“Whew, it’s a good thing I’m on vacation; I just know I’ll be sore tomorrow.” Rina huffed as she set down the dusty storage box. Taking a minute to catch her breath, the thirty-something woman surveyed her space. Her normally pristine, if sparely decorated apartment was now home to half a dozen weary cardboard boxes, each sealed with ancient-looking duct tape. Hands on her hips, she shook her raven-haired head slightly. “This is going to take awhile…”

A few hours later, and Rina was ready to call it a night. Diving into the last of the decrepit boxes, her hands dug around, brushing past knotted old wires, cassette tapes, and other dated technology. Just beneath, she hit something…rectangular and plastic. “Huh, what’s this one at the bottom” Rina mused aloud. Pushing her arm deeper into the pit of cables, the girl furrowed her brow as her fingers grasped onto a case of some sort. “Gotcha!” she thought, yanking her prize from the depths. The object turned out to be an old VHS tape, enclosed in a plastic snap-case. Originally white, the borders of the case had yellowed into a shade that serendipitously blended with the film’s cover art: A bunch of emotive animals, dancing playfully in some jungle ruin. And right along with them, a kid with messy black hair and a red loincloth. Rina scanned the cover, reading the bold title text at the top. “Huh…The Jungle Book” she frowned, turning the tape case over. “Oh! I remember this one, the kid’s name is Mowgli, and it’s based on an old book or something. Man, I haven’t seen this since I was a kid…” she trailed off, as if lost in a memory, before looking over at the VHS player she’d discovered in another box.

“Alright, Movie Night it is! Let’s see if this bad boy still plays.”

***

Sunlight filtered through the window, a beam slowly working its way across the carpet, before settling on the nearly-naked form of a woman stretched out on the couch. She stirred, yawning and blinking her eyes open slowly.

“Mhmm...wha..?” Rina mumbled, rubbing her eyes with her palms before brushing her short, tousled hair out of the way. “It’s…morni---AHHHH—ing?” she yawned again, sitting up and letting her sleepy eyes adjust to the light. Against the wall, the ancient VHS player sat, still connected to Rina’s powered-off flatscreen television. A tape sat partially ejected in the opening, having finished its run. She blinked again, and walked over to remove it, passing a large wall-mounted mirror as she did so.

“Why is it so cold in he—” her thought was interrupted as she caught sight of her reflection. Instead of her usual PJs, or even day clothes, Rina was clad only in underwear; a bright red pair of silk panties and a low-cut strapless bra that showed off a generous amount of cleavage. A furious blush to match soon lit up her face as the woman rushed to pull the curtains, silently blessing the early hour for its lack of unwelcome eyes peering into the window. But relief soon gave way to confusion – why on earth was she in lingerie? While they felt nice against her skin, Rina usually kept these particular panties and bra folded neatly away in a drawer, to be used only when she had someone special over. Sadly for her, it had been some time since she’d last had occasion to wear them.

Still, it’s nice to know I can still rock these, Rina thought, striking a few poses with a smirk.

Leaving the mirror, Rina strolled over to the TV, plucking the tape from the player, before tucking it back into the faded plastic case. She shut it, and sauntered back over to the couch, flopping down and admiring the art adorning each cover. On the back, the scrawny protagonist Mowgli sat, arms crossed, in the lap of a large, friendly looking bear.

If Mowgli was trying to be intimidating, he should’ve taken the banana peel off his head first. She giggled, still a bit sleepy. Examining the other side, Rina’s finger traced the scene: Mowgli dancing with Baloo, a comical King Louie in the background, while the panther Bagheera lounged on an old ruin, looking over them all.

Strange, I don’t remember the plot much, but the names of all the characters came to mind immediately. I must have been more worn out that I thought, falling asleep right after putting it—

Her thought was interrupted as her eyes followed the idle tracing of her finger, coming to a rest in the top right corner. Baloo, the big gray bear, was pulling down on a visibly startled serpent: a large-snouted, golden brown, patterned boa constrictor. Rina’s eyes widened, her pupils dilating.

Oh! That’s Kaa…

The name came unbidden, like the others. But the feeling that accompanied it was VERY different from the rest. A sudden warmth blossomed up from Rina’s core, blood moving up to flush her face once again. Unconsciously, she rubbed her bare legs together, and ground her silk panties into the couch cushions. The woman’s lips parted in a soft, dreamy smile, and a strange flash of color momentarily filled her eyes, like rings of blue, purple and yellow. Her fingers began to slide down towards her crotch of their own accord, and were nearly there before Rina realized what she was doing. She blinked, and the fog of lust that had inexplicably began to overtake her faded away.

“What the heck was that?” She blurted, jumping off the couch abruptly, mortified even though there had been no one around to see. Shaking her head, the lingerie-clad woman stomped off to the bathroom, thinking a shower and some breakfast would be a more productive start to her day.

***

Though the day had been packed with cleaning, storing, and organizing, Rina felt energized. The activity had done much to keep her engaged, and she felt…well, good. No other way to describe it, she thought, as she kept catching glimpses of herself in the mirror as she flitted between recently unpacked rooms. Returning from yet more clearing out of the empty moving boxes, she spied herself once again, sweat streaked and messy-haired. She grinned at the reflection, striking a pose with a knuckle ground against her hip.

“You know, even after all that moving, I DO look pretty. A little ‘wild’ though, just like Mowgli” she spoke to her reflection.

“How about that? You want to give all this up and go live in the jungle?” she continued with a slight giggle.

The half-joking words had only just left her mouth, but the answer rushed into her mind with a sudden strength that surprised her:

YES

She stared, suddenly envisioning the woman in the mirror dressed only in a skimpy bit of red cloth, surrounded by greenery and the wildlife of some vast rainforest. The jungle girl seemed to nod to her, saying earnestly, yes.

Rina blinked again, shaking her head as if to clear away a silly thought.

“Well, it would be nice, but I’ve got a place in the city now, so maybe another time” she told the now-normally-dressed reflection-Rina.

All the same though, I could use a bit of greenery in here to brighten the place up…

***

A few hours later, she’d returned home from the nursery with a small army of vegetation: Pothos, Monstera, and a number of larger species that could manage indoor conditions. These she placed around the house in what she hoped was a welcoming arrangement, with a few choice specimens set up to flank her whenever Rina decided it was time for another look into the mirror.

A long day done, the woman drew up a nice, hot bath, and when finished, slipped once more into her silk red underwear. A few…imaginative minutes later, she glanced back to the couch where the VHS tape had sat abandoned in its plastic cover all day. Out of nowhere, a shiver of excitement shot up Rina’s spine.

Oh, what the heck, she thought. We fell asleep last time, let’s give it one more watch.

Popping the tape into the old player, Rina tiptoed back over to the couch, sat down and crossed her legs excitedly as the opening images flashed onscreen, an upbeat horn introduction giving way to a softer flute tune that conjured up images of a land halfway across the world; one dotted with small villages perched on the edge of a vast verdant jungle.

Rina watched with rapt attention as the opening shots melded into action: the panther Bagheera discovering an abandoned human child and taking it to the wolf pack. The wolves, taking in and raising the child as one of their own, and a fast-forward to that fateful night at council rock, where the wolf-pack decided that ‘Mowgli the Man-cub’ must go to live with his own kind in the man-village. She pouted through the scene of Mowgli’s disappointment and frustration as Bagheera chaperoned him through the evening.

It isn’t fair, she thought. Mowgli should get to stay in the jungle.

Onscreen, Mowgli and Bagheera clumsily climbed into a tall sturdy tree for the night, and continued to argue. Rina leaned back, relaxing a bit more into the couch, her attention wandering, until a serpentine silhouette descended suddenly behind Mowgli. Rina’s heart skipped a beat.

That’s Kaa--, she thought, her frown turning into an eager grin. Rina sat up straight, watching more and more intently as the sly snake began teasing a visibly frustrated Mowgli. When the time came, she found herself speaking the man-cub’ss lines along with him.

“…Go away and Leave me alone!”

Rina crossed her arms and leaned back a bit, affecting a similar posture to Mowgli.

“…That’s just what I should do, but…I’m not. Now, please go to sleep, mancub.” Came the yawning reply from Bagheera onscreen.

Kaa, struck by an idea, suddenly turned back to Mowgli, his eyes beginning to light up with rings of mysterious color. Rina’s heart beat faster, and even as Mowgli’s attention was captured by the snake’s spirals, she felt herself leaning forward for a better look as well.

“Yess, man-cub, pleeeeasssse, go to sssleeee-eep, pleeeeasse go to ssssleeeep..”

Her eyes widened, taking in every color as Kaa’s head danced seductively across the screen; pupils shrank down, and soon colors to match the snake’s blossomed in their place in Rina’s eyes.

“Sssleeep little maaaan-cub, ressssst in peeaaaccceeee…” Kaa continued….was Rina imagining things, or was he much closer than before? Had she gotten nearer the TV, or was Kaa coming…towards her?

Spiraling eyes filled her vision, and the room seemed to fade away. A soft, scaly something was winding its way around her waist, cool scales brushing against her bare skin, sliding over her rapidly dampening silk panties.

Was this…a dream?

Had she fallen asleep?

Confused, sleepy and aroused, Rina could only grind her hips into the couch, arms already bound by the rising mass of scales around her. Mouth agape, Rina’s eyes stayed locked on the mesmeric display dancing before her. No longer did she see Mowgli anywhere, or the panther guardian--only Kaa. Only his eyes…inches away from her face it seemed, the seductive serpent hissed to her.

“Sssleeeeeep, Riiiina…..Sssssleeeeeeeepppp…”

Her eyelids felt so heavy, a yawn was building up inside her, and the soft blanket of scales was nearly at her shoulders. Rina couldn’t recall ever being so exhausted before, let alone so…horny. She wanted to reach down to touch herself, but her arms were held fast. Out of the colorful haze in her mind, a thought broke through.

He knows…my name..? This…this ssleep, this is…wrong. Need help…need someone…

Struggling to string syllables together, Rina began to call out the only other name she could remember at present:

“Buh…Bagheera-GULK!” she was cut off as something quickly closed tight around her throat.

Rina’s eyes crossed her vision blurred, hypnotic colors all she could see. Her arousal, locked in a fierce battle with her exhaustion, sensed a momentary opening. Unable to make a sound, she squirmed in Kaa’s coils, bucking and grinding her legs as the most intense orgasm she had ever experienced sent shockwaves through her. As the pleasure began to ebb, Rina at long last nodded off into a deep hypnotic slumber; her spiraling eyes closing as her mouth curved into a wide, satisfied smile.

From far away, a voice belonging to someone she couldn’t recall said something about ‘arguing’ and ‘no more talk ‘till morning’, but Rina was fast asleep – in fact, she was dreaming of life under a vast, green canopy, and the prospect of encountering a certain seductive serpent…