But for Cohen, this wasn't too difficult; after a few wriggles, he got used to it – crawling around actually felt quite like being an attacker.
Cohen awkwardly crawled towards the wooden hut, sensing the scent of a few other snakes in the air with his forked tongue.
[Cohen's here, don't let him find out you killed all the rabbits...] Hissokoh inside the house hissed in a low voice, scolding the little Basilisk. [Those were snacks for the pretty female snake, you just wait for her to give you a piece of her mind. I'm not covering for you this time –]
[Does Mum like them?] the little Basilisk asked.
[No.] Hissokoh lied, very poorly.
Bang! Cohen pushed the door open with his tail.
[Ah! Son! Been smelling your...]
Hissokoh immediately turned towards the door, ready to greet him, but his words got stuck halfway. Because the one who entered was a Basilisk – much smaller than the old Basilisk and himself, but a bit larger than little Basilisk Sophia.
But... the scent outside the door was clearly Cohen's...
[You swallowed my son?!]
Hissokoh launched forward, pouncing on Cohen, extending his tail to pry open the other's mouth to pull out the 'swallowed Cohen'.
[What kind of twisted logic is that?!] Cohen twisted his head away, hissing, [I am Cohen!]
[Really?] Hissokoh sniffed around Cohen several times. [Say 'Dad', Cohen always says that when he sees me – I want to hear if the tone of your voice is the same as his –]
[Get lost.] Cohen said calmly.
[How did you turn into a snake?!] By now, Hissokoh had completely confirmed Cohen's identity. [And these markings... this tail... Tsk tsk, just like me...]
[Don't Basilisk markings all look the same...?] Cohen asked. [Besides your size, I can't tell the difference between you and the old Basilisk...]
[I've been a snake my whole life, I can tell just by looking.] Hissokoh said matter-of-factly. [If I say you look like me, then you look like me.]
[Like you, like you, happy now...?] Cohen said helplessly. [It's a new Transformation method I just learned –]
[Dad's the same as me now!] The little Basilisk excitedly coiled around Cohen's body, trying to climb onto his head – but clearly, it had grown a lot, and even Hissokoh 's head couldn't support it, let alone Cohen, who was a bit smaller than Hissokoh .
[Is it just this one little snake that's , or are all little Basilisks ?] Cohen asked Hissokoh , letting the little Basilisk nibble harmlessly on his head. [Did you used to like biting other snakes' heads?]
Although the little Basilisk seemed to have no sense of its own weight, it wasn't using its fangs when biting Cohen – of course, it might also be because it always swallowed things whole without using venom...
[Hah...] Hissokoh 's eyes darted away like a human's, seemingly unwilling to reveal his 'dark history' to Cohen, so he quickly changed the subject. [Why did you suddenly decide to turn into a snake? You must not be used to it...]
[To make you happy.] Cohen said directly. [I think parents probably like to see their child be the same species as them, because Edward wouldn't like me looking like a Dementor, so you probably wouldn't like me always staying in a human –]
[Who says?] Hissokoh said. [I'm happy as long as you're alive, no matter what you look like – but yes, I am happier now.]
[Happy!] The little Basilisk coiled around Cohen like a scarf.
[Alright, so let's talk about serious business.]
Cohen used his tail to pull the little Basilisk onto the ground and asked kindly, [Explain yourself. What do you mean, several thousand rabbits all eaten clean?]
The little Basilisk instantly became less happy, coiling up into a green blob with its head tucked underneath.
[Acting pitiful won't work!] Cohen scolded sternly. [Respect your food! Let the ones you can't eat live freely; you're not allowed to just bite them dead and leave them!]
The necessary scolding couldn't be omitted – especially the little Basilisk's wasteful behaviour. It couldn't possibly eat all the rabbits in the box; most were probably bitten dead and left in the den with no snake caring for them, forcing Cohen to go to the trouble of cleaning them up with a Vanishing Charm later.
Those rabbits had grown from one litter at Christmas into several thousand scattered throughout the box; Merlin only knew how the little Basilisk had finished them off.
[Next time... next time I'll bite fewer...] the little Basilisk said softly.
[Learn from Norberta; she's only a year older than you, and her self-control is much better now.] Cohen sighed. [Given how hard she's tried not to cause trouble all this time, maybe next term I'll find her a husband. If nothing unexpected happens in the future, a few Dragons will be brought to Hogwarts – I wonder if I can get a few eggs.]
[Me too, me too!] The little Basilisk poked its head out from under its coiled body. [That friend ran away last time!]
[That's because you scared it.] Hissokoh said helplessly to the little Basilisk. [It was going to stay here for the sake of the sheep and rabbits, but you just had to take it to see that female Dragon in the cave...]
[I'll try to replenish the rabbits before the water snakes notice their snacks are gone.] Cohen said. [Oh yeah, I might be leaving for a while in a few days. I'll leave the box in the dorm, don't go out and scare the students.]
[Where are you going?] Hissokoh asked. [Why aren't you taking the box? We can help you if something happens –]
[To rescue Mr. Frandor – that talking cat I brought back in the summer, and an acquaintance named Von Braun.] Cohen said. [That cat's soul was extracted and trapped. I really haven't encountered this method anywhere else except my own. I'm a bit worried about taking this whole large family of yours with me.]
[And the old goat is here too.] Hissokoh rubbed Cohen with his tail. [It's dealt with plenty of humans –]
[Let's just play it safe.] Cohen's attitude was firm. [That's pretty much it. If something really unexpected happens, I'll just come back and make a new body – you're all here, getting some of your blood, making a new body isn't difficult.]
[How do humans say it...?] Hissokoh saw that Cohen had no intention of changing his plan and shook his head. [Good luck.]
[Don't talk like I'm saying goodbye!] Cohen said irritably. [I've set the flag so high , now even if I just run into a few ordinary wizards, they'll come charging at me shouting "For love, friendship, and courage, don't underestimate the bonds between us, you bastard!" and take me down...]
[It's just dealing with a few Silver Key members anyway, what could happen in a new dungeon? At most, I'll see some new magic and new NPCs...]
Cohen said this, but he did feel a bit uneasy in his heart –
Cohen's gaze fell upon his sin value, which was already over eight thousand.
Play it safe? Don't hoard it?
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