Beginning note: I don't own Spirited Away, I'm not making any money off it, and this is all for the funzys.
Ablution - A ceremonial act of washing parts of the body or sacred containers
Veneration
After a time, Kohaku spoke again, shifting ever so slightly so as to smooth anxious hands against her sides, fingertips trailing against the smooth strip of skin exposed by the movement of her shirt within the water. "Do you know that gods hold a veneration for mortals that rivals even your own for us? That is why I feared as to your return to me; he held you within his grasp, and like any being with his desire before him... There was a chance he could have grabbed hold of you with both hands and never let you go."
She shook her head in denial, wet strands sticking to her cheek and his bared chest. "No. I only came at all to reclaim you; it would have been cruel to trap me here. He's not a cruel god."
Her dragon leaned forward to rub his cheek along her own, noses brushing as a contented purr rumbling though his chest. "How naive you are, my sweet Chihiro. All gods can be cruel; you would never have realized that you were in his grasp, never even noticed the passage of time. You would merely have gone on painting life for all of eternity."
Their lips brushed with a pass, and Chihiro fought to keep herself from melting into him. "If he wanted me so bad, then why did he release me?"
"Because he knows that the caged bird does not sing as prettily."
Note: I don't know when I'll be writing again. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I've not forgotten about any of my stories, and I'm not abandoning them. I've just been having a rough couple of weeks. First with the Fire on the mountain, then loosing my job. My trip to Minot, North Dakota that when horribly wrong, the death of my dog, and now my impending move back to stay with my sisters in Texas. Fan-fiction's just... on the back-burner for a while, while I'm trying to pick up the pieces to my life.