Submission (#1422) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act 2
Act Type: Support
Word Count: 1002
Adult Elnin Present: n/a
Regional Affinity: Ealei
Claiming Regional Affinity for: Mimi [MYO-ELN201]
[Adventurer] Rank Unlock Mini-Requirement: n/a

After sharing a meal with the critters of Ealei, Mimi was back to square one. At least she still had the leaves, but the manaberries!

Not knowing where to start, she sat down, a paw against her cheek as she tried to think. It was after noon now, and while she had let Momo know about her predicament and even she agreed it was the right thing to do, it also meant she didn’t have much to show for her work.

However, before she could ponder more on what to do, a small chirp brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked down to see the bird she had fed before.

“Oh, hello! Still hungry for more?”

The bird chirped, which Mimi didn’t know if this was in response to her question or something else. It looked at her, tilted its head, and then hopped away, looking back on occasion. Did it… want her to follow?

Not quite sure what else to do, she got up, following the bird.

They moved to the end of a branch, where Mimi found some more manaberries, albeit smaller. The bird also led her to another tree, where there were… different kinds of fruits?

Although Ealei was known to be the only place to find manaberries, that didn’t mean it was the ONLY fruit found here. She had forgotten, but Momo had told her on their way here that Ealei was known to harbour some of the most delicious fruits, as the trees and fruit were grown not only from soil, but nurtured by mana from the great Yggdrasil itself. It was the reason why manaberry potions were able to give one the ability to shift forms.

That said… though she hadn’t taken the potions themselves, she had consumed a fair amount of manaberries. With that in mind, would she be able to…

Closing her eyes, she tried to concentrate. Momo and Hika had shifted forms before, as having hands and feet were much more convenient than being on paws at times, especially when they needed to carry or write things. Though she herself had never really shifted before (not much need to as she didn’t have much use for it), getting practice in now couldn’t hurt. It’d certainly make collecting things a lot easier too.

With some concentration, she felt herself change. Her limbs grew longer, fur grew shorter. Paws became fingers, and she wiggled them with delight.

After some time, she opened her eyes, looking down, she gasped. She had… hands now! Hands that could hold and grasp and touch things! She looked at her feet. Those still seemed to be paws, but her legs seemed longer now. And her face!

She reached up, patting her cheeks. It was… smooth. She felt her lips curl into a grin, breaking out into delighted laughter. She did it. She did it!!

She jumped up and down, delighted beyond a doubt. Wait until she told-

SNAP.

The branch she was jumping on snapped, and she yelped. Oh no, she was gonna fall! She was gonna-

Tiny wings flapped, barely managing to keep her afloat. Oh, thank goodness she still had her wings! She turned around, seeing a bit of plumage out of the corner of her eyes. It seemed she still had her tail too. Did that mean…

She reached up and patted her head. There was hair! Not just a tiny tuft, but she had a full head of hair. She shook her head, feeling it brush against her neck and slap her cheeks, and she tugged on her tiny pigtails with glee. She felt her ears, still small and furry atop her head, and it seemed even her horns and antennas had stayed too. Oh, wait until she showed Momo, she’d be so proud!!

A chirping sound brought her out of her reverie, and she saw the baby bird chirping at her impatiently. Oh yah! It was showing her where to find more fruit!

Part of her was surprised to see the bird could still recognize her and wasn’t alarmed at the change, but perhaps that was a question best saved for later.

Following the bird, they visited various trees, Mimi marveling at the wide variety of fauna found within the treetops of Ealei. Some fruit she recognized. Others were quite bizarre in shape and size, but all were super tasty all the same.

Having collected a fair amount, Mimi decided it was enough to bring back, but it seemed the bird still had something to show her.

“Oh? But I already have enough fruit, and I-”

The bird didn’t seem to care, and tugged on her sleeve, wanting it to follow.

“Ok! Ok!”

Not knowing what else to do, she followed the bird. They seemed to be going higher and higher, and the fruits seemed to become more sparse too.

“I don’t think-”

Finally they reached an opening, and Mimi’s eyes widened.

Before them, clearing the canopy of the mangrove trees, was the open ocean. The waters, while normally a clear teal/blue, was slightly luminated by the setting sun, which cast a soft yellowy-orange glow on the horizon. Even the rock pillars in the ocean shared its warmth. 

Thick white clouds floated in the sky, seeming soft and fluffy to the touch. She wondered if she tried to lie on top of them, would they hold her weight? And if she squinted, far off into the horizon, she wondered if she could see the other regions. If memory served her well from what Momo had told her, she could maybe make out the swampy edges of Enmir or sandy beaches of Palu’au. Maybe even the distant frigid lands of Strynhalde depending on which part of Ealei she was on. That was… if one had absolutely amazing eyesight.

Though she couldn’t make out the distant lands, the scene before her was awe-inspiring all the same. Arms filled with fruit, she grinned. She couldn’t wait to go back and tell Momo all about it.