Guilt was a small and dull warping in his conscience. It wasn’t too bad – for Nagendra seldom felt very guilty for anything, and made a point to try and keep himself free of such dreadfully rotten feelings – but it was there. His strange and capricious morals demanded that he not be without it. And that was alright; it wasn’t enough to take his smile from him. He thought about it as he traveled back towards the mainland of Alacritia. Would Valentine be upset? Perhaps. It would be… understandable. Although, Nagendra defended himself in his mind, he did believe he had warned him to some extent that commitment was not his forte. Yes, yes. That was a decent enough justification.

The corners of his lips twitched up a tad more in an enigmatic and charming smile of satisfaction. He slowed to a halt beside a gently flowing brook (Cattail Creek), his admiring gaze sliding easily along the lovely curves and bends in the run. He loved water so very much – the sound and smell of it. Near a pleasant stream was where he could most be at peace. He wondered if maybe there was something spiritual about the soft sound of moving water – wondered what it was that made such a gentle sound drown out all the rest. He sighed quietly, evened out his stance, closed his eyes, and then inhaled deeply. For a few seconds, he felt intense bliss.

Then, Nagendra Bahri looked upon the world once more and decided that it was time to find something to eat. He stepped forward to the edge of the creek, his slender body peeking between bobbing cattails. The shimmering water was plenty deep enough to hold a bounty of fish, and sure enough, after a few moments, silvery flashes confirmed his suspicions. He stepped into the water gently, although he knew that no amount of care would keep the fish from being scared off for a few minutes. Then he fell completely motionless, and dipped into his thoughts once more. Perhaps he ought to bring Valentine a gift? An offering? He did want to see him again, and Rhythm too. That was partly why he was back – he had decided that Alacritia was quite the lovely place, deserving of more of his attention and exploration. He hoped, a little bit, that Valentine and Rhythm had not forgotten him.

Mithras tore open the flank of a young fawn. The poor creature had been born late in the season and stunted at that, with one deformed leg. It hadn't take much to chase off the distressed mother and set himself up with a meal. The meat was still warm and delightfully sweet. It was not long at all before gore began to mar his otherwise vivid coat, smudged along his cheeks and forelimbs. He quickly lost himself in the savor of his meal, and was only broken out of his daze when the sounds of something moving through the nearby brush caught his attention. A low growl rose in the back of his throat, wondering if he might find himself face to face with another predator, be it wolf or bear of something else entirely. More often than not his large stature and strange appearance was enough to ward other wolves off, but you could never be too careful. Through the trees he saw an earthen pelt, and it was a moment more before he realize that this wolf didn't appear to have noticed him at all, and some yard separated them still. He could very well have remained silent and let the distracted creature go on his way, but he was nothing if not curious. He forced his hackles down and sat, pondering for just a moment before calling out. "Hey there!" he said, volume just below a shout and hopefully loud enough to cross the moderate distance between them. The man's eyes seemed focused on something beyond the forest surrounding them, and Mithras had always been nosy. Did he know of the Diamáchi, perhaps? It was worth investigating either way! "Talk" "You" Think

His thoughts flowed like the water he stood in. A gift? Or would Valentine think it a shallow attempt? A gift of food was hardly a proper exchange for any mental stress his unannounced disappearance caused. If anything, it would probably be an insult. A tangible, temporary item in return for an infraction upon trust and friendship. ”Hm,” he shook his head to himself, having doubts now. Oh, he’d figure something out, he supposed. If he never went back, he’d never know.

The man was just focusing back upon the water when he heard a voice call out. His snout lifted suddenly with surprise, his jade eyes widened and his heart jumping in his chest. He turned to look over his shoulder, startled. He looked behind himself for a second, his stare flitting around the abundant foliage before he noticed something… Something… His brow crinkled with confusion as he squinted a little. Was that a purple face? Some distance away, partially blocked from view by the thickening forest, he thought he saw a purple face, decorated by other rich colors and stunning, mismatched eyes.

Nagendra turned around, forgetting the fish. His lips parted delicately with growing astonishment. What… what was that? He took a step forward in the water towards the shore, his tail tip dancing along the surface. It must have been another wolf. And certainly, he’d met odd looking wolves before who had convinced him that they were of no otherworldly origins, but… this looked divine. He swallowed, not completely able to be sure of what he was looking at. ”H-hello?” His breaths came short and soft, as if he were afraid breathing too loudly would scare this glimpse of the almighty away. It was so unnatural. Each decoration on the face pirouetted and curled with all the elegance of a celestial god. He was stunned – struck with an intense desire (not of the usual sexual sort - yet -, but of the purest want to know this thing) and a disbelief that was only half as strong.

MITHRAS AERIS The male seemed... Okay, he seemed a bit freaked out. But Mithras was used to it, and he knew exactly how to handle the situation! And by handle, he mostly just blundered past the native's shock and awe with little regard for their mental wellbeing. After all, it wasn't his fault they'd never seen a wolf like him before! The brown male was giving him 'the look,' which was pointedly ignored. "Hi! I'm Mithras," he said in an overly cheery tone. He may have been laying on the enthusiasm a little bit thick. "You looked a bit distracted, got something on your mind?" He quirked his broad skull to the side, considering the stranger carefully. He was a full foot shorter than Mithras, and his coat seemed so smooth and solid compared to his own astral patchwork. For some reason he found himself oddly interested in the male's past, and possibly his his future too. He seemed so simple on the outside, beyond his vivid eyes, and yet something weighed so heavily on his shoulders! Color him curious, but Mithras was determined to find out. "Talk" "You" Think

His heart beat quickly as he noted their mutual assessing of one another. Blue and red eyes watched him. They were beautiful. He swallowed. What now? He wasn’t kept waiting though. Very soon after they had both noticed each other, the purple creature called out, his voice dressed in the utmost cheer. Nagendra looked, for a second, like a deer caught in headlights – as if he had half expected the wolf to give him this glimpse of himself, and then disappear into the green rather than approach him. ”Hi,” he said, though his thoughts were still glued to the stunning thing before him, rather than articulating a decent reply. Mithras. The name was beautiful too.

The other creature noted his distractedness, and Nagendra blinked, but still found himself unable to look away. ”I… uh…” his eyes shifted. The stranger looked like he had stolen a very piece of the night sky, or perhaps was it himself, personified and traveled down to mortal lands. There was so much going on there – he was visually overloaded. Each tendril of fur had the look of a new star, and here and there were dancing white accents. ”Uh… forgive me, if this sounds… strange, but… are you a spirit?” Nagendra was not particularly religious, but spiritual – yes. And this was everything he imagined a spirit would look like. He stood, his expression still a blend of vulnerable shock and hope – an unusual but not unbecoming look on one so often sculpted by charm and confidence.

Mithras sat down with a thump. He was used to this by now, but it was getting a little old all the same. So he looked a little different than the native wolves, but why did they all think he was a god or something, some sort of spirit? It wasn't enough to irritate Mithras, but he was more than a bit confused. "Eh, I get it all the time actually! But no, this is just how wolves look in my homeland." He looked skyward, trying to remember the lessons the clan shaman had told him when he was very young. "For hundreds of years my clan saw wolves colored like me as more connected to our spirits, so the wolves with the most beautiful coats were able to take more wives. After a while..." He shrugged, because the rest seemed self explanatory. The shaman had called it selection or... something, but whatever it was Mithras almost wished it had never happened. Or maybe he wished it had happened everywhere, because he liked his colors, he just didn't want to be an oddball everywhere he went! Maybe it was time to return to the Diamachi, where they knew him. "What about you, certainly your people have some odd customs?" He chuckled and smirked, wanting to know more about this strange male who seemed perhaps a bit more gobsmacked than most. (Hover over speech text for translation) "Talk" "You" Think

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.