Consent is Mandatory ( ͡◣ ︵ ͡◢)

Max jerked awake. She's alive!!!!

Wait, a minute... She felt strange. What was wrong with... Oh, didn't Sage say something about a new body? What was she, a Ms. Tomato Head- "Soul Edition"? Hmph. Whatever, it was time to check out the new digs, right? Max gingerly shook her triangular head and peered down at herself to check out body number three. Did the floating blob of azure light count? Huh... She stared at her body blankly for an unknown amount of time before she was able to acknowledge the change.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!"

'Sage! You Bastard!' She screeched internally as she let out a threatening hiss. The forest went silent immediately, waiting with bated breath, hoping that they would not be on the menu. Max didn't even notice as she clung on tightly to the thin branch that Sage had wrapped her around. That jerk-face had turned her into a danger noodle, a friggin' nope rope, a snakey-snake! She hated snakes with their slimy-looking bodies. No legs? No arms? The bone-chilling hissing? Max let out a distasteful hiss. See?! She flippin' hissed!

Hold up, what was that? Max scooted backward clumsily. Was that a drop of venom? Max stared in horror at the blackend bark. Survival was looking dim. Not that she could not adapt, because, all things considered, Max was adaptable. No. Max's problem was that if she found Arin, and they made it back to civilization, the public didn't exactly have a high opinion of the scaled noodles. Aside from general curiosity and obsessive danger noodle lovers, that is. In fact, depending on the situation, regardless of her being venomous, a majority would kill first and ask questions later.

Not to mention that snakes were cold-blooded. She loved the snow! What about chocolate? Max's azure eyes glittered luminously, a hallow feeling filling her. No more hot xocolatl for her on cool winter nights, or perfect gooey chocolate chip cookies. She could almost feel the tears sliding down her scaled cheeks. Not that that was a possibility either, given her new physiology. And Sage knew that! Yes, she now had abs of titanium which was kind of, nice, if she thought about it, but that doesn't outweigh the cons.

Hmmm. Wait a minute, let's think about that. Max tilted her head to the side, reflexively tightening her grip around the branch. While she didn't mind the mechanics of her new form, after she had been blob and she'd definitely rocked her blobbiness. It was more like the thought of being a snake gave her the skeevies.

Max's blue eyes narrowed as she took stock of her situation. She was in a tree about nine meters off the ground. Which is wasn't a problem when human-sized, but when you are only about, Max's triangular head bobbed as she counted,1, 2, 19, 31, ah ha! 40 cm! Not even a third of her original height. Her tail flickered agitatedly as she coiled even tighter around the branch.

A dainty forked tongue scented the air, looking for any hint of Sage. Good, nothing there. Max swiveled her head left and then right. Great. Just great. First order of business! Get the eff' down from here. Max leaned over, shivered at the distance and tightened her grip. Okay, she's got this. Just let go of the branch and slither, Max shuddered, down the tree. Max's eyes narrowed further, becoming almost invisible slits, so thin it almost completely disappeared into the azure color of her eyes.

Max took a deep breath and belly plate by belly plate, she loosened her grip. As she was letting go, she undulated forward either clutching or pushing against the uneven surface bit by bit. She wasn't fast by any means. After all going from human to blob took her moment but that transition was easier. Bones to no bones right? This, this was hard. She did not know how long she was a blob of light, but going from having no bones then remembering how to move bones again was difficult. At least when she actively moved. Instinctual movements don't count. Subconscious versus conscious are two different things, ya know?

Minutes later she was starting to really get the hang of it. Her movements were no longer jerky and hesitant, but flowed sinuously. Yes indeed, she thought having abs of steel is amazing. Legs? Bah who needs them when you have belly plates. Arms? Bah! Belly plates are amazing . Max nodded smugly her eyes narrowing in pleasure. She understood now that she had been a complete ignoramus and misunderstood the wonder that is a snake. Never again. Max's dainty fork tongue flickered as she sniffed the air, checking to make sure nothing around her.

The forest that she appeared in wasn't quiet, it wasn't the cacophony of noise that she thought it would be. The foliage was too dense to allow much light through, thus everything was cast in shades of grey, black, and dark greens. Her black scales are the perfect camouflage for blending in with her surroundings.

Here we are! Max stopped where the branch met the trunk. She tightened her belly plates as she went off the side of the branch, under and back up. See? Belly plates should be considered a marvel. She slithered forward and coiled her lower body tightly on the branch, belly plates clutching tightly at each and every groove. Now she just needed to figure out how to climb down.

The tree, while not completely smooth, descending was going to be difficult. Wasn't this a little too advanced for a beginner snake? Max hesitated. Going down a tree headfirst was not a fun thought. However, Max reminded herself, that she has the ultimate set of abs. Welp, here goes nothing. Max carefully wound her way around. The trunk was so big that even if she were ten or fifteen times her size, she still could not loop all the way around. However, going down in a spiral meant that her weight would distribute better ergo, more of her belly plates could successfully hold on to the gnarling parts of the bark.

Let's do this!

~47 minutes later~

'Aaaahhh!!!' Max screamed internally. She was almost completely upside down and clinging to the bark with maybe 6 belly plates, i.e. she was in trouble. Max shifted around, trying to get a better grip, but she overestimated finding the right tree knots to hold on to.

One belly plate slipped off, leaving her hanging by five belly plates six meters above the ground. Max's belly plates squeezed the small knots as tightly as she could flex. Max was going to die here. She could already feel her belly plates slipping. Max's eyes narrowed as she griped inwardly while trying to maneuver another belly plate into a secure hold. Did Sage have to stuff her up into such a large tree? Why not a rock? A pile of leaves? Why a ginormous tree? That branch wasn't even the lowest branch on the tree!

Why did they have to be such a jerk-face about this? The snake? Oddly, she was good at handling the physicality of it. It was nice to have bones again, but truthfully, she missed the ease of her previous blobbish existence. However, stuffing her up so high in a tree was pushing the boundaries! What did she do to piss Sage off? Nothing. Nothing at all. THEY were the one that friggin' pissed her off with all their damn mood swings. Now that she thought about it since they are duality-type deity, maybe being bipolar was a part of the gig.

Just as she had that thought, lightning struck the tree she was in. Max didn't even get to do anything before her body became a dancing noodle.

"EEEEEEEeeeAAAAAuuuuKK!!!!"

When she woke up again, Max was sore, clinging to a younger tree less than a meter off the ground. Yes, she hurt a lot, but at least she didn't die. Thank you for the god-level ab upgrade. Now just a little more and she would finally be on firm- eeek!"

Max couldn't keep her grip anymore and gently slid down the trailing branches onto the ground with an 'oomph.'' She took a moment to appreciate the comfort that came with being on the ground. No more, one wrong move and she would go splat, or if a bird saw her and decided that she would make a delicious meal. Ahh, safe and sound...

Huh? What was that?

One would think that with Max's experiences that she should know better than to not just wave any flag, but to stake it into the ground and decorate it with bright neon signs pointing directly at her. 'Cause, apparently, that is exactly what she just did. As soon as she had the thought, the forest's quiet murmurings went completely silent to prepare for whatever was coming her way.

Max tensed up, belly plates flexing reflexively as several somethings moved through the bush. Let's be honest here, aside from bugs and rodents... There probably were few creatures as small if not smaller than her. So best method of survival? Flee- no strategic retreat! Also, considering her surroundings, it is more likely that whatever was coming her way was hungry.

Max's eyes narrowed, her forked tongue flickering daintily to catch any fresh scents. Nope, nothing new there. However, Max acknowledged. Everything was new to her here. From the whirling bark on the trees to the murky canopy that no light seemed to filter through, to the dim bioluminescence of the mushrooms that provided just enough light to be eerie.

The rustling grew closer and Max shifted deeper into her pile of leaves, taking advantage of her natural coal-coloring, and waited. It would have been completely effective if it weren't because unbeknownst to Max, her azure-colored eyes glowed faintly. Given the natural bioluminescence of the area, unless someone was very observant, she'd be dismissed as one of the many kinds of mushrooms that grew in the vicinity.

Maybe Max should have slunk away, but why should she? The odds of her not being able to get were higher than if she were just to sit still and be a little patient. Max sniffed away an imaginary tear. Arin would be so proud of her unusually logical decision and practically nonexistent patience. Max shook her head. Focus here, Max focus. Max rested her head on her coils and waited, idly swinging the very end of her tail back and forth. Complete stillness was too much to ask for. Don't judge her. The noise grew and voices infiltrated the silence, echoing here and there as they grew closer.

Five people soon appeared. The men and women dressed in dull grey robes with indigenous detailing along the borders. One man and woman carried woven baskets while the other man and two women walked with staves. The man and woman sang as they started picking plants, their voices echoing harshly while others, melodically, and sometimes as if dueling each other. It should have sounded bizarre or off-key at the very least. It was a strange dichotomy that reminded her of a certain jerk-face, that was for sure. Oddly enough, Max could feel her lids grow heavier, the azure glow from them fluttering in the murk.

Max shook her head sloppily and tightened her coils. Nope, not today trap! If they found her, she'd lunge at them (go abs of titanium!), sink her fangs, give them a nice venomous shot and scurry, erm, slither away. Besides, she knew that as soon as she let her guard down, they'd...

Oh, hello there! ( ͡❛ ︵ ͡❛)

Wait, what?!

AAAaaaaa!!!!

While Max was psyching herself up for her first obstacle in her snakey independence, they found her. Of course, from their perspective, it was impossible to miss the blinking azure glow amongst the soft white bioluminescence of the mushrooms. Unfortunately, it would be some time before Max figured that out.

The hand that grabbed her was covered in thick leather. This may not have been as much of a concern as there was a gap between the sleeve and the end of the glove, but considering she was being held just below her head, it made biting physically impossible. Pissed off, Max hissed long and threateningly and slapped at their wrist with her tail. No touchie!

Her fangs slid out, letting plump droplets of venom slide and splash onto the glove. For a moment, she hoped that her venom was strong enough to eat through the leather, but alas, it merely created a puff of smoke before dissipating. That's okay, if anything she is adaptable!

Regardless of her initial issues with the form Sage had given her, she had belly plates that put bodybuilders to shame! Max flicked her tongue at the man in a rude gesture and whipped her tail at the man's exposed wrist.

SMACKAGE!

Max had about three seconds to feel smug before the man lifted her eye level and glared. He spoke harshly to the other four, who were holding their sides, laughing hysterically. What he said, she had no clue. Huh… Did Sage forget to give her the auto-translate when they reincarnated her? Sloppy Sage, that was just sloppy and a complete disregard for how transmigration and reincarnation worked. Maybe there was a customer service desk for deities somewhere?

The sound of thunder rumbling in the distance encouraged her to turn her attention back to the situation, and Max could feel her reptilian brows almost furrowing as she slapped at the man's wrist two more times in irritation. 'Drop me now, you overgrown troglodyte!' She hissed menacingly.

There was a gasping sound somewhere over to her left. What Max found made her eyes widen in surprise. Three of the man's comrades were holding each other up, tears running down their faces while the fourth was on the ground, face completely red laughing. Max disconcerted, cocked her triangular head to the side. Was it really that funny? Um… Okay… Guess didn't they didn't have any comedians or something.

Fine. Don't say that she didn't give any warnings! Max let out another hiss and made biting motions at the man while she discreetly worked. Not that she needed to be discreet. Who'd have thought a snake could be intelligent? Not Max. She continued her aggressive display while she wiggled her tail between the man's fingers, wrapped it around the pinky, and jerked it away from the rest of the pack.

The man dropped his staff and flung his hand out to the side as he howled in agony. Max had no choice but to hold on to his pinky tightly as he swung her around wildly, doing his best to fling her away. However, titanium abs to the rescue here, and Max held on to the abused digit for dear life. Just jump, it'll be easy, Max mocked herself. No, no, this wasn't easy. If she wasn't careful, then she'd be smashed into the ground.

The man reached down to rip her off his hand, and Max used that moment of inactivity and agilely slithered up between his glove and the sleeve of his robes. Max let out a cackling hiss, causing her captor to let out an undignified "Eeep!" Let's see how you like this!

Forced if somewhat panicked laughter rang in her ears she circled up his arm. From the outside, it looked like a crazy person hitting himself. Harsh words sounded as Max got closer and closer to her goal. Max coiled around his upper bicep, reached out, and purple-nurpled the shit-fire out of her captive. Her victim let out a high pitch squeal and ripped off his robe. Harsh words, and if Max were a betting kinda' of snake. She'd wager he was cursing her out. Try to throw her? Bah! Grab her by her neck? Pick her up WITHOUT HER PERMISSION! Oh, no no no no. I don't think so, buddy! CONSENT IS MANDATORY, YOU BASTARD!