Shasha's Slumber
By Limewah
Commission for Shashacat
The forest's inky blackness was speared by the torch-like presence of the little white cat. Between her fluffy, almost luminescent fur, and her pink clothes, she practically radiated light.
She might as well have had a big flashing sign that said `I'm prey, attack me' over her head.
She wasn't doing herself any favours with her movements, either. She was staggering along and groaning her head off, flinching and cursing at every little twig and branch that clung to her fur. Her tail seemed to have a life of its own, from the way it was wriggling to and fro like a pouting child.
This wasn't the first time she'd wandered through here, though. And previous attempts to gobble her up hadn't gone particularly well for the would-be predators.
The naga understood that they would have to be cautious about their approach. Not that they had any intention of eating her... far from it! All they wanted was to find out if that little kitty was as cloud-soft as she looked. They'd followed her on many an occasion, but was never quick enough to the punch before some other careless pred made their move and got their comeuppance.
The naga's piercing blue eyes gazed carefully, and a grin spread along their red and white-furred snout. Their ebony, iridescent coils were invisibly draped overhead and all around the surrounding tree tops. When the cat slowed to a halt and stopped to grouse some more, the naga made their move.
Slowly, the figure slithered down from the tree tops and crept behind the figure. Their scales were silent against the forest floor.
She was grumbling... almost like she was talking to herself. The naga wondered if maybe she had an imaginary friend.
The tip of her thick tail suddenly veered around, like it had a mind of its own - it turned out it did. The naga watched with confusion as a toothy maw opened up and snarled in their direction. The cat wheeled around, and the naga barely had time to put their hands in the air before she was upon them. She was small, barely over 3 feet, but incredibly nimble.
She'd leapt onto the upper half of the panda, bracing her feet on their stomach and holding the point of a knife to their throat. The tail-maw loomed over the two of them, grinning and licking its `lips' with a bright pink tongue.
The naga swallowed, their pupils going quite small indeed, their teeth bared in a submissive grimace.
``Whoa-whoa-whoa!'' they sputtered. ``Didn't mean to s-neak up on you...''
They took great pains to cut their sibilance short, not wanting to give the game away.
``Ah-hah.'' she nodded. ``Judging from your lack of clothes and your... scent, I take it you've been here a while.''
``Mmm, kinda...... could you, uh...?''
``Not quite yet, red panda.'' she relaxed just a little bit, still glowering with her bright pink eyes.
...She had some pretty dark bags under them, too. She was overtired, cranky... but more vulnerable to their charms, if they played their cards right.
``You look like you're on edge,'' the naga gulped. ``You've been out here a bit, and I get that. It can get kinda... dangerou-s out here. and I can s... help you find a good sp- place to chill out till morning!''
``This would be very nice,'' she said. Her gaze was still focused on the naga's face... as was her tail. Which meant that the panda-naga's tail could work its way from the trees above, slowly and surely coming closer. They planned to pull her out of stabbing range, but keep her well within trancing range. The sooner they pacified her with their hypnotic gaze, the better...
``What is your name?'' the cat asked.
``Ah, ahem...'' the naga didn't... actually have a name. They never had a need for one. They searched their brain for a series of phonemes that would be vaguely name-like.
``B...Bevin.''
Nailed it.
``Ah-hah.'' the cat crooked an eyebrow. ``Mine is Shasha.''
A very pretty name... and one that the naga desperately wanted to repeat. But it was too risky at that moment.
Besides, their tail was almost there. Just hovering a few inches away from the fluffy tail. A quick tug would shock her, ruin her concentration, and leave her ripe for the trancing. She wouldn't see the colours coming...
Shasha's brow furrowed, and her stare sharpened.
``Is something the matter, Bevin? You've gone quiet...''
''N-no, not at all!'' The naga stammered. They were getting ahead of themself... their gaze kept flicking away from Shasha's gaze, still watching their tail ease closer and closer from above. Ready to strike, or more accurately, to hold and caress...
The mouthy tail tip suddenly turned, twigged to the extra presence. It moved faster than the naga could blink. It clamped down on the naga's tail with a sharp bite, wasting no time in gnawing and worrying it.
Shasha's fur stood on end and her eyes went wide and dilated.
''PLEH!'' Her pink tongue pushed out of her mouth as she sputtered - was she tasting the naga's tail too? It probably wasn't a nice feeling...
She turned and swatted at her tail, barking some orders in a language the naga had never heard before. She swatted with her paw at the black snaketail and grabbed hold, yanking it free and allowing it to dangle and quiver, injured and slightly bent.
''Tasha! DROP it!''
The naga-panda had very nearly bitten off their lower lip, they'd been trying so hard to keep themself from screaming. Shasha was looking the other way, for the moment
``You were not lying when you said there were dangers...''
Shasha was looking up towards the treetops, watching the black snake tail retreat up.
``I wager that thing would be large enough to devour us both.''
``Not a chancssse of that,'' the naga said. It was now or never.
-
When Shasha turned back to face the red panda again, she was struck by the slightly pained annoyance on their face. As well as the slight trickle of blood on their lower lip.
But far more striking than that were the colours. Their eyes were swirling, now. No longer blue, but a golden beacon-like yellow, with rings of purple flowing through them like ripples in a pond. Or were they golden ripples in a purple pond...?
A fascinating question, one she suddenly felt very keen to learn the answer to.
Her eyes filled with those same colours.
``You're too pretty to eat,'' the panda said... what was their name again? She couldn't remember. The colours were too pretty to allow her to remember. She was more focused on them. They were the two most important things in front of her.
``You look sssso tired, too. Sssso on edge. Have you noticssed jussst how tired you are, Sssshasha~?''
Shasha hadn't noticed. But now that they were mentioning it... She did feel exhausted. Her legs were heavy and her tail was sluggish...
Her tail tugged at her frantically, yelling some of its usual annoying gibberish at her.
``Call that thing off,'' the naga said, a little firmly.
``Drop it.'' Shasha said, snapping her fingers sharply. She was so used to making her tail heel it was an unconscious gesture. One that would allow her to return to the task at hand. Besides... the pleasure would catch up with her tail soon as well, and it would feel just as relaxed and sleepy as her.
``That'sss much better, little kitty.''
The forked tongue flicked against her nose, and her own pink tongue curled up to lick it in a reflexive response. A tail tugged at her hindquarters again... this time, not her own. It was smooth, and cool, and very dextrous. It drew her attention to just how warm the forest was, and her summer coat had only done so much to mitigate it. But as the snake-tail wrapped around her torso and her slackening arms, their texture and temperature made her shiver with pleasure.
She noticed there was a slight twinge of pain in the panda's face as their eyes swirled.
``Nnhh, you bite hard,'' they grumbled. ``But it'sss okay, you're pacsssified now, aren't you? No more violent impulsssesss... jussst the desire to ssstare, and sssink. A little deeper with each new ring, a little further...~''
Shasha yawned. The voice made her feel incredibly sleepy. Even though her mind had managed to put together what was happening to her, and who - or what - this red panda was... she felt very safe. It was good that this friendly beast was hypnotising her. It was making her sleepy, and sleep felt like a good idea. The coils were pushing into her, and the pressure grew thicker the more of their body wrapped around her. It reminded her of being wrapped in cool, freshly laundered sheets. Like a big, cool duvet, ready to be warmed to the perfect temperature by her body heat.
''There we are...'' the naga-panda crooned. ``Deeper into my coilsss... deeper into the sssafety of my hypnotic power... knowing you're doing ssso good, and ssso very sssafe... sssafe enough to ressst, and no need to resissst...''
The colours pulsed faster, and the little burst made her body dip and tingle like she was dropping down the first dip in a roller coaster. It was shocking, but exhilarating, and it made her more aware of just how much she was purring. When the tail tip rested on top of her head, it traced little circles on the top, and she grunted softly, contentedly.
Her eyelids were drooping further, ever further, with each pulse and ripple. The tail tickled along her whiskers, and she turned her head towards it, bunting it as her purring grew louder still.
The naga grinned with delight, moving nose to nose with the sleepy cat and letting the eyes pulse even faster. Her body quivered like she was getting an electric shock.
''Mrrp!''
''Mmmh, you're even sssofter than I thought you'd be,'' the naga-wah growled, giving her warm, cottony body another little squeeze. The fur took up so much of her apparent mass, and her body was so slender and firm beneath it all. ``Get niiiice and comfy for me....''
Her legs squirmed, and her drooping tail slumped down beneath her, its dopey smiling maw brushing against the forest floor. The black coils continued to cover every inch of her; cinching her thighs together, tucking her paws in against her torso,
Shasha mewled, not a hint of sentience behind those swirling eyes as they drifted closer to total closure. Her eyelids were fluttering, straining to remain open so the swirl-drunk cat could take them in. She didn't want to stop staring. But she wanted to sleep. But...
``Aww... poor thing... you don't know if you want to ssstare or sssleep, right?''
Shasha's eyes lit up - even brighter than they had been. They were exactly right...
''Let me help you, then...'' the naga whispered. ``Ssssleeep...''
''Mmmrrarh...'' Shasha looked like she was trying to say something, even as the glow of her eyes was hidden behind her eyelids.
``Rrrmmnh.... Meowww...'' she almost seemed frustrated, unable to articulate proper words. She mewled again, seemingly getting a little desperate...
The naga would put a stop to that.
``Ssssleeee-pah~'' they hissed and hushed her, their tailtip sliding down her forehead and guiding her eyelids to instinctually drift closed in tandem with the downward motion.
She couldn't reopen them. She was surrounded by the black coils, and with them, a deep, dark sleep descended over her instantaneously.
''Nhg!'' Shasha grunted suddenly, like she'd been jostled, and her head lolled to one side.
Her muzzle was parted, and her throat rattled with something between a purr and a snore. Another, louder snore was coming from the forest floor, where Tasha, the tail, was just as zonked out.
The coils shivered as the naga giggled with pleasure, giving her a tighter, snugger hug. Her purrs were making her whole body vibrate.
``Mrrraarh....'' She mewled loudly, unselfconscously, as drool dribbled and smeared over the naga's shining scales. The naga couldn't help but groan with pleasure of their own.
``Oh, you're perfect... let'sss get you up into the treetopsss, sssweetie. I'll keep you sssnuggled all night long... you'll thank me for this nice sssleep in the morning, won't you?''
``Thank you... Bevin...''
``Who's that- oh.''
The naga-wah cringed. They really needed to come up with a proper fake name.
Shasha's lips curled into a little smile, as she mumbled incoherently. Or maybe it was Tasha making the noise. Not that it mattered. The naga hoisted her upwards in the long scaffold of coils, easing her up into the dark trees above. They swung her back and forth, coaxing her into an ever deeper slumber. Her head pitched forward and her mouth rubbed against the surging scales, smearing and dribbling more shining spittle all over them.
The white shape, almost completely covered in black iridescence, vanished from view entirely.
The forest was quiet. Save for the soft sound of two little mouths snoring away... and the intermittent hissing chuckle of Shasha's gracious host.
![[SNEAK PEEK] Shasha's Slumber](https://va.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4969/4969340_leembeam_shasha_s_slumber_sneak_peek.jpg "[SNEAK PEEK] Shasha's Slumber")
