Metroid: The Last Aurealian *REWRITE*

The First Adventure

Skye kept watch over me the remainder of the day. Peering out our windows, walking in and out of house on small walks around the block as to not arouse suspicion. Luckily, the weather deterred any potential nosy neighbors, torrential thunderstorms and flooding rained across the islands in a summer brew.

I tasted the humidity on my tongue and felt the pressure drop behind my ear slits long before the clouds burst, coiling myself snugly with the blanket over my scales. I was afraid to move any more than that, afraid I'd knock everything over and cause a loud rumpus that'd alert everyone on Mercurial Island of a transformed beast in their midst. It would take time acclimating to this new body.

Skye rested against my shoulder as we watched the pattering against the windows, listening to the rain and wind lash the roof. His scales prickle as he itched to get out of here, away from the surrounding world intent on peering in on the secret. The longer we stayed, the higher the risk of being discovered. The rain wouldn't keep people away forever.

Skye eased the itch beneath his scales by preparing for our venture, throwing a bundle of food, clothes, info cards, and a thick jacket into my bag, pressing down into a compressed space until its full to the brim."Get some sleep." He growled in suggestion. "You'll need your energy for tomorrow." Sleep came easier than I believed. It definitely helped the transformation itself exhausted me. I closed my eyes and blacked out, waking only when a claw prodded my snout. I wrinkle my nose pushing it away. The claw dug sharply into my skin. I snapped irritably at the source.

"It's time to go." Skye muttered; my bag slung around his back. I rose on my legs, stretching my spine like a cat and accidentally knocking over the bookshelf with my tail. Skye hurried to silence the clutter. I yawn, blinking to keep awake, outside is pitch black as the night passes its zenith. All is quiet at 3 am, save for the quiet scurrying of bandits and the low chatter of homeless wanderers slinking through the streets.

The first obstacle of our journey was figuring how to get myself out the door.

I inhale, tightening my torso muscles and squeezing through the door like a snake. My rear gets stuck in the opening and I struggle hard to wiggle loose. "Move your caboose, you're blocking the way." Skye whispers behind me. I hear him grumble, forcefully shoving at my tail end until I slip through, crashing face first into the middle of the street. Skye rushes out shaking his head. "Shush, you wanna wake the whole neighborhood?"

I scramble onto my feet, claws clicking on the hard pavement. Sorry. The night cloaks our journey as we travel in the shadows, dark creatures ominous and foreboding. Our eyes piece the darkness as my green blue scales glimmer faintly in the moonlight. I navigate through the smaller streets, slinking through the alleyways prowling behind the apartments. My footfalls muffled as I walk heel first avoiding the puddles, breath silent, mind alert and awake. The chords on my head slant against my horns, twitching at the slightest sound. I truly felt like a creature of the night, sleek, elusive, a cunning hunter lurking in the shadows like a ghost, unknown to its prey until its lethal strike. I felt a deep exhilaration of the unfolding event, along with a thrumming eagerness of what's to come.

It was my first real adventure, and I would remember it as thus for the rest of my life. My daily travels in the city lights couldn't compare. Here was uncertainty and a pressing anxiety of the risks, mixed with the thrill of the journey. Even now when I recall the event to Samus, explaining the memory in vivid detail she can't help but listen to it for the 35th time. When I tell her of the emotions I felt, she says it's because of the uncertainty and the feeling of a risk taken that made it a true adventure.

Avoiding the main roads, we took to the minor Islands as much as possible, crossing them on smaller, seldom used bridges. Skirting the perimeter of the city we passed through smaller neighborhoods; prowling through the alleys, sneaking past the steel apartment houses. My night vision was exceptional. The brighter colors were subdued to grey and the dark colors shone in a clear blue hue. Only three blocks I away I could hear the waters of the bay slapping against the surface, wafting the air with a freshwater algae scent.