Jerik opened his eyes, and stretched. The bedroll Charlotte had given him when they first met was starting to get a little flattened, so he made a mental note to look for something soft to place underneath it and pad it out.

  It was difficult to keep track of the passing of time in the wilderness without a calendar of some sort, and being cut off from society came at a steep cost to commonly circled information as such. Even if he lowballed his estimates, at the very least ten months had passed by keeping up with the seasons changing. It was becoming winter, and he began to fret thinking of how he would stay warm. As long as he was near Charlotte, he was sure she would assist, since she never seemed bothered by any type of weather besides the extreme summer heat.

  Jerik stood to his feet, and walked a few steps away from his bedroll. The direction was irrelevant, because he was completely surrounded by the snake-like portion of Charlotte's body. She had grown immensely, as the survival guide warned would happen. But one thing she made sure never changed was snuggling him in any way she could as she slept. There were pros and cons to the arrangement, of course. He was warm, and safe from predators; but he wouldn't be able to go anywhere until she woke up as well. She meant no ill will from the setup, so Jerik decided he didn't mind the slight inconvenience. In fact, it made him feel special... and safe.

  Jerik gently began to tap on Charlotte's tail, and whispered, "Good morning, my dear friend..."

  It didn't take very long, and Charlotte's tail began to slide and unravel, allowing more light from the entrance of the cave to illuminate her features. Charlotte gave Jerik a sleepy grin, but she looked a lot different than when they first met. Nagas age differently than humans do, and it showed. It was almost as if she was just entering her early twenties, compared to Jerik who likely had turned sixteen at this point. Her face was becoming less cutesy and more refined, but it just seemed to work. It was neither an upgrade nor a downgrade in Jerik's eyes. If her size wasn't intimidating enough by now, her beauty would be enough to make one tongue-tied.

  Perhaps the biggest change to present itself was the spark in her eyes. Charlotte still had her signature color, but she no longer stared at Jerik with the previous childlike wonder. It was a new look, her eyes seemed... different. Jerik struggled to figure out the best words to describe it. Her eyes absorbed his every detail, scrutinizing him up and down. They had a hungry look to them. Jerik felt a shiver go up his spine, and he wasn't sure if it was the chilly winter wind blowing into the mouth of the cave, or the thought of becoming a morning snack for his now fully matured Naga companion. Of course, he still trusted her as much as he possibly could. They had been through so much together, after all. Killing strange beasts, avoiding human contact up to this point.

  "I'm being silly, there's no real reason to be nervous. Not now. Not after all this time we've spent together," Jerik thought to himself.

  Still, nothing changed the fact that Charlotte looked, well... much more lethal these days than she did in the past. By nature, Charlotte was an apex predator and her genes were doing a very good job at developing her appearance to reflect such.

  Perhaps Charlotte sensed Jerik's newfound trepidation, and decided to shake him up a little.

  "So anyways, I--" Jerik began to speak, before Charlotte reached down to pick him up with her pointer finger and thumb.

  "A-aah! Whoa! What are you doing?" Jerik began to ask Charlotte, surprised she would pick him up without the usual insinuated permission.

  Charlotte raised Jerik really close to her face, holding him in two hands with her palms upturned, and managed to flash him a sweet smile. Jerik shrank away, backpedaling on her palms just slightly. What was going on? Charlotte was never this direct, typically. Sure, they were close, but Jerik wasn't used to this extreme level of attention.

  Jerik didn't have time to ask any questions before Charlotte winked and made a smooch-pucker with her lips, and made an audible pop in the air to insinuate that she had blown him a kiss. He instantly went beet red in the face, forgetting all about the small amount of fear he had developed earlier. Once again, she managed to keep him on his toes, per se.

  "Ch...Charlotte! Wha.." Jerik found himself far too flustered to form any proper sentence.

  Charlotte held Jerik closer to her chest, and began to exit the cave. A frigid wind danced all over Jerik, making him audibly gasp.

  "Holy HELL it's cold out today!" Jerik exclaimed, and began to wrap his arms around himself and curl closer to Charlotte for warmth. No matter what, her body temperature always seemed to stay constant.

  Over the months, Jerik had attempted to see if Charlotte could form words, but she appeared to lack complex vocal chords to accomplish any meaningful sounds. But, she most certainly seemed to understand the common language most humans spoke.

  Jerik was removed away from Charlotte's ample breast canopy, and she made a confused, yet simultaneously cute look. A look of concern. Jerik had explained the concept of feeling cold and hot before, but it just wasn't a problem she shared. Charlotte mouthed the word back at Jerik: 'Cold?'

  Although she made no noise, Jerik understood and affirmed. "Yes, cold. It's very uncomfortable, and if I don't find a steady source of warmth, I could very well eventually die from it..."

  Charlotte seemed to be deep in thought for a few seconds, and looked to the ground, before turning her gaze back to Jerik.

  Jerik was too busy shivering to notice he had been moved to one hand, before the other gently plucked him up... and up, and up...

  Directly over Charlotte's head.

  "M-miss Charlotte, what are you doing!?" Jerik frantically yelled once he noticed what was going on.

  Charlotte's mouth was wide open, her tongue stuck out. Her mouth released a huge wave of mist as moist hot air met the cold outdoor air. Jerik was amazed, and horrified at the sight before him. He knew what a mouth looked like, and he knew their primary function: to eat food.

  Strands of saliva bridged between the roof of Charlotte's mouth and tongue, and eventually thinned and broke, one by one. Warm breath continued to wash over Jerik, when he finally noticed he was being lowered inside.

  "PLEASE! DON'T--" Jerik screamed at the top of his lungs. Charlotte seemed to... giggle? Surely there was no way she found this situation funny. There was no way she would be so cruel. 

  No amount of yelling or struggling seemed to phase her grip, and one of the final glimpses Jerik could make out was the wide opening to Charlotte's throat, and her uvula hanging down as the guardian over the pit of acid below. Charlotte had entombed him within her mouth, and closed her lips.

  "God damn it! I... I..." Jerik thought to himself, before begininng to cry.

  Charlotte rolled Jerik over with her tongue, and he began to try to crawl his way towards her lips... only to be overpowered by her tongue curling back upwards and tilting her head back, preventing his escape. Jerik felt utterly and truly powerless... defeated.

  "Is... is this the end?" Jerik thought to himself, feeling utterly betrayed. He allowed his mind to flood with all the good times he had in his life. Pretty much every single one of them included Charlotte smiling at him.

  Jerik closed his eyes and braced for the end. Surely she would swallow him alive at any second, her first human meal.

  Any second now.

  ...

  ...

  ...?

  Nothing was happening. Jerik had slowed his breathing, his heart rate was spiked. He was fully prepared to meet his end.

  But one thing was overwhelming him. The all encompassing warmth from Charlotte's mouth coated him like a blanket, as well as a bunch of saliva. Fortunately, her breath was not offensive.

  Jerik felt his body guided by Charlotte's tongue, until only his head popped out of Charlotte's lips. He could see daylight again, and...

  Charlotte's hands were in full view, with her fingers displayed in a heart shape. A little gesture Jerik taught her a few months ago as a symbol of love and trust. In the dirt below, Charlotte had drawn a very rudimentary word with her tail.

 
  'Warm?'

  Jerik let out a huge sigh of relief, and began to weep. Moments ago he was certain his life was about to end, only to end up as nourishment for his most trusted ally. But...

  "She was just trying to warm me up..." Jerik realized, "she probably didn't even fully understand I was afraid of being swallowed alive. She probably only giggled earlier at the thought of me getting coated in her saliva. She never had a single plan to eat me, she just wanted to... help."

  "Y-y-y-yes, C-charlotte... I'm.. I'm w-warm.. t-thank you.." Jerik could hardly reply, he was still stuttering from the adrenaline of what he thought was a near death experience. 

  The fear in Jerik's voice did not seem to register with Charlotte, who seemed content with a job well done at warming up her little friend.

  Charlotte began to forage the landscape to build another small stash of fruit for Jerik, and he watched from the warm comfort of her lips. After the initial shock wore off, Jerik eventually forgave her in his mind and even began to enjoy the comfort. It was like a warm bath, a welcome reprieve from the biting cold outside. It was a strange new way to travel, and the viewpoint was exhilarating. Almost like he was flying.

  "Of.. of course! Haha! She would never.. um.. eat me," Jerik reasoned with himself, and a bead of sweat, or saliva, rolled down the side of his forehead. He was not sure which.