The pile of leaves and mushrooms and liquid light and gentle rustles nearby them would like to object to suddenly having a body and distinct consciousness. What the frick frack. This is alarming!!!

It discovers that it can rustle and trill and does so, flailing into physical existence with a rather upset cry.

After some false starts wherein attempting to move causes them to ooze across the ground, they coalesce more fully into a form properly able to take their weight, standing up on shaky legs, and then a thing makes noise out of their range of view and they yelp and fall over in their scramble to get away and turn around at the same time. What is it and why is it behind them. 

The being seems just as confused about this as they are! It ripples when Kophis becomes more coalesced, feathers mixing in with the leaves and mushrooms - orange and blue, of course.

They scramble upright and turn to face the thing, feathers bristling. The spirit, or whatever they are now--a self-inquiry turns up the name Kophis, a poor translation of storm-song but not, strictly speaking, terrible, unlike everything else about this situation--is wary but curious about whatever this thing is. 

They reach out a long foreleg to poke one of the brightly-colored feathers. 

Alarmed trill! The tendril containing the feathers jerks back.

Kophis hisses and skitters back, startled by the noise, and stays at a safe distance this time, crouching down slightly and peering at the thing intently.

Tendril slowly creeps back forward, searchingly.

Kophis eyes it, feathers fluffing up as it gets closer, but makes no move to reach out or back away. 

Moving is a bit hard, and takes a while to figure out, but the mass stops short of them, a few tendrils rising haltingly into the air, weaving back and forth and up and down, and the being makes a curious noise.

Kophis chirps back, reaches out again--not quite a grab, more like a cat lazily swiping at a leaf, half-mimicking the mesmerizing sway of its tendrils. 

Small jerk away, then the being seems to get the point of the swipe and starts waving back and forth tantalizingly.

Kophis bats excitedly at the waving tendrils, their tail flicking behind them. They rise up on their back legs, all the better to use both forelegs-- 

--and fall over, de-coalescing slightly and fuzzing around the edges. Mistakes were made. 

The being ripples a bit and flows around Kophis, shifting a bit agitatedly.

Kophis's outline re-sharpens, a little different this time, greyish patterning curling itself across their ivory fur. They squawk in displeasure and shake themself vigorously, dislodging bits of twig and leaf from their feathers. 

Above, the sky darkens, the grey clouds in the distance finally sweeping their way across the sun. 

Curious noise. The being gloops back into itself more.

Kophis steps cautiously toward the being, this time keeping their legs under their body, and stops a few feet away, stretching their neck out to examine it more closely. 
...And stretching, and stretching. They haven't learned that necks have a fixed maximum length yet, and they are putting their face very close. 

Stretch back! And BOOP. Right on the nose.

The being is dry, but springy - like a mushroom or moss - rather than crunchy like the leaves it resembles.

Kophis yoinks their head back, alarmed, then reaches out again, this time with a foretalon, to try and tentatively pat at the thing.

Thing bats back!

Having gained the ability to balance on three legs, Kophis now puts this to good use by smacking the thing, tail flicking about in excitement. 

High overhead, the first raindrops fall. 

Rain is alarming! The thing sways out of reach of any smacks, shivering under the rain drops.

Kophis stops abruptly, their head snapping up, and they stare at the clouds overhead. A rumble of thunder sounds, and they croon mournfully along with it, third eyelid blinking raindrops away. 

Curious trill, then a low mimic of the crooning.

Kophis glances back at the thing, surprised. Something isn't quite right about the sound--they have an inkling there should be more and different voices--but it's something familiar, at least. They cry out again. 

As if in reply, the rain pours down, drenching everything under the sky. 

Alarmed shriek!

Caught off guard, Kophis shakes themself, sluicing water off in all directions, and shivers, stepping closer to the thing and glancing around for shelter. 

It goops in on itself, to present less surface area to the rain, making itself a bit taller as it does so.

They're in a clearing, but there are trees nearby, and Kophis hastens toward the trunk of one on instinct, tucking themself up close to it miserably. 

It follows Kophis torward the trees, trying to keep most of its surface under the canopy.

It makes a curious noise.