I'm Not A Snake Monster!: Chapter 2

 Summary: Willow, an enormous snake-like monster with a heart of gold, has never seen anyone like her. She runs away from home in pursuit of the truth.

[Story Listing]

[First Chapter]

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"Hey, Sami, have you seen Willow? I haven't seen her since lunch, and I'm starting to worry. She missed out on dinner..."

"Willow is a cold-blooded reptile. She can afford to skip a meal. The better question is, why would you ever let her out of your sight?"

Sami and Minnie were getting ready for bed. Usually, this was the time to relax, but Sami was still wound up tight.

"Well, usually she spends her days curled up with the books you bring back. She's not one to get into trouble." Minnie commented, straightening out her cottony nightgown. 

"That doesn't mean you should encourage her baser instincts." Sami scolded Minnie, fluffing the bed sheets. "I'm throwing out the terrarium tomorrow."

"What!? No, you can't! Willow would be heartbroken!" Minnie hurried over, clutching Sami's shoulders. "She gave them names and everything!"

"Don't be ridiculous. The majority of them will be dead in a week anyway." Sami squinted, turning to Minnie. "We can't encourage these habits. What if she went hunting for something bigger?"

"Oh don't be like that. She's a sweet girl, really!" Minnie smiled warmly, trying to loosen Sami up.

"She's also a deadly predator. I don't have to remind you of what she's capable of." Sami was unmoved by emotional pleas.

Minnie frowned, lowering her hands from Sami's shoulders. Silence hung between the two of them. 

"...You don't believe that." Minnie looked towards Sami's eyes.

"...?" Sami's eyebrow perked up. "It's the truth. Just because you're comfortable with letting your guard down-"

"I'm not the only one who cares about her. Look at you!" Minnie poked Sami in the elbow. "You're the one bringing home the books she loves so much. And she still keeps that teddy bear you found at her bedside!~"

"...She needs the enrichment..." Sami muttered to herself, trying to drop the conversation. But Minnie tugged at her arm.

"You know who else needs enrichment? And nurturing, and attention?" Minnie leaned closer, fluttering her eyelashes. "Children!"

"...What's your point, Minnie?" Sami sighed, breaking eye contact to straighten out the bedsheets.

"I'm saaaying, deep down, you see her like a daughter! Our daughter!" Minnie laughed, following Sami's motions on the other side of the bed. Sami wasn't going to wriggle free that easily.

"...And that makes me your wife or something?" Sami looked up, an annoyed look on her face. 

"Hehehe! You admitted it!~" Minnie cooed, booping Sami on the nose as she bounced into bed.

"I admitted nothing." Sami sighed, easing herself into the covers as well. 

"You can be honest every now and then. I like our little family here!" Minnie beamed, reaching over to massage Sami's leg. "...It'd be nice to hear it from you too."

"...D-Dr. Hutchins, this is all... highly unprofessional." Sami stuttered, feeling a tinge of scarlet hit her cheeks.

"Honey... that was forever ago. We've been together for fifteen years now." Minnie lowered her hand, letting it settle in her lap. "...Would it kill you to say 'I love you'? Just once?"

"..." 

The two of them remained silent for a period. Minnie was close to dropping the point entirely. She hoped they would be able to make up after their small spat from earlier. 

"Minnie. Look at me."

Sami uttered with a commanding tone. It was so out of left field, Minnie glanced over on reflex.

"Huh? ...Oh!"

Sami made the first move, leaning over to kiss Minnie on the lips. Minnie's eyes widened, surprised by the bold, intimate move. She was rendered speechless; Sami took this as an invitation to explain herself. 

"I love you. You know that. You're a smart woman. Stupid women don't graduate from Kingsley with honours." Sami took Minnie's hand. "I just... I thought it all went without saying."

"Oh, Sami. It does. That doesn't mean it isn't nice to hear every now and then." Minnie leaned closer. 

"...You know I'd do anything for you. You talked me into all this." Sami muttered.

"You make it sound like I put you through the ringer~" Minnie cooed, squeezing Sami's hand.

"If I didn't, it would've made you upset..." Sami groaned, leaning her head against Minnie's shoulder. 

"Awww. You do care! You admitted it." Minnie giggled, hugging Sami's side as she brought herself closer.

"...I would've preferred to take that to my grave. But essentially... yes." Sami sighed, slowly bring her arounds around Minnie as well. 

The two of them held each other. Sami made so many trips into town. Intimate moments were rare. Simply holding each other close like this was a rare luxury nowadays.

Knock knock knock.

...And it was becoming rarer still.

"...Willow?" Minnie rose her head, turning towards the doorway.

"C-can I come in?" Willow's voice called from the other side of the door, her voice cracking. The two women looked at each other, their eyebrows furrowing. This was unusual. 

"...Sure honey! Did you need anything?" Minnie hollered as the two of them separated. At least they were wearing pajamas. 

"I wanted to ask you guys something, it's... it's been really bugging me."

Willow opened the door slowly. It was immediately obvious that she felt a little in the dumps. Her hair snakes drooped to her shoulders, instead of rearing up in all directions.

Sami's eyes widened, seeing the book Willow was clutching against her chest. It was the very same one that she had given her earlier this afternoon. She followed the cover as Willow slithered forward...

...Helping herself onto the bed. She slithered in between the two of them, nestling in the narrow space between them. 

Minnie took her arm, linking it with her own, as the two of them held hands. Sami... patted near Willow's scaley waist. Only one of those two women was equipped for empathy. 

"...What's wrong, Willow?" Minnie asked, squeezing her palm in gentle rhythm.

"...You can... you can talk to us." Sami tried to follow up. A little awkwardly. She tugged at her collar, trying to ignore the proud smile Minnie was flashing across in her direction. 

"...Um..." Willow groaned, her eyes staring ahead. The tip of her tail went far over the foot of the bed; she watched as she curled it up and then down again. She didn't know what to do with herself.

Her scaley palms tapped against the hardcover. Taking a deep breath, she willed up some courage.

"Mom... D-Dr. Connelly got me this book. A-and I love it a lot, really, I just..." Willowed opened up to about halfway through, flipping through the pages.

"...I looked through the whole book. A-and there's so many people! They live in the mountains, on the beach... in the cities..."

She lowered her book. "...But I didn't see anyone like me."

The two women exchanged knowing looks, eyes wide. They had a feeling this kind of talk was coming... and neither of them were properly prepared!

WIllow raised her head. "I-I've know you guys my whole life, but I never knew... where do I come from?" She looked to both of them. She had a curious look in her eyes, reflecting an earnest yearning to know more.

"...uhhhh..."

Minnie was drawing a blank. She frowned, glancing over to Sami. Sami stared straight ahead, her mouth flattening.

"...We found you."

Sami began, turning to WIllow. With her free hand, she adjusted her glasses.

"Ten years ago. Your mother and I, we were on an expedition in the... the Shiraz Archipelago. To map new species. And, well, we found you. Specifically, we found your egg. It was floating in a shoal. And the both of us thought this was strange..."

"Hey, Willow." Minnie interjected. "I think you might know this. Why is that strange?"

"...Ummm..." Willow thought about it. "...Oh! Eggs don't float! Unless they're rotten. Like that experiment we did!!"

Willow felt so smart, and it alleviated a lot of the tension in the room. She seem to lighten right up. Sami couldn't stop herself from cracking a smile.

"Precisely. And... we weren't sure what kind of egg it was. An egg left alone in the while is likely a dead egg. So we took you with us for study, and you ended up... well, hatching in our care." Sami explained. "...After some deliberation, we decided it would be prudent to perform a life study and-"

"What she means to say is..." Minnie interjected once more, pinching Willow cheeks. "We adopted you. And now we're a happy little family, all three of us."

"...So you guys found me alone. In the wild..." Willow repeated that to herself.

"...They exist!" Willow gasped, all at once. She looked over to Minnie, taking both of her hands. Her amber eyes sparkled with excitement.

"...Mom, can we... can we go back to the ark- ...to the arquepl- ...to where you guys found me?" Willow asked. 

"...What? I-I mean... aren't you happy here?" Minnie asked, tilting her head. "We love you, like a daughter."

Sami's mouth flattened, unseen from the two of them.

"...Because! I never see anyone like me! Everyone in my books like you guys! I thought I was alone, but... there have to be others like me! Did you see anyone else?! Anyone like me?!"" 

Willow's tail twitched and coiled excitedly as she bounced along the bed.

"Easy, easy!" Sami growled, placing a hand on Willow's shoulder. "We didn't see anyone else like you. You..."

"...you're the first we discovered of your kind, Willow." Minnie nodded. 

"That doesn't mean I'm the only one! Can we go? Pleeeeeease??" Willow begged.

The two women exchanged another glance. 

Sami looked aside. "...I don't know if we should-"

"Of course we can go! Just... just when you're older." Minnie laughed.

"REALLY!?" Willow beamed, her fangs showing. She was absolutely elated. Sami, meanwhile, shot Minnie a look of utter astonishment.

"W-we have to... save money for it!" Minnie nodded. "Travelling across the ocean is expensive, so..."

"WE'RE GONNA RIDE A BOAT?!" Willow blurted, unable to contain her excitement. 

"Yeah! We... we both know this is important to you, so..."

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUUUUU!!"

Willow bounded forward, hugging Minnie with an enormous hug, before twisting back to Sami to give her the same treatment. 

"I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOO MUCH!" Willow, despite everything, was still an exuberant kid. Whatever tension was left in the air had dissipated entirely. 

"...I love you too, Willow. You're so... so important to us."

"...Yeah." Sami didn't have much to add. She was still looking at Minnie with a complicated look. 

When her excitement waned, Willow happily snuggled in between the two of them. For some reason, she liked the feeling. It was a nice, warm place, and she was surrounded with people she loved. And they loved her back.

...But she couldn't get too comfortable. She was getting too old to be sleeping with her parents. 

"...Thanks, Mom and..."

She looked over to Sami. She opened her mouth to say one thing. Instead, she smiled.

"...and Mom. I feel a lot better now." 

Sami blinked, before blushing once more. Her eyes averted as Willow lifted herself from the bed, collecting her coiling lengths. She seemed to be back to her old pep now; even her hair snakes agreed, the way they bounced up and down. 

"Just remember. The both of us, we love you so much." Minnie smiled, folding her hands in her lap. 

"...Get some shuteye, okay?" Sami muttered, clutching the sheets. 

"I will. Good night Mom! Good night Mom!" She waved at the both of them, slithering for the door. 

Willow made sure to close the door behind her. The two women were left in silence.

Minnie's warm smile faded as she ran a hand through her hair. Sami was too quiet for comfort.

"...Well. That went well!" Minnie declared, trying to break the ice.

"Why would you tell her that?" Sami uttered, glancing aside.

"Agh, Sami, I dunno... she put me on the spot." Minnie whined. "And what about you??"

"...I had to tell her something." Sami looked down, removing her glasses and leaving them by the bedside.. 

The two of them slumped backwards. It was getting late, and fatigue was grabbing the both of them. 

"...What're we going to do, Sami...?" Minnie slumped back, resting her head against the pillow.

Sami silently appraised her options. In the end, she sighed, flopping back. She turned to Minnie. 

"...We'll do our best. And we'll do it together."

Minnie stared at her with wide eyes, before smiling back at her. They took one another's hand. Partly for comfort. Perhaps as a silent agreement.

Willow needed them. And they were in it for the long haul. 

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The streams of sunlight that trickled in through the window signalled a new day. In their shared bed, Minnie was the first of the two to stir awake. Rising slowly, she rubbed her eyes to coax herself awake. By the looks of it, the both of them had slept in a few hours.

...Well, Sami was still sleeping in. Hugging one of the pillows, she snored softly, her mouth agape. Minnie smirked, wishing she had a camera to capture this moment forever.

...But alas, they didn't have enough money between the two of them to invest in something like that. She parted some of Sami's hair to get a better look at her peaceful face.

Better to leave her alone, Minnie thought to herself. She had a rough trip.

Minnie quietly kissed Sami on the forehead. Sami stirred a little, a smile coming to her face. Still, she didn't wake from her rest; perhaps she was dreaming?

Minnie paced to her wardrobe, looking to change out of her nightwear. So many of her outfits were obtained from second-hand sources, but that was okay with her; she didn't have much of an eye for fashion. 

Ooh, this one looked nice! She settled on the combination of a bright blue jumper with a pale yellow blouse - an outfit for a working woman that wanted to look stylish too. Finding cute combinations, even from a hodgepodge of options such as these, brought her a bit of sunshine in the heart of the deep woods. 

Once she was dressed, she headed out of her room, into the main seating area. From there, the kitchen, the back door, and the makeshiftt lab were all within easy access...

...Speaking of which, Willow seemed to be studying the centrifuge. Her eyes widened as she drifted from side to side, studying it from all angles. Her hairsnakes hovered along with her, helping her get a full perspective. Her scaley hand hovered over it, wondering if she should touch it...

"Willow?" Minnie inquired, interrupting Willow's hushed silence. "What are you doing?"

"Ah!" Willow recoiled, turning towards Minnie. She smiled, waving awkwardly. "M, morning Mom! I was, um, taking a closer look, at this thingy right here."

"Oh! The centrifuge?" Minnie hurried over. "Maybe Sami can show you how that works when she's up. Poor thing needs a liiiiittle more shuteye." Minnie said with a sly wink. 

"Ahh, okidoke." Willow nodded. "I was just thinking... I could learn how to make my own medicine, yea? Cuz Mom works really hard, and, well..."

Willow prodded her fingers together. Minnie blinked, before a big smile spread across her cheeks. 

"Aww, our little girl wants to be a real scientist!" Minnie lowered a hand to rustle Willow's hair. A risky move to be sure, but her hairsnakes were gentle - shaken but not stirred. Willow shrunk a little with the contact, smirking bashfully.

"Well, hey, once Sami's up, we can go through the whoooole process together, okay? But it's pretty lengthy stuff, soooo..." Minnie rubbed her chin. After some thought, she hit upon an idea.

"Hey, Willow, wanna perform our own little experiment? Just until your mom's up and about."

Little Willow's interest was immediately piqued, rearing up slightly. Her hair stood up on all ends, perky and at attention. 

"Yeah!! Yeah, let's do it!" Willow beamed, showing her fangs with delight. Before long, a loot of confusion crossed her face. "...What are we doing, Mom?"

"How would you like to seeeeee... a sailboat. With no sails!" Minnie punctuated the dramatic pause with a cutesy flourish, leaving Willow absolutely stunned. 

"....Whaaaa??" Willow looked baffled. "How?"

"Weeeeell, it's pretty simple! We just need a few household items..." Minnie was already looking around the house.

"Aaaaa! What do we need, what do we need!?" Willow was bouncing up and down, clutching Minnie's shoulders.

"Okay, okay, settle down!" Minnie laughed, bouncing along with Willow. "Alright, we'll neeeeeed... a baking tray filled with a little water, a bit of cardboard, a toothpick, and some dish soap."

Willow was off like a rocket towards the kitchen, her hands grabbing for the tray. As she filled it partially with water, her hair snakes reached out for the rest of the items: a container of toothpicks, a bottle of dish soap, and a box of cardboard that had long been stripped of its contents. 

"Thanks guys," Willow muttered, lining everything up. She turned to face Minnie with an eager grin. "What do we do now??"

"...Wow!" Minnie chuckled, stepping over to the kitchen. 

"Okay, um... well, let's make our little boat out of cardboard... dab this toothpick with soap... poke it in here, and we're ready to set sail!"

What Minnie assembled didn't quite resemble a boat - moreover, a raft - and true to form, it lacked a sail. But that didn't stop the little thing from being propelled slowly across the water's surface. Willow watched, astonished.

"Woooooow! You're not blowing on it are you? That's cheating!" Willow's mind was trying to puzzle out the phenomenon.

"You don't see any ripples, right?" Minnie chuckled. "You see, soap's something we call a surfactant. It breaks up the surface tension in water, and that liiiiiittle interaction, between soap and water, generates the force needed to push it along the water!"

"...So the soap is, like... a motor??" Willow blinked, her eyes staring at the moored soap-boat on the other side of the tray.

"Mmmm... sure!" Minnie laughed along. She removed the boat from the tray. "Anyway, that was just a demonstration. I wonder what happens if we, ah, alter some of the variables at play..."

Together, mother and snake daughter, repeated the experiment with all kinds of different factors. They tried hot water versus cold water. They used pieces of a bar of soap and compared it to the dish soap. They ever sliced up their cardboard all sorts of ways, comparing the best model of soapboats for aerodynamic speed and performance. And they were having a great time doing it. 

Their exuberance was broken up with a yawn from behind them. A groggy Sami had finally risen to life, dressed in a bed robe.

"Minnie, did you throw on the coffee yet... mm?" Sami took one look at the mess the two of them had made on the kitchen counter. "...What the devil is this?"

"We're performing an experiment!!" Willow beamed, giggling as one of her hairsnakes bopped the soapboat off the tray one last time.

"...Really." Sami gave Minnie a dull look. She sighed.  "...So long as you two clean up the mess. It's too early to be dealing with this."

"Sami. It's 10:30 in the morning." Minnie nudged Sami with her elbow. Sami rolled her eyes, but that didn't sway gentle Minnie. "In fact... I think Willow was an excellent lab assistant!~" 

"Of course I was! I took reeeeeally good notes! See??" 

Willow beamed, tapping a pencil against her clipboard. She'd taken notes on all the speeds for the various trials they performed for their carefree experiment. She stuck her chest out with pride. 

Minnie examined them closely, her eyebrow furrowing. She was surprised at how neat Willow's writing was! 

"...Mmhm! Maybe we can co-publish a paper!~" Minnie laughed. "...I think this calls for something special."

"...Huh?" Willow paused, looking over to Minnie. Her eyes - along with the rest of her hair snakes - following Minnie as she disappeared into her bedroom. Willow almost made to follow, but Minnie reemerged in short order. 

"...Willow. Can you tell me what this is?" Minnie smiled, presenting something in her hands. It was some kind of emblem, a polished blue with silver outlines. Willow stared at it with marvel in her eyes.

"...It's an atom!" Willow exclaimed.

"Mmhm! Well, it's a badge resembling an atom. Back in high school, the girls and I, we formed our own club, to study these sort of things, and, well... we made our own badges. Called ourselves Junior Scientists." 

Minnie moved her palms forward, a little closer to Willow. 

"...And now it's yours." 

"...I... I can be a... a scientist? Like you guys?"

"Junior Scientist." Sami called from some distance away. Despite seemingly minding her own devices, she seemed to be following their conversation. "You need a doctorate at a prestigious university before calling yourself a real-"

"Sami." Minnie interrupted Sami with just the use of her name, before turning back to Willow. "...You can be anything you put your mind to, Willow."

"...I... I wanna be just like you guys." Willow nodded, a smile forming across her cheeks. "Because you guys are so, so kind... and smart, and cool, and..."

"Then... then this will be our first step together." Minnie nodded, kneeling down. She tugged at the fabric of Willow's shirt, pinning the badge to her chest. Leaning back, Minnie looked Willow over. 

"...There. You're accredited.~" Minnie giggled. 

"...Woooooow!" Willow took a closer look at the badge, her eyes alight with curiosity and wonderment. "...Thank you so much! I'll, I'll take extra good care of it!"

"I know you will. Now... let Mom have her coffee, and we'll show you how the centrifuge works, okay?" 

"Okay!" Willow nodded, and slithered off out the back. It seems she was making her way back to her treehouse.

With Willow gone, the energy in the room seemed to ebb away at once. Minnie leaned against the countertop, watching the tip of Willow's tail slide out the door. 

"...So she wants to be a scientist." Sami droned, rising from her seat. 

"She's excited for it! Isn't that grand?" Minnie glanced over to Sami.

"You're good with the kid, I'll give you that." Sami said, brushing past Minnie to reach the old coffee grounds. "...You don't suppose it's ironic, then."

"...Kids needs hobbies." Minnie took Sami's arm. "I remember all the big dreams you told me about.~"

"...Mm." Sami grunted noncommitally.

"It's not too late, Sami." Minnie cooed, hugging her arm. 

"One project at a time, Minnie. Besides, I need my morning coffee..."

"Why? All it does is make you cranky, and irritable." Minnie whined, pouting next to Sami's face. 

"It's just the way I like it." Sami tried her best to ignore Minnie, who was now cackling in her ear.

One project at a time. Day by day. That's how Minnie and Sami would approach their curious task. As much as it exhausted them, and as much as Sami complained,..

When everything was all said and done, seeing Willow smile so earnestly made it all worthwhile.

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