Diana purred contently, as she stepped towards the safety of the burrow.
She had never felt so invigorated in years. This body this new, young body had a lot of energy. Playing with the other kids and letting out all that energy was so exhilarating- even if right now, she felt like she was sleepy. She could sleep the whole day away
'What if they find out '
The little cat girl tensed just a bit at the fear.. a childish fear admittedly, but that just made it all the more real. What if anyone found out the truth what kind of horrible things would they say? Acting acting like a child, looking like one interacting with other children as if she really was a girl-
She had to put it aside. This is what she was! Couldn't other people see that.. if she did tell the truth, it would complicate things. She rather it was simple. Seeing Sarah as well after playing she felt so relaxed by her appearance. It was strange how holding her hand brought that feeling of security into her as she was lead into the borrow. She gave a content meow, as she was set to rest in the corner purring. Honestly she could
forget her old life.
Sarah smiled a bit as she watched Diana rest. "She really is just like a cat," she thought. So independent yet at the same time she felt the unspoken need from her to have someone close to her.
Tom arrived and observed her. "Aw, all tuckered out. She's not so bad sleeping is she?"
"Ha, no. She's not that bad when awake, though I am trying to figure her out. She's quite the ball of emotions."
"Cats tend to be, not unlike the rest of us at times." Tom sighed as he held the young strange mechanical-doll-like woman closer. It was a little startling perhaps, to feel the coldness of her body. Still it didn't put him off as much as one might have thought. Perhaps it was because her clothes retained a sense of warmth from their darker colors. He felt a little tense now as he studied her more. Sarah was from another world as well as another body to boot, There was so much about her that was unknown to him, and he was curious to learn more about the world called 'Earth'. Curious about the young woman who now took this form. "You know if we find a way back, I think I might like to visit your world," he flashed a smile.
Sarah blinked at that. "Really?"
"Why not? I can show you this world, you can let me see yours. I've travelled a lot but never to another world." He became actually rather starry eyed at the thought. "From what you told me, you're not too different to how you are now there-"
Sarah tensed visibly at his words. "So- you just want to see me as a human?"
"Sure I'd like to."
Sarah looked gob-smacked as she her body straightened and did a perfect circle away from Tom. "Is that because the body I have here is so different?"
Tom gave a curious look not quite sure where she was coming from. Then it finally dawned on him what his words might have sounded like. "Hey no! You got me all wrong Sarah," he said as he held out an arm on his shoulder. "I just mean I would like to get to know you. In either body. I think you're great here and I'm sure you're great there too. I hope I didn't upset you."
Sarah ticked her neck back towards Tom, a glass eye shuttered behind velvets of artificial skin. "I- I'm sorry too. I shouldn't assume such things. It's just being in this body is a lot to take in. If I am trapped here you're telling me I'll be immortal."
"Well technically, 'ageless'. I don't think anything is truly immortal."
Sarah gave the robotic equivalent of a dry chuckle as she gave Tom another warm hug back. It was strange being close to a human like this for herself. Perhaps because she knew what to expect and though her body didn't provide a barrier to feeling his warmth, there was something odd when her gears got all a flutter instead of a biological heart. "I should object to you though reading my blueprints. I'm sure that would be considered a privacy violation in my world." she said in a rather teasing way.
"Eh?" Tom flushed then grinned. "Hey, I'm an open book Sarah. If you want you can always read my manual."
They were then interrupted by the sound of purring. The two glanced down to see the little cat-girl Diana. She appeared to be moving dreamily in a very feline motion on all fours, with her eyes closed. She rubbed her back on Tom's leg, then did the same to Sarah, wrapping her tail around her to boot.
"Well she must have had a hard day," Tom chuckled as he reached down to pet her head.
Sarah gave a light chuckle, also giving her a warm pat, brushing her hand on her whiskers. "I didn't realise she even had whiskers, did you?"
Tom shook his head. "Not at all. It looks uh, cute on her. I'm not much of a cat-person mind."
"Who knows, if you go to my world you might end up a cat." Sarah giggled.
Tom looked uncomfortable at that thought. "Oh dear I never thought- I could change if I go to your world?"
"Who knows how the rules work," Sarah mulled while giving Diana another scratch around her ears and picked her up. She then sat down on a chair. "Poor thing, she's really tired oh dear-"
Diana couldn't help it. She started kneading around Sarah's clothes, trying to find a way to bunch them up to make it softer. She then curled up in her lap, enjoying the presence of someone marked by her own scent someone she felt so much trust in.
"Well maybe I best leave you two girls to get some rest," said Tom. "See you in the morning."
Enki smiled to himself, as he departed the inn. The young harpy was certainly very sweet. A young thing with a predisposition to wearing human clothes- well- that intrigued him all the more, when he thought of it. "I hope I see her again."
He turned a corner, into some of the quieter streets. His steps slowed as he felt something someone approach. He knew those steps intimately, as he relaxed his wings and turned around, "Lady Eiyana," He bowed quietly.
The elven lady gave a smile in return and bowed. "Enki? You are quite far from your usual circles."
The draconic man chuckled. "Fortunately so, I havn't heard a delightful tune in some years. I will bid you goodnight though, not all of us are blessed with a long life.. some errends to run"
The elven woman nodded "Of course, Take care Enki Draconis..."
Jon woke up strangely. She had a very strange dream. She was with Maggie? There was someone else there too. The details of the dream came slowly to her A small harpy she was tending to, that was with her... Maggie's brother or sister? Or was she Jen's daughter- 'urgh i'm not Jen,' she reminded herself. It was just a weird dream. She remembered holding the little harpy-girl closely, like- like- "Urgh!" she cringed slightly and quickly dismissed it as just one of those weird freaky dreams.
Then she eyed Maggie, resting on the curves of her form contently. No doubt this was the source of those images. In some ways that was a relief, the stimuli for the images were obvious- though it was still annoying. The harpy squirmed a bit, moving her body slightly letting Maggie slip away from her soft feathers.
Free now, she felt her wings felt really well rested. She wasn't sure how the little harpy girl did it, but she certainly knew how to make a nest, even out of bedding and pillows.
She glanced to the small mirror. It was not often she got to see her image.. strange as it was. Maggie called her Jen, though she didn't want to be called that. Where would it end? Maybe it was 'easier' for people to just call her Jen, and convey the impression that she was exactly what she looked like. Everyone everyone -saw- her as this bird woman and therefore everyone treated her like one. That wasn't to say they treated her badly, but the little things the way they looked at her, even the basic use of pronouns The whole belief that she was somehow 'normal' when she wanted to bring down the ignorance from everyone around her. Yet now she had been given the moniker of 'Jen' and this legitimised all those pronouns used to refer to 'her'.
Maggie curled up a bit more in the nest. "Jen one more song," she whispered.
Jon sighed. Maggie was certainly not the worst thing to have fallen into her lap- metaphorically speaking. She wanted to correct her name but the way she said it.. in that place between sleep and wakefulness, where only truth can be spoken.. she said it with such endearment it made her resolve crumble.
Maggie woke up suddenly as she felt Jon wasn't near her. There was relief to see her standing up."Oh- H-hey morning!" She got up quickly. "Sleep well?"
"Uh.. yeah," Jon muttered with a slight blush.
The younger harpy looked to her curiously. "You know I think I decided I like you with clothes. You're just so much more interesting hehe." she hunched up a bit over the pillows with a glint in her eye.
"Well Clothes need a lot of cleaning and changing. Can't wear the same ones all the time."
The young harpy looked a bit bemused and hesitant. "Um.. can I try to put some on? I want to try looking like you..." the little harpy-girl looked a bit shyly. "Not that I think it's better! I just want to see what its like. I'm sure I'll get tired of it after." Still the idea of looking a bit more like her new big.. caretaker? It delighted her for some reason.
Jon looked blankly and conflicted. On the one hand, the girl -should- be wearing clothes and Jon would have absolutely insisted upon it. On the other hand she wasn't really human and didn't have need for clothes before It was obvious to Jon that her appearance had inspired that idea. Was Maggie trying to be more.. acceptable to her? Again that made Jon feel just weirded out by the situation. "Well- you don't have to for me you know, but I suppose we can see if there is something to dress you in for today. You can see if you like it or not..."
"Yay! We can go to the shops. Maybe one of the magic shops can help you find a way home too!"
Jon nodded stretching out her wings and tail feathers. She gathered up her collection of coppers and pieces of silver.. hopefully they could find something today.
