Sniff! Sniff!
Paul woke up when he felt something gently nudge his body. His eyes opened slowly, only to be blinded by the light of the outside. Since they had adjusted to the constant darkness inside the mountain, now that he made it out even the normal sunlight felt like a flashbang.
(Ugh, so bright)
He quickly closed his eyes again and curled up, so he could sleep comfortably again.
Sniff! Sniff!
He felt another gentle nudge on his side.
(Just five more minutes)
Suddenly he felt a strange pressure pulling on his wing.
(Gaaah, what the hell man?)
His body jerked upright in surprise and he saw an unknown creature nibbling on his wing.
It looked like a hedgehog with a strange shell on its back instead of spikes.
The little thing was only slightly bigger than him, mostly because of the smooth shell on its back, that appeared to be made of oddly dark colored rock. Its body supported be six stumpy legs and on its somewhat elongated face there were two round eyes, glistening with innocence.
(C-Cute, what is this thing?)
Chomp! Chomp!
The creature continued biting down on his wing, but without fangs it could only so much.
It wasn't painful, instead it reminded Paul of a toddler that put everything in their mouth as a taste test. Thus he simply let it be, while he processed the situation.
(Alright, first of all, I made it outside, right?)
Thoroughly observing his surroundings he took in the landscape in front of him.
He was standing on a wide and rocky mountainside. It looked barren for the most part, except for patches of moss that grew sporadically around the area.
In front of him, beyond the foot of the mountain, he could see a sprawling forest, which was split in two by what looked to be a dirt road.
Behind him he saw the narrow entrance leading back inside. Following the mountain incline to the top, he could see smoke coming out of it.
Chomp! Chomp!
He glared at the creature still nibbling on him with a facial expression that said 'Can you stop?'.
But the little thing didn't even react and just maintained eye contact with it's round beady eyes, as it continued.
Paul tried to pull out his wing, but the creature bit down on his feathers like a dog on a chew toy.
It hung on stubbornly, refusing to let go and the more Paul pulled, the more resistance he met.
(Enough already, let go)
[Fire mantel]
His Body lit up in a thin veil of fire, including the wing in the creatures mouth.
Kruaaah!
The creature howled in pain and stumbled backwards, before retreading in its shell.
Paul huffed satisfied at the effectiveness of his skill.
(Hmpf, don't get carried away just because you're a little cute)
Kyuuu!
A cute yet pained noise escaped from the shell, which made Paul feel his chest tighten, as guilt started to build up inside of him.
Kyuuu!
He kept looking at it with a conflicted expression, while the little thing continued to make cute noises.
(Fine, it was my fault, ok?)
Paul approached it slowly hoping not to scare the creature and potentially pet it.
However as he stood right in front of it, he noticed the shell moving and stirring in ways that resembled sand.
And before he could take a closer look the shell changed shape, spikes jutted out of it barely missing his right eye.
He jumped back in surprise, his eyes glued to one spike in particular and his body shuddered.
(T-That nearly impaled my head … if that hadn't missed, I …)
Paul was about to attack back, when out of the corner of his eye he saw other similar creatures heading their way.
(Tch, time for a strategic retreat)
He had learned his lesson about fighting against groups inside the volcano and he wasn't going to make that mistake now.
With a flap of his wings he lifted off and flew away, as the group on the ground looked on.
From the air he viewed the entire area and noticed that there were more of the little creatures than he expected, but for some reason there didn't appear to be any other beasts in the vicinity.
He perched up on a rock formation higher up the mountain, looking down at the spot where he woke up. He watched afar, glad that his new and improved eyesight allowed him to do so.
(What are they doing?)
The creatures from before were huddled together in a group and formed a circle around the one that nibbled on Pauls wing had come out of its shell and the shell fell apart into a weird colored sand.
A few seconds later the sand moved and solidified into a shell once more atop the creatures back.
One of them in the circle, that was to close to the center, got slowly dragged backwards by an invisible force.
Unbeknownst to Paul the creatures he was observing, were called Iglemites and they were quite beloved among humans, not only for their cute appearance but also for the shells they use.
The Iglemites posses the kindred skill [Attraction charm], which creates a magnetic pull on their bodies. This pull attracts the minerals in the volcanic area until they form a solid shell. The minerals they gathered in this way sold for good and easy money.
Paul continued watching them amused, while he munched on a nearby moss patch.
The Iglemites moved about in a group, even when they pulled and pushed each other like a bunch of walking magnets.
(Looks like they are very defensive of their own. In that case, I should stay away for a bit)
In one fluid motion he took to the sky and gained altitude with every flap of his wings. In less than a minute he flew over the mountaintop and saw multiple groups of Iglemites spread throughout Mount Ignaz. One of them was gather around a patch of moss, eating in peace, another group seemed to be playing with a ball that was the same color as their shells and the ball was pushed around by an invisible force.
As herbivores the Iglemites are a rather peaceful species that spend most of their time either eating, lazying or playing around. They rarely seek conflict and when they do it is usually in defense.
Paul now saw this in action, as he flew over the mountain.
He went on to fly for some time over the mountain range, until he spotted something moving in the distance. Two figures flew through the air, seemingly locked in a deadly dance.
On one side there was a scaly, fire breathing, bird-like monster and on the other side was a familiar monkey looking figure with leathery skin, a long tail and a membrane that stretched between its limbs.
(Oh, hell no. If that's what I think it is, then I don't want to be anywhere near them)
Paul didn't need to pondered the scene he was witnessing, for he recognized it at a glance.
A territorial dispute between a red wyvern and a heatglider. However both of them were massive in proportion, when compared to Pauls current pigeon sized body.
He was already aware that monsters could evolve after reaching a certain level of 'maturity', something he didn't fully comprehend just yet. But he understood that both monsters were a more evolved form of the salamanders and heatgliders respectively.
The red wyvern suddenly spat out a powerful fireball. In response the heatglider inflated its chest and unleashed a strong gust of wind out of its mouth, which caused a massive explosion upon impact.
(Nope, not doing this again)
Paul immediately turned around before they could spot him.
Even inside the mountain he didn't dare mess around with the salamander queen without a plan and these monsters were several times stronger than her.
Returning to the area with the Iglemites, he was momentarily stunned by the setting sun illuminating the world below him in a soft orange glow.
(Beautiful … I want to see more of this)
The wind rustling his feathers and the picturesque landscape in front of him, this was it. This was how his adventure should be like. He shouldn't be fighting for his life every other day.
Instead he should be traveling around the world, exploring what this new world has to offer and occasionally deal with some mild danger. Maybe save a town from bandits and perhaps get lucky with a village maiden.
(Though I guess that's not gonna happen in this form … No, wait a second …)
He flapped his wings enthusiastically when he spotted the mountain he had left.
A minute later he landed on the rocky ground and transformed into his human form.
The crimson plumage on his head turned into bright golden hair, his thin bird legs became thicker and his beak flattened into a human face.
A 5 year old naked boy with red eyes was left standing there, observing every nook and cranny of his own body.
"Now that's a surprise. My body grew agai-"
Paul covered his mouth and his eyes widened in shock, before removing his hand from his mouth.
"I can talk" His voice hoarse from being underused, yet filled with joy "Hahaha, I can talk again … haha"
Sniff! Hick!
Tears swelled up in the corners of his eyes and ran down his cheeks.
"Huh, what the hell is going with me?"
He wiped the tears away, but they simply kept flowing. Only when he heard noises nearby did he stop. Through his watery vision he saw a group of Iglemites approaching.
They watched on curiously from a dozen meters, as they formed a half circle in front of him.
"I guess you guys don't recognize me in this form"
Paul took a step forward and the Iglemites scattered in a hurry.
"Oh, now you're being shy?"
Paul commented and sighed, looking at one of them in particular. But the group ignored him and continued walking, as if trying to disappeared into the night.
Only then did Paul realize.
"Hm? It's already this late? I gotta find a safe place for the night, like right now"
He looked around and all he saw was the rocky exterior of the mountain. No place to hide in sight.
"Well, that sucks"
He scratched his head and looked up at the moon, as if to gleam a response from it.
Much to his surprise, he observed a strange pattern in the moonlight, which moved in a seemingly sentient matter.
Like a switch being flipped in his head, his eyelids closed on their own and his body went limp, falling on the cold ground.