One crisp spring morning out in the depths of the forest, Keda, a grey wolf stirred within the warmth of a sleeping bag inside a tent before waking up. Over in the tent on the other side of the makeshift fire pit made out of some stones, Keda’s fellow camper Nomad could be heard still slumbering. Not wanting to disturb him, the wolf set to work putting some wood into the fire pit along with some kindling to start a fire to warm up by.

Once a fire was going, he sat down beside it and watched the dancing bouts of flame which contrasted the chill of the morning air with its warmth. Keda was still somewhat tired, but too awake to go lay back down in his tent and leave the relaxing campfire. After about half an hour with Nomad still sound asleep, Keda shrugged and got up to get himself some breakfast, but felt his ear twitch when a strange sound was heard over the crackle of the fire, it sounded like groaning wood. He stood there for a moment, listening intently but not hearing any further noise, before shaking off the weirded out feeling, figuring that one of the large trees the two were camped by must have gotten buffeted by a strong breeze.

He then stooped down to open up a cooler he had beside his tent to grab a breakfast bar he had packed with him, but then felt something hook under his chest and give him a sudden tug into the air, a light yelp escaping the wolf. Up and up he went, his body spinning around a bit as he was carried into the canopy above, too fast to make sense of what was going on. Once up in the branches, Keda was bounced a tad before he felt something very thick take hold of him start to wrap around his body, getting spun around some more. With his legs and arms trapped save for a forearm that poked free, the wolf shook off the dizzy feeling he felt and looked over his body to see just what was going on as he laid prone. Upon closer examination, he found his body was wrapped up in a strange thick vine, no not a vine, but a very long tail.

“Wh…what th-“ he started to say before the coils of the tail collapsed in a bit and tightened around his body, the sound similar to a bundle of cords twisting while he was left unable to take in the air he had expelled trying to speak. Keda struggled and tried to wriggle himself free, looking around to see who or what had captured him.

“Well well, what have we here,” a smooth feminine voice uttered just above the wolf’s head, the canine looking up to see the head of the largest serpent he had ever seen, heart pounding in his chest, a detail that wasn’t unnoticed by the snake. “Looks like I caught myself a little morsel…” her words hissed as she brought her head in closer, winding herself a bit over her body as she did so. Keda’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to try calling out to his fellow camper below for help, but the end of that tail quickly looped around his muzzle and forced it shut, the canine unable to make more than a groan. “Tut tut, you wouldn’t want to disturb your friend’s sleep now would you? Besides, I’m here to help you relax, seeing as you were still quite tired looking yourself.” The massive serpent whispered with a hint of seduction in her voice and a gleam in her golden colored eyes.

Keda gave a grunt when her tail gave another squeeze around his body, forcing more air out of his lungs, the squeeze lasting for at least half a minute before relaxing and granting him a chance to take in a bit of air, but only a bit. “I like you,” she said in a bemused manner. “So I’ll let you know whose body you’ll soon be helping to nourish.” She then reared her head up a bit and looked at him directly, giving the wolf a better view of his captor. “I am Inkanyamba, and this is my forest you’ve been camping in.” Inkanyamba then gave a soft chuckle and opened up her maw to grant the unfortunate wolf a deep view of her gullet, this causing him to struggle some more and let out a few muffled whites. Another vice-like squeeze of her coils quickly suppressed any of his movements aside from the feeble struggles of his feet and one free hand. “Now now, how is a serpent supposed to enjoy her breakfast if her meal is making so much noise? Let’s get you all nice and…relaxed~”

Winding her head back around, Keda’s eyes not leaving her, she brought her head around to the side from just out of his view, those eyes glowing with a golden haze. Getting an idea of what she was up to, Keda tried looking away, only to find the end of her tail also serving to keep him from moving his head away from her gaze. “You need to hide your eyes and look away every time,” Inkanyamba said in a taunting manner, a wicked grin growing on her face as her tail soon pushed on the side of the wolf’s face just enough to make their eyes meet again even despite his fruitless efforts to try grabbing her tail with his hand. “But I need to catch your gaze only once~” With that, Keda’s eyes soon glazed over, and his struggles stopped even with her tail giving his body another squeeze.

“There, that’s better.” the snake hissed with a coo and grin on her face, amused at the vacant expression that now occupied Keda’s visage, eyes exuding their own golden glow now. “Now I can enjoy my morsel in peace, wouldn’t want you to alert your friend before I snatch him up as well, and I can take the time to enjoy his struggles~”

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Keda, story © Me
Inkanyamba, art ©  inkanyamba

Alt version can be found here