Once they were awake, Daboia could feel her Hydras sliding across her head-crest, their worm-like bodies stretching out and tasting the air with long, silvery tongues. The parasites were just as disoriented as their host. It had been a struggle, but the Gorgon was now seated up on the edge of her pod, her claws gripping the side to keep her from falling to the floor. Her head swayed back and forth in vertigo, or the worse migraine in history. It would take awhile before her eyes adjusted to the lights. They were so alarmingly bright, now that the glass wasn't there to cover them up. Black spots dotted her vision whenever she raised her head, which felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. An immense pressure had built up inside her scalp, and it wasn't because of the snakes that currently adorned it.
For some reason, Daboia couldn't help but sense some sort of urgency building up inside her. It was a primal reflex, maybe, but for some reason she knew she needed to heal up quickly. Needed to get out of here. It didn't make any sense to her; She'd wanted to discover the Pyramid herself, and now here she was. Why run away from what her decoding had all boiled down towards? Still, Daboia didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. Something was very wrong about this place. Whether a creation of the Goddesses or something far darker, her own life could depend on her means of escape.
Placing pressure on her tail, she made to stand up and leave, and instead crumpled to the floor. She hissed in pain as she slammed against a tiled, metallic ground, her tail limply spread out behind her. The sudden impact shrank back her Hydras, reacting to the sharp sound. The Gorgon stayed that way for quite some time, her breathing shallow and tired, suddenly exhausted despite however long she'd been contained in the pod. Her claws groped against the ground, straining to find a hand hold on the slick, smooth metal under her. She found the leg of a pod adjacent to her own, and leaned against it before pushing herself upright again.
This time she coiled her tail under her, balancing her weight. She ran her hand across her forehead, a cluster bomb of a head ache beginning to pound through her skull. It was then that she noticed the figure in the glass she stood next to.
<What is this?> She spoke aloud, for the first time in ages perhaps. Her voice was weak and dry; It hurt to talk and she clutched at her throat for a moment before looking back at the figure. It was asleep, much like she had been not long ago. A strange creature with a single tail much like her own, but its seemed far less sinuous and strong. Its tail was split at the end into two fins, the same sort she would have seen on a fish or some other sea critter back on Drellm. She approached its resting place warily, unsure what she was looking at. It lacked a chest, having a flat, wide front. Its arms ended with hands that had far too many fingers. And its head... she wasn't sure what to compare that to. It looked squashed for some reason; Its eyes were far too beady.
What drew her attention most was the complete and utter lack of any Hydras. Not a single worm had grown from its crest, which she assumed were the two little prongs on either side of its head. Instead, a thick matted tangle of moss or fur coated its entire scalp. This made her reel back in utter disgust.
<Tribe-Less!> She hissed, nearly collapsing over her tail again. <Mutant monstrosity. How could the Goddesses take you too?> Of course, she didn't recieve an answer. The other being seemed to be completely unaware of anything she did. It was still asleep, she realized, stuck in a similar pod to her own. <Perhaps it is for the best. I don't imagine it'd survive beyond its pod. Such a strange anomaly. A mistake to take you..>
With that being said, the Gorgon twisted around to lean against the wall, further away from the odd creature in the other pod. As she did so, she caught sight of many other glass capsules just like theirs, lying in great number across the entirety of the room. Many of the lids were closed, but some, she observed, remained open, vacant. The ones that were closed were full of other anomalies, of so many differing sizes and shapes.
None of them, she noted - in a mixture of awe and fear - had a single Hydra on their head.
For some reason, Daboia couldn't help but sense some sort of urgency building up inside her. It was a primal reflex, maybe, but for some reason she knew she needed to heal up quickly. Needed to get out of here. It didn't make any sense to her; She'd wanted to discover the Pyramid herself, and now here she was. Why run away from what her decoding had all boiled down towards? Still, Daboia didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. Something was very wrong about this place. Whether a creation of the Goddesses or something far darker, her own life could depend on her means of escape.
Placing pressure on her tail, she made to stand up and leave, and instead crumpled to the floor. She hissed in pain as she slammed against a tiled, metallic ground, her tail limply spread out behind her. The sudden impact shrank back her Hydras, reacting to the sharp sound. The Gorgon stayed that way for quite some time, her breathing shallow and tired, suddenly exhausted despite however long she'd been contained in the pod. Her claws groped against the ground, straining to find a hand hold on the slick, smooth metal under her. She found the leg of a pod adjacent to her own, and leaned against it before pushing herself upright again.
This time she coiled her tail under her, balancing her weight. She ran her hand across her forehead, a cluster bomb of a head ache beginning to pound through her skull. It was then that she noticed the figure in the glass she stood next to.
<What is this?> She spoke aloud, for the first time in ages perhaps. Her voice was weak and dry; It hurt to talk and she clutched at her throat for a moment before looking back at the figure. It was asleep, much like she had been not long ago. A strange creature with a single tail much like her own, but its seemed far less sinuous and strong. Its tail was split at the end into two fins, the same sort she would have seen on a fish or some other sea critter back on Drellm. She approached its resting place warily, unsure what she was looking at. It lacked a chest, having a flat, wide front. Its arms ended with hands that had far too many fingers. And its head... she wasn't sure what to compare that to. It looked squashed for some reason; Its eyes were far too beady.
What drew her attention most was the complete and utter lack of any Hydras. Not a single worm had grown from its crest, which she assumed were the two little prongs on either side of its head. Instead, a thick matted tangle of moss or fur coated its entire scalp. This made her reel back in utter disgust.
<Tribe-Less!> She hissed, nearly collapsing over her tail again. <Mutant monstrosity. How could the Goddesses take you too?> Of course, she didn't recieve an answer. The other being seemed to be completely unaware of anything she did. It was still asleep, she realized, stuck in a similar pod to her own. <Perhaps it is for the best. I don't imagine it'd survive beyond its pod. Such a strange anomaly. A mistake to take you..>
With that being said, the Gorgon twisted around to lean against the wall, further away from the odd creature in the other pod. As she did so, she caught sight of many other glass capsules just like theirs, lying in great number across the entirety of the room. Many of the lids were closed, but some, she observed, remained open, vacant. The ones that were closed were full of other anomalies, of so many differing sizes and shapes.
None of them, she noted - in a mixture of awe and fear - had a single Hydra on their head.
