Mortalized

Moo (12)

     That night's nightmare ended in the strangest way: with Null at the end suddenly turning into a cow. I woke from that instantly, not wanting to know why that even happened, or how that was even possible... How?-

    "Moo." I suddenly heard, followed by munching not too far away. My eyes flashed open, staring up at the trees the moment I did so. Though I was laying on my back, I no longer felt the usual stinging pain. Hmm.. maybe I couldn't use my powers properly because so much of my energy was going into healing? At least, that was half of it. Probably?.. "Moo." I convulsed in place, making the mutt right next to me jump. Oh, I..didn't even notice he was there. Quickly I sat up to see if the sound was from something potentially dangerous..

     Oh... It was only a cow. Of course. Before me stood a mother cow and her calf, both happily grazing in the small clearing beside me and the dog. I hadn't seen many other animals in this forest before. Perhaps the desert had kept them at bay.

     Seeing as the sun was up, and that I was still alive, I stretched my arms and legs as I thought about standing, finding them very sore from yesterday's long trek.

     "Ugh, are you sore too?" I asked the mutt beside me as he stretched as well. The dog only stared at me as if I should know. "Of course." I spoke plainly.

     "Mooo!" The cow moo-ed with sass in my direction, likely telling me to be quiet. I scoffed at her, for she was the one who woke me up. All-be-it, I was also sort of glad she had. Her little calf stood on wobbily legs, likely only a couple days old. I studied the youngling closely. His short fur was in curls, and his long legs looked too big for the rest of his body. The calf appeared to have a hop in his step, big as his legs were, as he pranced to the other side of his mother. My head tilted with the mutt's as we both observed the curious nature of the baby cow. There was something about him.. Something... Something, different.. but what? The calf pranced some more, eventually tripping over a dandelion. I nearly laughed, but held my tongue, for I knew his mother would only scold me. The mother cow took a moment from her grazing to walk over to her baby, licking him on the forehead until he let out a wild sneeze.

     I couldn't help but watch this calf, as if my eyes were glued to him. There was just something so, different, about this creature, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Finally, I just had to do something. Just sitting around would get me nowhere. So, I stood and walked over to the calf, straightening my stance as I always did.

     "Baby cow, come with me, or watch your mother suffer by my hand." I lifted my right hand slightly to emphasize, trying to create fire in my palm for good measure -- no fire appeared, again. The calf just stared up at me blankly, large eyes blinking, his tongue sticking out to lick his snout.

     "Moo!" The calf pranced away, running in circles for a brief moment before tripping over one of his own legs. I huffed quietly to myself. No way did this creature understand me, so why should I even try to threaten it? Still, my curiosity in the creature had not shifted. I sat down again, legs crossed as good as they could with my cast still on. I sat there quietly, waiting for the animal to reveal to me why it was so interesting. Did he secretly hold great power? Could he destroy a man with one kick if he wanted to?.. Likely not. The creature could hardly stand. "Mo-" There my case stands, as I watched the calf trip again while calling to his mother.

     After a while of watching the two animals, the mutt wandered off for a moment, leaving me to the herbivores. My limbs were still so sore, I didn't really feel like moving all that much. Usually when a muscle cramped or became sore I would just whack it with a solid fist, but that would likely scare off the small creature grazing beside me. So, instead, I resorted to massaging my shoulders and legs, which seemed to help over time.

     "Moo." The mother cow finally called to her young, beginning to walk from the clearing since all the good grass had been eaten. The calf began prancing happily after her.

     "W- wait!" I stuck my hand out, standing quickly. Neither large or small animal listened to me, and with the mutt already gone, I would be left alone... "Ugh..fine." I mumbled under my breath, not even watching the animals as they vanished behind the shrubs. Oh, whatever. Why did I even care? I would just go it alone again, like I always did! Yeah, just like old times.. My shoulders slumped. I didn't really want to go anywhere, nor did I even have a clue as to where I would go..or what I would do. After a while of pointlessly standing, I plopped back down onto the grass. For the first time ever I considered going back to sleep simply to wait out the empty feeling inside. Perhaps it would be gone when I woke up again? Maybe eating some more would help?..

     I just sat in silence for quite some time, paying closer attention to the grass I was sitting on, the wind blowing past my face and through the cuts in my clothing, and the small ache my injured leg constantly gave off. Below me, as I stared blankly at the dancing green, a red dot emerged from between the blades. I leaned forwards a little more, wondering what could possibly be so small and yet moving on its own. A bug. Oh, yeah, forgot those even existed.

     A miniscule creature the size of a measily dot. On its back were several black dots, decorating its outer shell. The only bugs I ever paid attention to were the giant spiders about half the size of a man, or their slightly smaller cave dwelling cousins, but these creatures I never even cared to notice. As I watched this small thing, however, I realized it was doing much more than simply existing. Swinging my legs from under me, I laid on my stomach so that I could get a closer look at the tiny bug. Now I could see its small needle thin legs beneath its bulking body.

     "How could such a thing survive out here?" I wondered, for surely there were predators out to eat it. The small red bug crawled from blade of grass to blade of grass, searching for something. I squinted. What was it looking for? That, I would never know, but what I did know was that the bug came to a stop when one blade of grass cut off into nothingness, leaving it on the edge of a cliff of sorts. Its tiny front legs began stretching outward to the nearest grass, hoping to levitate the blade by its command somehow.

     Carefully, I stretched my pointer finger out and held it still before the bug, curious as to whether it would trust me or not. It did. The colored beetle grabbed hold of my finger and lifted itself on top of it, continuing by crawling up my finger and onto my hand. I rotated my hand so the bug was upside down. It adjusted by crawling around and into my palm. I could just barely feel the strange unnerving sensation the bug's feet created as it ran across my hand, continuing up my wrist and onto my arm. I sat up again, placing my other hand on my arm to stop it there. The small red bug just crawled onto my other hand and began crawling up that one. How could such a delicate little creature be so bold on the skin of the monster, the stench of all humanity, the slayer of hundreds, maybe even thousands; I never counted?

     I inhaled, then blew the little creature off my arm with a curious smile. The little bug lost grip and fell from my arm, landing between a couple blades of green. I leaned down to watch its reaction unfold.. Would it attack me?

     The red beetle struggled for a moment to stand, then, it continued on walking as if nothing happened. Hmm.. Once clear of any other grass above it, the small creature's back opened up, revealing two transparent wings beneath the round shell of the beetle. Wonder filled my mind as this once tiny and helpless creature took flight, proving to me that it was capable of much more than I had initially thought possible of it. My head rose, eyes following the bug as it flew high above me, eventually vanishing among the leaves. My, what secrets these creatures hold, both big and small..

R'woof!

     I turned quickly, seeing the mutt staring at me from behind. His eyes were slightly wider than normal, and his jaw was open and his tongue sticking out in a pant. I couldn't help but think he looked to be smiling, but not the usual, malicious smile. Something much softer in expression.

     "Woof!" The dog spun around, tail wagging, prancing as the calf had. It appeared as if he wanted me to follow him again, except this time to show me something, and not urgent like before... Is that what he wanted all along? To show me something? Had he finally found what he wanted to show me..?

     Only one way to find out.