It was humid out but not hot. The town you just left from couldn't give you as much supplies as needed. They didn't think it was necessary because they thought the animals out here could take care of themselves. You told them you were only doing your job, poacher busting in the heart of Africa's Eastern jungles. Disarming traps and arresting hunters.
Ever since anthros began appearing poaching has reached the highest point in history. You heard about a colony of snakes, living in the jungle near the town you just left. They thought they didn't need help, but you wanted to do your job. So you left in your jeep after filling up on gas and getting some food in case you were out for a long time. And bullets for your rifle and handgun.
You drove off the road to the front of the forest, parking your car among some brush after you entered. Making sure you had everything ready you got out the car and rearranged the bushes to hide your jeep. The forest was quiet and you could smell iron. Thankfully you got there early enough to find the smell, rain clouds were overhead and they would have blotted out the smell. You had to hurry before the scent left.
You followed some oddly placed tracks. Whoever came through here didn't know what they were doing. They tried to step on roots to keep themselves hidden, but that wasn't possible here since the roots were loose. They'd just sink and leave more obvious marks in the ground. 'Amateurs' you thought. You had a path set out for you already.
As you went through you noticed another, fresher trail. It wasn't from a human. There was a gaping trench leading behind some large plants with a gasping odor. You looked behind the brush while covering your nose. Something picked some leaves from the bush, very recently too. You saw the trail leading up to the bush that left the trench in the grass. It curved around then suddenly flipped, startled by something. You had to move faster.
You came to a river where both tracks intersected. The trench following the prints, it was following the poacher as well. As you walked through the river, making sure you had no leeches on you, you heard a snapping sound in the distance and saw birds rush out of the trees. You ran with the tracks, but stayed a tree away in case there was something waiting for you. As you ran you came to a small clearing where you saw something move. You hid behind a tree as soon as you saw this.
Out of the corner of your eye you could see something hanging from a tree, caught in a net. You looked closer and saw what was inside. A snake anthro, just as you heard, Nagas if you remembered the name right. It was male with brown skin, and black patches over its greenish yellow eyes. He looked young, maybe younger than you, but taller. He had a grey underside and light patches of beige on his face and across his back. His hair looked like brown dreads, but they were made of scales and looked more like snakes coming off the top of his head; two were white. He had a beaded necklace, beads woven into his hair, and cloth armbands. He was holding a bag with leaves falling out of it, he must have been the one harvesting.
You watched him breath heavily and staring intently at something. You slid a little past the tree and saw a man looking up to the net and walking with a blade held out. You made sure to step only on the roots and move slowly behind the trees. The man was talking to the naga as he walked, you weren't really listening. The naga only watched him angrily and wasn't responding. "Tracking down one of you was hard enough. Trapping you was even harder. The one I was after escaped, but you decided to get follow me." You pulled out your handgun and knife, shooting him in the legs would probably put him down fast. Thankfully he wasn't that far away.
He was almost up to the net while you got up to the nearest tree behind him. "You know what me and my friends are going to do to you? Fuck, I don't know either. We might kill you and use your scaly ass to get a nice profit. Or maybe we could find some nice old rich man to give you to. Some old fucker that you'll probably get lucky enough to be his number one bitch. What do you think of that!?" You signaled the naga by shining your knife to the light. He blinked and looked to you for a moment before looking down to the hunter and slowly put on a smile.
"What the fuck you smiling at!"
The naga finally spoke in a soft young hissing voice, it almost sound like two voices overlapping each other, "...you know what I think..." You undid your safety and aimed behind his leg, "...I think you're funny..." Before the hunter could talk back he was already on the ground screaming in pain. You walked up to them while holstering your gun back in your bag. "Killing him would be easssier..." the naga looked down at him with a smirk.
"That's not my job. I just catch them...well maybe rough them up a bit before hand," you had to admit after what you just did, "I guess you have every right to feel that way though." You walked up to the naga and pulled out your knife to cut him out. He fell with a small flop and untangled himself. "Who are you?"
"Kulaya, I'm a soon to be shaman from my village," he stood up to his full height. His supported body was about 8 ft. high while the rest of his tail was about half as less of twice, making him around 20 ft.
After tying the man with some rope Kulaya bowed to you but winced in pain. "What's wrong?"
"Do not conssern yourself human. It'sss from the metal the man usssed to hang me," he was holding onto his waist.
"Let me see it."
"I can treat myssself in my village."
"Yes, but I can deal with this right now with the stuff in my bag." You took his hand off his waist, there was a large gash that reached around to his back. You could already see dirt in the wound.
"No! I already owe a debt to you..."
"Be still, I can't work if your moving," he stopped complaining and relaxed as you worked on his wound. "There, keep that bandage on you and you won't get a scar. It's going to hurt for a while."
"...thank you...sssir..."
"What's that, no more calling me human?"
"You dessserve ressspect. Pardon my talking earlier. I wasss angry."
"It's understandable," you stood up and took a look into his face as he looked down to the ground. Then he looked up to you. He had a sweet look to his face, just like a young boys who is just coming to maturity. He just held his waist and looked like he had a few things he wanted to say.
You noticed his bag still on the ground since he fell and it slid off. As you picked it up you heard someone yell in a similar voice to Kulaya and it obviously wasn't the hunter who you both ignored the screams from behind the gag you put on him. "Kulaya, get away from that human!" a large naga holding a spear yelled from the trees, two guards were following him.
"Sssori it'sss alright this man ssaved me! The true evil is thisss man on the ground," he pointed to the hunter who was now staring nervously at the nagas.
"Don't worry about him, he can't run anymore anyway."
"Take him away, have shaman Taiya paralyzzze him then throw him out of the foressst. We will not have any taint on our handsss from human huntersss," one of the nagas dragged him off. "Now who is thisss."
"Thisss iss..."
"My name isn't important. I capture poachers and take care of their traps in forests to keep the animals safe from them."
"Ahh, a protector of the treesss. Pleassse come back to the village. I'm sssure our chief will wissh to ssspeak with you. And please exxxcuse my rudenessss. We have been wary of humansss asss of late."
You followed them through the forests. You didn't have much else to do besides collecting your money then moving onto the next job so you may as well stay.
Their home was beautiful. It was made from tree houses and huts set on either side of a river that ran from a low waterfall. Their chief's house was at the top of the hill the river ran down. Many nagas slithered around talking and occasionally looking at you with friendly eyes. You were surprised to see so many in such a happy place. Some kids even wanted to get a closer look at you and their parents asked if they could. You let them.
Sori led you into the chief's home which was a beautifully accented room covered in paintings and woven artwork. At the back in front of a large stone slab was a long and large male naga with hair draping over a mask, his tail was so long that it reached around the room. He was a king cobra at that with many embroideries and beads. You sat with Sori and Kulaya as the cobra spoke. "You were the one who sssaved my nephew?" the naga spoke with a deep and foreboding, yet welcoming voice. "You have my gratitude beyond wordsss. I've also heard you deal with othersss sssuch as the hunter you defeated earlier. I am obligated to you, but I must asssk sssomething of you. Will you hear my requesst?"
"Of course."
"We need sssomeone like you. A kind man who knowss what to do about intrudersss. We are a gentle people, one with the earth and sssoil. I asssk that you may ssstay with usss and help protect our people. We know that you make a living in keeping huntersss and their weapons at bay ssso wwe assk that you would do ssso here. Of course we will give you a home and..."
"You don't need to say anymore. You had me at 'keeping hunters' at bay."
"Then it'sss sssettled you may ssstay with Kulaya." Kulaya looked embarrassed, but oddly satisfied.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
