Chapter 2: Chapter 2

    “Here this is the guest house, this is where you will be staying here for the night.” Samay pointed to a midsize studio house on the northern side of the courtyard. “You can go ahead and leave your things there.”

    Each house in the heavily inspired Siheyuan grounds looked unique compared to the guest house. Enzo could tell the many different human cultures that were etched and fused within the architecture and materials of each home. The courtyards were no exception either, while the first yard containing Samay’s house had a very calm zen feel, the second one felt like walking through a small meadow. With a few pathways and a very cute pond attached with a small streaming waterfall. Where the stream came from would have been anybody's guess, but the surrounding stone structures did a good job blending in the small portal.

    The two now stood in front of the plain teal door, Samay placed his hand on the knob turning and pushing it open. Revealing a quaint room decorated with Asian and European furniture that oddly mixed well together. Enzo step inside giving a nod of approval

    “It’s really a cute place, do you mind if I put things away quickly before we go to eat?” 

    “Take your time,” Samay said leaning on the door’s frame.

    Enzo reached into his side pocket pulling out a small leather backpack that was obviously bigger than the open fabric seamed in his pants. There was no noise other than stretching leather upon it hitting the floor. He placed his hand inside the top compartment and pulled out a long bending metal rod. He stood up still pulling on the metal pole, but now carrying a variety of clothing. The clothes rack being fully formed bore crisp neat men's outfits dangling on hangers. He placed it next to an open wall and headed back to the bag to pull out a few more. A sudden wave of judgment cast over his back as he felt Samay’s eyes observing the amount and styles of clothing he had brought. If this was enough to cause him to get criticized, he wondered how the other would react to his other clothes. Just as he thought it wise to stop before pulling out the wrong clothes his hands had already revealed the top half of his women's attire. He quickly glanced towards Samay’s direction hoping he didn’t see anything before shoving it right back in and closing the bag.   

     

    Samay’s laid-back position shifted to investigative upon seeing Enzo’s reaction. He did notice Enzo and Sera had a more slender feminine body, but it didn’t cross his mind that they could be a woman since he knew many men and non-binary masculine beings that were of the same figure. However, for whatever reason, these two were somehow special, and any information they let out gave him a strong desire to know more about them, even some of the smallest details. “What was that?” 

“O-oh,” he choked from embarrassment as he quickly stood up, “It's just, um, uh…” a growl from his stomach interrupted his train of thought, his hunger was making it difficult to come up with a proper excuse. “ it’s- it’s just fabric.” he paused for a brief moment to make sense of what he just said. “Oh yes, it’s fabric! It’s the fabric I sell, I like to sew up some designs so people can… so people can see how they can best be used.” He gave a feeble smile before continuing to an afterthought, “Ah! The rack you just saw was filled with prototypes so they are not ready to be seen yet…” 

Samay was impressed by his quick wit and would have believed his words if not for the small tells Enzo would display. He nodded slowly as he made his way in thinking how it was kinda cute that the other would think he could easily be deceived.“Enzo, what are you? A male or female?” He decided to ask bluntly.

He looked up to meet the taller man’s gaze only to then look away quickly, worried about the response he would get if he told him the truth, “I…” 

Samay’s desperation to get quick truthful answers were starting to make him believe it would be easier to ask Sera. Without hesitation, he chanted his name.

The first time the name was said Enzo felt puzzled, the second time he felt a massive pulse ripple throughout his body taking his breath away, but the third time his whole being became enveloped by darkness as his consciousness faded.

Black mirrored walls filled the space surrounding the two bodies once more. Both men stood and stared at each other. Sera glared daggers towards the summoner who flashed a cheeky smile in his direction. “If you have summoned me for something trivial and not a wish, I advise you to think twice the next time you summon me. I may need to abide by the rules, but there are some exemptions that can be broken if abused and I won’t hesitate to end your life.” 

His spoken words went to deaf ears as a devilish grin was spread across Samay’s face. “Relax, I only wanted to see you again. … And ask you a few questions.”

Sera let out an exasperated sigh “I believe I told you this space takes a lot of energy out of our body and we are hungry. So try to make it quick.” He said glowering at the smug face.

“I will try,” He replied childishly. “Alright, first question, your gender, are you male or female, both, or…?”

“Both, we have no set gender though if you are talking about if we can give birth or provide for a birth, then I suppose through natural way we can provide only.”

 “Mhm,” he nodded, confirming his suspicion while beginning to pace around the room. “I assume Enzo usually chooses what gender you are throughout the day?” 

“Yes,” he replied impatiently.

“Then why would he be ashamed of crossdressing?”

“It’s not crossdressing,” aggression could be heard in Sera’s voice “Gender-specific clothing is a human‘s way of thinking, something that transferred with some of the younger gods. So of course someone as young as you would try to emphasize on it.”

Samay felt a bit insulted, he knew he was a part of a more younger generation of gods, but he wasn’t that young. Now that Sera mentioned it, how old was he? They? He opened his lips but was briefly cut off before he could say a word. 

“I’m not telling you my age, don’t bother asking.”

He was definitely older than Samay was, he noted this with a hidden grin. “Ahem, next question, Enzo strongly claimed that his mother or birth giver was the goddess Daifa. Would you say this is true?”

“I will neither confirm nor deny that claim”

This response intrigued Samay, so he decided to probe it further, “I thought as much until now there are no records of goddess Daifa even being in a relationship.”

“Is that so,” Sera said in a slick voice.

Samay didn’t like that grin on the other’s face. It felt condescending, he asked again, “are you or are you not a child of the goddess Daifa?”

“And if I am? What then?” 

“Who is your father?!” He demanded pausing his pacing to fill with anticipation.

Sera‘s Demeanor shifted to a more dominant one to declare his superiority “ Let me ask you a question. What god rank are you? I can’t imagine you being any higher than a fourth rank with that human blood still in you.” 

Samay was taken aback by the harsh reminder of his half-blood, he tried very hard to hide the fact he was a demigod. The feeling of shame ran through his body from being discovered so quickly, however This information told him the two he has been talking to are not of equal or lower rank god, but of much higher and potentially of something else just as powerful. His interest had increased immensely, he couldn’t possibly leave nor let go of someone of this huge of a mystery. 

Sera had a sudden feeling of regret brush over him as he saw the quick change from the weirdo investigating his background. A sense of urgency followed as if this inquisition would never end if they stayed by his side any longer. 

“Ahem, Anyway I believe I’ve already mentioned we’re hungry and need to end this as soon as possible.”

“What?! But I still have more questions-“ 

“Most of the information you’re probably going to be asking requires you to be of second rank god or higher, so there’s no need to waste your time, especially mine. And as far as gaining more information on Enzo, why don’t you just ask him. Any information he withholds from you might be for his and potentially your own good. So don’t bother calling on me again unless it’s for a wish!” Sera said bluntly.

“Just one last question!”. He took Sera‘s silence as a chance to speak.“Does Enzo know of your existence and if so can I communicate with you through him?” 

“…I’m closing this space now, don’t forget to feed us as soon as possible! Don’t bombard Enzo with questions and DON’T bother calling on me again!” He repeated in hopes this would deter the inquisitive monster from ever asking again.

“Ah wait!” As quickly as he shouted the words, the mirrored room had disappeared. His attention immediately snapped to Enzo’s body which was standing sluggishly in the same spot as before. The smaller body swayed back and forth as if a single touch or a good gust of wind could push him entirely to the ground. Samay gently placed his hand on the other’s back and his other on the chest to prevent Enzo from falling in either direction. 

Enzo snapped out of his daze as he collapsed towards Samay’s chest. He took a couple of blinks to fully gain back his consciousness before lifting his head to meet the taller man’s eyes. 

“Are you ok?” Samay asked.

“Uh… oh, yeah!” A rush of heat spread to his cheeks sobering him up. “I must have been hungrier than I thought!” He picked himself up before apologizing for spacing out. “Oh uh…” Enzo looked a bit puzzled at his surroundings.

He watched as Enzo seemed to be struggling with their surroundings. Samay placed his hand on the other’s shoulder, “Why don’t we go to the dining room and grab something to eat. If you want to change clothes or take out any more things you can do so after. I can also show you around the night market if you’d like?.”

Wide eyes sparkled at the mention of food. The smaller hand grabbed onto his slightly bigger hand and dragged him towards the door. Samay looked down at their hands and although a part of him wanted to brush the other's off, he felt a bit of guilt seeing how eagerly hungry his latest interest was. Then again he also felt some pleasure knowing this personality was willing to give him some power over the two. He gave a sly smirk and squeezed the smaller hand leading them to the kitchen. 

——-

The marketplace at night was a lot more colorful and bright than during the day. The luminescent beings and creatures that walked through the streets seemed to light up the night.

A yellow and green glow radiated off the smiling, winsome man as he took another bite of his savory meat on a stick. “Mmm! This is just as tasty as it smells! I’m so glad the shop owner's daughter remembered me, from this morning! She even gave me her Gaia link!”

“Yeah, now you can see her whenever you want,” Samay said sarcastically. She was glaring at me the whole time, jealousy almost. Oh wait, maybe she was? He looked at Enzo enjoying another bite.  Yeah, I can see it, a smaller yet taller man than her, an infectious smile, beautifully mixed colored eyes, and a very ambiguous facial structure that can change from masculine to feminine within his demeanor. Standing next to a tall, more intimidating man like myself. Normally this would be what they call a cute couple, right? 

A piece of coated steak blocked his vision. Surprised, he stopped in his tracks and looked at the face now full of sauce around his lips. “You have sauce all over your face, do you have a tissue?”

“Ah! Yeah, sorry I thought you wanted some since you were staring at me eating it so intently.” Enzo said while looking for a napkin. 

“No thanks, I’m surprised you’re still hungry after eating three full plates back in the dining room.” His hand reached inside his robes to look for a handkerchief. You were eating them so fast I couldn’t see when you made the switches between them. 

“Ah, you caught that?” He gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Lately I’ve been very hungry or tired, I think I might have another growth spurt?” He started to look around the floor in case he might have dropped the napkins on the ground.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty, at least that’s what I’ve counted up till now.” He said with a chuckle.

Samay pulled out a simply decorated cloth along with the feather that seduced him earlier. He gave it a twirl and placed it between him and Enzo. “Here.”

“Oh wow! what a cool-looking feather! But… that’s not what I need right now.”

“Oh right,” He hands the handkerchief to him Slightly disappointed.

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“Thanks!” Enzo removes the sauce on his face but fills it back up with another bite of the meat.“Can I touch it?”

“I don’t know, you’re kinda a mess right now…” Although Samay did want to see what new reaction the other would bring, he also didn’t want to get a collectible all sticky.

“Ah! Sorry! Let me finish eating this!” His skin began to glow once more with the last few bites left on the stick.

At least I can confirm he’s half-god, with him glowing like a nightlight like this,  Samay thought. He waited patiently for Enzo to finish chewing and wiping himself clean. 

“I hope you don’t mind if I keep your handkerchief for a while so I can get it clean.” He said with a beaming smile stronger than his radiant glow. 

“Y-yeah no problem,” He watched as the smaller man put the piece of cloth into his pocket Enzo gently pulled the feather out of his hand and caressed the barbs along the vane. Nothing happened, no reaction. He wasn’t sure if the glow was because the other was still delighted or the reaction of the plume, but the feather itself was not glowing, not like the first time.

Enzo’s luminescent body grew dull as he continued to observe its gradient changing colors. 

“Where did you get this?”

“I found it outside of town.”

“Is it a phoenix feather? Or a roc? 

“No, I don’t think so.”

“It’s huge, almost like-”

Samay’s eyes widened in anticipation before a blood-curdling scream cut them off. He looked up and realized they had walked all the way to the red light district. He took back the feather as his eyes scanned the street. Bodies moved in and out, many fully dressed while others were almost completely naked He looked down at a serious face, one he has yet to see in this persona before. The way his normally round eyes became sharp starkly reminded him of Sera's. Another scream was followed by a whoosh through the crowd. Two human silhouetted bodies swished through the beings and creatures. The smaller figure screamed and cried for help while their hair was being pulled, barely capable of walking.  

“Don’t worry about it, this happens all the time here, it’s probably a lover's quarrel-” He turned to look back down, but Enzo had already disappeared. His eyes zipped through the crowd trying to find the dark brown ponytail, but all the radiating beings covered almost everything in light and the bigger beings would block his sight. He finally made his way around the corner, spotting the familiar silhouette in the far-off distance running into the woods. An exhausted sigh spills out, This guy may be more work than I thought, and he picks himself back up and makes his way through the crowd.

———-

Faint breaths of help barely escaped their lips as she was having difficulty breathing. The collar of her dress pressed aggressively on her neck. Her fingers helped loosen the tension a little, but they were too slender and weak. 

Dragging an active body through the dirt was proving to become more difficult as his balance was starting to waver. Nearly falling on his face, he gave one last haul, tossing the woman in front of him. He reached behind him and pulled out a dagger from the sheath on his waist

She finally could breathe again, her hair was scattered around her face like vines obscuring her sight from where the man might be. She sat back and used her hands and legs to crawl backward a few steps before tossing any hair strands she could to clear her vision. 

“You stupid whore! How dare you deceive me all this time! You think your pretty looks and that slutty figure you call a body would be able to fool me?!”

“Please, sir! I-I never lied to you! I-“ she tried to crawl away while still facing the menacing man, but his hands were too quick, and managed to grab her hair. 

“You thought I was stupid! You thought you could keep getting away with my money?!” He tossed her once again to the floor. 

“N-no, sir! Please! Please! I-I-I never lied to you, I always told you everything! You were just always drunk and-“ a sharp pain ran across her arm, instinctively she placed her other hand over the area. Her body started to tremble as her gaze slowly made its way to her injured arm, red liquid began to spill through her fingers. 

“Now you’re saying I’m a DRUNK! I’ll show you a drunk you stupid bitch!” He lifted his sharp blade over above his head, tensing his muscles as he prepared to blow. 

“NO! NO! PLEASE! DON’T-!” She braced herself for her end and closed her eyes. A hard rumble emitted from the earth followed by a moment of deafening silence. Footsteps and a voice broke the restrained sounds.

“Miss! Miss! Are you okay?” Warm gentle hands touched her arms, startling her. “Ah, you’re bleeding! Here I can help stop it,” the soft voice said. She was surprised, no pain, no pressure, nor sense of loss besieged her body outside of the cut on her arm. She opened her eyes to see her surroundings, though the trembling of her body didn’t help in focusing her sight, she could tell there was a body next to her. The motionless body of the man who tried to kill her sent another shock of fear causing her muscles to jerk her back towards a tree, “Please! Please don’t hurt me!”

“No, shh shh, no, I promise I won’t hurt you, I came to help you.” Enzo lifted his hand's shoulder high, opening his hands and dropping small stones to show the creature in distress no harm. Her glossy insect eyes grew into large circles as she froze upon seeing his face. He gave her a reassuring smile “Here, let me heal your arm.” 

“Enzo!” A familiar voice shouted in the distance. Samay had finally caught up, slightly surprised the kneeling man gave a welcoming smile as the other came closer. 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Samay asked

“Yeah, this awful man tried to kill this young lady, luckily I followed them and was able to stop him in time!”

Samay glanced at the man on the ground, movement followed by groans swayed him to walk behind the body. A swift heel kick to the neck made sure to stop any further motions. He turned to face the two by the tree, a glow illuminated the women’s red-brown fur while Enzo was sealing the wound. “Why did he want to kill you?” he asked the moth-like woman.

She kept quiet and bashfully looked away. 

“I’m pretty sure I know why, but I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to.” Enzo looked up at the woman with compassionate eyes.

The woman looked at Enzo in astonishment, “W-what do you mean?” 

“I noticed the reaction between your thighs after that man collapsed.”

Her bright colors seemed to have dulled slightly from her face as she shuffled her legs under her dress “I-I”

“No, it’s okay! My mom told me these kinds of things can happen as a defensive reaction, you don’t have to be ashamed or explain anything to me.”

“I-it does?” she whispered, “I- I was always told it was because I liked being abused and choked. So I… always told myself I liked it, even though it scares me.” She felt odd opening up so much to a stranger, but his kind words let her feel safe. She watched as both men looked at each other.

 “I advise you to change your career choice if this is why you think you’re doing this,” Samay said harshly, turning away from the two and pulling off his belt. The woman felt shame once again as his words burned underneath her skin. 

“It’s ok to have this kind of job if you like it, just make sure you know where your limits are. And know if you don’t like it, it means you don’t like it!” Enzo stood up and reached out his hand toward her. 

“Thank you,” She grabbed hold and shyly gave a grateful smile while lifting herself up. “Thank you again for helping me and your kind words.”

“Alright let's get this asshole to the authorities and this young lady to her home,” Samay said, cutting into the moment. His chest now fully exposed with his robe flowing through the wind made the young woman bashfully look away with a shameful smile while Enzo noticed the missing belt was being used to tie the unconscious man’s arms like a dog on a leash. 

“Let's get you out of here” Enzo held her hand once more leading the group towards the streets.

Furious bows of gratefulness tied Enzo outside the forest as the young moth creature’s forehead kept kissing his hands. “Thank you! Thank you again for saving me!” Black streaks of eyeliner smeared over her puffy eyes. The moment they stepped out of the forest, a heavy wave of relief and mortality flooded her body, sending her into a state of grief. “I’m eternally grateful to you for what you did for me tonight, most wouldn’t have bothered to do anything in this part of town.” 

Enzo looked as she paused for a moment to breathe, giving him a chance to see her entire back. Four long scars were framed by the backless dress. Why would her wings be cut off? he wondered though he might have an inkling as to why. He took a deep breath before sliding his hands away from hers. He lifted her head up to face him “I’m sorry.”

She looked at him confused.

“I’m sorry that this city and your past have led you to believe this is normal. I’m sorry that this choice of living might have been influenced by many bad people. I'm sorry, that you probably had to stand alone all this time with no help from others,” tears began dripping down his cheeks. “Where I’m from, everyone is treated with respect and kindness regardless of their choice of work and what they choose to become. But as I wander outside of my home country I can see that this is not the case for most. So if you ever find out that this is not the type of life you want, please let me know.” He wiped his tears from his eyes and pulled out a tiny star-shaped stone. “Do you have a Gaia link?”

“Ah, yeah…” she placed her hands in between her breasts and pulled out a tiny pebble. His words began to seep in before she could switch stones and before she knew it more tears ran down her face. “Th-hic-Thank you! You- you really are too kind!”

He rubbed the back of her hand, “My name’s Enzo, let's try to keep in contact as much as possible!” he said with an optimistic smile.

She gave a soft chuckle and then wiped off her nose with her long sleeves. “My name is Tara, if you ever need a favor from me please let me know” She switched the pebbles with her clean hand and bowed one last time before waving goodbye. 

He waved goodbye back and watched her walk into the crowd. He placed the stone into his pocket and waited for Samay to come back. 

A familiar sensation echoed through the wind of the forest. He turned to face the direction of the echos but saw nothing. Suddenly a gust of curiosity lured him to step inside.  

Samay ran back to the area he had left the two and noticed that the spot was now empty. He looked around the area in case they had just recently left, but could not find Enzo and the moth lady. A human-like being and a dwarf were talking just outside of the street corner where the fenced buildings met the trees. He ran up to the two and asked if they had seen a young man with foreign clothes and the lady he saved. The one facing the forest pointed towards the direction they saw the man leave while pointing the opposite for the female indicating that the two had separated. Samay gave his thanks to the two and ran deeper into the trees. 

He had wandered for five minutes using the moon’s light to follow Enzo’s footsteps as he did before, but the trail had seemed to have stopped at a pile of leaves. He looked up from the edge of the pile and found the now dull glowing body hunched over. “There you are. I was afraid I had lost you.” 

He noticed the lack of reaction the other had when calling out to him and how absorbed he was in digging. Curious he walked around and made as much noise as possible while trying to see what it could be Enzo was looking for. Another feather, perhaps?  He thought to himself as the same strong glow from this morning seeped out from between the leaves. A strong urge to snatch it while the other reached for it, twitched his body forward slightly, but a stronger urge of curiosity held him back. Wanting to see what happen if he allowed the upcoming events to continue Samay stood and watched. Enzo had grabbed the vibrant plume and almost like in a trance he placed it over his chest absorbing the feather. 

Samay stepped back in amazement as Enzo’s body lifted slightly off the ground. A flash of light blasted through the body leaving only a silhouetted green and yellow light. Samay’s hype had faded away as the glow recessed towards the back of Enzo’s body tracing an odd cut shape before dying away. 

Now that the area was darker again he was having a harder time making out the smaller body. Upon closer inspection, Enzo seemed to be a few inches taller and his hair oddly looked lighter in the dark. Suddenly a heavier familiar voice came out of the body

“It's been a very long time since I’ve last seen the moon ” Like magic the moon's light shone down like a spotlight and the inquisitive man spread an enigmatic smile. 

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