“Uh… Hi?”
Staton’s eyes snapped open, but Staton’s first thought wasn’t about the furry green creatures standing over him. His first thought was that he had eyes. They weren’t organic eyes. They were more like glass orbs that faintly glowed blue, but allowed Staton to see. His next thought was that he had ears, or some sort of mechanism with which he could pick up sound. More sounds than he was used to. Not just the heartbeat coming from one of the beings, but the fake breathing coming from the other one, and the sound of rippling water, as well as movement elsewhere, of plants and trees and other beings.
There was more movement. His movement. Limbs. Four arms, two legs. Staton wasn’t sure why he had four arms. Or hooves on the end of his legs. Stretching out the three clawed fingers and a thumb on each hand was an odd experience but it made his hands feel better. But something was holding him down, stopping him from moving properly. Staton realised it was the white bench he had hidden under. It was heavier than expected.
It took a moment for Staton to work out how to properly move his arms and legs. Staton wondered if his original sprite form was still inside his new, metallic black body, and if he was technically just piloting it. That would make sense. But he could feel things as well. Sure, his skin was metallic, but he could feel air blowing across him. It was nice. It was new.
“Um, you going to answer, mysterious Voidborn?”
Staton couldn’t quite work out how to answer. He had some sort of mouth and nostrils hidden behind a mask. Moving that mouth was how he produced sounds and words.
“Sorry.”
The two Phovoses looked at each other, then back at Staton. It took Staton a moment to realise that they weren’t twins. The one with a beating heart was a Life Goddess. The one with a frozen heart was a Voidborn. The Voidborn was very furry. It didn’t look like the Voidborns that Staton knew.
“You seem a little lost, kiddo!” the Life Goddess smiled. “Not sure how you got under there, but do you want to come with us to a proper bed, and we can get you checked for Corruption and stuff?”
“Where… where I?”
The Voidborn glanced at the Life Goddess again.
“Phovos, I think he’s a baby Voidborn…” Phovoula muttered.
“You think?”
“He hasn’t picked up language properly yet. He needs us to talk some more before he can work out how to respond properly.”
Phovos inspected the Voidborn some more. It suddenly occurred to her that the Voidborn looked vaguely familiar. No, not vaguely. Very familiar.
“Uh… Are you… Are you Kenon?”
Staton was even more confused. “Kenon? No. I Staton.”
“You mean Kenostaton. Kenon’s full name… The Voidborn that caused havoc in my old universe…”
Staton tilted his head to one side. “No? I only Staton. I Newling. Maybe Youngling now.”
“He’s a baby Voidborn. He can’t be the Voidborn from your universe!” Phovoula exclaimed.
“He looks exactly like Kenon but with a different mask and less gold…” Phovos suddenly trailed off. “Damn. I’m sorry. You’re not Kenon. You’re the little sprite that followed Kesistatir and Theocydes around when they visited for Elkay and Teekay’s wedding.”
Staton nodded. “Yes. I crystallised.”
“You formed a body for yourself?”
“Yes…” Staton looked around. “Where… where am I? I… I think… I am lost. This is not where… um… Where are Theocydes and Kesistatir and Vekeus?”
Phovos shrugged. “Did you run away from them or something?”
“Yes. Kesistatir was angry. Did not want to do what he wanted.”
“I’m gonna guess that you were at the Pink Paradise, Sini’s oasis, and you got lost and ended up here by accident. Right?”
“Maybe. Do not know. Ran away…” Staton sat up, then wrapped his arms around himself. He felt weird. Was that a feeling of coldness? Warmth? Staton didn’t know. Feeling things was weird. Having a body was weird.
“Are you alright?” Phovoula asked.
“No. Confused…” Staton inspected Phovoula some more. “You are Voidborn too.”
“I am, yes. Not a normal one though.”
“Oh…” Staton didn’t know how to feel. He looked at his hands, then at his feet, then felt the mask across his mouth and the antlers on his head. “This is all new to me.”
“You’re not Kenon though?” Phovos asked. “Like, definitely not?”
“I do not know who Kenon is. I am Staton. I am a Youngling now. New person.”
Phovos sighed, then smiled and held out her hand. “Staton, do you want to come with us? We’ll get you checked out, see what’s up and then find a way to get you back to your fellow Voidborns. Or you can stay here for a bit, if you want.”
“It is… unusual, not being near Kesistatir and Vekeus…” Staton muttered. “New. Unusual. Like my body. I have many, many things to learn though.”
“Eh, don’t worry. We’ll help you learn!” Phovoula exclaimed. “I’m still learning things too. And Phovos here, she makes it so it’s less painful for us. But we’ll look after you for now and you can work out what you want to do. I’ve got Theocydes’s contact details, I’ll give him a call and he can pick you up or something.”
“I appreciate the assistance…” Staton sighed as he took Phovos’s hand.
Phovos tried to pull Staton to his feet, only to realise he was utterly massive. Phovoula had to help, and with some effort, he was eventually upright. Now that Staton was standing, he realised he was rather tall, much taller than the two furry beings. It took a moment for Staton to get his balance, but as he did so, he realised that everything was completely different. He was bound to a body. He had a physical form. But he was also weirdly… free too.
“This… is so strange…”
“It is, but you do get used to it. And it’s nice being able to touch things!” Phovoula smiled. “Come along now. Let’s get you checked over.”
Staton hesitated, then bowed a little. “Thank you.”