“Take y’r shirt off” his father asked him, and he obliged. On his chest the skin wasn’t so lose, but it felt much better when papa Berwald gently tore it off. Underneath was a new layer of fresh skin, slightly pink and shiny, and it felt pleasantly cool in the breeze. At some point, Tino, while briefly grunting in paint at the movement, joined them on the bed and helped with the other side.
“There,” he said when they were done, smiling, “all better now?”
Peter nodded, carefully. He shook his shoulders, feeling completely renewed.
The Itch was gone.
He smiled briefly to himself; finally, The Itch was gone. It didn’t feel like there was something rubbing his skin from underneath each time he moved. Just now, as he felt so perfectly comfortable, he realized just how much it had hurt, and felt lucky.
But papa Tino looked like he was still in pain, and his relief was short lived hen papa Berwald reached out a hand to touch his other father’s ribs and Tino winced.
“Papa!” said Peter, but before he could say anything else, Berwald turned his attention to the other man completely, and started pulling up his shirt.
Tino blushed and tried to hold it down, but Berwald was persistent.
Under the shirt, the skin was all red, and there was a big bruise all over his right side and part of the left, particularly violent on one spot of his ribcage.
“Broken” Berwald said, dry and precise as ever.
Peter felt his breath hitch in his throat. He coiled his tail underneath his body and tried to make himself as tiny as possible, but papa Tino saw him, and kept smiling. He reached past Berwald and said, “Peter, it’s okay. You were sleeping. It wasn’t your fault!” patting his tail slightly with his hand.
There was a faint pain on his tail, but he willed it away. He still hadn’t shed the skin there, after all. “But what if it happens again? Wh-what if I hit you while we’re sleeping tonight?”
Tino started shaking his head, but Berwald looked pensive.
Peter remembered the dream of a few months ago, the one with the poison, where he’d woken up dripping into the pillow, and wondered if that was dangerous for his father too.
He was dangerous. Something was happening to him, and he was dangerous. He had just shed his skin and broken his father’s ribs and his teeth could drip some kind of orange liquid that scared his father. He wasn’t normal. Nothing was normal. It became more and more apparent to him that he was a monster.
Papa Berwald seemed to want to say something, but he didn’t.
They stayed in silence for a long while, but eventually, papa Tino kissed his temple and stood up to make dinner, and if he winced, he was careful to hide it.
They spoke no more.
___
That night Peter slept without dreams and didn’t wake once, but it couldn’t stay that way, of course it couldn’t.
In a tale, something has to happen, and this is a tale.
The next morning there was the lower half of a giant snakes’ body lying on the bed—a massive body of ghostly white scales woven into each other, a thick sheet of white, dry material forming a tube of a few feet in length. It was empty, and Peter was staring at it.
He didn’t dare touch it. It looked like a snake, an enormous, monstrous serpent with a dead sort of colouring, just waiting for him to be reckless to lung at him and bite him and kill him.
But that giant snake was him. That giant snake was his own dead skin.
His tail didn’t hurt anymore and he just stared. He was alone on the bed; at some point in the night, papa Tino must have moved to the other cot, but that was alright. He didn’t blame him for not wanting to sleep in the same bed as that monster that had been his tail hours before.
He didn’t blame him for not wanting to sleep in the same bed as him.
He was a monster, after all.
Peter didn’t make any sort of noise when he got up; he was silent as a snake, and didn’t even wake up their dog as he slithered out of the bed.
He went into the forest, and left nothing behind but his dead skin.
Major angst fest, everybody! Woohoo!
I apologize if some things aren’t clear—I, um, it’s been a while since I was ten, so I’m not all that good in Peter’s PoV, and for that I apologize. What I wanted to pass on is that Peter doesn’t even get what the heck is happening with his parents, and it’s a very, very bad timing for them to get close, because it is making puberty even harder.
Ew, I said “puberty”! *giggle* (Okay, maybe I’m still 10 at heart)
Also, Tino changed beds because Peter was thrashing like a bitch and not being all that gentle on his ribs, but Peter hardly thinks about that. This also gives me an excuse to get Tino and Berwald to actually do something for once, dear god am I a boring romance writer xD
And next chapter won’t be all that angsty. I promise. I, um, I know I said that I was going to make the chapters one in Peter’s PoV and then in one of his parents’ PoV, but next chapter will contain both Berwald’s and Peter’s PoV because, uh, because I suck at keeping promises, that’s why xD
Sorry for the massive Author’s note. Tell me your opinions—suggestions? Should I focus more on this or that, less on that or this? Throw in some more characters, take out someone (okay, that’s half a joke, I don’t think I’ll kill any characters, lol)? There is more Raivis and more venom coming up, but tell me if there’s something you’re missing ;D
I think you're doing really well incorporating Peter's serpentine features into his puberty, like the venom dream and now the skin-shedding. And the poor kid doesn't know what's happening to him, and his dads can't even reassure him that it's all normal because they don't know that it's normal and because they're not anything like him. (Naga!Tino would be all "see, our tongues are forked too, don't worry about the venom on the pillow, it's a sign you're becoming a big strong snake like Berwald" and then take him hunting. And have a big party for his First Skin Shedding, which Peter would've been expecting because they'd have had an awkward talk about how he might have noticed that he's been itchy lately.) Peter freaking out at the tube of dead snakeskin on the bed reminds me of a girl having her period for the first time and not knowing what it is.
I'm waiting for the moment when Berwald and Tino have to tell Peter where he really comes from, because I have a feeling it will be heartbreaking.
A!A here- Oh god, now I kind of want a fill with all of them being nagas because it would all be so much happier D: I love your ideas.
I suppose that when you take away the naga-things, this is basically a story about puberty. Ungh. I'm writing about puberty. Oh god. Thank god we don't have to take the naga things away xD yes, an even stronger angstfest is heading your way, seek cover or you will be smothered
And the plot thickens! Poor Peter, poor everyone. I'm just loving this world you created, intersting Ravis doesn't speak, neather did Alfred and Arthur. I love how you told Peter perspective when he was still in egg too.
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Slithering in Silence: Chapter 3 [4/5]
(Anonymous) 2013-02-27 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)“There,” he said when they were done, smiling, “all better now?”
Peter nodded, carefully. He shook his shoulders, feeling completely renewed.
The Itch was gone.
He smiled briefly to himself; finally, The Itch was gone. It didn’t feel like there was something rubbing his skin from underneath each time he moved. Just now, as he felt so perfectly comfortable, he realized just how much it had hurt, and felt lucky.
But papa Tino looked like he was still in pain, and his relief was short lived hen papa Berwald reached out a hand to touch his other father’s ribs and Tino winced.
“Papa!” said Peter, but before he could say anything else, Berwald turned his attention to the other man completely, and started pulling up his shirt.
Tino blushed and tried to hold it down, but Berwald was persistent.
Under the shirt, the skin was all red, and there was a big bruise all over his right side and part of the left, particularly violent on one spot of his ribcage.
“Broken” Berwald said, dry and precise as ever.
Peter felt his breath hitch in his throat. He coiled his tail underneath his body and tried to make himself as tiny as possible, but papa Tino saw him, and kept smiling. He reached past Berwald and said, “Peter, it’s okay. You were sleeping. It wasn’t your fault!” patting his tail slightly with his hand.
There was a faint pain on his tail, but he willed it away. He still hadn’t shed the skin there, after all. “But what if it happens again? Wh-what if I hit you while we’re sleeping tonight?”
Tino started shaking his head, but Berwald looked pensive.
Peter remembered the dream of a few months ago, the one with the poison, where he’d woken up dripping into the pillow, and wondered if that was dangerous for his father too.
He was dangerous. Something was happening to him, and he was dangerous. He had just shed his skin and broken his father’s ribs and his teeth could drip some kind of orange liquid that scared his father. He wasn’t normal. Nothing was normal. It became more and more apparent to him that he was a monster.
Papa Berwald seemed to want to say something, but he didn’t.
They stayed in silence for a long while, but eventually, papa Tino kissed his temple and stood up to make dinner, and if he winced, he was careful to hide it.
They spoke no more.
___
That night Peter slept without dreams and didn’t wake once, but it couldn’t stay that way, of course it couldn’t.
In a tale, something has to happen, and this is a tale.
The next morning there was the lower half of a giant snakes’ body lying on the bed—a massive body of ghostly white scales woven into each other, a thick sheet of white, dry material forming a tube of a few feet in length. It was empty, and Peter was staring at it.
He didn’t dare touch it. It looked like a snake, an enormous, monstrous serpent with a dead sort of colouring, just waiting for him to be reckless to lung at him and bite him and kill him.
Slithering in Silence: Chapter 3 [5/5]
(Anonymous) 2013-02-27 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)His tail didn’t hurt anymore and he just stared. He was alone on the bed; at some point in the night, papa Tino must have moved to the other cot, but that was alright. He didn’t blame him for not wanting to sleep in the same bed as that monster that had been his tail hours before.
He didn’t blame him for not wanting to sleep in the same bed as him.
He was a monster, after all.
Peter didn’t make any sort of noise when he got up; he was silent as a snake, and didn’t even wake up their dog as he slithered out of the bed.
He went into the forest, and left nothing behind but his dead skin.
Major angst fest, everybody! Woohoo!
I apologize if some things aren’t clear—I, um, it’s been a while since I was ten, so I’m not all that good in Peter’s PoV, and for that I apologize. What I wanted to pass on is that Peter doesn’t even get what the heck is happening with his parents, and it’s a very, very bad timing for them to get close, because it is making puberty even harder.
Ew, I said “puberty”! *giggle* (Okay, maybe I’m still 10 at heart)
Also, Tino changed beds because Peter was thrashing like a bitch and not being all that gentle on his ribs, but Peter hardly thinks about that. This also gives me an excuse to get Tino and Berwald to actually do something for once, dear god am I a boring romance writer xD
And next chapter won’t be all that angsty. I promise. I, um, I know I said that I was going to make the chapters one in Peter’s PoV and then in one of his parents’ PoV, but next chapter will contain both Berwald’s and Peter’s PoV because, uh, because I suck at keeping promises, that’s why xD
Sorry for the massive Author’s note. Tell me your opinions—suggestions? Should I focus more on this or that, less on that or this? Throw in some more characters, take out someone (okay, that’s half a joke, I don’t think I’ll kill any characters, lol)? There is more Raivis and more venom coming up, but tell me if there’s something you’re missing ;D
Re: Slithering in Silence: Chapter 3 [5/5]
(Anonymous) 2013-02-27 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)I'm waiting for the moment when Berwald and Tino have to tell Peter where he really comes from, because I have a feeling it will be heartbreaking.
Re: Slithering in Silence: Chapter 3 [5/5]
(Anonymous) 2013-03-04 11:32 pm (UTC)(link)I suppose that when you take away the naga-things, this is basically a story about puberty. Ungh. I'm writing about puberty. Oh god. Thank god we don't have to take the naga things away xD
yes, an even stronger angstfest is heading your way, seek cover or you will be smothered
Re: Slithering in Silence: Chapter 3 [5/5]
(Anonymous) 2013-02-27 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Slithering in Silence: Chapter 3 [5/5]
(Anonymous) 2013-03-11 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)