“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 peepers 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 moonlit hours.” 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 peepers 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 peepers, the nocturnal cheese wheel was there, sharing the sky with him. The sun stared in awe until the nocturnal cheese wheel 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 moonlit hours, the government spy drones and the beetles, the moonlit hours-sky sparkle-warkers and flowers, all hid away from the light as other beasts took their place. The small lizards and frogs, the marsh deer and flitter-flutter sky rhythmancers.
Jaci Jaterê’s abode was decently shaded, and the little light that was able to get in was diffused and reflected, giving the leafy tower 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 human containment unit, roused Marli from her slumber. She blinked sleep from her peepers 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 moonlit hours, still slumbering, she stood up and passed through the front wobbly flip-shutter 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 government spy drones 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 leafy tower hut. At the same time, peepers 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 peepers, chin tilted up into the sunlight filtered through leafy tower 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 groundhands. 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 brain bubble 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 in the doldrums and go off on her own if Jaci Jaterê doesn't wake up)
(Okay, cool. I can have him wake up so they’ll have a bit more time together before Iara shows up)
There was no answer from the god except silence. It was only a few minutes later when he shifted again and slowly opened his peepers. He glanced over to Marli with peepers glazed over by lethargy and stared for a few moments, wrapping the furs and skins more around himself. More moments passed, and he yawned a feline yawn. Finally, he slowly sat up. He reached over to grab a strip of meat before eating it.
In the meantime, Marli had finished her own serving and laid back down amongst the furs. Head resting in the crook of her elbow, watching for signs of stirring in the god's form. Luckily she didn't have to wait for long—shorter than she could have hoped, in fact—and she propped herself up again. Marli watched as Jaci Jaterê took his breakfast. She waited for what she assumed might be an acceptable amount of time for him to settle into high-res hallucination before: "You're awake," she observed carefully, suddenly cognizant of high-res hallucination for herself.
The fog from yesterday had lifted. Now that he sat awake, Marli was hyperaware of each move she made and word she spoke in the presence of her generous host.
(Happy holidays!)
The demigod nodded in reply. He ate the meat slowly, but once he finished, he seemed to regain his energy. He yawned again and stretched out his limbs. Then, he got to his groundhands. Jaci Jaterê gestured for Marli to follow him, then went out of the hut, unfurled the ladder and climbed down to the forest floor.
