Eyre leaned against his staff and smiled slightly when he saw the other villagers running about busily. It was so nice to see them looking forward to something for once. Usually they were all so lethargic because of the recent droughts. He'd heard rumors, the blonde had, about a sacrifice taking place again. It seemed like none of them ever worked. The mountain god was hard to please. Cattle, livestock, they only served to anger him more.

A cough made the young man bend over, clutching the carved wood of his staff for support. Other residents of the village backed away hastily. They said he was cursed, so sickly was he. The healers said it was nothing life threatening though, but still could do nothing to improve his health. Eyre shook his head, and continued along his way. He tried to at least.

The villagers began approaching him with a dangerous gleam in their eyes. They seemed rather menacing all of a sudden as they cut off all his routes of escape. Eyre simply sighed, and let them truss him up. He should have seen this coming.

Brown eyes remained plastered upon the packed dirt path leading away from the village and to the mountain. In fact, it ended at the base of the mountain in a clearing. Apparently the god was supposed to live in the large nearby cave, but no one had ever seen more then a glimpse of him. Now Eyre was going to get up and personal with him though.

If it helped the village by regaining the god's favor, then he would be glad to lay his life on the line. It wasn't like it was so wonderful for him, with the villagers always avoiding him at every turn and with his trouble ... It almost seemed like a good idea.

Steth had developed a reclusive habit. In his centuries gone through many a winter, it seemed at one point he had lost his memory and had to reestablish who and what he was. A naga, of course. That was only obvious. But since no one was alive to tell him his name, he had to come up with one that sounded relatively close. So it was Steth, though no one really used it around him. He didn't mind, either. All the humans nearby did was skirt around his home and fear him, try to ask for things without actually asking. He didn't know what they wanted, and therefore rejected anything they left near the mouth of his cave or in the clearing at the bottom of the mountain.

The sun was out and between two mountains that usually blocked its rays from bathing the earthy, flowering area outside his cave's main entrance. His pale white-gold scales gleamed brightly in the sun's shine, warming his blood and energizing him after a cool night. He was a pale creature, what others would call albino in a way, his skin tan but not overly so, his hair---a long veil of stuff that resembled the tone and shine of his scales---almost white. The only color came from his eyes, bright orange-yellow starburst-pattern things that glistened in the light when he looked up to the cloudless sky.

It hadn't rained in ages. On the mountain natural springs and streams that didn't reach the grasslands below kept the wildlife and flora thriving, but it seemed the farming village was too afraid to near his mountain to fetch water. The thought made Steth close his eyes hard. It seemed they had a strange relationship, the villagers and him. A tense peace that was broken only when they tried to buy him. They had even erected a stone shrine dedicated to strange prayer he couldn't hear unless he was close by. It seemed fruitless, really. Shaking his head, Steth turned away from the sheer drop that led onto a natural path some feet below, warming his stomach and twisting his long tail about, keeping it out of the shade.

Eyre was placed by the stone shrine as the villagers prayed to their god. Another wrenching cough tore through him as the cool stone grated harshly against his skin. The ropes they'd used to bind him were digging into his skin uncomfortably, and making his extremities go numb, or they would anyway.

The brown eyed man watched as the group left, huddled together and holding each other in a show of community and solidarity which had never been given to him. His parents had left him with an aunt while they went traveling, but they'd never returned. The aunt had passed him off to a healer because of his ill health, and then the healer had died saving someone. So now he lived alone, and no one in the village truly cared what happened to him.

Eyre couldn't blame them for that. He'd have been afraid of someone so sickly too if a plague had once decimated the people he'd loved. As it was, he was rather resigned to his fate. Hopefully his end would be a quick one, and painless.

It was hard for him not to hear the commotion even so far below him. Steth turned over, sliding over the edge of the landing and into a grassy area below, off the natural path he had gradually eroded over the centuries. A group of villagers had congregated around the shrine, but he couldn't make out what was on the offering slab. It looked long, not an animal on four legs, at least. He narrowed his eyes, twisting a little as they started to leave. The light hiss came from Steth's scales as the moved along the grass and warm earth, kept moist from underground springs that offered small tendrils of water to feed the mountain in a very large area.

He waited until they were gone, taking their whispered and muttered prayers with them, and slithered into the shade of the trees that had grown over time. The shrine had been taken care of, at least. In the shade Steth resembled a ghost, catching stray rays of light and throwing them off in a slightly shimmering way that cast small glimmers onto nearby trees. He moved through an arced archway and into the round room. Instead of a cow or sheep, or some spare grain from a poor harvest, a human was tied up with frayed ropes and rags and did look afraid, if a bit less than anyone else tended to.

A flare of anger rose in him. They never told him what he wanted, and now they resorted to this? The sacrifice of a human---and a rather sickly looking one, too---for something they need. If they had come to him specifically... If they ever came to him... Steth moved forward, circling the slab until his tail was coiled a couple times around it, and he leaned forward. "Your peers have forsaken you." Steth said, his voice coming from a place deep within his chest. "What do they want from this?" At least this one could speak, unlike the animals.

His first sight of the god was a breathtaking one. Scales flashed in the sunlight, then were hidden by shadows. This being was like a ghost, come to steal him away. Eyre was rather taken by the sight, one could even say he was so amazed by it that he didn't even mind the fact that he would probably die soon. What a strange death it was going to be, swallowed whole by a man-snake.

The young man's brown eyes opened wide when the slithering of scales across the earth floor came even closer, and the naga came fully in sight. Breathtaking. "Water for their crops, an end to the drought." Eyre shifted slightly to peek curiously at the long tail wrapped around the slab. Usually he found snakes to be nothing more then things to be gotten rid of, but those scales fascinated him for some strange reason.

Steth tilted his head, sending his hair over his face. "An end to this drought?" He repeated. "And why do they not just request such a thing? Vocally. To me, specifically. I recall the ancestors of the generation that exists now. They grew to fear me for no reason. Now your kin sends their treasures without a single request in word, in writing. They don't seem to understand that I cannot read their minds. Why would they dare sacrifice one of their own for the sake of a little water?"

He shook his head, shifting a bit on the cool floor of the shrine. "I simply refuse to harm a human for someone else's needs." He grabbed the ropes, ripping them apart from one another. Steth was a very large creature, known to be the largest known naga. Perhaps that was why they thought him to be a god, aside from his general mastery over the weather. He hadn't demanded that the skies be clear for as long as they were---they simply were. Steth set the young man on his feet. He was certainly very thin, a bit sickly. "Did they choose you because of your health?" He asked simply. Contrary to popular belief, Steth did have sympathy for the weak. Especially weak humans that everyone seemed to have turned on.

Eyre shook his head as he rubbed his wrists. "No, at least that wasn't completely why they chose me. You see, no one from the village was going to miss me." There was no one there who really cared. The blond leaned looked up at the naga, marveling at being so close to such a powerful being. In fact, he was rather filled with awe.

"They do not speak with you because of what their ancestors taught them. I was ... afraid too, but not as much as the others. I thought if this helped the village, then so be it, I would do what I could." If asked, Eyre would probably have volunteered to be the sacrifice. He smiled a little, brown eyes twinkling at the thought.

Steth shook his head slowly, uncoiling himself and taking up half the room. "Despite what they might have said at one time, I don't harm humans." Steth's voice was saturated with a low hiss, and in annoyance his lips curled up a little to show his hollow fangs. "You, your village, may believe me to be an angry god, a vengeful creature, but I'm neither! If I hear their requests then I will fulfill them to the best of my abilities. But if bribery and fear is first on your list, I would rather ignore it."

Despite his words, Steth turned his gaze to the sky that was visible between thick branches and waves his hand. A cool wind began to blow, ushering in storm clouds. "Now." He looked down to the sickly human. "I will not harm you. Go back home." He sighed, shaking his head again and turning. His tail looked to have knotted up, but quickly came undone as he maneuvered out of the shrine and into the clearing once more. Now that the sun was beginning to hide, he would have to rely on the naturally heated springs deep in his caverns to warm himself.

Eyre shook his head vehemently. "No, I don't think that. Not anymore at least." He glanced at the naga, his eyes lingering on the human part of him. It was hard to say what color the god's hair was, exactly. Chocolate brown eyes lingered, glancing over the powerful being.

The young man hesitated for a moment, then walked out of the shrine. He refused to turn towards the village again, and instead moved to the other man's side. "The villagers will just find another reason to wash their hands of me. I would rather live in the forest, then go back there." He glanced at the sky, and smiled upon seeing the storm clouds. "Oh, thank you! It's been so long since I've seen the rain." It was such a wondrous sight, grey clouds rolling over the once blue sky."

Steth couldn't help but laugh, the sound resembling a breath of wind through tall, dry grass. "It doesn't take much to entertain you, I take it." He noted, glancing down to the human. Most nagas were about the size of a regular human male or female at the top, never really breaching nine feet from hip to tail afterward. Steth was much larger than that. "I do think you should go back. By the way you look I doubt you could survive a day outside the village walls."

Many dangers were on the mountain. When one grew higher, cooler, the creatures both common and otherworldly grew more frequent and larger. And the woods and forests surrounding the grasslands the village called home had quite a few hidden terrors, especially at night. Even well-prepared and able-bodied travelers easily hit snags, and did tend to vanish. The village must have chosen this human because he appeared weak, ill.

The laughter was so unexpected. It changed the way Eyre imagined the naga all of a sudden, even more so then the words spoken earlier. No one cruel could have such a refreshing way of showing amusement. It made the youth smile in turn. It was terribly nice outside. A drop of water slithered down his arm, making Eyre shiver and cough slightly.

"I suppose I should, but having something to lean on would help..." He was reluctant to leave, but knew that the god was right. Tilting his head with a sigh, the brown eyed man let his gaze wander to the edges of the clearing. Surely there was a sturdy enough piece of wood lying upon the ground, just waiting to be picked up.

Steth ran his tongue over the tips of his fangs. The village was on the other side of the valley, hiding behind a wall of trees... What good was it to spare the boy's life if he wouldn't even make it back? And what good was it making it back if those that were supposed to accept him searched for a way to throw him out again? And it was starting to rain. Steth sighed, moving around to a nearby olive tree and snapping a thick branch from inside its nest of leaves. "Here." He cleaned the branch of small, bothersome sticks with a few swipe of his hand, and presented it to the human. "Perhaps you can remain with me for the day. It would be better than traveling alone in the rain. And the wild boars are the least of your worries come nightfall."

Come evening, Reapers tended to wander the nighttime forests. They were rare but existed everywhere, and if one were to encounter such a creature... Steth shook his head. This human wouldn't be able to escape the creature's deathly grip. Without waiting for an answer, he started off, a bit slower than usual so the human could keep up if he wished.

His face brightened with a smile. Eagerly, Eyre accepted the makeshift staff and held the smooth wood in his hand tightly. "Thank you!" It seemed like he couldn't help but thank the god, over and over again. There was always another reason to feel grateful to him. Still smiling, he ambled forward while leaning upon the staff every now and again. It was strange to be walking beside a half-snake, but interesting all the same.

He had heard of nagas of course, and at one time feared them, but the golden one beside him had changed that quite easily. Such thoughts danced across his mind like the breeze through the leaves. Though starting to get chilly, the weather was still beautiful, all the more so because of the slight drizzle beginning to fall from the sky. It was all the better because Eyre knew he had shelter for the night.

Steth shivered in the cool breeze of the coming storm. He dreaded having to hide away in the warmth of a quiet cavern while he finished work on a lava rock necklace. It would offer warmth and a constant source of heat that wouldn't force him to lie in the sun for several hours each morning after a cool night. It might even eliminate the need to sleep through the cold months. He glanced down to the human. It was so refreshing to be able to be so near one without them cowering in terror. And to think, it was the weakest, sickest of them that didn't show such desperate fear. "I probably don't have to tell you that my home isn't necessarily suited for a human. Since I never have visitors, I... never had the incentive to set it up in such a way." It was true, though. Over the centuries he had accumulated a lot of human things, chief among them being a jewelry making ability, and a cavern dedicated to fabric and looms and sewing supplies. Huge bolts of silk, linen, wool, alpaca, cotton, velvet, satin, and other dyed items sat in piles on smooth stones, unused because Steth didn't need to use them.

They were halfway up the path now. The sight of the cave's main entrance was one that made Steth sigh in relief. The rain, while pleasant to look at, was cool on the skin, and would make him very sleepy over time unless it was the height of summer or unseasonably warm.

The young man shook his head as he negotiated the path carefully. "It's alright. I'm ... used to not having the best of accommodations." Sometimes, it seemed like the animals fared better on that aspect then he. A quaking cough made his frame tremble, but soon he was resuming his slow walk towards the cavern. He assumed that was where they were headed. It seemed like there was no other path at all to lead someplace else.

Once there, Eyre slipped inside carefully. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting, but what he saw made in the end made him gasp in wonder. There were so many different kinds of fabric everywhere. Hesitantly, the youth moved forward and let his legs crumble beneath him so he could reach out and touch what he'd never had the chance to before. His fingers played across textures he never could have imagined. In comparison to his rough clothing, these were as soft as a butterfly's wings, all these beautiful materials.

The cavern was one of the few waterproof ones in the extensive series of caves, paths, and dead ends, free of any kind of dampness or standing water. Steth was rather glad to see the human's reaction, so strong in the presence of so many colorful fabrics. Humans did need it more than he did, but Steth could never part with the bolts. The smoothness of the satin and velvet was so nice on his hands... "I... never really knew what to do with any of this." He admitted. "I keep it because I like the color, really... If you can make something I'd be glad to let you."

He twisted a little to leave the cavern. "You can go anywhere you like." He added. "Just be careful in some areas, the springs are much deeper than they look." He slithered away, into the pathway and down the extensive way. Halfway down the roof thinned out to a point that vines had grown to fall into the dark, grab onto the wall, and manage to flower. The cave also branched into various directions left and right, and he took a path to the left, finding the walls and floor smooth out quickly and line with a variety of cool-toned gemstone. The cavern this cave ended in sparkled in so many tones of blue and white, giving off light naturally and reflecting it on the pool of blue-green water that was heated naturally from the mountain's hot insides. Steth slipped into the water, the heat warming his blood as he rested along the lip of the pool in a large circle. He wasn't specifically made for swimming as some nagas were, but he could handle deep water for a time. It was where he kept a lot of his more treasured items.

Make something with the cloth? He supposed he could. Rough and crude though the clothing would be, it was still going to be much better then the rags he wore. Shaking his head, the youth began rummaging through what lay so haphazardly piled in the cavern. First he needed to find scissors, thread and needles in order to make the clothing. A pattern would be nice too, but there were somethings that were simple enough without. Oh wait, he needed something to take his own measurements with as well.

It was much harder then it seemed, creating clothing. The tools needed, Eyre set in a small pile. Now he was running his dirt crusted hands carefully over the cloth. Eyre was only now realizing how long it had been since he'd had a bath last. He hadn't dared washing in the streams because of the naga god before, and the villagers never let them into their homes for fear of being cursed with his frail sickly state.

At last, he chose a bolt of unassuming cotton cloth. He loved the dark ivory color. It might not have been too fancy, but Eyre found it soothing. Carefully, he unrolled some of it and cut it with care after measuring out what he wanted. Crude indeed it would be .. But it was going to be new, at least, and warm.

Steth had dived down into the water with eyes wide open, able to find his half-made necklace in the crystal-clear but dark depths. It glowed a light tone in the otherwise nighttime-dark area. While his fingers worked the loose metal into braids. It was already wrapped around a flat gem, not too large, and an orange-red tone like fire. It would circulate the warmth through his body and eliminate the need to have to seek out the sun... the water... at least in desperate bids to not become so lethargic he would eventually freeze to death. And there were times he preferred being black, green, dark brown---dark scales would retain heat better. But he didn't complain. Most admired his scales from a distance, so he was able to catch on his hidden wanderings when he would meet a few travelers from the village. Beautiful, they would say, but still so dangerous, so frightening.

And suddenly Steth felt it difficult to focus on the work. Perhaps because of the human. The human that had shown fear but an ability to control it. To hear him out for once. He wasn't a murderer, he had no idea where the ancestors of these villagers got that. He hissed in annoyance, pinching the sides of the silver metal.

As he worked upon the material, using white thread to bind everything together, he remembered that the naga's scales had held some echoes of this ivory color. Perhaps that was why he'd chosen the cloth, along with its soft texture and offered warmth. Eyre coughed a little as he slipped the metal needle through the fabric in a repetitive motion. It was beginning to darken, and soon he would have to put aside his work, but he couldn't yet.

The sound of rain drenching the forest was a reminder of why he was there, and how soon he would need to leave. Another cough stole his breath away, and made pain bloom in his chest. Eyre curled up, hugging himself tightly and rolling aside so that he lay upon a nest of cloth. That felt so nice, not having rocks digging into his back constantly. His thoughts drifted off, and soon he was slipping into sleep. The day had been a tiring one, and now he felt safe for once. A small smile flitted across the blond's features. Of course he would sleep now, in this unexpected shelter from the storm and the villager's wrath.

His fingers grew tired over a time, and Steth had to lie the work aside. It was rather difficult to control metal with his hands tipped with sharp claw-like nails, but he managed it somehow. Lowering it again, Steth allowed the item to sink back to the bottom of the pool before lifting himself out and shaking his soaking hair out of his face before slithering out of the room. He was somewhat worried about the human, the sick creature. It seemed as if he were always about to fall dead, as if whatever illness plagued him were hiding just below the skin. If it was an illness at all, Steth couldn't sense anything wrong with him.

Sliding into the cavern, he looked around for the human, finding him asleep on pale cloth he had been working on. Steth smiled lightly, moving around and through the cloth to the wide, natural shelves of the cavern above the human, and stretched out. Normally his tail was coiled around him to keep warm, but this cavern was always so dry and stuffy. Perhaps because of all the cloth that kept it that way. Thunder exploded above the mountain, heralding the height of the first storm of several he would usher in, until it faded away with sleep.

When he awoke, the young man didn't know where he was. Such sumptuous cloth served as his bed that he thought for a moment that he'd been captured and sold into slavery, for only in such a situation would he be lying upon such cloth. The grogginess began to dissipate, and what had happened filled Eyre's mind once more. He let out a soft groan as he sat up. The youth glanced about and smiled slightly when he saw the half-serpentine form of the god's. Strange, how safe he felt in the other man's presence.

With a soft sound, he turned to the shirt he'd been working on the day before and began stitching it together once more. It was long work. Every stroke of the needled needed to be just right, and Eyre wasn't used to the work. His fingers fumbled now and again. Blood welled from wounds he'd inflicted upon his fingers, but they were so small ... Eyre's only worry was that they might stain the cloth he worked so diligently upon.

The young man paid no mind to his tight stomach. He was used to feeling rather hungry.

His eyes opened to a paleness in the cavern. It looked to come from the sun itself shining through cracks in the roof of the tall room, but in fact it came from clear crystal that allowed light to shine through, brightening the place during the day and darkening it at night. Something was off, though. That smell of blood... Steth didn't often smell it unless he had wounded a bit of prey he was following, but it wouldn't be in the cave... He blinked and raised his head, looking around enough to find a human among pale cloth, someone he recognized immediately after recalling the previous day's happenings. Yes... The would-be sacrifice for rain. Stretching, Steth slid down between tall stacks of cloth and between two looms. He had experienced humanity to know they ate a lot more than nagas, more than once a day if it were possible. He supposed he could do the human a favor before sending him on his way.

"You can remain until you finish your work." Steth said simply. "I'll be out for a bit, though." He moved around to the exit and paused. "Ah... You can call me Steth, by the way. My name might have been lost over the years." At one time they knew his name. Perhaps before they came to fear him...

He glanced up with a startled look, and winced as he pricked his fingers once again. He had a hard time believing the god had actually told him his name. Something precious, that was, a symbol of identity, of everything a person was, all wrapped up into one. Eyre wanted to speak his own name in return, to offer it up as he had once been.

He bent his head, intent once more upon his task. Time passed him by as Eyre worked upon his new clothing with care. If it weren't for such painstaking attention to detail, it would turn into a horrible sketch of a tunic. That simply wouldn't do.

Steth did move quickly, climbing the side of the mountain smoothly and vanishing quickly among the warm drizzle of the rain. Its quiet rush would obscure his scraping scales hissing through the grasses on a piece of flat land, and he kept himself low in the yellow patch of poppies that had bloomed a few days ago. There was a huge jackalope, obviously having found a bountiful home on the side of the mountain and eating as much as it could. Its antlers were ebony in tone, ends poking up as it foraged until Steth attacked, snapping its neck without injecting it with venom. It wasn't for him, since he had eaten just two days before. But the human was a thin thing, possibly not eating well in the village. Was it worth sending him back...?

The naga shook the thought away before returning to the cave system, passing the one he had left the human in and going to a chamber that was well ventilated. He often built a fire here to heat the area after a cool evening, and constructed one quickly, albeit smaller than usual. He snapped the legs and head off the rabbit and ran his sharp nails under the skin, quickly undressing it and slicing it open to take the insides out. It was a rather crude cleaning tactic, and one he had learned so long ago, but it was remembered. He used a sharpened stick to lodge the meat onto a steady place, and a stacked series of stones to place the cleaned item over the fire. Steth had been told at one time that humans had to cook their food to avoid illness, though he still couldn't understand why, being at least part human as he was, he wasn't the same.

He left the item to cook, going back to where the human was. "If you'd like a break, you can follow me. I decided to catch something if you were hungry." He assumed the human was, after all. It had been a while since he had eaten last if Steth recalled.

The blond let out a gasp when he heard an unexpected voice drift to his ears. Of course this was Steth's home, but he'd not expected the naga back so soon. He winced again as the needle slipped beneath his skin once more. With a shake of his head, the thin youth placed his work aside and slipped his bleeding finger into his mouth as he stood. Maybe his saliva would help the tiny pinpricks heal.

Food, and offered by someone else ... It was a rare occurence. "Thank you, Steth. For the food, I mean." Eyre didn't know how well he would be able to stomach it though. It had been that long since he'd had anything to eat. Water, that he could get ... Even when the drought happened, water could be found. There were roots too of course, to be eaten, but those were so near the mountain side that he'd avoided them.