Cory's POV
        We all stood as still as our burning bodies would allow, watching the giant sand-colored serpent with eyes that held fear. "What do we do...?" I whispered. "We could attempt to slowly move out of it's line of sight." Dawn suggested, and we all looked at Tommy, expecting him to disagree. He just slowly nodded, "That could work...Okay, creamwhistles, let's do it." He agreed. "On three," Uni began. "One...Two...Three!" He whispered, and we all attempted to shuffle away slowly, but it was a short-lived attempt. For after only a few seconds of movement, the sand beneath us started shifting.

      The ground shook, and the sand began to swallow my feet as the ground began to move from beneath us. "Bad idea, bad idea!" Ashlie exclaimed. "RUN!" Nick yelped, and I dislodged my feet from the sand and grabbed Uni's arm. I began quickly running, basically dragging a near-blind Uni behind me. It was hard, though, because as the snake's long curls began to unravel beneath us, the sand lost all semblance of solidity, and I tripped as the sand gave way under me. Uni and I immediantly got up, scrambling away as quickly as we could.

        I risked a glance behind me, and my heart thumped at the sight. The serpiente was huge! It's upper body was raised, and it's large mouth was open in a deafening hiss, it's large fangs dripping with deadly venom. I slid to a stop as I noticed another detail of the sight, though. Tommy stood before the large snake, still and threatening. "Tommy! Move! That thing's gonna eat you!" Yelled Jon, and I noticed that the others had also stopped to watch the scene unfold. His ears were back, so far that they nearly rested on the top of his head.

        I watched as he stripped himself of his trenchcoat and iconic mask, throwing them aside. His tail was puffed to a larger side, and it swayed behind him like a dogs tail. His pale blue eyes were replaced by a near-glowing yellow. His slit pupils were nearly not visible  with rage. He paced back and forth infront of the snake, swishing his tail behind him. He looked nervous as he did so, yet also deep in thought. He circled around, hissing and dragging his tail on the ground in a circle around him. He's screwed... I thought nervously, expecting the serpent to strike at any moment. Though, to my surprise, it didn't. I would even say it looked...Scared.

      As Tommy continued the strange ritual, the serpiente began to back it's large body up hastily. Tommy took a large step forward at that, and the serpent reared back. With one last hiss, the creature dove into the sand, disappearing. The ground shook and I tried hard to keep my balance as the sand shifted, and Uni grabbed my arm with 2 hands to keep balance. Tommy let out a loud sigh, before turning to us with a wide smile. "Guess who just saved you dip-wads!" But nobody said anything, and his smile faltered. "Tommy...How?" Nick asked in amazement.

        "Uh...Luck...?" He tried, his words sounding more like a question than an answer. " Yeah right! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Jon exclaimed with an amazed smile, eyes lighting up. It seemed like he'd completely forgotten the heat that he'd been so willing to complain about ever moment of the trip thus far. Tommy sighed, "Fiiiinnneeee, I'll tell you worms." He whined dramatically as we all stared at him expectantly. He plopped down on the hot sand, gesturing for us to all do the same. As I approached I filled Uni in on the events he couldn't pick up, and then Tommy began to speak.

       "So, when I used to live with the others in my old town, they taught me that. I lived in a desert just like this one, and sand serpiente's were a huge problem for us, because those slimy dip-wads thought of us as prey. So my people came up with a plan. Every year when the Sand Serpiente's eggs hatched, we would be there waiting. We would do those movements, and as a group slash across their noses. It's like a marking, you know? So we know if they'll fear us or not, because man did they see us as a threat after that." He explained with a laugh.

"That's pretty smart actually, it's hard to believe that you came from there." Ashlie joked. Tommy's ears went back, and he glared playfully, "The disrespect!" Then he stood, grabbing his coat and mask, he returned them to their correct placements. Jon groaned as he stood, excitement forgotten. "Ughhh, more walking?? I'm gonna die here." He said dramatically. I was admittedly hot too, really hot. Tommy surveyed our group, pursing his lips. "I..." He began hesitantly, "Know a place we can rest..." We all looked at him, "Where?"