It was amazing how bright the desert could burn at sundown. All day the motoujamii was bathed with a kind of white, hot heat. The kind of heat that dried bones and burned paws just for treading upon it. But sundown was a kind of miracle unto itself. As the sun grew closer, and the temperature dropped, orange light flooded the desert with blinding intensity. A stranger to the land might have felt that the sky itself had caught fire.
But for No, a sight like this was oddly routine. After a day of patrols and the usual pridal meetings, the black cat enjoyed taking a nap just before nightfall. Night always brought new troubles, and the black cat was wise to keep herself at the ready. It wouldn't be the first time her planning had found merit. Even as the cat settled in to her favorite rocky alcove, a dark crow slowly wheeled overhead.
No wasn't one for peculiar things. The sight of the black feathers against the fiery sky was enough to raise a brow. But, it was a bird. And No rarely if ever took notice of creatures she could not understand. Her eyes shut as she settled in for the night.
But as No settled, another began to rise. Nagaina had followed the great one's eyes, and had seen the crow. Unlike the cat, the snake knew better. Crows were bad omens, magical or not. The cobra slid across the sand, watching the path the bird made.
"An omen, surely..." the snake whispered in its bizarre snake tongue. Her neck arched, delicate hood fanning out on either side. "This shall not be!"
While remarkably silent as far as the lions of this pride were concerned, the crow took no such precautions towards sub-creatures. The bird laughed throatily and looped around, dropping low enough skirt the sand as she danced. "Shall not be, hm? And what sort of omen do you expect me to be?"
Nagaina continued to rise, until she was at a rather impressive posture, even for a snake. "I know dark things when I see them. A ritual shall be prepared to expel you!"
The crow landed on a small rock, and pecked at some small ants. "A ritual? And what will you sacrifice to me, snake?"
The cobra gave a snake's smile. Colder, even than the crow's. "No sacrifice to you. But you shall feel its consequences."
"Surely," the crow remarked, swallowing an ant.
------
Nagaina might not have been able to fully comprehend the danger that had descended upon the Motoujamii, but she knew an omen when she saw it. The old cobra had not been named broodmother for nothing. She had moved her family to this desert built upon signs, and she had ruled over it with the shrewdness befitting of one her age. She was queen. She was wisewoman. But she needed help.
The process of exorcism was a tricky one. Even with the great snake god's protection, she doubted it was something she could have handled with her brood alone. With her kind alone. She needed the assistance of the other Death Speakers in order to drive this shadow from her domain. Luckily, she was aware of one another. The jackal, black as night. She respected the old ways, and so then did Nagaina respect her. She had no love for the dogs, nor did she particularly believe them worthy of sharing her domain. But in times like this, the great god reminded her of humility. She would need the blessing of the jackal god himself to banish this...thing. And to do so, she would have to offer an olive branch to the small colony of jackals.
“Little dog!” Nagaina called, once she had arrived at the rocky alcove that the creatures made their home. “Come out and speak with me. It is Nagaina, the cobra. Come out, and I shall not strike you.”
For a long moment there was no response. The cobra hissed, rising up from the sand and unfurling her impressive hood. Perhaps the little jackal was cowering in her lair. The thought of it made her chuckle. After all, it had been her brood that had driven Preta from her home before. It would not have surprised Nagaina if the shape of her kin haunted the black dog's dreams. “Preta! Jackal! Come from your den. Do not make me search for you, my patience is not a sturdy one.”
Finally, there was a commotion. A plume of sand rained down from the little hole in the rocks, and out of it tumbled the back end of a rather stocky looking jackal. Nagaina narrowed her eyes. It was not Preta, but one of the jackal's brood. He spun around slowly, as if in a half sleep. When he noticed the cobra staring at him, he arched one of his brows and settled down. “What do you want from me?”
“Nothing, child.” The cobra hissed. “I must speak with the other. Your mother. Bring her to me, there is not much time.”
Milo yawned. “Yeah, bring you my mother. Let me get right on that.” In further insult, he itched the underside of his chin, and shut his eyes. One did not shut their eyes on a cobra!
Nagaina twisted, slithering forward. “Do not test my patience, child. A great darkness has come upon the sands which we live, and I am in need of your mother. She knows the old ways. She will be needed in the ritual I must perform. Bring her to me.”
The young jackal opened just a tiny bit of his eye. “Oh? A great darkness, huh? My mother is no wise woman, snake. You'll have to go about your business on your own. I wish you luck though! Goodness knows, we don't need any 'great darkness' around.”
Nagaina coiled, her agitation rippling throughout her body. “Foolish pup! Your mother would not speak to Nagaina in this way! Do not test me! You will bring me to the Death Speaker. Or perhaps I shall strike you! Your death will be inconsequential.”
Milo seemed unmoved. “I doubt my mother would help the snake that killed me. Even if you could.” The jackal sat up, stretching out his lengthy form. Nagaina noticed several scars jutting out around his body. So this one thought himself a fighter, did he? She sneered.
“Do you not respect the old ways, pup?” Nagaina said, looming to the side. “I see your life is full of battle. You fight with your claws, and your teeth! I am asking for the jackals to fight with me in spirit! For a great evil has descended upon us. If we do not remove it, then we shall surely all face the consequences. Regardless of whether or not you believe.”
The black dog took a few steps closer to the snake. It surprised Nagaina how much that drew pause. She was not used to being...confronted. The nerve! “I don't believe in old stories, snake. But I know of what you speak. My mother would listen to you, of that I have no doubt. But my mother grows old, and I don't care to have her running around after your whim.”
He bristled, showing just the tips of his teeth. “Can you prove to me snake, that what you seek is true? My mother has spoken of monsters. Of tears to the Other World. I know no world but this. Show me, then. If you can! Perhaps then, I will aide you. Tell me, snake. What magic can you do? What makes your situation more dire then the growling in my stomach?”
Nagaina shook her head. “Magic can not be shown! Not like this. If you do not believe, I cannot use you. I need Preta, and no other! Your mother! Take me to her, or we could be lost!”
Milo came close enough that Nagaina could have struck him right between the eyes. His ears were curved forward, and his tail swung loosely at his side. He wasn't afraid of her. And this troubled Nagaina greatly. “You need my mother? After what your brood did to my family? What do we get in return?”
“You get the honor of the gods!” Nagaina gasped. “The snake god himself would look favorably upon those who-”
“Well, I don't really care about the snake god.” He said flatly. “And to be honest, I don't really care about the jackal god either. What will the snake clan do for us? Tell me what it has to offer!”
Nagaina glowered. “You will be cursed for this, jackal! You cannot simply order me to-”
Now the jackal was close enough that he could have struck her, had he wanted. “What does my clan get in return for helping you? You snake. You have things. What do you have to offer me?”
Nagaina writhed. She would remember this. For that, she was certain. “You may have your den back. The one of your father's. You may take it.”
“I don't want it.” He said simply. “Although my mother might, so it's a start. I want more then that from you, snake. If this is truly so dire. I want the entire southern rock. For my family. It belongs to jackal clan, and no other.”
Nagaina narrowed her eyes into pinpricks. The southern rock was the snake den. Her den. It belonged rightfully to her brood... but. It could be retaken. What she needed now was Preta's cooperation. Once she had that... well. There would come a time when the snakes would drive the jackals from their homeland once more. “Fine, fool. You may take it, and my ire along with it.”
Milo seemed pleased. The end of his tail danced, and he smirked. “Good. Then, I will be following you to make sure you leave. All of you, all your snakes. Then, we will find my mother and see about ridding this desert of whatever 'great evil' you think has come upon it.”
The jackal strolled past her, and Nagaina had a fleeting notion to strike. It would be so quick and easy to end this debate. But she knew Preta. And she needed her. For the moment, it seemed that Nagaina would have to allow the jackals their victory, however minor. “Fine, dog. We shall go inform my clan of this.”
And off they went.
