Unexpected Love#4

                                  Unexpected Love#4




    “Ok. I got water. Some fruit and a knife and whatever else we will need.” Mari said as she packed a bag for him and her.
“Will that be enough for us?”
“It should be till we find this shaman. And so I can get on with my life and you with yours.”
Kaa felt his heart pang a bit at the tone. But he couldn’t understand why. He followed suit as Mari grabbed her bag and flung it over her shoulder. Nobody was up yet at the village beside a few other early-risers who were going out to work with their livestock in the fields nearby. Mari led Kaa outside and to the river that separated the village from the jungle. Once they crossed, Mari had Kaa lead her into the jungle.


  Kaa pushed back some bushes with his hands. Mari grumbled a bit about how she was willingly following him. Kaa didn’t hesitate to tease her on that and she retaliated that if he tried anything he would be in for a world of hurt. Kaa quickly agreed since he had a reminder of how strong she was on his back and thigh. They were making their way through the swamp, the foggy air all around them.
“How far did you say you went when you were tracking the fawn?” Mari asked as she slouched through the brush.
“We are still a bit aways. Could be by the next day.”
“Wonderful.” Mari grumbled. She grabbed a vine, only once she put her weight on it, she twisted her ankle, spun around and hit her head, and went tumbling into the water. Kaa turned around and saw she wasn’t there,
“Girl-cub?”
He looked around, but no answer,
“Girl-cub?”
He saw bubbles from the river rising and felt panic grab him when he saw the broken vine hanging over the river and realized what happened. He dumped the bags off his shoulder and dived into the water. Even though he was human, Kaa moved his body through the water like a snake and went for her. He pulled her into his arms and brought them to the surface. Kaa pulled her out of the water and placed her on the muddy banks. He saw the small blow to her forehead. It was bleeding. Kaa took the end of his vest and wiped the blood away.
“Mari?” Calling her name for the first time.
He started to wrap his arms around her like he would with his tail and started squeezing her. Hoping it might wake her up. Her eyes popped open and she coughed up the water all over him. Kaa placed her down on the ground, watching her. She looked at him before giving him a heartfelt,
“Thank you.” And then she closed her eyes again.
Kaa felt his face warm up at the sincerity in her voice and felt himself smiling warmly. He realized what he was doing and started to shake his head. There he went again, going off on a tangent. He went back to looking at Mari, the darkness of her hair, her face…
“Gah!” He scolded himself by smacking his head upright. “What is wrong with me?” Not realizing he didn’t hiss that time.
“What am I doing? She’s still gonna be my meal when this is over.” He insisted to himself.


  Mari started to groan and Kaa jumped as she pulled herself up.
“Ugh, feel like I just went into a stampede of Haiti’s elephants.”
Kaa chuckled, “That’s what happens when you get hit on the head.”
Mari groaned as she got up, not in the mood for witty banter. Kaa frowned at her lack of banter. Mari got up and cracked her back. She wiped her brow and turned towards him.
“Ready to keep going?”
“Been waiting for you to awaken.” He answered.
Mari pulled up her soaking bag and threw it over her shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
Kaa picked up his bag and followed her as he went to take back up the lead, bumping purposely into her side.
“Hey!”
“Sorry.” He said with a smirk.
“Sure you are.” Mari said sarcastically, making the snake-human laugh as they went back on the trail. Mari though got a smirk on his face just as sly as Kaa’s as they were walking next to the river and rammed herself right into Kaa, making him go headfirst into the water. Mari fell to the ground laughing as Kaa popped out of the water, looking irritated.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Mari said.
Kaa glowered at her, “You made a big mistake.”
“Ohh I’m so scared.” Mari said, shaking her hands in fake fright.
Kaa acted and grabbed her by the ankle, pulling her into the water. Mari yelped as she landed. When she came up she had got face half-covered in the muck and a piece of grass from below stuck in her hair. Kaa couldn’t help but laugh at the face. Mari pouted, till she wiped some mud off her face and threw it at Kaa, making him knock back into the river from the sudden action. Kaa came up with a glare, but Mari was playfully smirking, gesturing with her hands, ‘bring it on.’ Kaa smirked and grabbed some muck from below his feet and threw it at Mari. And so began a playful water fight between Mari and Kaa. Instead of going at each other’s throats, Kaa and Mari were having fun together. Their laughter filled the air.


  It was late in the day, the sun was setting, making the sky filled with shades of pink, yellow, red, and orange as the moon started to go up. Mari and Kaa were back to walking after their little playing session in the river. Kaa had to admit, he had a lot of fun with her. It was nice to just have fun for a bit, even if it was with her. Kaa started to find himself getting confused about why his actions were changing around her. He was losing his desire to try and eat her and instead, just enjoyed getting to know her. Mari and Kaa stopped at a small spot underneath some banana trees.
“We can make camp here tonight and maybe be over to the shamans by tomorrow or the day after. Depending upon how fast we go.” She said as she unpacked her bag of provisions.
“I agree.” Kaa said as he started taking out items from his bag. His eyes kept drifting to Mari, but he firmly kept reminding himself that there was no reason to act like this. He was going to be back to normal and the two would go back to hating each other. Simple as that. He watched as Mari laid out a firm hard mat and placed it on the ground and then rummaged through her backpack. Kaa watched her take out long black sticks and started putting them into certain angles as she also pulled out a blanket and started to thrust the sticks into it.
“What are you doing?” Kaa asked.
“Pitching a tent.”
“Tent?”
“Yes, humans use this when we are out traveling on the road. The tent acts as a shelter when they have to sleep somewhere overnight. Also keeping you safe from rain, heat, and wind.”
“Interesting, like your own cave you carry with you.” Kaa said.
“That’s exactly it. Now that this is all done, time to find some dinner.”
“I thought we brought food with us?”
“I did, but it would also be good to find something instead of always relying on what we have. We don’t know how long it’s gonna take to find the shaman and it’s better to use them only as a last resort.”
Mari saw a nearby branch on the tree next to her. She leaped up and tugged on it hard, making it break from the trunk. She grabbed a rock and started to sharpen one end of the stick.
“This will help to catch fish. I’ll be at the river.” She said as she started to walk off.
Kaa dropped what he was doing and followed her.



  Once Mari had caught four fish, she had them cooking over a blazing fire. Mari showed Kaa how to gut a fish and he soon started helping her not just gut but also cook and he found himself liking it. By the time the fish was done, Kaa was inhaling it and moving onto the last one on his leaf plate. Mari ate at a slower pace but laughed a bit at how Kaa’s appetite hadn’t changed as he tried eating it whole. By the time the moon had risen, the fire was out and both humans were in their tents. Kaa, on the other hand, was not sleeping, his mind was plagued with what happened today. He was feeling different around Mari, shaking his head at why he started calling her by her first name. They romped around in the river, teased one another in a non- coiling kind of way, and afterward, he actually, dare he say it, liked it when she showed him how to gut a fish and then cook it. He smiled, remembering how good the cooked fish was, just like the chicken from yesterday. Kaa frowned as he put a hand to his head, he didn’t feel warm or anything. He sighed,
“Why am I feeling like this with her?”
The last thought he had before he drifted off to sleep.