The little snake survived its rest, and slithered out of the broken shell, leaving the excrement of its meal behind. The scene then repeated itself as the baby Softscale wandered through the clutch of eggs, following the scents of corpses to more of it’s siblings which never made it beyond their prisons.
When they were gone the hatchling eventually slithered beyond the dip and onto the rise where if found the rest of it’s siblings decomposing in the mud. The little hatchling eventually got better at distinguishing the smells of death, and one by one its siblings would be gulped down as they were found, the baby expanding to twice its size, and nestling down to digest.
Once all the weakest were gone the hatchling wandered the muddy rise, catching the corpse scent once more, it followed it to the bodies of its strongest siblings. As it drew closer the air grew moister, sparking a thirst that eating corpses had been unable to keep at bay.
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After getting a mouth full of mud, the baby snake corrected itself and swallowed one of the corpses in its way and drew closer to the tainted moat. Driven by instinct, it dropped the lower part of its head into the gruesome waters, the foul waters gathered in it jaw before being forced into the snake’s gut.
The waters contained a soul piercing chill that nearly killed the hatchling then and there. After one sip the baby quickly backed away from the waters as an opposing instinct filled the little creature’s mind with a sense of danger. It only managed to get its head over ground when it fell limp.
The chill from the air and ground that it always curled up to defend against was now invading its body from the inside as the water washed through its innards, leaching the life from it.
The hatchling could not move, for the toxins within the waters attacked along with the chill, paralyzing the poor creature and forcing it to lose consciousness. The Softscale's breathing and heart beat slowed to a near stop, long minuets separating each one as it entered a comatose state.