Aryeh’s first instinct was to back away from the approaching…goddess? Is that what Amber was? But their nerves went haywire, their muscles traitorous, their body unwilling to respond to their command center. It was like being a prisoner in their own body. Then Amber’s touch broke through it, like a heat melting the ice that had frozen the gears of Aryeh’s body in place, and even though Aryeh still got flashes of that other form - flashes like visible echoes that existed only in their own mind - they still responded almost automatically to the certainty of Amber’s voice.
Rather than looking into Amber’s face, Aryeh shut their eyes. Their eyes were as traitorous as the rest of their body had been, and if they couldn’t see then they couldn’t see anything that wasn’t real either. As if in direct response to this, Aryeh felt themselves being lifted by strong, almost-familiar arms and moved away from the room. The singular hot-cinnamon smell of Amber assured them that it was no stranger doing this, and they realized with a flush they could feel burning their cheeks that this was the closest that the two of them had ever been.
They remained silent as they felt the softness of sofa beneath them, finally opening their eyes to the familiar sight of Amber’s office. Aryeh followed the directions, breathing slowly and focusing on the sound of Amber’s voice, the touch of her fingertips and their cool moonlit glow. It was several moments of this before Aryeh finally looked to Amber once again, voice barely steady.
Despite having done this for countless people many times over, this time the waiting actually seared her to the bone as Amber used her power to bring Aryeh back to her. As Aryeh slowly returned to her self Amber felt the tension in her own shoulders melt away as a direct response. The question had her flinch a bit. This was not the way she had preferred Aryeh find out about her divinity. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and explained. “Well, this wasn’t really how I planned this but you were bound to find out soon enough anyway. The truth is Aryeh, I’m a goddess. I’ve always been a goddess. I just prefer to live among and as humans do.”
Once Aryeh was stable again Amber removed her hands and took a polite step away in case Aryeh was upset with her. The last thing she wanted was to crowd her after all she’d been through and the revelation of Amber’s true identity. “My human name is Amber de la Vega. But my real name is Ixchel. I’m uh, the Mayan goddess of the moon. And healing…and fertility…and, also I’m a jaguar goddess…” Well shit this was a lot more awkward than she thought it would be. She’d never had this sort of reaction to revealing her true self before. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Like I said I like living like a human. People treat me very differently when they find out I’m a goddess you know.” She couldn’t help but fear Aryeh’s reaction. Of course Aryeh had every right to be pissed but Amber hoped she wouldn’t be.
A goddess. Yeah, that about made sense. In some ways, Aryeh was surprised they hadn’t seen it before. Amber had always had an unearthly, unreal quality about her, but Aryeh had always just figured it was her attractiveness. The realization of the thought had the demigod blushing even with her mind only half-focused on it. It simply wasn’t fair that someone as amazing as Amber was also a goddess. What did that leave for normal people like Aryeh? Or at least, as normal as the child of a god could ever be.
That line of thinking brought a worry of its own into the space between them. Would it be strange between them as a demigod and a goddess? Did it matter? Did it matter to Amber, or whoever this person apparently was? No, she was still Amber, of that Aryeh could be completely sure. It was always Amber who had been there for her like this before, and it was Amber that was here with her now. It just so happened that Amber also went by a different name when it suited her.
“Ixchel...” Aryeh softly ecchoed, liking the sound and feel of the name. Listening came easily, as it always had to Aryeh. The response would be harder when it finally came time for it. Speaking their mind had never exactly been Aryeh’s strong suit.
“Well that...explains...things.” Then Aryeh’s mind took a swift detour that left them cringing even as the words left their mouth. “I g-guess if you lived as a goddess a-all the time, it w-wouldn’t be fair to e-everyone else.” Smooth. Aryeh buried their face in their hands with a low whine of absolute shame and embarrassment. “Pretend I didn’t- say that.” It was several moments before they could speak again, the sound coming muffled from behind their hands. “I’m- glad, actually. I was worried...the hallucinations were getting w-worse.” A pitiful laugh accompanied the admission, but at least it was out in the open now and Amber knew why Aryeh had reacted so badly. Or maybe Amber had known all along.
