There is a common misconception about snakebites. Many people assume that venomous snakes will strike out at anyone who gets too close to them immediately. However, snakes actually only bite as a last resort and would rather run away or scare away first. That's because they can only hold so much venom at one time and they don't want to use it or they'll defenseless the next time they're attacked until they've produced more again. And some snakes have a reputation for being more aggressive than others. And while the coral snake does indeed have a very dangerous venom, enough that other snake species mimic their appearance to avoid being preyed on, it's one of the least likeliest snakes to actually attack a human.
That was perfectly exemplified with Carol. The uplifted coral snake didn't show any signs of aggression. Not even towards Madame Matryoshka for being a 'fake coral snake'. The only thing Carol has exhibited was curiosity about her new world. And Matryoshka was perfectly happy to take Carol on a tour around Animalia and introduce her to other snake Animalians. Though they'll be doing a few errands along the way.
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"As Animalians, ve do not need mice and rats," said Matryoshka as she led Carol into the grocery store, "Ve have more extensive diets now, even if ve have some restrictions because of vhat ve are."
"Why are you talking like that?" asked Carol.
"Because I am Russian," said Matryoshka, "There are many Animalians who come from different parts of the vorld. Many have kept their accents. You vill meet plenty more when the IAC games start."
But there were plenty to meet just in the grocery store. While going down one of the aisles, Matryoshka and Carol came across a cobra Animalian, but a very noticeable thing about her was that she had four arms. The cobra spotted them and said, "Oh, Chloe, how are you?"
"I am doing wery vell, Madge," said Matryoshka, "How is yourself? I hear your boyfriend is in the bodybuilding competition."
"Yes, he has been putting a lot of work into it. And it shows," said Madge, lightly nibbling on one of her fingers.
"Is he still juggling?" asked Chloe.
"He's been getting better at it," said Madge, "He's still doing balls right now, but he's going to be moving up to batons soon."
"Von't you be vorried vhen he starts juggling swords?" asked Chloe.
"I told him that he could only use fake swords or blunt ones," said Madge, "Anyways, he's not stupid. He won't do anything that could chop an arm off."
"Good, I look forvard to seeing him," said Chloe.
"So am I," said Madge before she slithered off.
"I helped arrange that they should meet," said Chloe, "She vasn't interested in romance, but she has varmed up to it."
"She had four arms," said Carol.
"Da, is a modification that can be made vhen converting," said Chloe, "More common vith snakes then anyvun else."
"Why doesn't everyone get four arms?" asked Carol.
"Is more extreme than some vould vant," said Chloe, "Can be tricky to use all arms. Six limbs can be troublesome at times. That is vhy snakes are more likely to get four arms. But is not for everyvun."
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After that, Chloe and Carol went to one of the shops that specialized in beauty products for Animalians. There was some limit to how much makeup an Animalian could wear, considering fur often got in the way. But Animalian women found ways to adjust. At least reptiles didn't have much trouble applying makeup, though skintone had to be considered to avoid looking clownish.
At the beauty shop, Chloe and Carol encountered another unusual female snake Animalian. She was a boomslang, but she was also leucistic. That meant her body was mostly white with black stripes. It wasn't quite like a zebra, but it certainly made her stand out more than usual. Also, she had two heads, with wider shoulders to compensate.
"Medusa, Medea, how are you doing?" asked Chloe.
"As well as can be," said Medusa.
"We have each other, but sometimes it gets a little lonely," said Medea.
"Don't vorry, I'm still looking," said Chloe, "I am sure there is good man out there for you." The two-headed snake nodded before moving on. "Is trickier vith them," said Chloe, "I'm not sure if they should have one man and share him or they have two men who share her."
"But why did she choose to have two heads?" asked Carol.
"She vas born vith two heads," said Chloe, "She vas also uplifted, like yourself. There isn't a vay to give somevun a second head, fortunately. Things are strange enough as it is. And you've yet to see strangest."
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This time, Chloe took Carol directly to see some snake Animalians that were quite unusual. The park they went to wasn't out of the ordinary. Quite a few Animalians were taking advantage of the pleasant afternoon to relax there since the pandemic was lifting. It wasn't hard to find the Anaconda family. Their kids were becoming quite active as the days got warmer. And considering there were 18 of them in total, that took quite a lot of looking after. Though it wasn't the large brood that was so unusual about them, nor that Iphis and Ianthe were also another two-headed serpent. At a distance, the three adults looked like they were all female, which confused Carol. But as she got closer, she could smell that there was something different about them, something that smelled both male and female.
"Carol, this is Iphis, Ianthe, Ty, and Lily," said Chloe as they approached, "Everyone, this is Carol, our newest snake Animalian.
"Nice to meet you," said Lily.
"Another milk snake?" asked Ty.
"No, a coral snake," said Carol, looking at the three of them. There was something she couldn't put her finger on. "Why do you all smell both male and female?" she asked.
"Because we are male and female," said Iphis, "We're all hermaphrodites."
"In fact, we're the very first one," said Ianthe, "They extracted the herm gene from us to create the other herms."
"You can be both?" asked Carol in surprise.
"Well, that depends if it feels right for you," said Ty, "Not everyone can commit to a lifetime of being dual-gendered."
"But it was perfect for all of us," said Lily, "Even if we did make a few too many kids."
"And all your children are also herms?" asked Carol.
"Oh, there's plenty of single-sexed sons and daughters," said Iphis.
"In fact, our two-headed children are both single-sexed," said Ianthe.
"I see..." said Carol slowly.
"You'll have to excuse her," said Chloe, "She's seen a lot of veird things today."
"And you saved the weirdest for last," said Iphis with humor.
"You vould be veirdest if you had four arms," commented Chloe.
"True, there are times I wish we did," said Ianthe.
If anything, this made Carol appreciate what she had. She had felt a little out of place when she was first uplifted. But compared to all these strange serpents, she appeared practically normal.