The King with Six Friends

Agus

"So, you can turn into an axe any time you want?" Zar asked, pushing aside a low branch.

"'bout right," replied Edge, stepping around a large rock, "But I prefer not to if I can."

"But, when you were stuck in that tree," Zar continued, "why didn't you turn into a man to free yourself?"

"Oh, I thought about that. But then I would still have my nose in a tree." Edge animated with his hands. "How painful do you think it would be to wrench your own nose out of a tree trunk? It'd break right off!"

"Alright, seems reasonable enough." 

Edge seemed to be a fairly decent person. He worked with a logging crew, but had gone off on his own to chop down trees. The axe he normally used broke at the handle, rendering it useless. Luckily, he knew how to chop lumber with his Morph ability. He'd thrown himself into a tree, usually being able to wiggle loose, but had gotten stuck. The loggers had forgotten about him and left him behind.

Suddenly, a loud trumpeting shook the forest. Edge and Zar froze. Leaves fell from the canopy as the sound faded.

"What was that?" asked Edge.

"That sounds like an elephant," said Zar with hesitation. What would an elephant be doing here? They followed the path where the sound had come from.

A massive gray elephant trumpeted and stomped around. The rocks around it jumped and tumbled over the ground. The beast was backed up against a cliff wall. It trumpeted again, making their ears ring. Zar spotted a mouse scampering around its legs, dodging the thundering feet.

From his pack, Zar retrieved a few pine nuts and threw them out from the elephant to lead away the mouse. The mouse, seeing the food, ran to it and snatched it up. It scampered away into some bushes.

The elephant, seeing the mouse's flight, calmed immediately. It slumped against the cliff, as a person might lean against a wall.

With a POP, the elephant was a man dressed in gray with large, awkward ears. His red face beaded with sweat as he panted. Zar and Edge cautiously approached him.

The man cried out when he saw them, "Ah! Oh no, please don't hurt me!"

"You're a Morph too?" asked Edge.

"Er, no. Wait, too?" The man glanced around, embarrassed. "You saw that?"

"If you could become a man," asked Zar, "Why didn't you and then let the mouse go?"

The man chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I have a fear of mice. They are the most disgusting creatures I've ever seen. And cockroaches. And spiders. And small dogs." He shook his head. "I'm still terrified whether I'm an elephant or not."

"Well then," said Zar, sizing up the man, "You're welcome to join us. We're traveling southward."

The man's eyes brightened. "Oh! I am too! My name is Agus, by the way."

It took both Zar and Edge to heave him onto his feet. The man named Agus was from a neighboring kingdom to the east and had left home to find his fortune.