Chdrtlsy: A Short Story 4 Waking Anew

Her jaw muscles pulled her jaw closed. The bone structure of her body would s.h.i.+ft next and pull the muscles into a slightly different alignment. The realignment would allow her the ability to move around with ease whether on her feet or all fours. Resetarits preferred bring on all four after spending countless hours on two among this people. He found something to eat while he listened to the popping of Lottatna's vertebrae and ribcage. The s.h.i.+fting would cause her body to burn the fat that created her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and send the glands and nerves to her deep abdomen where they would be held until she mated.

Her shoulders would only hunch forward if she wanted them to. Resetarits did while he was around people to better hide his multiple tails. The bones and muscles in her head, neck, and face would come next. This s.h.i.+ft always caused the head to twitch in all directions because of the nerve stimulation that occurred while everything readjusted. The cartilage of her nose cracked and fragmented, leaving blood to drain out her nose. He washed it away as the bones continued to s.h.i.+ft. The aquatic mammal nose bulged from the skin and her lips thinned. Her head pulled to the left a little as the bones settled in place. He threw away the rag he used to wash away the blood from her face then mixed together a protein dense shake. He poured this into a bottle and took it to Lottatna's side.

Her jaw opened easily. Her esophagus tongue chomped its teeth ferociously at him and he set the nipple of the bottle in the hole. The bottle contents were drained greedily. Resetarits set the bottle to the side before getting the toilet dish and setting it beneath Lottatna once more. He pulled the blanket away and brushed away the pubic hair. A soft moan escaped her lips and she s.h.i.+fted just a little before a small pebble dropped from her a.n.u.s. Lottatna's chest rose for the first time since her heart stopped beating. He set his hand on her sternum to feel her heart beat. The beat was steady again. Just under 24 hours for the majority of the changes to occur.

The last thing to change would be the growth of her tail or tails. According to Resetarits' people, each tail represented a past life they had lived successfully. How much of that was really true he didn't know. But not that it mattered now anyways. He s.h.i.+fted Lottatna enough to pull the dish out from under her then covered her once more with the blanket. She s.h.i.+vered and he tucked the ends under her. He cleaned out the dish then a little more of his apartment while she continued her sleep. He was sure that he put all of Lottatna's belongings back into her purse. He lay down again as evening fell, curled under the blanket and slept.

Resetarits woke a couple hours later to the rustling of the bean bag. Getting up, he checked on his friend. She had rolled over and was trying to pull the blanket out from under her to cover her backside.

"Just lie still," he told her then covered her with a second blanket.

Lottatna curled into a ball then lie still. He was about to step away when the blanket started to move with the rapid growth of her tails. He returned to the couch and closed his eyes until the sun started to come in through the windows. Lottatna hadn't moved at all since he'd covered her. He prepared several bottles of food, knowing she would be hungry when she woke.

But when Lottatna hadn't stirred once by noon he was beginning to worry. Resetarits knelt beside her and set a hand on her shoulder. "Lottatna?" he asked.

"Resetarits?" she replied. "Where am I?"

"My apartment."

"How did I get here?"

"I carried you. Do you not remember what happened?"

"Snow Dragon… b.u.mp… Sleepy."

"It was more than just sleep, Lottatna."

"Then I really died?" she asked.

"You did," he said. "You were dead for nearly 24 hours while your body changed."

Lottatna's brow furrowed. Her stomach growled.

"Can you sit up?" he asked.

She s.h.i.+fted under the blanket and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She swayed a little as she pulled the blanket tighter over her naked body. Resetarits had gotten up and gathered the bottles from the kitchen. He steadied her as he held the nipple of a bottle to her lips. She opened her mouth and her tongue wrapped around the end. She tipped her head back against Resetarits' shoulder while she continued to feed and breath together. She opened her mouth when Resetarits removed the first bottle and gave her a second. She felt weak and let her eyes close again. The second bottle became a third bottle and a few cups of warm broth before Resetarits lay her down to rest a little more.

She only rested a few hours before she got up and shuffled to the bathroom. She kept the blanket wrapped around her. It was pulled tighter around her when she came out. She sat on the bean bag and stared away. Reseterits left the kitchen and brought over several cups of soup. The bean bag s.h.i.+fted as he sat next to Lottatna. He fed her several cups of something semi-solid. She ate it all.

"I'm sorry you have to experience this, Lottatna," he said.

He wrapped a second blanket around her shoulders and she raised her eyes to look at his face. She took in his slightly larger eyes and his sea lion's nose. His lips were as thin as she had seen them to be, and the rest of his face didn't seem that different from the Human face. Tears filled her eyes and she felt her face change. Resetarits set a hand on her cheek.

"That's the face for out there. Don't lengthen your recovery by using it here."

The s.h.i.+ft faded and Resetarits held her firmly in his arms as she sobbed.