"So," Lucky stood in front of Raymundo, hands on their hips. "Let's take it from the top." She pointed a finger in the air.
Raymundo blinked at them while they started their explanation all over again. Currently he was in his "natural" form. A mix of human and Qwortarian traits on display. He had the clear skin, just a few stray strands of hair, two eyes, a beak, small bones, and while sort of gelatin in nature, he was still mostly humanoid in shape.
"You need to focus." Lucky flicked their hands on either side of their head, up near their eyes like blinders on a horse. "You are half human, so adjusting your human appearance shouldn't be too difficult. Your phenogland already had the framework necessary." Lucky's hands where still moving, waving, wiggling, and pointing at Raymundo at times.
"Will you stop the hand motions?" Raymundo asked.
"According to the research, the ability to gesticulate can help in comprehension and retention." Even now Lucky's right hand went up, one finger raised towards the ceiling of Raymundo's ship.
"Maybe if the hand motions had anything to do with shape shifting." Raymundo's beak sharply clicked.
"All right. Just, try again." Lucky waved their hand before they tucked both hands in their armpits and clamped their arms down over them. "Focus on the traits you want to display."
Raymundo took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused. As practice he was trying to look like DJ, the more familiar the better Lucky had advised.
First, he focused on the body, size and shape. DJ was taller than Raymundo, thinner too. Raymundo still had nerves in his bones and other places, so he felt a stretching sensation all throughout his body. Not quite painful, but itchy inside and out. The taller he got, the more droopy his skin felt, but that was the perfect catalyst to solidifying. Muscle fibers started to form, ligaments connecting bones to them. As things started settling in place, the itchy feeling started to fade.
The skin became opaque quickly after that, from the top of his head to his toes. Hair grew back, individual strands sprouting like little shoots. His beak liquefied under the skin, creating a temporary bulge in his face before those atoms were redistributed in other places. His mouth formed and the eyeballs were cradled by the orbital sockets, and then, Raymundo opened his eyes. He glanced down, checking his hands and feet, ignoring the fact he was naked.
"Well?" He looked up at Lucky. They pulled a photo from their pocket and studied it for a couple moments. Then they glanced between the photo and Raymundo a few times.
"I think you've got it." Lucky gave Ray a thumbs up. "Now, we just got to get speed down." They looked at the clock on the control panel. "Because ten minutes is way too long."
Raymundo pursed his lips. "Any tips for speed?"
"Practice." Lucky snapped their fingers. "Revert and try again!" Raymundo sighed.
Word count: 500
Comments