Tiringly

For days Jollus hunted in the swamp, building up a steady supply of fish for both his captive sister and the eggs waiting to hatch. He also gathered any edible plant food, such as berries, from the few bushes that grew them in the swamp to try and supplement their diet. It was not easy, especially as there were now squads of battle sisters moving in teams of three out in the swamp. He would see them constantly as he hunted only with his fish spear as they looked for shredded beards to slay.

He wished coming home to his hidden cabin in the half-sunken tree from hard days of work would be relaxing. He would be lying to himself then, as he couldn't relax when he got home. No, he had to tidy the home, clean and take care of any needs the sister might have, and double check the mud nest where the eggs were to be sure everything was okay there.

Once all that was done under the cause of a hateful sister and a quiet for the moment idol, he would fall asleep on the floor only to do it again the next day. So sufficed to say Jollus was running himself rugged, making sure everything was taken care of and ready for the hatching by himself. But somehow he did it, as after enduring this harsh schedule for about a week and nearly killing himself from being overworked, the eggs in the mud nest began to hatch.

Jollus watched standing over the mud nest as the eggs hatched and two different forms of lizard race came out. The one hatching from the blood-red eggs was, in turn, being covered head-to-tail in blood-red scales. Their bodies were separated into two segments, with a lower half of a serpent and the upper torso of a man with the head of a python to top it off.

The ones hatching from the black ash eggs were covered in black scales with fully humanoid bodies but with four arms instead of two, as well as a python head similar to that of their red brethren. The two species acted very differently from one another as the red serpents leaped upon the pile of fish he had left for them in a bloodthirsty frenzy while the black lizards began to peel the scales of the fish first before they chewed on the soft bits underneath.

Once the newborns were all done eating and they were sleeping in piles, he began to count how many were red and how many were black. Which was easy as they separated by pile; if they were black scales, they were in a pile of scales; if they were red scales, it was a pile of bones. His final tally was thirteen red scales and seven black scales. Though the eggs had hatched two different species and what exactly he was supposed to do with them, Jollus wasn't sure.

All he could do for now was feed the young and protect them until the idol told him what was the next step in his path to his redemption. So began his time as the caretaker to the red scales and the black scales. It was not fun, especially as the sister stared at all of them with a burning hatred that made his mood worse when he felt his stare at his back when ever the two scales were getting into trouble.

Which they always were, as both were small, they kept getting into places in the cabin they weren't supposed to be in, and the scales on habits caused problems. The Red Scales had the habit of chasing each other through the cabin for some reason, as if they were practicing their hunting skills. He wouldn't mind; it was when they decided to chase each other into the branches outside that he had problems. So yeah, it wasn't easy for Jollus to get the red scales to come back in from the branches, but he somehow managed it.

The problem that the black scales caused was different, as they for some reason liked scales. They really like scales, and they also like making things with scales. So he had to be careful with every step he took in the house, lest he accidentally step into a strange project of theirs. God save him if he accidentally stepped on one; it took him hours to console them.

To add to his problems, with all the scales being troublemakers and the sister's gaze of burning hatred making very clear what would happen if she got loose, he couldn't leave the cabin. Luckily the scales didn't eat berries or veggies, so he could add his and the sister's supply of fish to the scales stock pile while they subsist entirely on berries and veggies.

This was their way of life for about a week. By that point, the scales had grown up to his hip, and he no longer had a fish stock pile left. Which meant he needed to go out and fish with his spear, but he couldn't leave the troublemaker alone, especially with such a later battle sister presence patrolling the swamp. As Jollus was wracked with indescion about what to do, the idol, which had been silent, glowed once again with its murky green glow.

"Go, the corrupters will be safe, and they will have tasks to do well; you are gone." The idol said in it's voice of thousands long dead. Jollus knew the idol had need of the scales and would direct them felt at ease leaving them behind now knowing they would be directed instead of left to their own devices. So he grabbed his fishing spear and made his way down the steps to his dock.

The idol glowed its murky green once more. "You know what to do." The idol said to the scales, who all gave a slight bow to the idol. Then the black scales made their way over to the bound sister, who fervently struggled against her binds upon seeing their approach. While the red scales began to create weapons made out of fish bone before they began to practice fighting against each other.