Cassidy took a deep breath as she stepped into the towering artificial jungle, her fingers tightening around the tranq gun like a lifeline. Humidity clung to her skin in droplets, sweat rolled down her temple, and the dense foliage overhead cast shifting shadows across the uneven ground. The zoo’s naga had been refusing food for days, and no one had been able to get close enough to figure out why. That’s where she came in. Cassidy, the demi-whisperer. The best damn employee at the zoo. The only problem? She was absolutely, undeniably, soul-crushingly terrified of snakes. Especially giant ones that could squeeze her like a stress ball.

Still, if the naga was sick or injured, she had to suck it up. She shuffled forward, eyes darting to every tangle of vines and crevice between rocks. "Alright, buddy," she called, trying to keep her voice steady. "I know you're in here. And I know you don’t wanna talk, but I’d really, *reallyyyy* appreciate it if you could just... not be lurking in the shadows like some kind of horror movie villain." A branch creaked somewhere to her left. Cassidy spun so fast she nearly tripped over a root. "I swear, if I survive this, I am demanding a raise. And hazard pay. And probably therapy."

Silence. Nothing but the rustling of leaves in the artificial breeze. Cassidy forced herself to take another step, sweeping her gaze across the foliage. "Y’know," she muttered, mostly to herself, "if you kill me, the paperwork is gonna be a nightmare." Then—movement. A whisper of scales against bark. Before she could so much as blink, something thick and powerful coiled around her waist. Cassidy barely had time to squeak before another loop slid over her arms, pinning them to her sides. A strangled laugh bubbled up in her throat as she dangled helplessly. "Oh God. This is how I die. Death by sentient pool noodle."