chatper 8: Choices
#8 of Prince Here, Action Where
i doubt this is any better than my last, too many life issues blocking freedom to write. but here's next addition. expect the next to be as last as this one for same reason plus a story request in the works.
Crest woke with a strange new strength and an itchy tickling feeling all over his canine body. He sat up remembering he was in Ssitï's temple. After warming up body and mind, the wolf looked around. He had slept on coils of the god that expressed his love to him. An eye with a twinkling smile in it watched the wolf without blinking. Crest smiled or tried to without laughing at the odd feat.
"Morning my wolf, It is too delightful to see you in my flesh and not with god magic." Ssitï sat up on his coils. "How did you like my coils?" Crest smiled brightly waging his tail. He was too choked with joy to talk. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." The snake god lifted his small, in comparison, wolf over his coils as he straightened his body out. Ssitï then set Crest on firm ground.
"Why do I feel different?" Crest asked feeling the tingling again. "I feel stronger and tingly."
"I have given you my powers and what you are feeling is a question of immortality, my king." Crest was shocked more than confused and grateful. Ssitï continued, "My powers is asking you if you want to live forever without time." two thoughts topped the wolf's mind after, "gods he has a wonderful voice."
What an honor, he loved me that much? Crest's heart jumped then fell for the other thought. What about Alex...?
"Sorry for listening but on the matter of your fox, he stole a spell..." the god intervened with a half somber voice.
"What! Alex steal?" Crest exclaimed and started off towards a flight of stairs. Ssitï blocked the stairs with his tail.
"Please come down dear Crest." The wolf turned and leered at the god. "Your fox did not mean to take the blessing." Ssitï continued unfazed about the Wolf's sudden emotional change. "While we traded our pleasures, I had a century to fulfill his desires. I gave the living statue a spell of reform." Crest tilted his head. "Yes you haven't heard of it. The reason is that when it's invoked on another, the target can die and not pass on. Instead, when death finds the target, life is restored and returned to the target to when the spell was used."
"If the spell is used on the caster, an additional effect is made in the light of my power. Time no longer flows but the user lives on." crest made another motion of confusion. "Yes the new effect is possibly good but it is a curse against self gain. Living without end carries the burden of watching those you care about wither way."
"What do I do?"
"If you do not wish to be immoral and live with him, he must not tell him the ability he now has. Spell is both in him and on him, so he may die once." Ssitï lowered his upper body to lie down. "I do not foresee him clinging the blessing." The god sounded sad this time.
"Something wrong, Ssitï?" Crest walked to his gods head and rubbed his side of the giant snake's nose.
"You, the first and only one that cares for me, now decide my fate." Ssitï spoke so his breath wouldn't blow the wolf away. A large eye watched Crest. "If you choose to have Alex not know the gift and live without immortality, I might not be remembered even if you tell mortals."
Crest listened carefully and asked, "What other outcomes are there?"
"You becoming immortal and I live in memory. You can also tell your fox his new ability and all of us live together or forever." Crest stared into space, thinking. He had his choice. Ssitï smiled lightly but frowned when his wolf did.
"What happened to...Clat?" Crest looked up at his God with a look of dizziness. Ssitï laughed somewhat.
"Oh, that cursed one? He was sent to Luke." The snake God laughed more and hissed his next words. "Luke and other gods gave him a necklace of change, and Luke is going to have fun while fixing the extra outcome of the curse." Crest tried to make a confused expression but passed out in dizziness. Ssitï stopped laughing to take care of his wolf. The god lifted the Wolf into a coil and propped his head up. Crest's body now had a faint blue hue that steadily grew in a wave from the wolf head. The brighter the glow became the more white the light was.
"Just rest, first one, I'll explain while your soul grows." Ssitï cooed. "Your fox should be coming soon too, I'll wait till then." Crest didn't respond in the intense but gentle aura.
A waking moan echoed through a large chamber. The source came from a nude fox lying on a wall next to the entrance. "Off, that's not ever." Alex looked around and became confused. "Where's the snake statue? I thought I emptied myself of him when I let my seed out. Also, my shrinking spell would've worn out by now." He stood up and shrugged. That's when he noticed something different, the size of his balls. The two fuzzy orbs were now half the size of a fist. While not a huge change, it was still noticeable.
"Will it fit in my armor?" He whimpered. He walked over to his armor and shrugged. After sitting up Alex walked to the entrance of the now empty chamber. "Echo!" The fox called out into the chamber for a joke. Silence echoed nothing. He shivered but brightened up thinking of crest. "I know him still yours, my King." Alex smiled and brushed his tail straight and fluffy.
After what seemed like a candle-mark of walking, Alex reached where he was separate from crest. Distracted was the proper word for it. In fact, the fox was distracted again, this time by food. A basket of mixed fruit and venison rested at the uneven connection of a wide flight of stairs and Alex's path. The fox's stomach grumbled and Alex rushed to eat. There was two of whatever was contained in the basket. The fox left the second slap of venison and bread alone. An apple and banana were also left in the basket. "I'll save it for crest in case he hasn't eaten yet."
Alex pressed on, descending the series of straight, downward stairs. It took less time with thoughts of crest in a full belly. When he got to Ssitï's room, Alex forgot to blink or shield himself from some strange light. His eyes recovered he saw the light getting to its peak on top of Ssitï's coils. Alex grunted trying to see.
"Your wolf is becoming immoral. Please relax while the change ends." Ssitï spoke with joy and hissing. The god's words didn't calm the fox down but it was how the god spoke that did.
Crest's radiance faded the same way it grew but more spherical in a wave. Each half-flash made the shining wolf more visible. Alex watched his King and love rest on Ssitï's coils and saw the God shed tears with a smile.
"Why are...?" Alex's question faded as he walked to the giant snake.
"Joy and the pride of life. I shall live on and you two like me, forever." Ssitï answered beaming at the Fox with an unrestricted smile. Alex was too confused to speak again. The God and Knight heard a yawning a moan, Crest woke up. He stood up on his bed of scales stretched as if he had slept a two days straight. The Wolf looked at himself then to Ssitï and brightened with excitement seeing Alex.
"Alex!" Crest jumped off his God and ran to embraces love and a hug. "I love you and Ssitï so much." The Wolf's tail wagged uncontrollably.
"But it's clear who he chosen." Ssitï laughed above the two. "Shouldn't you reveal your fox's immortality?" Crest snapped out of his cuddle attack.
"Oh, Alex, you remember the spell the statue you were with used?"
"Yes." Alex felt a tingling at the memory.
"Well, you have the spell now but if you cast it on yourself, you'll live forever. I'm now moral but I don't wish to live without you." Crest held his knight's paws and locked eyes. Alex murred and stared back with watery eyes. He nodded and pulled his king into a kiss. Ssitï hissed happily and quietly.
"What do we do now?" Alex asked after gently breaking the kiss.
"You could express your happiness for each other with me." Ssitï intervened. Crest stiffed a laugh. Alex turned to his mate in question. Crest looked up at his god.
"Maybe later," the wolf laughed openly remembering his time engaging with the giant snake god. "Though we will, but I want to see how Clat is." Ssitï hissed violently.
"Why the cursed one?! He went against even the existing gods. His life cannot be undone." Crest was taken aback by his god's anger.
"Well, I at least want to see what Luke will do to him." This time Ssitï moved back a little.
"Um, you might be late for that...as for what happened to him, think of us but unwillingly." He became silent and the room followed. He continued after a minute, "Luke gave him the robe that hides the cursed one from beasts and mortals...but that was his only mercy." Crest looked to the floor. He knew the leopard is forever changed.
"Oh he'll live and longer than he would have before but he'll die by the will of Death alone." Ssitï hissed "death" as if the name was worse than the meaning of the word. Crest felt slightly relieved but sympathetic to his god's hate and fear of death. Alex whined an erf. "I used to be a forgotten, Alex, so I was left to die in the void that is Death's doorstep." Alex understood that time and everyone fell back silent in reflection.
"If you really want to see the cursed one and Luke," Ssitï waved a hand, pointing next to the stairs. I light faintly opened into a swirling circular hole in the floor. "Use that to take you to them."
"Thanks, Ssitï." Crest smiled to his god.
"Remember you always have another place to go to." Ssitï leaned down and hugged his wolf. The god watched to two canines run to the portal and waved bye to them. I'll watch over you for all our lives, only one, Crest. Light from the portal flashed stronger and knight and king vanished with the ending of the flash.