It was an evening like any other; the desert sun steadily dipping down beneath the dunes... painting the wide open sky in pinks and oranges and yellow....
Julius sighed, latching the door to the sheep pen closed and giving one last glance to the softly dozing animals inside. Someone else would be along soon to guard them through the night. His own work certainly wasn't over yet though.
This last season had been particularly bad for his herd... several sheep lost to illness and hard weather... it happened, every few years... it was natural. But Julius cared for his herd...and it was his duty to do all he could to protect them. And when that was outside of his hands... he knew it was time to call upon higher powers...
He would spend his night creating an offering... for his Patron, the great desert Spirit of protection and power. And hopefully... that would be enough.
Stifling a yawn, Julius lit the lantern in his little dwelling, turning towards the stove and getting a fire going within...
Staring on some batter for sweet honey cakes, one of his favorite things to make.
It was simple, light, and sweet... the perfect offering... giving just enough, without putting any vital resources dangerously low...
It was completely dark outside, by the time he had finished. A small stack of cakes, sticky with desert honey....
Julius wrapped them in cloth, and headed back out.
He made his way to the center of the little camp, where an altar was nestled in a small structure that dipped just underground...
It was modest, but quite nice, decorated in gemstones and artwork and the scraps of previous offerings...
Julius took his time... kneeling down and lighting a stick of incense, the bundle of cakes settled in his lap.
He spoke some words in Latin, calling upon the spirit as he delicately placed the cakes on the stand...
After that, he knew he should leave. Go back home and get some rest before morning....
But it was calm here... quiet... hidden, from the rest of the world.
And he was so.... Tired...
-
In the dark little altar room, a form slowly came to life...
A huge, scaled figure... orange and black... tall, with a big soft belly...
Vil yawned, his mouth full of sharp fangs, automatically moving to retrieve his offerings only to-
Stop.
Gazing down... at the little human, that had fallen asleep on his altar.
He tilted his huge head, curious...
Humans had stopped offering up *themselves* hundreds of years ago. It simply wasn't done, these days... not that he minded. Vil had anyways been more fond of the food.
Still, he found himself... intrigued. The little thing looked so... fragile. Soft... delicate... pretty, he supposed.
Huffing softly, he knelt to gently nudge the human, worried suddenly that something may be wrong....
-
Julius jolted awake, confused and disoriented for a moment... looking up to see the huge figure of VIL.
He bit back a scream, scrambling away-
"Sh- my... I... I'm s-so sorry, my...my Lord? I hadn't meant to- I... I've n-never-"
He had never seen a spirit before... though he'd heard they *could* have physical forms. Yet here was his patron... the one he had given offerings to for years...
And despite how huge and intimidating the reptilian creature was, Julius slowly felt his fear dissipating... a quiet knowledge that he was... safe.
And he finally just... took it all in.
His Lord was towering and huge, spiked and dangerous, and yet... soft, somehow... his round belly radiating a warmth, like his scales had been soaking in the desert sun...
"Wow, you're.... Beautiful...."
Vil tilted his head, feeling a strange warmth in his face...
"... Beautiful?... I have never been called... beautiful, before..."
He reached out... and his clawed hand was shockingly gentle against Julius's side... drawing him in... tender...
"Might I ask, little mortal... that you... stay? Awhile longer?... I have... never spoken to one of my souls, face to face. I find myself... desiring this..."
Julius looked up at him, nodding slowly, willing... wanting...
"Of course, my Lord...."
-
Julius found himself going back to the altar room again and again. Terrified of being caught, but desperate to spend more time with Vil.
He wasn't sure... what this was. Wasn't sure how Vil truly felt about him. All he knew was that with every meeting he could feel his own desire steadily growing... wanting things he couldn't possibly voice... staring at those teeth and claws and beautiful scales... feeling his lonely heart aching to press closer to it all... to feel himself melt against that big, warm belly...
To say any of it outloud would be sacrilege. And if his Lord took it the wrong way, Julius might very well lose what he already had...
Still, he could not deny his own wants, and he found himself silent scheming during his days under the sun, trying to come up with a way to really show his devotion...
He knew that Vil enjoyed the sweet offerings he made... the great Spirit often requesting more before their next meeting. And Julius was more than willing to exceed expectations...
One afternoon, he asked one of his fellow shepherds for a favor, to cover a few hours of his work so that he might go home early and prepare...
Spending several hours baking more of those sweet little cakes... piles of them, this time... A silent reflection, he hoped, of just how grateful he was.... Hoping it wouldn't come off as desperate as he felt.... He put as much effort into them as possible, decorating the tops with colored sugar and even bringing along an extra pot of syrup to drizzle over them...
