Finding Yourself In Another World

by Jest

Chapter 1

The soft buzz of a vibrating phone caused one of the two dark shapes to begin stirring from within the cloth confines of their bed. A humanoid shape emerged a moment later and swiped the phone from the end table, swiftly turning off the alarm. With that done, the man emerged fully into the darkroom, shivering the moment the air hit his naked skin.

Feet found slippers, arms found a housecoat, and within seconds the man began to shuffle towards the door. Pausing just long enough to turn, and smile down at his girlfriend, the man considered waking her only to think better of it.

She was just so… serene. Her soft, slightly rounded features and gentle olive skin may not have fallen into the realm of traditional beauty but to him she was perfect. Even with the bit of added weight she always swore she’d lose, the woman was exactly what the man wanted out of life. Reserved in public, yet talkative at home, she didn't desire conflict, but neither did she run from it.

The man had to stop himself from kissing her cheek, refocusing his attention on the bedroom door. Slipping quietly into the hallway, he turned and closed the door behind him before proceeding to the bathroom. There he shed his housecoat and slippers, stepping onto the cold hard ground and immediately shivering.

He turned and glanced at his mostly naked reflection, a bolt of disgust immediately running through him. His body was rail-thin, almost skeletal in appearance, and devoid of seemingly any muscle at all. The sight made his thin brow furrow, and his green eyes narrow, his gaze pointedly turning away from the mirror.

He released a soft sigh and stepped towards the shower, arm extended past the plastic barrier. How water erupted from the head, and soon the bathroom was filled with a thin layer of mist. Minutes passed and the man emerged once more, drying himself quickly before donning the clothes he had set out the day before.

All but his work shirt, which he slung over his shoulder before approaching the mirror once more. Though the sights within bothered him, he tried not to think about how sharp his features were, or how long his nose was. Only the thin scraggly patches of brown hair poking out from above his lip held his attention for long.

With an angry grunt, the man grabbed a razor and removed the offending hair from his face in no time at all. He then ran a comb through his dark hair and combed it off to one side, taking time to untangle the knots his short sleep had left him with. Long, and flowing, his hair was a difficult beast to conquer, but doing so left him feeling proud, so he worked long without complaint.

When it was done, and most of it had been bundled into a ponytail, the man smiled for the first time that day. Even his reflection didn't look quite so bad, and he kept that expression even as he exited the bathroom.

Walking into the kitchen he immediately approached the fridge and gazed in on its meager contents. Nothing quite caught his eye, but then again nothing ever did, and after a moment of consideration he grabbed a few eggs. Adding to that were two slices of bread, along with some cheese and a bottle of hot sauce.

A pan was found, the oven was activated, and soon breakfast was on its way to being made. Just as the man had assembled his simple sandwich, he was surprised to see a sleepy woman appear from the hall.

“Emelia, what are you doing up?” he asked.

“I should be asking you the same. I thought you said you didn't have to work today,” replied the woman, who shuffled into the kitchen, revealing her voluminous pink pajamas.

“Ted asked if I could cover someone’s shift, and I didn't want to wake you,” he replied, sitting down at the small table with his meal.

“Tom, what were you going to do? Leave me a note?” Emelia asked.

Tom winced. “I wasn't really sure, to be honest.”

“Well now you don't have to worry about that,” Emelia explained as she walked over to the cupboard and produced a box of cereal.

“You really don't have to do that. Please, go back to sleep. At least one of us can enjoy our Saturday then,” Tom encouraged.

“What kind of girlfriend would I be if I made you suffer alone. Besides, you know I can't fall back asleep after I’ve gotten up,” Emelia replied.

Tom sighed and allowed his partner to kiss her on the forehead. “You are too selfless for your own good, you know?” he muttered.

“Then it's a good thing you’d never take advantage of that,” she exclaimed.

Tom chuckled, turning his attention back to his food. “So, how was your sleep?”

Emelia sat across from him, a bowl filled with colorful, sugary cereal sitting before her. “Oh, you know. Crazy dreams as per usual, and you?”

Tom grunted as he chewed on his sandwich, swallowing hard. “Shit. But what's new about that?”

“Does that mean you are finally going to get those supplements I recommended to you?” Emelia half asked, half demanded.

“Yes. I checked that the pharmacy near the bookstore has them. I’ll pick them up after work today,” Tom answered.

“Don't take that tone with me. I know that they aren't peer-reviewed but they helped me in the past, and my mother swears on the stuff,” Emelia pressed.

Tom held up his hands. “I get it. I'm not arguing with you. It's just… cherry extract? It seems like something that would keep you up, rather than put you to sleep.”

“It's not just cherries,” Emelia stressed. “There are other good, all-natural ingredients to help you fall asleep and stay asleep in there.”

Tom sat quietly for several minutes, merely eating his sandwich while his partner consumed the entire bowl of cereal.

“Fine,” he admitted. “I guess we’ll find out one way or the other tonight.”

“Maybe then you’ll finally be able to sleep for more than three hours at a time,” Emelia declared.

Tom grunted. “Here's to hoping. If this doesn't work I’ll have to talk to Steve and see if I can get some pot.”

“If this doesn't work I’ll grow the weed myself,” Emelia replied.

Tom chuckled as he finished the last of his meal and stood up from the table. “Now that I’d like to see. Editing articles during the day, and selling pot at night. Could I be your driver?”

“You sure wouldn't be the muscle,” Emelia retorted, shooting her partner a cheeky grin.

Tom laughed aloud as he dumped his plate in the sink, and made sure the kitchen was presentable. Just as he had finished piling the dishes in the rack he was joined by Emelia, who hugged him from behind.

“So…” She began. “Did you take next weekend off like I asked?”

“I uh. Couldn't,” he replied after a short pause. “Ted was taking it off and the owner wanted a senior manager on-site to train the new hires.”

“Not again,” groaned Emelia. “You can't keep letting him push you around. Ted’s got a full year less seniority but you always cave when he asks you for something.”

“He's the owner’s cousin. I can't help the nepotism,” Tom retorted, the man squirming uncomfortably in his partner’s grip.

“Nepotism or not, you have months of vacation and sick days saved up. You gotta start using them. Remember what happened last year?” Emelia continued, holding the man in his place.

“The owner will say he’ll pay them out or roll them over then won't do either,” Tom grumpily admitted.

“Exactly. So use em, or lose em,” Emelia pressed.

Tom twisted around in her arms and kissed her gently. “Fine, you win. I’ll take the next weekend off, and we can start planning some kind of vacation for August. How does that sound?”

Emelia smiled. “I think that sounds wonderful.”

“Now can you let me go?” Tom asked, eyebrows raised.

Emelia smirked. “I don't know. What's in it for me?”

“Another kiss,” Tom offered.

“Double it and you have a deal,” Emelia countered.

Tom rolled his eyes. “Fine, you drive a hard bargain.”

Emelia giggled as her partner peppered her face with kisses.

“Now then,” Tom began, the man retrieving his work shirt from the chair it had been hanging on and quickly throwing it over his undershirt. “Were there any other homeopathic drugs or sugar pills I need to pick up today?”

Emelia rolled her eyes. “They are not homeopathic, and no. You don't need to pick anything else up. But you should check in with your mother. She tried calling last night but you had finally fallen asleep so I muted her.”

Tom winced and ran a hand down his face. “Oh god, why would you do that? She's going to be insufferable now.”

“As if she wasn't already insufferable,” Emelia countered.

“Extra insufferable then,” Tom countered.

“You’ve heard it all before. She’s just going to complain that you won't become a lawyer,” Emelia exclaimed.

“I mean yeah, but if I don't listen to her every once and a while she’ll show up at the apartment,” Tom countered. “And no one wants that.”

“I’m still amazed that woman has so much time off given that she's one of the most sought-after defense lawyers in the country,” Emelia muttered.

“It's because she's so sought after that she has so much free time,” Tom reminded. “She barely has to work more than three or four cases a year in order to keep her mansion stocked with all the whiskey dad could ever drink.”

“Your family is so weird,” Emelia remarked.

“Tell me about it. I wish they were more like yours,” Tom declared, stepping over to the entrance and grabbing his shoes.

“What? Thousands of miles away in another country?” Emelia retorted.

“Honestly, yeah. Now if only we could figure out a way to make them switch places and then we’d all be happier. Your parents are great,” Tom murmured to himself.

“Hey don't be too hard on your mom. She just wants what's best for you, even if she is a little… forceful at times,” Emelia exclaimed.

“What she wants is someone to walk in her footsteps,” Tom countered.

“Still. At least then you wouldn't have to worry about money,” Emelia offered with a halfhearted shrug.

“If it meant I’d have to choose between the street and defending killers I’d find a nice bridge to live under tomorrow,” Tom whispered.

Emelia sighed as Tom stood straight once more. “Well, at least you have your principles.”

“It's all we really have,” Tom declared.

“Have a good day at work hun,” Emelia exclaimed, leaning in close and planting a kiss on the man’s lips.

“I love you,” whispered Tom.

Emelia smiled. “Love you too.”

---

Tom groaned as he stepped back into the dark apartment, his entire body shaking slightly as he leaned against the wall. His prim and proper appearance was gone, destroyed by a mix of sweat as well as spilled pizza grease. Even his shoes had been besmirched, dirtied by a particularly unpleasant customer who tried to throw coffee on him.

“Stupid jerks. If I didn't wear the mask I’d get fired. You can't just demand I remove it,” muttered the man as he angrily tossed aside the stained shoes.

“Tom is that you?” Called a familiar voice.

“Yeah it's me,” Tom muttered, awkwardly climbing back up and tossing aside his shirt.

“Oh goodness,” Emelia muttered. “What are you doing home so late?”

“Boss over at Darts called and asked me to pull an emergency shift. The new guy didn't show,” Tom muttered.

“And you didn't think to text me?” Emelia demanded.

Tom sighed. “I wanted to, but they scheduled me for immediately after my shift at the book store. I had ten minutes to get to the restaurant.”

Emelia shook her head. “Did you at least get something to eat?”

“Yeah. A prank caller ordered a vegetarian so I was able to eat that. It came out of my paycheque, but at least I had something for dinner,” Tom murmured as he entered the bathroom.

“Did you want to watch a movie or something after you’re out? Or maybe we could go get some ice cream,” Emelia offered with a hopeful smile.

“I think I’m going to go to sleep. Sorry babe but I’m pooped,” Tom murmured.

“It's okay. You got those pills though, right?” Emelia asked.

Tom nodded. “I’ll pop one as soon as I’m done.”

“I love you,” Emelia exclaimed.

Tom smiled. “Love you too.”

---

A man stared silently at the ceiling, body wrapped tight in blankets, and head nestled in the crook of a comfortable pillow. In the distance, he could hear the faint clack of a keyboard, and he imagined his partner correcting some journalist’s grammar. The thought brought a smile to his face, and he couldn't help but consider getting out of bed just in order to see her.

That idea didn't make it further than just an idle consideration, however, as his screaming muscles demanded he stay where he was. So the man remained in bed, his arms hanging slack at his sides as he continued to stare up into the dark.

At least the pill didn't taste half bad. He thought to himself, mind going back to the surprisingly large tablet he had consumed only a few minutes earlier. I wonder how long it will take to kick in.

He didn't have to wonder for long, as he soon felt his eyelids grow heavy, forcing him to close them, and finally relax. The second this happened the man felt himself slip away, and for once he fell asleep mere moments closing his eyes. He would have rejoiced if possible, though he would soon have far more pressing matters to consider than just sleep.

---

The man’s senses returned to him slowly, and one at a time, the first of which was touch. He could feel grass beneath his back, the warmth of the sun, and a peculiar lack of a few things.

First, he didn't feel his unmentionables or his hair, or at least it didn't feel quite like his hair. There were other minor discrepancies, but he tried not to think about those things at the moment. He was dreaming, of that, he was sure, and not only that but he was lucid dreaming, a thing he hadn't been able to do since he was very young.

When he inhaled through what felt like his nose, he sensed flowers, a lush field, and the close proximity of spruce trees. It was a pleasant aroma and one which relaxed him almost as much as the gentle embrace of the noon sun.

Releasing a sigh, he extended his arms behind his head. “This is nice,” he murmured.

Only to blink, and open his eyes. “That's not my voice,” he exclaimed.

Standing upright, the man immediately realized what was wrong, or at least he did after he fell over.

He wasn't human, he quickly realized, as his legs didn't bend that way, his spine didn't curve normally, and everything felt off. This realization would have caused him to panic normally, but this was a dream, and beyond that, it also felt kinda nice. After righting himself and looking over his new body carefully, the man realized that he was a quadruped.

Not only that but he was a griffon, complete with wings, talons, and even a sharp, hooked beak. Though tempted to check if he could fly, he decided to try that later, as right now he just wanted a clearer picture of his body.

Gazing down at himself once more, Tom found that his proportions were slightly… off. He would have assumed a griffon would be more like the ones he had seen in video games but he was barely taller than a nearby bush. That was assuming the bush wasn't twenty feet tall, but it seemed like the kind he frequently saw on hikes.

Not only that, but his coloration was much different as if someone had turned up the color on everything. His main body was a dark grey, but he had lighter stripes along his back legs, wings, and even the tuft of fur at the end of his tail. These last two things were mainly a darker grey that neared on black, contrasting with the majority of his body.

Only the tuft of fur on his neck was much different, being a light brown that was nearly the same shade as his bright orange forelimbs. He could also feel that several feathers on his head were slightly longer than what he thought would be normal, shading one side of his face.

“This is so weird.”

Author's Note:

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Comments

[Okamiluver]

Just started to read this and I'm already glad that yhe mc isn't a stereotype!