Healing in the waters at the foot of its waterfall, the muse replayed the battle in its mind. This idea was unlike any it had ever seen. There wasn’t a whole world on its back like it appeared. Instead, the plants and animals there were in fact a part of it. The muse refused to be caught off guard again.
The next time came and went. More attempts all failed miserably. Time and time again, the muse was slammed to the ground. Different tactics all ended with the same crushing defeat. One day, the muse took a break. It spent the day exploring the peaceful world that would disappear once battle began.
After that, the muse continued its daily attacks. Body battered and mind exhausted, the muse did not quit. Once, it slammed the muse back to its home. The muse crashed near the lake under the waterfall. Nearby, the water crashed into the lake at the base of the great tree. In tears, it pounded the ground with its fists and whimpered. In tears, it dragged its broken body into the water to heal.
Truly exhausted, it pained the muse to move. It did not leave the pond for days. It floated in the thrashing waters, staring blankly into the sky at the indomitable beast with no weak points. There was no hope for victory. The human would be consumed by this idea. The muse would be a failure, forced to wander for the rest of its days.
Thoughts of hopelessness consumed the muse in those days. It was out of ideas. Short of asking for help, there was nothing it could do. The muse had once shown the creature to a pair of muses when their humans decided to share their big ideas. They wanted nothing to do with the titan. Now, the muse understood why.
Living its life, the human went on while the muse rested. The muse listened in and watched what the human was doing. There was little else for the muse to do while it recovered.
One day, a soft golden fog swept through the forest. The human was talking to a colleague about the idea. There was some romantic interest between them.
“Why haven’t you worked on it? I thought you’ve been thinking about it for years?” the woman said.
“I just haven’t felt inspired. It’s so much, it’s hard to pull it all together,” the human said to her.
“Do you know what my grandpa used to tell me when I was little? If inspiration doesn’t find you, you find it. An artist who doesn’t make art and sits around waiting for inspiration isn’t an artist; they’re a waiter. Sit down and get to work, or go get a job waiting tables.”
The words repeated louder as the day went on. Once the human took responsibility, the forest grew. He decided with the intent to work as soon as he got home. At that moment, the looping words stopped. The fog was sucked into the forest. The human wanted to get home as soon as it could. Many plants grew large as a result.
Before, the muse fought alone or waited until the human sat down to work. The human had done little, if anything, to assist in the battle thus far. The muse found what was happening curious, but saw no reason to get up. So, it continued to lie in the pool and watch the human.
In the time it had been flying low, the titan ate many forest fruits. It even ate some from the great tree. Since the forest never attacked, the beast drifted closer than it should. The only part of its body that didn’t shapeshift was its tentacles. They dangled from its body to collect food.
The human finally arrived home to eat. All the while, the muse watched the forest plants watching the titan. The animals roared and hissed at it instead of cowering from the thrashing winds. Sitting at a desk, the human stared at a blank page, then drew some bullet points. As it did, each of the large plants in the forest grew larger and got ready to strike. Each time, a deep rumble ripped through the forest floor. Then, the human began to fill in the spaces next to the bullet points.
All at once, a dozen large trees like venus fly traps lunged for the tentacles. Most of them hit their targets and held a firm grip. The beast screeched and bucked, fighting to free itself. Only two tentacles pulled free, but not enough to get loose. The human’s assault had begun.