A Taste

Arawn led Sirona farther down the river away from the carcass of the lizard. They went down an incline to where the stream grew wider and the trees were a bit closer together. The energy in the area felt better, denser, than where they had been before.
Fish swam in the stream beside them as he helped her to sit beside the water. He kneeled beside her and peered into the stream.
It wasn’t a hard concept, but he wasn’t sure how much she could see as a demigod. Without being able to see the energy around them, it would be much harder for her to understand and be able to do it.
He wasn’t even sure she would be able to do it, but they had to start somewhere.
“Taking energy from the surroundings is easy, just focus on the energy around you and draw it into you.” He took her hand, “I’ll show you.”
He pressed her hand to the soft earth on the edge of the stream and focused on pulling the energy of the earth up through her hand and into his own. It felt different than if he had been pulling it from the earth into himself. He could almost taste bits of her magic mingled with the magic of the earth and water.
Sirona shuddered as it passed through her. It felt warm and a little heady as it passed through her hand. She couldn’t say exactly what the differences were, but the more that passed through her hand, the more she could see. A glittering stream of blue light flowed up from the earth through her hand and into Arawn’s. She could see it streaming up his arm before dissipating.
For a moment, she wondered if Druid would see it the same way or if this was different from his divine sight.
“Try pulling,” Arawn whispered in her ear.
She shivered at his voice but did as he asked, pulling at the flow of energy he was creating through her hand. It came as a trickle at first, but she felt better as the stream of energy began to grow thicker, filling an emptiness she hadn’t noticed was there.
She started to feel more awake then more energized.
“That’s good,” he said almost panting in her ear.
It felt amazing. He was almost dizzy with the feeling of her channeling with him. He drew back before he lost himself to the feeling and felt her take over the pull. She gasped and moaned. Her face turned red as she began to restore her power. The earth and water surged up to her as if it was eager to feed her. He’d never seen anything like it. Maybe she was a deity of the earth. It would be a little annoying to deal with, but the earth could be just as dangerous as anything else with a little practice.
Sirona frowned, looked down as she fell forward, pressing both of her hands to the ground. Something was wrong. The earth around her other hand felt wrong. It felt empty and cold. She could see the streams of energy moving through the earth and the vibrant swirls of power grew dim farther away from the hand she was drawing with.
The water lost some of its glittering wonder. The stones at the bottom of the pool cracked and disintegrated. A fish drew closer, swimming slowly. Then, it seemed to struggle and she saw golden light slipping out of it and joining the flow of light that was leaving the water. It thrashed once before going nearly still. She felt its life fading before she pulled her hands away from the earth and cut the connection.
Fear filled her as the fish’s movements stuttered a bit. As it started to move again, she felt more relieved and watched it swim downstream.
“What is it?”
“It’s not,” Sirona shook her head, “It doesn’t feel right. Ev-Everything feels dead and wrong… Isn’t there another way?”
Arawn frowned at her and looked at the earth around her. She seemed shocked and a little frightened. It was true that she had taken a lot, but she had exhausted herself, so it was to be expected. Besides what did it matter that she killed a few fish or made a small plot of barren earth and a bank of stale water? It would be replenished within a few days at most from the comings and goings of the magical creatures that lived in the area.
Her pallor was concerning though. If she couldn’t handle killing a few fish now, it would be a long road before she could use her power to kill people, let alone Anu.
“You seem concerned. It is no different than if you killed a fish to eat.”
Sirona shook her head, “No… It’s different.”
He chuckled, “How so?”
Sirona shook her head, searching for the words to explain it as she rubbed her fingers together. She couldn’t feel the flow of energy anymore, but she knew that what she had nearly done to that fish, what she’d been doing to the land and the water was very different than fishing, drinking, or tilling the land. It even felt different than the way she’d made Druid’s garden and some of the surrounding forest die.
Maybe it had something to do with the harmony that Druid spoke about or something more than that.
“It’s just different. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Arawn stared at her, mulling over her reaction. She was convinced of that. It would get him nowhere to argue with her about it.
“It is not my favorite means. It is simply a means to obtain power.” He shrugged, “You can use it in dire situations. You can also draw power from people who believe in you, but that requires you to instill a reason for that belief in people.”
She wrinkled her nose, “That sounds a lot like building a cult.”
He chuckled, “Not quite.”
“Says the man with a cult?” Sirona narrowed her eyes, “So much so that he’s considered a god?”
He smiled, “Every mage becomes God-like when they ascend in the minds of the people who believe in them. That belief and faith allow them to gather more magical power by making their existences more important… It works to some degree for people who have no magical talent as well.”
“What about Druid?”
He waved his hand, “Druid exists in a different realm to an extent.”
Sirona eyed him. There was something about his explanation that felt half-true. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it didn’t feel the way Druid’s explanations felt. Where Druid’s cryptic words seemed to come from him not knowing how to phrase it or even simply not knowing, Arawn’s explanation felt as though he knew exactly what he was hiding and he was doing it on purpose.
Still, she had no idea what it would be or why he would hide it.
Arawn could feel her divine sight on him. It was unnerving and very different from Druid’s gaze on him or even Anu’s. Druid’s gaze didn’t probe or distrust. It wasn’t attached to a power that could rival or exceed his. Anu’s gaze always felt violent, but it had never felt like pressure. Sirona’s gaze felt heavy and oppressive, almost compelling him to tell the full truth.
She was suspicious of him, and while she wasn’t sure what he was hiding, she had a sense of it.
It was better to throw out something plausible, so he smirked.
“There are other options.”
The weight vanished as she looked at him expectantly.
“Other more pleasurable and easier options.” She blinked, her face turning bright red as he leaned close enough to graze their lips together, “Such highs in the throes of passion could fill any mage to bursting with power.”
“I—”
He pressed his lips to hers and pushed just a little of his power into her, feeding her. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The jolt went straight to her hips, making her press her thighs together as pleasure pulsed and burned in her.
He pulled back with a little chuckle, “That was just a taste. Would you like more?”
“M-More?”
He kissed her again, leaning over her until she was on her back with him leaning over her. She caged his hips with her thighs and melted as he licked into her mouth allowing little streams of power to slip between them. He pulled some of her magic out of her and felt it burst and heat him from the inside.
He groaned as she trembled, likely shocked by the sensation. Arawn rolled his hips against hers and pulled back when she squeaked and went still.
“I-I…” Sirona turned her head as the flush on her face brightened. “I don’t think I—I think that was more than enough.”
She pressed lightly against his chest, “T-Tell me more about instilling faith.”