Thread by @hyena_bones

[ creature!au 💀🧼 threadfic! ]

naga!ghost / soap

2,337 words (48 tweets)

inspired by the drawing i did the other day ->w<-

#CallofDuty #CoD #GhostSoap #SoapGhost #SimonGhostRiley #JohnSoapMactavish

even after nearly a week, it was still a little strange to be around this behemoth of a beast—all twelve-point-something meters and god-knows-how-many kilos of naga that was GHOST. it wasn’t fear he felt—no, soap hadn’t really been afraid of the naga, save for the brief moment +

his head was inside ghost’s mouth and he thought he was about to be eaten. but he’d been able to talk himself out of that mess of venom-filled teeth and constricting coils. and he’d made well on his promise to get the both of them out of that cell.

now here they were. +

free, but lost. soap had managed to snag a radio from one of the guards he’d taken down in their escape, but hadn’t had any luck yet on any of the private channels he knew to check. it didn’t discourage him from continuing to try every few miles, though. he assumed that the +

dense forest was blocking any signal from getting in or out. they just had to make it through, find a clearing, then maybe—

“stop,” ghost said, one large, clawed hand dropping onto soap’s shoulder. soap looked back as the naga’s head swiveled, his forked tongue flicking out +

to taste the air.

“what is it?” the man asked.

“nightfall soon,” ghost rumbled. “we should find shelter.”
hearing ghost talk still sent shivers down soap’s spine, stoked the flames of his burning curiosity. ghost had an undeniably british accent. manc, it sounded like. +

what was a mancunian snake doing in the rainforests of alaska? soap knew why HE was here: he’d been caught by those ultranationalist bastards while his comrades escaped, interrogated, and then tossed into ghost’s cell as “dinner.” (almost became dinner, too.) but whenever he +

tried to ask ghost what the russians wanted with him, the naga refused to speak about it. hell, the big, scaly bastard hardly spoke at all.

were it not for the plethora of fresh wounds along his body and the blatant, visceral hatred for his captors, soap might have been more +

suspicious of ghost’s presence at the ultranationalist outpost. but no. seeing the naga viciously bite and scarf down a russian soldier had been more than enough to convince soap that he was not with them. (made him shudder, too, to think that that could have been him.) +

“shelter. right. yeah.” soap stowed his radio and adjusted the shoulder strap on his rifle—also stolen from a russian guard. he laughed dryly to himself. “if we’re lucky, we’ll find a ranger station or a campsite or somethin’.”

ghost growled, his hand dropping. “wait here.” +

before soap could protest, the naga vanished into the damp foliage. for such a massive beast, ghost was FAST. lightning fast. and scarily quiet. as soon as the tip of his tail disappeared behind the ferns, soap frowned and regarded the forest around him.

“heh. ‘wait here.’” +

waiting around had never been his strong suit. besides, ghost was a good tracker; he’d find soap when he was done scouting. rifle at the ready, soap pressed on, scanning the sea of green for signs of… anything, really. people, trails, buildings, food. god, he was hungry… +

since their escape, he hadn’t had much to eat beyond berries, bugs, and a fish he’d caught. he almost envied ghost, who could go a couple of weeks between large meals.

hopefully that soldier would hold him over for a while longer, and soap wouldn’t end up on the menu again. +

a cluster of orangeish berries caught soap’s eye as he trudged along. he paused to pick them, popping a few into his mouth and storing the rest in his pockets. the sweet flavor was pleasant, but soap couldn’t help but wish he had a nice plate of sausage and tatties right now. +

and COFFEE. god, he’d murder for a coffee. spruce and dandelion tea just wasn’t doing it for him.

soap chewed on another berry when he felt the hair on the back of his neck raise. instincts kicking in, he whirled around, rifle at the ready— +

and praised his trigger discipline when he came face-to-face with a pair of red eyes set in white and gray scales. soap breathed out heavily, dropping his weapon down to his side.

“told you to wait, soap,” ghost said, but he didn’t sound as annoyed as he maybe should have. +

“not good at stayin’ put. you find what you were lookin’ for?” soap asked. he pulled a few berries from his pocket and offered them to ghost, who accepted them into his hand and lapped them up.

“yeah. somewhere to rest for the night. caught somethin’ too,” the naga said. +

“caught something?” soap raised a brow. ghost turned, motioning for him to follow, and led the way to a large, partially-fallen tree. its roots were upturned in a way that made for a sort overhanging shelter. it wasn’t a luxury hotel suite, but it’d keep them out of the rain. +

ghost slithered forward and picked something up off of the ground, handing it to soap. it was a fish. a salmon, to be exact. soap blinked down at it, lips parted in surprise. it had an arc of punctures behind its head. teeth marks.

“you caught this? for me?” +

a low rumble came from the naga’s throat, but he said nothing. he slipped between the roots, into the shallow hollow beneath the tree. soap followed, staring at the fish, contemplating how he was going to eat it. the rainforest didn’t offer much by means of dry wood; he’d had +

little luck thus far in making a campfire.

he settled down a few feet away from ghost. “you didn’t pump this thing full a’ venom, did ya?” he asked, flashing the naga a cheeky grin. it got him an eye roll in response.

he gutted the fish with a stolen knife and ate it raw. +

just like sushi, he figured. and he liked sushi. so it wasn’t bad. besides, he couldn’t complain when he had a full belly for the first time in days.

after cleaning the fish carcass as much as he could, soap tossed the remains out and leaned back against a root with a sigh. +

in his peripherals, he could see ghost staring at him, those red eyes boring holes into the side of his head. a few days ago, he would have questioned what the naga was looking at, but he’d since stopped caring about ghost’s staring problem.

“thanks,” he said. +

ghost raised a brow.

“for the fish. i needed that.”

ghost hummed, his features seeming to soften a bit under that bone-white patterning of his. he looked away, long body coiling tighter to conserve body heat.

it was chillier today than it had been in the past few days. +

it couldn’t have been comfortable for a semi-warm-blooded creature like ghost. soap didn’t know much about nagas, admittedly, but he did know that reptiles didn’t like the cold. sadly, even in the summer, this part of alaska didn’t offer much by way of warm weather. +

soap was pretty chilly too. all he had was a damp jacket—yet another stolen possession from their former captors. he zipped it up, and rested with his rifle in his lap.

“get some sleep,” he said to ghost. “i’ll keep watch.”

surprisingly, the naga didn’t argue. he took one +

last look outside, then curled up on himself, and went still. soap couldn’t help but find the sight kinda… cute.

who knew that a huge, venomous, man-eating snake could be cute?

soap chuckled softly to himself and settled in for the next several hours of watch duty. +

the sky darkened. the rain started up again, cooling the night air further. soap could see his breath puffing in faint clouds in front of his face. he set his gun aside, keeping it within reach, and brought his knees to his chest. sunrise wouldn’t be for a while yet. soap +

worried about ghost. the naga hadn’t so much as twitched in the past few hours. in the darkness, he couldn’t see if he was breathing either.

carefully, quietly, the man scooted closer. he just wanted to make sure that ghost was alive. that was all. he placed his hand to the +

keeled scales, wincing at the chill they bled back into him. ghost was COLD. he was cold, and soap didn’t know how to help him. he chewed his lip, trying to think of something he could do. maybe give him his jacket? it wouldn’t cover much, but—

ghost stirred. soap pulled his +

hand back quickly. the coils rippled, seeming to seek out a more comfortable position, and seeming to creep closer to soap. he froze, watching in fascination as the thick tube that was a part of ghost’s tail slid up and pressed against his outer thigh. for a minute, it remained +

still, then it pitched up and over soap’s leg, into his lap. the weight was considerable. hefty. tentatively, soap slid his hands under it, lifting the coil over his head and around his body.

ghost’s belly scales were so smooth, and his underside was surprisingly squishy, +

much different now than when he’d been wrapped up in that hard, unforgiving muscle a few days ago.

for a few more minutes, things were calm. peaceful, even. soap was happy to share his body heat, to feel the scales around him warm up.

and then ghost got greedy. +

the coil around soap’s middle tightened, giving him only a moment’s notice before he was DRAGGED into the larger mound of sleeping naga. soap yelped, struggling against the walls of scales and muscle as they wrapped him up.

“ghost—!” he cried, voice tight from the squeeze. +

all at once, everything stopped. the coils around him became hard as stone.

“soap?”

“in here, ghost…!” the man answered. his world shifted again as he was unceremoniously expelled from ghost’s embrace, dropped on his back on the earthy floor. he gasped, now that his lungs +

could expand fully. eyes closing, he laid his head back in the dirt while he caught his breath. when he opened them again, he nearly flinched. ghost’s face was mere imches from his. his black tongue darted out, lightly brushing against soap’s chin.

“you okay?” the naga asked. +

his tone was neutral, but soap was sure he could hear some underlying concern.

“solid,” he answered, forcing his own voice to even out. soap looked to his left, then his right, noticing ghost’s hands planted on either side of him, bracketing him in. “my fault. got too close.” +

he looked back up at ghost, the naga still hovering above him. those red eyes scoured over him, studying his face. he started to lean back, to retreat, but soap reached up after him.

“hey, wait a sec—” his fingertips brushed ghost’s jaw, bringing him to a stiff, abrupt halt. +

“just—just hold on.” soap pushed himself to sit, keeping ghost in place with his contact. the naga eyed him warily. “you’re cold.”

“been cold since i was brought here,” ghost replied.

tentatively, soap brought his other hand to ghost’s cheek. “and i’m warmer than you.” +

“and?” ghost’s voice darkened with challenge, but soap didn't back down.

“and we can help each other. just don’t crush me in your sleep, yeah?”

the naga’s eyes narrowed. his nose wrinkled in the beginnings of a snarl. “no.” he pulled away from soap’s hands and slid back a +

few feet, leaving soap to scramble after him.

“c’mon, ghost! i’m cold too.”

that… seemed to get ghost’s attention. “i can’t warm you,” he said.

“no, but…” soap gestured with his arms, as if it would make him more convincing. “if i warm you, then you keep me warm.” +

like a big, scaly blanket. but he didn't dare say that to ghost’s face.

the naga fell silent, mulling the idea over. after nearly a minute, soap was sure he was going to say no, but ghost bowed his head and sighed. “fine.” he grabbed soap’s forearm and pulled him closer, +

forcing the man to climb up and over his body. ghost guided him to sit down in the middle of his coils. he went still, pliant, as ghost shifted around him, wrapping him up in a gentler, less constricting embrace. his body cushioned and supported soap’s like no chair or bed ever +

could, perfectly contouring to him. it was surreal. it was COZY. soap only had to make minimal adjustments once ghost stopped moving, the now softened scales and muscles giving with the man’s gentle pushes.

“is this okay?” soap asked, his hands running along the length of +

scales draped over his lap. they quivered ever so slightly under his touch. ghost’s torso was situated to his right, tucked up against himself, his head just out of reach. he looked soap over with a guarded expression.

“should be askin’ you that.” avoiding the question. +

“i’m fine. this is pretty comfy, actually.”

ghost hummed, turning his head away. soap wanted to touch his hair, but he decided not to push his luck.

“go back to sleep,” soap said. he lightly traced over an old scar carved into the flesh. “still my watch for now.” +

ghost hummed again, deeper this time. “wake me soon so you can sleep.”

“aw, ghost! you do care,” soap teased, earning himself an irate (but gentle) squeeze. ghost pointedly closed his eyes, his arms folding under his chin.

“gotta keep you healthy until i get hungry again.” +

soap chuckled nervously. he was pretty sure that was a joke. probably. (hopefully.)

“i’ll get us outta here before then, big guy,” he said, patting the scales in front of him. already he was feeling warmer. he could feel ghost’s body easing around him, going lax. “promise.” +

“hope so. for both our sakes.” ghost shuffled his upper body just a bit closer, curling in towards soap’s body heat.

soap listened as ghost drifted off again. his breathing slowed down. his face relaxed.

the huge venomous, man-eating snake looked almost peaceful.

/END 🐍❤️