The Lady With the Forked Tongue (GxG Short Story)

Part 1: Heads or Tails

Sadi wanted to roll in the leaves. They had landed on the tree roots around her like confetti, and they made her want to skip and frolic, but she forced herself to stay still with all of her willpower.

The sun had parted the clouds that hung over the forest. Though the rain had cleared, round droplets still clung to leaves and flower blossoms. She had ached to taste those little marbles that looked to be made of glass.

But instead of tasting them, she stooped low and stared into their reflections, and she watched the tiny image of her prey rustling in the canopy above. She was hunting.

Any second now, Sadi thought.

The creature was drawing nearer, so she placed her basket softly on the ground. She crouched over the mouth of the den with open hands, grounding her stance on the roots.

There were scuttling claws on the other side of the big tree, scales scraping against scales; she could feel it as a faint vibration in the bark. She closed her eyes because she knew her sight would deceive her before her ears would.

There was a tiny hiss—then, the sound of a suspicious forked tongue tasting the air, coming around the corner of the tree.

Not yet...

The slithering had slowed, grown hesitant. Even still, the claws clacked lightly against the wood. Sadi could almost feel the wheels turning in that creature's head; in her mind, she could almost see those eyes narrowing with reservation.

Not yet...

Then she felt a startled breath hitting her right in the face.

Sadi pounced.

She opened her eyes just in time to know where she needed to grasp. She aimed for the forelimbs, since she knew those would stay well-tethered, and as she clasped the creature's scaly wrists, the lizard shouted in surprise and sent a flock of birds above scattering.

She had caught her just at the entrance of her den, and as the lizard woman fought to escape into the hole, Sadi held on with all her strength. She let her feet slide across the ground.

"Yes, yes!" Sadi shouted, her grin wide. "Take me inside with you!"

But this seemed to change the creature's mind altogether, and with a furrowed brow, she fell limply onto the roots of the tree with Sadi beside her.

"C'mon, c'mon! Let me go."

"Let you go? After I waited here so long to catch you? That sounds like a waste of time." With the side of her cheek pressed in the dirt, Sadi smiled at that half-human face, but the lizard woman did not smile back.

"Yeah, well, you're the one wasting my time," she said, trying to shake her hands loose, "I already told you, kid, I'm not letting you into my house. I don't like visitors—especially people who attack me for no reason."

"I didn't attack you! This is all a big misunderstanding. Stay with me in the woods for awhile, just like you did on the day we met, and I'll explain everything. I came all the way here to give you something, and if you don't receive it, then I'll just follow you into the hole and rush the door as soon as you unlock it. You may be quick, but I'm quicker."

"Oh, for God's sake. Why do you even keep coming over here all the time? Look, what happened that day was just a one-time thing. I'm usually not that social and I've already told you a million times to leave me alone."

"I'll leave you alone—after you take my gifts." Sadi tightened her grip. "Besides, what have I really interrupted here? It's a Sunday afternoon. Is that a working day for lizards or something? Do the lizard headquarters never give you a day off?"