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The mortals below called her “Maiden of the Forest.” Despite their general inferiority, Gem couldn’t find a more apt name for herself other than her true name, which she would not utter into the air for fear of someone overhearing. These forested mountains were her domain. She was inseparable from it, and it from she.
She walked among the soft carpet of grass and moss, leaving naught but a trace, trees bending overhead to greet her. The birds singing overhead, those spies of her brother, lend an admittedly beautiful ambiance to the dappled light slowly waxing as the sun rises from the east. She is at her greatest power now, feeling each and every herd of cloven animals roaming the land. Her smile grows as she sends her consciousness deep into the roots of the mountains and locates a hunter waiting in the underbrush, spying one of her herds.
Sadly for him, he had forgotten a very important part of his morning routine! The prayer that all hunters must dedicate to her before a hunt was not heard uttered from this poor soul's lips. Additionally, she could sense in his mind a greed spawned from hunger that would invariably mean that he would not dedicate the due part of his quarry to her after his successful hunt.
She contemplated using him as a way to sate her desires for but a moment before waving that thought away. It would be much easier to just kill him and leave him as food for the very creatures he sought to kill. But that doesn't mean she doesn't get to have a little fun.
Projecting her will through the mighty roots of this forest, she feels her physical body melt into the ground and reform in a tree just above the hunter. Gem drops down without a sound, landing a few steps away from the man thinking he is being stealthy. She just loves when the hunter becomes the hunted.
Her rose-gold hair floated around her as her skin began to shine. Only then did the clueless man notice her, spinning around with a look of fear on his face. The smile on her face gained a predatory tilt as his eyes widened even more. Quickly dropping to his knees, he presses his face into the dirt.
“Great maiden, I meant you no harm. Please pity me.” His voice is muffled from the blades of grass forcing themselves into his mouth. Gem always liked making her prey uncomfortable before their end. He begins reciting the prayer he should’ve done before he even entered the forest. She reaches down and takes his chin in her hand. She can see the spark of hope in his eyes rekindle as she smiles down at him with kind eyes.
“Oh sweet hunter, do you think you threatened me for even a moment? Oh no. Not at all. You were simply too greedy, you idiotic human.” That spark is snuffed as Gem speaks, making sure the man would have no optimism as he slowly died. With a quick twist, Gem wraps her hair around his neck and begins pulling. The choking sounds join the calls of the birds and snorting of deer surrounding the two in the clearing.
Suddenly she is pulled back by her remaining hair. She growls and spins to face another man facing her with his arms crossed. She can hear her prey gasping for breath as the rage clears from her eyes. The person standing in front of her is no man. It’s her meddling brother, Grian, god of the birds, fish, and her partner in controlling the hunters of this land. Her lip pulls up into a sneer as she bites out, “why have you deprived me of my quarry? Brother.” He uncrosses his arms and steps closer to her, challenging her authority.
“He does not deserve this. He specifically asked you to pity him, and started reciting the prayer. You should have no quarrel with this man.” She can see his eyes dart behind her to the man and soften.
“You have gotten weak, brother. Those foreigners have changed you. You know the sacred rules. They must be followed to the letter on the threat of punishment.” She spits out the last word, knowing Grian knew exactly what that punishment entailed. He had been the more zealous of the two in the past, but ever since those Christians had been spreading into these lands, he had become far too forgiving. The only way to keep rules in place was to enforce them. That’s what Gem’s been doing, now even more that she couldn’t count on her brother to do his fair share.
“Ge- Maiden. Would you just allow me this one thing? I promise I will not be so forgiving in the future.” Either her little outburst struck a nerve, or Grian had some kind of connection to this man. Who was currently trying to sneak away, emboldened by Grian’s glances and subtle nods. Men were all the same. Stupid.
“Hunter. I can feel you moving. You will stay here until we have decided what to do with you or you will suffer an even more painful death than I had originally planned.” Gem’s voice seems to come from each and every tree surrounding the clearing, echoing off the cliffsides rising from above them. The hunter immediately froze and sat down.
“So Grian, tell me, why do you care for this man so? Are you taking after my penchant for mortal lovers?” Gem grins as she sees Grian’s face flush and open and close his mouth like one of the fish that are so dear to him.
“No!” The exclamation comes with an aborted glance at the hunter, seemingly praying for forgiveness from what was definitely his lover. He really had gotten weak if he was looking for leniency from a mortal.
Gem snickers as she figures out a plan to prolong her hunt. It’s always more fun when her prey tries to escape. “Whatever. You can take him.” She wheels on the hunter. “Don’t come back here, this is the only place Grian can’t reach you when I don’t want him to.” Planting a seed to grow into a mighty tree of regret.
Grian glances at her confusedly before stepping to the man and wrapping his hand around his upper arm. With a flash of silver light, they both disappear from her domain. Soon she is surrounded by her herd of pure white deer, snorting and snuffling at her hands and the ground, finding the grass and flowers that gain energy from her standing here. She sits down on one of the strongest does and lets it take her up to her home on Ushba.
-
“Scar! What were you thinking‽ I told you to never enter that forest!” Grian scolds Scar as they wander the streets of Scar’s home village. Grian is in his very uncomfortable human disguise, walking along Scar a *respectful* distance apart.
“I don’t know, the forests around here were beginning to get thin in prey, so I figured I would venture a little farther out. I forgot about your warning.” The pout Scar pulls has Grian forgiving him immediately, even if Grian wasn’t about to let him know it.
“Well, I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson about going there now. Come on, let's go to your house.” Grian steers Scar with a hand placed on his shoulder, taking him down the street to the right.
“And what do you want to do there?” Asks in a seductive tone as he raises an eyebrow.
Grian just swats him and says, “Just pour me some wine.”
-
The roots of Gem’s trees run deep. To most villages in fact. And even if they escape her strangling grasp, the morning star sees all. They will not escape.