I am actually fairly surprised, I was expecting her to freak out about being surrounded by water. Then again, the way she keeps leaning out of the boat to bat at the water with her paw, she might not know what it is. We have spent some time on the beach, but I don't remember her ever playing with the water.
However, as long as she isn't freaking out about it then it doesn't really matter why. Although, at some point I should probably make sure she knows how to swim. For now, we are already approaching the beach of the new island, so it should be fine.
Once we land our first priority is to find a safe location to set up our new camp. After that we secure the canoe nearby and then we relax while we have some lunch. For once I don't feel the need for a nap, so we set out to do some exploring until dinner.
Like the first island we explored, this one has nothing special and only has minimal life on it. At least that is all we find before returning to camp to have dinner and get some rest. The next day, after breakfast, we explore some more, but we don't find anything different.
We stop for lunch where we are instead of returning to camp, then after a nap we continue exploring. We make it to the far side of the island and then return on a different path. At this point I am pretty much convinced that this island is a dud like the first one.
The next day, after breakfast, we continue exploring anyway, better safe than sorry. Besides, I am still in no hurry, I am basically just wasting time while I wait to grow up. However, after lunch we have to cut our exploration short, there is a storm moving in.
So we return to camp as quickly as we can and get ready to weather the storm. We have actually been lucky so far, this is the first storm we have had since we left the island. It has rained a bit here and there, but this looks like it is going to be a big storm.
Luckily, we saw it coming and make it back to camp with plenty of time to spare. Then we just sit in our comfy little shelter and watch the storm rage around us. It isn't at the level of a hurricane, but it is still a fairly impressive storm with lots of lightning.
I suddenly get an irresistible urge to go out and play in the lightning, which I don't fight. Before I do I tell Nala to stay put, which she doesn't argue, and give Brightfire a look. She doesn't understand the look until she sees me run out into the storm.
Luckily, she has enough trust in me not to try and follow me, or she just isn't that crazy. Either way, I am alone as I rush out into the open, and a bolt of lightning greets me instantly. It doesn't hurt at all when the lightning hits me, in fact it feels amazing!
After I get hit I suddenly feel full of energy, almost like my battery is overcharged. When the next bolt hits me it gets even worse, I have to start running around just to burn some energy. The hyper feeling doesn't go away because lightning bolts keep hitting me.
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In fact, it would be fair to say that all of the storm's fury is focused on me. My little body absorbs everything the storm throws at it and it is an intoxicating feeling to say the least. After the first dozen or so bolts hit me lightning starts crawling all over my body even between strikes.
Then, after a few more hits, it starts feeling painful, not the bolts, but being overloaded. My entire body feels like it is about to explode, so I wisely run back to the camp and take shelter. As soon as I am back I notice Brightfire giving me a strange look, then she takes a mirror out from somewhere and shows me my reflection.
When I look in the mirror I realize why she is looking at me so strangely. I now have a small golden horn growing out of my forehead, it looks about three inches long. This is certainly something I wasn't expecting when I went to play in the lightning.
It looks like the lightning did something to me, but when I check my character screen I don't see anything different. Then again, my system has been particularly unhelpful with this latest set of changes. It doesn't even give me a basic description of my race anymore, very disappointing.
Brightfire pulls out a lot of food and we all eat while watching the storm. The storm shows no signs of ending soon so after we finish eating we all go to bed. When we wake up in the morning the storm is gone and the skies are clear.
So, after eating breakfast, we set out to explore some more of the island. As we are walking Nala bumps her shoulder into mine and it is only then that I realize I have grown again. I quickly crane my head around and take a look at myself, trying to figure out how much I've grown.
As best as I can tell I am already three times the size I was when I hatched. That lightning bath certainly gave me a serious boost, I wonder what other surprises I will find. Maybe I should head back to the other island and try taking a lava bath.
It actually might be worth a try, but only after we have finished exploring this island. While I am fairly certain we won't find anything, I still plan to be thorough. We stop for lunch next to a small spring and then continue exploring until dinnertime.
As we eat dinner I map out the areas we have explored in my mind to see what's left. There isn't much, one more day of exploring should cover it, and then we can move on. There probably isn't a real need for us to explore every inch of each island, but I feel the need to.
Not only is this giving me time to grow, but the tree is also growing during this time. As soon as I can shapeshift normally again I should go check and see how it is doing. I should also probably go get it more water from the sacred spring since it enjoyed it so much.
After dinner I try shapeshifting to see how it goes, I make it to about ten minutes before the headache starts. Not enough to travel, but at least it is showing improvement, enough to give me hope. At the rate I am growing, the tree might be ready by the time I can return.
If that proves to be the case then I probably won't have enough time to explore all the islands. Especially since I have no idea just how many islands there even are. For all I know this island chain could contain hundreds of islands and stretch for thousands of miles.
As we go to sleep I decide that after one more day exploring this island we will take the canoe and head for the next one. We should be able to explore another island, maybe two, before I am able to fly back to the main island. I also don't like being out of touch for so long, something could happen to the elves while I am not there to protect them.