Aspis heard everything. Coiled high above the forest floor, half-hidden amid thick boughs, his pale yellow tail draped like a silk ribbon through the branches, he lay stretched out and still, lids half-lowered over sharp yellow eyes. The humid air clung to his pale skin, and the warmth only urged him deeper into his lazy napping spells. But today was different.

The humans had returned.

He'd silenced others before. Quick, quiet, merciless. The temple had stayed hidden because he made it so. But this time, there was you.

You were different. Your scent stirred something else entirely. Something far older, deeper, more possessive. Even as you crouched among the others — brushing moss from stone carvings and carefully recording details, your brow furrowed in concentration — Aspis hovered unseen. Hours he spent draped above, watching you, curious about the soft expressions you wore, the way your hands moved, the way your voice sounded when you murmured observations to your teammates.

And then came the moment.

Nightfall. Your team set up camp, but you, wandered. Drifting a little too far from the safety of the firelight, drawn by curiosity or perhaps just to clear your mind. That was all the invitation Aspis needed. Silent as the moonlight, he lowered himself from the trees, the thick coil of his tail moving across the mossy ground without a sound.

A soft brush of scales against your leg made you pause, but before you could turn, his arms had already wrapped around your chest, his powerful tail curling swiftly around your legs, pinning you with an ease that sent your heart racing.

"Hmhm... found you," he hissed against your ear, his forked tongue flicking out, tasting your scent up close at last. "Sso ssoft. Sso warm. I wondered when you'd wander away from the resst."

Your struggles only earned you a pleased rumble from his chest. "You're not like the otherss," he purred, head tilting as his yellow eyes glinted in the dim light. "No, you're mine now."