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Where We Left Off:
The cat detectives ended up changing gears after finding a body. The case led to a paranormal investigation.
**Phobia Warning: Snake Content**
The Match Game:
When we ushered in the Year of the Snake, the cat detectives had an appropriate case file to release. It involved an experiment we’ve never done before: trying to dry preserve a dead animal.
Spring happened during a week of sneezing and then New Jersey entered summer. Many of the animals, including Gus and Oliver, need to shed extra bulk of winter fur. Others actually change their fur colors with the season. Our reptilian friends grow and extricate themselves from old skin by moving through rough surfaces like rocks. Gorgons and snakes have been the subject of many Winchester-Nabu cases.
Maybe it’s because I’m wearing a Loki t-shirt or because I’ve been watching a lot of The Welsh Viking, but I decided to look up other snakes of legend. History.com explains the Viking snake demi-god: Jormungand, one of three children of the shape-shifting god Loki and the giantess Angrboda. More on that a bit down the post.
Snakes have pretty consistently been a subject of Florida news since someone illegally introduced pythons into the Everglades. They are not native to that area. Environmentalists looking to preserve the beauty and biodiversity of the Everglades would love to magically drive the snakes from Florida. Too bad good ol’ Saint Patrick didn’t really do this for Ireland and his back story claims. Ireland didn’t have snakes and the man had been fasting for 40 days. He probably hallucinated the entire thing. Yet, Sainthood!
Florida has achieved a huge milestone in their goal to get rid of the invasive pythons wreaking havoc:
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida announces a record-breaking Burmese python research and removal season of 6,300 pounds of invasive snake. This marks a milestone for the Conservancy’s python program, with more than 20 tons of Burmese pythons removed from a 200-square-mile area in Southwest Florida since 2013. —Conservancy.org
Good for them! But, up here in New Jersey, the only pythons I’ve seen in my life were pets. Generally, they don’t make good pets. If small creatures like cats need stimulation for their physical and mental wellness like playing a lot or going on adventures, what on earth are people doing with snakes and lizards trapped in small glass cases? They must be so bored. Regardless, you shouldn’t set your pet “free” by dumping it in a pond or anywhere assuming it won’t cause damage. People also do this with koi they no longer want. It could introduce diseases, become invasive, or simply kill the animal who never asked to be a pet.
The Mystery
Regarding our Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency mystery of the week, we found one shed snakeskin so far which was added to our collection. At a cursory glance, one might jump to the conclusion that this is merely the molt of a common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). I delivered the specimen to Oliver and Gus for their input. We’ve seen how creatures like cryptids are capable of blending in with mundane world species to fool the eyes of predators, especially hunters and trophy collectors. I can hold up the mirror to myself and see that we have a lovely collection, but we have never killed the creatures to obtain them.
That brings me to what makes this mystery unique. We are not looking for forensic evidence and clues of an attacker. The skin is something naturally left behind. Could I have done the easy thing first and compared this specimen to one we already have to see if there’s a match? Yes! Did I? No!
Instead, I rallied the team and we got into researching which I like to do anyway.
Would Reptiles of Legend and Lore Do the Same?
If Jormungand (sometimes spelled Jormungandr)Â was large enough to encircle Midgard (Earth) and touch its tail to its head, what was it like as he grew? Was this ever addressed? It’s said that Jormungand eventually began moving, slithering, or rolling his way across the land out of rage. How would a demi-god that big target only northern Europe?
Gus sat upright on his penthouse which is the roof of their miniature office space made out of cardboard. It’s an office within an office. He saw that Oliver was two “floors” below him in his office space. Gus jumped down and sniffed his partner’s nose. He gave a polite lick to Ollie’s head before getting smacked for invading the marmalade tabby’s personal space. They can only be cordial for so long before smacks, bites, and wrestling happen.
“I’m thinking,” Oliver said. “Get off of me!”
It was time to break out the catnip. Only certain strains work. This year, neither of them are interested in the fresh catnip plants I have growing outside. Instead, they’ve only shown interest in a cheap dried variety. A sprinkled some on top of toys that have lost their potency and presented each cat with one. Ollie is affected the most. He can quickly enter a trance and project to other planes of existence.
Ollie rolled onto his back. I watched as Gus was clearly considering taking a leap at Ollie’s white throat. Fortunately, I distracted him so Oliver could share what knowledge he discovered from the Akashic library.
“I believe Jormungand could change size.” Ollie stretched his arms out, a vulnerable position to be in around Gus. “This metamorphosis wasn’t available while the snake-child grew. It had to reach its maximum size, the circumference of the Earth. Then it could change at will.”
“Anything else? Did he have his own off-spring?” I asked.
“He spent most of his existence alone under the water,” Ollie replied. “You might have to find a Norse expert for more.”
Gus has watched quite a bit of The Welsh Viking with me. He picked up on something I hadn’t noticed about Thor. “Do you think Thor could lift me up? He was unable to lift more than one paw of a king’s cat when challenged to lift the feline.”
“Jeez, Gus, I have no idea. You’re pretty heavy and I have a hard time lifting you, but Thor? He’s Thor. I’d think he could lift you. In fact, I think Thor would like you and Oliver very much. His mother had feline companions after all.” I thought of Frig/Freya in her chariot pulled by cats flying across the sky. It’s similar to how Gus has gone into a “Battle Cat” mode when I’ve been in danger.
I had to keep us from getting sidetracked. Back to the snakes of lore and our backyard. Fortunately, this speciment was not brittle.
“We’re not getting off track, human,” Ollie murmured. “The cat Thor failed to lift was actually Jormungandr.”
“So the world serpent can shape-shift not only change size?” My eyebrows furrowed. As soon as I was aware of it, my inner monologue shouted at me, NO WRINKLES, and I eased my forehead.
“I think the illusion was cast on him. What do you think, Gus?” Ollie rolled to his side and stretched his head in his cousin’s direction.
Gus moved to sit by the cabinet where his treats are stored. I knew I had to get him a few if we were going to wrap up this mystery.
“Not only do I believe the glamour was cast upon the great serpent,” Gus began, “I believe Loki is the one who did it. He was obviously disguised as the king or giant depending on which version you read.”
I took out four treats. I put one close to Oliver while hand-feeding Gus one. Ollie eats much slower. To draw Gus away, I put his second treat into his puzzle game. Then, I was able to put Ollie’s second treat near him without it luring Gus.
“Guys! Do we have a magical snake or not?” I raised my voice only slightly. I didn’t want to jar them out of their catnip stupor.
Gus spun his game and eat the last treat out of it. Oliver stood up. He was about leave the room when he looked back at us.
“I can’t believe you haven’t figured it out,” he said. “All snakes are magickal.” He walked all the way to the new kitty door and went to the covered balcony for a nap.
Thanks for the philosophy, Oliver. We still needed to try and identify this species or cryptid or demi-god. That left it to me to compare this snakeskin against others in our collection that survived my magickal science experiments. There was also the matter of deduction. We do not live all that close to the ocean. It is right there, about an hour to towns that border it. But a kaiju-size serpent would have to rise up at the Jersey Shore for us to get splashed. Could such a creature fit in a river? Well, we’ve discovered that it can be the subject of glamours to change its size and shape. Theoretically, Jormungandr could swim up the Delaware River and then return to original size. That would suck for us.
Case Findings:
The Grumpy Old Man first reported a snakeskin near Oliver’s patio. This makes sense since that’s a spot with rocks around it and snakes often go in there. The rocks can help the snakes shed their skin when it’s time. Gus, Oliver, and I took a little dive into Norse legends in order to avoid jumping to the conclusion that all snake evidence we find is related to Gorgons.
Though learning about Loki and Angrboda was a fun way to spend my office hours, we were on the wrong track. Gus supervised while I compared this skin to others. As it turns out, we don’t get to add our first Nordic heathen artifact to our collection. This snakeskin is indeed a match that conforms to other baby Gorgons of this area. Maybe someday, we’ll find evidence of Jormungandr.
Case Status: Closed
Resources:
Ocean Keltoi’s video, Jormundgandr / Nature’s Wrath