| \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFoxra\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Writing/Character - \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
| \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\truna216\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
I wanted to try something else here with this character. Everyone who knows me understands that I love fantasy smut, I love fantasy settings, I love making every one of my characters outstanding in SOME way, and I love equines and gryphons the most. There's no denying this. I also don't like religion.
But With this character, I thought I'd try something completely out of my wheelhouse. Where I literally made all of my characters exceptional in some way (12 gods, high intelligence naga, stuff like that), I wanted to make a character simple and relateable, even though it's fantasy.
Meet Palusa, a well balanced, un-exceptional pegasus mare. She has much faith in the gods, she loves world history, she's very social and cuddly, and not hyper sexualized (In fact, she's really only willing to entertain you under her tail if she's in heat AND she's taken a lot of time to get to know you)
So yeah, something different. Enjoy!
(This story is divided into two halves; the first half is a biography, the second half is a short story leading up to the story where I first introduced her)
==================================
Palusa Yonge Cezebres
\tPalusa Yonge Cezebres is a young Pegasus mare who enjoys a relatively laid back and unassuming life compared to some others in the fantasy land of Dalon. Born of an oairan (avian) mother and an errovian (equine) father in the port city of Araliptian, Palusa was granted both strengths and weaknesses from both her parent races, which resulted in her being blessed with moderate skills in every category. The oaira and the errov were on opposite ends of the spectrum in virtually every way, with the equine race being large, strong, and quite simple-minded with minimal magic and high endurance levels, while the avian race was characterized by being small, weak, intelligent, and adept at magic with low levels of endurance. This left Palusa with a mixed and matched set of skills and natural abilities, with nothing standing out.
\tUpon birth, Palusa was seen immediately as a runt to her kind, despite the grand discrepancy between her parent races. Given the fact that equines were often massive, towering over all others sans the dragonkin at an average height of three meters, she was absolutely tiny. On the flip side, her mother's avian side was the smallest of the races, hovering around a meter in height on average. Palusa ended up growing to be right in between those two, at just over 2 meters tall. Under most circumstances, this would make sense, given the equal contributions from either of the parent races, but her body shape was almost entirely equine aside from her wings, so she was more closely compared to her father's race. Being born of egg instead of natural live birth often resulted in stunting of growth, and given her avian mother race, that was the nature of her hatching.
\tAs a result, she was seen as a pony, despite still being quite large compared to other races. This relatively small stature gave her dainty fingers and much better perspective on the world than her counterparts, allowing her precision and control where most equines relied on blunt force and strength to achieve their goals. In addition, her wings were majestic and pretty, but useless for flying, so she focused on their beauty. She was able to get minimal height when flapping, but her heavy equine body ensured she was unable to gain much lift no matter how much she tried. Instead, she focused on the beauty her wings offered her, preening them and paying much attention to both that and her flowing mane in order to accentuate her looks.
\tShe was adorned with black stripes and spots on a white base, with some brown highlights around her upper chest and neck. This pattern emulated that of the Dalonian God of Transformation magic, the gryphon known as Ceylon. While she was blessed with the likeness of a goddess, her family tree was quite un-exceptional, with no links to royalty or any divine bloodlines. She had a thick black mane that she would trim and style, as well as a long, silken tail that she'd spend equal time grooming. Later in life, she would trim her mane into a Mohawk. Palusa and her family knew she had a lot to make up for as a filly, since she was born and raised in Arrenthen, a land comprised of equal parts avian, equine, and feline, where everyone had a speciality. She was especially subject to scrutiny since her hometown - Araliptian - was a port town, there were people of all races and creeds coming and going constantly.
\tHer small stature ensured she'd never have the sheer power of any equine, but she also lacked the natural skill at magic that the avian or feline race possessed. Instead, she ended up somewhere in the middle in all categories between her parent races. She was almost perfectly proportioned in size and strength between them, and was granted with average intelligence and magical capability. Her father - a zebra stallion - worked as a farm hand, plucking fruits from trees and tilling the land, while her mother - an osprey hen - worked as a school teacher at a local school for young students. They both pushed her to go in different directions, with her father urging her to focus on athletics and physicality, while her mother was the kind who encouraged academia in regards to magic and intellect.
\tRegardless of what direction Palusa would go in life, her mother was an optimist and liked to use this as a way to encourage and push her daughter to greatness even as a filly, saying that she had all the tools she needed to succeed with nothing holding her back, but she would need to work harder than most to maximize her skill in any one category. She would never be as strong or as big as her father, but she could still be stronger than anyone else out there. She could match her mother in intelligence and magic, but it would require a lifetime of work to attain and maintain throughout her life cycle. It was important to Palusa's mother to let her daughter know that she had the potential for greatness within her, no matter what path she took, even if that meant that she would need to dedicate her life to whatever path she walked.
\tWhich unfortunately meant that Palusa opted instead to not focus on any one area of improvement. She didn't know what she wanted to be when she grew up and she didn't know what would be best for her, so she didn't dedicate her life to any area of expertise. Magic, strength, intelligence, and all other parts of her were granted equal attention in her developmental years, which meant that she didn't excel at anything. Mostly, she just wanted to make friends, hang out, listen to music, watch movies, and play. While still young, she liked pretending she was a queen, or princess, and her friends were her subjects - just like Queen Talba. As she grew up, this fantasy became a reality as she blossomed into a social butterfly much like any of the other girls in her school, spending extended periods in the mall or out on the town rather than focusing on her studies or body.
\tThis was, of course, typical of an adolescent. People of her age were growing into their own strengths and weaknesses, learning who they were and what they wanted out of life while neglecting the advice an experience of those who came before. For a period of time, Palusa rebelled against her parents both, opting not to pursue athletics or academia, but would experiment with potions and herbs of various kinds. This was when she first cut her mane, as she went into a punk-mare phase, a style she eventually settled on for the rest of her life. Luckily, her rebellion didn't last long as she matured quite quickly, but that didn't mean she was ready to grow into a mature adult yet.
\tPalusa still likes to drink, she likes to party, and she likes to socialize with everyone. She's the kind of mare who goes out of her way to be kind and befriend everyone she can, by being affectionate and cuddly, pleasant and generous. This helped her gain a lot of popularity, which in turn would lead to a lot of opportunities in her adolescent life. This fast and hard social lifestyle was slowed down in her secondary school years, as she found herself growing a bit more focused in her interests. While her love for a social life never waned, she did find herself gravitating towards certain subjects in school and spirituality, which was the catalyst that guided her direction in life.
\tShe didn't find religion in the typical manner, such as going to church as a filly or being preached to by family, but by a secondary school professor who taught world history. This professor - a handsome older hippogryph named Doctor Rovairre - spoke of the past where the gods ruled the land and the cultural landscape revolved around them, a land unlike the modern one where the divines weren't a huge influence. The stories about the dozen Dalonian Gods enraptured a young Palusa, who quickly grew to admire the legends and mythology surrounding them, and much of her free time spent in high school not occupied by her social life was spent reading and researching the past history of the world's gods.
\tWith the help of Doctor Rovairre, Palusa was able to research the past and the history of the gods in far more detail than she would have been able to without him. The library in her school and the local one down the road from where she lived both had books on the subject, but Ilorek had a dusty old tome that had been passed down by his forefathers that went into far greater depth, focusing on the relationship between the gods and the people of the terrestrial lands (The mortal realm). This book was considered forbidden knowledge, one of the few documents that survived the great purge of the 619th year, when nearly all records of the Gods' existence had been burned or altered to reflect the changes in dominion the gods wanted to convey to their subjects.
\tOne dozen of these books remained, each identical in content but with a different cover, and each one lacking a title. Ironically, each one represented a different one of the gods. Professor Rovairre claimed to be a descendent of the God of Alchemy known as Ilorek, and even shared that entity's name and likeness, so Palusa's young and impressionable mind believed him. Ilorek gifted her that book before she graduated, pushing her to use it in her studies and keep it close to her heart. This became the greatest gift she ever received.
\tIn the book, the Gods were revealed to not be divine, but to be mortal who had ascended with a spell that helped them attain immortality. Throughout their lives, the spell kept them youthful and fit, but their magic kept growing at an exponential rate until they were revered as the Gods they would be eventually known to be. Across the five eras of Dalon, their influence and position atop the hierarchy of land would shift and fluctuate, eventually settling with the gods themselves disappearing from the land while leaving temples and artifacts in their wake for plucky young archaeologists and adventurers to find.
\tThat was the catalyst. The spark that ignited her passion for what would eventually be the meaning of her life.
\tPalusa already had a vested interest in world history and the influence of the Gods, but the forbidden knowledge that confirmed their past existence coupled with the promise of a world's worth of hidden artifacts waiting to be plundered gave her the idea that she could be an adventurer! Or, more rationally, an archaeologist! She wasn't strong or magically inclined enough to be an adventurer, so she would have to find a profession that was guided by years of school and refinement in her desired field. Luckily, she was just in time to apply for university.
\tUpon starting post-secondary school at the Araliptian University, Palusa found herself eschewing time spent with her friends and colleagues to do more research on the Gods - eventually finding that the one she admired the most was the gryphon Goddess Ceylon whos likeness she naturally emulated. As the Dalonian God of Transformation, Ceylon was the single entity that helped to unlock the glory of immortality, by reverting the body's cells to reduce and reverse aging. Her goal - and eventual dissertation - was to compare and contrast information found in the tome given to her by Ilorek against the traditional textbooks that were studied both in school and university.
\tWhen comparing the timelines depicted in her tome - which she simply called her Bible, given its subject matter - she noticed that a lot of things lined up, and a few things were drastically changed. Almost none of the second era - the two hundred years where the Gods ruled the land with an iron fist - were included in typical textbooks, where that era was a large portion of her Bible. Over the course of the three years she was in university, she compiled a complete timeline from the first to fifth eras, where she filtered out what didn't fit or make sense in the context of what she deemed truth. She was able to discern what she felt was the truth and what was fiction, eventually creating a 'history of the world' as told by the Gods as her final thesis, which was enthusiastically taken by the professors.
\tShe even got Ilorek to sign it for her, as her crowning achievement.
\tIt wasn't until her final semester that Palusa was willing to loosen her grip on her studies to once again return to her more social lifestyle that she once enjoyed. Her life had been given meaning via the blessing of the Gods, she had undertaken her own personal quest to share the truth with the world around her, and she just had some final credits to earn over the course of two semesters before she could graduate and start getting her hands dirty at the many sites she theorized would have significant discoveries waiting to happen.
\tSince her course load was relatively lax - only three courses in her second-last semester and two in her final semester with an internship on the horizon - much of Palusa's time was spent with friends, in the mall or at her farm home on the edge of town inland from the ports of Araliptian. She had plenty of time to spare. In this time, she had grown to be quite pious, dedicating her life to the reverence of the Gods while also doing her best to keep her faith to herself. She knew that her beliefs were of the old religions and that her friends were almost all atheistic, not believing the Gods were ever real but just stories told to children to keep them in line, so her preaching would only drive them away. As an educated mare with a major in world history, one thing she knew with utter certainty about society is that nobody ever likes being preached to or being told that what they believe is wrong. She was far too social to risk alienating herself for what she deemed only a theory at this point in her life, regardless of the strength of her faith.
\tEverything in the Bible she kept told her that the gods - all twelve of them - were very likely still alive and well and were watching over Dalon from afar. This meant that she needed to live her life in accordance to the lessons her Tome preached to her, and that she was obligated to always do right by the twelve divines if she wanted to ascend with them into the skies.
\tDespite her devout faith and the immense amount of research she put into corroborating her Bible with history texts, there was one element of the divine that she was unable to decipher: the three levels of spiritual enlightenment. On Dalon, The Terrestrial World was the land of the living, where all who live, had lived, or will live resided. Upon death, a person's spirit would descend to 'The Depths', metaphorically used to represent being buried or 'returning to the soil'. This first stage of afterlife was often depicted by either being deep underground, or at the bottom of the ocean where creatures resided that even the Gods themselves chose not to mess around with. Only when a person's spirit had been pure, and had overcome the trials of The Depths would they be permitted to ascend to The Skies, where they would join the Gods in their eternal watch.
\tThree stages of spiritual enlightenment. The Terrestrial World, The Depths, and The Skies. This religious imagery was the source for the two main methods in which a person could depict joy or anger. A happy person could boast, 'skies above, I love you', or an angry person could 'curse you to the depths' when needing an extreme exclamation. The skies and depths were utilized with a diversity uncommon of other words in the Terrestrial Language.
\tHowever, this one element of Palusa's research left her confused about the meaning of these levels of spiritual enlightenment. She couldn't tell if they were meant to be taken literally or metaphorically, and she was unable to find anything to sway her view one way or another. As a result, she kept in her mind the belief that they were metaphorical, yet acted as if they were literal. If the gods were watching, she wanted to meet them; especially Ceylon.
\tThis devout mentality guided her well when it was time to find work as an intern on a dig happening in north Arrenthen. She was still in school so she couldn't travel far, but it was the perfect opportunity to get her hands dirty on a job site. She put in a resume as soon as she heard about the excavation, accenting the application with 'May the Skies Above Bless You.'
\tSeems that was helpful, because she received a phone call two days later from one of the managers of the dig asking for her to do an in-person interview.
\t"Can you believe this?" Palusa asked as she looked at the message on her phone. "They actually are going to rush to Araliptian to see me tomorrow! I mean, I know I'm good, but I don't think anywhere in my application did I stand out. I mean, you read it, what do you think it was?" She asked Guri, a four-footed, golden-scaled dragon.
\tHe shrugged. "Doesn't really surprise me much at all, if you want the truth. You've got all the passion you could possibly need, your grades are good, and you've got the right body for it. Not sure what has you vexed, dear." He took a sip of his drink, raising one eyeridge at her as if to question her and lightly mock her responses.
\tShe glared at him, flicking her ear with nothing to say. The two of them had shared a long history together ever since Palusa's freshman year at Ariliptian University. He was in his sophomore, an exchange student from Rissen, and he was one of the ones who helped her get used to the school grounds. As one of her first friends and acquaintances, they had remained close for the entire three years of her schooling, which put him in his fourth (he changed majors before switching to his third year). Before Palusa grew to be more devout to the Gods by deciding to be monogamous, she was a bit more free with her body; in her mind, she had earned her way to a post-secondary education and it was her duty to live free and wild, at least for her first year. As her first friend, Guri quickly became intimate with her, and the two shared many nights together, even if Palusa wasn't properly prepared for a drake his size.
\tMonths passed with them fooling around but never tying up before Palusa got the courage to go for it. She immediately regretted it, as her only partners to that point were human, feline, or inanimate; she hadn't even been with a stallion, let alone a dragon, the one race larger than equines. They stayed stuck together for hours, every second of which was uncomfortable for her despite her insistence that it was fine. Guri was a great friend, so she didn't want to let him know that he'd hurt her, but she didn't want to shun him because he'd always been good to her aside from the rough sex. Instead, they spent her third year flirting with each other, while she rebuked his every advance, worried about what might happen if she gave in.
\t"I know, I know, but think about it, Gurs. This expedition has everything, from the best modern technology to a huge amount of funds; if I get in, I could be set for life. Aren't there others who are more specialized for this task?" Her breathing was heavy, like she was hyperventilating. "And they're shipping me out to north Arrenthen just for an interview...I'd feel SO bad if they denied me after all that!"
\tGuri extended his hand to pat her on the wing shoulder. "Calm down, worst thing they can do is deny you, and it sounds like you're plenty prepared for that, so get that chin up and comb that mane of yours. You're not going to make a good impression looking like you just came in out of a storm." He pushed back from the table and stretched his wings, careful to not catch anyone else in the cafeteria. "Anyway, I really have to go. Class is going to start and I can't be sitting here with a mopey mare. Text me, tell me how it goes, okay?"
\t"Sure." She nodded as she nursed her own drink of milk, watching him saunter off; his powerful haunches were a beautiful sight. Guri was not wrong, She had prepared herself for failure, so anything even remotely better than a succinct 'no' was likely going to make her feel accomplished. She remained tapping the table for a bit as she sighed, glancing around to all the other people sitting at tables around her in the cafeteria.
\tNone of them would share the adventure she was about to partake in.
\t==================================
\tThe next day, Palusa packed up her bag and filled it with the amenities she had been told to bring with her, in case she needed to show off her dexterity and skill in the field. This included clothes, a safari hat, a brush and tool set, weather-appropriate clothes, a passport, and whatever else she needed for comfort. She chose her Bible and magnifying glasses. The book needed no explanation, it was her Bible and it went with her everywhere, but her glasses were a bit more peculiar since she didn't have any issues with her vision. No, she'd been gifted these glasses from her mother, and they allowed her to see with the intensity and clarity of an eagle, which would help alleviate one of her otherwise mediocre equine senses.
\tOne taxi ride later, and she was at the airport, looking around for an escort that held a sign with her name on it. The tiny jysarian (feline) was wearing a formal jacket, with dark glasses obscuring his eyes. They met up, she had to show her passport, and the two got on the plane to the northern area of Arrenthen, between the edge of the jungle and the coast. On the way, the feline introduced himself as Coudie. He went through the list of people who Palusa was going to meet with, including another jysarian named Alabenne, a human named Kieran, a cien (canine) named Veiron, and an oairan (avian) named Yeshoi.
\tWhen he named the team lead - a human by the name of Kagero - Palusa paused a moment to think about that name. She had heard it before, and she was pretty sure she knew someone named Kagero from her freshman year, but she couldn't quite put a face to the name. Rather than dwell on it - the world was a huge place, anyone could share a name - she asked a few questions about what she needed to do during the interview.
\tCoudie explained that it wasn't so much of an interview as it was an orientation. The boss had thoroughly looked over her history and had pretty much decided that, unless she was an utter fool and didn't mesh well with the team, she had pretty much gotten the job already. This news made her heart flutter and her chest chill with a surge of adrenaline, wings fluffing out in excitement. Few things could have possibly made her more happy at that second.
\tBut then, her anxiety took over as thoughts of bumbling through her meeting washed over her. If she was already chosen, how bad would she need to be to turn this expedition away? What if she tripped and fell, destroying some important artifacts? Anything could happen, and her hooves didn't exactly help her in being delicate, like her hands had. The scenario that had cropped up in her mind coaxed a series of deep, quick breaths out of her to the point her vision was going blurry, blackening around the edges.
\t"It'll be fine, Palusa." Coudie assured her, having sensed she was on the verge of an anxiety attack. "Just be yourself, nobody performs well when they're nervous. We're a good group, so there's no need to fear us."
\tHis brisk assurance was enough to calm her, and the two enjoyed the rest of their flight, chatting about the various things they both liked. Palusa loved her music, while Coudie was more into extreme sports; two very different people brought together by their love for world history and adventure!
\tAs a blessing of good luck, she saw a gryphon flying outside at the same height as the plane, a further source of happiness and goodwill.
\t==================================
\tUpon arrival, both Palusa and Coudie made their way off the plane to be blasted by the hot humid air of North Arrenthen. The entire country was in the north tropic zone, and that meant that it didn't matter where they were, the air was warm and moist. This made Palusa very happy that she kept her mane trimmed and her wings preened. Had she kept her long, flowing mane, it would have been disheveled and tangled beyond management. The two of them grabbed their luggage and made their way to the front of the airport, where they hailed a cab.
\t"So where to next? Where's Kagero and the meeting?" She asked as she stretched her wing; the flight had left her a little cramped, so she needed the relaxation in order to maintain a stress-free mindset.
\tCoudie lowered his glasses and smiled at her. "Oh, it's onsite. I hope you brought some coin, because we gotta get our bellies full, the convoy heading to the temple takes about five hours to get from here to there." He pushed them back up his snout and smiled a toothy feline grin. "What kind of things do you eat?"
\tPalusa was confused by his question. "Uh, anything really."
\t"You're not herbivore? The equines I know are herbivores."
\t"Oh, that's what you meant. Uh, no. Not herbivore. I eat anything. Half avian, so meat's on the menu, too. Fish, especially. Skies above I love some good fish." In retrospect, that inquiry made sense, but she didn't think to consider it as she'd spent her whole life eating the same things her friends and colleagues had eaten, so she didn't often drift towards that train of thought.
\tHis ears perked up even farther and his tail began to flicker behind him as a cab answered his call and parked next to them. "Fish, you say? I like fish, you like fish, so let's go get some Sushi, shall we? We're in Tarie-Dun, the Ganstromei region near the ocean, so there's gotta be some great sushi joints nearby." He seemed excited, but that energy died down as he looked up and down Palusa's towering body. She was over two meters, and he was perhaps two thirds of that, maybe three quarters, so she was not only taller but much thicker than his feline form. "How much do you need to eat to keep that body of yours movin'?"
\tShe widened her stance a bit to glance back at her body, shrugging as her wings spread. "I don't know, not as much as you would think. I've got a lot of endurance, so I can last a long time on a little bit of food. I am pretty hungry though, so try to find an all-you-can-eat place, or one that offers free salad." They started putting their luggage in the trunk of the cab.
\tWhile they were discussing meal options, the cabbie - an excitable looking short-hair canine - leaned out his window to call out to them. "Hey. I think I know the place for you two. It's on the edge of town if you wanna go, so the fees might be a little on the high side."
\tPalusa and Coudie shot each other a glance, waiting for the other to respond. It was Coudie who answered, "Yeah, we've got time, might as well indulge ourselves before heading out into the thick rainforest." He paused and turned back to Palusa. "Don't worry about the cash, we've got enough in my per-diem to cover these kinds of expenses."
\tThen it was settled. The two got into the cab, made their way to the recommendation the cabbie had given, and both enjoyed a hearty and tasty meal together. Much to Coudie's surprise - an expression he was happy to declare - Palusa was quite dainty with chopsticks, a good indicator that she had the precision needed to do a job as an archaeologist. Despite her being a powerful-looking mare, she had the precision work of a feline or avian.
\tThis compliment gave Palusa a swell of pride, since this was exactly the set of skills and capabilities she had hoped to convey.
\tTogether, they finished the meal and Coudie made it clear that he felt the two of them would get along just fine, and that he hoped she was as eager to join the team as they were to have her. Their meal did go a bit longer since Palusa did require about three times as much food as his did, but he was sure to let her know this wasn't a problem. When they were about to leave the restaurant, Coudie got on his phone and called someone from under the awning out front. He was trying to keep his conversation a secret, but Palusa had a keen sense of hearing and could hear him telling someone that she was 'perfect', and that she'd already passed all the tests, concluding his conversation by saying they'd be a few hours late.
\tWhen he came back in to pay the bill, Palusa had a broad, toothy grin on her face, confidence boosted into the skies she worshiped.
\tThe day droned on for a while, with the pair once again cabbing to the outer rim of town, where a group of three military jeeps were waiting. In them, the team that Coudie had referenced before picking her up at the airport. Alabenne the feline, Yeshoi the avian, Kieran the human, and Veiron the canine. No Kagero, though. Palusa asked about that, but was told that he would be waiting for her at the job site, since one of them needed to stay back while the rest could have a free day.
\tHaving grown in confidence throughout her trip, she happily made a quip about loving to meet him, and how pleasant the day had been going. Nightfall was approaching and the trip was expected to last five hours, but she didn't expect to fall asleep in that time given her level of excitement.
\tShe was wrong.
\tTwo hours into the trip - most of which she spent gushing about how much she loved being there and how eager she was to uncover the secrets of the past - she finally fell asleep next to Veiron in the back seat of the jeep that Coudie was driving. Turns out, the roads in the Ganstromei province were very well kept even though most of them formed a web in the dense jungles of Arrenthen. Three hours later, Palusa was woken up to see a towering yet mossy and run-down temple illuminated by the moon, which meant she was at the job site and it was time for her personal interview.
\tHer anxiety bubbled up again, given the fact that she'd slept most of the way there and both her feathers and mane were disheveled. It wasn't until she got out of the vehicle and saw the bearded Kagero step out from his tent that her nervous butterflies evaporated and she felt confident again.
\t"Palusa! Long time no see!" He declared with arms open as he leaned in for a hug.
\tShe dropped her luggage and hugged him back. "Yeah, I know!" She responded, chuckling to herself. "Why didn't you tell me it was you? Had me nervous all day!"
\tThere was a reason that the name Kagero felt familiar to her! He was the human she had met in her first year at the Araliptian Univerity, and the one who helped her to realize just how much of her life she was willing to dedicate to the Gods and her chosen profession. He was a senior that year, and was happy to share every bit of knowledge he had accumulated over that time with Palusa, giving her a leg-up on her colleagues. The time they spent together was special, and he became her first lover by taking her virginity, the only stud she was willing to offer herself to at that time. He didn't forget this, and though it had been years since they last met, she didn't forget either.
\tTurns out he was doing quite well for himself, having finally funded and committed to an expedition after graduating! Not only had he taken the first steps into his life's dream, but he'd also offered Palusa a job, since he remembered her!
\t"I wanted to make you sweat a bit, my dear! Kinda shocked you didn't remember me, though. Breaks my heart a bit to hear that!" Kagero joked, clutching his chest.
\tShe shook her head vigorously. "N-no, I didn't forget, but you're not the only person I know named Kagero! I thought it might have been you, but..." she paused to lightly smack him on the chest, "I figured if it was you, I'd have gotten a call or a text or something! You're so mean to me!"
\tKagero rolled his eyes and turned from her, waving his hand to tell the others to go to their tents. "I'm never mean, darling. Anyway, I know the moon is up and you've had a long night, but I'd love to have our meeting now. Come, join me in my tent and we can have some tea; I'll have your tent erected in the mean time." He slipped in between the tent-flaps, so Palusa grabbed her luggage and followed.
\tHis quarters were quite roomy compared to what she was expecting. Inside, the ground was rugged, the walls were thick, and there was both a bed and a dresser in addition to a table in the middle of the room with a laminated map laid down with pins marking important locations. Curious, Palusa put her luggage down and rummaged around inside to get her glasses, that way she could better see the map. "Is this the dig site?"
\tKagero walked around to the dresser, where there was a coffee maker. "What kind of tea do you like? I seem to remember it was vanilla or mint or something, right?" He tossed a bag of tea into a mug and pressed the button, summoning hot water. "Well all I've got is vanilla, so I guess that'll do, right?" He just kept making the tea regardless of her input, but he was right. Palusa loved both peppermint and vanilla tea.
\t"Yeah, yeah. Good stuff." She said as she put her birds-eye glasses on and looked at the map. It was very well detailed, showing the temple on one end with an altar and a series of twelve pillars stretching out over a plateau with the visages of each of the Gods engraved in each one. There was also a spot on the map to show where they were camping, which was on the other end of the plateau at the bottom of a hill. "So where are we digging?"
\tHe slipped the mug of tea onto the table next to the map, bag still in and a tiny vial of milk off to the side as he held up a bowl of sugar. "Not sure if you use sweetener, but if so here we go." He put the bowl down next to the milk and tea, then stood opposite her across the map. "The whole area is a dig site. We managed to get into the temple itself by activating a few key runes near the entrance way that opened the door, but there's so much more down there that we can't get to. The entrance's contraption worked, but the next gate to the area under the plateau doesn't seem to want to move. That's where you come in."
\tShe smiled to mask her disappointment, still staring at the map as she stirred her tea. "So you just need some muscle, then? I can definitely help you there."
\t"Not just muscle, we needed both strength and intelligence for this job; it would have been easy to just go out and hire some random dragon or horse to do the hard work, but they lacked the finesse I know you possess. They lack the knowledge and passion you would bring to the table. I needed someone who can do it all, and do it well, that's why I was so glad to see your application in the pile."
\t"Awww, you're such a sweetheart!" She blushed, taking her first sip of tea to partially cover up.
\t"Not a sweetheart. Not this time. You are the right mare for the job, and I remembered you from our time together in my final year of University. Once I saw your name, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were the one I'd be interested in having on the team." He averted his eyes and looked back down on the map. "I didn't even look at any of the other applicants. Just sent out for you."
\tAn extended silence befell the pair of them as they slowly looked back up at each other, with Palusa a full head and shoulders taller than Kagero. "Glad to see you remembered me, but I've changed a lot since we last met. I'm a very different mare now."
\tHe stood back up straight and grinned broadly, showing his teeth. "That's fine! You still have to do the job, and if you're not cut out for it then we'll find someone else. I hope it doesn't come to that, but we do have a task at hand and a job to do, so you better pull your weight." To accent the statement, he reached across the table and gave her arm a gentle slap. "But I'm pretty sure you'll do just fine."
\t"Me too. I'm glad to have the opportunity!" She extended her hand to shake with him, but then he denied her, opting instead to walk around and give her a hug. With a wavering sense of awkwardness, she lightly patted him on the head and halfheartedly gave him a side hug. "So, I guess that's it for the meeting? Did I get the job?"
\tKagero gave one final squeeze and pushed away, hands on her hips to keep her at arm's length as he looked up into her eyes. "You got the job the moment you accepted our meeting. Assuming you still want it."
\tPalusa offered a vigorous nod. "Of course! I've wanted to do something like this for years now, ever since I was adolescent! I wouldn't give up on a perfet opportunity for an internship!"
\t"Internship?" He cocked his head to the side. "No, this is a job."
\tShe blinked a bit and gulped. "What do you mean? I was applying for an internship, I still have to finish my final semester, I still have exams to take and my refined dissertation! I Can't just-"
\t"Whoa, girl, calm down there! I know you're still in school, I just mean we're going to pay you instead of getting free labor. Given your strength and passion, I figure you'll end up doing the most work, so I would feel very bad not paying you for your due diligence." He smiled and raised his hands, calming her. "So don't worry, dear. Don't worry." He reached out for another hug, which she denied by pressing her palm to his chest.
\t"Wait. If that's the case, why didn't you message me in the first place? You still have my number, right? If you were so keen to have me, why didn't you message me?" She narrowed her gaze at him as her wingfeathers ruffled, somewhat frustrated. "You could have saved me the stress of a twelve hour trip to get here, by telling me upfront that it was you who was running the expedition and that you wanted me."
\tKagero raised an eyebrow before sitting down on his bed. "Well, the email went out from Kagero-Excavating, I figured my name isn't exactly that common so you'd end up texting me to check."
\tShe raised a hand to protest, then realized that actually made a lot of sense. "Well, I suppose that makes sense, but it would have made even more sense if you just said something and told me. I don't jump to that kind of conclusion. My mind is analytical, but not the most creative."
\t"I hadn't considered that." He admitted, before patting the bed next to him. "Care to join me, get caught up on old times? I bet you're quite tired from the twelve hour trip. All the way from Araliptian to Tarie-Dun, then another long trip to here? I'm sure you could use a rest."
\t"Really, now? I guess you're not wrong, but I thought you said they were putting up my tent, shouldn't I go there if I'm tired?" It was quite obvious what was on Kagero's mind, so she was keen on rebuffing his advances.
\tHe shifted in place and leaned up on his elbows, getting comfortable. "I didn't say sleep, I said we should get caught up on old times! It's been almost two years and I want to hear all about how your final years in University went! Tell me about your-"
\tPalusa leaned in real close to Kagero, grinning wide as her wings slowly spread behind her to look intimidating. "Look, I know you're just a cuddly and affectionate guy - I'm an equally cuddly and affectionate mare - but I told you that I'm a very different person than the one you knew those years back. Things have changed, and I'm too tired to get into a bed with you, especially given our history." She winked and stepped away, once again grabbing her mug to take a long sip of her tea.
\tSince Kagero was actually the one she lost her virginity to in her first year of University, he seemed to have an ongoing infatuation with her. Even after the two went their separate ways, he kept flirting with her over text and instant messenger, saying he'd love it if they could get back together sometime; if not for the fact that she was in school, she would have loved to spend more time with him and maybe even develop a long term relationship with him, but she had changed and moved on. Now, she had fond memories of him and their time together, but she wasn't interested in a relationship of any kind, her love was to the skies she had spent her life trying to ascend to. If her wings wouldn't take her high, her faith would.
\tIn fact, that might have been a significant reason for Kagero's affection towards Palusa. They had met when he was doing a lecture on the plausible existence of the Gods, and he had singled her out for looking like Ceylon, a fact about herself that she loved and was keen to show off. He seemed to have as much passion for divinity as she had, and that brought them together close enough that she was willing to lose her virginity to him, even if it was a bit later in life than her friends and family expected.
\tThere was of course some suspicion that Kagero was only hiring her on so he could be closer to someone who reminded him of the Goddess of Transformation, but that didn't bother Palusa if it meant she got a job. Besides, she still had some residual feelings for him, so it wouldn't be all bad if they hooked up again in the spirit of the Skies, just not on this night.
\t"Tell you what, Kagero. I'll go sleep tonight, get myself settled in, and we can catch up tomorrow while I get acquainted with the others as well. I know you're itching to get a cuddle, but let's play it by ear first and we'll see what happens." She leaned in and gave his cheek a gentle kiss before she turned back around, gulped down the last of her tea, and gathered her things in her luggage case. "Ta Ta!" Out she sauntered into the clearing that the three jeeps had parked next to. Around it, arranged in a circle, were the three jeeps and five tents, with a little bonfire in the middle.
\tLooming over the camp was the temple surrounded by tropical trees, the cool light of the full moon illuminating its overgrown and mossy stone slopes.
\tPalusa felt a little bad about leaving Kagero like that, since he'd gone so far out of his way to help her out, but she had changed and wasn't so quick to raise her tail, as she once was. The only time she could be coaxed into intimacy was that brief window each month where her heat hit its high point. Only then, would she even consider letting anyone touch her. But then, if it came to that, pretty much anyone could fool around with her.
\tShe was always in the midst of a war between her heart, her mind, and her body. Her heart longed for love and her mind desired a connection before she was willing to fool around, but her body just screamed for more, at least for a week out of the month. She often struggled to keep her wits about her, using her willpower to subdue her carnal urges. It worked most of the time, but not all of the time, especially when an old flame would reemerge into her life. Kagero was an old flame, and her heart was tugging her towards her body's desires.
\t"Not tonight." She said to herself before darting into the only tent that had an open flap waiting for her. There, she unpacked, closed up, and curled up in the bed for the night, too exhausted to put another moment of energy into the day.
\t==================================
\tAs expected, her first day on the job went quite well. Early in the morning while all of the workers were sitting around the campfire to eat breakfast, Palusa introduced herself and immediately became friends with every one of the group. She fit right in, and was quite eager to get working.
\tThat dig proved to be a huge success, as the rest of the temple was unearthed and millions of dollars worth of treasure and artifacts were unearthed and preserved in museums nearby. The region - along with a dozen other temples and an underground pathway that connected them - were considered hallowed ground and put in province-wide conservation, which meant that any logging or damage was strictly forbidden by law.
\tFor their efforts, they were granted a huge bonus from the Arrenthen parliament for their next investigation, which was to further research the nature of the artifacts that they found in the temples and strewn throughout the catacombs beneath the jungle. Given her great success in the field and her written dissertation, Palusa was granted a bachelor's degree in her field despite having never returned to finish her final semester.
\tTo celebrate their successes (since their coronation fell on one of those heightened arousal weeks), Palusa allowed herself to give in to her body's needs with Kagero, the two of them rekindling their past romance, at least for a brief while. Their tryst was fueled by both her reverence for the Gods, and Kagero's perception that she looked enough like Ceylon that she could be used as a surrogate. It felt weird to Palusa at first, given her faith and desire to ascend to the skies, but having someone virtually worshiping her made up for any discomfort she might have felt.
\tThere were few ego boosts as thorough as having one revere her, even if she knew she was simply playing the role of a Goddess and wasn't actually the subject of her affections.
\tEventually, they all settled into their interpersonal relationships, with Kagero and Palusa remaining semi-platonic while the others all got along with her very well. Though she joined the team a full six months after they had been founded, she quickly became a key team member and valuable asset. Things were going well until the relative dry season ended and the wet season was fast approaching; this would have made for a miserable month of work, so Kagero took the team on vacation in the northern mountains of Kerolioa for a snowy mountain retreat.
\tThis is where they would really get into one another.
\tIn time, they came to an agreement that she would serve as his altar when she was in heat, but he would be expected to keep his distance and keep his hands off when she was off her cycle. This disappointed him a bit, but it made their occasional bouts of intimacy even more pleasant for him and it allowed her to control and ease him off her when she wasn't in the mood. Plus, he kept trying to get her to 'unbirth' him, and she just didn't have the hips for that. Given her relative lack of sexual experience, she was quite tight for a mare and he could barely get anything more than a cock inside her, and had to really work up to taking even a fist from him - Which became their compromise; he would get to feel what it was like inside her without actually going all the way.
\tShe was eager to prove her reverence, but wasn't eager (or malleable) enough to carry a whole human within her; at least not without the aid of potions. Plus, she didn't really want to do such a thing, as it felt a little too odd and outlandish for her tastes. She wasn't interested in kinky vore fantasies, she wanted affection, love, admiration, and support out of a partner. That's when, after being explained to about Palusa's reservations while at the cottage in the north, Kagero confessed a few peculiar things to her about his inspiration to hire her and why he was so keen on dedicating his life to the Gods as she had.
\tWhile he was in Arrenthen exploring the temple for the first time, he claimed to have been visited by the Goddess Ceylon herself, who had unbirthed him as he had attempted to have Palusa do to him, as a reward for his reverence and faith. This renewed his vigor and was what had pushed him so hard to relive that experience, which is why he was keen on having her on the team and even more curious about how far she was willing to stretch herself. Given their history, he figured she would be interested in such an engagement, and his divine experience would be excuse enough to explain why he was willing to flip everything in his life upside down to feel that again.
\tNaturally, Palusa felt he was being a little creepy and quite possibly insane, but she liked her job so she dealt with it and just kind of accepted that he was like that. In the back of her mind, a tiny sliver of her wanted to believe him, since her Bible told her that the Gods were real and did occasionally visit agens of the terrestrial world, but it seemed such a long, long, long shot that he had been chosen.
\tIt wasn't until Kagero disappeared and she, too, was greeted by the Goddess Ceylon (with Kagero in her belly) that she believed every word he had said. She was sitting on the front porch of the cabin when a heavenly gryphon fluttered down onto the front yard, explaining that she was Ceylon and that she would be taking Kagero with her for a week, referring to the bulge in her belly. Palusa's intellectual mind wasn't content with that answer, not until the gryphon touched her forehead and infused knowledge into her that couldn't possibly have been the work of anything short of a Goddess.
\tThis fundamentally changed how Palusa saw the world, and would influence her behavior from that day forward.