Recombination

Chapter 5

There is a silence between us that is only broken by the sound of birds realizing it was safe to start singing their songs again. Lyra eyes me with a look that I cannot read, and something tells me it's not because of my lack of experience with human facial features, but instead a sign that her ability to cloak her emotions was something far above what was considered normal.

The pain from my ribs are slowly starting to subside, my regeneration was doing it's work very well. The pain had been replace with moisture on my face. Strange it wasn't very hot today. What could be the cause behind moisture appearing when it wasn't very hot? I had not exhausted myself fighting the bear, even though it was a work out in of itself, but even then I had not leaked any liquids. Lyra opened her mouth, and in that moment I realized where this moisture was coming from. I was nervous, nervous about her answer.

"Your arms." said Lyra.

"What about them?" I reply as my arms grow less sharp with each passing second. Eventually they return to being soft things of creation and not sharp things of destruction. "There's nothing wrong with my arms."

Her face stops hiding emotion, there is confusion on her face, but a surprising absence of fear.

"You....you aren't human are you?" She took a step forward. "I am not a scientist but cryogenics don't do that to a human."

"I don't know what I am." I say drly. I try to seem as unthreatening as possible but it is a difficult task when you are covered in the blood of a dead bear. "But I promise you, I don't mean you harm. I am just lost. I think I have a purpose and I know I have this potential, but I don't know what do with these things. Please don't leave me."

Her face is a blank slate. Greg would of called it a poker face and a good one at that. She breaks and there is beauty in this breaking. A smile slowly creeps up on her face and my heart speeds up. I don't know why but I like it.

"You know you could of just given him the backpack with the fish right?" said Lyra.

"Well I was very hungry."

Her smile breaks into laughter. I wonder if she is insane, because to still treat me as an ally, no a friend, despite what she saw might qualify for insanity. I wonder if all humans are born insane and if they are, then maybe they aren't really insane to begin with. Maybe they just see the world in a different way.

"I am still hungry for that fish myself by the way." said Lyra as she turned to the direction we were originally walking towards to.

"Then let's go eat it." I say with a smile. I am getting much better at them.

We go back to the cave, but only for supplies. Lyra wanted materials for something she called a campfire. She made one right outside our pond. She took our fish out of the backpack and I restrained myself from trying to eat one raw. With her ingenuity a small contraption that impaled the fish on an axis was made. While she turned the fish around above the fire she asked me a couple of questions.

"I don't want to seem rude, but you have no idea what you are?" she asked.

"No, neither have I found any life forms that are similar to me. If anything I end up being similar to them."

"What do you mean?"

Should I tell her what I truly am? Does she only associate with me because of how I look? Am I just a sense of familiarity in a world that has gained everything but that in her eyes? If I take away this faint illusion, nothing more than a translucent curtain with a shape behind it, will she still like me? Will she still look my way?

"I can change shapes. My form can shift." I said to her. Her eyes widen and I don't wait to hold my breath. I quickly add "I like this one the most."