Welcome to Gaia! ::

Her mistress was late coming back. Days late by now in fact. The catgirl was more than a little worried. This late with no word usually meant trouble, at least it had in the past. Now Asherah wasn't so sure, with circumstances being what they were in this life. But she still worried, as any good aoide would. Things had been a bit topsy turby since Tien's rebirth. Trickery acted a great deal like her mortal host, probably moreso than the goddess even recognized.

Eventually Asherah had enough, resolving to leave and seek out their missing mistress. Gul had tried to dissuade the catgirl from leaving, insisting that perhaps Tien's tardiness was a sign that her plan had gone over well. She hadn't listened of course and had made most of the journey on foot, eventually finding a ride on a passing trader's wagon. Her first thought upon arrival had been to march up to the Worldshield's quarters and see if Tien was still there. Halfway there good sense had taken hold; if things were going well that might ruin the mood.

So she had slunk back down the stairs and ducked into a tea house, the weariness of travel finally catching up with her. Currently she lay half curled up on the cushions, worrying her lip.

Asherah was hardly paying attention and didn't hear anything until the currently cat god was quite close by. Her ears perked when she sound of soft footsteps reached her and she ignored it at first, thinking it to be some mortal wandering in awe. When they kept coming closer however, the catgirl finally opened her eyes. She sat up and stretched before resettling herself on the cushions, tail flicking side to side. At this particular moment it didn't matter to her that she looked like a lazy kitten.

May as well greet whoever it is.

"No, it's fine..." Asherah's eyes widened a little, her voice dying off. She had to swallow hard and take a deep breath to coax it into working again. "...really. Sit." She motioned to the remaining cushions, and her gaze flicked away from him. After all it wasn't polite to openly gape at a stranger, no matter how interesting and attractive he might be. "I'm just hoping someone will show up. Waiting is better with company, anyhow, makes it less tedious."

"My lady." She sighed, her eyes closing. "I'm honestly not sure if she's even here. But it seemed the best place to start at least."

Eh? The twitching of Asherah's own tail stopped suddenly and red eyes opened again to regard him, a mildly embarrassed expression creeping across her features. In her haste she hadn't thought to ask anyone if they had seen her. Clearly she was far too anxious and single minded today, certainly not her usual self. "The Commedia Dell'Arte."

After she fell silent the catgirl pretended to glance away again, but continued to study him through her lashes. She was very subtle about it, but he might catch her at it if he paid attention. This one didn't feel powerless like a host with a sleeping gem, nor a fellow aoide. Perhaps he was one of the reborn? Though, none she knew of, save perhaps Greed, kept anything like a feline nature as their preferred form.

"May I ask your name, my lord?"

The catgirl smiled a little, thinking she was clever and hadn't been caught. "My name is Asherah, Lord Rio. My lady is actually off on 'your business', so to speak." Though, realistically, who wasn't given the fact that it was the season of love. "It's flattering, if a bit ironic, that I should have your company while I wait for her." She blushed faintly, suddenly glad for her dark fur.

She had to admit there was something fascinating about him, perhaps it was just his domain or maybe it was just the form he took. It was difficult to pin down. Though, it didn't stop her from rearranging her lot of cushions so she would be a bit closer and could examine him a little better. If he asked it would be blamed on a feline's habit of never seeming to be comfortable.

To better cover her proverbial tracks, or so she hoped, she offered a bit of small talk. "My lord, do you always look like that?" She doubted it, but hey it was a topic of discussion at least!

"As you say, my lo-Rio." There she was agreeing to it and nearly slipping up again. She made a face and sighed, clearly it was something that would take a little getting used to. "I do hope things go well for her, it would do them both good. In my humble opinion of course."

She laughed a little as he fussed with his ear. "It's not so odd, when you've known no other way to be."

"Imagine such things would get in the way, more often than not. And flying..." Asherah cringed at the thought, she hated flying. Being up so high that you couldn't possibly manage to survive the fall. Nuh uh, no thank you! The only episode of flying that had been any measure of tolerable was when she rode on Tien Lung's back but there had been no risk of death then.

She tilted her head to examine what she could see of his wings. They seemed awfully peculiar. What were they made of?