I turned in a panic and tried to tell him, beg him, make him realize that I was a fellow player, and not some computer controlled beast of burden. But try as I might, shrill clicks and whistles and chirps seemed to be all the sounds I could produce.
Mistaking my terror for irritation, he clucked softly, and rubbed the back of my head in a manner that was apparently supposed to be soothing. And strangely enough, I found myself soothed. I started calming down, and even realized that I had started to make a noise myself, a sort of cross between purr and a crooning chirp.
By this point, he had nearly finished loading his supplies on my back. They felt heavy, but not as much as I might have expected. I realized, I really was strong enough now to carry all of this man's baggage without too much effort.
Oof!
And the man, apparently, as he swung up into the saddle that he had apparently attached to my back while he was loading me up.
"All right, Amy!" he said, shaking the bridle a little. "Let's get a move out!"
I wasn't planning on moving. I really had no real intention of going anywhere until I figured out what I was going to do. But then, he jabbed my ribs with his ankles, and off I went. It wasn't a conscious choice. It was like a reflex. Poke in the ribs, and I run. It was an instinct. A wholly unfamiliar one, that I recognized immediately as originating from the body that Damien had stuck me in. But still one that I seemed to have no choice but to obey.
The bridle, also, I discovered, worked pretty well. It didn't really seem to matter where I wanted to go... If he started pulling my head in some direction, I couldn't really help but go there.
Since it didn't seem like I had much choice, I just went with it, and ran where he wanted. I really did seem to be pretty fast, and it took a long time for me to tire, even with him, in full armor, and with all his supplies on my back.
While I ran, I took some stock of myself. The computer VR really was rather impressive. While it wasn't what I really wanted to be right now, the machine was providing me with an amazingly realistic feeling of being a giant bird, running through the desert. I could feel the wind ruffling my feathers as I ran, and the weight of the man on my back. I could even smell the leather and metal he was wearing, the dusty breeze of the sands, and taste the metal bit in my mouth from the bridal. Er, in my beak, I guess.
I felt a bit odd. My legs felt about right, but the feet were weird. The large bird-talons were great at gripping the ground and moving me along quickly, but they felt odd as heck. The feathers were a bit strange as well. The arms were just awkward. I could use them a bit for balance, but they had nothing even remotely resembling hands. And it was obvious that I wasn't going to be flying anywhere on them. They also felt like they bent in ways that I wasn't quite familiar with. They felt awkward.
These were the thoughts in my head, as we trudged on through the desert.
At around mid day, we...
