Welcome back, boy! You have started to spend less time with me already! It used to be once a day when we first met, then you extended one chapter over two days and now you’ve come to me maybe twice a week.
Are you going through a rebellious phase?
[I. . HUH?! . . . What?! .. . . Hang on. . . WHAT?!!]
You mentioned how my behavior was akin to that of your elders or parents and how we are sometimes embarrassing. One common point I have observed about the younger generation is that they always felt the older generation did not understand and were embarrassing to be around when they hit puberty. Then they decided to go into rebellion because the older generation did not know what it felt like to feel differently from what the world or their parents said they should feel about morality and other things.
In your world (from what I found), currently, your youth mainly believe the older generation does not know what it feels like to sexually feel the way they do now. So they rebel and hang around different people or try to not spend as much time with their elders. Is that what you are doing to me?
[. . .That’s. . . why?. . . . Long list and an interesting way to say hello.
No, I was not avoiding you. Though I was afraid of the finality of admitting that I did nothing useful for my body since our last meeting. I know that is all me as you have not shamed me for it but pushed me to make a different decision after each of our meetings.]
I'm glad you noticed that. So you are not going to avoid me or cut our story short?
[Yeah NO! Our meetings are, maybe sadly, a way for me to unwind. A way for me to find new motivation. And a time and place where I remember or am reminded of things that drive me. My future well-being and the maintenance of the body that is aging faster than I am comfortable with. Just today at work, I stood up to give a coworker a package and chat with them. My back just popped in a way it had not before. My buddy heard my back! What was sad about this interaction is that he is older than me and probably has maintained his body better than I did mine. So yeah. Hearing you remind me that I need to take care of my body reminds me; I fight for a future where a bad back, physical weakness, a lack of energy, depletion of testosterone, and more are far away from me.]
I am always going to hype you up and motivate you to avoid that future. I am also glad to know that I will not be losing my conversational companion or the crowd he might bring along with anytime in the present. Unfortunately, it will still be the shortest period for me as . . . .I am that old. But you learn to value a good thing when it comes around when your life becomes something like mine.
I think we can skip further pleasantries and go to the story? Or is there a development in your life that you think would be exciting to share?
[Exciting developments? I do not know if this counts. The community I am in is running a health or something challenge. The challenge consists of eating 4 cups of any combination of fruits, vegetables, and beans every day for five days. Those who are consistent will get a participation “trophy,” which is something practical to have (remember, I try not to share that much even though I do overshare). Then there is an actual prize for whoever consumes the most cups during these 5 days.]
Not bad! What do you think about it?
[I have mentioned that I am on a student budget and diet. So I do not know if I will have enough. If I had to change my vocabulary; ain’t nobody got that many fruits around! Maybe vegetables, beans aplenty but the chemical warfare that would result. . . . .Participation and maybe winning the competition. . . at what cost?!]
You do not have to push that hard. Just use the additional motivation to have a healthier diet for the next five days or chapters. If and when you get that platform, I think you would go for Patreon, you could organize a similar event for your readers. You will have to find a proof of reliability test as you can count on someone or a group of folk to hustle and do what they can to win. But that is an idea for another day.
[. . . I hope we can set things up nicely. . . I am real poor! Depending on how many readers are still interested in the OP MC genre, are not turned away by the creationist story that denies a reality based on evolution and science, and are intrigued with a living fossil who suddenly gives them conservative advice and tells them to mind their health, there could be too many participants for practical participation trophies. Let alone an attractive grand prize.]
As I said, a problem for another day.
[Yup, let’s do it that way. For now, let us go back to the story. You, Stephen, and Lilith were observing the flying creatures? Bats to be specific? And all of you were able to hang on to something with your feet while upside down? Also, the human ancestors were the apex being on your planet?]
Yes, yes, yes, and Yes! It was quite the exciting day! We spent the rest of the day seeing everything we could hang on to with our feet. It was so intriguing! Stone, trees, and some pretty small branches. We could hang on to all of them. I thought of trying on one of the bigger animals, but that would have to wait for when we got to them. I don’t care that this is not that interesting to some, we were discovering a WHOLE NEW WORLD! Such a dazzling place where we only knew about a day’s worth of knowledge. Though the human couple seemed to know fairly more than I did. I think they were taking their job more seriously than I was. Then again, their job was more rigorous than mine. They could finish at some point (yeah. . .the creator did not tell me or them about reproduction just yet. Or how some creature would grow differently than their sires depending on the conditions they go through. . . .) while I would forever have to observe the world. Sure I could interfere and all, but I was just one undead!
We went to see some of the birds after the bats. They were amazing! Not just for the flying part. We played around to see if we could fly with our hands but the humans could make huge gusts of wind that would lift them while only I could fly with or without flapping my arms.
What was amazing about the birds was all the variety. So much diversity in size! And some of the big birds! Strangely enough, I thought they were observing us like I was supposed to for the world. Then I remembered how I changed my shape to be a human. Maybe I could turn bird?
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It seemed like the humans and the birds were greatly intrigued when I started to shift. First, I closed my eyes to focus, remember, I was not familiar with my abilities just yet. Then my limbs started to lose shape and turn into something like the morning fog. Now I know we would just say that I started to turn misty or take a ghastly form. Then the rest of my body turned to mist as I imitated one of the more majestic birds. I think Lilith called this one a crowned eagle? It was quite the new body! I felt so light! Interesting stick legs, but they were sooooooo STRONG! I flew right next to the intrigued Crowned eagle and tried to chat with it. I do not think I quite produced the right chirp, but it seemed to get the idea. I then learned that I could talk to animals!
“What are you?
First, you appeared to be one of the apex beings, then you turned to a strange wind that might not lift my kind if we spread our mighty wings in it. Then, you turn into my kin! What are you?!”
That was surprising! The communication was as good as Stephen or Lilith! I said, “Whatever I am, I think there is only one. The Creator made me and told me I am unique and that I will be alone. Seeing what I have in the past few days, I think I can perhaps avoid loneliness! Oh right! The Creator said I am the Undead.”
“I would ask you again what that means but you being the only one of your kind would mean that we will only learn by observing you. I suppose that will be fun to do. As of now, all of us seem to find all the sustenance we need. And every one of our kin has a mate. In a way, I understand what The Creator meant about you being alone. You can communicate with anyone from the look of things. But you have no mate. Now you are one of my kin. But you have no mate and I do not see any successful reproduction happening if you do. Your mate would probably find no purpose.”
“I have a life long enough to figure things out. Also, what do you mean by mate? And reproduction?
“You see that the apex beings are male and female. They are a pair and they will learn that they can reproduce. Reproduce means one day the body of the female will make a new being like her and her mate. She will take the spark of life produced by the male and combine that with her spark of life. These two will combine and make another being like them.
Oh! Here comes my mate! My mate, my female, and the light of my life!”
“Hello mate! Who is this? So far, all of our kin only have one male and one female particular to their particular characteristics. Is our species going to be an outlier?”
“Greetings mate of . . . what do I call you?”
“It matters not. You may call either of us the mate of the crowned eagle. For that is what both of us are.”
“Alright, you say I can. Greetings, mate of the crowned eagle! I am the Undead. I am unfortunately not of your kin. I just happen to be able to change shape. It was a pleasure to meet you and your mate. But I think I will return to the apex beings. I was having an interesting conversation with them before I learned I could talk to you, your kin, and your peers.”
“Listening to them is always interesting. You are a strange one, both of them could understand us even without our chirps. And we too could understand them.”
That is fascinating!
I returned to Stephen and Lilith and turned back into a human as I got to the ground. It looked like everyone would be interested in my transformations for a while to come.
Stephen looked at me with a chuckle and said, “you had an interesting encounter! You turned into one of them, had a full-blown conversation, and met its mate.”
“It also appears that we are not the only ones interested in what being you are,” Lilith said. Then she looked at Stephen and said, “The Creator had us name all the creatures. But I suppose he is not one as the Creator Himself named Him. That seemed to slip from my mind when he took a form like yours and The Creators on the ninth day.”
“It does appear that way. I think you will find a lot of company during your life. Especially since you can take the form you feel like at any time. Though I remember you were intrigued with creatures of flight. Lilith and I have an intriguing animal to show you. Come! I think you will love the snakes!”
Boy, I understand that your kind only has winged snakes in mythologies of the past. So I understand that no one has seen or found a record of snakes with wings. And your modern world believes almost all mythos, or history based on religion to be a fairytale. So I wish you could have seen the snakes I saw on that day!
What a glorious sight! Creatures who are a massively long unit! They could turn any way they wanted to, twist around themselves. Some of them were just long. Some of them had limbs. And some just had wings.
Their wings were just different. Not like the wings of bats, or the wings of birds. Sometimes it seemed like their wings were tucked into their bodies. Lilith pointed out one that she called a Hog-nosed snake. As it observed us, this snake flattened itself now and then. Lilith pointed at one that was in a tree and said it was a fascinating creature. Then she put one hand on Stephen’s shoulder and extended an arm towards the snake. Both then looked at me with what folk now call a smirk, then looked to the snake and just said “Come on over little one.”
I wish you had a similar phenomenon in your world so I could best describe it. But the most similar thing I have found in your memories is that of symbiotes. Not the same, and nowhere near as beautiful regardless of how cool you might find it.
What I saw was the snake just jet out of the tree. Flatten its whole body like you might see a cobra do. Then, it seemed like it unfolded something in the flat parts. They just spread out! Maybe if you think of a manta ray, nope. Not what it is like but a similar motion. The snake just glided on over. It flapped the unfolded wing twice to maintain some height. Then it folded from the front as it got to Lilith, then glided over her arm, crossed to the other, and went from it to Stephen. Then stopped and looked at me.
Then the snake cocked its head to the left, looked at the chuckling Stephen and Lilith, then motioned to my face and jerked upwards. Then shook its head after a small pause.
From the snake’s communication, you might have figured that I was SHOCKED! My jaw was WIIIIIIDE open!!
I do not think the snake had ever seen anyone shocked before. It was so concerned that it felt a need to tell me to shut my mouth! It made sure the apex alphas were okay with it first. Then motioned to my face and very clearly told me to clam up! Then it shook its head in what seemed to be . . . . a little dismay?
When I got my bearings back, it looked like the mate of this snake had arrived. From the look of things, Stephen, Lilith, and the snake decided to give me another show.
That is what I gathered when I saw this snake coil up, then jet toward me from quite a distance. As it took off from the ground, this snake spread its wings just like its mate did. Then it started to flap them to rise to my shoulder’s level. Once it got to me, it folded back into its normal shape and then curled around my arms as I spread them out to give it more space. I looked at it, its mate, then Stephen and Lilith and said, “Oh! I have to try this out!!”
The couple was highly amused while the snakes seemed confused. I set the second snake down, then I transformed again. This time, into these snakes. This time when both snakes dropped their jaws, I had the privilege of looking at them with mirth in my eyes, motioning to their faces, then jerking upwards, and then shaking my head.
“Oh, this petty ssstrange thing!”
“Whatsss that?”
“It isss imitating what I did when it sssaw that we can fly even though we do not look like the birdsss.”
“Yesss misss. I am doing just what your mate did to me. And now that I did, I dare say I am asss entertained asss he wasss when he did it. Fun ssssnake he isss! Maybe I will come visssit ssssomeday!”
Then I was off to sssee- excuse me! I was off to see what I could do in this fascinating snake body! It was a fun adventure to glide over the ground, and around trees. Spread my new body and extend them magnificent snake wings and then fly around my audience of four.
It was this way that we decided to end this day and rest. Sure we were all perfectly created beings. But even we enjoyed a good night’s sssleep!
I chose to spend the night coiled up in my new form!
And that is where I will leave you for today, young ones!
Do something productive with your day if you have not yet!
Keep all stupidity and foolishness away from you so I may see you again.
Until next time young one and the young ones reading!