Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 9

Once more, I was held in Calmine's office with my hands tied behind the folding chair as I was forced to sit in front of his desk. He was speaking on the phone with the back of his chair facing me, talking to someone about some kind of change in some enclosure.

Something about more weight-bearing limbs. I had tried to tune in as much as I could to the conversation, but Calmine was speaking in such a heavy accent that I just couldn't understand most of what he was saying. When he had hung up the phone, though, I was fully focused on him.

"Sounds lah we'll be able tah move out t'night an be ready fer movin'em tah their temporary home inna mornin'," Calmine licked a thumb and rifled through some papers on his desk, barely giving me a second glance, "Is they health up'tah yawr expectation?"

"Oso needs to heal from the beating your men gave him, and Choro isn't fit to be moved around for a few days as he's going to shed soon," I held my head high, levelling a glare at him, "They'll need more appropriate meat since snakes can't eat what humans can. They need freshly killed food."

"Who?"

"The red and green nagas, sir," One of the men behind me clarified.

"The red one was shipped damaged," The other man stated, "She was talking to the green one about a 'soak' while feeding it."

"...they have names..."

"Damaged enough tah nah show?" Calmine reached for a drawer in his desk, pulling out a leather pouch and opening it up to remove a thick cigar. Cutting off one end and lighting it quickly, he took a short drag from it, the smoke wafting from the corners of his mouth.

"Yes," I quipped.

"Not really," The first man behind me stated over me, "I only saw a few cuts, but nothing disfiguring or something that would ruin the viewing pleasure."

"Did you need me here or not?!" I shouted over him, slamming my foot down on the ground for emphasis, "If you want me to keep them healthy, fine, but you need to listen to me! Oso's current health would certainly make people question your ethical treatment of creatures, and with Choro going into shed soon, you'll need to make sure that he has enough water in his 'enclosure' to soak in. A stuck shed could become detrimental to his health the longer you let it stay on him."

The room became silent after I caught my breath, the cigar smoke hanging heavy in the air as Calmine slightly raised an eyebrow towards me.

"Iffn ya want tah keep those monsters safe, yaw're gonna need tah learn a few rules," He took another puff from the cigar, "First, ya might think tha' yaw're gonna instantly have yawr way here, but ya need tah work hard tah gain those kinds of privileges. Second, them creatures'll have good feed in the San Diego Zoo. Third, y'all be restricted tah their enclosures only. Ya won't be able tah leave tah help others in their tasks, and y'all have an assigned bunk at the destination."

I gritted my teeth and my throat rumbled with a sound of disapproval, "If you wanna speak business, then I'll speak business. You're not going to get much money from showing Oso in his current state. Inspectors will see that he is damaged, and you'll have to keep him from public view until he's sufficiently healed enough to not warrant the Wildlife Conservation Society interfering."

Another puff from the cigar.

"How long ya think that's gonna be?"

"It depends on when he sheds next," I held his gaze from my restrained sitting position, "It could be in a few days, or up to a month."

"Fine," He blew out the remaining smoke held in his mouth before turning to the two men behind me, "Get the crates ready fer movin', and show (y/n) tah her new room."