One Evening at Beelzebuddies

Nagana felt Becky hop up on her tail, the bird’s sharp talons feeling like dull pricks thanks to her thick scales. Nagana had originally intended on simply using her tail as a sort of escalator and lifting Becky up to her spot, but the avian woman had a surprising idea of her own as she quickly hopped and climbed up the serpent's lower body. Nagana’s surprise must have shown on her face for a second, because the waitress chuckled and left them alone. Nagana couldn’t help but think the fly was getting the wrong idea, letting her tongue slip through her teeth to taste the air while letting Becky get situated. Once the waitress was out of view, Nagana returned to her guest with a bit more confidence.

“Traffic?”

Nagana tilted her head, watching as Becky nervously tried to toss the busted menu aside. The bird struggled, so Nagana gently reached over and gingerly looked to help her out of her predicament by clamping down on the menu's corner and pulling away from Becky. If she managed to help Becky escape, the serpent would set the busted menu aside.

“I thought bird folk always…well, flew around, I guess. Did you take the bus over here?”

Nagana honestly had no clue what Becky did for transportation. If she didn’t fly, did she usually walk? Or drive somewhere? Nagana couldn’t see Becky getting too far anywhere on foot, and the thought of a vehicle that could be fit for Becky’s use was a bit too cute to imagine without smiling.

“Oh! Right, you’re probably going to need this if you want to order.” The serpent muttered in between thoughts, passing her undamaged menu to Becky. “I think I have an idea what I’m getting…”

“A flying mafia? They have those here?”

Nagana scratched her neck, wondering how something like that would work. Nagana lived outside of the city, but she figured that Warden’s had patrols they took to keep up security in Tsubar. But the more the serpent thought about, the more she could understand. Most avians flocked together, so if a mafia did shake a group down they would probably make a pretty good amount of change. And from what Nagana had seen, there weren’t very many fliers on the Warden’s payroll. It would be hard to track something like that if it was limited to just quick hit and run muggings. All the red tape was a bit of a headache to even think about. It’s what made living outside the city much easier for a serpent like Nagana. If someone tried to stick her, she could take care of things then and there, no laws or authorities required.

Peeking over at Becky, she did seem like an easy target to mug. Small, kind of cute and kind. She just had a sort of easy lure into an alleyway vibe to her. Nagana chuckled to herself, imagining Becky happily hopping into an alleyway with the serpent calling her, coiled and ready. The avian would probably do it in a heartbeat, she was so innocent~ Not that Nagana would mean Becky any harm of course. But the thought was a cute one.

Until Becky brought up cracking a mugger’s skull. The bird mentioned it like she had simply found a coin on the ground. Nagana’s snake eyes widened a bit. She waited for the punchline to the joke, but it never came. Becky simply went on to comment about the names of the food. It wasn’t a joke.

And people say Nagas are scary…

“Y…yeah. To be honest, I don’t really know a whole lot about this place.” Nagana confessed with an innocent chuckle. “I had a flyer for this place, and it sounded nice when I was flipping through it. I eh…mostly just wanted to invite you out, y’know?”

It took Nagana a full minute plus a sip of her ice water before she realized the deeper meaning her statement could have. But after thinking about it…it’s not like she hated Becky. The serpent striker couldn’t understand why not. Snakes and birds were natural enemies. So why was Becky being nice? Even in the arena, she didn’t disparage Nagana like the crowd did. And after what Nagana did, almost seriously injuring Becky…well, Nagana couldn’t blame her for hating the serpent. But she didn’t, from what she could tell.

Why?

“I don’t really go out to eat much. Not much reason to, since my species swallows everything whole.”

Pulses? She likes live food? Or is that an Avian dish?

Nagana was hesitant to speculate in a restaurant run by bugs. Becky didn’t seem to mind, but the ease in finding something she’d want to eat made Nagana curious as to what it was exactly. Thankfully, the warmth of the restaurant and her own patience meant that she could hold off on asking something that might be rude and just wait around to see it. Hopefully it didn’t take too long to prepare though. Nagana could be patient, but when she was curious, she had a limit!

Nagana smiled, but shrugged off Becky’s comment. Nagana was a bit picky with what she ate and how much. She was a fighter after all, and had to remain in the best shape she could. And besides, eating too much made her sleepy. A bad habit of the entire Naga species.

“I’m just gonna order something with meat. Carbs knock me out faster than anyone's jabs ever could, but It’ll take me a while to digest protein.” She muttered, almost to herself. The serpent took another sip of her water, reaching across the table to pour a spare glass for Becky and handing it to her.

“So…what do you mean? About no one remembering you exist? No offense, I mean…you seem like the type that would have a lot of friends.”

It only just occurred to her then, but Becky hadn’t mentioned anyone she knew yet. Sure the two only just met up but they had already chatted about the flying mafia and Naga taste buds and lack thereof. Becky had to have some friends, even if it was only a few.

“Don’t tell me you’re unpopular~” The serpent said with a teasing smile, accidentally flashing her fangs before noticing and hiding them behind her hand.

Nagana meant her verbal jab to be a friendly one, and while she didn’t think she offended Becky the reaction she got was not what she expected. Nagana really did think that Becky had quite a few friends, at the very least a few. But the Avian instead revealed she was more infamous around her homeland. Cracking Raptors beaks, smashing skulls and bones of her fellow birds. Nagana had already taken a hit from Becky before and it was more than enough to keep her wary of Becky’s combat prowess. And the serpent was a trained professional with thick muscle and scales to pad the attack. Avian thugs or bullies trying to shake Becky down didn’t stand a chance against her. But strength like that came at a social cost in Becky’s case.

Nagana only watched as Becky got worked up to the point her feathers seemed to bristle. Her usually sweet tone that sounded like a happy song dropped down to a dangerously dark level as Becky seemed to be stuck in her own memories for a moment. She was muttering out loud, talking about how the bigger birds used her like a toy when she was younger. Nagana stayed quiet, listening to Becky as the bird muttered under her breath. Maybe Becky didn’t expect Nagana to be so focused on her, because when she looked up and noticed Nagana’s snake eyes staring down at her she suddenly got nervous. Even going so far as to apologize to Nagana.

“Don’t be. I get that way all the time. If we meet up again, you’re guaranteed something like that is going to come out of my mouth at some point. And I won’t remember to say sorry.”

Nagana’s yellow eyes gazed at Becky for a moment more before turning away.

“But give it some time…I don’t think that reputation is going to stick around here. You gave the audience a good fight the other day, and that's something they’ll remember. You're quirky, smart, and pretty cool being able to take care of yourself in a place like this. My bet is that you’ll be pretty popular…in a good way, soon.”

A short silence fell between the two, hovering in the air like a weird stench that was hard to ignore. Part of Nagana wondered if she made things awkward, like she just gave Becky some drama speech of some sort. Nagana didn’t say anything wrong, at least in her mind. Becky was just pondering what the serpent said, and it made Nagana replay her small pep talk to make sure nothing could be taken the wrong way. It seemed like friendly advice, but the silence was deafening as Nagana scratched her hood and waited a bit. Until she decided to push on with a bit of a joke.

“That being said, if any of those muggers or twerps try and mess with you again, just give me a call!” Nagana smiled, showing off her fangs and intimidating glare that could scare grown men! “I’ll make sure none of them bother you again!”

Just as Nagana relaxed her face and got ready to tell Becky that she was kidding with the scare, the small bird suddenly lunged at her! Wrapping her soft, feathery wings around her as best she could and nuzzling into Nagana with her head. Becky could probably feel Nagana tense up, and her mouth snapped shut as Becky held her. When the bird backed away, she’d notice something about Nagana instantly!

The serpent’s face was blushing! Her lighter toned scales a noticeable shade of red.

This time it was Nagana’s turn to promote silence, avoiding eye contact and using her hood to hide her face. She leaned against the table, her lower body ridgid like stone after the hug as the snake subtly fanned herself.

It’s not her fault, she didn’t know…just…try to keep it together…

What had happened? Well, when Becky nuzzled against Nagana, the bird unknowingly rubbed her head against the side of the Serpent’s torso underbelly. Unknown to many in Gaia, the Naga’s torso underbelly is a rather important part of the culture's romance. Touching one was only reserved for loved ones and family members. To put things simply…

What Becky just did was the Naga equivalent to proposing to Nagana!