I see two Little here, but I’ll begin with the first one just for the sake of it.

Moss Child. Probably the natural evolution of the Mossling. Going just by the name, I’d guess it’s around the size of a child, which isn’t all that bad. Furthermore, it seems generally friendly, and since it has the ability to guide people, it might plausibly have a mouth of some sort. Probably not, but either way, if I wanted to stay in this forest and wait for people to come to me, this would be the best option.

-But I don’t want to stay. This forest fucking sucks.

Even more importantly, I don’t want to be made of moss. Sure, it can be useful in some regards, but I absolutely don’t want to be prey to every single creature alive.

The Moss Child is also only rank E-, meaning that it is easily the weakest of these three. All things considered, if I picked this one, I would probably not be able to take my due revenge on that asshole fox.

Moving on, we have the Lilla Skuggan. Which roughly translates to Little Shadow. As might be expected, it’s hardly described as strong. It’s a small shadow. With a slightly higher rank, a greater combat ability might be expected. Alongside what seems to be nighttime camouflage, it’s a pretty viable option.

Especially the flight part.

The bastard can fly. Do you know how useful that would be to me? Combat ability aside, with this form, I could just take to the skies and instantly find a human abode, assuming there is one nearby.

But, as might be expected, it’s far from perfect. For one, nowhere does it describe what this thing can actually do. It “lures children in the night,” which translates to, “it’s too weak to just kill children directly”.

And that is why my attention is mostly drawn to the final option.

Lilltroll. Little troll, in Swedish. This one is… I know what a troll is. It’s like a gremlin kind of creature. Not exactly friendly with humans. This one, being a lesser version of that, is probably pretty weak, hence why it hunts in groups.

But see, that’s the thing. It hunts. It doesn’t lure, it doesn’t guide, it just fights. Simple as that. Even though it is only rank E, it has clear combat prowess.

It can’t speak with humans and it doesn’t look like a child and it won’t get me out of this forest, but I know pretty damn well that even by rank E I will definitely be too weak to escape from here. I’m pretty sure that-, hey, kid, show me rank E.

Rank E: The second-lowest rank, containing creatures and animals that can be killed even by women and children.

Hey, isn’t that a little sexist? What are you, medieval?

You probably are.

But, yeah, as expected, even with this evolution I will still be way too weak. If I picked the little shadow I'd have a good chance of getting eaten by a bird of prey before ever finding a settlement. With the moss child, I could just as easily get eaten by an actual deer or even a rabbit.

In other words, my only real option here is the Lilltroll.

I’d like to move somewhere other than right out in the open for this process, but I can’t tell how large I will become. Being in the mouse’s hole is impossible and I can’t feasibly climb a tree with only one functioning leg.

Out in the open it is. At least I’m partially hidden in the shade of a tree.

So… kid. Do the thing. I’ve made my choice, so-,

A searing pain strikes my chest and I buckle over trembling violently. It feels like my innards are melting. Or like I drank a vat of acid. My consciousness is swimming and it feels like I’m a thousand feet below the surface, being crushed by several tonnes of pressure.

I feel like screaming, but nothing is coming out. My mossy hide begins falling off in great bleeding clusters, leaving me torn and empty. My one good leg falls off and writes uselessly on the floor. I can’t tell if I’m choking or breathing. I can feel how bones begin to take form within me, like a rat’s carcass fermenting in my heart. I begin to grow aware of a sound like stones and bones grinding together, but I realize it is only the sound of my teeth chattering.

I blink with eyelids that weren’t there before. The forest assaults me with smells I didn’t feel before. Wet and earthy and green. I hear much better.

My arms burst from my sides and I stare at the two fleshy, skinless protrusions in silent horror. As my legs do the same I can’t help but release a long-restrained scream.

“AAAAARRGHGH”

From the edge of my vision, I see how the fox - formerly preoccupied with the mouse’s corpse - now turns to regard me. But I’m not fully done. I don’t have skin and my flesh is only half-formed but still the fox approaches me, ears perked in interest.

I give a bubbling, churning noise and try to get myself on my feet. Everything I touch burns. My bones are all exposed but I can’t remain here because the fox is coming.

I turn to face the tree. My hands are only lumps with sharp bones poking out but I have no other choice. Reaching up to the tree, I take a hold with both of my malformed hands, trying to ignore how the bark cuts into my exposed muscles. The only relief I have is that the nerves have yet to fully form in my hands. Using muscles that formed only seconds ago, I pull myself up. But it won’t be enough.

One foot on either side, I drag myself upwards, leaving a bloody trail along the side of the tree.

I can only barely get a grip of the bark. One step at a time, I drag myself upwards, breathing heavy, shallow breaths.

I glance down, seeing how the fox stands below me, eyes wide and interested.

It’s close. It’s too close.

I pull myself up further, feeling how close my organs are to bursting out of my grated-down abdominal wall. The fox sniffs the bark and licks my trail of blood and bodily tissue.

I try to ignore it. If I just focus on pulling myself up, then…

There’s a thump below me and I feel a hot breath wash over me. I glance below me. The head of the fox is right below me. It’s standing on its hind legs, bringing up to almost my own height. Almost. Not quite.

Just at the height of my tail.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but a fleshy, skinless tail is hanging below me. The fox sniffs it for a few seconds. Its breath feels so cold.

It bites me. My (existent) heart sinks and I feel closely how its teeth sink into my supple, newly formed flesh.

It tries to drag me down. I hold onto the tree as best as I can but it’s hardly enough. Sure, we’re almost the same rank now, but there’s still a massive difference in size, and hence also strength. Still, I hold on for my life. Even though I’m bleeding, even though it hurts, I hold on.

But the fox overestimated my toughness.

With a crack, its jaws snap shut and my tail breaks off. The fox falls to the ground and I take the moment to climb further up in a panic, only stopping once I’ve found a good branch to sit on. Far below me, I see how the fox chews my tails, crunching the half-formed bones into splinters.

My entire body hurts. Each limb is filled to bursting with acid and I just want to sleep. How close was I to dying there? How much health do I have left?

--- < MLssTRlol(8>) IV.o/?==(X-M) StA?6: ------- : 3/&%””#¤

? Is he alive, boy?

...Alright. Seems like I’m at death’s door, as usual.