The thing I am laying on when I slowly wake up in the morning is so soft and warm, that I don’t want to open my eyes, wanting to enjoy it for a bit longer. I am still drowsy from sleep when I finally blink open my eyes, just to be met with Mia’s smile. Her hand is laying on my back, making sure I don’t fall off as I somehow found my way on top of her during the night. “Morning.” My voice is still drowsy and quiet as I cuddle deeper into Mia.

  “Morning little one, seems like you really did need some rest.” Her voice is as quiet as mine, making sure not to stir me up too much, though her hand moves up my back and trails up to the back of my skull, where the roots of my new “hair” are, the tentacles only have a cursory resemblance to hair after all, most of my skull is bare. The tentacles, much like my tails, have a bit of a mind of their own, and giddily wrap around Mia’s arm, eliciting a small giggle from her.

  I bask in the contact for a long while, the gentle strokes of her fingers eliciting soothing sensations, especially as she brushes along their bases. Though eventually, my mind arrives fully in wakefulness. “Mia, we have to go soon, no?” Squirming on top of her I position myself so I can properly look up at her, she sadly stops her caress and gives me a nod.

  “This place is safe for now, but yes, if we want to get anything done then we’ll have to get going.” She glances towards the cocoon next to us. “I am… not sure what to do with that though. We can try burning it maybe? Or do you have some way to dissolve it again?” I look over at the cocoon as well and try to ask my magic, whether it has an answer to the question. It’s a hard question to pose to it, as it requires me to figure out a way to communicate my intent on a very primal level, an endeavour that is sadly not very successful, when I prod at it with the intent of consumption, I get a very energetic and vibrant response, it really really likes to consume things, to grow! But, it doesn’t help me understand how to direct it to do so, or whether it even can absorb the leftover biomass.

  Turning back to Mia, I slightly shake my head. “Don’t think so, or if I do I’ll have to take some time to figure it out, but burning is probably going to be faster.” She gives me a nod, and we take a few minutes before I reluctantly get off of her. It’s unfair how warm and cozy she is! I crawl out of the sleeping bag we had been sharing and stretch my body, including all of my new appendages. I look back towards Mia again and catch her staring at me, a deep blush on her face.

  She quickly turns her head away and gets out of the sleeping bag herself. “Ah. Sorry.” Her voice is a quiet mutter, her apology is kind of cute, though I am not sure why she feels the need, she has already seen me like this before after all, maybe it is the tails and she’s being shy asking about them? I slightly tilt my head in thought, but decide to disregard it, she seems fine now, and if she wants to ask then she can, no need to press her on it.

  As Mia packs up her books and the rest of the little camp she made while I was out. I walk over towards the cocoon, shifting to my quadrupedal form as I do so. The outside of it is quite the same as the inside, the same type of biological mass, though it is smoother and harder. Less alive, really, not that it was very alive anymore when I left it earlier. I reach out with a paw and place it against the membrane, it is cold now, inert, any life and any magic that was part of it before has been absorbed or has dissipated by now. Forming a claw, I slice into it, cutting out a small section that I disappear into my ring… well, myself really, now that I essentially ate the ring. I then cut out another, slightly larger bit, and carry it over to where Mia is refiring the fireplace. “Here.”

  “Thank you.” She accepts the piece I hand to her and inspects it for a few moments. “This seems almost entirely biological, but how? There’s no way you had enough nutrients to form that entire cocoon so fast, though it is similar to the material from the Genesis…” I look at it more closely, it is similar to what I saw in the sky in my nightmare. At least, I think so. I don’t have much of a reference for it, so I just trust Mia on her assessment, an assessment that I am not sure makes me comfortable. Eventually, she throws it into the flames, and we see it ever so slowly catch fire, burning little bit by little bit.

  It takes us quite a long while to finish burning the cocoon due to its fire resistant material. We store the remains of the liquid that were still inside, unsure of what to do with it, as just discarding it is probably not a smart idea. At least, not here.

  Mia approaches the exit of the little hideout we are in before turning towards me. “Let’s get going. We’re still quite high in the mountain, so we’ll have to rest a few more times before we can exit, but it shouldn’t take us too long. If we don’t run into any issue that is.” I step up next to her and give her a nod.

  The wall fades away as she releases the enchantment on the campsite, and it reveals a passage throughout the mountain once more, one I am not familiar with. Sniffing the air, I notice the smell of some old blood; did Mia get wounded when she brought me here? I hadn’t noticed anything inside the camp. “Smells like blood, yours? Or something else? It’s old.” I look up at her as I decide to ask her, to make sure that she is fine.

  “Not mine, some of the critters tried to hunt us down, nothing I couldn’t take care of.” She gives me a smile and seals the wall behind us once we’re both in the tunnel. “Your senses are quite something though, I don’t smell anything anymore.” She begins to lead us down the tunnel, away from the smell of blood. “We can try going for another hunt down here, or try to avoid any confrontations for now. Sound carries far down here, and most of the predators here hunt by sound, much like the octofiend you fought.”

  “Oh is that what they’re called? It didn’t seem very… fiendy. Very octo though.” A slight giggle escapes me as I bound ahead a few steps. “If we get swarmed, we have a problem, no? The things down here, they’re probably stronger than the octofiend too, yes? I don’t think I can take on more than two or maybe three of those at a time, even if I try my best.” Mia continues to walk confidently down the tunnel. There’s not much deviation to be had so we don’t exactly need to stay right next to each other, other than to reduce our noise profile; but Mia seems fine with us being a bit noisy for the moment.

  “I can take care of most things down here without issue, but I’d eventually run out of energy. My magic isn’t exactly limitless, especially if I have to protect my body. If I could shift into my other form, then I’d be able to hold on for days with no issue, but there’s too little space here.” She shrugs a little. “As long as we don’t take too many risks and make all that much noise it’ll be okay. Your fight with the octofiend was quite loud. Most of the predators here aren’t as resilient, or violent.”

  We continue on, Mia eventually catching up to walk in step with me though we mostly remain silent as we walk, just enjoying each other’s company. We only stop to take a few turns here and there, due to tunnels that have been blocked by a cave in or similar, luckily Mia has a map so we don’t actually have to explore them to know they’re blocked.

  Eventually, I can hear a yawn from beside me, and my eyes drift up to Mia. “Campsite is still a bit away, we had to take more detours than I thought. We should take a break, eat and drink a bit before we continue.” I give her a nod and an affirming hum as we continue until we reach another cavern. “This’ll do, let’s sit.” She moves over towards one of the walls on the side, and summons a cozy pile of pelts; one that I quickly jump onto and settle myself on.

  Mia grins at me as she sits down and ignites a small light in the air, one that doesn’t seem to carry very far. She brings out food and drink again, and we rest for a while. “Do you think we’ll run into anyone else down here?” My question draws her attention and she ponders it for a moment.

  “No, probably not, the networks are vast, and we’re going to a rarely used exit. If we do run into anyone… it’ll probably be scouts of the kingdom, trying to map this place.” She takes a sip before continuing. “Any reason you’re asking? Or just curious?”

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  I shift to properly look at her. “Not sure, something feels off, but I don’t know what. It’s like… the natural magic isn’t quite right, like it’s been disturbed, but I don’t know when, or by what, or if that’s just how it is down here.” I shrug a little. “The ambient magic in the city also felt wrong, much more so than here, but in a similar manner, so maybe it’s just an after effect of that.”

  “Maybe, maybe not, best to keep an eye on that feeling, I’ve had them before and they were right every time. I… don’t like that you have it though, and I don’t. If it does hold true and something is wrong, that might be a problem.” She shakes her head and disappears the water bottle she’s holding into her ring. “Maybe a side effect of the amulet, or maybe someone managing to avoid my senses, too many possibilities. If you spot anything, don’t hesitate to tell me, we’re still in enemy territory after all, even if they suck at navigating it.” She gives me a slight grin at that. “Let’s get going again then? If we do run into anyone, assume they’re an enemy, the resistance has not been sending anyone up here recently anyway.”

  I perk up at those words, though I obediently get off of the pelts. “Resistance? Is that who made the map for you? And… amulet?” I concentrate a little and try to pick it out, it takes a moment before I notice a faint trace of magic emanating from underneath her clothing, a different kind from what I’ve seen before, except for the campsite, the campsite also had similar magic present. “Oh! There! It’s magic!”

  Mia stands and motions me along. “Yes, they did, I have some friends in it; I wish I could do more for them, but the curse has been… an impedance, not to mention the tracking. The amulet is supposed to help with the latter, at least temporarily. Once we’re in the wilds I won’t even need it anymore, no one in the kingdom would follow us there. Except the magehunters, but those guys are little better than rabid dogs… which is probably an improvement, actually.” We continue along the tunnel as Mia speaks in a hushed voice, making sure it doesn’t carry far. “The resistance has been… preparing for a while now, if we can help them, maybe we can actually change things around here. Not that you have to, mind you, but… there’d be a lot of people appreciating any kind of help.” I can sense there’s some words unsaid there, but I leave it for now.

  “I am not sure how much help I’d be, but I am certainly no fan of this kingdom so far.” We walk as I consider what else to say, Mia patiently waiting for me to speak. “Can’t say I am exactly invested in anything here though, but… if I can help, I think I will. Especially if it helps you. I’ve never really been a selfless person, I don’t exactly jump to any given strangers help, and I can feel that I am still drifting further away… from caring about random humans, that is…” There are words still unsaid on my part too, but I leave them for now, not only because I am not sure how Mia will like those answers, but also because I am not sure of them myself, not yet. Humanity, after all, has always been an elusive thing to me, my body being so different now certainly is not helping with it either, and when I ate my prey? It… felt different, primal in a sense. “I’ll help you, if you want me to. And even all things considered, I am not exactly a fan of the people being treated as they are.”

  Mia stays quiet for a little longer before she replies. “Alright, you are going through a lot, so I don’t expect you to just… abandon everything to help, or to stop your own journey. Anything you decide to do, I will appreciate, regardless of the motivation.” She gives me a smile and reaches out a hand to pat my head. “We’ve all changed, after the Genesis, some more some less, some faster some slower. Take your time and become who you want to be, you’re welcome with the resistance, I am sure, but they’ve been working on this a long time, any newcomers will just ease the burden.” Her hand leaves my head as we move on.

  After a few more minutes, we reach another intersection, and Mia stops beside me. “Hold on.” She takes a few moments with her eyes closed before she continues. “The path ahead looks different to what it should; not sure if it’s a cave in or something else though, it’s… odd. A detour is gonna take us a while though, but if it’s a cave in, then we can’t go that way, using magic to breach it is just going to destabilize the tunnel more. And the alternative… either soldiers or some kind of creature I’ve not encountered before.”

  “I can still keep going for a while, and you know the threats down here better than me.” My eyes shift to the tunnel in front of us, it looks normal, just like all the others, the temperature is no different, and I don’t notice any weird magic either. “Don’t know how much worth it is, but I don’t sense anything magical that way.” My tail points into the tunnel as I speak.

  “Cave in then, probably. Let’s head around it, if you’re still good then it’ll be fine.” She starts heading down one of the other paths and I follow alongside her. The feeling of something being off ever so slowly shifts in the back of my mind, but my attention is on other thoughts, so I pay it no mind.

  As we walk, I continue to think about what I noticed earlier, I… do not really feel very connected to how I was before, not in the I am human sense anyways, I do still feel the same way about Anya, that part, that core part of me has not changed, nor have other parts that make me, me. But, the parts around that, that made up the human shell of me? They’re not exactly gone, but they’re fraying at the edges, thread by thread they are being stripped from me; every step I take in this new form of mine, I feel more at home, more content with my being, more so than I have ever before, and with each of them, I feel less human.

  It’s an odd realization to have, sure, other people were always a bit of a mystery to me, how do they tick? What are their motivations? But I always considered myself to be human too, at least in the vague sense that people seemed to define it, but now, it feels like a shackle, a set of ropes constricting me, and I am happy for it to fade away, even if I am not sure why. Maybe I have always been like this, shackled by humanity, and there never was an impetus for it to fall away, and now the impetus is there, or maybe it is the primal nature of magic stripping away that which we do not need. What exactly this will actually mean to what makes me, me, I don’t really know yet, but, even with the next step I take, I feel my mind twist ever so slightly, giving in to the ease of how my body moves.

  I can feel the primal instincts slumbering in me, and I want to let them out. But I do not for I do not yet know whether I can be their master, I have felt them before though, their overwhelming desire to hunt, to consume. Not just during the fight with the octofiend, actually, but, before then, during the darker times, they are survival, too, and… my eyes flick to Mia who walks beside me, clothed now, but I vividly remember her without them. There are other instincts too, subtle and muted, just like those things have always been for me, but they are there, in the background, a desire for company, for familiarity and intimacy, intimacy in many forms, really, emotional and physical; things we have shared already, I realize. A small bound enters my step as we continue moving, happiness filling me at finding someone that I can consider a friend, at realizing that she truly is a friend to me, one I can be myself around, that does not mind my shows of affection.

  That, too, is a thing that has changed, before there was only Anya that truly understood my desires, that my wants for intimacy aren’t of the same nature as those of others, Mia seems to understand too, though I am not sure how much of that is my appearance, and how much of that is her understanding that I am different. Time will tell, really, but I feel more comfortable indulging in these behaviors now at least, not as much as I really want to be, but it is something I can feel is changing the fastest. The old shackles forged from reprimands and expectations reforged into an armor to bolster me against any foes, allowing me to indulge in the feral parts of my instincts. This armor is also something I know I can shed, one I can leave behind when with those closest to me, to be who I truly am. I do not know if that is what it will be in the end, but that is what it is becoming for now, though I suspect it is merely an intermediary, yet another separation until the day I am whole.

  I am ripped out of my reverie as my senses start to scream at me, magic is flooding all around us, twisting and turning, seeking. “Mia! Magic!” Footsteps start to fill the tunnel in front and behind us as Mia’s own magic starts to spill from her, pushing against that which seeks us.

  “Should’ve asked for a second amulet for you. Get ready for a fight, little one, they’re not gonna go down without one, and I don’t intend to either.” She pauses for a second as her magic brightens everything around us in its icy blue glow, yet it feels warm to me. “I’ll probably be out for the count after this. Take the map, and try to get us out of here when I am… Celine will be able to help you, once you reach the woods.”

  I grab the map she summons and store it away, forcing myself not to think about her words, not to despair, nor to get up my hopes at hearing my best friend’s name. I start to ready myself for the fight ahead, drawing on the magic to become harder to notice, and tapping into the new bits and pieces I have learnt, the new organs within me. The tips of my split tails shift into serrated edges, a clear liquid slowly seeping out of them, as magic begins to accelerate the blood in my veins, not to the point of causing damage, yet, but ready to give me a boost, should I need it.

  Our first opponents step into sight, heavily armored men with no discerning features, blades and shields in their hands, and I sense an appalling lack of magic from them, like someone stripped the very lifeforce of the planet from them. Lifeforce? I shelve the thought for later, and instead I draw on the primal side of me, on the instincts I am still hesitant to give in to, letting them slowly leak into me.