[Dragonmail: Nova]

[winterwhite]

Hello Nova. This is Reilanin. I think you will have to look up my piece of paper.

Did you switch into any different bodies?

I did. I was a cleric, and a bird. And I was also Ravindra. (He is also in your pieces of paper. He is the paladin.)

It was very interesting. I do not think Ravindra is very interested in how different it was, but you might be. Did you know that sleep is wonderful? And cats are warm? And apples are very sweet, and they smell sweet, too. I did not know apples had a smell.

Being a human was very strange, but I liked it. Being a bird was very nice, too.

Comments

[taking_names]

[sometime before the chaos, probably]

[referencing his name cards is harder than it sounds like it would be, since he forgets the name in the letter almost the moment he looks away from it to check the card, rendering the reference a little useless

eventually he gives up and guesses based on the letter's contents and style... it's not like he knows a ton of non-humans who are bffs with paladins and don't sleep]

I had no idea people could switch with birds. Or that you couldn't smell things. That sounds like it probably has downsides and upsides.

I'm glad you had a chance to try sleeping. Did you have any dreams?

What was it like to be a bird?

I had a couple of switches too, but nothing nearly that interesting. [yeah, let's go with that]

[winterwhite]

Oh, no! The cleric I switched with was in the body of a bird. But then she switched back.

You are very small and light, and it takes a long time to go anywhere. I rode on the shoulder of her companion most of the day. He fed me bread with jam on it.

Jam is also very good.

I did not realize things were so different. I suppose there is only so much that can be recreated... [ nevermind the fact she's made out of magic and ice and stone. all of that is just begging for a shorting out of the senses. ]

No, no dreams. I was in Ravindra's body, though. He is very comfortable and warm to be in. [ she has no idea how creepy this sounds ] Mittens likes me much more when I am in a warm body.

[taking_names]

I guess birds are built on a much smaller scale than most of the things around them. I've been a frog before, and everything around me became enormous. There's a potion for that if you ever want to try it. [can you frog a golem?]

Do you know why the cleric was a bird? That sounds very unusual.

Who is Mittens? [he was triumphantly able to read it because it's a noun but doesn't remember who it corresponds to]

[winterwhite]

Yes, that makes sense. I was able to fly a little, too. There was not much room while we were inside.

Hm, a frog... I wonder if it would work. [ she has no idea how potions work and it's a little tempting to consider it... ]

Ah, she is cursed, apparently. A previous trick of Vepha's. It does not seem so bad... though I suppose it does not make her a very effective cleric. It seems to last the day.

She is Ravindra's cat! She is also very small and has white paws that look like Mittens! [ she still isn't sure she gets calling something after a physical feature, but that explains mittens! ]

[taking_names]

Maybe we can try a frog potion someday and see. I'll bet a shrinking potion would work if frog didn't. It's a good way to get a close-up look at insects, if you've ever... wanted to get a close-up look at insects.

Whose trick? [sorry Rei this is incessant]

Ah, that's right, I remember the mitten paws! [that makes it easier to remember, too]

[winterwhite]

Hm, is it any good to be small? I am already quite small...

But, insects. I do like insects.

Vepha's. [ this will also be incessant. ]

Yes. She does not like me because I am cold, but when I was in Ravindra's body, she liked me much more.

[taking_names]

Four inches is still a much different perspective than five feet. [is that your height, Reilanin?]

That's a shame about Mittens. Cats are very mercenary like that.

...can you explain whose trick it is without using a name?

[winterwhite]

[ five one, but the heels give her an extra boost... well, it doesn't really matter, short is short. ]

Ravindra did seem quite displeased that she would not stay in his lap while he was me. But it was just for one day, so I think that is all right.

[ huh? oh, names. uh. ]

She is a god and she likes to play pranks such as this. She swapped our genders the last time.

[taking_names]

Oh! I know who that is. She's really been busy, lately. I wonder if we can look forward to swapped bodies and sexes and species and various other things all the time moving forward.

[that sounds like it will be kind of funny

...until it's not]

[winterwhite]

Mmm, I think I would like that. [ hey, someone has to, right? ]

Hm. Do you think next time I could be you? Or maybe next time I could be a cat. I think I would like that.

[taking_names]

I wouldn't mind swapping with you, though I think it would take the fun out of it for the goddess if she had to start taking requests.

Being a cat for a day really sounds like the best all-around option.

[winterwhite]

Do you really think that?... [ someone doesn't quite understand the concept of pranking. ] Oh... well, maybe it will happen anyway. [ and the first thing she would do is eat something. and then nap. ]

Ravindra had a toy for Mittens! It was like a feather on a string on a stick and she enjoys it very much. Even if I could not be a cat all day, I would not mind playing with a cat all day. They look like they know how to have fun.

[taking_names]

I think the part of it she enjoys is the trouble and chaos it causes for people. Sometimes the swaps can put people in unfortunate situations, because they're not ready to deal with the problems that come with trading places.

[this leaves him wondering, if you swapped with a cat would you be amused by a feather on a string? maybe you would be. maybe it's instinct...]

Not to mention all of the napping in sunbeams that they do.

[winterwhite]

Really? I hadn't thought of that. I suppose Ashtaroth did have some trouble controlling my mana when we switched. She broke a jar by accident. It was only enchanting powder, however, so it wasn't so terrible...

Cats nap in sunbeams? [ you are not turning her off of this idea in the least nova ]

[taking_names]

Yes, because they're warm.

You know, before I awoke, I thought I had invented a way for people to change bodies with others. It's too bad it wasn't real. It seems like almost everyone I know would like a different body for one reason or another.

[winterwhite]

I liked being warm without feeling sick. And I like to eat things in other peoples' bodies.

I wonder... [ but she stops there. ]

Do you want to switch with anyone?

[taking_names]

Maybe a guild leader. They live a long time and all have different sorts of powers beyond anything a regular person could have.

I think I'm onboard your cat idea, too.

[winterwhite]

Mm, is it a good thing to live a long time? I don't think so.

Better to be a cat, I think.

[taking_names]

I don't know if it's the same for you, but with humans, dying isn't really dying. After you die you have to keep on living forever in the Dark, where there's nothing good to make life worth living.

I don't know why it's like that. It's as if the universe is broken and it's some kind of mistake.

[winterwhite]

At least you know that, I suppose. If that's what you expect, it doesn't seem so bad.

I don't now. You need a soul to go there, don't you?

[taking_names]

[...but it's not okay, Reilanin!]

I think so. I don't know what else would go there besides a soul.

[winterwhite]

Ah. Then it is something I will have to trust you on, then.

Do cats have souls?

[taking_names]

...I have no idea.

Maybe the cleric leader would know.