Snake Boy

4

"Happy birthday Kil!" His mother exclaimed, wrapping him in a tight hug. "M-Mother!" He protested. Killua had been moping for the past week, not really getting over the death of his redbelly snake. He was scooped up and carried to the large room that they always had birthday parties in. His lips parted slightly when he saw the room. It was freshly painted like it was every birthday party, his looked like a beautiful sunset with stars and clouds and a premature moon hanging low in the sky. "Woah..." usually the birthdays were animal or nature themed in some way, but since Killua had always hated nature his parents had to keep finding new creative topics to theme it on. Last year it had been pastel colors, the year before just different blues and whites.

His mother made an effort to cheer him up, having noticed him being less talkative. Of course only his father knew what made him so down, but he didn't say a word to anyone about it. Milluki was trying to hide his scowl, Killua knew he was still furious at him for killing his spider. He was set down on a soft velvet chair, looking up at the massive cake. It was also sunset themed, and very intricate. About 10 of the butlers lined the room, as well as a few of the guard wolves. "happy birthday big brother!" Alluka and Kalluto cheered, both hugging him from different angles. They both kind of, gave each other jealous looks. "I said it first", "No I did!"

Killua smiled a little, then wrapped an arm around them both. "it...it doesn't matter" He suddenly got two small boxes shoved in his face. "me first!", "no me!", "Big brother-" His mother laughed, then patted both younger children on the head. "You'll each get your turns" Killua laughed a little, and his mother smiled. "Well Kil, what do you want first?" His lips parted as he gazed around the room. There were tables laden with sweets, a pile of presents, and then the huge cake.

"Cake first, then presents" He said, eyes shining a little. His father snapped his fingers and one of the butlers cut a generous slice. It was a red velvet cake with chocolate frosting, his favorite. The chocolate was dyed to make all the beautiful colors but he knew it was still chocolate. He crossed his legs just like how Father taught him, then picked up his fork as he licked his lips. "Mh" The cake was delicious, like always. There was a lot of chatter, he kind of tuned it out. As he ate his cake, his mood grew...dimmer. I miss Reddie.

Soon enough it was present time, and about 25 gifts of various sizes were stacked on the table. He had to open his two younger sibling's ones first and at the same time however, to avoid bickering. They always tried to fight for his attention for some reason. As he opened them, he pulled out two strands of beads. One was black and purple, and the other was pink and black. Kalluto shot a frown at Alluka. "You copied me!" Alluka gasped. "No, you copied m-", "I like them both" He said, then looked at Gotoh. "Gotoh, tie them in my hair" He dipped his head. "Yes young master Killua"

He opened a few presents, most of them sweets. He also got a telescope, a phone, some art supplies, a few random items and assorted things. But then, he opened his last present. It seemed to be...rocks and small fake plants? "Huh?" His mother frowned slightly. Killua's father moved it aside and set two large boxes on the table. "These last ones are from me. Open the bigger one first"

His family members glanced at each other and exchanged confused murmurs, but Killua was interested. He tore the paper off the next one, and his eyes widened as he uncovered a clear rectangle made of glass, with a solid plastic base. Is this...what I think it is? He glanced up at his father, eyes brightening a little. His father smiled back. "Open the last one son" Please...please be what I think it is! He unwrapped the last one, then opened the plain white container-

Killua gasped. There was a small green and orange snake in the bottom, wrapped around some eggs. There was a lamp and a few bowls next to them. He picked it up, eyes wide. Killua was 80% sure that his siblings and mother made odd faces, or winced. "Silva, why on earth would you-" His mother started. However, she never finished as she was interrupted by Killua's squeal. "He's so cute!" There was dead silence for a few moments. Everyone in the room except for his father, even the butlers, were shocked. Killua had rejected everything and anything from nature time and time again. And here he was, squealing over a reptile, tears in his eyes from how happy he was.

"You see those eggs?" His father said, pointing down into the box. Killua nodded. "Mhm!" he chuckled. "5 exotic breeds from all over the world, one of 'em's a burmese python" Killua hugged his father, still crying a little. "Thank you! This is the best birthday present ever!"

"Hold on" Illumi said, and Killua glanced over his shoulder to see him frowning. "Kil, I thought you hated everything that came from outside" Kalluto nodded. "Yeah, I clearly remember you saying that snakes were just big worms, and you hated worms. Like, two weeks ago!" His mother's eyes sparkled. "Kil honey, I'm proud of you for finally accepting nature. But, why? What made you change your mind?" His new snake slithered along his shoulder and he rubbed the back of his head. "Remember when...I got taken by that bear?" Kalluto gasped. "A bear?" His siblings looked shocked, his parents must not've told them.

"Mhm, I woke up and I was being dragged so I played dead, I know I'm only supposed to do that with the brown ones but I forgot because I was super scared" He started, as the butlers started to move his presents back to his room. "It growled and dropped me, then it stepped on my foot and it roared, and then there was a thump." He scooped up the snake again, watching it move as he explained for the 2nd time. "I was too scared to open my eyes, but then I felt something start to wrap around me and I opened my eyes and it was a huge snake! Like, twice as long as father!" He glanced up, eyes shining. His mother was listening with slightly parted lips. "And when I looked over at the bear, there was another one even bigger than that one and it was eating it whole!"

Milluki sighed. "That tiny snake was yours wasn't it? That's why you got all upset and started screaming when I fed it to my spider" he grumbled. Killua's face fell. "Y-Yeah...I was super mad because it was my only pet and you had tons and tons so...I'm sorry I killed your spider" He groaned. "Alright fine, I get it. I'll stop being mad at you. Maybe" His father tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned around he gasped. In his hands, was a plush. It was a lifelike plush of a redbelly snake, and Killua grabbed it with one arm and buried his face in it. "It's a Reddie plush!" He looked up, smiled, and held both the real and the plush snakes close. "Happy birthday son, why don't we go set up your vivarium?"

1275 words

To be continued.