Fitting In

A family of wild hogs travel across the forest floor. Three females and eight piglets. The females lead the pack. Their noses twitch constantly, picking up the scent of edible vegetation. The piglets practically cling onto their mothers. Soon, the family comes across a bed of plants, ideal to feast on. They soon indulge themselves. The mothers keep a slow pace while the piglets quickly move from one patch to the next. Suddenly, the mothers stop eating and sniff the air. They sense danger coming their way. But, before the wild hogs could do anything, they are confronted by two African lamias. A male and a female. The female lamia inhales sharply and vomits out a pure white stream of liquid at the female hogs. The liquid makes contact with the hogs’ faces, making them squeal, whine, while dancing around in circles, bumping into one another. At the same time, the male lamia charges at the piglets, hissing with ear-splitting volume. The piglets are petrified. They frantically run away from the mothers and each go into different directions. The female lamia lunges at the wild hog closest to her, sinking her needle like teeth into its neck. The male swings his tail into the path of the other female hogs, keeping them in reach. He then tackles a female hog, ripping apart its belly. The last female hog becomes more frantic. It tries to jump over the male lamia’s tail. The latter moves his tail in time to knock this female hog on its back. Its neck and belly now exposed, the hog is helpless against the teeth and claws of the female lamia. The hunt has ended. The male and female stand above their kills, consuming whatever meat is in their mouths. The wounds of each hog are covered in red blood and a blue liquid-like substance. It is a satisfying sight for the lamias. The male lamia looks to the direction the piglets went and, in a vibrant voice, calls out,

“Gabriel! Sophia! Come to us!!”

A moment later, two more lamias approach the hog corpses. Another male and female with younger yet similar features to the older lamias. Both young lamias carry a dead piglet in their arms and have big smiles on their faces. The younger male also carries a small satchel with him.

“Good work kids! You both succeeded in your first hunt!” There is pride and joy in the male lamia’s voice. “How do you feel?”

The young female, Sophia, is the first to speak.

“I feel great! Hell, I feel like chasing more pigs!”

“I feel the same way!” The young male, Gabriel, eagerly responds.

“I’m glad to hear your thoughts!” The older male lamia turns to the older female. “Brie, do you want to say anything to the kids?”

Brie looks at their kids and shakes her head. “No. I share your thoughts Gavin. We should eat our catches before scavengers find us.”

“Very well. Let’s eat.”

The family sit with one another and feast. The children swallow their piglets whole and transition to eating the female hogs with their parents. Brie and Gavin share generously. Eventually, the hog corpses are left gutless. The family then rest to let their food digest. Brie keeps watch of their surroundings since they are vulnerable. Sometime later, the lamias are on the move. They find a nearby path pathed through the forest floor and travel in pairs. Brie is with Gabriel and Gavin is with Sophia. The family starts off at a slow pace. They each survey their surroundings while keeping track of the path they’re on. Though the lamias are formidable together and on their own, they remain wary. They’re not the only hunters lurking in this forest. They cross over fallen trees, slither past huge rocks, and steer clear of tightly bunched trees and other vegetation. A few hours pass and the family leaves the forest and venture into a grassland. The vegetation is brown in color and stands just below the 6ft 9iin Brie and Gavin. The path is now much smoother than it was in the forest. The lamia family pick up their pace. Their new pace is equivalent to humans jogging. They cut through the ocean of vegetation, still attentive of their surroundings and remaining close together. The next few more hours involve the family going over multiple hills over varying heights and brushing aside vegetation sitting too close to the path. A few small animals come their way but are easily dealt with. Eventually, the family approaches a new grassland. This time, there are more trees but they’re spaced out and smaller than the trees from the forest. There is also a small city in the distance. Sophia and Gabriel take a good long look at the city, smiling brighter than the sun above their heads. They race one another to the city. Their new pace is much faster than humans and most animals can accomplish. Gavin chuckles out of amusement while Brie looks unfazed. They also pick up their pace, reaching their children in no time. Soon, the family reach the outskirts of the city and the parents slow their kids to a halt. Everyone takes a moment to catch their breath. Brie stands before her family and her attitude becomes much more serious.

“Alright everyone. I’m only going to tell you this once. When we enter this city, we will all behave in a most civilized manner. Most of its inhabitants are humans. They are still getting used to creatures like us living among them. All it takes is one disturbance within their society and we can face the worst brutalities mankind has in store.”

The children and Gavin drop their cheerful attitudes and become serious.

“Having said that, we are anything but passive weaklings. We will tolerate no discrimination. We have rights just like the humans. Don’t be afraid to remind them. Do you understand me?”

“Yes mother!”

“Yes Brie!”

“Good.” Brie becomes more relaxed. “Now let’s enjoy our vacation.”

The family approaches the city’s entrance. It’s blocked by a huge gate and guarded by eight human soldiers. Their brightly colored uniforms and polished rifles stand out without fail. Two of the soldiers hastily confront the lamias. They look at the family with suspicion. The older and more rugged soldier of the pair speaks with a commanding tone,

“What is your business here, lamias?!”

Brie looks into the soldier’s eyes, unfazed by his attitude.

“We came here for a vacation. It is said this city offers a great deal of entertainment. Our children are keen to see what this city can offer.”

“How long do you plan on staying?!”

“Two weeks.”

“You plan in hunting anyone here?!”

“We just finished a hunt. You have no reason to suspect us of any trouble. We’re here on vacation.”

For a moment, there is only silence. Everyone waits anxiously for what may come next. Then, the rugged soldier takes a step back and barks,

“Open the gates!!”

The other soldiers follow this order without question.

“Enjoy your stay here.”

“Thank you.”

The lamias enter the city. Each of them are quickly amazed by their new surroundings. There are stores and restaurants as far as the eye can see. No two buildings looked the same. The sounds of friendly chatter and the smell of freshly baked goods are comforting to the lamias. Conversely, the lamias notice most of the humans they come across look at them with suspicion. Some humans even steer clear of them, without making eye contact. Only two or three humans greet the lamias with respect. As the lamias go further into the city, the constant gazes of suspicion begin to make them anxious. Gabriel holds onto Sophia’s hand tightly. Sophia does the same. Brie stays close to Gavin, ready to take action. In time, the Lamias approach a three-story building with a sign saying, “Angel’s Inn”.

“Everyone…” Brie says to her family. “This is where we will be staying.”

The family enters the inn and find it loosely packed with humans of all ages. Once again, looks of suspicion and complete avoidance is what the family receives. Brie beckons Gabriel to give her his satchel. She opens in and takes out a sizable cloth bag. It’s filled to the brim with gold coins. Brie gives the satchel back to Gabriel, who holds on to it tightly. Brie notices a host for the Inn and confronts him.

“Good afternoon sir.”

The host is displeased to see a lamia before him. Nevertheless, he responds.

“Good afternoon. What do you want?”

“My family and I would like to purchase two rooms for two weeks.”

Brie gives the host the bag of coins.

“Any floor will do sir.”

The host looks at the money for a moment and looks back at Brie.

“I don’t think your request can be fulfilled here ma’am.”

“And why is that?”

“We haven’t had a lamia stay with us before. Let alone a family. People here would likely be upset by your presence. That can complicate things. We’d rather not have a situation like that happen.”

“Truly?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“….If that’s the case, I’d like to speak with the owner of this establishment. In person.”

The host recognizes Brie’s seriousness right away. He then replies,

“Well… if you insist. Follow me please.”

Brie turns to her family and says,

“I’ll be back.”

The host leads Brie down a nearby hallway, passing by a few humans along the way. They approach a door with “Manager” engraved in it and the host knocks the door.

“Who is it?!”

“It’s Jonathon! I have a guest who’d like to speak with you!”

A middle-aged woman steps out of the office and immediately makes eye contact with Brie. The manager is just as dissatisfied seeing a Lamia as Jonathon. She turns to Jonathon and asks,

“This is the customer?”

“Yes ma’am. She requested two rooms for two weeks.”

“Two weeks?”

“Yes ma’am.”

The manager turns her attention to Brie.

“Is this true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Why?” The manager chuckles. “Why do you want to stay here?”

“My children. For the past three months, my children have been asking to meet you humans face to face. This is mainly because lamias and humans made peace with each other in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia. They heard stories of comradery between lamias and humans. I’m fairly certain some of these stories are fantasies and some of them may be true. Regardless, an opportunity to let my children mingle with humans is one I won’t deny them. I want them both to grow up without the fear of humans. If I can help them achieve this, it’ll mean the world to me.”

The manager and Jonathon are surprised to hear such words come from a lamia.

“I can assure you my family and I will not do anything disruptive here or anywhere else in this city. All I’m asking is for you to cooperate. Treat us with respect. It’ll make our vacation and your business go much more smoothly.”

The manager looks at the floor and back at Brie with amusement in her eyes.

“I’ll be right back.”

The manager goes back into her office. Brie stands in front of the door, patiently waiting. Luckily, the manager exits her office soon afterwards and hands Brie two keys with emblems numbered “36” and “37” attached to it.

“These are two of our larger rooms. Your family should be able to cope with them. It’ll take an hour to clean both. Best preoccupy yourselves with this city’s activities in the meantime.”

Brie takes the keys and holds on to them tightly. She nods to the manager and replies,

“Thank you.”

Brie leaves the manager and Jonathon without another word. Jonathon looks at his manager, awfully surprised by her actions.

“I believe you’re taking a big risk letting those creatures live here for any extended period of time.”

“Perhaps…But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to see how they can cope with city life among our people.”

The manager looks back at Jonathon; her attitude suddenly becomes serious.

“Let’s make sure they receive adequate care and attention.”

Jonathon momentarily hesitates before saying,

“Yes ma’am.”

Brie regroups with her family in the lobby. Luckily, nothing significant happened, other than never ending gazes of suspicion from the humans. Brie tells her family,

“We have two rooms. We have to wait an hour before we can use them.”

Understandably skeptical, Gavin asks Brie,

“Do you think they’ll try to do anything to our rooms?”

“I’d be surprised if they didn’t. But for now…”

Brie somewhat relaxes with a look of confidence on her face.

“…I think the manager will tolerate our stay here.”

The family leaves the Inn promptly. For the next hour, the lamia family explore their region of the city. They visit a number of businesses with most of them being retail stores. Sophia and Gabriel take a great interest in human garments, specifically shirts. Brie purchases a total of four shirts, two for each of her children. Gavin focuses on the accessories, like necklaces and bracelets. He purchases two necklaces and one bracelet. Each purchase the family makes is long and tedious, much to their chagrin. But, in spite of their treatment, they do not make a fuss. Later on, the lamia family stops by a local restaurant. One of the restaurant’s servers volunteers to serve the family. They are sat outside, due to their individual body sizes being too big for inside. Since they are exclusively carnivores, the family order meals which serve only meat. Not long afterwards, their meals arrive. Since the lamias haven’t used utensils before, they seek advice from their server. The server patiently shows the family how to properly use their utensils. After the server’s demonstration, the family consume their meals. Some of the nearby human customers are surprised to see the lamias eat like them. Others just stop eating their food out of disgust and leave. The lamias witness the customers who leave. Such blatant behavior irritates them greatly. Thankfully, the meat they’re eating is good enough to keep them in good moods. After they finished, the family approach their server and pay him for the food, with an added tip. Brie is the one to thank the server.

“Your services were much appreciated. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Brie. It was a pleasure serving you.”

The lamia family leaves the restaurant, waving goodbye to their server. Other humans nearby have mixed feelings about what they witnessed. Eventually, the family returns to the Inn. They approach the host, Jonathon, and ask if their rooms are ready. He responds with a smirk on his face,

“Yes they are. I will lead you to them.”

The family follows Jonathon through the lobby and past the manager’s office. Brie remains vigilant, expecting foul play from the humans. Soon enough, the family reaches their rooms. With Jonathon watching, they open their rooms and find mostly empty rooms with pillows and blankets neatly stacked near the entrances and bathrooms cleaned and ready for use. All of the lamias are quite surprised with what they see. They look back at the host, who tells them,

“If you need anything to better accommodate your rooms, let the manager know. Try not to make a mess we need to clean up. The manager is being really nice to you. Enjoy your stay!”

Jonathon leaves the family, keeping the smirk on his face. The family look to one another, delighted by their rooms’ conditions but concerned by Jonathon’s warning. Brie breaks the silence by telling her family,

“We have nothing to worry about. We’re going to have a good time here in this city. Just remember what I told you earlier today. OK?”

“OK mom!”

“OK.”

“Good. Gabriel. Sophia. You two have room thirty-six. Your father and I have room thirty-seven. We’re all going to rest in our rooms for the time being. Don’t open the door for anyone but me or your father. Got it?”

“Yes mom!”

The lamias enter their designated rooms and lock their doors. Brie and Gavin further examine their bathroom while the children rest on the carpet floor with their blankets and pillows. For the first time today, the lamias are able to rest, at least for now.

The End.