Finding Yourself In Another World

by Jest

Chapter 2

“Kinda cool though,” Tom continued, flexing his new body curiously.

Sure it wasn't exactly like his old one, but there was still an odd sense of familiarity there. It almost felt natural in a way, though he chalked that up to the fact that it was all just a dream. Sense, logic, and reason werent exactly mainstays when it came to the unconscious, drifting mind after all.

“Let's test these babies out,” he muttered, flexing his wings.

The feathered appendages spread wide, revealing a remarkable wing span that felt impressive at least to him. After a moment to focus, the man flapped hard, his mind already imagining what it was going to be like to soar through the sky. That however, did not happen, and though he did get airborne, it was only for a few seconds before he tumbled right back to earth.

With catlike grace he managed to catch himself before his face met the dirt however. Quickly pulling himself back up the man turned and glared at his new appendages balefully.

“Aww come on. Every other dream I’ve ever had has allowed me to fly. With or without wings,” Tom muttered to himself.

Huffing bitterly, the man gave his body a once over and after finding nothing out of place, began to look around once more. This time he paid a little more attention to his new surroundings.

The first thing he realized was that he was on the side of a mountain, which was itself part of a rather long range. This range stretched on into the distance in all directions, while right before him lay a rich valley at the center of which was a village. Small, and pastoral, it looked like the kind of thing he would have seen in a textbook on the medival age.

He couldn't make out any shapes from this distance, but he could see that there were several fields, all of which contained animals of some kind. From there, it was just more forest, broken only by small cleared areas containing cottages or a few scattered clumps of structures. There was only a single major road, and it stretched on towards what he assumed was the north.

“Huh, neat,” he muttered. “My dreams were never quite this detailed before. I guess that weird pill really did the trick. I’ll have to apologize to Emelia tomorrow.”

He gazed down at the small stretch of grass that separated two giant walls of spruce trees, an idea already forming in his mind.

“Right now I’m going to enjoy this,” Tom silently declared to himself.

Extending his wings, the griffon began to descend the steep hill, slow at first, but he quickly gained speed. The feathered appedfnages didn't do much save for allowing him brief moments of weightlessness but that was fine. It was close enough to flight that Tom still felt the same rush he remembered from the dreams he had as a child.

“Woohoo!” he shouted, jumping from one small mound of rocks to the other, talons scraping against the moss covered stone.

His movements which had begun quite sloppy, and barely coordinated were beginning to grow increasingly dexterous. Within only a few minutes he had gained a strange level of confidence over his new form. With that confidence he raced down the hill, laughing and hooting as he reveled in the freedom of it all.

The sights took him back to a trip he took to the west coast, the smells reminding him of the many hikes he used to go on. The feel of nature beneath him was grounding, and exhilarating while the various scents tantalized his senses. Wild flowers, bright green moss, verdant fresh grass, and the ever present aroma of the trees sruounding him.

It was exactly what he needed after weeks spent doing nothing but commuting back and forth from work. The only plants he had seen during that time were the cactuses on his partner’s desk, and the one fake bush they had in the living room. Other than that there was nothing save for the dirty, half dead grass which sprouted up from between the cracks in the parking lot.

Even the air felt different here, and it filled his lungs with such vigor that even the burn of exercise didn't bother him. It was a little weird he was experiencing that last sensation at all, but he chalked it up to the dream being weird. Nothing really made sense, but that was part of the fun of it all.

A foriegn land, a foriegn body, the entire dream was strange, yet wonderful.

Landing atop a rather large rock, he looked out over the clearing with what felt like a wide smile on his beaked face. A talon plucked a small bright yellow flower and brought it up to where he felt his nose was. Inhaling the scent, he released another long sigh in a long line of increasingly length exhalations.

“This is exactly what I needed,” he muttered. “I just wish I had some company.”

As if answering his call, the man saw what looked like a large dog emerge from the edge of the woods. Its fur was a bit lighter, its eyes a little more narrow and its ears slightly shorter, but other than that it seemed like a dog.

“Puppy!” Tom gushed, leaping from his vantage point and gliding down to the ground.

The second his limbs were under him once more, the man began to run over to the large dog with a glint in his eye. His talons itched to run through the creature’s no doubt soft coat, and fluffy stomach. The mere thought made him giggle in excitement, having recalled memories of his childhood dog he hadn't seen in years.

His quarry didn't flinch until Tom was a dozen meters away, its entire body becoming rigid as it turned to fully face the griffon. The hair on the back of its neck stood up, a growl built at the back of its throat, and it spread its legs wide. Though its body language was clearly hostile, Tom continued to approach it, stopping when he was in arms reach of the creature.

“Hey buddy, don't worry. I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered in a low tone.

The wolf remained stock still, though the hair on the back of its neck did fall slightly. Seeing this as his chance, the man continued to walk forward, a clawed hand outstretched towards the creature.

“That's it, see. I’m just going to pet you. That's all,” Tom whispered. “Man this dream is great. First I sorta get to fly, now I get to pet a wo-”

The rest of what he had been about to say turned into a terrified scream of pain as the wolf’s jaws sunk into his foreleg. With a screech, the griffon tried to pull away but the wolf was larger, and stronger then he was. So it had little trouble holding onto Tom as the transformed human flapped his wings wildly and screamed.

“Fuck ow get away, what the fuck? How is- fuck!” he screeched.

The wolf growled, sinking its teeth deeper into the griffon’s flesh and causing a wave of tears to cascade down his face. It then shook its head from side to side, tearing apart the griffon’s muscle and causing an even greater wave of pain. With a fresh surge of agony came a sense of desperation which was great enough to overwhelm even Tom’s panic.

Lashing out with a free claw, he swiped at the wolf’s face but only lightly grazed the creature. Who in turn continued to shake its head viciously causing more damage and bringing forth another scream.

“Ahhh fuck!” Tom yelled.

This time he continued to swipe and claw, aiming for the creature’s eyes in hopes of making it release his foreleg. The fifth strike struck true, and with a yelp, its jaws opened, allowing Tom to retrieve the injured limb. He didn't have time to inspect the damage, but he knew it was bad from just a brief glance down.

Chunks were missing, his bone was visible, and he could barely even feel anything but pain from below his elbow. He didn't worry about that at the moment though, as he had already turned in a random direction and was running away. It wasn't exactly a very well thought out escape, as panic, adrenaline, an alien body, and a healthy dose of pain didn't make things easy for Tom.

That being said, his new form did seem to have the necessary instincts, so he didn't have to actively think about how to run with only three legs. His discordant flapping had also gotten under control, allowing him to add a bit of extra speed to his retreat.

A good thing too, as the beast was already snapping at his heels, its teeth still slick with his blood. The clack of its jaws snapping shut mere inches behind him made another surge of adrenaline course through Tom. Allowing him to push through the pain and leap out of range another bite aimed at his back left leg.

Tom dodged around a tree, leapt over a bush, then bobbed through a briar patch, somehow staying ahead of the wolf. It wasn't by much however, and Tom knew that if he didn't come up with a plan soon he was going to be the beast’s next meal.

Right, which direction was that town? Tom wondered. I think it was this way.

Slipping around the trunk of a rather large fir tree, Tom began running in the direction of what he hoped was civilization. His pursuer wasn't far behind, and worse still, Tom’s little shift in direction had made him lose a little bit of ground. That wasn't the only thing he lost though, as the wolf bit down on his tail, though thankfully it only caught the very end.

A quick tug removed the errant hairs, and allowed Tom to escape. Though the sensation of getting a fist full of his tail removed wasn't pleasant, it was nothing compared to what he was already feeling. So he sucked it up, bit back the tears, and put everything he had into getting further ahead of the beast.

Come on, come on. He thought to himself. If I don't find some way to lose this guy soon I’m dead meat.

Another patch of bushes was deftly dodged, a small creek was leapt over, and throughout it all the wolf remained mere feet away. Even when Tom ran over a fallen log to get across a larger stream, the animal kept hounding him without pause. It was enough to make Tom begin to lose hope and start to wonder if he should simply give up.

Then the wolf suddenly stopped, and Tom glanced over his shoulder to find that his pursuer was now standing stock still.

“Ha, stupid anim- aaah!” Tom shrieked as he plummeted over the edge of a cliff, his wings flapping chaoticly.

Through the panic and pain, Tom felt a strange series of urges that upon being headed, somehow managed to straighten his flight. Trusting those instincts seemed to be working, so after pushing aside the fear, Tom spread his wings wide. Only to bank hard to the right completely by accident, nearly sending him into the rock wall he had just leapt off the top of.

A twist of his body turned him back in the other direction, and allowed him to see that the town was much closer than anticipated. Not only that but he could see a cottage outside of which was another of his new race who was busy chopping wood.

“I just gotta keep it together until then,” Tom muttered to himself through a clenched beak.

Flying high above the treetops under his own power would have normally exhilarated the former human. Yet now it only made him feel weirdly tired, worse still his vision was beginning to blur. Even his wings started to go numb, and strength flooded out of him like the blood pouring out of his wounded forelimb.

“Just a little… further,” Tom murmured.

Angling through the tops of the trees, Tom aimed himself for the clearing in front of the cottage. Unfortunately for him, his wings were becoming harder and harder to keep raised. So much so that he couldn't stop them from falling slack at his sides, and dropping him the last ten or so feet to the ground.

“Fuck,” was all Tom could mutter before his chin bounced off the dirt.

He then flipped end over end before landing on his side and tumbling another few feet. Finally, with his momentum burned, and his entire body covered in bruises, he lay still, eyes searching for another face.

“What in the Tartarus is going on? Who the hell are you?” barked a voice in what sounded like english.

“Help,” Tom croaked, extending his wounded limb.

“Damn girl, what happened to you? Better yet, don't answer that. I’ll haul you over to the doctor,” he replied.

“Yes plea-” muttered Tom before his eyelids shut, and his body became too heavy to move.

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