Tajjana felt good. She took a deep breath, expanding her chest muscles. She was very confident in her abilities. She felt she was fitting in at her new home with the Shekinah Arani Panthers.
Her skills with weapons were now a lot better after many hours of practice. She felt utterly confident. Because she trained constantly, striving to not only achieve mastery of her weapons, but perfection as well. She worked hard, focusing on running with the bow and arrow, trying to hone her shooting abilities and improve her aim as she moved. Plus, she worked out just about everyday to build up more strength and stamina. She felt she was now in tip top condition.
She was proud to call Port Falworth home. She was feeling comfortable with her surroundings. But she always remained wary and vigilant. There were hidden dangers everywhere. Especially down in the forests.
She crept down along a path through the forest. Then she suddenly froze. The hair on the back of her head stood up. She felt something was wrong. Remaining, motionless, she slowly swiveled her head from one side to the other, her eyes darting, trying to figure out what it was that raised her hackles.
Tajjana found out what it was that startled her. She noticed there was no movement in the forest. No normal noise. No usual background sounds. Something had disturbed the normal flow of things.
She stayed like that for a few more minutes, and tried to figure it out, then cautiously moved forward. With measured footsteps she stayed along the path and walked about twenty paces to where it suddenly veered off to the right. She decided to remain on the path for now.
Just as she made the turn on the path, bushes rustled ahead. Tajjana quickly moved, slipped soundlessly to the right into the heavy foliage. Until she figured out what it was, she wanted to remain hidden. Pulling leaves around to cover her, she again froze.
She grit her teeth angrily. She wanted to draw her bow and knock an arrow, but it was too late to do that. She decided to remain motionless until she identified what the threat actually is.
But then, she suddenly relaxed as the bushes exploded and a large dog sprinted out and ran away away from her along the path.
Tajjana shook her head and smiled. Gosh, she was on edge today. I need to calm down, she thought to herself.
Just as Tajjana stepped back onto the path to continue her way, she felt something sticky and wet hit her back.
2
All of a sudden she flew up and backwards. Her bow and quiver came off of her and clattered down on the ground. She tried to reach down to retrieve them and snatch them back, but she was grabbed so violently she couldn’t get to them in time.
Tajjana snarled as she reached down to grip the hilt of her machete, but her arms flew out to the side as she slammed backwards into something soft and squishy. Stunned, Tajjana desperately tried to lean forwards.
With a loud snap, two huge spiked edge leaves closed together, enveloping her whole. It instantly went dark. It was as if she were swallowed inside a leafy plant-like mouth. Getting ready to get consumed!
Tajjana growled out loud as felt herself immersed in more sticky goo and felt tingly sensations. She turned her head in the darkness and tried to determine what was happening. What was this thing?
She flexed her muscles, but only found the grip became tighter on her. It was some kind of monstrous plant that was trying to eat her whole!
Her bow and quiver were outside of the plant. She couldn’t draw her machete. But she did feel for her jungle knife strapped onto her thigh. She tried to reach for it. Tajjana grit her teeth, hissed and then screamed as she tried to wiggle her fingers and wrap them around it, but she was held too tightly. She couldn’t move any further.
Whatever this thing is, it had a tight grip on her!
Her hand did fall on the pouch on her slim jungle belt though.
Suddenly, recognition came to her. She remembered something! Something that was told her when she first arrived at Port Falworth. A tribal shaman had told her something. She didn’t introduce herself so Tajjana did not know her name. About some kind of remedy to counter the monstrous and ravenous plants here in the forest.
The shaman, who later turned out to be a Panther from the tribe by the name of Poppy, had given her something to put it in the pouch strapped to her thong in case she needed it. She vaguely remembered it dealt with plants. And she had almost forgotten about it.
Again, Tajjana screamed inside the monstrous plant as it tried to consume her. No one outside heard her savage cry for help.
It was a good thing she remembered and kept the pouch.
Working hard, she desperately got her fingers wriggled inside the pouch tied to her belt.
Searching desperately with her first two fingers through the loosely knotted opening, she felt dry powder coat her fingers.
Carefully, she withdrew her fingers that were coated with a powdery substance made from ground leaves. She extended them to the left side of the plant. The moment her fingers came in touch with the plant, it started to retract a little, trying to get away from her touch.
It was working! Whatever this dust was that she had kept, it appeared to be repugnant to this monstrous plant! It reacted violently when she touched it with her coated fingers!
She had more room to move her hand now. This gave her an opportunity to plunge her hand in the pouch again and coat her hand with some more of the powder.
She again withdrew her hand, moved it around inside this monstrous plant abomination.
Every time she touched the plant, it shied away from her touch even more.
Tajjana was able to work along the right side and then concentrate getting her other arm free. Sunlight filtered through the opening where the plant had sucked her in. It was slowly opening!
Finally, able to work both arms, she plunged both her hands into the pouch one after the other on her left side. She made sure her knuckles were coated with the powder.
With a savage scream, Tajjana’s hands formed fists and she punched as hard as she could each side of the plant that held her. She screamed as she flexed her muscles. Pure rage drove her now!
WHAM THUMP WHAM WHAM THUMP THUMP
The two huge hinged jaws suddenly opened wide.
Tajjana reached behind her and put her hands on the tendrils that pulled her inside. Slowly, they all retracted away and let her go the moment her hands came in contact.
With one last scream, she lunged and heaved herself forward.
Tajjana came loose and fell down flat on her face in front of the monstrous plant.
She was free!
The plant’s tendrils, desperate to try to grab hold of her and continue to try to consume Tajjana trailed on the ground, inching towards her once more. Tajjana gathered herself and turned around. She sat up.
Just in time!
Seeing the plant was attempting to capture her again by grabbing her leg, she held out both hands and touched the tendrils. They immediately went back inside the plant and it closed its mouth, trying to get away from what coated TaJJana’s hands that it found so repulsive.
Tajjana scooched on her butt backwards in order to put more distance away from the infernal plant.
In a few minutes, Tajjana recovered enough to try to stand. Angrily, she looked at the plant. With another savage scream, she pounded a fist angrily on the ground and sprang to her feet.
She backed up, bent down and looked for her bow and quiver. They both were where they fell. She disregarded them.
With a snarl of pure rage, she grabbed her machete and pulled it out of its sheath, stepped forward and started hacking away at the monstrous plant.
Tajjana went crazy with anger and whittled the plant into small pieces.
Even after it was hacked so that it was unrecognizable, she lunged over and even stabbed all the larger pieces she could get at.
Tajjana wanted to make sure this foul, repugnant beast plant was done for!
Exhausted, she stepped back, her machete slipped back in its sheath on her thigh. She put her hands on her thighs, bent over, heaved for air, her body covered in goo and sweat.
She then removed the pouch and set it down next to her knife sheath and bow and arrows.
Stepping over to the river, she dove in, glad to get clean of this foul mess on her, loving the feel of the cool river water on her body. She swam back and forth.
Finally, feeling fully clean, she left the water, stepped over and retrieved her things.
A piece of the plant was near her foot.
She cursed and kicked it away from the path.
3
Later that day, at the camp, Se Angela walked over towards her. She was in her garden alongside the campfire watering some plants and flowers.
“Tal, Tajjana!”
Tajjana halted, looked up with a smile and cheerfully said, “Tal, Se Angela!”
“How goes it today?”
“It is going well. I am at one with the forest and very happy.”
“This is good,” observed Angela. “Tajjana? You want to help me? Water these plants and flowers?” She pointed over to the side of her hut.
Tajjana’s mood immediately changed. In a mindless fit of utter rage, she exploded, “NO! FUCK THOSE DAMN THINGS! I HATE FUCKING PLANTS! I HAD ENOUGH OF PLANTS TODAY! I WANT TO BURN ALL OF THEM!”
Then she stormed off, still angry, screaming about plants.
Angela scratched her head in confusion. “Hmm. Wonder what’s got into her?”
She shrugged and went back to watering. She hummed to herself happily..
Tajjana
Gazette of Gor 