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Severus was seen sleeping soundly as Zane watched him. After spending a good portion of his night gathering the food and braving the powerful storm, then suffering from the aftermath of it, Severus needed to rest after eating his fill to recover more.

Zane watched over him and he already knew what he would say if Severus tried to play with his mind about why he was watching him so carefully. He would claim that it was to ensure he wasn't too well when he woke up and then killed him when he least expected it. To be fair that was a legit reason for him watching Severus so carefully, but it wasn't the only reason.

In all his life, he had always been taught how evil the Seviper species was and how their only desire in this world was to massacre every Zangoose off the planet and with how he fought alongside his pack against every Seviper fight he was able to be in his younger teen years and on, he was sure their teachings were spot on. Yet, he felt conflicted with this one who did not act like any other Seviper he's fought against. He was laid-back and selfless, and his diet was beyond comprehension. But what surprised him more was how the snake seemed so well-rounded not only with subjects like berries but the human world and their ways of living. He was very curious as to why this Seviper was not to his understanding of how the Seviper typically act and he planned on having this be a topic in a conversation they discussed about having later.

More time passed as Zane's thoughts drifted to particular questions, he wanted to ask the poisonous Pokémon. But as his mind drifted to more questions to ask, the snake in question soon awoke as he shuffled his body and head up as he looked over at the distracted Zangoose.

"How cute. He's lost in thought," Severus thought as he smiled and swallowed the chuckle in his throat. He liked seeing the Zangoose overthink the thoughts in his head. He was sure it was on how he was behaving. Severus noticed the many baffled and questioning looks he gave him last night and all morning. He knew his behavior was most definitely the most unique from every other Seviper the boy has met, and he contemplated on what would be asked of him.

Zane's eyes darted a bit when he rubbed his chin with a paw but froze when he saw the Seviper just stare at him with a smirk. "How long were you staring at me?"

"How long were you lost in your own head?" Severus fired back.

"You don't need to know that."

"Well, take whatever the answer is in your head and take perhaps half of that time is how long I've been watching you."

"What!? You've been watching me for hours?! That can't be possible! I swear you were just asleep!"

Severus smirked even bigger. "Actually, no. It's only been about five minutes or so but now I know how long you've been thinking for so thanks for telling me."

Severus' chuckle resonated from his throat which sounded like a hissing laugh which Zane growled at. "What a tricky snake. He may not be as maniacal as the rest of his species but he's just as crafty."

Severus sighed when he noticed Zane's lackluster reaction. "Oh, come on. You need to relax every once in a while. You're too serious."

"This coming from the most sworn enemy of my species?"

"Touché."

"However, with that being said, I find your behavior unusual."

"Truly? I never would have guessed."

Zane rolled his eyes at the sarcasm as he continued, "I find it odd to find a Seviper like you who no matter his own ailment would not want to see a Zangoose dead. Not to mention your appetite for berries and other greens and definitely your vast knowledge of humans and their lifestyle. I need to know more if I'm able to understand why you are like this."

"You speak as if I have a sickness, in which you are technically correct, but I digress."

Again, Zane's eyes rolled at the fang snake's words. "I just cannot satiate my curiosity of why you are not like the other Sevipers I've fought against in all my years. I'm so put off by you which makes me think you are trying to lure me in a trap yet with everything that has happened, I find your actions are not forced. They feel... genuine and authentic. Like you have nothing to hide."

Severus shrugged. "That's because I don't."

"You say that, but how can I be sure?"

"Well, the best way to know is to ask. Fire away with those questions I know you've been thinking about, and I'll answer them to the best of my abilities."

It was time. Zane's first conversation about Severus and his lifestyle was about to be called out. He would need to keep a watchful eye on him as his father taught him many tricks on watching other Pokémon to see if they were possibly lying through their body language, their eye contact, and their tone of voice. He didn't consider himself a master of the craft, but he certainly used it enough to at least catch his brother in a lie and out it to their father immediately afterward. Of course, his brother despises him for it but then again, he always despised him anyway so why not give him at least a legit reason for doing so.

"Okay. Then I want to know why you didn't attack me the moment you saw me."

"That should be obvious already. You saw how sick I was when I first got out of that storm."

"I have seen Seviper before who were on the brink of death, bleeding out from my pack overpowering them and they still try to bite at us or swing their tail to try and take one out with them. Their hate is that strong even in their final moments. Yet you simply had a minor case of hypothermia but did not try to kill me."

"Wow. Way to play off hypothermia as a simple illness and ignore how deadly it really is."

"You get what I'm saying though."

"Yeah, I do. I don't know. I just didn't have an agenda to try attacking you. Simple."

"It's not simple! Don't you have a need to wipe us out?"

"Not unless I'm provoked and attacked, no."

"But I nearly killed you earlier!"

"Because I asked you to put me out of my misery since I thought I'd be dying there regardless."

"That still doesn't add up. Our species have been at war for centuries and they both want nothing more than to obliterate the other!"

"But why?"

"Why? I just said why! The war between our species!"

"No, I mean why is there a war in the first place? What started this rivalry between Sevipers and Zangooses?"

"Well, that's because..." Zane was drawing a blank as he tried to recall the reason. "I-It's because of... uh..."

Severus began to speak now. "It's because you don't know why. No one knows why. As far as I can tell, we hate each other for the sake of hating each other. Our instincts kick into overdrive for some reason when we see each other but that doesn't negate the fact that we don't even know why. Over the centuries, I believe the stories passed down have been twisted to favor one side over another and ignored true facts to the point where eventually they didn't give a reason. Which is why nowadays there is never a given reason for our initial conflict as to why our species fought each other so long ago and we are told to hate our enemies just because we always have and always will."

Zane wanted to find a point to argue against, but he couldn't. He was given reasons to hate Sevipers now for what happened to members of his pack, new and old, yet he never did think back to why their two species were constantly at each other's throats, trying to maim the other. What was the cause and which side was the one to start this feud? Severus was actually right. No one had an answer to that and maybe no one these days ever will.

"As soon as that question was never truly answered, I simply couldn't believe everything I was being taught as a young Seviper on how Zangooses will always be an enemy, no matter what. It just felt illogical reasoning. Why hate someone if they've done no wrong to you before? That's why I didn't attack you."

Zane couldn't help but find the sense in those words. Zane surely would remember fighting Severus if he was in a battle before with him but with how peaceful he was coming off as that seemed unlikely. So, he had no way to retaliate against his logic. He couldn't believe this. A Seviper of all things was the one making sense out of this!

"You okay, kid?" Severus looked slightly worried.

"That's just a lot to take in," Zane admitted before he blinked in realization. "Hey! I'm not a kid! I may be ten years younger than you but I'm still an adult!"

"With how screamy and dramatic you come off as? I couldn't tell." Severus giggled again with that hissing laugh which made Zane glare at him.

"But hey, despite your young age, I'm impressed that you also seem brighter beyond your years. You're no elder but you are clever enough to light a matchstick and get a fire going on your own last night. Impressive for someone who I'm assuming has had zero human contact."

"You'd be right in that assumption but why do you seem to know so many things about humans and their way of life? Were you caught by a human?"

He shook his head. "Never. Always have been a wild and free Pokémon."

"Then how would you know so much?"

Severus smiled lightly before he answered. "My father was the one to teach me most everything I know now. He had mated with my mother, and they laid an egg together, which was me. However, just before I hatched, he disappeared one day after a hunt. After nearly three years of thinking he had died, he showed up and reunited with the colony and with mother and me. Mother was absolutely furious, now thinking he abandoned us, but we soon learned he was captured by a human trainer and lived with him for all that time.

He was released a few days before our reunion due to the depression he developed after being separated from us for so long. Apparently, the human was able to figure out my father had a family after he refused to eat anything for weeks after questioning him and decided to release him back into the part of the forest, he caught him in."

Zane seemed invested in the story as he didn't speak up or interrupt him with questions, his eyes trained on Severus and hardly blinking.

"It was through him that I learned all about his adventures with his human partner and the other Pokémon he caught. At first, Father wasn't happy to be taking commands from a human, so he resented him and his other Pokémon and refused to eat the berries he was given as food. He tried to eat the Raticate his human did have but that just got him scolded for even attempting it.

But eventually, Father began seeing the relationship the other Pokémon had with the human and how they deeply cared for each other. My father's pride began to falter a bit but it really changed when he was saved by his trainer when Pokémon poachers tried to steal him away, but his trainer went out of his way to save him. Even getting in front of their guns to protect Father.

Father had an official change of heart from that point on and began trying to become friendlier to his human and his Pokémon allies. He even began eating the berries he was given and soon grew to rely on eating off of those alone to avoid any potential cravings that may put his human's other Pokémon or other trainer's Pokémon in harm's way again. Even after he was released, he couldn't go back to a lifestyle of eating wild Pokémon with the rest of the colony again, so he always ate berries alone. That is until I tried it, thinking he was lonely eating all alone like that which is how I got my start into eating only berries, fruits, and veggies.

I was told everything he had learned about the humans and how they lived from his time spent with him and the berries he ate along with the knowledge he gained from his human about the cunning and usefulness they display in and out of battle. Those were the bedtime stories and the life lessons he would tell me for years and years."

"So that explains your incredible experience with humans and berries in general. Sounds like your father has been a big influence in your life. I bet he's proud of you but I'm willing to bet the rest of your colony doesn't treat him with such respect?"

Severus suddenly tensed up before a sadness seemed to kill the previous joy in his eyes. "Well, he wasn't always welcomed by the colony once his new behaviors became noticed. Not even Mother seemed too fond of what he had been made into. I was the only one who seemed to appreciate and accept his views for the time he was gone. Not even... Not even after he died."

The Zangoose felt like he was now out in the rain with how thick and cold the air around him felt as Severus seemed to wrap himself away in his coils as if he was hugging himself.

"I didn't realize. I'm sorry for bringing up a painful memory."

Severus gave him a sad smile. "It's not your fault. It was bound to come up, so I'd rather just talk about it now rather than later."

"May I ask how he died?"

"As most of our kind does, a battle with a Zangoose pack."

Zane nodded. "Well, if it's any consolation, I also lost my parents to an attack from Sevipers."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Did you grow up alone?"

"Luckily no. I was raised by a different pack's leader as his son alongside his only son, Zander, who resents me every chance he gets. I think it's with how I came into the world; Father has been very protective of me and was always making sure I was cared for which I believe made Zander very jealous and he felt like he wasn't getting near as much attention as I seemed to get. I don't know if that's how it is, but it certainly feels that way."

"Wait. You mentioned how your father was a different pack leader. What happened to your original pack?"

"I'm not sure. Father told me when my pack was attacked, my parents were separated from them as they defended me with their lives as he came upon them and saved me with their final request was for him to raise me as his own. I was barely born when it happened, and I've never had the opportunity to seek out my original pack. They're too far away to even attempt to visit them as my father has told me countless times in the years of my youth."

Zane recounted the tale which made him smile a bit at the memories it brought back. He looked back at Severus and his smile depleted into a frown as he noticed something odd. The Seviper seemed to have a thousand-yard stare off into the distance with a look hidden in his features that Zane felt like he could only describe as horrified.

"Severus? You doing okay?"

Severus didn't reply immediately before Zane called out to him again which seemed to snap him out of the daze.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"This surely can't be a surprise to the fact my parents died by a Seviper attack just like how your father died to a Zangoose."

"No, it's not that. It's just surprising to hear your parents trusting a baby to another Zangoose than their own pack. Seems rather scary."

Zane shrugged. "I guess but most of our packs are generally good with each other. For the other packs I have met, they have treated Father and our members with a kindness we share with others within our own pack. That's just how we treat each other."

"Right. Of course. The lifestyle of a Zangoose is obviously much different from that of a Seviper like me so I wouldn't really get that."

"I guess."

"Sorry, I'm just not feeling well again. I think I'm gonna rest a bit longer before we keep talking. I really need to clear my head before I can continue. I hope you understand."

Zane felt extremely off put but did not argue against it. He felt like he struck a nerve, but he had no idea how he managed that. "No, I get it. You can go back to sleep. If you need rest, I'm not gonna deprive you of what you think you need. It's your body, not mine."

"I truly appreciate it. Thank you, Zane." Severus gave him a warm smile before laying his head down on the floor as he closed his eyes to try and sleep. But Zane spoke up before he could do so.

"Don't go to sleep yet. You shouldn't be sleeping on the ground."

Severus looked at him with that same reassuring smile. "Nonsense. It's not like I don't sleep on the ground with my colony so it's really no different here. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

But before he could lay his head back down, he felt the middle of his body being lifted up as he looked up and saw Zane struggling to hold his midsection on his shoulders as he began dragging the rest of Severus' body across the floor.

"Zane? What are you doing?"

Zane grunted with every straining step he took as he spoke through his clenched teeth. "If you want to get better then it's only fair that you get to sleep in the bedroom this time. I shouldn't get to be the only one to sleep as well as the humans do."

Zane struggled to open the door to the bedroom with one paw as Severus weighed him down when he let his free paw drop that weight onto his frame.

Severus noticed this. "I think I can slither in myself so there's no need to overexert yourself for my sake by carrying me."

He was about to roll out of Zane's grasp, but Zane managed to open the door as he quickly latched onto Severus to ensure he couldn't slip out of his vice grip. He was surprised by this strong grasp the young Zangoose had. It was clearly strong enough to keep him in place, yet he felt no pain or crushing of his body from it.

"You make it sound like I'm burdened by this. If anything, I think this is overdue. With how kind you've been to me, it's about time I pay that kindness back to you. A Pokémon like you deserves to be treated with care like this after everything you've done for me."

Severus felt his cheeks tint up and grow heated at Zane's words as he resisted no more and let the Zangoose carry him to the bed before laying him down carefully onto the sheets as Zane held up the sheets for him to slide into them.

He nodded his thanks to Zane as he slithered under the sheet and felt the warmth of the bed enrapture his muscles as he peeked his head back out and onto the pillows.

"There. I'll take the blanket out there and sleep on the sofa this time. That way it's fair as we can take turns in the bed until the storm passes. I'll be by to check on you later. Sleep well."

Zane was quick to close the door behind him, leaving the Seviper effectively trapped in the bedroom. But Severus had no quarrel with it as he felt the heat of the bed soothe his body and make him wither in sleepiness. His tongue flickered out as he could smell the scent of Zane still lingering in the bedsheets from the night before. It not only caused a flitter in his belly but tears to streak swifty from his eyes only to be soaked up by the pillow below. After some time though, he was drifting to sleep once again.

Zane had peeked in multiple times to see if Severus had woken up but every time he checked, the Seviper was out cold. At first, he figured he was just that exhausted but once nightfall started approaching, he felt anxious. Not even holding out an oran berry to his mouth seemed to lure the large snake out of his endless sleep which made Zane grow even more concerned.

He left the batch of berries on the bedside table so the Fang Snake Pokémon could eat if he woke up while Zane wasn't there before closing the door once again. Was he fearful that Severus would die before he had a chance to take him on himself and complete his own challenge for his pack or was there another reason this anxiety was overcoming his every thought?

Zane began pacing around the living room even as the fire flickered out and died in the fireplace. He contemplated everything they discussed, and he noticed his strange behavior. Granted this Seviper and his behavior was already strange, but it seemed to change with their last topic on how they both lost family. Maybe reliving his past by talking about it made him upset and he is covering up that sadness. Zane felt guilt weighing over him at the thought of making Severus feel that hurt. He would apologize the moment the older Pokémon woke up. That is if he did.

Figuring there was no point in staying awake and tiring himself out more, Zane decided to try and get some sleep as he grabbed the blanket and hopped onto the couch before curling up into the cushions. The sofa wasn't nearly as comfortable as the bed, but he wanted Severus to have a turn to have a good night's rest. Besides he felt like there was a faint smell that he recognized as the Seviper and while he normally felt his fur stand on end at such a scent, it now filled his head with something soothing. Severus was the final thing on his mind as he felt his sleep overtake him and a tear leak from his eyes, wishing for Severus to be alright.