It's... a woman?

You see you were wrong in your initial judgment. The thing isn't holding a woman captive, it is a woman. In your short glance, she looks as if someone took a normal human, cut off their legs, and attached a proportionately large snake body in their place.

That's all you see before the beast lunges at you with a speed and ferocity you've only seen angry bulls exhibit. You let loose an arrow, but not before she smacks the bow out of your hands with her tail (that's being generous, the bow nearly disintegrates as it breaks apart from her ****, splinters flying everywhere), your arrow sent flying way off its mark into the darkness, hitting a wall somewhere.

You're launched backwards, landing face down on the ground. Your head spins, reeling to try and make sense of the situation and your own pain. Which, is being received from every part of your body. You feel like you just got trampled by a horse.

You beg your arms to move, to pick yourself up off the ground, but before you can, a long, smooth snake tail coils around your throat. The she-beast clearly isn't done with you yet.

The immense strength of her tail crushes your windpipe slowly, although you can tell she could just as easily snap your neck like a chicken's. But instead, she raises you up off the ground to her eye level. Feet leaving the ground, your eyes strain to see as your vision fades slowly, but you can now clearly make out the fine details of your enemy up close.

Long, fiery red hair matches the color of her scales, flowing like water uninterrupted (minus a single lock down the middle of her face and few stray curls here or there) down to her wide "hips", where her human flesh meets snake skin (although the more sensitive areas are protected by a rough skirt of fiber and some sort of cloth material. Her tummy is plump yet slightly toned, telling you she gets enough nutrition to fuel her massive form, and then some. Above that, her breasts sit covered by an old, tattered shirt that you guess could've been white and clean at one point. You have no idea where she got it, as it's a little too big for her supple shape, but it can't hide her buxom breasts from showing their true size. They could easily fill a handful, but you don't notice that detail right now as you're more concerned about surviving the ordeal. Finally getting a look at her face, it's clear that she would have men bending over backwards to marry her, were she a human. Pure golden eyes, nose as cute as a button, a small mouth with adorable lips. The only odd features are two long fangs emerging from her mouth, some scales dotted in two clusters around her cheeks, and her ears, of the same red sheen as her scales and much longer than a human's, almost triangular shaped. All in all, she would be the most beautiful woman you've ever seen, were it not for her trying to kill you at the moment.

It's at this time that you hear her speak.

"Hoekom kon jy my nie ALLEEN laat nie!"

Her words sound like a jumbled mess to you. Whatever she's speaking, it's not Common. Their angry cadence transcends language barriers, and you can tell you're not wanted here. Your vision grows darker. You're running out of time.

Your mind races for a way out. Your belongings were in your bag, which got dropped in the scuffle. Your blocked windpipe means you're in no position to try and speak, so bargaining is out.

...

The knife!

It was on your belt, not in your bag! You reach down to pull it out of its leather sheath, then raise your arm high above your head in order to swing down and plunge the knife into her skin with as much **** as possible. You can't reach her main body, but a deep incision into her tail will make her drop you quickly.

That was the plan until you saw her face.

Her mouth was contorted into a grimace as gritted teeth and fangs gnashed together. Her eyes, however, weren't the narrowed eyes of a hunter about to pounce on their prey. They weren't the angry eyes of someone about to get ****. They weren't even the expressionless eyes of someone in complete control.

They are the wide open, scared eyes of a child. Her hands close into fists as she firmly presses her arms to her side. Tears form and fall down her face, as she speaks again.

"Ek smeek jou. Los my net uit..."

You stare at the face of an injured, cornered animal. From her view, she had been attacked for nothing, her home invaded, and now someone was here to finish the job started by the hunter.

The *thump* of your knife hitting the ground was the only noise you could hear in the next few seconds. Whether you dropped it out of surrender, or because you simply didn't have the energy to hold it up anymore, you didn't know.

Darkness had finally almost completely enveloped your vision. Strangely, you almost felt... warm. It was like you were back home on a summer afternoon, the sun going down but not completely gone... you could make out the shape of your mother waiting for you on your doorstep... after your long journey...

"Home..."

The words left your mouth unconsciously, barely audible as more than a **** rattle.

The woman gasped and released her stranglehold on you. You collapsed to the ground in a clump, barely even feeling the gravity change as you now rested on terra firma.

"Die taal van mans?"

Your mind doesn't pay attention to her words, as little oxygen to your brain means time seems to move much slower, your collapse still feeling like an eternal freefall through nothing. You sucked in as much air as you could once you were free, but even that took what little energy you had left.

You can feel soft hands on you, but not much more than that. A blurred recollection of sounds and sensations. Your mind focused on just breathing for now. Just breathe.

Just breathe.

Just... breathe...

"Just breathe."

A female voice echoes from some far off place.

"Just breathe, darling... I've got you..."

A warm sensation accompanies these words. An almost maternal feeling of security washes over you.

"You're alright now... please... wake up..."

"..."

"Please..."

You can't tell if your eyes are still closed or not since the cave wasn't very bright to begin with, but you try to open them anyway. It's dim, but you do perceive a presence of light. The torch is still laying on the ground somewhere. You must not have been out of it for more than a minute or two, even if it felt like you've been laying down for hours.

More than that, you're starting to feel... wet? Rain? No, you're in a cave. Maybe some stray dog wandered in and began licking your face.

You move an arm up to shoo them away, before your hand touches soft flesh that isn't your own.

"Ah! You're awake!"

Your eyes move up to see the face of your attacker inches away from your own. Her mouth open, dried tears staining her cute cheeks, her tongue exploring the surface of your face for an as-of-yet unknown reason. But you have bigger worries.

Your mind finally registering the danger you're in, you lean up as fast as you can to run, to get anywhere but near her.

Your legs, wobbly, and far from being able to accommodate a full sprint, fail you as you faceplant into the ground again as you let out a groan of pain.

"No! No! You're alright! It's alright!"

The woman's (snake's?) voice sounds like she's consoling a crying child.

A tail now wraps around your midriff. You squirm with as much strength as you can, and prepare for that familiar crushing pain...

One that never arrives.

She gently picks you up with her tail, this time it feels soft, like she's cradling a baby. A far cry from the python-like constriction from earlier.

You hang limply as she returns you to her lap using her tail.

"You're alright... just rest..."

She strokes your hair with her hand, her other hand resting on your stomach, feeling your chest rise and descend in a slow, gentle rhythm.

You are unsure what to do next. You certainly should rest up a bit, but you also don't entirely feel like leaving your sleeping body in the hands of this... monster?

Author's note: I promise hot lamia sex is coming, we're almost there.