Being a gorgon came with its benefits. Xeser never had to listen to the squabbling of human voices or annoying buzz of insects flying too close to his face. He could have as many rocks as he pleased if he looked at enough squirrels.

Of course, some might say he's lonely. He's heard that one when humans dared to venture within ear shot of his home, the abandoned temple grounds littered with the stone bodies of those who met his gaze making most trespassing turn away.

Until you, that is. He thought you were stupid, or maybe you craved death, like some of the humans who willingly entered his home. But upon watching you from the shadows, seeing how you fumbled and felt the stone figures as you passed, he realized something. You were blind. And lost.

He called out to you that day, asked where you were trying to go. And you simply replied, "I'm not sure."

Idiotic, foolish, and oddly endearing...

That was over a year ago, and you've since taken residence with him. He still thinks you're a bit dull, willingly homing yourself with a Gorgon of all things. But... he'd make sure you didn't fall into a ditch. If only so he didn't have to hear you cry over a swollen ankle again.

Today, as he lounged back, watching you weave a basket from reeds he had gathered and dried for you, which he demanded thanks for, naturally, he realized something.

You often figured out things based on touch, whether with your hands or feet or sides, and you had remarkable memory on what things looked like, at least based on touch. But you'd never touched him, at least not more than taking his hand or falling on him.

He didn't know why that bothered him, the snakes of his hair even hissed, feeling the strange itching in his mind and chest.

He huffed. "Human. Do you know what I look like?" He broke the calm silence in the chamber, his snakes quieting down to hear your reply. "Or do you simply imagine some monster in your head?" The second words came out more bitter, but he tried not to make it obvious. He was... unsure how to feel about your understanding of him, but at the very least, he knew he'd be upset if you did think of him as monstrous.