NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: I’m a Deer?
[Hmm?]
Naru opened her eyes.
She wasn’t in the bar anymore that’s for sure.
She tried to move her limbs
[Eh?]
She felt something nuzzling her, licking her.
[I feel a little wet] Naru thought
The thing that was licking her appeared to be a large deer-like creature. The deer had a mottled brown fur and a large amethyst that seemed attached to its chest.
[Why is a weird deer licking me! Go away! Shoo!] Naru tried to shy away from but couldn’t because of her weak limbs.
[Why is a deer in my house… Wait did I even go home last night?] Naru thought. All she could remember was Tanaka’s panicked yelling.
[Am I in a hospital--how did a deer get into a hospital? Why is it so big?] Many thoughts swirled in her head, but she was unable to answer any of them.
Naru looked around to see that she was in a forest grove.
[Why am I here?] She started to ask herself before her thoughts were interrupted by another lick on the head from the deer creature.
[What time it is? I need to go to work!] She thought
Naru tried to move her fingers, she found herself unable to.
Her legs felt weak and gangly.
Wait?
Did she have 4 of them?
Her arms felt the same as her legs.
[Where are my arms!] Naru panicked
She tried standing but something was not right with her body and she instantly fell down.
[Wait I’m not human?]
Naru tried to move her fingers and toes only to realize she didn’t have them. She soon realized that she had four gangly legs instead of her 2 arms and legs.. She tried to move around and then instantly collapsed again
[I’m weak!]
Naru was unable to move around too much and could only shuffle along the grassy floor. The deer creature who was her mother didn’t let her crawl far and nudged Naru closer to her stomach.
Naru felt her stomach rumble.
[Hungry…] She thought
The deer-creature who appeared to be her mother appeared to be trying to guide her somewhere.
With her stomach grumbling, Naru smelled something incredibly sweet.
[Oh?] She thought turning her nose in the direction of the sweet smell and was met with her mother's teat.
[I see…] Naru, who was gradually realizing she was a newborn deer, was obviously expected to drink milk.
[It’s a little gross but it’s not like I got another choice] She rationalized before suckling her mother.
Naru had no room to complain. Although her mind was still human, she couldn’t ignore the reality she was facing. She had somehow reincarnated as this deer thing and as a deer, she had to suckle or else starve.
She closed her eyes and nursed. She tried not to think too deeply about it.
Surprisingly, it seems that all her senses were like what she had as a human. Although Naru was trying to shut out the sense she could still taste a bit of the milk. Her mother’s milk tasted like how the forest smelled, earthy, woody, and vaguely mushroomy. Nothing like the cow’s milk she would buy from the convenience store.
Naru greedily drank her fill, gulping down large amounts of milk as it slaked her thirst and hunger.
*Burp*
[Ah, that hit the spot!] Although the experience of drinking her mothers’ milk was unpleasant; Regardless of what species she was, the satisfying feeling of being full remained the same
Naru still wanted to be able to walk.
[Aren’t horses supposed to be able to walk quickly after birth? Deer should be the same right?] Naru thought
Naru tried to stand again. This time she was able to take one unsteady step before her legs gave out and she fell again.
Her mother sat patiently watched her. Naru could feel a faint amount of intelligence in those eyes as if her mother was conscious and aware of Naru.
Naru dismissed the thought
[It’s just a dumb deer] She thought
It took a while but after countless attempts and many mouthfuls of dirt. Naru was finally able to walk. It was not particularly steady, and she would fall over quite often, but at least, Naru had some sort of mobility.
Naru looked towards the sky. It was beginning to darken. Naru spent the better part of the day trying to walk. Even if she wanted to leave the forest, she wouldn’t be able to in the dark.
Her mother had left her halfway through her walking efforts to go roam the grove they were in but had come back now. She was bedded down near a tree beckoning for Naru to sleep with her. Naru who was unable to move very far reluctantly snuggled against her new “mother”.
At the very least, Naru’s new mother was warm.
Naru nursed, drinking some more milk before bedding down. She had some left-over milk on her mouth by couldn’t wipe it off with her deer legs.
Naru was currently lamenting the loss of her arms.
[I’ve become a deeeeerrr! Where are my arms! I want to be a human! I want to grab things! Opposable thumbs are the best!]
