1.72 – Slither

A cute bunny becomes lunch

Around midday, they spotted a large bunny chewing on some grass in the shade of a tree. Maple pointed it out to Emma and fawned over how cute it was. It must have been the largest bunny she'd ever—

Alas placed an arrow right into the poor little thing's heart. A clean shot. It died instantly. Maple's mouth dropped open. Alas picked it up and carried it by it's big floppy ears.

"I've got lunch, whenever we want to stop."

"But it was so cute, and you—murdered it."

Alas shrugged. Maple's tone wasn't quite serious, and she wasn't quite disturbed—she'd surely eaten other cute animals before—but it was so sudden. Thera stretched and looked to the sun.

"About time for it. Let's check the map and reorient, too."

They stopped in a clearing by the dirt trail, which at this point seemed to come and go. Maple set her backpack down with relief, and Emma came out of her bottle to join them. Alas was already slicing into the rabbit when Emma approached with a grin.

Good shot. Can I help?

"You ever field dress anything before?"

Emma shook her head, but she was happy to learn. Alas obliged her, handing her both the rabbit and the knife before instructing her on what to do. Maple looked away and saw Sylla approaching.

"Want to help me with the firewood, Maple?"

She wanted to sit there and give her legs a break, but she also wanted to eat. It looked like Dort was whipping something up to go with it. She wasn't sure they intended to share, but maybe if she helped...

"Sure."

"We don't need a ton, just toss any good sticks you find on."

Sylla summoned a glowing sled made of mana, or magic, or however that worked, and let it drag along the ground behind them. It had a soft blue glow, almost the same color as her turquoise-tinted scales. To gather sticks, she used a conjured hand of similar magic. Maple watched with mild envy while picking up fallen branches and sticks the old-fashioned way.

"So, how's your mana practice coming along? Starting to be able to sense your own yet?"

"Yeah, a little. It's um, difficult though, like I need to focus on it in just the right way."

"That's normal. It's because your brain filters it out automatically, like how you don't see your own nose even though it's there in your vision, or how you're not usually aware of breathing. Keep practicing sensing it, it'll be the foundation for a lot. Are you ready for your next lesson?"

Maple nodded and Sylla gestured her over. She cupped her hands as if holding a ball, and instructed Maple to the same.

"Try to gently push it from your hands and form a ball. Visualize it, and it should want to listen."

Maple did, and to her surprise felt it much more vividly once it was out. A tingle hung in the air where she imagined it to be, though she couldn't see it. She also kind of just knew it was there; a piece of her, again, a little like proprioception. Sylla watched, and seemed to be able to see it.

"Great. Now, try to reabsorb it. Practice that whenever you can, and your body will become more efficient at it, which will mostly help if you do any cognitomancy like I do, but it'll also make converting ambient mana to your own easier when you get to that point."

Maple nodded and tried sucking the ball of mana back into her hands. It did feel like less came back than had gone in.

"You'll also want to practice making your shapes more solid and less prone to leakage, but that'll get easier as your sensitivity increases. Right now you're losing bits too small for you to detect. Also practice seeing it, if you'll want that. It's a synaesthetic sense that you're developing, meaning your mind will interpret it through your other senses, and it's better to develop what you want early. Gnolls usually like incorporating smell, for example, but most humans and other species don't bother."

"Huh, alright. Why can I see yours, though?"

Sylla moved her magic hand between them. After a second, it turned invisible. A very faint shimmer in the air remained if Maple squinted.

"Mana density, partly, but the rest is just how it's designed. Sometimes in a fight it'd be better for it to be invisible, but you also don't want your allies to accidentally run into a conjured blade."

Made sense. Maple reached out and touched the hand. She grabbed it to test how solid it really was. It felt smooth, and had the same temperature as the air. Maple entwined her fingers with its. It felt like a real hand, with solid bones and some give from a fake skin.

When she looked up, Sylla was blushing slightly and Maple quickly stopped groping the conjured hand.

"Ah—sorry. I was just curious."

"No, it's fine. It's just that, I can feel through it, nearly as detailed as my own hand."

"Oh—uh, sorry. That's cool, though."

Maple felt her own cheeks warm a little, having essentially just non-consensually held hands with the lamia. Sylla turned away.

"Anyway, let's go get that fire started. I'll try to teach you more next time we stop. Practice that while walking if you want, just don't exert yourself too much."

Maple threw a couple more sticks they passed on the way onto the sled. They had a decent pile, and it'd all been worth it for the magic lesson alone. She'd only managed to form a ball of the stuff, but even that was exciting. It wasn't like anything possible back on Earth.

And it was a lamia teaching her. She found herself accidentally admiring her scales and snake-half again on the way back, and made a point to stop doing that—because it was rude, she was sure.

She wondered what it was like, though, and found herself watching how Sylla propelled herself forward. The hypnotizing undulation looked natural, of course, but the longer she watched the more she felt like she'd be confused if she were suddenly a lamia herself. Sylla turned and busted Maple staring at her.

"Sorry, um, I wasn't staring. I was just wondering...do baby lamias need to learn how to walk? It looks confusing."

Maple felt a little silly for asking, but Sylla wasn't all that taken aback by it.

"Yes, actually. But it doesn't take as long as it does for humans. It comes pretty naturally, it's just—"

She shrugged, and gestured to her snake-half. She exaggerated the serpentine motion, which sure, wasn't that complicated a movement, but how many different muscle groups was that to coordinate at once? All those points of contact with the uneven ground, versus her two feet.

"It's not like, confusing to remember which part is this way or that?"

"Hm, not really? We can move sideways, too. Any direction, really."

She demonstrated a strafing movement, and Maple was left even more confused. Like, how?

They reached the rest of the group, and Sylla began piling wood next to where Alas and Emma were. The rabbit was now nude and empty inside. It'd lost its head and Emma was consoling it with a spicy massage.

Sylla started a fire with magic, and Thera waved Maple over to a rock she was sitting on. She had the map in her hand, and pointed to where they were.

"Which way, oh mysterious guide? Does it feel any closer?"

"That way. A little bit, but I can't really tell still."

"Hmm, alright. We'll have to start cutting through wilderness soon."

There weren't many trails left where they were, northeast of Syber on the map. Soon, the rabbit was skewered over the fire, and next to it was a noisy lidded pot. Everyone had a nice rock to sit on.

"What's that?"

"Quick potato stew, to go with the rabbit. You're welcome to some, once it's done."

Dort answered while idly stroking the square head of a hammer at his waist.

"Oh, thanks. I meant the pot, though. Why's it...rattling?"

"Ah, pressure cooker. Boils hotter than it normally would, and makes it go faster."

Ah, right. Maple knew of electric ones, at least. This one just had a valve to release excess pressure, and Dort adjusted its position over the fire if it got too hot. Alas took a drink of water and turned to Maple.

"Now that we're away from everyone, what do you think we'll find in this place? Thera told us most of it, but we were left speculating."

The others were eager for her response, too. Maple laughed nervously.

"I don't know. She told you it's probably a uh, you-know, right? I think she's why my classes are all messed up, and she said it was to make up for that, so maybe it'll give me normal ones. I just hope it's not something that turns me into a tentacle monster or something, you know? Haha."

None of them laughed, but Emma grinned. Maple's concern grew.

"It wouldn't be something like that, right?"

"Oh? Why would it be tentacles, do you think?"

Alas raised her eyebrows and put a hand on her chin. Maple stumbled over her answer—she was aware of that being a thing back home, but did they not have that here?

"You know, because—"

"I don't know. Explain it please."

"Because...tentacles, and they, you know—"

"Don't explain that, lass. Alas's just messin' with ya."

Alas glared at the dwarf and Maple glared at her. She didn't have a good read on the half-elf yet, but her sense of humor seemed somewhat odd. Sylla clasped her hands around her staff.

"I think it'll be something good. If it can change your class, it'd be worth a lot even if you don't want it. We're all hoping there's other items too, of course, but we're also doing it because of...the mystery. Or adventure."

Azure Bond all nodded at that, and Emma held up her notebook.

I hope it's tentacles!

"No you don't. I'll throw that notebook into a fire if it is."

Alas leaned over to read, and then sat back, hand on her chin.

"Oh? Why are you hoping she grows tentacles? Explain it to me."

She was all too happy to explain, and Maple threatened to throw her notebook into the fire now if she did. All in good fun.

The lunch was filling and delicious, good fuel for a long hike. Emma licked the dishes clean with her soapy hands, and they continued their journey.