The call was one he was remiss to ignore. Usually, Xavier had an easy time pretending he didn't hear curses calling to him. But this one had an especially strong pull, like a siren's song drawing a ship in to its doom on the rocks. He followed the call, traveling many miles. The sun rose and set many times, as he climbed rock and river bank, swimming with ease across rivers filled with hippos and crocodiles, none of the beasts daring to take a bite out of him. He soon approached a watering hole, surrounded by many plants he wouldn't normally have seen in Africa. He examined one with a paw, quietly noting that it looked like something Datura would grow.
Her watering hole garden was carefully maintained. With no powers, no magic, she had to tend to her garden the hard way. At first it had been tedious, a pain in her backside that she didn't enjoy. Now, though, the plants were established. Everything grew wonderfully, and she let various prey species freely approach the watering hole so long as they neither trampled nor ate her flowers. They'd regret eating them, anyway - There'd been that one buffalo, she'd ignored the warnings and ate a flower... Both Mariam and Vino had eaten quite well.
As she walked around a large bush, she stopped and stared at the lion examining her plants. "Oy! What're you up to?! Get away from those!" His long ears told her he was a god, but she didn't care - He was too close to her plants for her liking.
One long ear flicked, before he looked up. There was no hurry in the action, and the look on his face could only be called bored. At least, it was until he laid his eyes on the lioness staring him down. Violet eyes flicked over her, a wide frown on his face. "Well... Now I know why the call was so loud... And persistent." He walked over, dwarfing her as he looked down. "You are no mere mortal." There was a tilt to his head, and a slow and toothy grin spread across his maw. "What god did YOU piss off?"
Her eyes widened for a moment, before Mariam glared. "Just which god are YOU? And it's none of your business who got mad at me!" Or why. She'd spent nearly a full lifetime in this body, this mortal body she knew would eventually die. She didn't like it, and by now felt no more shame for what she'd done. It wasn't that she didn't feel guilty, it was that she'd long since felt her guilt and shame and come to terms with her punishment. Now it was simply stretching on and she was just... Tired of it all.
Oh, this was a curious one! He began to circle her, still smiling. "I am Xavier, God of the Cursed! I am 'ere because your curse called to me!" His tail swayed, smacking her in the face. "But the question is, just which goddess are YOU supposed to be?" While he'd known many gods and goddesses across his lifetimes, this was one he didn't recall. He saw right through her curse, though, to the trapped wings and tamed hair, the tail not otherwise native to her.
Mariam drew in a sharp breath, eyes growing wide. "The God of the Cursed..! I've heard of you!" She went directly to him, staring him as in the eyes as she could manage. "You remove curses! You can free me from this... This... This mortal SHELL I've been trapped in!" She lifted a paw, staring at it, claws flexed out. She hated it, this body she could feel dying. She didn't know when, but she knew at some point it would. She just... She wanted to go back to how she had been before, at least physically.
He stepped back, frowning, as his ears folded back. "I remove curses, oui, but I will not remove THAT curse." He gave her a flat look, then turned away. "I cannot remove that kind of curse." When gods cursed other gods, he didn't dare touch the cursed to remove it. Any god who angered another god so much to call down a curse onto themselves as punishment was not a god he wanted to help, for fear the punisher would, in turn, punish him. It was, he felt, a justifiable fear, for how could the remover of curses help the cursed if he was himself cursed by another god? Being stuck as an adolescent was one thing. That had been from his own doing, removing so many curses of adolescence in past lives that it had become part of him. But to remove a god's curse that was upon another god... "You did not answer my question. Which goddess are you supposed to be?"
Her face fell, sorrow replacing the excitement that maybe, just maybe, she'd be free of the curse sooner rather than later. As she sat down, she looked at her paws, ears folded back. "Very well, then... I will continue to be trapped..." She let out a sigh, then looked up at him. "I am Mariam... At one point, I was... I should BE, the Goddess of Poisonous Flowers." She motioned around. "This is my garden, this is me holding on to what I'm supposed to be, what I should be doing with powers." If anything, it did make her appreciate her plants and the plants around them far more. "I just miss everything about being a goddess so much..." Her stomach growled. "And having to EAT! I hate it!" The first time she'd felt the pain of hunger, she had cried, well and truly wept. It was a feeling she didn't want, but would feel many times yet.
Xavier watched her, then sighed, giving her a pat on the back. "You will shed the curse in time. It is not one that lasts forever. Per'aps there are terms you must meet, besides spending a lifetime like this. But... You will need to find that out on your own, Mariam." He turned, walking away. "I only remove curses from mortals that 'ave no terms of removal and learned their lesson, or 'ave in'erited it. I do not 'elp past that."
As she watched him go, Mariam could only let out a shuddering sigh. She wanted to weep, to cry, to tear something apart in her frustration, but tampered as much of the feeling as she could. She still had a long road to go, and she was unhappy for it. She just hoped it was all worth it, in the end.