[Flashback] the day I turned human (Solo)

by **Iskessah** on March 31st, 2012, 7:52 pm

67 Fall, 479

The Dhani once known as Ssrasshiskessah had been a prisoner in this small room for so long that she had long since stopped trying to keep track of the time. Nevertheless, she knew that she should have been able to master the human shape by now. Her master, her keeper, had left for the day, trusting the large cage in which she was trapped to hold the Dhani until his return.

With him gone, this was her best chance to practice the shift without distraction. She morphed first to her Dhani form, mostly because she thought starting from a form with arms might make it easier for her to get to the other limbs. The larger size of her Dhani form made it difficult to stay upright in the cage, and she ended up bending so that her neck and part of her back were pressed against the cage's ceiling. It was not a comfortable position, but if she wanted to form legs without tangling or breaking them, she should probably have her tail relatively straight, or at least not too coiled.

Before she attempted the shift into human form, she visualized the features one more time. Her arms and torso would not be changing much, just perhaps getting a bit smaller. Her head would take on an unfamiliar shape, though, with the same fleshy skin as her torso. Her tail would split in two, and start to resemble arms. Her scales would disappear entirely when she took on the form that would allow her to blend in completely with humans.

If she succeeded in this, she would be an adult, and that still meant something to her, even if there would be no congratulations or celebrations...or ritual killings. At least Siku would know that she hadn't given up. Iskessah took a deep breath, and concentrated on her transformation.

by **Iskessah** on March 31st, 2012, 8:49 pm

The shift went smoother than she expected. She could not describe the feeling of her head changing shape, but if she had to try, she would call it... bubbly? Her snout pulled back into her face, but several small, knobby orifices bloomed, two one either side of her head, and one in the middle of her face. The skin around her mouth grew fuller and softer, and filled with blood. Her tongue filled out and became fleshy; that she had not anticipated. A prickly sensation as hair follicles sprouted soon turned pleasant as long, soft hair spilled down over her shoulders. Here eyelids turned opaque and sprouted their own stiff hairs.

Her tail, as expected, split in two. Less expected was their rapid shrinking, which caused her to lose her balance and start to topple over. She caught the bars of the cage with her arms before any real damage could be done, and lowered herself to the floor. Her new legs had by that point formed knees, and ankles were following soon after. The ends of her legs, her feet, split at the ends, forming toes. She was panting heavily by the time the last of her scales faded into her skin, and for a few chimes she just lay there, recovering from the shock of having successfully made it to a new form.

She blinked several times, getting used to the eyelashes, and the fact that her vision went dark every time she blinked. She touched her hair and face. Everything was much softer than it used to be. Out of habit, she tasted the air. She could still taste as well as ever, but her senses of smell and hearing had diminished. She tried moving her legs, out of habit pulling both of them up together. Then, she deliberately held one in place while she stretched the other. It was so strange that they only bent in one or two places. Her bones were more solid, longer, straighter, causing her new limbs to be restricted to their form. She did not like it at first, but she knew that a Dhani was strongest when she had learned the advantages of all three of her forms.

Determined to practice the use of her new legs, she pulled herself upright against the bars of her cage. She noticed that her feet were flat on the bottom, making it less difficult to balance than she had expected (though still not easy; she had to grip the bars to stay standing). Standing straight with her feet planted firmly on the ground, the top of her head just barely brushed the cage's roof. She felt that through her hair; what a strange new way to sense things.

After several more chimes of standing, she felt that she had her balance well enough to try moving. Still holding the bars, she turned sideways so that she had room to walk, and then lifted one of her legs, planting it a bit further in front of her, as she had seen the master do so often. She pulled herself forward on the bars and repeated the process with the other foot. It took her until she had reached the next edge of the cage before she realized that her weight shifted forward onto the foot that was in front. She turned around and walked to the other side of the cage, still holding onto the bars, but growing more confident as she got used to this new mode of locomotion. Within a bell, she was able to stand without holding onto anything, and could take a few free steps at a time before falling over.

by **Iskessah** on April 1st, 2012, 1:02 am

The strain of testing new muscles and bone-structures was beginning to weary her mind, so she rested against the bars of the cage, pressing her face into the bars. Quite suddenly, the door opened; with her lessened hearing, she hadn't noticed the sound. Her dulled senses would take some getting used to. Mattieu Kosun, a man just turned sixty, slowly walked through the door, leaning heavily on a cane. As soon as he had closed the door behind him, he stood up straight and tossed his cane aside.

The man who called himself Iskessah's master looked surprised for the briefest moment before the expression changed to a leer. He walked briskly over to her cage and laughed a despicable laugh. "So, you think to please me with a woman's body?" He brought his face close to hers, breathing his foul breath in her face. "No matter what you look like, you're still just a dirty snake." He turned away, laughing. Over his shoulder, he said in a dismissive tone, "Don't stay that way too long. I need to harvest you tonight."

From long years of practice, Iskessah had managed to keep her face impassive throughout, but inside, she seethed. She wanted to refuse to change back, just to spite him, but she knew he would not allow her to eat unless she complied. In her mind, she repeated the mantra that had kept her sane over the decades. I swear in Siku’s name, one day I will put you in your place.

by **Lazybones** on April 29th, 2012, 11:14 pm

Thread Complete!

Notes: I couldn't justify impersonation, since although her form looks human, that's still who she is. She did have to focus herself a bit though to complete the change (loved the descriptions you gave), and I figured that counted for meditation.

Iskessah

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