[SNEAK PEEK] Where Did You Hear That Song?
Story by limewah on SoFurry
Socket's trying to remember a song she learned in the Jungle. Luckily, the snake who sang it to her last is close at hand.
(thumbnail art by Outlet!)
This is just a preview; the full story will go live next month, but if that's simply too long to wait, head over to my Subscribestar to read it, and other stories like it, before everyone else~!
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Where Did You Hear That Song?
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By Limewah
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Trade for Outlet
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18+
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SNEAK PEEK
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The black and white cat announced her presence to all who could hear, without their consent - as she always did. Whether it was due to a desire to be heard, or a complete obliviousness to the need for quiet that so many jungle creatures needed, she unceasingly miaowed and yowled and chattered. Her confidant and cohort was nowhere to be seen, which only made the cat’s tuneless yells only slightly less grating. His attempts at a vocal harmony were painful.
“By th’ ranks in simple file…
“Over every jungle miiiile…”
Socket had fashioned a crude drinking cup out of the hollowed out skin of an under-ripe mango, and was drinking the juice of an over-ripened one - effervescent and intoxicating. Its juices were spilling out over her chin as she drank unsteadily, and her tongue lolled out to lap it up before it could settle.
She marched with raised knees, an attempt at martial precision that utterly failed to keep time.
“Oh we stamp ‘n crush thru’th… underbrush…”
She pursed her muzzle and blew out a whimpering trumpet - sound, mocking the elephants who'd just recently chased her and her friend away.
“inth’mitilaly shtyle… in the mimitarry style…!”
She cackled and collapsed against a tree, taking one last slurp from her goblet before casting it aside with a hiccough.
“Umnh… Outlet, d’ya have any more nectar…?”
She looked around through unsteady, half blinking eyes, confirming that she was alone.
“Ohhh right, you went thataway and I went thisaway…” she pointed a sluggish claw in two completely different directions. Her head was swimming too much for her to know her cardinal directions, or for her to see all the other jungle creatures glowering at her.
She kept meowing to herself, trying to find the tune again. Her head leaned against the rough tree bark and her eyes slipped closed.
She half-snored, mumbling to herself, her voice unrelenting even as she started to slumber. As her snores grew louder, so too did the discontent of the locals.
This particular wing of the jungle was full of nocturnal birds and little crawling creatures, who were finding themselves woken up at their equivalent to midnight. The chorus of grumbles and tiny complaints fell on deaf, half-asleep ears.
However, another passer-by had also taken notice, one with a far more direct relationship with Socket and her identical friend. He had recently shed his skin, and had gained a bit of an appetite
An emerald-green head descended to examine her as she slept standing-up. The snake cast a slow, methodical look around, and listened carefully. No sign of the other one, or that larger tiger who’d taken it upon herself to be their ward and protector…
There were no other temptations to throw him off course.
Kaa smacked his lips as his tail slid down to scoop up the discarded drinking-bowl. There was a little stream just within reach, conveniently enough.
Socket snored soundly, completely unaware until she felt something nudge her lips. She instinctively puckered them into a kiss.
The mango-goblet’s leathery texture pressed against her muzzle and tilted to pour liquid into her mouth. Something cold, sweetly refreshing in its tastelessness. She didn’t notice how dry her mouth and throat was until now - now that she was getting sweet relief.
“Thankssss Outlet,” she mumbled. “good thinkin’, spring water a day keeps th’hangover away…”
She sniffed at the air. She couldn’t smell Outlet’s fruit-wine breath. In fact, there was a distinct lack of odor all together. When she felt the smooth scales against her ankle, she kicked it sluggishly away before opening her eyes.
Kaa, the green-scaled python, was staring back at her, his yellow eyes wide and welcoming.
“What bringsss you ssso far from your usual ssstomping groundsss, my dear?”
She pushed away from the tree to get some space.
“Goway…” she said. “I know what you’re try’na do, Kaa-!”
She walked face-first into a head-height loop of coils, which promptly draped over her body and curled downwards around her in a lazy helix - not so much weighing her down as keeping her upright and supported.
“You do?” Kaa sounded a little surprised.
“Yuh-huh.” Socket nodded firmly, pouting slightly with a lopsided, lazy-eyelid glare. “You’re not gonna do that… thing y’did to me and Outlet.”
“Oh, I assure you, that was a complete misssunderssstanding... ” Kaa lied.
Socket seemed to be growing slightly more sober - at least sober enough to be able to properly look at Kaa. There was a sweet-spot to hit for drunken snacks - Kaa’s kaleidoscopic hypnotic gaze could make one nauseous if they were too far gone. That would be counter-productive.
For the time being, he focused on getting her guard worn down just a little more. He pushed his coils down into her shoulders. Her muscles were already quite relaxed, but he could feel them soften further against his touch.
Kaa lifted the mango cup and dipped his snout inside, drinking up what was left from it before dropping it down. “A proper showing of gratitude wouldn’t go amissss, you know.”
“Well, I said thank you! Even if I didn’t know it was you.” Socket shook her head and slipped out from the coil-cage. Kaa squawked as his weight suddenly shifted, and his head disappeared halfway up the trees before he managed to snag himself on a branch and stop his momentum.
“Sssuch terrible manners…!”
He grunted and wheezed as he struggled to hoist that discarded loop back into the trees. Gravity was fighting against him, gripping on tight. He groaned and lifted his coils as high as he could, but they dipped back down when he exhaled - two steps forward, one step back each time. It was going to be a slow process, and his old coils were sure to ache by the end of it…
“Rrggh… ohh my sssacrum…”
Socket stuck her tongue out at the snake before stomping off, heading straight for a tree some distance away.
“Please, young lady, lend a poor helpless old sssnake a paw…”
“Leave me alone!” Socket yelled haughtily over her shoulder. “I want some peace n’quiet. Yep that’s right. Quiet quiet quiet… sshhhh. Need’a nap…”
She didn’t stop talking even as she reached the tree and began to climb up it, her voice displacing a burst of red as some angry macaws flew out from its foliage.
Kaa couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the irony.
He glanced around at some of the other beady eyes watching and glaring with disgust. He nodded to them all with a knowing smirk.
“Yesss… peacssse and quiet, that can mossst ssscertainly be arranged…”
He could get a little revenge, and curry favour with the local fauna… this would be a win-win situation for him.
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Once he’d finally gotten his coils back up in the tree, at least.
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To read the rest early, become a Subscriber!
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[url=https://subscribestar.adult/limewah]
https://subscribestar.adult/limewah
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Where Did You Hear That Song? By Limewah Trade for Outlet 18+ SNEAK PEEK
The black and white cat announced her presence to all who could hear, without their consent - as she always did. Whether it was due to a desire to be heard, or a complete obliviousness to the need for quiet that so many jungle creatures needed, she unceasingly miaowed and yowled and chattered. Her confidant and cohort was nowhere to be seen, which only made the cat's tuneless yells only slightly less grating. His attempts at a vocal harmony were painful.
“By th' ranks in simple file…
“Over every jungle miiiile…"
Socket had fashioned a crude drinking cup out of the hollowed out skin of an under-ripe mango, and was drinking the juice of an over-ripened one - effervescent and intoxicating. Its juices were spilling out over her chin as she drank unsteadily, and her tongue lolled out to lap it up before it could settle.
She marched with raised knees, an attempt at martial precision that utterly failed to keep time.
“Oh we stamp 'n crush thru'th… underbrush…"
She pursed her muzzle and blew out a whimpering trumpet - sound, mocking the elephants who'd just recently chased her and her friend away.
“inth'mitilaly shtyle… in the mimitarry style…!"
She cackled and collapsed against a tree, taking one last slurp from her goblet before casting it aside with a hiccough.
“Umnh… Outlet, d'ya have any more nectar…?"
She looked around through unsteady, half blinking eyes, confirming that she was alone.
“Ohhh right, you went thataway and I went thisaway…" she pointed a sluggish claw in two completely different directions. Her head was swimming too much for her to know her cardinal directions, or for her to see all the other jungle creatures glowering at her.
She kept meowing to herself, trying to find the tune again. Her head leaned against the rough tree bark and her eyes slipped closed.
She half-snored, mumbling to herself, her voice unrelenting even as she started to slumber. As her snores grew louder, so too did the discontent of the locals.
This particular wing of the jungle was full of nocturnal birds and little crawling creatures, who were finding themselves woken up at their equivalent to midnight. The chorus of grumbles and tiny complaints fell on deaf, half-asleep ears.
However, another passer-by had also taken notice, one with a far more direct relationship with Socket and her identical friend. He had recently shed his skin, and had gained a bit of an appetite
An emerald-green head descended to examine her as she slept standing-up. The snake cast a slow, methodical look around, and listened carefully. No sign of the other one, or that larger tiger who'd taken it upon herself to be their ward and protector…
There were no other temptations to throw him off course.
Kaa smacked his lips as his tail slid down to scoop up the discarded drinking-bowl. There was a little stream just within reach, conveniently enough.
Socket snored soundly, completely unaware until she felt something nudge her lips. She instinctively puckered them into a kiss.
The mango-goblet's leathery texture pressed against her muzzle and tilted to pour liquid into her mouth. Something cold, sweetly refreshing in its tastelessness. She didn't notice how dry her mouth and throat was until now - now that she was getting sweet relief.
“Thankssss Outlet," she mumbled. “good thinkin', spring water a day keeps th'hangover away…"
She sniffed at the air. She couldn't smell Outlet's fruit-wine breath. In fact, there was a distinct lack of odor all together. When she felt the smooth scales against her ankle, she kicked it sluggishly away before opening her eyes.
Kaa, the green-scaled python, was staring back at her, his yellow eyes wide and welcoming.
“What bringsss you ssso far from your usual ssstomping groundsss, my dear?"
She pushed away from the tree to get some space.
“Goway…" she said. “I know what you're try'na do, Kaa-!"
She walked face-first into a head-height loop of coils, which promptly draped over her body and curled downwards around her in a lazy helix - not so much weighing her down as keeping her upright and supported.
“You do?" Kaa sounded a little surprised.
“Yuh-huh." Socket nodded firmly, pouting slightly with a lopsided, lazy-eyelid glare. “You're not gonna do that… thing y'did to me and Outlet."
“Oh, I assure you, that was a complete misssunderssstanding... " Kaa lied.
Socket seemed to be growing slightly more sober - at least sober enough to be able to properly look at Kaa. There was a sweet-spot to hit for drunken snacks - Kaa's kaleidoscopic hypnotic gaze could make one nauseous if they were too far gone. That would be counter-productive.
For the time being, he focused on getting her guard worn down just a little more. He pushed his coils down into her shoulders. Her muscles were already quite relaxed, but he could feel them soften further against his touch.
Kaa lifted the mango cup and dipped his snout inside, drinking up what was left from it before dropping it down. “A proper showing of gratitude wouldn't go amissss, you know."
“Well, I said thank you! Even if I didn't know it was you." Socket shook her head and slipped out from the coil-cage. Kaa squawked as his weight suddenly shifted, and his head disappeared halfway up the trees before he managed to snag himself on a branch and stop his momentum.
“Sssuch terrible manners…!"
He grunted and wheezed as he struggled to hoist that discarded loop back into the trees. Gravity was fighting against him, gripping on tight. He groaned and lifted his coils as high as he could, but they dipped back down when he exhaled - two steps forward, one step back each time. It was going to be a slow process, and his old coils were sure to ache by the end of it…
“Rrggh… ohh my sssacrum…"
Socket stuck her tongue out at the snake before stomping off, heading straight for a tree some distance away.
“Please, young lady, lend a poor helpless old sssnake a paw…"
“Leave me alone!" Socket yelled haughtily over her shoulder. “I want some peace n'quiet. Yep that's right. Quiet quiet quiet… sshhhh. Need'a nap…"
She didn't stop talking even as she reached the tree and began to climb up it, her voice displacing a burst of red as some angry macaws flew out from its foliage.
Kaa couldn't help but laugh bitterly at the irony.
He glanced around at some of the other beady eyes watching and glaring with disgust. He nodded to them all with a knowing smirk.
“Yesss… peacssse and quiet, that can mossst ssscertainly be arranged…"
He could get a little revenge, and curry favour with the local fauna… this would be a win-win situation for him.
Once he'd finally gotten his coils back up in the tree, at least.
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