Chapter IV Avíá-tía-tárá and The Dark Mongooses

Rikki Meets Avíá

"Find and kill Rikki-tikki. He can't be far from the Land of the Mice. I want him dead. There will be a big reward to the mongoose or mongooses who get him." said Nagasta to her Dark Mongooses. "I once was friends with him. Not anymore, of course." said Undelli. "He is too trusting. I can get him." "We'll get your lost mongoose Your Highness. Then, we can deal with the pesky humans." said Alísa. The mongooses left. Nagasta and Karistan laughed. There was no way Rikki-tikki would be able to get out of this all by himself.

Rikki was walking along a path in the dark when he heard a rustling. "Who's there?" he said. "Are you loyal to our King and Queen?" said a mongoose from the shadows. "As loyal as the day I ate Kinsta!" said Rikki defiantly. They chased him and he was bitten a few times but managed to slip away into the dark. "Well, that could have gone better." said Rikki, licking his wounds.

Avíá headed southwest. Why she didn't turn in for the night, as it seemed unlikely to spot Rikki-tikki, she still didn't quite know what he looked like, in the dark, she didn't know. She kept going.

"And so, if we get Rikki-tikki-tavi, then the King and Queen will reward us and the attacks will stop." said a mongoose in the darkness. "Well, you won't!" said Rikki, running off again. He lost them but kept on running.

Avíá thought she heard Dark Mongooses nearby. She wanted to avoid them. She had to find Rikki. If he was nearby, he was in danger. She kept running. She thought she heard someone coming toward her.

Rikki was running. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He ran up against something in the dark and fell over. He got up and saw that he had knocked down a blue-eyed young female mongoose of about his age. She glared at him in annoyance. He stared at her, lost for words. He had never seen anything like her before.

Avíá-tía got up, flustered. She stared at the teenage mongoose. "Watch where you're going!" she said angrily. "I'm so sorry." he said. "I was running from a group of evil mongooses." said Rikki. She surveyed him. He was about her age and had pink eyes and brown and red fur. She thought he was kind of cute. He seemed to be innocuous[1]. He smiled at her.

Rikki-tikki thought that she seemed kind, clever, brave, tired, and sad. Also, he thought that she was gorgeous. She didn't seem to be a threat to him. He felt very strange around her. Very shy, quite unlike himself. "I um, er, trust you won't, um, betray me to the snakes." he said to Avíá. "I'd be the last one to help them, you can be sure of that!" she said firmly. "Have you been upsetting the King and Queen?" she asked "Not that I care." she said. "I really hate them! In fact, any enemy of theirs is a friend of mine!" "Good. I'm a, uh, big enemy of the Queen. You could say she has good, um, reason to hate me. I was saved by a human family and had to defend them from cobra attacks." he said. "Did you now? It must be nice to fight snakes at your age, if indeed you're telling the truth. Forgive my rudeness, but many mongooses I once thought to be friends have tricked me lately. You're only as old as I am from the look of you. Tell me about your cobra fight." she said skeptically. "Well, thanks to me, I attacked a cobra called Nag, alerting the humans and leading to his death. His wife Nagaina came back for revenge, but I had the wife of my bird friend, Darzee, distract her long enough for me to smash most of her eggs, but I had to bring out the last one to lure her away from the humans, and just in time too I must say. Anyway, she followed me and I managed to kill her by breaking her neck in an underground fight." said Rikki.

"Well, I can see why the King and Queen might be afraid of you." she said. "But what do Nag and Nagaina have to do with Snake Empire?" Rikki wasn't sure he wanted to talk about his greatest failure with this unknown stranger, even if she did seem to be on his side. Rikki noticed the dead mouse in her mouth. "Your first hunt?" he asked. She nodded. "Lost your family after the hunt? " asked Rikki. "You shouldn't be out that late, especially, uh, nowadays." he said. "You shouldn't be seen with me. I'll take you back to them. I trust they're not friends of Snake Empire." She began to shake and her face contorted into a look of anguish. He had noticed how sad she had been and suddenly comprehension dawned on him. He recalled what the mouse had said about the cobras killing several mongooses. "They are alive, aren't they?" he asked hopefully. "They," she began crying "were killed! I only survived because I was out going to relieve myself[2]. They died last night because they refused to help Snake Empire find Rikki-tikki-tavi. I've been all alone and my friends betrayed me and became Dark Mongooses. Today, I managed to catch a few mice despite not being taken on a hunt before by my parents, not that I'll ever get the chance now! I'm looking for Rikki-tikki-tavi. I figured if anyone could stop the Cobra King and Queen, he could. I was going to give him this mouse."

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault! I'm so sorry I've let you down so terribly." moaned Rikki-tikki-tavi. "What do you mean?" she said. "Nag and Nagaina have everything to do with the Queen! In the fight with Nagaina, uh, when I broke her neck, I lost the egg and there was a cave in. I assumed the egg, er, had been destroyed, but it must not have been and it hatched into the Cobra Queen. However, she doesn't know how her mother died yet, um, and she doesn't know that I had a role in Nag's death, at least not that I know of. It's my fault the Queen lives." he said mournfully. "And her anti-human rant is because she thinks the family who took me in killed Nag and Nagaina. It's, um, my fault she's attacking the jungle!"

""Where's your family? Were they killed too?" she asked. "No." said Rikki, feeling that perhaps, in spite of all the things that had gone wrong lately, he still had some things to be grateful for. "I suspected Nagasta would try…." he said.

"You said her name. Not many mongooses say the names of the King and Queen." she said. "Well, I'm not afraid to fight them. And, I take it you're looking for Rikki-tikki-tavi?" asked Rikki. "Yes. I want to talk to him. I'd really like to help him. He's such a great mongoose!"she said. "No, he's, er, just an ordinary mongoose. One who is responsible for this misery in the jungle, including yours, because of his carelessness." said Rikki. "Are you jealous? Rikki-tikki-tavi is a great mongoose, no doubt about it! How dare you say such a thing!" she said.

Avíá turned to leave. Rikki called back to her. "No, he's just ordinary. You wanted to talk to him?" "Yes, I sure would. My sister's last words to me were to find him. He has pink eyes and brown and red fur and looks like me…." she said. She paused. The mongoose in front of her had pink eyes and brown and red fur and looked similar in age to her. He had said he had killed Nagasta's parents and was being chased by Dark Mongooses. Could it be?

"Rikki-tikki-tavi?" she asked, dropping the mouse she had been carrying in shock. He nodded. "Yes, that is my name. Maybe I should change it. That name doesn't seem too popular lately." he said. Avíá laughed. He's only my age?! How can this be? she thought.

"So the stories about you fighting Kinsta, are they true?" she asked. "Yes. I did kill Kinsta. Ate him, uh, from the tail up too." said Rikki. "Well, it's been going around that you ate him. I never thought I'd meet you." Avíá said. "What brought you, uh, this way anyway? How did you know I was going this way?" he asked her. "Some mice told me that you were nearby. I had thought that you were a full grown mongoose, not my age. And you've killed the Queen's parent's too. Any others?" she asked. He nodded.

"Any sign of Rikki-tikki-tavi?" said a voice nearby. "Hide! I'll misdirect them!" she whispered. Rikki hid in a nearby tree. A few seconds later, once Rikki was already hidden, several Dark Mongooses came to her. "Have you seen him, Avíá?" said one of the mongooses. "Yeah. He went that way." she lied, pointing to the south. "About a few minutes ago." "Thanks." said another mongoose, leaving with the others.

Once they were gone, Avíá called to Rikki, "You can come out now." Rikki came out, relieved. "Thanks." he said. "Take this." she said, giving him the dead mouse. "You must be starving." "I ate a cobra earlier today, but, yes, I am quite hungry. Thanks very much. Didn't have any food at all yesterday." he said. He ate the mouse. "This one tastes great. Much thanks." he said between mouthfuls. Avíá blushed. "You are, er, quite talented, making a kill all on your own without being taught." he said. When he was done, he discarded the bones, which Avíá buried. "Is there anything else I should know about you?" she said. "Are you always this nervous around others?" she asked. "No, I, er, can assure you that you are the first. I don't know why." he said. "As for killing other snakes, I killed a snake called Tivía, paralyzed and killed a dusty brown snakeling called Karait, in addition to killing Nag and Nagaina. " said Rikki,. "Anything else?" Avíá said. "Did I hear you correctly earlier? Did you cause the Jungle War?" she asked. "I figured you'd hate me….." said Rikki-tikki sadly. "No, no, no! It's not your fault." she said. "Isn't it?" said Rikki. "No, it's not. I can see that you've taken it upon yourself to kill the Cobra Queen. Why didn't you tell your family? I'm sure they could have helped you?" she asked. "And have them end up like yours? Besides, I think all telling them while I was with them would do is make them stop me from fighting Nagasta. I've sent word to them by mice of the truth about Nagasta and all that. I've, uh, been wandering away from my family and the humans and my own family. I'm hoping Nagasta will follow me and leave them all alone. That she'll be most determined to punish me, but that she not know that I killed Nag and Nagaina. As far as I know, she, er, doesn't know it was me that killed Nag and Nagaina." he said.

"Why were the mice so pleased with you? I heard them call you a brave young hero." she asked. "I freed the mice in the Land of the Mice today. They were quite, er, happy to be rid of that mouse tribute." he replied. "I got bitten by some Dark Mongooses a short while ago." he said. He showed Avíá his wounds. "Are you ok?" she asked. "They're not bad at all. Mostly scratches and little bit of bleeding." he said. "I should keep moving. They might find me again if I just stay here." he said.

Rikki started walking southwest. Avíá walked along beside him. "Why were you heading this way in particular? I mean, why not go north and away from Nagasta's dominion?" she asked. "I'm looking for the Magical Herb of Kalindo." said Rikki.

"The what?" she asked. "It's supposed to make you, um, immune to one cobra bite if that old crow Tacróc was telling the truth." said Rikki-tikki-tavi. "You know there's no special herb that can save a mongoose from a cobra bite! It's our speed that helps us beat them!" Avíá said.. "Well, speed or not, I wouldn't have beaten Nag if it hadn't been for the humans. We saved each other that day. Nagaina nearly got me. I won't deny it. I, um, got lucky and broke her neck. But therein lies my bane[3]. Her egg survived. I have to finish the Queen myself!" said Rikki. "And what about Karistan?" she said. "He's just as dangerous. Perhaps more so as a male." she said again. "You haven't seen Nagasta in her total fury. I've, er, fought Karistan though and he's no picnic." said Rikki. "Also, I should mention that, um, a few of Nagasta and Karistan's children got really sick. I had a little snack on mice, or at least their insides[4], then I had my bird friend Darzee and his wife Biwi[5] sew some vines through the skin after I filled them with stones, they were none, uh, too happy about touching the dead mice with their beaks, but anyway, I convinced some of them that they could have a bunch of mice I had killed and left for them in exchange for leaving the birds alone and staying away from the humans, which they greedily accepted, and some, it seems…" Rikki smiled "got sick from indigestion." Avíá laughed.

"Is it true that you fought Nagasta?" Avíá asked him. "Yes, it is. Twice. Second time she nearly killed me. It was in that fight that I learned the truth about her, and her family." he said. "What can I do to help you?" she asked. "Go back to Darzee and Biwi. Tell them I'm fine. Tell them not to worry. They should be on an island a little over a day's journey northeast of here. Join the garden creatures. I can't ask you to fight for me." he said. "No, I vowed to help destroy Snake Empire, I want to …" she said, pausing as they heard voices coming. There was no time for Rikki-tikki to hide this time.

Dark Mongoose Attack

Undelli came by with a bunch of Dark Mongooses. Rikki recognized him for he had been friends with Undelli too, though Undelli had never mentioned Avíá nor had he told Avíá about Rikki. "Undelli, I'm glad to see you." he said. "Don't trust him. He betrayed me! Betrayed us! He's a Dark Mongoose!" Avíá whispered to Rikki. Rikki was taken aback. Undelli, a Dark Mongoose? He'd always seemed a bit self-centered, and his parents didn't quite fully trust Undelli, but he'd never seemed evil. Also, how did his new friend know about Undelli? Had they met? Why hadn't he mentioned her? She was really nice after all and would have been a good friend.

Undelli said angrily to Avíá, "Was that your idea of a joke, Avíá? Sending us on that wild mongoose chase!" Then he spotted Rikki-tikki-tavi. "So," he said to Avíá, "you've caught him. You've caught Rikki-tikki-tavi. Well done. The King and Queen will be pleased." "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I've watched my family all die. They'd have killed me too had I not gone to relieve myself! I don't help murderers!" said Avíá.

His new friend was right! Undelli had changed! "Undelli, you've joined the Queen. Why are you doing this?" said Rikki in shock. "I have good reason. It's safer and the cobras have some good ideas." said Undelli. "You consider mouse tribute and murdering families 'good ideas'?! And why am I the enemy? Listen here Undelli-dav-karsid[6]! We used to be friends!" said Rikki-tikki-tavi. "Used to are the key words!" said Undelli-dav-karsid "You've caused enough damage to us all!" "Oh, use your brains, if you have any, seems some of you don't! We're mongooses. We can settle these jungle tyrants easily. A quick attack on them and we'd be able to end their reign within a few days." snarled Rikki.

"We will, in time! First we'll join the cobras, deploring all the harm they do to the creatures as they take over the rest of the jungle and wipe out the humans. Then we can slowly grow in strength and come either to control or wipe out the cobras and we, the mongooses, will rule the jungle, without any cobras or humans to stop us. Then things will be as they should be[7]!" said Undelli. "No! You're wrong! Things will be no better if the mongooses are in control. If anything, the humans should be." snarled Rikki, coming closer toward his former friend[8]. Rikki's eyes grew hot and turned red. He was furious with Undelli.

"The humans will destroy us in time. "said Undelli. "Lies of the Cobra Queen!" said Rikki. "It's more political to support the King and Queen. It would be most foolish to oppose them." said Undelli. "So you're playing the politically correct game, eh?" said Rikki in disgust. "What, you don't like us having rights and not being exploited by the humans?" said another Dark Mongoose. "You're the ones being exploited-by Nagasta! And no, the humans aren't going to kill mongooses. They hate snakes, and for good reason I might add, not us!" said Rikki.

"I agree!" said Avíá. "What, you agree with this traitor?" said a Dark Mongoose to Avíá. "They'll hunt us down and attack us just like they do with cobras! We're best rid of them!" he said. "No, I'm with him! This is madness! Don't harm the people!" said Avíá. "Avíá, you stay out of this! You could get in trouble with the King and Queen if you keep backing him!" said Undelli. "So be it. I'm not the one who's a traitor to my species!" said Avíá coldly. "No, he's the traitor, and you aren't helping matters by agreeing with him. You bigots! You don't understand our right to freedom from the people's encroachment. How much our lives would be better!" said Undelli. "Nonsense!" said Rikki and Avíá.

Undelli was a traitor. Rikki was glad that he hadn't told him about Nag and Nagaina. It had been because his family and Darzee had praised him and mentioned it a lot. Rikki hadn't wanted any more praise. Rikki had asked Darzee not to sing about Nag and Nagaina since he learned the truth about Nagasta. Darzee might, even now, be figuring out the cryptic message he sent to him. Then he'd know why. But, would Darzee understand that it was a mistake that Nagasta still lived, or would Darzee blame him for the deaths of his two children? Would Rikki have any friends among the garden creatures after the story broke? Would he be all alone now, his friends in the garden too upset with him to speak with him and Undelli a Dark Mongoose? It seemed his new female friend was all that he had that he could be sure of at the moment. She seemed to not be a Dark Mongoose and found Nagasta and Undelli deplorable.

"Hey Undelli, who's she?" said Rikki, indicating Avíá-tía-tárá. "She's really nice. You've never introduced me to her. She's really gentle, yet I can tell that she is a great hunter and would be a fearsome warrior. You wouldn't want her as your enemy Undelli."

"Her name is Avíá. She's not a warrior. She's a vegetarian for goodness sake! She can't even bring herself to kill mice! She told me how upset she was that her parents were going to make her hunt mice. How she kept having them put it off. She really took a liking to me. I'm her boyfriend after all." said Undelli.

"You're my ex-boyfriend Undelli. The Avíá who took a liking to you was a fool. She's wiser now. She wouldn't touch you now with a ten-foot bamboo stick." said Avíá. Rikki laughed.

"For your information Undelli, " said Rikki, "she has killed several mice earlier today. She never was taught. She got them on her first hunt. You took several hunts just to get one mouse. She's a far better hunter than you. I think she'd be able to kill a snake easily. Snake Empire would be wise to fear her." said Rikki. "And how did you two fall out? She said you'd betrayed her. Obviously, you're a turncoat, but I'd like to know why she's so upset with you." said Rikki.

"She was a bit upset that I said that her family had been foolish. They died like fools. Trying to defend you and your stupid ways. That they didn't have the sense to join with Snake Empire. I told her that her family died liked fools and that she should-!" said Undelli. WHAM! Rikki hit him right in the face with his left paw. Undelli's nose dripped blood. "Insensitive dolt! Her family died heroically and you put them down because they didn't become Dark Mongooses. Because they weren't wimps like you!" snarled Rikki.

"We've been victims of the humans for far too long and….." said Undelli, holding his bleeding nose. "Victims? Is that what Nagasta is telling you? I had always found you a bit odd, but you were a good faker. You acted so tough, but now I see that you're nothing more than a smooth talking coward who likes to play the victim!" said Rikki angrily. "Queen Nagasta rightfully said that…." said Undelli. "Queen Nagasta?" said Rikki, cutting him off. "Not too long ago you referred to her as 'that infernal cobra!'" said Rikki in disgust. Avíá laughed. "You know, Undelli, I think he'd make a better boyfriend than you." said Avíá. This made Undelli-dav-karsid really angry for he wanted Avíá, certainly not in her own best interests, or anything that would really benefit her, but for her looks. He didn't really care that much for her viewpoints on life.

He turned angrily to face Rikki-tikki. "We're best rid of humans and we're best rid of Rikki-tikki-tavi, the human loving mongoose!" snarled Undelli, jumping at Rikki, who was ready for him. The two fought. Both bit each other. Rikki was confused. How could his friend have betrayed him like this? What mattered now was that he not get killed. He couldn't let Undelli stop him. Maybe Avíá could help him. Rikki was knocked backward but managed to skirt up a tree. "Come out and play, Rikki, you coward!" snarled Undelli, as the other mongooses, except Avíá, laughed. "Oh, don't worry." said Rikki, pouncing on Undelli from the tree "I'm just getting started!"

"Let's kill him and be done with him!" said a Dark Mongoose. Several Dark Mongooses rushed at Rikki-tikki, but Avíá blocked their path. "What are you doing?" asked a Dark Mongoose. "Which side are you on?" "Well, if there was a side that was a far as possible from Snake Empire, that's where I'd be. Snake Empire and their Dark Mongooses allies can kiss my butt!" she said. "What?!" said Alísa angrily. "Kiss my hind end! I'm not on your side! I never was." she said, shaking her butt at the Dark Mongooses. "Snake Empire really got me against them by killing my family! Rikki-tikki-tavi has a plan to kill Nagasta and Karistan, yes, I'm not afraid to say the names, and no, I don't see them as King and Queen, or Jungle Protectors, or whatever they're calling themselves." "You could die for saying that!" said Alísa. "There are some things worth dying for. This is one of them." she said. "Aví-tía-tía-tad-tad-taday[9]!" she cried. She charged at two Dark Mongooses, who were moving toward Rikki-tikki, and collided with them, knocking them over. Two more moved at Rikki. She jumped toward them, hitting them both in the head with her paws, knocking them out.

"You traitor!" yelled Alísa. "My parents were right about you Alísa!" said Avíá. "You're going to join them! You dumb foolish girl!" said Alísa. "He's the only one who can help stop the Cobra King and Queen! It's my only hope of stopping more from dying like my family did!" said Avíá, moving out of reach of Alísa. A Dark Mongoose bit her. Avíá moved aside and smacked him in the head with her forepaws. He moved, dazed. Another Dark Mongoose, trying to get her, collided with the dazed Dark Mongoose. Both fell over. Another Dark Mongoose bit Avíá, but she managed to escape and ran for it, heading further away from the others. Rikki and Undelli fought nearby, away from the other Dark Mongooses. "After her! She's joined Rikki-tikki-tavi!" yelled Alísa.

"Get her!" yelled a Dark Mongoose. Avíá kicked him, and jumped over two attacking Dark Mongooses. She landed near Rikki-tikki. Rikki and Undelli fought, snapping at each other. Avíá kicked Undelli. "Traitor! I'll deal with you after him! If I can't have you, nobody can!" he yelled. Rikki and Undelli continued to fight. They bit each other. Rikki ran for a better fighting position. Undelli chased him. Avíá, Undelli, and Rikki were moving further and further from the others. Undelli ran at Rikki but was tripped when Avíá stuck out her left hind-paw, causing him to fall into a tree. She climbed on top of him. She held him down. Despite being a girl, she had a strong grip. Undelli squirmed, unable to break free. "You! Joined the other side I see! You'll end up like your parents!" he shouted at Avíá. "Going to kill me? Go on, Avíá, go on!" snarled Undelli at Avíá. "Be a great warrior like your pal Rikki says you are."

Avíá raised her claws, poising them over his throat. "Have your fun while you can. You won't live long anyway! The Queen will be eating you along with Rikki-tikki-tavi! You'll be back with your stupid family soon!" said Undelli mockingly. Avíá stood there. She wanted to kill him. It would make her feel more vindicated for his great betrayal of her. He was more fitting to die than the mice she had had to kill earlier that day in order to feed herself and Rikki. But, she thought, it wasn't right to kill him in this state, so helpless. "Keep your life." she said. "I won't sink to taking it when you're so helpless just because I can." she said. She lowered her claws and climbed off of him.

"I'm leaving with Rikki-tikki. Go date your new Queen. She can be your new girlfriend." said Avíá scornfully. Undelli laughed. "You wimp. You can't kill me. You're too weak! You'll never be a great warrior!" said Undelli. He knocked her over. "Perhaps now I can get the kiss I've always wanted from you. After all, once the Queen is done with you and your pal Rikki, I won't be able to get the chance again." said Undelli.

WHACK! Rikki threw himself at Undelli. The Dark Mongoose was thrown to his side and off of Avíá. Rikki stood on top of him. "No, she's far greater a warrior than you, than Nagasta even. A great warrior has strength but knows when to spare a life, when to have mercy and pity." said Rikki. "Kill me like a man! I don't need your pity!" said Undelli. "Yes, I pity you. You're a fool. You're no man, you're a coward. Go back to your new King and Queen, Undelli, and never come in my sight again, or I will kill you!" Rikki snarled, leaving Undelli on the ground and heading toward Avíá. "Come on. Let's get out of here." said Rikki to her.

Undelli got up and slowly started moving toward Rikki. Rikki was looking at Avíá and didn't notice Undelli, but Avíá suddenly noticed him. "Look out Rikki!" she screamed. Rikki turned around just in time and turned upside-down to avoid what would have been a death blow to him and grabbed Undelli's paws and hurled him into the air, where he landed and was impaled by some spiky plants. "You're tougher than I thought, but you and Avíá will meet a very painful end! Mark my words!" gasped Undelli, before dying. "He killed Undelli! Avíá is helping him. Don't let them get away!" a Dark Mongooses yelled. "Run!" Rikki yelled to Avíá. She didn't need telling twice. Rikki and Avíá ran off into the shadows, out of the moonlight where the others couldn't see them. "Come back here you two!" a mongoose shouted. "Nah, I don't feel like it." said Rikki, heading further away with Avíá. "Maybe later. "said Avíá.

After chasing Rikki and Avíá for hours, and finally only coming as far as the edge of hearing from them and being unable to see them, one shouted to them "The King and Queen will get you Rikki-tikki-tavi, and your little girlfriend too! You two are on the wrong side of Jungle history!" "She's not my girlfriend![10]" shouted Rikki in an annoyed tone toward her retreating back.

Avíá-tía Joins Rikki-tikki

Blood trickled from Rikki's wounds. "Are you ok, Rikki?" Avíá asked. "Yeah, it's not deep." he said. "What about you?" he asked, noticing a few cuts from her bites, one of them bleeding. "Fine. Just need to wash it." she said. "What should we do now?" she said. "Well, you'd better going into hiding….er….what is your name again?" said Rikki. "Avíá-tía-tárá. And no. I have no one left to hide with. All my family is dead. I have grandparents and the like, but they are further away. The King and Queen will be after me. Going there might get them killed too." she said. "Avíá-tía-tárá. What a pretty name." said Rikki-tikki. "Can I come with you?" she asked. "With me?" said Rikki. "Well, I have heard the stories about the brave mongoose, Rikki-tikki-tavi, who can slay many cobras, but it seems they were wrong." she said. "Sorry to disappoint you, Avíá. I'm just, er, a regular mongoose. I started this stupid war and caused the death of your family it seems." said Rikki. "I, uh, hope I haven't let you down." "Actually, the stories don't seem to give you enough credit." she said. "Really. It's not that much." said Rikki, blushing. "Are you sure you want to come with me? I, um, wasn't exactly planning on company." "Can I please come with you? It appears I have nobody else to go to anyway. It seems you're all I've got now." she pleaded. He thought for a moment. He recalled the words Tacróc had told him. "You can't do it alone." "Yes. I'd like that. I cannot make this trip alone." he told Avíá.

"Where are we going?" said Avíá-tía-tárá. "To find the Magical Herb of Kalindo, wherever Kalindo is." said Rikki-tikki-tavi. "I'm glad I can help. I wanted to find you and go with you." she said. "Kalindo is over a thousand miles away. We won't be able to stay in any place for that long. We'll, uh, always be traveling. We'll always be in danger. You can go into hiding. It'd be safer for you. After what you did for me tonight, I wouldn't, er, want you to be in harm's way, even if I would feel lonely making the trip alone. " he said. "Nope, I'm coming with you. After what you've done for the jungle, I'll be staying with you, even if I have to go into harm's way. I got lucky before. I can again. I survived dying like my family. My life didn't end on the point of snake's fangs." she said. "It may yet." he said. "Well, I'm going to die someday anyway. Might as well go out being proud of myself and knowing I'm on the right side. Also, hiding won't help. Undelli back there thought he'd be able to live the great life and harass mice and hurt humans and befriend snakes. However, death came for him just like it did for my family. I'd hoped that he would change. That was part of the reason I spared his life, other than that it would have been wrong to slay him when he was so helpless. But, he's gone. Done in by his own greed, selfishness, lust, and wickedness. If I die with you, I'll die in good company. That is what's important. Better to have a shorter life working with you and dying with honor than living a long and wicked life like the Dark Mongooses or Nagasta." she said. "When you think about it, the Dark Mongooses and the snakes aren't different. They may have different means of doing things, but they're really the same in the end. Hurting the innocent, greedy, power-hungry, cruel, and self-centered. The Dark Mongooses are snakes in their hearts.[11]" Rikki smiled at her. "Your heart is in the right place. I wish there were more mongooses like you. I might not need to go to Kalindo in the first place." he said.

"Well, I'm going to get these cuts washed off." said Rikki, walking toward a nearby stream and bathing himself until the bleeding stopped. Avíá washed off her wounds as well. "Well, we need to hide somewhere for the night. Those Dark Mongooses will soon tell Snake Empire what has transpired[12] tonight. We don't want Nagasta's lot[13] finding us." he said. "How about here?" she said, indicating a small cave near the stream, the entrance to it being partially blocked by several inches of moving water. "That'll do." said Rikki. The two mongooses climbed in. There was not much spare room once they were inside. "A bit cramped, isn't it?" said Rikki. "It'll have to do." said Avíá. "Why did you do that Avíá? Why did you help me? Do you realize that I am wanted by her empire?" asked Rikki. "I couldn't let them take you." said Avíá. "You realize that now you're wanted by Snake Empire too?" said Rikki. "I've always wanted to be a wanted teenager." said Avíá. Rikki laughed.

"What if they come after the rest of your family?" Rikki asked. "As far as the others know, I was killed along with my parents and my brother and sister. It will be a total shock to them that I am still alive." she said. "What if Nagasta tries to, um, harm them to try and lure you into a trap?" he asked her. "Considering that I haven't seen many of them in a long while and that likely the bad flooding months ago might have made them move, I wouldn't know where to look anyway. Anyway, it's not like they know where my extended family lives. Anyway, maybe they'll focus on us. It won't take them long to realize that, as my extended family no doubt thinks me dead, that they had no part in my actions to rescue you." said Avíá-tía. "Thank you. Undelli would have killed me had you not helped me." he said. "I guess even Rikki-tikki-tavi needs help sometimes." she said. "What if they, er, come and try to kill your extended family for vengeance? They fed two of Darzee's kids to Nagasta." said Rikki. "A lot I can do about it by trying to fight them all by myself." said Avíá. "I'd help you if it came to it." said Rikki. "You're so kind. But I think they'll want you more, and me for helping you." she said. "You do realize that by helping me like this, that you'll be a new target for Snake Empire. You might, um, have to spend the rest of your life on the run. And it might be a weary life." he said. "Of course. Anything to rub their fur the wrong way. I knew what I was signing up for when I helped you tonight. Either in success or failure, I'm going with you on your quest to the very end." she said.

Rikki suddenly got up. "What is it?" said Avíá. Rikki moved quietly to a tree and pounced upon a low-hanging branch. He dragged it to the entrance of the cave and set it down so that it partially blocked Avíá from view. Avíá understood and came out and helped him. Soon they had enough branches to totally block them from view. They went back inside, moving the last branch into place.

The Queen's Criers

And just in time too. As soon as they had the last branch in place, several evil coppersmith barbets[14] flew over them. "They were around here somewhere." one croaked. "We'll have a job spotting them in the dark!" said another. "Attention! Ding-dong-tock! Tock! Rikki-tikki-tavi, an evil mongoose, has tried to overthrow the King and Queen's new order. Ding-dong-tock! The King and Queen mean only to help us rid ourselves of our human persecutors and avoid destruction at their hands. Tock! Rikki-tikki has eaten their son Kinsta and has just tonight murdered Undelli-dav-karsid, one of the Queen's loyal mongooses, when her patrols attempted to arrest him." cried one out to the night. "Ding-dong-tock! A wicked mongoose named Avíá-tía-tárá helped him escape! Anyone with information of their whereabouts should come forward. Anyone caught helping them will be killed!" cried a fourth. Nearby, animals whispered. "Rikki-tikki is trying to hurt us! I say we catch him. We can get this Avíá too! Then the King and Queen will like us!" said a muskrat. "I don't think so. They don't seem to have problems with mouse tribute." said a rabbit. "Well, they don't destroy our homes like humans do." argued a mole. The animals argued for over an hour before finally going to bed.

"Isn't that just great!" said Avíá quietly when they were sure that everyone was gone or asleep. "They make up lies about us to get all the jungle to come after us." she said in disgust. "It looks like not, uh, everyone agrees with their point of view." said Rikki-tikki. "Well, that comment about killing them for helping us might deter any who might otherwise have helped us." said Avíá sarcastically. "I think that there are still good creatures out there. I'd hate to think that self-interest and greed have, er, destroyed all the good in the jungle." said Rikki. "I hope so." Avíá said. "I'm glad to have met you and I'd do it all over again. This experience has changed me." she said. "Losing your family you mean?" asked Rikki-tikki. "That for certain, but in other ways too." said she. "Like, uh, what?" he said.

"Like, well, my brother and I have been vegetarians our whole lives. He tried to eat a snake when they attacked him though. Only got a bite or so out of it, I really hope that snake died[15]. I've never eaten meat till I was in the Land of the Mice. I never wanted to. It's one of the reasons my parents didn't take me hunting sooner. They were going to anyway, vegetarian or not. They said I would come to like it, in time, and I guess they were right. I've eaten mouse meat and found that I like it. I like it as much as my favorite vegetable, mangoes. I didn't like killing. Still don't. Especially those poor mice. I heard one cry 'First snakes, now a mongoose!' I felt so bad about killing her, but I was hungry."

She paused, and her eyes suddenly grew hot (when a mongoose's eyes grow hot, she is angry.). "Snakes! There's something I wouldn't mind eating now! I wanted to leave them alone! Didn't want to be a killer and kill them, but they took my family from me! I think I shall eat snakes! I don't know if I'll like the taste, but every bite will remind me of the family they took from me!" she said savagely. "I'm certain we can't hope to get to Kalindo without, er, meeting a few snakes. I'll kill one for you and give it to you. You can, um, eat it with a side of mango[16] if you like." said Rikki-tikki-tavi. Avíá laughed. Her eyes turned back to their normal blue as her anger abated. "You're so kind." she said. "I'm starting to get feel more comfortable around you. I've never, er, been alone with a girl before. This feels weird." he said. "I've never been alone with a boy before. It does feel weird." she said. "Goodnight Avíá." he said, closing his eyes. "Goodnight Rikki-tikki." she said. Strange isn't it? Two days ago I'd have given anything to be having personal conversations with Rikki-tikki-tavi. Now, I'd rather have never met him and still have my family than…. she thought. Her heart ached. She broke down and sobbed. "What is it?" said Rikki-tikki, opening his eyes. "I miss my family terribly!" she said. "I'm so sorry. Normally, I'd have tried to get my family to take you in. However, I don't know if…..don't know if…" he said, trying to reassure Avíá without breaking down himself, with difficulty, he went on, "I don't know if, er, I shall ever see them again. So I can't help you there. But you're welcome with me." he said. She smiled weakly, still crying. He shed a few tears himself. But their company was a boon[17] for both of them in their sadness. They were more at ease than the night before. They both soon fell asleep from exhaustion and the warmth of each other's fur.

The Nightmare

Rikki-tikki had an uneasy dream. He dreamt that Nagaina was laughing at him, shouting "Look who's won now, mongoose! My daughter has done what I could not! This is the end of you! We've won!" "No, I have not yet begun to fight!" snarled Rikki in his dream. The two fought and Nagaina turned into Nagasta in the middle of the fight. Nagasta managed to pin down his hands and legs. "And now, so ends the little hero, Rikki-tikki-tavi! You knew I'd win in the end!" she hissed. She began to strike the deathblow at him, causing him to jump up out of his sleep, startling Avíá.

Looking for Food

"Are we under attack?" said Avíá, jumping up and hitting her head on the low ceiling. "No" said Rikki, embarrassed, "I just had a really bad nightmare." "Nagasta?" said Avíá-tía-tárá, already suspecting the answer. "Nagasta." said Rikki-tikki-tavi. "She got me. It was awful." he said. "I fought her twice you know." he said. He had overcome his nervousness around Avíá, well, at least enough to talk without stuttering. "Well, what should we do now?" said Avíá. "Let's get going. I'm starting to get hungry." said Rikki. "Ok. But I don't see any mangoes." said Avíá. "Mangoes? I could eat a hundred mice right about now!" said Rikki, licking his lips. "You think with your stomach." said Avíá. "Anyway, I'd prefer not to kill." said Avíá. "Come on. You have to eat. You've told me you've hunted mice yesterday." he said. "Doesn't mean I like killing." she said. "Nor do I. I had to do what I had to do with the cobras. They left me no choice. As for the mice I killed, I was hungry for one thing…." "Hmmmmmppphhhh!" said Avíá, shaking her head. "I only ate five yesterday! You said you killed 15 when you tricked those snakes." she said. "I killed them pretty cleanly. Strange that I didn't lose any. My parents said that is unusual. Most mongooses learning to hunt lose the first mouse they chase." said Rikki. "Well, I somehow got my first mouse I ever hunted. Took a few tries to get him." "Me too." said Avíá. "Come on." said Rikki. The two got up, washed themselves in the water for a few minutes, and then headed southwest for a few hours.

"I hope I don't have to fight." said Avíá. "You know we'll be attacked by snakes or Dark Mongooses at some point in our journey." said Rikki. "I don't think I can handle snakes." said Avíá. "I'll bet you could. I've seen you against those Dark Mongooses." Rikki said. "I'm starving." "Is all you think about is food?" she asked in annoyance. "No, we haven't had any all day in case you haven't noticed." he said. "Fine." she said. She came out of the woods; she and Rikki had been keeping to the deepest parts of the woods all day to avoid unwanted company, and came to a mango tree. She climbed up the tree and threw a few mangos down. "Enjoy." she said. "I'm not really a big mango eater. I've never really had them before." said Rikki-tikki. "I expect you'll come to like them before our journey is done." she laughed. "Well, I suppose." he said, reluctantly eating one and finding that he liked it. "I still would prefer this with some snake." he said. "I hope we don't meet any." said Avíá. "Aren't you out of luck then!"

They were suddenly surrounded by a gang of dusty brown snakelings, like Karait!

Avíá's First Snake Fight

"End of the road, Rikki-tikki-tavi!" hissed one of them. "I always like a challenge." said Rikki. "They're more dangerous than cobras, Rikki!" said Avíá, worried. "Surprised the Queen's mongoose patrols haven't gotten you and your little girlfriend yet! They've actually managed to attack a few humans for her! Quite useful!" said the nearest snakeling. "Terrible!" said Rikki in disgust. His eyes grew hot, as did Avíá's. "And, she's NOT my girlfriend!" he snarled, and they began to fight. The two fought and Rikki managed to avoid, often just barely, being bitten. He at last got a snakeling's spine in his teeth and bit, paralyzing it like he had done with Karait. Rikki-tikki-tavi quickly swiped the throat of the maimed snakeling with his claws and threw the dead snake to Avíá-tía-tárá. "There. There's something for you to eat. Leave the fangs. I'm going to need those for a little surprise for Her Majesty and her patrols." he said, turning to face another snakeling. He fought three snakelings at once, and they jumped at him, missing his skin, but knocking him backward into a tree. He got up, seeing stars. "I could use a little help, Avíá!" he said nervously. "I've never hunted before! My parents always….!" she said. "Well, there's always a time to start, isn't there?" said Rikki, backing away from two snakelings that nearly bit him. "Get her." said a snakeling, heading for Avíá. "All right." said Avíá. "Avi-tia-taday[18]!" she cried, suddenly jumping at two snakelings, who, being startled, were caught unaware. A snakeling turned around to glance at Avíá and was decapitated from behind by Rikki-tikki-tavi. Avíá chased three of the brown snakelings and was nearly bitten twice. Rikki, alone with his snakeling, managed to bite it in half. "Avíá, come on! You can do it!" he said. He pounced on a snakeling, crushing its skull. The remaining two snakes charged at Avíá from opposite directions. "Avíá, now!" yelled Rikki. Avíá jumped out of the way just in time and grabbed their heads and slammed them together, crushing their skulls. 'Hey, look, I killed my first snake! I killed my first snake!" she said proudly. "Actually" laughed Rikki-tikki-tavi, "you killed two snakes." She laughed. "Look, Mom and Dad, I killed two snakes on my first go! Bet you'd have loved to see that!" she said. The thought of her family made her sad again.

"And yet, I wish they'd gotten me." she said. "What?!" said Rikki in surprise. "What purpose do I have in being alive?" she asked. "My entire family is dead." "Well you're not. There must be a reason you're still alive! Don't give up now Avíá! You can do it! Together we can get the Magical Herb of Kalindo and I can use it to kill Nagasta and Karistan. " said Rikki. "Yes, I want them to pay!" she said. "They'll pay for messing with my family!" she said, her blue eyes turning red as blood in her anger. "You sound kind of like Nagasta." said Rikki-tikki. "Do I?" she said. "With your 'I'm going to make them pay for messing with my family!' comment, yes." he said. "I only want to do something. I don't really care that much for vengeance. It would seem rude to just let my family's killers walk free without having a few words with them. That's all." she said. "Fair enough." said Rikki. "You're not like Nagasta. You're different. Far nobler." he said. "Thanks for helping me by the way." he said. "Oh, anything to help you, Rikki-tikki." she said. "Avíá." said Rikki. "Yes." said Avíá. "Ithinkyourkindofpretty!" he said really fast. Where did that come from? he thought. "Huh?" said Avíá. "I….er….well….I thought that….um….." he said, stuttering and sweating. "What?" she said. "You are very pretty with your sandy and white fur and blue eyes. They remind me of sapphires. Or the sky" he said, bright red from embarrassment at his sudden display of affection for Avíá. Though he hadn't known her long, she had been growing on him. Still, he was caught by surprise. "Thank you, Rikki." she said, turning red too. "Avíá." he said again. "If you really don't feel you've a reason to be around, count me as one. I still like you, even if your so-called friends don't anymore." he said. "You'll like snake meat. Try it. We have mangos too." said Rikki. Avíá smiled. She ate it, along with a mango, and found that she liked it immensely.

"This brings me satisfaction." she said between mouthfuls of snake and mango. "Enjoying this food and knowing those snakes will never kill again." Rikki placed the snake fangs in the ground. "Now, their Dark Mongoose patrols will step on these. I suspect they're nearby as those snakes were so surprised they hadn't found us yet. I trust a little yell from us before we leave will send them here, making sure that our trap doesn't hurt our own side." he said. "Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!" he called. "They're nearby!" came the voice of a Dark Mongoose in the distance. "Avi-tia-taday!" cried Avíá. "This way!" said another. "Let's get going." said Avíá and they quickly ran deep into the woods as the Dark Mongooses approached.

More of the Queen's Criers

After walking for several hours, they halted in a small forest. "We need to rest. We've got to be nearly across the Land of The Mice by now. We don't want any snake encounters at night." said Rikki. They found a small hole in the ground that was just big enough for a single mongoose to fit through at a time. Avíá placed leaves over the top so as not to be discovered and they went inside. Barely a minute after they had hidden themselves from view, they heard several crows flying overhead. "Think they spotted us?" whispered Avíá. "Hope not." said Rikki.

"The two mongooses, Avíá-tía-tárá and Rikki-tikki-tavi, have killed several snakes that tried to arrest them and then have used the fangs to kill several of the King and Queen's mongooses. They are incredibly dangerous and should be approached with caution. They are plotting with the humans to kill us all! Anyone with information should come forward. Anyone caught helping them will be killed." said one of them. "The male, Rikki-tikki-tavi, has brown and red fur and pink eyes. He is in his teens." said another. "The female, Avíá-tía-tárá, has brown eyes and brown and white fur. She is also in her teens. We also believe her to be an orphan." croaked a third. They flew overhead and passed.

"Hey, get back here! I have blue eyes! Get it right you lying vultures!" said Avíá. Fortunately they were well inside their hideout, and her retort, though not loud, went unheard. "Now isn't the time to correct them." laughed Rikki-tikki.

Nearby, a rabbit said to another "I think I saw Rikki-tikki, though the female he was with had blue eyes." "They saw us!" said Rikki in horror. "Are you going to report them?" said the other. "No." Rikki and Avíá sighed with relief. "I'd prefer to stay out of this fight and help neither side." said the first. "Personally, I'm on the mongooses' side." said the second. "Doing nothing. How is that better than being for Nagasta?" said Avíá in annoyance. "Not much better, but at least they're not betraying us. And that second one agreed with us. We're getting support. We have to keep up our fight." said Rikki. They sat down, some red ants scuttling out of the way. "Oh, sorry!' said Avíá to them. "Don't worry. We saw you coming. Anyway, you look tired." said one of them. "Goodnight Rikki." said Avíá, lying down and falling asleep. "Goodnight Avíá." said Rikki. "Perhaps girls aren't so bad after all." he whispered softly before lying down as well and falling asleep.

Nagasta's Anger

Meanwhile, Nagasta was talking to several evil mongooses. Two lay dead next to her, having been bitten for failing her. "It's a pity he's not on our side. He'd be very useful, if these increasingly annoying tales of him are true. Now, you said he you saw him kill Undelli." she hissed. "From a distance. There wasn't anything we could have done. And he had help!" one said, a bit worried he might be bitten too. "Help? Who'd be foolish enough to do such a thing? They know the penalty for helping that wretched mongoose." hissed Karistan. "Avíá-tía-tárá" said Alísa. "We once were friends. No, not anymore, I can assure you." she said, worried at the angry look in the King's eyes. "Apparently her family was killed in one of your attacks. How she survived, I don't know. But that's the fault of you cobras." she said. "Indeed it is." hissed Nagasta. "I should like to know why my snakes didn't find and recruit or kill the missing member of the family." she hissed, her tone soft but murderous.

"Your Highness." said a snake with a part of his tail missing, "I'd like to go rectify me mistake. I'll go and kill them both." he said. "Well done." said Nagasta. "Anyone else involved in the killing of her family?" asked Nagasta. Many snakes came forward, though some did not, knowing too well what Nagasta did to those who failed her. "I see you didn't volunteer to fix your mistake like that snake did. You aren't much use to me." she said to them. "Could I see my loyal mongooses?" said Nagasta. Several Dark Mongooses approached her. The snakes looked at her in fright, fearing what was coming. She looked at them, no pity in her cold black eyes. She turned back to her Dark Mongooses. "Dinner!" she said, indicating the group of snakes before her. Not one of the snakes survived. "Know that I reward those who are faithful and have no use for those who screw up." she said to the crowd. Several Dark Mongooses, munching on what was left of the hapless[19] snakes, nodded.

"Any sign of any of his friends? The tailorbirds? The muskrats? His family most importantly?" she hissed. "Nothing Your Highness." said a nearby crow. "Rikki-tikki-tavi's seen to it that they're all safely hidden from us. He's…." but he was cut short by Nagasta biting into his heart, killing him instantly and was shortly thereafter eaten by her. "Never…." she hissed angrily "ever mention that name around me again! NEVER!" The others backed away in fear. "Í hate that little vermin as much as the humans that killed my parents….." she hissed, pausing, then laughing coldly "The humans! His little family of protectors! Oh how I'd love to finish what my Mother and Father intended for them. But no…..our little mongoose friend must see them die, slowly. Then he'll die as well! As will his new friend, that traitor Avíá and all his little friends and family! Then we shall have the jungle forever! And the humans will not last long once their champion, that wretched mongoose, lies dead!" she hissed happily. The others laughed as well. "At the very least, I think I'll kill him first before dealing with the humans. Kinsta was one of my favorites!" she said.

Rikki and Avíá Near the Wet Lands

"If you strike me down, you will see how much more powerful I shall become!".hissed Nagaina to Rikki, then she turned into Nagasta and Rikki jumped up, waking Avíá again. "Perhaps I should go sleep elsewhere." she said grumpily. "It's another nightmare. Nagaina turned into Nagasta. The dreams all mean one thing, I'm certain. She's just as deadly as Nagaina was. And she needs to be stopped even more. And I feel so bad, having defended Teddy and his family from Nagaina, but now leaving them wide open to Nagasta and her fury. Fury at something that is totally my doing pretty much. I know she hates the humans because she believes they killed Nag and Nagaina." he said. "Maybe I should go back and fight the Queen." he said again. "I'm sure she'd love nothing more than to eat you personally." said Avíá-tía-tárá. "Don't go. We'll get this herb from Kalindo , wherever that is, then we'll show her true fear." she said again. Rikki smiled. "So you've really decided to come with me." he said. "Well, I could stay here and explain to Nagasta why I helped Rikki-tikki-tavi and why some of her dusty brown snakelings are dead." said Avíá sarcastically "Ok. So you think she'll let Teddy live?" said Rikki. "I think she'd want you to be there when they died. She probably won't get much satisfaction out of their deaths if you aren't made miserable by it. Maybe she'll just threaten them to try to lure you out of hiding." said Avíá. "Anyway, where do we go to next?" she said again. "To the Wet Lands, the land of the vipers, poisonous snakes as bad as cobras, though Tacróc thinks they don't know about Nagasta and her Kingdom yet, so we've some hope there." said Rikki-tikki-tavi. "You were great yesterday. I'm glad you're with me." "What do you mean?" she said. "Killing two snakes on your first time. I never did that. I reckon you'll be a very dangerous hunter when you're fully grown." he said. "You flatter me." she said. They climbed out of the hole and soon thereafter continued on their journey for the rest of the day. They met no enemies that day. A few hours after nightfall, unable to find much of a good hiding spot, they rested in some reeds which would at least block them from view of enemies.

"I'm glad you came along. I'd have been unbearably lonely without you. I cried myself to sleep the night before I met you. I had only one friend in the jungle, Tacróc, and the crows killed him." said Rikki. "Glad to hear that there are good crows. I still don't think I'd be too kind to a crow. They betrayed my family." said Avíá. "Tacróc was different. He say me fight Karait. He guessed who had really killed Nag and Nagaina. He'd never told the King or Queen." said Rikki. "Well, Tacróc was a good crow." she said. "You cried yourself to sleep? So had I." she said. Rikki knew that she must have lost her family that night. She must be very strong to be able to sleep at all after suffering such a loss as that. He doubted that he could have done it. "I was feeling hopeless. I cried out asking for someone to come and help me. My cry was answered. You came." said Rikki. "Glad I did. It wouldn't do to have Rikki-tikki-tavi in despair." she said. They wandered southwest for the rest of the day. They were right outside the Wet Lands now. Night fell. The two couldn't find a hollow or hole to hide in this time. They had to hide in some tall brush. They found a few twigs and branches and moved them into the brush. They would sleep under here and hope to avoid notice. "Goodnight." Rikki said to Avíá. "Goodnight." she said. The two soon were asleep.

Rikki's Family Finds Out About Nagasta

"Any news on Rikki?" asked Rikíla. "Lots." said her brother. "I hope they haven't got him!" said Rikíla nervously. "Oh no! She'd have let them say his name. She'd have had her crows scream it all over the jungle if he were dead." said her brother. "What do you mean she's not letting them say his name?" said Rikíla again. "She's killed three mongooses, two crows, and even a king cobra for saying his name. She's afraid of him if you ask me." said her brother. "Anyway, they're after somebody named Avíá now too." he said again. "Who?" said Rikíla. "Some female mongoose from a few miles southwest of here. Apparently she lost her whole family to the cobra attacks. Perhaps she wants revenge. Apparently she's traveling with Rikki, wherever he's going." he said. "Ha ha ha. Said he'll always work alone. Told you he'd find a nice girl!" "So what?" said Rikíla. "So he'll get married and never come and see you again!" said her brother, laughing. "That's not true!" said Rikíla a little too loudly. "Rikíla! Ravantí! I thought I told you two to go to bed!" said their father grumpily. "We were." lied Ravantí. "We were talking in our sleep." "Not funny!" said their mother, getting up, bothered by the noise, for, of course, mongooses are light sleepers. "Rikki-tikki-tavi talked in his sleep, yes. Always the same things. 'It's my fault she's alive!' and 'I can't believe I didn't destroy that egg!' and stuff like that. Very strange."

"I think I can explain some of that." said a voice overhead, making them jump. "It's a crow!" said their father, and he jumped up the tree, with his wife behind him, and attacked the bird in the tree, knocking him, thankfully for it was Darzee, into a pile of grass that the family had dug up earlier, searching for bugs to eat. "Ouch! My word! I didn't see that coming! Now I know where Rikki got it from!" Darzee moaned. "Oh, it's you, Darzee." said their father, embarrassed. "Anyway, Rédarí, the Queen would be even madder if she knew the full truth about Rikki-tikki." said Darzee. "What full truth?" said Rédarí. "Well, he killed Nag and Nagaina, which I'm sure I've told you." said Biwi. "Yeah! At least 15 times!" said Ravantí.

"What brings you here anyway? I thought you lived in the garden." said Rédari. "We did, but we were warned to leave." said Darzee. "Why?" said Rikki's mother. "Well, those two cobras….er….were Her parents. That's part of the reason She hates humans so much. Thinks their deaths were their doing. If She knew that Rikki had…" said Biwi. "Oh, I'm sure Rikki can handle them." said Rédarí's wife, not believing what she's saying. "Oh Rikki!" she screamed, then fainted. "Rímíra!" said Rédarí.

"Go get some water and wake your mother!" said Rédarí to Rikíla and Ravantí. "Yes Father." they said, then headed toward the water. "Think she'll be all right?" said Darzee, a little worried. "Oh, she'll be all right. It's Rikki-tikki-tavi that I'm worried about." said Rédarí. Rikíla and Ravánti came and spat water on Rimíra. After a few more times of spitting water on her, she awoke, alarmed "Why didn't he tell us?!" said Rimíra "Claimed you'd blab it to me and I'd have told the garden and it would have created a bunch of senseless panic. We only realized the truth last night. He sent mice to us." said Darzee. "Why didn't you tell us then?" said Rédari. "I kind of forgot." said Darzee, blushing. "He told us to tell you too. I'm so absent-minded!"

"Darzee can be a stupid tuft of feathers at times and would have created a bunch of fear that wouldn't have done us any good. Not to mention, I think he would be stupid enough to tease Nagasta about Rikki killing her family. She'd then come here and it wouldn't be good for any of us, especially you. Karkróc, one of Nagasta's agents, shouted as he left that Nagasta would be coming for you guys next!" said Darzee. "The death of Kinsta would only have made her madder." "Also, Rikki was trying to protect more than just himself and you guys by keeping the story hidden from Nagasta." said Darzee's wife. "What do you mean?" said Rédari. "Well, Darzee here had to be an egghead and refuse to help Rikki destroy Nagaina's eggs. I was a bit more understanding and lured Nagaina away from her egg bed by pretending to have a broken wing. If all had gone as plan, the eggs would all have been smashed and Nagaina would have followed me into an ambush by Rikki. But Nagaina decided she was tired of chasing me, especially when she got too close and I was forced to actually fly. Then she hissed 'I'll kill you and your family later for this! But now I have the boy to attend to!' and went into the house. I told Rikki about it and he came in with the last egg. I don't quite know what happened but Nagaina came out with the last egg and ran into her hole and Rikki went in after her." said Biwi. "Was he mad? Going into a snake's hole! Good heavens!" said Rédarí. "Anyway, Nagaina was killed but the last egg was never destroyed. If Nagasta found out my role in that, she'd be coming for Darzee and I. She's already mad enough that we helped Rikki feed her children those mice filled with stones." said Biwi. "Also, Darzee helped Rikki survive a sneak attack from Nagaina earlier. Nagasta would not be pleased about that." "And I think he was covering for me too." said Chuchundra. "It was I who told him that Nag was in the bathroom sluice. Nagasta would probably come for me too if she knew I had a role in Nag's death." "Actually managing to hunt a snake at his age! Surviving encounters with cobras as dangerous as Nag and Nagaina! Beating a dusty brown snakeling! It's clear Rikki isn't a regular mongoose, which makes me feel better. Though I still fear for his safety all the same. I couldn't handle this situation." said Rédarí. "But then Rikki is a natural at snake killing. I just hope it's enough."

[1] Safe. Not dangerous or bad.

[2] Go to the bathroom.

[3] A serious blunder, sometimes something that causes someone to meet his or her end, though not in this case.

[4] Note to self: Rikki ate the insides of the mice, not the skins. Edit this and the program part.

[5] Romanized Urdu for "Wife".

[6] Lots of mongooses in that area have long names like that. It would have been a bother to reveal them all, at least right away.

[7] He must have been a student of Saruman's. J

[8] Rikki now hates him. For wanting to turn him in and for that evil speech he just made. Can you blame Rikki? They're not friends anymore.

[9] A variation of her war cry.

[10] Sure. You say that now…. J JJJJJJJJJJ

[11] That's right RINOs, I said it! That's what I think of you!

[12] come to light: to become known or be disclosed

[13] Followers. Group.

[14] Pronounced "the liberal media".

[15] It survived. She can do the honors though.

[16] sweet red fruit: a red or green fruit with juicy, sweet, orange-yellow pulp and a large pit. Native to: tropical Asia.

[17] great benefit: something that functions as a blessing or benefit to somebody

[18] Her hunting cry. Rikki's is "Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!" kind after his name, as is hers after her name. It might sound like "Avíá-tía-tavi" if you hear her cry it fast enough, which was done on purpose. JJJ

[19] unlucky: unlucky or unfortunate