Extraordinary. I can control each digit independently, something I would not have guessed by looking. The paw was enormous and covered with tan fur. I turned it over and licked the gray pads. Of all the times I'd been here, I was never one of these. I exhaled a long, soft rumble of satisfaction. I shook my great, furry head for having waited so long.

I took two steps and stopped. This body couldn't smile, as could the last. Smile or no, I was glad for spending extra on initial full control. Some, on a budget or more adventurous, started with nothing. These toughs were hatched from eggs or suffered the indignity of a live, bloody birth, secreted onto dead grass and licked clean by a thick, bacteria-laden tongue. For me, well, I was never one for helplessness.

The colors were extraordinary. My new eyes drank their fill of every hue in the spectrum. High above was a deep, penetrating blue with sharp, white lines produced by the native dominant. The lower reaches glowed a fiery red with gray and white slashes. Green and brown were at my feet. Reflex dictated I piss. Only here could the evacuation of a bladder feel this glorious.

I closed my eyes and inhaled this atmosphere's gases deeply, feeling my lungs separate the oxygen to produce reactions necessary to think and act. It was music, notes rising and falling, thoughts forming and dissolving, muscles contracting and releasing. So simple, and so powerful. The beings here were blissfully unaware of how dull other worlds were. There, math was the fascia; here, math was the foundation.

I opened my mouth and let my tongue hang down and drip saliva. It was a big tongue; the saliva was a river. My eyes closed halfway while I panted, lungs divesting carbon dioxide and investing atmosphere. This was raw. This was pinpricks throughout me. This was why I was here. This was what it was to be alive.

Before me was a wall, with three curious objects leaned against. All three were the same, except for one being larger than the other two. They had diamond-shaped boxes in the middle, with a circle at each end. Moving slowly, in case these things were alive, I approached the larger one, which was the same size as me. I sniffed the box, and still no movement. Now confident in their harmless nature, I sniffed all three. The box portions had a sharp smell, while the circles had a soft, unpleasant smell that seemed artificial.

There was a loud banging sound in the distance. I hunched down and quietly padded away. It was better not to know.

My eyes were strong, but not moreso than many other creatures here. I was surrounded by … grass. Yes, that's what it was, brown grass. I remembered the label from the last time I had the smiling body of a native dominant -- the smilers had a biological need to label everything. I believe they have sacrificed the contemplation of things as they truly are on the altar of efficiency. This does not seem wise, but I lacked experience as a smiler, and as one of these, to make a sound judgment.

This brown grass was tall as my whiskers. I moved my snout into a thick clump. It smelled strongly of safety. I couldn't be seen here, and that knowledge wrapped around me like a blanket. I had few enemies, but those I did have were more than capable of sending me back early. That would be a shame because of the expense, but also -- I drew deeply of the atmosphere and felt energy flood my taught body -- because of the way this feels. I wanted to feast, and to embibe, and fornicate. These things are denied us because of our "advancement." You can live forever if you are willing to give up being alive.

I felt something on my back, then the grass moved. A gentle, silent force was all about. I bit at it, and sniffed. I sat down and learned what I could from my whiskers. Whatever it was, there was little substance to it. A swatted paw told me nothing, so I moved on to other things.

Above was a deep blue sky (yes, I remembered, the smilers called it a sky) criss-crossed by long, white lines. I extended a paw, and then claws, but couldn't reach the lines.

I began walking through the grass, feeling it rub on my whiskers, and I felt the lumpy ground beneath my feet. The tall grass ended, and some short grass, bright green in color, began. I looked around while smelling. Then I backed into the tall grass and sat down. Nothing looked or smelled amiss, so I walked out into the open.

There were several tall brown things with thick, green caps above. I couldn't remember the smiler label for them. The caps, well above the ground, moved slightly. I walked to one of them and stood up on my rear legs. The smell indicated great age and aliveness. I sank my front claws into it, and there was no reaction. I scrambled up to a piece that jutted out sideways from the main piece. I found that I could lie down safely. It was a pleasant perch.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

A small, black shape approached, making an annoying little sound. It landed on my nose, and the sound stopped. I could barely smell it. I moved my snout and snapped, closing my mouth on it. I swallowed. It was a silly little life, and added little to my own. 

Then I spotted something larger. It was a black shape moving around above ground, at about my height. It got closer, and looked brown as it became more distinct. At the last moment, it veered up and landed on another outcropping of the brown, just above me. A chirping noise commenced. I slowly got to my feet, securing myself with my claws. The chirping became louder and faster. I raised my head to try for a smell, and the little thing sped away in a flurry.

Sleep came, and my distance above the ground made it seem safe, so I let it wash over me. Some time later, I awoke with a faint memory of a dream; it was the small chirping flurry thing. It was making smiler sounds, which I couldn't understand. It strutted back and forth on the outcropping and moved its elaborately decorated arms up and down, a display that failed to offer insights as to its meaning or purpose.

I jumped down after a thorough look around. Across the short, green grass was something tall and brown. I ran for it. I was even faster than I thought. So fast that I wondered if anything here was faster. When I arrived at the brown I was breathing hard. I was good at short bursts, but I wouldn't be good at long runs.

The tall brown thing smelled a lot like the brown thing I had just come from. One difference was the presence of small, sharp smells every once in a while. I was about to walk away when I heard a dangerous, sustained sound.

There, at the end of the brown, right at the corner, was a black and brown shape, with white teeth showing at the near end. The shape was alive, and about my own size. The sound's message was clear: this area is mine, and I'm going to kill you.

The noise changed from sustained to several sharp, loud sounds, and the creature's label materialized in my mind: dog.

About my chances for victory, I had no conception, therefore I would not fight. There were two options, run or climb. Choosing the latter, I jumped and sank my claws deeply into the brown, then crawled up two body lengths. That's where I knew I had a problem. I couldn't go any further, and I may not be able to stay where I was. I was too heavy.

The dog with its menacing sounds came beneath me. It would be such a waste for this to be over so soon.

There was a new sound, faint but clear. I recognized it as a smiler, but could not see one. I was disappointed at my inability to understand the smiler sound. I had been able to last time, but apparently some knowledge was not transferable.

My grip slipped and I almost fell. The dog now smelled of joy. It wanted to kill me more than I had ever wanted anything. It was a simple creature, but no doubt efficient at its business.

There was another smiler call, and the dog ran away. It seemed too easy, like it was some ploy of the dog. Could they possess that level of sophistication? Whatever the case, I couldn't maintain my grip any longer, so I retracted my claws and dropped to the ground. My legs absorbed the shock with ease, and I ran away fast on those capable legs, until I had created a great distance between myself and the problem.

I found some of the other brown, the kind with a green cap, climbed up to an outcropping, and promptly fell asleep.

The light was gone when I awoke. I couldn't remember why the light came and went, but knowing there was a reason kept me from panicking. I yawned and looked around. To my surprise these eyes saw quite well in the darkness. 

On the ground, I made a number of sniffs and listened at length. The smell and the sounds of darkness were different than the light. I wandered aimlessly, feeling comfortable in the body, liking how it responded, and especially liking all the information it gathered. The smilers, from what I remembered of the experience, were numb in comparison.

When the sky grew light again, I found a green cap in which to sleep. The light was strong when I awoke, and it was much warmer. A curious thing occurred during my wanderings in that light. It became cool and, well above me, grayish black shapes painted over the blue. Small objects fell from the gray shapes, and when I put my head up and opened my mouth, I discovered that the objects were water. I made sport of catching them. What a strange world this was.

My reverie was curtailed by a distant rumbling that I felt as much as heard. A great stomach was announcing its hunger, and I hoped to never cross paths with the creature to whom that stomach belonged.

The gray yielded to blue, and my wander continued. Twice there were angry dog-dog sounds (were there no happy dogs?), but I never saw the dogs. It was a shame problems like these couldn't be omitted, but then I checked myself. This was a real world. None of these things -- the grass, the brown things with the green caps, the big and small things that moved around above the ground, the dogs -- were placed here for my amusement.

I moved through tall grasses again, my favorite place on the ground. The grass thinned, then gave way to short, green grass. I cautiously peered out to see something I had not seen before -- smilers at close range. So strange that they walked on hind legs; I had forgotten about that. There were four -- two big and two small. My stomach rumbled softly as a rebuke for not having eaten since my arrival. In truth I hadn't known what to eat, but now, crouched silently in the tall grass, watching, I knew.