Solis had been walking along the coast for several days, sticking to the sandy beaches and pebbled shores, and sleeping on the ground under the cover of trees when night came. After so long in the company of others, Solis found the loneliness depressing, but he tried to put his best foot forward, and exploring the largest forest in The Mortal Realm seemed like a good way to do that.

Well, it seemed like a good way… that is, until he got lost.

The Aer Ari Forest, right at the heart of Láchender Mün- truly, the border separating north and south, and a genuine sight to behold. The trees were all a rich auburn color this time of year, the shade feeling cool and peaceful and easing all of one’s worries. Besides the colors of amber, gold, and brown, there were also little gleaming insects that floated just overhead and stuck to the trees. They looked like little stars blinking at him, and Solis spent a long time following them before he realized he had taken complete leave of his senses, ay- his sense of direction.

He knew there was a large kingdom to the west, and another to the south, but he didn’t have a good view of the sun from here and was having trouble pinpointing which direction was which. The sameness of everything wasn’t helping. Solis examined one golden tree, then another, then stared at a toadstool, and a bird, but it all looked identical to what he’d just passed!

There’s a river around here somewhere, he thought, still haplessly following the star-like bugs. If I can find that, maybe it will lead me to civilization!

Solis was feeling rather good about his plan when the young god came to an abrupt halt. He had been so wrapped up in his head that he hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings, and to whether or not he was alone…

Just ahead, a dark figure lay in a careless but graceful sprawl upon the branches of a sturdy tree. They added a touch of violet and coal to an otherwise sunny forest; hair like an inky smudge, and flowing robes like an orchid grove.

Solis was stunned.

Is he a god? He thinks, staring unblinkingly at the man in the tree. He imagines he must be, for he had never seen another mortal like him in this realm before.

The creature is so beautiful that Solis feels time slow to a trickle. He is barely aware of the sun traveling through the sky and the chorus of nature all around him, compulsively watching the steady rise and fall of the stranger’s chest as he breathed.

Solis knew about sleep. Now that he was accustomed to a mortal body, he even knew about dreams. His mind wandered, a sense of ease warming his heart as he imagined the kind of dreams this glorious creature might have-

“Who are you? Do you want to die?!”

Solis blinks. Oh…

Rich, velvet-black eyes are staring at him now, expression tense. He hadn't even noticed the man in the tree waking up! Well, there was no turning back now!

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” The god said sheepishly.

“My name is Solis. Please, accept my sincere apologies. And, you are?”

Now that the other man was sitting up, Solis was noticing more details. The person in front of him was young, but he couldn’t tell how young… older than a baby, but younger than what he considered to be a man. So, age unclear.

He was male, which could be seen in many ways; from the sharp lines of his jaw to the flat, bare chest peeking out from inside silken robes. Solis was a little mesmerized by the sun-kissed color of this person’s skin. He had not met a human who looked like this before; tanned and willowy and adorned with gold and gems, some even hanging from his ears. Solis wanted to ask about the gold hoops and how they were attached because he hadn’t found holes like that in his ears yet, but then the boy spoke again.

“You mean, you don’t know who I am?”

Solis smiled and shook his head, “Not at all! I was just looking for the river when I happened to walk this way instead. By any chance, do you know where I could find it?”

The person in front of him was giving Solis an odd look, part disbelief, but mostly curiosity. Solis realized he himself felt similar things for this stranger…

After a moment, the boy raised an eyebrow and his expression changed.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“The Sãnhé River. How can you be from here and not know where it is?”

Solis shrugged. “Perhaps, it is because I am not from here?”

The boy didn’t blink for a moment as he stared at him and Solis eventually had to look away. Had he said something wrong? Was it really not good to have a limited understanding of this realm’s bodies of water?

He looked up again just in time to see the young man gracefully leap from the tree. He landed on the forest floor with an ease that likened him to a barn cat… Solis used to love watching their little paws run across the rafters at high speed, they were so agile and sweet. As the stranger placed his arms behind his back and cautiously approached Solis, the young god had another sense that the boy possessed a feline’s nature.

Those eyes, Solis thought, once again struck dumb. Surely, he cannot be of this world-

After being looked at from head to toe by the stranger, Solis held his breath as the young man said simply;

“My name is Cyndras. The river is this way. Come, I will show you.”

What luck! And perhaps even a new friend for the wayward god! And to think, he might have just wasted an entire day watching him sleep!

Solis followed Cyndras for a long while, noticing things all the time. Despite being several inches shorter, the boy had a healthy stride and a purposeful kind of walk. It felt like the forest simply moved out of his way as he went along. Solis was content to watch this from behind until he heard the nearby call of waterfowl and smelled the clear, cloying scent of a sun-warmed river.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” He cried, abandoning the well-worn trail and high-stepping it through the undergrowth in an attempt to get there sooner.

When Solis was finally at the bank, he paused, closing his eyes for a few seconds then opened them again, taking it all in…

The Sãnhé River had three main branches that flowed in several directions but met in the middle in a deep lake. They were still on the edge of the Aer Ari Forest, so this must be the southernmost tributary. Solis could just barely see where the river began to grow wider in the distance, leading straight to the branch up north.

The bank was sandy, and covered with sticks and leaves. More trees lined the river and a few had even crept inside or fallen down and made shadowy homes for a wide variety of plants and animals.

While the water was definitely moving, it was moving so slowly that on its surface you could see a near-perfect reflection of a cloudless blue sky and the trees from the bank. It was like glass, so perfect and inviting. Solis had already been thinking about peeling off his outer layers during the brisk walk over here, but now there was an even better reason!

He looked around for a place to leave his clothes, but there was only the sandy beach and a few overturned logs where a home of frogs seemed to live. He didn’t want to disturb them, and besides, now that Solis knew the mortals liked to remain modest and wear clothing too, he had grown so fond of his human clothes.

He liked flowy skirts, silken robes, wool shawls, and knitted socks. Solis enjoyed feeling all the different textures of his clothes, occasionally fiddling with and flattening them just to twist his fingers in the various fabrics.

Solis liked beautiful things; crisp rivers and silk swaying on a person’s lithe frame as if it had a life of its own. That being said…

“Aren’t you going to join me?” The boy’s voice was decidedly coy as he shed his outer robes, then inner, then started untying his pants.

Solis gulped and stared.

That being said, his concept of beauty had changed dramatically ever since he had first caught sight of this young man. It seemed too early to say for sure, he was still quite young himself, but Solis only had to take one glance at Cyndras’ bare skin, already glittering in the water, to know that he was witnessing the most beautiful creature in the universe. The most beautiful creature, who was calling his name.

“Yes,” Solis had to blink a few times to remember where he was. “I will join you.”

Because Cyndras had shed all of his clothing, Solis did the same. After wading into the river and taking several moments to celebrate because of how soft the squishy sand felt between his toes, Solis raised his eyes to where the sun was currently playing in the other man’s hair.

Cyndras stared out at the river and ran a careless hand through his shoulder-length dark curls over and over. Solis was halfway through a thought about how elegant the boy’s shoulder blades were when Cyndras turned to him with a blatantly curious stare.

“So?” The boy raised a dark eyebrow, “What do you think?”

Solis looked down at the water. It was crystal clear and still… peaceful, and the perfect temperature with the sun still high in the sky. He swept his hands through the river a few times, enjoying the soft splashing sounds. The god smiled.

“It’s lovely! I believe I will come here often.”

Cyndras pursed his lips and tilted his chin up slightly without looking away. Solis wasn’t sure if his expression was meant to be as alluring as he found it. Fascinated by the extremely aesthetic curves of the boy’s body, most pressingly his trim waist, Solis gazed openly, content to look for days.

He was enamored by Cyndras and his beauty, but more than that, the young god was intrigued. Never in his life had he seen someone so flawless, and something ached in him as Solis began to wonder how deep that beauty went, and if he would be able to see it better from up close.

“You’re strange.” He hears Cyndras say.

Strange was bad, wasn’t it? Solis blinked, lowering his eyes carefully. Maybe the boy was shy, and didn’t want all this attention?

“Sorry…”

After a moment, he hears a slow sigh, and then Cyndras starts running his damp fingers through his hair again, the curls completely untamable and sweet.

“Everyone I know wouldn’t be caught dead staring at me so blatantly,” Cyndras says, his voice bland. “They could lose their eyes for less.”

Solis is about to stammer out another apology and a soft plea to keep his eyes when the boy looks over his shoulder again. Strangely enough, Solis doesn’t see shyness or disdain on his angular face, merely curiosity. As much as the young god has for him, if not more.

“I like it.” Cyndras tells him, “So, stare as much as you want.”

Solis resolved to do exactly that.