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us alone.”
    I went into the tent while he switched back to the tiger.
    Ren padded in front of the tent and waited. I peeked out and saw a giant black-and-olive green snake slither out of the jungle. Its head was disproportionately bigger than its body. When it saw Ren, it stopped to taste the air. Ren growled softly, and the snake’s head shot up, which showed the pale yellow skin of its belly. As its hood opened and it hissed a warning, I realized I was looking at a king cobra.
    Ren didn’t stir. The snake would likely move on if we were quiet. It slowly lowered its head and slithered forward a few more inches, but then I saw Ren shake his head just before a loud tiger sneeze tore through his body. The snake lifted its upper body again and spat twin jets of poison from its fangs about nine feet. The stream didn’t hit Ren’s eyes, fortunately, or it probably would have blinded him. The cobra moved a bit closer and tried again.
    “Ren! Move back! It’s aiming for your eyes!”
    Something moved in my bag. It was another snake! A golden head slipped through the tiny gap in my backpack and shot out of the tent.
    Fanindra?
    Ren backed up, and I untied a couple of knots so he could come into the tent with me. We watched from inside.
    Fanindra wound her way right up to the king cobra, raised her head, and opened her hood. Her jeweled emerald eyes twinkled despite the diminishing sunlight. The king cobra swayed back and forth, tasted the air, and then lowered his head under hers. She slowly dropped her head to rest it on top of the cobra’s, which ran its head down the length of her body, turned, and slid off quickly through the jungle. Fanindra returned to the tent, wound her body into a coil, tucked in her head, and became inanimate.
    Ren changed to a man. “We got lucky. That was an angry snake with an attitude.”
    “She calmed him down pretty quickly.”
    The tent had become dark. Ren’s blue eyes and smile flashed in the dimness. I felt a light touch on my jaw. “Pretty women have that effect on men.”
    He changed back into a white tiger and sat at my feet.
    Kishan soon returned and made a throaty, rattling sound as he entered the camp. After changing from a tiger to a man, he ducked his head into the tent. “Why are you guys hiding?”
    I stepped outside and told him about the snake. “What was that noise you just made?” I asked as I started to prepare dinner.
    Ren switched to a man and sat across from me. I handed him a plate as he answered for Kishan. “It’s called chuffing. It’s a tiger hello.”
    I blinked and looked at Ren. “You never did that.”
    He shrugged. “Never wanted to, I guess.”
    Kishan grunted. “Is that what it’s called?” He elbowed Ren. “Now I guess I know what all those lady tigers were saying. Where did you learn that?”
    “The zoo.”
    “Huh.”
    Ren grinned. “So … you and lady tigers, eh? Is there something you want to share, Kishan?”
    Kishan shoved a forkful of dinner into his mouth and mumbled, “How about I share my fist with your face?”
    “Wow. Sensitive. I’m sure your lady tiger friends were all very attractive. So am I an uncle?”
    Kishan growled angrily and set down his plate. He morphed into the black tiger and roared.
    “Alright. That’s enough,” I threatened. “Ren, do you want me to share your white tiger breeding program story with Kishan?”
    Ren paled. “You know about that?”
    I smiled naughtily. “Yes.”
    Kishan switched back, picked up his plate, and smiled. “Please go on, Kells. Tell me all about it.”
    “Fine,” I sighed. “Let’s get this all out in the open. Kishan, did you ever engage in any … promiscuous activities with female tigers?”
    “What do you
think
?”
    “Just answer the question.”
    “Of course not!”
    “That’s what I thought. Ren, I already know you didn’t either, though the zoo tried very hard to get you to breed. Now no more teasing or fighting about that subject, or I’ll shock you with