“Phew…I think I lost them.” Mowglii let out a sigh of exertion and relief, one hand steadying itself on an old tree trunk, the other clapped over her knee. As her breathing returned to normal, the woman stood up straight and took in her surroundings. Her bushy shoulder-length hair swished to and fro, taking in her surroundings. She appeared to be in a sort of natural clearing, though not one she could recall passing through before. As late as it was, she wasn’t expecting to see any of the jungle’s daytime denizens moving about, so she wasn’t disappointed to find herself alone. Running a hand through her unruly hair, she took another deep breath, savoring the cool night air of the jungle. The songs of the various insects and distant nocturnal creatures rang out in a wavering hum, a pleasant contrast to the thundering snores of the villager whose window had faced her own quarters.

Mowglii wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead, luxuriating in the unrestricted feeling of her once-more short hair. She’d cut it herself, using a crudely-made knife she’d spent a few weeks whittling in secret – the village elders hadn’t allowed her anything even resembling a weapon. They’d forced her to grow her hair out as well, the women of the village engaging in a constant battle to tame it, combing and braiding, and throwing Mowglii disapproving looks whenever she attempted to wear it down.

And the clothes! While before she had been free to run in her simple loincloth and top (long since taken away and burned), the villagers insisted she wear a full-length lehenga, choli, and even a sari. It wasn’t so bad, they’d said – a number of village men around her own age even had begun to turn their heads in her direction when she went out in it, but Mowglii found the whole ensemble too complicated and restrictive. She’d been able to learn enough of the man-language in her year or so among them to try and explain that she preferred something simpler, but whenever she would try the villagers simply would simply shake their heads and mutter something about “immodesty”.

Worst of all, they’d expected her to be WED! To a man!! A handful of would-be suitors, first from the village, then ever-more distant parts of the man-lands had come to see her, as word started to spread of the “Wild Woman” who called herself ‘Mowglii’ that had been found along the edges of the jungle. She was clearly already an adult, though no one knew her exact age, so when she’d been deemed educated enough, the village elders had declared her of marrying age.

That had been the last straw. And so it came to pass that, after a year of living in ‘civilization’ – on the exact day she’d left the jungle, in fact – Mowglii had run off, back into the jungle that had been her home for 22 years prior. At first, she’d gotten on well, managing to evade the night patrol that kept watch for tigers and other predators. However, before she could make it to the treeline, an alarm was raised by the household she’d been staying in, the headwoman discovering her shorn hair and shed clothing in a heap by the open window. From there, it had been a mad dash through the trees, dodging this way and that as torchlight flickered behind her.

“Ahhhhh~” She breathed in again. This was worth the trouble. I can finally be free out here, back in the jungle, where I belong.

Standing amongst the greenery in her new loincloth and top – improvised from the remains of a spare red Sari – it would have been hard to tell indeed that Mowglii had ever left the jungle. Coming back to reality, she cocked her ear to one side, listening intently.

Hearing no further signs of pursuit, the woman finally let herself relax, slumping down against the tree trunk and finding a nice big root to rest her rear on. She was annoyed to find how much her escape had winded her – a year of being forced to walk only the confines of the village, and with no chance of accompanying the hunters on their excursions had worn away at her natural athleticism. Even now her legs were protesting the sudden burst of exertion. She begrudgingly stretched them out, rubbing the tight knots of muscle in her calves.

At least there’s no one here to bother me.

As it turned out, that wasn’t exactly true.

Hidden amongst the boughs above, something stirred. Serpentine coils unwound and shifted, and a pair of beady eyes turned their attention toward a sight they had not beheld in many moons. Kaa smacked his lips, eyes shining with delighted surprise. His pet man-cub! Against all hope, it seemed she had returned to the jungle. And from the look of her, the twenty-something jungle girl had only grown lovelier since. Kaa shivered in anticipation, and descended down to greet her.

Mowglii, meanwhile, was pondering her next move. With the man-village behind her, she considered reconnecting with her jungle friends. Baloo would be easy enough to find, and he’d almost certainly help her get resettled. She could stay a few days in his ‘backyard’ as he called it, helping the old sloth bear gather paw-paws and bananas, and lounging in the stream that wound lazily though his stomping grounds. Heck, she might even convince him to join her in a bit of song and dance! After all, Mowglii had learned a few things from the villagers – some of the women had shown her a few dances they were fond of doing around the home (and some that they only did in the privacy of their bedrooms), so she figured she could teach him a thing or two.

Now, if only I could remember how ‘Bare Necessities’ went…ughh, it was such a simple melody, but for some reason I can’t recall it.

Other than Baloo, the woman considered her other acquaintances.

Bagheera? Ugh, he’d probably just tell me to turn around and go back.

Colonel Hathi? Nope, all that marching and noise, it’ll be worse than the village!

King Louie and the monkeys? Hard Pass…

…

I guess that just leaves…

“What’sss thisss? Ohh, hello there, man-cub.”

“—K-Kaa?!” Mowglii looked up, startled out of her reverie.

“mmhm-hm-hm, it iss ssso niccccse to sssee you again.”

“Mm-hmmm…” Mowglii’s brow rose. She crossed her arms, on her guard. Whenever Kaa was around, things got a little…cloudy. She couldn’t always remember the details of their meetings, and was pretty sure there was a good reason that most jungle denizens avoided the old python.

“Tsk-tsk-tsksss…sssuch a cold responssse….after all, I only wisssssh to welcome you back to the jungle…I’d feared you had chosen to ressside in the man-village.”

“Yeah, well…it wasn’t my home. I might be human, but I don’t belong there. Mowglii’s face hardened, bracing for the usual bluster about man and animal, nature and civilization.

“Why…of coursssse not! Anyone with eyessss can sssee that! Kaa responded.

“I-!” Mowglii started, taken aback. “I, um…I appreciate that. Thank you, Kaa. Look, I don’t mean to be abrasive, but I’m not sure I can trus–what was that??” She turned, looking behind as the sound of a cracking branch echoed somewhere nearby. The villagers! Dammit–

“Hey look, Kaa, I’m sorry but I’ve got to g—" She started, turning back to find herself facing a dizzying, spiraling barrage of colors that pulsed from the serpent’s eyes, now only inches from her face. Her mouth stopped mid-sentence in an ‘o’ of surprise, hanging open as she took in the oddly familiar sight.

Kaa chuckled to himself, pulling back the length of tail he’d snaked out past the clearing in search of a suitable distraction. It had been so long since he’d seen those bright green pupils, shrinking down into pinpricks, replaced with blossoming loops of mesmerizing blues, yellows, and purples…

Mowglii’s mind began to fog over. A strange, yet familiar floating feeling began to take root. Slowly but surely, her worries about the village, her friends, what she was going to do next…they all started to fade into the background. Was this…was this the reason her rendezvous’ with Kaa were always so hazy?

“Kaaaa….” The woman mumbled, forcing her mouth to move with difficulty. “Wh-what are…d-doing…to…me..?”

It was always so cute to see his headstrong jungle pet struggle against the enthralling power of his spiraling eyes. He’d ensured she never quite recalled how it worked, nor the few ways it could be resisted – Mowglii had been well conditioned over their many past meetings, after all.

“Oh, thisss? I’m jussst helping you to relaxsss…after all, you musssst be exhaussssted….”

“R-relaxss…?”

“Yesss, man-cub….” Kaa nodded, delighted to see her head bobbing along in agreement. His tail emerged from behind the tree, snaking forward and coiling slowly around the woman’s ankle. He pulled his head up slightly, watching as Mowglii’s helplessly followed along, tilting back as her arms dropped to their sides, staring up at his hypnotic spirals in wonder. Kaa’s tail wrapped up the woman’s leg, tightening and releasing in a rhythmic massage.

“ooOoh….” She moaned softly, her stiff muscles welcoming the tension-melting touch of the cool scales.

“Rleaxsssing your body…and your mind…” Kaa crooned.

“mm…my body…and…mind…”

“That’ss right….you can resssst…you can….sssleeeeep…”

“nmm…s-sleep…?” Mowglii’s eyelid began to droop. The tail had now wound around both her legs, and was beginning its journey around the small of her back.

“Yesss…it’sss jusssst assss you sssaaaid, man-cub…you’re back where you…belong~”

“be-long…” she mumbled, eyes fluttering.

She was just about ready, her mind teetering on that edge of colorful oblivion. Kaa smiled, his head darting forward and encircling his hapless jungle-slave. Kaa’s tail suddenly squeezed around her legs, the shock causing Mowglii’s spiraling eyes to shoot open. Kaa pressed his snout forward, brushing away loose strands of her bushy hair, until the hypnotic colors took up every inch of her vision.

“Yesss, man-cub…” he whispered. “You belong here, in my coilsss…”

“In…coilssss…” she sighed dreamily, and gave in. Falling into the abyss of colors, Mowglii’s eyes slid shut, a blissful smile on her face. Kaa just thought he could hear a paint PING echoing through his squeeze-toy’s empty mind. He pulled back to admire his catch, the tail completing a coil-chair around her firm backside. He hissed in delight.

“Tsstssststssssss…welcome back, Mowglii ~” he teased, lovingly brushing another errant lock of hair from her sleeping face. The mindless man-cub blushed but made no other reply.

From the distance, the sounds of brush being flattened, and branches bent echoed. A gentle, feminine voice called out. “Mowglii! MOWWGLII! WHERE ARE YOU?”

Startled, Kaa glanced about, pinpointing the direction the sound came from. “Now who could that be?” He mused aloud in annoyance.

“Sh…Shan-ti…” his slumbering slave-girl mumbled. Kaa glanced back at her in surprise. Then, his own smile widened as a most devious idea occurred to him.

“I sssee,” he began, smiling smugly at his catch. “Ssshe mussst be sssearching for you, my dear. We ssshould reassssure your friend that you are alright. But firssst…” He started to ascend back up the tree, bringing the mesmerized Mowglii with him. “Let usss have a little…privacssy.

To Be Continued…