Kiterina smelled the smoke from the fire before she saw it. James spied it first. Approaching it cautiously, they saw that there was a man cooking a large quantity of small creatures over the fire. Roasting on sticks, there were frogs, rats, squirrels, and small birds.
He looked up as they approached, and chuckled warmly.
"Welcome! I have enough for everyone, I think! Come and grab up whatever you want."
They looked at here, before moving. She was curious about who this person was. He didn't smell like anyone she had ever encountered before. The food smelled normal, so she nodded for them to go ahead.
"James, bring out the leg of deer we have from last night. We can share it with our generous host."
James nodded, and pulled the leg out of the sack he had set down. The others sat on rocks, conveniently placed around the fire, and chose sticks of cooked meat to eat.
"Who may we thank for this generosity?" she asked carefully, pausing next to the only empty spot.
This seemed far too convenient for her, and her fur was wanting to stand on end. None of the boys with her seemed to notice, and were eagerly digging in to their meals.
The man merely nodded at them, still grinning happily, as he cut off strips of the meat and speared it onto the sticks he had leaning against his seat. She watched as he placed each stick over the fire, replacing the ones her people had taken. The slight hunger pangs she had been feeling earlier, were completely gone, replaced by a feeling of unease.
Lee suddenly stopped chewing, and stared straight ahead, not moving. Within moments, the others joined him. Their hands, still holding the meat sticks, rested on their knees. Kiterina moved forward, but before she could attack him, the man raised a hand towards her.
"Wait, they are not hurt, merely in a trance, so that we may speak freely."
She paused in her crouch, glancing over at them. Their hearts sounded normal, as if they were asleep.
"Who are you?"
"Ah, a good question. But let me ask you one first. What do these people mean to you?"
She looked at him in confusion. Glancing back at them, she could only assume there must have been some poison on their food. Maybe a mushroom powder?
His smile was gone, and he was looking at her intently. "You seem to be very concerned about them, but why? They aren't like you. They shouldn't mean anything to you, and yet they do."
"They are my followers," she answered tersely. Maybe the trance would wear off if she merely waited long enough. "I have sworn to protect them."
"And to keep them fed, yes, yes, I know that, but why?"
She looked at him fully. How could he have known that? He didn't look like anyone she had ever seen before, in any movie, or cartoon. He seemed to be a normal human, except for the smell. It almost smelled like honey, but she wouldn't swear by that.
Cocking her head to the side, and going from her crouch, to a sitting position, she decided that if he was going to attack her, he would have done it already.
"I am a Goddess. Chosen to defeat the Demon King as per the prophecy." She recited it so flawlessly, almost as if she believed it. It had been repeated so many times now, between her conversations with the boys, that she had almost forgotten it was something she had made up on the fly.
"Hmm, while you have managed to comply with the promises you have made in the name of such divinity, you seem to be lacking."
"What do you mean?"
"You claim to be a goddess, and yet you have no magical divinity."
"I do not need that to be a goddess to these people." She truly believed this, to her core. "They need someone to stand beside them, and lead them towards a good end. The greatest things they need are to learn how to survive in a savage world that strives to kill them for their weakness. I do not need magic to show them this. In their eyes I am a goddess because I can accomplish what I promise."
"That's very interesting. So why do you bother? You could easily go out, distance yourself from these humans, and live a wonderful free life, unburdened by such trivialities as their pain and suffering, much less their hunger and safety."
"What's to gain if I do that? I would be free, as you say, but alone. I would be unburdened by their struggles, yes, but I would also be weak. My strength comes from helping them. Protecting them and helping them with those struggles. I choose to be their goddess, because I want to be."
"You truly believe that." He seemed surprised.
"I know that they could probably survive without me, go on with their lives as orphans, or thieves, but without me, one or all would be dead. I can prevent that, if I try." Her voice was soft, on the verge of tears as she thought of leaving them to continue their lives without her. She had given them a purpose in life, a reason to go on, and to grow themselves. Even if they annoyed her, or did silly clumsy things, she wouldn't have it any other way. They were her humans.
He nodded and stood up, brushing off his pants. Pulling up his sleeves, she watched him as he seemed to grow in height.
"For your conviction, and determination, I bestow upon you divinity." Soft yellow light seemed to flow from him, as they both began floating into the air.
She flailed only a little, too shocked to actually fight the sensation. It was nothing like what flying actually felt like.
The glowing light, flowed from him, coiling into a ball of eerie swirling energy. Her eyes seemed glued to it, as the energy swirled lazily within it.
"Where I have failed, you shall succeed in godhood. Good luck young goddess." His voice faded to just above a whisper. Her vision filled with the yellow glow, and then it was gone, sucked inside of her.
Gasping as if just coming out of water, she tried to jump to her feet, finding herself on the ground, and ended up propelling herself into the branches of the tree beside her. Clinging to the branches, she could see her humans below her, waking in confusion.
The fire and the strange man were gone.