Serpent And The Wings Of — Night Vk
The serpent moved like a remembered secret through the damp undergrowth, scales catching the thin, silvered light and throwing it back in slow, patient flashes. It was older than the maples whose roots it threaded, older than the idea of seasons themselves; it carried with it the quiet accumulations of many nights, a history written in coils and silent patience. Where it passed, the leaf litter settled differently, as if even the earth adjusted its memory around the creature's curve.