They say waking up is hard. You open your eyes, you’re groggy, everything is slow. When I woke up… everything was so bright, my mind took in every detail so fast it seemed like I had been awake the entire time. From the snug, vine filled pod I laid in, the soft lights that danced around me, the thick vine that squirmed in my throat. My eyes circled around, curiosity filling my mind as I shifted. The vines around me tightened, the one in my throat squirmed more, trying to escape.

 I felt it slip up, out of my throat, sliding over my mouth tendril… tongue… thats what its called. Yes it slid over my tongue, coating it in something sweet, something thick and delicious. My teeth clamped down onto it, held it there as I gulped down more and more of that delicious stuff. It was so, so good. Something tingled in my head, deep inside. It was weird, it wanted me to sleep, but I was done sleeping. Sleeping had gone on for so long. I just wanted to have more of the tasty stuff. Mmm, tasty good stuff.

Then the tingles got worse, it was different, on the sides of my head. It dingled and tingled and… oh thats sound! Okay, I was hearing. What was I hearing, an alarm? Something was alarming. How did I know that? I sat up, vines pulling me back down, but I sat up anyways, feeling them strain and pull, tearing away around me. They weren’t that strong, but I felt sad that they tore. They were just doing their job. I put them back where they belonged, just not around me. I was getting up, you know. 

 So I sat up, and something hit me! Hit me square on my forehead. Very rude. I reached out and touched it. Oh there was a top to my pod, I could see out of it, it was dark in the little hall, but I saw alot more pods with… not me in them. I could see the not me’s in their pods, all with the same vines, one in their mouths giving them the tasty good stuff. How lucky we were. But I needed up! I couldn’t be a sleepy head any longer. I popped the vine out of my mouth and tapped along the lid, it was thick! But there had to be a way out. I pushed up, my hands flat against it, but it wouldn’t budge. So I used two more, or well I tried. They weren’t there. Where did my arms go? Oh there they are, they were inside.

I pushed out of myself, some kind of tingley, sharp feeling coming out of my sides. I didn’t like that so I stopped it. I couldn’t stop all the red stuff though, I guess that's just what happens when you’re growing up. But I had all my arms again! That was good. I pushed up on the lid and felt it move, little by little it opened up, sweet smelling air filling the pod. Mmm I like that smell. I kept pushing, and soon it swung open! Yay! I was free, oh, so was all the red wet stuff, it kind of went everywhere. It was kind of sticky on my hands and bottom hands… feet. Feet are interesting, kind of flat, should not post pictures of them on the Overnet. What is Overnet? Oh well. I slid out of the pod, it was cooler here, I felt little bumps and tingles all over my skin as the air passed over it. My fake skin was messy from the red stuff, the top one clung to my skin and felt not so good, but still very soft. Something was still wrong though, I couldn’t place it until I saw another me in a pod lid, I could see a ‘Me’ over the other ‘Not Me’. I looked closer and saw that it was just light doing light things over the lid. It wasn’t another ‘Me’ at all, just an image of me. I was cute, but things were missing.

I reached over my shoulders, feeling my back. I should have things there. I thought real hard, and remembered what they were. I felt them grow. It wasn’t the same as my arms, these were different. Long thick tentacles slid from the surface of my skin, blue and see through like the lid. I giggled as they just appeared out of my skin, soft and wrapping around me in a hug. I missed them too! I looked at myself again, still missing something. I made a face at myself, then another, and another, that's fun. I like having a face, this is great. I made a face and bared my fangs. Oh! They were all blunt like and made of white things. That’s not right at all. I know what they should be like, so it was easy enough to start getting rid of the wrong ones. More red stuff though, as the new ones pushed up and out of the pink soft part of my mouth. Metallic and sharp fangs rising up, the wrong ones popping out one by one, clattering to the floor as I grinned happily at myself. Gosh it was messy though.

Then I heard a new noise. The sound of something clattering to the floor, a worried humming strumming through the air. I turned around and there was… a thing! A new thing, a tall, viney thing standing there, a shiny square thing on the floor in front of it, its front blinking with light.. Its vines wrapped tightly around itself, tighter and tighter as I looked up at it with a grin! It took a step back as I smiled, and I felt the humming turn and drip down my back. Oh, it was scared of me. He was scared of me, he felt like a he. I should let him know it's okay. I opened my mouth and he took another step back, making me shut it fast with a snap. I stared at him, thinking to myself. How could I make him not scared of me? My mouth scared him, but that doesn’t help me. I can’t talk if I make my mouth go away, plus I like my mouth. It’s very cute.

I do the only thing I can think of then. My hands shot up to cover my mouth, all four of them. The viney thing stares at me, confusion coming in bursts over the air and I try to make my pretty gold eyes smile at him. His noises finally calm, confusion and fear still in them, but a sense of calm hovering about in the air. I try to say something first, but all that comes out is a scratchy sound as my throat does weird things. He sends a vine down, wrapping around the square thing, watching me warily as I try and try again. I make little sounds, little hums and squeaks. This talking thing is hard!!

“A-are you trying to talk, little one?” He asks me, tilting its head quizzically. I like his voice, its deep, but light. It makes me happy. I shake mine up and down, not sure why though, but it felt right. I try again, keeping my hands in front of my mouth as I do.

“Hhhhhaaalllo. Hallo. Hello! Hellooooooooo!” Oh I like this talking thing, it feels so fun. I stare up at him as his vines swipe and tap over the square thing, “Wha, whaaats that thing?”

He freezes, staring back with  his very pretty eyes. I had not mentioned those, they were so pretty. All kinds of reds and yellows shifting over a crystalline surface. I could have stared at them for a long while, but I shouldn’t! Maybe later. If it was okay. He lowered the vine, showing me the square thing.

“W-well petal, this is a tablet. A device used for… for communication and different things. I was just… uh.” He shifted, uncomfortable for some reason. I shrugged, walking over and seeing him freeze up again, the feeling of fear in the air dripping down my back again. I didn’t like that feeling.

“What were you doing on it? What does it communicate with? What's communicate? Is that talking? Does it talk?” I leaned forward, my smeller pressed against it lightly. It smelled like the him, and like other things. Like metal, and electricity, it smelled kind of tasty. “Can you eat it?”

That seemed to shock the thing out of his fear, a tingle going down his vines as a small laugh sound came from with in him. “Hah, n-no dear. You cannot eat these, they aren’t made for eating. I was telling my Captain that you woke up. We ah… had not expected that.”

“Why? Was I not supposed to wake up?”

The thing tilted his head again, his pretty pretty eyes, shining in the dim light, “Um… how about we let the Captain talk to you about that? I think this might be above my station now.”

I looked around in surprise, staring at the empty space above him, “There's nothing above you though?”

Another laugh sound, this one sounding tired, “Oh there’s plenty above us petal. Um… how about, you follow me, and we’ll get all that blood off of you. Maybe some food too. Do you uh… you eat right?”

I thought about that for a second. Then I did the up/down shake again, “Uuhhhhuh. I eat. Can I have more of the tasty good stuff?”

More confusion rang out from the thing, “Tasty? Good stuff?”

Up and down and up and down and up, “Yeah! The stuff the vine gave me. It was really sweet and tasty!” I said, pointing back to the pod I had slid out of. The thing, stared at it, then back down at me, a new feeling vibrating around me, questioning and surprise?

       “Y-you mean honey? You mean honey don’t you?”

That word felt so good and I made up/downs a lot. “Yeah yeah!! Honey! Honey tastes good. I like it. Can I have more?”

The thing dropped his tablet thing again, vines shaking  as I bent down and picked it back up. I stared at the tablet, the pretty front full of bipping and flashing colors. I poked him, waiting for him to take it. He just stood there, questions floating about him in the air. I grabbed a vine and curled it around the tablet. There, all better. I patted him with a tentacle, just to make sure, and he jumped. He jumped really high, making a high whiney sound!  I watched him wrap his vines around something in the top area and his whole body shook. He just sat there, watching me.

“I… I’m going to stay here… okay? Until my friends come. Then we can, we can get you more honey after. Okay?” His voice was all shaky, and weird. I nodded and looked around, then put my squishy back part on the ground, staring up at him as well.

“Okay. I’m stay here. Can I ask a question?”

“S-s-sure. Just, stay right there.” I up/downed at him.

“Okay. What are you?”

“Ah, I’m… you really don’t know?” I shook my head side to side, that felt right too. “Oh, well. I’m an Affini. Cyrus Ventra, First Bloom. What, what are you?” He asked me back, his voice full of questions and wanting to knows. I thought about that for a second, then a bunch more seconds. I looked over myself, scratched my smeller with a tentacle. Then I looked back up at him.

“What am I?”