely transformed into stony lifeless replicas of what they once were.

Suddenly, the pressure around her chest became unbearable and the sound that came out from her mouth was a dry throat-damaging scream that defied every stray music in the room.

At that, Crow twisted his viper-head to her in a threatening hiss with eyes rippling in a rainbow stream of colors. Then, his mesmerizing dance became even more bolder than before.

"I said," she gritted through clenched jaw, "No death today."

His lower jaw dropped down at a terrifying stretch, showing his elongating fangs. The hissing evaporated and what followed was a string of clicking sounds that magnified in its speed of intensity.

"River!" a shrill voice called from a distance.

Her head snapped to the opened double entrance doors of the throne room, it was U'tu barreling straight towards her with a gaggle of children trailing right behind his back.

"Don't come any closer!" she screamed.

They screeched to a stop when they saw Crow in his full viper form. The plumage on the base of its spine kept unfurling slowly in a sensuous display of murderous atrocity. Even its feathers forming together in wing-like arches had displayed two circle of blue eyes resembling an eyeball.

With his green plumage of feathers framing its dark blue snake-body, he stood full of venomous pride as its feathers puffed open in a wide imposing arch. Suddenly he seemed larger than life itself.

"No!" Lann'a darted forward but U'tu bolted quick to hold his arm out to block her. "No." she repeated softly, as if she couldn't quite believe what was right in front of her. "He's lost. He's finally lost." Tears began streaming freely down her cheeks. "He's been fighting for so so long."

"Listen to me, bird boy. You need to release them. Release all of them. You still have time, do you hear me? I'm here to rescue you, remember? You thought I was sent here by the Gatekeeper Brothers but nothing could be more further from the truth. I came here looking for you because I wanted to find you. I sent myself."

"He cannot hear you" Lann'a said, her voice distraught in loss, "He cannot hear you. He's gone forever. This was the battle he has been fighting this whole time. Alone and tortured in that god awful tower. And now he has lost. He is gone. Defeated."

Throughout the appearance of the children, Crow has never broken eye contact through his ungodly glare that might have as well worn down a hole on her head. And she felt like the willing prey he has long been fixating on. Like someone who is willing to bear the brunt of his attack for the sake of protecting the orphans.

A tremulous shiver wracked her body. She found herself in situations much like this many times before. It was strangely familiar. It went right back to childhood summer days when her parents would come to visit their farm up in the mountains.

To them, the farm was to be their vacation spot. To her, it was the home she grew up in. Whenever they came to visit, her parents outright expected River to be the big sister to her younger brother, Rover. Although she had only been seven years old at that time.

How is it possible for a 7-year old girl to bear the responsibility for someone three years younger than her? Dr. Malia had asked, sitting in her cozy leather sofa.

And yet, she did bear the brunt of responsibility in the years following after. Every summer of the year, her parents along with Rover lived like kings in their country farm she called her home and since she was a native they acted like she should have known better to accommodate their needs.

River, Dr. Malia had said mildly, crossing her legs. Your parents never raised you. Even as you were a kid, they expected you to become a big sister bearing the responsibility of a smaller kid. You were only 7-years old. You were only 9-years old. You were only 12-years old. Stop carrying the guilt and shame of your failure to meet their unholy demands. You don't owe them nothing. You were just a kid. Not a nanny. Don't ever hold yourself accountable for the demands you couldn't live up to as a child because I see you here right now beautiful and gorgeous, having learned to become better and still wanting to learn to become better like a damned Sisyphus in his uphill battle. This is enough. You have done enough. You can rest now. Be at peace, and luxuriate in your progress. See what you have accomplished with open eyes. You are enough.

What she said hadn't been enough. After a long time, River searched for more answers in Dr. Malia. And yet, forever doubting what she would say. Because when she searched for an answer, another question arose. And then another question. Followed by another question. Soon another question followed its heels like an endless river stream of sorrow cascading from her battered heart.

Even if they hadn't raised me, why do I feel like I need to be better for them? she had asked. Why do I still feel like I want them to accept me as their true daughter even as they had treated me so badly?

Why do I still want to be a part of their family? When they treated me as nothing less than garbage? When all I was to them was a second lesser choice in saving them from petty inconveniences they can't be bothered to make themselves?

Dr. Malia took her time scribbling down on the notepad resting on her thigh, then she raised her lashes to meet her gaze, canting her head slightly. Are you ready for your answer?

A roar shook the ground and snapped her from the past to the present. She placed her other hand above her heart which was feeling a lot like an open nerve at the moment.

At a great distance, a lone howling vibrated across the ends of the hallways.

"It's my prince." U'tu said in a whisper, "He's looking for us."