Curse of the Snake Demons
Chapter 11: Warming the Cold Heart
Author: DERP… Jake was only affectionate towards the last end of the last chapter… I'm going to make sure there's a lot more in this one 3 So yes… this will be a romance based chapter that will be considered filler; don't fret though, a little bit of the story will be implemented in.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Rango but I do own any Oc's and the plot to this fan fiction. Also I don't own the song that will be used in this chapter.
"J-Jake" Claudia said as Jake rubbed against her… affectionately.
"Hm?" he asked her, the humming vibration going through her body as he listened to her voice.
"How long… are you going to be "checking" to see if I'm okay" she said, having a feeling that he was just cuddling with her or something. He was just using it as an excuse to show his happiness that she was alive and well.
"Hm… perhaps for a few more minutes will do the trick" he told her as his coils shifted around her. For the past... couple of minutes he was doing this? She figured he'd stop by now, he even, unnoticeably, put his coils on her bed; she figured he wanted her in his coils. Even though she appreciated and, despite not wanting to admit it to his face, liked being in them she felt herself get nervous and fidgety. "Hey relax woman, it's not like I'm tryin' to eat ya or anythin'" he told her before smiling
"Well maybe my body wants to stop being pushed so it can rest" she told him "I just went through hell, I would like to get some decent sleep" she said. Jake snorted with a small frown, she guessed it was because it seemed like she didn't like the feeling she got when he was rubbing up against her.
"Sleep? Woman you've been sleeping for about half a day already what do you need more sleep for?" he asked, causing her to blink.
"Seriously? I've been asleep for that long?" she asked, causing him to nod
"Yea, I had no choice but to stay next to you and hope that you didn't go dyin' on me" he replied. "So I know that you were sleepin' like a little baby for quite some time, you should have plenty of energy~" he said with a chuckle. He then started to wrap more closely around her body as his head got closer to her again. "Now stop squirmin' or else I can't check all yer muscles" he said with a chuckle, almost as if he were joking about it, which he probably was. Before she could object, though, sounds were made outside the door, causing Jake to look towards it and took his coils down. That was when the door came open as Rango, Beans and the children came into the room.
"Hey look, Ms. Claudia's awake!" exclaimed one of the children as they scurried to her bedside, causing Jake to move out of the way, though looking a bit irritated. He wanted to spend more time with her, hell he would spend all day and night with her… he just felt so overjoyed that she was alive and well… and that he didn't have to mourn for her death since she wasn't dead.
"Yea, I'm awake kids, but I don't feel too hot since I just fought over a nasty fever" she said with a nervous laugh.
"Well at least yer alright now, no need to worry about that venom in yer blood anymore. In fact it's Jac- er I mean Jake who saved yer life by injectin' you with his own venom" Rango said. She nodded at first but stopped and looked to Jake with a blink
"Just put it on yer tab woman, you can pay me back later" he said, going back to his outlaw self. He looked away from her, being a bit cold but she figured he wouldn't be acting all affectionate and happy around other people; it just wasn't his style or the type of image he wanted people to see.
"Well we were all worried about you and we're glad that yer able to get over that fever of yers" Beans said, causing the human to nod with a small smile.
"I appreciate it, nice to know that I'm in such a dependable town" she told them before yawning. "But I'm still rather tired so…"
"Understandable ma'am. We'll leave you alone so that you can get some more rest" Rango said as she motioned almost everyone in the room to exit so Claudia could get some more sleep. When they were gone Jake looked to her and put his head low and next to her on the bed after she sighed and laid back on the pillows.
"I'm surprised yer not tryin' to run off and git yer brother or anythin'" he said, which was true because he thought he was going to have to keep her from running off again. She shook her head slowly, signaling she was ready to go back to sleep
"No… I'm really too tired to do something as stupid as that right now… and I know I can't travel being like that and I know you wouldn't let me even if I tried" she told him with a small smile to him. He chuckled and nodded
"Damn right and I'm not movin' from this spot so I can keep an eye on ya" he said. Jake then curled his body right next to her bed after getting a large blanket to cover himself. It was just like how it was before… them two sleeping next to each other except… well Jake was a lot bigger and Claudia a lot smaller. "Night" He said as he closed his eyes before his hat over shadowed them
"Night" she said back, closing her eyes as well and falling into a peaceful sleep; a nice change of pace from what she just went through.
The next day Doc came over and checked her ankle since she claimed she felt it become better. She wanted it to be checked so Jake would get all bent out of shape to have her walk around.
"Hm… well it looks like yer ankle ain't that damaged anymore. I'd even say it's fully healed" Doc said. It caused her to look to Jake with a small smirk, causing him to snort and look away; this meant that she was able to walk around again!
"Awesome!" she said to herself, happy to know she was able to go and "That means I can go and get my little brother~" she said happily.
"Now don't go doin' something stupid before we even have the appropriate supplies, woman" Jake said to her. She looked to him, her happy mood ruined
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, yer not even fit to go out in the desert, yer shirt is torn and you have nothin' to protect yer skin from the sun and the cold. Also it'll take a few days (possibly) to get there and we don't even have supplies to keep us from starvin' to death… well mainly you" he said. She frowned, great more delays she didn't need any more damn delays, her brother's life and, possibly, sanity hung in the balance. "Don't go frownin' like that, it's only goin' to take a day or two to git everythin' in order" he said.
"It still means that I have to wait longer to go and find my brother and who knows what's happened to him by the time we get there" she said, pouting. Jake looked to her
"Well we ain't goin' till supplies come in and you have the appropriate attire to be travelin', no ifs ands or buts about it" he told her with a nod. Great… well at least he was going to let her walk around for a little bit anyway and maybe try and get used to whatever powers her new 'body' had given her.
"But I really don't want to wait that long, I'm really worried about my brother, he's going to turn into a freak if I don't help him" she said. Jake looked to her
"Woman, if you go with nothin' but what you have right now you ain't goin' to survive one day in the desert!" he told her. "You need to stay put and wait for supplies and the proper attire before you get any stupid ideas in yer head about goin' off unprepared" he told her. Why was she being so persistent about saving her brother?! She was more important in safety here… at least from Jake's perspective since he was a bit overprotective of her now.
"But…"
"No buts we're not leavin' town till we're ready" he said a little sternly. He was being stern cause he cared, he couldn't have her dying again, it hurt too much to see her like that. There was no way in HELL he was going to lose her again and if he had to strap her down to the bed till they're ready to leave, then so be it. Losing her… it would be the pain he felt when he was betrayed all those years ago and he didn't want to feel pain like that again. This was why he was such a tough outlaw who has walls up so strongly, he couldn't bear to get hurt… and it was humiliating when he finally realized he was being played with all that time.
"…Jake?" Claudia asked, causing the snake to shake his head and look to her after getting out of his own thoughts. Even though he didn't realize it, his face looked… a bit hurt when thinking about back then and it made her wonder if something was wrong. "What are you thinking about? You look…" he started to say but stopped herself, with other people in the room she didn't want to say it out loud. He snorted
"I'm just fine" he said, no way in hell he was going to admit that he showed a… softer emotion than what he usually did. "None of yer damned business on what I'm thinkin'" he said to her, causing her to wonder if it was a good idea to start saying something like that in front of others.
"I was just curious" she said innocently, she did want to know more about him, though he was still hesitant to let that part of himself open up to her. Sure he cared a great deal for her but he wasn't totally ready to trust… not after what happened last time he trusted someone. "There's no need to snap at me!" she said
"Well maybe you should mind yer own business" he hissed and shook his metal rattler, not happy she seemed to be trying to pry into his personal thoughts.
"I was just concerned! You seemed to be troubled!" she told him, but he waved it off
"Well I don't need any concern from you! Just wait for the damn supplies and leave me alone!" he yelled. He then just slithered off in a frustrated way, much like the first time she had come; God what was with him? This caused her to sigh
"What is wrong with him?" she asked herself, because earlier he was rubbing all over her and then he storms off.
"Well I guess I'm gonna have to go calm him down again" Rango said with a sigh causing Claudia to nod. While he left to do that, she felt like going around town again so she could stretch her legs for the first time without worrying about her ankle.
After another one of Jake's little anger argument with the human girl Rango decided that he should calm the outlaw down so that he and the girl could stay together, he didn't need the two fighting. So he went towards where the snake had slithered off to the tavern owned by Buford. So the chameleon sheriff strolled into the bar. It looked like usual, having a crowd and such, but they were a lot quieter and… there as more tension in the air. Of course when a giant outlaw like Jake is inside that tends to happen and even Buford looked on edge but kept his cool for the most part, he did have a business to run.
"Give me a barrel of yer strongest" Jake commanded before Buford nodded his head and went into the back to look for a barrel that held his strongest drink. Rango gulped as he was nervous with talking to the outlaw, but it had to be done or else he would stay mad for a while. Also he didn't want him killing someone just because of his own insecurities
"So this is where you ran off to" he said as he, a bit nervously, walked to the bar and next to the diamondback. "So what are you doin' here, brother?" he asked, though he already knew why.
"You know damn well why I'm here; I swear that woman is the most stubborn creature I have ever met" Jake said as he snorted. "Why are you here anyway? And don't tell me it's because it's yer 'duty' to calm me down or anythin'" he added.
"Well she's just so concerned about her brother and all, he's the only family she has left" Rango said. "Well don't think about it like that… think of it as just tryin' to help a fellow brother out"
"I don't need yer help brother, besides she needs to learn that bein' prepared is the best way to go. It don't matter if her brother is in danger, she needs to be patient or else she'll die before she can even get to him" Jake said. He couldn't understand… I mean sure he did care for his siblings but that was a long time ago and he cut ties with his family since he started his outlaw life. To him his family was as good as dead, they didn't care about him and vice versa.
"You sure about that? Cause the way I see it yer bein' too hard on her. You may not care about what happens to her brother really but she does, and wouldn't that make you care?" Rango asked.
"I ain't bein' hard on her! This is a lesson in life that she needs to learn!" he hissed looking at the sheriff with a glare.
"Can't ya loosin' up a little bit? The last hope of having a normal life is in her brother since he's the last family she has" man Jake was so hard to reason with, why can't he be less hard on her?
"Because I don't want her makin' another stupid mistake and having me save her sorry soul again" he stated. As the two were talking Buford came back with the barrel that Jake ordered and put it on the bar's counter. Jake wrapped some of his coils around it and then opened his mouth to let his fangs out so that one of them could pop the lid off. He then proceeded to drinking from it, pulling his head back as he chugged the liquid.
"You know, I keep finding a common link to what yer sayin' Jake" Rango started to say, though the diamondback did not answer. "It always comes down to the fact that you don't want Miss Claudia bein' hurt, which gets me to thinkin'… you really care about her don't you?" he asked. After this accusation Jake slammed the barrel on the counter, causing it to burst and them to be drenched.
"Take that back!" Jake growled "Don't you ever, ever accuse me of carin' about someone other than myself, ESPECIALLY a damn human like her!" he yelled, causing Rango to back away. Jake was REALLY someone you did not want to make angry… though despite that he could tell that it was an act. A very big act considering the amount of kill wanting in his hell eyes but still an act, one to cover up his true feelings.
"But Miss Claudia ain't exactly a human anymore is she?" Rango asked, causing Jake to pause with his mouth slightly open. There was silence in the whole bar since Jake's outburst caused everyone to freeze in fear for they were afraid he'd kill something that made the slightest noise.
Rango was right… Claudia wasn't human anymore she half human half… snake thing… which meant she was kind of like him! Sure she had demon blood but it had an affinity with snakes, so… maybe… maybe things could work out for him being with her! But first he had to keep his act up a little
"That maybe be true sheriff, but she don't know how to handle that side of her yet. She needs time and patience… and if she goes unprepared to find her brother she'll die before even learnin' one thing about it" he said. He looked to Buford and snorted before he turned away from the counter and started to slither out.
"Where are you goin', Jake?" Rango asked
"None of yer damned business" he answered, which meant that he was going to go find Claudia and… maybe apologize to her. She's probably walking about somewhere, and he was going to have to find her… not that it would be that hard considering how small the town is.
After Jake stormed off the half-human girl went for a walk by herself, free of her ankle being a nuisance and whatnot. So she walked around and found a nice little building that seemed to have been abandoned for some time and since spiders weren't small or anything she felt pretty safe.
For a while she just stayed in there and let herself have a piece of mind that was not in that damn bed or around overprotective Jake. It was relaxing, though she did have time to think about the troubling things and the irritating things. Some led to her brother and her family but most of the time they all went back to Jake the Overprotective Rattlesnake. Why couldn't he see that she cared about him? Why couldn't he tell that she wanted to be there for him? That she DID want to be with him, that she liked being with him and being in his coils?!
But most of all… those sad eyes… they almost looked hurt and she was concerned on what was making them hurt. She wanted him to open up to her, to open his heart to her so she could see the wounds that were made on it and… maybe heal them.
"This reminds me of a song that I heard a while ago…" she said to herself with a small smile. And, without hesitance since she was by herself, opened her mouth and started to sing.
The day I first met you, you told me you'd never fall in love
But now that I get you I know fear is what it really was
Now here we are, so close yet so far, haven't I passed the test?
When will you realize baby that I'm not like the rest.
Don't wanna break your heart I wanna give your heart a break
I know you're scared it's wrong like you might make a mistake
There's just one life to live and there's no time to wait, to waste
So let me give your heart a break, give your heart a break
Your heart a break oh, yea yea
On Sunday you went home alone, I thought there were tears in your eyes
I called your na-ame, my love but you almost didn't reply
The world is ours, if you want it we can take it, if you just take my hand
There's no turning back now baby, try to understand
Don't wanna break your hear wanna give your heart a break
I know you're scared it's wrong, like you might make a mistake
There's just one life to live and there's no time to wait, to waste
So let me give your heart a break give your heart a break
Your heart a break oh, yea yea
When your lips are on my lips then our hearts will beat as one
But you slip out of my fingertips every time you run, whoa
Don't wanna break your heart wanna give your heart a break
I know you're scared it's wrong like you might make a mistake
There's just one life to live and there's no time to wait, to waste
So let me give your heart a break
Cause you've been hurt before I can see it in your eyes
You try to smile it away but some things you can't disguise
Don't want to break your heart baby I can ease the ache, the ache
Give your heart a break let me give your heart a break
There's just so much you can take give your heart a break
Let me give your heart a break let me give your heart a break
Your heart a break oh yea yea
The day I first met you, you told me you'd never fall in love.
Alright so she tweaked the lyrics a little but it was her singing how she felt about her and Jake… and that she wished he would just trust her. They had known each other for a couple of weeks now; shouldn't he begin to open up to her? She wanted to help him… she cared for him a lot; why couldn't he see that?!
Suddenly there was a creak and her head whipped to the wooden door of the abandoned building but there was nothing there… was it the wind?
"Who'd ever thought that you'd be able to sing so decently?" Jake's voice said behind her, causing her to gasp, walk backwards and then trip and fall on her bottom. He chuckled
"D-don't sneak up on me, I almost had a heart attack!" she whined, but he only smiled a little as his coils were in a circle around her.
"Then perhaps you should pay more attention to yer surroundings. Besides seein' yer flustered face gets me in a good mood" he told her. She pouted
"That's no reason to scare me half to death"
"Well you wouldn't have been scared if you weren't singin'" he replied to her, causing her to freeze and blush more.
"You… you heard me singing?! H-how much?! How long have you been listening?!" she asked, highly embarrassed, causing him to smile
"What do you think?" he simply asked, avoiding answering the question like he should. Truth of the matter he only heard the last bit about knowing he was hurt by the look in his eyes, not like he was going to tell her. "Though what does it matter, hm? I was the only one to hear that voice of yers and that's all that matters" he told her, his coils now wrapped around her. But it wasn't like he was going to try and suffocate her or anything, in fact it kind of felt like an embrace.
"H-Hey, let me g-go!" she said flustered, but he just pulled her closer to his body, mostly his neck and head.
"Now why should I do that? Don't you like bein' in my coils~?" he asked teasingly just trying to get in her head… though he kind of hoped she did like it.
"I-I thought you were mad at me!" she said as an excuse, this caused him to put her closer, causing her body to go against not only his coils, but his neck as well.
"I cooled myself off, I'm not mad at you anymore~" he said as his looked down to her "Besides I came to tell ya that I made the orders for supplies, hopefully they'll be here soon. But you have to promise not to go off before they arrive… okay?" he was asking sincerely, hoping she wouldn't do something stupid and leave before getting supplies. His eyes were asking with concern, and she could tell as she looked in them. It caused her to sigh and, unconsciously, put her head up against his scaly chest
"Alright fine, I won't leave before I'm ready" she replied, causing him to smile before bending down and nudging her head a bit lovingly.
"Good, cause I would hate to have to break somethin' in you to keep you from leavin'" he commented as his nose went through her hair. It smelled nice and it was soft and smooth, he loved it and it felt even nicer when her tiny warm body was in his coils, it warmed him right up.
"I'd like to see you try" she said, causing him to chuckle as he looked at her with loving eyes. His rattler came up and rubbed against her cheek, the metal being cold to the touch against her warm peach-colored cheek.
A few days after that, supplies and clothes arrived for the two… though most of them were for Claudia and not Jake, especially the clothes.
"See? Don't that feel better than yer tore up human clothes?" he asked her, causing her to huff in response. What he had gotten her was a western get-up that consisted of a plaid white and blue shirt with a brown vest, pants, shoes, gloves and a cloak that was draped around her shoulders.
"This thing has a hood right?" she asked, referring to the cloak as she was avoiding the question all together. Jake nodded
"Yep and pockets too so you can put yer personal belongings in them… well if you even brought any" he told her.
"Thank God… tell you the truth I'm surprised you didn't order me a hat"
"I didn't think you as the kind of woman to want to wear one" well at least he knew her enough to know that. "Anyway we're about ready to leave, so go get yer sword and the supplies we got so we can be on our way" he told her. She smiled and nodded as she went upstairs to get her stuff so she could finally go and rescue her brother.
"I guess this is goodbye huh?" Rango asked as he stood next to Jake
"'Course it is, probably won't come back after this for a long time…" he said, a bit melancholy about it since he realized that… if she finds out how to get to her normal size then she would leave him… possibly forever. And from that song he heard partially, he felt that maybe… maybe she had feelings for him too…
"Oh don't go sad that yer leavin' town, Jake. I'm sure you'll come back to us for a pit stop or maybe on business" he said cheerfully, causing the snake to snort
"I ain't sad about anythin'" he stated.
"I got everything… can we go now?" Claudia asked as she had her sword on her hip and bags of supplies for herself. She was eager to hurry home, get to the city, and then go the city to rescue her little brother.
"Right right, keep yer pants on woman" he said as he slithered to her "You got everythin' right? Then attach them to my bullets, that way you don't have to carry them" he told her. She nodded and attacked the sakes of food and other things on Jake's bullet holder before getting on his neck… after he motioned her to do so.
"Well I wish the both of ya luck then" Rango said, tipping his hat "Yer always welcome in this town as long as you don't cause trouble" he said with a chuckle. Claudia nodded back
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind"
"Alright girls no need to get emotional, time to get goin'" Jake said jokingly, causing her to roll her eyes. He smiled though and then slithered off into the desert for the rest of the day as the girl prayed that they wouldn't be too late to save her brother.
Author: Well at least I didn't take a month to get this next chapter up, I guess I really wanted to have some "romantic" scenes with Jake and Claudia since there are so few of them atm. But I'm happy~ I was going to add a last scene but... well considering this chapter is about 10 pages via Word I thought it would be a good time to stop xD I'll just put it in the beginning of the next one. Also it is just me or does this Jake have mood swings every so often? I realized this when I was writing and I was like: Damn it's like he's got a PMS of his own... even if he's male... and not a mammal. But I find it amusing, guess that's one of the things about my Jake muse that makes him who he is... thankfully he doesn't have the swings much though. Anyway till next time; Bye Bi~
