Notes for readers:

Snakes smell by tasting the air and they often try to curl up on warm rocks to keep warm.

Nagas don't talk to communicate, they do so more by action and sounds but no normal human speech.

Also, Nagas "court" each other by trying to prove themselves as mates whether it is by presenting gifts or challenging others to fights, just to clear things up when you see how some nagas act.

Nagas also have a loose Alpha-Beta-Omega system going, so Arthur is a Beta while Francis & the rest are Alphas.

Narrator's POV

Arthur was... confused to say the least at how he ended up in this situation.  But let's first flashback to see how this situation arose.

-----------------------Flashback To The Day Before----------------------------------

Arthur had been laying on his favorite sun rock, his long emerald green tail wrapped around the rock he had been laying on, absorbing the heat that was coming off of it.  He was just dozing off when he picked up an unfamiliar scent of another male, an alpha.

Deciding not to bother with this male, Arthur got up and went through a bush filled with perfume-like flowers that would hide his scent.  He then made his way towards a large tree and climbed up it till he reached a nice height where he could safely watch his sun area without being seen.

He watched as another male naga came over into the clearing.  He observed that this male had long blond hair and a deep blue tail, very different from those of Arthur's family, which had various shades of yellow and green.

Arthur watched with curiosity as the new male seemed to have no interest in resting on the warm sun rock.  Instead, the male appeared to be searching for something, because he repeatedly stuck his tongue out, trying to catch a scent, and strained his ears trying to hear something.  Arthur couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

'What in the world could that wanker be looking for?  Food?'  Arthur shook his head.  'Hardly, most animals know to avoid this area because us nagas like to frequent it.'  Arthur reasoned as he watched the male continue to search the clearing.

After a while, Arthur grew bored and carefully made his way down the tree, slithering away from the male who had still been searching for something.  Arthur noted that the sun was going to set soon and went off to his cave, which was nice and warm now.

Arthur prepared his bedding and curled up, letting sleep take over.

~Meanwhile With Francis~

Francis continued to fruitlessly search the clearing for the source of that enchanting scent he had caught.  He just couldn't take his mind off the scent of the other naga.

'What a wonderful scent belonging to a wonderful creature!'  Francis thought as he rested on the warm rock.  He had never caught something like this before.  But the wondrous scent seemed to vanish, like it was simply a ghost.  Francis shook his head.

'I will come back tomorrow.'  He resolved as he headed back to his cave to rest for the night, dreaming about the how wonderful the scent would be when he was up close to the one who made it.

------------------------Time Skip To Next Day ----------------------------

Arthur awoke the next day and went about his daily routine of waking up, sunning himself a bit, and going out hunting for a bit of protein.  Afterwards he cleaned himself up and picked a few delicious berries to eat.  At high noon Arthur headed to his favorite sun spot and was not pleased to find the strong scent of the other male lingering there.

'How dare he!'  Arthur thought with a scowl.  'Doesn't he realize that this is my territory?'  Arthur huffed and got to work remarking his sun area with his very strong scent, even going so far as to use some of his saliva to ward off the other male.

Finally, when he felt he had purged the place enough, Arthur laid down to rest on his sun spot, falling asleep under the warm rays of the sun.

~Meanwhile with Francis~

It was a couple of hours after noon when Francis slowly and carefully made his way over to the clearing.  He had been sure to dull his scent down so as not to scare off the other naga.

As he got closer he found that the scent surrounding the area had gotten much, much stronger, telling him a beta had come and marked this as their territory.  Francis was hesitant but he wished to meet the naga with such an enticing scent, or at least see them.  With this resolve, Francis moved forward.

Francis soon arrived at the edge of the clearing.  He now spotted the other naga.  He immediately felt his heart flutter at the sight of such beauty.

The messy golden tresses that had a single green leaf resting on them, the long glittering emerald tail, the way the other naga's skin seemed to glitter in the sunlight.  It was all breathtaking to Francis.

Francis couldn't help himself, he had to get closer to this sleeping beauty, but he needed a gift!  No naga as beautiful as this one would accept Francis without a gift.  Francis slithered over to the nearby flowers which held a strong scent of their own.

He carefully picked a few of the flowers and began weaving them into a flower crown.  When it was complete, he slithered over to the sleeping naga, thankful to the flowers for hiding his scent.  He carefully placed the crown on the other naga's head and decided to wait for the other to wake up.

------------------------End of Flashback--------------------------------

And that is how Arthur ended up in this situation; a flower crown on his head and a very enthusiastic naga trying to gain his attention.

'I go to sleep for a few bloody hours and this is what happens?!  Ugh... this is ridiculous.'  Arthur thought to himself.  He quickly shook his head, causing the flower crown to fall to Arthur's lap.  Arthur inspected it as Francis tried to get a bit closer.

In the process of trying to get closer, his tail brushed up against Arthur's, causing said male to let out a hiss.  Francis moved back a little and held his hands up, signalling he did it by accident.  Arthur let out an annoyed huff.  Arthur placed the crown down on his rock, crossed his arms, and turned his face away, a sign saying both "I don't believe you" and "Not interested in courting".

Francis was astonished, never had he believed he would be rejected when other omegas and betas normally threw themselves at him.  He let out a low hiss followed by the sound of his tail shifting, asking "Are you sure?"  Arthur let out a hiss and slapped his tail on the ground both showing how annoyed he was and expressing that he was indeed sure.

Francis hung his head in defeat, but then slapped his hands to his cheeks and raised his head with a new look of determination in them, catching Arthur by surprise.

Francis flicked his tongue and moved his tail side to side, saying "I will try again".  Arthur sighed and got down from his rock, heading through the flowering bush, towards home while Francis stubbornly followed behind with his flower crown.  Arthur turned around and hissed at Francis, telling him to leave Arthur alone.  But Francis remained stubborn.

Not wanting this naga to follow Arthur home, Arthur decided to go through a neighboring territory owned by his much scarier and stronger older brother Allistor [aka Scotland].

Francis was hesitant, smelling the scent of another much older and powerful alpha male, but persevered through in hopes of getting Arthur to notice him.  Arthur just growled in response and slithered farther into his brother's territory.

Eventually Arthur reached his brother's sun spot where he found his brother resting.  His brother raised an eyebrow at Arthur, as if asking "What are you doing here?"  Arthur just huffed and let out an annoyed hiss.  He then moved over to and behind Allistor who gazed curiously at his younger brother before catching a whiff of another alpha's scent, causing him to let out a threatening hiss.

Francis entered the clearing and became nervous at the sight of a larger male with a dark green tail and flaming red hair glaring at him and letting out annoyed hisses.  Francis made a slight tip of his head and poked his tongue out, assuring the other he had no interest in this territory, calming Allistor a bit but it was obvious that he was still weary of Francis.

Francis slowly approached and tried to move in Arthur's direction, holding the crown up again, trying to court Arthur again.  Arthur slapped his tail again as he let out an annoyed hiss.  Allistor just stared at Francis and then at Arthur before he figured out what was going on.  Allistor couldn't help but let out an annoyed hiss of his own.

He looked to Arthur and tapped him on the shoulder, gaining Arthur's attention.  Allistor motioned to Francis, eyebrow raised at the crown, and then to Arthur, asking "Is he really courting you?"  Arthur let out an annoyed hiss and nodded but crossed his arms and turned his head away from Francis, saying "He is but I already rejected".  Allistor nodded, figuring out what Arthur probably wanted him to do.

Allistor then coiled his body around Arthur, rubbing his protective scent onto Arthur to try and deter the other alpha.  When done, Allistor kept Arthur right behind him and waved his hand, flicking his tongue at Francis saying "Back off".

Francis was stunned.  He didn't believe that this larger male was Arthur's mate, but he was sure that Allistor probably didn't want Francis courting Arthur.  Still though, Francis wanted to prove he was worthy of Arthur.

Francis made a bold move; he slammed his tail towards Allistor and flicked his tongue, issuing a challenge to Allistor.

Both Allistor and Arthur were shocked by this action; normally when they played this move, no one would dare to try and fight Allistor.  It was considered a very foolish choice since Allistor was much older, bigger, and more powerful than most nagas in the area.

Allistor narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow, questioning Francis's seriousness.  Francis just slammed his tail in response, telling Allistor "I'm serious".  Allistor let out an annoyed growl.  Allistor used his tail to push Arthur back before taking a fighting position, Francis following suit.  Arthur just stood safely behind a tree on the edge of the clearing and watched.

The battle soon began with claws and fangs being barred.  Hisses, grunts, and even growls were heard as the two bodies slammed into each other.  The scent of blood filling the clearing as the two males fought.  But while Arthur was so wrapped up in watching the fight, he failed to notice a presence behind him.

When he did it was too late.  A large male alpha, who competes with Allistor, named Ivan, came up behind Arthur and coiled his body around Arthur's as he grabbed Arthur by the neck, making Arthur let out noises of distress.

This caught the attention of the two fighting males who stopped and growled at the sight of Arthur struggling in Ivan's grasp.  Ivan looked at the two males and coiled the tip of his tail around Arthur's saying he was trying to claim Arthur as his mate by force.  Arthur refused and continued to thrash.

Allistor and Francis glanced at each other and nodded before they both lunged at Ivan.  Allistor freed Arthur from Ivan's grasp, pulling Arthur away to safety as Francis held off against Ivan.  But soon Ivan landed a large blow by smacking his tail into Francis's stomach.  Francis staggered back and fell unconscious as Allistor growled and continued the fight.  Arthur came forward and dragged Francis to safety.

The fight between Allistor and Ivan escalated quickly but Allistor dealt the final blow, causing Ivan to stumble back unconscious.  Allistor let out a satisfied sound and turned to Arthur and Francis.  He went over to Arthur, checking him over, only finding a few minor scratches and bruises.  Letting out a breath of air, Allistor re-rubbed his scent into Arthur and turned back to Ivan.

He slammed his tail twice, once towards Arthur and once towards Ivan, then grunted, translating to "Stay here, I'm taking Ivan away."  Arthur nodded and rubbed his head into Allistor's side both as thanks for saving him and saying that he understood what Allistor was doing.  Allistor flicked his tongue at Arthur, patting Arthur's head affectionately before going over to Ivan.  Allistor heaved Ivan onto his back and started to carry Ivan out of his territory and into Ivan's sisters' territory, where his sisters would take care of Ivan and probably keep him in check.

Arthur turned to Francis and began running his fingers through Francis's long locks of hair.  He looked over Francis's wounds and was satisfied to see they were only scratches and bruises.

After a few moments, Francis began to stir and came face to face with Arthur.  Francis tried to get up but Arthur pushed him back down, comfortingly flicking his tongue onto Francis's forehead.  Francis relaxed and looked around, raising an eyebrow at Arthur and motioning to the surrounding area.

In response, Arthur motioned to the area where Ivan had been and slapped his tail on the ground twice, once loudly and once softly, before letting out a grunt, saying that "Allistor took Ivan away from here."  Francis nodded and relaxed back into Arthur's lap, enjoying how Arthur was running his fingers in Francis's hair.

Francis looked over and spotted the crown and thought for a moment.  He then moved his tail over and grabbed the crown, bringing it over to Arthur and holding it out  for him.  Arthur was surprised and looked intently at the crown.

Slowly, Arthur took the crown and placed it onto his head, making Francis smile and flick his tongue out in happiness.  Arthur blushed but flicked his tongue back in acceptance of the gift of courtship.  Francis beamed and sat up, bringing Arthur into his embrace.  Arthur's blush worsened, but he still accepted the action.

After a few moments, Arthur slowly moved the tip of his tail toward Francis's and tapped him there, asking if they were going to be mates.  Francis looked surprised at Arthur for being so bold, as Arthur tried to hide his blush.  Francis just smiled and nuzzled his face into Arthur's neck, gently coiling his tail around Arthur's to signal that he too wanted to be mates.  Arthur smiled and coiled back.

Francis pressed his lips to Arthur's resulting in a gentle but loving kiss.  After that Francis flicked his tongue onto Arthur's skin, marking Arthur as his mate.  Arthur just cuddled into Francis's embrace contently.  The two stayed like that till they heard a low grunt followed by a small 'thump', turning to find that Allistor had returned.

Arthur uncoiled himself and went over to his brother, beginning to check his brother over, but Allistor waved him off, flicking his tongue out as he patted Arthur's head saying "I'm fine now go to your mate".  Arthur nodded and went over to Francis.  Francis looked at Allistor and went over to him, bringing his hand up.  Allistor grinned and grabbed the hand, signalling that Francis was a good mate for Arthur, but the tight grip added a warning from Allistor.  Francis smiled and nodded.

Francis and Arthur bid Allistor goodbye and headed towards Arthur's cave which was closer.  When they arrived they gathered the bedding and coiled around each other once more, Arthur having his head in the crook of Francis's neck while Francis held him close.

Francis flicked his tongue onto Arthur's forehead, bidding his mate goodnight in an affectionate manner.  Arthur responded similarly and followed by pressing closer to Francis, finally falling asleep.

'I'm so happy right now.'  Francis thought as he fell fast asleep.

~Fin~