SOLVED: Short (?) fantasy has humans fleeing home for wilderness and growing scales

[Tamie]

Yeah, that was an incredibly vague heading.

Anyway, the only real detail I remember for certain was that circumstances had forced this group of humans to flee their entirely human home and live out in the wilderness for a while, and some of them began to change.
The specific changes I remember are some of them growing scales, becoming lizard-like. More aesthetic changes than anything else, I don't think personalities changed any, but many of the people in this community believed that those who were changing had caught some illness and they were divided on whether to continue their journey or to risk returning home to get away from the source of this "illness."

I also remember one of the people who chose to remain in the wilderness taking charge of the group and they began to build their homes in among the trees (I'm thinking high in the trees with connected bridges to keep them off of the ground), but I don't remember if the story got much farther than that.

And finally... I think this was a short story in an anthology somewhere. My vague memory of it has the feel of an origin story.
I'm slowly searching through the anthologies on my e-reader, and I'll try to remember to update if I find something, but so far no dice.

[Tamie]

I keep thinking this was something I'd read digitally (thus the so-far-unsuccessful attempt to find it by searching for key terms within my ebook collection), but it recently occurred to me that it might have been a Sword and Sorceress entry.

If it was, that means I'd only read it in print, but it also means I could potentially narrow down the timeframe just a titch... to no later than 2007 (S&S 22 was the last one I'd read before I started downsizing my print books due to space constraints).

(edit due to one of the replies)
Okay, no more probably no more bumps from me except the monthly and replying to people. I simply don't remember enough detail for anything else.

[SamSpayedPI]

Why not bump it every month or two, so fresh eyes can see it?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Is this for adults?

[Tamie]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Is this for adults?"

No idea. What I can remember of the individual story didn't have anything that I would consider age-inappropriate for, say, teenagers, but it rather depends on what anthology (if I'm even remembering that part correctly) it was in and what that would've been marketed to.

But if you consider how some physical bookstores are laid out, where you have children's books, YA books, and assorted genres, I expect it would've been shelved with the fantasy genre, not with either of the two age-dependent categories.

[Amanda]

Sounds somewhat like Ray Bradbury's short story "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed." It's in many anthologies and compilations.

[Tamie]

Amanda wrote: "Sounds somewhat like Ray Bradbury's short story "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed." It's in many anthologies and compilations."
Hmmm... just found a copy and I don't think it's that. I maintain the belief that the one I'm remembering was fantasy.
Cool story, though.

[Sue]

Your details about growing scales and homes in the trees reminded me of the Rain Wild people in Robin Hobb’s Elderling books. However I couldn’t remember anything about the people going to live there in the books. There is also an anthology containing some Elderling stories. I have read it but don’t remember any specific details. I think one of the stories tells of the origins of the Rain Wilds, so it could possibly be the story you are looking for.

Inheritance by Robin Hobb.

[Tamie]

Sue wrote: "Your details about growing scales and homes in the trees reminded me of the Rain Wild people in Robin Hobb’s Elderling books. However I couldn’t remember anything about the people going to live the..."

Hmmm... it doesn't sound familiar and I only remember one book I'd ever read by Hobb (Assassin's Apprentice, what else?) but it is possible, especially if she'd ever published her shorts in any multi-author anthologies.
Now the trick is getting my hands on a copy for the express purpose of seeing if it's the right one. It sounds like an interesting series, at any rate.

[Tamie]

Yes! Thank you, Sue! :D

The story I'd been trying to remember was Homecoming by Robin Hobb, published in both Inheritance (which I have never read) and Legends II (which I have previously read but only in print).