A body is just MEAT and CHEMICALS

Kahlan’s face went slack with shock—which was Kaukab’s first clue that perhaps his striking transformation wasn’t exactly natural. If switching sexes happened with any regularity, surely Kahlan would have expected this, or prepared for it. At the very least, something about him (her?) should have tipped the ex-healer off. The snowy individual’s pace faltered to a halt, although Kab fixed his joyous grin firmly in place. It amazed him how different Wudubearo looked in his new post-puberty body . . . his luminous honey gaze captured the emerald moss and quiet forest in a new perspective: sharper, higher off the ground. Prettier, somehow. Fluffy banner wagging frantically behind him, Kaukab started to part his lips to greet his mother with this new lovely feminine voice—

And instantly clacked his jaws shut, ears flattening against his smooth cranium at the acid bite of his mother’s words. Sh-she . . . said the eff word. Kahlan hadn’t really told her boys that cursing was wrong—but Kab had also never cursed in front of her. Those expletives had always sounded so violent and mean when he heard others utter them, the syllables harsh with anger or bitterness. He felt his tongue curl as if tasting something unbearably sour. The grin on his face tightened to painful intensity, now tipped at an awkward angle. His darling, wonderful mama had cursed at him . . . and continued speaking toward him in an unsettling monotone devoid of pity. Devoid of ANYTHING, really. No fiery anger, no passionate protectiveness, just . . . nothing. It was as if a stone wall had replaced the wolf he looked up to. “Why would I want to harm anybody in Wudubearo?” Kab murmured, lyrics like syrup when they poured from his lips. His brow wrinkled somewhat in genuine confusion, tail slowing its wag. He hunched inward a bit, instinctively making himself smaller. Less threatening. “It’s only a new body, I just wanted to show it off . . .”

It took a lot to make Kaukab cry. His pain tolerance hovered at impressive levels, and his sunny forgiving nature meant that people had one hell of a time offending him. Yet his own mother, stating that his home was no longer in the pack he’d been born in . . . the boy felt tears prickle in his amber optics. He tried to blink them away, of course, staunchly upholding his cheerfulness, but damn—that stung. Kahlan should have warned him that growing up meant leaving Wudubearo. He wasn’t ready! She still had so much to teach him!

“P-please . . . I just want to stay a little l-longer. Until I get u-u-used to myself.” Oh jeez, here came the waterworks. Kab sniffled, attempting in vain now to keep himself from sobbing. Tears rolled down his pallid cheeks of their own accord. He lifted a delicate paw to wipe them away, ashamed of the tiny hiccups that jumped from his chest. “At least let my say g-goodbye to Kenryk . . . did he change too? Or was it only me?”

Do we have free WILL, or free WON'T?

Kershov x Kahlan | Child of Wudubaro | No love | xathira