07-03-2014, 08:29 PM
Sora’s fleshy lips rippled into a sardonic half-smile. She dearly wanted to quip that today there was a ban on human sacrifices in honor of some obscure ritual designed to needle him into a mock sense of fear. She controlled the impulse, however. Judging by his body language, he was terrified and as entranced with her presence as a rabbit with a stoat. It would be her luck that he would take her seriously and either go berserk or descend into a mental abyss which would take time to get him out of. Either way, it was more trouble than Sora wished to encounter. Instead, she turned and began walking towards the temple. The other three Gatherers formed a loose box with the man at its center. Sora walked slightly ahead of him, canted to both study and converse with him as they walked.
“You are a male human, not merely an evolved ape. Likewisse, we are Naga, not ssnakess.”
She and the other Gatherers walked on silent feet along the street which was a straightway to the temple. Each store they passed had closed doors and none of the curtains so much as twitched. Sora knew their movements were being tracked by every serpent in the vicinity. Far enough behind them to retreat should it prove necessary, Naga began to emerge and return to their regular activities.
“You are an Ancient Reborn; a persson of great power. We are the Naga, dedicated to retrieving and presserving your kind sso that you may learn what it iss nescessary for you to learn.”
Her gaze took in his clothing, noting that he dressed much differently than the last Russian Ancient she had returned with. The fine cloth, bright colors, the repeated skull motif and the air of indolent nonchalance spoke of money, if not power.
“There will be no human ssacrificess today.”
Again the half-smile appeared.
“In the temple you will go through a door and learn what Ancientss musst know.”
There was never any rhyme or reason that she could see about where they were sent when needed. Sora had returned to Komukai with Europeans, Americans, an African, several Asians and one short native from a part of the jungles of Brazil she doubted anyone had ever seen. They all asked mostly the same questions and she tried to answer. But the one thing she could not tell them was what they all wanted to know. She supposed if the Naga were to know what Ancients knew, they would be Ancients themselves. The thought was nearly enough to make her shudder.
“You are a male human, not merely an evolved ape. Likewisse, we are Naga, not ssnakess.”
She and the other Gatherers walked on silent feet along the street which was a straightway to the temple. Each store they passed had closed doors and none of the curtains so much as twitched. Sora knew their movements were being tracked by every serpent in the vicinity. Far enough behind them to retreat should it prove necessary, Naga began to emerge and return to their regular activities.
“You are an Ancient Reborn; a persson of great power. We are the Naga, dedicated to retrieving and presserving your kind sso that you may learn what it iss nescessary for you to learn.”
Her gaze took in his clothing, noting that he dressed much differently than the last Russian Ancient she had returned with. The fine cloth, bright colors, the repeated skull motif and the air of indolent nonchalance spoke of money, if not power.
“There will be no human ssacrificess today.”
Again the half-smile appeared.
“In the temple you will go through a door and learn what Ancientss musst know.”
There was never any rhyme or reason that she could see about where they were sent when needed. Sora had returned to Komukai with Europeans, Americans, an African, several Asians and one short native from a part of the jungles of Brazil she doubted anyone had ever seen. They all asked mostly the same questions and she tried to answer. But the one thing she could not tell them was what they all wanted to know. She supposed if the Naga were to know what Ancients knew, they would be Ancients themselves. The thought was nearly enough to make her shudder.