The being was used to change, but this one was different: transforming from a uniform and ever-changing mass, into a definite structure – one made of fixed parts, each with different textures and aims – was extremely disorienting.
Luckily, it had the privilege of new information along with its just as new body, and of awareness as it all happened. It could fully enjoy the process.
A rigid scaffolding was aggregating, straightening and wedging in place. Pliant flesh covered that, connecting and flexing to allow movement. Skin, fur and scales encased it all, knitting themselves together, protecting the whole.
It wasn't necessarily pleasant as the unknown body and the stuff that used to be the being were shoved around and compressed into something new. There was certainly what its new instincts informed was pain. A lot of it.
But it wasn’t bad. Maybe once the novelty faded it would change its mind. Most likely, it would.
Right now, however, the being hadn’t felt anything like this in... had it ever felt at all? It wasn’t sure it had. Not in this way. What a strange, uncomfortable thought...
Oh, discomfort! Another one!
It was all new, and it couldn’t wait to enjoy every part of it. Especially now that enough legs were just finishing straightening under it, allowing it to get up. Or to try to do so.
It knew instinctively how to stand, but managing all these moving parts at the same time was incredibly finicky. The gravel that kept shifting around its feet definitely wasn’t helping.
And while it was still fighting against its own limbs to stand up, the process continued, resulting in more and more marvels.
It had barely reached some semblance of stability, when enough eyes sprouted on its head and opened up, allowing it to look around... and immediately throwing its balance into disarray, making it crash onto the ground and slide down some distance.
‘Look around’... what a wondrous concept! So many new things!
...but it was hard to enjoy them all together, wasn’t it? Likely the reason it was having so much trouble even standing up.
To ease things along, it should do one at a time. First should be looking around, because everything was just so different through that. From a vantage point.
So it slowly crawled its way up a small rise, and as it did, it admired the sharp texture of the dusty gravel, relishing the gentle bite on its joints.
… Maybe it should be waiting for its body to stabilize? Things were not done scrambling inside, and much of its previous self was still hanging in some places. All this movement while those bits were flapping about couldn’t be good.
But it was just too curious.
It finally reached the top and truly took a look... and was astounded by what it saw. The cracked ground and the boulders that looked like they went on almost forever; the pall of dust hanging still in the air, except for a soft swirl where the great Current stirred it. This new world was so vast... the being almost couldn’t see its confines.
The new senses were so good, they even allowed it to spot an errant, its vibrations clear against the stillness of everything else. It would be interesting to check how the thing looked from up close... but later. It already knew errants for the most part, and they always ignored it besides.
There were more things to see right now. It was all just so wonderful and new and exciting! And those giant boulders over there… what were they up to?
The being didn’t stop at looking. It couldn’t stay still anymore. It ran and jumped, scraped its joints on the rocks and fed from the great Current. Directly.
There was so much to do, so much to see, that it couldn't even decide what it wanted to do most.
This nagging feeling trying to distract it from its exploration was the only bad part in an otherwise wonderful adventure. It had definitely picked the right option when it left its small world.
And where was the small world now? What would it look like through these new eyes?
It needed to see! It had kept an eye out as it wandered about, but hadn’t found any trace...
And so it walked more, stumbling at times and knocking some things inside a bit off as a result. Which might have delayed its transformation - at best - but was inevitable while still learning.
It would have probably kept going for much longer, if a lucky fall hadn't smacked its head right against one of the cracks in the ground. There was a strange sense of familiarity that confused it at first, even through the difference in perspective. Or maybe that was just the impact?
Slowly, it understood: it wasn't the very same crack, but it might as well be.
To think it had lived its entire life, in the before, in one such place. That felt… It didn’t know what it was exactly, but it wasn’t a good feeling. It felt as if this new greatness somehow took away from the simple delights of its past life. Made it lesser.
What a glorious day: new emotions, new perspectives, and new concepts!
Would the wonders ever end?
As if to answer that very question, the last thing inside finally snapped into place, and that nagging feeling in its mind burst out.
It was something gigantic. Taking up most of its focus.
And yet it wasn't there. Because no matter how much the being tried to touch it, it was unreachable, and whichever way it moved its head, it stayed right where it was.
Intriguing. This thing must be significant.
It had a certain quality to it, that made it more important than the dust or the rocks. Even than the cracks in the ground.
But it was absolutely impossible to figure out why.
Not that that was a reason to give up. The being had grown so much smarter and would easily crack this mystery, if it truly put its mind to it.
Many failed attempts later, curiosity was fully turning into annoyance. Which was what this thing would be to it, from now on: an annoyance.
It had tried everything to solve the riddle: it had run, thrown rocks, screamed…
It had thought to close its eyes to feign distraction... and then surprise the annoyance! but the infuriating thing was even in the darkness of its closed eyes!
It suspected the annoyance had even changed at some point. Went away for a time - so little that it might simply be mistaken - and came back looking just a tiny bit different.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
But surely that couldn’t be. Nothing different had been going on when-
The being sat down on the ground staring resentfully, any trace of reverence faded… and replaced by a nugget of worry.
Was this part of its new self, the same way its limbs and eyes were? Was its future to always battle against this annoyance while trying to explore the world?
It was important in some way, and certainly very interesting. For sure. But there was no way to understand it. And so huge and distracting, it was actively hindering the exploration of the new world. Something that was surely more important than any of the annoyance’s... stuff.
The being lost its patience and flailed its hands at it, trying to hit the maddening thing. Channeling all its despondence and attempting to imbue the intent to make it just go away into its very limbs...
Surprisingly, it worked!
The annoyance really did go away at its command, giving back unobstructed focus to explore the world once again!
... only to almost immediately come back.
Slap away.
Another slap.
Another still, and it had many more to give!
No matter how much it took, the being would be indomitable. It was even starting to refine its technique! There was no need to get quite so close to dislocating a shoulder, as long as it really channeled all its contempt into the motion.
Perhaps it would grow capable enough that... It was over! No more attention-grabbing things taking up all its focus. At least for now. It could go back to its exploration. So many places to see!
The last annoyance had felt somewhat... ominous, but what could the being do?
It had grown much more capable, but it couldn’t put its many new talents to use without knowing what the problem was, if any. Even if certainly impressive, it was still very much limited.
...which was good, in a way! Constraints might be stifling, but they were also helpful. After all, it had been able to move and change however it wanted, in the before, and yet it had never accomplished anything. Most likely, it had barely moved at all.
And if its limits were ever a nuisance, then it would grow past them. Even if it didn’t think that would come again soon. It had become so much better, already. It had become...
It sat down, considering its new condition. Even the annoyance couldn’t distract it right now.
And the thing was trying hard this time: a big main part and smaller ones accompanying it. They were taking a majority of its focus, but the being was too absorbed to care right now.
Yes, it might have changed a lot: it could walk now, look around and think more clearly.
But it was still the same in the end, wasn’t it?
That felt important.
In fact, even the annoyances were reacting. Entirely unrelated to its thoughts, most likely, but it would take that as a sign nonetheless. They were piling on top of each other, vying for attention and making it feel increasingly-
All of them were slapped away angrily.
The being had thought it could ignore them while thinking so deeply, but that last one was making it feel increasingly unnerved and unsatisfied. Which would not stand! It certainly wanted to go places and grow, but it also wanted to enjoy its new existence. There was no reason to hurry so-
A great tremor shook the world.
The being was shoved every which way, without apparent cause. Its balance gone.
Terrified, it carefully laid down on the ground, to avoid falling and getting hurt.
Then it did nothing but roll into a ball, trying to steady itself and quell the panic.
It was so disorienting. So sudden.
It couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.
It could only wish for the humming to go away.
...and then it was over.
...
It took some time for the being to understand and accept that, to release its crushing grip on the nearby rocks.
The shaking had left as fast as it had come.
Just... what had happened?
It couldn’t remember having ever experienced something like that. It felt as if the entire world was shaking... and yet all was still. Even the finest pebbles, the kind that moved at the barest touch, were still. Except those few that the being itself had disturbed.
The new annoyance was slapped away by accident as it tried to get up, which was no loss. Not when it had been trying once again to make the being uncomfortable, and it definitely didn’t need more of that, right now.
What had just happened was worrying. It might-
something huge hit its side and smashed it into the ground.
What do you think about "the being" as a name?
