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Teal fur, butterfly wings, fish tail, and pink accents. This four-legged creature could be argued as the pinnacle of adorableness. The chimera itself was not fragile, but its life was fleeting compared to the deity that stood before her.
Body shredded by Destruction, wings embodying the dawn and dusk, spikes protruding from the cracks in his body, and a furious golden glow. He had to be adorable to somebody; the somebody in question being Stelle enamored by the staring competition between Lord Khaslana and A Chimera. The little pink creature, despite the scope of what stood before her, remained unfazed as she stared at him with brilliant pink eyes and a mindless smile on her face.
The almighty destined-to-be Lord Ravager did not budge an inch himself. His eyes were just as focused and wide as the curious chimera’s, struck with a great curiosity as to why the creature had yet to dart away.
"Don’t worry. He’s not going to hurt you," Stelle said.
"I do not fear the chimera. Rather, I am most curious as to its next course of action," Khaslana said, not breaking eye contact.
"Oh. I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to the chimera."
"R-right."
[Is this weird chimera ever going to pick me up, or is he just going to look at me like that?]
"Huh? W-who else is there?" Khaslana said, frantically looking around the garden.
"...You can also hear them talk? Never mind that, it’s just us two, don’t worry." Stelle said.
"What do you mean, also hear them talk?"
[Who else would she be talking about, stupid!?]
Khaslana looked back down at the teal and pink creature still blankly looking at him with big, stupid eyes. Did he hear that right? Did that little creature just call him stupid? Khaslana and the chimera blinked, not quite sure what to make of each other.
"...Awoo?" Khaslana said, cocking his head.
[What did you just say about my mother?]
"...Did I misspeak?"
"No," Stelle said, shaking her head with a laugh. "She’s just messing with you. Reach out your hands, I promise she’s very friendly."
Kneeling down, Khaslana held out his palms on the ground as an invitation for the little chimera to walk up. The two once more cluelessly looked at each other before the chimera walked into his palms. His heart was racing, terrified that the blazing heat from his body would unintentionally incinerate the little creature. Not a single strand of fur was singed as the baby chimera settled down and curled up in his palms.
[Stelle, why didn’t you tell me that your boyfriend was a walking heater?]
"Those developments are more uh, recent. But I’m glad to see you two already getting along so well."
Khaslana held up the chimera, still unsure of what to make of the situation at hand.
"So uh, what’s your name?" he asked her.
[Sugar Cane.]
"A fitting name for a chimera colored so...sweetly."
He wasn’t sure how to carry on a conversation with a chimera. What was he supposed to talk about with such a creature? Kibble? Interspecies political conflicts? The weather? A topic of conversation barely seemed to matter now, as Sugar Cane quickly dozed off in his hands. She probably was more interested in the unlimited source of heat rather than exchanging words with the heater in question.
Khaslana turned around to Stelle, sleeping chimera in hand. He looked at her perplexed, not sure what to do with himself as he didn’t want to disturb the sleeping creature. Stelle’s solution to this? Picking up another chimera that happened to pass by her feet and putting it on his shoulder. So now, instead of having to handle one chimera, Khaslana had to balance another slumped against the spikes protruding from his body.
[So...so...warm...]
Out of the corner of his eyes, Khaslana noticed the gray chimera that Stelle placed on his shoulder dozing off. It displayed not even an ounce of attitude compared to Sugar Cane; perhaps these creatures were easy to please.
At the base of his wing, he could feel something against it. It wasn’t nearly forceful enough to slice through the feathers, but it irritated him nonetheless. He looked down to see that yet another chimera had paid him a visit, pawing at his wings gently as they swayed. Further toying with the little chimera, he moved his wings back and forth, watching as its eyes went wide and swatted at them every time they brushed past.
While he was enamored with the little chimera, he didn’t notice Stelle approaching him to place yet another chimera atop his body. It uttered not a single word as it made itself comfortable on his shoulder and clung on to his collar gently with its tiny claws. At that point, Khaslana’s purpose in life might as well be to act as a cat tree. One chimera in his hands, two resting atop his shoulders, one playing with his wings, and plenty of others around taking interest in him.
And Stelle was only encouraging this.
Chimeras previously distracted by their own business took interest in the sudden influx of warmth within the garden. Stelle pointed them in the direction of Khaslana, who was frozen still save for his gently swaying wings. Many of them merely curled up around his feet, while some of them attempted to climb the remnants of clothes that were still on his body.
Before he knew it chimeras laying on his feet and clothes had him pinned to the ground. Not to mention, Stelle had picked up two more by the scruff and placed one atop his head and one in his arms. Arguably, Khaslana was now comprised of chimera more than man.
“Stelle,” he said, “I do believe to have found myself in a predicament.”
“I have no idea what you could possibly mean,” she said, placing an orange and green chimera into his arms.
One of the chimeras at his feet rolled onto its back and stretched out its tiny little paws.
[This chimera is awfully warm…I could stay here forever instead of doing literally anything productive.]
“Chimera? Do they somehow see me as one of their own?” Khaslana asked, curiously tilting his head just enough so that the chimera that lay comfortably in his hair did not come tumbling down.
“Well, you certainly have the wings to pass as one. And the eyes. And even the fluffy hair.”
As his eyes went wide and wings fluttered amongst their swiping paws, Khaslana donned an expression identical to that of a curious cat.
“Yeah. I see it all too clearly. Congratulations, this is your life now.”
Lord Khaslana, sentenced to imprisonment by chimera within the Garden of Life. He could not move his body a mere inch without fear of disturbing the creatures, and though within the palms of his hands lay the power to shatter the sky, they were restrained by a sleeping chimera being gently cradled. It seemed as if the blazing sun was not destined to rise on a new dawn for Amphoreus, but rather, it was fated to act as heater for cats.
His wings suddenly felt heavy, and so he folded them inwards to get a look at what suddenly weighed him down. Not one, but two chimeras biting down on his feathers and hanging off of the upper parts of his wings. Could these creatures even jump that high, or were those wings of theirs more than just for show? His inquiry was quickly resolved, as Stelle picked up a chimera and allowed for the creature to bite into his feathers
…Three chimeras hanging onto his wings now.
Stelle, admiring her handiwork, took a step back and observed him up and down. She narrowed her eyes, seemingly in deep thought.
“Hmm. I’m sure I can fit a couple more on you,” she said.
“…I do believe I have reached maximum capacity,” Khaslana said, nudging his shoulders up to keep a drooling chimera from sliding off.
As Stelle scanned his body trying to figure out how to stack more upon him, one little chimera had climbed up his clothes, unbeknownst to both of them. It was drawn to the heat that radiated from the cracks in his body, and wanted to further investigate the source. It stuck its paw inside him out of curiosity, but sprung away and onto the ground upon contact with his burning hot golden blood.
Khaslana looked down at the chimera, empathetic, yet somewhat regretful.
“Got room for one more?” Stelle asked.
“No,” Khaslana said as Stelle put one more into his arms.
At this rate, the entirety of the Garden of Life’s chimeras might as well be under his command…
“What strange joy you derive from adorning me with these creatures…” Khaslana said, attempting to look around while simultaneously balancing the chimera on his head.
“You can’t deny that this makes you feel joy yourself. That little smile of yours ain’t being hidden from anybody.”
“I am merely carrying out my duty to make you happy.”
[Keep up the good work, boss. Free heat is free heat.]
“Awww, they like you. How cute.”
“Silence,” Khaslana said, his cheeks being glazed with a golden hue.
“Silence? Is that my cue to make my comedically timed exit from the situation?”
“Wait, don’t leave me like this!”
“I’m not leaving you. I’m just going over here to take a nap,” Stelle said, leisurely climbing onto one of the rafts on top of the water and laying down.
Unable to reach for her, Khaslana might as well be left alone to face his fate. His entire body and the ground around him had become overtaken by baby chimeras. Resistance was futile, as he did not have it in his heart to disturb them, intentional or not. The chimera that was sitting atop his head looked down, staring at him in the eyes.
[So, do you come here often?]
“Uh, not particularly.”
[Well, you should. Or we’ll make you stay here.]
Prophecies be damned, Khaslana’s fate was truly sealed.