MagiStream

Not everyone can be a magi. Not just anyone can play with magic. Those that could, they were the lucky ones. They didn’t have to worry about where to live, where to stay. They always had a warm home waiting for them when they finished each of their exciting adventures. They got meals, hot water, clean rooms… they seemed to have forgotten how fortunate they truly were.
Or in Dariens opinion, how spoiled they really were.
But what about the people behind all those magi? The faces you never saw? Sure everyone knew magi, but did anyone actually think about what it took to keep this fortress running? Did people think that magi did any of that? HA! The idea was absurd!
No, there were many people working hard in that keep, making sure everything was smooth for the magi and their pets. Magi didn’t have to worry about any of that. all they had to think about was where they were going to run off to next, what pet would they befriend then, and how long should they be gone.
It wasn’t magi that made sure everything was working in the keep. No, it was people like Darien. servants that worked there, feeding and caring for any little thing that could be out of place. It wasn’t a clean job. Having that many creatures meant a lot of poop.
Darien was a 13 year old boy, working every day till the sun set to earn money for his family. Times were hard now, his parents needed all the help they could get to pay the bills. So he took a job in the keep, thinking that it might be fun.
He could never have been more wrong.
Darien walked through the keep, pushing a large wheel barrel of kibble. He gritted his teeth, struggling against the weight. It was his job to look after the 16th floor of creatures if there magi should go run off on an adventure. Its not like they could take all their creatures with them, NO! and many magi had more creature then they knew what to do with. Why would one magi need 400 creatures?!
Darien muttered under his breath, pushing open the giant door and walking in. immediately the room was filled with barks as countless dire wolves charged at him.
“down!” he snapped, “get back!”
The huge dogs jumped around, excited. Darien pushed his way past them, going to the food dishes. The wolves made it very difficult to pour the food, but Darien had learned that they would clean up the mess.
He finished filling up the dishes, looking around the room. It was a disaster. The wolves were bored and decided that they needed to tear apart a bed. The fluff was all around the room. Darien sighed, taking a step to the mess when his foot landed in something squishy. He winced, closing his eyes. the smell was obvious, and it was an ominous warning on how the rest of his day was going to go.
Like crap.
Everyday was the same. Darien and the other servants worked very hard, some servants were lucky and got to take care of the fun pets- like red pandas and solar foxes. Darien would have loved to take care of those!
But instead he was stuck with dire wolves, Chupacabra, Raza Cobras, and Anaugi. The Anaugi were alright because they were easy- but they often had attitude problems and they liked to singe Darien for fun.
The chupacabras could be dangerous id he wasn’t careful. He had to be very quiet around them. if he startled them, he could end up full of quills.
The cobras could be the worst, being one of the most poisons creatures that the keep allowed. There rooms were always hot, full of large cages along the walls. There tanks were full of heating rocks, logs and caves to allow the cobras a place to hide.
Darien held a cage of live mice, drawing a deep breath. He unlocked the door, quickly going inside the room. He slammed the door shut, walking to the cage to his right. As soon as he got close the cobras started coming out. He heard there hissing as they watched him through the glass. He let out a low breath, sliding open there glass tops and dumping the live mice into the cages.
Other snakes might kill each other for food. But these cobras seemed to be more intelligent. In fact, out of all the creatures that Darien had to look over, he was sure that cobras were the smartest.
Darien closed the cage, feeding the rest of the cobras.
Magi had it so easy. He wished that he could go traveling all over the world. He had never even been out of this city. He wished that he could go run off without having to worry about his responsibilities. Why should they get that freedom jut because they could do a little magic?
Spoiled magi. That’s all they were. Spoiled.

Early in the morning Darien was up, stumbling to his dresser. He ran a brush through his brown hair, put on clean clothes and somehow managed to make his way down the stairs. He looked on the table, seeing some ham and eggs already made up for him. his father and mother had already gone for the day.
Darien ate quickly, heading over to the keep.
It was just becoming light out now, the town was slowly coming to life. People were setting up there shops, offering a tired smile. Darien met it with a smile of his own. he could already see the keep, just a few minutes away.
When he got there, an old woman was just walking out of the doors. She looked at him and grinned, “morning Darien,” she greeted.
“good morning Ms. Carrel,” he smiled.
“I believe that miss April took off today. she said something about going to find more Quetzalcoatl.”
Darien made a face. “doesn’t she have enough? Its not like she does anything with the 30 she has.”
the old woman laughed, “magi are strange people, don’t you think? They never seem to think that they have enough.”
Before Darien could answer, she walked away. he sighed, knowing that April had a bunch of dire wolves that he now had to care for.
Darien started on his chores, going through and feeding and watering all the creatures. All of the dire wolves needed to go outside or they would have another accident in the room. But there was a large field that they could go run around in for hours.
Darien finished cleaning the wolves room, going to the room just across from Aprils. He knocked on the door, carefully peaking inside.
The room was very warm and bright. The curtains were open wide, letting in sunlight. On the other side of the room, lying on a large beanbag like pillow was a naga. Nagas were companions of magi, often taking refuge in the keep.
The naga looked at him and smiled, his deep blue tail was curled around the pillow. He had been reading a book but he closed it, keeping his clawed fingers in the page, so as not to lose his place.
“good morning little one,” he greeted. “what can I help you with?”
“I was just coming to see if you had gone with miss April, sir,” Darien explained. “I know she always takes you along when she goes somewhere.”
“ah, usually I do go with but this time I could not. She was going high in the mountains in search for a White Ice Dragon. I'm afraid I can not handle the cold, so I had to stay behind this time.”
“shes still looking for an ice dragon?” Darien muttered. “I heard she was going to get another Quetzalcoatl.”
The naga shook his head. “no, that is just what she tells people so they will not poke fun at her. Everyone knows that finding one of those dragons is almost impossible, she is tired of hearing them say that to her.”
“oh, I see.” Darien nodded, unsure what he could say to that. ice dragons were almost as rare as Tinsel Wyrms, and just as hard to find. “well, do you need anything sir? I could bring you up some food or start a bath if you wish.”
The naga laughed quietly, shaking his head. “I know where the kitchen is and I know how to run my own bath. Do not worry about me little one, just go about your day.”
Darien smiled a little. “why cant magi be more like nagas?” he muttered.
The naga laughed again, showing his teeth as he grinned. “I know they can seem a little greedy at times, but they are good at heart, young one. When you have had the taste of adventure, it is hard to get away.”
“well, if you need anything do not hesitate to ask. I will be hanging around this floor for awhile.” Darien told him, opening the door.
“do not get chewed up, little one,” the naga grinned, opening his book back up and reading once more.
Darien liked the magi allies. He didn’t often get to speak to them, but when he did he always enjoyed the conversations. The nagas didn’t always talk a lot, but the centaurs were always willing to chat. The centaurs had their own area just outside the keep, that way they could be near the forest. They didn’t seem to like to be trapped inside.
But today wasn’t a day where Darien could talk to the centaurs. There was much to do still and he had hardly started.

Darien walked down the hall with a large bag of dog kibble. He couldn’t see his own feet, so he had to just guess the way to go. He almost made it to the wolf room when a door beside him opened quickly. Someone practically ran out of the room, smashing into him and causing him to fall and drop the kibble bag- luckily it didn’t spill.
There was a loud curse and several thuds. Darien turned, seeing a wooden box tumble to the ground. The man who had bumped into him was running to it, snatching it back up. He turned to Darien, eyes like fire.
“What were you trying to do?! Break my leg?!” the man snapped.
Darien frowned. “you’re the one who ran into me!”
“do not challenge me child, I will-“ he stopped himself, letting out a low breath. He looked at the box in his hands, then at Darien. “just watch where your going kid.” He muttered, walking down the hall.
Darien glared at him, he hadn’t seen this magi around. He knew everyone on this floor- unless this was the man that owned the very last room in the hall. Darien watched him walk away, holding the box with him. then his suspicion was confirmed when the man opened the very last door, going inside.
“magi are nothing but arrogant brats,” he muttered, grabbing the bag of kibble.
Darien had been in every room on this floor, except that last room. That magi was always gone, never home. He was always exploring or something. But Darien did appreciate that the man didn’t leave any pets behind. He seemed to not have any pets at all for that matter.
“well, he may be rude but at least he doesn’t leave me to clean up after hundreds of animals,” Darien muttered. He walked down the hall, glancing at the door before he went down the stairs. There was an eerie red glow shining from under the mans door. Darien made a face, knowing only too well that the last thing he ever wanted to do was interrupt a magi during a spell.

Darien walked home that evening. His best friend James was by his side. Him and James both worked at the keep. They had grown up tougher, always getting in trouble. James was the one who had gotten Darien a job in the keep.
Darien kicked a rock at his feet, watching it bounce away. “so April is looking for an ice dragon again,” Darien muttered.
“again? Does she really expect to find one?” James laughed.
“I don’t know, its not unheard of. I mean Damein has a white ice dragon AND a black ice dragon.”
“so he says,” James huffed. “I don’t believe him. I mean no one has ever seen the dang things. I bet he made the story up.”
“he cant bring them, they need cold weather, remember?”
“still,” he shrugged. “I'm willing to bet he's lying.”
Darien rolled his eyes, smiling a little. “so you know that room at the end of my floor?” he asked.
James thought about it, “that one that no one has ever used?”
“yeah, someone used it today.”
“no way, who?”
“well… he had black hair, it was about this long-“ he made his hands move to the side of his neck. “and he was wearing a black shirt and stuff…”
“did he have an earring?” James asked. “a red on?”
Darien thought about it, “maybe, I didn’t really look to be honest.”
“I saw him today!” he exclaimed. “Mr. Ryan said his name is Elemus.”
“Elemus? That’s a weird name.” Darien laughed a little.
“I guess he travels a lot. He doesn’t come to the keep very often. He has a pair of hellhounds that follow him everywhere.”
“at least he doesn’t have hundreds of pets that he's not using,” Darien smiled.
“I guess he's supposed to be really powerful or something,” James continued. “that’s why he never comes to the keep, he's always looking for more spells and treasure. I bet he's loaded.”
“I would go in there just to check,” Darien muttered.
“yeah right, you wouldn’t set foot in that guys room.” James laughed. “your too chicken.”
Darien grinned deviously, James looked at him. “you aren’t really thinking what I think your thinking, are you?”
“mayyybe,” Darien winked.
“Darien, I was just joking! don’t you dare, he’ll kill you!”
“oh come on, I wont take anything. I’ll just have a look around his room. I bet he has something cool lying around.”
“if you’re not going to take anything then why do you want to go look around?” he snapped. “that’s pointless.”
“hmmm. Good point. Thanks for the advice.”
“right, so… wait. What advice?”
“whats the fun of exploring a mysterious magis’ room if you don’t take a little momentum?” Darien shrugged.
“Darien you cant be serious?!” James exclaimed.
“you started this, now I have to finish it.” He smiled. “alright, I'm going home. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Darien, wait! Come on!”
Darien ignored him, grinning to himself. he didn’t go into magi rooms because they were typically boring. Magi were more interested in collecting creatures then items. But maybe this man had picked up something cool in his travels. It was worth a shot.

The next day, Darien headed up to his floor, but he could see a light on in Elemus’s room. The space under the door was glowing, suggesting that he was still in there. Darien decided to give the man time to come out. He was going to need food sooner or later, right?
As the hours passed, Darien was becoming impatient. Was the man never going to come out of that room? He sighed in annoyance, starting to sweep the hall. He pushed the dust and dirt tougher, collecting it all into a pile. He could hear a muffled talking and turned his head, hearing the sound coming from Elemus’s door. He leaned in, listening.
“yes, yes,” his voice muttered. “I’ve got the damn thing. It took me nearly 3 years to find it.”
There was a pause, as though he was listening to someone else speak.
“I cannot stand it here another minute!” he hissed. “I remembered why I hated this place so much in the first place! I will not wait for Baldon to finish his mission. I am heading out tomorrow night. I will meet him later.”
Darien frowned, was this man crazy? Who was he talking to? There was there someone else in the room?
He heard footsteps and his heart started pounding. He scurried away, hiding in a doorway. The mans door opened.
“Diego, Ember, lets go.” He called.
There were footsteps padding behind him. Darien snuck a look, seeing 2 hellhounds following the man as he walked down the stairs. “lets see if there is anything editable in this dirt-filled place.”
Darien waited until he was sure that Elemus was gone. This was his chance. He had a devious grin on his face. his heart pounded excitedly as he felt like a child doing something wrong. But all he was doing was having a look around, right?
He snuck to the door, looking around before he grabbed the knob. He silently opened it, jumping in surprise.
A blast of cold air blew out of the room. It felt like ice. Darien looked at the room in shock, slowly creeping in. he could see the breath coming from his mouth. It couldn’t have been more then 10 degreese in here! how could anyone stand it this cold?! he slowly started walking around, wondering why anyone would want to stay in this cold.
There was a glass on the nightstand by his bed, it had once been full of water. Now it was straight ice. Darien rubbed his arms, looking around. All that was here was a duffel bag. He walked over to it, going to open it when something else caught his eye.
Across the room, sitting on the desk was the chest Darien had seen the other day. The one that Elemus had dropped when he had ran into Darien.
Darien grinned, scurrying over to it. He gently picked it up, feeling how heavy it really was. He tried to open it, but it was locked.
He cursed, digging in his pocket for something that could help. He pulled out a paperclip, grinning as he unbent it.
The lock was rather simple, not taking but a few minuets of tinkering. He was starting to shiver from the cold as he opened the box. He had expected to see some sort of treasure, but there was just a brown sack. Darien frowned, carefully grabbing it and picking it up. It was heavy and as cold as ice.
He grabbed the drawstring, untying the knot and peaking inside the bag.
He immediately dropped it to the ground.
Darien stood there in shock, carefully bending down and picking the sack back up. He peaked inside and again saw the same image. There was a scaly body inside it. It was a deep blue color but it was coiled tightly.
It was a raza cobra.
What the hell was he doing keeping a cobra in this coldness?! The creature was going to die! But maybe it was already dead. He gently squeezed the sack, but didn’t feel any movement.
Darien heard a strange sound from outside the room. His eyes widened as he recognized it as footsteps, coming up the stairs. He looked down at the snake in panic. Should he put it back? Was it right to let this man do this? but he didn’t even know if it was alive.
Darien ground his teeth tougher, hearing the footsteps come closer. He had to act fast. There was a rustle as he worked fast to put everything back the way it was, minus one small detail. He then closed the door tight, bolting down the hall. He ran into the room in the middle of the hall, closing the door tight and leaning on it. In his hands was the brown sack, holding the blue cobra. He looked down at his hands, letting out a breath.
What did he just do?

Darien didn’t once leave the room. He listened for a long time to see if Elemus had discovered what he had done, but the man didn’t make a sound after he had walked back into the freezing room. Darien had the sack tired tightly, pressed against him as he slowly walked to the heat lamp of the other cobras. When he got closer, he could hear the hissing of the others.
“shut up!” he begged. Normally that hissing was so quiet, but right now it felt as though the snakes were screaming. It was so loud! Did Elemus hear that?
No sounds were made outside the door. Darien held the tied up sack under the heating light, feeling the cold and stiff body in the bag. Maybe the snake was already dead?
Darien stood very still, his heart still pounding. It was getting late and his parents would start to worry about him soon. He could feel the snake slowly start to warm up in his hands, but he needed it to warm faster.
He let out a breath, gently rubbing the snake though the bag. “come on,” he begged quietly. “just give me a small sign that your alive. Please?”
He rubbed the coils harder, then felt a strange twitch.
The snake was alive.
He gasped in relief, rubbing it harder and holding t under the light. The cobra was still tied up in the sack, unable to get out and bite. as the minuets passed, Darien continued to massage the cobra, feeling it starting to un-stiffen in his hand.
Finally, 2 hours after he had stolen the creature from Elemus’s room, he heard the snake hiss.
It was a weak hiss, but a hiss all the same. He grinned with relief, untying the bag. He kept the opening facing away from himself, then opened the cobra tank. He carefully carried the cobra to a heating rock, and dumped it out of the sack.
The cobra landed on its back, still stiff in coils. Darien watched it for a moment with worry and he finally saw it twitching. It slowly started to uncurl itself, flipping onto its belly. For the first time, Darien could get a real look at it.
Its scales were a deep blue and gray mix. It was very much like the other blue cobras in the room, possessing the double tail as well. But this cobra was defiantly the largest out of the entire room. Darien had never seen a raza cobra so big. He had heard stories that they could get huge, but this thing had to be 11 feet long!
The cobra laid on the rock, unmoving eyes looking at him. Darien bit his lip, closing the tank.
“I don’t understand, was he trying to kill you?” he muttered. Why have a pet if you were going to kill it!? There were plenty of open cages in this building that he could have put the cobra in! why would he leave it in those conditions?!
Should I tell someone? Darien thought to himself. what if Elemus was doing this to other creatures?!
It would have to wait for tomorrow. Tonight, Darien had to get home before his parents started to worry. He looked at the cobra one last time, seeing it curl tighter around the heat rock.
“take care, my scaly friend,” he muttered.

All night Darien tried to sleep, but all he could think about was the snake. Did it survive? Should he tell someone? But then they would know that he snuck into Elemus’s room and stole from him. he might lose his job. He NEEDED this job.
For now, he would keep his find a secret, at least until Elemus was gone. He was just going to keep the cobra hidden in the room with the others. He was going to keep a close eye on it. No one would notice an extra cobra. Its not like the magi kept track of all of the creatures in the keep anyway.
The next morning Darien had gotten up, almost running out the door. He hurried through the town, going to the keep. He didn’t even stop to find James. He just wanted to check on the cobra.
He ran up all the stairs, finally making it to his floor. He panted, wishing that he didn’t have to be 16 floors up. He shook his head, running to the snake room. He saw Elemus’s door was closed tight. Did he not know yet?
Darien walked into the cobra room, closing the door. He turned on the light, going over to the cage. immediately the air was filled with the sound of hissing. He leaned down, looking in the tank. He could see all the cobras coming out, looking for a meal. his eyes scanned the clutter until he spotted the one he was looking for.
He could tell it apart because of its size. It was lying on the heating rock that Darien had dumped him on last night. It didn’t appear to be alive. Panic ran through Darien. He tapped on the glass of the tank. The cobras around started poofing out there neck flaps, hissing more. Darien only had eyes for the new one.
Finally he saw it twitch. It slowly rose, looking at him. its eyes were glaring, locking with him. Darien let out a sigh of relief. “thank god your alive.” He muttered.
The snake didn’t look away from him. Darien smile a little, standing up. “alright, lets get the animals done. I will be back with some food for you. Don’t worry.”
Darien was in the feed room, collecting mice for the cobras. He filled the small cage, careful to avoid there small teeth. There was a sound behind him and he jumped, almost dumping the mice to the floor. But with quick reflexes, he saved the cage.
“Jeeze Darien, you’re jumpy.” James laughed, coming beside him. “so, did you go into his room?”
Darien looked around for a moment, then nodded.
“what did you find?!” he gasped.
“shhh!” Darien snapped. “someone might hear. Follow me, I’ll explain.”
James frowned but did as he was told. As they walked up the floors, Darien quietly explained what he had found. James’ eyes went wide, but they both snuck past Elemus’s room, going to the cobra room. Darien closed the door, holding the cage of MICE.
“which one was it?” James asked, leaning into the tank and scanning. Darien walked next to him. the cobra was still lying on the heat rock.
“that one,” he pointed.
“and the room was freezing?”
“Elemus had a glass of water on his night stand that was frozen solid. It looked like it was going to snow in there any second.”
“I’ve seen magi use spells like that to keep penguins happy.” James muttered. “but I don’t understand why anyone would intentionally do that to a cobra. I mean if you wanted to kill it… why not just do that instead of making it freeze to death?”
“I don’t think it was far from death when I got it. It hasn’t moved from that rock since I put it there.”
“it’s a big snake. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a raza cobra that big.”
“that’s what I thought to.” Darien nodded.
“so what are you going to do? Are you going to tell someone?”
“well… I don’t need to lose my job. I might get into trouble for sneaking into Elemus’s room. I want to wait until he is gone for sure.”
“he's going to notice that the snake is missing. The box is going to be lighter.”
“I put that glass of ice inside it,” Darien smiled a little. “that way I could hide the snake without him noticing.”
“you don’t really think that he wont find out, do you?” James raised an eyebrow.
Darien let out a breath, looking at the cobra. “I still don’t know yet. I cant let him kill it though.”
“well, I can take it down to the cage on my floor?” James offered. “that way you can get it away from him?”
Darien looked at the cobra, it just glared back at him. he smiled a little, “naw, I can keep an eye on the little guy.”
James laughed loudly, making Darien jump. “Darien, don’t tell me that you actually CARE about one of the magi’s pets?!” he grinned. “I never thought it was possible! You hated all the creatures in this keep!”
“shut up, he might hear you.” Darien snapped. “its not like I like the thing… I just feel sorry for it… that’s all.”
“come Darien, just admit it. You care about the little serpent!”
Darien shook his head, standing up and opening the snake tank. He pours all the mice into it, closing it back up. “I don’t like any of the magi creatures, you know that. there all just more trouble then they are worth.”
“Alright, what ever you say. Just don’t get in trouble.” James shook his head. “and if you need help, don’t even hesitate to ask for it.”
Darien only nodded.

That evening, Darien had seen Elemus walk out of his room. His two hellhounds were by his side. He had on a cloak, his duffel bag over his shoulder. Without a word he passed Darien and walked down the stairs.
Darien let out a breath of relief, setting the broom to the side. He whipped his head, feeling exhausted. Elemus was leaving finally. He didn’t seem to notice the missing cobra.
It was very late now, and he wanted to check on the snake before he left for the night. He went back into the warm room, walking to the cage. all the cobras were hiding now, finding a place to sleep. But the new one was still lying on the rock it had been placed on. it hadn’t even moved to eat. Darien kneeled, becoming eye level to the cobra.
“I really hope your not sick,” he muttered.
Tomorrow if it hadn’t moved, he might get that nagas help. Nagas knew about cobras, he might know what to do. Darien let out a low breath, rubbing his face. “well, Elemus left, I don’t think that he noticed you were missing. So if all goes according to plan then you might be moving in.”
The snake didn’t move. Darien bet that it was asleep. But since they don’t have eyelids, it was impossible to tell. Darien laughed tiredly, putting a hand over his face. “look at me, talking to a snake. Soon I’ll be as crazy as all the magi in this place. Next thing you know, I'm going to be naming you.”
He shook his head, standing up. He walked to the door, turning off the light. “well good night snake. See you tomorrow.”
“call me jack.”
Darien stopped, hand on the door. He blinked, slowly looking over his shoulder, eyes wide.
That didn’t just happen.

Darien didn’t move as he looked back at the tank. He looked around the room, wondering if this was some sort of trick. He finally picked up a foot, walking to the tank. The cobra was still lying on the rock, unmoving.
Darien just look at it, heart pounding.
“that’s it! I'm crazy! I’ve hit rock bottom!” he exclaimed, walking away. “had to happen sometime! All I do is hang around insane magi all day, it had to rub off on me sooner or later.” He turned around, looking at the cobra. “alright ‘Jack’ it’s nice to meet you. I'm going to bed now. Maybe this is all just a bad dream.”
“that would be too convenient.”
Darien froze, swallowing hard. He slowly walked over to the tank, kneeling in front of the cobra. “you aren’t really talking… are you?”
“no, it’s all apart of your imagination.”
Darien gasped, falling to his butt. his eyes were wide as he looked at the snake. He shook, holding his hand up. “you-you are talking!!” he stuttered.
“you catch on FAST, don’t you?” the voice muttered.
Darien caught his breath. He has seen the cobras mouth move and he had heard the voice. This snake, was indeed talking to him.
“what… I mean… you can talk… how is that possible?”
“I'm a magical cobra,” the voice laughed wickedly. His voice was dripping with sarcasm.
Darien stood there for a moment, deciding what he should do. He swallowed, taking a step closer. “what… what are you?”
The cobra didn’t answer. It just continued to lie on the rock.
“come on, don’t just lie there!” Darien snapped. “you’re a cobra, your not supposed to talk!”
“and you weren’t supposed to go in that room.” He said quietly.
Darien straightened a little, eyes wide. “he knew you could talk… but why was he trying to kill you?!”
“because he wasn’t.”
“then what was he doing? You… you were…”
The cobra didn’t answer. Darien rubbed his head, unsure what to do.
“are you going to let me out of the cage yet?” he asked, voice muffled from the glass.
“no!” Darien snapped. “just because you talk doesn’t mean that you aren’t dangerous! If anything it makes you even more deadly, I can let you out.”
“so am I supposed to just lie in this cage for the rest of my life?”
Darien hesitated, shrugging. “until I find a better solution… yeah.”
“that is fine. The warmth is quite enjoyable.” The snake seemed to shrug.
Darien looked at him, still in shock. “so… that’s it?”
“it appears so.”
Darien frowned, kneeling to the glass again. The cobra was glaring at him. “you’re a talking cobra…”
“we have established this.” the cobra muttered.
“this isn’t possible, I don’t even…”
“if your not going to release me, then leave so that I may get some sleep.” He said, sliding so his back was to Darien. He frowned, standing straight.
“I'm just going to hope that this is some strange dream and tomorrow, I'm going to wake up and everything is normal again.”
The cobra didn’t answer. Darien slowly walked to the door, looking back. This is why you didn’t get mixed up with magi.
Darien didn’t sleep well. He couldn’t decide what he should do next. Should he tell someone? What if this cobra was somehow dangerous?
What was he? Darien had worked in the keep for years, he had never met a magi pet that could talk. Sure the nagas, centaurs and mermaids could talk, but they wernt really pets. They were companions.
But a cobra… that was not something that words should be coming out of. Darien groaned, rubbing his head. He had to tell someone. He couldn’t keep this secret.

Darien walked to the keep, looking around. He didn’t talk to anyone, just keeping out of the way so no one could speak to him. he marched through the keep, peaking in ever room until he found the one he was looking for.
“James?” he called, seeing his friend feeding some Sacred Scarab.
“oh hey Darien,” he smiled, dropping the feed into the tanks. “Whats up?”
“James I really need to talk to you.” Darien said quietly.
“sure,” he said, surprised. He set the feed down, looking at him. “about what?”
“you know that cobra that I rescued a little while ago?”
“did it die?” he frowned.
“well… no. it… it spoke.”
James frowned, then laughed. “come on Darien, I'm too old for that trick. Nice try but I have to get back to work.” He tried to walk past Darien but Darien reached out, grabbing his arm tightly.
“James, I'm not kidding.” He said quietly. “he actually spoke to me.”
James looked at him suspicious. “show me.” he demanded.
As they walked up to Darien’s floor, he told James everything that had happened.
“have you told anyone else?” he asked.
Darien shook his head. “I don’t know what to do now…”
“well, lets go meet him, shall we?” James suggested.
Darien nodded and opened the snake room, letting James in and closing the door right behind him. Darien walked over to the tank and James followed.
The cobra was still lying on the rock, right in the same place he had been for the past days. Darien let out a breath, kneeling to the cage. James went and kneeled next to him. he was at a loss for words, he had no clue what to say.
“so… Jack,” he finally started. “this is James. He wanted to meet you.”
The cobra didn’t act as though it heard. It didn’t move.
“come on,” Darien frowned. “speak up. Talk to us.”
James looked over at Darien with his eyebrow raised. The cobra didn’t act. It just lied, watching them both.
Darien let out a sharp breath. “your making me look insane!” he snapped. “just say one word, just show him that you understand! Prove that I'm not crazy! Please!”
The cobra made no other move.
Darien cried out in anger, going to hit the glass. James grabbed his arm, holding him. “Darien… come on. you need to get your other chores done. We don’t have time to mess around.”
“but James-“
“no buts,” he snapped, pulling him up. “now come on.”
Darien looked back at the cobra as he was dragged away. he saw the creature stand up, watching him go. James pulled him outside the room, closing the door. Darien shook out of his grasp.
“James, you have to believe me, I'm not crazy,” Darien begged. “he really did speak!”
“Darien,” he said quietly. “I believe you.”
Darien stopped cold. “you do?”
“I’ve known you for a long time. You never make up stories like that. plus, in every story I have ever read, when something happens, they try to show a friend that and then it doesn’t happen in front of them. and then the friend ends up calling the other friend crazy and walking away.” he looked at the closed door. “I don’t want to be that friend. I believe that you heard what you think you heard. And I don’t know why he doesn’t talk around me, but maybe you can one day convince him otherwise.”
Darien smiled a little, nodding. “thank you James. You make my life sane.”
James laughed, looking back at the door one last time. “just tell me what he says. Don’t tell anyone else unless you think you should.”
“what if he wants out?”
“that’s your call. You have to decide if you want him out.” James shrugged.
Darien sighed, rubbing his head. “this is what I get for getting mixed up with magi. I could have just left the room without touching anything…. But nope.”
James laughed, lightly punching him in the shoulder. He turned and started walking back to his floor. Darien immediately turned, walking back into the room. He closed the door, walking up to the snake cage. he glared at the cobra.
He saw the cobra smile.
“whats your problem?!” he demanded. “are you trying to make me look stupid?!”
“I don’t have to try very hard.” The snake muttered, voice muffled by the glass.
“whats that supposed to mean?” Darien snapped.
“it means you’re a natural idiot,” he said, lying back down on the rock.
Darien groaned, sliding to the floor. “so you must not want anyone knowing about you… am I right?”
“or I just enjoy making you look foolish,” he said back. Darien looked at him annoyed. Jack smiled. “you are such a young magi. How long have you been at the keep?”
“I am NOT a magi!” Darien hissed.
“my, my. A little touchy on the subject, are we?”
“I am not one of those lazy, good for nothing, animal hoarders!” he exclaimed.
“then who ARE you?”
“I'm just the kid cleaning up after their messes.” Darien said quietly. “I just feed and clean everything so the keep isn’t a chaotic mess.”
“you don’t seem to have very high opinion on magi, do you?”
Darien glared at him. “enough about me. tell me, why was Elemus keeping you so cold? did he mean to?”
“oh, he meant to.” Jack muttered.
“why?”
“maybe that’s a story for another time. You have a job to complete, do you not?”
Darien bit his lip, then sighed. “will you talk to me after I'm done?”
“maybe,” he grinned. “now run along.”
Darien knew he had no choice but to obey. He turned and started getting his chores done for the day.

James met up with him near the end of his shift. Darien told him that Jack the snake did speak after he left, but his words were only mocking.
“but did he talk about Elemus at all?” James asked.
Darien shook his head. “every time I bring up the man, he changes the subject. I don’t know, I am not sure what to think yet. Who is the bad guy here?”
“and more importantly, what will happen when Elemus finds out that his talking cobra has been taken?”
Darien looked at him frowning. “do you think he is going to come back?”
“depends on what he really knew about the snake. I'm sure he wasn’t completely ignorant about it. He was hiding it from everyone else. But what if he was hiding it because it was dangerous?”
“what if he wasn’t the bad guy we thought,” Darien agreed. “maybe the cobra was the bad guy in this case?”
James shrugged. “I guess until we find out more we cant make up a story. all we know for sure is Elemus was hiding a talking cobra in dangerously cold temperatures.”
“so I guess all I can do is try to get this snake to talk to me… maybe he will shed some light on the situation.”
“just watch out, he still has fangs. He can still bite.”
Darien only nodded, looking back up at the keep.