SataiRolePlayingGuy

After a few minutes of running, the dog happily stopped near Skye and began rolling around in the grass, occasionally bumping into her, happy to do it anyway but encouraging her join in, he already liked her but was happier she was seeming to try to act like them. Much more dog like than their owner, who was more selective and rarer about how she made herself one of them. He knew she was not really a dog, did not smell or look like one, but happy she seemed to increasingly have the mind of one.

The dog did not run as fast as he usually did, allowing Skye to at least some what keep up with him, occasionally stopping to look at her, with a happy bark, sometimes turning around to run the opposite direction to let her be a bit closer at the start. Amy smiled as she watched them, seeing more proof of Skye trying her best, and because she wanted to. There no doubt left in Amy's head that Skye genuinely considered herself a dog and was happy to act like one as best she could. At this point she expected Skye to happy with what the lab would do to her tomorrow, though she would be curious to hear the girl's feelings about it in her own words.

The dog, already fond of her, and perhaps beginning to understand their owner's intention, that was one of the dogs...and female, waged his tail enthusiastically. He also sniffed and licked her in various places. Amy had trained him well, would only do what he most wanted to do on her command. Instead he tried to get her to playing, running around her in circles, and and then off to the side before stopping and watching her, hoping she would 'run' with him. Though he had some understanding that she could not run the way dog would and it would not be as exciting as with the other dogs.

Amy let Skye do that for another minute of two. Not wanting to strain her mouth, but at this point she clearly thought it was fun, so she did not want to end it too quickly. With that, she decided to try something else. She called the lab over again, curious to see how Skye might react and interact with him, now that she considered herself a dog. The big surprise would still wait for tomorrow, but this might also help the lab see her as more of a dog himself, and find that even more natural. "Don't worry, he won't try to steal your toy, spend a little time with him, as a pair of dogs." The lab stood a few feet away from Skye, waiting to see what she did.

The process would not repeat every time Anahel had questions or doubts, but they were significant enough to address this time, there might be further occasions of it from time to time. Anahel was going to go through many things as part of this plan, happy, sad, strange, or painful at times. But she would be happy with the final result. With that, all the various lights around Anahel swirled together into a bright whiteness for a few seconds, which then faded, putting Anahel back where and when she was when she asked those questions.

“Are there any other questions you have? When we are done, I will return you to the place and moment you disappeared.” Time truly did not pass the same way here, compared to the mortal world. As far as Maxim and anyone else knew, assuming they had been watching her, she would not have been gone at all.

That’s fair enough. We’ll see what happens if/when you make a new character.

“You asked me about how much you can trust other gods. The answer is more complicated for you, one of my angels. You are my agent. A method to spread my will among humans. Most will try to ‘convert’ you, into serving them. Using various methods, some more pleasant than others.” Anahel was not fated to go down that path, though the god was concerned her curiosity would bring her dangerously close to one or more, and she might be surprised by the methods to try to claim her. With other gods involved, even he could not be certain she would not convert.

“I naturally could, I took your soul, chose it to make one of my angels. In the process, you forgot it all. The memories are still there though, deep inside you. I could bring them back right now, but I will respect your wish. You will eventually remember. But I will not say when or how, except that it will involve something that reminds you of your old life.” There were several reasons for her forgetting. Simply becoming an Angel, the god’s plan for her, an attempt to give her a fresh life. “You are uncertain right now, but I will promise you will be happy with my plan, though there will be some very hard moments for you in the process. Keep your faith in those moments, and know you will find a source of happiness, and changes that go with it that you would not expect. In the end I will not be your only source of support.” He could spell it out for her, that would make some of it easier, some of it harder. If she got the truth now, on who she used to be, she might be able to reach out to the slave girl easier. But it would make a future moment, already traumatic for her, that much worse.

“If you were to listen to a Vanorian priest, he would tell you their power was a sign they were the ones with divine approval. They are not completely wrong.” There were always many powers at work, some human, some not, in shaping human history and the world. “When gods fight, there is no good for the human world. If I acted too soon, too quickly, they might have been the one sending someone like you, but much crueler, even less human. Vanoria went too far, I was justified taking action. But it has to be a smaller action. I could not send an army of angels, I certainly could not get involved myself. But you have the power, as long as you are not reckless, to show my disapproval, to make the boy the king he was born to be.” There were unspoken rules about when to act, what was justified without provoking another god or gods. ”The girl is saying what she has been taught to say. Those priests use the idea of humans being the slaves of gods as part of their manipulation process.” He heard her cries against being a slave, that was part of why he chose her. Something she did not yet understand. “you are more equipped to help them than you know.” She would learn, the method she learned would be cruel though. They would win the war, but Anahel would go through a lot in the process. “She is drawn to you too for more reasons than either of you know.” “I could tell you more. My plan for you. Who you used to be. Pray for it, and I will. Though it may make certain events harder on you later.” There was no easy answer to the slave girls, maybe this answer would help, maybe not. The question of other gods would wait

The sky disappeared around Anahel, as did the earth below her. She was pulled back from the mortal world to the one she came from. It was a space, strange looking, alien, to mortal eyes. An open space, filled with gem like ‘stars’ of many colors and void that shifted between many colors. This was just one aspect of this world though. There were aspects of that also resembled an Earthly paradise, other sorts of places as well. This though was an ‘audience chamber’ of sorts. A face formed, human in shape, but massive. Its hair long, a gold that shined as brightly as the sun. The eyes were also brightly shining silver orbs. The face of Anahel’s god. It spoke without moving its lips, his voice echoing throughout the space. ”You seek answers, Anahel?” It was rhetorical question, as she knew. He heard her questions. He also knew every thought she had. “Do you not see the justice in your mission? I heard the boy’s prayers. He was right, Vanoria deserves punishment. I will tell you this. It is fate the emperor of Vanoria to die by his sword. And the boy will only get there with your help.” There was more to the plan. A fate for Maxim and Anahel together, but that was something for her to learn on her own. He would not tell her about that. ”The quest to free the slaves will be the boy’s other great work. Something he will be remembered for. Do not expect it to be quick and easy. The Vanorians have mastered a technique to genuinely enslave other humans. You have seen the girl, she truly wants to be a slave. Just know I have chosen you specifically for a reason. I will not tell you that reason. But you will figure it out eventually.” What Maxim would be remembered for was the quest to attempt to heal the slaves. Whether he succeeded was another question. Then there was the biggest question. “What is a ‘god’ really? A being of immense power, but beyond that? Control of some aspect of the universe, focus of worship? Be cautious, Anahel. There is much about the world, you, and humans do not understand. These other ‘gods’ humans worship? Some are human inventions, desperate hope to answer questions they cannot. Others are quite real, but do not be so quick to try to meet them.”

The guards were around too of course, keeping a respectful distance from the Angel, but still watching key points. Maxim went through the house and found the main bedroom. He examined the bed, it looked like the sheets had probably been replaced. Most of the previous owners’ possessions were gone too. Hard to say if that was Vanorian work though. He took his shirt off and crawled into the bed. “I’ll see you in the morning, Holy Anahel.” He returned the respectful address, he was not going to ask she started calling him ‘my’ prince.

Maxim was not especially long, while it was nice to relax a bit in the water, he was not going to keep his escort waiting. He had always been conscious of that sort of thing. He would have done similar it was his human guards, though in that case at least one or two would have likely followed him in, for extra safety. He took enough time to properly clean himself, but not to just sit and relax overly long. It was not an especially long time before he was dressed and out. He led Anahel outside, now dark, no light except the stars and moon. "The priest offered us a place to stay until it is time to move to the next target. A larger house, currently unoccupied." Unoccupied was how priest the said it. Most likely the occupants either dead and/or enslaved. It would be a little awkward to sleep in, but it would do for the short time they were here.

My prince? That was an interesting reaction, thinking a little more like a human? To be completely honest he would not have been bothered by her presence, but was unsure if she would have been. He did not know how much of that sort of thing she had seen, either as a human or Angel. Maxim led to the baths, and the curtain that to the bath chamber. There was only one chamber. There were not separate ones for men and women. Instead men and women traditionally went in at different times. The rules were in a little in chaos right now though, there being so few women left.

Maxim could not tell if she enjoyed it or not, tasted it or not. Whether she did or not, it was still worth doing and he did it because he wanted to, because she deserved it. Not to get favor with her or whichever god she served. He just hoped she enjoyed it some. They continued to eat for sometime. The first enjoyable meal he had since invasion. After that everyone began to get ready for bed, though Maxim had one more thing he wanted to do. “I intend to spend a bit of time in the town baths before heading to sleep. You can wait at the door if that is too awkward.” If she had just been an Angel it would have been one thing, but if she used to be a human girl, he would be a little sensitive about that sort of thing.

Maxim did wonder. As an angel, Anahel had no need for food, drink or sleep. But if she used to be human, maybe the smell and sight of it brought back old memories. Depending on what sort of life she had, maybe it was even something better than she previously eat. He had no idea how she would digest it, if it was simply absorbed with no impact. But she could at least enjoy the taste. He separated a little on to a small plate and offered it to angel. “Please take it. Even if you get no energy from it, if you can enjoy the taste, have some. You deserve their gratitude more than anyone.”

Maxim’s guards had been surprised at how long he was gone, but with the Angel at his side they had not been too concerned, they, and the priest, had noticed Anahel changed in some small way, but were not sure what it was. Maxim also gave instructions to the priest, informing him about the sapling in the field and instructions to care for it, before he sat at the table with the guards. Plenty of food was brought, perhaps not a true royal feast, but enough for the people to show their gratitude.

That was a little more surprising. “Time probably doesn’t mean the same thing in the realm of the gods then.” That was the most logical reason for her to be unaware of that. Maybe they usually watched the human world in a different way than humans experienced it. He wondered if he got a feel for that, with their dance, as he saw the sun beginning to set they may have been doing that at least an hour or two. “If anything starts to feel familiar, or you get hints your past, let me know. We might be able to find more clues to make it clearer. Though for now, I should probably head back to eat.”

“It would have been more surprising if you had.” Maxim noted as he let go and took a step back. “I don’t suppose you remember how long ago that was. Or how long you have been an Angel?” This was the one thing he thought there was any real chance of her remembering. “I only wonder, because if it was fairly recent, and you lived in either my kingdom, or Vanoria, we have at least a small chance of running into someone, or something, from your old life.” He wondered, depending on how old she was and how long ago it was, they might even run into something like a child of hers, if she had any.

Maxim would figure out what this all meant later. He was not really sure how this would change things between them. How to give her more treatment like this, in the middle of the war. They would mostly be fighting and moving, only taking brief breaks like this in newly retaken cities, both to help the people and let the word spread that Maxim was retaking his kingdom, with divine support. They silently danced for some time, before Maxim finally stopped. He had a feeling it was longer than he expected. He lost track of time, with the Angel in his arms, and looking more like the young girl her body resembled. He stopped, but still held her for the moment. “Did that help you relax and regain strength? I don’t suppose you remember doing anything like that in your old life? Though it was unlikely, if you did, it probably meant you were either noble or royal.”

That was more of girl’s reaction than an Angel’s. Well, that was what Maxim believed at least, though he was not an expert on angels. Reflexively, he held her a little tighter. She seemed to be happy, he was happy to do what he could to help, in gratitude for her help. Though now he had a little doubt. Would she be happier if he treated her like a girl? Though he was not sure how far to go there. He did not want to say anything either, avoid the risk of ruining the moment.

Maxim did wonder if he saw a change, but it was too subtle to recognize what it might be. It might have just been something more in her mood, enjoying the dancing, or something like that. Just being this close to each other this long had seemed to change the mood somewhat. Though Maxim had no intention of doing anything more than dancing. He did not dare seriously court an Angel. When he had been talking about finding a wife once he regained his kingdom, he was not considering her, not yet.

Maxim took it slowly, knowing even if she had done it in her prior life, she probably did not remember. If she could remember her own life, it would probably take something more significant. He wondered how long ago it was, if it was fairly recent then there was at least a small chance they could run into something or even someone from her prior life. Though if she had lived somewhere other than Zenis or Vanoria that was much less likely. The light bare feet stepping on him did not bother him and she seemed to learn pretty quickly. He watched her as they went, hoping this was something that helped her relax. It was also possible she would take it as courtship, even if it was not his intention. He had not intended it, but even he had to admit he saw her as a little more a girl than angel while doing this with her, just because that was what he associated dancing with, combined with her appearance.