When Toffee awoke, it was still dark out, and the clock by his bed-in green neon numbers it took him a moment to decipher-read 4:23.
Huh. A pretty normal hour for once. He really must've been exhausted.
He stretched, wondering if he should leave his room- while his companion had awoken first on the previous day, that was, he suspected, only because he had overslept.
Deciding that Pythor would come get him when he was ready, he settled on revisiting the book he'd found last night, this time trying to decipher meaning of the words on page based on context clues. "So this-" he mumbled, brow furrowed, "is probably an exclamation of distress, but-"
He lost track of time, and nearly jumped when someone knocked on his door, "Uh- yes?" he called.
"Oh, you're up, marvelous!" came Pythor's voice through the door, "Next train to Ninjago City leaves in three hours, but I'm sure you want to experience the ambiance, hmm?"
"I'm not decent!" Toffee responded.
Pythor was silent for a moment. Than: "Of course, of course! I believe there is a tailor in this town. Clothes for people with your body type are easy to come by, but I'm not sure if any of it would accommodate such an impressive tail"
"You'd do that?" said Toffee.
"If you insist"
Toffee remembered what Pythor had said earlier, about 'no one caring' if he went without pants, and against every instinct in his body, opened the door. "Thank you for your kindness" he said, still careful to obscure himself.
"Glad to help" Pythor said, a hungry gleam in his eyes.
When they left the building, Toffee found-to his immense relief-that Pythor had not been lying.
Many other snake men, eyes wide and unblinking, tongues flicking, walked the streets, and way too many of them were in the nude for it to be anything but normal.
It wasn't that he'd never seen casual nudity, it's just that normally, he wasn't participating. Not that he'd never been naked around another person before-it was hard to avoid sometimes-it just wasn't usually so... Public.
More embarrassed than he'd been in his entire life, Toffee followed Pythor out onto the compact sand, trying not to meet anyone's gaze.
Thankfully, there was a tailor, who hummed and hawed as he took Toffee's measurements. "Not from 'round here, are ya'?" he asked.
"No" Toffee responded, "I'm an immortal alligator from another dimension"
The tailor nodded, "I see, I see" he said conversationally, "you do look like you're seeking a scrap, I'll watch out for you on the news" he whistled to himself.
Toffee raised a brow at that.
While the tailor worked, Pythor took Toffee out for some breakfast.
Hungry as he was, it was hard to bring himself to eat. He stared resolutely at his meal, trying to ignore the needling sense that he was being stared at.
When the time came for them to pick up Toffee's new outfit, he couldn't have been more relieved.
After putting on the remarkably comfortable clothes, he shook the man's hand a little too hard, grinning ear to ear. "Thank you, sir, you do excellent work!" the tailor waved to them as they left. "Good luck with those ninja, Pythor!" he called cheerfully.
Toffee turned to Pythor, "Ninja?" he asked.
"Those are the self-proclaimed 'saviors' I told you about. You'll learn of them soon enough"
On their way to the station, Toffee was finally comfortable to scan the crowd, seeking someone with a long, powerful tail, feathery crest, or handsome frill, but was only met with stubby tails, bald heads and the occasional flared hood from where two snake men had gotten into an argument. He knew it was only to be expected this far from Mewni, but still, it hurt to be reminded of it.
When the train blew through, Toffee forgot his loneliness as his jaw damn near fell off his face.
Larger than any vehicle he'd seen before, it rattled against the tracks, roaring loud and proud as it came into the station, like it knew exactly how impressive it was.
Next to him, Pythor laughed, "Nothing like this back home, I take it?"
"No" said Toffee, shaking his head in awe.
"Wait till we get to the city, if you're impressed by this, that'll really blow your mind!"
Toffee's heart pounded as he stepped onto the train, people dodging around and bumping into him as he walked in at a glacial pace, more invested in admiring the thing than boarding. Pythor hooked an arm around his, urging him to speed up, "Best not dilly dally" he said, "the train won't stay here all day!"
Toffee hated to admit it, but he was a bit apprehensive as the train shifted beneath his feet, picking up speed as it blasted out of the station. He tensed, clawed fingers digging into the headrest of the seat he was leaning on. Despite how many serpentine he'd seen, these seats were not designed for someone with a tail, and judging by how many others chose to stand, he wasn't the only one inconvenienced by that.
Between the motion and the crowd, Toffee felt a bit anxious, covering one ear with his free hand, as if it would help, but- Oh, the scenery rushing by was beautiful! Deep blue sky spiraling endlessly above red sand and stunning rock formations, broken by stout, hardy foliage and mysterious man-made poles. His jaw went slack as he stared out the window, the noise of the crowd seeming to fade.
And, suddenly, they were surrounded by gleaming towers, taller and shinier than anything on Mewni. They even put the ruined Butterfly Castle to shame, and yet they spread so much farther, it seemed to him that every building was made from glass and metal, not a stone or brick or plank of wood to be seen.
As the train screeched to a stop, Pythor tugged his arm urgently, "Hurry up" he hissed.
Pythor complied, stumbling out of the train as the anacondrai pulled him forward.
He seemed tense, forked tongue flicking anxiously from his mouth as he slithered a little too fast through the streets. They were far grimier up close, Toffee's brand new shoes growing dusty just from walking the cracked stone streets.
He was let underground, into a maze of foul-smelling tunnels. A sewer system, as Pythor explained.
Toffee wrinkled his nose, feeling nervous about taking his newly tailored suit into such a filthy place- but he had to acknowledge that it sounded far more sanitary than how waste was dealt with on Mewni, where people dumped their chamberpots right out onto the streets.
Shame he had to travel through it either way.
Pythor led him to a section of the sewers that seemed to have fallen into disuse, and he soon saw why.
At some point, one disaster or another had cracked the concrete walls clean through, opening up into a cave system where someone had built a fortress.
To Toffee's eyes, it looked ancient, but before he could examine it properly, a pair of serpentine guards ran out the towering stone doors, blocking the two with metal tipped spears.
"Pythor" one hissed, hood flared in anger, "What are you doing here?"
Pythor didn't bat an eye, "I was simply returning to asssk for forgivenesssss after my redemption"
Toffee could see the serpentine's hands tightening on the weapon.
"Jussst because the ninja have forgiven you doesssn't mean we feel the same"
Sensing that tensions were rising, Toffee decided that now was the time to make himself known.
"May I ask why you are threatening my guide?" he asked, putting himself between Pythor and the guards.
"And who might you be?" the other one asked back, lowering their spear but still looking wary, "you don't look like a ssserpentine, what are you?"
"I am a septarian" he said, "I'm afraid we aren't native to your dimension. I was stranded here a couple days ago, and I need somewhere to stay in the meantime"
The guards seemed ambivalent to his explanation. Nodding to his partner, he said, "I'll get Sssskales, you keep an eye on these interlopers"
Skales was another long-bodied individual, and he slithered out of the ancient tomb with a suspicious gaze and a golden staff that told Toffee he was dealing with a powerful man.
He was quick to offer a bow, but he kept it shallow. He still had his pride.
"Your majesty" he intoned, "I am but a humble traveler, stranded far from home. I hope you will see fit to offer me shelter"
Skales looked between Pythor and the newcomer. "I sssee" he said. He turned to his guards. "Let the ssstranger in"
The guards stepped away from the entrance, and Toffee passed without issue, but when Pythor moved to follow him, they lowered their spears in front of him.
"Not you, Pythor" Skales said, voice turning hard. "I know you"
Before Pythor could argue, Toffee spoke up, "With all due respect" he said, "Pythor has been quite helpful to me, I never would've made it this far without him. I would prefer that he accompany me"
Skales' eyes narrowed, but he let out a sigh. "I will allow it" he said shortly, "But we will have to have a dissscussion with you about his past. It's unwissse to offer trussst sssso freely, ssstranger, essspecially to the likesss of him"