Shrine
he’ll recover, he’s got supplies, but he’s stuck there for a while. so he starts looking it over. it’s dusty and grimy as hell, but there’s an enchanted cleaning cloth, so he wipes down the space where he stays. then he figured he might as well clean the whole place.
he’s not physically changing, but when he finds a shrine maiden outfit he tries it on. he looks at himself in a mirror. the feeling is indescribable. he takes it off, cries, and doesn’t really understand why. he returns it to the mannequin that wore it. feels kind of jealous. but he keeps cleaning, as best as he can. the goddess did him this favor of having a shrine, he supposes he can repay it.
and then one day, he decides to pray. not really sure why. but it’s soothing. so he adds that to his daily ritual, morning and evening. he’s getting better.
and then on the last day, the day he decides to head out, he offers the goddess one heartfelt prayer, and it’s enough to reawaken her from her godsleep. she’s beautiful. she strokes his face, thanks him, praises him. tilts her head, looks at the shrine maiden outfit, looks back.
ah, but she is a god of artifice. her maidens are... not human. golems, dolls, constructs, yes. and they are maidens. men do not hear the call.
and as he looks up at her, confused, but feeling like he’s on the verge of something, she asks him if he’d like to try being her shrine maiden, for a week.
he hesitates. this is... he can’t put it into words. but. he nods.
a week later, the shrine doll is packing up her things. the nearest town has moved quite a bit while her goddess was asleep. so she takes the vessel for her divinity, wraps i in soft cloth, and sets off closer to civilization so she can build a new shrine.
a new home.