Lamia's Pet

Brother In-law?

"Dammit!" Virgil cursed as his tripped over the third rock in their travel through the shadowy tunnel, "why don't you say when there's something there?!" He complained to Pandora who was ahead of him and Peter. Peter held Pandora's hand to guide him through the darkness. Pandora offered a hand to Virgil, but he refused profusely, convinced that she would lead him into walls and such. So she carried his now sheathed sword in her off hand instead.

Pandora chuckled at his misery, "you were the one who insisted to navigate the dark without my help." Virgil mumbled curses under his breath, pretending he didn't hear her.

"It's just around these next two corners." Peter said to his brother.

"It better be." Virgil grumbled, "I'm getting tired of this darkness."

"And I tire of your complaining." Pandora added.

The two sounded like a mother and child...

The light of the hideaway stretched out a ways beyond the entrance, but didn't allow much time for one's eyes to adjust from the dark to the light. Both brothers squinted as their eyes stung from the adjustment.

They entered the sanctum, Virgil shielded his eyes for a moment before he began to study what was around him. Swiveling his head all around as he gawked and spun around again and again, taking it all in. Peter noted Virgil's brief look of impress that he would no doubt deny if called on it.

"This is Pandora's home." Peter gestured towards the space widely with an arm.

"Our home, love." Pandora said with a smile towards Peter, gently squeezing his hand before releasing him to go ahead and ready Virgil's room.

"It's not all that special." Virgil said with a dismissing wave of a hand, though his lingering stare at the luminescent mushrooms above them spoke against his denial.

"Why is it so warm in here?" Virgil said as he ran a hand over his somewhat dirty face.

"It's from the water. It's a natural hot spring, I don't know what heats it, but it's very nice for a bath. It doesn't have a nasty sulphuric smell, either." Peter explained, happily, "and the grass around here is naturally supplied with the light it needs from the mushrooms, so it gross like normal."

"I'll admit this seems somewhat like a fairytale hideaway." Virgil said as he stepped over to the water to examine it further, dipping his fingers in it to test its warmth.

When he realized how nice the temperature was, he knelt to cup some water in his hands and splash his face. Either he didn't want to be dirty, or he had small, stinging scrapes on his face that he wanted to clean. Peter couldn't rightly say which it was.

"Are you hungry?" Pandora said to Virgil wearing a painfully cheery smile. Not necessarily to mock him, but her cordiality was thin with Virgil. No thanks to their fight earlier.

"Yeah, sure." He said without even looking at her as he ran a wet hand down his face to rid the excess water.

Pandora's smile quickly evolved into an annoyed sneer as she shot wicked eyed looks towards Virgil. Despite it not being directed at Peter, it still scared him. He'd never seen Pandora so furious before. Having Virgil intruding in her home was by no means a pleasant event, but even so. There was no longer any doubt in Peter's mind that he had saved his brother's life when he stopped Pandora.

Thank goodness pandora likes me...

"I hope you like fruit." She curtly spoke as she slithered out of the room to fetch some food. Carrying the sword with her so that she could hide it somewhere within the caves.