Another one bound to bite the dust. This is NOT a self-insert, otherwise I would have made myself much more ... wonderful. Let's hope we all have a good time and enjoy the reading. Thank you.

I awoke to several confusing and startling discoveries in this order. One, I felt well rested, something I usually lack when sleeping on my old-ass bed. Two, it was very bright in my house, almost like the sun itself manifested a smaller form just to torment me. Three, I realized I was not in my room. And the final and most shocking revelation, one that would change my whole life, was this...

I was on grass.

This was not normal. Especially when it felt nice. My border grass felt rough and dry. This grass felt smooth and wet. Not good. This meant I was not anywhere near my home, as grass this nice was miles away. The startling discovery fueling me, I opened my eyes and sat up... only to immediately close them again. Damm, it was bright! Way too bright!

After letting my eyes get adjusted to the horrendous amount of light battering against my retinas, I got to standing up and looking around. What I found amazed me.

Trees. Everywhere.

Now this was a surprise. We didn't have a forest like this since they officially declared the one near the edge of town off limits, since it was to be used for lumber. But this forest, it far outshined the one back home. It was gorgeous! The barks were a healthy brown, the leaves an astonishing green, hell, even the ground felt firm beneath me! I could hardly believe it!

That thought brought me back to reality.

I... couldn't believe it. This was not real. It couldn't be. It was too good to be true. What's more, I was in the middle of nowhere. Even as I gazed across the landscape, finding myself to be at the mere entrance of the forest, I could not identify any landmarks. Just trees. I reached up to rub my temple, trying my best to think of what kinda crazy man kidnaps a guy and leaves him near a forest, when I felt something touch where my hand should have been.

I whirled around immediately, only to find no one there. I gripped my fist tightly. If they thought I was gonna go down easy, oh ho ho, did they have another thing coming! I got into a ready stance, scanning my surroundings only to slowly stop. I looked down at my hand. That... was not supposed to be there.

What covered my hand was blacker than the night sky, and felt tougher than stone. upon the back of palm and fingers were many bone-like pieces, arranged similarly to a sports glove, protecting the top of my hand. As I followed the appendage, I found the rest of my body to be covered in a similar fashion, only stopping at the base of my neck. I gave my hand a squeeze, hearing a squelch as finger tips met palm. This was... this...

"The fuck am I wearing?"

SCREEE

"Holy crap!" I yell as I sprint for the nearest tree, watching an unbelievably large shadow cross along the ground. What was that? Why as it so big? Why did it sound like a bird? All these questions and more rocketed through my mind as I clutched the tree I hid behind hard. The bark that came off as I gripped brought me a momentary solace from the fright I experienced, only for it to come back full force as the beast passed by again.

SCREEE

Dammit! That was definitely closer this time! Whatever this thing was, it was way too close for comfort. The thought 'Why don't you just run into the forest?' briefly entered my mind, and I gave it some thought, I really did, but ultimately concluded. If this thing was outside the forest, who was to say what was inside? Whether this was a smart move or my last thoughts mattered little now, seeing as the source of my undoubtable demise had landed right in front of me.

And it was staring right at me.

'Oooooooooohhhh boy. This is not good. Not at all.'

This thing was something straight from nightmares. It was as black as my new suit, with more bone-like structures similar to mine, only it covered the area around the eyes exclusively, whereas mine spanned my body. Besides that, it just seemed like a normal bird, although its form seemed altered in a way as so it could walk with its wing-legs. Oh yeah, and it was also LIKE THREE FUCKING STORIES HIGH! Like, Holy Crap, this things fucking foot could crush me, not to mention its head! It would certainly have no problem eating me. Which brought up another point.

It just stood there. Staring at me.

Jesus, this was easily the most terrifying thing I have ever seen. Though, I'm not gonna lie, it was beautiful. I mean, I normally don't go all crazy for birds, but there was something about this one that just made stop and just look back. In its red eyes, I saw no emotion, but through its statuesque form, I could assume it didn't want to me immediately. So, being the brave fool I am, I stepped out from my protection tree, and approached the bird carefully.

"Uhhh... hi. Hello. It's uh, nice to meet you!" My attempt at communication seemed to fail, but inside I knew I was getting somewhere. I could feel it. As I continued my approach, it tilted its head down and continued to stare at me, through its unforgiving red eyes. This did not deter me however, and I walked until I was within arm's reach of the ginormous beast of prey. I reached out cautiously, still not sure what to think about being next to this monster of a bird, and attentively rubbed the nose of it. What I got in response, was the bird gently pushing against my arm, shuffling around and bringing itself closer to the ground.

"Huh... looks like I was wrong to judge you. I'm sorry giant bird." I apologized, receiving a snort in response. Don't really know what that means, but alright.

I continued to pet the bird until it nudged my hand upwards. Not gonna lie, I was kind of confused. Did I do something wrong, or was It just tired of my antics and was ready to eat me? Turns out it was neither. Instead, it lowered its head to the ground and looked at me expectantly. Did... did it expect me to ride it? That seemed a little, extreme. I mean, look at those wings! They had to go hundreds of miles fast! There was no way I could hold on. The bird on the other hand was getting tired of my indecisiveness and instead used its head to scoop me up onto its neck, where I held on for dear life. This was gonna go somewhere, though where I did not know.

'I just hope she doesn't knock me off.'

As soon as I thought this, the bird gave a mighty flap of its wings and sent us soaring into the air.

Holy crap, was this the most exhilarating thing in the world. We flew straight up into the sky, and I could hardly handle myself I was so jittery. This was insane! I was flying! In the Air!

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled as we leveled out in the sky. We were near the clouds and with my new vantage point I could see everything. Now there wasn't just trees for miles, but also mountains in the distance. In fact, I think I saw something very far away, a mere speck amongst the land. it was weird though, because as I looked over the land I couldn't help but feel like I'm forgetting something. Like, I know something about this place, but I can't place it.

SQUAW

Ah, never mind. As I shook away those stray thoughts, I looked down to find the large eyes of the bird staring at me intensely. Always nice to turn and see that. As I stared back a thought suddenly returned to me.

"So, hey, I don't mean to be rude but are you a chick?"

SQUAW

"No, I mean like a girl. Are you a girl?"

SQUAW

"I'm taking that as a yes, I hope your aware."

All she did was turn away from me. At least that thought I had a while ago made sense now, though I do kind of wonder why I assumed that. Maybe it was because of how nice she was towards me? Nah, it's probably because she didn't kill me immediately. Yeah, that's right. Cool. Nice to know that's what qualifies as friends around here.

We continued at a leisurely pace, gliding through the air. It felt nice, relaxing, even therapeutic in a way. It really helped my flow stay on track. As I looked at the ground again, a flash of white in the countless black feathers caught my attention. I carefully climbed until I behind the object. Said object was a ...skull? I mean, it looked like one, but nothing I've seen. It was shaped in a way to where the nose was elongated and stretched, and the eye sockets were larger than I would have thought, though they were still kinda small. A rope ran through one of the sockets, keeping it secured to the beasty I was riding on. I was curious now, so throwing caution to the wind, I started to look for the know, which was conveniently inside the skull, which was covered in the same black substance that covered my body.

As I lifted it up to get a good look at it, I noticed something. This skull was shaped more like a mask than a skull, though that did nothing to take away the creepy factor. Especially in the eyes. They were shaped like normal eye sockets, but inside was nothing but pitch black. That might have been because I was holding the back with my hands, but still, if I wore this, that was what people would see. I wondered... do I have a hood? Ah, I do! Perfect. Now I can put this on and match without looking stupid. As I lifted the mask to my face, I stopped inches away. What was I doing? I literally just found this thing, there could be some serious germs on it, or it could be a death trap! Why had I thought it was a good idea to put this on?

Before I could return my hand to my side, my ever-graceful ride suddenly jerked forward and did a sharp dive, forcing the mask onto my face. When I slid into place, I let a short gasp before being rendered silent by a cry of the beast I had ridden on. Portions of the bird began to shoot off in streams and into the center of my back, eventually dissolving the bird into nothing. The fact that I was now falling didn't seem to concern me now. Instead of panicking or hyperventilating, I was calm as ever and even straightened myself to go faster. I kept on like that, only now noticing how far up I was. Indeed, I was probably higher than the clouds because I had not noticed a decimated town which I was currently shooting towards. Hmm.

I calmly raised my arms, the under of which now had dozens upon dozens of feathers, and slowed my descent until I gently glided down, landing near a building. I stood still for a moment, wondering just what happened back there. There was certainly a transformation, but how it happened was beyond me. I now had new feelings though, along with heightened senses. I could tell by listening in that there were others here. Other people. Something strange though, was the fact that I did not immediately go to them. Instead, I had doubts. Something told me not to go, to stay away from them. I was conflicted. This... this wasn't normal.

This wasn't me.

This was someone entirely new. A name came to mind, but I immediately knew it wasn't mine. Nevermore. That is what she was called, one of countless others, one that just happened to stumble onto me. Now she was a part of me. We were something different, something new, but whether it was for good or bad I could not tell. Perhaps this was merely a new experience, not meant to appeal to emotions. I felt in control, but was I really? If she had not wanted me to go, to reach salvation with other humans, then could she physically stop me? Right now, it was a feeling, but I knew that if I continued it would change in intensity. So, deciding to test to what extent I had over this body, I walked to the sounds, stopping in the middle of a random street.

I could hear their voices clearly now, even with the distance between us. That wasn't what concerned me though. What I was preoccupied with, was the fact that I now stood in the middle of a street, staring directly at a creature. A Grimm. That name, along with another, Beowulf, popped into my head. This creature fit the description, looking like a wolf with large arms, no doubt able to walk on all fours. As it looked to me, I could feel myself freeze against MY will. As I forced my head to the side, causing jerky and unnatural actions, I finally faced my saviors.

They were four teenage girls. Complete with an old man watching over them.

I wondered, would they be my rescue? Or would I be mistaken to be like the animal beside me? Before I could attempt to try and talk, I suddenly felt all control over my body cease, as I sprinted literally UP a building, flipping over the top and disappearing from their sight.

Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?

Hope you all enjoyed.