Beauty and the Beast

18

Chenchita didn't really expect him to actually bring her honey fresh from the comb. So, she stood in surprise when he gave the basket to her.

All the hunters just looked at it. Narayana himself bringing her honey.

"What is next?" Narasimha asked her.

"Next? Swami, we just brought honey she wants. She is obviously satisfied." Garuda insisted.

She just stared at the honey. Was he really serious when he said he wished to marry her? Her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as he thought about it. Yes, she had always been drawn to him. Though when he did tell her about himself, she assumed that it was simply desire to know the truth of Brahm.

"I'm a forest dweller, saami, I don't eat the same food as you. We all eat animals that we hunt. You, on the other hand, eat the roots and fruits. How can it be suitable? Let's assume that I will still adjust and eat the same as yours but my family? I can't expect them to change their deity just because I marry you. How is it compatible?" She asked.

"I will accept any offering by your family. Whether it be meat or fruits. Once in an year, festive will be here. During that time, everyone would be arriving here. All the Chenchus would recieve the first darshan and would get to make the first offering. Whatever they wish to eat can be offered to me." He answered.

Chenchita was quite surprised. He would allow his strict-vegetarian diet? Whispers spread across the hunters in surprise.

It was easy to tell that he would deal with it but his temper was quite a known fact. Who is to say he wouldn't break into temper and growl at them all? He almost attacked Jaya previously.

"Who is to say you will be able to bear with it? You, a strict vegetarian lion, will eat meat?" She asked. The taunt at strict-vegetarian-lion wasn't lost on Narasimha.

"Yes." He answered.

She chuckled. "Dearest half-lion, you might need to rethink that one. To offer anyone anything, one has to hunt. You would hunt animals to feed my family when they come to see me?"

"Amma, why would he need to hunt? Garuda and I will go fetch. We naturally hunt and wouldn't worry about bringing and cooking it for your family." Shesha questioned.

"Of course..." Chenchita replied with a chuckle. Her head noding slightly taunting, returning to offering fruits to the sages who had arrived. She also gave the honey to them.

"What do you want? Deers? Buffaloes?" Narasimha asked.

Everyone looked at him in surprise. Including Chenchita. Was he willing to hunt?

She crossed her arms and gave him a challenging look. "Well, let's see you manage to hunt a wild buffalo." She challenged. She handed him her bow and arrows. Narasimha looked at the bow and took a deep breath. 

"This is a serious insult to his actually archery skills. He battles asuras and you're asking him to hunt stupid animals that even I can hunt even if I'm completely drowsy." Shesha complained. 

"Honestly, my complaint isn't that. I don't care about my prestige. I just wonder why I have to hunt an animal to prove myself to my own wife..." He muttered. 

"All that you should think before you go around claiming that you can manage to live with a forest girl," Chenchita answered and patted his shoulder, passing him as she moved back with the tribe to her Penta. "Should we have a backup hunt or do you think he will manage?" Chenchita asked.

"Amma, that's offensive. A buffalo is nothing before my Swami. Just some stupid animal." Garuda scrunched up his face in the complaint. Chenchita rolled her eyes at his reaction but gave one last look at Narasimha as she followed the hunters.