Mouse woke to the sound of birds singing around him as he stretched and looked around the tree, he was sitting in. He pulled a piece of fruit that was hanging nearby and looked at the tree smiling.
"Thank you, tree. It feels good to be able to talk to someone…"
He sat up and looked down at his waist and his eyes opened wide. He touched his new legs and smiled. He tried to stand up. His mouth opened in a curse as he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
He got up and wobbled on his new legs, and slowly walked towards the trunk of the tree. He touched his new legs and felt his heart sing.
"Thank you… It was worth the pain. They're a great gift."
"Ahh. It seems you have been given a gift there. But you still look like a child learning how to walk again."
Mouse turned and saw the old shadow standing at the chair looking at him.
"Yes. They feel different as well, but I'll get used to them…"
"It seems they've also given you another gift as well… Have a look at your hands."
Mouse looked at his hands and looked at the two scars on each of his palms in confusion.
"Do you know what it is?"
"Not sure. But I'm sure that you'll pay a big price for whatever it is. Come let us go back and enjoy some tea."
Mouse nodded and slowly walked towards the chair and sat down letting the old shadow push the chair.
"It shouldn't take you too long to get used to your new legs… Until then I'll make sure you do lots of walking and running… When you're ready we'll have a race. How does that sound?"
Mouse turned and looked at the old shadow and nodded with a toothy grin.
"As long as there is something to make it interesting. Then I'm in."
"Hohohoho… Youth… Just to let you know. I've never lost a challenge. Let alone a race. But I'm sure we can find ways to make it interesting."
Mouse took a bite from the fruit he was given and stared at it with open eyes. He looked at the old shadow, his hands moving as fast as he could move them.
"This tastes better then before… It's also very filling. Just eating this I feel full of energy, ready to run and jump."
"You still need to go slowly until you can run and jump. Let's aim for small things first like walking so I don't have to keep pushing you around anymore."
Mouse nodded and took another bite of the apple in his hand. He then touched his legs.
"I can feel my touch… Even though they look like jumbled vines and branches together, they still have feeling."
"You look after them, and the trees will they'll look after you… As long as you don't turn your back on the deal you made."
Mouse nodded and kept poking his new legs. He looked down at his feet.
"Having no toes will take some time to get used to, but at least I can move around again."
"Yes. The shape of your feet is perfect for running and jumping through the trees with minimal sound. Perfect for what you'll use them for in the future."
Mouse felt the chair stop in the front of the house.
"Let's walk to the chair over there. Good time to start walking again…"
Mouse nodded and put his hands on the chair to stand himself up. He took a step and wobbled.
"Put your arms out to balance."
Mouse lifted his arms and balanced himself while taking another step. He stopped and look back at the old shadow.
"They are very springy. I think these are going to help me move like the wind."
"Who cares about how fast you can move. The question is now whether you can walk without falling over… Concentrate."
Mouse shook his head and looked forward at the house again. He took another step wobbling. He stopped and closed his eyes taking a deep breath.
Mouse leaned forward taking another step. He watched as the foot of branches flexed under his weight, and slowly put his weight on his front foot. He turned and smiled at the old shadow.
"I didn't wobble this time. The feet are designed differently. I need to practice controlling my weight."
"It's a start… Still several steps to the house. The tea will get cold, and I will have to drink it all before you get there... Maybe I'll be even older. A shell walker can walk faster than you."
He watched as the old shadow walked to the house and sat on the chair pouring himself a cup of tea. Mouse looked at him annoyed.
"I told you, the tea was going to get cold… So, if I were you, I would get here before the tea is cold... or I drink it all.... Hmmm it tastes really nice." He stood watching the old shadow taking a long sip of tea. "Ahhhhhhh. Delicious. I think I will pour myself another cup."
Mouse opened his mouth to curse, but nothing came out. So he clenched his teeth taking another step forward. He fell on the ground in a heap. He punched the ground and stood up.
"Good… Determination… Stubbornness. Come on. You're almost here."
He stood up and took a step forward, and another and another before finding himself standing on the porch.
Mouse smiled.
"Good. You made it here. Later we'll go walking around the village. Now come and have some tea."
Mouse nodded and sat in the chair next to the old shadow and drank the tea smiling. He closed his eyes to enjoy the taste and found himself standing in front of the pulsing object.
"Hello sapling. I see you're getting used to your new legs… Once you're comfortable with them, no one will be able to catch you."
Mouse smiled. "Thank you for your gift… I have a question about the scars on my hands. What are they?"
"They're mouths. Very special mouths, they feed on the natural energy that is left from when the creator made this world. It's the source of everything here. Without it we'd not exist."
"So, what happens when these mouths feed?"
"The energy they eat becomes yours, and you become stronger, faster, smarter, heal you when you are injured, but it won't be able to heal your voice."
Mouse stood in thought and nodded. "So this energy left after the creator allows me to improve my body, how about throwing balls of energy around?"
"Hahahaha… Sorry no. Your mouths are for improving your body, and not for throwing around. However, there are ways where you can control the energy around you, but you're still a sapling."
"Mouse… Mouse are you awake?"
He opened his eyes and looked at the old shadow standing in front of him with a hand on his shoulder. He smiled
"Sorry, I was meditating and learning about my body, and didn't hear you call."
"Meditating. That is a good thing. Glad my tea puts you in the right state of mind… Now come let's walk around the village, since this'll be your home from now on."
Mouse nodded and stood slowly following the old shadow. He looked around as he concentrated on each step. As he walked around, he looked ahead, and the old shadow disappeared from view. He cursed and kept walking through the village until he stopped in front of the large tree that he was in before.
"I see… You still need to go to the top and grab me some of its leaves."
Mouse turned and saw the old shadow walking towards him. "You walk too slow, so I walked ahead. I'll wait down here until you bring me my leaves. They make the best tea… All you have to do is jump a few times."
"I haven't forgotten. I'll get them for you."
"Maybe, if you can get those leaves then we can race later. Hohoho. That'll be interesting. Pity that you will lose."
Mouse looked at him and smiled.
"As I said, as long as it's interesting I'll race."
"Yes… If you can beat me, I might hand you your mask…"
"Mask?"
"All shadows that leave the village wear a mask. They're a different person outside the village. Outside the village you're a different person with a different name. But first you must prove yourself ready to wear the mask… I still haven't seen you fight yet."
Mouse nodded and smiled.
"I'm not too bad… I had a good teacher."
"Hohohoho… We'll see when we get there… For now, go get my tea leaves."
"Okay. I'm going. My hands are tired from talking."
"Hohohohoho, youth. Full of spirit and energy."
Mouse looked at the tree and then his legs. He took a breath and tested his legs by doing small jumps on the spot. He smiled, and took a jump landing on the branch and wobbled on it, until he got his balance.
"If you're going to be like that, it's better if you just stay down here, and I will find some youngling to go get the leaves."
Mouse turned and looked at the old shadow. "I'll get your leaves. Just be patient and think of the tea you're going to drink later."
Mouse bent his knees and jumped for the next branch. He landed on the branch wobbling. He looked at his feet in confusion. They were wrapping around the branch. He corrected himself as he stood on the branch. A mischievous smile appeared. He turned to the trunk of the tree and bowed towards it.
"Mind giving me a hand to the top?"
Mouse felt the branch moving slightly as it started to lower towards the ground and then shot him up the tree. Mouse silently laughed as he flew above the tree he cursed as he looked down. He looked down at his feet and landed on the top of the tree with no sound. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He looked at his hands in confusion and watched as mouths started to show themselves. He raised his arms to keep his balance on the top of the tree and felt something drawing into his body. He closed his eyes appearing in front of the pulsing object.
"That's the energy I was telling you about before sapling. Feel it flow through your body strengthening you."
Mouse smiled at the pulsing object. "It itches and tingles. Do I have control over the mouths?"
"As you get stronger, you'll get control. Until then just make sure you feed on the energy. It'll help you."
Mouse nodded and opened his eyes. He let the mouths feed on the energy around him until they closed. He stretched his arms and legs smiling. He bent down and looked at the leaves in surprise.
"I'm sorry to disturb you leaves, there is an old guy down at the bottom who wishes to make a tea. Who would like to become tea?"
He watched as the leaves started moving and becoming brighter. He smiled. "Thank you. I'll bring you with me then." He picked several handfuls of the leaves and placed them in his pocket before jumping off the tree and landing on the ground behind the old shadow without a sound.
"Ahh good. It seems you're now used to your legs. Let's go back and enjoy the tea."
"These leaves wanted to become tea, and I wasn't able to take them all, so all I got was a few handfuls."
"Let's see what you got?"
Mouse pulled out the handfuls of leaves and handed them to the old shadow.
"These leaves… The quality is perfect for tea. It seems you have an eye for finding the best leaves for tea. Let's hurry back and start making the tea."
Mouse smiled and walked next to the old shadow.
"Hohoho. It seems you can walk normally. That little test seemed to help you… Tomorrow we do some fight training. But for now. You really need a bath. Go bathe, when you get back the tea will be ready."
"Yes. I feel like I need a bath too. Where do I go?"
"Below the village there is a flowing river. It's a safe place. You'll hear the river when you're down there… Off you go."
Mouse nodded, bowed and walked towards the edge of the village.