Kaa's Cub

Written by senshi05 and edited by WTF123

Cover Art by Crafty-Cobra on deviantart

Prologue

The high noon sun streamed down throughout the African jungle canopy, hot and searing as it always was. Amongst the lush plant life and gorgeous views that could be found within this region, other things dwelled that some would deem unworthy of living there. The cunning, manipulative python that was Kaa felt to be in high spirits as he slithered on the moist, yet lush Jungle floor in the middle of the day. He had managed to find a meerkat and a large warthog on one of his monthly hunts last night as they were singing an odd tune about sleeping lion of all things. He had grabbed the meerkat with his tail by the neck, and ignoring his bellowing squeals for mercy, Kaa had swallowed him whole before he knew what happened. His struggle and pleads were most entertaining as he slid down Kaa's gullet. Next, he hypnotized the warthog accompanying the meerkat, but the poor fool hardly put up a fight as Kaa gulped him down as well. This had happened roughly an hour before, and never again would their cheerful songs or bater ever be heard within the boundaries of the jungle, nor anywhere else now for that matter.

By now, the warthog's body was nearly digested with a bulge in Kaa's stomach now smaller far than before, yet just barely still visible. The small critters Kaa passed by saw it and could only hope such a grim fate would never befall them. Kaa's reputation in the jungle was very wide-spread, and not for any positive reasons. All who lived there, even alligators and elephants feared him, despite what they'd say about the matter. He had the potential to rule them all as their king at any time he wished, but such a thing didn't appeal to the snake much to their relief. However, he loved the power he'd feel when his prey was in his grasp, tortured by his coil's mighty constriction. With each victim the malicious snake would claim, it would mean little more to him than another meal, whereas for the animals around him, it would have been added to the tragically long, long list of innocent victims Kaa had killed over the years, attributed to his unfortunately sadistic and masochistic ways of thinking when it came to the food chain. As far he was concerned, he had always been on top, and he was proud of it.

As he wandered aimlessly to the edge of the jungle where the African desert loomed, Kaa was about to settle down to bathe in the sun's heat and let his meal digest more, as he was typically accustomed to whenever he ate. However, his eye was caught by the distant sight of vultures gathering on the ground not far ahead of him. He squinted to see that there was a small lion cub amongst them, who had most likely collapsed from the desert's harsh climate.

With his curiosity piqued, Kaa decided to slither on over to see up close for himself just who this lion cub was. The sight of the infamous snake was enough to make the vultures beat it without a second thought. Looking down at the lion cub, Kaa could tell that the poor thing was exhausted, starving and dehydrated. He couldn't help but be impressed at how tightly the young one clung onto life even at the very end of his rope.

In any case, the cub was completely helpless and would make a fine meal... if Kaa hadn't eaten already. He was about to slither off and let the cub die in peace before, as though fate itself had requested it, a mad thought popped into his head. Some of his prey were young lion cubs who were very fool-hardy in the face of danger as they attempted to emulate their parents. He enjoyed their delusions of courage and resilience as he'd hypnotize them into blissful submission. Sometimes, he'd forgo the hypnosis altogether and constrict them while watching their horrified faces and witnessing in ecstasy as their eyes shot into crimson red from the breaking of their blood vessels, a sight he was used to seeing by that point in his life. All in all, they were some of his favorite prey.

Perhaps the cub there would provide him with sufficient entertainment as a pet, Kaa thought as a sinister smile widened on his face. He had a very good feeling about this...