My hope that the foolish mortal would flee had been in vain. I kept my gaze trained on the altar, lest the poor human was enough of an imbecile to be gawking at me directly.

They could tell he was male, that he smelled both terrified and bewitched. When they smelled his sexual enjoyment of my form, I lost my patience!

It was always men who came to gawp, just as it was always men that came for my head. Staring steadfastly at the offerings, I called out to him. "I know you are there, they smell you. Do not look upon me! It is dangerous."

After a lengthy pause with nothing but the birds to answer me, I heard him shift how he sat before speaking. "Will you kill me now?"

I shook my head, annoyed. "Not intentionally. But all it would take would be for me to meet your eyes with my own, and it would be the end of you. You must-"

I was shocked when he interrupted me! "-I'm only looking through a reflection. Tell me, are you here all alone? What's your name? How did you-"

I frowned. "-I have no intention of being an anomaly from which you get your jollies. Make haste away from here, and never return!"

But he did no such thing! Instead, I heard him further shifting around. "But why aren't you going to kill me? I saw all the statues-"

I huffed. "-I am very old, and many accidents have happened over the course of my lifetime. The rest were simply a matter of self-defense. You'll see most of these men did not come in peace if you look more closely. And you? Have you come for my head as-"

I was irritated when he cut me off yet again, "-No! Please, I admit I was merely curious."

I gripped the stone altar in my hard, cold hands, conflicted. No one had ever been so upfront about their peeping, and his candor was refreshing. I decided to take a more gentle tone. "It is life-threatening for you to be in my presence. If you value your life, you will leave."

I was not expecting the response I got. "But then who would keep you company? You still have yet to tell me your name."

My eyes bugged out of my head, I was so incredulous. What ego! And so foolhardy! I was both impressed at his bravado and saddened by his insistence. "The creatures around me keep me company, I do not affect them as I do humans. Why are you so foolish? Do you wish death? For that is what I am to your kind."

He laughed! An uncommon sound for me to hear, it was deep, masculine, and fascinating. I felt the familiar, old desire to see more of humanity creeping up within me, and hurriedly tamped it down as he spoke. "Hardly! I wish to live, to see more of what the world contains, to know its mysteries. Are you not a marvelous creature? I'm nothing but glad to have come!"

I'd had enough of this treatment! "I am not an object for your entertainment, a monstrous diversion for your amusement; I am your death! Begone!"

With that, I turned and slithered back towards my caves, keeping my eyes carefully on the ground. All the while, I listened carefully for the telltale sound of running footsteps, any sign that the man had been a liar. None came, only a final question called after me. "Please, your name?"

I shouted, irritated, "(Y/N)! Get you gone!"

They told me that the man never moved from his place behind the tree as I retreated. I would have to come back for the foodstuffs later, after the strange man had departed.