Warnings: yandere themes



You had been asked by Mr. Crowley to spend the entire next day with the snakes. You had no idea why, but you couldn't argue with the owner of the zoo. Plus, it would be great to research them.

You turned on a documentary about boa constrictors, hoping to learn more about Kalim and, later, Jamil.

"When the male feels inclined to breed, he begins to crawl over the female and flicks his tongue at the body of his object of desire. The female usually tries to escape the intentions of the male by crawling away. This leads to a situation, in which the male chases the female through the enclosure until she no longer escapes. Once she finally holds still, the male coils his tail around hers and attempts to force-"

You turned off the TV, face burning. That was extremely disturbing, you thought, why would nature make them mate like that?

Deciding to skip the viper special, you laid back on your bed and fell asleep immediately. When you woke the next morning, you could have sworn you had had a nightmare about two shadowy figures stalking you through a dark alley, but the memory disappeared quickly.

You got up and got ready. Once you were in uniform and were smelling fresh, you slipped on your boots and opened the front door.

Something shot forward, grabbing you and knocking you to the ground. You tried to scream, but the air had been knocked out of your chest. It took a moment for you to recognize the figures now making their way curiously into your home.

"Jamil?" you managed to ask, absolutely stunned, "Kalim? What are you doing here?"

The two snake halflings looked down at you, amused. Kalim offered a hand to you and you took it, standing up to stare at the two.

"Mr. Crowley told you you'd be spending the day with us." Jamil said matter-of-factly, "So we're here to spend the day with you."

"In my home?" you were shocked, "How did you even get here?"

Kalim gave you a hug, "I'm so happy! We get to see your enclosure this time!" he paused, looking you up and down, "Why are you wearing your uniform? Is that all the clothing you own? I thought humans wore multiple outfits!"

"It's clear that Mr. Crowley did not explain fully," Jamil chuckled.

Kalim looked crestfallen for a moment before brightening up, "Well, now that we're here, what are we going to do today?"

You hesitated. Obviously, you couldn't just bring them outside somewhere- people would freak out. They would have to stay in your house- which didn't have a lot to do.

However, the two snakes were already entertained. They were going around your bedroom, gently touching objects they had clearly never seen before.

Kalim touched a lamp that was touch-based and jumped when it turned on. His startled expression melted into an amused one as he poked it over and over, making the lightbulb flash.

Jamil, on the other hand, seemed fascinated by your decor. He looked over the small Japanese shrine model and another statue that looked like a Chinese temple. "Where did you get these?"

"They used to be my parents'," you replied, albeit a little sadly, "They liked collecting models of Asian architecture."

"I see," Jamil replied, "I would love to see these places in person."

"Me too," you said with a soft smile.

Kalim wandered over to the TV and poked the screen, "What is this box?"

"Oh, that's a TV!" you said, "That's really the only entertainment I have to share with you both..."

"How does it work?" Jamil asked curiously.

You grabbed the remote from the nightstand and clicked the power button. Immediately, the TV turned on to the last DVD you had put it- a nature documentary about all kinds of snakes. It was currently featuring cobras.

Kalim's eyes widened in surprise, "Woah! That snake stands up! And spits venom!"

Jamil crossed his arms, amused, "Cobras are powerful creatures. I'm not surprised humans are fascinated with them."

Kalim sat on the edge of the bed with difficulty, "Can we watch more?"

"Of course!" you laughed, "I have a lot of nature documentaries. Maybe you'd want to learn more about deserts or the arctic?"

Jamil was intrigued, "Humans have so much information about animals, but rarely live among them."

"Well, we don't have fangs or claws and we're kinda squishy," you explained, "Most of us could never survive in the wilderness."

Kalim grinned, "That's okay, you have us now to protect you."

Jamil shot him a look that you couldn't decipher. Kalim ignored him and asked, "Do you have anything sweet to eat? Like the donuts?"

You thought for a moment, "I could make some cookies?"

"Okay!" Kalim said enthusiastically.

You went into the kitchen and pulled the cookie squares from the fridge. You flattened them against a tray and placed them in the oven. You set a timer, then walked back into your bedroom to check on the halflings.

Kalim had moved to the floor, right in front of the TV, completely engrossed in whatever the TV was saying. Jamil had coiled himself on the bed, watching with interest as well.

You waited until the timer went off and took the cookies out to cool.

"What was that noise? Are you okay?" Kalim slithered into the kitchen and you laughed a little.

"Yes, it was just an alarm telling me the cookies were done baking."

Kalim reached for one and you smacked his hand away with a spatula, "They're still hot! You'll burn yourself!"

He pouted for a moment, staring hard at the cookies as though that would cool them off faster. Finally, you scooped the cookies onto a plate and brought them to the bedroom, Kalim on your nonexistent tail.

Jamil took one cookie and thanked you. Kalim, on the other hand, grabbed a handful and began shoving them into his mouth. You laughed and rolled your eyes.

The three of you watched as the documentary talked about pythons next, showing scenes of a jungle where snakes decorated the tree branches. You looked at Jamil and Kalim, wondering if either of them missed their home, but they just seemed intrigued, not sad.

There was a sudden knock on the door. You got up and opened it, finding four zookeepers on your doorstep. "We're here to pick up the snakes."

You blinked in surprise, realizing it was already getting dark. "Of course, come in."

"Kalim! Jamil! It's time for you to go home," you said, feeling like a mother sending kids home after a slumber party.

In one orchestrated moment, you felt your body being squeezed and hot breath on your shoulder. It took a moment to realize what was going on. Kalim had wrapped his tail around you, squeezing your lower body and Jamil had his venom-filled fangs centimeters from plunging into your neck.

"G-guys?" you stammered, frozen in fear. The zookeepers were equally frozen.

"Leave us alone or she dies," Jamil snapped.

Mr. Crowley pushed forward, "What's the delay?" He stopped at the sight and simply said, "Ah..."

"She belongs to us now," Kalim said fiercely. It was perhaps the first time Jamil and Kalim actually were on the exact same page, and it frightened you to your core.

"But why not bring her with you?" Mr. Crowley asked smoothly, "Then you can be home and have her all to yourselves."

"Wha-" your reply was choked out of you as Kalim tightened even more around you, making it hard to breathe.

"Yes, but bring the TV," Jamil agreed, "She should have something to entertain herself with. And no more rats and mice- she needs proper meals."

Mr. Crowley stepped forward and they shook hands, "Deal."

No one cared about what you wanted, especially as the zookeepers loaded you into a cage inside a large van. Jamil and Kalim cuddled close to you, gently avoiding the bruises all over you from Kalim's rough treatment.

You were terrified after watching that boa constrictor documentary and you were terrified of Jamil's deadly fangs. They were both ready to kill you in negotiation, weren't they? Yet, they treated you so gently now.

You let out a sob, "I want to go home!"

"You'll be home soon," Kalim soothed you, "Your new home."

You couldn't tell if they didn't care enough or if the problem was simply that they cared too much.