I've already asked a few questions about Lamia on this site $-$ female hybrids of half snake and human (sort of like mermaids) represented in Alendyias, a world of chaos $-$ only to find myself realizing Lamia are prone to mutations.
This isn't usually a problem. One type of mutated Lamia, the Maralith, has six arms, sure, but they make it work. Another type, the Gorgons, have scales all over, claws and fangs and legs, that's different but advantageous.
But then we get to Dracenae. Normal Lamia have a serpentine trunk instead of legs, starting below the waist. Dracenae, on the other hand, due to mutation or changes in gene expression, have a pelvis and legs more like normal human's, each ending above the knee and seguing into a serpentine trunk.
In other words, they are like the snake-people in the Percy Jackson series, but biological and with someone unwilling to just handwave. (Yes I know, that last part is a weakness and I try to be mindful of it.) My question is, with the single snake trunk split into two smaller limbs, can they move effectively? Or would this mutation effectively cripple them?
To make things clearer, How would a person who is a snake from the waist down move around? may look similar, but it is not, for the simple reason that a Dracenae has to move with very different appendages below the waist (short legs with snake trunks below the knee, instead of one solid snake trunk). The general idea is the same though, please assume here that the human organs are in the humanoid half as in there.
To clarify further, these are mutated Lamia, which have single tails of the right length and proportion necessary for balance and movement, and like Lamia they can technically slide on their belly but would rather move more like a cobra, with the upper half reared up.
The only difference is that these Lamia have rudimentary legs with their snake tail split between the legs, and while I am no expert, I suspect slithering side by side may not work (though if I am wrong, please correct me) and walking like a person, in a standing position, will be just impossible.
Please let me know if more information is needed, or if the question can be improved, I'm always open to feedback!