When Akeidat awoke, it was 10:30am.
Their heart leapt to their throat. They quickly scrambled off the bed; they were going to be late for school-!
...Then they stopped; looking around.
The bedroom they were in was... quaint. It was about the same size as their room in the present; its walls painted a nice, calming shade of sky-blue. It was the same colour as the bed they'd been sleeping on. There was a wooden drawer to the side, above which, hung a curtained window to the outside. In the corner, stood a simple-looking desk, with built-in shelves filled with a myriad of books and discs. Some of which, Akeidat recognised, and others, they didn't. A sleek-looking computer sat humbly on the desk, along with a tray of various knick-knacks.
And on the wooden floorboards, lay the remains of what used to be a ship-in-a-bottle.
Akeidat sighed, groggily. Right. They weren't at home. They were in their older self's home. They didn't need to go to school, because this body was thirty years old.
Then a thought occurred to them.
Did they have work?
Akeidat reached into the pockets of their black jeans; pulling out their phone- which quickly unlocked at the touch of their thumb. The wallpaper was a generic stock image of an underwater coral reef. Right at the very top, read the date. It was Saturday. Akeidat sighed in relief.
They wondered about all the apps in their phone. At least their older self hadn't lost their touch when it came to keeping things organised; everything was grouped in five neat little boxes on a single page, no swiping required. Something they desperately wished they could do whenever they borrowed Madison's phone and saw the mess inside.
None of the icons looked familiar to them. There were a few names they did recognise, however; and found themselves sorely surprised to know they were still around. A very strong part of them was tempted to play future games first thing in the morning; but the rumble of their stomach and a basic sense of hygiene told them otherwise.
Placing their phone on the drawer, Akeidat slipped through the door. In the living room, seated on the grey bean bag, Fiera was typing away on the computer in her lap, quietly.
This was one of the things Akeidat found most strange about this future. They didn't know Fiera in the present that well, but one didn't need to, to see that the perfect pink prefect almost always had a cheerful smile on her face, chatting away whenever someone so much as existed in her vicinity. Akeidat had found it annoying, at first, until once when they told her to leave them alone, she actually did. She only came back to them the next week, asking if they wanted to partner up for the latest team project again.
Akeidat liked her; and she seemed to like everyone. Now, however, all they knew from her was... not that. They figured it wasn't really a problem; they were much the same way, anyways.
That didn't mean they weren't curious, though. What did she see? Was it a gradual change, or instant? How much had Fiera changed since she was their age?
They cleared their throat. She briefly flicked her eyes to look at them, before flicking them back down.
"Morning," she greeted, curtly.
"Um," Akeidat grimaced, "...Pardon me, but which door is the bathroom?"
Something seemed to stir in her, then. She blinked, rapidly, then looked at them, her eyes a little wider.
"Oh, uh," she pointed, "Last door. In the kitchen."
"Ah," Akeidat nodded. Then a thought occurred to them, "And my toothbrush will be...?"
Fiera blinked again.
"The orange one," she said.
"Thanks," replied Akeidat.
When they entered the bathroom, the ceiling light turned on by itself, like the ones in the restrooms at school did when they detected motion from someone walking in. It was seemless, too. No harsh blinking of dark-then-suddenly-light, it just... faded in.
The walls were just plain white concrete, the entire floor tiled in greyish-blue. It felt like the most sterile room in the apartment; though, they supposed, that was rather the point.
Above the sink, where two plastic cups, one containing two electric toothbrushes- orange, theirs, and green, Fiera's, probably- lay, hung a circle-shaped mirror.
Apprehension gave way to excited curiosity. Akeidat practically slid in front of it- they lost their balance again and grabbed tightly onto the sink's brim before they could fall- examining their older self's body with fascination.
This Akeidat was tall. They could've figured that, by how small everything else suddenly was, but it wasn't just in comparison to the body they were used to. They were, actually, proper tall. Their forehead reached the top of the mirror.
Their snout and the underside of their neck was light-orange; the same colour as the stripes on their arms. When they bent down to see their ears; they were coated in light-orange and dark-brown stripes, as well.
And above all, they looked... them.
It should be no surprise by now that Akeidat liked to imagine themself older, to be in an adult's hooves, for once. They could never really imagine... themself, however.
When they thought about themself, the oldest they could conceptualise was who they were in the Present. Eleven years old, bright, neon orange fur, plain and unmarked. They looked at their parents, and tried to imagine someone with similar sprawling lines and faded colours. All they could imagine was a stranger that didn't feel like them.
Who they saw in the mirror now was still very much a stranger; it felt odd, moving their paw and seeing someone else's move instead. But the feeling was less like going blind on a completely new game, and more like playing new, previously-hidden levels in a game they'd been playing for years. They thought the term was probably an expansion? It was exciting and different, but the core of it was still the same.
They still had the same pink eyes, long snout, jackal-like ears. Their fur was just different colours, now.
They hadn't realised they'd been smiling until it dropped.
This wasn't going to last forever. They were an intruder in someone else's body. Their body; whatever. Assuming they were going to keep their memories, then by definition, this future would cease to be, or at least branch off into something else, because they'd unavoidably make different choices.
Everyone aged differently, sometimes based on environment and circumstance. Akeidat knew that. There was no guarantee that down the line, Present Akeidat would look the same as Older Akeidat.
So they were still looking at a stranger, after all.
They wondered what happened to this world's Akeidat now that they were possessing them. Were they asleep? Would they remember any of what they did? Again, they tried to imagine it; being possessed by seven-year-old Akeidat.
They'd trust them, probably. But they'd be worried about their ability to take care of themself.
The shower was warm and familiar, and felt exactly like it did at home. They clung to that familiarity, a raft in the sea of newness, with all they had. Water always fell the same, and felt the same, if you knew what temperature you wanted. Their fur was thick and massive and so much heavier to sift through, and-
When they were done, they'd noticed the massive clumps of it on the floor, silently falling down the drain.
Odd. They were no stranger to fur falling into the drain, but that usually happened in little strands. Not clumps so large the floor looked stained by little orange puddles.
...Whatever. It was probably just an adults' thing. Or an old person thing; thirty was old, right? They didn't feel sick to the point of fever, so it was fine.
Drying themself up and brushing their teeth later, Akeidat slinked away.
Back in their room, the lights remained off. Sunlight seeped in through the window. Akeidat wondered if this was just how lights worked in the future; automatically turning on and off depending on how much sunlight there already was. The bathroom was dark because it didn't have any windows. It was a clever trick. Did all houses in 2042 have these lights?
They wondered if the lights were controllable, or if lightswitches had gone extinct. They looked around the room, scanning the walls until they found a- some sort of screen? Thing? Hanging on the wall next to the desk with the computer and shelves.
They studied it, curiously. None of it was labelled with words, typical. Just little icons they could only hope to guess about.
They tapped an icon that looked like the sun. The light turned on, but only shone dimly. They tapped the moon, and the light was off. Quickly understanding, Akeidat pressed a finger on the sun and held until the room was swathed in bright light.
Okay, too bright. They pressed the moon until it was more manageable.
There were two more icons as well. A gear, and a paintbrush. They tapped the gear.
LIGHT SETTINGS
DAY/NIGHT MODE: ON
MOTION SENSOR: ON
BLUE LIGHT FILTER: OFF
SCHEDULED DOWNTIME: [21:30 PM - 07:30 AM]
CONNECTED LIGHTS: 1 LISTED
< BACK
Well, that answered some questions. Back to the main menu, Akeidat tapped the paintbrush. A colour wheel, currently set on white, greeted them. They shifted the orb in the middle slowly towards each colour, watching with awe as the room was bathed in the different hues, until they finally settled back on white.
This was so cool. Imagine the immersive scenarios they could craft up with this. They could turn the lights orange and pretend they were living in a volcano. They could turn it green for a forest. The possibilities were endless.
Not willing to fully distract themself, just yet, Akeidat stepped back, now opening their drawer. The selection of clothing that greeted them was... not great.
More shirts and pants in varying shades of grey and black, each one looking duller than the next. A fancy-looking frilly dress that was covered in so much dust it made Akeidat sneeze. An elaborate Halloween pirate costume that Akeidat desperately wanted to try out but almost certainly wouldn't have the faintest idea how to put it on, a singular black hoodie, and a stack of graphic tees tucked neatly in the corner.
They sifted through the stack of shirts, eventually choosing an old, dusty blue shirt with a retro-and-dated-even-in-their-present depiction of a joystick on it. It wasn't great, but it was better than just plain, boring grey.
Satisfied with their attire, Akeidat returned to the living room. Their roommate choked on her coffee. They giggled lightly, as she coughed.
"What is with that ridiculous outfit?!" she hissed dramatically.
They arched an eyebrow, "What's wrong with my outfit??" Then they pointed at two baskets of clothes sitting on the kitchen floor, "Is this where we put our laundry? Where's the washing machine?"
"Red for dirty and green for clean. We go out and use the building's public launderette," she managed, hoarsely, "What are you doing?"
"The long pants made me feel itchy, and I wanted a different shirt," was Akeidat's answer. They raised an eyebrow at her, "...Is there a problem?"
"You look silly," She remarked, furrowing her snout, "Don't you want to hide your fur? The stripes are unsightly."
"No, the stripes look cool, I'm like a reverse Tasmanian Tiger," Akeidat looked down at their legs, "I want to keep looking at them."
"Mmngh," Fiera mumbled, "To each their own."
The familiar flame of indignation and offence spread across Akeidat's form, "I like my appearance, so do shut your mouth."
Fiera had no comment but a narrowing of her eyes. Akeidat grinned, smugly. It'd been a while since they managed to win an argument.
"So," they said, lying stomach-down across the other bean bag, and then wincing as an unrecognised pain shot up through their back. They tried to ignore it, in favour of wagging their long tail, "What's for breakfast?"
Fiera blinked slowly at them. Then, with a jolt, "Ah. We... have cereal," Akeidat watched as she stood up, "Let me just-"
"What kind of cereal?" They called out, suspiciously, as she proceeded to the kitchen. While Fiera searched through the fridge, Akeidat did the same for the television's remote.
There was the rustling of cardboard. She called back, "Corn flakes!"
Ooh. That was more than acceptable; corn flakes were their favourite. Wait, corn flakes still existed in the year 2042?
When they remarked as such, Fiera poked her head up from the fridge, and- she was finally smiling! It was small, tiny, and they'd almost missed it, but the edges of her lips were curling upward. Was that amusement? Or was she making fun of them? "Corn flakes have been around for two hundred years."
Comfort and solidarity bloomed in their chest. Finally, that was the study-partner they knew. The fellow nerd who exchanged fun facts with them, and didn't sound mean doing it.
"Do you... want any milk?" Fiera asked.
Akeidat nodded, "Yes, please."
A minute later, and they were sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor, eating corn flakes out of a bowl on the square table. Fiera deigned to just sit on the bean bag, locating the remote for Akeidat.
All the buttons looked different. There was a miniature keyboard fitted in. All the graphics on the screen when they finally figured out the controls were unfamiliar, as well. They eventually settled on a channel playing an ocean documentary they hadn't seen before, listening to the biologists talk about a species recently discovered in 2038 with rapt attention.
The rest of the day went by in a similar fashion; quiet and comfortable, but not unbearably so. Akeidat explored the little apartment while Fiera went about her weekend routine- which generally meant spending a lot of time in her room- the one place in the house Akeidat hadn't seen, yet- occasionally poking her head out to check in on them, or let them know the food she'd ordered yesterday was still on the counter, ready to eat.
When Akeidat got bored of the television, they retrieved their phone from their room. Intimidated by the unfamiliar icons and the prospect of having to deal with more unfamiliar controls, Akeidat stuck to the games they did recognise.
They were halfway into another round of Monorail Marauders when they once again spotted Fiera out of the corner of their eye. Before she could retreat, they asked, "What is my future self like?"
Fiera stilled.
"I... don't actually know you that well," she admitted, to their utter bafflement. How could you not know someone well, if you lived with them?
“What?” They said, incredulously.
“We don’t… talk, very much,” she replied. She raised a paw to her chin as though to rub it in thought, then midway settled into crossing her arms, instead, “We're not enemies, I'd hope, but we don’t normally speak to each other beyond what’s necessary that often.”
“What’s… necessary?”
She paused, “Um. Things like… food. Bills. Groceries. Chores. Otherwise, we keep to our rooms."
They tilted their head, mildly alarmed as they questioned, “What’s my job?”
She paused.
“I… don’t know,” she said, apologetically. Her tail, fluffy and small, wagged in thought.
“What do you mean you don't know?!” They questioned next, in disbelief.
Her already-low voice lowered to a growl, “I mean I don't know.”
“We live together!” Akeidat's tail swayed from side to side in agitation- heavier and longer than they were used to, they noted- "How can you not know anything about someone you literally see every day?!"
A burst of anxiety sprang up within them, like a fountain of acid, rattling away at their thoughts. What if they had an actual job with a schedule and a boss, and every second they spent here, at home, was another point in favour of getting them fired? Or, at the very least, scolded. Punished. Had they just ruined their own life? Were they going to be abandoned, forever?
Being late was unacceptable. Their perfect attendance record in school was one of their greatest points of pride. Something that set them apart from all the hooligans who weren't taking their futures seriously. But they'd only get themself lost, wouldn't they? They didn't know where the other them worked, if they did work elsewhere.
"It just never came up!" Fiera snarled, her voice raised. Akeidat's jaw snapped shut. They heard her take in a small breath, before continuing, "In any case, whatever it is you do, you make enough to contribute to rent, so... I never thought to question it."
"Well-," Akeidat let out a loud growl at the ceiling, before they looked her up and down. They were reminded of the dreadfully grey formal-looking attire she'd been wearing yesterday- probably her work clothes, "What's your job, then?"
"I'm a secretary." was all she supplied. Wordlessly, she slunk back to her room. Akeidat was baffled. Was it something they said? Did she dislike them? Was she going to throw them out?
She couldn't, could she? She wasn't their parents. Their body was an adult that apparently paid bills or taxes or however that worked- what was the difference between bills, taxes, and rent, anyway...? They didn't know.
Dinner was a quiet affair. Neither of them spoke. When Akeidat crashed into bed, later that night, they'd decided. They wanted to explore town tomorrow.