Walking down the halls of a luxury condo and humming a cheery tune was Speaker Amon. He was visiting the city Tsunamon, somewhere along the coast of Earth Asia, for official ambassador business and what not for the Elders, but was also visiting a friend. A fellow ambassador.
"It's been a few years since we've talked face to face." He spoke to himself. "I wonder how she and her den have been holding up."
As he reached the end of the hall, he saw his goal in sight. Two ADVENT guards standing outside of a particular door. He had already passed a few patrols making their rounds through the condo complex, but knew these two were the "extra security" for his friend. He chuckled. She really didn't need that, since she and her children could defend themselves just fine.
As he reached the guards, he stopped in front of them. "Hello." He greeted them with a nod.
"Speaker Amon." One guard acknowledged him.
He smiled. "I'm here to visit my dear friend. She knows I would come today."
They nodded. They then turned and pressed a button on the intercom.
"Yes? Speaking?" A Viper hissed as she answered. She sounded fairly annoyed.
"Speaker Amon is here, Lujayn." The guard said.
"Oh!" Several hisses followed as there was a cacophony of pots clanging and metal clashing in the background. A few threats one could assume she was throwing at her siblings if they dared touch anything in the kitchen. "I'll be there in just a moment."
Amon raised a hand to his mouth to stifle a chuckle. Sounded like someone got caught in the middle of cooking.
A few seconds later, the door clicked and opened. Behind the door was a Viper, without that cobra-like hood, who had silver and brown scales with hints of red. She was bigger and thicker than most Vipers' Earthlings had seen, as she was a "Boa" variant. She may have not had the same potent venom as her kin, but her crushing muscles were more than capable. Her "bind and crush" was more lethal than her kin, and she could ensnare more than one foe.
"Sorry about that!" She apologized. All hints of annoyance were gone. She was wiping her hands with a towel. Once done, she quickly stuck it into a pocket of apron she was wearing. A rather blood and spice stained apron. "Come in, come in!"
"My, you've grown." Amon commented as he entered the residence. And as he did so, he switched to their native tongue. A mixture of hisses and shrill sounds.
He looked at her from head to tail, adjusting his sunglasses ever so slightly. Seeing part of her body trailing off and around the corner. "I remember when you were a small little neonate."
Lujayn giggled, smiling with her eyes. "I've been eating hearty meals and have mom's genes to thank."
"Yes, yes of course." He laughed.
"Mother's in the living room." She said before quickly slithering her way back to the kitchen when she heard a pot clatter. "I thought I told you guys to stay out of that!"
He chuckled, shaking his head. Younglings.
As he followed her, he paused as something caught his eye. A mirror on the wall. The glass was shattered. A few slivers of orange blood were on the shards.
"Huh." He thought nothing of it. Probably a tussle between siblings caused the damage. He continued on his way.
As he entered the enormous living room, he saw more Vipers of all shapes, sizes, and colors mingling and lounging about. Both a majority shared their mother's scales. A sandy brown and tan with hints of read.
A few neonates slithering around; most were escaping Lujayn's wraith as they stuffed their maws full of meat. A pair of sisters were near the windows leading to the balcony were nesting on some eggs basking in the sun's warming rays. And then he noticed a few changed like him. Thin Men is what the humans back during the Invasion would call them. Well, the dissenters and rebels still called them that.
Hearing metal pots clatter once again, followed by hissing and shouting, he looked over to the kitchen. Lujayn was busy chasing out a few stragglers that were still pilfering some meat she was cutting up. So bold of them.
Then something else caught his eye as he looked around the room. Another mirror. A massive one that covered most of the west side wall. It, too, was shattered. There were several points of impact. Almost as if someone had punched it. Repeatedly.
"Hm."
As he pondered on what could have caused that, he finally saw her. The reason for his visit.
Pacing back and forth near that mirror was an older man, black hair with white around the sides. Hints of sandy brown and tan scales, with hints of red, were around his neck. He was were wearing a sleeveless dark green shirt, black dress pants, and had a white sash was around their waist.
"Faruk my friend!" He greeted her.
Hearing someone say her name, she turned her head ever so slightly to see who it was. That face of hers was fixed into a scowl. That didn't disturb him. He was used to it. That was the way she usually looked. A wise, yet ill-tempered elder.
"Hm." She wrinkled her nose, but nodded at him. Immediately, she turned her attention back to pacing, head looking slightly towards the floor.
"Ha, ha." He laughed. He took no offense.
"It's been quite awhile since we've seen each other." Amon said as he walked over to her, making sure not to get in the way of her pacing. "Looks like you have your whole family here. I presume even more of your den is here? Taking up the rest of this floor of the complex?"
"Hm." A grunt and a nod came from her.
Amon continued to talk, shifting the conversation to their respective jobs and other things. He brought up a meeting they would be having with the Elders sometime later in the week, dealing with some rather troublesome dissenters in the region. Supposedly, they were the remnants of a most troublesome military organization back during the Invasion.
"Ah, no matter who they may be. They will be snuffed out like all others whole hold on to that barbaric past." He chuckled to himself.
As he continued to ramble, and she continued to barely acknowledge his words, he noticed something. As she was pacing, she was rubbing the knuckles on both her hands. Bandaged hands, stained with blood. He found that strange. What had caused her such an injury? Then something clicked in his mind. He looked at the mirror. That large shattered mirror.
Oh, that again. He finally remembered. He had heard stories about this. About this strange "issue" she had developed sometime after the Elders had secured the Earth and upgraded her form. A disconnect and longing for what she once was. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. She knew the risks. All of the volunteers did. And they were rewarded well by the Elders for their efforts. But, for some reason… she just couldn't let go of the past. It's no longer relevant, we look towards the future.
"You know Faruk," he paused as he looked at the mirror awhile longer before looking at her again, "if you hate your appearance so much, I believe the Elders would be more than happy to change it for you."
As he said this, all chatter in the room came to a dead halt. All eyes were on him. Many of her children's faces were filled with dread and a few "oh, nos" could be heard. Somehow, he didn't notice this.
"They could, in all likelihood, fix that face of yours." He said with a teasing grin. He had no problem with how she looked. "Always a constant scowl you have, my friend. Do you ever s— ACK!"
CRAASH! CRANKLE CRANKLE…
Just as Faruk was passing him again, she quickly outstretched her arm. A balled fist struck Amon's face, shattering his sunglasses, and sent him back and crashing into the mirror. It shattered further and shards clattered to the floor.
Amon sharply gasped as he fell to the floor. He quickly clutched his face. The world was spinning. He shook it a few times to get his bearings.
"You struck me?" His mind was trying to process what had just happened. He pulled back his hand and noticed orange blood. And more dripping onto the floor. Hesitantly, he touched his nose and winced, quickly pulling back the hand. It was broken. "You struck m— HU— URK!"
Faruk had gone over to him, kneeled down, and grabbed his face. Black nails dug in and tore into his face, drawing more blood, as she pulled it towards hers. That scowl on her face had grown worse. Eyebrows fiercely arched and mouth pulled back into a sneer. Her teeth were bared.
Amon grabbed at her hand, clawing at it to make her let go. But she had a death grip. She was a Boa after all.
"The Elders may have chosen you to be the speaker of this world, but remember…," She paused, bringing her face closer to his. "I outrank you in every aspect." The next moment, she let go of his face, causing him to drop back to the floor, and got back up. She turned her back to him and started pacing once more. "You have a mind attached to that tongue; learn how to use it properly. Read the damn room. Do not try me again."
"Is everything alright right?" The two guards from outside came rushing in. "We heard a commotion outside." Noticing Amon on the floor — and injured by the looks of it — one went over to him and helped him up.
Faruk turned to look at them. "Everything is fine… minus my friend here had a little accident. So clumsy of him." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "The poor man slipped on the rug, cracked his nose against the table, and then crashed into the mirror."
Amon's jaw went slack. Was she lying? And doing it so boldly?
"Is this true? Speaker Amon?" One guard asked him.
"Please do get him to a doctor quickly and safely. I would hate to see that lovely face of his permanently damaged." Faruk spoke again before he could reply. Her eyes were now on him. Intense, piercing eyes locking with his. "No, no, no can't have that for the cameras and broadcasts."
It was slowly clicking for Amon. She wasn't going to tell the truth of what happened. And neither were her children. He had finally noticed just how quiet the room had grown. A mixture of concerned faces all looking at their mother and the other half trying to ignore what had just happened. Looks like he had struck a nerve.
"Speaker Amon?" The guard was waiting for an answer.
"Huh? Uh, y-y-es! Y-yes!" He swiftly nodded, slightly muffled, as he was cupping his face. "Silly me, not watching what I stepped on." A nervous laugh slipped out.
He played along. Out of fear. There was a look in Faruk's eyes that was frightening him. A look that said, "I will kill you."
Once back on his feet, the two guards began to escort them out. One calling in the incident and asking for transport to the nearest clinic.
"See you at the meeting in a few days, Amon." Faruk said to him as he was being escorted out. She even waved. "And be so kind to keep that subject between us."
"Y-yes! Of course, my friend!" He wouldn't even tell the Elders. "My lips are sealed!"
"Good."
