Chapter Text
Narinder woke up at the first rays of daybreak sitting up in his bed. He looked out his window and saw the other followers also waking up and stepping out of their homes as well. He got out of bed and got dressed, right as the fabrics of his robe hits the ground there was a knock on his door. He didn't even get a chance to answer it as the lamb, the damned lamb that betrayed him enters his home with a smile on its stupid face.
"Morning Nari!" They greeted him
"What do you want? It's too early for your mind games." He spat
The Lamb just smiled, "I just wanted to make sure that you were awake. No one can be late for this morning's sermon." The lamb told him
"Why would I attend that pathetic display?" He huffed crossing his arms
"Cause you don't have a choice, Nari. Now let's go." The lamb grabbed his hand and dragged him to the church
The followers watched as their beloved leader dragged the ex-bishop into the church and made him stand in the very front row where the Lamb could keep an eye on him at all times.
Narinder stood there listening to the lamb's excessive talking about peace and happiness.
"Now we shall perform a ritual." The lamb said as they went down the list, "Ah yes, we shall bring back a beloved member of the cult Yaryaron."
Narinder rolled his eyes. The lamb was the new God of Death and yet they was abusing their powers by bringing back followers over and over again. The feline watched as the floor opened up and the fennec fox arose from the weird portal and coughed out black liquid. The followers cheered as their friend was brought back. Narinder looked at the lamb that was slowly lowering to the ground looking worn out. They ended the sermon and everyone went to do their jobs.
"Narinder. Stay for a moment." The lamb ordered him
Some of the followers muttered about this since their leader has never done something like this before.
"What do you want you damned lamb?" He demands
"Why do you hate me?" The lamb asked him
"You want to know why? Do you really want to know why?!
The lamb nods, " I asked for a reason."
"You were only supposed to be a vessel. You weren't meant to keep my crown! You were supposed to give it back to me!"
I would've been happy to if it meant that I could live afterwards. But no, you wanted to kill me." The lamb frowned, "You're lucky that I spared you, I could've killed you."
"You're too pure hearted to kill anyone." Narinder chuckled
"I killed your siblings didn't I? I also defeated you and those witnesses as well."
Narinder couldn't control his anger and lashed out at the lamb, "Damn you! You cursed lamb!"
The lamb sighed, "You don't have to stay here you know. You can always leave."
He looked at the lamb, "What?"
"You can always leave. Yes I indoctrinated you into the cult, but you could've left whenever you want to. You can still leave whenever you want."
Narinder went silent, he turned around and started to walk out of the church, "I'm going to go do my only job."
The lamb watched as the black feline walked away and knelt down at the statue and started to pray. They waked out of the church and walked around the grounds making sure that everything was secured.
"I'm going on a crusade. Patjul! Keep everything in order for me!" They called out, "See ya later! Bye Nari!"
The feline growled, "Stupid fucking lamb."
One of the followers leaned over and whispered to Narinder, "Why do you hate the leader. They have spared you and is clearly playing favorites with you as well."
Narinder looked at the butterfly creature, "What are you talking about?"
"The leader. They like you a lot, they treat you differently then the rest of us." She said smiling a bit, "I won't be surprised if they decided to marry you."
Narinder reeled away from her, "Keep your vile thoughts to yourself!"
She quietly giggled and proceeded to get up and went to tend to the farm. Narinder did ponder over her words, she was right. The Lamb was playing favorites and gave Narinder more chances then they did with the others. He clearly remembers his first week, he watched as the Lamb killed someone after they had started to fight him. Narinder didn't know what he did to get that particular follower to fight him, but he did. Narinder didn't want to make the Lamb angry so he lost on purpose. He watched as the Lamb ran over to them and saw the bruises and black eye that Narinder had gained.
He watched as the Lamb has turned the Red Crown into a dagger and stabbed the follower in front of everyone, then faced the rest of the cult saying that they don't tolerate violence within the cult. Then they proceeded to treat his injuries until he was better only leaving his side for mere moments.
"Here Narinder, you need to eat too." He heard someone say
He saw Patjul standing in front of him with a bowl of food. He took it and saw that the statue was nearly full of devotion. He didn't bother to thank the worm as he ate the mixed berries. He went right back to praying until the statue was full then walked right into his home.
He thought back to what the Lamb said. Does he actually hate the Lamb? Oh course he does! He stole his crown from him, he stole his title as the God of Death! Sure he kept his immortality, but he misses what he use to do. He even misses Aym and Baal. He looked out of his window and saw that The Lamb had returned and collected the devotion before asking Patjul something. The worm pointed in the direction of the houses and the Lamb happily skipped towards their destination.
They knocked before entering, "Nari! I'm back!"
"What do you want?" He demands
"I was just checking in on you. Patjul said that you left and went inside... Is everything okay? Are you feeling sick?" The Lamb asked as they reached up to place a hand on Narinder's forehead
The feline slapped his hand away, "Don't touch me!"
"Nari... Are you scared of me?" The Lamb asked
"What? No!" He snarled, "Why would I ever be scared of you?!"
"I was just asking cause every time I show you an ounce of affection you reel away as if you're terrified of me. What's wrong, Narinder?"
The feline stared at the Lamb. It had been a while since he has heard his full name come out of their mouth. Maybe just this once he can feel venerable around the Lamb.
"You confuse me. You make me feel confused. I do hate you, don't mistake this conversation as me trusting you, I don't."
The Lamb chuckled, "Now, I'm confused."
Narinder looked at the Lamb, "I feel confused every single time I look at you."
The Lamb smiled, "I'll leave you to figure out you're mixed up feelings. Don't forget to eat dinner and go to bed on time."
Before they left they kissed Narinder on the cheek not bothering to look back to see how red Narinder's face had become.