Brown scales dotted with green and black slithered and slid across a covering of damp earth, raking up some young ivy tendrils as they skated over the soft land. Within the heavy, dense mountain, a series of caves twisted and led to various beautiful sites, some so close to the surface the ceiling was made by the ancient trees and vine-weaving flowers atop the mountain itself. Here, sunlight streamed in, hitting the soft floor of some of the largest connections and allowing beds of soft clover and flowers to grow among the mossy stones. Tree roots lined some of the walls, or hung down when one entered the deepest areas whose ceilings were made of solid rock. What the areas lacked in natural light, they more than made up for in beauty.

The largest of these areas was massive and round, like a circle. It was lined with natural gems, each a varying shade of green and blue, dotted with purple. Each stone gave off its own little glow that seemed to stimulate the growth of soft, friendly green mosses, eventually growing them to a huge bed so soft one could lie down and not even feel the hard ground beneath. A neighboring cavern contained a crystal-clear pond, never cold, that seemed to give off a glow much like the gems in the larger cavern, only it was bright blue and evenly spread, allowing light to reach the darkest corner.

Steth adored his home. It wasn’t too far from a village, so he could see the humans as they wandered, collected their crops, took care of their livestock, and had fun in their free time. Steth would curl his long snake’s tail around him and bask in the sun in the morning, earth-toned body warming from its cool sleep. Like all Naga, snakes, they couldn’t quite get moving well until they warmed. Although they could survive, unlike snakes, in cooler temperatures, they would need places to warm themselves. But if one, such as Steth, had the use of a charm made of varying warming stones, they could regulate their body temperature as well as a human. He wore his, tight around his light brown neck, hidden beneath his hair that seemed rather long, and curled at the ends as though a spirit were holding it gently out. Each brown, black-tipped strand was useful in its own way, in which it sensed movement near him.

The perfect half-circle of his cavern was right behind him. It was fed with a natural spring atop the mountain that kept his home green and fertile even as rainfall dwindled. And recently, it had. Days, several weeks, in fact, had gone by without rain. Clouds formed, sprinkled a bit, but it didn’t do much else, and that wasn’t good enough for the land off of the mountain. They had begun to dry up. Brown grasses stretched, and even the crops around the villages were beginning to die. Steth couldn’t do anything about that, though. Humans tended to run at the sight of him coming into their village. Perhaps because of the other Naga that tended to terrorize small towns and villages for their own fun. But Steth was considerably larger than the other Naga. Perhaps they feared he could do more damage.

He looked up to the sky. Yet another clear morning, which would more than likely turn into a clear afternoon, then a clear evening. He had to pity the humans. Perhaps he could... encourage a bit of water down from the mountain? It wasn’t as though it would run dry, a constant flow kept the largest of the springs fed. But he wouldn’t. They knew he was here. If they asked, perhaps he would. Until then, he shifted, closing his gem-like green and brown eyes.

Steth’s slit-pupil eyes opened and dilated. An earthy shift had echoed to his place on a soft bed of green moss, underneath a gaping hole in the thinnest part of the cavern’s ceiling. It had come from an area away from his home, just above it, in fact, away from the largest spring on the mountain, a shrine decorated with snakes, Nagas, and various prayers in languages that seemed long dead. It was beyond a doubt he was considered a god to those of the village, so he wasn’t too concerned. As long as they left him be. But it appeared something had happened. He dove from his place and went to what the other villagers considered a shrine, since he’d seen various white-clad old men in prayer there sometimes.

His scales hissed like an ethereal breeze through the cavern as he left it to see what the noise was about outside. Generally the white-clad men that were obviously priests didn’t bother anything on their visits, and left quickly, sometimes leaving a silver or jade trinket here and there. But this time it was loud. Like a bang, something similar to a large stone falling.

When he moved through the bowed tree branches to the shrine, built into a massive stone along the mountain, he went around to an entrance he'd made himself to hide his presence from the humans that often visited. Someone was there, definitely. It was smaller than a man, though. He approached tentatively, making himself smaller by lowering himself to the ground. It was a girl, his keen eyes realized. Not a priest. But, perhaps a priestess? She lacked the telltale marks of such, though. A head covering. A sash of silver edged with green. In fact, she appeared terrified.

“Who are you, dear?” He asked. His voice was unnaturally smooth, almost hissed out. “How have you come to be here? Will you speak?” He went back a bit. In the small area, Steth took up a lot of space and probably appeared larger than he really was.

Steth curled his tail around himself, taking up a bit less space in the area. Most Naga were only around nine feet in length, including their tail, though Steth was a total twelve feet in length. He'd been told of his height, a size rather intimidating. He'd not been so close to humans in so long, he'd forgotten how much smaller they truly were. Especially this young lady, Lyra she called herself, a stringed instrument the sound of which he particularly liked. What he disliked, however, was the way she bowed to him. So many had done so this same way, as though terrified Steth would kill them otherwise.

He bent down, lowering himself closer to the ground, and lifted her up. His hands grasped her arms easily, bringing her back to her feet. "Settle yourself." He said, in a voice not terribly low, but enough to be easier on the ears. "I can't understand you when you stumble over your words. Now: What do you come here for? And why have you been locked within the shrine?" He gestured to the door, sealed from the outside. It'd be easy for him to push it aside, but from outside, a series of humans would have to work together to use a pulley system to lever the stone over. Steth himself had an idea as to why Lyra was here, and locked in the shrine. But he wanted to be sure.

Steth looked around to her. Lyra didn’t seem to want to look up to him, but more toward his tail, and even then she averted her eyes. Was he really that much of a monster? And the villagers just decided to allow the girl into the shrine, or rather, force her in, just so they could get rain? Steth shook his head quietly and internally hit himself for not conjuring a bit of an overcast before it happened.

He made a wide arc around the girl and went to the door. “You’ll be a gift to no creature.” He said, putting his hands on the door and pushing to the side. “No creature like me, especially.” The door shifted and fell to the side of the shrine’s entrance. Despite the obvious finishing of the ‘gift’, the villagers were still there outside, and went back as Steth came out. “I ask for no praise.” He said. “No worship, no gifts. I ask simply to be left alone until a request be made to assist. And you give away a precious possession, a girl, a gift in of herself, for rain?” No one spoke; they huddled among themselves in a group. “Answer me!”

“Yes.” A man dressed as a priest, obviously none other than the priest himself, stepped forward. “We... thought a sacrifice would appeal to your kindness.”

Steth glanced around. The girl seemed a bit more outgoing than first realized, at least. But he looked back to the group still present. “What matters is they decided to simply give someone away to whom they believe controls their very existence, rather than ask for help.” He said, twining his tail around itself. “One must beseech first, and sacrifice second.”

Despite his general anger toward the village, he raised a hand toward the sky and hissed in a language more snake-like, with a bit of human language pressed together. An explosion sounded above, and lightning forked through the sky, emanating from dark gray and black clouds that bloomed from the flawless blue sky. A cool breeze whistled through the trees, heralding the summoned storm. Rain began falling almost immediately, soaking everyone present.

“Here you have your rain.” Steth said. “You’ll leave your Lyra with me, however. So eager to give someone away were you, you never considered the power a simple question held. Now go! Lyra shall remain with me. What to do with her is of my concern, no longer yours. Next time, however...” He turned his gaze to the priest. “Come to me. Personally.” He went backward, and watched the group as they began to leave the mountainside. It was difficult to decide Lyra would remain. He desperately hoped she didn’t fear him as much as before. Fear tended to hurt.

Steth lifted Lyra back up again. “I spared them because they’re just human. And to destroy a village? I’m not that crude.” He assured her. Perhaps the people would listen and, next time, come to him first. He actually managed a smile, showing his fangs for a moment before shaking it away. The fangs of a Naga tended to be much larger and longer than the general snake. Unfortunately, Steth tended to bite his tongue quite often, rendering him passed out for hours at a time.

He leaned down, making himself smaller. “I apologize for keeping you here. I’ll not harm you, however.” He lifted the thin, tapered end of his tail and put it under Lyra’s chin, lifting her gaze. “But I can tell you’re strong. I can teach you my power, awaken the energies within you. Perhaps you can return to your village afterward, and give them their desired gifts instead of their deciding to hand over one of their own as they did with you.” He went back to the door of the shrine and went through it, glancing in to make sure Lyra would follow.

Steth smiled. He almost hissed, but shook it away. Naga tended to copy their smaller ancestors’ tendencies far too often, right down to the sounds they made. “Everyone has some type of power within them.” He said, shifting the stone door of the shrine to cover the entrance again. “Your priest had strong power, but too little desire to hone it. He can’t see past his own teachings, I can tell, to accept even the help of one that can sense the power writing within, wishing to escape.”

They traveled up a path Steth’s scales had made over the years, raking it free of weeds and grass. “You have power within you as well, Lyra. You only need to embrace them, and let someone help you learn how they work.” He paused, and stopped outside the mouth of his cavern. “This is where I live.” He said to Lyra. “Though it may not look terribly appealing from here, the expanses within are naturally beautiful.”

He moved around, his tail sliding over itself and allowing Lyra a clear view. “After you.” He said, gesturing to the mouth of the cave. Within, the walls glimmered with rainwater, but the canopy of thick ivy and woven tree roots kept it from dropping on one’s head.

Steth tilted his head as she spoke. How terrible. Gender roles weren’t acceptable to him, but he couldn’t say anything about it. That was the way some people lived, and who was he to try and change that? Regardless of how wrong it was.

He moved forward, after Lyra, and put a hand on the wall. It began to glow, like veins, a pale bluish green tone, which spread all over the walls until they reached lighted areas. “Iridescent vines.” He said. “They grow underground and thrive on darkness, and give off their own light that doesn’t leave one in darkness.” He looked around to her. “The entire system is free for you to explore, no restrictions. Just be careful, won’t you? Some places are a bit... strange. Find me when you tire and I’ll be able to search out a comfortable resting place.”

He backed up, a difficult task when one’s bottom was a winding snake’s tail, but he managed it.

Steth turned a sad gaze to her. Had Lyra really been so chained down within the village? Was it strange for her to even feel freedom? Steth had never felt the indecency of chains, to be a slave to those who didn’t consider you an equal despite being of the same race? It was a disgusting thought. He looked Lyra square in the eye. “You. May go anywhere you desire within the cave system. Anywhere. Touch anything. Various chambers contain items I’ve obtained through the years, which you can also touch.”

He turned to move through another branching tunnel. “Oh, just don’t go outside the caves for a while.” He added. “The mountain itself is rather dangerous when you don’t know your way around it. Best to be safe, yes?” He moved down the tunnel, but once again paused. “And please, Lyra, call me Steth. This is my name, and what I prefer.” With that, he forced himself to go on without recalling anything to say.

Steth didn’t really want to leave her alone. But he didn’t have much choice now. He had things to gather. A place to find that sufficed for human living. Many caverns did, really. Some even dotted with clear crystal that stretched to the surface and allowed natural light in. He went to his own sleeping chamber and gathered a few crystals. Useful. They helped retain specific otherworldly abilities. One was dark green, like an emerald, but had its own odd glow from within. The other two were different tones of red.

With these in his hand, he started back toward where he left Lyra. He found her in the same place, only on the ground. He tilted his head. “Perhaps I’ve given you too much of something you don’t quite understand.” He said quietly. “Would you prefer to rest before venturing out on your own?” He kept his hand around the gems he’d found. Maybe he’d give them to her later.

Steth almost bit his tongue. A terrible habit once more almost showing itself. But he curled it around his venom-injecting fangs and put a hand on Lyra’s shoulder, leading her on. The caverns were bare along the footpaths, and rubbed smooth from years of Steth’s movements around. They passed a bare area above, and found a bit of sunlight. It streamed in for a moment, a break in the clouds above the mountain, and was left behind.

It took a while, but Steth and Lyra came to a large cavern. A large bed of woven green ivy sat in a shallow bowl made of darkly toned marble. The walls were of various earthy tones, including purple, blue, and dark yellow from smooth gems. “This should keep you safe.” Steth said. “You can rest here as long as you need.” Before leaving, he lifted the girl’s hand and put the gems in her palm, closing her fingers around them without another word.

True to the matter, rain had been scarce. Steth returned to the mouth of the cave and moved into the storm. The rain was cool, and felt much better than still, motionless air. Content to remain in the downfall of rain, he curled himself around a rock and laid down.

Steth’s eyes were opened at the sound of something new from the valley. He’d not heard the villagers after they returned to their town, but when he opened his eyes, he found that children had taken to the grassy area beyond field, and were playing among the falling rain. He hadn’t seen any children among the villagers when he confronted them, perhaps they had been told to remain off the mountain. It worked for Steth. Humans were small enough as it was, child humans were ever more, and he worried more about intimidating and accidentally harming them.

He watched them for a while, until he recalled humans ate much more often than he did. Most snakes ate a large meal, then didn’t have to eat for at least three months afterward. Perhaps Lyra hadn’t eaten before she was given up by her entire village. He stretched, yawned, and climbed up above the mouth of the cave. Animals were everywhere along the mountain. Perhaps something small would be enough? A rabbit... A fox... A fowl... His thoughts kept moving through the list as he searched, predator in the shade of the clouds and rain and overgrown trees.