Eventually, I decide it was time to move on. My first priority is to get out of this forest. If there is a road somewhere nearby, I can follow it and reach a town or city.
I move to stand up, but I quickly lose balance and fall nearly straight into the spring. This body's physique is completely different. Unlike as a human, I have become much smaller and practically every part of my body has changed.
In my earlier state of panic, I was somehow able to unconsciously run and move on all fours as if it was natural, but now that I've collected myself, I'm more aware of the movements I make.
I try to stand again, this time using my tail to steady myself and adjusting my legs and feet slowly until I became stable. I had to lean slightly forward to compensate for the extra weight behind me, and standing like this feels weird, as if I'm constantly tiptoeing. I don't think this body is meant for upright movement, but there is no way I'm going to act like some feral beast.
To test out this new way of walking, I lift my foot and try to take a step forward.
I freeze mid-step.
How could I have not noticed before? But not only am I completely naked, but I am stepping on the ground. Bare ground.
The feeling of being unclean is something I would go to great lengths and measures to avoid. So the fact that I'm now standing on top of grass and dirt with my bare feet -- paws, whatever you call this -- is simply unthinkable.
A shiver runs down my spine.
I desperately look around my surroundings. There has to be something, anything, that can be used to help me from this predicament.
I find a large pile of leaves under a nearby tree.
Bingo. I can probably make some makeshift shoes with those leaves, but first to make my way towards it.
I look at the ground once more. I've got no choice.
Using the most minimal amount of contact with the earth as I could possibly manage, I inch my way to the pile of leaves. I was making good progress, that is until halfway through, I mess up the placement of my feet and stumble forward.
I hear a *plshk* as my entire foot plants straight into wet mud.
My breathing stops.
Abandoning my careful approach, I rush to the pile of leaves, all while hopping on one foot and deftly avoiding any further contact with mud.
I slam into the tree and swipe a handful of leaves before feverishly scratching my foot in an attempt to scrape the mud off.
I remember when I was a human, how it felt to step in mud with shoes on. Every time that happened, I would run straight to the nearest source of water and wouldn't calm down until it's been completely cleaned.
But to have completely stepped in the mud with my bare feet?
This was on a level that could traumatize.
In order to completely clean my foot, I would need to purify it by dumping it in bleach and soap, then place it into a particle accelerator so that every trace of dirt and muck would be absolutely obliterated.
I was somewhat successful at removing the mud, though pieces of its residue still remain. There is only so much I could do using plants as tissues.
My face contorts in what I assume might look as disgust. Though I still want to wipe the mud till not a single speck was left, there is only a limited amount of leaves available. If I use anymore, then all my effort and sacrifice could be in vain.
I grab another handful of leaves and begin to wrap it around my feet. It's harder than I thought. The leaves just keep tearing and breaking during construction. This is mainly because instead of fingers, I have claws, so maneuvering the leaves around feels like using knives to fold a delicate piece of paper.
Normally I would have given up by now. However, that squishy, sticky feeling of mud is still vividly fresh in my mind. I'm not about to let that happen again.
Determined to create my shoes, I spend the next few hours working diligently. After many attempts, my supply of leaves began to dwindle. Fortunately, I became used to working my claws, so tears and breakage were less of an issue.
My biggest obstacle in making the shoes was finding a way to hold the leaves together. I solved this by creating slits through each leaf and weaving them through it, much like a button through a hole. It turns out, the claws that hindered me with folding was useful in tearing the slits. It didn't take much effort either as my claws are fairly sharp.
When I finished and all the leaves used up, the reward for my efforts were fairly decent foot-wraps. Taking pride in my achievement, I stand up and pat the ground to test their durability.
Strange, I expected it would have been more uncomfortable, what with using leaves as shoes and all, but I don't feel it's edges or its texture. In fact, despite not having clothes, I don't feel cold whatsoever. It's probably because of my scales.
I take a step forward and hope the leaves don't rip. I breathe a sigh of relief when it doesn't break apart.
Good, as long as I'm careful, the shoes should be able to hold. Now, time to return to a more pressing issue.
I look at the sky. Too much time was spent creating these shoes. It was around mid-morning when I first woke up, but now the sun seems to be set in the middle of the sky, indicating that it's a few hours past noon.
Alright, time to find that road.
I step over the tangled roots and vines that popped up across the grass. The forest is quiet, peaceful really. The only sound that could be heard was my leaf shoes scraping the ground. Light shone through the canopy, illuminating the forest just enough to see, but dark enough to hide whatever may lurk within the large bushes. I haven't seen any animals yet, but that's for the better.
Some time passes and I notice the flora around me. There are an exquisite variety of flowers that came in different shapes and colors. I've never seen anything like them before. One looks like a rose, but its color was a swirl of yellow and blue. Upon contact, the flower shoots into the ground.
I'm not a botanist but I'm fairly sure these plants and flowers aren't normally found where I live...
...Where I live?
Now that I'm thinking about it, where did I live?
These were one of the questions I should have asked during my earlier state of panic. Does this mean there are some things I don't and can't ask simply because I don't know what to ask? If so, then that's concerning, but right now, I'll focus on the question I do know.
I'll try to list out names of the countries and see which feels more familiar, that way I can narrow down the scope.
I list out the names of countries that I can recall off the top of my head, but they all seem equally familiar. Naming their capitals didn't work either. For all I know, I could have forgotten the one country I was from and I wouldn't even know I've forgotten it.
Oh well, it's not that much of a problem. I'll find out when I get back to tow-
Suddenly, my perspective and view shifts and I reflexively fall backward.
I was so lost in thought that if it weren't for the sudden change in environment, I would have walked off the ledge and straight into a large ravine. The roar of a river can be heard from the bottom.
My heart's pounding. What is with me? I shouldn't be so absent-minded in the middle of nowhere. Get it together or I might actually die.
With my body flat against the ground, I peek over the edge.
My mouth drops. Large isn't the proper word to describe the ravine. This thing is massive! I can't tell its depth. At best guess I would say it's more than fifty meters deep. The river can be seen at the bottom, it's currents so fast that it seemed to be completely white. There was no doubt that had I fell, I would have certainly died.
I shuffle away from the edge until I'm comfortable enough to stand. The entire length of the ravine is barren and consists mainly of rock and stone. I can't see where it ends, perhaps it stretched across the entire forest? Then, if I follow the ravine, I should run into a road eventually.