Not long after Marli began speaking, the god stopped and turned to face her. His expression was calm, steady, different than the smirk he had been wearing at the beginning of their walk. He carried his staff with one hand, his grip loose, almost lazy.
"It's not, Marli," he said. "Actually, we're here." Reaching up with his free hand, he tugged on a hanging vine. There was a soft rattling sound, and then between them dropped a wooden ladder. “Why don’t you find out?”
If Marli looked up, she would see a dark shape above where the ladder likely came from, more solid and distinct than the trees around them, blocking out the night sky.
“After you, mortal girl.” Jaci Jaterê’s eyes seemed to glimmer slightly.
"Oh." Marli, stopping in her tracks, startled at the ladder that appeared in front of her. She peered quizzically at the god through the spaces in the ladder, then traced her gaze up towards the black shape looming above. Why not find out herself, indeed? She took hold of one of the wooden rungs and pulled herself upwards one step at a time. While she climbed a strand of hair fell onto her forehead. Her first instinct was to brush it away, but she faltered upon seeing a flash of red pass her eyes. It must have been a trick of the light. The magic of the Encante must be reflecting its strange colors into her mind. She tucked the strand behind her ear and continued her ascension. Still, she made a mental note to examine her hair later. Perhaps there was a leaf or bug that hitched a ride there.
He watched as she climbed the ladder, making sure she didn’t slip or the ladder wasn’t faulty. Then, he started climbing after her, his staff seeming to disappear from sight.
At the top of the ladder was a wooden platform leading to a hut built around a tall tree. A treehouse, essentially, nestled in the branches like a bird’s nest. It had a thatched roof with logs woven together in slightly irregular patterns to form the walls. A curtain of leaves and heliconias covered the entrance.
“You’re welcome to go on in. Make yourself at home.” Once the god made it up to the platform, he turned and began rolling up the ladder.
At the top of the ladder, Marli clambered onto the platform. She stood there for a moment just to absorb the sight of the building. His dwelling reminded her of treehouses she'd seen built for children. Only this was infinitely more impressive, large enough for living quarters, and surprisingly normal. It was magnificent, yes, if not quite what she expected a god's abode to look like. She might have imagined something more ethereal. This one seemed so real and present. And yet it was more fitting for Jaci Jaterê than anything else she could fantasize.
"Alright. I will, thank you." The closer she got to the hut the better she could see those odd patterns in the walls. No, this certainly wasn't a child's playhouse. Marli parted the draping plants to the side with her arm, entering the god's residence.
Of course, Jaci Jaterê was only half god, technically. All the full-blooded celestial gods had their more impressive homes in the skies, the underworld gods lived below. His brothers had their nests too.
And indeed, the inside of the hut was more similar to a nest than a home. Woven rugs covered the wooden floor, animal skins and feathers were shaped into cushions and pillows. There was a long strip of an animal skin that seemed to function as the bed, set off to one side. Toward the back of hut, there was a bare space with no rugs, the wall and roof breaking off to where a net served as the border between the hut and outside instead. In the middle of the bare space was a circle of stones surrounding hot coals. A few strips of meat were laid over it, cooking. Near it was a small wooden figure, seeming to be some kind of animal. It was too dark to tell.
After a minute or two the god seemed to appear behind Marli. “It’s not exactly prepared for guests, is it?” He mused.
Marli's expression shifted into an indiscernible emotion as she entered the hut, neither positive nor negative, just perplexed. Whatever expectations she had based on the outside were only further disproven. Despite his enchanting appearance and language, she once again found herself being reminded that this was no man she'd found herself with. Her grandmother used to tell stories about the gods, their lineages, and their fables. Or at least Marli had thought they were fables. She'd forgotten most of it by now.
"Well, it depends on what kind of guests you're inviting," she mused in turn, chuckling dryly.
Marli wandered over close to the stones. Seeing the figure nearby, she approached it and attempted to decipher the shape of the animal in the dim light. She nearly touched it before thinking better of herself and withdrawing her hand. "What is this?"
(Just so you know I’m starting college soon so that might affect how often I reply)
“Hm.” He shrugged a little and looked around, seeming to wonder how he could make the space more suitable for a mortal. He adjusted some of the furs and feathers before looking over to Marli. He went over to her and picked up the small figure.
“Something I’m working on,” he said softly, looking it over. “It’s supposed to be an ocelot. I need to make the paint to give it spots.” He handed it out to her. Then the god walked over to sit on a cushion, patting the spot next to him to indicate that she sit with him.
(All good! I hope you have a good time there)
Marli took the statuette, turning it to and fro and tracing the carved lines with a finger. "Ahh. It's very nice. I think I could've guessed what it might be the daylight." She glanced over when she heard the sound of Jaci Jaterê's hand patting the cushion, wandering over then to take the seat beside him. They had been this close before in the wilderness. Closer even. Here it felt different, more intimate after she'd been invited into his home and now sitting shoulder to shoulder. Who was she to have this honor? Marli stared at the figurine in her lap, casting furtive glances towards the god, and giving her most valiant effort to swallow the beating heart in her throat.
“Why, thank you.” He glanced at her with his cat eyes. Part of him was still trying to connect this young adult with the child he found awake years ago. However, it was almost refreshing to speak to a mortal that wasn’t a small child. Another part of him… was sleepy. That was what this treehouse was for, really. Sleeping and sometimes cooking and eating. But he knew mortals used their dwellings for all kinds of activities, and he couldn’t sleep just now. He figured doing it this way would suit her better.
He shook himself, letting the lethargy slide off of him. There were important things to discuss. The god looked back at her, noticing her glances and raising a brow.
“Marli,” he began. “You could choose to die, and I can give you the most painless, quickest death possible. What happens after is up to you. Or, you could live, and become immortal. Not as a goddess, no, but as an encantado. Once that happens, you are also free to do as you wish.”
They would likely separate, whatever happened, and be better for it. If she chose to become immortal, she would not be able to fall under his charm anymore, and soon find him annoying. That’s what most other immortals of the Encante thought of him.
When their eyes met during one of her glances, Marli snapped her gaze back the pile of hot coals they sat beside. She chewed on her lip while he spoke. A familiar wave of anxiety rose at the mention of her death again. She'd almost forgotten about that option, and it wasn't any easier to swallow this time around, but at least she could keep herself from spiraling. Then there was the other option to become something other. Something immortal—an Encantado—he had said. Perhaps this option, the unknown, was even more frightening. Marli fidgeted with the would-be ocelot, rubbing her thumb up and down its wooden back. "I don't want to die," she admitted. "I want to go back home." A beat passed as she delved into deep thought, and then, "You said I couldn't leave as I am now. But I can leave? As an…Encantado?"
“You could go back home after death,” Jaci Jaterê pointed out. Then he thought about it. “Or… maybe not. Too unpredictable.” He waved the thought away, then looked at her.
“So, you choose to live.” A smile curled his lips. Unlike the other option, this was quite predictable. “Yes. In fact, encantados leave all the time. They often bring misfortune with them, but…” he looked more closely at her. “You don’t seem to be the type… still. Maybe after this, misfortune will follow you.”
Marli's head tilted ever so slightly to the left while she tried to decipher what he meant. The words all made sense, and perhaps it was sound logic in this world, but she couldn't quite comprehend what misfortunes might follow her in a place like this. She stared right back at him for several seconds before until another blot of red entered her vision. After the first instinct to swipe it away, she remembered that she'd meant to inspect it earlier, and tugged it more deliberately in front of her eyes instead. "Changes like…" Marli squinted at the ginger strands of hair. She tugged it again only to find it firmly attached to her head. Pulling more hair into her grip, she found the rest—thankfully—still brown surrounding its forgein companions.
Whether he noticed her confusion or not, Jaci Jaterê did not elaborate. While the mortal was distracted by her hair, he took the little ocelot figure from her hand. “Seems like your transformation is beginning. This should be interesting.” He chuckled to himself and stood, placing the ocelot back in its spot by the hot coals.
“Well. Now that things are settled, I think I will retire for the night.” His golden locks spilled over his shoulders as he moved toward the bed and nestled into the animal skins. “You move the skins and pillows into whatever arrangement you find comfortable, Marli,” he said, waving her off. He sighed and let out a soft yawn.
(Aha I'm back! I started a new job and life got unforeseeably hectic, my apologies T-T)
As satisfied as she could be with the appearance of her hair, Marli followed the ocelot's path back to its sitting place. There she stared until Jaci Jaterê said something about letting her arrange the bedding as she liked. "Oh. Alright. Thank you." Was it so late already? While it had been dark for as long as she could remember in this place, it felt as though not much time had passed since she'd left her house.
Then again there was a heaviness in all her body now: her mind hazy and unable to follow a straight thought, her eyes burdened with the weight of her eyelids, and at last her arms after using the last of her strength to pile up a makeshift pillow out of furs. She rested her head there on her creation, pulling another pelt close to wrap her arms around. Just before she drifted off into sleep, Marli imagined how the Encante might look bathed in daylight.
(Oh wow! It’s alright, good to have you back!)
(Thank you! It's good to be back)
When the sun opened his eyes, the moon was there, sharing the sky with him. The sun stared in awe until the moon went to sleep, and the sun turned his gaze to world below. Golden light filled the jungle, its colors shifting to warmth. The creatures of the night, the birds and the beetles, the fireflies and flowers, all hid away from the light as other beasts took their place. The small lizards and frogs, the marsh deer and butterflies.
Jaci Jaterê’s abode was decently shaded, and the little light that was able to get in was diffused and reflected, giving the tree hut a soft glow. And yet, the god still slumbered. His golden hair piled out from under the animal skins, unmoving. The hanging plants that covered the entrance swayed slightly as a breeze passed by.
The sunlight, albeit soft and unoppressive in Jaci Jaterê's room, roused Marli from her slumber. She blinked sleep from her eyes to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. It took several quickened heartbeats to orient herself—this was not the bedroom she'd woken up in nearly every day of her life. She would not hear her mother cooking downstairs or even the alarm she had set herself for work in the morning. No, this was the place Marli only ever thought she could visit in her dreams. And this house, the god's home, was not hers.
Marli propped herself up on her elbows against the furs while she glanced around for Jaci Jaterê. Finding his golden hair where she'd seen him settle down last night, still slumbering, she stood up and passed through the front door to take a seat on the ledge outside beside the ladder.
In the daylight, the forest still seemed as though it existed in a dream. A fairytale, even. The birds sang, but it was the soft, slow melodies of the morning that sounded like yawns. A breeze encouraged the trees to wave their branches at the mortal. There was no voice, no whistling to charm her now.
Soon enough the smell of cooked meat drifted by, coming from back inside the tree hut. At the same time, eyes watched her from the trees. The trees always watched.
The god still slept. It seemed that nothing could wake him, not even the smell of the meat laid over the fire, which by now had gone out. This was nothing out of the ordinary, however. His sleep was dreamless, also as usual, except for a vague sense of unease.
Marli stayed outside for some time. She wasn't entirely sure how long or short. She closed her eyes, chin tilted up into the sunlight filtered through tree leaves. Had she been home, the sun might have been too bright to be comfortable. She had to admit that this place had some—or rather many— redeeming qualities. Despite the lack of familiarity, the sunlight for example, and the breeze that brushed through her dappled-red-and-brown hair. She hadn't had the opportunity to inspect that yet.
A while later, the desire to eat filled Marli with an initiative that had her pushing herself back up onto her feet. It was hunger, yes, a dull awareness in her stomach that signaled a desire to fill it, but lacked a certain pang she'd experienced come breakfast time at home. The smell of meat drew her back inside where it laid over dwindling embers. She reached out, gingerly taking a piece between two fingers.
It was a thin strip, similar to bacon. It might have even been meat from some kind of pig. It had a few dark flecks from the coals, but otherwise it looked perfectly cooked. There were five more still lying on the bed of coals.
Nearby, the pile of blankets and furs shifted. The slumbering god shifted onto his side, a soft sigh escaping him as his hair folded over itself.
(Sorry it’s short)
Marli passed the bit of meat from hand to hand, and once it was cold enough hold in one, settled back down into her bed of furs. She sat cross-legged, nibbling on the strip while absent-mindedly watching the dwindling embers. Distracted by the movement of the god beside her, she glanced over. Was he awake yet or just shifting in his sleep?
"Are you awake?" Marli dared to whisper, a sound just barely louder than her breath. A part of her hoped he wasn't rousing yet so that the peaceful morning could stretch out just a bit longer. Then again, Jaci Jaterê was perhaps the best entity to show her how to navigate this strange world, and she was eager to explore.
(Just so we have an idea of where we’re going, when do you want Iara to show up?)
(Hmm anytime now, I think. Maybe when Marli goes off to explore? She would probably get bored and go off on her own if Jaci Jaterê doesn't wake up)
