I wring my hands nervously as I sit in the living room, waiting for dinner. Mom is in the kitchen, finishing up the dinner. Ela is sitting beside me, keeping me company on the couch while we wait for her girlfriend to arrive. Ela had heard from her while we were still at the mall, and she accepted the invitation to dinner. When the topic was brought up, Mom had given me a couple of concerned looks. She agreed she could still come over, though.

Now we’re waiting for her. It’s just about time for dinner and she should arrive any second. I’m both excited and nervous to meet her. Maybe just a little more of the former. On one hand, she’s Ela’s girlfriend, which is really neat and I’m super happy for her! On the other hand, she’s another stranger I have to meet in my new body.

Thankfully, she didn’t know me at all beforehand, so I don’t have to explain anything. Not that I could; I still have no idea what happened. I was avoiding the thought, to be honest. I couldn’t really wrap my brain around it in any way that made sense. The only thing I could be sure of at this point was that it was magical.

More curiously, Petunia wasn’t answering me. When we got back from the mall, I messaged her with my phone. It was a little weird that she hadn’t messaged me by that point to ask why I hadn’t been at school. She still hasn’t answered me, and it’s been several hours. Her mother didn’t seem to let on that anything might be going on with her while we were at the diner this morning. Mom wanted to talk to Mrs. Kane too, so she might have already planned a time to talk with her when we weren’t looking. That she isn’t answering my messages fills me with extra anxiety, but since nothing has come up that has given me reason to worry, I just try to keep my mind off of it. I still keep my phone on me, just in case she calls.

Ela is being extra gentle with me today. I can see her hesitating in her interactions with me. I don’t mind it because she seems to be really concerned about me. More than that, she’s more physically affectionate with me. We’re cuddled up on the couch watching some show on Netflix or something; it’s a position of closeness that we’ve never shared before. Her hands run through my hair absently, her gentle humming I can feel through my skull as my head is leaning on her shoulder. All throughout the day she’s been tousling my hair, hugging me gently, holding my hand to drag me everywhere. It’s all just… pleasant.

A smile blooms on my face at the thought. The comfort of my position next to Ela helps to ease some lingering anxiety. I’m happy that she cares about me so much. I’m happy to have a sister to help me out. I’m happy to have a sister that treats me like… well, a sister.

Knock knock knock

I’m jostled as Ela shifts quickly next to me, causing me to fall over and into the space where she used to be sitting. Ela’s already running towards the door excitedly. That must be her girlfriend. I pick myself up and run my hands through the ends of my hair in an attempt to fix it; it’s messy from laying against Ela’s shoulder. I smooth out the Sundress I’m wearing; I switched out of Ela’s clothes and into one of my own dresses after we got back from the mall. Ela’s clothes are nice and it’s reassuring that we can share clothes relatively easily if we want to, but Mom and Ela spent lots getting me my own wardrobe and it would be a shame if I didn’t wear any of it today.

Ela pulls the door open, and within seconds I can hear an excited second voice from the door. Ela steps back away from the door and gestures for our guest to come in. I continue standing, unsure what to do with my hands. The girl that steps through the front door strikes me as distinctly ‘punk’. She’s wearing skinny jeans and a band tee, with a leather jacket to top off the look. The most striking trait of all, though, is her medium length white hair. There are faint silvery notes to the whiteness of her hair, but her hair looks as white as snow. She looks unbelievably cool and absolutely intimidating; and she’s coming this way oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

“This is Dawn,” Ela’s voice draws my eyes away from the new girl in our house for a second, “My sister.” There’s a familiar emphasis on the word sister, and I have to wonder if it was for my benefit or her girlfriends. Looking at her girlfriend though, I can tell that it’s directed at her.

“You’ve never mentioned a sister before. Just a…” She glances at me and looks me up and down, “brother.” I cringe outwardly at the statement, turning my eyes away to look anywhere else.

“She’s my sister, Mars.” Ela’s voice is insistent about this and I feel a soft hand gently take a hold of my chin. I allow my chin to be guided and I find myself facing ‘Mars’, her eyes are soft and studying me intensely.

“Yeah, I mean, I see that, sweetheart. But not that long ago that I recall you telling me about your brother, and…” her eyes are wandering my body, her hand keeping me facing directly towards her. Under her intense gaze I can feel my knees going slightly weak, my brain fogging over in a mix of anxiety and attraction. I’d pull away from the touch, but I can’t bring forth enough willpower to do so. “Look, I mean, fuck, El. If you could tell anyone about this shit, it’s me.”

“Marissa, can you please stop accidentally seducing my sister?” Ela’s voice is teasing, and I feel the hand pull away from me quickly. My eyes snap open and I realize with a start that I had closed them at all. My face flushes quickly with embarrassment and I turn away as best as I can to hide my features, turning my head just enough to look at them through the corner of my eye. Marissa is looking between me and Ela in a mix of flustered confusion.

“Fuck, sorry. I didn’t think that… she? Would be into girls.” Marissa chuckles, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets.

“I’ve had my suspicions.” Ela adds mirthfully. I don’t reply, opting to just let them talk about it between themselves. “And, it is she.”

“On that note, back to the previous point.” Marissa’s voice drops so only we can hear it, “Am I just calling you Dawn because your mom doesn’t know you’re trans, or do you have some other brother that El’s been talking to me about. Cause I’m really trying not to fuck up here Ela and you really haven’t mentioned anything about a sister previously.” I blink my eyes owlishly at Marissa as I try to think about what she’s just said.

Ela covers her face, dragging her hands down her cheeks. “I don’t have a brother, Marissa. Dawn is a girl. Mom knows she’s trans. It’s just… something we learned recently.”

Marissa looks at her, her eyebrow raising higher with each passing second. “Your mom knows? And she’s okay with it? Despite the fact that I’ve had to avoid your house because your family isn’t cool about you being gay?” Ela looks uncomfortable as the talking goes on, wilting under her partner’s gaze. I feel myself wanting to walk away from the situation, feeling an uncomfortable tension. “Also, your sister looks great. And that’s the kind of progress I feel like didn’t happen overnight.”

“Well…” I see Marissa’s eyes lock onto mine and I freeze up entirely. What was I about to say? I couldn’t tell her what had actually happened. That would be insane. Nothing I could finish that sentence with would be good, so I say nothing. I keep my mouth shut and just have a staring contest with my sister’s girlfriend. Her eyes are searching my face, confusion playing across every corner of her own face. Eventually she sighs and pulls her hands out of her pockets, choosing instead to hook her thumbs on the inside and letting them hang there.

Tension I didn’t realise I was holding falls away from me in waves as Marissa gives me a reassuring smile and I can only nervously smile back. She turns to look pointedly at Ela before wrapping her arms around her neck and stepping close. “I’m gonna drop it because your sister looks like she’s about to have a heart attack any minute now, but you’re going to explain it to me later. Got it?” I watch the display of affection and my heart warms. Ela just nods before the two of them lock lips in a gentle kiss that makes their relationship evident. My heart melts in joy at the display and before I can help it, I feel a wave of joy radiate off me.

Ela’s eyes open suddenly, looking at me in restrained shock as she pulls away from her girlfriend carefully. I try to cool myself off, pulling the feeling back into myself carefully. I don’t feel the happiness cascading off of me like it was, and I let out a silent sigh at the fact that Marissa doesn’t seem to have noticed if it felt off.

“Oh, you’re here. Marissa, was it?” I can see Marissa tense as our mother’s voice calls out from the kitchen.

Marissa turns to look at her properly, standing just in front of Ela as she does so. Her stance is protective as she responds diplomatically, “Yeah, I’m here.”

I can’t tell if mom hears the challenge in her voice, but if she does, she ignores it. She only smiles and responds smoothly, “It’s nice to meet you. Dinner is almost ready, it’ll be just a moment.” Her eyes smoothly turn and meet my own, and I know she felt the wave too. “Dawn, sweetheart, can you come help me in the kitchen?”

I follow her back into the kitchen, looking back at Marissa and Ela over my shoulder. They seem to talk together quietly. I enter the kitchen and I’m immediately pulled away from the entrance and off to the side. I look up at Mom and she’s looking me over closely, her expression soft and more concern than anything else. “Everything alright, Dawn? I felt another... pulse, and I just had to check on you.” nodding slowly, I smile. Mom notices my smile and cools down a bit. “My sister can’t get here soon enough. I really wish I could help you more with your outbursts.” I don’t respond, knowing that I can’t expect any actual answer. “I also wish I knew who awakened you and whether we can trust them. Or what even happened. This doesn’t just happen, it doesn’t make any sense.” Mom notices my wide-eyed staring, and she stops herself.

“I… um…” My hands find their familiar spots gripping the sides of my dress, “Can I ask what you mean by Awakening?” 

Mom sighs and props herself against the counter. “We’ll go into the specifics tomorrow, Dawn. The rough explanation is that those emotional pulses you have are a form of Magic, and in order for you to have any access to magic like that, you'd have to be awakened to those powers, which is normally something done through significant magical contact.” She gestures to my body, “Which you’ve clearly had. You didn’t meet any… weird strangers lately? Nobodies given you any, like, a weird drink or trinket lately? Trinkets, potions, and stuff shouldn’t be able to awaken you, but I can’t think of what else it could have been. The only other option at that point is someone coming into our house to perform some incredibly powerful ritual on you, but there’s literally no reason anyone would have to do anything like that.” Her voice grows more exasperated as she talks before she finally catches herself. The explanation causes me to search my memories. There was nothing notable that happened the day before, no strange people or anything. My brain latches onto the image of a slender and beautiful woman with vibrant green eyes, her hair a shimmery dark brown.

“Um… it might be nothing, but I remember having an interesting dream last night? I think it was a dream?” I start slowly. Mom is gaping at me, straightening seriously. “I don’t remember anything about it, but there was this really beautiful woman in my room? Like, brown hair down to her waist that was kind of sparkly? Oh, and green eyes. Like, a really vibrant green. I don’t know, I didn’t think much of it after I woke up. It was kind of the last thing I had to think about.”

Mom leans closer, looking deep into my eyes. “Green eyes? You’re sure about those green eyes?” She presses insistently. I nod slowly, fear starting to creep up as I try to look away. Mom seems to notice my discomfort at the eye contact and backs up a bit to give me some reprieve. She paces in thought, “That… no, that doesn’t explain anything. That makes less sense.”

“Do you know her?” I ask quietly.

“There’s one person in this general area I know of that fits that general description. Well, know of is the operative term. We only met once, a long time ago.” I wait for her to continue, but after a couple of seconds I realize she doesn’t have any intentions to tell me more.

“Is she nice?” I ask, quietly. Mom laughs lightly, her eyes softening as her look goes distant, as if she were thinking really hard on a memory. That’s reassuring, at least.

“She’s… difficult. I was lucky that my meeting with her was under a pleasant pretense. Normally, I wouldn’t think that she’s anything to worry about, but I really have no idea what she’s playing at if this really is her doing.”

We stand there for a minute or two more before a timer goes off somewhere by her workspace deeper in the kitchen. “That’s the last thing we were waiting on for dinner. Can you go set the table for me, Dawn?” I nod affirmatively and make my way through the kitchen towards the cupboard where the plates are held.

I reach inside and count out the correct amount of plates, trying to pick them all up at once. I feel my arms strain as I barely manage to pick up all four large bowls; it’s a manageable weight, but it feels much heavier than I expected them to be. Carefully, I place the bowls on the counter so I don’t drop them. I look at my arms with exasperation at their betrayal. I wasn’t incredibly strong before, but I wasn’t this weak either. With a heave, I carry the bowls out of the kitchen and out to the dining room with only a bit of further trouble. I could probably work on getting some of that strength back if I really wanted to, but for now I was content not worrying about it.

I continue to set the table, Ela steps in to help after seeing me struggle with the bowls. Marissa starts to help, but Mom won’t have any of it, insisting that she’s our guest and that we have it handled. Eventually, we’re settled around the table, bowls filled with stew and smaller plates with rolls and vegetables on them next to those bowls.

The eating starts wordlessly, a tense silence where no one meets anyone else’s eyes for too long. I have so many questions about what mom and I were talking about in the kitchen, but with Marissa around, I can’t bring it up. Mom and Marissa seem to size each other up quietly, which is another layer of discomfort in the situation I’m slightly worried about. Ela looks worried about the meeting too, and I frown at my three dinner mates. My eyes drop to my stew in thought, mulling over an idea that is pressing into my thoughts heavily.

Fuck it, it’s worth a shot.

I focus, taking in deep and steady breaths. I push away my anxiety and fill my thoughts with calming thoughts. The sound of wind through a forest, the gentle chirping of birds, all the calming imagery I can think of. I forget about the tension in the room, the uneasy looks. I focus entirely on myself, steadying my breath and floating in a sea of calm. I make sure my eyes are closed, hoping that the shine won’t be visible if this works.

Gently, I push that calm out like a wave. I imagine tensions slipping away, nerves easing, and looks between each other softening. When I’m focusing on it, I can feel it working. I can feel the area around me calm through some external sense. It feels less like an extra limb or active sense and more like a passive sense; like how you know if it’s hot or cold. I wait for the sensation of external calm to pass before finally opening my eyes.

Mom and Ela are looking at me with a lot less tension than before. Both Mom and Ela look like they have something to say, but Marissa’s presence is the only thing keeping me from getting talked to. Marissa is blinking owlishly, shaking her head gently as her expression shifts a couple of times. She opens her mouth as if to say something before quickly closing it and furrowing her brow. She seems a little caught up in her thoughts, too caught up to notice the stares I had earned from my little stunt. I meet my two family members stares with a nervous smile; I hope I didn’t just make a mistake.

Mom clears the odd stillness now in the air with a small cough. She simultaneously gets Marissa’s attention, and the girl turns to look at her. “So, Marissa, was it? It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Er, it is?” She still seems a little dazed by the sudden change of mood, and I realize maybe altering people’s brain chemicals without consent might not be a great idea. “I mean, um, likewise.”

“I haven’t… had the chance to ask Ela how you two met.” Mom offers, sounding unsure of herself as she continues. While I may have eased the tensions, the memory of the conflict is still present and working hard to be heard. Still, talking was probably better than the uncomfortable staring of before.

Ela looks at her girlfriend reassuringly. She could answer the question herself, of course, but it’s clearly an invitation to open conversation with Marissa. Mom was trying to mend bridges here, and despite any reservations me and Ela might have had about it, we will not hinder her attempts. Marissa takes a spoonful of stew and chews the meat in thought. The smallest of smiles seems to show that she’s settled on the same thought Me and Ela had. Our mom is clearly trying to be good here. Swallowing the mouthful, she answers, “We work together, Mrs. Sangrey. We started to do stuff together outside of work, though, and it just kind of went from there.”

“You don’t have to be so formal, you can call me Thalia.” I smile as I look between the two of them. I continue eating, glad to listen to the others comfortably.