Awakening to silence is one thing. In a place you don't remember chalks up another point. But in another body? Of another creature? Nothing can or will prepare you for that. Taking stock of my surroundings, I appear to be in a cave absolutely riddled with opal-like stones. Together they cast a dim glow on the chamber, revealing the sharp edges of stone, and a myriad of thick roots. While not as bright as the gem-encrusted walls, the roots also give off light. Or what I should really say is that on closer inspection, they have blue veins that pulsate with unnatural vigor periodically
As for myself, I am now some sort of black and white bird, not one I recognize at least. I have a fairly long neck with the legs to match. Don't exactly remember many birds having claws on the tips of their wings either.
I try to think about what I was last doing as I give each wing a test stretch, but all I remember was that I was once a human. Everything else is blurry, the place I once was, the people that surrounded me, all of it is a jumbled mess. I can get a sense of rough impressions, such as colors, and sensations, but the finer details elude me. The longer I spend trying to put two and two together, the more enigmatic the whole dilemma becomes.
My stomach groans in protest, interrupting my self-reflections. Whatever, I can figure out who I am another time. Let's find some food first.
Taking my first steps towards the exit I pause briefly to take one last look back. From where I awoke is a collection of deep purple shards scattered about the floor, but what really catches my eye are the roots. Albeit slow, they slither and crawl towards these fragments, splitting open at their ends as they draw closer. New vine-like growths proliferate from the exposed tips, their cerulean alien veins much more pronounced than their progenitor. The whole process is entrancing. One-by-one, the shards becomes ensnared by the roots until they are hardly visible anymore.
I was too distracted by the whole spectacle to notice one of the vines starting to curl around my leg!
Absolutely not!
I pull on my leg and run towards the exit, stumbling every few steps or so until I finally get a good rhythm going. The thick roots go far as the cave goes, but that sure as hell isn't going to stop me. Thankfully my path is illuminated by all the opal-like stones that litter the cave walls, and I just keep on running. The clicking of my talons against the cold rocks echoes lonesomely throughout the cavern, not one other sound to be heard.
Whew, I think I can finally rest now. Been a couple minutes since I've seen one of those creepy roots but now I have a new problem. I'm running out of light! If it isn't one problem, it's always another.
The next expanse is completely dark, not a single luminescent stone in sight. I think back on a few turns I made during my escape, but most of them led deeper. Not to mention that would mean trekking back towards that infestation of hungry roots. Nope, no thanks.
The hunger pangs from earlier make themselves known once again, far more intense than earlier. I need to get out of this blasted cave and I need to do it soon.
…
What if I brought one of these gemstones with me? Beats walking into the dark unknown. Time to do some mining!
Turns out, birds are terrible miners. At first I tried scratching around the stones with my wing-claws to try and dislodge one, that didn't work. Then I tried using my talons, which, once again, didn't help. In frustration I almost tried pecking at it full force before realizing how terrible of an idea that would be. Had the same results attempting to dislodge other opals too. Every attempt was met with failure, one after the another. And as if to taunt me, I discovered that the buggers glowed brighter the longer I worked on them.
Blast it all! I kick a loose rock into the void that is the cave ahead, listening as it tumbles aggressively against the floor and the walls. I can't remember the last time I've felt so helpless, not that I can remember anything worthwhile on that matter anyways.
What if I banged a rock against one the opals? Could get some more leverage and force that way. It takes only a few seconds to find a suitable one that fits nicely in the palm of my… feet? Right. Anyways, time to smash! My long legs will suit the role nicely. I reel back for a well-aimed strike-
BANG!
There it is, a clean hit!
Except I broke it. The bloody thing exploded the second I made contact with it, and colorful fragments scattered all over the place. I severely overestimated how hard it was and did not expect it to be as fragile as glass. Can't even salvage any of the broken pieces, they are far to small and their luminescence was fading fast. Yet the chunk that remained embedded in the wall still shined well enough despite the fracture.
So my theory was spot on, just the application was a bit off. Just need to make a few adjustments is all. Finding another suitable opal nearby, this one the size of my, uh, foot. If I were to ball it up that is. This time I rake my talons on the opal itself instead of the outcropping encasing it, scoring an edge all along the perimeter. Then taking my freshly tested weapon of mass destruction, I raise it half as far, striking the opal with only a moderate amount of strength compared to before.
Bang!
While not perfect, the prep-work did its job and it fractures along the lines I scored, leaving me with a half-egg shaped chunk of bright opal. All right, that wasn't too bad!. With my all-natural lantern secured gingerly in my beak, I march forward into the bleak cavern ahead. Without the fear of being swallowed whole by freaky tentacle plants, I continue forth at a much slower pace. Every once in a while I sweep my light around to explore my surroundings a bit more carefully, yet it's all just rough, earthly stone. No moss, no bugs, no sounds, no breeze, no nothing.
Sigh
I am glad I decided to get one of the opals. I've been on this trek for about fifteen minutes now and who knows how long I would have gone stumbling through the darkness without it. Speaking of, the light it gives off has grown steadily throughout my journey. Before the glow it gave off was hardly more than a small LED, and now it was as bright as a proper lantern. Almost hurts to look directly at it.
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Ignoring the curiosity of the little gem, my thoughts turn inwards once more. Every time I try to think about who I am, all I get are foggy impressions. Can't even say in full confidence that these memories are tied to a past life, because that would imply that I died yet I can't recall such an event. Every memory dead ends. Favorite food? Nope. Birthday? Forget about it. Name? Couldn't tell ya. Age? Not a clue. The most aggravating part is that I know I have all these memories, yet they lurk just outside of my reach.
What I wouldn't do for some answers…
As if on queue to separate me from my own inner demons, a pristine lake of water extends far, far ahead, much further than my natural light reaches. The ceiling with it's many stalactites dips closer to the water's surface the further it goes, just like how my stomach curls inwards to more I realize I can't go any further without swimming. At first I hoped I could fly, yes I know I haven't tried it yet, but I would rather learn how to fly than swim as a bird. But it looks luck is not on my side, or is it.
The water's edge sways to and fro in gentle fashion, delicately reaching out for embrace before receding once more. This means that there's currents! If I can just get to the other side I might finally be free of this cave!
An emerging thought suggests that the distance I have to swim underwater will be too great to get to the other side, but I suppress that demon for the time being. I have something else in mind that demands my attention
And that is food.
Sure enough, as I hold my light out over the water, tiny slender shadows dance beneath the surface just out of reach. Much to my wonderful surprise, they seem drawn to the light. The minnow-like fish race towards my precious lamp, some leaping clear out of the water in desperation.
Coo, coo, coo!
I can't help but chuckle over my good fortune. Wait. Is that really what I sound like? Maybe I'm biased because I know I'm something I'm not, but it bothers me far more than I thought it would. Considering I've been strutting around this god-forsaken cave this entire time on scaled legs, one would think it should have sank in by now. Nope, it's when I finally hear myself for the first time that reality finally begins to settle.
This time when I look down upon the water, I ignore the bustling commotion below and instead look at the reflection staring back at me. A white feathered face, crowned with striking onyx feathers. This is me, and this is not a dream.
The gentle lapping of tiny waves are just what the doctor ordered as I feel my anxiety ebb away with the tide. Things will be alright. Just because I'm slightly more avian than I was in my previous life, doesn't mean I have to stop acting any less human. And with that bit of self-discovery done, it's time for some fishing. Of course there's no string to be found, but I think I can make do.
Carefully I adjust the opal in my beak to avoid chipping the fragile thing. Then I lay down and get comfortable on a nearby boulder, holding out one of my legs over the water's edge. I give it a few practice 'swings' as I pretend to sweep up a prize in my talons. Once I think I have the motion figured out, I get to plucking some snacks out of the water. The small things were surprisingly easy to catch, but I would have to eat a school of these things to sate my hunger. Instead let's try getting some bigger game.
Taking one of the morsels, I dangle it just far enough into the water that it's head dips in. Then with a bit of motion, not too much, not too little, I keep a look-out for the real prize. I've seen them a few times, larger shadows that are far more cautious than these little idiots.
While I waited, I tried humming a little to myself, figuring our what sounds I can make. Dare I admit, the whole experience was far cozier than I imagined compared to my previous escapades in this cave. No stress, just me and my eventual lunch when they decide to make a move. The only thing that could make this better is a charming campfire to warm the soul. Oh? Here's a live one!
A yellow and green striped fella was making increasingly frequent trips to the surface, circling the juicy bait that I had in store for him. Every now and then he would divert as if to take a lunge at my little captive, but he never did. This clever little bastard! He was faking me out! I have all day to do this, so come on already!
He circled once more. Then again. Finally, he committed, but I was ready! With a gaping mouth, he tried to swallow the bait whole. Go ahead, that was always the plan. I let go of my bait fish and plunge my talons into the water, hooking my wicked talons deep into its flesh. It flails for dear life but I have the weight advantage! With more ease than I expected, I lift my leg out of the water, flapping fish in hand... foot, and bring it to the cave floor.
Getting a closer look reveals a different picture than what I had in mind. The critter has three pairs of segmented fins, each tipped with blunted ends. However its mouth is what I find the most strange. At rest it has a diamond shaped mouth, but when it gasps for air, the mouth folds open at three different joints revealing previously hidden tusks. Yikes, those look like they can do some damage.
Delivering a bite to the spot where the skull meets the spine proves very effective. It whips around violently, then slumps lifelessly just as quickly. Not to bad if I say so myself. Lets get to work on this thing.
Prying off its scales proves to be a humbling task, and with every one successfully removed, my anticipation grows. Some of the fish's flesh sticks to the scales as I peel them off, having to resort to using my talons to tear them away. Seems I'm building up quite the little mountain of scales on the side. With my work done, the oily flesh gleams brilliantly, well not literally, but in my mind's eye it certainly does.
Digging in, it's far from a grand dish served at a five star restaurant, but it's good enough for me. The muscles tear away easily into nice bite-size chunks that I try to chew at first, before I realize I don't have teeth. With a bit of uncomfortable anticipation, I swallow my first chunk, half-expecting to choke on it. Well, didn't choke so that's good, so back to dinner!
Mealtime is interrupted by some splashing water a couple of feet away from me. This funny looking, mostly grey lizard comes out of no where shaking it's body like some sort of wet dog. The thing stares at me with it's lifeless expression, licking it's eyeballs as some sort of bizarre power move in it's little lizard brain. Do you mind?
I try to scare it away by quickly raising my wings but little lizard don't care. Just keep licking your eyeballs you little weirdo…
Deciding it's harmless for the time being, I continue eating. Finally getting something in my stomach feels great and I'm not about to let some discount dinosaur get between me and my dinner.
Just as I rip off another portion, the shameless lizard starts making some moves toward my food. No, no, no, like hell you are! Rising up with the intent to deliver this creature the swift justice it deserves, it darts past me and my fish, and instead arrives surprisingly quick to where my opal is. It opens its maw to reveal rows of tiny little daggers and bites down on it.
Wait...
No! Please!
Don't!
STOP!
Ignoring my mental pleas, it starts bobbing its head up and down. It's trying to swallow my only light source!
As if it were a life-and-death situation, I bring my talons down on the lizard, only for it to scurry away faster than I can keep up. After moving a couple feet, it starts bobbing it's head once more, the gemstone sliding further and further down its greedy gullet. My panic intensifies and desperately I chase it around the room, but the critter is too fast! With one last bob of it's head, the opal is swallowed along with all of my hopes. With a splash, it dives back into the water.
And with that, my world is enveloped in darkness, the only exception is the now barely-luminescent lizard swimming further into the depths into the lake.
Wordlessly, I feel around in the dark for where my food is. Feeling my left foot kick it, I sit down in front of it.
Goddammit…
Wallowing in my latest frustration, I start plucking at the fish, now far less tasty than before.