The Hunt

8. When an Amera Tells You to Keep Talking, You Tell Her a Story

The raindrop hit Meridia on the nose, splashing cool water across her cheeks.

"Oh," she said. "It is raining."

"It seems our little glowing friends were prepared for the rains before we were," Sana muttered. She opened her hand, palm facing the sky as more rain dropped into it. "And it seems that our timing could not be better. My home is not too far."

Meridia blinked away rain falling on her lashes and watched the dark clouds roiling over the sky and eliminating the stars. "I wonder if the weather will ruin our day tomorrow?"

Sana smiled, resting her clawed hand on Meridia's wild amber hair. "There is plenty to do indoors, fear not."

Meridia perked back up. While Seion's behavior — and in turn, hers — had not fully been erased, her heart certainly felt lighter. Today had been a fairly simple adventure, something not too fast-paced to allow her to clear her head, and for that, Meridia was grateful.

Peering skyward, she hoped to get through before the rain became too heavy. Right now, it was sprinkling. But rainwater was a temperamental element — prone to change at any moment, abiding by no omnipotent hand.

Sana maintained her true form, strolling along in the cold mountain air as the water beaded and dripped down her long limbs, and Meridia was suddenly curious about something.

"May I inquire about something?" Meridia cleared her throat.

"Of could. You needn't ask. What is on your mind, Third Daughter?"

"How do Ameras shapeshift?"

"Ah," Sana chuckled, the sound warming Meridia's insides despite her shivering. "I knew this would come about eventually. It really is quite simple. We eat what we wish to shift into."

Meridia's face brightened. "Oh! So when you eat deer—"

"I can shift into a deer, yes. I eat plenty of venison, so I can hold my form just a little longer than other forms. As you witnessed up the peak, I can also change specific parts of me, like my feet. If I have not consumed an animal in quite some time, shifting into that creature becomes near impossible."

Meridia nodded, drawing the blanket over their heads when the rain began to pour too heavily for either of their likings. "Then... the stories I have heard about Ameras taking sinister forms...?"

Sana said nothing for a moment, and Meridia peeked through her lashes to see the clear-cut grimace on the god's countenance.

Meridia immediately began backtracking. "I apologize. I have crossed a line. I grew up with stories about Ameras who take the form of people and of demons. You do not have to answer that. I was just curious. I am sorry."

Sana cleared her throat and her face softened. "What have I said about apologizing when there is nothing to forgive? That subject is... taboo even among us. But yes. Ameras who consume human and demonic flesh, are apt to turn into them as well. But it can ruin them. Make them... unstable. Dangerous."

Meridia was no fool and could see how Sana squirmed at the topic, so it was quickly snuffed out by another.

"Where do Ameras come from?"

Sana quirked her eyebrow playfully. "Oh? Your people have no origin stories about us?"

"I fear not," Meridia chuckled. "We are only privy to the fact that you are Gods that protect the forest and its balance."

Sana beamed. "Yes, I suppose we are a secretive bunch, aren't we? Very well. I shall tell you..."

Meridia leaned in closer, eyes keen and ears alert.