After the children ate their fill and went to sleep, Grandma got to work. She couldn’t very well wander around looking like a blob of mud, after all. Carefully, she pulled mana from the world around her, and fed it into the golem body, sculpting it into the form that she had always wanted in life. Working with mana infused earth was a different sensation than creating water. Whereas water felt vibrant and lively, the earth felt sticky and thick, more stable and difficult to change, yet still fertile and full of potential.
Using the mana she pulled in, Grandma pushed and pulled on the golem body until it had smooth skin covering distinct fingers and toes, arms and legs, a sturdy torso, and a round head. She pinched and tugged until the face had a nose and lips, then gingerly pressed until she formed soft indentations for the eyes. More refinement would have to wait until the children woke up and could help guide her efforts, since she couldn’t see herself right now.
Next, Grandma practiced moving the golem. It was very different from trying to move a regular living body. Even Mina’s body had been easier to move around than this clay doll. Every motion had to be carefully envisioned, then empowered by magic. Walking around required a huge amount of concentration, and running was, for the moment, out of the question. Still, it was much easier than that little golem made of twigs. With repetition, the process became easier. She was hopeful that she would someday learn to run in this strange new body.
Grandma performed a few simple exercises, squatting down and standing back up, until she was confident she would not fall over. Then she lifted one leg and tried to balance. After a few falls, she succeeded in getting the hang of it, breaking down the movement of walking into smaller, more controlled steps. She moved on to more complex movements, chaining steps and coordinating the movement of her arms in tandem. Finally, Grandma attempted a martial arts form, the most basic one, which she had not been able to do since her illness had progressed to the point where she could no longer walk on her own. She moved slowly, carefully envisioning every step, every shift of weight, the rise and fall of her arms, her fists. It felt good to be so conscious of her body, even if the body wasn’t strictly hers, wasn’t even alive. It felt amazing to be able to walk on her own again, without borrowing someone else’s body. Grandma allowed herself a moment to revel in that freedom.
After Grandma tired herself out with the exercises, she walked back to their camp and sat down. The children still slept, though Spark and Ember had woken up to stare at her curiously. [Mud man,] Ember laughed.
[Mud grandma,] Grandma corrected with a smile.
[Where did you come from, Grandma?] Ember asked, suddenly serious. [Why were you inside Mina?]
[I’m not sure.] Grandma relayed images of her world, her family, her final waking moments. [Then I woke up here. Is this a dream? A story?]
[I live. We live. I don’t feel like a story.] Ember tilted his head and flicked his ears.
[Right. So. Somehow, I came here. I was thinking of my granddaughter’s story, and how she wanted to save Mina. I’ve been in her head for a few days now.] Grandma wiggled her fingers for practice. [She’s a good kid, and doesn’t deserve to be used and abused.] Grandma turned the golem’s head as if to look at Mina, though she couldn’t really see. Instead, she sensed the flow of mana that was Mina, a knot of magic that was uniquely shaped to the girl.
Ember trotted over to where Grandma squatted in the moss and nosed her knee. [What will you do now that you’re here?]
[I remember some things from the story my granddaughter told me, but mostly I remember the sound of her voice, not what she said.] Grandma practiced stroking Ember’s head. She couldn’t really feel it, which was a shame, but it helped to have something to do with her hands, for training precision and control. [I would like to change Mina’s fate from what was written in that story. I’ve helped her escape from her father, and I plan to keep her away from the other major characters in the story.]
[Protect the cubs. A fine goal.]
Ember flopped down onto his side and squirmed until he was comfortable. Grandma considered trying to rub his belly, but decided not to push her luck just yet.
[It would be good if Mina learned to protect herself, with a weapon as well as with magic.]
[Man cubs have no fangs or claws,] Ember pointed out. [She will need help.]
[If we can find a suitable weapon, I can teach her some basics, but I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to move like this.]
[Your body is like a cub,] Ember laughed. [Mud cub Grandma.]
Grandma poked Ember in his side with a chuckle. [Hopefully with practice, I’ll be able to move better than a cub.]
Ember wriggled around until he was tucked up against Grandma’s side, although she could only perceive him as a warm flow of mana. She laid the golem down and wrapped one arm carefully around the fox, then relaxed her hold on the flows of magic and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.
When Grandma woke, she had somehow slid back to Mina’s mind. The girl had already woken, and was busy packing up their camp in preparation for ascending to the next floor of the tree. Tanner and Spark were nowhere to be seen, but Mina didn’t seem to be worried about it. [Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?]
[Grandma! You came back. How was the golem?] Mina paused and glanced at the lumpy mud pile. Without Grandma actively controlling its shape, the golem had slumped back to its basic shape.
[It was good. I had fun walking around. Shall I go back to it?] Mina sent out a current of mana, and Grandma flowed out along it back to the golem. Having done it once, it was simpler to resculpt the mud into the form she had chosen last night. [How do I look?]
Mina stifled a laugh. [You look very silly, Grandma.] The girl shared an image of how the golem looked to her.
The golem was taller than the children, broad in the shoulder, with thick sturdy limbs. The face was comically uneven, due to Grandma not having a mirror. There was no way it could pass for a person in this state. Maybe if she wore gloves and a robe that covered the entire body, with a deep hood to hide that face.
[Can you keep sharing what the golem looks like? I want to make a few adjustments.]
As Mina watched in fascination, the body of the golem rippled and changed. Its limbs became slimmer and more evenly matched. Its torso became more defined, with a gentle swell of breasts, soft belly rolls, and wider hips. The face also shifted, growing more symmetrical and realistic.
[There. How does that look now?] This was pretty close to Grandma’s ideal body, a mature, gently feminine shape that carried the authority of a life full of varied experiences. In her previous world, she had had a very different body, which she had never felt comfortable in. She had undergone a variety of surgeries and medical treatments, and though they had helped a great deal, Grandma had never felt totally at home in her own skin. Now however, she had the opportunity to shape the body she used into whatever she wanted. Grandma took full advantage of this to craft the perfect body that she had always longed for.
[You look wonderful, Grandma!] Mina impulsively moved forward to hug the golem.
The earthy flesh of the golem was warm under Mina’s hands, heated by the magic that Grandma circulated through its body. Its skin felt supple, dimpling under her touch, though it didn’t spring back as real flesh would have.
[Try not to squeeze me too much, dear. I have to put it back manually.] Grandma smiled, pleased with her efforts. She took a moment to fix this configuration in her mind, so that she could quickly return to it whenever she needed.
“Who’s this?” Tanner asked as he trotted back to their camp, arms loaded with edible mushrooms. Spark gamboled at his side, half a mushroom carcass dangling from her mouth. In just the past few days, he had seen so much nonsense that he no longer even felt surprised to find Mina hugging a strange woman.
“This is the golem I made yesterday,” Mina said, grinning. “It looks a lot better, right?” Mina and Grandma had agreed to keep Grandma a secret from Tanner for now.
Tanner’s eyes swept up and down the golem. “If we get a robe and hat, it might even pass for a person,” he nodded, impressed. “For now, all we have are horse blankets though.”
“Here, I’ll help you pack those mushrooms. You get Chestnut ready, okay?” Mina took the mushrooms and started carefully stashing them in the saddlebags.
Tanner grunted in agreement and went to take care of the horse, carefully putting on all her tack, cinching her belts and checking to make sure they were just the right tightness. Once they were all ready, Mina helped Tanner load the bags onto Chestnut.
“All right, let’s go up to the second floor!”
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