In The Mighty Jungle The Dragon Feasts Tonight..

[Whitebrand]

Brand pushed his way through the thick foliage of the jungle, blazing a trail along the river. He was tall and broad shouldered, with a handsome if boyish face. His clothing was suited to the environment...cloth and leather pieces on his wrists, boots, and vitals.

Being alone in a jungle without a guide was reckless to the point of being suicidal, but Brand has a specific reason for it. He’d heard of a tribe of exotic amazons living along this particular river and wanted to get their attention...if the existed. His vulnerability would likely get himself noticed...and if there was trouble he was certain he could handle himself.

He was amazed at the variety of animal and plant life he’d seen thus far...living logs in the shallow parts of the river, cats bigger than any he’d ever seen, simians of different shapes and sizes...what an adventure!

[JungleDeities]

Yet did Brand know was that he would find something else; not the Amazons that he was looking for, but something far more exotic and beautiful. This jungle was home to many deities; with some being claimed to be more handsome/beautiful than the humans. The one that Brand would run into would be one of the younger deities, but her beauty would not be ignored.

Gaia, the future high goddess of the jungle, was wondering alone the same river. Her beautiful and ample body (with tanned skin accompanied by white stripe tattoos) clad in a bra and loincloth that looked like the fur of a white tiger and arm and leg guards. Her long, brown hair flowed in the wind. Her eyes were of different colour; right eye being orange and left eye was green. She was beautiful and was only twenty-one, not yet reaching the prime of physical beauty.

At the moment, she was rather bored and was looking for something to do. Little did she too realize that she was about to meet someone that was not a part of this jungle.

[Whitebrand]

Brand found himself wrestling with a particularly stubborn bush. The stupid thing had hooked his clothing and he didn’t want to tear it. His slightly sulfuric vocabulary was audible to the goddess...as was his yelp of surprise when the ivy-like fronds started closing in on him. There was a great deal of slashing and tearing of vines before Brand stumbled out of the brush and broad leaves and into view...not looking his best. He was scratched up and had pieces of vine wrapped around his ankles and legs and looked a little wild-eyed.

He stopped and stared at this jungle-born beauty, h golden hazel eyes wide.

“So it’s true,” he said aloud before he could think of his carefully prepared speech. Wow...breathtaking.

[JungleDeities]

Gaia heard someone yelling and went to investigate. Upon arriving to the source, she saw a rather good looking young man; outsider of the fact of a few scratches and some vines entangled. She smirked a little bit. This could be interesting; something to end the boredom.

“What’s true? That if you’re clumsy and loud enough someone would hear you?” Gaia teased. She stood there with her arms crossed her breasts lightly. She looked at this person with a curious look.

“You’re definitely not around here if you didn’t know of the road that would have gotten you here and saved you the trouble of cutting through bushes.” Gaia continued in a joking manner, giggling a little bit.

[Whitebrand]

Brand blushed as he clumsily swiped around the stubborn needle-encrusted vines. Well...at least she spoke his language. And was friendly. Hadn’t expected that.

“Well I was...uh...off the beaten track for a...a reason,” he said, kicking off a few more vines from his boots. “I’d heard about...tribes out here...I figured they’d probably avoid the trails explorers usually use and...sort of...outsmarted myself I guess.”

He finally shrugged himself out of the last of the stubborn vines and stood up to his full two meter height.

“I’m Brand,” he said, his prepared speech out the window. “I guess you could call me an adventurer of sorts. And you are...?”

[JungleDeities]

Gaia smirked in amusement as this Brand was justifying his actions.

“I am Gaia.” the young deity answered his question. Of course she did not have to reveal that she was a deity to this stranger, in case he was up to no good.

“So.” Gaia said as she walked around Brand, examining the man, “Why’s a handsome fellow like yourself doing out in this jungle looking for Amazons?” Possibly he wanted to get acquainted with them. Maybe he wanted to sleep with an Amazon or capture one. Who knows.

[Whitebrand]

“Uh...I guess you caught me,” Brand admitted. “I’d heard stories about amazons. Thought I’d see for myself. Um...well look at me. A lot of the ladies in my lands are a little intimidated for some reason. So...”

He spread his hands...as though his powerful frame and good looks were some kind of burden he was stuck with. For all she knew maybe it was...he hoped.

[JungleDeities]

“Well,” Gaia said as but her lip in a cute manner, “It seems like they are missing out if they are guys like you back home.” Twisting a hand , she used some magic to lift a bit of water out of the river.

“Can’t have you walking around covered in dirt in vines.” Gaia said, “Shall I?” Motioning to the the bit of water she got, she was asking Brand if it was okay for her to use the water to help clean up and dirt and cuts, while also getting rid of the vines.

[Whitebrand]

Brand blinked. He hadn’t expected magical powers from this girl at all. He clearly had underestimated her.

“Sorceress?” He said aloud. “Druid? Mage? Either way you’ve certainly got my attention.”

He nodded and reached fir the floating sphere of water.

[JungleDeities]

“Glad to hear it.” Gaia said as Brand used the water to help clean himself. As they worked on cleaning Brand, as well as removing the vines, Gaia scanned the area to make sure there were no predators around. Even a goddess had to be careful of the mighty creatures around here.

“So, where are you from?” Gaia asked with a curious tone, as Brand was almost clean of dirt and cuts.

[Whitebrand]

“Whitevalley,” Brand said as he rolled up his sleeves and wiped the water across them. “A valley in a land to the west, filled with a forest and a fine river. I am it’s guardian, I suppose. But being a guardian is a lonely business. I’m sure you can imagine.”

She could vaguely sense the presence of a predator but it’s location was indecipherable. Perhaps it was foreign to the jungle. Maybe even followed this explorer here. It was quiescent, though. Calm and not hungry. Odd.

He finished removing the vines. As he did a big brown frog the size of one of Brand’s big hands leaped from the river and landed on Brand’s boot. Brand looked a bit embarrassed as he tried to push it away but the thing clung to the leather.

Gaia knew what it was. It was a predator harmless to anything larger than a big insect. Thus was its mating season. It also wasn’t very bright.

“Affectionate pets you have around here,” Brand said as he tried to dislodge the frog without hurting it.

[JungleDeities]

Gaia chuckled as the frog leaped onto Brand's foot. She bent down on one knee to pick carefully pick up the frog; only to put it back down a few feet away from them.

"It must like you." Gaia teased as Brand finished cleaning himself and removing the vines, "So, how long do you plan on staying in this jungle for?"

As she sensed the creature, she was going to ask if Brand knew anything about it, but chose to hold off on it until later.

[Whitebrand]

“Until I can confirm whether or not these amazons are real,” Brand said, trying to pretend he hadn’t noticed the way Gaia’s round breasts had pressed together slightly when she had picked up the frog. “So maybe you can shorten or prolong my stay.”

He rather hoped he could prolong it...this girl was hot.

“And even if they don’t exist...well I certainly can’t say that this trip was entirely wasted, can I? I can honestly say I’ve never met as striking a woman as you.”

[JungleDeities]

"You aren't so bad looking yourself." Gaia said back, taking note of this man's flirting. She scanned the area, taking note of some larger predators starting to come to the area.

"I think we should move somewhere else." Gaia suggested to Brand, "It is starting to get late and the big predators will be coming around soon."

[Whitebrand]

“I agree,” Brand said, looking around and putting on a slightly nervous expression. Yeah...he could smell the local predators coming out now. He didn’t intend to be here long enough to have to establish dominance. And this hot girl inviting him anywhere was a great sign.

He shook the water off his hands. “Lead on,” he said.

[JungleDeities]

Gaia nodded and smirked as she led Brand away from the river. It was a bit of a walk, nearly half-an-hour even, but they eventually came upon a temple. This was Gaia's home, as deities of the jungle would often make their temples a home. The temple itself was old, but still standing. Several pieces of décor was designed as tribute to the Gods of the past.

After showing Brand around, Gaia led him to a chamber where one could describe it as like a bedroom. There was a bed with elaborate detailing; almost like that of royalty.

"So, what do you think so far?" Gaia asked as they entered the chamber.

[Whitebrand]

“I think that it’s impressive on several levels,” Brand said as he looked around . “You found a fine temple to make into a home, and you’ve been surviving all by yourself in it for who knows how long...the place is lovely and spotless...it’s amazing, really. How did you come to live here alone? Or are you like a priestess or something?”

He noticed that all the gods represented in this place were basically older versions or incarnations of the current set that humans honored. Interesting...that meant that this place was very old. And here was this hot girl living alone by herself? Something wasn’t adding up. Maybe there were local traditions that he wasn’t aware of.

[JungleDeities]

"Well, you could say that I am related to the beings you see represented on the walls." Gaia said, "A direct descendant if you will." This pretty much told Brand that he was not dealing with a priestess or any kind of mortal. This was Gaia's way of telling him that she was in fact a real goddess.

"I've learned to look after myself." Gaia continued, "Of course, this jungle can be dangerous for even gods."

[Whitebrand]

“I see,” Brand said, looking at the beings depicted on the walls. He didn’t sound very surprised. “Interesting. You share their beauty.”

In fact Brand had misunderstood the connection. He’d run into minor civilizations that had held that their royalty or priests were considered to be descendants of the gods. The fact that she was referring to a literal ancestry somehow failed to land properly.

“You could use a guardian,” Brand said as he touched one of the bas relief carvings. “Someone to protect you from the threats out there. Does anyone come here to worship?”

[JungleDeities]

"Thank you for the offer, but I can look after myself." Gaia said, as she responded to Brand's question, "A few tribes come here to worship. Of course, I tell them not to overdo by flooding me with gifts"

She took a sip of water from a fountain a few feet away from the bed. She sat on the edge of the fountain, crossing her legs, as she asked, "So, with it being night time, is there anything you'd like to do?"