The Viper and The Eagle \\ Rising Phoenix Spin Off

4: The Cobra in the rose bushes

The whole forest was beautifully lush green. The pine forests and cool air. Everyone was segregated into groups. 

Her naagin self was struggling. She had reached her puberty. All naag-naagin first shift at their puberty. Her skin constantly itched. Her feet sometimes dragged over the ground. She often seeked comfort in warmth from the itch. The snake skin needed to be shed to form a brand new skin as a second birth of a true naagin. 

She came far into the forest, completely agitated. The snake within her kept hissing and growling. She didn't know what to do to shift. Something blocked her shifting ability. 

"Kashyap?" She turned around and saw Samrat. Khaki trouser pants, army green t-shirt, a dog tag like locket around his neck. The way she was almost in tears worried him.

The frustration of her inner naagin unable to shift was flowing out as tears. Emotional outbreak was normal during the time. 

"I'm just pretty frustrated." She confessed.

"I'll punch that Karan. He's fucking annoying." Samrat turned around and pulled his sleeves up. There were rumors that Vanshika and Karan were together. 

"No... Its not Karan. Karan isn't even anywhere close to my mind!!!" She almost screamed. Samrat put his hand on her shoulder.

"Easy, Kashyap, easy. What's wrong then?"

"Everything!!! Everything. I had my first periods two weeks ago, things are irritating me so much, and then all these feelings I have for you-" Vanshika realized that she spit out the secret of actually having the greatest crush on Samrat. 

Samrat grinned, he put his hand against the tree behind her and moved closer to her. "What's the big frustration in liking me?"

"I hate you too."

Samrat laughed at that. "Trust me. I hate you too but you're actually pretty and I'm comfortable admitting that too. What's the huge problem in admitting that you find me hot?"

"Because you're an asshole whose life mission is to bully me."

"Of course it is. You are so fun to annoy and trouble." 

The distance that closed between them made her breathing heavy. He stared at her lips. She noticed the stare at her lips. She did not push him away from her. She didn't want to. She instead fisted his t-shirt. 

She closed her eyes, just anticipating a kiss. Sam just stood there looking at her. He couldn't deny his attraction for her. She was a beautiful girl. "Do you realize that I don't kiss without permission? I'm an asshole but not that kind of asshole." 

Vanshika didn't hesitate and grabbed his face, pressing her lips against his. The softness of her lips unlocked a feeling in him that he didn't know existed. The violent, aggressive nature of an eagle suddenly finding itself the snow mountains that soothed its heart. The feeling that filled him when he first flew out in open sky returned when she kissed him.

Sam sandwiched her against the tree and himself.  His chest pressed against hers. He softly sighed against her lips. 

Her heart beat faster than ever. The warmth that radiated off him caught her by her feelings. Every inch of her that had a grand crush on Samrat Singhania reveled in the kiss. Her frustration had an outlet in form of the kiss. Her first ever kiss. She knew it was his first too. 

His other hand held her hip. The grip was tight. He grabbed her like an eagle grabbing its prey.

Her naagin self recognized the grip of the eagle instantly. Like the switch was pressed on, her scales flashed against her skin. Sam saw them and realized that Vanshika was a naagin.

He moved back and Vanshika shifted into a 13 feet long bush viper. Unusual size of a bush viper. More than twice his own size, yet Sam didn't shudder in fear. He has seen naagins before. It wasn't new to her at all. The only surprise was that Vanshika Kashyap was a naagin.

Soon after she turner into her human naagin form. The green-black outfit with silver jewellery. She looked like a goddess in the form. She looked at Samrat Singhania. No fear relfecting his eyes at all. His eyes were golden at his cheel recognizing a naagin.

Vanshika suddenly woke up. Her brain had the most opportune moment to replay her most vulnerable moment. The first she had ever shifted. She had been trying to shift every single day before that trip. Her nani was strictly against letting her go because she wasn't being able to shift and it could be volatile but Vanshika was stubborn that she wanted to go. Aishwariya gave up and let Vanshika go to the trip. 

After failing to shift for two weeks, the first time Samrat Singhania had touched her intimately, body decided to react to his tight grip. 

She sighed and suddenly her nose smelled roses. It was strong smell of roses. She got up and walked out of her living and saw the living room filled with rose bouquets. Fresh, passionate, beautiful, red roses. Especially the ones that had great fragrace. The indian rose. 

It didn't take a detective for her to guess who had her apartment keys. She looked around and finally found an envelope. 

"Asshole!!!!" She cursed him, aggresively reaching for the stupid envelope. She saw a card that said 'Congratulation, Baby' "Humph.... congratulation!!" She mocked it but opened it nonetheless. 

Baby,
I know, I know, tu kaafi gussa hai. 3 years of just disappearing shouldn't sit well with anything but I feel that I have finally made peace with my past. Even if I had actually confessed to you what my issues were, I feel that I still hadn't come to actually accept them. Or I hadn't totally understood things. 

I didn't want you to have broken pieces. Abh jab main confident hun ki main kaisa hun, I want you to know this.

I love you. Always have, always will. 

Jabhi tum chaho, yeh samajh lo ki tumhara hero tayyar hai. Utha le jaaunga agar tum chahogi toh. 

Kisses,

Sam

She threw the letter out of the window. She walked into the open kitchen and saw plate covered with another. She opened it and saw breakfast for her with note beneath the plate. 

'Juice fridge mein rakha hai. Pi le.'

She huffed and opened the fridge to see a juice glass. She picked it up and sat on the dining table. Then ate the breakfast and drank juice. Ignoring the roses in the room, Vanshika got dressed for work. 

Magenta pink jumpsuit with a matching blazer. She paired them with her magenta pink pumps and gold jewellery.  

She took one look at the roses in her living room. She exited her apartment and went to the garage for her car. She saw Samrat Singhania himself leaning against the car. 

His black shirt sleeves were pulled up his arms, his black trousers were sharply pressed. As usual, his shirt unbuttoned till the first four. Gold locket hanging from his neck and some rings on his finger. He typed fixatedly on his phone. 

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Excuse my poor editing skills on the photo but that is a little close to how I see Vanshika's naagin human form. Hope it can be a reference. Obvious, I couldn't find anything that seemed exactly how I imagined but something still better than nothing.