He. I am a 'he'. I don't know why I know, or how I know, but I just know, the same way I know how to walk, the same way I know how to hide, the same way I know how to eat.
It was raining, the day I first opened my eyes.
As I stared in wonder at myself, and at my body, the trees fascinated me more. The trees were almost just shadows behind the rain. Because of the rain, I couldn't see anything in the distance, and nor could I sense anything. But from what I could make out, the trees were tall and looming, the undergrowth thick with bushes and plants.
I tried to take a step forwards with my limbs. They were clumsy and jerky, but as I continued, I could feel myself getting better.
'Getting better'. I like doing that. Soon, I got tired from the actions, and I laid down to rest.
The rain poured down, but not a single droplet was felt.
I rolled over, and over again, the hard mud beneath me comfortable and warm. I breathed in, then out, and in again. I knew that doing this was correct. Why do I know that it was correct?
Nevertheless, I could feel faint wisps of energy entering me. 'Qi'. It was qi. Why do I know?
As I breathed in deeper, the wisps of energy gathered within me. It was warm and soothing. I shut my eyes, and suddenly, I was within myself. My inner world. It was dark, except for the trails of faint blue mist, and the small balls of warm brown liquid. But throughout the whole space, were faint sparkling yellow.
These are my elements. It just felt right.
I opened my eyes, and looked up into the dark and roiling clouds. It was beautiful. It was majestic, unfettered, and feared. I could only hear the downpour around me. It was soothing. I slowly shut my eyes, and this time, I entered a black void known as 'sleep'.
When I woke up, it was to the sound of rain and distant thunder. I opened my eyes, and stood up. I am hungry. I walked towards a random direction, because my nose and hearing would be useless in this weather.
I crawled under the thorny bushes, and hit snout first into a nest of small, sharp, and quick things. 'Horned Mice'. I quickly opened my mouth, and bit down on the closest moving thing. It was the head of the mouse, and I learned why they were named 'Horned Mice'. There was a sharp and long -compared to its tiny body- horn attached to its skull, which I had just bit down on.
The horn entered my mouth, and then my flesh, easily. I sharply drew my head back with a muffled yelp, and promptly hit the thorns behind me. The horn was still impaled on the roof of my mouth, but the mouse was long dead.
I put my forepaws on the mouse, and pulled. The horn didn't come out smoothly. It was sharp and curved, sliding out smoothly from my mouth. Blood poured out a moment later, and suddenly, all I could taste was the metallic liquid that was my own blood.
I made sure to bring the mouse with me, and slowly returned to my birthplace.
On the opening of my mouth, I felt a sharp prick of pain. But I was so hungry. Sneaking through the undergrowth and then the subsequent 'hunt' had drained me.
So I ignored the pain and blood, and bit down on my well-deserved meal.
It turned out that Horned Mice have very bony and thin bodies.
The bones broke with a crunch, and the Horned Mouse was consumed quickly. On the bright side, it was able to just fill me up.
Laying down again, I began breathing in the yellow, brown, and blue energy from around me. I know that this is the way to get stronger, so that Horned Mice won't be about to so easily pierce my flesh again.