walking the rosy paths of the fig tree garden

Buried beneath awed hope, he had expected the dismissal. He was starting to gradually doubt that any of the fantastical-looking creatures he would run into here would ever be deities. Of course, that would be how they tricked you, right after you had stopped believing! He supposed he would just keep a healthy assumption of non-godliness upon first meetings. ”Oh,” he said, smiling shyly and laughing slightly to chase away the disappointment in his voice. His eyes widened a little when the wolf sat and said that everyone in his home looked like that. Nagendra blinked, taking in one more stunned look. He was huge too! Positively massive! Bigger than Valentine even. Thank goodness he seemed friendly.

The wolf explained his family a bit more, to Nagendra’s interest. Hm! Too bad his own family had managed to breed a dominance of brown, brown, and brown (although, up until coming to Alacritia, Nagendra had figured it a very beautiful breeding and himself a paragon of the very sort). ”Ah,” he said, welcoming the information. His expression remained softly amazed. He lifted his jade stare to seek the mismatched one of the stranger. ”You are… very beautiful, if you don’t mind my saying,” he said then, feeling the need to make one last point about the other’s appearance before he stopped bothering him about it.

When a question was turned his way, Nagendra grinned, a small show of the tips of his teeth melting the awe from his face. He laughed. ”Well, I suppose it would be small-minded of me to say no! But I haven’t noticed anything terribly different that I do compared to the natives of this place. I suppose I am a bit more… nomadic and capricious in my ways, and rather generous with my affection,” his grin broadened, ”but I think that’s just me.” He took a small step forward, making the distance between them more conversational. ”I’m Nagendra Bahri. Might I have the pleasure of your name?” he asked, feeling a bit more at ease.