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whumping-every-day · 5 years

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“Someone spotted some kind of multi-headed serpent out in the fields. You’re going to be alone for the day.”

Ash nodded and Callum was gone, a list left in his place.

And what was with all the recent snakes? First the jatai, now this? And “multi-headed snake?” Thanks for the specificity. Was he dealing with an aspect of Sheesha? A three headed cobra? A hydra? A caduceus serpent? An amphisbaena?

Some options were more likely than others. Based on the reported size and wetland habitat, Callum suspected he was dealing with either a young hydra or a weaker aspect of Sheesha.

Callum sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew he really shouldn’t be so frustrated at his neighbors. It could be hard for a trained eye to tell the difference, especially at a distance. And the town finally got it in their head not to confront the strange creatures. It’d only taken three years and twice the number of maimings.

Even now the respect was grudging. Wary side-eyes were thrown his way more often than normal looks. Bringing a demon back to town hadn’t helped any. They’d just gotten over the vampire “living” amongst them. Try as one might -and did- one really can’t argue with three years of results and lack of throat ripping.

At least the town had streets.

Callum hated wetland jobs. Muck stuck his boots, making movement difficult and -more importantly- loud. There was no way to sneak up on anything. Anything that wasn’t deaf, at least. And water always got in his socks. Always. At least the colder climate mostly deterred mosquitoes.

Callum wondered what sort of terrain the demon was built for. Wide hind paws suggested affinity for sand or snow. The tiny beetle-bird forepaws and prehensile tail seemed more suited for arboreal movement. Large eyes and aversion to light were nocturnal adaptations.

Then there was the bipedal and quadrupedal gaits. Cout could switch between them with ease, it seemed. The long tail was a counterbalance when it was on two paws. Large hindquarters and thick rear paws shifted the creature’s center of gravity. Callum had to look into how it climbed his walls and ceilings. It seemed no trouble for the demon to scale sheer surfaces.

But what sort of terrain required an adaptation like that? That, and wings. Perhaps the wings weren’t for flight, but show. Similar to a chameleon’s color changing or a peacock’s tail.

Or perhaps they were an extra set of hands. Western dragons were entirely quadrupedal and were commonly observed using the claws on their wings to manipulate surroundings.

Of course, it was always possible he was entirely wrong and the creature somehow didn’t even have wings to begin with, or they were used for something entirely foriegn to human knowledge.

His boots made another wet squeltch. The hatchling went thunk against his boot.

Baby hydras were significantly more dangerous than adults in one aspect, their venom. Babies couldn’t control how much they injected.

Callum pinned the thing with his tongs. The baby writhed, snapping three heads about in a fearful frenzy.

Milking a hydra was a tricky task. Adults were far too big to even attempt, and babies always had at least three heads. You pin one head, the other two are going to bite your fingers. Callum broke out the iron reinforced gloves.

The hatchling’s fangs unfolded from the roof of its mouth. Venom pumped into a collection jar. A bite was lethal, and their blood ate through iron, but when modified both had their uses. Diluted hydra venom was one of the most potent tranquilizers.

He drained the other two heads and placed the serpent in a bag. The hunt continued. Callum wondered how Ash and Cout were doing.

Ash wasn’t sure how he was doing.

The first section of his day was spent fervently trying to distract himself. He poured over a book on suturing methods. He took care of non-demon related items on the list. The kitten needed food. Certain compounds had to be disturbed every other hour. Ash organized and inventoried the cabinets while he was at it. The latter activity scratched a deep itch but did nothing against the rising anxiety.

He tried telling himself it would be fine. That Cout wasn’t going to hurt him. That he wasn’t going to mess up. He couldn’t let Callum come back to bloodstained walls. The last one helped a little. It was at least a goal.

He looked to the list he’d been left. The kitten hopped onto his lap. After the reflexive freeze and jolt of fear at sudden contact he began stroking the little thing between the ears. It gave a little purr and kneaded his thigh.

He had to change the demon’s bandages, check on their wounds, and record its weight. There was a footnote at the bottom reading, “If you want to keep it company I wouldn’t be upset.”

The demon paced all four sides of its cell. When it spotted the vampire it perked up. The demon raced about its cage, literally leaping off the walls.

Ash flinched. Shaking legs didn’t help the rising anxiety was he approached its cell.

“N-n-now I-I-I-I-I-I,” He swallowed, “I don’t wa-ant any tr-troub-ble.”

The demon blinked once and set its horns against the bars. It gave a rumbling coo.

If things went wrong he- he had no one to turn to.

Something clunk-ed upstairs. Ash was torn. On one hand, distraction. A way to put off dealing with the demon a little longer. On the other, it might be dangerous. His gut twisted at the thought of heading up to a windowed room in the day.

The vampire pricked an ear. He couldn’t hear anything moving around. That was… good? He was going with good.

Ash licked his lips and said a silent, well… not quite prayer, but something to someone. He grabbed the Y-stick and opened the door .

Cout cocked their head and chirped. Their tail flicked in excitement undampened by the device in Ash’s hand. They’d come to tolerate the thing. They sat with their head forward, crest up for the not-human to attach it.

The muzzle’s buckles rattled in Ash’s grip. Were his eyes playing tricks, or did the demon’s horn just twitch? He fumbled with the straps, fingertips were numb.

Cout set a claw on the device, fixing it in place for the obviously struggling not-human. Ash froze. What… what- what!? Bewildered panic swilred in his gut, pulling his innards and making the vampire nauseous. He finished as quick as he could and stumbled back.

Cout extended an arm. They hesitated. What was the matter? Ash only got worse after he got a good look at their claws. Was there something on their claws?

The kitten poked its nose into the cell. Cout chirped a greeting. The kitten gave a little mewl in response. She trotted to the unhappy nice-feeling not-pelt-changing thing and sniffed. She headbutted his leg then trotted over to the good-weird smelling-of-blood thing.

Being warm together helped when she wasn’t feeling good. Then they’d be warm together and she’d be warm with them and they’d be warm and happy.

Of course the kitten didn’t realize she produced the most warmth out of the group. Ash didn’t produce any heat when sedentary, and Cout’s was minimal. No one but the kitten knew her plan either, so it wasn’t exactly important.

Cout padded forward. Ash could do nothing but watch, petrified. They gave a muted chirp and gingerly brushed the not-human with their snout. Ash curled into a ball, shaking. The demon retreated. What happened? They knew there was nothing on their nose. What was wrong? They were upset, and upset people needed touch.

Or was it different on The Middle?

It was different on The Middle.

They lay, claw next to Ash’s leg, body out of reach. Their mind raced, thoughts twisting every which way and all directions at once like the roots of a great plant. They grabbed one thread and held fast. It didn’t matter where it lead. Anything to ground the chaos of their own mind.

Had they made a mistake that time, sleeping against Ash? Was touching some kind of taboo? Was it simply Ash? The little fuzzy thing curled against their pectoral crest. They remembered the other time, with Callum. The human seemed fine.

And… so had Ash, after a while. Or had he? Cout combed their memory. Exhaustion and joy had muddled their mind that time. Ash had to have gotten better, right?

Right?

It took a bit for Ash to withdraw from his panic because Callum was out and he was gone and it was day and he was going to die oh lord he didn’t want to die and it was right there and…

He wasn’t dead. Something in the back of his mind piped up that technically he was. He ignored that voice. He was more focused on the bewildering fact that he was not dead. Or injured, for that matter. Sure, the demon couldn’t bite, but it still had claws and a bladed tail. Said tail provided the only movement in the room, its bladed tip flicking across stone floor.

Its head lay on the floor. It looked at him. Soft humming rose from its throat.

He got to work.

His legs still shook, but he could walk.

With the muzzle’s weight subtracted the demon was 25 pounds*

Callum managed to catch another hatchling before calling it a day. Hydras rarely had more than four eggs per clutch anyways. It was possible there were more, but he’d deal with that if it came. The other hatchling was five headed and slightly larger.

He released the three headed hatchling deeper in the woods. The trek home was long. Or maybe it seemed that way when you’re exhausted, mud keeps trying to eat your boots, and you’re carrying a bag with a dangerous animal.

He got home just as the sun peeked its last rays below the horizon. Muddy boots were removed at the door. It was quiet. Not silent, never silent. Quiet.

Something always rustled in the walls, spoke from the grass. The last dregs of ereyesterday’s rain dripped into murky puddles. Sparrow hapries gave their last cry of the day, thunder owls their first nightly screech.

And below was silent.

A quick check found both demon and vampire as whole as he left them. He made eye contact with Ash. The vampire returned with something not quite pleading, or worried, or confident, or satisfied. Callum left him to his book and the bladed tail laid over his foot.

He began on a notification. Live hydra hatchlings were some of the most sought-after creatures for one reason. They were unlikely to have a taste for human. Once they bit a person they were a menace, but before that they were incredibly important to their habitats. If the townsfolk kept their distance things should be fine. Hydras were generally low-energy creatures.

Multiple heads took a lot of energy to maintain, even with a mainly centralized nervous system and shared venom pool. Multiple sub-sensory processors took quite a lot of fuel. Combined with a serpent’s base ectothermia, and you wound up with an extremely sedate animal.

He’d heard tale of an eccentric person or two who tired to keep them as pets. It only ever worked out once. The rest of the time… Callum needed to be sure whoever took the baby was going to release it responsibly.

He glanced to the bag holding the baby and the notice it sat on. He’d need to get on it soon, both of them. He was in no position to feed something with five heads, and if he waited much longer someone else would take the dragon snail job. They were fairly easy, and their jobs always paid well. For Callum they had another draw. Their unique slime never kept long. There was always more to test with it.

Perhaps he could find someone in the snail town who’d take it.

*22.7 kg or 3.6 stone

#holy shit this world buidling though!!! oh my god #cut out whump series #i am living for this!!#we can absolutely consider everything about hydras and venom canon because that is amazing #the attention to detail!! the research!#submission

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