“Oh yessss,” the python said politely as he eyed her.
“I-I swear I m-must be dreaming. S-snakes c-can’t talk.” She stuttered in shock.
“Oh no, my dear. I’m jusssst as real as you can feel me,” he assured her, rubbing his tail across her hand, which she coiled back from.
“Pleasssse don’t be afraid, my dear,” he whispered again soothingly, his head circling around her. “I won’t harm you. I merely wissssh to help you with your pain.”
Cimmeron very slowly relaxed, peeling herself away from the trunk of the tree. “You really don’t mean any harm?” she asked suspiciously, eyeing the serpent’s enormous body disappearing and reappearing amongst the leaves and branches of the tree.
Kaa smiled sweetly and formed an X with a few of his coils over his chest where his heart would be. “Crossss my heart and hope to die,” he promised. “And besidesss, I already had my ssssupper not long ago, sssso I’m quite ssssatisssfied.”
Cimmeron eyed him, but relaxed completely, sitting back down on the branch. “Well, if you say so…”
“I do sssay ssso,” he replied. Then he chuckled suddenly. “Oh, yess, where are my mannersss? Introductionsss need to be made. My name isss Kaa.”
“I’m Cimmeron,” she said hesitantly, still a little concerned if he was going to attack her.
“Ccccimmeron?” Kaa said slowly, the name unusual in his mouth.
“Yeah, Cimmeron. It’s pronounced ‘Sim-ER-on’. Like ‘Let’s simmer down’ with an ‘on’ and spelled with a ‘C’ at the beginning.” She said slowly.
“Cccimmeron." he said slowly, relishing the name on his tongue. "Why, what a lovely name!” Kaa said cheerfully, smiling. “It’s very unique. I have never heard of it before.”
The young lady smiled just a little. “Thank you. And yeah, I get that a lot. Not many people have that name,” she said with a shrug.
“I can tell,” Kaa nodded as he examined her closer. She was tall, and though she wasn’t as thin as many other girls he’s seen, she certainly wasn’t fat either. She was wearing a short sleeved shirt that stretched just a little over her well developed chest and showed her stomach, showing off her curves. Her ripped Levi shorts showed off her strong and supple long legs. Her short brown hair framed her oval face. Her lips were full and soft, and her blue eyes were kind and sweet. Yet there was also a fire in them that showed determination and a fighting spirit. Truly, she would be a delicacy to his taste buds. But he decided to play it out with her instead. Perhaps she could make a valuable slave to his will.
“Well, now that introductionsss have been made, would you like to tell me what issss on your mind?” he asked kindly, his tail slowly sliding onto her shoulder.
Cimmeron eyed it, but she did not push it off. It felt comforting, like a warm hand on her shoulder. She sighed, deciding to let it out.
“I’m new to this country,” she began thoughtfully. “My parents and I moved to live here for a year because my parents had to do some business. I am trying to fit in to the high school here. Some people are polite, but they never really want to get to know me. The other kids either ignore me or they pretend to be nice to me and then use and humiliate me.” Tears began to burn in her eyes as she talked, her lip trembling.
“Oh sssurely not! Not a sssweet girl like you,” Kaa said in a concerned tone, his head and body sliding over her lap as he moved to look at her at another angle.
Unconsciously, her hands stroked Kaa as she talked; it was a habit to do something with her hands when she got deep into talking, like playing with her hair or fiddling with a pencil. “Yeah, they do. I try to be nice, but they avoid me like the plague! Maybe it’s because I’m not from here. Maybe I’m coming on too strong. Maybe I’m just a freak no matter what. It’s been two months since we moved, and I have tried sucking it up, but I don’t know if I can last much longer! I want to go home. I just want a friend.” Tears fell down her eyes and onto Kaa’s skin as she began to cry again, her sobs shaking her body.
Looking on the young woman, Kaa felt slightly sorry for her. He sort of knew what it was like to be lonely. As grateful as he was for his powerful build and hypnotizing eyes that made everyone fear and respect him, everyone ran away from him when they saw him, even though he may not be looking for a meal, which got lonely sometimes. Taking pity on her, he decided that perhaps it would be better to make her his slave AND his friend.