Kabol woke up.
Something scurried in the grass. Kabol blinked and reached for one of his swords. He was relieved to see that it was merely Cherish coming back with several berries on a leaf. She looked almost as if she was struggling. The berries aren't heavy, but there's enough that it would take a bit of effort to move it. She dragged it in front of you and dropped the leaf.
She fell over and started to shiver, "Please, Kabol. I'm tired, and hungry, and cold, and scared. I learnt my lesson, I just want to go home."
{indent"Grapes?" Kabol asked as he sorted through the berries. Where did she find grapes in the forest? Wait, are grapes naturally in the forest? Some are, but these are purple grapes. The kind you find in vineyards. "Where did you...?" Kabol looked in the direction of the town and shot his gaze back at Cherish. "You didn't hunt, you stole these from someone. Do you have any idea how much grapes cost?"
The lamia started to seem worried, "I-I... I'm too small to hunt- to do anything!"
Kabol laughed, "I'm just messing with you. If someone lost grapes to someone the size of my finger then they don't deserve the luxury." He started eating the food. The grapes tasted delicious to Kabol. He still thinks food is food, but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy it when he can.
The lamia looked around nervously, "May I have some?" Kabol tossed a single grape towards her. The lamia thanked him and unhinged her jaw. She shoved it in her mouth and swallowed it whole. Kabol thinks he can compare that to him trying to eat a watermelon in a single bite. But he's mortal enough that his neck and jaw won't want to play along with that idea.
Kabol finished all the grapes, and double checked the berries to see if they were poisonous before eating them. After having a late dinner, he is understandingly not filled. Kabol gestured his finger for Cherish to come by. "Alright, Cherish, you ready to sleep?" The woman nodded. Her gut was plump a moment ago, but now it seems that the grape went deeper into her. Most likely it's in her snake tail part thing. She slithered her way to Kabol's chest and tried to climb into his pocket. Kabol grabbed her tail with two fingers and pulled her out. "Are you cold blooded?"
The woman hesitated at first, but she nodded.
"Well, I don't want to roll on your in my sleep, so you'll have to sleep somewhere else. And I can't keep a fire, so let's improvise."
The lamia was pondering at first, but Kabol already had an answer. He shoved her upper body in his mouth and slurped her in. She began to freak out, for quite some time too, but Kabol ignored it all and attempted to go back to sleep. The lamia, scared, curled up around under his tongue.
Kabol woke up again, lying on his chest. This time it was the birds chirping and the dew doing whatever dew does that interrupted his sleep. Kabol sat up and stretched his back. His tongue felt sore, reminding him of his apparent hostage. He held out his hand and spat her on it. She was breathing heavily, enjoying the fresh air.
"That was disgusting!" the naga coughed out saliva, "I never had such a horrible sleep in my life. Why your mouth? Do I look like a spider?"
"I thought nagas liked warm, dark, damp places." Kabol said before setting her in his pocket and starting to clean up his camp. "All you need are six more legs and you're not too different. Now quit whining, and don't cry. Where we're going, we need all the hydration we can get."
"Where we're going? Hydration?" She looked worried, "You mean the desert! No! Why? What about my home?"
Kabol stopped cleaning almost entirely. His eyebrow twitched in disbelief. "Home? You mean to tell me you have shelter somewhere in these woods? Lady, I just slept on the cold hard ground. My back-" Kabol tilted his neck to the right, making several popping noises "Has kinks in almost every vertebra. My knuckles in my hands have their own headaches from the cold that my sore mouth protected your cool blood from, and all I get in return is you complaining. Yes. You're coming with me in the killer desert of death."
The lamia shuffled her fingers together, "Can I at least go home and get supplies?"
Kabol looked at her and thought about what he could saw or do. She might not return. If she doesn't return, he isn't sure how he's going to handle that. He doesn't want to go through the trouble of hunting her down when he's so close to his next part of his journey. Even if she does come along how is he going to keep tabs on her if she makes a move. But he alone doesn't have enough supplies to bring the both of them. Even if she is shrunken, he can't really take care of her at night, he could choke. He could take care of her now. She's edible enough.
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