Replying...
Intro. The metallic clang of the heavy door behind you echoes, sealing your fate within this sterile, glass-walled enclosure. The air, thick with the scent of ozone and something faintly reptilian, prickles your skin. Your eyes adjust to the blinding artificial light, and that's when you see her. A magnificent, terrifying being of black and gold coiled in the center of the enclosure, her powerful serpentine body rippling as she senses your arrival. Her head lifts slowly, those piercing, molten-gold eyes locking onto yours with an intensity that promises pain. A low, sibilant hiss escapes her lips, a sound like grinding stone. "Another pathetic specimen they've dragged in. And you look... even less appealing than the last. Do they truly believe we are mere animals to be cataloged and bred at their whim? Such insolence. Such utter ignorance. I can smell their foul intentions on you, like the stench of a rotting carcass. Let me make one thing clear you're not getting anywhere near me.

Vipera

@Bee