It was a calm enough day by the sea, nothing out of the ordinary. The water lapped at the rocks and hissed along the sands as it moved to and fro from the waves to the shore. Little crabs scurried back into their holes, hiding from the hungry eyes of the gulls circling high up above. Trails of sea foam and seaweed, along with a few washed up treasures, created a neat but still wavy line along the beach where the water had crept up onto land through the night. In the distance, the mummers were weaving their tales about the pride, about the sea, the wind, and the time of the muses.
Their ways were not his own, but they were far from war-like. Li Wei, or Lehvi as he was called in this form, had no trouble finding rest there. They were peaceful enough, though they eagerly protected their own. They were under-handed, yes, but it was their way of life. How many prides had he gone to that lived in a way that was less than noble?
The dusty lion shifted his weight and stood himself up from the sand. His long, trailing mane send an arch of sand up around him as he tossed it back and forth. It fell over the back of his neck and along his shoulders. There was something… new in the air. He wasn’t entirely familiar with the gods, but having spent some time around Maua and her mother, he now knew the gravity that settled in the air when one made an approach. There was always a soft undertone to them as well, a feeling of their domain. His chest suddenly felt… bloated. Pride touched on the back of his mind and for whatever reason, he felt like pulling the loose sand from his fur, knowing that it dulled his coat.
He shook his head, clearing it, and turned to look both ways. Seeing nothing, he leaned his neck back only to find a pair of eyes staring down at him. The small god had to stifle a scream. Whirling around, he came face to face with a deep ebony god with a massive pair of feathered wings, two horns that twisted out of his skull, and a build that made Li feel like a pebble standing in front of a mountain. He took a short moment to size himself up compared to this male and found that even standing upright, his head only came to the god’s belly.
“So it’s you!” The lion said with a smirk. Strange… Li half expected a deeper voice from something as large and imposing as this lion.
“Me?” He took a leery step back, throwing a worried look down the beach. Where was Maua?
“That…smell.” The lion said with a tilt of his head. “Very interesting, but not unpleasant. I sensed another nearby and thought I would take a look. Is…this your pride?”
Li frowned and shook his head. “I always smell like that.” He said a little defensively. “And no, this is not.”
“But… your smell is all over it. And your…presence.” The lion looked back, his eyes knowing. “You just blessed them! Oh let me take a guess-“ He pointed down. “…you’re the god of……. Relaxation?”
“Peace.” Li said firmly.
“Peace!? Really?” The black male took a step back and looked him over. “I heard you had died! And by mortals, how embarrassing.”
Li’s ears went back against his mane and his eyes narrowed. “…yes that was a few years back. I was reborn.” This male obviously had little tact. Knowing he would likely regret it soon, Li cautioned further conversation. “And you are…”
“Egotism.” The male said with a smirk, as if that was anything to be proud of. It did explain a thing or two. “My name is Rama.”
“Ah…”, Li’s frown deepened. “Do we… know eachother?”
“Oh no.” The lion waved a paw. “Not at all. Not in this life or the one before. Few of us actually –know- each other. From what I’ve seen, we tend to keep to ourselves or our prides. On my part- it’s better this way. Anyone in my company would be praise-starved in short order.”
“Praise…starved?”
“Yes.” Rama raised an eyebrow. “…you don’t know what that is?”
“Not really…” The small god looked away. “I…was raised by mortals.”
“Well that explains the stature. I think.” He wasn’t sure how their build or stature was determined honestly. It could be anything from diet to upbringing and domain. It was hard to say. “Well we… thrive on praise. When a mortal acknowledges our domain we get a little bit of strength. When they acknowledge –us- directly, we grow more.”
“…we grow?” The implications of the statement left Li feeling suddenly much smaller. The gods he had seen had been large, but most of their domains hadn’t been kindly ones. Psychopathy, Insanity, Royalty, and Courage. Courage had been a noble sort, seeing his size had been encouraging. Royalty was really a neutral domain with no overly bad or good implications on its own. The other two, much as he loved the gods, were a little disturbing to think that they were so large. Were there really that many psychopaths? What about those suffering from insanity? This was her pride, after all. But…the insanity was gone- and she was still large.
Certainly there couldn’t be that many ego-maniacs in the world.
“Well yeah. Mortals eat flesh, we eat praise.” Rama said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Li’s head reeled. Just the mention of the mortal’s diet had him feeling ill. It was an unfortunate part of life that one had to die so that others could live. On a daily basis, perhaps hundreds died. The bloodshed… the carnage…
“Hey, I didn’t mean to offend you. I know it’s easy to feel a little down.” He reached a paw down and put it on the younger lion’s shoulder. “Just because I’m so perfect doesn’t mean you should feel bad about yourself. If anything, it gives you something to aspire to. I wouldn’t set too high expectations- but having a goal is always beneficial.”
“…you can’t be serious.” Li glanced up and jerked away from the large paw. “Are you implying that…peace is scarce?”
“I’m implying nothing.” Rama inspected his paw before dropping it back to the sand. “It is scarce. Have you seen the mortal world? Or is this your first stop?”
“My…third one actually.” He looked away.
“And you’re pooped, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“Tired.” Rama leaned down. “You look exhausted. You just blessed the place and you look like you’ve just flown around the world a few times over.”
Li shook his head. “I’m fine. It’s just a nice place to be for now.”
“Is it?” Rama raised his head and took a short glance about. It wasn’t bad actually. A nice sunny beach, songs on the wind, a salty smell…but then he was starting to feel grubby. The salty wind blowing in from the sea was going to take its toll on his mane. And his coat! Every breeze was sandblasting him. What if it dulled? And how disgusting…there was slimy, salty grass everywhere. It smelled of brine.
“It’s… okay. I suppose. Not exactly clean.” He lifted a paw and gave it another inspection. “Interesting to meet you, though. I should be going.”
“You aren’t here for your task?”
“I don’t have a ‘task.’” Rama said with a wide grin. “I don’t need to actually do anything to earn my praise. I just… exist. I live in everyone, even if they don’t know my name properly. I’ll see to that part eventually.”
Li lowered his head. “…I see.”
“Some of us are just more fortunate than others, I suppose. Well-“ He opened his wings and reared back on his hind legs. “Best of luck, little guy.”
Word Count
1,310
