Arimathras - It was a name that few knew of and yet her domain was held in high regard. Had a mortal voice not reached her then it was highly likely that this lack of recognition would have remained. Alas, as fate would have it, such a voice had touched her and with sleepy eyes, she had turned her gaze towards the mortal world...and what she saw before her, broke her heart.
The world was not as plentiful as she had assumed, as famine and pestilence reigned supreme and some areas were worse effected than others. Whether it was through the influence or another god or simply a case of bad luck, was irrelevant... What mattered was that the world lacked clarity and colour - and the mortals, those that were unsuspecting and innocent, were struggling to survive. The bountiful harvests that she had expected were rare and hope was dwindling in the worst areas.
The colour she had once loved, revered and prided herself upon had vanished.
As a benevolent creature, this revelation came as a bitter shock and it simply couldn't be ignored. With the blinkers removed and her eyes now opened, she rose from her idle slumber and descended from the heavens/ Her first destination remained unknown, but the land which she had first lay paws upon flourished instantly at her touch. While her arrival did not spell a dramatic shift in circumstances, it did ensure that the yield within that region was better than the previous. Alas! This was not her current purpose and as such, she soon began to wander from the more fertile lands and towards those who needed a tender and loving touch...
Thus, she headed north.
...Away from the jungles, and towards the savvanah.
It was here that she encountered her first mortal - an oddity to be sure. He was a leopard, and it was his insight that set her true course from that point forward. Known only as 'Raja', he had been schooled in the art of geology (at least to a point) and it was his knowledge of the current unrest and difficulties, that proved to be invaluable to the deity...
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"There are droughts in a number of locations," the cream leopard explained patiently to the goddess. Having taken a short while to adjust to the novelty of her presence, and the effect she had on the ground around her, Raja could have been applauded for his level head and sustained composure. There would be those in the world who would have been starstruck and even incapable of conversing, but he was not one of them. After all, it was far more respectable to respond than to gape.
"The droughts have forced many creatures to move, but others have elected to stay and weather the storm," he continued and released a small sigh. "Regardless, they have placed considerable strain on all life. If there are no crops, there are no preybeasts, if there are no preybeasts..." he trailed off to avoid stating the obvious. He could only assume that she knew how these things worked.
"But it can't just be droughts," she mused, sweeping her tail round to pluck an apple from a tree that had sprouted and ripened beside her. "There is no colour on the coasts either," she pointed out softly. Her observations were simplistic, but they were easy enough to follow, especially for a mortal.
"Tsunamis," he stated flatly. He had visited a region that had been struck by one recently and the damage had been considerable. The recovery was slow, but there was still hope. "The salt in the ocean...most plants dislike it," he added after a few moments, his ears flattening against the top of his head.
"Oh," she murmured delicately, her tail drooping. Suffice to say that she was rather deflated at the news - if the plants would die when she left, then how could they be sustained?
Stupid salt!
"However, other plants love salt," he spoke again, dispelling the silence with a quick shake of his head. "I have an agreement with one of the lions to test a small patch of land - the intention is to see whether the two types of plants can co-exist." A mild smile lined his lips as he glanced at one of the many plants that had sprouted up around the female. "If one plant eats the salt, it should, in theory, allow the other plants to feed safely," he explained.
"You think it could work?" Given that she had a vested interest in the issue, the question was a rather predictable one.
"I hope so -"
"But you don't know for certain..."
"No one does, at least no mortal does," Raja remarked, careful not to sound to abrupt or inconsiderate. Short of divine intervention there were no guarantees, and the leopard knew better than to expect such things, mortals were self sufficient after all. "But we do have to try something."
"However, if it fails, is there any other way?" Arimathras's brow was furrowed in thought, was there a solution that she could pursue?
"Short of drowning the land in fresh water to flush the sea water out?" he enquired wrily and shook his head. "No, we do not possess that kind of power," he finished.
Sadly, neither did she.
A silence fell over the pair of felines as the reality set in for both - the news impacted far more heavily on Arimathras, who was confronted with her own limitations. For they oung idealist, this was quite a difficult thing to stomach.
Eventually, the leopard concluded that a long enough pause had occured, and, with no additional adive to provide that would be of any use, he offered up one final word... whether it was intended as encouragement or sympathy was anyone's guess. "Perhaps you would consider seeing it with your own eyes? You may see something that others do not - fresh eyes have a way of doing that," he mused.
"I could," Arimathras agreed in a slow manner, accepting that the leopard made a valid point. However, where on earth would she start? She knew of a general direction but now she was confronted with the necessity to prioritise... This was turning out to be far more complicated than she'd anticipated.
"Oh and...one more thing," Raja murmured hesitantly, flicking his gaze to the side to regard the deity. "I would probably advise hiding those wings of yours; and maybe the fruit too," he finished and shook his head a little. "You may receive unwanted attention which might prove problematic for you."
"You don't like wings?" the deity enquired in confusion.
"It's not that, it's more that we're not used to, well, gods," Raja pointed out with mild amusement.
"Oooooh," she murmured and it appeared that she finally understood.
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