Taethe had a smile on his face as he stared down at the fool who tried to snatch him out of the air, with hands that were far too slow and even if they were fast enough, he could read inside of him and he shook his head, for what he was reading, was not good at all. In fact, it caused his smile to vanish from his face as soon as he read what he read. “Hold human, you have my word of honour that I will stop dancing out of your reach, just tell me one thing.” He said with all the seriousness that a dark and heavy moment deserved.
Naturally, the fool in question, let's call him Jonah thought that this was a very good deal as he'd been after Taethe all day and this was the closest that he'd gotten to him all day and still did he feel hopelessly out of his reach and time was quickly running out and if he didn't find grab hold of him soon, he's surely fail in his aim and he'd meet with a defeat that he didn't need just then since he'd had himself a day that he didn't want to have end with a thud when things were bad enough. So he was quick to agree. “Of course Taethe. What do you want to know?” He said, as his spirit picked up for surely what he wanted to know would take little time to tell and he'd have all the time that he needed after that sharing of himself to satisfy his aim and at least end the day without the thud he was starting to fear would sadly be his.
“I read your mind, for human minds are like books that we can read, even if sometimes, we'd rather not read them, they are easily read. And what I saw inside yours showed me just how seriously dark your mood is and I knew that I couldn't afford to to have my fun and stay just out of your reach as I was looking to do for the next hour before I'd probably relent and let you grab a good hold of me so that you could try and achieve your aim. Only, if I did that, you'd fail to acheive it and the darkness of what I made me fear what your reaction would be and I( couldn't very well have that because I am not an ass. So why are they so dark?
“Why? Well, that's an easily answered question Taethe. I'm a loser okay. And I'm coming to the end of yet another rope and when I come to one of their ends my thoughts get dark. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Jonah snapped at Taethe, even though Taethe wasn't the cause for his misery, he was just an easy target that was caught in the wake of his outburst which buffeted him with a surprising force since Taethe was a long lived force and Jonah was just a human and by all accounts, an unaccomplished one at that.
If Taethe was angry to be caught up in Jonah's outburst, he didn't say so. “And an angry one at that I seem though I don't care for the term myself, so what if we just say that you're not winning in the way that you would like, which doesn't mean you have to be dominating the field, because you know you never will, just that you make a name for yourself in it and keep your place and be happy in your doing which you are quite happy to do daily because that's the only way that you can.” He said with a smile as he appreciated that kind of consistency.
“Yeah, I'm a little angry and I don't like the word myself either, but I can't really deny it so it's the word that I've taken to using. So, now that I answered the question, you'll live up to your word so that I can do what I sought to do?” I asked him with a hopeful smile and outstretched hand.
He was silent at first and I knew then that he had a follow-up question, which wasn't fair since I'd answered him without holding back so why hadn't he just done what he said he'd do? “Life is not fair Jonah and I think it only right, that you grant me the followup question without a great gnashing of your teeth okay?”
“Fine!” I said with a heaping portion of irk as I was surely irked and wanted him to just surrender to my need so that I could get on with the doing that I was swiftly running out of time to complete. After all, they existed to serve us and though I hadn't caught him, he should have been impressed with my determination and allowed me to claim hold of him without further struggle. “What's your question then?”
“It's not a question Jonah, I just want to know more, because surely saying you're a loser is not the truth of the matter, though you're clearly not winning, calling yourself a loser is too simple. There has to be more than that as you have a neat little apartment here and there's a light in your eyes, perhaps not as bright as those of the other humans that I am used to dealing with, but it's not dull. So spill it human and I will happily let you grab hold of me and take what you need, as we are wont to do because that is our purpose.
“Wait, you want me to tell you a story? But even the shortest story that I could tell you now will leave me with no time to serve my aim and then my day will end with a thud and I'll be down in the mouth when that's the last thing that I need now.” I said to him, as it really was the last thing I needed then.
“You may think that, but we both know that this isn't the case. I know you hate to lose these days, like they can be lost or won, but you'll survive this “loss”. He replied in such a way that I knew there was no room for negotiation. It was his way only and not mine.
“So you're asking me to tell you a story that will ensure that I lose this day when I was looking forward to winning it even though I lived through the earlier hours in such a way that winning it was not going to be an easy doing but that I had enough time even striking out for the win as late as I have?”
“What does any of that mean Jonah? Losing and winning days? You have to know that anyone listening to you talk like this about your days is rolling their eyes hard and shaking their head and thinking less of you, if not outright laughing at how you express yourself.” He said, continuing to remain out of reach, like the goal that I was never going to score because I wasn't meant to score it, according to everyone around me.
“Do you want me to fail Taethe? Your people live to serve us and are at your happiest when you help us achieve our dreams so what you're asking is going to cause you pain no?” I asked, legitimately curious about this because it made no sense why he was willing to face the pain that this would give him if he carried through with his demand of me.” I said to him as I clenched my goodly right hand into a tight ball hoping that he would relent because I didn't want to lose this day.
“I don't even know you human, this is the first that I've met you so I don't care either way. As for the pain, you wouldn't understand that in one sense since you're not a parent are you? Well I am. So I understand that kind of pain like you don't.” He said calmly, like he'd experienced the pain that only a parent would accept though years of acceptance that children bring their parents pain.
“Fine, I'm not a parent, so I can't understand it, but I can appreciate it so I don't get why you're attacking me about something that I can't control not having as part of my life because even if I had wanted the responsibility of understanding it as you do, the math was always against me because finding a woman to be with me was always a hard equation to solve.
“Shh.” He said, putting a finger to his lips. I'm not attacking you, I'm just saying that I have a deeper understanding of pain than you do which is why I'm willing to take it on for this night even as you feel that you will this day and suffer a loss that you will find hard to take because you had a bad day and were hoping that it would end right.
“What if I don't want to take the loss that you are guaranteeing that I will suffer from on a day that I didn't need to suffer because I had to live it as I did and couldn't give myself over to the aim until tonight which you didn't make any easier by evading me like no other of your kind has these last few years.” I asked him, as my upset was growing stronger and stronger the more that I talked to him as he continued to stay out of my reach.
He shrugged. “Then you will fail, not just tonight, but in the many to come because I am the kind of my kind that you would do well to invite into your heart. I cannot promise that if you do this, you will know the greatest of success like you've long but dreamed of having for I cannot lift a human like you to those undreamed of heights, but I can let you reach further with me than you would without. But you have to begin the story tonight and finish in the telling of it in the days to come and I will help you like none before me have. It's that simple. So what's your answer going to be Jonah?” He said, continuing to dance out of my reach, though more slowly than he had before he'd made his promise to me.
“I see. It's as simple as that is it?” I said as he was close enough for me to grab hold of without giving into him. But did I have the quickness that I would surely need to catch him? And what of the heat that he could make me feel if he was suitably annoyed with me, which I was sure that he would be if I did what I was thinking of doing.
“No, it's not simple Jonah. I'm not a magical solution. And while I'm not surprised that a human like yourself had the thought that you just had, I am disappointed that you did because I thought you more than most had the capacity to understand that what I am offering you is worth the imagined price that you think you'll pay tonight by starting to tell me the story which will give me cause to let you join my orbit as one of my humans which will allow you the greatest success that you are sure to have, whatever that means.
“And you call me vague and certain to make people shake their heads at me when I talk like I do? What about you? What am I supposed to gain from this certain loss tonight?” I snapped at him, as I could feel the anger welling up inside of me and I was just about to let him have it too.
“I make no promises Jonah because any promises that I make now are likely to hurt you because the distance that you can reach, will never be the distance that you think you can. But if you accept the loss now, you'll win in the end. And isn't that worth a loss that you won't even remember suffering a week from now?” He said as he sank into my hand.
I screamed and tried to jerk my hand back but it was too late, he was actually sinking into my flesh and there was pain with the act. “Nooo!!!”