Wild-Side
16 months ago
The massive creature thrashed and clawed its way through a tangle of vegetation unlike anything it had ever encountered. Its scales were accustomed to razor-like barbs on plants, but nothing in this strange wilderness appeared remotely carnivorous, and none of the vegetation made any kind of threatening move. Jumping over a fallen log, the creature suddenly became wary of an ambush; so when a thick vine appeared at eye level, he struck out with deadly force. The talons on both hands lashed at the hanging vine, eviscerating it in a spray of sticky sap. However, Breslin slowed his pace when the splatter of sap on his scaly flesh failed to burn, melt, or even harm him. No additional vines came to defend the fallen.
Examining the remains of the battered vine, Breslin was perplexed. The briar had the girth of two of his talons but had failed to defend itself in any way. It also didn’t appear to be part of any social pack or pride. Retracting a claw, he dabbed at the freshly severed end of the thick rope. A thick, sticky substance oozed from the green and brown plant, but there was no blood.
Breslin rose to his feet and scanned the forest. Spindly thickets of leafy green vegetation clung to larger, brown plants that towered even higher with more greenery. He had never seen anything like it. While he sensed small wildlife moving in the distance, nothing in the immediate area stirred at all.
Warily, he brushed a large scaled hand through the left tendrils of another plant. It didn’t react, so he moved on. As he walked, he noticed the sound of his footfalls changing. They were becoming less stealthy, his stride shorter and more clumsy. He looked down to see the last scales of his torso giving way to a soft, almost pink material. His arms and legs grew shorter by degrees over just a few minutes, and he suddenly realized that he was taking on the form of one of the creatures he’d killed back in the cave.
Moments later, Breslin stood naked at the edge of a clearing, with the woods at his back. The sun shone down, and he felt it on his skin for the very first time. He knew what was happening, of course. His kind had found their way to Other-Worlds many times over generations. Turning slowly, he took in the strangeness of the green and brown landscape. The blue and white sky overhead was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Looking down at his own hand, he marveled at how short, spindly digits had replaced his mighty fist and talons. Each ended in a useless, thin shard at the end that couldn’t possibly rend flesh from bone. Then he looked at the strange dangling appendage between his legs and wondered about its usefulness.
Being the first of his kind here came with responsibilities, Breslin thought as he walked slowly through the sawgrass. Killing those in the cave had invigorated him, but it was only the beginning. A sense of this world was already beginning to form in his mind, information gathered from the body he had commandeered upon crossing over. He would need to learn more about the inhabitants of this world.
Understanding would allow him to conquer or destroy them more effectively.
