[Gallagher]

He hadn't the time to fathom his distaste for the apparent power struggle between the Mimic and its somethings before one, an unimpressive juvenile as far as he could tell, lashed out. The juvenile and its stone beast attacked not only the Mimic, but the very cavern in which they all stood, and suddenly the butcher was no more, broken into countless serpents, flung outraged at them all.

No sooner had he processed the scene that he realized the vipers were already upon him as well, his throat bulging with one all too eager to force itself within his body. Their fangs scratched and prodded at his skin as they climbed, surely seeking the same entrance as the first. His surprise was short lived. Swallowing down the tail at the back of his tongue, he yanked a snake from under his jaw, and held it up. It hissed and snapped inches from his face, its body twining around his wrist and arm as it sought leverage.

Around him, the minnows and their leaders slaughtered the creatures.

He gave them what they wanted.

One after another, he plucked the vipers from his bare form and guided them to his mouth, only taking the time to kill ones too impatient to wait their turn. He crouched to pull apart the masses ensnaring his legs and feet, leaving countless shallow pinpricks where their fangs had sunk, but now only oozed venom.