Chapter 2: Chapter 2
The sun sat high upon the heavens, brilliant and regal. Rays of liquid gold splashed down from its surface, illuminating the wild greens and blues of the earth below. Yet with each area nourished and heartened by its benevolent light, came also obsequious shadow, following doggedly in its footsteps. For all of their opposing nature, sun and shadow exist in tandem, never one without the other.
For all things in nature exist intertwined.
Enkidu pondered upon such thoughts, as he and the rabbit weaved through the undergrowth.
Sariel, quite a fitting name for his new friend he thought, had insisted he follow her back to her home. "To fix this whole mess." she had said.
He ran a hand through his verdant locks, mud and tree-bark coming loose with the raking of his fingers. He wrinkled his nose for a second, but brightened soon after. It seemed his first friend was truly wise and learned.
He was in need of a good wash
The parrot on his shoulder squawked and nipped at his face, prompting the boy to laugh and feed it a few berries he had picked from a bush earlier. The small bird seemed to do a happy little shuffle up and down his shoulder after the fact, and a great smile formed itself on the boy's features. He basked in the warmth of the mid-afternoon, the smell of the forest and the steady burbling of the stream they were following.
He delighted in every sensation
His eyes moved forwards, and he laid his gaze on the back of the white rabbit. His good mood from earlier became tempered with a strange and unfamiliar emotion, one that left a pang of uneasiness within his gut.
His lips moved back into a neutral line.
Sariel had been unusually quiet the entire time, deflecting all of his questions with quiet grunts or one-word answers. He was not sure what ailed his companion so. From what he had seen before, she had seemed quite spirited and lively.
He wanted to help, but he didn't know how
He wanted to ask, but he didn't know the words
His heart ached, for he knew not what it meant to be human
He inhaled a deep breath, holding for a second, before expelling the hot air. Particles of dust glittered and moved in the light, dancing to a fey rhythm. Enkidu eyed their performance, a smile once more gracing his face.
All answers in time.
/////
She wished to deny it, but Sariel could admit, at least to herself, that she had absolutely no idea what to do. It chafed her pride, but for one who tried to claim as much independence and responsibility as possible, she had crumbled at the first sign of any danger to her home.
She wished to be trusted and respected, neither for name nor lineage, but for her own deeds and accomplishments. Instead, she tucked tail like a mouse and ran back to her mother.
Her attempts to resolve the situation herself were memories she wished she could purge from her mind entirely.
To be consoled by her opponent was the height of embarrassment.
Still, she had enough sense to set pride aside, at least this once, and let others more capable than her to sort this issue out.
'More capable than you'll ever be.' Whispered a traitorous part of her mind.
She had been wallowing in self-pity and regret the entire journey back home, so stuck in her thoughts that she had been ignoring her quarry.
A knife of guilt pierced her heart.
She glanced backwards momentarily, watching the boy walk along with his head in the clouds, staring wondrously at the wildlife around them. He looked remarkably innocent, as expected of a child untainted by the evils of the world.
Was he truly a child though?
Although he bore the appearance of a young human boy, Enkidu's presence was anything but. She recalled the way grass and flowers had bloomed around his feet, the way he had seemed to glow, even if for a scant moment. She had at first thought it a hallucination borne of her hysteria in that moment, but now she saw the truth.
As Enkidu walked, the jungle itself parted in awe of his presence. Trunks of great oak and pine bent and twisted to allow him thorough, whilst the thorns and brambles that covered their path slithered away from his bare feet. She watched him step upon a single ant, smallest of creatures, and leave it hale and unharmed. Birds chirped and tittered at his passing, a sweet symphony all in chorus.
Even the lake seemed to sing to him
She had never been too adept at sensing magic and presence of others, preferring to put her focus into more intellectual pursuits. Yet she did not need to be adept in the field to notice that whatever Enkidu was, he was not human.
It was almost like something had taken the concept of nature and attempted to pour it into a mortal shell. A concept as vast as that, of course, was uncontainable by such a paltry container, and leaked from him in copious amounts. Everywhere he went, life itself followed zealously at his heels.
She realised, for a second, that she could be leading a being of unknown power and allegiance deeper into her home, but such thoughts seemed almost absurd.
Enkidu wore his heart on his sleeve, she could tell, and his very existence seemed a balm upon the world. Something about him just made her want to trust him
It was certainly not his excellent petting technique!
A short gasp, followed by the squawk of that damned parrot broke her from her musings, as she took in her surroundings.
Unbidden, a soft smile found its way to her face, and her worries and anxieties seemed to ease.
She was nearly home
//////
He had never seen anything like it.
The mud path they had been following slowly morphed into a winding, paved road, zig-zagging into a clearing.
The river glimmered, a stream of a thousand precious stones, and split in two, one half twisting into the horizon, the other pooling into a basin at a dip near the side of the road. Lilies sprouted from the ground like weeds, and a beautiful tree stood tall in the middle of it all. With branches adorned with vibrant pinks and whites, it was truly a sight to behold.
Next to the tree stood a small cabin built from planks of gold-flecked wood, and he noticed absently, after a few moments, that Sariel had already started rushing inside.
After a few moments of awestruck wonder, he smiled to himself and made to follow his rabbit friend.
As he took a step inside, the air around him seemed to thrum with some unseen power, before fading quietly into the atmosphere. He raked his eyes around the home, noticing that it somehow seemed bigger on the inside, until his gaze landed on a figure seated upon a wooden stool.
There sat a woman grown, with beautiful features and a kind smile. Her hair cascaded down in a burnished red, and her buxom figure was wrapped in a cloth dress that didn't seem to leave much to the imagination. His gaze rose to the sides of her head, where two stag-like antlers erupted from her temples, bone white ivory almost scraping the top of the ceiling.
A thousand questions sprang to mind, yet the words caught in his throat before they could leave his lips, and all that left his mouth was a squeak mixed with a strangled gasp of confusion,
The woman's smile took on a much more mischievous bent.
She moved with deceptive grace, nary a movement wasted, as she came close enough to him for them to almost touch noses. Her red eyes narrowed into a squint as she cupped his chin, and lifted his head up so she could better analyse his features. A low hum left her throat.
Feeling as if he were under examination, Enkidu puffed out his breast like a rooster, the parrot on his shoulder copying him almost uncannily.
After a few tense moments, the woman drew back and blinked for twice in confusion, bewilderment easy to see on her features. Such feelings were pushed down almost instantly, and instead replaced by a teasing smile.
"He seems a bit young, my dear daughter."
"W-HUH! Mother!"
Sariel's scream of outrage echoed around the cabin, and left a slight ringing in the boy's ears.
The woman's features softened into a more motherly visage.
"You know I am just kidding, my dear daughter. Although I would like to know why you have brought this young man back home."
Sariel moved to speak, but she was almost instantly shushed by her mother, the finger placed on her lips all that was needed to root her in place.
The woman carried on, completely unbothered.
"What is your name, child?"
"Enkidu, miss!"
His smile could have lit the whole room.
The woman chuckled in faint amusement, before responding to the now named Enkidu.
"How polite! You may call me Diana, little Enkidu. Or mother, if it pleaseth you."
Sariels outrage was thankfully muffled by the finger sealing her lips.
"It's very nice to meet you, Miss DIana." Said the boy, and through his guileless expression she could tell he meant every word.
"Would you like to become my friend too?"
A bemused laugh escaped her lips.
"Oh? You would ask to be my friend after meeting a scant few moments ago? I may be some kind of evil witch for all you know~"
Diana's voice gained a teasing lilt at the end, but such subtleties seemed to fly straight over Enkidu's head, as he furrowed his eyebrows into a frown.
"You don't look like an evil witch…" He trailed off, seemingly deep in thought, before a lightbulb went off in his head.
"And besides, Evil witches can't have gardens and trees as lovely as yours!"
His logic was flawless, and the parrot gave him a pat on the back in recognition.
"Ack! Aren't you just the cutest thing!"
Before he could react, Enkidu was wrapped up in the arms of Sariel's mother, his face smushed flat against her bosom whilst his arms flailed at his sides in confusion. He looked at the parrot sat on his shoulder, eyes pleading for assistance, but all he received in response was a solemn shake of its head.
It would seem he was without allies
Diana let out a small cooing noise that instantly caused Enkidu to relax, the warm melody of her humming dispelling all tenseness from his body. She began to run her fingers through his hair, and the sensation of her digits on his scalp sent him only into further bliss. She stopped suddenly after a few seconds though, and the boy let out a small pitiable sound at her halted ministrations.
Diana pried herself off him with reluctance, and shook her hands free from the grime coating her fingers. She levelled a stern gaze at the boy, and spoke in a chiding manner.
"Before we discuss anything further, I believe a bath would not be remiss. I won't have you tracking dirt into my house, after all."
Enkidu's face coloured with shame, as he remembered the reason he had come here with Sariel in the first place.
"I-I'm sorry! I'll go right away"
"Not to worry dear, It's nothing to be too concerned about. Me and my daughter will await your return.
With a final stuttered farewell, Enkidu bid a hasty retreat.
As the door creaked open, Diana turned back around to face her daughter, who was watching the proceedings with a strange expression on her face.
The last Enkidu saw was Diana as she knelt down and laid a hand on Sariel's head, stroking it softly.
He left with nary a whisper.
Diana looked out of the window, watching the little boy run hurriedly towards the river, before diverting her attention back to her wayward daughter.
"Tell me everything."
///
The water seemed to caress his naked skin, and all too soon he was completely clean. He peered into the reflection of the water, and saw green hair and elfin features stare back. He let out a small giggle and pushed his finger into the water, watching as his copy reciprocated in kind. The water rippled, and the riversong hummed to a different tune.
Feeling clean, Enkidu left the embrace of the river and redressed himself, making his way back to the wooden house. The parrot trilled a soft tune as he walked, and he sighed in contentment. He was starting to be able to half glean words and feelings from the birds constant squawking, though he didn't know how. He guessed the bird was growing on him.
Opening the door, he found both Diana and Sariel staring at him from across the room. One had a gentle, motherly smile, whilst the other looked bewildered, although he wasn't too sure how he knew that. It's quite hard to tell what a rabbit is thinking, after all.
Diana gestured wordlessly to a small seat that had definitely not been in the room before, and Enkidu sat down on it hesitantly, trying to keep his wet hair from dragging along the floor.
"So, my daughter here has told me you want to be her friend. Is this true?"
At the mere mention of the word 'friend', the boy's whole demeanour brightened considerably. He grinned, wide and carefree, and started rocking back and forth in his chair.
"Yeah! I do!" he replied, before frowning minutely.
"But I thought we were already friends though? We told each other our names and everything!"
Diana chuckled whilst Sariel groaned in embarrassment.
"You have to know a little more about someone than just their name if you wish to become good friends with them, little one. And did my daughter even accept your offer of friendship in the first place? You seem to have good intentions, yes, but friends can only really be friends once both parties agree on it. Consent is important, after all. "
Enkidu absorbed this knowledge like a sponge, eyes gleaming with endless curiosity.
"Wow… I never thought of it like that before."
Blue eyes locked onto Sairel's red.
"Hey Sariel, can you please tell me a bit more about yourself? Your mom said we can't be friends otherwise."
DIana interrupted Sariel before she could speak once again, getting an irritated glare from the white-furred animal.
"It's only polite to go first, young man. And in doing so, It will make others much more comfortable in sharing their own stories with you."
Every nugget of knowledge imparted upon him was stored away for further use.
"Hmm…okay. Well then, my name is Enkidu, I'm a boy, and I love the forest! Now you go!"
Sariel sighed in exasperation, and a small, fond smile came unbidden to her lips.
Diana just giggled.
"Well, that's a good start, but you'll need to share a bit more than that I should think. Tell me, how old are you?"
"I don't know."
"Where were you born?"
"I don't know."
"What is your favourite colour?"
He held a lock of his hair up to his eyes and inspected it. He looked at the floor of the hut, at the earthy browns of the wood veined with gold. He looked outside, into the ever shifting undergrowth, and finally, he stared up at the sky, and the yellow ball of flame contained within.
He looked back at the two infront of him, both mother and daughter waiting for a response.
"I don't…know?"
Sariel growled in frustration.
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW ANYTHING?"
Sariel's voice rang like a bell's toll, and for a few seconds all was quiet. The ambient noises of nature seemed to cease all at once, leaving them all in eerie silence.
The smile fell from Enkidu's face, and Sariel suddenly felt very ashamed.
The boy spoke once more, his eyes faintly glowing gold.
"All I know is that I know nothing."
The earth seemed to shake at his words.
Before anyone could speak, he carried on.
"I know this, yet I still yearn for all the knowledge in the world. The answer to every question conceived, no matter their importance. For what do plants grow for? For what reason do I exist? Why do we even question such things?"
Every word spoken from his mouth seemed to make the air around him vibrate, and the light from his eyes grew in intensity.
"For every question solved a hundred more appear, this I know, but I still cherish every single answer given. I know I cannot know everything, but a fruitless hope is better than no hope at all. To fight, to struggle, to claw away at the world at the behest of an everdistant dream. "
His voice grew in quiet intensity, seemingly reverberating throughout space. Both mother and daughter sat entranced, as they bore witness to his words.
"Every moment is a moment well spent, for every answer is the drop of ambrosia at your lips. Every second is ecstasy, because the world is filled with questions yet unanswered."
His voice reached a booming crescendo, and every animal in the forest cried out in jubilant exultation. His smile was back, bigger than ever, stretched over features that seemed to embody the concept of 'joy'.
"And thus I love the world, and everything in it."
As the forest quieted, and the golden glow of his eyes faded back to a seafoam blue, Sariel sat dumbfounded.
No matter how he may seem, he was no child after all.
///
Mother had gotten up rather abruptly after that, 'to make some tea' she had said.
Leaving poor Sariel alone with Enkidu.
They both sat in silence for a while, the boy staring at the ceiling, lost in thoughts, whilst she bit her bottom lip and thumped her hind leg anxiously. Whilst it could have only been a minute at most, to Sariel it seemed to stretch on for hours. Slowly the embarrassment became too much to bear, and she quickly grew desperate to alleviate the awkward silence.
She attempted to clear her throat, but all that came from her mouth was a quiet squeak.
Damn this infernal form
Whilst it was the guise that felt most natural to her, it was not without its downsides. Namely, that it was not the best for engaging others in conversation.
Focusing inwardly on herself, she willed the energy within her to flow through her veins, a pleasant heat filling her entirety. She began to glow, and after a small flash of white light the rabbit had disappeared.
Enkidu, broken from his thoughts by the sound of a strange 'crack', looked over at Sariel, only to find someone else standing in her place.
Long white hair braided with streaks of auburn red, a lithe figure, and two long, twitching bunny ears, all belonging to the beautiful young woman standing in front of him. Her skin was lightly tanned, and her eyes were a vibrant shade of red. Her cheeks were red with both exertion and embarrassment, and she let out small huffs of breath, as one might do after having run for a while.
He moved to speak, but paused, as the seeming stranger seemed uncannily similar to his bunny companion. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but it was almost as if a sixth sense was whispering into his ear, telling him that this woman was Sariel.
He stared at her, and wondered to himself how it was possible for her to be both a bunny and a human at the same time.
'A magical bunny human?' he thought, looking once more at the ears perched on top of her head. Morphing her body like that seemed like a very interesting thing to learn to do. A small thought entered his head, as he wondered whether she could teach him such magic if they were to become friends.
The flesh in his body seemed to writhe happily in response, creating an odd tingling feeling all over.
Before he could ponder the strange sensation, the girl in front of him spoke, her voice a little less squeaky and an ounce more dignified.
"I'm…sorry, for snapping at you. It wasn't proper of me, and I ask for your forgiveness, if you are willing to give it."
Both Enkidu and his parrot cocked their heads sideways.
"I wouldn't be a very good prospective friend if I got angry at such a small thing, would I?"
Sariel tried to muffle a giggle, but it escaped through the corners of her mouth anyway.
"I guess not…but if you aren't upset, why did you unleash your power like that earlier?"
"Power?"
He seemed utterly confused, even more than before, and Sariel came to the harrowing realisation that Enkidu had been affecting the world around him without any conscious thought.
She shelved such thoughts for later, and hardened her visage, a singular thought worming itself into her brain.
"Nevermind that, I just wanted to ask you one question."
The boy perked up, head whipping upwards whilst his hair sprayed in every direction.
"Why do you want to be my friend?" She started, pausing, before speaking again.
"I was mean to you, Lied to you and when I broke down into tears you still comforted me. And what then, huh?! Did I thank you? Did I appreciate your kindness and reciprocate in turn? No!"
She was working herself up into a frenzy, her entire world focused on the boy before her.
"I ignore you the entire way here, shout and snap at you, and yet you still pursue friendship with me? You do not deserve someone as selfish as me as your friend."
Her voice petered off at the end, and a sudden melancholy settled over her.
She felt a soft hand intertwine with hers, and her usual instinct to flinch away from contact was strangely absent. The calm warmth from his presence suffused her being, and her eyes began to feel tight wish unshed tears.
She locked eyes with the boy, and within those cerulean orbs she found wisdom older than the trees.
"Such things are not for you to decide, Sariel. I already decided to be your friend back in the forest where we first met, and to turn back on such a thing so easily is not something I can do."
She attempted to stay dignified, but it was an exercise in futility with the way Enkidu stared earnestly into her soul.
"Although I love the world, experiencing it all by myself is not something I wish for. People to share accomplishments with, to experience highs and lows together in unison, to solve the mysteries of the universe hand in hand…"
He gripped her hand a little firmer, and a traitorous part of her mind wished for him to never let go.
"I will not begrudge you if you decline, but I still wish to ask, at least once more."
"Will you be my friend, Sariel?"
He made it so much grander than it was, but even so, her mind couldn't help but wander to the future. Of grand adventures, daring rescues, of great trials and even greater tribulations. She pictured herself standing tall over the wicked, helping the poor and oppressed, and sharing such joys with the boy in front of her.
She looked into his face, and denying him was impossible.
She didn't want to anyway
She gave a small nod of her head, a barely audible 'yes', and the smile he gave her made everything worth it.
I will protect that smile
"Ah wait!"
Sariel's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Enkidu's voice.
"There is something you gotta do first."
Now it was Sariel's turn to become confused. 'Was there some sort of ritual they had to undergo before they became friends?'
Heedless of her inner thoughts, Enkidu pointed a finger straight at her face, The parrot extending his wing in tandem.
Her eyebrow began to twitch.
"You have to introduce yourself, silly! Now, first question, how old are you!"
Righteous indignation bloomed in her breast.
"Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?"
"W-huh? Is that true?"
"Yes!"
///
Diana sighed wistfully as listened to the sound of her daughter bickering away with the being she had brought back home with her.
She did not truly know what he was, but she did have considerable experience in reading people, and the boy didn't seem to have a malicious bone in his body. He had a control over the forests that not even she could boast of, and the way the trees and lakes sang with joy at his passing only further cemented this view.
She thought back to what had said prior to her leaving, and had to suppress a shiver. His thoughts seemed to possess an alien sort of logic, one anathema to man. He had seemed so childish before, but at that moment he seemed to age almost indefinitely, his countenance holding a maturity she had never seen before.
Diana listened to the sound of the door crashing open, and watched from the window as her daughter chased the boy around the garden in mock outrage.
The setting sun illuminated their features, and she felt a pang of regret as she wondered when the last time was that her daughter had smiled so much.
It had been far too long.
She stared down at the three steaming cups of tea, picked one up, and took a long sip. Bittersweet memories came to the front of her mind.
'You would have been proud of her, beloved.'
////
Elsewhere
She stared forward, the evening light illuminating the mountainous forest before her in warm shades. Wine-red eyes narrowed in slight disgust, as she beheld the dilapidated dirt road that led to her destination.
A small, rodent-like creature ran past her legs and into the bushes, and it took an admittedly large portion of her willpower to hold herself back from smiting the blasted thing.
She sighed in annoyance, before clearing her head. She could not blame the animal, for its lowly birth made it unable to comprehend the true magnificence of the one it had just slighted.
Golden pauldrons glittered in the growing gloom as she trudged along.
She refocused herself on the mission, and found her mood improving. She was in this backwater country for one reason only.
A great treasure lay in these woods
She was so close she could practically taste it. The mouthwatering aroma had led her here over hundreds of miles of land and sea, the feeling only growing stronger and more enticing the closer she got.
And if there were any complications, well, she was well equipped to deal with them as they came.
The air around her distorted, the hilts of hundreds of weapons made themselves known.
For she was the king of heroes
And every treasure under the sun was rightfully hers
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone