#snake charmers

[onceuponatown]

India snake charmers. Ca. 1890.

[clemsfilmdiary]

The Opry House (1929, Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney)

Mickey Mouse #5

7/27/21

[thechildrensmuseum]

One of the most ancient forms of street performance uses instruments just like this. In the hands of a snake charmer this flute-like instrument, called a pungi, appears to hypnotize a deadly cobra and prevent it from striking. However, snakes lack an outer ear capable of hearing the music and is actually responding to the rhythmic swaying of the flute itself, which it views as a threat.  Evidence for these kinds of street performances can be found as far back as ancient Egyptian times and can still be seen in India today.

[elsewhereuniversity]

snake charmer

his name is Boa, and he is the first that you meet. he is a music major, and he plays the clarinet (and the recorder, though that is a secret well kept and better guarded).

he is very cute, you think distantly as he leads you into the woods, and if this ends up being a trap you figure there are worse ways to go.

“well,” he says suddenly, once you are several more minutes into the trees than is entirely comfortable, “go ahead and call for them.”

you blink. “um,” you say, after a frazzled pause. “actually, uh. i kinda thought the point of this was to. you know. avoid the consequences of my actions. not…. yeah…. not to invite them into the woods with me. while i am alone.”

Boa smiles at you, which is probably meant to be reassuring but isn’t, at all. “you aren’t alone,” is all he says, which is true but not quite what you wanted to hear.

“okay,” you say at length, because yeah, you did ask for this, it’s bought and paid for, might as well, like. listen to the dude you hired. yeah.

you pull the whistle you found a few weeks ago (tied to your bike, shiny and smooth and stone and red as the blood you spilt during a night several more days back that you were hoping to forget) out of your pocket, pause, and then you blow.

it does not make a sound. not one that you can hear, anyway, but almost immediately you can feel….. something. an inevitability. a vengeance. the feeling drags like claws down your spine, and you can’t help but shiver.

it is time to pay your debts. or, well. it would be.

your eyes slide to Boa, who seems completely unaffected (as he should be)(this is not his burden to falter under)(not really)(not yet). he cocks his head to the side, absently fingering the keys of his instrument, and he waits.

you have heard of the Knights. you have heard stories of the Smiths, the Heroes, the witches, the inventors and the opportunists. none of them could— or would— help you now.

you had to dig a little to catch word of the snake charmers. you had to go through quite a lot more to actually find one; it feels like a miracle, after all that, to be standing where you are with Boa waiting calmly.

it also feels like you should know better, at this point, than to believe in miracles, but by the same token there is no longer any risk in grasping at straws; you have made far too many mistakes already. desperation is all that you have left.

without warning, Boa begins to play, and your thoughts spin abruptly to a halt.

it’s the most beautiful thing you have ever heard.

it filters through your awareness like a cool breeze, sweeps in and down and out of your soul, scattering the brittle fear and heavy guilt in your chest like leaves.

this is magic, you think, and it must be, and you imagine that it must have cost him dearly.

abruptly, you realize that you two are not alone under the canopy anymore (if you ever truly had been); there is one of Them, looming, utterly entranced by the salvation spilling from Boa’s polished bell.

this is the one you have stolen from (you didn’t mean to)(it was an accident)(you had been so scared)(you are so sorry). you gulp, and you suck in a breath, and you square your shoulders.

you had been given one month, and this day is your last. this is your final chance.

you open your mouth to speak.

xxxxxx

they are called snake charmers, because that is the spirit of what they do. they bring calm, briefly, to whatever viper’s nest a student has managed to stir up, and simply being near one is enough to make even the most jaded of adventurers feel secure. they pull danger bodily out of the air and are known by both sides to be champions of peace (for a price, of course)(if you can find them fast enough).

Boa (sophomore supreme, music ed) is the most popular, because his method is the showiest of their trade, and the one that most obviously works. Beth (short for Macbeth, theater major, junior) is second. Her poetry sometimes ends up lingering, staining clothes or benches with a slow, sleepy tranquility that can hurt more than it helps, but she more than gets the job done. Atticus (name unironically borne, grade unknown, pre-law) is a big name but only barely, and sucks the fight out of even the most belligerent of foes with merely his presence. this is often more unnerving than it is worth, and more costly than most can afford.

they have all made Deals, and they are neither the first nor the last to be known as what they are.

this is one path that may be followed, if you are clever enough, if you are able, if you are willing.

if you are willing to risk the bite.

x

[quotesfromscripture]

If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage in a charmer.

Ecclesiastes 10:11 NRSV

[respheal]

Galebound updated today! New page available over here!

Read from the Start | Latest Page | Early Access (Patreon)

Thanks for the support and Galespeed! <3

[respheal]

Galebound updated today! New page available over here!

Read from the Start | Latest Page | Early Access (Patreon)

Thanks for the support and Galespeed! <3

[rebel-heart-gypsysoul]