Golden Shells

(Author's note) Hey guys. This chapter was formerly part of Chapter 1. But I am taking the advice of my readers, and splitted the chapter into two parts, so it would not be as long. Thanks for reading guys!

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Tuzi and The Goddess's daily life in the Realm of Gods passed by peacefully day by day. They shared with each other the love they felt, and enjoyed one another's company. They have each other now and forever. If there was a concept close to describing what they have, it would be family.

Understanding that Tuzi was a former rabbit, The Goddess knew that there was much to teach her about the ways of life. Being a rabbit was easier than being a human entity. Sentient beings such as humans are much more complex and require a greater set of knowledge, skills, strength, wit, and emotions to survive.

Though Tuzi was no longer a rabbit and took the form of a human, she was also not quite human. She was a divine being blessed by The Goddess. She will not age. Though not impossible, ways of killing Tuzi are few. She will eat when there is food, but never go hungry when there isn't. Any wounds acquired will heal instantly. Tuzi as a divine being, will also have the capabilities of learning celestial magic possessed by the Gods. Though the most basic magic she knew was simply how to shift from her human form to her rabbit form, and back.

Turning Tuzi into a rabbit shifter pleased The Goddess immensely. Tuzi is the only rabbit shifter in existence, and therefore special to not only her but unique to other deities as well. For in The Goddess's heart, this brave and loving rabbit is simply one of a kind.

Being brave and loving are two traits that The Goddess tries to instill into her creations, time and time again. The Goddess has made many species in her portfolio, and sometimes she would experiment with species who can shift between human form and animal forms. Some of the species she was most proud of inventing are the werewolves and lycans, which exist in the Mortal Realms on Earth.

Werewolves can change between being a human and a wolf. Wolves are noble creatures but can be lethal killers. They possessed strong traits of loyalty, love, and bravery. Combining their sharper than usual refined senses with their strong ideas of community, the werewolves are a species rich with traditions, duty to each other, and tuned with the urge to protect their pack.

Lycans are a stronger and more savage example of werewolves. These creatures are the prime example that lethal stealth can be met with warm tenderness. Besides Tuzi, the werewolves and lycans are some of her best creations.

The Goddess would never create a shifter species that could not protect themselves. The shift between a human and a rabbit would be too drastic of an emotional change, which was why she never created rabbit shifters before Tuzi. This little white bunny she met during her time as Queen Chang'er, simply impressed the hell out of her.

And because of this, The Goddess knew she had to put in extra effort to teach and train Tuzi, so that she would never feel inferior to others. For this little white rabbit had a lot to learn about what it means to be a divine human. An immortal.

Though training Tuzi to have various skills such as fighting, defending, hunting, and even basic magic was easy enough. Teaching her to have an understanding of human tendencies, motivations, and emotions was an entirely different story. Tuzi knew well enough how to love her Goddess, but when it came to discovering other emotions such as fear, hate, pleasure, ambition and greed, it was a harder space to navigate.

But The Goddess was never lazy about teaching and training Tuzi, and the former white rabbit was eager to learn. Over the millenia, the other Gods became amused by what they labeled, "The Goddess and Her Pet." They thought that The Goddess was experiencing a phase, in which she was emotionally attached to the rabbit, due to her time on Earth as a failed queen. However, the phase never passed and The Goddess and Tuzi came to be known as a pair. One cannot meet with The Goddess without having Tuzi close by.

Not that anyone minded. The Goddess herself was a beautiful celestial being. Made to be perfect in every way by the Great Creator himself. There were not many deities whose physical features can compare to The Goddess's. And yet, she outdid herself when she granted Tuzi a human form, for Tuzi is quite possibly one of the most beautiful women in the Realm of Gods. Standing together, The Goddess and Tuzi are an incredible sight to behold. But beauty can be a risky trait to possess as well, and The Goddess was determined not to let some of the more lecherous or mischievous Gods lure Tuzi away.

While training, Tuzi fell on her behind and the monster charged at her. Fear took over and she dropped her spear and screamed, her arms moving to cover her head.

And with a snap from The Goddess's fingers, the monster dissipated into thin air.

"Tuzi, you flinched when the monster was swiping at you. That is fear. Fear caused you to step back and fall on your butt. You have to stare that thing in the eye and strike back at it. Never take your eyes off of your attacking opponent, so you know where to maneuver out of harm's way. When you control your fear, you control the situation," The Goddess explained while she watched Tuzi. She laid back in her royal chaise and bit into an apple, while shaking her head.

Tuzi bit her lower lip and sat up, dusting her hands off on her pants. "But it just came at me. It had sharp teeth! Did you see that thing? What if it ATE me?!"

"But you're afraid of everything eating you…" The Goddess said, shaking her head. "You're a former rabbit. EVERYTHING tried to eat you."

Tuzi shook her head, disappointed with herself and stood up. She did fine fighting the training mannequins. Those things are just moving blocks of wood. But these monsters are quite different. They do not move with logic and are entirely unpredictable in how they will interact with you. They are large with deranged eyes, sharp teeth, and even sharper claws. When standing on their feet, they can be over 9 ft tall.

"What are these things?" Tuzi asked, her voice trembling.

"Werebears," The Goddess responded.

"My Goddess, why would you create such foul creatures?" the young girl asked curiously. Foul creatures indeed, this one tried to claw her face off. It was a close call, but The Goddess would never allow that to happen.

"Werebears are not one of mine. They are too lethal. Designed with too much blood lust and urge to kill. Some Gods simply have a twisted sense of humor when they create their work of art," The Goddess grumbled before letting out a sigh. "Come here and drink this cup of tea. It will calm your nerves."

Tuzi wasn't sure what would calm her nerves right now. Werebears are indeed terrifying creatures. She sat down on the chaise and wrapped her arms around The Goddess, burying her face into the deity's shoulders. She loved her scent. A mix of fresh strawberries, mint and honey. A feeling of warmth and comfort surrounded her senses and her heart rate began to slow down. "I'm sorry… I will get better at this."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," The Goddess said gently, while stroking her hair. "You have improved so much from where you were before. Conquering fear will take some time."

Tuzi knew she would pine for the day, where she would feel no fear. She will become strong and use her strength to protect her Goddess. She silently made this promise to herself. She trained harder in the coming years, doing her best not to flinch, controlling how she responded to extreme situations. The Goddess could see that Tuzi was becoming stronger each day, and felt a great sense of pride for her loved one.

When not training Tuzi, The Goddess attended to her daily duties as a senior deity. Using the Mortal Mirror gifted to her by the Great Creator, she would often peer down into Earth, observing what her children were doing and gently nudge them into a direction which would allow them to flourish.

Daily chores can range from simple things such as sending reminders for her children to feel hunger, seek warmth, or remembering to give their loved ones a hug. More complex tasks may involve negotiating with other deities, such as the Goddess of Seasons, to be more merciful so that vegetation can grow properly and her children may survive.

But by far, her favorite duty is to help her children find happiness. This meant guiding them down a path to find love, be mated, and procreate. She'd have to carefully choose and bind compatible mates together. Though sometimes mistakes were made, she'd like to think that she did a great job and took great pride when she carefully selected mates for her creatures.

"Do I have a mate…?" Tuzi carefully asked her one day, while tugging gently on her sleeves.

The Goddess patted her on the cheek and stroked her lightly under the chin. She liked staring into Tuzi's hazel brown eyes whenever she had that curious look on her face. "But of course you do. It's me, you silly rabbit."

"So we are bound together…?" When The Goddess nodded her head, Tuzi began to look frantically around her body.

"What are you searching for, Tuzi?"

"The rope."

The Goddess was getting confused. "What rope?"

Tuzi stared earnestly at her master. "You said you bound us together. Where is the rope? Is it invisible?"

This caused The Goddess to giggle hilariously, as she ruffled Tuzi's hair. "Oh my dear, you dang silly girl! You are going to be the death of me. There is no rope! It's just a figure of speech, to be bound to the one you love."

Tuzi furrowed her brows, still not understanding. Sometimes, her master's words made no sense. She had heard her Goddess describe finding a mate as "binding," and the lovers would feel a "pull" to one another. Their destinies are "tied" together forever. How can all that happen without a rope…? Tsk! Makes no sense.

The Goddess wanted to explain it a little more to Tuzi, but knew the concept of having a "mate" would be hard to describe. Tuzi is one of her only creations without an actual mate. She was the only rabbit shifter of her kind, and therefore, The Goddess had never thought to find a mate to bind her to.

Truthfully, The Goddess would prefer not to bind Tuzi to anyone. She wanted Tuzi to stay by her side forever. She hoped Tuzi would forgive her selfishness, but she would find a way to make it up to her.

When Tuzi's confusion did not look like it would go away soon, The Goddess playfully pinched her cheek. "Silly rabbit, why are you not happy with my answer?"

Tuzi pouted slightly. "It's just that… If there is no rope… What if I lose you one day…? How would I find you again, if you are my mate?"

The Goddess shook her head and let out a sigh. She has to navigate this carefully, if not, she could be talking in riddles with Tuzi for days to come. "Ropes… are too constricting… Doesn't exactly scream the idea of love. I personally hate that phrase, 'ball and chain.' Well, ropes are okay if you're the BDSM type I guess."

When Tuzi showed no reaction to her naughty humor, The Goddess just rolled her eyes and gave up. "Okay Tuzi. Let's do this instead." She held out her palm in front of the silly girl. Tuzi stared intently at it when a warm light began to glow from The Goddess's hands. Tiny little specks of gold swirled. First spinning slowly and then increasing in speed. And finally, the specks of gold took form into a pair of small shells. Each shell was tied together with a thin gold chain, long enough to be a necklace.

Tuzi's eyes grew wide in wonder and she gasped. "They're beautiful! My Goddess, what are these? Can I have one…?"

The Goddess smiled at her enthusiasm and gently placed one of the chained shells around her neck, before slipping the other one around her own. "One for you, and one for me."

Tuzi cradled the little shell in her hands, first sniffing it, and then holding it up directly in front of her eyes. "It's so pretty! Is this an early birthday present?"

"This," The Goddess began, "is something I should've given you, when I brought you here. It will be the bind that we need."

Tuzi held it tightly to her chest, like it was the most precious treasure in the Universe. "I will keep it forever and ever!"

"Yes but listen to me, dear. Pay attention to what I am doing." The Goddess held her own little shell up to her chin. Her lips formed into an O and she blew slightly on the shell. Tuzi's eyes widened in wonder when the shell began to glow warmly. The Goddess whispered quietly into the shell.

Tuzi's own shell began to glow in her hands, and out came the words The Goddess whispered, "I won't let anyone eat you, Tuzi." She was so surprised, she nearly dropped it. Thankfully it was fastened to the gold chain around her neck. "How– How did you do that?"

The Goddess chuckled and patted her dear friend's cheeks. "When the Great Creator molded me from the stars, he gifted these to me. He said I was an unruly sort and wanted to keep tabs on me wherever I went."

She scrunched her face as she thought back to those memories. "But as I matured and his attention went towards training the new Gods, there was no longer a need for these. I've held onto them ever since. And here I gift one to you, Tuzi. From now on, you can tell me anything from anywhere. Just blow on the shell and whisper into it. I will hear you and answer you."

Tuzi didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth and no words came out. The Goddess's gift and gesture really touched her. As a little rabbit, she never knew she could feel such warm emotions. Her eyes became a bit glassy as she stared at the little shell in the palm of her hands. Finally, gathering her thoughts together, her lips formed into an O and she blew gently on the shell. Then she whispered quietly into it.

The Goddess wondered what Tuzi whispered, as her own shell began to glow. Her dear friend's soft voice drifted out from it, "My Goddess, I promise to love you forever. I will stay by your side, always." She didn't need another queue to gather her best friend in her arms. Burying her nose into her hair, The Goddess whispered, "You better keep that promise."

"Always and forever," Tuzi confirmed whole heartedly, gently kissing her master on the cheek. "I will never leave you."

Leaning into each other, with no idea what the future holds. Little did they know that there were already plans in place to furiously test the vows that were made that day.

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Author's Note:

Are you enjoying the story? Please help this novel succeed by adding it to your reading collection or voting with a power stone! I am a first time novice writer. Please help this novel succeed! You guys are angels!