It was early in the evening. A few straggling birds were chirping, finding their last bits of meal for the day, hopping between plants as they scooped up unsuspecting insects. The black cheetah watched them, her long form nestled between two bushes. Her mind was a haze, considering the future. She had been happy for a long time, and yet the fear that always nipped at her heels had reared its ugly head again. Fear for the future; for being attached to someone so permanently; to a place that would carry more meaning than just being a place to rest her head. Taking the next step of actually having offspring...that was a sort of fear that she had wrestled with for some time.
A sigh escaped her lungs, her sides flexing as she felt herself deflate. It was a conversation that was never easy, but her sweet love was always so patient with her. She was grateful for it, and yet she was also carrying the weight of the unneccesary guilt it gave her as well. A juxtoposition of simplicity and complexity with guilt.
She blinked a few times, attempting to clear her eyes. It wasn't too late, but she felt the pull of fatigue on her eyelids. It was then, once the birds were silent, that she realized she wasn't alone. The fur along her spine crawled upwards as she looked around slowly, her eyes scanning for what could be hiding within the forest and brush around her. The last thing she was expecting was a large form with...wings or some sort.
Kituko didn't know what drew her out here. Fear was the usual answer; she was drawn to it, when someone seemed to ooze fear for a long amount of time. She hated how it attracted her, like a moth to flame. The goddess was full of fear herself, and the last thing she wanted to see was yet another mortal displaying fear towards her. Her solid black eyes hid a certain amount of emotion, the markings along them shifting a bit like static. Only if her brows were completely furrowed, or eyes shut, was it easy to see her expressions.
At the moment, her brows were just a bit furrowed. She hadn't been anywhere near here before; it must be a pride, with the mixed scent of many predators lingering on the trees. Many were old, with a few being more fresh; old borders. She tried to step carefully within the brush, but the inevitable soft 'crunch, crunch' betrayed her location to anyone within hearing distance.
"H-hello...?" A soft voice emerged from some bushes, and Kituko was looking at a pair of grey eyes peeking from a black form. Similar, and yet not, to her own colours.
"I...I didn't mean to startle you!" Kituko squeaked, taking a step back as the cheetah slowly pushed herself onto her feet. Oddly enough, although Jola thought the lion-thing strange, her attitude made it hard to feel too fearful of her.
"Are...you lost? You don't look like you belong around here," the cheetah whispered. Though she tried to not stare, the strange bat-bird wings that were tucked along the lion's back were mesmerizing. There was clearly muscle mass there, so she must be able to fly...but what lion could fly?? Only birds could take to the skies...and the ones that were nearby were tucked into the grees instead of the skies.
The goddess was a little unnerved that the cheetah didn't seem that scared of her...had she seen something even worse before? Compared to her mother, Kituko was a hideous beast. "I am," she replied quietly. "Where... am I?"
The cheetah was surprised at how calm this creature was. Certainly there was something off about the wings, but Jola wasn't foolish enough to blurt something stupid out loud. At the moment she seemed nice, but she could change that tune in a heartbeat.
"This is the Suka'Fumo," she replied quietly. "I am just a merchant of small trinkets, Jola. I um.... I am a bit afraid, to be perfectly honest. But I also don't want to hurt your feelings. You seem rather nice, if... unusual." Jola had never seen a god before, but she was starting to think that this was it. Would... as long as she was careful, she could keep Tamu safe. Don't mention him. Just mention all the lions in the pride, and she would be fine as long as this god thing didn't take her for a threat.
"Oh. I am Kituko," she replied while tucking her wings tightly against her body. "I um... was looking for my mother, but I don't think she's ever come here before. I'm not sure how I got here." The goddess glanced around a bit more, noticing that the cheetah's tail was shivering with the edges of fear. Her eyes were always the most unsettling part of her, as she had constant insults thrown at her. She saw everything, nothing, or only what she wanted to see. Others would see their worst fears reflected back to them if she wasn't careful.
"We have many lions here," Jola said, thinking she was being crafty. "Though none have wings like you. A few leopards as well, but just... lots of lions." Damn it. She slipped up there. Her ears folded back on her head and she took a step backwards. She knew she could run fast, but she had no idea how fast a god could fly. Those wings couldn't just be for show.
"Oh! I won't... I'm sorry. Everyone is afraid of me," the goddess said quietly, with a touch of sadness. "Though being the manifestation of Fear, it is what I am. I apologize. I will continue to move on. I won't hurt you."
Jola's ears perked forward, and she stopped slinking backwards. "I am afraid of many things," she replied. "But I am no fighter, and fleeing is how I stay alive. I will.. I apologize." She glanced over her shoulder, but no one from the pride seemed to have noticed the strange goddess.
"Again, I will leave. Thank you for the assistance you did offer me, Jola. It is rare that anyone bothers to speak to me, and not run or scream. Stay safe, stay alive, and....farewell." The goddess jumped up the trees, disappearing from view but easily heard. The cheetah continued to listen and watched as the trees rattled. A few strong gusts of wind from the wings rustled the trees once more, and then it was silence.
How strange. Jola turned to return home, but was surprised.... was her fear of life in general starting to fade away?
(1,111 words)