On the table were a pile of fruits. All of wildly different shapes and sizes. A curved neon green fruit that I’d found in the golden moss trees. Some red berries with cute green stems. Plump juicy ones that filled the whole room with the smell of lemons.

  “This one looks really promising, look how cute it is! It has to be safe to eat,” I said. I held up a fruit that looked just like a fresh mango with an orange to pink gradient. I slowly turned it in front of Telar’s empty eye sockets.

  “Sorry, Vylet. Bad poison. Very very bad poison. Bleed out ears, bleed out nose, blood in lungs, blood in-” Telar’s voice emitted from the crystal in his skull and was essentially robotic as he listed the horrific symptoms.

  “Oh come on!” I interrupted. I tossed the fruit, before whipping it across the room with my tail.

  Only one of the fruits had been safe to eat so far! But at least my tail control was getting better.

  After reviewing 10 more fruits we were done. From my gathering expedition a grand total of two were edible! I sighed dramatically and sat down crosslegged on the surgical table opposite Telar.

  It had been about a week since we’d met and our communication was steadily improving. Language wasn’t as big an issue as I thought. Telar’s language had some English loan words; I really didn’t know what to make of that yet. We’d also taught each other the basics that weren’t shared between our languages. Despite this I still didn’t know much about Telar. Besides the obvious about his peculiar physical condition.

  Telar told me that he’d once lived in the forest above, which he calls the Emel Weald. He’d been forced into service by an Empire - he can't remember the name of it. This Nameless Empire had attempted to turn Telar into a weapon. They’d stripped him of all his Elven traits, not to mention all of his flesh. They’d turned him into the half finished skeletal soldier that he was now.

  But he wasn’t complete. He told me that some time ago there was a huge catastrophe on the surface, the surgeons had thrown a blanket over him and fled. They never returned. Telar had been in the dark for years until I’d discovered him. Either the time, the surgery, or the catastrophe had wrecked his memory. Still, he’s a kind person and seems happy to finally have someone to speak with.

  “Hey Telar, sorry if this is rude. How do you see?” I asked. “You don’t have eyes.”

  His crystal was silent for a moment. Oh no, I had said something really insensitive and lost my first friend already.

  “I float. Can’t move. But I can see from above. I can see us. But not much else. Not forest.” Telar said.

  “Can I do something to help?” I asked. “Maybe I could try and fix you.”

  I looked over his “body” and at the crystal that housed his essence. This was clearly beyond me.

  “Actually, forget I said that. Sorry. I just want to help you somehow,” I said.

  “It’s okay. I long ago accepted this. Question I meant to ask: You are some manner of female creature I do not recognize. What part of Emel Weald is your species from?” Telar asked.

  I assumed my species was from this forest, but maybe I was native to somewhere else, or maybe my body wasn’t even native to this world at all. There was so much I didn’t understand.

  “I don’t know anything about my species. Am I really that strange? Be honest, if anyone else saw me would they think I’m a monster?” I asked. I hopped off the table, and gave a quick spin, whacking my tail against the table leg. Ouch.

  “You don’t have to do that. As I said, I see from above.”

  “Sorry”

  I was grateful that this body probably didn’t blush.

  “You are the first woman I’ve seen in years. You have a tail, horns, violet colored scales, claws, talons, fangs. Your hair looks pretty. Overall, you have some unthreatening traits and many threatening ones,” Telar said. “...probably more threatening ones.”

  Sounds like a mixed review. I guess it was a good call to wash my hair the other day though.

  “You’re saying it could go either way?” I asked.

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  “Indeed. Either way. But I think you are very beautiful of course.” Telar responded.

  Why did this feel like my mom was telling me I was handsome…

  “Thanks Telar!” I gave his skull a tap.

  “Please don’t do that”

  “Sorry~”

  The Weald was really humid today. It’d been raining all night and a light mist hung low to the ground. My talons made squishing noises as I walked. Every step dug into the mud; reminding me how annoying it was to keep my talons clean.

  “So Telar. How far are we from the bridge now?” I asked. We’d been walking for at least two hours.

  “Close now. Don’t worry,” Telar said. “My memories of this terrain are becoming stronger.”

  I was holding him in a makeshift sling made out of an old blanket. He was hanging just under my breasts, like a baby. Except the baby was a grey crystal. This could have been awkward but Telar didn’t protest.

  We’d both made an interesting discovery last night. Telar’s crystal wasn’t actually attached to his body, it was just in his skeleton. Meaning it or rather he could be moved freely. So I offered to show him the Emel Weald, and he said he remembered a bridge built by his people. It would allow me to safely cross the river I had found to the South. Now he was acting as my guide. As always it was difficult to tell if he actually enjoyed being out, but I like to think he did.

  “We’re close now. There should be an Elven trail right here. If we follow it we should arrive at the bridge.” Telar said.

  We arrived at a slightly less dense area of the forest. The ground was more compacted but still covered in rocks, shrubs and grass.

  “This is not how I thought it would be,” Telar said. “My people are not maintaining it.”

  “I can kind of see where it goes. Maybe they just don’t use this path very often. We’ll follow it!” I said.

  We followed the dilapidated trail. I never would have found this on my own. Soon I heard the sound of the river. The trail became clearer as we approached the shore.

  I was hyper vigilant as I slowly crept forward. Standing on the tips of my talons as I moved. Then I saw the bridge. It was huge! A large stone slope covered in moss, flanked on either side by two twisting pillars of rock. The river rushed underneath it. And not a giant monster in sight.

  “Vylet. May we cross the bridge? I believe that my village may be on the other side. I’m not sure. But, it feels familiar,” Telar said. “I know I am asking a lot of you.”

  “Of course. I want to learn more about this forest too! Let's cross that bridge!” I responded. Raising my first in an over enthusiastic gesture. I would do anything for my friend.

  I marched up the stone bridge, between the pillars. The water seemed higher than the last time I was here. Must have been the rain. The bridge was a bit mossy, with a few cracks, and weeds popping through. But overall it was in good condition.

  Then I reached the halfway point. The entire middle section of the bridge was gone. I peered over the edge, but only saw rushing water. The bridge continued on the other side, the issue was the gap. About 50 feet. With rapids and god knows what below.

  “This isn’t right. This river. This bridge. It is far too rough…far too wide,”Telar said.

  “I guess things changed while you were under,” I said. “But we can come back later, I just don’t want to swim-”

  A massive single black tentacle, 5 stories tall, emerged from the water in a flash. In one fluid motion it slapped my torso, knocking me straight up and towards the rapids. The air was knocked out of my lungs and then I was underwater. I was drowning! Something was gripping my leg pulling me deeper. The tentacle.

  I struggled wildly, scratching out in every direction as I suffocated.

  Calm. Calm. Focus. I don’t have to win. I have to escape.

  I looked down. I could see fine, despite the water, like there was an extra membrane protecting my eyes. But I didn’t like what I saw. I recoiled as I saw row after row of rotating razor sharp teeth and the horrid pulsing interior of the giant octopus. 7 more tentacles were already reaching for me, each one ready to pull me faster towards the waiting maw.

  I couldn’t open my mouth. I would lose what little oxygen I had. So Arcane Breath was out of the equation. Leaving me with just my claws and talons. I kicked wildly, scraping as hard as I could with my talons while slashing the thick tentacle around my leg. The water clouded with dark red blood. But I could still feel myself being pulled downwards.

  I decided to try a different approach. I bent over to bring my mouth down to where I felt the tentacle. Thank everything that this body is so flexible! I could see it now. The muscle of the tentacle was exposed by the deep gashes I inflicted on it, but it still gripped me. I bit into it, my mouth filled with water and the taste of iron…and squid sushi. Then I started to chew. One, two, three. Finally it let go.

  I started kicking my legs trying to swim upwards. Alarmed to find that I could barely swim in this body. But then instinctively I started waving my tail which propelled me much more quickly. Still the other 7 tentacles were reaching for me, I wouldn’t be able to outswim them all. I looked back, trying to think of some last ditch plan. But I could barely think, I was close to blacking out.

  As my mind slowed I saw something shining in the darkness. Telar! He had fallen off my body. He shined brighter, and brighter. And then pulsed! Bolts of electricity branched out from him in every direction. The tentacles were paralyzed! They started falling back towards the depths. But Telar sank too. I wanted to save him, to go back and grab the crystal. But it was too late. I’d drown if I went back now, so I kept swimming upwards.

  I breached the surface, gulping down air. I swam to the shore and crawled towards the treeline, before finally collapsing against a big tree. Bits of the giant octopus still clung to my claws and talons. I was on the other side of the river. But I’d lost Telar.