Previous: Chapter 8 Next: Chapter 10

Sundown.

Nithya sighs softly as she sits down on the stone floor of the temple... then shifts her position a bit, her new legs and tail not agreeing to the human notion of sitting quite the same. She's a bit tired and sweating, but in a kind of energetic way that says 'if I need to run more, I will'.

She glances at their tent, at the again-open temple entrance, and then just at the campfire. "I wonder what awaits us in there?"

Clay is struggling as well, the fur down his back now thighs, and a tail of his own beginning to make sitting awkward. "I... I have no clue." He looks up at the statue sitting amidst the garden. "Her, I guess? In a better mood, I hope. Or, maybe we just need to come in with a better mood? A more apologetic one?"

Nithya nods: "Yep. Maybe just... we don't know what we did wrong, but we are willing to make amends in whatever way necessary." She glances at the statue, musing. "This place has not had anyone visit in centuries, I'm sure. Well, besides us."

Clay nods, "It's still... amazing, even after what we've been through because of it. Maybe I was thinking of this too much as our big break. Too much about me and not enough respect for this site and it's history, whatever that may be. I want to ensure places like this are never forgotten."

Nithya glances around the murals: "...even if this place wanted to be forgotten?" She shakes her head. "Not that we know. But you are right, perhaps. Let's hope we can make things right."

Clay hums, "Maybe. Didn't think on that. But... I do want to make things right. ... admittedly, it's a little bit because I'm growing a tail now, but the archaeological respect is still valid, I promise."

Nithya nods, brushing her hand on her shoulder-lenght hair. She glances at Clay's changed hair, then muses. "On a different note... the longer hair doesn't look that bad on you. If I ignore the deer features, at least." She looks up: "Is my hair any different?"

So far, it has not changed, although in the campfire's light it looks a bit like the black hair has a reddish tint to it.

Clay squints, then shrugs, "Maybe a little? Might just be the fire playing along it, but it does seem a little more red. I'm still not sure why mine is growing out, honestly, it doesn't exactly feel like a 'deer thing'."

Nithya shrugs: "Maybe it is a Deer Goddess thing, though. I don't... think my hair has gotten longer, but if that happens that'll be the last thing I complain about. Always wanted a bit longer hair but it refuses to really grow past my shoulders."

Clay chuckles, his hair always having been kept cut short, "I've always thought about growing long hair too, but I don't know. It's so... Impractical? For a guy anyways..."

Nithya hums: "I don't know about you, but hair doesn't seem all that impractical, compared to other things. Like not ever wearing boots again."

Clay looks down at his boots, "...my feet have been a bit itchy... We might have gotten here just in time, if the pattern continues. ...so no, hair... I can deal with longer hair, no problem."

Nithya glances at Clay's legs. "Might want to get your boots off before it happens. It was pretty painful squeezing my new hooves out of them." She frowns: "...and I really should not be that comfortable saying 'my new hooves', but jeez, I suppose that's what they are."

Clay looks towards the tunnel going deeper into the temple and sighs, "Well, not for long, hopefully."

He does reach down to untie his boots, removing them and the socks to look over his feet. Unchanged at the moment, the creep of reddish-brown fur has reached just above his ankles.

Nithya nods, then thinks of the fur spread on her own body. She reaches a hand under her shirt... Then quickly pulls her hand away with a small squeak, before reaching back in. Her expression is confused, inscrutable, embarrassed as her face goes a bit red.

Clay blinks at Nithya's reaction, the pair having surely come to expect more fur by now. "What? What's wrong?"

Nithya shifts slightly away, embarrassed. "I uh, er... you gotta promise you won't... laugh, or stare." She swallows: "I-I know you won't, but..."

Clay stiffens up at Nithya's tone and nods seriously. "You know I just want to be there for you. Whatever this is, we'll get through it."

Nithya swallows, then turns back to sit with her front towards Clay. She's sweating and even more scared than when her legs changed. "Okay... you have seen me without clothes before, a-and there's nothing more embarrassing that this thing so far..."

She takes a deep breath, swallows, and takes her shirt off, revealing her chest and her sports bra.

And the two rows of lightly furred teats lower down on her abdomen.

Clay looks, leaning in to try and figure out what he's seeing, and then sits back with a quiet "O-Oh..."

He glances down, silent for a moment, "I guess... Deer have multiple of those, huh... I never thought of that... Guess... Deer genitalia wasn't on my list of things to consider with these changes... I have no clue what changes a male deer would cause in me..."

Nithya swallows and nods: "I'm afraid to say... I think you will find out." She puts her shirt back on, still embarrassed though not because of Clay's presence. "I... I'm afraid in general, I think."

She leans forward as her hands wander on her chest, her expression darkening a bit as she looks at the temple entrance.

Clay: "Nithya... Don't talk like that... We are not Deer. And we're going to fix this. We'll make amends, we'll... We'll do whatever it is we have to do. Just don't give up like that, okay." He glances down at his own shirtless chest, the definition having faded more than a little, save for his pecs.

Nithya sighs a bit, her hands down on her abdomen. "I feel... I don't know. It doesn't hurt, but..." Her expression says that this change is really sinking in now. "...I fear what might happen if we go in. I fear what might happen... if we don't."

Clay shifts around to sit beside her, "...Yeah... I feel that too... I'm still afraid of losing myself... And you losing yourself. The feelings and senses are still so much... But I can't imagine a world where we are stuck like this... I just can't. I... I'm holding on by a thread... And all I can do is try to smile and force a joke... But this terrifies me, Nithya... I'm so, so sorry."

Nithya sits quietly for a second, nodding. "We just... guess we need to sleep, and for better or for worse, see what tomorrow brings. That's our only hope."

Clay frowns. "It is... And what about the tablet now? Can you read any more of it?"

Nithya blinks. "... I had completely forgotten about it." She digs up into her backpack and picks up the tablet. Tracing her finger upon its' surface, she starts to read. "... I think I can. It says..." She trails off into murmuring again.

Clay sits next to Nithya while she reads, just trying to be a support presence, hoping for any kind of aid from the tablet, for both their sakes.

Nithya: "... We are, or at least are well on our way to, wearing the form of the Servant, or Seer, or Faithful, or such similar position, of a..." She glances at the statue above them. "... Her."

Clay frowns, looking up at the statue, "Form of the faithful... Guess you weren't wrong about this form being in her image..."

Nithya sighs: "It is the kind of... thought, or feeling, I have had since that first night I had dreams about this. So it's probably connected." She turns her attention back to the stone. "...if I'm understanding this right, there might be a way for... Faithful... or such, to retain their human form, for dealing with outsiders and such." She straightens up visibly, hope sparking.

Clay perks up as well, ears pivoting forward, "Oh? Perfect! That's just what we're hoping for!"

Nithya continues reading... and wilts. "...I can't understand the rest. It changes to a different script, one that's only somewhat related to before..." She frowns at the statue a bit, then sighs and lets the stone to the ground.

Clay sighs, and bring shis arm up to pat Nithya's shoulder, "So... Alright! We know it's possible! We just need to ask for it... and maybe... she'll answer..."

Nithya glances at Clay with a smile smile. "Maybe. I hope so." She glances at the tablet and sighs.

Clay returns the smile, shaky as it is under his snout, "I do to. There's not much else I can do right now, but hope... And try to find a pun for antlers... It's a uh, pointy topic?"

Nithya blinks, then pokes Clay at the shoulder: "There's no coating that one in velvet, that was pretty bad."

Clay sighs, rolling with the poke, "I know, I know. Not all my puns are worth fawning over." He pokes Nithya back. "We'll be okay... I'm sure of it. I don't know why, but maybe that's what I've been feeling in my dreams."

Nithya nods: "Yeah... I'm afraid, but it's... kind of just not knowing where this takes us. What's down there and what it wants of us."

Clay looks down into the darkness, "Me too... I..." He trails off, unsure what to say. "I just don't know. I don't know anything, if this expedition has proven one thing to me, it's that I clearly don't understand the world the way I thought I did."

Nithya chuckles weakly. "On that, we agree. You asked me a week ago if I believe in the supernatural, I would have looked at you funny at the very least. Now, with the evidence in my face and twisting my body around... well, clearly something outside of current scholarly understanding is happening."

"If we live through this and can ever walk back among people, I'll have a new field of study."

Clay chuckles, "I don't know... Proof of the supernatural and the Divinity of ancient religions? Kinda makes my field of study way more interesting. Starts to really change the way we consider Anthropology."

Nithya nods: "Present definition of 'anthropomorphic' presumably included. If we aren't becoming something entirely new, I'm at least somewhat sure 'deer people' haven't been around in a long time."

Clay nods, "Well, that's for certain..." He looks up at the stars through the hole where their rope hangs, growing a bit thoughtful. "...what have we stumbled into... I'm almost more curious now than I was before... Where does this all fit in? What was the world where 'deer people' were around like?" He looks back down at his hands. "... I'm still scared... This knowledge isn't worth the price, but..." He trails off again, not wanting to admit how he wanted to finish that sentence.

Nithya finishes it: "...but since we are here anyway, might as well see what we can learn." She smiles. "You can take the academic out of the university, but..."

Clay laughs loudly, with a vit of a snort, "But you can't take the university out of the academic. It's really hard to think of this as an opportunity, but it does sort of help? In my head at least."

Nithya smiles: "You know I always feel better when I have something to puzzle over. Granted, would prefer said something wasn't twisting my body and life around, but still."

Clay hums, smiling back, "Guess it's unavoidable now. But the puzzle's here, and we didn't get much choice." He blinks, "Err, I don't think we did..."

Nithya considers: "We can say later that we did. But... Yeah, let's be honest, our other options looked even bleaker."

She glances at the doorway: "I don't exactly feel at home, here, but if there's answers to be had at all, we're in the right place."

Clay brings his hands together, entwining the fingers as he thinks. "It's not life or death... It's just a puzzle. That's... One way to rationalize what we're about to do."

Nithya nods, glancing at her hooves and trying to not think of the teats now under her shirt. "Suppose so... And I guess if there's anyplace we might get more answers through our dreams, it's right here."

"Should try to sleep, though I'm not sure I can."

Clay looks over to his sleeping bag, "Yeah... I've slept much heavier as a result of these changes... I've been afraid to close my eyes because I've been falling asleep so fast."

Nithya manages a smile and offers her hand to her friend: "I have a feeling we'll get our answers in the morning."

Clay unclasps his hands and takes Nithya's. "Yeah... We will."

Previous: Chapter 8 Next: Chapter 10

Home