Date: January 1st, year 1286 of the ??? Calendar Location: ???
I ...open my eyes? Why do I need to do that? And I am overwhelmed with… sensations? I'm just… feeling a bunch of stuff. My skin is… uncomfortable. My eyes don't see as far as normal, and I can't hear the things I usually hear in the background like the occasional collapsing star. Where am I?...
Nyx sits up, and immediately a sharp sensation spreads throughout her entire body. She couldn't identify it, as she had never felt it before, but it was extremely uncomfortable. It only stops when she lays back down.
What's happening to me? So many new sensations, did something happen to my human-like form? My hands… They're weird. Normally they're all smooth and glowy, now they're very… rough and dark like a human's?...
She is forced to look around to get a better sense of her surroundings, which causes her to frown due to how inconvenient of a mode of perception this was. She was in a modest room made of stone brick, with a floor made of old planks. A window was on the other side of the room, directly right of the worn down bed she was resting on, and a wheat field was visible in the distance. Nyx opens her mouth wide and sits up again, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation. Her eyes were literally shining with excitement, projecting a faint white light on her bed sheets.
- "Khghhh… Urhhhghrrrrr?!" ( translation: Don't tell me… I'm a human?! ) She exclaims out loud. She flinches slightly, surprised by the sound of her own voice. Instead of nicely resonating in the space around her, she had to move her lips and expel air from her throat. Said expelling of air caused her a great deal of that uncomfortable feeling.
She then hears rapid footsteps rushing towards the door of the room she is in, and the door slams open to reveal a staircase along with a woman with brown eyes. She was wearing a ragged dress, and her black hair was neatly arranged in a braid resting on her shoulder. She looked at Nyx with eyes wide and mouth agape, as if she couldn't believe it before she shouts:
- "Andreas, Vanessa woke up!!" She runs over to hug Nyx, who stays completely still.
- "What?! Are you serious Alice?!" They hear a deep voice yell back from the bottom of the stairs, as a second pair of quick footsteps makes its way up to the room.
It was a short man with piercing blue eyes, along with brown hair and a short beard. He was wearing a simple shirt that probably used to be white and brown pants, with working boots and overalls.
- "Vanessa!..." The man whispers as his eyes fill with tears and he runs over to join the hug.
Nyx reciprocates the hug, while also tilting her head to the side a bit. She emits a few gurgling noises.
- "Oh!" The woman named Alice exclaims. "You probably need water, I haven't given you any since yesterday!"
She leaves the room and comes back with a cup filled with water. She hands it to Nyx, and the latter grabs the cup before splashing it on her face, splattering it all across the bed. Alice and Andreas look at each other, worried.
- "She's not acting like normal… What happened to her eyes? They're so… strange. I'm certain they didn't look like that before." Alice comments.
- "Just give her some time!" The man named Andreas replies. "I'm sure a bit of fresh air will help her readjust. I'll take her outside." He turns to Nyx. "Do you think you can walk, Vanessa?"
Nyx frowns, annoyed, but she gets up from her bed and stands on her legs. Just like she expected, she dislikes the sensation of being pulled down by gravity and having to fight against it constantly.
- "I can't believe it…" Andreas says as he watches her get up. "I thought that day would never happen…"
- "I'll go get her clothes." Alice says as she tries her best to hold her tears.
A few minutes later, Nyx is outside with Andreas. She looks around, and sees that she's in a farmhouse with a large wheat field next to it, along with a small pond. She could see a small medieval village not too far away from her location, surrounded by forested plains. Alice joins them shortly after, carrying a cup of water. She approaches Nyx, and holds her head firmly with one hand.
- "Alright, this time I'm making sure you drink properly." She says. She looks down at Nyx, slightly unsettled by her total lack of physical reaction. The only thing she had was a giant smile on her face.
She pours down the water in Nyx's mouth, and the latter starts violently gagging and coughing, falling to the floor.
- "Alice!" Andreas exclaims, worried. "What happened?"
- "She wasn't even trying to drink the water…" Alice replies, her brows deeply furrowed in confusion. "She just… breathed it in without a second thought ! I've never seen anyone do that consciously."
- "How do…" Nyx coughs up the water she failed to swallow.
- "She spoke!" Andreas joyfully shouts.
- "How do humans survive on that stuff?!" Nyx exclaims, overjoyed. "You're a lot more resistant than I thought you were!"
Andreas and Alice stay silent for a few seconds, staring at Nyx with puzzled expressions.
- "You… humans?" Alice finally says.
- "Yes! Also I like water, it makes the uncomfortable feeling in my throat go away." Nyx replies as she walks up to the nearby pond, and catches a glimpse of her reflection as she reaches her hand to touch the water.
She had long, black hair like Alice, and her eyes were the same blue as Andreas'. Inside her irises, in place of pupils she had two, white, four branched star patterns.
- "My appearance is the same as yours…" Nyx comments. "In human culture, that must mean I am your mother!"
- "Human culture?..." Andreas observes. "What are you talking about, Vanessa?"
- "Talking about human culture, did you change my name again? I think I like Nyx better than Vanessa. But I'll accept it! Humans always know what's best when it comes to this stuff."
- "Maybe the coma did some damage to her mind…" Alice comments. "She was so timid three years ago, what happened…"
- "We should accept her as she is, no matter her state of mind." Andreas concludes before turning back to Nyx. "You… are not our mother. Alice is your mother, and I am your father."
- "Huh. I guess social structure stuff is more complicated than I thought! Here I was, thinking that it came down to age!" Nyx replies.
- "Your seventeenth birthday was last month, so I'm pretty sure we're both older than you!" Andreas jokes.
- "Hmm? No, I am." Nyx answers, before she starts counting out loud. "One, ten, one hundred… Wait, when should I start counting years ? I don't remember when time was invented…" She pauses for a second, staring into the void. "Wait, I don't remember?... How is my memory failing me?... Oh well! It's a little hard to express my age in human language, so I'll take seventeen years for now."
- "The random nonsense is ticking me off." Alice impatiently grumbles. "You'd think she's a Night Touched, just listening to her."
- "Hey now, don't jinx it." Andreas replies. "She looks perfectly sane in comparison. I'm sure it'll just take her a few days to readjust, and farm work never fails to give me a clear mind!" He gives Nyx a pat on the back. "Come on Vanessa, I'll show you the ropes again. My old bones could definitely use some help in the fields!"
- "Sure!" Nyx nonchalantly replies. "I don't know what that farm work stuff is, but I want to see what the world of humans has to offer!"
She follows Andreas while randomly picking blades of grass and flowers from the ground, collecting them into her hands like treasure. Alice simply watches them walk away, with concern eating away at her brain.
- "Oh Solomon, please watch over my daughter." She prays.