Whew, long chapter! So this is an intermediate chapter where we slowly travel from the problem to the solution, although we won't reach it that quickly. I promise that all loose ends and questions will be tied up in the next chapter. Maruna appears in the one after. (Finally!) Yippeeee!
Asvins's gender has yet to be revealed, but somehow I get the feeling that she's female.
Disclaimer: There are many things in this world that do not belong to me. Kubera is one of them.
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Courtship of a Phoenix
…
"Avifauna, where's Vinata?"
"The queen does not wish for you to know where she is, my king."
"Oh. All right," he sighed dejectedly. Lately, things haven't been going good between them at all, but he didn't want to succumb to that ridiculous front she was constantly putting up. He intended to tell her that she had no need to do such silly things, only to find her gone from the land.
Wait a minute…
It wasn't until Avifauna was gone a good half mile that Garuda caught the implication. Faster than the speed of light, he dashed to the brown Nastika and pressed a silver sword to his throat. Avifauna was so caught off guard that he nearly died of a heart attack.
"What is the meaning of this?" Garuda demanded scathingly. "If Vinata doesn't want me to know about her whereabouts, then why do you know where my wife is?"
…
Chapter Nineteen: Husband
N0 - approx. 37000 years
…
Spread across the first four planets of a solar system was Chandra and Varuna's entire Kill Vinata campaign. It wasn't exactly what one would call successful from the get-go. One and two zen gods incessantly moaned about toxic atmospheres and extreme temperatures they had to endure. A few three zen gods fidgeted with impatience as Marut reiterated Varuna's orders in loud barks.
She was, after all, known to be a slave driver.
Chandra stood on his tip-toes, a habit he'd developed to increase his stealth. Most gods would fail to notice him creeping up on them. Varuna did, though she did not show it.
"I don't understand how this battle plan could be successful," he complained. "No matter what you say, it won't be that easy to kill a Nastika. And those grumbling idiots over there are throwing away our advantage of stealth."
The pale, blue-haired god had a patient, almost doll-like quality to her face. Her long lashes fluttered to the beat of his words. Indeed, Chandra did remember one of her many suitors comparing her beauty to that of a porcelain doll. His guts went splat later when she left to pick a fight with Vritra.
"Stealth is not the only weapon in battle," Varuna said, snapping him out of his ruminations. "Against someone like Vinata, it would hardly be of any use. Isn't she long accustomed to your fighting style?"
At this, Chandra grumbled childishly.
Varuna's eyes flitted from one planet to the next, clearly mapping out an advantageous formation in her head. "As for our underlings, don't fault them for being so. How many one and two zen gods have the excitement of hunting a Nastika in their lives?"
"Not many three or four zen gods get to hunt Nastikas either," added Asvins, leaping from space onto solid land. Her feet caught the gloppy, viscous substance that covered the planet's surface and she flung it off in dismay. "It is—" kick "—mostly—" kick "—five zen gods like Chandra-nim and Varuna-nim who can stand up to them. Arg! What the hell is on this place? Couldn't you have chosen a better hiding spot, Varuna-nim?"
Ignoring Asvins's fussing, Varuna praised, "but you are quite modest, Asvins. Your sealing ability is very useful. Word has it that you even killed a Garuda Nastika several decades ago. The rest of us were quite impressed!"
"You flatter me." Her tone was still sour from the sticky mess she'd trapped herself in.
Chandra turned away from their frivolous conversation, springing into the dark space. This was his domain. Here, as if drawing a veil over his body, he became one with the universe itself. Like this, even the most vigilant of Suras could not spot him.
"Eh?" Asvins whipped her head to and fro in search of Chandra. "I thought the plan was for him to stay close so he could amplify your attacks."
"Don't be so insulting, m'dear" Varuna replied crisply. "My attacks don't need amplifying."
As if to demonstrate, she summoned a humongous wave of water in an otherwise dry land. Varuna's Transcendency quickly grew to the size of a moon and then a planet. On her command, it surged in front of all the gods just in time to smother the storm of fireballs headed their way. The violent clash of attacks resulted in tremendous steam that completely veiled the attacking Sura.
"Already?" hissed Asvins, quickly hopping away from the planet to direct another regiment. Halfway there, the Nastika tossed a flaming blitz her way. Before anyone had a chance to counter the attack, Asvins screeched in pain. Even the battle goddess cringed and shut an eye to block out the unholy sound of burning limbs.
Seconds later, the four zen god vanished in a green cloud of smoke.
Varuna slapped a hand to forehead. Countermeasure one was officially ruled out. Even worse, Asvins's death brought on the remaining gods a wave of frenzy. For reasons beyond Varuna, they began throwing themselves head on at the Nastika, completely breaking formation. So much for battle tactics. In the end, Chandra was the only one she could rely on after all.
"Support me," she yelled into the air, knowing he'd be listening.
Summoning a torrent of water beneath her feet, Varuna launched into space. Even though the mist was only beginning to clear out, she could make out the rough figure of a giant bird.
"Is that her?" she yelled. No harm in making sure. She had never battled Vinata in Sura form and it would be pointless if this turned out to be another Nastika.
"Chandra?" She made a fist. "If you run out on me, I swear on my strongest Transcendency that you're going to want to hide behind Agni and Yama for the next ten thousand years."
"I'm here," a wispy voice replied. If sounds could be seen, his words would appear transparent; only ones specifically listening for him could hear. "Yes, that is Vinata. Your regiments seem to have lost their minds."
"I know." She scowled. "Curse Asvins for being so hasty. It's you and me now."
"Heh. At least the birdbrain's just as occupied."
Chandra was right. Vinata was blasting gods out of space left and right. It was almost as if she didn't care where she fired because her Transcendencies would hit someone regardless. The entire mess of the assault made Varuna tempted to bang her head against a rock.
Only, it seemed like Chandra did it first, though it was not so much him banging his head against a rock as a rock smacking him upside the head. He kissed his teeth loud and clear.
"You all right?"
"Doesn't seem like she got much weaker in her female form," he hissed sourly. "Even her Transcendencies are the same. She's toying with us, Varuna. At this rate, if she morphs back into her male form, we'll all be done for."
Varuna frowned as her robes flapped wildly in the hot wind. "Chandra…" she fisted her cloak tightly. "Do not forget that Vinata is one of the Garuda Clan, a tribe defined by hubris." Her calculating, shrewd eyes narrowed at Marut's attempts to get the gods back in order. "If we were against an Ananta Nastika like Sagara, there would be no doubt in my mind that she would assume male form for battle, but Vinata..." Even now, she could begin to see it—the bird faltering ever so slightly in her movements as she shook off the parasitic gods. "If Vinata willingly committed herself to another, battle or not, she would not turn back on her word."
Still, even if that were true, it was only a small advantage. Unlike Varuna, Chandra hadn't a bit of experience with battle campaigns. No, he was much more of a solitary fighter. As such, it was difficult for him to spot his opponent's weaknesses from the sidelines. To him, it was unquestionable that their side was the one losing.
He made himself visible. "I will go assist Marut."
But before he could act, Varuna yanked his arm and collapsed them both on the sticky floor.
"What the hell are you doing?" Chandra nearly screamed. Here he was fretting his head off. Their army was in shambles! Granted, Varuna was the five zen god with the second least amount of deaths—the least being Yama—but how could she be so levelheaded in this time of urgency?
"Patience, Chandra," she scolded folding her legs as if she were leisurely floating on a lilypad. "In this battle, endurance is the key. While Marut reorganizes the front lines, we must stay behind to watch for her weaknesses."
What a cold, unfeeling god Varuna was. Hundreds of gods leaping to their deaths and to her, this was nothing more than a cruise in the park. Hot-blooded Chandra desperately wanted to throw himself into the fray. Only Varuna's battle expertise kept him rooted to the spot beside her.
This was an unquestionable display of bloody fireworks. Sometimes his colleagues tried to find strength in numbers, only to have all their innards splat on some planet's surface. The fight or flight syndrome grew with every passing second. Each time he heard a scream, Chandra jerked with the temptation to leap up and charge.
"Varuna!" Finally, he couldn't hold it in any longer. "Doesn't this bother you at all?"
Her cold eyes turned his way in a glare that almost made him shiver. "No, Chandra, they don't. Now stay still, because your fidgeting is starting to get on my last nerve."
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N0 - approx. 37000 years
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The gods may have fooled themselves into launching an ambush, but she actually planned to charge head on into their trap all along.
At least that was what Vinata told herself.
Regardless of how it began, she now found herself in a little bit of a predicament.
Honestly, when she told Garuda that hundreds of gods were after her hide, she hadn't meant it literally. But seeing as Asvins and Marut were included in the aforementioned hundreds, everything somehow made a lot more sense. How dare those warmongers hunt her after all they'd done? She attacked the antsy creatures with all the force and fury she could conjure.
Kalavinka, she repeated in her head with each and every strike. Kalavinka, Kalavinka, Kalavinka!
Luckily, this bunch was weak. They perished rather quickly. Had they been gods of higher zen, she wouldn't have enough confidence to face them by herself.
Vinata knew better than to let her guard down though. She still hadn't forgotten the initial wave that nullified one of her stronger Transcendencies. No god could summon water from a dry land except for Varuna. Vinata knew that particular scoundrel was hiding somewhere behind the flanks of gods, biding her time for the Nastika's vigor to wear out.
She wouldn't allow that to happen.
Swiveling, she made a beeline for the white star, leaving the gods befuddled over the act—as they should be. Lowly Astikas measured nowhere near her level of genius. From this position, she had a geographical and elemental advantage. Any god apart from Agni would surely perish under the intense temperature.
She smirked as they retreated to the nearest planet. Unable to approach, the fools congregated, making it all the easier for her to obliterate the pests—along with the planet, of course. Go big or go home—that had always been her motto.
"Vinata."
Her smirk grew. "Varuna, so you finally make your move."
It didn't take long for her to descry a blue figure in the pandemonium. Varuna made herself surprisingly easy to spot. The water god was the only one standing and waving leisurely. Chandra accompanied her and he, too, looked like he was in no hurry.
What are they plan—no!
Vinata wasn't given much more of a warning. When solar flares began acting up, she realized the dirty trick they'd pulled. She scrutinized her surroundings only to find, to her dismay, divine beings armed in every direction. Somehow, the gods managed to reorganize their formations under Marut's command. Even now, as she was preoccupied with finding an escape route, the star was already shaking violently beneath her talons.
Shit.
That was the only word appropriate for her situation.
She managed to direct one final blow at the five zen gods before becoming one with the supernova. Varuna and Chandra easily avoided the attack. The rest of the gods already retreated to the outer planets.
"Did we get her?" Chandra was nothing but giddy with delight.
"No," Marut informed. "I saw a crescent."
Ecstasy quickly turned into frustration. No god would ever dream to battle in the Sura Realm. It was a place almost exclusive to Nastikas, and strong ones at that. Even a Sura would have trouble surviving in the Sura Realm, for food was scarce and the atmosphere usually lethal.
"What now?" he grumbled, fully expecting Varuna to announce the end of their campaign.
She didn't. Instead, she smiled icily. "What now? Where would an injured Nastika possibly go other than the place she came from?"
Chandra's eyes lit with understanding and his jagged teeth bore a semi maniacal grin. "Ah, the Garuda Mountains."
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N0 - approx. 37000 years
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Gleaming crimson eyes met the battered woman.
"What's this? An injured Garuda Nastika sent straight to my home? This is almost as good as a proposal from Ananta himself!"
Visnu had to be punishing her for her past deeds. What other reason was there for the rotten luck she'd endured today? First ambushed by the gods, and just when she thought she escaped, what did the universe give her but one mentally unstable Ananta Nastika? Though she had been surprisingly isolated, there was no question that Sagara had full vigor while Vinata was nearly exhausted.
Why couldn't she have encountered a Rakshasa instead?
"Ah, a gigantic snake! How lucky for me. I'm starving." The growl, however, was hardly threatening when her body was bathed in black blood.
There was no hope of deceiving Sagara from the beginning. Her purple tongue flipped against her lips. "Come to think of it, aren't you that crazy Nastika who killed four other of my clan members?"
"The fifth will be you."
"You're a bad liar," she snickered, red eyes flaring. "I know the pact your husband made with Ananta, so Vinata—" the hideous grin widened as Sagara bared her sharp fangs "—you better start running."
A Garuda Nastika running from an Ananta Sura? If anyone from her clan found out, they'd never let her live it down. But Vinata was desperate and above all, embarrassed by her past behaviour. Hell would have to freeze over if Garuda's last memory was of a needy wife who couldn't sort out her own affairs. Since this was the Sura realm, all was not lost. She just needed to find an ally before Sagara caught up.
Curse her tiny stamina for making it impossible to open another gate. How long could she survive here without someone willing to deliver her back to the Sura Realm? She was so tired, so hungry. Vinata desperately wanted to sink her fangs into Sagara's flesh, but as tempting as the thought went, it just wasn't viable.
"You're faltering in your flight, queen!" the maniacal snake laughed from behind her.
Furious, Vinata shot a fireball at her, which Sagara easily deflected.
Goddamn female form! She hated this feeling, the feeling of being chased, of being the prey. Since the beginning of time, she had always been the hunter. As a man, she would have laughed and clouted anyone for even suggesting this scenario.
But she wasn't a man anymore, was she?
It's not supposed to be this hard! She screamed in her head. For once, just once, can't I do anything without Garuda's help? Visnu, give me a Rakshasa. Just… give me a Rakshasa. One and I'll be fine.
As much as she pleaded, no Rakshasa came her way. However, she was blessed with some mountains nearby. As Garuda had no kingdoms in the Sura Realm, that was the best place she could take refuge in. The Ananta Clan was, after all, terribly afraid of high altitudes.
Vinata lowered herself onto the tallest peak. She could only hope, now, that Sagara would not climb up. She had a few sky based Transcendencies useful for this situation, but she wasn't sure how many times she could shoot the snake down with this level of vigor.
Again, Vinata cursed her infinitesimal vigor. But what was the point anymore? Resentment wasn't going to get herself out of this predicament. In fact, she couldn't think of anything that would. It wasn't as if Garuda or Avifauna or any other Nastika from her clan would suddenly show up in the Sura Realm. Half of them hated her. The other half hated the fact that she was now the wife of their revered leader.
"Troubled, are you?" the voice of a female child suddenly queried, causing her to whip around belligerently.
"No need to attack. It's just me."
The stranger had an appearance of a small girl, about eight years old in physical age. She was clearly of Garuda heritage, as evident by the green markings against her striking emerald eyes. They brought a strong sense of déjà vu in the red Nastika. As the child bent over glance at a scowling Sagara below, a bell finally rang in Vinata's head. The feathery, turquoise scimitar gave her identity away. Robin and her beloved scimitar.
Upon spotting the other Nastika, Sagara's expression morphed into one of utmost fright.
"Oh, you brought food for me," the green child chirped. "How nice of you, Vinata! I don't like killing women, but I do love snakes."
Now it was Sagara's turn to run, though she could never even hope to outrun Robin whose Origin Attribute, if Vinata remembered correctly, was wind.
"What brings you here, queen?" Robin now turned to her.
Vinata's heart leapt with unease.
Robin only appeared amiable because she believed the phoenix killed her son—a very unstable assumption to hinge their relationship on. Furthermore, she was powerless in her tattered state. How could she convince Robin to stop the uprising, something the latter viewed as a favour to Vinata, without offending her?
Taking a deep breath, the queen straightened her back. She prayed that she would somehow project the same poise and confidence Garuda projected daily. "I've been told that you want to repay me for killing your son."
"Ah, him!" Vinata took a step back in surprise when Robin suddenly grew from an eight year old child to a big woman that towered considerably above her. "Actually I was on the verge of forgetting him until some of your people showed up." Her eyes glinted with murderous intent. She spoke as if she had no affiliation with the Garuda Clan at all. "Well, they should be glad that it was good news that reached my ears, those stupid males. As if I had any intention of embodying their inane ambitions from the beginning."
Well that was certainly a surprise, but not a bad one by far.
"Forget about the other Nastikas then. If you can send me back to the Garuda Mountains, I'll consider the favour repaid."
"Send you back?" she scoffed disbelievingly, narrowing her critical green eyes. "After all those years I spent carefully distancing myself from that bunch, you expect me to just reveal myself to them? If I were really stingy, I would consider saving you from Sagara payment enough. Sagara. Really, Vinata. What have the last two billion years done to you?"
She bit her tongue in frustration. Ah, yes. Now she remembered. Robin had always been the hardest to negotiate with. Out of the entire clan, she was the most stubborn and headstrong Nastika, which, incidentally, would also explain why she was disliked by so many.
Not that it mattered anyway. She hated them back with twice the amount of fervor.
"Send me back to the mountains," the phoenix repeated. "Send all the Nastikas back to the mountains and I'll make sure that they never hinder you again. You don't kill them. Our clan doesn't suffer. Visnu doesn't interfere. And in the end, you can retain your solitary lifestyle."
Robin stared long and hard at the queen. Vinata, unfaltering under her scrutiny, tried her best to appear sincere. However, sincerity wasn't something she held in high esteem. Robin was a person who would agree to any offer as long as it was to her advantage. Fortunately, she decided that the pros of Vinata's offer outweighed the cons.
"You're lucky to have met me as a woman, although somehow you still look rather distastefully manly. But I suppose Garuda likes his mates that way."
Swiveling, Robin drew her scimitar. She raised it well above her head and slashed in a downward motion, slicing open the opposite mountain face in a black and red crescent. Vinata immediately recognized the star positioning on the other side. As expected, Robin didn't send her directly to the GarudaMountains. She sent her one solar system over. As Vinata was in no position to complain, she quickly leaped into the crescent before it closed.
No further than two steps into the Human Realm, a wave of water crashed over her. Panicked, Vinata glanced back only to find that the portal to the Sura Realm had already closed.
Tap. Tap.
The sound of Varuna and Chandra's feet landing on earth had never been more ominous. Vinata clutched her hands in fists and growled, but it was something like the feeble cry of an elk against a pack of wolves. They approached in a predatory manner, eyes fixed on her and hands raised with their respective elements at the ready.
As a last resort, the Nastika shrouded her figure in fire.
Chandra took a step forward first. "I heard that phoenixes go up in flames right before they die." Another step. "Of course, phoenixes also resurrect. Nastikas, however, are not so lucky."
He brought his twiggy hand into the air, ready to strike her with a Transcendency. Vinata anticipated at least that much. Ten times faster, she delivered a solid fist straight into Chandra's chest, knocking him back to Varuna's side.
Even with her body drooping wearily, she glared at the two gods with a scathing vengeance. "Don't get too far ahead of yourself," she panted heavily. "What do you take Nastikas for? I don't need vigor for physical attacks. As long as I still have stamina, you aren't touching a single feather on my body."
Chandra growled and was about to leap forward again, only to be stilled by Varuna's hand on his shoulder.
Her eyes never left Vinata for a single millisecond. "Keep your head cool. Our reinforcements will be here soon. She has no place to run."
Reinforcements? Of course. How could she forget the rest of the ugly bunch?
Unfortunately for Vinata, her vision blurred and hazed. She bit down on her lip hard, drawing blood to sharpening her senses once more. Her pride as a Nastika wouldn't let her surrender until the very bitter end. Even if they tore her apart piece by piece, even if they left her looking exactly like Cepphus's corpse, she refused to submit to the fiends who took the life of her most precious friend.
Dear lord, her head was throbbing like no tomorrow. Perhaps there would indeed be no tomorrow, not for her. Every iota of her body defied her command. Her legs gave out first, shaking and quivering uncontrollably. Was it her imagination or was the ground actually shaking from beneath her?
A blur of brown crashed into the nearby rocks with a deafening boom.
"Avi…fauna?" Even as she talked, she winced. Unable to see straight, Vinata tried taking a step forward, but collapsed on her knees instead.
"No!" a hideous voice screeched. It might have been Chandra, but she was too out of it to know for sure.
Then, all of a sudden, the planet was shaking, cracking, almost reforming. Waves crashed against the earth like tumultuous tides of the ocean during a full moon. Before Vinata knew it, she was barricaded by looming mountains on all sides. Now lying on her back, she was given a full view of the sky, of the hundreds of gods raining down on her.
"Vinata?"
What a soothing voice. From who? Something soft, bright and surprisingly pink..
"Myna?"
No, Myna didn't have ears, or glow.
"I don't have a healing attribute, so I can't do anything about your state," the soothing voice continued. "Hold on a little longer and Avifauna will bring you home."
Soon, she understood why the soft toned woman picked her off the ground. Rocks from all over the land shot up into the sky, crashing against the torrent of gods. With three Nastikas present, victory was completely out of the question. Varuna raised her hand to signal for retreat. What was left of her army followed her lead away from the planet. Gods that weren't as lucky were crushed by falling boulders.
Subsequently, Vinata found herself being transferred to another pair of arms, one that was quite reluctant to take her.
"Shuri, shouldn't you bring her back?" the voice of Avifauna was easily recognizable. "It'd be more convenient if you went to fetch Garuda while I take care of the rest of them."
Shuri brought a sleeve to her mouth and chuckled. "Oh Avifauna, if you're that afraid of Garuda's wrath, you should have just said so. Fine, then. Give Vinata to me."
The grip on Vinata's arm tightened. Alliance or not, having another clan's Nastika taunt him didn't fare well with the second of the Garuda Clan at all. "No, I'll do it."
Shuri raised an eyebrow as the brown bird flew away.
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N0 - approx. 37000 years
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"What is grandfather doing?" grumbled the pink-red Upani impatiently. "Garuda-nim is furious. I can feel it in my bones." She shuddered.
Vegavis could actually feel mild effects of emotional resonance as well. He didn't blame Garuda. If he suspected someone else getting close to his mate… well, the result wouldn't be pretty. Still, having his own father be the culprit for adultery was a rather bone chilling thought.
"Ah!" screeched Myna, leaping to her feet. She pointedly jabbed her finger at the sky. "What is he doing? What is he doing?! We're all going to get killed!"
Vegavis's temple throbbed. "Quiet!" he ordered, but his own feathers jerked violently at the sight of Avifauna descending the skies with a bloody Vinata in his arms. "Where is Garuda?" he quickly demanded, whipping his head to his daughter, only to see a white haired man standing a hundred metres behind her.
"…Crap."
Well, Myna and I had a nice life. Thank you for all you've done for us, Avifauna-nim.
As well prepared as Vegavis and Myna were, Garuda still stupefied them with the speed at which he knocked Avifauna out of the sky. The brown Nastika barely landed, only to have a silver sword thrown his way. In order to avoid it, Avifauna had to leap back into the air.
"What were you doing with my wife?" Never in the history of the universe had they seen Garuda this furious. Even Avifauna was quite shaken by the sheer power of his words.
Which promise do I keep now? He asked, scowling with his feathers all in disarray. There was no advantage in fighting Garuda over a simple misunderstanding. On top of that, his vigor was mostly depleted from the fight with gods. Why for the love of Visnu didn't he take on Shuri's offer?
Vinata looked too battered to speak. Garuda would never take his word in this situation. Avifauna's fate was certainly not in good hands.
"Garuda-nim, wait!" To everyone's surprise, it was Vegavis who called out. Taking a tentative step forward, he mediated, "my father, Avifauna-nim, is not an unreasonable person. Please hear him out before making your judgement."
Vegavis's words served as a sharp reminder of Garuda's kingly duty. Though his heart continued to pound with fury, he forcibly suppressed those irrational emotions to revert to his calm and normal self. Tightly clutching Vinata with one arm, the king swooped down to retreat his sword from the pond sized crater. Avifauna, too, landed beside his descendents.
"Talk," Garuda demanded. "You have ten minutes."
Avifauna sent Vinata a regretful look, which was not missed by the three other Suras. Vegavis and Myna stiffened. Garuda clutched his wife tighter. The brown Nastika closed his eyes and sighed. It seems like I will have to break our promise this time.
"Vinata," he finally divulged, "left to the Sura Realm to squelch the remnants of the Seven Thousand Year War rebellion. I do not know what happened in the time that she was gone, nor do I know if she was successful. The only thing I understand is that Shuri of the Yaksha Clan approached me an hour ago to inform that she'd been ambushed by a party of gods led by Chandra and Varuna. She was in that state when we found her."
Garuda stood alarmingly still. There was no questioning whether he believed Avifauna's explanation or not. In nearly three billion years of his lifetime, Avifauna never lied to his king once. Finally, with great deliberation, he turned to the three of the three Suras and motioned the Upani over.
Myna's eyes almost popped out of her head. She pointed a finger at herself. Me?
Garuda nodded impatiently. He looked very much on edge. Myna gulped before swooping down nervously.
"Take her back to her nest," he ordered, placing Vinata into her arms.
She could only nod stiffly.
The king took a deep breath and glared defiantly at the sky. Simply to exert his anger, storm clouds rolled in and showered a thousand blades of lightning on the land. Garuda Suras from all over the land grounded and ran for cover. Even Nastikas were quite shaken by the display. Avifauna and Vegavis were no exceptions.
Myna, especially, was terrified.
"Myna."
"Y-yes?"
Lightning flashed as the king tipped his head to reveal a face dark with fury. Save for two glowing grey eyes, Garuda's entire body was swathed in shadow. "No one touches my wife."
She nodded frantically.
Like a summer thunderstorm, the clouds cleared as quickly as they appeared. In the absence of the livid king, the Suras began poking their heads out from their hiding spots. Each was reluctant to be the first to step out in fear that they would be struck once they did. Myna was the one glaring exception. With the queen cradled in her arms, she sprinted through the empty paths as if they were littered with red hot coals.
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N0 - approx. 37000 years
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When Vinata awoke, she awoke in the familiar embrace of her paramour. Even before her eyes fluttered open, she felt him endear her with kisses, salty kisses all over her body. But there was no blood on her face, and Garuda never cried.
For that reason, she fully opened her eyes.
Her husband, with two arms tightly cradling her body, was glistening red all over. She panicked for a split second at the notion of Garuda being hurt. Then she remembered that Suras didn't have red blood. Humans did, but Garuda promised Visnu to never kill a human. And the only other option was…
"You're good," she whispered tenderly, pressing her battered cheek to his bloody one. On the verge of crying, she clutched his warm body with all her might. "You're just too good."
"I love you," he said, pressing her body closer to his. His cheek brushed against her hair as he fitted her small head into the space between his neck and shoulder. "Never doubt that I love you more than anyone in the universe."
No word, no combination of words could express her tenacious passion for this man.
Vinata nodded into his shoulder.
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I feel like an explanation is in order here, since I tend to be quite ambiguous with my writing. I am completely open to the idea of readers having their own interpretation of a story, but at the same time I don't want anyone to go like what? But how did she get from there to here? and I thought this/that was happening, then suddenly it wasn't! It doesn't make any sense!
So the gist of this is that Vinata felt detached from Garuda because he has to suppress his emotions as a king. In order to get his attention, she puts on a weak act. But because Garuda knows about her façade, he refuses to cater to her haughty needs. However, when worst comes to worst, and when she actually gives her all, he'd go to the end of the universe for her. (Just in case you guys didn't catch on, the blood was from his massacre of gods.)
That's why she tells him that he's good, because he knows exactly when she actually needs him and when she's just being bratty.
By the way, that planet was based on Venus. :P
Thank your for reading! Please leave a review!
-SCND