Learning to walk, literally (Noma, OPEN)

[nshansen]

…

“Hey!”

…

“Hey, you alright?”

As water hit his eyes, the gravity controller slowly opened them. Where was he…? It took a few minutes to get his vision straight, but it seemed that he was at some sort of huge pond and… Holy shit! There were animals drinking out of it! Where the hell was he! Another drop of water came into contact with his eye, which made the “man” look up. Above him, he saw a deer like creature’s wet beard. Was he in some kind of zoo? Another drop of water dripped off the beard of the deer, so Shiro quickly moved his head. Where was he? That thought went soaring through his mind as he realized that he was collapsed on the ground.

”Hey, can you get up? Talk?” the animal said above him. He could talk!? What kind of world was he on? All he could remember was that he landed with his love, V, and then when they walked out… It all went black. Wait… V! Where was she!? The “man” attempted to get himself back onto his feet, but he collapsed again.

Looking up at the talking animal, he replied, “No, but where am I?” It took a minute for the deer to answer. As he waited, thoughts ran through his mind, basically “Where the hell am I!?” or “Where is V!?”

”You’re at the watering hole, you silly deer.” Wait, deer? Shiro stared into the water that was only a few inches away from his head. Looking down into the water, he saw his reflection. He was a… He was a… He couldn’t figure it out. For a second, he was with his love, and now, he was an animal. Where was he!? Eyes opened wide, he quickly tried to get up. This time, he was successful, because of knowing the fact that he, indeed, had four legs. He felt weird standing up. It was like he was in another body. Well, he guessed he was...

Turning his head towards the other deer, he asked, “What am I!?” The deer in front of him tilted his head a little bit, looking at Shiro like he was an outsider.

”What are you? You are like the rest of us. You are a Kudu, one of the many kinds of animals here in the pride lands.”

“The Pride Lands?”

”Yes, the land that you live in. We’re on Simba’s land.”

“Simba?”

”He’s the king of the pride lands. Wait… Who are you?

Before Shiro could answer, he heard a rustling sound from a nearby bush. The kudu glanced over at the bush, and then returned his attention to the other kudu. The eyes of the other kudu were wide and he looked quite scared... Why?

”Carnivores!” The other kudu yelled, which resulted with many animals running away from the watering hole. ”Run for your lives!” And with that, the deer quickly dashed away, leaving the new kudu alone. Huh? Crap, he forgot. Carnivores and Herbivores were a packaged deal when it came to the wild life. Turning his head a bit, he squinted his eyes at the bushes. He couldn’t just run away, he would be dead for sure. He’d fight, because he had something the other herbivores didn’t have…

Gravity.

[nomacaa]

Saxen had been continuing his world exploring and map-compiling when he came across another world. He brought the ship down and landed carefully. He stepped out and, as soon as he did, he got a killer headache and was forced to separate from Deathblade. A few seconds later, he recovered and, looking over, saw that Deathblade had been turned into a lion. "What's...going on?" Saxen asked.

"I am not sure," came Deathblade's reply, his voice deep, but no longer metallic. "This world must have some magic. I can no longer change my form and you. . . are a dog."

With this new information, Saxen tried to get up. He quickly realized that the information was accurate and adapted. He walked around a bit, to get used to it, then, he realized I really am a dog! Then, he started running around in circles and rolling in the dirt. This went on for five to ten minutes.

Finally, Deathblade got tired of watching this and roared "Are you going to run around like an idiot all day, or are you going to DO something here?"

Saxen, laying on his back with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, looked up at him and rolled back over. "Yeah, I think I'll go explore a bit. You stay here and guard the ship." he said as he looked Deathblade up and down. He was threatening, of course, he usually was, but this was different. He was large, dark, and obviously strong.

Saxen ran off, out of the cover he had landed in, and just ran. After a while, he spotted a watering hole with a bunch of deer, or gazelles, or something. As he got closer, all of them ran off but one. He kept running up, his tongue lolling to the side. When he approached the one, he stopped and noticed something on its shoulder. It was odd, and not very noticeable, but he caught it, barely. It was a "g." He jumped back and, looking at it again, said "Shiro?"

[nshansen]

Alright, this was it. He was going to fight a carnivore… All by himself, with nothing but some antlers to help him; he could use gravity, but for some reason, his mind won’t let him do it. You know, without hands, Shiro has no aim of direction. He wasn’t telekinetic and could aim at stuff with his mind. Oh how disastrous that would be. Dismissing the thought, he waited for his opponent.

And here came a… Dog? He never knew that dogs inhabited the savannas. How odd… It didn’t seem dangerous, which was the thankful part. Maybe he wasn’t a threat after all. And he was dead on.
“Shiro?”

How did he know his name? Did he have his name written down on his fur or something? He hoped not, that would definitely give out personal information. But the voice he recognized… It was… It was… ”Saxen?” the kudu asked with a curious tone, though the confused look changed into a smile. Great, he wasn’t the only stuck as an animal!

Shiro noticed that he was standing on his feet with no problem. Huh? How long had he been in the Pride Lands? Well, the last time he saw him was in Radiant Garden, which was a while ago. Hmm… Well, he honestly didn’t care. He would ask that question at a later time. There more important things to talk about. ”Huh? So a dog is your animal form. How odd? Well this whole world is odd.” he said as he took a step forward, though that step quickly turned to him falling back onto the ground. Well, that was embarrassing.

Chuckling at himself a little bit, he quickly got himself back up to his feet. ”How did you get used to this?” he asked as he looked down at his hooves. ”Right front foot, left back foot, left front foot, right back foot,” he spoke out loud as he did the moves. Oh this he would have to get used to. His legs started to wobble a bit. Oh great, not again… Thud. And that was all that was heard. Back onto the ground, he let out big sigh. He was starting to get annoyed with this whole “animal” thing. He walked, he fell. It was that simple. Well, he knew this would be a world he would definitely tell V to avoid.

Looking up at Saxen, he said with a chuckle, ”Mind telling me your secret?”

[nomacaa]

Saxen couldn't help but laugh as Shiro recognized him. "Shiro!" he yelled. Then, he jumped and barked a few times. He finally realized how much he was embracing the animal form he was in and laid down for a second. Shiro talked a little about the world and the animal forms. Then, Saxen got back up and pawed at the ground as Shiro attempted to walk. Saxen had way too much energy here.

"How did you get used to this?" Shiro asked. He tried to count out his steps, but ended up falling over. "Mind telling me your secret?"

Saxen ran a few circles before stopping, laying down, and relaxing enough to talk. "Well, there's a story about a bird and a spider. The bird flew over to the spider one day and said 'You have eight legs. How do you keep track of them all? How do you walk?' The spider, then, put one leg out, then tried to think which one came next. According to the story, the spider is still there to this day." He got up and started to run around Shiro. "I just don't think about it. I just let the body do its thing."

After telling his story, Saxen walked over to the watering hole and began to drink. After he got enough for now, he turned back to Shiro, hoping he had figured it out. "What have you found out about this world, so far, aside from turning into animals? I like to log the worlds I go to. It helps me later." He went back to drinking for a second and then got back to running around in circles and figure-eights and all other such things. Though his body was moving so quickly, he was trying to focus on Shiro.

[nshansen]

Shiro was amused. His eyes followed the dog as Saxen ran around in circles. He was definitely embracing his doggy spirit. The kudu let out a laugh as Saxen stopped, finally pooped out. Well, the world definitely had its ups. He could see Saxen make a complete fool of himself, which was an up. Though, he wasn’t really being a fool. It was probably seemed normal to most animals that resided in the pride lands. But if they were back in Radiant Garden, he would surely laugh his ass off until he couldn’t breathe.

So a spider and a bird, eh? It didn’t make a lot of sense to Shiro, but nothing did make sense in the world. Well, he would give it a try. Getting himself back up to his feet, he stared right at a nearby bush. Alright, he couldn’t think about it. Alright, so he started walking. Hey, he didn’t fall, he felt pretty good…

….

Damn, he thought about it. He felt like was playing that game where you weren’t supposed to think about the game. Well, he lost. Great… And with that, he went down like he had just been shot in the ass. He felt like an idiot.

Getting himself back up, he responded to Saxen’s question. “Well, apparently, this world is under a guy named Simba. Well, I shouldn’t say guy, since he is probably an animal as well. Besides that, I know pretty much nothing. All I know is that we’re in a huge safari where the lion eats the gazelle. And that is why I hate the animal I have turned into.” The kudu stared at Saxen, who was being… Well, a dog. Had his intelligence been affected when he landed here? Because he didn’t seem able to keep still. Huh? Well, he sneak that question in a conversation later, because it would probably seem rude if he asked right then.

”It seems like someone is having fun as a dog,” he said with a chuckle. And with that, he tried to adjust to his form at well. Okay, so he felt like a kid trying to learn how to ride a bike. First, he tried turning around, which was thankfully successful. Okay, so he was starting to get used to it. That was good. He tried walking over to Saxen, without even looking at his legs… And guess what, he was successful. A smile appeared on the Shiro’s face when he stopped. He was starting to get the hang of it. He probably couldn’t run, but hey, he needed to learn how to walk before he could run, right? Changing the subject, the gravity controller asked, ”So how does the “Deathblade thing” work with your new form. You don’t just randomly change into another creature, right? Or do you turn metal? What?”

[nomacaa]

Saxen picked up parts of what Shiro said, but not all of it, because he couldn't keep still. Essentially, he got "Under Simba" and "I hate this form." Then, he attempted to calm down again so he could hold a decent conversation, but his tail was wagging like crazy and his back left leg was shaking. He wanted to keep moving. It was then that he heard Shiro say ”It seems like someone is having fun as a dog,” and laugh.

"What? I can't help it. I just want to run around." Saxen said. "It's hard not to. . ." He looked down at the ground and started pawing at a bug that was crawling along the ground. As it jumped over a few feet, he jumped after it. Then, he turned back to Shiro, who had a look of triumph on his face. Saxen figured that it was over learning to walk.

”So how does the 'Deathblade thing' work with your new form. You don’t just randomly change into another creature, right? Or do you turn metal? What?”

"To the best of my knowledge, we just can't combine here. When we landed, we were. . . forcefully separated. When I recovered, he was a lion and I was. . . a dog. Y'know, he's pretty big, and more threatening than usual." Then, he realized that Shiro was usually with V, but she wasn't here. "Hey, Shiro, where's V at? Why isn't she here?" He laid down in front of Shiro and looked up at him. "I mean, y'all are traveling buddies. . . and. . . a little more." Saxen started pawing at his ear for a second before looking back up. "Man. . . I can't seem to focus. . ." he muttered.

[nshansen]

The kudu listened to Saxen as he spoke about Deathblade. So they were separated? How odd. The magic in the world must’ve been strong. Maybe V and Shira split? He would be pretty happy. Shiro thought about the possibility, the chance of having actual alone time with V without worrying about Shira peaking or spying. Well, Shira did do that before on Destiny Islands, and he was pretty grateful, but it would just give him a good feeling without a second person inside his love’s body. Maybe one day Shira and V would separate? He could only wish… But that would be awesome if they did.

Thinking of V, Saxen asked him where she was. He had to chuckle at how he said, “and more…” Saxen seemed to feel a little awkward mentioning it. It was a funny moment. Though, his mind went back to focusing on Saxen’s question, he said, ”Um… I’m actually not sure… As we left the gummi ship, I sort of blacked out. Maybe the herbivore change is a harder change than a carnivore one. Maybe I had to go to my “natural habitat”, with a group of my kind. I don’t know. All I know is that the magic of this world is responsible. I should probably go looking for her though.”

The gravity controller walked slowly away from the watering hole. The kudu stopped, and turning his head, he asked Saxen, ”You don’t think there is heartless here, right? He already had carnivores to worry about, he didn’t want to worry about those stupid little pests. Perhaps he should have Saxen tag along? It would probably be best. If a carnivore AND a group of heartless cornered him, he would need someone to take out the heartless as he would handle the carnivore/s.

”So… Um… You think you could tag along as I look? I need someone to watch my back if heartless do exist here. I can’t have two things to worry about…

(So we should probably create another thread if we leave the watering hole)

[nomacaa]

As Saxen listened to Shiro explain that he didn't know where V was, he got a little worried, but then he remembered Shira. She would definitely keep V safe. Then, Saxen knew that Shiro was going to go looking for V as soon as he mentioned it. Shiro started walking and, just as Saxen was about to start following, he turned around and asked if Saxen thought there were heartless on this world. He thought about it for a second, then voiced his thoughts. "So far, every world I've been to has had heartless, though some have had less than others. Hopefully this is one of those worlds."

After asking about heartless, Shiro paused for a second, like he was thinking about something, and said ”So… Um… You think you could tag along as I look? I need someone to watch my back if heartless do exist here. I can’t have two things to worry about…"

"Of course I can join you," Saxen declared. "In fact, I'd be glad to." By now, he was running all over the place yet again. He just had far too much energy here. He rolled into a stop and ended up upside-down in front of Shiro. Saxen looked up at Shiro and continued where he left off as if nothing had happened. "It might be a good idea to stop by my ship to pick up Deathblade, just in case. Then we can look for V uninterrupted. Nobody'll mess with him." Saxen then twisted his body to get onto his feet and get up, and, running around Shiro, yelled "Let's go!"