He looked hungry... And she didn't just mean 'hungry' in the sense that his stomach was grumbling. He was dangerously thin, gaunt and his eyes had sunken into his head in such a fashion that he resembled a walking corpse. She'd never seen anything like it in her time here and it caused her a surprising level of discomfort. Granted he was a big lion, but wouldn't that mean that he should have been capable of felling a reasonable enough number of preybeasts to satisfy his needs? There were many things within this world that the deity didn't fully understand and more often than not, she found herself dealing with the more complex and disturbing aspects of the mortal psyche.
What was she missing? It just made no sense.
For a while she had watched him, perched precariously on the larger branches of the trees above him head. As he had placed distance between himself and her, she would hop from one tree to the next and ensure that he never left her sights. Curiousity was an evil mistress sometimes, but the only way for her to learn was to investigate such things and as a result, this unknown male was to be the subject of her observations for a while. Or rather, he was meant to be the subject of her observations, the only problem was that he was not as inclined towards her stalker-like tendencies as other individuals might be.
As the minutes passed, the gaunt male's shoulders had tensed and his jaw had tightened. After approximately ten minutes, he had drawn to a halt and was glancing over his shoulder, just off to the left. He was looking in the wrong direction, but it was evident from the outset that he was uncomfortable and more worryingly, he seemed hostile. Fortunately for the curious female, he hadn't attacked or snapped yet but this didn't necessarily mean that it wouldn't happen in due course. It was in moments like these that she was completely at a loss for what to do - while she knew he couldn't kill her, this didn't mean that he couldn't make her bleed... And blood always made her a touch queasy.
"I know that you are there," the lion spoke at last, his voice cracked and hoarse from lack of use. He continued to look off to his left for a few moments and then slowly but surely, he turned round and cast his gaze up into the trees. It would have been nearly impossible to miss the snowy, white female above him, even though she had slunk back into the shadows to as best an effect as she could. "You assume yourself invisible? I can see you in the shadows," he continued and shook his head. "So which one of them sent you, the reds or the blacks?" he enquired darkly. "Do not think that I will meet my end without taking you with me," he warned.
It should have come at no surprise that Arimathras was not immediately available for comment as the young lioness struggled to find an appropriate response. Deity she might have been, but this didn't mean that she couldn't be frightened and the haunted and deadened gaze of this particular male was something to be reckoned with. It was almost as though he had seen, heard and done things that would have horrified her - benevolent as she was, she couldn't handle anything that inflicted unnecessary suffering...it just wasn't what she was born for.
"I -" she began and then promptly shook her head, creeping forward ever so slightly so that her head was much more visible. With her lips pursed into an uncertain line, it would have taken an idiot to miss the fact that she was struggling. "N-no one sent me!" she replied and cleared her throat, schooling her expression into a less anxious one. He might have been unsettling due to his demeanour, but that didn't mean she should cow to him and give him reason to suspect her. "I was just passing through and well I saw you and -"
"And what?" the lion interrupted in a scathing tone. Suffice to say that he hadn't noticed that the feline possessed wings, and he certainly didn't like to be followed. However, he had at the very least taken note of her colourful jewels and given that this didn't necessarily fit in with his pursuers, she was perhaps safe from his wrath in that respect.
"Well, it's just that you look hungry," she replied feebly. "And you're a really big lion so, I just don't understand why. I mean you're big enough to take what you need so why -"
He snorted and she grew quiet.
"I just wanted to try and work out why, that's all," she finished softly, her ears flattering against the top of her hair as she regarded the lion in an apologetic fashion. Somewhere another god was probably raising their eyes heavenwards as the prospect of any immortal bowing to a 'lesser', but she genuinely hadn't intended any harm!
"I do not have the time to eat large meals," he explained simply and shook his head. "If that has answered your question, then I would encourage you to leave me be," he finished and gave a wave of his paw as if to shoo the female on, oblivious to who and what she was.
"Even then, you still need to eat to keep your strength up, you look like you'll drop dead any minute!" she blurted out before she could stop herself and promptly gasped. Her paws flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes widened in surprise, alas, such a reaction was short lived as she promptly lost her balance and tumbled from the tree, slipping between two of the larger branches and onto the ground below. It was in these moments, that her true identity was revealed, particularly in the flurry of feathers, wings and fluff that followed as she attempted to regain her bearings - even deities could become dazed when they hit their heads.
The male was incredulous.
"Am I dead?" he enquired weakly, his rage dissipating into uncertainty as he regarded the now winged and rather dazed deity. In any other situation he might have laughed at the expression upon her face. However, now was not the time, particularly when he was faced with what looked like an angel - if such a thing were to be geniune and not a dream then did this mean that he had been caught off guard and slaughtered in his sleep? If he had been then he would at least express his gratitude to the one who had performed such an act, it had been swift and he hadn't felt a thing.
"Um -" Arimathras sounded wistful as she wriggled off her head and onto her stomach, rubbing gently at one ear with her paw. "You don't smell dead so...I don't think you're dead?" she hazarded, pursing her lips at the lion. She should have been expecting this of course as the leopard had warned her that wings were generally not 'well received' by mortals, but whatever the case might have been he didn't seem as angry anymore. In fact, much to her distress, he almost seemed relieved at the prospect.
"Then you are real?" the lion was still struggling to comprehend the situation.
"...Yes," she gave an emphatic nod.
A silence fell across the small gap between the both as the male regarded her with uncertainty, his expression twisting in to one of confusion and then distress. Perhaps he was questioning the fates in their decision to have the deity pursue him out of her own curiosity, or perhaps it was something else entirely...?
"So...are you hungry?" she enquired hesitantly and pulled herself to all fours, shaking off some of the leaves and loose feathers that had fallen on her flank. "I mean I don't have much but I could give you some -" she trailed off and pulled a rather distressed face of her own, she'd been told on more than one occasion that felines did not eat fruit - Ever.
"Some?" the lion pressed softly, operating predominantly on autopilot in those moments as his existing manners began to creep through.
"Fruit," she murmured lamely and shook her head. "Don't worry, I already know that felines don't eat fruit, it's bad for them," she continued sadly and released a sigh. "But it's the only thing I have so..."
"Felines can eat fruit," the lion murmured slowly and shook his head. "We can't eat some, but we can eat most so long as they are not berries," he explained and then furrowed his brow deeply. "That being said, we couldn't live off them either as we are not born to be preybeasts," he pointed out, though the young female seemed to have lost herself in thought at the revelation that felines could, in fact, eat fruit in some form or another.
"So you can eat fruit..." she pressed.
"Yes?" he replied uncertainly.
"Well!" with a flurry of wings she trotted forward, bridging the distance between herself and the unfortunate male. "Would you like some?" she enquired jovially and lifted a paw to press against the top of his nose, an action that was greeted with confusion and a slight flinch - forget being followed, apparently the male didn't like to be followed either! "I mean, just enough to give you a little more energy until you can have a proper meal..."
"I really...I really can't - " he tried to argue, acutely aware that the longer he remained idle the closer his pursuers would become, but he was met by a peculiar sensation. As he opened his mouth he found his jaw close on a round, squidgey object as he attempted to speak. As his teeth pierced it, the liquid within the fruit seeped down and tickled at his tongue, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.
"Just one won't hurt," the goddess remarked with a shy smile. "Promise!"
...And who was he to argue? Thus, he took a seat and did as he was told, picking what he confirmed to be an orange out of his teeth in the process...
Reply
