Gleam is having one heck of a first day of sentience.
Excerpt below:
Kuna grunted and pulled himself out of the shrubbery, then dusted himself off before bending down with a sigh to pick up the dropped materials they’d been gathering.
“Oh, just a-” Gleam started to say when she saw the bird running off, only to immediately feel guilty when she saw the sereva picking things up. “Oh fuckfuckFUCK, I’m sorry Kuna!” She groaned and tugged on her ears, then bent down to help him. “I’m such a fucking mess…”
The sereva shifted his collection into one arm, then laid the free hand on her shoulder gently. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up, it’s alright,” he assured her with a soft smile, then reached up and plucked a few leaves out of his hair. “It’s your first day like this. Be patient with yourself.”
The squirrel rubbed her arm and looked away with a sigh. “I still hate it. I wish I could just… I dunno, get rid of these impulses somehow.”