The family of centaurs were huddled around the middle of the room. There was an old parchment, drawn with the map on the table. It was a very crude drawing of the island in black ink but had one or two important landscapes. It was interesting to Jon, as she could see there were two mountains to the North and South. Both were quite large, though she must have started on the smaller one to the South. There were a few interesting rivers and lakes. The shape of the island was rather indistinct, but it seemed to be a vague oval shape, with a cut in the middle. There was also some circular structure that looked like an eye.
It kind of looked like pac-man, when Jon stared at the picture. It reminded her of how she got here... the arcade? Was this world related to games? Or was that just the 'portal' to this world? She wished she knew.
"Now this is the mountains, where you were," Chloe's father explained.
Chloe whistled. "That's a pretty dangerous place to live in," she thought. "Lot's of Mountain Lions, bears, and worse" she said looking at Jon with some awe. "You're actually really lucky."
Jon thought a bit about that, and the circumstances she found herself in. Her 'home' was a nest, in a rather well hidden area. Did that mean she had somehow 'replaced' the harpy that lived there? But if that was the case... what happened to the harpy? It was a scary thought. It was still possible that the world simply 'wrote her in', much like a character in the video game. "I didn't see anything while I was there- though I wasn't there for long," she explained.
"Well," started Chloe's mother folding her arms. "You won't be doing any travelling until you rest up some. Spend a night or two, with us, build up your strength and for goodness sakes, please learn how to fly dear." She gave a smile, her horse-tail flicking to the side.
Jon gave a little meek smile glancing at her own wings again. This would be a tough but... she was sure she could do it. She got this far didn't she?
"We don't really have a room that would be comfortable for a harpy," thought Chloe's mother. "But you could probably make a makeshift nest in the corner of chloe's room. if you do not object dear?"
Chloe glanced at Jon, with a strange look. "Oh- uh- No, I don't mind.
Jon blinked. A nest? "actually- it's okay. I don't mind. Just a.. bed would be fine."
"... are you sure?" Asked Chloe's mother concerned. She was glancing at her talons, and general shape. Harpies were not made for beds. Surly Jon wasn't expecting to... lie on a mattress, was she? Their horse bodies were quite comfortable without any bedding, though they did use them for some added warmth. Often a centaur could sleep standing up, much like a horse. Their horse bodies just did what was needed.
Jon was lead to a mattress, made of straw. It looked warm and inviting to her. As soon as she stepped on it though, her talons started to get caught on it, and she found herself falling flat on her face. "Ow!" the harpy-girl winced.
Chloe walked quickly, her four legs clicking as tried to help Jon up. "Careful, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm not used to... these legs," she explained embarrassed. Her red hair was in her face, and she tried to use her wings to push it away- though her arm's couldn't quite do that. So instead she flicked her hair to the side, in a manner that made Chloe smile a bit.
"You'll get used to it," said the young centaur-girl. She was observing Jon rather keenly now.
Jon stood on the bed for a while, wondering how she was going to make this work. Eventually she crouched down on her legs, letting her feathered body touch the straw. It felt... strange. Not quite natural. Her mind at odds with what was 'comfortable' with her body. She could tolerate it but... part of her was recalling how comforting it felt to be in a proper nest. She anxiously tried to push that weird thought from her mind. "Thank's for putting up with me." Jon said to Chloe grateful. Really, she was so grateful for this family of Centaurs. If she had wondered alone and found the wrong people... who knew what would happen to her?
"No problem Jon. Though I have to say, you are not like any human I've ever known" She giggled as she sat down on her own mattress. Her horse body laid back, quite comfortable unlike Jon, who was now trying to move her legs across the mattress, but finding her back talon digging into it and catching at the straw. "Uh- What are humans like here?" She shifted her legs back and forth, accidental cutting some of the mattress. She cringed slightly.
Chloe thought a bit about her question. "Humans... well, you never really know. Sometimes they can be nice. Sometimes downright evil. There are human hunters, as well as protectors."
"Hunters? What do they hunt?"
"...well, anything not human. Or sometimes, other humans. Their greatest skill seems to be travel though. They are blessed with an ability to move around pretty much anywhere in the world by magic or mechanics. I guess that's why we find them everywhere." The young girl said it with some awe at the thought.
Jon nodded at that. Humans were always very adaptable. She was certainly testing that adaptability being in a body that was not human. "Uh- they wouldn't hunt... me would they?"
"Some would," said Chloe sadly. "Don't worry, you're safe here. Most of that stuff is in the mainlands, in some bad corners."
Jon looked at her. Part of the harpy was feeling Chloe was hiding something... protecting her from something maybe? She wasn't sure, and it was hard to tell. Maybe Jon was just paranoid, she had no idea at all what this world would entail. Still, learning about humans was certainly useful.
"Don't worry Jon. Tomorrow I'll help you practice to fly," she winked.
Jon struggled to curl her legs, resting her wing on the straw.
The darkness erupted into light, as Karyn opened her eyes to a blue sky. Something was different though... she was different.
What had she selected when building her character? She had wanted to choose something that could both heal and attack with magic. Traditionally such characters tended to be divine in their nature...
She was not 'too' surprised to see curious golden legs on her form. Though she was surprised to find the chitinous exoskeleton that made up her lower torso. It was a hardened shell, not uncomfortable but certainly nothing human. It felt a little warm. Just what was...
She tried to stand up, and felt a curious instinct as three alien legs seemed to scuttle her a little. Karyn had been turned into a scorpion! Well- not a full scorpion. She was some strange mix of a scorpion and human. A human body with the lower legs of a giant scorpion, much like a centaur. Her joints did allow for a certain compactness, maybe about the size of a desk despite being able to stretch quite far. She scuttled on strange legs trying to move- "whoa!" she winced a bit as she had a bit of trouble walking on those legs, and had to use her hands for some support. Clearly her hands were a duel purpose, allowing for some balance if she had to move very quickly.
Eventually she managed to get walking right as she surveyed her surroundings.
"I'm in a desert," she said with some quiet fear in her voice. The sun was hot, the sand was dry... but of course, she would be in a desert given what she was, at the moment. This strange game made her starting area reflect her form.
She glanced at her stinger that was perched way over her head. It moved to her thoughts. She suspected it must have a powerful poison... So what about her support magic?
She examined her torso, and found she was wearing a curious loincloth covering her breasts (which still remained quite huge) and was sporting a mid-rift. This had a curious tattoo of a star. She touched it briefly.
She guessed she was some kind of 'special' scorpion, but she wasn't really sure how. If this was the key to her magic, she didn't know how to bring it forth.
"I need to find Jon," she said softly, running her hand across her long hair. If she had become a scorpion... what would become of her friend?
