Hospitalities

The door opened to reveal an old woman, squinting against the sun at the two people at her doorstep. Tau tried a smile. Unamused, the old woman wobbled to the side to let them in.

The inside of the house was noticeably dimmer than the outside. The area before Tau was a makeshift living room; there were several woven straw mats on the ground surrounding a low table. On the other side of the room, against the wall, there was a fireplace and several racks containing cookware and eating utensils. Above the fire in the fireplace was a pot that seemed to be the source of a faint oily smell of cooked vegetables that filled the house. Directly beyond the main entrance was another doorway that led to the bedroom. Instead of an actual door, there was just a piece of cloth hanging in the doorway to serve as a divider between the two rooms.

Tau stood awkwardly just inside the doorway, unsure of what to do. Kant followed closely behind, lowering slightly to avoid hitting the doorframe. Smelling the food, Phi ran to the kitchen area to investigate. After having a brief conversation with the woman of the house, the man left to continue work on the fields. The old woman seated Tau at the table and went over to the kitchen area.

"Eat with desperation," Kant said, "You have supposedly been wandering for days without food."

The old woman then returned with a wooden bowl of vegetable soup and a wooden spoon. Phi followed closely behind.

"Made in a pot in a cottage!" Phi laughed, "It's pottage!"

Tau did her best to do as Kant instructed. It wasn't very hard, considering the meals they had in the forest were limited to grilled fish and usually tasteless nuts or berries they managed to forage from the forest. In comparison, the chunky soup of potatoes, onions, and peas were blissfully flavorful. Tau quickly spooned down three whole bowls before she was satisfied. Phi snuck bites directly from the pot itself.

All the while, the old woman watched her with a wrinkled smile, refilling her bowl on demand. After eating her fill, Tau started to feel tired. Her eyelids started to droop and she let out a yawn.

Seeing this, the old woman directed her to the bedroom. The bed was just a wooden box built around a large straw-filled sack, but still better compared to the hard ground of the forest Tau was so familiar with. Without even a glance at the rest of the room, Tau collapsed on the bed and willed herself to sleep.

With her domain, she could feel that Kant had followed her into the bedroom and was now floating several feet above her head. Tau could also feel the old woman wobble to the side of her bed and lay a sheet over her sleeping body.

"What a nice performance," Phi said, applauding, "That was exactly as I imagined. After several days in the forest, ferociously devouring food, and a nice long nap to recover from the fatigue."

"Thanks..."

Tau wasn't awake enough to process the compliment and could only respond weakly.

"Wait..." Phi muttered to herself, "This means we'll be stuck here for an entire day and a half, doesn't it…? This is unacceptable!"

"Shh… Phi. If you wish for the backstory you constructed to be credible, you would do well to let Tau sleep."

"But..."

"If you are bored, you can return to our camp by the lake and remove evidence of our stay."

"Why would I do that?"

"Think about it. According to the story you proposed, Tau wandered the forest for at least the past three days without food or rest. Should these mortals happen upon our camp by the lake, they would have evidence suggesting the contrary."

"I see! I'll go right away!"

Phi rushed out of the house and ran happily down the path back to the fields.

-

Sleeping was always a strange experience for Tau. As a god surrounded by a domain, she was able to sense everything that occurred in her vicinity. However, since her mind was resting, everything was reduced to just blurry shadows. She could tell that if she put in the effort, she would be able to dramatically enhance the image, but she was simply too lethargic to do so.

After quite some time, Tau finally worked up the motivation to focus her domain, and she awoke.

-

It was dark. Tau sat up to see the old woman busy weaving by candlelight in the corner of the room. Kant was still floating overhead, but Phi was nowhere to be found. For the first time, Tau got a good look at the bedroom. It was a smaller room than the other one, and about a third of the space was occupied by the bed Tau was laying on.

It was a large bed, easily capable of fitting three people lying side by side. The man who had led her through the village was fast asleep on the far side of the bed. There was also an assortment of wooden boxes, clay pots, and cloth bags of various sizes just scattered around the edge of the room. On the other side of the room from the bed, by the door, was an old wooden rocking chair, in which the old woman was seated. The candle was placed nearby on a particularly large box that doubled as a table.

Seeing that Tau was awake, the old woman set aside her handloom and stood up. She gestured for Tau to follow her. Before leaving the room, the old woman retrieved a wooden basket from a box by the door. The old woman then led Tau out of the cottage and out into the night.

The full moon and numerous stars provided just enough light to make out the path through the forest that Tau and the old woman took. From what she knew about the village, Tau could tell that they were generally heading towards the fields.

Before long, Tau could hear running water; they had arrived at a stream. The old woman pointed at Tau, rubbed her hands together and over her arms, then pointed at the stream. Tau guessed that this meant she was supposed to wash, so she started to undress.

The night air was cool, and the water was cold. The old woman handed Tau a block of soap. The cuts she accumulated in the forest stung with its use, but with a splash of cold water, the mild burning would subside.

There was a feeling of tightness in Tau's gut that had been accumulating since she first set foot into the village. At this point, the discomfort was bordering on painful, so she let it go. Warm liquid slid down her legs.

It was surprising. The action itself felt familiar, as did much of the supposedly new things Tau had experienced in this world, but it totally caught her off guard; as far as she was aware, this was not a part of her internal logic.

[Yeah, about that… The world has been slipping in quite a few outrageous things...]

{What? When?}

[I think it happened when we encountered the mortals and the world stiffened. Our existence was forced to become human and conform to the expectations of the mortals.]

{So… this means what exactly…?}

[Circulatory, digestive, and excretory systems have become more well defined.]

Tau focused her domain on the logic of her body. Although much remained clouded by chaos, she could feel her blood flowing through each section of her body and the faint outlines of systems involving the accumulation and expulsion of solid, liquid, gaseous, and spiritual waste.

By breathing, she disposed of gaseous waste. By just living, she slowly radiated spiritual waste. Liquid waste, although more troublesome, was also being taken care of as she analyzed herself. Solid waste would be much the same; accumulation for the most part before a brief process of excretion.

Tau sneezed. The cold was finally starting to get to her. The old woman passed her a sheet of cloth to dry herself. Although it wasn't too good at absorbing water, the towel at least allowed Tau to wipe most of it off. The rest would just have to slowly dry on its own.

Seeing that Tau was done with the towel, the old woman handed Tau some new clothes. They were convenient to put on, but the quality of the cloth could not compare to that of her previous attire. These new clothes scraped at her skin when she moved. Loose strands would initiate itches that demanded her attention. It was annoying, but not something she couldn't tolerate.

With her wash up complete, they started heading back to the village.

"You are changing..." Kant noted with a hint of concern in his voice.

"So I am..."

"Are you able to resist?"

The world remained heavy and unyielding; its expectations were not to be swayed.

"I don't think so..."

"You must try. Small things at first, then more as you build up your faith."

Thinking about it, Tau's attention focused upon her dripping hair, easily the greatest source of her current discomfort. Especially so since the towel could not help her much there.

With her domain, she encouraged the water to flow to the ends of her hair and fall. The world allowed it. Keeping this up, her hair quickly became dry.

"Good," Kant said, "Never forget, you are a god, not a mortal."