War Brothers
Copyright (c) 2008-2009 by BoonDock
Chapter 39: Counting the cost
When I awoke I was a little confused for a second. I sat up suddenly and looked around. D'ar'Beth just turned her head away in amusement.
I groaned as my body let me know that it was not happy with the amount of abuse I had subjected it to. It took me a few seconds to realise that not all the aches and pains were actually mine. We had bonded so closely in the Sword Dance that I hadn't let go of it completely. After a little thought and experimentation, I realised that it was no longer something that I had to do consciously, but that it would now be a natural part of how I operated. I made a mental note to explore the ramifications later ... the most immediate effect was that it seemed as if I had multiple pairs of eyes, hands and feet.
I stood up and took a step, before tripping over my own feet and falling down again. The sense of "expansion" of myself from a single individual to being part of a larger "group" would take some getting used to.
I got up again, and gingerly took a few steps. My head seemed to clear quickly and I could feel myself re-adjusting.
"[You'll get used to it quickly enough, ]" D'ar'Beth's voice echoed in my head.
I looked at her quizzically, as I realised that there was something different about her. She seemed to be more than before.
"[What's different about you?]" I asked her.