Skysong "Kitten"

Kitten's mind is back to normal, but her body still lingers in its previous form. The dragon-turned-girl hates that even her mind, her memories, were beyond her reach for that week. Captivity was bad enough. Subverting who she is was worse. Kitten is decidedly not human. She has lived among them her whole life, it's true, and her adoptive family is mortal; her grandfather Diamondflame says this has made her more sentimental than most dragons. (He also says she's well ahead of her age in magic, though, so at least he balances the criticism with compliments.) However much she thought she understood humans, having human history and emotions was intensely jarring. It's even more so to remain in that body now that she knows who and what she is once again.

Surely this body is temporary enough. It is strange, being a human girl. She has hands, and she always walks upright. Her neck is short, she has no tail. The body isn't hers. All movement feels awkward, only familiar from false memories, from a dream.

Of course, there is one overwhelming benefit to this body. She knows (hopes desperately) that it won't last, but while it does, the dragon intends to take full advantage. Kitten can speak. The one thing she has always wanted most. She can speak in human tongues. She can speak to anyone she likes and they'll understand her.

She spends time in House 44, specifically seeking out her housemates and trying to interact with them as much as possible while she can communicate verbally. Given their injuries and everything else going on, Kitten does as many household chores as she can manage.

Then she goes out in the village to get food or just to wander aimlessly in search of people.

Those who knew her in the event may remember who the eight year old girl is. Those she knew beforehand, she will approach on sight. She is very deliberately in search of contact with those around her, so she is open to conversation with anyone who catches her eye.

((Responses will come from songwithoutscales))

Kitten barely has time to register the lack of solid stone beneath her feet, the quiet click of claws against each other whereas they had been gouging rock just the instant before.

No. Instead what she notices is water, taking a quick gulp of air on instinct just as her snout vanishes beneath the surface. Kitten has made her grand entrance into Luceti by falling into the river, a short distance away from a bridge.

If anyone is waiting to see a dragon swim, they will be waiting a long time. Kitten sinks like a stone and scrabbles for footing against the mud of the riverbed. Very confused, Kitten nonetheless analyzes the current well enough to guess the direction of the banks. She walks toward one side of the river, on the river bottom and hidden beneath the water's surface. The dragon stops to untangle herself from water weeds or river muck as needed. It will be a little while before she makes it back out, and she will not be the happiest of dragon kits when she does.

Once she has finally extricated herself from the river, with or without help, and found her journal, Kitten spends quite awhile investigating the book, but she does not make any entries. She looks for information, studies the most recent entries, finally stumbling over the guide. That's useful. Pardon her while she settles down on the bridge to read it in its entirety. Many of you may never have seen a dragon read before, but that is about to change.

After finishing with the guide, Kitten wanders through the village. She passes by all of the businesses and public buildings, if they can be called such in a place with neither currency nor local government. The dragon stops to note with particular interest the location of the library. She will not enter it without encouragement, because her real destination is the grocery store. Being a dragon, Kitten entirely bypasses the usual first stop at the clothing or item shops. What would she wear anyway?