Blessings of the Forest (giantessfanx and Zephyr42)

[giantessfanx]

“Great. It’s a bit of a ways from here but nothing too serious.” She said. She took a bite out of the fruit she picked up and put her other hand on Bart’s shoulder to lead him along as she started slithering off with him.

[Zephyr42]

Bart nodded. He was a little bit taken off-guard by the hand on his shoulder, but he accepted it. He did lean on Sagelia a little, still being unused to slithering. Now was a good time for some questions, if he could phrase them right. "So, how long have you lived here?" he asked.

[giantessfanx]

“This particular place? Oh, about seven years. Found it a little after I left my parents’ place. It took a while to make it comfortable, but I think I did a good job.” Sagelia replied, “How about you? How long have you lived here?”

[Zephyr42]

"Just got here," Bart told her. Thank goodness that answer was easy to come up with. "I'm from quite a ways away." Hopefully that would cover for any suspicious statements he made.

[giantessfanx]

It made sense to Sagelia that Bart wasn’t from around here, it certainly explained why she hadn’t seen him before.

Eventually she came to a stop at the base of a massive tree. “Well, here’s my home.” She said as she pulled a section of bark open to reveal a tunnel leading down into the earth. She led the way down, the tunnel leveled out and widened into a cave lit by an assortment of glowing lichens. Sagelia blew gently on a nearby patch, which glowed brighter and caused the rest to increase their glow as well, giving better lighting to the chamber.

A large animal hide was spread out like a rug in the center. In several places patterns had been scratched out in the stone walls for decoration. Several knick-knacks Sagelia had collected over the years, like a crystal about the size of her fist and a strange golden statue, were set on protrusions and cavities in the walls. Through a rough archway another smaller chamber was visible, what looked like a pile of more animal skins would on closer inspection would be revealed to be a homemade mattress and blankets.

[Zephyr42]

Bart's eyes widened. "Wow." He couldn't help it: this was the first time he'd been in a naga's den before. He hadn't even thought of them having dens before Sagelia had brought it up, much less thought of going into one. He couldn't help slithering over and admiring her little collection of items. "Nice place you have here," he said.

[giantessfanx]

“Thank you. I was lucky to find it.” Sagelia said as she slithered over beside him. “I found most of these while out hunting. This forest is just full of secrets and treasures.” The thought struck her that she’d found Bart much the same way she’d found the items in her collection.

[Zephyr42]

Bart nodded, then kept looking around. He was silent for a good while, not wanting to dive into the awkwardness of small talk right off the bat. It was only when the awkwardness of silence began to pile up that he actually started speaking again. "Sooo, any plans for the rest of the day?" he asked.

[giantessfanx]

“Oh, not all that much.” Sagelia replied with a shrug, “Some sunning, some more hunting later in the day, maybe do some work on getting through to that new chamber.” She gestured towards a section of wall by the arch to her bedroom where a hole was visible was well as signs of someone chipping away at the stone to widen said hole. There was indeed another chamber visible through the hole, about the same size as her bedroom. “I figure having a second sleeping space would be good to have if I have children someday.”

[Zephyr42]

"Huh?" Bart looked at the second chamber. "Oh! That's nice." Then a thought occurred to him. "Do you have, like, a husband or a boyfriend or someone?" He really needed somewhere to stay the night, and hoped that, if Sagelia didn't have anyone else, she wouldn't mind having a guest.

[giantessfanx]

“No, I don’t. Truthfully you’re the first naga I’ve seen since I moved out of my parent’s place. It seems odd, Mom and Dad had a few friends, and from what they said their parents had seen plenty of other nagas… It’s like we’re disappearing or something. Or maybe I’ve just moved to a part of the forest no one else has come to yet.” Sagelia said.

She noted how Bart specifically asked about her having a husband or boyfriend, rather than if she lived alone or not. Was he perhaps looking to fill such a position? It was an interesting thought, she did find him attractive and he seemed nice.

[Zephyr42]

Bart blinked. "Really?" he asked. He knew nagas were a rare sight, but this... He was tempted to call it unreal. His heart ached: he could only imagine how lonely she could be. The fact that she was as sunny as she was felt miraculous.

Well, no longer. "Well, I'm glad to meet you," he said, "and I think I'm going to like having you as a neighbor." Then something occurred to him. "Until I find a home, though, would you mind if I stayed with you? I'd do anything you wanted me to in exchange."

[giantessfanx]

“I wouldn’t mind you staying a while. I’m sure we’ll find ways for you to earn your keep.” Sagelia said. Certainly she had a few ideas of what he could do for her in exchange for shelter, but it felt better to wait until they knew each other better for most of them.

“But in the meantime, why don’t you make yourself comfortable and we talk a little.” She said as she coiled up on the rug, using her tail like a seat.

[Zephyr42]

Bart smiled. "Thanks," he said. He watched Sagelia coil up on the rug. His attempt to copy her was a little less graceful. Eventually, though, he wound up in a... semi-organized pile, with himself laid out over the top. Trying to seem nonchalant about this, he waited for Sagelia to start speaking.

[giantessfanx]

The conversation started a bit awkwardly at first, but as time went on it smoothed out and the two of them really started hitting it off. They talked for such a long time they’d missed the time Sagelia normally went out hunting again; but she had a work-around for that, getting up and going to a hidden storage area and brought back some kind of homemade jerky –both meat and plant based- for them to eat while they kept talking. They reluctantly stopped when yawns started to frequently interrupt the flow of conversation. At that point Sagelia brought out the blankets form her bedroom. Since it was still the warm season she could sleep comfortably without them and Bart could use them as extra padding between him and the floor.

In the days that followed Bart would accompany Sagelia when she went out hunting, the two of them looking for a place for Bart to live as well as searching for food. During these hunts Bart would learn that nagas preyed on more than just humans. Indeed it seemed that to nagas humans were more of a delicacy eaten whenever possible rather than common dietary staple. Most of their hunts ended with them eating creatures of the forest like deer, though every few days or so they would come across a human or two to eat.

About a month after they met it had become a sort of unspoken mutual acknowledgement between the two nagas that Bart had effectively moved in with Sagelia. One day she led them deeper towards the heart of the forest, where the trees grew so tall and wide that it was like the two of them were normal sized humans rather than the towering giants they were, so Sagelia could gather materials to expand her mattress to accommodate the two of them.
Here in the heart of the forest the animals, like the trees and plants, were larger. Sagelia personally took down a couple of creature that looked like giant boars and one like a male deer, leaping at the beasts to coil around and constrict them like a python. They lugged the carcasses back home where Sagelia got a knife made of stone and bone to skin the animals. As she worked she had Bart start a fire, which she used with some strange ingredient to cure the hides so they would be comfortable and wouldn’t decay. Some of the meat she cooked over the fires, season with plants around her home, for them to eat then and there. While nagas did prefer live fresh prey, cooked meat was still a viable food. Most of the rest of the meat she cut into strips to dry into the jerky-like stuff they’d eaten their first night together.

After that she gathered the leftover organs, bones and other unused remains of the animals and took them, to Bart’s surprise, to the grove where they first met. When asked Sagelia explained her belief, and probably a belief all nagas in the forest held, that the spirits of the forest would reuse the remains to create new life for the forest. Sagelia then washed in a stream before they returned home, where got to work with the hides and a large quantity of a straw-like plant to modify her mattress to fit the two of them. She completed the task just in time for nightfall.
That night the two of them slept together for the first time. They cuddled close together, not for heat but simple closeness. Neither felt it was time just yet to get intimate, but both felt such a time was coming soon.

During their hunt the next morning they came across a sight that definitely delighted Sagelia: a human campsite of four tents circled around the remains of a campfire in a small clearing. “This is great.” Sagelai whispered excitedly, “There’s enough for each of us to have at least two depending on how many there are in those tents.” She paused a moment to think then whispered, “Alright. I’ll go about a quarter circle to the right while you do the same to the left, we’ll come out of the foliage and ring around the camp with our tails. That should keep them from escaping while we feast.”

[Zephyr42]

Bart gradually started to warm up to Sagelia. Truly warm up. He still didn't mention that he used to be a human, but he was a little more free with other information about himself. Though he still censored himself for information only humans would have, he shared what he could pass off as having heard from humans.

In terms of skills, Bart was a quick learner. He was still clumsy on his coils: that probably wasn't going to change any time soon. But he was dexterous with his hands, capable of skinning and butchering animals with barely any scraps of waste. He was also good at making fire, but he'd had years of practice with that.

As the month progressed, Bart was hoping he could stay with Sagelia, and it was a good day when she finally completely gave up on finding a place for him. As the days went on, he experimented with the limits of how close he could get. He was careful not to get too close too soon, though, but he couldn't help holding her close to him in the evenings. Getting to lie with her in the nights was a wonderful experience, and even though they were not having sex, he still held her close in the night.

The next day, Bart nodded before he began to slither into place. In the space of a month, he was starting to lose connection to his humanity. Now, he was starting to see the humans as food first and anything else much later.

[giantessfanx]

Sagelia waited a moment after she got into position to give Bart time to do the same. Then she quietly emerged from the foliage. She stopped at the edge of the camp, circling her tail to the right until it rest against Bart’s. With the size of the humans’ camp the nagas had plenty of tail length left over after surrounding the camp they could use the ends of their tails without creating any holes in their little wall.

“Rise and shine little humans. It’s time for breakfast.” Sagelia said loudly.

[Zephyr42]

Bart didn't say much of anything, even after he'd hemmed in the camp. Instead, he just reached down and plucked up the tents. Holding them above the ground, he thus kept the occupants from leaving. This sudden shift in position also helped wake up the campers, especially when he gave the tent an extra shake or two.

[giantessfanx]

The screams that came from the tents Bart picked up suggested that there was at least two humans in each tent.

A young woman scrambled out of one of the tents by Sagelia, still dressed in her night garments. She screamed as she saw the two giant nagas, and when the end of Sagelia’s tail wrapped around her ankle and hoisted her into the air.

Sagelia held the woman before her face for a moment before smiling over at Bart. She brought the woman up over Bart’s head, dangling her upside down. “Open wide and say ‘ah’, sweetie.” She said playfully.

[Zephyr42]

Bart smiled at the revelation. They'd be eating good today. He thought of feeding his friend, but she beat him to the punch. So he opened his mouth wide. "Ahhh..." As he did that, he transferred all of his tents to one hand. His tail wasn't nearly flexible enough to do what Sagelia was doing.