Chapter 1
It had been three months since the Ophelia hall gained a new member, the ballpoint python Enid had found at the beginning of the semester growing at a rate that was alarmingly fast. After multiple vet check ups—most of which the snake had fought tooth and tail to avoid—and a lot of antibiotics and supplements Fluffy was finally at a healthy weight and entering a shedding season.
While doing much better than she was when Enid found her, the exotic animal keepers at the school said to keep an eye on her as she molts to make sure it all comes off, and if it didn’t they recommend a warm bath or a shedding aid to help the process along. Unfortunately for the roommates however, was the simple fact that Fluffy hated baths. Hated them so much in fact that as soon as Wednesday walked through the door, the reptile was out of the room and down the hall before Enid could even turn off the sink tap.
That’s how the two human—well bipedal— inhabitants of Ophelia Hall found themselves running through the forest chasing after an unexpectedly speedy reptile.
“I thought pythons were supposed to be slow ?” Enid whined vaulting over a tree.
“Her and Thing have been racing and she is surprisingly competitive,” Wednesday replied following suit.
“Wonder who she got that from,” Enid deadpanned as she shot Wednesday a look.
Wednesday smirked at the accusation, a proud glint shining in her eyes as she ducked under a low hanging branch.
“She’s an Addams, what did you expect ?”
“ A Sinclair-Addams,” Enid corrected, lifting her nose to the sky. “ My name’s on the birth certificate too. “ the wolf grumbled, taking a long whiff of the air.
Fluffy had somehow managed to slip out of the roommate's line of sight, leaving Enid’s heightened sense of smell the only way of following her.
In the three months of having Fluffy, Enid had realized a few things about the snake. The python was very intelligent, somehow having managed to not only understand Thing’s language of taps and gestures but also form a method of communication through taps and tongue flicks of her own. Enid had noticed this one night when Fluffy had slithered up to the wolf while she was doing homework and tapped out the word “food” in Morse code with her tail. Enid had all but fell out of her chair once she realized what her new pet had done. Even Wednesday looked surprised, pausing her writing to look over at the snake with a surprised look.
Another thing that became apparent about the snake was how clingy she was. As soon as the girls returned home from classes Fluffy was eagerly slithering up one of the two’s legs. Enid was more than happy to give into the snake’s desires and tended to pick her up and coddle her as Fluffy would wrap herself loosely around her shoulders and neck not unlike a scarf. Wednesday was more reserved when handling Fluffy, tending to only let her wrap around her arm and scratch underneath the reptile's chin, but for someone who for the first few days the roommates had Fluffy had been trying to get Enid to relinquish ownership of the snake, she sure seemed to enjoy the company quite a bit. Enid couldn’t help but think of those dads who didn’t want a pet but then became best friends with it two days later.
The last thing she noticed about the snake was that, after the stagnant scent of medical gel and gauze had gone away, Fluffy smelt like fresh berries and earth after a heavy rain. It quickly became one of her favorite scents, a close second to Ash and almonds.
Enid turned towards the familiar smell and began sprinting off after it, throwing a quick “this way” over her shoulder.
The girls ran for a while longer, eventually stumbling upon a familiar location. Crackstone’s Crypt, where Fluffy’s scent was coming from inside.
“I think she’s in the Crypt,” Enid said, slowing her pace to a walk and sniffing the air. “Yeah definitely in the Crypt.”
Enid heard the crunch of leaves come to a stop next to her as she pulled out her phone.
“It’d be faster if we split up and each search a side, then if one of us finds her we can corner her.” Enid states turning towards Wednesday.
The wolf scrunches her brows when the goth doesn’t respond.
“Wends ?” Enid prods, hand gently ghosting over her shoulder.
Wednesday jolts, and Enid’s hand retreats. The goth’s eyes are unfocused, reminding Enid of when the psychic has a vision. Which only confused the wolf because the lack of the goth’s body contorting unnaturally and her fainting means that there was no vision. The blonde’s eyes searched her roommate's face, her eyes flicking between her and the crypt. Then it dawns on her.
Wednesday almost died in this crypt.
The thought hits her like a ton of bricks, and a wave of nausea makes her stagger back a step. The stench of blood, of Wednesday’s blood, attacks her nostrils as the wolf desperately tries to keep the bile from rising in her throat. Enid shakes her head in an attempt of ridding herself of the uncomfortable thought. She turned towards her roommate. Wednesday hadn’t moved. Hadn’t said anything. She was just standing there, staring. Enid needed to get her out of here. Needed to get her to move.
Walking in front of the goth, Enid gently tugged at the girl's sleeve.
“Wednesday,” she spoke softly as if she was speaking to a spooked animal. “Wednesday I need you to look at me”
Unfocused eyes slowly dragged themselves away from the crypt and over to the wolf.
“Good that’s good, come back to me.”
Gently, Enid tugged Wednesday back into the woods, away from the crypt. The wolf gently sat the psychic on a log, kneeling down so that she could meet the girl's eyes and uttered soft reassurances that she was ok. Slowly the goth’s eyes began to come back into focus.
“There you are,” Enid whispered, releasing her grip on Wednesday’s coat sleeves.
A flash of fear crossed Wednesday’s eyes as she desperately reached back out for Enid’s hands. Her grip was tight, to the point of being uncomfortable but the wolf dared not let go. Instead she squeezed reassuringly.
“Don’t,” Wednesday muttered. “Don’t let go”
“ I won't,” Enid reassured.
Wednesday released a shaky breath at the wolf's words, and leaned her head into the crook between the blonde’s shoulder and neck. The goth tried to take a deep breath but the air caught somewhere in her throat making it come out in a choked gasp instead. Enid gently rubbed reassuring circles across the back of Wednesday’s hands.
“Hurts,” The goth choked out.
“Where ?” The wolf asked softly.
“Shoulder.”
Enid guided Wednesday’s right hand over to her left side and opened her palm slightly to hold both hands with her one. Enid had never really realized this but Wednesday’s hands were really small, both of them fitting comfortably in her one.
With one hand now free, Enid began to rub gently at the girl's shoulder. Wednesday’s body seemed to deflate a little as Enid worked out the knot, the girl's first steady breath coming out of her nose since she saw the crypt.
The two stayed like that for a while, Enid rubbing her thumb against tense muscles as Wednesday breathed. Eventually the psychic’s breath returned to normal, her previously tense body slumping into Enid.
“Do you want to talk about it,” Enid asked when the silence became too much for her.
“No,” the goth responded harshly, her tone undercut a bit by the fact she made no effort to move.
“Ok” Enid allowed, opting to give her roommate the chance to tell her on her own terms. “If you ever do….” The wolf offered after a few minutes.
Wednesday didn’t answer, but Enid could feel the faint nod under her chin, before the goth pulled away. Enid didn’t want to let her go, she did, but not without one last squeeze to her hands.
The goth looked in the direction of the crypt with a thousand yard stare.
“Fluffy.”
Enid had completely forgotten about the snake. The wolf took a subtle sniff of the air, the smell of berries and wet dirt leading into the crypt. She was still in the crypt. Enid turned back towards Wednesday, finding the goth staring at her with wide eyes.
“I totally forgot her cage to bring her back,” Enid said.
Enid hardly ever used the cage to transport Fluffy, the wolf usually opting to pick up the snake by hand. If she was being completely honest Enid had no idea where the cage even was. What she did know was that it was far away from the crypt, and that Wednesday’s pride wouldn’t let her run without a reason.
“Do you think you can get it for me ?”
Wednesday nodded, standing up stiffly. Enid gave her a small smile.
“Thanks roomie.”
And with that and one final glance towards the crypt, Wednesday left. Enid watched her go till she was out of sight.
Steeling herself with a deep inhale Enid turned towards the crypt.
“Alright, let’s get this over with.”