lunitariaprime | [MNIM] Part 6: Muscle Memory

Releasing the idea that something was missing, I removed all of the soft and comfortable undergarments and laid them aside on a countertop.

I looked at myself in the mirror. Really examined the lines of muscle showing through the unearthly-pale skin.

I flexed the muscles, and was surprised at how much definition showed in them.

I looked at my back over my shoulder, saw firm muscles showing.

I was fit. Very fit.

I looked over my middle and saw the same firmness there. I could see the muscles when flexed fully, though I didn't flex my stomach too much, it felt as if something had hit me there very hard, and was still tender.

I felt the skin over myself - it was very soft, and remained so even with muscles flexed.

I looked at my legs as best I could, and found that I was surprisingly limber.

With a hand on a wall, I let one of them rise, to see how far I could lift it.

With it as vertical as my joints would allow it, my heels nearly facing completely opposite directions, I found myself laughing again.

My balance seemed very good too. I stood there, feeling a bit silly, holding one foot upright. My other foot shifted a little to maintain the maneuver, but I felt as if I could stand there in that strange and awkward position for the rest of the day if I needed to.

I again regarded the face in the mirror, with her almond eyes and snow-white skin and hair that looked very pale gold.

You have an excellent physique, mirror-woman, I said to her, not without a smile.

And my train of thought stopped abruptly as I looked over myself again.

Those strange things I saw in the wardrobe. They must be some kind of armor!

Yes, The curved pieces over the shoulders. linked to plates that covered specific points on the anatomy.

I recovered my undergarments and put them back on, before peering into the wardrobe again.

Yes. There were several articles that looked like cloth but had weight and mass.

I sought out a pair of pants that slid easily over my legs, though they looked and felt baggy on my frame, and were of this weighty cloth material and were a deep green or brown.

They had several roomy pockets.

I took up a simple shirt, unmarked even at the neck and eased into it, following with a form-fitting top of a strangely heavy material that had pronounced seams.

I took one of the strange sets of plates and found that I could easy it over this effortlessly, that there were straps at the sides that let me adjust it to my body, so it fit snugly over my body and did not restrain my movements at all.

I realized that my feet were still quite bare and almost slapped my forehead.

It took a few moments to locate a pair of long socks that came nearly to my knees when I eased into them.

I noticed that the pants themselves had loose strings at the cuffs, and after a moment, I reasoned why.

I took a pair of boots that seemed heavy for their size and cold on my feet, but fit comfortably enough and leaned down to lace them, realizing that the pants could be secured at the tops of them.

I stood afterwards, feeling the weight and warmth of this new clothing.

I no longer felt the cold anywhere but my face.

There were also a selection of some kind of hood. Some covered none of the face at all, others left only the eyes visible. I decided to take one with me, stuffing it into a pocket.

Looking again into the mirror, I found myself a little difficult to see in the gloom.

I felt that twisting sensation in my stomach again and a fresh burst of pain.

I had doubled over with the spasm and looked up again and caught something reflected in the mirror - a pair of points, like horizontal slits to my left.

I turned with a choking sound, but saw and heard nothing but myself.

I resolved that I had not seen what I had seen and washed my face in cold water before anything further could happen.

I let out a long breath, fogging the mirror.

I saw... part of a word written there, on the glass.

Another breath and I saw all of it, right at the place where I had seen the eyes.

I looked at myself and saw the word and my own face, and I understood what I saw, frightened by it.

I mouthed the words.

"My name... is Mariner."