The barefoot snake eyed child ran through the forest, his stomach always desiring more and more food.
He had hunted sixteen small game already, quals and small rodents had already fallen and devoured by the young warden.
But with this frenzied hunger, Adder was able to make even more discoveries about his new self.
His senses were the first, taste being the most apparent with him being able to pinpoint the direction of prey by just tasting the air around him.
But along with his now strengthened senses, Adder realised that had gained an entirely new one.
When focusing, Adder could see the world in a mess of new colors.
Of course when Adder first used this ability, he saw it as completely useless.
That was until he understood its actual purpose, that the random assortment of colors were not random at all but instead depicted the temperature of everything around him.
With the cool water lakes and rivers around him being depicted in a dark blue color, while the fish that swam within it burned a crimson red.
Adder couldn't begin to think about the applications of such an ability like this could do, but sadly that still had to wait for his stomach still roared to be satiated.
So he continued his hunt, till dawn turned to mid day.
That is when he would meet someone who would change his life forever.
…
Nira was sure that this trail would lead to none other than a dead end, she and her people had been searching for the successor for twenty whole years.
With it every time turning into a dud, so when she heard of the basilisk the supposed king of all serpents.
She was interested of course but she was not hopeful, especially when Nira heard about how the Basilisk was currently being imprisoned inside some wayward child.
But finding more information on the Basilisk would have to wait.
With money being low and information always being expensive, Nira had used her talent of hunting to earn money.
She had been tracking a lone Dire Bear for almost a week, but when she had finally spotted her target it was already in a battle for survival.
The great beast roared as it tried its hardest to rip the thing off its back, each missed strike from the bear's monstrous claws destroying the surrounding forest.
And what was the terrifying animal that could make such a beast like the Dire Bear to fight for its very survival.
A child barely a teenager, who had his arms and legs wrapped around the beast's neck.
Long platinum blonde hair billowed as the beast he rode raged.
Yet that was seemingly not the end for the child's attack.
As Nira watched in awe as the boy repeatedly bit the Dire Bear, which seemed to start taking hold as the seemingly invincible beast started to waver.
And after the battle continued for over half an hour the bear fell limp, the boy having won a seemingly impossible battle.
With the battle won, Nira went down to greet the victorious child only for the boy to start feasting on his spoils.
Nira placed her bow, quiver, and spear, wanting to squash any misconceptions before they happened.
Which unsurprisingly made her pick up on her pace, unknowingly changing the direction of her life forever.
…
Adder ripped out another piece of meat from the bear's corpse, his hands tearing at his prey.
That all stopped when he noticed that he himself was being watched.
It was the small but still perceptible crunching of leaves, along with the autumn wind drifting around them.
Not wanting to seem beastly to the mystery observer, Adder tried the best he could to clean himself up.
Smoothing his hair along with doing his best to wipe off the bear's blood that lingered on his person.
When Adder had done the best he could, Adder turned to the stranger.
Adder didn't recognize the person in front of him, but for some reason he felt like she was someone important.
Adder was confused by his new instincts so he tried to get a better look at her.
She was an older woman with olive skin and wavy brown hair that was tucked behind her ears.
She wore a sleeveless tunic that was light blue in color, along with the tunic she wore an emerald green shawl.
But what stood out most was the woman's accessories.
Earrings in the shape of serpents, rings inscribed with snakes, and even a large silver armlet that bore the likeness of a cobra was entwined around her right arm.
It was then Adder realized that both of them had not spoken a word, as Adder tried to figure out why the woman herself had not spoken.
Adder then focused on the woman's eyes, noticing that she had been staring at him.
And not just staring, her eyes held the light of discovery and awe.
Then it hit him, the woman was staring right at Adder's eyes.
Because of the recency of his change, the idea of people having a reaction to his new form had completely slipped his mind.
Knowing that his eyes were from the king of all serpents, and all the snake iconography on the woman's person.
Adder asked the only question that came to mind.
"Are you a snake hunter?"
…
Nira cocked her head at that question, of course she wasn't stupid and it would not be much of a stretch for outsiders to think her sacred adornments were trophies instead of proof of faith.
But for her people and this boy's well being, this misunderstanding must be resolved.
"No, I'm not a serpent hunter of any sort."
"I come from the swamp lands of Lerna, where we revered all serpents."
The boy raised an eyebrow to her answer, his slit pupils tightening in what Nira could only guess was suspicion.
Seeing how this was not working on easing the child's worries, Nira tried a different approach.
She got on one knee and spoke in a soft tone that she hadn't used in decades.
"My name is Nira, and what is your name boy?"
The boy's slit pupils widened at her new more friendlier tone.
"My name is Adder of the Serpens family, well last of the serpens family."
Nira watched as Adder tried to hide his sadness, the quick movement of the jaw along with him quickly blinking betrayed his facade.
But Nira remembered that name almost immediately and responded quickly with a smile on her face.
"The Basilisk."
…
Adder didn't know why he agreed to follow the hunter Nira, she had offered to cook the bear.
And for him, who had kept his human sensibilities, that was enough.
In all truth Adder was still in shock that he was able to take out an animal over ten times his own size.
But soon enough Adder arrived at Nira's humble abode, a simple cabin not far from the village of Cromb.
Nira started to properly skin the Dyre bear, so Adder made his way inside of the cabin at Nira's request.
The cabin was adorned with pottery and banners of a sort held more serpent imagery, but unlike the jewelry Nira adorned herself all of the art seemingly depicted the same snake.
It was a cobra with scales the color of aquamarine and the most eye-catching part, the serpent sported three heads.
Now of course Adder knew that sometimes a serpent could be born with more than one head.
But the art that depicted this multi headed snake wasn't like the actual multi headed serpents adder knew of.
The cerulean serpent's body split into three separate necks each with a perfectly sized head and hood.
Yet it still bore this noble air, like the paintings of long gone rulers.
Adder had to admit he felt a strange resonance when looking at the creature depicted, like looking at a depiction of one of his ancestors.
A close yet far away recognizing of one another's similar traits, like a familial connection that time and distance has no chance of removing.
He could feel the Basilisk's confusion as well, the feeling of connection had hit the both of them.
This trail of thought however was stopped when Nira walked through the door with the pelt hung out to dry and the meat prepared ready to be cooked.
Adder thankfully had not broken anything, as he gently put the vase down as he readied himself for whatever this conversation entailed.