"There are portals to other planes on The Beastlands, but I'm afraid you may not easily find your way back to the prime sphere that you originate from. Have people in your home perfected wildspace travel?"

"Seeing as I have never heard of that... No, unfortunately. Is it something that can be learned?"

"None here has ever built one of the ships that can do so. The Beastlands do not typically welcome petitioners who value technological growth. Our people have simpler pleasures. Perhaps you will find something in your explorations, though."

She mutters something about not having a tiny forge(?) under her breath.

"Very well. Thank you for explaining. I suppose I shall simply make the best of it. Would people appreciate music?"

"I believe they may. Brothers, sisters! Gather 'round!"

And they begin to gather around the campfire, including some who had been somewhat further from camp or in their tents.

Alright then! She takes her flute back out, stands in front of the fire, looks around and plays-

-she is not the best bard in a major city, but she could possibly be the best one in a small town. And she's somehow humming even at the same time she is playing the flute. The tune is aimless and slow and makes her think of the vastness of time and space.

The bears listen. While most remain in their bear forms, some of them take on a more humanoid form and begin to dance. One of them joins her by vocalizing; it's not quite musical, but then the sound of bugs and birds pick up as they gather, too.

How is he doing that.

Well, she can imagine little robot speakers or other tricks like that but this really doesn't seem like that kind of place. She can play music for hours without getting bored in this brain. So she will. She speeds up some, smiling, and will dance herself too. Her clothes will start to turn a combination of brown, orange, and red to match the aesthetic of the campfire.

If they're still talking to each other her cortical stack probably knows enough to at least make some tentative guesses by now.

They continue to talk to each other! Most of it seems to be about how the fishing was that day, the changing ecosystem of the mountain, the state of their berry stores, and interpersonal gossip.

After a long while of playing music she'll- Eat something if it proves to be on offer, then wander off a bit and breathe deeply while she - changes - 

Curiously, it's not magical at all, if anyone can tell that.

She could do a fully animal form with more time and calories and discomfort, but she's not used to moving like that, and she has a big library of well-balanced humanoid forms already, so it's fine.

"Yeah! That's better," she says to nobody in particular. "Feelin' ready to kick ass if I have to."

Father Bear observes her curiously when she rejoins them.

"You transformed yourself! Well done. Very few in The Beastlands can do so, you will provide much-needed novelty to their lives. What kind of form is this?"

"It's awesome, right? Most people back home have to go to a clinic to get their shape changed, doing it yourself takes some primo mods. I call this one 'dragon girl'. 'Course, it's not actually very dragony, maybe even a little demon-y. I could be a velociraptor or pterodactyloid that's more dragony than this but changing too far away from the basic human body plan is a huge pain. Oh, and it does stuff to my brain too, 'cause it gets boring being the same person all the time."

Her mannerisms and posture are completely different now. Brash and confident and careless as opposed to poised and deliberately elegant. The clothes are some sort of semi-revealing leather outfit now.

"I admit that I am most content in this form, although I can take on others. My brain does not change, which may be boring, but I prefer a simple life. You will enjoy The Beastlands, for a time, though we may all come to bore you after a decade or so."

"Yeah that's the worry, after a decade or two I'll still be stuck here and bored. Or dead with noone who knows how to get me back around. D'you know how that guy got the bugs to sing with him?" She points with her thumb.

"Oh, she simply requested that they join in. I believe in life, she had the ability to summon creatures to do her bidding, but of course now everything she summons can refuse. If you seek a way home, you may wish to speak to one of the local powers. I do not have the might to send you home, without knowing a great deal more about where you came from. Perhaps you will find them in your explorations."

"I could ramble on about it if it'd help. But, shrug." (She doesn't actually shrug. She just says 'shrug'.) "Other powers, eh? Sounds like a quest to me. Would you mind translating some simple phrases in whatever they're speaking? My stack's learning pretty quick but it could use the help."

"I- don't believe that I can translate. I simply speak the languages that I must speak to communicate with others. You may benefit from speaking with one of them in my presence, as both of you will understand me and I will understand you both, but neither of you would understand one another."

"You could say 'he said such-and-such', is that the idea?"

"Yes, I think that would serve. You can ask questions, and I can repeat the answers in your language."

"Anybody want to talk to me? Father Bear has offered to help a bit!" She announces loudly.

(It's harder than it maybe should be to keep track of people in very nonhuman forms, she can't remember any of them in particular except for the bug-singing one.)

One of the other bears will approach, though she may not recognize him as the one who initially greeted her.

He says something to Father Bear.

"Our guest has requested assistance with learning the most useful local language. I assume you can speak comfortably in Sylvan?"

The bear says something else, in what seems to be a different language.

"He has agreed to assist us. Ask your questions, and I shall repeat his answers."