Surprising evolution

I'm still walking around with my Ballis.
The Ballis are recovering quickly.
But some of them seem to have changed.
They still look similar, but there are some differences now.

Some have a slightly different skin, not completely black anymore, rather a brownish gray.
I touch one. It suddenly has pretty hard and rough skin.
The wounds are completely gone now.
So maybe that's their mechanism of healing?

And some got visible sharp teeth.
These teeth make them look even cuter.
Maybe they only grow them when they need them?

Some also changed in both ways.
I'm already excited what other surprises these creatures hold for me.

I keep walking until I notice a pond in the distance.
I didn't take a bath since I came here.
I must already smell a lot.
So I decide to get clean in there.

The Ballis don't follow me into water.
They just keep waiting outside and move around.
They probably can't swim.

I just get into the pond. I'm already naked after all.
It's pretty cold. It's totally different than on the space station.
The water has always been warm there. But we only had very small basins and showers for cleaning.
So even if it's cold, it's still nice to be able to move around freely and get warm.

As soon as I feel comfortable, I start washing my body properly.

After a while some of the Ballis decide to enter the water.
The Ballis which have hard skin stay outside alltogether.

But even the Ballis who get inside don't look like they can swim. Did they not know, they might drown here?

I keep watching them, but I'm getting scared.
I really have to help them.

So I take them out one by one and put them back on land. But they keep coming back to me and almost drown each time before I put them back on land.
Why won't they get smarter? What could I do about that? I probably have to get out myself to save them. They won't stop following me.

So I leave the water and some of them still follow me.
But a few of them still go back to the water, so I put them out again, a bit further away from water.

But they still don't follow me.
Some of them go back into water. Some of them try.
And some just don't move at all.
Do they want to die? Are they already dead?

Now I realize something. They got a little tail. They look a bit like tadpoles.
And when inspecting them more closely, they even seem to have gills close to their eyes.

Did they just evolve so quickly?
I put them back into water. They are like fish now and will probably die if I don't put them back.

Now I realize something.
They seem to evolve depening on their circumstances.
If they are attacked, they get a rough skin.
If they eat, they get sharper teeth.
And if they spend enough time in water, they become fish. Or rather tadpoles, I guess...

Maybe they evolve in other ways, too?
If so, their abilities might be helpful to me as well.
I might be able to reach new areas or survive in more dangerous areas.

But even these abilities might be helpful already.
Even if only their skins get harder and their teeth get sharper, enough of them could be able to defeat strong enemies by themselves.

I look back into the water once more. They all seem to be healthy and even start to swim around.
I guess, I have to leave them in there now as I go further.

The next days are really fun.
I explore the area with my Ballis, they eat and reproduce.
More and more of them hide in holes, so the number of Ballis who comes with me doesn't grow as fast as the total number of Ballis.

And when I come across lizards and other small creatures, I target them by myself, so the Ballis are able to fight them.
And as I thought, they grow sharper teeth and stronger skin.
Some even grow claws.

Soon I have explored the whole meadow and know where everything is.
There are multiple rock walls full of holes, where the creatures live.
There's more than one pond.
And there are multiple small caves leading elsewhere, but I don't dare to enter them yet.

Once in a while I visit my fish Ballis. They are still doing fine in there, but I still feed them grass sometimes, just to be sure.

Every now and then I go back to the cave where the broken capsule lies and see if there are any signs that they want to save me.
But actually, I've already given up hope of that.
I'll probably never get my old life back.

The only thing I'll really miss are the evenings with my friends.

But to be honest, I really like it here now.
I don't even want to leave anymore.