It was a warm night, the full moon shining down upon the shifting jungle. Magic wove itself into the DNA of every living thing, keeping every alive and strange. Many creatures lived here, both dangerous and benevolent. They waited in the shadows, or watched the stars above. This place was not meant to trod by those who had no magic woven into the fabric of their cells, whose destiny was to have their bodies deteriorate by natural means. No, this was the land of the immortals, where no pain, illness, or death lived, where riches and magic filled the soil. Where the very air sought to infect anything unlike itself. Where creatures and deities alike hungry for something mortal to devour.
As the full moon shined to illuminate the area, even it seemed to watch over the girl with eyes made of secrets. The poor, mortal girl. Fireflies flickered here and there around her. A narrow dirt path lead off into the jungle, and a slow melody rose in the air once more. It was faint, but if Marli strained, she could make it out. It was like the forest itself was singing to her.
Marli shook lingering droplets from her body and wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders. She turned in a slow circle to take in what surroundings she could. Besides the intermittent light from the lightning bugs, she could hardly see beyond the tree's silhouettes through bleary vision. With a few extra blinks the world focused into view under a startingly bright moon. There, a break in the wall of shrubbery, a line of dirt that fed deeper into the jungle.
Marli's first instinct was to follow the stream instead. It would likely feed into a river, and rivers usually meant she would eventually find signs of civilization. Just before she began her journey, a sound pricked her attention. A familiar sound—a sound so beautiful it hurt—that tugged at her heart's fibers. Marli's twenty-one years of human logic could never explain how a song that just barely drifted over the breeze could promise all of her desires. She knew no words to explain why her instincts fluttered away in favor of the path, or why she found herself walking towards it.
The stream did in fact lead to a river. And that river ran on and on, but not towards civilization. It only lead deeper and deeper into the magical realm. Eventually, one might even find the ruler of the river, before being drowned.
But that couldn’t happen. She couldn’t get to this mortal first. As Marli headed towards the path, she would be able to make out more of the song. It was like birdsong, a lilting whistle that echoes off of trees and rock. Even the actual birds seemed to be drawn to it; soon a whole flock of them flew overhead, shaking the trees’ crowns of leaves.
The rainforest seemed to be waking up to the mortal’s presence. The underbrush rustled, shadows flitting over the surface of the fronds and ferns. The trees seemed to bend toward Marli as she walked further down the path.
It was only a matter of time. The mortal was right where she needed to be.
Marli jumped at every movement. She stumbled over her feet on more than one occasion. The flock of birds left her shoulders with blanched fingermarks pressed in the skin, and shifting trees sent shivers deep into her bones. Lucid as the foreign energy made her to the environment, she quickened pace down the path. If she could just reach the song she would be safe. And if not safe, it was at least familiar. The song must have baited her for a purpose. Beyond attraction, curiosity drove her forward.
While she walked on, Marli's hair began to dry in stringy, brown ringlets. Damp strands stuck to her forehead. Others plastered themselves to the underside of her jaw, her cheeks, and her neck where they reached the farthest. She pushed them behind her ears in a deft movement. Her hands drifted down after to cradle the sides of her neck while she glowered at the all-encompasing trees. They seemed almost like animate beings, and she couldn't shake the feeling as if she were being scrutinized. As if she were on a final walk towards judgement.
A new sound rose in the air. A new melody, conjoining itself to the birdsong. A deep, flowing voice with a slightly inhuman timbre. Damn. She knows. Maybe she always did; the mortal entered through the stream.
The two melodies wove together into one harmonized song, though each seemed to be trying to overpower the other. It was strange. Why did he want this one so much? Wasn’t he more interested in the mortal children? But then, why did she want this mortal girl? She always liked the prideful young men.
Eventually, the path split. Toward the left, Marli would hear the sounds of water. The deeper voice seemed to be coming from that direction. Did it lead back to the stream? To the right, a chorus of birdsong. The high whistling seemed to be coming from that way. Hidden eyes watched the mortal, to see which she would choose.
Marli stopped at the fork in the path. She closed her eyes, listening to the way the songs overlapped each other. They were both beautiful. Too beautiful to choose. Her heart longed to follow both. To do so she would need to split herself in half. One side of her heart going left, and the other going right, but even then she couldn't wholly have both. It was the proverbial cake she couldn't have and eat in the same single moment. There was another part of her too, buried under her primal desires: her mind. If the second voice led back to the stream where she woke, perhaps it was there she could escape. She took a step to the left, but halted again when the song to the right sang louder. Marli tangled her hands in her hair. Her face tilted up to the tree roof while she bathed in the magic. Two songs intertwining around her and feeling as if they were made personally for her, and they were both of equal importance. She glanced over to the right. This was the sound she heard back home. What would be the point of coming here if her curiosity was never satisfied? She could find the source of this song first, then return afterwards for the stream, she reasoned.
With that, Marli headed down the path leading towards birdsong.
The trees seemed to welcome her warmly now, swaying as the birds flitted about cheerfully. The whistling melody was high in a triumphant crescendo. This time, the deep, honeyed voice did not try to dominate the song. Marli had made her choice, and the lilting vocals faded as she continued down the path. Fine. Be rid of her before she becomes one of us, at least.
Of course. Once the mortal became immortal, it wasn’t fun anymore. She couldn’t be charmed like this. The bird-like whistling was brought down from its crescendo, but it also seemed to come closer and closer. The rainforest began to look more colorful; small bushes and crops of flowers were scattered throughout the forest floor. The trees weren’t quite so tall, instead heavy with plump and shiny fruit. Higher up though, bright colored macaws crowed their song, their rough voices somehow not enough to interrupt the whistling. Bejeweled insects crawled along branches and leaves.
Just a little closer. Then you’ll be mine.
Marli trekked along down the path like a fly to honey. The triumphant crescendo sounded like a reward, though she covered her ears. It was easier to hear the higher pitched tones when the rest of her enviroment softened, after all. The birds and the orchestra of insects were simply too much for her mortal ears, while instead she breathed in the brilliant whistling as if it were the freshest air. Then the path got brighter. Nature walks in her previous life were magnificent—wait, her previous life? No, her present life, the same one, for she was still going to go home after she found where this song came from—but what she witnessed here could never be properly described by human terms. She let her hands fall from her ears to reach out and brush one of the low-hanging fruits with her fingertips. Only for a second did she let herself pause to admire one of the bugs lounging on a nearby leaf. A darling little thing. She resisted the urge to touch it with a subconsious reminder of the possible dangers. That thought was not enough to stop her from returning on her journey because she was already on her way again.
Indeed, there were dangers, but they were not the same as those in the mortal realm. Being mortal in the land of immortals naturally meant that the whole Encante would be against her, to prevent imbalance and the stain of impermanence. But nothing would cause pain or illness here, at least.
The whistling song turned soft, but chipper, coming closer and closer. By now one would probably realize that the one whistling had not even stopped to take a breath. It lead her on, enticing her forward. Poor mortal. The fly, the moth, the mouse, they were all the same. This girl was no different than the countless children before her.
The melody slowed as shadows shifted around her, and Marli was lead to a tree. It was not particularly tall, but its crown was wide, branches spreading out far from its trunk. Vines and moss climbed up the bark. The whistling turned into humming as a shadowy figure shifted between the branches. Soon a leg became visible, fair in color; it hung down and swung to and fro.
“Aí está você,” a voice sang. The birds seemed to echo the song.
The girl hadn't even taken the time to notice that the leeches she'd peeled from her skin earlier left no painful marks. In fact, Marli hadn't thought of them again until she glanced down at her legs in a fleeting moment of lucidity. How long was her walk? Shouldn't her muscles be aching from the chilly dip in the stream?
All she knew for certain now was that she was almost there. There being the marvelous tree from whence the song originated. Was it the tree whistling? Marli couldn't think of any being she'd encountered that could produce such lovely notes, not without pausing however briefly to take a breath. Then again, at this point, she should have known the beings here didn't adhere to mortal abilities. Her gaze snapped to the leg that dipped from the tree. She sighed at the voice. These were the first words she heard from it, and oh, they were enchanting. She approached the trunk, gingerly touching her fingers to the moss. "Quem é você? And why did you bring me here?"
The figure shifted again. Its remark ended the song, but it didn’t stop Marli from being charmed. Especially as another leg dropped beside first one, the moonlight beginning to reveal the shadow’s visage.
He slipped down from the tree and onto the ground in one fluid movement as a soft chuckle left him. He was, unexpectedly, not much taller than Marli was, but he was lean and fair skinned, with only a woven length of fabric wrapped around his hips and part of his torso. Dark marks were painted onto his arms and shoulders, continuing up to his face. His face. His cat-like features were as enchanting as his voice. His eyes clear as water, yet hiding so much. Framing his face was a head of long, golden hair, reaching down to his calves and swaying like wheat in the night air. Altogether, he seemed to resemble a small jaguar.
“You know me, Marli,” he cooed. “We met when you were young.”
Marli felt as if she could never look away from this man—no, not quite a man. He looked like one, but he had an otherwordly presence around him with his feline-adjacent features and enchanting mien. The thought rose from her subconsious like a distant memory becoming clear. A god.
Oh, god, she'd brushed that childhood experience off as a fever dream. Marli remembered a time long ago, when she was just a little girl, maybe four years old, when she drove her mother and herself to tears for not laying down. It had been afternoon on a sweltering July day when it was time for her nap. Later her mother would tell stories about how when toddler Marli was exhausted the little terror made her own irritability everyone else's too. On that particular day Marli screamed her little lungs out in protestation of sleep. She remembered sitting on her bed, clutching a dolphin plushie close to her chest. Her mamã had left her alone to cry, the room darkened by curtains, and then she remembered a whistling sound.
Realization sparkled in her auburn eyes. "You…Jaci Jaterê?"
A smile curled the god’s lips. “We had such fun back then, didn’t we? Oh wait, you might not remember that, at least not now.”
He studied her. Of course, she was not the small child she once was, even if she could be lured here like one. Fascinating how quickly mortals can change in only a few decades. He looked at her as if committing her appearance to memory. She would only change more as time went on, especially now that she was in this realm.
“As for your second question, well…” he shifted his weight as some of his hair covered his face. “It’s complicated.” He looked up at the moon, letting out a soft breath, then looked back to Marli. “Your arrival in this place is quite unfortunate, all things considered. But I brought you to me because it would be more unfortunate if anyone else had found you.” His eyes glimmered, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
Likewise, Marli drank in the god's appearance while she fidgeted at the seams on the sides of her overalls. There was a bizarre temptation to reach up and push the hair away from his face. She pushed her own hair back instead. By now it had dried into loose curls that intermittantly drifted into her vision. He was smaller than in her mind's eye. More likely she had grown taller: all the way up to a lofty five foot, three. Otherwise he looked just like how she'd imagined him when her thoughts drifted through fuzzy memories of her childhood. It was so long ago already, and it only seemed farther away since she entered the Encante.
As much as Jaci Jaterê had stayed the same, she indeed changed. It was almost a decade since they last met, after all. Victories and heartaches shaped Marli Laurentius into a fully fledged adult. Sunlight had dappled more specks onto her golden arms and shoulders. She enjoyed enough hikes through the jungle to tone her legs, but she cared more about the view and her circle of friends than her body type. She missed them all terribly. Her expression shifted into concern at his words. "Can't you help me get home? At least show me the way."
He shifted his weight again, then slowly took a few steps, circling her. Though his hair was still in his face, his eyes were still visible as they peered at her. From seemingly out of nowhere, the god pulled out a wooden staff, running his hands along the wood. It was simply made; the wood was dark and ended with a knob at the end. There seemed to be something carved into it, but even the moon’s light couldn’t quite reveal the details.
Jaci Jaterê examined the staff, pursing his lips. “Perhaps… but this is not the same…” he muttered. He looked at Marli, beginning to circle her again. “I only get out of the Encante as much as I do because I have divine blood. It is not so easy for a mortal.” He tilted his head at her. “Mortals only end up here to become immortal, or die. You cannot leave as you are now.”
Marli followed him with her gaze. Her head turned along with his steps until, of course, she couldn't turn anymore. She looked for a moment at the staff when it appeared. Even if she couldn't make out the details it seemed just as familiar and beautiful as the god who wielded it. If it were as powerful, could it send her home the way it had brought him to her doorway all those years ago, she wondered. But alas, when Jaci Jaterê continued to speak, her hopes dwindled. She nibbled on her bottom lip as the first waves of anxiety washed over her. Her whole body slowly spun with him this time. "You mean I could die?" Marli cinched her brows together while the weight of his words dawned. Death didn't frighten her as much as the unknown. At first it was the only option she could process into words. Her attention flicked away to the trees. Lack of focus made her stumble, and she stopped spinning, but the earth beneath her feet continued on. "Wait wait wait, I can turn—I have to be…"
“You could,” the god shrugged. “Like I said, it would have been more unfortunate for you had I not brought you to me. Although—” he smirked and stopped circling. “You would make a nice meal for my brother.”
Jaci Jaterê had many brothers, but there was only one he brought human food to. It might look a little strange, for him to bring a young woman and not a child, but it’s not like his brother would care much.
He walked up to her and gently set his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Hush now,” he cooed. “It’s not so bad. It’s like falling asleep.” He set the knob of the staff underneath Marli’s chin and carefully guided her to look up at his enchanting face. “Why don’t we go to my abode? Perhaps you will speak easier once we’re there.”
"What-" Like a deer having heard a snap in the shrubbery, her ego startled and froze in the back of her mind. Marli's eyes widened not unlike a doe's. She lifted the back of one heel as if to flee, but deep down she knew she had no chance against a god. Then again she would have followed him into any cave or monster he brought her to. She wouldn't mind. Not if it was his charming presence who guided her. She might have reached out to hold his hand on the way.
Meanwhile, Marli stared off into the jungle nervously until she felt solid hands on her shoulders, then the staff tap her chin. Her clouded gaze traced a line from the trees back to his face. A sigh drifted from her lips. One by one, the muscles in her limbs released all the tension they'd clung to. The danger was no more. He must have chased it off, whatever it was. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure I will. Let's go."
(About how long would it take for her to change into an encantado?)
(it depends, varies from person to person. Generally, becoming an encantado is a corruption of the body and soul, and the more wicked deeds a human commits, the faster they become an encantado, and additionally the more hostile/evil the creature they become is. If i had to give an average time span, probably a few weeks to a month?)
His smirk shifted with amusement as he watched her freeze. He drew the staff away, then removed his hands from her and looked up at the moon once more. “Don’t panic, Marli. We still have a veil of safety around us yet.” He looked back at her, touching her shoulder again to guide her forward. He walked ahead, seeming to lope along like a feline. “My abode is not far from here.”
They walked past the tree he had been hiding in, going further into the forest. The birds seemed to settle, with only a few distant calls to be heard. The god was quiet too, except for the soft humming sounds he made. Unlike his whistling, he didn’t seem to be humming for anyone but himself. Meanwhile, the forest seemed to glow with color. Fireflies and glowing shrooms and flowers were scattered about. A few times he had to push aside large flora to get through, or get down steep drops in the landscape. The god also politely helped Marli along when needed.
Marli followed without any hesitation at first, eager to keep up pace. The farther away from where she'd intuited peril the better. She accepted his help with various obstructions on the path, murmuring grateful comments as she took his hand. Yet her fervor eventually waned into distractability. Now every few feet she lagged behind when a new color or insect caught her eye. Her toes dragged through the dirt, gathering mud in her sandals. It seemed so minutely inconvenient now that she didn't stop to clean her shoes. In the meantime, when wasn't distracted by a scurrying critter, she considered the way Jaci Jaterê walked like a cat in his own territory. She was magnetized.
After an amount of time Marli deemed appropriate, she asked, "I've already been walking for some time. Before I found you, I mean. And you said it's not far, but what exactly does your abode look like?" Her feet weren't protesting with sharp pains in her heel, and her soul was quite enriched with wonderful creatures and a god amidst her, but she couldn't resist a question for curiosity's sake.
(So I'm doing some light research and I'm finding that Marli's interests with hiking/nature probably fit best with Caipora, but I'm hesitant to have her turn into a spirit I only see that there's one of. Is that OK?)
(Really? When i was looking into them i interpreted the Caipora to be a whole group of creatures. Either way, its fine with me ^^)
(Ooh perfect!! Tysm :D She'll be turning into one of the Caipora then)
