A day had passed.

Azela's camp was a poor sight, without any real shelter or fire, but she had made decent progress on a makeshift bed. Five was good on his promise of books, and she now sat atop a tree, apple in one hand and a book in the other, learning more about glitchen biology than she ever thought to ask. The forest around her hummed with life, the gentle rustle of leaves and the melodious chirping of birds providing a soothing backdrop to her studies.

Azela turned the page of the biology book, taking an interest in the section that was uncovered.

There was an ability that Azela had been using instinctively but didn’t quite understand. When climbing, the pull that she felt lessened from the ground beneath her and increased toward the surface she held on to, meaning that her body had some measure of control over not only how heavy she was, but what her weight was drawn to. How far she could push on either side of the scale wasn't something she could test, as her own conscious control of this ability was minimal and difficult. Her attempts to influence her personal gravity met with mixed success.

Now she discovered that this trait was apparently something only known to glitchen.

"'The glitchen species possesses a unique cellular structure that includes a specialized particle known as the Glitchon,'" she read aloud. "'This particle is found within the muscle cells of the glitchen and plays a crucial role in the species' ability to control the gravitational pull of their muscle mass.'"

She took a bite of the apple before continuing. "'The Glitchon particle is a subatomic particle that is believed to interact with the muscle cells' cytoskeleton and the surrounding extracellular matrix. The exact mechanism by which it modulates the gravitational pull of muscle tissue is not yet fully understood, but it is thought to involve changes in the orientation and/or density of the cytoskeletal filaments within the muscle cells.'"

She groaned and said, "It would be nice to know what any of these words were," then continued reading, "'It is important to note that the Glitchon particle does not affect the bones or any other part of a glitch's body. This allows the species to maintain a stable skeletal structure.'"

Another bite. This was useful, even if she only got the gist. She could change her weight, but her skin, organs and bones would always weigh her down. Gross.

She started skimming ahead, past a lot of illustrations of people in bubbles with numbers and lines beside them. This part was too technical for her taste. Then the tree began to sway. A rumble reverberated through its branches. The book slipped from her grasp, plummeting to a branch below, while Azela managed to cling to her perch, the apple miraculously retained in her grip.

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Emerging from the thick of the forest some distance away, stretching even above the treetops, was the head of something gigantic. Azela's eyes widened as the creature she beheld lumbered toward the area north of her camp.

"A sauropod!" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with excitement. She had heard them the night before, but this was the first she had seen. The majestic titan dwarfed the surrounding landscape. With each step, the ground trembled beneath its weight, stirring the leaves of the trees. The creature seemed almost like a living mountain as it stepped out from a thicker part of the forest into an area with smaller trees, the the rhythmic swaying of its tail counterbalancing its towering form.

"One of those is gonna crush me to death some night," she said, though she doubted anyone could sleep through the approach of something so massive. She watched it until it once again disappeared into the distant taller trees.

As she worked her way down the branches to retrieve her fallen book, she nearly slipped as a result of trying to grab a branch with a fifth limb she didn't have. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as she rebalanced herself. "Not again," she muttered ruefully, her voice tinged with a hint of frustration.

It was something she kept doing, expecting a tail where there was none. It was a quirk that had become all too familiar to her in recent days. She thought about what MegaGlitch said about her body, but couldn't remember the words exactly. Her body may have changed, but the muscle memory was still there. "Now if only I had more memories than that," she said in response to her thoughts.

Azela couldn't help but feel a pang of longing for this part of herself, so lost now that only the instincts remained. "Too sapien now," she said sourly.

Azela descended to the base of the tree, her nimble movements guided by a sense of familiarity. Returning to her camp, she settled herself amidst the makeshift bedding and turned her attention to the other books that Five had left for her. A decently sized stack. At least she had plenty to keep her mind occupied.

As Azela reclined on her bed, she found herself gazing at the sky above—a vast, unbroken canvas of azure. Not a single cloud had marred its pristine surface in all the time she had been here. It was a sky untouched by the passage of time.

Surrounded by the gentle rustle of leaves and the distant calls of wildlife, Azela once again felt a sense of peace wash over her. This was a strange place, filled with mysteries and wonders. Yet, amidst the strangeness, she felt an undeniable sense of belonging—a growing sensation that whispered to her heart that this was her place. And it felt as if the forest had claimed her just as she had claimed it, weaving her into the fabric of its existence with an embrace that was both comforting and empowering.

Azela closed her eyes, and surrendered herself to the serenity of the moment.