Night in the Indian jungle. A dark swirl of thick trees, swaths of waxy leaves, and the rustling of branches. The moonlight struggling to penetrate the canopy above. A night containing terrors.
The air was abuzz with the creaking of insects, the hooting of monkeys, and the calls of nocturnal birds. The wind swirled through the trees, creating a constant noise throughout the land. The air was sweltering and humid, despite the sun having gone down hours ago. The forest floor was draped with dead leaves, providing a carpet upon where the fertile soil clumped like clay.
An ancient forest, one that had been here long before man had stepped into it.
But man had come to this part of the forest, for better or for worse, but it had yet to conquer the forest itself.
Upon a Y-shaped junction in a natural path that the forest had created, an orange glow began to waft from one of the ends. A glow like a jewel.
A minute later, a hunting party of seven men and a little girl came tromping through. They carried rifles and torches. They were calling a name. "Mowgli! Mowgli!" The girl was even joining in the call with her elders, her legs pistoning as she struggled to keep up. The men swung their gazes in all directions, trying to pierce the myopia of the dark jungle without realizing that the flowing torchlight was making their night vision worse.
They reached the junction and took the leftmost path, towards the start of the hills that rose towards the mountains. Their shouts and conversation vanished mere seconds after their physical presence.
A minute after the noise had retreated back to the usual buzz, a small figure rose from behind the patch of ferns that he was hiding behind right next to the middle of the junction. He stepped out onto the path, slightly crouched, looking back at the way the part of other humans had gone. He was nearly naked, wearing only a small red loincloth that covered his lower half, but only just, as it left little to the imagination.
In the dense foliage of the jungle, Mowgli's lithe body, honed by years of living among the wild, slipped through the underbrush as if the very shadows themselves had taken human form. His bare feet knew the twists and turns of the jungle floor like the lines on the palm of a wise old sage. His eyes darted here and there, noticing every little detail that stood out from the norm. The rustle of a hidden creature, the snap of a twig, the sudden stillness of the air – he was on alert for anything.
Every so often, Mowgli looked over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. He did not fear the party of man—he had been living with them for nearly a year and now he was about to spend his first rainy season with them. He had actually grown quite fond of them, especially the company of Shanti, who had been the girl in the group. He should have known, though, that they would have noticed his departure, but he had not expected them to muster a search party so quickly.
Mowgli had every intention of returning to the man-village. He just needed to venture into the jungle alone this time. There was still something he needed to do here.
Shere Khan may have been vanquished, ever since he had run off, half on fire, but there still remained one predator left in the jungle. Kaa, the python. Mowgli had fallen victim to the snake's hypnotic charms twice—that made him a very dangerous enemy to cross. Every time Mowgli went into the jungle with Shanti, he could not help but feeling that the snake had been watching every second he was out there, waiting for his moment to strike.
Well, Mowgli was determined to put an end to that fear. He was going to go out into the jungle and put an end to Kaa's reign of terror once and for all. He could never have asked Shanti to come with him for this task, for it was too dangerous for her. It would never be safe for anyone until Kaa had finally met his end.
Mowgli had been walking for hours under the cloak of night, the moon his silent guide. His destination was not clear, driven only by an inexplicable urge to move deeper into the heart of the jungle. His breathing was measured, his heart beating in time with the rhythm of the jungle's nocturnal symphony.
The scents of the night bloomed around him: the sweet perfume of flowers, the musky scent of the earth, the distant tang of something wild and untamed. He knew he was not alone, but he tried his best to push that fear down.
Finally, his journey led him to a small valley beside a river, its waters shimmering like a band of liquid silver under the moonlight. He stopped to rest, his back leaning against the rough bark of a tree trunk, his legs stretched out before him. The river sang a lullaby of rushing water, soothing his weary muscles and calming his ever-watchful mind. He closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the jungle serenade him into a state of tranquility.
Mowgli turned back around again, studying the path behind him.
No one. Not a whisper or hint of movement.
He breathed a sigh of relief and headed back around to go forward—
—only to be face-to-face with the scaled serpent, who was hanging from the treetops above!
"Hello… man-cub," Kaa purred.
With a sudden jolt, Mowgli's eyes snapped open. His heart raced as he whipped around to face the direction of the disturbance. There, coiled and watching him with unblinking eyes, was Kaa, the great rock python. His scales glistened like the night itself, and his unnaturally hypnotic gaze was fixed on the young man. The air grew thick with tension, the jungle seeming to hold its breath.
Mowgli yelped and flinched backward, scared out of his wits, his bare feet nearly tripping on the rooted ground. He recovered just enough of his courage as the snake moved his head toward him while the serpent's body lay suspended in the canopy just over him. Mowgli swung his arm—a clumsy blow that sent him stumbling forward. Kaa easily evaded it by raising his head over the arm, lazily clucking his tongue as though he was disappointed by such a pitiful maneuver.
Kaa's tail, however, remained as fast as lightning. It snapped along Mowgli's back, sending the young boy sprawling to the ground. The impact knocked the wind from his lungs. The man-cub cried out in pain and landed amongst the dried and curled leaves, throwing out a thin cloud of dust.
"Ouch," the serpent mocked. "That looked like it hurt."
The boy desperately tried to get to his feet, but Kaa swung his tail again, this time catching Mowgli on the side, which lifted him up off the ground and he landed on his back. He groaned, the air whooshing from his mouth.
The fight was on. Kaa struck again, his powerful coils lashing through the air. Mowgli dove and rolled, each movement a dance of survival. He felt the heat of the python's breath, the thud of his body against the dirt, and the whisper of leaves as the snake's body slithered after him. Twice, Kaa's fangs barely missed their mark, sinking instead into the soil with a dull thunk. Mowgli's agility kept him just out of reach, his muscles burning from the exertion.
Mowgli didn't have time to fully recover after another blow, because as he looked up, he could only gape as he beheld Kaa's massive tail toppling towards him like a falling tree. With a shout, Mowgli rolled and Kaa's tail slammed the ground inches from the boy, so violent it felt like it shook the forest. The serpent was relentless, for he pounded his tail on the ground again and again, trying to catch Mowgli in between. The man-cub kept rolling, his breath coming so fast he was nearly crying out.
After evading one last blow, Mowgli finally scrambled to his feet, but Kaa's tail wrapped around his ankle with one last lash.
"Let me—!" Mowgli had only enough time to say before the muscular tail gave a yank and Mowgli was sent flying into the side of the tree, face-first. There was a tremendous crack as the boy collided with the thousand-year-old trunk. Slowly, he peeled from the tree and collapsed on the ground in a daze.
Getting back up, his back against a tree, Mowgli had nowhere left to run. Panicked, Mowgli dug his heels into the earth and backed up until he was partially standing again, his back to the tree, arms out as wide as they could go. His belly heaved with his hyperventilating breathes and his eyes were as wide as saucers.
Kaa took the opportunity to coil himself around the trunk, his tail lashing in the air as he tightened his grip. The python's eyes grew wide, and Mowgli felt the tug of the creature's hypnotic gaze.
The snake was moving in, blocking Mowgli's escape. "It hasss been a long time, man-cub," the snake's voice issued with syrup. "Very foolish, coming into this jungle by yourself."
As he talked, the snake's eyes began to emanate with rainbow spirals that seemed to eternally glow. Mowgli recognized the glint and quickly looked away before the sensation could take hold. He knew what Kaa was capable of—he had been hypnotized twice in the past. The sensation of losing complete control, slowly growing tired and being unable to do anything about it frightened him to no end.
Mowgli squeezed his eyes shut and made a point to direct his head clearly away from Kaa's expectant eyes.
This effort was not lost on Kaa, but the spirals in his eyes continued to dominate. "Oh, someone has learned. You'll have to open your eyes soon enough, man-cub. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be very pliant once we truly get to know one another."
Back up against the smooth bark, a few drops of condensation from the leaves above dripping on his bare chest, Mowgli shook his head in defiance. "Nuh-uh, Kaa! I know what you can do. I'm not going to do anything you say. I don't trust you!"
"Oh my," Kaa reared his head in mock hurt. "So sure of yourself, man-cub. We may have had our differences in the past, but perhaps that could all change? Mmm?"
The snake's head was now close enough to Mowgli's ear that the boy could feel the snake's breath tickling him. Eyes still shut, he swiped at Kaa, but the blind blow missed completely.
"You haven't changed, Kaa!" Mowgli shivered. "That's why I'm here: to kill you."
The snake's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Mowgli thought he saw a flicker of surprise. But then Kaa's expression grew thoughtful. "Ah," he said, his tone one of understanding. "The jungle has whispered to you of the man-cub who would challenge me. How… delightful. You're doing a brilliant job of it so far. So brave, but so very, very foolish."
The tension grew palpable as the two stood, poised and ready. The river's song grew louder, as if in anticipation of what was to come. But instead of attacking, Kaa loosened his grip on the tree, his body slithering to the ground.
"Very well," he said, his voice as smooth as the water. "You wish to be the one to end me. But before we continue, let us talk. For I have much to say to you, and perhaps, much for you to learn."
Mowgli's eyes never left Kaa's, his body tense and ready to spring into action at any moment.
Kaa's tail had been traveling around the tree trunk as he had been speaking, nearing the boy's body. Softly, the tail began slithering up until the tip was gently stroking the man-cubs chest. Mowgli shivered from the touch, tried to back himself further into the tree, and clenched his lips shut as the snake's tail slowly moved upward. With a caress, Kaa reached up and drew his tail up to Mowgli's neck, stroking the boy's soft skin.
Out of his control, the soft touches overrode some part of Mowgli's inhibitions. Tickling. Gentle. A soothing touch. His cheeks flushed red, sweat sprung out on his chest, and he emitted a small whine as Kaa's tail now drew circles under his chin.
This was not all that unexpected to Kaa. He had seen similar reactions from his prey before. Arousal and fear were quite similar to one another, after all. But what surprised the snake most was the amount of enjoyment he was getting from tormenting the man-cub in this fashion. The fear on the boy's face was the most palpable he had ever witnessed before. Most of the snake's prey were adults, already jaded to the ways of the jungle. But this man-cub was a stranger, forever to be an alien to those laws. He was corruptible and Kaa hatched a wicked idea.
"Have you ever known the embrace of a female?" Kaa's question was unexpected, and Mowgli felt a flush of embarrassment creep up his neck. He remained silent, not knowing how to respond.
"Ah, I see," Kaa murmured, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You are untouched. A jewel ripe for the plucking." His eyes grew heavy-lidded, and the air grew thicker still. "You being in the jungle again has given me a lot to think about. It would be an absolute shame if this night were the beginning and end for a very interesting tete-a-tete. So," his forked tongue flicked out and licked Mowgli's earlobe, causing the boy to shudder, "what say we make a game of this?"
"I don't want to play a game with you," Mowgli said emphatically, trying to lean his head away from the snake's mouth as best as he could.
"Oh, man-cub, you have no choice now. You lost that battle when you entered this jungle of your own volition. Now, we have to play. It's one where neither of us has an advantage over the other. The goal is simple: we chase each other through the forest and try to kill one another. There, does that sound hard? Now that we both know the stakes, it'll be more interesting for us. Besides," Kaa nuzzled the side of the boy's head with his own, "I promise I'll give you a fighting chance. But you may become something else entirely once I'm done with you."
Mowgli's fists clenched at his sides. The audacity of this creature, to speak of such things to him! He felt a hot surge of anger, but before he could speak, Kaa's gaze grew intense, and the world around him began to swirl. He tried to fight it, to keep his thoughts clear, but the python's hypnotic power was too strong. He felt his body growing heavy, his mind clouding over. His arms slackened to his sides and his mouth dropped slightly open in a perpetual yawn.
That was just the opening that the snake had been waiting for. He then moved his head back, studying his handiwork. The man-cub had such a stupid expression on his face. To go from projecting such faux confidence to now an imbecilic brainlessness. Kaa could only congratulate himself for his quick-wittedness.
He considered just eating Mowgli on the spot. But that just was not very sporting, plus he had just eaten a big meal a week ago which had yet to fully digest. There were more ways to have fun, in any case.
Kaa squinted, observing the man-cub's pliant nature. A question came to mind and he wondered to himself.
And then, without warning, Kaa leaned in and pressed his cold, scaly lips against Mowgli's.
The man-cub's lips were soft. Young. Delectable.
Mowgli's breath caught in his throat, and a shock ran through him like lightning. It was a strange, intimate touch, and it stirred feelings within him that were as foreign as the snake's embrace. Kaa's mouth was surprisingly gentle, almost tender, and Mowgli found himself responding with a soft moan. He didn't understand why, but his body seemed to crave the contact, his thoughts spiraling into a vortex of sensation.
Kaa's kisses grew more insistent, and Mowgli felt his own body betraying him. His breath hitched as his member began to rise beneath his loincloth. He was horrified and fascinated all at once, his mind racing with confusion. The snake's tail slithered down his body, teasing at his cloth-covered groin. It was a strange, unsettling feeling, but there was a spark of pleasure in it that he couldn't deny.
Kaa's mouth left Mowgli's and began a trail down his neck. His breath was hot against Mowgli's skin, and his fangs grazed the sensitive flesh, leaving a delicate pattern of goosebumps in their wake. The python kissed his neck, his collarbone, his chest, each touch sending a thrill through the man-cub's body. He reached Mowgli's nipples and kissed them lightly, and the young man gasped at the sudden, intense sensation. His body was on fire, and he could feel himself getting harder with every passing moment.
As Kaa moved lower, his tail coiled around Mowgli's waist, gently massaging his stomach and hips. The man-cub felt a pressure building within him, a need that was both terrifying and exhilarating. The python's mouth reached his navel, and Mowgli could feel the heat of his breath against his skin. His thoughts were a jumbled mess of instinct and desire, and he could feel his body responding in ways he never thought possible.
The snake's kisses grew more urgent, his tail moving in slow, sensuous circles. Mowgli's breath came in shallow gasps as he felt himself losing control. His eyes fluttered closed, and he could do nothing but submit to the sensation, his body arching slightly as Kaa's mouth moved lower, closer and closer to the part of him that was now painfully engorged and sensitive, even though he had no idea why this was happening.
Mowgli's mind was racing, trying to reconcile the fear and the thrill, the revulsion and the need. He was torn between the part of him that wanted to push the snake away and the part that craved more of the strange, intoxicating contact. It was as if he was being swallowed by the very essence of the jungle itself, consumed by a passion he didn't even know existed.
Kaa's tongue flicked out, tasting the salty sweat on Mowgli's skin. His eyes were glazed with desire, his pupils dilated with anticipation. With surprising dexterity, the python began to work at the knot of Mowgli's loincloth. The man-cub watched in a daze, his thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and panic.
The fabric was stubborn, resisting Kaa's attempts to loosen it. The snake grew more agitated, his forked tongue darting out in frustration. Mowgli felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment as the loincloth remained in place, his body trembling with the effort to resist the python's seductive touch.
Kaa kept on pulling, biding his anticipation. Mowgli's erection was making things difficult, though, as it was snagging the loincloth somewhat. Furrowing his eyes in concentration, Kaa kept trying, pulling, pulling, until he began to glimpse the base of the man-cub's genitals. One more yank and he would be free!
But Mowgli had been leaning back so much in pleasure, and Kaa's eye contact had been off of his face for a while, that he lost his balance and stumbled back, knocking the back of his head against the tree and snapping him free from the hypnosis with a rude thud.
"Ugh, what's going…" Mowgli mumbled as he clutched at his head. He then looked down, catching the python straight in the act of trying to remove his loincloth! He had almost gotten it off too and the snake glanced up and smiled sheepishly.
The man-cub's eyes snapped open, and he stumbled back, his hand flying to his throbbing head. He stared at the python in horror and disbelief, realizing what was happening.
"Kaa!" Mowgli shouted. "What are you doing?!"
Quickly, Kaa removed his tail from the boy's briefs. "Now, man-cub, you and I both know—"
He never got a chance to finish his sentence because Mowgli suddenly swiped his arm, his fist catching the snake full in the cheek. Kaa's head whipped to the side, trailing spit, an angry flare of pain jutting just beneath his left eye.
"Oooh, why you little…" Kaa growled.
On instinct, Kaa swung his tail towards Mowgli. Hard. With a clunk, the snake's great body slammed atop Mowgli's head, knocking him silly in an instant. With a dopey grin on his face, the man-cub wobbled in place, stumbling around like an idiot, only for a misstep to cause him to stumble off the path, trip over a root, and tumble head-over-heels down a nearby wash. There was a splash and Kaa realized that Mowgli had fallen into the river. He looked over the side of the small cliff, watching the man-cub float away on his back, unconscious.
The cold water shocked Mowgli back to full consciousness, and he sputtered and choked as he came up for air. The world spun around him, and his vision blurred. He looked up to see Kaa hovering over the water's edge, his tail still coiled around the tree where he'd been standing. The snake's expression was one of amusement and excitement, his eyes gleaming with the promise of the game to come.
Mowgli's head throbbed, and he tasted blood in his mouth. He knew he had to get away, to put as much distance between himself and the python as possible. He dove under the water, feeling the cool embrace of the river as it swirled around him. The shock of the cold helped to clear his thoughts, and he swam downstream, letting the current carry him away from the danger.