Deep in the jungle, a stranger was was fuming. Jewel walked quickly but softly, the fallen leaves of the dense canopy muffling her steps through the tree line. Looking about herself in a heightened sign of alert, the beautiful young woman allowed herself to stop, an exasperated sigh breaking the ambient hum of the jungle day.

"Why, oh why did I ever agree to this trip? And to forget the damn compass, just my luck!!" The morning's events had all but driven from her mind the expedition's success thus far. Penetrating the previously unknown reaches of the jungle had borne fruit of all kinds for the small research team. Jewel had managed to catalog over thirty new species of brush, bloom and other vegetation never before seen by man. By all accounts, things had been going swimmingly.

Disaster had struck on their fourth foray under the canopy. Jewel had nearly slept in, having stayed up late the previous evening giddily sketching, detailing, and taking notes on the various specimens she'd collected thus far. So perhaps it was not surprising that as she scrambled to get dressed and tumble out of the tent for the day's journey, she'd forgotten a compass. An archaic thing, but a useful one in a part of the world where cell service, along with every other sign of human ingenuity had yet to penetrate.

OF course, this had not been a problem before she'd gotten separated from her colleagues. While exploring a cavern lit by a strange moss-like vegetation that emitted a pleasant blue bioluminescence when touched, a sudden sharp sound had turned the tone to panic. A shrill, yet throaty roar echoed from the entrance of the cave, and a nearing gallop soon followed. Suddenly, shone in the dim light of the bioluminescent moss, a large, agitated wild boar with unusually curved tusks appeared. In a moment, all hell had broken loose -- some of the team fumbled for weapons, while others ran for cover. Seeing little chance of getting around the monstrous creature (she was furthest back and examining a particularly interesting cluster of moss), Jewel turned and retreated instead further down the tunnel.

Of what happened after, the young researcher couldn't have said. As she came tearing through the tunnel, everything went dark -- literally and figuratively. She must have eventually found a way out, perhaps a back exit of the cavern, but had no recollection of actually doing so. Jewel had come to consciousness lying against the trunk of a tree, a tall and sturdy-looking teak. Blinking in the daylight, the scientist sat up suddenly and looked around. She could see nothing but jungle in every direction; no sign of her colleagues, nor the cave she had previously been running for her life through. Upon standing up and further examining the area, not even a trace of her footsteps could be uncovered -- quite a frustrating mystery.

Here she was, alone, compass-less and colleague-less, in some unknown part of the wild. The thought alone should have been enough to cause a panic far more potent than any wild beast could have, but Jewel had more going for her than natural curiosity and an expertise in esoteric botany. After a few deep breaths, her steel nerve asserted itself, and Jewel resolved to find her way calmly back to camp. Some hours had passed since then, and the warm glow of the morning had turned into a blazing afternoon heat. Jewel shook her head, her nut brown ponytail snapping to and fro, and wiped a few beads of sweat that had rolled down the side of her cheek.

"I'd trade all my collected specimens for a bath, but fat chance of that happening out here..." her thought trailed off, hearing the faint trickle of...could it be? Her pace quickening, Jewel's heart pounded as the unmistakable sound of flowing water came into focus. Pulling back a fanned brush of foliage, she beheld a wondrous sight: A mighty waterfall steaming over a stately stone overcrop, falling into a clear pool of serene water. A small stream carried away the excess, flowing out and twisting away into the undergrowth. Jewel's mind, which had been up until a few minutes ago frustratingly focused on finding her way out of this jungle, was spellbound by the sight. A powerful desire to leap in, even before examining the pool for hidden dangers, overwhelmed the girl. The pool seemed to call to hear, beckoning her to dive in, promising to wash her worries away with the sweat and grime of the jungle. A warm, buzzy sensation grew from within, a strange giddiness that seemed...stronger than she thought she should feel about this discovery. Jewel shook her head again, the fog clearing.

"Ughh...must have hit my head at some point. I'll find something to eat after I wash off, and perhaps the water is safe to drink."

Double checking the water for harmful microorganisms, she drank from it's cool waters and filled her flask, before disrobing to wash to wash her sweat-soiled clothes along the shallow edge of the bank. The afternoon wore on, the jungle's colors sliding into cool oranges and reds as the blazing sun overhead began to relent. Soon, a light jacket, tank top and pair of denim shorts hung from a nearby banyan branch, joined by a pair of bright red panties and matching bra. Hiking boots aired out at the base of the tree, socks stretched out on a nearby rock to dry in the sun. Her work accomplished, the now-naked woman waded deeper into the stream, letting its gently flowing water wash away the dirt and grime she'd accumulated over the day.

Despite her continued predicament, Jewel allowed herself to feel some relief. As she bathed, Jewel felt much of the tension she'd been carrying around drop. As her body adjusted to the temperature, that same warm buzzy feeling returning, more subtle than before. The woman had waded over to relax under an overhang of trees leaning over a curved bay roughly the size of a hot tub. The effect was that of a comfortable, shaded grotto. Jewel sank down into the shallows, allowing the water to come up to her chest as she leaned back against a half-submerged trunk. Sighing luxuriously, she gently closed her eyes, the sounds of the surrounding jungle seemed to fade away to almost nothing. The soft buzzing grew almost audible in her ears, like a soft hiss of white noise, and Jewel supposed she must have dozed off at some point -- because when she blinked her eyes open, she noticed the sun considerably lower in the sky than it had been.

"Oh wow, I really musst have been tired." the woman yawned, blinking away the remainder of her nap.

"Probably best to get out now an-" she stopped short. Glancing over her shoulder, Jewel could see no sign of her things - hiking boots, socks, shorts, top, jacket, even her underwear were gone. A momentary panic began to set in; not only was she lost in this strange jungle, but now she was naked too? Taking a few calming breaths, the researcher reminded herself that life is full of surprises and setbacks, and that panic only gets in the way of solutions. Jewel closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of the late afternoon air. Holding it, she tried to focus on only the fact of her own breathing, and leave behind everything else -- the vast jungle, her lost bearings and clothes, her worries and anxieties. Releasing the breath slowly, she repeated the motions, keeping her rhythm and focus on only herself and the moment. The sounds of the jungle seemed to fade away ever so slightly, and Jewel half-fancied that a subtle, calming white noise pervaded her mind, helping her efforts. She exhaled gently, and despite her current predicament, she smiled.

An hour later, an observer would have hardly recognized the calm, confident, and strangely-clad woman striding through the jungle as the same panicked and perspiring scientist from before. Jewel's attire, in lieu of her pilfered personal things had taken on a much more floral hue. She wore a thigh-length skirt of bright heart-shaped leaves -- some variety of Hosta, woven and strung together by a soft yet fibrous string of creeper vine. Over her breasts, the resourceful researcher had used more of the same vine to weave a pair of Calocasia, or Elephant Ear leaves together, their long stems wrapped around her back and bound with a simple knot. Jewel had even managed to improvise a pair of sandals for herself, smoothing down some pieces of driftwood from the stream, and securing them to her feet with the remaining strands of creeper.

Whence the idea to dress herself so came, she wasn't sure -- she'd become inspired after observing her sourroundings and finding ample supplies for coverings. She supposed it was an idea borne of the combination of hobby and profession; back home she had taken up crafting clothing for herself and the occasional friend. So it seemed natural to Jewel that she might come to see the fashion potential in the native flora of this unexplored jungle.

"And I do make this look good~" Jewel spoke to no one in particular as she walked, admiring her own handiwork. "Once I make it back to camp, perhaps I can draw up some designs for a 'Jungle Girl Chic' -- at least for fun" she giggled to herself. And so the woman continued, deeper into the darkening jungle.

The sun gradually set, it's orange glow fading into a rich red before vanishing below the horizon. Jewel watched the light begin to disappear overhead, her confidence and upbeat mood waning along with it. The cool breeze blew through the trees, causing the scantily-clad woman to shiver involuntarily.

"Okay, perhaps I should have covered just a bit more of myself...I need to find some shelter for the night..." she trailed off, eyes squinting to adjust to the dimming light. Jewel had been searching for any sign of her colleagues for the better part of the day, but all she had managed to find were a pair of jackfruit and a half-dozen mangoes hanging low enough to be picked. Luckily, the fruits were perfectly ripe, and Jewel had managed to satisfy her hunger, as well as her thirst from the clear stream she'd followed thus far through the jungle. Eventually, that path had forked in two, forcing the young woman to make a difficult choice. In the end, she had opted for neither, plunging instead into the undergrowth on a hunch. Jewel initially chalked this up to her natural curiosity and explorative instinct, but in truth she had felt...drawn towards the path. It was as if a sourceless voice, soft and sibilant in her ear urged her in the direction. For some reason, it felt trustworthy.

Now with the sun fully set and the night air buzzing with the jungle's nocurnal denizens, Jewel had started to wonder if she had made a mistake in listening to it. Stopping to press her back against a sturdy-looking tree, she let out an audible sigh, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to her. The woman glanced to her left, then her right, judging this spot safe enough to rest for a moment, before slimping down onto a soft patch of grass at the tree's base. Kicking off her sandles, the woman stared out into the darkening foliage, losing herself in idle thought. She sighed again, lighter this time.

"How am I going to find my way? And where will I find a safe place to sleep...?"

Little did she know that both questions would soon be answered.

Unbeknownst to Jewel, just above her in that very tree's canopy, a particular jungle denizen stirred silently. Something large and scaled shifted stealthily in the branches, positioning itself for a good look at the strange, alluring creature below. A sound escaped its lips, an expression of confident expectation, spoken in man's tongue but somehow alien all the same.

At that sound, the ambient jungle noises seemed to draw away. Jewel started from her reverie, looking around in fearful confusion.

"W-who is it, who's there?

When no one, or nothing answered after a full minute, Jewel allowed herself to relax a little. She settled back against the tree, but kept a careful watch on the surrounding area. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't thought to look up. If she had, she might have noticed a strange-looking serpent slithering his way down to her.

Inching closer, Kaa inspected his intended prey. Ooooh, she was sssimply ssscrumptious! Far more lovely than when he had spied her earlier in the day. The woman's scent was much fresher -- she had bathed quite recently -- and had even dressed in an amusingly salacious manner that covered only those parts that humans seemed the most embarassed of. Imagining the fun they would have, kaa shivered in anticipation as his head descended down to meet the girl. The time had come to claim his prize.

"Excusssse me...you seem lossst. Might I be of sssome....asssissstanssse?" The snake hissed from right behind Jewel's head, his tone dripping with politeness obsuring his sinister intentions.

"ah-AHHHGGHGHHH!" Jewel screamed, nearly jumping a foot in the air as she turned to notice the serpent behind her. "Y-you scared the heck out of me!! And...y-y-you can talk??"

It appeared that she had indeed forgotten. Kaa chuckled at her words and the unexpected potency of their earlier meeting. She would recall soon enouugh...

"Why yes, I do ssspeak the tongue of man, though I rarely have occaisssion to practissse...but pleassse, do not fear me. I am sssimply here to help."

"You, uh, you wanna help me?"

"Sssertainly. I could sssee to it that you get where you need to be. But firssst, we mussst make introductionsss! I am called Kaa" the sly serpent bowed his head slightly.

"Wow, um...was not expecting that" Jewel thought. Recovering quickly from the shock, the girl relaxed a bit, leaning back against the trunk behind her. "I'm Jewel, it's, uh, nice to meet you, Kaa. I jusst, don't meet a lot of talking animals, so, that was a bit surprising. This jungle is quite a dangerous place, and I'd assumed you meant me harm."

"Ahh, that iss completely reasssonable. There are not often the people of man in thiss part of the jungle, let alone one of their cubs..." he trailed off, seeing what reaction the comment would produce.

A confused look appeared on Jewel's face, soon giving way to consternation. "Hey, I'm NOT a cub-I mean child! I may be a bit petite, but I'm twenty-three years old!"

"Oh I sssee, my misstake!" Kaa made a motion with the coils, imitating a human shrug. "It's assss I sssaid, one doesss not sssee many people of man in thisss jungle. I'd assumed from your size, and perhapsss your attire, you were a man-cub that had gotten lossst playing along the edgess of the treesss."

As he'd expected, a blush began to rise up in Jewel's cheeks, the young woman glancing down at her makeshift clothing with some embarrassment. Kaa of course had been under no such illusions as to her age or reasons for being here -- he had learned much from the girl upon their meeting earlier in the day. He had also been the one to suggest the use of jungle leaves to clothe herself, should she find a need to do so. He could be quite persuasive, it seemed.

It also didn't hurt that he'd followed along, just out of sight, to ensure that her garments would mysteriously disappear when the girl-cub wasn't watching.

"Well, now that we've cleared that up, could you show me a way out?" Jewel demanded, her patience wearing a bit thin.

"Well, if you insissssssst..." Kaa hissed, drawing the word out as he silently repositioned some of his coils up in the branches above

"Yes, I would really like to get out of her, so...please." Jewel blinked, her frustration dissipating a bit, to her own surprise.

"Sssssooo politely asssssked, then how can I refussssssse ssssauch a requesssst of one sssso beautiful?" Kaa slyly replied, continuing to stretch out his words, to further weaken the girl's resolve.

Normally, such a forward comment would have put Jewel on her guard...but she was tired, and lost, and this snake *did* seem to be...rather polite? Perhaps his slight had been a natural mistake, since there weren't many humans out in this jungle. Despite herself, Jewel felt another rush of red in her face, but this time she found herself looking to the side to hide a smile.

Everything was working wonderfully. The girl-cub's earlier encounter with the snake may have been lost to her conscious mind, but her subconscious recalled well enough; her waning resolve and the blush were proof enough of that. Kaa pushed forward, eager to test how responsive she'd be to something...stronger.

"It's jusssst...I'm not sssso ssssertain that *telling* you would help. But perhapssssss, I can ssshow you insssstead?" he continued.

Jewel continued to look away, glancing about the silent jungle.

"I, uh...I don't understand. How could you do that?"

"Oh, I have my own....sssssubtle little waysssss. But firsssst, you musssst...trusssst me." Kaa's head crept close again, keeping out of sight of the girl-cub's turned head.

For some reason, at the word 'trust' Jewel felt a shiver run through her that had nothing to do with the cold night air. She exhaled a bit heavily, feeling oddly sensitive, and even a little excited in a few places underneath her improvised clothing. Something about the way Kaa was speaking was odd; not bad, but odd. And more confusingly, what did trust have to do with being shown a way out of this place? Jewel turned her head towards the snake.

"Kaa, what do you mean by tru-uh...uh..st..?"

The serpent's eyes, now so much closer to Jewel than she was expecting, were spiraling madly with colors. A band of yellow expanded out from the center, quickly followed by a pulse of violet, before giving way to teal blue, and again repeating into yellow. the effect was overwhelming, alluring, and seemed to draw her thoughts away almost instantly. Something about the dazzling show before here seemed oddly familiar, and she was determined to find out what it was.

With Jewel's attention fully occupied on the display of colors before her, the slithering descent of a long, powerful tail down the trunk behind went completely unnoticed. Slowly but surely, it snaked forwards, towards the captivated cutie's waist.

Kaa chuckled to himself, seeing his startled prey's face slip from surprise and confusion to rapt attention. Within a few moments, her pupils had started to shrink down to pinpricks; after that, loops of color mirroring the snake's own appeared, first in Jewel's left eye, then the right. Testing his control, Kaa swayed a bit from side to side, delighted to see the girl-cub's spellbound gaze following, like a charmed cobra he'd once observed on the edge of a man-village in the distant past.

"Trussst, my dear girl-cub...issss easssssy to define. Trusssst is when you know...that I have your besssst intentionssss at heart..." each phrase undulating in time with his own swaying.

"B-buh...besssst...in...tentionss..?" Jewel managed to stammer, the spirals and Kaa's dizzying dance dulling her wits. Something soft and scaled brushed over her leg and began to slide over her exposed midsection, eliciting a slight, subconscious shiver.

Kaa widened his grin, slowly increasing the arc of each sway as the tail wound over and around the girl-cub. "Yessss, the bessssst of intentionssss.....don't you remember? You can believe in me....jussssst assss you did earlier, my dear cub..."

Memories began to float through the haze in Jewel's head. She recalled stopping her perilous retreat at the familiar tree, panting for breath as she glanced around. Hearing a hiss, and glancing up into a pair of spiraling eyes...

Seeing a flash of recognition in her dazed expression, Kaa nodded as he increased the speed of the spirals, his helpless prey's head following along in a mockery of realization. The tail, having wound over, under, and around Jewel's waist and bottom, began lifting her towards the treetops.

Lost in her hazy reverie, Jewel suddenly became aware of an odd floating sensation. Reeling a bit, as if she'd had too much to drink, the woman grabbed onto a strangely muscular, scaled vine for support.

Kaa chuckled, and slowed his spirals once again, as to not overwhelm the poor girl at once. Keeping his own head weaving back and forth like a pendulum at her level, the two continued their ascent into the trees.

Flashes of memory continued, as Jewel stared into the spellbinding spirals of the snake's eyes. A strange buzzing, or was it...hissing? Something filling her head...a familiar, sleepy, blissful feeling overwhelming her senses, while the gentle brush of foliage slid past her, a cool breeze playing on her skin as the floating feeling suddenly ceased.

High up in the branches, Kaa deftly maneuvered his soon-to-be-slave into a more comfortable position, unwinding his tailtip just enough to began wrapping her up completely. Keeping up a steady pulse of spirals, the sly serpent began sliding his tail up and over the girl-cub's midsection.

As it wound around and up Jewel blushed, her sensitive skin recalling the feeling of those coils. In her muddled head, fragmented recollections continued to press through the haze of color: soft scales pressing into her body...an alluring voice telling her things...truths that she had never realized before...

The tail wound around and around the jungle girl's lithe form, pinning her arms to her sides, as Kaa brought his head closer to the helpless girl.

"Yessss, you remember now, don't you my dear cub? You know you can....trussssssssssst in meeee..." sibilance dripping from his hypnotically alluring voice.

Trust...there was that word again! It echoed through Jewel's sleepy mind, pulsing in time with the rhythm of the blissful colors before her. That word meant comfort...peace...ecstasy...A curl of a smile tugged at her lips, a feeling like a warm blanket sliding over her scantily clad form.

The tail continued to wind its way up over her chest now, squeezing the woman's barely-concealed cleavage between two powerful loops of coils. Dippng around again, it crept up and over her shoulders. In a slight sing-song, the serpent continued to soothe the girl-cub's mind, while stimulating other, more...primal instincts.

"Juuuuuusssst in meee....Now ssshhuuuuut thosssseee eyesssss, aaand lusssssst for meeeee...."

Jewel's eyelids fluttered and drooped, the last of her free will struggling to keep staring into those blissful colors, while her submissive subconscious yearned to obey Kaa's commands to sleep. The warm blanket sensation began to seep into her core, a tingling heat blossoming from between her legs. She began to shift her hips forward and back, rubbing the inside of her legs against the thick coil she straddled. A blush began to spread to the woman's cheek, smile growing wider.

"Sssliip into sssensssual ssservitude....in the jungle you'll ssstay, I insissst...sssslooowly but suuurely your old life will ceasssse....to exisssst..."

The tail wound around the enthralled Jewel's neck, a veritable coil collar for his is soon-to-be pet. Her eyes spiraled madly, lids drooping but hanging on every word of the serpent's seductive song. Her hips ground faster against the coil tightening around her rear -- she was so very close now.

"Trusssst in meeeee......Jussssst in meee....sleepy girl...Lusssst in meee...!" The tail yanked tight.

"U-ulK!" she choked, eyes wide. A sudden *PING* rang out from somewhere in her mind, and Jewel's remaining resistance crumbled. The intelligent, confident and cool researcher was gone -- in her place a submissive, spiral-eyed slavegirl, grinning ear to ear at her new master. A trickle of something wet and warm ran down the inside of Jewel's thigh, causing the coiled cutie to shudder and sigh in contentment.

Kaa's eyes returned to their normal yellow hue, chuckling to himself as he inspected his catch. Oooh, but she was lovely! The serpent smirked to think of the fun they'd have, as she settled in to her new life here in the jungle. He leaned up to the spiraling slave's cheek, hissing one last suggestion to the helplessly hypnotized woman.

"Ssssoo, my dear, how would you like to sssttay here in the jungle with me? You are already dresssssed the part, it ssseeems, and I can teach you everything there issss to know about being a jungle girl. We'll have sssssoo much fun!"

With no thoughts of her own, Jewel could only gaze back lovingly at her master, feeling the soft embrace of his shifting coils around her, and listen his his words. They seemed to perfectly logical -- She couldn't recall what had brought her out here in the first place, so it couldn't have been too important to leave behind. And besides, she *was* already dressed for a life in the jungle -- and Kaa could teach hear whatever she needed!

"Mhmmhmmm, yesssss....with you...A Jungle Girl....I-I'd like that..." she murmured, eyelids sliding closed.