Arad grabbed Merida by the hips, pulling her toward him as he pushed inside. She gasped, feeling something stretch inside of her, standing at the edge of ripping apart but never giving up.
^It hurt, hurt... like someone twisting my forearm. It shouldn't hurt like this.^ Merida could hear her heartbeats throbbing across her body, the veins in her arms and legs pulsing as waves of stinging pain surged across her torso up to her head.
With each thrust, her mind calmed down, but her body kept screaming in pain, ^It's not Arad's doing... something is changing...my hymen didn't break. I can feel it stretching with each thrust.^ With each pulse of pain, Merida slowly noticed that she wasn't only hearing her heartbeats through her veins but a whole other structure spreading across her body from head to toe.
The fibers and roots of the mycelium spread through Merida's body and act as the third skeleton of sorts, reinforcing her muscles and bones. Like steel beams through concrete, they make her stronger, faster, and more durable. Her muscles feel more like tough rubber than flesh.