Becoming Something Else
I'm safe in a tree tonight. A few more days have passed. And in that time came to a well traveled road. I saw a caravan of Gnomes. They caught sight of me and made it clear I wasn’t welcomed. It was here that I realized my hands were scaly and claws were forming in place of nails. They asked to me not follow them, I assuming they suspected me to be a criminal or ruffians of sorts with the manacles on. So I went the other direction hoping that that would lead to another town.
Granted that would be a problem for me now. How would I get in with manacles and looking serpent like with scaly, bird like feet and hope to be well received? My teeth were pointed and my tongue forked. I suppose I would have to approach as humbly as one can. But even that, I suspect, will still result in my imprisonment. I suppose I will have to learn to deal with this new lot in life if I live long enough.
That night, after the run in with the Gnomes, I was awaken by a creature. I had fallen asleep near some trees so it wasn’t too surprising that some beast found me. The growlling echoed through the trees. I could make out a large creature in the dark. Thinking I might have authority over it, and my mood still quite sour, I told it to leave me alone. Naturally it attacked. I barely managed to cast a tripping spell and turn myself invisible. Yet it still got me with its claws a few times. I sprinted through the woods with all my might, eager to avoid the beast killing me and possibly eating me.
The sound of the creature grew faint. I then took notice of a nook in a tree. I managed to climb the short distance and crawl into the crevice to sleep the rest of the night.
The next day I woke up feeling tired and stiff. Didn’t help that the usual nightmares plagued my sleep too. It’s still the same ‘killing Meryth’ and helplessness with the Gods, now mingled with my reptilian shape emphasizing I’m the evil one. I should be thankful the nightmares haven't been as frequent lately. The tiredness and soreness I figured was due to the fight in the night. I was hit pretty hard and I could see the scratches across my shoulders all scabbed over. I forced myself to get up and go, hoping movement would work the soreness out. Sure enough, as the day progressed I felt considerably better.
A town came into view as night began to set in. I chose to sleep in a tree to avoid any awkwardness of my appearance with the town and with it becoming dark. I managed to climb a ways up a tree despite my manacled hands. The claws were quite useful to that aspect.
Now all I can do was hope- huh... such a vile word... ‘hope’ that the morning goes smoothly enough in town.
 |
| A sketch of what I assume Araja looks like as her transformation progresses. |
No comments:
Post a Comment