He hiked through the trees with intense intent. Upon his back were all the things a spelunker would need when going to explore in the jungle, where once Mayans had roamed and called the place home. Someday Julius would go there with a group of archeologists to explore the tombs that lay buried by lush trees and dirt. For now, he was here on vacation, going to plunge down into the old gateways to the underworld, or so the ancient culture had named the cenotes. Sinkholes, filled with water, those were what most people called them.

Julius pressed the pace when he heard the group's guide getting excited over finding the goal of their journey. Somehow or other, in the tangle of vines, the bright emerald leaves, the colorful and fragrant flowers, he got turned around. The voices grew fainter, and the beauty grew with each step.

The spelunker tumbled upon heaven, for someone of his hobby. The sinkhole ran deep, the water was a breathtaking clear blue. Birds lanced through the trees, bright feathers only adding to the amazing sight of the forest. He wanted to climb down, and began to unpack his things carefully. He didn't worry over much about finding his way back. Julius was used to getting lost, and always came prepared.

Instead his brown eyes sparkled with excitement, freckled features filled with joy and anticipation. He swept his light brown hair back into a ponytail, cursing the fact that it did tend to fly from any bounds, going whichever way it wished.

Tachigami:

Below him the water stood as still as a mirror's surface, clear as a polished diamond and free of bacteria. Its blue tint came from the sky above, the way it reflected and offered its sunlight---and moonlight---to form another version of those beautiful orbs nearly underground. His eyes were staring up into the sky, as they did for hours a day. Watchful, the black orbs never missed anything unless he blinked, and he didn't have to blink. His mouth was open slightly, and he breathed between sharp, long canine teeth that glowed in the column of light that bathed him and the water below him. The water below him, that he sat upon and didn't get wet because of. He sat upon its fragile, mirrored surface as if it were solid beneath him, but in fact the vines that drifted in the water from above created gentle ripples from time to time. The flowers that grew upon them fell, pooling their rings out, disturbing him.

Something was amiss. Sote only ever heard signs of humanity when tour groups passed. And they passed a very, very long ways away. But this one was so near. Why? He stood, brushing his sheer black clothes of nonexistent filth and backed slowly away. He was supposed to observe. Never make himself known but at the same time, never back away from prying eyes. This time he skirted the edge of the pool, drifting as if pushed by breeze instead of taking steps. The guardian of the pool, Sote was here eternally. He had so rarely seen humanity and every time, he had pushed them away. In fact, sometimes he had harmed them. Killed them. But it was so necessary. So very necessary. They would have broken everything his very existence was for. If he had no reason to be, he would be no more.

Staring at the water, he could see it. See what humans couldn't. See what scared the animals, the wildlife of these jungles. It was what kept the natives away for sheer superstition, what made up stories of those that studied Mayan knowledge, history, literature. They had seen what, now, was kept from the knowledge of humans today. It had become too dangerous for anyone of such mob-like mindsets to know of any world other than their own. It was why the Mayans had to be wiped out. Why they had to be sent their invaders, so that their disappearance was documented for those of current status over the world. The later vanishing in what was now known as America---the vanishing of a little colony---had been messy, and Sote kept up hope that no one would find out the true reason for their vanishing.

He brushed back his inky hair, which seemed to have no substance and hung, moved, and existed as if of its own accord, moved by the slightest breath of wind. Who was the stranger approaching the cenote?

Around the tree he secured a sturdy rope, and upon that he set up his equipment. He tugged and pulled at it until satisfied that it would hold his weight as he ventured down into the hole. Perhaps there were artifacts down there, so far gone undiscovered and waiting for hands such as his to pluck them from oblivion. Julius grinned at the thought and began backing towards the cenote.

The rope was taunt now. He held it tight, shorter then it was in truth. Julius didn't want to stumble back into the cenote. A slow descent was much better, and safer. There were times when he'd gotten himself into trouble with his over eagerness, and doing that while he was alone in a jungle far from any kind of civilization was probably a bad idea. The thought had him smiling, leaning back as he hung over the edge, suspended by his hands and heels alone. The bright blue sky, obscured by emerald leaves, caught his eyes. Oh how the light played between each fragile leaf, clouds so white peeked through, making an amazing mosaic of colors like none he could ever have imagined.

Sote's feet were standing atop the water as if it had solid substance, small rings emerging from the soles and spreading slightly in rippling wrinkles that faded away when he stopped. He was watching the stranger arrive, begin to descend and then pause. What was he looking at? Looking at the sky, perhaps? How often had Sote stared at the sky, observed its clouds pass by, watch as it began fading, then again as it began growing light. Why was he here? Because he wanted to see the beauty of the portal? Hopefully that was his reasoning. But Sote wasn't allowed to hide from him... What would he say? Glancing down, the man studied himself. His clothes didn't look like any of those that were worn by so many people that passed. They were made of silken cloth and layered as robes, and flowed like water and air mixed with shadow, changing color from dark blue to black to deep, emerald-toned green depending on the light that hit the cloth at any given time.

Filth in the portal... That was all Sote could think about. The way the dirt would fall from the human and contaminate the portal's beauty, its absolute clarity... Humans carried such filth without even realizing it, though he had no idea how they couldn't feel it on them. He felt the dirt of this world. How couldn't the ones that lived among it? Maybe they were just accustomed to it.

He backed away again. Nervous... He couldn't do anything until someone or something showed malicious intent. Only then he could be authorized to act with equal malice. So many rules to follow---Sote was always so conflicted.

He let himself slip down, vaulting into the hole with one jump, and another. Julius laughed at the impact of his sneakers against the wall of dirt and stone. He tilted his head back, glanced down at the pool of water. Should he let himself drop within? It looked so beautiful and clear, so inviting. Then something shifting caught his eyes. It wasn't moving, and yet it shifted. How odd ... Was it a play of sunlight and shadow upon the water?

Julius slipped down lower, boots scrapping dirt from the sides of the cenote. He winced at that, at how it marred the beauty of the clear blue waters. And there, was that ... a dark haired, dark eyed, shifting cloth clad, man? Mouth agape, he starred. His freckles stuck out as his skin paled. What was going on? This wasn't normal ...

He was seen. Slipping away, he melded into the shadows just out of the column of greenish-gold light that jutted down into the hole and filled the cenote with a bright glow, but left most of its edges in pure darkness. He wasn't hiding, it wasn't against the rules. Maybe the one that was descending would think it a play on his vision, look around, and go away. He couldn't be seen... No... This was a part of his job he hated. He hated what he had to do. It was basically kidnapping. A strange form of kidnapping but it was the same thing.

Sote had become the guardian of the cenote because of his overabundance of humanity. Human emotions. Human appearance. He was kind, to those that saw him. Watchful, of course, he had to be. Friendly, so far as anyone would know. But no one knew for long. Why did this one have to come here? He grimaced at the way the water grew dirty in a place as the man's foot broke pieces of dirt free from the ceiling and sent it down. It almost hurt... No... It did hurt. It felt like someone smearing filth on his heart, and Sote grimaced.

Julius frowned, tilting his head this way and that to try and catch a glimpse of what he'd thought he'd seen. It was impossible of course, but so like the legends he'd read, heard of. As an archeologist he had to figure out what had caused that vision. The brown haired man unclipped himself from the rope and let himself fall. For a moment his head was beneath the surface, and the oddest of things caught his eyes. Something other was there, another echoing place, the same and different from what he knew. Then he was back, his head in his world again where things were light and full of sunshine.

That was part of the legends too, an underworld. It was probably just stalagmites, or was it tites? He didn't care for the technical term as he swam towards where that odd shimmering had been. Julius tilted his head this way and that, his chocolate colored eyes filled with curiosity.

He snapped his eyes closed the moment before he heard the splash. He couldn't watch... The human carried so much dirt he didn't know he had, so many contaminates from other water sources, the trees, the land, the air outside the cenote. When he opened his eyes, Sote moved. He moved around to the opposite of the man, to face him while he faced away, swam away. The water on his side was still smooth, and allowed him to step onto it without feeling as if the world were crumbling beneath his soles. Yet another rule he stood under was that he was not allowed to let a human go without knowing he was there. He needed to know what intent the man had.

He crept further toward him and then forced himself to stop. The water would clear soon enough, but now it felt... murky. Dirty. Sote paused, and took a breath. It sounded like a breeze whispering. "Is your intent here malicious?"

He spoke carefully. His voice wasn't used often, and when it was it had a whispery quality to it. It was true to a being that was of two worlds, and trapped in between.

Julius heard words upon the breeze. Whispering softly in his ears ... It made him turn about with slow movements of his hands to face the being he'd glimpsed only moments before. Eyes wide, he gasped, dunked under the water, and then splashed free again. He had so many questions, so many! This being came from another culture, he was sure, perhaps he had even known the Mayans! He forced his excitement down, but couldn't stop his silly grin.

"No, at least I don't think it is ... I just wanted to see the cenote. As an archeologist I wondered if there mightn't be artifacts down here, and as a traveler I wanted to see the beautiful water up close, the intricate rock formations.." And he was waxing just a little poetic. Most people didn't like it when he did that, unless he was lecturing.

Sote's eyes widened. He hadn't expected such an odd reaction. Most people were terrified until he put them to sleep and returned them to their homes, using their memories to find his way and instilling a sense that their discovery had only been a dream. He had to pause and gather himself before responding, reminding himself that this wasn't, in fact, a dream of his own. He didn't dream, after all---he only replayed the memories in dream form. "Well, your inquiries are in vain." He said apologetically. "You will find little more than water and foliage here, no relics of times gone by nor rock formations of any significance." Only his drawings. Etchings of the other world he made when he had no other thing to do. He rarely slept---he didn't have to. He didn't eat---that wasn't what he was made for. He never grew dirty---the world's filth slid off his skin like water from a duck's back.

"What drew you here? Would you truly steal away history from its final resting place?" So many did. They harmed that which was being reclaimed by nature, or that which at one point was forever preserved from nature and human touch. Their prodding fingers itching to touch and caress and steal and keep for themselves. Keep so they could say they had it, so they could look at it, and no one else.

The brown haired man shook his head vehemently. "Oh but you don't understand! We don't steal history, at least I don't intend to ... Truly, all I want to do is to try and preserve it so others can learn from it." Threading water, he peered down at what lay below. Was there something in the water that made him hallucinate? Probably not ... This was far too far-fetched even for that.

Drawing himself from his thoughts, the young archeologist smiled a bit. "I came here because of this place's beauty, most of all." The possibility of finding artifacts had only been a vague thought after all. No, it had been the clear blue waters, the mysterious feeling of the cenote, that had drawn Julius fort, pulling him from the group of people he'd been traveling with.

Sote shook his head lightly. They preserved it? Why? "But if they wish to see it, why not come to the place it was intended to be and see what they can while it is still available?" He asked. "Allow the world to regain what it was before. Let stone return to stone, bone turn to dust. Nothing humanity ever built was meant to last indefinitely---It is why the world is ever-changing. Soon we will all be wiped off the face of the earth and our monuments---gone with time."

He stepped over the water, into the column of light. "You come here for the beauty... Do you intend to harm this land? Do you intend to destroy what you find here? Your intentions must not be malicious, or you will be rightfully punished. I am here to protect this land, this water, what you may find. Do well to leave here what you see, because if you try to take it away, I will not allow you freedom to leave of your own free will." This part of his job he took seriously. He was adamant that every stone stay where it was supposed to be, never moved out of the cavernous area, never defaced as humans had such tendency to do. But he would remain, as he was meant to, and follow the young man. Just who was he? "Your name is?" He offered a hand. As long as the man was touching him, he would stand upon the water as well.

This had to be a dream, induced by the haunting beauty of the rainforest. "Because not everyone can travel to come and see what the forest is trying to reclaim. And these relics, they belong to the people of this country, they should be able to see what those who came before them left behind." He should have been afraid, but he was anything but. This wouldn't be the first time he'd fallen into imagining things so realistically that he could feel the other man's palm beneath his own, his fingers wrapping around a hand.

For a moment it felt like Julius was floating, then his feet were against solid ground. Then he looked down and his eyes widened as he realized he stood upon water. Amazed, he lifted his eyes to smile at the other man. "Julius, that's my name. I only want to admire this land, nothing more." He hoped his words were sincere enough. Dream or not, it was important for the sentence to ring with truth, he knew that.