'I think...I think it will be best to tell her the truth. She was her daughter after all. Maybe it'll make her lose her appetite for a while.'
Jake thought for a moment to find the right words. Growing impatient, the naga grabbed him by his neck and brought him face to face with herself.
“I said, tell me where Celine is! I can eat you right now if you want me to! Tell me! TELL ME!†She dropped him again. There was no doubt, she was extremely worried.
The boy had turned pale and coughed a few times, before he hesitatingly answered, his voice shaking. “I..I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! She was eaten. It wasn't my fault. That monstrous thing came and just ate her! Please, I'm sorry!â€
The adult naga froze. Jake couldn't read her expression. “Eaten? My Celine was...eaten? You're kidding, right? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!†So many emotions ran over her face, it was difficult to keep up. Worry, sorrow, anger, hate, desperation, disbelief. Jake began to panic.
“I told you I'm sorry! Celine was hunting me and ran into this big brown, hairy creature. She...she called it Swiftmaw! It ate her before I could do anything, that's the truth, I swear! It was totally not my fault!â€
“Swift...maw? Swiftmaw?! What are you? Quick, what did it look like?â€
“It was very big and very long and fast! Four legs with claws. Short, brown fur and a pointy muzzle with lots of sharp teeth. Basically a marten. Yeah, it looked just like a giant marten!†For different reasons, sweat ran down the faces of both of them.
“Big and brown...a giant marten?! It has to be one of those...Oh my god! Swiftmaw! No. No, this can't be! Not this! Not Celine!†Tears poured out of her eyes and she covered her mouth to avoid screaming. Jake would have never believed it was possible for him to pity this creature, but he did. Even though she had eaten Jane, his revenge on her had a quite bitter after-taste.
'I suppose that answers the question whether she would cry for her child or not...'
“I-I really am sorry. Everything happened so fa-â€
“No! NO! It's a lie, I don't wanna hear this!†She grabbed her head with her hands like she had a headache. Crying, like in a delirium, she rocked back and forth. Maybe she was going insane.
Suddenly the naga came to a halt. With blank eyes, she stared into space. “No, it's true. It's all true. And it's all my fault, she was too young to hunt all by herself. I knew these things were around when I built the nest here. Why didn't I warn her more often? Why didn't she listen to me? Why did this...?†Without warning she started to choke. The naga literally couldn't stomach that truth. Unable to contain herself any longer, she turned around and threw up. Jake looked away, only heard the gurgling noises and that was more than enough. After she was done, she continued to whimper and sob, slithering around in circles, mumbling to herself. Dazed by her pain, she seemed to have completely forgotten about the boy.
“No. Please no. Give her back. My poor little darling! Not like this! I want her back! No, no, no, no, no!†Jake realized this was his big chance to escape. He felt sorry for her loss but not sorry enough to wait for her to act out her feelings on him. He got up and was just about to run for it, the naga was completely oblivious to her surroundings, when a thought crossed his mind. If she had just thrown up the contents of her stomach...There was a chance, a tiny, slight little chance that his sister.
'Damn, if there is even the slightest chance Jane is still alive, I'm even going to dig through naga puke!'
Jake braced himself for what would probably one of the most disgusting views in his life. He moved around the naga, who had started to weakly but repeatedly bang her head against the wall, carefully looked at the mess and found.
