The Log in the Woods
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 117794
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Fred was as used to constant changes as someone could be, but each one still had potential to appall and panic her, and this was no exception. Belboz observed her sitting in stunned stillness on the floor for several moments as she wiggled her antennae experimentally, and also somewhat involuntarily. She smelled the mustiness of the cave, felt the still air. The world looked like it was composed of tiny pixels, and when one moved even slightly, she noticed. She had a definite excess of legs, and held very still, afraid of moving any of them. Luck was on her side this particular day, because the moment she became accustomed enough to the feeling of her grotesque new body to try to move, was also the moment Belboz happened to turn away to check something in his notes. He had been speaking, but she had not been paying the slightest bit of attention. Either way, the moment he turned away, she tried to take a step, and her new instincts kicked in quickly, and she was across the room and out the door in a jiff. She was moving now, and even though it was hard to think, she had to commit! She had some idea of where the exit might be, and darted in that direction, stunned by how quickly her six legs responded to her commands. It did not occur to her brain - the once-human part or the now-dominant roach part - to try to fly, because while she did have wings, they were vestigial and quite useless. She saw light ahead of her, and her roach brain wanted to shy away from it and remain where it was dark and damp, but her human brain urged her onward to freedom. And so she pushed forward, and all at once, she was out of Belboz's caves. She hissed slightly in discomfort under the light, wanting to quickly find a dark, safe place. So she crawled forward through the grass, taking in her surroundings bit by bit, until finally she realized she was at the base of a tree which provided a nice amount of shade. She snuggled down into the roots, half-burying herself in the dirt to hide from predators. Her roach brain wanted to find a source of food at once, while her human brain wanted to find someone who might be able to help her. In fact, in this case the two agreed that they may be after the same thing: civilization. However, the smarter of the two was still only the brain of an eight-year-old girl, and so it did not occur to any part of her that it was more likely that the first person who saw her would much sooner kill her than help her. Navigating the world was a rather slow process. Figuring out how this body wanted to work took a while, but eventually she figured out that it was best to become most active some time after dark, after which she quickly got tired and... stopped moving. It was sort of sleeping, but it wasn't quite like she had slept as a girl. Er, well... as a human. She resisted the urge for a while, but eventually took to nibbling detritus she found on leaves on the ground. She expected everything she wanted to eat to taste foul, but it really wasn't so bad. Hey, at least she could find food and eat when she wanted, instead of spending so much time just sitting around waiting for her next meal to arrive! Counting the simple state of being free, that was already two points where her life as a cockroach was better than her life as a test subject of Belboz. How about that. Several days passed before she suddenly realized that a lovely rotting log was coming up, and her roach brain, which absolutely held the reins at this point, became very excited! What a marvelous, dark, dank place to hide and eat and be safe! She darted to it at once, climbing up its side with ease and entering through the end. And the leafy bed within... was crawling with other roaches. Scores of them! Hundreds, even, hidden among the leaves and dirt! Her human brain arose briefly to shiver with revulsion, but her roach brain was inspired and gladdened! If so many like her had chosen to nest here, it must be a good place to do so, and they could keep each other safe! What a good cockroach she was. She could settle here, and live in community, and soon she would be ready to make more cockroaches, and... and... What?! cried her human brain. No! What am I thinking? I am looking for a way to change back, not a place to live the life of a common roach! I am so much more than this! I'm... I'm... oh, but this does look so lovely... As if in a daze, she crawled forward to join the throng, rather forgetting how she might have finished that thought. The roaches accepted her silently, and she instinctively integrated herself into their community. There was little need ever to leave the log; it was more than sufficient as both a food source and a haven. Occasionally a bird would alight at the end of the log and peck at a few of them, but Fred was never unlucky enough to be among those snatched up. She quickly fell into a routine and forgot any reason she might have to break it. Her human brain had spoken its piece and went radio silent, completely overwhelmed by the idealness of this arrangement. What she did not know was that she, as an eight-year-old, had been roughly eleven percent through her human lifespan, and that had translated her into a cockroach only a few weeks old, not yet mature. At this point, she could hope to live no longer than about five more months, probably less. She was completely indistinguishable from any of the from-birth roaches, to all but the most skilled magic users the world had to offer - and an assortment of creatures with natural magic to them. She was not really aware of this fact, and didn't really consider it at any point. She was just living her life in the best way she knew how.
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9/12/2020 4:48:15 AM
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