dannye_chase

New work posted! “Vipers and Vultures”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35148619

Based on the Greek myth of Melampus: After showing kindness to a snake, a man is given the ability to understand the language of the birds. Written for the Greek Myths zine. Rated G

You can also read it on my website: https://dannyechase.com/portfolio/vipersandvultures/

Excerpt:
For a moment, the whole world seemed as still as the bay waters, as if it were listening for something, as if it knew that soon a part of the world— a man— would be able to listen far better than any other human ever had. And here is where it started, with a man who didn’t see boundaries as clearly as other men, who dug for the mother snake the kind of grave he would want for his own mother, deep in the earth and peaceful. A man who cared not so much about the danger of tiny fangs as for the pain of empty bellies. A man who gathered up the poor abandoned children of a viper and held them close against his chest, warmed by the sun and his exertion in digging the grave.

Ao3 ~ DannyeChase.com ~ Linktree

Public domain photo by antonytrivet on Pexels