Cyril held onto the sink, braced himself, and stared at his own reflection in the mirror.
You can begin.
Hopefully, there will be less to clean this time.
Morpho's vigilant gaze finally eased up a bit, slowly replaced by pure excitement. Tigris sat near the entrance, looking on in wonder.
At first the white tiger's face was close to indifferent. Aside from a slight curiosity, he didn't feel much about a potential new sibling.
But soon the cub's face twitched. New sibling? Doesn't that mean he won't be the youngest anymore?
The images of Morpho's predatory actions flashed in his mind, making him shudder. Could it be with this new prey, he'll finally have his peace? Or better yet, could it be his time to be the older one?
He imagined himself being stared at with awe, treated with respect a majestic tiger deserves and he quite liked it.
So with newfound excitement, Tigris made a few steps closer to get a better view.
In the meantime Cyril continued staring at his reflection, with nothing happening.
What's the hold-up?
"Sorry, Tigris was being funny. I'm here now."
I see.
He took a deep breath and got ready again.
For Cyril, this will be the third time a creature is going to tear its way out of his body, and such an event didn't elicit any disgust from him. However, having your body damaged in such a way still felt a bit weird, even if there was no pain.
Moreover, as Rhamn didn't tell him who she planned on creating, nor did he ask, Cyril experienced a bizarre sense of curiosity himself.
"I am starting!" Rhamn warned and went silent.
Cyril stared at the ceiling with calm eyes, awaiting the inevitable.
Eventually he started feeling a certain sensation from the middle of his chest, not pain, just awareness of something wriggling inside of his flesh.
Wriggling?
Soon, his reflection in the mirror finally changed.
Starting from the middle of his chest, a small crack appeared that quickly grew. Then, it opened.
As if a maw of some terrifying beast, the middle of his chest opened on its own, revealing the flesh and blood beneath. From it immediately slithered out a peculiar creature.
As Tigris, Morpho, and Cyril all stared with curiosity, a triangular, yellowish-green, scaly head emerged from there.
A snake?
Cyril almost imperceptibly nodded his head in approval.
The snake slowly slithered out to the outside world and immediately coiled around Cyril's neck. It looked like he was suddenly wearing a thick green necklace.
Soon the jaw in the middle of his chest closed, disappearing as if nothing was there to begin with.
The snake's lime scales were ridged, which gave it an almost spiky appearance. Its golden eyes were somewhat intimidating.
Coiled around Cyril's neck, the new creature warily looked around, its vertical pupils soon meeting with the other two magic creatures.
Tigris, at first planning to stand up straight and raise his head to look as majestic as possible, froze. Under the fierce gaze of the serpent, he involuntarily lowered his body. At the same time in his mind flashed the image of a tower snapping as easily as a branch, a statue of a cute tiger atop it breaking into small pieces.
The serpent, judging him to be of no threat, moved on without acknowledging him.
Tigris immediately breathed a sigh of relief and froze. This wasn't how it was supposed to go!
Next, the snake stared at Morpho on the sink for a few seconds. The butterfly stared back without fear and even twitched her antennae a few times in a challenging manner.
The snake, able to feel her competitive spirit, hissed while sticking out a forked tongue. It raised its green body, as if preparing for a lunge. It looked ready to strike at any moment.
Maybe it would've done so if Cyril hadn't interfered at this moment.
"That's enough," he calmly said and grabbed the snake's body, catching its attention.
Suddenly, the sharp glint in its eyes disappeared, and its posture changed. In the most docile manner, it stared at Cyril, carefully sticking out its tongue.
Its whole atmosphere changed from 'dangerous' to 'cute.'
"She is so beautiful!"
"Alright, I got it." Rhamn raised a finger in the air. "Her name will be Atheris! What do you think?"
It's a good name.
Since Rhamn named all the others, he felt it was right they keep up this tradition. He wasn't too good with names anyways.
"Welcome, Atheris," Cyril said with a slight smile, while Rhamn waved in the background.
Atheris happily flicked her tongue in a rhythmic manner and relaxed her coil around Cyril's neck.
From now on there were three magic creatures.
Morpho silently observed the snake and slowly nodded her insect head, satisfied with something.
Cyril looked around the bathroom, and surprisingly enough, there was very little to clean from this.
"I'm getting better each time we do this!" Rhamn proudly nodded.
Indeed, you are.
He looked at his reflection, finding a bit of blood on himself. So he went to wash himself clean.
Atheris during this time completely refused to move from Cyril. Whenever he dropped her on the ground, she would always get sad and stare at him with a teary look.
Cyril had no other choice but to let her stay coiled around him while he did other things.
When he needed to have his neck free, she would simply slither to another place, but not on the ground.
"How cute! She is so attached to you." Rhamn couldn't get enough of this new friend and constantly talked about her and with her.
Atheris was a rather affectionate snake, but Cyril still took notice of how hostile she was to Tigris and Morpho.
The ferocity that briefly flashed in her eyes whenever either of them got into her vision was something else entirely.
It reminded him of his recent experience.
Did you base Atheris on Theches?
Rhamn appeared in front of him, her mouth open in an 'o' shape.
"I have..." she muttered, somehow surprised.
"It was the most impressive creature there, after all. I didn't even notice how I based her off it."
"That's good though, right? Morpho wanted a rival, and now she has one."
Indeed.
Cyril nodded with some satisfaction.
A bit of competitiveness will not harm anyone. It will only be beneficial for them.
Surely.
...
As he finished cleaning, Cyril and Atheris exited their dorm, heading towards the park nearby.
Perhaps they were being cautious of Atheris for now, but Morpho and Tigris didn't ride on Cyril's shoulder like usual, instead using their own means to follow along.
During this time of day, there were some people visiting this place to relax, talking to each other in groups or resting on the grass on their own.
Cyril took a bit of time to find a relatively empty area.
Finding a suitable place near the fountain, he nodded and turned to look at Atheris hanging off his neck.
"Can you come out and show a few of your abilities?"
The snake slowly poked her head out and stayed still for a few seconds, sticking out a forked tongue in thought.
After a few moments, she nodded and reluctantly slithered down on the ground.
Despite the almost spiky appearance of her scales, they felt soft on his skin as she moved.
Slowly Atheris moved a short distance away and turned around, staring at Cyril and the rest.
She opened up her mouth, showing two sharp fangs. Through them a few drops of liquid formed.
They quietly fell to the ground, with nothing else happening.
"..."
With this monumental task done, Atheris desperately slithered back to Cyril and climbed up to his neck, coiling around once more.
Cyril stood confused for a moment, then turned to look at Rhamn nearby.
Is it a special venom?
"Not right now. It's the usual deadly venom."
Right now?
"Atheris feels she can enhance it, but how she doesn't know..."
I see.
"Very impressive," Cyril warmly said towards the green necklace he was wearing right now.
Atheris flicked her tongue a few times, radiating comfort and happiness.