"Suman! Suman, you have to get up!" Savitri shook him with as much force as she could, trying to knock the coughing spree out of his lungs. "Suman!"

"Don't tell me that it's started already!" Suman exclaimed between breaths, closing his eyes and hacking his breath as Savitri helped him to his feet. "I thought Takshaka said that Agni wouldn't start for a few more months!"

"I don't remember him saying that!" Savitri closed her eyes too. The wind was slapping and cutting her eyes so harshly that it was difficult to see. Smoke curled around the trees, advancing rapidly to the waterfall and fighting with the clouds. The sky gave a weak rumble, a sound similar to Suman's soft snoring.

"We have to find shelter!" Savitri said, forcing her eyes open to be able to help Suman walk as his coughing subsided. She let go of him briefly to split her odhni into two, offering him one to wrap around his mouth and nose so that he could breathe better.

"What about the nagas?" Suman yelled over the screeching of trees falling and fire growing.

"If we see any, we'll help them," Savitri replied. "In the meantime, we have to save ourselves first!"

Suman nodded in agreement, coughing again, and together they leaned on each other while stumbling through the maze of smoke, trees, and patches of fire to find shelter. The sky continued to rumble and the clouds gradually darkened, yet Indra refrained from releasing any rain, further adding to Savitri's annoyance.

"You know, some rain would really help right now, Lord Indra!" She shouted, dropping Suman under a tree and shaking her fist at the sky. Seeming to have heard her command, soft rain soon began to drizzle over them, but it was too light and hardly touched the ground before evaporating on Savitri's boiling skin.

"That is not what I meant," she growled, clenching her fists.

"You should have been more specific," Suman coughed and laughed at the same time. He yelped and hurried to his feet when a tree crashed beside him, rushing to Savitri's side.

"We have to get out of here," she decided. "Or at least, away from here."

"I am way ahead of you, princess." Suman grabbed Savitri's wrist and pulled her as they both ran through the forest. They didn't look at which direction they were running in, but at that moment, they didn't care. All they wanted to do was find a safe place to wait for Agni to finish his meal. Maneuvering through crashing trees, escaping animals, and sudden bursts of fire, Suman and Savitri soon found themselves unable to keep moving. Their bones smoldered as though they were melting and the rain sizzled on their skin like a prisoner burning prisoner brand.

"The smoke is too thick!" Suman shouted. "I can't see anything in front of me!"

"I can't either!" Savitri gripped his arm, keeping herself close to him so that they wouldn't get separated from each other and so that she could keep herself from falling. Her eyelids pushed to fall and let darkness overtake her, and she had been close a few times when she allowed herself to blink for too long, but she resisted. They had to find a way out.

"Do you hear that?" Suman asked. He tilted his head and paused.

"Hear what?" Hysteria laced in Savitri's voice. Was he really stopping to listen to the sounds of nature now?

"The rattling..."

"What rattling? From the trees?"

"No...the nagas!"

Through the swarming tentacles of gray fog, a stampede of nagas came barreling through with thumping tails and bared fangs as they slithered as fast as they could to save their lives. Parents held their children tightly to their chests and warriors waved for straggling nagas to keep up as they rushed in haste through the maze that was Agni's feast.

"What happened to Indra's barrier?" Savitri, appalled, asked. "Why are they running away from it?"

"I have no idea!" Suman looked just as bewildered as she did, but they both watched, paralyzed, as the nagas continued to stampede past them. Some of them were in such a rush that they pushed others out of their way or snaked over others, crushing their bodies underneath their barbed tails.

How can they just sacrifice their own people? Savitri managed to think through the swarm of questions buzzing around her head. All just to live? She winced when she saw a fallen female naga reach her hand out to the woman in front of her, only to watch with pure betrayal and heartbreak as the other woman held her son's hand tighter and continued on. Thank bhagwan that Takshaka doesn't have to go through this...he's better not seeing the misery here.

"Help me help her up!" Savitri yelled to Suman as she rushed over to the fallen nagani. "Are you alright? Why are you all running away? What happened to your dome?"

"Princess Ulupi destroyed it!" The nagani wailed, clutching Suman's helping hand with so much force that Savitri saw the blood drain from his fingers and palm. "She was so upset over the murder of her father that in her anger, she struck the dome instead of the guard that killed him with her tail."

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" Suman exclaimed. "Indra made the dome! Only he can take it away, can he not?"

"I do not know!" The woman ducked when a blast of heat shot over her hooded head. "But quite frankly, I would rather survive than wonder how the dome was broken. Thank you for your help." She dashed away.

"We should be getting out of here too, Suman." Savitri tugged his arm. "The whole forest is burning up, and soon we will too!"

"The nagas have to get out first," Suman said. A tree crashed beside him, grazing his foot with its charred, bare branches, and he yelped. "Actually, never mind. Let's join them."

The sound of what seemed to be a knife scraping against marble muffled Savitri's amused giggle, and with their hands in each other's hold they ran to join the naga group, helping fallen snakes and pushing those that straggled. Savitri had no idea where they were going, but she assumed that if they followed the nagas, surely they would find someplace safe.

"Ulupi!" A guard burst up from the stampeding crowd and gripped Suman's clothes, forcing him to halt. "The princess has disappeared!"

"With any luck, she is in the front," Savitri all but grumbled.

"No, no!" The flames parted for a moment, identifying the frazzled naga as Arun. He pulled at his hair and his eyes flickered with distress. "She was behind us - all of us. She wanted us to get out first!"

"Then she could have gotten trapped in the back," Suman decided. "We have to go check, see if we can help her."

"What?" Savitri fought the wind while simultaneously giving Suman an incredulous look. "Are we both talking about the same Ulupi? As in, the girl that tried to kill us?"

Suman nodded obliviously. "Yes, I believe that we are talking about the same Ulupi," he said. He tugged Savitri's wrist, pulling her closer to him. Hot smoke shoved itself between their close bodies, shoving them away slightly. "Come on, Savitri." His eyes pleaded with her. "We have to help her. She could die!"

Savitri sighed. "Alright," she said. "No need to be so dramatic. Let's go."

Suman blinked. "You aren't even going to contradict me? Or explain why we shouldn't save her?"

"We don't have the time." Savitri sucked her teeth. "The longer we stand around here, the less time it will take for us to suffocate to death." Although very briefly, she did mull over the idea. Her values forced her to concede, however. It would be the right thing to do to save Ulupi, whether the Vedas said so or not.

Hand-in-hand they raced through the forest as though they were competing in a tournament. Dodging burps of fire, jumping over tumbling logs, ducking from the greedy twigs that begged to be saved as they clawed at their feet. Sometimes, Savitri felt like her knees were going to buckle, or that she was going to gag from the undesirable air that sucked through her throat, but Suman's constant pace kept her going. He held her hand as though she were hanging from a cliff and pulled her like he was saving her life from falling over.

Little does he know, Savitri thought. I've fallen over that cliff long ago already.

"There!" The exclamation on Suman's part brought Savitri's eyes from the plummeting shrubs that rolled through their path to the straining, weak voice coming from in front of them.

Trapped under a smoldering, burnt tree, Ulupi wretched and strained as she struggled to free her tail. Every thin muscle in her lithe body worked to escape and Savitri could practically see the smoke shooting from her ears as adrenaline pumped through Ulupi's glowing, green veins.

She noticed them staring at her and bared her fangs with a hiss. "What are you doing here?" She sneered. "Come to watch me suffer?"

Suman let go of Savitri's hand and leapt over to Ulupi. He pulled at the log. "No, we've come to help you," he said calmly. It was a little too calm for Savitri, though, considering the fact that they were at the center of what felt like a boiling pit of fire. Which...she supposed that's what it was.

"I'd rather die than be saved by you," Ulupi spat. Her tail swiped at Suman, just missing his leg narrowly.

"I'm not sure your people would be happy about that," Savitri said. She ran over to the other side of the log and hooked both her arms under the bottom side of the large, gaping hole. The wood creaked, a warning of its limitations against her strength.

"You would be," Ulupi snapped. She coughed, gagged, and strained again. Her hair was spiked with humidity and poked out in unflattering places, and she raised her hand momentarily to push it down, trying to keep whatever dignity she had left.

"That would be cruel of me to do, no matter what you have done to me," Savitri replied, feeling proud of overpowering the anger against Ulupi that prickled in her ribcage. "Hold your breath."

She and Suman both lifted the log at the same time. Suman's side was tilted higher since he was stronger, but Savitri was also able to pull her side just enough so that Ulupi's tail was freed.

The frazzled, red-faced princess shot out of the prison that she had been trapped in as the log fell with a thud back onto the grass-free ground. She curled her tail around her body to inspect the red, flaky wound on her scales. Her lips were pursed and oddly enough, she was quiet.

"Are you okay?" Suman asked.

"I will be," Ulupi responded quietly. "Thank you for your help. I...I apologize for my behavior, and I wish that there was some way I could repay you."

"Could you perhaps lift Suman's curse?" Savitri asked hopefully.

Ulupi bit her lip. "Unfortunately, that is not something that I can do," she said. Suman's chest deflated. "But, I can add a little...amendment, per say?"

"What is it?" Eagerness laced Suman's raspy voice.

"I cannot lift your curse, Suman," Ulupi began. "But I can promise that you shall receive your heart's desire before you succumb to my unfair curse...should you succumb to it."

"Well...that's helpful," Suman muttered. "I do not even know what my heart's desire is!"

"You will find out soon enough," Ulupi said. She hesitated, then gathered the courage to meet Savitri in the eyes. "Thank you, again, and my bhagvan be with you on your journey." She bowed.

Savitri reciprocated her bow. "Stay safe, Princess," she said. She wasn't sure if Ulupi could hear her over the shriek of the fire, but the small smile that manifested on her thin lips told Savitri that she did indeed hear her.

"Savitri." Suman grabbed her arm as Ulupi slithered away. "We have to go. The forest is collapsing on itself and I don't know how long your odhni can work as a protection against this smoke."

"It has worked quite well," Savitri mused. "Considering the fact that we have not fainted."

Suman wiped the sheet of sweat on his forehead. "I suppose so." He then wiped his arms - both of their bodies glimmered from the sweat that coated them.

"Let's find some shelter," Savitri suggested. "Maybe something close by that has an underground cellar? We can stay there until the fire subsides."

"And get burned to a crisp?"

"Would you rather die while running on hot coals?"

"...No."

"Alright then." Savitri tightened the knot that held her scarf around her mouth. "Let's go."

~**~

For the record, Savitri would have liked to blame Suman for trapping them in the forest.

But really, it was her fault.

They had been close to reaching the exit, or at least, she thought it was the exit. The Hara Forest was so big that Savitri doubted she could ever scope the entire area in just one lifetime. But the hunter had said that they were only a few miles from Darchan, the supposed village before Kailash, so when the trees parted to reveal a clear, unburned area covered in dirt and some specks of snow, Savitri was sure that they were finally reaching the end of the forest.

Unfortunately, it only led to another stretch of trees and bushes. The ground was covered in gray and silver acne that mixed with the fading bumps as the earth shook, but Savitri wouldn't get much of a chance to be able to properly see the other side before the rush of nagas blocked her view and nearly sent her rolling like a caterpillar.

"Whoa!" Suman, who was running behind her, grabbed her arm before she could even begin to flail. "You okay?"

"I will be when we get to safety," Savitri said. In the brief moment that she had turned, she found herself staring at the mesmerizing view of the burning forest. The palette of orange, yellow, red, and gray captivated her and stunned her into paralysis. For a delectable second, she thought that she was staring at an oil painting; she was just able to feel the smooth bumps and crevices of the fire as it licked the clouds.

"Run now, look later." Suman's husky, smoke-filled voice brought her back to reality. "Agni doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon."

"It makes you wonder where Agni is, don't you think?" Savitri, resuming her pace, mentioned.

"Not really," Suman said. "He could be anywhere, or nowhere. For all we know, he could be omnipresent."

"Aren't all of the gods?"

"Most of them."

"Bachao!" A woman's voice tore through the trees, slicing them with her sharp cry. "Help!"

"More?" Suman began to grow tired of constantly running then stopping in such a haste that he nearly tripped over himself or over something that fell in front of him as it died.

Savitri could understand his fatigue - she was just as exhausted as he was from periodically stopping, helping someone, and continuing to run again. But someone needed help - they had to help.

"Come on," she sighed and shook her head to let the shawl slip from her mouth. She spit the sweat that slipped through her lips and wiped her face. "Let's go see who needs help and try to help them."

"Of course," Suman muttered. Like a hefty cart carrying goods, he dragged his body to a turn and together they jogged towards the sound of the woman's pleas.

They quickly found the source of the sound coming from an isolated straw hut that resembled Sage Agastya's home in every aspect except size. A large cluster of tangled branches melted into a misshapen sphere and lodged itself into the roof of the hut, dropping what looked like fire made out of rain by the entrance.

"We should go around it," Savitri said. Suman clutched his bow. "Try maybe dousing the fire?"

Suman gave her a funny look. "You want to douse the fire, in a pit of fire?"

"What?" Savitri frowned. "No, what I mean is...never mind." She shook her head. "Just help me get the doorway free."

"Sure." Suman nodded surely.

Together they maneuvered through the pits of fire scattered around the front of the house and made their way to the doorway. Blocked by a pile of what looked to be fresh firewood, Suman held Savitri's ripped odhni over their heads while she dragged the wood away. Once she was done, he wrapped the scarf around his mouth again to reduce his coughing as they entered the black, blazing home.

Brown eyes darted briskly around the room, ignoring the scorched baby cradle and rolling pots in search of the person who screamed for help.

Come on...she stepped into the room, aware of Suman standing behind her. He gasped.

"Hey!" He pointed to the corner, smiling (for some reason). "You're the hunter! The one with the deer!"

Savitri followed his pointed finger. A man and woman sat crouched in the corner of the room, seemingly covering each other for protection and to be protected. The man waved awkwardly while the woman just stared with glassy eyes. Her hands were wrapped around her stomach protectively, protecting the large bump in front of her.

She would have liked to admit that it was from the smoke -but seeing the couple with each other, even in a time of terror, holding each other and protecting their family- it made her eyes water. Flashbacks to her time with Satyavan in the flowery parts of the forest close to their home smacked her in the face so hotly that she mistook the flames for memories.

Now's not the time, Savitri, she scolded herself, wiping her eyes as she saw Suman rush to help the couple. We need to help the people...we need to stop the fire...

She turned her gaze to the glowing red scenery outside the house. Something above them creaked, the woman shrieked, and determination set in her stomach like a snake curling up to take a nap. Smoke filled her mind, drugging her, destroying the logical side of her brain and taking the controls of her usually dormant impulsive side.

"Savitri, move!" Suman pushed her out of the way. He toppled on top of her, shielding her as the roof collapsed. Both Savitri and the woman screamed. Suman breathed heavily above her.

"What are you doing, silly girl?" He asked. "You could have died! This is no time to daydream!"

"I know...I know..." Savitri peeled her gaze away from his panting face above hers to the hunter and his wife again. Their faces were scrunched up with fear, but also a look of calm, resigned, failure. They were ready to accept their fate, should it come to that.

No! It won't! Not...again.. Her eyes stung.

Without waiting for Suman to stop, Savitri pushed him away from her and jogged out of the house, ducking when a large piece of timber fell from above her. She ran in any direction but no direction in particular at the same time. Just follow the smoke, she told herself, re-strapping her bow. She couldn't feel the rocks cutting through her feet or the sandy wind slicing her cheeks. She had a goal in mind - nature couldn't stop her.

The wispy, seemingly glowing smoke led Savitri to an open, circular space somewhere far from the hunter's home. Like the eye of the storm, everything was calm, and there was no fire except for the flames that shot out of the mouth and hands of the handsome, well-dressed man floating at the center of the circle. Just like Lord Indra, he had golden clothes and an assortment of colorful jewelry, but all of his fabrics had a reddish-orange ombre to them. From his dark, silky hair, fire smoked at the tips of the strands and his hands burst with powerful chutes of flames. It annoyed Savitri, but looking at Lord Agni from behind, he looked a lot like Suman, which meant that she had been observing him one too many times.

Before Savitri could open her mouth, Agni spoke.

"So, you intend to go meet my brother?" His voice sounded like charred coal grating together so smoothly that it crumbled almost immediately. "Dharmaraj doesn't take to visitors very kindly. Why, he hasn't even invited me to any of his birthday celebrations."

Shock numbed Savitri's tongue, but determination saturated it. She gathered her strength and replied confidently: "What I plan to do is none of your concern, Lord Agni," she said. "However, it is my concern when you have put my friends in harm's way. Why are you eating Hara?"

"Because it is my time to eat it," Agni replied indifferently. "And because your friends are easily fooled. Indra and I have a deal. He wouldn't break it so easily."

"But...the barrier?"

Agni gave a smoky laugh. He whirled around to face Savitri, his obsidian cold eyes smashing into her chest. The aura around him brightened. "One slap from their princesses tail sends the poor nagas running," he sneered. "They thought that the barrier had broken, so they left without waiting for their leader to explain."

Oh... "Then why are you still eating? Don't you realize that you're risking so many animals' lives?" She demanded.

"Because if I do not eat, humans will suffer," Agni said. Thunder crackled above them, as if shouting in defense. "Their fires will weaken with me. There will be no light, no food, no warmth."

"But you're killing everything!"

"Everything will grow back. They will be replaced. Besides," he paused. "Everything and everyone must die someday. I suppose it is Hara's turn again, and its residents."

Savitri felt like she had been slapped, and the burn mark was still very fresh on her cheek. She stood, staring at the fire god silently, dejectedly, in mortification and self-pity as he continued his feast. Then, he stopped suddenly, and a downpour of rain immediately commenced. Before she knew it, Savitri, and the rest of the forest, was spluttering and soaked.

Agni approached her and put two warm hands on her shoulders. He gazed at her for a long time.

"My meal is complete," he stated abruptly. "My work is done here, for now." His eyes pierced hers and Savitri couldn't help but wilt a little under the god's stare. "It is brave to confront a god, Savitri, but it is also quite foolish. Be careful about interfering with their work. There is a reason for everything that we do."

"Oh, um, yes, I apologize," Savitri mumbled. "I understand."

"Do you?" Agni allowed himself to smirk. "Well, then I wish you luck."

A cloud of flames engulfed him (which were surprisingly not doused by the onslaught of thunderous rain) and when Savitri turned to return to Suman and the hunter's home, she found herself trapped in Suman's pounced embrace. His large arms wrapped tightly around her, his face partially buried in her soaked hair.

"You silly, silly girl," he scolded breathlessly. "What were you thinking?" He pulled away from her to see if she was hurt. "You could have been killed!"

"I'm fine," Savitri assured. A smile tugged her lips at his worry and thunder crackled again, this time right above them as she gazed into his flooded eyes for a moment. Then, she looked past him, and her heart felt like it had shattered all over again. She didn't want to feel jealous - it was such a toe-curling, vomiting, ugly feeling - and yet as she watched the hunter and his wife cuddle close to each other, laughing quietly in the rain as though they weren't just trapped in a burning hut, it made Savitri inexplicably jealous at their insufferable affection.

"Thank bhagwan you're alright!" Suman whispered. He stepped away from her, taking his wonderful warmth with him. He grinned. "How else would we continue this quest without our heroine?"

Savitri blushed. "With her bumbling horse, of course," she quipped.

Suman pouted. "Hey! I'm not a bumbling horse!" He denied, picking his bow. "Handsome steed, maybe."

"Of course," Savitri laughed.

The hunter and his wife approached her.

"Thank you," he said, shaking both of their hands. "Thank you so much for helping us."

"You don't need to thank us," Savitri assured. "We were only doing what we had to do."

"But you deserve it," the woman said kindly. She patted her belly, and Savitri's stomach clenched.

"Um...well...thank you," she murmured bashfully.

"I thought about your question earlier," the hunter added. "About reaching Mt. Kailash?"

"Yes?" Both Suman and Savitri asked. Thunder crackled again and lightning howled, and the hunter waited until the sound had disappeared to reply.

"To reach Darchan, you have to cross a bridge nearby and pass another town," he explained. "However, it may not be long, but it is very dangerous. Especially the forests of Darchan. That part of Hara is known for its murderous demons and animals."

"I thought all of Hara was known for demons and animals," Suman scoffed. Savitri nudged her elbow in his hard stomach, and he coughed. "I mean, we understand the risks. Thank you."

"And yet, you still want to continue?" The couple looked appalled.

"Yes. We do," Savitri replied, mirroring Suman's smirk. She tossed her hair back and let the scarf around her mouth drape around her neck. The rain tap-danced around her, piling up in puddles, and she dipped her bow in one of the puddles beside her, creating the two horns on Dharmaraj's crown, then crossing them out.

We do indeed.