It was already a few hours later when Aiden's eyes finally opened again. First, he was filled with confusion as he looked at the big, swaying reeds as tall as a block of flats. But then the realization suddenly hit him like a bullet train as he remembered the horrendous morning he had today.
'It seems I was really reincarnated as a frog...'
For some reason, unlike before, Aiden's throat clenched as he thought about his desperate situation. Somewhere deep in his heart, he still hoped that the whole thing was just a bad dream or that he was just in a coma or something.
But now...
He had to come to terms with the fact that he wasn't home anymore, nor was he the one he was before. He wasn't human anymore!
Worse, he didn't even know if he could ever meet his family again or at least hear anything about them, seemingly forever separated from his home.
Homesickness is an ineffable painful thing.
"Croak-croak!"
He really wanted to cry, but he just wasn't able to; his body was physically incapable of crying, all he could do were some sad croaking sounds.
The horrendous feeling of loneliness really hit him hard, as the feelings he had suppressed before started to flood out uncontrollably. Aiden felt like he was again the kid who got lost in an unknown big country full of strangers, without his dad or mom, scared and helpless.
"Get yourself together now, Aiden; you are not a kid anymore; you are a grown man!"
Aiden knew that if he wanted to survive, he had to gather himself and not lose himself in his feelings. Because, Although feelings can be great motivators but at the same time they are a blade with a double edge, just as capable of harming those who can't control them.
Forcefully pushing down the big lump forming in his throat, Aiden tried to calm himself down. While struggling to gain back some of his control over the chaotic thoughts swirling around in his head.
'Huff, I almost lost myself...'
It took a few minutes or so for Aiden to gain back some of his rational thinking and finally calm down.
'Let's see if I remember correctly; I should find shelter first, then..."
Now that he had returned to the reality of the present, he tried to recall his memories of survival in the wild that he had hidden in the back of his mind a long time ago. And if he remembered correctly, he should first find shelter and water. And the third was maybe making fire, but he didn't think he really needed that now.
*Grrr.*
But before he could even start with the task of finding a shelter for himself, suddenly his stomach protested with a growl for not getting a place on the survival list.
After all, it didn't get anything for hours besides a fly...
"Right, I should also find something to eat..."
As kind as Aiden is, he gracefully accepted the complaint, though he was a little embarrassed inside.
'Right, how could I forget about them?!'
Looking around for something to eat, Aiden quickly noticed the more than a dozen black bugs flying in the air. He was never a picky eater in his last life, so he didn't really mind eating some flies for survival.
"That's good and all, but how the hell do I catch them?"
Aiden felt a little slumped looking at the flies, each bigger than the other, and he could only look up at them from the ground with an empty stomach and a drooling mouth.
"Maybe I should do just like frogs usually hunt...'
Actually, most of the frogs are 'lazy' hunters and just sit around, blending into their environment. Waiting for their prey to get close enough to shoot them down with their long tongues, somewhat similar to fishing. In the morning, Aiden did something like this unintentionally.
'I guess I should give it a try, and if it's not working, I just try something else...'
Not finding any better options for now, Aiden decided to go ahead with his plan. But before he would start to copy the frog's ancient technique, passed down from generation to generation for more than a millennia, he decided to practice first.
So he opened his mouth wide and extended his tongue out as far as he could.
'Whoa, it's almost the third of my body length!'
Aiden's eyes shined as he looked at the pink, mushy tongue coming out of his mouth, reaching more than 2 centimeters. It felt and looked strange, for sure, but at the same time, it felt strangely cool.
For some strange reason, some not-so-child-friendly thoughts also came to his mind.
'Stop it, dirty mind, stop it!'
Waking up from his daydream, as practice, Aiden tried to extend and retract his tongue in great succession, feeling out the range and timing.
While practicing, he noticed that his saliva also changed. It became viscous like honey, and, more importantly, it was very sticky, perfect for grabbing things.
'I think this will do!'
During the last attempt, he was able to extend and retract his tongue so fast that even with the enchanted reaction speed of a frog, he was barely able to see it. Satisfied with the results and deciding that he had practiced enough, he was ready to hunt, frog style.
He squirmed around a little, finding the most comfortable position to sit in. Aiden took a big breath, and after breathing out, he stopped moving altogether, bending into his surroundings. He also unconsciously fell into hunting mode as his breathing and heartbeat slowed. And although his thinking also slowed down, he became hyper-focused on the task of hunting.
1 minute.
2 minutes.
5 minutes.
The minutes were slowly passing, and Aiden, like a statue, didn't move an inch away.
7 minutes.
10 minutes.
After more than ten minutes, his patience was slowly wearing thin as time passed without anything happening.
14 minutes.
Just as Aiden was on the verge of giving up and trying to think of a new hunting technique, he noticed that one of the smaller flies had strayed from the rest and flown toward his direction. His heart beat faster as he got a little excited, but he pressed it down, fully concentrating on the fly again.
'Wait…'
Aiden hungrily looked at the fly getting closer and closer to him, but he didn't dare be impatient in fear of missing his only shot. And who knows when he will have his second chance?
10 centimeters.
7 centimeters.
'Wait.'
The fly was really just a spit away from him, but he didn't just want to spit but also to eat, so he could only wait patiently a bit more.
5 centimeters.
3 centimeters.
Aiden couldn't take it anymore; he was hungry, and his patient was quickly disappearing with the fly getting closer and closer. Not to mention that he was afraid that what would happen if the fly realized that something was wrong and escaped, leaving him without food.
*Ptuu*
So, as soon as the fly got into his range without waiting anymore, Aiden's tongue shot out, and before the fly could realize what just happened, it found itself in a small, dark, sticky place.
Completing Aiden first... -seconed successful hunt.
'Huff, I almost missed.'
Aiden sighed in great relief as his tongue actually barely reached the fly, and the only reason he was able to catch it was because, luckily, it got stuck in his saliva.
*Gulp*
After quickly gulping down the juicy fly into his empty stomach, Aiden realized that one little fly wouldn't be enough to satisfy his appetite. He needed to hunt a lot more if he ever wanted to feel full again.
'Wait, it went up!'
Just as he was about to turn back and start the boring job of hunting again, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the blue floating window on the bar was more filled than the last time he looked at it.