1st Fall, 519
"Speech"
The late afternoon sun was bright in the skies, and while the relentless summer heat had eased, the humidity certainly had not. If anything, it had gotten worse, especially with the downpour they had received during the morning.
Sophia loved the heat, she basked in it like a lizard would, but she very much disliked humidity. Of course, living in Syka one had to tolerate it, but it didn’t mean you had to enjoy it. She just hated being sticky, and humidity was all about being sticky.
The Svefra was currently preparing to open her business. With the dawning of fall, the opening was now upon her. She had spent the summer trying to create as much stock as she could, though it had proved a lot harder than she could ever have imagined. For a start, there was the fact that she had had to learn everything from scratch. Sophia had only known how to make oils when she had begun, so figuring out how to make those oils into other useful products had been a lot of trial and error. As such, her product selection was limited, but at least nothing she was selling would accidentally poison someone.
Sophia was in her beachfront home at her desk, going through her lists on everything she had grown and created to make up her opening stock. The Svefra was getting pretty good at organising herself now, although sometimes she felt like she spent more time writing lists than she did making products. Someday she would find the perfect balance.
Figuring she had done enough list making for one day, she pushed her chair away from the desk and rose, stepping into the more open space of her home. As she did so, something hit her. Not a physical object, but more of a feeling. She stopped in her tracks as a fleeting prickling ran across her entire body, a small gasp leaving her mouth. It lasted less than a tic, but even after it had passed Sophia felt odd. She frowned, looking out over the beach. Something was different about the view from mere moments ago. Her eyeline was higher, somehow.
Confused, and sure she was imagining things, Sophia shook her head lightly and made to continue over to the lower level of her house. Only her legs didn’t work. She realised she couldn’t step, it felt as though she didn’t have two legs at all. She looked down at herself and horror flooded her body and then she was screaming.
After a moment in which the screaming did absolutely nothing to change what she could see, it trailed off into a pitiful whine before Sophia let herself fall silent. Where her legs were, she now had a snake tail, one thick enough to hold her torso upright. It looked almost comical, spilling from the skirt of her pink dress, the golden yellow scales that covered it clashing horribly against the fabric.
Cautiously, she reached down to prod the tail. Yes, she could feel it. It definitely belonged to her. As she did so, Sophia noticed that the backs of her arms were also covered in a delicate layer of the scales, fading out towards her hands. Breathing hard, she tried not to let panic overwhelm her, hands balling into fists at her sides.
Sophia was too scared to try and move again, but she couldn’t just stay standing in the middle of her house forever. Did it even count as standing if she was using a tail and not legs? Hysterical laughter bubbled out of her lips at the ridiculous thoughts her mid was throwing around. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths and counting methodically until she felt a little calmer. She needed to find her mirror and that meant it was time to move.
It turned out that Sophia hadn’t needed to worry about trying to move at all. Her body appeared to know exactly what to do, and she felt the muscles within the tail bunching and extending while the scales along the underside gripped onto the wooden floor to provide a point to move forward from. The tail curved from side to side, propelling her across the room in a serpentine glide that was elegant and much faster than walking. It felt both natural and entirely alien at the same time, and she stopped trying to think about it too much before the notion overwhelmed her.
Quickly she managed to locate the small hand mirror, and upon raising it to her face she almost dropped it again. A strangled noise of shock left her as she stared into a face that had echoes of the one she recognised as her own, but was very clearly not the one she knew.
Eyes of molten gold, slashed through with thin black pupils stared back at her, flickering as they moved over the rest of her features. Her brow was much more pronounced, and her forehead was adorned with the same scales that covered her arms. High cheekbones were also dusted with the scales, and as her lips parted she saw two slender, long fangs where her canines used to be.
Hand shaking, Sophia returned the mirror to its crate. All she wanted to do was sit down and cry, but she didn’t know how to sit. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, confusion was settling into her mind. How on Mizahar had she turned into this… creature? What was she?! Vague memories of stories aboard her family ship stirred in her thoughts. Svefra were well travelled, always meeting new people and visiting often far-flung places. She had heard mention of snake-people before from her kin, but only briefly. Had she somehow changed race?
It didn’t seem like it should be possible, but here she was, with fangs and a snake tail. It must be magic, she couldn’t think of any other explanation. But why? Where had the magic come from. It certainly hadn’t been Sophia herself. It had to have been someone else, and as the thought dawned on her, she wondered then of the other residents of Syka. Had they been turned into snake people too?
She had to find out. Sophia immediately thought of Kamilla. She knew that the brunette knew of magics, so perhaps she might know what would cause such a thing to happen. Sophia headed for the stairs that led from her home to the beach, the speed of her movements again taking her by surprise. However upon reaching the stairs, she stopped. Can snakes use stairs? There was only one way to find out, and she was determined to make it to the cave where her friend now lived, so carefully, cautiously, Sophia started to descend.
Sophia loved the heat, she basked in it like a lizard would, but she very much disliked humidity. Of course, living in Syka one had to tolerate it, but it didn’t mean you had to enjoy it. She just hated being sticky, and humidity was all about being sticky.
The Svefra was currently preparing to open her business. With the dawning of fall, the opening was now upon her. She had spent the summer trying to create as much stock as she could, though it had proved a lot harder than she could ever have imagined. For a start, there was the fact that she had had to learn everything from scratch. Sophia had only known how to make oils when she had begun, so figuring out how to make those oils into other useful products had been a lot of trial and error. As such, her product selection was limited, but at least nothing she was selling would accidentally poison someone.
Sophia was in her beachfront home at her desk, going through her lists on everything she had grown and created to make up her opening stock. The Svefra was getting pretty good at organising herself now, although sometimes she felt like she spent more time writing lists than she did making products. Someday she would find the perfect balance.
Figuring she had done enough list making for one day, she pushed her chair away from the desk and rose, stepping into the more open space of her home. As she did so, something hit her. Not a physical object, but more of a feeling. She stopped in her tracks as a fleeting prickling ran across her entire body, a small gasp leaving her mouth. It lasted less than a tic, but even after it had passed Sophia felt odd. She frowned, looking out over the beach. Something was different about the view from mere moments ago. Her eyeline was higher, somehow.
Confused, and sure she was imagining things, Sophia shook her head lightly and made to continue over to the lower level of her house. Only her legs didn’t work. She realised she couldn’t step, it felt as though she didn’t have two legs at all. She looked down at herself and horror flooded her body and then she was screaming.
After a moment in which the screaming did absolutely nothing to change what she could see, it trailed off into a pitiful whine before Sophia let herself fall silent. Where her legs were, she now had a snake tail, one thick enough to hold her torso upright. It looked almost comical, spilling from the skirt of her pink dress, the golden yellow scales that covered it clashing horribly against the fabric.
Cautiously, she reached down to prod the tail. Yes, she could feel it. It definitely belonged to her. As she did so, Sophia noticed that the backs of her arms were also covered in a delicate layer of the scales, fading out towards her hands. Breathing hard, she tried not to let panic overwhelm her, hands balling into fists at her sides.
Sophia was too scared to try and move again, but she couldn’t just stay standing in the middle of her house forever. Did it even count as standing if she was using a tail and not legs? Hysterical laughter bubbled out of her lips at the ridiculous thoughts her mid was throwing around. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths and counting methodically until she felt a little calmer. She needed to find her mirror and that meant it was time to move.
It turned out that Sophia hadn’t needed to worry about trying to move at all. Her body appeared to know exactly what to do, and she felt the muscles within the tail bunching and extending while the scales along the underside gripped onto the wooden floor to provide a point to move forward from. The tail curved from side to side, propelling her across the room in a serpentine glide that was elegant and much faster than walking. It felt both natural and entirely alien at the same time, and she stopped trying to think about it too much before the notion overwhelmed her.
Quickly she managed to locate the small hand mirror, and upon raising it to her face she almost dropped it again. A strangled noise of shock left her as she stared into a face that had echoes of the one she recognised as her own, but was very clearly not the one she knew.
Eyes of molten gold, slashed through with thin black pupils stared back at her, flickering as they moved over the rest of her features. Her brow was much more pronounced, and her forehead was adorned with the same scales that covered her arms. High cheekbones were also dusted with the scales, and as her lips parted she saw two slender, long fangs where her canines used to be.
Hand shaking, Sophia returned the mirror to its crate. All she wanted to do was sit down and cry, but she didn’t know how to sit. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, confusion was settling into her mind. How on Mizahar had she turned into this… creature? What was she?! Vague memories of stories aboard her family ship stirred in her thoughts. Svefra were well travelled, always meeting new people and visiting often far-flung places. She had heard mention of snake-people before from her kin, but only briefly. Had she somehow changed race?
It didn’t seem like it should be possible, but here she was, with fangs and a snake tail. It must be magic, she couldn’t think of any other explanation. But why? Where had the magic come from. It certainly hadn’t been Sophia herself. It had to have been someone else, and as the thought dawned on her, she wondered then of the other residents of Syka. Had they been turned into snake people too?
She had to find out. Sophia immediately thought of Kamilla. She knew that the brunette knew of magics, so perhaps she might know what would cause such a thing to happen. Sophia headed for the stairs that led from her home to the beach, the speed of her movements again taking her by surprise. However upon reaching the stairs, she stopped. Can snakes use stairs? There was only one way to find out, and she was determined to make it to the cave where her friend now lived, so carefully, cautiously, Sophia started to descend.