//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: The Goddess of Spring 
// by kurusagi16 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy immediately landed down beside the man's form, as she got closer, she was able to get a better look at him. He was rather tall and thin, with messy black hair and a goatee, dressed in a pied cloak of multi-colored patches, all tattered and torn. He appeared so weak and feeble, that Fluttershy began to fear the worst for him. She placed a gentle hand on his neck to check for a pulse. It was there, but faint, what's more his skin was beginning to turn ice cold. 

Fluttershy knew she had to do something, otherwise he'd surely perish. But what could she do? There wasn't a human village for miles around, and with night approaching, it would soon become even colder. It was then that Fluttershy realized she had no other choice. She knew that what she was about to do was against the rules, but she just couldn't leave this man to die. What's more it'd only be for a short while, until he was well again to go about his way. Taking off her mossy cloak, Fluttershy bundled up the man before levitating him up. With the man in tow, Fluttershy continued on her way to the heavenly plain.





As soon as Fluttershy returned to her palace, she set the man's unconscious body down on one of her softest beds, and draped several downy comforters over him. She was pleased to find him warming up, but he still looked pale and weak. Fluttershy looked down to her feet at Angel.

"Angel, I need you to go into the garden and gather as many herbs as you can carry." She said. "Hurry now."

While not pleased by the new guest his mistress had brought, Angel complied, and went off to gather the herbs. Fluttershy meanwhile went right to work in the palace kitchen, chopping up vegetables to use in her special soup. When Angel came back with the herbs, she added those to the pot as well.

"If anything can help give him back his strength, it'll be my special 'get well' soup." She said to herself. 

Pouring out a large bowl of the stuff, Fluttershy carried it into the room where the guest was resting and sat down at his bedside. She spooned some of the soup and moved it towards his mouth. At first, the man's lips refused to let the soup pass through, causing it to dribble down his chin, but eventually, they allowed the soup to pass through. Fluttershy continued to feed the man in this manner, until every drop of the soup was gone from her bowl.

"It looks like some color has come back into his cheeks." She said. Standing up, she turned to leave and motioned for Angel to follow. "Come along Angel, let's let him rest for now."

Angel took another glance at the man. He couldn't tell if it was just because of the man's strange appearance, but there was something about him that didn't sit right with him.





Some hours later, the man began to stir from his slumber. The first thing he noticed was the feel of the mossy comforters, which were as soft and as warm as lamb's wool. When his eyes adjusted, he took in her surroundings. He looked about the small, simple room in which he was kept, wondering where he could be. As he tried to lift himself up, he quickly crumpled back down onto the bed. Drat! It seems I'm still too weak. He thought to himself. How much longer must I endure this until I'm back to full strength?

A sound then caught his ear. It was the sound of twittering birds. This was curious to the man, as last he'd checked it was winter. He tried to get out of bed once more so he could see what was going on, but his body dropped back onto the mattress, feeling as heavy as lead. Another sound reached his ears, the sound of sweet humming. A moment later and in came a young woman dressed in airy pastel garments that reminded him of both of a flower in bloom and the gossamer wings of a butterfly. 

"You're awake!" She said, sounding relieved. "Thank goodness. How are you feeling?" 

The man said nothing, regarding the woman before hi carefully. 

"Oh my, how rude of me, I should introduce myself." She said, clearing her throat. "My name is Fluttershy, and you are?"

The man gave her a small smile as he replied, "Charmed, I'm sure. So, I take it that I have you to thank for my new accommodations?" 

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, I found you out stranded in the middle of nowhere in the snow. I took you back home with me, hoping that you'd be able to recover more quickly."

"I see." The man said. 

From what he'd seen and heard so far, he could tell that this girl wasn't human. He guessed her to be an immortal of some sort, judging by her appearance, and the fact that she'd been able to carry an unconscious man all on her own through the snow.

"Tell me," He said. "If I may be so blunt as to ask, what are you exactly?"

Fluttershy blinked in surprise. "Oh! Well, I'm a goddess, you see, the goddess of spring."

"Goddess of spring, huh?" He remarked. "And where is that you've brought me?"

Fluttershy looked down at her feet and shifted uncomfortably. "You see..." She said hesitantly. "You looked like you were about to die, and I couldn't just abandon you out there like that, so I brought you to my palace on the heavenly plain."

"The home of the gods." He said.

Fluttershy nodded. "We aren't really allowed to bring mortals up here, but I couldn't think of anything else to do."

"So, what is it that you plan to do with me?" The man asked. He didn't sound scared or worried, or even excited like a lot of other mortals might when hearing they've been whisked away to the godly realm. Instead he sounded...amused? Perhaps curious?

"Well, I was hoping to try and help nurse you back to full strength, that way, you could go back home and go about your business."

The man considered this in his head. He hardly if ever liked depending upon others, but in this case, in the state he was in, it seemed he had no choice but to comply. 

"Very well, my dear. We shall do as you suggest, and once I'm well again I shall return to my business." He said, a gleam coming into his eyes. 

"Alright then." Fluttershy said, becoming more and more befuddled by the man's behavior. "Would you like some more soup?"

"Do what you will." The man said indifferently. "As long as it'll make me better I don't care."

Fluttershy was about to leave when she stopped and realized something. She turned back to look at the man and said, "You still haven't told me your name."

The man once again smiled as he replied, "My name isn't important, at least not to you." 

Fluttershy wanted to press on, but decided against it. Perhaps the man didn't feel like he could trust or, or didn't think it was her business to know who he was. So, she turned back and went off to the kitchen to get some more soup. 

Once she was gone, the man's smile took on a cruel set. "Well, it seems like things might work out after all."