Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.
Chapter 12: La Serpiente de Españoles/The Spanish Snake
Lupe's POV
The next day, the snakes dragged my cage with them to the Constrictai tomb to "keep an eye on me," as Pythor said. I didn't like the idea of needing to be baby-sat all the time, but Pythor did have a point. If no one kept an eye on me and Lloyd, I would probably call Alejandro, Acuzio, and Delicia for help. We made our own howl to use to signal each other if we needed help.
Anyway, I was watching Pythor and the other generals talk about a Great Devourer and stare at a wall with symbols and paintings on it. Whatever that is I thought. I just wanted to be out of my cage. I hated being locked up. Not that I'm alone. All wolves hate it. But humans continue to cage us and kill us and torment us. No wonder we attack them when they come on our land! It's just common sense! I thought angrily.
"It saysss nothing about where the Fangblades are hidden!" Skales complained. "Have our ancestorsss left us nothing?" If so, join the club Teserpienteestúpida. I thought. (You stupid snake.) "Where are they?"
"This, here." Pythor slithered to a table in the middle of the tomb. "This must be a clue. When five fangs unite as one, the path to all the devourer has begun."
"Cripta monstruo," I spoke up to Pythor. (Crypt monster). I smiled as many snakes turned to me.
"Yes, how very charming." Pythor muttered. "Where did you learn Latin?"
"It's not Latin stupid, its Spanish." I huffed at him.
"Latin based." Pythor argued.
"In Latin, it is 'Kripta Monstrum,' not 'Cripta monstruo," I told him, annoyed at his arrogance. "So sad that your ancestors spoke Latin and they sure could tell the difference. Muy triste." I said. (Very sad)
"Back to this," Pythor started.
"Yesss, we've done all this already. It means nothing. If you don't find out soon, the othersss will start to ask questionsss." Skales interrupted him. "And soon they will start to think you don't know what you're doing."
"I know what I'm doing, fool!" Pythor shouted back.
"¡No, no lo haces!" I called to him. (No, you do not.)
"Quiet!" Pythor yelled back at me.
"¡No! ¡Hazme!" I yelled back. (No! Make me!) I could tell that he was getting mad at me.
"Back to this," Pythor stated again, his voice rising in anger. "I'm trying to unleash the Great Devourer."
Still not knowing what the 'Great Devourer' was, I leaned over to a Venomari.
"So, is the 'Great Devourer,' like, Ra or something?" I asked him. *
"I don't know what Ra issss." He told me. I rolled my eyes. Lives in the desert but doesn't know who Ra is. Pathetic. I thought.
"Then who is he?"
"Our god."
"So he is like Ra."
"Who isss Ra?"
"Ra was the Ancient Egyptian god of the sun and pretty much their version of Zeus." I explained to him.
"Oh, never heard of him." The snake turned back to his friends and talked with them. All the hissing over every 's' started to drive me mad. I covered my ears with my hands to drown out the sound.
"Let me out, let me out, let me out," I muttered over and over. "Déjame salir, déjame salir, déjame salir."
"¿Que?" A voice said. I looked up to find a Fangpyre looking at me through the bars. (What?)
"¿Usted hablar Español?" I asked. (You speak Spanish?)
"Sssi, ¿y tu?" (Yes, and you?)
"Si, es mi segunda lengua." I answered. (Yes, it is my second language.)
"Ay, yo también." The snake replied. "¿Como estas?" (Oh, me too. How are you?)
"Yo estoy muy, muy enfadado." I replied. (I am very, very angry.)
"Ay, yo essstoy no bien." The rojo snake looked sad. (Oh, I'm not happy.)
"¿Por que?" I asked him. (Why?)
"Essstoy aburrido." He replied. (I'm bored.)
"Al menos no estas encerrador es una jaula," I told him. (At least you're not in a cage.)
"Si, supongo que ssssi." He responded. I talked to the snake in Spanish for the rest of the day while Pythor and his generals searched for a map to a 'Great Devourer', or Fangblade, or one of the two. (Yes, I guess so.)
"¿Quién eres?" I asked him.
"Mi nombre esss Armando. ¿Y tu?" (My name is Armando. And you?)
"Yo soy Lupe Garmadon. Pero, en forma de loba, soy Cuchilla Loba." I told him. (I am Lupe Garmadon. But, in she-wolf form, I am Cuchilla Loba.)
"He oído de ti." (I've heard of you)
"Estoy sorprendido." (I'm surprised.)
"Tu corrió en medio de la arena. Usted es muy popular entre la Ssserpentine." (You ran through the arena. You are very popular among the Serpentine.)
"¿Ay, de donde eres?"
"Yo soy de la época Fangpyre." (I am from the Fangpyre tomb.)
"Ay, yo soy de Underworld." I told him. (I am from Underworld.)
"Ay, usssted tiene el pelo negro." He told me. (Oh, you have black hair.) His eyes suddenly widened. "¡Y essstá creciendo rápidamente!" (And it's growing fast!) I realized he was right. Whenever I was about to turn the night after the claw moon, my hair would grow at an alarming rate before it covered me completely, then it turned to fur and attached to my skin. I honestly didn't know how it worked, I zoned out when Peridot was teaching me.
"Ay, esto sucede a veces. Sólo significa que estoy a punto para convertirse en mi luna loba formulario." I explained to him. (This happens sometimes. It means I'm about to become my moon she-wolf form.) Just after I said that, my hair completely covered me and I turned into my she-wolf form. When he first saw me, my new friend jumped back and yelped, startled. Then, realizing I wouldn't bite, he cautiously stepped forward. I eyed him with my sharp sapphire eyes, hunger in them.
"¿Tienes hambre?" (Are you hungry?) I only nodded my head, my instincs telling me to pounce on him. He's a snake. Snakes are meat. Meat is food. My instins told me. I shook my head. But no, he's getting me food. He's a amigo.
Soon, my friend came back with a small chunk of meat. It looked like a rat. Better than nothing I thought. Then I noticed my friend was sneaking it to me. When he threw it in my cage, I swallowed it in a single gulp. Then, I looked at him with eyes saying, "Muchas gracias."
"De nada." He whispered to me. Then, he sneaked off to the wall farthest from me and fell asleep. During my short meal, I felt a pair of eyes on me. But this time, it wasn't the kind eyes of mi amor. This time, it was hateful, yet cunning eyes. I tensed at this new feeling. Soon, the feeling left and I relaxed. But I couldn't help but think, who was watching me?