Turning point No. 1 happens here. :D
Disclaimer: There are many things in this world that do not belong to me. Kubera is one of them.
S-C-N-D
Courtship of a Phoenix
…
Mistyshore… Mistyshore… Mistyshore was a small village on planet Willarv of approximately a hundred humans. They didn't even have viable protection from inferior Suras, let alone for the superior ones. It was no wonder that a sea serpent lived on their very beaches without much interference from the humans.
But Urvasi's request was most bothersome: to bring Menaka food while she ran off to introduce Gandharva to women? Why couldn't Menaka hunt for herself? Vinata personally didn't know Urvasi well but since the Garuda and Gandharva Clans were on good terms, he decided to do so before the hilt of Garuda's sword came slamming down on his shoulder.
Nastikas couldn't travel on planets in Sura form and it was way too difficult to find this beach or whatever in his tiny human form. Offhandedly, he remembered Shess drawing a map of Willarv and giving it to him years ago. Vinata searched his clothes, found the crumpled ball of paper and opened it.
Scribbles. More scribbles. Circle. Square. Hexagon. A silly face of Airavata with her tongue sticking out.
What is this? Right eye twitching, Vinata whipped the ball of paper at the ground, growling at its uselessness.
"Ow!" A man, some twenty years in physical age, turned to look for the culprit that had thrown the paper ball at him. His green eyes widened as he met Vinata's gaze.
…
Chapter Four: Stricken by Surprise
N0 - approx. 800000 years
…
"Oh my goodness! Was that just—"
"Hey, hey, have you seen Vinata's—"
A brown Nastika grabbed his own chin in thought. "What? Vinata did? Wait… does that mean I'm second in the clan now? But hasn't he been contending with Garuda for the throne since the beginning of time?"
"Avifauna-nim, don't you mean she?"
A pale, alabaster woman with silvery blue hair leaped onto a high rock and gave the crowd a quick survey. Almost all Nastikas and a good half of the Rakshasas had gathered in a multitude of colours and were chatting amongst each other garrulously. For many of the older Nastikas, this was relieving news. Some, like Cepphus and Avifauna, had conflicted views on this new political development. Still younger Rakshasas whirled their head here and there confusedly, trying to piece together bits and pieces of conversations to figure out this Vinata person and his—her influence on the clan.
"Kalavinka."
A multitude of jaws opened as red and orange feathers rained on the crowd. In an instant, Vinata landed beside the blue haired woman in her half Sura form, but put her sharp claws away shortly after her talons touched the rocky surface of the ground.
"Vinata!" exclaimed Kalavinka, stepping back in surprise. Her eyes were almost bulging out of her head at the abrupt anatomical change of her long time comrade and friend. "So the rumours are true! You—you're a woman now!"
"I am," Vinata confirmed in a voice an octave higher than what it should be. "You know, I've always wondered what it'd be like having these—" she pointed to her breasts. "They're not as great as I thought, kind of hindering. I don't understand how Menaka and Shuri can deal with their F-cups. It's fine, though, I guess. As long as I still have abs and muscles, I'm good."
"Are you forgoing your position as Garuda's second in command?" a yellow Nastika hollered.
All of a sudden, everyone started buzzing with conversation once more.
"No, it can't be. Don't you remember billions of years ago during the Age of Anarchy, after the strongest Nastikas of eight clans formed an alliance and destroyed all the five zen and four zen gods? Don't you remember how the our clan almost divided in two during the Seven Thousand Year battle between Garuda and the Phoenix?"
"But do you think she and Garuda are—"
"Impossible!"
"Mommy, why's everyone so angry?"
"We're not angry, darling. Avifauna-nim, there are children here. Do something about this ruckus."
"Idiot. Why would you ask Avifauna? He's second in command now. He'd want Vinata to stay female."
"Geez," grumbled Avifauna, running a hand through his chestnut hair. "This is just like that time Kalavinka changed her gender. Why does it matter so much that Vinata's female? We're short of Nastika women as it is. Just let her do what she wants."
"Of course it matters!" snarled a dark grey Nastika next to him. "First Kalavinka and now Vinata. How long will it be before Garuda becomes female as well? If all of the strongest Nastikas in this clan forgo their positions, then how will we be able to face the Ananta Clan? Who's going to get us our food?" Cepphus was very frustrated and on the verge of a semi-transformation. The other Suras backed away to make room for one of his infamous outbursts.
In a flash, two white wings shot out of his back and a claw rammed into Vinata's body with enough force to destroy the summit of the mountain she was standing on. In front of her, hundreds of wings flapped simultaneously as Garuda Suras of all prestige took flight to avoid being crushed by the rocks. As Cepphus forced Vinata down into a chasm, she got a glimpse of blue feathers and Kalavinka's worried eyes gazing down at the two falling figures.
Cepphus's eyes were the colour of obsidian. He glared at her intensely and angrily. The growl that escaped his throat told her he had every intent of slamming her head into the sharp points of the rocks below. Talk about literally beating some sense into her brain.
Vinata growled back at him. Feathers sprung out of her back and down her arms in the split second before they hit the ground. He leaped away from her as she gave her wings a huge flap, bringing herself to a half stable landing.
When the dust and residue settled, Cepphus's half transformed state emerged and strode toward her. Grey hair fluttering about his neck, his left claw balled into a fist at his side, animalistic eyes fixed on her figure, he was furious.
"Why are you a woman?"
"Because I was curious. Because I wanted to be."
With a snarl, he opened his clawed fist and surged toward her figure, slamming Vinata into the stone wall behind her. He lifted his head so that a single streak of light flashed across his iris menacingly. Yet she didn't say anything because she knew Cepphus had a right to be angry and she knew that no matter how furious he was, he would never hurt her.
"You traitor."
"…"
"You know I've always thought it should be you who's king, not Garuda. I supported you for two billion years. I was your lieutenant in the Seven Thousand Year War. I killed my own kinsman for you!" His bore his fangs in a half snarl, half outcry. "Have my efforts all been in vain? Have yours?"
"Cepphus, you shouldn't say these things while Garuda's still on the throne."
The claw tightened until she found it hard to breathe. "I don't care!" he growled. "Garuda knows that he doesn't have half his Nastikas' support. He's all but labeled us traitors—the ones who sided with you in the civil uprising.
"You're giving up already? After a billion years? Who knows how much longer the universe is going to last? There was a time when we all thought that the eight great clan leaders could not be touched but now, Yaksha's already been long dead. Even Garuda won't last forever. Would you rather succeed the throne or allow someone like Avifauna to ascend and plunge our clan into a quagmire?"
"Enough already! Visnu told me I'd sit on the throne!" blurted Vinata.
Cepphus's eyes widened and he loosened his grip on her, temporarily reeling away with incredulity. The shock eventually gave way to suspicion and he narrowed his eyes at Vinata.
"And Garuda was there to hear this?"
"No," the phoenix told him, reclining her wings now that Cepphus was no longer enraged, "but Shuri and Gandharva were."
"So he probably already knows," he gritted through his teeth. His eyes were sharper, more calculating now that there was a chance for a coup d'état. "Then that's all the more reason you should remain male. You're much weaker than him in your female state. It puts us at a disadvantage. Garuda will no doubt single you out and strike now."
"Garuda will not, and here's why." Vinata folded her arms. "He may try to subdue and weaken me, but he will never actually kill me. Since I'm the second strongest Garuda Sura in my male form, if I die, it'll put our clan in a very bad position against the Ananta Suras and the gods. Chandra has already declared war publicly on any Garuda Sura that crosses his path. Varuna is backing him. If worst comes to worst, Kalavinka will have to assume masculine form again. She'll probably have the support of all the Nastikas on my side during the Seven Thousand Year War. Garuda can't risk having his clan almost torn apart again and you wouldn't want Kalavinka to have to resort to that."
"Then what will you do?" he demanded. "Wait until Garuda dies?"
"No. Visnu foretold that Garuda won't die until Shuri and Gandharva do—and most likely I as well. But Shuri and Gandharva are two of the strongest beings in the universe. More importantly, they are two of Visnu's closest friends, so Visnu will do all that is in his power to protect them. So don't worry, Cepphus, there's still plenty of time. Let us wait another few hundred thousand years. Soon he'll willingly give me his position." Vinata broke out into a fanged, tomboyish smile.
S-C-N-D
N0 - approx. 800000 years
S-C-N-D
"Garuda, the entire clan is in uproar!"
The king was promptly snapped out of a particularly pleasant fantasy that revolved around having Sagara for lunch. A cyan Rakshasa landed at his feet, bowing but at the same time almost shaking with terror. Terror that was not at Garuda.
"Today's my day off," he sighed, grabbing his silver zigzagging sword. "Tell Vinata to deal with whatever's happening."
"No, Garuda-nim!" the Rakshasa was desperate. "You don't understand! Cepphus-nim, he's picking a fight with Vinata-nim. Kalavinka-nim took off to stop them but a Mara just told me that both of them are already in Sura form!"
"What?"
Garuda swiveled urgently, his hand readjusting to form a tighter grip on his sword. If even the fourth stage Rakshasa, one of the stronger Suras in his clan, had a face that was so dark and apprehensive… He inwardly winced at this predicament. Why did Cepphus have to pick a fight with his lieutenant of all people? Vinata would obliterate him.
"Where are they?" he demanded, drawing his six wings out.
"They flew to the planet beside this one. The other Garuda Suras are scared that it'll blow up and rain debris on our nests."
By the time he looked back up, Garuda was already surging into the sky. As king, he was the swiftest and the most graceful bird in the clan. Just by bringing out his wings, he could be halfway to the next celestial body, like a rocket shooting off into space.
With his shrewd eyes, it wasn't hard to catch sight of Vinata and Cepphus, two monstrosities that made a planet look like it had shrunk. They were completely morphed, the flaming red-orange phoenix occupying an entire quarter of the surface, a gigantic black guillemot with white wings occupying another.
The ground was barren with craters, permanent landmarks from their hefty brawl. Several transformed Rakshasas and lower class Suras circled around the scene, hesitant to interfere because they didn't want to charge in and accidentally get decimated.
Garuda did the opposite.
They felt his presence as he was transforming. At once, hundreds of Suras scrambled to fly as far as they could out of the mighty bird's path. Those who couldn't make it in time were flung aside by the power of Garuda's wing flaps.
He landed on the planet with an impact large enough to shake the entire body of rock. As Vinata and Cepphus charged toward each other again, a white bird intercepted them, simultaneously grabbling Cepphus by the neck while pinning Vinata to the ground.
All three of them transformed at the same time.
"What the hell are you doing, Garuda?" Vinata hissed.
Garuda raised the phoenix to her feet, frowning. "I think I should be the one asking you that. Why are you, my lieutenant, fighting with a Nastika of your very own clan? Do you not know how disgraceful that—"
His eyes widened and Cepphus's neck slipped through his hands.
"Vinata, you—"
"What?" she fired, irritated.
Garuda blinked his eyes several times incredulously, but they still weren't going away. Why had his lieutenant suddenly gained… gained… two very extra round bits of flesh in his—her chest area?
He coughed a little in his struggle to retain posture before sternly reprimanding, "why were you fighting with Cepphus? Where is Kalavinka?"
"I'm right here!" a high pitched voice exclaimed from behind him.
Garuda turned to see a blue haired woman tending to a black haired male that was glaring very heatedly at him. Kalavinka loosely slung her arms around his waist and in turn, one of Cepphus's arms was wrapped possessively around her shoulder.
"You were here all along?" Garuda demanded with a step forward. "Why didn't you do anything to stop them?"
"Why would she?" Vinata sniffed, crossing her arms to fully accentuate her latest assets. "Cepphus and I were just having a friendly little brawl. I wanted to see how much weaker I've gotten in my female form. Turns out that I can still whoop his sorry little tail feathers."
Cepphus snarled.
"Vinata, you and I need to talk. Alone," her king articulated, sending glares at Cepphus, Kalavinka and all the other Garuda Suras that were flying around, eavesdropping.
One by one, they left the planet to head back to their own respective nests, until it was just Garuda and Vinata left on that barren battleground. He said nothing in his disbelief. She licked her two claws rather crudely with jaded, half-drawn eyelids.
"What, did you want us isolated so that you can eradicate me once and for all in my weakened state?"
"Okay, Vinata, what's the deal?"
Her crimson irises moved up to meet his silver ones. "What deal?"
Garuda stood plainly, his hands hanging at his two sides. One of them had a loose grip on his sword, which was half dropped to the ground in a temporary truce. "Why are you a female?" he asked.
"So I can't be one?" She smiled slyly, taking the two steps to close the distance between them and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I've been mulling over your suggestion for the past couple hundred thousand years, my dear king. Maybe Ananta really is my one true love. Don't the humans always tell us that we never know until we try?"
"Don't fool with me."
"Why, I'd never—"
Garuda dropped his sword and grabbed her shoulders with both hands, the roughest treatment he had ever given her when they weren't locked in battle. He tugged her body close to his, until her breasts were a mere inch from touching his own chest. She was so close that she could feel strands of his white hair tickle her naked abdominals.
"We both know what a blatant lie that is. After billions of years of you thwarting me, how can you just suddenly feel like becoming a female?"
Vinata was temporarily stricken. "W-why can't I be one if I want to?" she lashed out at him, putting them at even closer proximity. "It's not as if we're of the Vritra Clan. I can change my gender whenever I want."
"But you wouldn't, not unless you had something greater to gain from it than you do from being king."
Garuda searched her eyes, eyes that he noticed for the first time contained tiny flickers and highlights of orange mixed in the red. A little like Vinata's wings, they were colourful and flamboyant, something that he never was. Garuda saw uncertainty deep within those irises. They contained a secret, one that she feared others would discover, one that put her at a disadvantage.
"You know what I think?" he whispered gently. "I think that you fell victim to love. After all, what other reason does a Nastika have for taking on the female form?"
Vinata neither confirmed nor denied this, but turned her head and stretched her neck away as far away from him as she could.
"But Vinata, why would someone as assertive as you ever take on the female form? I can only think of two reasons. Either it's because your mate is stronger than you, which, given that I am the only Nastika in this clan stronger than you, is hardly possible. Or, could it be that you have no choice but to become a female because your lover is a fixed gender? So now the real question is: is it a Rakshasa, an Upani, or a Mara?"
"…"
"Or is it," he pressed, "a human?"
Vinata gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. As soon as Garuda loosened his grip on her shoulders, she took two large wing flaps away from him, landing in a belligerent position. But Garuda was not shaken by this, for Vinata was often in a belligerent position when he was near. No, it was her quivering lips and watery eyes that almost made his heart lurch painfully.
In pain? In pity? He didn't know, but as usual, the look in his eyes managed to anger her once again.
"Why do you care?" she snapped ferociously. "You never do anything other than maintain order in your clan. What do you know about love, Garuda? So what if I choose to be with a human for a couple of years? It's none of your concern, unless you're ashamed of having a Nastika of your clan settle for such lowly standards. Yes… Gandharva and Shuri and Visnu… I bet they'll all be laughing at you!"
"…"
"I may be of your clan, but don't you forget for a moment that I do not belong to you!"
And with that, Vinata spread her colossal wings to take off in the direction of Willarv.
S-C-N-D
Personally, I'd like to think of the green eyed boy as a Haias, so a very very ancient ancestor of Leez and Anna? xD
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!
-SCND