I stretched my Andalite arms and swished my tail, practising by seeing just how close I could swing the blade to various objects without cutting anything. I arched my back, too, enjoying the flexibility of Jethsa's upper spine and the easy power in the lower spine. I ran Andalite fingers through my Andalite fur to test its softness: The course fur on the lower body resembled the fur of a shaggy dog, but the much finer fur on the upper body and far half of the tail was more like a cat's fur, gradually getting finer and finer in places like the face and hands like a rabbit or kitten's fur, and finest still on the eye-stalks, so far as I could tell by getting one stalk-eye to look at the other. I didn't dare reach up and touch them while in the company of others, as I already knew they were VERY sensitive to pain and could guess that extended to *ahem* 'other' sensations. Still, by sight it seemed like the fur on them would probably feel like mouse or hamster fur.
While I contempleted imaginary texture, with each stalk-eye looking at the opposite stalk, I was snapped alert by the return of the lady-Andalite herself and the Chee 'goons' when Torrence summoned them. I snapped to attention immediately, to the best of my know-how (and possibly assistance from Andalite memory, though I couldn't be sure which was which), but Jethsa may have noticed my crossed stalk-eyes right as I was un-crossing them...
I figured I'd better say something to her before she had chance to reflect on what I 'might' have been thinking about:
<<Mistress Jethsa,>> I started privately, not yet having an answer from her as to whether it should be 'Prince' or 'Princess', <<Before you get upset at my impertinence remaining in this form, I feel I should justify myself to some degree: In human form, my legs do not work. I could have switched morph, but that'd waste energy and I wouldn't be any better off. Especially if I'd need to switch morph again to go on the rescue-mission... Unless,...>> I switched to open-thoughtspeak;
<Do you Chee-guys happen to have a spare wheelchair hanging around?> I asked them, completely unaware of what the others had been discussing and possibly interrupting someone else speaking to them.
After a few seconds I stepped back and bowed my head in apology.
<Forgive me, I did not mean to interrupt.>
After I spoke, I stayed still. Waiting for a cue that might not come: A response to anything I'd said. If I got such a cue, I could then raise my head back up and stand at attention again to await orders from my Prince... Or to demorph, if a wheelchair materialized.
However long it took to get such a cue, I would be stood still and silent in that position.
