It was quiet.
Always quiet.
Beneath the tree where he lay coiled, resting in the day's dying sun, the winged boa watched the world through glassy, disinterested eyes. How long he had been laying still, watching and waiting, he was no longer certain. He had lost time long ago... or perhaps it had lost him, leaving him behind in favor of the swifter creatures of the Forest.
He was tired but he did not sleep. He rarely ate; his serpentine body requiring very little nourishment as long as he did not move. He lay still and watched the world, waiting for the sound of her voice --
"Xotl."
-- yes,
her voice --
"Xotl, it is time."
Moving in slow motion, the hybrid raised his head and tilted it toward the Forest Mother. She was there beside him, and one hand rested gently on the back of his long neck.
"Are you prepared, patient one?"
He had almost forgotten how to make the speech, but it came out a single hissing syllable on his tongue. "...yesssss."
"Then go to the western edge of the Forest. Wait until the darkest hour of night. Something special is coming, and I need you to be there for me... but most of all, for her."
"I undersssstand," Xotl replied, stretching out his feathered wings for the first time in ages. Then he spoke again, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "It'ssss been sssso long, what if I -- "
"Hush." The Forest Mother touched his reptilian snout, unafraid of his bite, and she gave a good-natured chuckle.
"You will do fine. You have been chosen, after all. This child's destiny intertwines with your own!"
Xotl lowered his head, feeling slightly abashed. "I will do my bessst."
"I know you shall." Her eyes twinkling in amusement, the Forest Mother stood and beckoned to her huge hybrid companion. The two disappeared into the depths of the forest.
-----------------------------------------------
In the darkest hour of the night, under a sky lit by neither stars nor moon, Xotl found himself coiled in the hollow of a tree. It had felt odd to move about after such a long hibernation... odder still to hunt and eat the rabbit he had caught. Now his body felt warm from the rabbit's blood, and he longed to curl up and sleep for another week. But that would have to wait. This... this was much more important.
Before long, he felt the ground thrumming beneath his scales -- footsteps in the distance, from beyond the Forest's edge. A group of humans were approaching. Several minutes more passed, and then Xotl could see their torchlights flickering. He recalled the Forest Mother's words.
"It is time..."
Moving quickly now, he slithered out of his hiding spot and toward the edge of the woods. Of course the humans did not enter, for they feared the vicious beasts which undoubtedly lived within -- but they had come as close as they dared. Standing just outside of the treeline, they gathered in a small circle and began to chant. Their torchlight threw strange shadows from the trees; their voices sounded eerie, almost possessed.
"Aaaahree-ah, aaaahree-ah,
Notro diemo
Ala siemyth ko-toro
Aaaahree-ah, aaaahree-ah
Ama'vet enurae
Ama'vet xi zevi
Aaaahree-ah, aaaahree-ah!"
To Xotl, the chanting seemed to have the effect of an Indian snake-charmer's pipe. He stretched his body up as tall as he could, his wings flaring out to either side as he looked toward the humans. He did not understand what was going on... not entirely... but....
"AHH!" One of the humans pointed toward him, at the same time stumbling backwards in fear.
"EVAI, EVAI!"
Torchlight illuminated Xotl, he drew back in momentary fear, hissing. His wings flapped, his tail thrashed against the cold, dusty ground.
Suddenly, one of the humans tossed something large into the Forest. It didn't reach Xotl, but thudded to the earth in front of the hybrid and rolled a few feet closer. There was a startled cry of pain -- it was a burlap sack, and something inside was still very much alive.
Xotl had never felt as intense an anger as he did in that moment. Lifting himself up on his wings, he flew toward the group of humans, his mouth opened in a vicious hiss. Screaming in terror, the humans fled from the scene, turning to run down the grassy hill without ever looking back.
The hybrid stopped his charge before he reached the Forest's edge. He wheeled around and flew back to the bag, immediately coiling himself around it as if he were coiling protectively around a clutch of eggs. It was
like an egg. He could feel --
(heartbeat)
(warmth)
(skin)
-- his child. He knew then what the Forest Mother intended of him.
Pulling open the sack with the end of his tail, he withdrew her carefully. The girl was cold and bruised, but she whimpered for only a moment... only until her dark brown eyes met his. Then she curled up beside him, shivering, searching for warmth within the depths of his feathers.
As they slept, coiled together, Xotl recalled the chanting of the barbaric humans...
"Aaaahree-ah, aaaahree-ah...."
"My Eryia," he whispered in his sleep.
