^ Monster lover^

   Two hours passed before Alysana awoke, a lightweight purple fabric draped over her small body like a blanket. Blinking her teal eyes open, she noticed through a small window that the sun had begun its descent into the horizon. In her sleep-muddled mind she did not realize that she had been moved into a building, but when after a few moments she did she bolted upright into a sitting position, the fabric falling from her shoulders and gathering around her hold. It was then that she realized she was no longer wearing the clothing she had passed out in.

   "Oh!" She scrambled to cover herself, holding the fabric over her chest as her eyes frantically darted around.

   The room she found herself in was immaculate, and quite colorful even in the dimming light of the setting sun. Her lips parted, in awe of the decoration, which seemed too extravagant to have been constructed by anyone from the village. Was this the temple? A quiet slithering noise drew Alysana's gaze to one corner of the room, and what she saw stole the breath from her lungs.

   A white snake's coils with patches of black-and-brown, thick as a large elm, emitting an inviting fragrance--in which she could detect notes of patchouli and sandalwood. It did not stir fear inside her, nor relaxation, but she did not startle upon seeing what appeared to be the upper body of a man emerge from the coils. This humanoid portion was just as, if not more, enchanting than the scales.

   "Oh, good evening," the voice was deep, powerful, and yet gentle all the same. "How do you feel? Did you s~leep well?"

   It took Alys a moment to respond, absolutely captivated by the creature's warm brown eyes, which swirled with concern.

   "I feel fine," she said. "What is this place?"

   "This~ is my temple, little human. My name is Karthikeyan. What's~ yours?"

   "Alysana. Are you... Are you the deity who lives in the middle of the forest?"

   His smile was gentle. "I am. It's~ nice to meet you."

   Oh. Wait.

   "What...happened to the garments I had been wearing?" she asked.

   "Ah, well," his expression turned bashful, "when I carried you to this~ place, they got s~oiled during the journey. S~o, I washed them. They are drying on a tree branch right now. I promis~e you, I did not stare, but I couldn't leave you in thos~e dirty clothes."

   She blinked. "Then you have my thanks. But, you are not at all what I expected."

   "What were you ex~pecting?"

   "Many from the village shared legends of a terrifying war god who demands human sacrifice in return for protecting the village from any and all that seek to destroy it."

   The gorgeous creature frowned, melancholy taking over his expression.

   "So they are s~cared of me," he sighed, his endlessly brown eyes falling to the marbled floor. "I may be the god of this fores~t, but I'm not fond of humans~ being sacrificed to me. Es~pecially those who are pure of heart, like yours~elf."

   "Pure of heart?" Alysana echoed.

   "Yes~. I can sense that you have no blood on your hands~, that you do not s~eek the torment of other living beings. You may be curious~, but your remedies don't kill or injure. At leas~t, not on purpose."

   She gaped, in total awe for several minutes. When she found her voice, it came out louder than she'd meant it to be.

   "What intuition! You could tell all that from only a short conversation?"

   "Not quite," Karthikeyan smiled a bit brighter. "I can s~ense your altruism, and I have picked up the lightes~t hint of what some might call...magickal herbs~. You are an alchemist, yes~?"

  "I am," the human blinked. "That is incredible! I knew the gods were powerful, but this... far exceeds any expectations I may have had! Oh, but, I do have one question."

   "What is it, Alys~ana?"

   "I do not ask this to be rude, but...what exactly are you?"

   His deep chuckle reverberated through her ears and settled a warmth into her chest.

   "This~ form of mine doesn't technically have a name, but your kind has~ taken to calling it naga, which means s~erpent. Now, would you like to continue this~ talk elsewhere? The cave which holds~ my lair promises...heightened s~ecurity, as it is more difficult to reach."

   "This temple is not your home?"

   The naga shook his head. "It's~ not. I only brought you here so I could tend to your wounds~ and wash your clothes. S~peaking of, they should be dry now."

   Alys bit her lip, her brows furrowing as she contemplated what it might mean to go to the lair of a god. From how he spoke she had his permission, but was it truly alright? After all, all she had for modesty at the moment was the fabric she still held over her chest. She was human too, so what if something happened to her once she stepped inside?

  And yet she couldn't deny that he was being very kind to her after he found her passed out in his forest. He had even cleaned and bandaged her feet! The rational part of her mind screamed for her to gather her clothes and leave, but her emotions knew she had nowhere else to go. She wouldn't be welcome in the village, since they believed her to be a malicious witch, and the nearest city was over twenty miles away...

   Karthikeyan tilted his head, concern and curiosity twisting together in his chest as he watched the little human's thoughts dance across her face. What was troubling her so? Had she been sent to him with no hopes of returning to her home? He could sense that she wasn't afraid of him, yet still her posture and the light trembling of her small form told him something was wrong. On instinct, he began letting out more of his scent in an attempt to calm her even a little, and was delighted when her stiff shoulders relaxed some.

"Little human," he murmured, "is~ everything alright?"

Alysana shook her head, shifting her arms to hug herself tight, and sniffled as the weight of her thoughts began to cloud her mind. The village wouldn't take her back, all because she mixed one wrong herb into a cup of tea. She had no home to return to, no family to be welcomed back into. She had lost both her parents to a fire that burned down her childhood home, then was sent to the village she'd just been cast out of to live with her uncle. He was the one who had started the rumor that caused everyone to be wary of her in the first place, the desertion only furthered by his death three years back. It was as if they had been actively looking for a reason to make her the next "sacrifice," and there was nothing she could do about it.

She didn't realized Karthikeyan had moved until his arms were wrapping around her in a comforting manner, guiding her face to nuzzle into his chest. He had shifted as well, into a height more befitting a human, though he was still at least a solid foot taller than she even with the rest of his tail coiling behind him.

With a shaky gasp, Alys grabbed at his back and fully buried her face into his skin, which was smooth and cool to the touch. His warm scent calmed her only slightly, but she started to sob freely when his fingers carded through her hair, rubbing circles into her back with his other hand.

How long had it been since someone had held her like this? She didn't know, but she was more than glad to be this close to someone again. She had just met this kind naga deity less than an hour ago, but already she felt as close to him as she had once been with her parents. Was it because he was a god? She didn't know, didn't care, but he was the only comfort she had anymore.

She held him tighter, her cries having been reduced to the occasional sniffle or shaky gasp. Then she noticed he has taken to whispering soothingly into her ear in a language she did not understand. Her heart swelled when he didn't let go, even when she only lightly trembled in his arms. He only released her once she started loosening her own grip, but his hands never left her pale form.

Karthikeyan touched her back, her arms, her shoulders, squeezing gently but never lingering too long until he reached her face, cupping her cheeks and pulling her close again so he could press a soft kiss to the top of her head. A startled giggle left her, dissolving into genuine mirth as she moved to wipe her eyes. But he stopped her by looping his fingers around her wrists, making her look up at him with her red-rimmed pools of now-sparkling teal.

"You've been through enough for one day," he whispered. "Let me dry your tears~, and then we can go to my den s~o you can eat something. How does~ that sound, Alys~ana?"

The short woman nodded, her cheeks warming even more when the loud groaning of her empty stomach filled the room. The naga chucked, bending to retrieve the discarded purple fabric so he could pat at Alys's eyes and face, then wrap her in it as he grew to prepare to leave the temple.

He made sure to take her dry clothes from the nearby tree so no passersby would get some wrong idea.

~~~

A/N: Once again Karthikeyan is not my creation, but belongs to the insanely talented @vassalex ! When the naga speaks, he often elongates his 's' sounds. I have denoted this with the '~' symbol as you have seen.