Converse County, Wyoming, United States, 1948

Sam Troy was glad to be home after spending several connecting flights with a cobra tucked in his jacket. That certainly wasn't something he ever thought he would be thinking, but it was certainly on his mind after closing the door behind him, setting his bags down, and opening his jacket to pull a five-foot-long black Egyptian cobra out. "Ride's over," he said.

Anah, who was actually a companion to British Rat Patrol member Jack Moffitt, gave a mildly annoyed hiss as she was pulled out and set on a table.

"Oh, come on, I see Moffitt handling you like that all the time," Troy said with a sigh.

"Are you Moffitt?" Anah asked, turning to face him and tilting her head quizzically.

"No—"

"Exactly."

"You're not going to be like this for the next two weeks, are you? You do realize this was your idea, and Moffitt's idea."

"I do."

"And I thought we had this quiet little understanding while I was carrying you down the aisle that we were going to be a bit nicer to each other."

"That does not mean I will stop messing around with you every once in a while," Anah said with a slight grin.

For a moment, Troy regretted agreeing to keep Anah company while Moffitt and his new wife, Vanora, enjoyed their honeymoon trip to Malta, but having already made the long flight from Britain to Wyoming, it was a little too late to turn back. May as well make the best of it.

He was torn between sitting for a while and taking a walk to get the stiffness out of his muscles. After getting a drink of water, Troy opted for a walk. He changed into more comfortable clothes, and when he went back downstairs to the living room, he saw Anah perched on the back of the couch. By now, he recognized her and trusted her, but the sight of a snake in his home was still a tad unnerving.

"I see you have made some improvements to the ranch since we all helped build it with you three years ago," Anah said.

"Yeah. That's what I do every summer. Put more work into the ranch. It's getting close to being complete. Right now, it's… satisfactory." Troy grabbed his keys from a hook by the door. "I'm taking a walk. You want to come?"

"A walk? Where are we walking?" Anah asked. She slithered to the edge of the couch.

"Just around the property." Troy wasn't sure what Anah was doing until she wrapped around his wrist and started climbing his arm. He tempted to tell her that he wasn't Moffitt, but the last thing he wanted was to make Anah unhappy. Then again, that didn't mean she could invade his space whenever she felt like it.

It was quite cold when Troy stepped outside. Anah tightened around his neck, acting like a scarf. She seemed very interested in the new scenery, constantly raising and lowering her head and flicking her forked tongue in and out to take in every new sensation. She didn't say a word as Troy walked around the fence to observe his livestock.

He leaned against the fence, deep in thought. Part of him expected Anah to start exploring the fence, but she stayed around his neck.

"This means a lot to you," Anah said.

"Yeah," Troy replied. He made a sweeping motion with his arm. "This is what I wanted. I wasn't interested in the GI Bill. I just wanted my quiet little ranch out here, in the land I grew up."

"It still amazes me that you said nothing about your life or heritage to your own men."

"Because I didn't want it getting used against me if we were captured."

Anah was quiet for a moment. "At least they are understanding."

"Yeah."

"You are getting better at opening up to people. You have shown considerable growth in the last few months alone. I am proud of you."

"Well, you and Moffitt did pester me about it since before Normandy."

"We did, and I daresay, it was a success." Anah grinned at him.

"Look—" Troy turned to face Anah, "it wasn't easy. I preferred keeping things to myself for a reason."

"Because you never had anyone before to help you through tough times. Now, you have several people, who can help you better understand who you are. Including Dietrich now."

"Including Dietrich. Never thought I'd be saying that." Troy sighed. "He still worries me sometimes. I know it's been several months since he…" Troy paused, making a gesture to his wrists, "and that he told me he doesn't want to die anymore, but it's still something I'm afraid of."

Anah's tone sobered. "I still wish I had seen that coming."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Dietrich's alright now. He definitely seemed different at Moffitt's wedding. Wasn't expecting him to ask me to have a cigarette with him outside."

"He trusts you now. It may take time before he is willing to admit it, but he certainly trusts you more now than he ever has before. You saw him at his most vulnerable, and did not do what he was initially afraid of you doing."

"And what would that be?"

"Leave him to his suffering."

Troy shook his head. "No. Even if… this had happened in North Africa, I wouldn't have ignored him."

"We were all blind to it in the beginning. He essentially had a secondary career in masking his suffering." Anah tightened herself a little more around Troy's neck. "You are getting cold."

"I've been in worse."

"That does not mean you stay out when you can help it. Go inside."

Great. She's going to be a nag this whole trip. "Are you like this with Moffitt?"

"Yes."

"And what're you going to do if I don't go inside?"

"Would you like to find out?"

Troy wasn't sure he did. There was still a lot that he, and even Moffitt, didn't know about what the cobra was capable of. He gave a heavy sigh before turning to head back into the house. As he climbed onto the porch, he was beginning to feel the cold. Winters in Wyoming had a tendency to be brutally cold, being so far away from the coast. At night, they were especially bad.

Over the last several winters, Troy had become used to spending nights completely alone, with nothing but the icy winds battering the walls and windows for company. During the day, he usually had the company of his ranch hands, a Japanese ex-POW, a one-eyed former Marine, and a woman who fled from England with her siblings at the beginning of the war.

Now, he had a snake for the next two weeks, while Moffitt and his new wife enjoyed sunny Malta. At least Anah was a good conversation partner. Mostly.

Snow began falling late that night, just before Troy went to bed. Anah went with him. She first settled on his nightstand, watching the snow outside, then slithered over to the bed, curling up on the pillow next to Troy's head.

He was half-asleep when he felt her press up next to him. "Just so you know, Anah, this isn't like the couch back at Moffitt's, where I couldn't really move much," Troy said. "I'm not exactly a still sleeper."

"Oh, I know," Anah replied.

Back in North Africa, Troy had only ever seen Anah sleep with Moffitt. It was a bit strange at first, as no one in their right mind would let a venomous snake lie so close to them, but Anah wasn't an ordinary venomous snake and Troy had questioned the soundness of Moffitt's mind a handful of times. She only really became dangerous whenever Moffitt was in danger. At all other times, she was calm and not very threatening, and in some ways, she was almost like a fifth member of the team. Troy never really acknowledged her as such, largely because at the time, he was still sour over the idea of Dietrich's prophecy—and that he was part of it. He didn't understand magic and didn't care to try. It was slow, confusing, and not something he wanted to be involved with.

The longer it went on, the more he managed to understand. That didn't mean he liked it, but he did grow to respect and care for Anah a little, though he dismissed it as caring for Moffitt, since Anah had come to mean so much to him. Over the last few years, he started seeing her as less of a strange prophet and more of a… person, of sorts. An immortal, magical, highly intelligent, nagging, smartass snake-person. Was there a better way to put it?

He really started seeing Anah as, in Moffitt's words, "a human mind in a snake's body" when he saw how differently Anah was behaving when Moffitt ran off to spend time with his girlfriend the day after he and Troy brought Dietrich to England from a hospital in Germany after Dietrich's failed suicide attempt. Anah was quiet and spent nearly an entire day staring out a window, looking about as sad as a snake could look. When Troy approached her and asked if she was missing Moffitt, Anah admitted to it, and told him about her fears of being abandoned, as she had been by her original master some two thousand years ago.

That was the same day Troy declared a "permanent truce" with Dietrich, setting their rivalry down for good. It was time he did the same with Anah after arguing with her about the prophecy for six years and blaming her for everything they went through, as well as Dietrich's suffering. That night, he was still a little surprised to find Anah approaching him while he tried getting to sleep on the couch in Moffitt's sitting room. In the last six years, she had never been alone at night. She liked Moffitt's company and warmth, and she didn't want to be reminded of the "nearly 730,000 nights" where she was completely alone in the crystal ball temple.

That was a number that Troy would never get to experience, and he didn't envy Anah for having to endure it. It was bad enough that he had spent the last three years alone. Anah had spent two thousand alone.

Troy alternated between feeling sorry for Anah and being angry at Moffitt for leaving her behind, but he also couldn't blame Moffitt for just wanting some time alone with his girlfriend. Without saying much, Troy let Anah stay with him. He had already been laying on his stomach when Anah approached, and stayed in that position as she slithered onto his back, curling up and resting her head by his neck.

He wondered if Anah was feeling just as lonely now as she did all those months ago. Then again, she did agree to this. Perhaps she didn't anticipate how much she would miss Moffitt. Him getting married is a big deal, both for him and Anah. It'll take some getting used to. Troy usually didn't sleep on his stomach, but shifted to that position. He turned his head, watching the snow out the window. Eventually, Anah crawled onto his back, settling between his shoulder blades.

"I never saw snow until I was with your unit in Italy," Anah said, softly. "It is among the most beautiful things I have ever seen."

"It's pretty until you gotta go out in it," Troy murmured.

"Indeed. It is like fire and water—it is lovely, and it can also be dangerous."

"Snow basically is water. It's frozen water."

Anah sighed. "You get what I mean, though."

"I do. Go to sleep."

Overnight, the flat land of Troy's property became as white as a sheet of unmarked paper, while the forests became weighed down with snow. After the sun had come up, the sky was dull and gray, giving the entire landscape of Wyoming a dismal, colorless look. At some point in the night, Troy had moved to sleep on his right side, as he awoke facing the window and the nightstand on the right side of the bed. He slowly sat up, feeling and hearing the loud pops and cracks of the joints in his back and shoulders realigning. Looking around, he didn't see Anah, and began wondering if the previous day had been a weird dream.

A sweet and savory smell came from downstairs. He could also smell the perky scent of coffee. She's still here. What the hell is she doing? Troy got out of bed, quickly put on some clothes, and headed downstairs to the kitchen, where Anah was perched on the counter, telekinetically making a breakfast of pancakes and bacon.

"Good morning, Troy," she said, holding out a cup of coffee with her tail.

"Good… morning? What's all this?"

"I made breakfast."

Troy looked around at the open containers of flour and sugar. "I do have pancake mix, you know. That would've been a lot simpler."

"But these are homemade. Sit with your coffee and eat. I will take care of everything."

"You do this with Moffitt?"

"Sometimes," Anah replied.

Troy expected the coffee to be rigged with a prank, like salt or lemon juice, but instead, he tasted coffee. Regular, delicious coffee, made exactly the way he did himself. She's probably watched Moffitt do it enough times to know how I like my coffee.

Anah had made enough pancakes and bacon to feed all four members of the Rat Patrol, plus Dietrich. Troy wouldn't admit to anyone that the stacks of pancakes were mildly intimidating, and wondered how Anah was able to make that much. "I don't think there's going to be room in the fridge for all this."

"Eat first, then we will worry about where we put it," Anah said, not looking away from her work.

"Anah, I'm not Moffitt or Dietrich. I'm not a walking skeleton. This is a little too much."

"Nonsense. You do not want to become a walking skeleton, do you?"

Troy kept quiet. She's bored. She misses Moffitt. Let her dote. No harm in it. Not yet.

Luckily, Anah actually knew the meaning of the words "I'm full." The pancakes were good, better than what Troy was used to, but he had a list of things to do that day and a nap immediately after breakfast wasn't one of them.

Nor was answering a knock at the front door. Troy hadn't been expecting company that day, and unless it was his brother, David, he was a bit worried about someone seeing Anah. He glanced back toward the kitchen, seeing Anah washing the dishes. If we keep this brief, no one will see Anah. I'd rather not become the Converse County lunatic. Troy opened the door, seeing the rosy-cheeked face of Shauna McPherson, one of his ranch hands. She was bundled in a winter coat and her dark hair was tucked under a woolen hat. In her arms was a huge bag of animal feed.

"Good morning, Sam," she said. "I know I'm not scheduled today, but I brought over a few bags of fodder for you. The rest is in my truck."

"I appreciate that, Shauna, thank you," Troy replied. Shauna had always been generous with her time and effort. She had worked multiple jobs over the course of the war, and the ranch had been her first permanent job. She was strong, physically, which probably came from wrangling her siblings all the time, and she was intelligent and intuitive. Troy never had to worry about her ever slacking off or falling behind.

"It's not a problem," Shauna replied. "Is there anything you need help with today? I know you just came back from a trip and probably haven't settled back in. I don't want to be a bother."

"Oh, no, you're not a bother. Do you want some coffee? Maybe we can work something out. I do have some things to do that I could let you help with."

"Coffee does sound good." Shauna set the bag down before following Troy into the house. "It smells wonderful in here."

Troy wasn't sure how to explain the abundance of pancakes and bacon that were still in the kitchen. He was tempted to tell Anah to set half aside to send to Dietrich, but also wanted to wait until Shauna had left. "Uh… thanks." Troy took a mug from a cabinet to pour some coffee into it, then heard a bloodcurdling scream.

In the living room, Shauna had grabbed a broom and was trying to strike Anah with it, shouting, "Snake! Snake!"

"Wait, don't!" Troy sprinted into the living room to take the broom from her.

"What are you doing, Sam?! Kill it!"

"No! We're not going to kill her. In fact, we can't. Just relax. I'll explain everything."

There was a look of horror on Shauna's face as Troy reached down to pick Anah up.

"Okay. See? She's harmless—even though she's a cobra."

"A cobra?! Cobras aren't native to Wyoming!"

"I know. She belongs to a friend of mine. I'm watching her while he's on his honeymoon with his wife."

"Watching? Troy, that makes me sound like a pet," Anah said.

"And she somehow talks?" Shauna backed away fearfully.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

Anah hissed at him.

Troy gave her a dirty look, then returned his gaze to Shauna. "Her name is Anah. She's a magical Egyptian cobra that we picked up while fighting in North Africa. I know next to nothing about magic, so don't ask any questions." He gestured with Anah. "You can ask her, though."

"Oh, I know a little about magic," Shauna said. She relaxed a little. "So, she doesn't bite or spit or anything?"

"No, not unless you make her mad, or hurt Moffitt." Troy held out Anah. "You can even touch her. She's really smooth, not rough like a rattlesnake, and a lot better tempered than one."

"You're sure it's safe?" Shauna asked.

"Would I ever lie to you? If I thought she was dangerous, she wouldn't be here right now."

"Good point." Shauna ran one hand down the back of Anah's head. "You're right. She is smooth." She looked at Troy. "I suppose I should apologize for trying to hit… Anah with a broom."

"Apology accepted," Anah said. "A broom would not have hurt."

"Good to know, but I still… feel a bit bad now."

"It is no problem. I have dealt with worse."

"And I'm sorry that this is how you had to meet," Troy said.

"She's not here permanently, is she?" Shauna asked.

"No. Only for a couple of weeks. Do you still want coffee?"

"I do." Shauna looked at Anah somewhat cautiously after Troy set the snake on a table, then leaned over to whisper to Troy, "She's really magic?"

"Yeah. Really magic. And over two thousand years old."

"That's amazing. I've never met anything like her before." Shauna kept glancing at Anah. "And she just decided to join you and your unit?"

"Well, let's a bit of a long story, and some of the details are a bit touchy. Not sure it's a good idea to tell you just yet."

"I see."

Once Troy had some things lined up for Shauna to do, the woman left to unload the bags of feed from her truck. Anah finished cleaning the kitchen, then joined Troy at the table. "One of your ranch hands, I take it?" she asked.

"Yep," Troy replied.

"She treats you more like a friend than a boss."

"Because I don't see myself as a boss. I'm her employer, technically, but her job is to help me around the ranch. I don't just give her a list of things to do, then sit back and watch."

"You just did, though."

"It's all stuff that she knows how to do really well already. If there was something she didn't know how to do, I'd help her, but she offered to work a few hours and that's fine. I'm not going to argue with that."

Anah was quiet for a moment, a slight grin on her face. "I sensed… she has a bit of a crush on you."

"And?"

"Do you not share the same feelings? You did invite her in for coffee."

"I did that to be polite, not because I have a crush on her, too."

"But do you?"

"That's none of your business." Troy would admit to himself that he thought Shauna was pretty, and he admired her strength and dedication, but doubted he could see her as anything more than a friend.

He could see Anah was still grinning in the corner of his vision, and he didn't like the look in her eye one bit.

Troy's first task of the day was to run errands, which meant taking a twenty-minute drive down to the very small town of Douglas. Anah was insistent on coming, so she could see new sights. Troy didn't want her scaring the residents, so he made her promise to stay in his jacket. Much like the flight back from Britain, he was treated to the odd sensation of the cobra wrapped around his torso. This is probably second nature to Moffitt. It took time, but Troy eventually got used to seeing Moffitt walking around with Anah on his shoulders, to the point where it would be odd to see him without her.

Every time Troy looked down, he could see Anah's blue eyes staring up at him. Her head was rested on his jacket's zipper. She seemed content, and she had relaxed her grip on him, so much of her body was now loosely wrapped around on the lowest part of his waist. As long as you're happy and not worried about Moffitt, that's all I care about. Troy let out a sigh. I hope he's having fun.

The dull gray skies had finally given way to clear blue by the time Troy reached Douglas. Anah was now looking around attentively at the quiet streets, but disappeared into Troy's jacket when he got out of the truck. Troy didn't think Anah would find something as mundane as getting groceries to be interesting, but she would still poke her head out of his jacket just to see what he was looking at whenever he paused in an aisle.

"Canned soup?" Anah said, quietly. "Surely, you could make something similar yourself."

"Not now, Anah," Troy muttered through clenched teeth. "Too many people."

"How many is 'too many people' in this town, Troy? Two? Three?"

"Shut up." Troy gently pushed the cobra's head back in his jacket, then took one of the cans.

"Put that back. You should learn how to make your own."

"Are you—"

"Moffitt does not buy a lot of premade food, so, no, I am not like this with him."

"How did you—"

"I usually say there are no silly questions, but that is a silly question."

Troy did his best to sigh quietly. "Alright, smartass, what am I thinking?"

"You want to ship me to Malta."

"Right. If you don't shut up, I'm shipping you to Malta." He turned to keep going down the aisle.

"You still need to put that soup back."

"Not putting it back, Anah."

"Then I will do it for you." Anah started heading for Troy's sleeve.

"No. Go back to where you were. I'll put it back." The last thing Troy wanted was for Anah to cause a scene. Like I was thinking earlier—I am not becoming the Converse County lunatic. We already have the guy who thinks he can talk to aliens from Jupiter through cows. He put the soup back. "Happy now?"

"Very," Anah said.

"Good. Now, could you please not say anything for the rest of the trip?"

"Unless you continue to make bad choices, I will be quiet."

"Why do you care anyway?"

"Why not?"

"Dietrich is the one you should be harassing about food, because he barely eats as it is."

"Yes, but I noticed when we were all at Moffitt's, Dietrich really appreciated having a homemade breakfast. Should he ever visit, I am sure he would rather have something similar."

"Alright, you make a good point."

"And it would impress Shauna."

"Shauna? Why would I care about impressing Shauna?"

"Why not?"

"If you're going to be cryptic like you usually are, off to Malta you'll go."

"You would miss me."

"Anah, please, shut up."

"My, are we cranky today."

"How does Moffitt put up with you?"

"I help him through his problems."

"Oh, so that gives you a free pass to be annoying?"

"No. He does not find me annoying."

"That makes me worry about him."

"I worry about you. I can sense you have feelings for Shauna and yet you refuse to act on them."

"Anah." Troy rubbed his face, pausing in front of a shelf of canned fruits. "Stuff like that is personal. It is none of your business. Do you understand that? You didn't do this with Moffitt and Vanora—oh, wait, that's because you were scared that he was going to abandon you, so why would you try to pair me with Shauna when that means I would be focused on her and not on you?"

That got her to be quiet, but Troy immediately regretting going right for a sore spot with Anah. "Okay, that wasn't the best thing to say. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Anah said. She picked up a box of oyster crackers telekinetically, and whacked Troy's head with it. "Donkey," she muttered.

While driving back home, part of Troy regretted getting into an argument with Anah. The drive was quiet, and they were both still fuming at each other. This time, Moffitt wasn't there to mediate, so they had to work things out themselves. I'll bet that's the real reason Moffitt agreed to this, so we can actually learn how to fix our problems without going at each other's throats. He looked down at Anah. Her head was hanging out of his jacket, only looking up occasionally. At least Dietrich was able to set our issues aside. He had good reason to be upset. Anah's just a pain because she wants to be. Or she's bored. She was fine at the wedding. Now it's just the two of us in eastern Wyoming and there isn't much to see or do. She misses Moffitt, and I'm not Moffitt. I'm the exact opposite of him. She still chose me to carry her down the aisle with the rings and flowers at the wedding.

Troy attempted to drown out his thoughts by turning the radio on. For him, music was a background noise, something that kept his thoughts from getting too loud. There wasn't anything overly special about it, though he did remember his grandparents getting misty-eyed when his father presented them with a record of folk songs and other traditional music from Greece for one of their wedding anniversaries.

That memory was bittersweet. Within the next few years, both of his grandparents and his father would be dead, and an overwhelming hollow feeling dominated Troy's life. It would fade, but wouldn't completely disappear until America's entry into World War II, and he was certain he found his calling in the intense life of a commando.

He noticed Anah turning her head toward the radio. A few seconds later, Troy noticed the volume knob turning up on its own, and Anah remaining fixated on it, enraptured by the music.

"Didn't think you were into Glenn Miller," Troy said.

"I have varied taste," Anah replied. "I remember hearing this particular piece at Moffitt's reception. It was while you and Dietrich were outside smoking. Moffitt looked like he forgot that everyone was taking pictures of him and Vanora, and was gazing into her eyes. I heard him whisper that he enjoyed this song after hearing it at one of the bases we stayed at in North Africa. So he stood there with Vanora, giving her a rather long kiss, and I could feel he was happy. It was the happiest I ever felt him, and Vanora was happy, too. I have not seen many kisses in my lifetime, but I doubt many will be more passionate than that one."

"You felt that they love each other."

"I did. I am glad that Moffitt has found someone to love. I doubt he will truly be happy until the prophecy comes to pass, but for now, he has someone to share his life with. Someone he can truly, passionately love."

"It's good that you're happy for him, instead of letting your fear of abandonment take over."

"That is not always easy. I had several conversations with Moffitt over the last few months, and I believe him when he says he will not abandon me."

"Still. I probably shouldn't have shot that at you in the store."

"No, you should not have, but I forgive you."

"Thanks." And you hit me with oyster crackers for good measure. Troy sighed. "Look, I will tell you if I want to get to know Shauna better. I just… don't know, and don't think I'm really ever going to find a decent relationship."

"Moffitt said the same thing."

"Moffitt's different. He's actually able to talk to people. He's not… me." He doesn't hide everything on his mind. He didn't remain a stranger to everyone during the war. He acted tough, but he still knew how to express what he felt. He showed anger, fear, grief. He knows how to ask for help. I don't. I can't have any sort of relationship, because no woman's going to want to stick around a partner who doesn't talk to her.

"You bottled up quite a bit during the war," Anah said. "I warned you that was not good for you. Now, if you do want a healthy relationship with anyone, all of what you bottled has to come out. The last thing you want is for your past and flaws to burst forth when you least expect it. This will not be quick, and it will not be comfortable, but unless you want your partner to look on helplessly as you suffer with the ghosts of your past, you must acknowledge them."

"Like Dietrich?"

"Yours are not as extreme as Dietrich's, but you do have your own version of the abyss to conquer." Anah gave him a reassuring smile. "I will help you cross."

Troy wasn't sure whether to accept her help or not. The previous three years of living on his own with no one to talk to were definitely a dream at some points, but a nightmare in others. Perhaps it was time to fix that.