The trees were howling with the cacophony of dozens of monkey-Maridah’s giving chase to a lone pale man who was running as if his life depended on it. They swung from tree to tree with long-reaching arms, the very jungle subtly shifting to make sure every time they reached out there would be a branch waiting for them. Meanwhile, the human stumbled, tripped, and faced the passive wrath of just about every piece of vegetation slapping his face or body as his muddy shoes slid against mud or foliage.
Though he’d been given a head start, it took the apes barely a minute to catch up and surround him from above. As fortune would have it, there was no way for them to just all collectively jump him, nor did Maridah find that sporting. Instead, the Goddess began throwing branches and rocks at him while one or two of her ape forms would descend to try and snatch the basket. They’d learned their lesson in not trying to grab the smaller one and now attempted to rip out the larger container.
Every time she did, he’d get lifted off the ground and thrown about the place. Liam scrambled to get back on his feet and bolt, while Maridah mostly felt amused at how he’d specifically threaded the dark-circlet rope into the baskets as a way to give them sturdiness.
The Goddess was certain he had some other trick up his sleeve. The taste of secrets was fresh on him, and one in particular he was fighting to contain… no, waiting for the proper opportunity.
Maridah kept pelting him with random objects she could grab a hold of, keeping the encirclement, slowly improving her aim as he struggled forward. For Liam, the situation was a constant pinpoint assault. Despite the overwhelming numbers, the apes seemed intent on hitting him with precision where it was likeliest to knock him down. Every little gap, every little wobble, every little trip was an opening they’d viciously take advantage of. If no opening presented itself, one of the apes would yank or shove at him to make one.
Each time he fell, two or three of the Goddess-apes would descend upon him to try and swipe the basket away. The only method to scare them off was with the knife, but it was a losing battle; the outer, larger basket was not made for this sort of abuse, and it was only a matter of time before they’d succeed.
Liam took a hard turn and went straight into the nearest area that raised every damn alarm inside his head.
In hindsight, it might not have been the best of ideas, but that was a problem for future Liam.
When one of the Maridah-apes got snatched out of the air and torn in half by a pincer, the now-present Liam began to wonder about past Liam’s decision-making.
The creature responsible for the death of the Maridah-ape was a lizard of some sort, covered in leafy green, shimmering scales, and wielding two very mean-looking pincers like a scorpion amalgamation sans stinger. The creature pinched and snapped at the space the monkey’s corpse had occupied, seemingly equal parts confused and startled at how it just dissolved into smoke.
Blue, bulging eyes shifted from the deity’s disintegrating body towards Liam.
Neither moved.
“Just a warning,” a voice devoid of a body softly whispered into his ear. “They’re hungry, and you stepped into their allotted hunting ground.”
“...they?”
He didn’t wait for confirmation on what that meant. He took a running start straight towards the heart of the danger area and away from both the lizard and the apes. Whatever the Maridah-apes had planned was mostly not of his concern, even though he heard them start hollering and begin the chase once more.
This was because the lizard-scorpion thing was hot on his heels already. The animal moved like some sort of gecko, raising both pincers and head as its body wagged wildly while speeding forward.
Liam’s sole hope for safety relied on using the trees for cover. He took a sharp turn to put a tree between himself and the animal. The animal screeched angrily as it had to slow down enough to steer around, and that got him a smidge of distance. But it wasn’t enough, not with the apes closing in on him faster than he could outpace them. The only thing keeping them from getting to him was the lizard, the creature lashing out with its pincers whenever anything got within its reach.
The balance was in keeping just far enough from the lizard to not become its next meal, while not gaining so much ground that the apes could just circle around it to catch up.
Liam could not sustain this indefinitely. Even if he had infinite stamina (which he very much didn’t), the instant he got out of the lizard’s territory, the apes would be right back on top of him.
The moment of concern over long-term planning would’ve lasted longer if he hadn’t stumbled onto the second clawed lizard. The creature had seemingly sensed something going on and had approached, circling around the tree Liam had been just about to use to cut off his pursuer.
No time to think, Liam swung the basket at the newcomer, not with the intent to hit but to startle. The creature blocked anyway, covering its bulging eyes with its pincers, barely even noticing the basket bounce off harmlessly while Liam bolted away from both lizards.
His legs were burning, his breath was short, and Liam’s gut sank at the certainty that staying in the lizard’s area wasn’t going to work, but neither was getting out of it while there were still ape-based pursuers.
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Recognizing his inevitable defeat, Liam took a second turn, to get out of the lizard’s territory as quickly as possible. This time he didn’t bother to slow down so the pincers would keep the apes at bay and put distance. But this time he prepared himself, waiting for the troop to begin catching up before he dropped the basket right in the lizard’s path.
Maridah-apes lunged at the weave while the lizards did the same to what they thought would be a new meal. Liam didn’t stick around to watch the fight, pushing himself as hard as he could go until he felt certain he’d gotten out of the lizard’s hunting territory.
Liam lay there, gasping for air, wrists, ankles, and knees burning from the scrapes, bruises all over his body. “Fuck,” he declared, watching as the troop of apes retreated into the canopies with whatever was left of their loot. “At least they used rocks and not crap.”
“That would be where I draw the line in terms of imitating animal behavior,” the wolf-form appeared out of the shadows, looking at him intently.
“They’re not avatars.”
“They’re aspects,” Maridah confirmed with a slight nod in the general direction the apes had left. The whole troop had seemed intent on getting as far up as it could…
Liam frowned, squinting up at the tree-tops.
“So fragments of your consciousness, with a strict set limit on memories, senses, and energy… They’re not you, closer to an independent branch of your personality containing only a tiny piece of the whole. Usable for only a few days at a time. Right?”
The wolf cocked her head. “Usually, not even high priests are let in on details about a God’s powers.”
“Well, that’s me, knowing a whole lot of stuff I shouldn’t.” With a groan, he stood up, hobbling his way forward back to camp.
“You do not properly understand how mouth-watering you are? A walking treasure trove of secrets, yet you keep them just outside my reach.” She spoke out to the humid air, easily meandering her way between the trees. “It is torturous.” Her body writhed, fur turning into black tentacles of smoke.
Liam perked up, reaching out to caress one of the smoky limbs, feeling its chilly touch as it phased through his skin. “You have one of those special senses, right? Like how the Weaver can feel fate.”
“You are a ripe juicy fruit, you are vulnerable, exposed, oh so easy to pluck, so full of unknowable things…” The tentacle wrapped around his wrist, despite lacking physicality to the touch, there was a force that tugged him closer. “I could take you to my sanctum, scoop out all that nectar, learn of secrets none would’ve ever known…” Maridah let go. “At least that is what my senses tell me.”
Liam chuckled. “I guess me keeping from remembering some things helps spoil that a little, huh?”
“You have a secret you wish to keep from yourself, how would that be any less tasty?” The wolf snarled at the open air, revealing thousands of sharp fangs. “Your instincts keep telling you to keep that secret buried, and the more I interact with you, the more I am certain you are trying to manipulate me.”
The jungle grew darker, the creature’s fiery eyes shifting into a blazing hunger, the tentacle-fur began to writhe more wildly, reaching out to Liam though not touching. Maridah opened her maw, snapping it close a moment later, revealing rows upon rows of deathly white fangs.
The very world seemed to twist and seethe, to back away from the immortal creature that was beyond mere flesh and blood.
“Nah.” He waved her off, stepping closer still and patting and ruffling the wolf’s fuzzy head. “It’s just trust.”
Maridah froze, eyes wide and staring at his hand, unable to believe what he’d just done. “Trust.” She spoke the word devoid of inflection, tasting it, observing him closely.
“Trust is always a big part of secrets, it’s the foundation on which they can be shared.” Liam shrugged, pulling his hand away before it overstayed its welcome. “If I didn’t trust you, then I’d be trying to make myself as boring and unassuming as possible.”
She didn’t comment anything, the wolf quietly kept to his side, her slow stride giving him room to keep hobbling his way back to camp. Nothing disturbed their return, and Liam happily collapsed down next to the dead fireplace. Never before had dirt felt so soft and inviting, and this time he very nearly fell asleep then and there.
The only thing stopping him was the little bulge inside his shirt, one he fished for, pulling out a single one of the purple berries.
“I won.” He proclaimed with a grin.
“No you didn’t. Today was a net negative for you.” Maridah hastily barked, her fur had returned to its lustrous shadowy-ness, her tail poking at his chest. “With just that berry, tomorrow will be worse than today.”
“You’re just jealous I outsmarted your aspects.” He muttered, eyelids feeling heavy. “Besides, there’s nowhere I can go but up.” Liam yawned. “Just… gotta figure out the…”
The mumble drawled out, eyes fluttering closed, body going limp, the human falling asleep on the spot.
Maridah stared at him, wolf form approaching slowly, silently. “Trust.” She whispered under her non-existent breath, opening the maw that consumed the darkness and swallowed secrets, fangs inches away from the young human’s face.
Through her mind, millions of years blinked past, years spent alone.
“Trust.” She repeated, taking a step back and closing her maw.
The Goddess had no reason to trust the little mortal, every strange facet of his knowledge and existence should’ve proved as evidence he was the tool of another immortal, that he could be nothing but bait, a poisoned pill, a weakness for her to latch onto and expose herself to an attack. He was too perfect, a mortal whose very presence unraveled the threads of fate? Every God would jump at the chance of getting their hands on such a person. Liam Carter was the perfect weapon against the tyranny of Thalgrim, and to a degree that scared Maridah.
Who wouldn’t be wary in the face of a mortal that was an ideal thorn for the Goddess that could plot the rise and fall of empires at a whim?
Maridah scoffed, turning away. There was no need for trust, not when survival was the only option available. Yet she halted for a moment, looking over her shoulder at the sleeping human, remembering the strange warmth of his touch against her avatar's fur. It was almost... no. She shook her head, dismissing the emotion.
With a flick of her tail, the fireplace was lit, a second flick, and his injuries were partially healed, enough for them to sting when he woke.
The little human still had much he needed to learn.