That there is the crux of it, I guess. Before the truck hit me I was male, with all of the doodads and dangles that come with it, and now I am not. I’ve been so preoccupied with Síle and new sensations from my enhanced senses that barely a thought of my body itself crossed my mind. To put it plainly, I am now female, dainty hands and all.

            But why didn’t I notice before? You’d think that if you woke up in a new body of a different gender, you would notice, but I didn’t. The thing though, is that it doesn’t feel new, it doesn’t feel like a completely different body. My arms moved exactly how I expected when I hugged Síle, there was no missing or hitting the ground because my arms are shorter. My voice was not a shocking thing to hear, it sounded different sure, but not bad different or outrageously different.

            My body is different and new, but it doesn’t feel that way. I don’t know why, but it just feels like my body, in a way the same as the old one. Now that it is consciously on my mind though, I notice everything.

            Now that I’m conscious of it, I can tell that I am shorter (I used to hit 5’10 in my work boots), there is a weight to my chest, my hair is softer and even longer than before, my feet and my hands are smaller and daintier, as are my shoulders and my waist, my hips are more pronounced than they used to be and I have a new space between my legs. Even after a full mental examination of my body, none of it feels wrong. It doesn’t feel any better or any worse than it used to, it just feels like my body. I don’t know whether this makes me trans or gender-fluid or something else, all I know is that I am no longer Samuel Robert Johnson and I am no longer an 18-year-old-boy.

            My introspection brings a need to my attention, a need for Síle to know why I had a man’s name, to tell her my story.

            So I do, I tell Síle that I used to be a man, that I used to only speak one language fluently, and it was most definitely not Aŕemír. I tell her my about my whole life, up until now and including how my senses feel, skimming over some things and only very briefly touching on technology and vehicles, as she has no understanding of those. She listens very well, interrupting only when there was something that confuses her or she doesn’t understand, and when I finish, we once again fall into silence.

            “Thank you for telling me.” She says, and licks me briefly on the forehead with her pleasantly rough tongue.

            “Thank you for listening to me and believing.” I lick her forehead in return, and she looks at me askance, staring at me until her nose twitches and we break into another bout of giggles. It takes a bit for the giggling to stop, and the moment they subside I come to a realisation bigger than noticing that I had a different body. I can feel more, my feelings are no longer dull and stored away to deal with later. When I feel like laughing, I laugh, when I want to smile, I smile, and I know that when I need to cry, I’ll cry. This feeling of feeling is amazing and I love it, almost as much as I already love being with Síle.

            “I find it funny that you used to be human.” Síle says, with a relaxed smile on her face.

            “Used to be human? What do you mean?” Her statement baffles me, used to be human?

            “Obviously that you’re not human anymore, I thought you would have realised.” Now we are both confused, me because I thought I was a human woman now, and her because she thought I had come to the same conclusion as her.

            “What makes you think that I’m not human?”

            “Well, a few things actually. When I’m around you I don’t feel like I do when humans are nearby, they make me more anxious, you speak Aŕemír, which is physically impossible for humans without special magic, your senses are far more sensitive than a humans could ever be without temporary enhancing magic, you purr almost as loudly as me and your tongue is nice and rough. You may look human at the moment but I don’t think that you’ll always look like one.” Her words make a kind of sense, and in some way, I already knew all this, but it still surprises me.

            The most testable thing is my tongue, and since I can’t really tell a difference while it’s in my mouth, I stick it out, and lick the back of my right hand. Síle is right, my tongue is different, it feels like a cat tongue, but my hand does not taste nice, and I pull a face at it. My reaction causes Síle to start giggling again. and I frown at her.

            “You have such a cute pout.” Pout? I’m not pouting I’m frowning, thank you very much, “If you want to clean up there is a spring further into my den that is fresh and clear.”

            My ‘pout’ clears at her words, and I nod a couple times to make it clear that yes, I want to be clean. We slowly extricate from each other and both do the classic yawn and stretch thing that cats do. Síle rises onto her feet first with me close behind. Standing up is somehow less exciting than I thought it would be, no tipping or swaying, despite being in a new body.

            Síle leads the way deeper into the cave at a slow walk, giving me ample opportunity to look around the den. The area we woke up in is likely the main living area, it is a small squircular cavern around the size of a large living room with rocks and small skeletons strewn throughout, the roof is only about two-and-a-half mes tall, with exits on opposite sides that take up about half a side each. The exit across from the one we are taking turns to the left, blocking the view of the entrance from the main cave but allowing the morning sun to shine in nonetheless.

            After leaving the central area we go around a few twists and turns in the natural-looking tunnel before entering another small cavern. This cavern is very different to the last one though, not only is it a bit bigger, it has a small lake in the centre with a hole in the ceiling with light beaming through into the far corner and some vines and leaves dangling down. In the centre of the lake is tiny island, hardly more than a boulder, with a tree growing out of it.

            Síle continues toward the water, pausing and looking over her shoulder at me when she doesn’t hear me following anymore. She watches me while I soak in the fantastical beauty of the cave. For me in this body it is the first time seeing these striking natural colours. The water is a brilliant blue and the green of the tree, vines and grass are a rich green that momentarily blows my mind. Without my crazy good eyesight this cave would be amazing, but with it, it’s absolutely phenomenal, far beyond anything I saw in my old life.

            After letting me stand and look for a few moments, Síle decides that I’ve done enough dawdling and trots up behind me to nudge me towards the water.

            “Hey! What’s the rush? You know that I’ve never seen anything like this before!” I exclaim in mock exasperation, letting her push me closer and closer towards the lake.

            “I don’t know if you’ve had a good sniff of yourself, but you do not smell good.”

            “Fair enough, just let me undress.” Síle stops pushing me when I say this, instead jumping into the lake and causing a small wave to wash over the side and onto my small feet. Deciding to follow her lead, I quickly step out of my brown linen pants and remove the white long-sleeved shirt after unbuttoning it, leaving me in only my small clothes, which I remove as well.

            Once fully undressed I take a look down at myself, and come to the conclusion that I look exactly how I thought I would. My arms look like they feel, as do my legs, hands, feet, hips and waist. My breasts are the size I thought they would be, no smaller and no bigger. With no knowledge of bra sizes, it’s hard to be exact, but I reckon they are somewhere between just right and perfect. After letting the image of my body sink into my mind, I dive into the lake after Síle.

                                                                                                                        ﴾⸸﴿

            Never in my life has water been more relaxing. The dirt and grime from weeks of inactivity wash away as if the never existed, and it’s not long before Síle is drying out on the small island while I attempt to clean my clothes. Without soap they can only get so clean, but I try me darndest to remove all the dirt, soaking the shirt, pants and underclothes before rubbing against the stone bank of the island. The success is only partial but far more rewarding than I expected. Once my clothes reach a satisfactory level of cleanliness, I sprawl out next to Síle.

            “Is this water magical Síle? I only briefly saw any dirt I washed off before it disappeared, and despite not having soap or shampoo my skin is clearer and my hair is silkier than it has ever been before.”

            “I don’t think that the water itself has magical properties, but if you want a proper answer ask the tree.”

            “The tree? Ask the tree why the water has magical cleaning properties? Are you alright Síle?”

            Síle answers by flopping her head onto the side to make sarcastic eye contact, “It’s a dryad, dingus.”

            As if in response to Síle’s comment a very green little girl pops right out of the side of the tree, giggling like a maniac.

SamnaroLurokeb

And that is the last of the pre-written chapters. New ones may appear, or they may not. Finding time and inspiration has been a bit difficult with my new job just sucking up all of my time and energy, so much so that I'm getting annoyed at my complete and utter lack of productivity. On that note, I'd forgotten how much I liked some of this story, especially the insert. It is also quite possible this could be the end of the story until my energy either stabilises a bit or I get a new job.