”She’s gone”

Just two words and my world is over. I bite back my tears as I wait on the line. They hadn’t even given me a chance. A clot had worked its way to her brain from the cancer and it was over. I’d been given a choice, and I’d made the grave for my beloved wife. Whatever was going on I knew was bigger than the both of us, something I couldn’t let go unanswered. I hang up the phone with trembling hands, too upset to muster anything more than choked sobs.

I’d reported the bastard to command as subtly as possible, yet even then I knew there was a strong probability they’d know. That didn’t matter. Semper Fi. Endure. This too shall pass. I’d given up my everything because I knew what a man like him would do and likely had done to countless others. I wouldn’t be the bomb to go off on the nation I loved, I wouldn’t play the part of any side that would commit such crimes. I draw my service weapon, an elegantly crafted rifle, built for singular purpose.

One of my kids had fallen into a coma, and should they ever awake would have brain damage for the rest of their life. My daughter I feared would have the same fate soon enough. In all our training we’d been prepared for the loss of our fellowman. In a nation so insulated from the vast majority of our own conflicts I had taken our safety for granted. She hadn’t even been awake to say goodbye. Her last words, telling me to be safe. Her life should never have been in danger. I’d dedicated my life towards protecting hers and so many others.

A teardrop falls on the barrel, trickling down its shaft like the blood I’d wish had been my own. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you soon. There is just one demon that needs a personal escort to hell first.”

I’d reached the town within a day, taking the quickest flight available to this small town. I head down the street, observing an old local pub. I hadn’t had a drink alone since we’d gotten married, a habit I had leaned on too much in my younger years. I hold my wedding ring as I deliberately speed past it. My phone rings with a dull tone and I answer.

“Tell me you have a lead.” I ask. They had promised every resource possible would be searching for this domestic terrorist when I reported the incident. My hand clutching my phone perhaps a little too tightly.

“We tracked the car leaving the hospital, it was heading towards Cali. They must have switched cars with someone along the way as it disappeared off the highway and hasn’t come back. We have officers and choppers swarming the area as we speak.”

“So, with all respect, you have jack shit.” I growl into the device, wishing I was there in person to demand a better answer. I’m certain such an outbreak would’ve earned me more than a simple demerit, but he doesn’t seem phased.

“We’ve got a squad ready, but you are not in any condition to join in this mission. You’re emotionally compromised and shouldn’t be alone. You’ll be a danger to yourself and those around you. You know this.”

“And you know that there isn’t a chance in hell that I’m going to let this son of a bitch get away with killing MY WIFE!” I scream into the receiver. Several moments of silence pass then I promptly hang up on them, stuffing it back into my pocket as I stride towards the hotel I had reserved for the night. Protocol be damned I can’t just sit here.

Passing down the sidewalk I see a gal leaning against the side of a building. She’s draped in a rather revealing dress that seems a bit out of place for this town and something you’d see at a formal dance. “You look like someone that could use some company.” They say giving me a pitying glance, their tone quiet and oddly sympathetic.

“I’m really really not in the mood, harlot.” I hiss striding past them only to hear the clacking of their shoes as they follow behind me. All the way down the street they follow but I don’t slow or so much as give them a glance.

“I know how to find him.”

The words stop me in my tracks as I turn to face the gal that had been stalking me only to see that she had somehow changed clothes to a T-shirt and skirt at some moment along the way, the dress I see stuffed into her handbag. I promptly pull out my pistol and level it in their direction.

“Who the hell are you?” I growl staring down at the gal that doesn’t seem the slightest bit fazed at having a gun pulled on her. She just leans against the wall without a care.

“The who wouldn’t mean anything to you, and the what you haven’t earned.” They state simply. “The bigger question is do you want what happened to your family to happen to others?” She looks up at me, straight faced and without an inkling of emotion for me to fathom what she is thinking.

“You some sort of witch too?” I ask.

“A witch? By Faust you people lack imagination. By your definitions perhaps it might be accurate. However you haven’t answered my question. Do you want to stop others from meeting the same fate as your own family?”

I look at her, searching for any hint of what could possibly be going on in her head. Looking up and down the street the place is deserted, not a soul in sight, not even from the bar. “Of course I damn well do, but if you think for one moment that I trust some sort of shady lady who drops out of thin air with information no one else should know you’re dead wrong.” I keep my pistol aimed in her general direction, but not as directly as before.

“I’m not here for some ill conceived revenge. I’m here because like you, I’m a soldier. In the world I come from creatures like me work to keep magic from exposing and hurting other species. You help me do my job to make sure no other humans get the chance to abuse that and I’ll show you how to find that murdering psychopath. It’s a win win. My motivations are aligned with your own.” She looks away, a tear trailing down her face as she struggles to keep her expression firm. “Besides, you’re not the only soldier that has lost everything in the service of their country. I lost my husband and my son soon after. Your commanders can’t even begin to understand what that means, but I do.”

She eyes my pistol with a frightening degree of certainty, as if she knew what my plans were with it. “What exactly do you want from me?” I ask with a bit of uncertainty. This was suspicious as hell, but it's not like I had any other leads, any other sources to turn to.

”You seek to end the life of one who used magic to wrong you, but my goal is much grander. I want to take our magic back where it belongs, where it can’t hurt anymore innocents. We are the caretakers of such beasts after all before they escaped... They may act friendly and nice, but deep down they are just waiting for whatever place they invaded to succumb to the disease they release.” She turns to look at me. “I won’t make you do anything, I’ll help you eliminate your target...after that it’ll be up to you.”

Seems an innocent enough offer, something that doesn’t have strings attached that I could see. Hell, I could even get some valuable information to my superiors that they would desperately need if this so-called infestation got worse. “I’ve nothing to lose with trying, but we follow my orders. We have laws here, and my folks don’t take kindly to strangers flaunting our rules.”

“Then it's a good thing I have you here to help me get around.” She smiles before gesturing down the road while I follow. Perhaps I could still be of some use to this world after all.

It started with a bang. We all heard it, it was quite impossible not to. The echo of its impact reverberating throughout the school with the basey sound of splintering rock. For a moment our class was shell-shocked. Everyone frozen for a fraction of a moment before our teacher and a few students ran to barricade the door.

For me, however, I feared it could be something much worse. I grab my backpack and sprint to the door being close enough to make it out before they slammed it behind me, only waiting a moment to scream at me to get back inside. I open my bag to see the little changeling shivering inside by a few of my books. Their eyes wide and fearful as they look up at me.

“The hell is going on?” They hiss, their voice occasionally taking on a two tone sound. For me I take out my case from one of the other pockets and pull out my blade, though much too small for my human form.

“I don’t know. Wish I could shift as much as Arty, but we’re a long way from nightfall.” The changeling wordlessly moves out of the back and follows behind me as I inch down the stairwell. I turn to tell them to hide, but the words die in my mouth. They walk behind me with hesitant courage, but they are following behind, a small flicker of determination in their eyes.

We pause for just a moment as some kids sprint past us down the hall, not giving us a second glance as they hurry outside. “There aren’t anymore noises.” I whisper as we make it down the hallway, rubbing over my arms to make my runes ever so faintly glow. My ears peeled for the popping of gunfire, but hear nothing. Instead I hear a scream and someone yelling for an ambulance.

“Get in.” I command, thinking that maybe the threat has passed. The changeling quickly hops inside again as I rush out the front doors and see a small cluster of students and two teachers. Against the wall of the school I see my friend Ethan against the side of the building next to the hole in the wall, their head sagging to one side and blood trickling down their face. What is even more disturbing is the knife in his hand, and it's covered in dark blood but they don’t appear to have any other wounds.

I hear sirens coming in the distance as the ambulances make their way down the road. One of the teachers is tending to him and says that he’ll be alright. They try to pull the knife from his hand but it's locked tight in a death grip and they quickly give up on it. Moving closer I realize that there is someone else further down the lawn, one teacher having ripped their shirt to shreds to make bandages and using their belt to tighten it around the individual.

I struggle to recognize who it is until we get closer, blood obscuring much of what I recognized as familiar, but then I glimpse their face and the world drops out from below me. I fall to my knees and suppress a scream by clasping a hand over my face. I can’t see the wounds under the bandages but I don’t need to too know it doesn’t look good. I feel my pack rustle behind me, the changeling likely wanting to get a closer look, but I can’t be bothered by that now. I try to move closer but a firm shout from the teacher keeps me back and the EMTs arrive on the scene to take him in.

I’m torn watching them, knowing they wouldn’t let me inside to go with them. Instead I spot Arty’s pack a bit further down the lawn, moving quickly to grab it remembering that he had left a car here the previous night. I search through it pulling out the keys and moving to the parking lot. Forget school, I’m not leaving his side. I open the door, toss my backpack perhaps a little too roughly into the passenger seat after hearing it squeak and take off down the road after the ambulance.

We wait outside the OR for what seems like hours. The attendants telling me that my mother was inside. My friend Ethan is out a lot quicker, having a hairline fracture. His door is kept locked and he’s shackled to the bed on suspicion that he may have been the instigator, but I know it can’t be true. He’d been framed obviously.

I sit quietly in their room while I wait for news on Arty, a change in their beeping alerting me that they were starting to wake. I start to get up to tell one of the nurses when his voice stops me.

“Is it dead?” He asks, his voice so far from his own that it sends a shiver down my spine not to mention the soft glow around his eyes. I turn on him instantly. My rage surging out of control at the conflicting thoughts that he would have wanted this. He couldn’t have! I grab the changeling out of my bags, squeezing them perhaps a bit too tightly.

“What the hell did you do to my friend?” I hiss, every word imbibed with venom at the ling that just looks at me with fear.

“I didn’t do anything! Th-they must’ve hypnotized hi--HOLY SHIT STOP HIM!” Their eyes widening in horror as they look behind me as my eyes follow. He’d ripped out his IV drip and was slowly and methodically stabbing himself in the arm, though his aim was rather poor.

“Ethan stop it!” I pounce on him, though he’s stronger than I am his movements are incredibly primitive and limited by the cuff on his other side making it easier to stop him by simply obstructing it with a tray. After only a few moments his grip seems to weaken before collapsing entirely, my chest feeling tight from those few moments of exertion. Then I very nearly lose it again when I see the ling--no Jake biting into their leg before releasing and stepping back, eyeing me fearfully, then they scamper behind the bed as the door starts to open.

“The hell is goi--” The nurse stops, then quickly presses the call button. “We need security in here now!” I grab my backpack again and scoop them up from the other side out of the view of the nurse, issue or not the last thing I want is security to have them.

Of course they won’t let me just leave. I’m forced to recount what I had witnessed, evidently the twisted assassin had made contingencies. I’m going to make those things pay for what they’ve done to my friends, and to think I had invited them to the meeting after school. Unbidden thoughts come into my mind, tormenting me with the possibilities. Did Arty notice something wrong? Did my trust in them put Arty in this situation? Was I responsible? Watching them take out Ethan, fully restrained on a stretcher is an agony I can’t bear to watch. They were going to move him to a mental hospital and put him on suicide watch.

I so badly want to tell them that it wasn’t his fault. That he had been hypnotized, tricked, forced into doing things he never in a million years would have done. Yet doing so would reveal my presence and that of my family putting us all in more danger. The thought makes me realize that Arty had been showing symptoms of his transformation. The doctors would have certainly noticed a few things during intake!

I hurry downstairs in time to see the sheriff leaving the hospital in a huff. “Anything on Artemis?” I ask Mary. She looks up at me with a firm expression, then it immediately softens as she recognizes me.

“He’s out of surgery, they’re moving him to a locked down room though. Only their attendees are allowed in or out. Apparently they think they need a quarantine which is certainly odd. The news crews will have a field day, but for the poor kids sake we’re trying to keep the media out of this for now. Your mom should be back in a minute, she’s in the break room.”

I nod in thanks and leave, heading into one of the bathrooms for some privacy. I open my backpack to a less than happy ling. “You really need to wash your bag out.” They say offhandedly, while avoiding my gaze. A short hesitation, then, “I know, I know...I bit him but I thou--”

“It’s okay, I’m...I’m not glad you did, but it worked. I just hope it doesn’t kill him.” The changeling visibly relaxes from my statement. The fear they seem to have for me makes me feel like trash. They’d been nothing but helpful and I’d been a huge a-hole about it because of my father’s fear mongering.

“Look, we haven’t exactly gotten off to a good start with our relationship and all, but...after all this, we need all the help we can get. All this time I’ve been worried about trusting you, but you have put all of your trust in us. What you did back there, and in the graveyard, it's more than what a bad friend like me deserves. I just...well, my father would tell us horror stories about changelings...or course then we thought they were myth and legend. How the times have changed.”

“At this point having a friend at all is all that I have going for me.” They rub their front hooves together, brushing it over their ears a few times nervously. “I-if we could though, could we visit my...well...probably ex-friend now? The guy I drained...I need to explain what happened and make sure he’s alright.”

“Sure, but first, we need to get Arty out of here before he ends up as the next Area 51 attraction. My mom’s on break so we have a half-hour without her around. She was also part of the surgeon team and could get us inside.”

“I’m sensing a but in there.”

I wince a little. “We haven’t exactly told her about any of this yet...My dad said he’d talk to her but we’ve kind of had our hands full a little as of late. And well...you’re a changeling, shapeshifting is your thing and all…”

“You want me to change into your mom?” They ask, staring at me like I’d lost my mind, crawling out of my pack and onto my lap as I sit in the cubicle.

“Can you?” I ask, flipping through my phone to come up with a group photo of our family as they look at it studying over her form.

“Not for very long…I’ve never tried anyone besides myself before.” He moves to get a better look at my phone before taking a long deep breath. “You sure you want me to do this? This just seems wrong on so many levels. What if she walks in on us? What if she doesn’t have access? What if I can’t get it right or it collapses! You going to just let them take me?”

“We don’t have time to make a huge plan, my mom is on break and will be for the next half hour or so at least. With me next to you who would question it? It’s not like these people even know that changelings exist.” I respond a little frustrated and guilty at the same time. The previous day I’d very nearly killed them after all and they’ve essentially been my prisoner all day. “I know I haven’t been the best friend to you, but we all need this right now.”

“It’s easy for you not to have a plan, I’m the one taking all the risks.” They say drawing my attention back out of my thoughts. “But fine. I’ll try it, but I want that blade of yours in return. Something to keep you from ditching me if things go south. You trust me to give it back, I trust you to help get this right. We get in the hospital and we’ll have a better plan there.” They move to the edge of my knee and look down, for a moment looking like they’re going to jump, but then turn around and slowly lower themselves to the floor. Thankfully they are cleaned to proper medical standards.

It’s only a single occupancy family bathroom so they have a bit more space, simply walking...trotting? Out from beneath the door. I open the door and follow as they take a few breaths then a green flame erupts around them as I see the somewhat familiar form of Jake, or at least a bit more feminine version of their old self.

I hold out my phone to them as they take it and stare at the photo, holding it up against the mirror as they stare at their reflection. I very nearly yell as they erupt into flames again, worried that they had just destroyed my phone, but it appears unharmed. Jake, on the other hand looks like a more generic form of my mother as if a random bystander had just been asked to recall her after a glance.

“The blade?” He/she asks in a voice more like his own than my mom’s. I realize that he had never actually heard her talk which could be an issue. I pull out the blade and give it a long hard stare. My father had entrusted me with it, one of the few things we had left of our true home. Not to mention the only piece of moonsilver that my family possessed for anymore runes. Yet the safety of my friend is worth more than that. So I pass it over and examine his form, another flash later and they are looking a lot closer.

“Her uh...chest is a bit bigger.” I say as casually as possible before he turns and just gives me a long look.

“And here I was trying to get her nose right. A photo doesn’t exactly do a good job of showing depth you know.” They pass a small scowl my way. “This feels so wrong.” They mutter under their breath, but another flash later they seem a lot closer to my mother’s form, if a bit more...shapely, but I really don’t have the nerve to comment on that again.

“This good?” They ask, their voice adjusting to be a bit higher with ease as they stand and gesture out. The ‘clothes’ they are wearing seem rather stiff and don’t exactly deform properly, but besides the other issues it seems passable. It’s just going to be a quick move anyways. “Feels weird to have clothes be a part of me.”

“Good enough.” I reply, just wanting to get a move on. “Just let me do the talking, my mom definitely doesn’t sound like that, let alone with that kind of accent, you’re trying too hard.” Looking at the imitation of my mother just makes the back of my neck ache. Despite the lack of reference or even a description the resemblance is uncanny. Even more grimly it reminds me of the caliber of the enemy that we have. Jake claims to be new to this...so what would an experienced changeling be able to do?

“Lead on then, you probably know this place a lot better than I do.” She says. “Not sure how long I can hold this shape without something slipping.”

My brain goes to weird places at their statement, that would certainly raise a few eyebrows. “Just keep close and quiet.” Checking that the coast is clear outside I lead them to the elevator with a few of the staff perhaps giving us a bit ‘too long’ of a glance, though apparently it isn’t enough for them to ask questions.

We enter the elevator and I push the button for the third floor. It’s at least where I think they would be kept from what I’d heard. Looking over I can see ‘Jake’ fidgeting a little in a way my mother definitely doesn’t while leaning against the wall. “Just relax, you look fine.”

“Doesn’t feel like I look fine, I’ve never really tried this before. I feel like such an imposter.”

“Her accent is lighter and your voice is about a bit lower than hers is.” I reply before the doors open and we’re there. I head over to the main desk.

“Mrs. Arnesto? I thought you went on break?” The attendant asks. I didn’t really know their name but they had brown hair and eyes with some freckles and were about middle aged.

My mo--Jake looks at me asking silently for permission, but I answer instead. “Arty and I are good friends. I just want to make sure he is okay.”The attendant looks between the both of us, looking a bit confused as they look over ‘Jake’ but seem unable to find whatever they are looking for and just sigh.

“He’s in room 307, they’re probably still unconscious and do try to keep it brief. Their family will likely be here soon. Remember that despite being stable they’re in pretty rough shape.” She says looking directly at me before nodding up at Jake.

I lead down the hall before stopping outside their door. One of the security staff is posted outside, but they only give us a passing glance as we enter with only a “keep it brief” in passing.

“Ouch! Son of a…” Jake curses holding their hand that appears to have a bit of redness over their palm that as I watch slowly starts turning black and chitinous.

“Mrs. Arnesto? Are you okay?” The officer looks at her concerned.

“Just...just shocked myself is all.” She says, her voice seeming to struggle to stay level. Looking at her face I can see she’s already lost a bit of the disguise, the nose is off and one of their eyes is a slitted blue. I give her a bit of an insistent shove to get inside. The officer just shrugging with a small laugh.

“Do be careful. We’re all a bit nervous with all this.”

I finish half shoving her inside as I follow in after closing the door behind us. The form of my mother eroding away within just a moment with a dozen flickers of green flame as they are back to their chitinous self and favoring their right front hoof. “Damn changeling iron burns.” They grimace while licking their hoof.

Dragging my attention away from them I see Artemis in the bed. Their skin is rather pale and their body seems ragged, every breath seeming to be a struggle through the oxygen mask. My chest is tight and heavy as I walk over and sit next to them, eyeing the IV drip that they are hooked up to. Even more than that I see the small horn growing from their head, no more than an inch in length. At the root of their hair I can see traces of dark blue and a strip of pink slowly growing outward. I reach out across their chest and carefully pull their amulet out to examine, the amulet looks inert at first glance, but as soon as I touch it a little of its purple glow returns, if faintly.

Jake moves over to the bed and hops up on the end sitting and staring at my friend. “You think they’ll be okay?”

“I don’t know what else to think. The world has gone to hell already. Right now, all I can think about is my little brother. We brought this whole mess down on him. My father thought we’d be safe if we just kept low, but now they’re actively trying to kill us and my best friend is in an asylum on a murder charge of attempting to kill a my other friend who happens to be a unicorn.”

”Do you think we could run? That we could escape whatever is happening?”

“Uproot my entire family after my mom has just gotten a job she loves and is on track for a promotion that our family needs? Pull away Angela and Artemis away from their family possibly without even saying goodbye? If we all disappeared after a fiasco this big the whole world would be out watching for us.”

“I’m still trying to process the fact that my mother was a shapeshifting agent that never really loved me and I lost my father just over a week ago. I’m not saying things are easy, I’m just terrified of what we stand to lose by staying here. I know it might be a bad idea, but couldn’t we talk to some sort of government official about this? The movies always make them look bad, but we can’t do this on our own here.”

I look over towards Arty, feeling a bit tense as I remember they have family on the way. “They’ll find out one way or another. It’s slight, but Artemis’s family doesn’t know anything about this and they’re going to freak when they see their son has a horn.”

“About that...You mentioned it was something about a changeling curse right? What if I could...just...you know, strengthen it a little, make them a bit more human?” He looks at my expression then quickly amends. “At least to give us some time! I don’t really know anything about changeling magic, but--”

Knock knock!

“Mrs. Arnesto? The family is on their way up.” The attendant says through the door.

“Shit. They’re already here!” I hiss looking at Arty’s unconscious form and at Jake. “Help me get him into the bathroom, you’re going to have to take his place for now. Alright?” I unstrap the IV from his wrist, carefully pulling it out before wrapping up their wrist with some more bandages.

“Are you insane?” Jake asks.

“Probably! Grab their legs.” I flip off the heart rate monitor before pulling it off their arm as we quickly haul them over towards the only potential hiding spot in the room. Jake looks over their form for several long moments.

“Are their spare clothes in here? I don’t think my rendition of them is very good.” They ask.

I look in the closet and pull out one of the spares before passing it to him. A flash of green later and we had a second Artemis that looked a lot more accurate than my mother’s looked. “This good?” They ask.

“Looks great. Now hurry!”

They quickly move over to the bed while I strap the monitor back on them before turning it back on and trying to adjust things to look restful. “Just for a few minutes. They shouldn’t be long, just play dead--err--unconscious.”

They lay down on the bed and just a few moments later the door practically slams open and I see a middle aged man in a military uniform enter the room with a face as impassive as stone. His eyes bore into my own like a wolf. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I-I’m Mike. We’re good friends at school!” I protest backing away from his imposing presence, slowly edging towards the door as he moves over to the bed.

“With all due respect, get out of here.” He states tersely. His eyes not even bothering to look at me as they scan over his ‘sons’ form. I really can’t leave them here, especially considering the promise I had just made with Jake. He doesn’t move or say a word as I feel the tense atmosphere building. “I’ll be back later then…” I say and promptly leave the room to wait outside, hoping I could react in time if something went wrong.

My chest tightens as I hear Mike leave the room, but I don’t dare open my eyes to check. My body was already starting to ache from holding two forms so quickly. How much longer could I hold it? I can’t even see what’s going on, but from my new changeling senses I could feel their presence. Their emotions flooding the room in a fairly muted way, the deep sadness feeling like a thick glob of peanut butter lodged uncomfortably in my throat, the rage from that making it burn in a very unpleasant fashion. I try to breathe a bit more out of my nose but that hardly helps.

“You’re probably out of it, and the doctor’s say you’re stable, but I just want you to know that even though I don’t always say it, I love you. I know things have been rough without your mom around, but we’ve always made do. That was the last time that I saw you in a hospital, you know? You probably don’t remember much, in fact you seemed to have remembered it quite differently. I just...I just never had the heart to correct you.”

I try to keep my breathing steady, but the steady beeping on the traitorous machine betrays my interest as I feel it hasten expecting at any moment for them to call my bluff. The growing urge to sneeze is definitely not helping. The way the blanket brushes against my nose makes it hard to ignore.

“The truth is...your mother was very sick. Just one day she got this idea in her head that you weren’t her kid. Imposter Syndrome they called it. She had some counseling but it didn’t seem like things were getting much better. One day though…” He pauses. The sound of his tense breathing filling the room. “One day she cracked. Hearing what happened to you just now brings back old memories and I should have told you years ago.”

“Your mother tried to kill you.”

The words ring through my skull as I feel so utterly repulsed with myself for tricking him like this. Hearing a confession that was not mind to hear while his real son was tossed away like a damp towel. This is the life of a changeling. I think, then immediately push it aside. I didn’t want to be like that, ever. Even then though...the taste of this father’s affection as he poured his heart out to me was intoxicating. The disguise I was holding feeling lighter by the moment as I start to feel like I’d had a long rest and a bowl of warm soup. The two conflicting feelings making me nauseous in a way I wouldn’t have previously thought possible.

“I stopped her before it got to far, and you probably remember the rest. After that they locked her away, but I still can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t even know what I’m doing. Maybe I just find it easier confessing when I know you can’t hear a word I’m saying. Maybe one day I’ll work up the courage to tell you properly.”

I hear a knocking at the door that opens a moment later. “I’m sorry Mr. Fletcher, we need to do a check on the equipment.” My chest tightens as I hear her step closer. “Damn, he pulled his IV out.” I feel a gloved hand pressed against my forehead, giving it a little squeeze as if looking for something.

So they know…

“Mr. Fletcher? Could we have you wait outside for a moment? I need to check their bandages and make sure everything is working properly.”

“Of course. We’ve got more family coming as well, let us know when they wake will you?”

“As soon as I can.” The nurse replies as I hear the door open and close. With them supposedly gone they speak. “Pulled off my break for this...they said you were put into quarantine…You’re awake, aren’t you? Or maybe their breathing is just restricted from...” I feel them lifting up the blankets. “What the hell…?”

The jig was up. I open my eyes and just barely hold in a yell resolving for a squeak instead. Right in front of my face was the nurse I had imitated moments before. “Uh...yeah hi. I know this might sound a bit crazy...”

I hear a loud groan from the bathroom as she looks in that general direction then back at me. “Considering you miraculously healed multiple contusions and lacerations within an hour as well as getting rid of a horn and fur, and the fact that earlier this week we had a little girl with wings that sounds about right. ”

“Might want to bring your son inside for this one...”

And so we tell her.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for a bit of a delay on this one! The greatest irony is that most of this chapter was actually written weeks ago. (There goes my 2/month spree). Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

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To Nova: "Oh hello human Starlight"
"That's certainly a strange name...but why does it sound so familiar...? Regardless, hello stranger, how would you like to learn some magic?"

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Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I've started doing a few "Ask X a question." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters. Feel free to ask any character a question for a chance at having it answered in the next!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting this little story of mine. Another thanks to Melodiac for a pre-read. Feel free to hit me up on Discord (Aremna #7250) for a chat anytime.

Comments, as always, are appreciated!