Her… her wings are gone!

Elena quickly walked over to us.

“What do you think?” she asked, doing a graceful spin in the middle of the kitchen.

“They’re… really gone!” Emily exclaimed, rushing around Elena and carefully inspecting her.

“Well, not quite,” Elena began, shifting over to lean against the bench next to me.

 

“When we were at Flora’s house yesterday, the whole discussion about costumes gave me an idea.”

Pushing herself forward with her arms, she moved back towards the middle of the room.

“If I carefully chose my clothes, I thought I could give myself just enough room to fold up my wings to the point that normal people wouldn’t notice them. Unfortunately, though, I can’t quite hold them in the right spot properly. So,”

She slipped off her lab coat and hung it on her arm, revealing the tank top she was wearing underneath.

“I had the idea to use medical tape. It should provide enough adhesive, while hopefully not damaging my wings. If I used it to tape my wings in place, folded up behind me, I should be able to hide them, if I wear the right clothes.”

She lifted up the back of her tank top, revealing the points where her wings were taped to her skin. They twitched slightly, trying to pull away from where they were stuck.

“I-it’s a little uncomfortable, to be honest, but this way I can at least go back to work.”

 

Melissa strolled into the kitchen, holding a roll of tape.

“How’s it holding up so far?” she asked, as she made her way over to one of the cupboards.

“It’s not perfect, but… it’ll work.” Elena slipped her lab coat back on as she replied.

“That’s good. Oh, Flora,” Melissa glanced towards me as she reached up to put the roll of tape away.

“Yeah?”

“This is the medicine cupboard. If you ever need painkillers, or cold meds, take what you need from here.”

I peered up towards the cupboard she was rummaging around in.

...Too short. I can’t even see inside it.

Melissa stared at me for a moment, smirking.

“Just grab a chair and stand on it if you need.”

Yeah yeah, I’m short. You don’t need to rub it in!

I turned my attention back towards Elena, who was standing in the middle of the kitchen as Emily and Zoey circled her.

“If you look carefully, you can still see that something's there,” Emily commented.

“True,” Elena replied, “but I just need to act as if nothing’s wrong, and they won’t pay any attention to it. Plus, I stay cooped up in my office for most of the time anyway.”

“It seems like it would be really uncomfortable, though.” Zoey said, hovering just in front of Elena. “Won’t they cramp, after a while?”

“Honestly, they probably will. If I can learn to do this myself, then I can probably undo the tape during my break, and stretch them a little.”

Elena let out a nervous laugh, rotating her shoulders in small circles to stretch them.

“That’s one thing I’m really not looking forward to, though. I’m still not used to all the new sensations that come with… having extra limbs. I think my brain hasn’t quite adjusted to them.”

“I know what you mean!” Emily’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed Elena’s hands. “Having ears that move is such a weird feeling!”

“Not only that, but, I have no idea how I’m supposed to take care of my wings. Do I just clean them with soap, or is there something specific that I have to do?”

“I have no idea how to wash my tail, either! Do I wash it every night? Do I use shampoo, or do I need to buy, like, dog wash or something?”

 

Zoey fluttered over to me, resting on my shoulder as I leant back against the bench, watching the two of them compare their experiences.

“There’s so much stuff we still need to work out,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Emily and Elena need to figure out how to hide their new… I guess limbs is the right term, or… their new animal parts?”

“Something like that. Plus, Emily’s eyes changed, as well. That’s much harder to hide.”

“If she wears glasses, she should be fine. Although… I don’t think she wants to.”

Zoey shifted herself into a more comfortable position on my shoulder, gently swinging her legs back and forth.

“Her and her friends once went to a glasses shop. She tried on a few pairs, and said that they were really uncomfortable, so… if she starts wearing glasses now, that might just draw more attention to her eyes.”

“That’s true. Maybe it’ll be fine, though. Like Elena said, if she just acts like nothing’s wrong, then people shouldn’t notice it.”

“There’s a few… bigger things that they’ll notice, though. How is she supposed to hide her ears?”

“Didn’t Aeriel say something about illusions?” I glanced around the room briefly. “Where is Aeriel, anyway?”

“Not sure.” Zoey pushed herself off my shoulder, launching into a graceful flight. “I’ll go see if I can find her.”

 

“Alright, I’m heading out.”

Melissa quickly walked through the kitchen, deftly slipping her arm through the strap of her handbag as it hung on the back of a chair. She briefly adjusted her suit jacket, making sure it was all tidy.

“Cool, have fun at work,” Emily called out, waving goodbye to her.

Elena froze for a moment, watching Melissa leave.

“Wait… work… I have to go to work too!” she yelled, frantically looking around the room to try and find a clock. Seeing her bag, she ran over to it, rummaging around inside it to find her phone.

“What time is it- quarter past eight already?” She turned towards us, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “I gotta go to work. Flora, if you have time tomorrow, I want to bring you with me to visit one of my social worker friends. She should be able to help you get back into school.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I... don't know if I'm ready to go back to school. You only just managed to hide your wings, too.”

“Well, whatever thing I’ve turned into, I’m still a working adult,” she responded. “I still need to do my job, and pay my bills.”

She lifted her bag strap higher on her shoulder, flinching as it pressed against her back.

“And you’re all still kids. You should be going to school, having fun and preparing for the future, not worrying about all this stuff.”

“I… guess.” 

Am I really ready to go back to school? I still don’t have good control over my powers… If I accidentally use them, or start floating in front of someone… 

“Anyway, see you later.”

“Bye,” I waved after Elena as she quickly ran out of the door.

So… now what?

 

*****

 

“Um… what’s the plan for today?”

“Let’s see…” Emily glanced around the now empty room. “We need to move your stuff here, first of all. Then, we need to work out what furniture you need, so we can go buy it on the weekend. After that… I’m not sure.”

It all revolves around me!

“Is there preparation that you and Zoey need to do for school?” I quickly shifted the conversation away from myself, uncomfortable at how casually she talked about spending so much money for my sake.

“Ah, that’s right. Elena said that she was going to try and get you into school next week. I need to…” her voice trailed off as she stared down at her tail.

“Can you hide your tail under a dress?”

“I can, but that doesn’t work for PE, since we have to wear shorts. And I can’t tape it anywhere, like Elena did.”

“Didn’t Aeriel say-” At that point, Zoey ran into the room, distracting me. She had returned to her normal size, and was wearing a simple grey pyjama shirt and soft-looking plaid pants.

 

“Those two are weird!” she said, slightly out of breath.

“What did they do?” I asked, hesitantly.

“You know your… tear gemstone things? They’ve collected them all into a jar, and are now staring at them as if they’re possessed.”

That’s creepy!

“Why are they…” I leapt up, hurriedly running past Zoey towards my bedroom. Throwing open the door, I stared at Aeriel and Mira, huddled together in the corner.

“And just what exactly are you two doing?” I walked into the room, standing just behind them with my hands on my hips.

“U-um, hi Queen.” Aeriel replied, quickly moving something behind her back.

“Queen!” Mira exclaimed, leaping forward and wrapping her arms around me. I reached down and began stroking her head.

She’s… really attached to me. Both of them are. Is that going to be bad when I head off to school?

Aeriel slowly stepped towards me, leaning forward shyly.

“Yes?” I prompted.

She leaned further forward, resting her head against my shoulder.

“Can I help you?”

She puffed her cheeks up in response.

I did it just because I wanted her to explain why she had the jar, but… teasing her is kinda fun!

Twisting her neck slightly, she rubbed the side of her head against my shoulder affectionately.

“Do you need something?”

Aeriel looked up, staring at my face with a scared expression.

“Are you mad?” she asked.

What? No!

“That’s not it,” I said, trying to calm her down. “I just wanted to know what you were doing with that jar.”

“Ah.” Her eyes went wide as she stared at the jar in her hand, realising that she had accidentally stopped hiding it from me.

 

“U-um, I can explain,” she stammered, shaking slightly. “It’s just…”

She took a deep breath, holding the jar out towards me.

“You’re the Queen of Spirits, right? Because us normal spirits feed off your energy, you have this really calming aura that draws us to you.”

Is that why they’re acting as if I’m their mother?

“A-and your tears have the same wavelength, so… they have the same calming effect that you do.”

Am I a drug?!

“I… I’m sorry for doing this without asking. I should’ve…” Aeriel’s voice trailed off as I reached my hand out, gently stroking her head.

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it,” I said.

She’s still hasn’t quite settled into this new world, and she’s still stressed. It might be a bit weird… keeping a jar of my tears, but if it calms her down, then it’s alright. I just need to think of it as like, gemstones that I created with my power, or something.

“Thank you so much, Queen.” Aeriel rushed forward, clinging to me in a tight hug.

Is this what it’s like to have younger sisters?

 

“Are you enjoying your cuddle pile?” Zoey’s voice floated in from behind me. Twisting my neck around, trying to look behind me without moving Aeriel or Mira, I saw Zoey standing in the doorway with a slight grin on her face.

“Cuddle pile?” Two fox ears appeared at Zoey’s shoulder, followed by Emily peering into the room from behind her. She smirked upon seeing me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, stroking both Aerial and Mira’s heads as they clung to me.

“You look like you’re having fun,” she commented.

“A-anyway.” I took a step back, trying to peel the two spirits off my body, but they refused to let go. Turning back towards the door to look at Zoey and Emily, I tried my best to put on a helpless expression.

“You’re so warm…” Aeriel mumbled, clinging to me even tighter.

“Ehehe,” Mira giggled, doing the same.

Um, a little help? What do I do?

“Your hair’s glowing,” Zoey said, stepping into the room.

“Did it change colour?” I asked, grabbing a few strands and holding them in front of my eyes. “I can’t actually tell.”

“No, it’s the same colour as before, but…” Emily hopped forward, stopping just in front of me. “It’s glowing, and floating slightly.”

“The other colours are showing through, too.” Zoey added.

“It looks like… okay, so you know how a soap bubble has that kinda rainbow sheen? It looks like that, but sparkly.”

I closed my eyes, trying to imagine what Emily was describing.

So, wait… the rainbow sheen of a soap bubble, but sparkling… does it change colour as it moves? If my hair is floating, like before, then it’s constantly moving, so is it constantly changing colour?

“Wow.”

“It’s so pretty.”

Their voices broke my train of thought, pulling me back to reality.

“Huh?” I stared at them, confused.

“Look up,” Emily said, pointing towards the ceiling. I craned my neck back, looking up, and gasped.

Spread out across the ceiling of the room was an aurora, shimmering and shifting around as it gradually change colour. A few points around the room sparkled like stars on a clear night.

Did… I do this?

“Cuddle pile!”

“Hya!” I yelped as Emily leapt forward, wrapping her arms around me.

“She’s right,” she whispered. “You’re so warm…”

“Um,” Zoey stood to the side, shifting back and forth nervously. “I-is it alright if I join too?”

I glanced around everyone as they clung to me, a slight smile on my face.

“If there’s room, sure.”

 

*****

 

“Alright, that’s enough.” I clapped my hands, trying to get everyone’s attention. Emily flinched at the sound, her ears folding flat against her head. She quickly ducked back, unravelling her arms from around my body. 

Was that too loud for her?

Turning my attention back to the two spirits, I tried to pull away from them.

“Aww.” Aeriel reluctantly let go of me, pouting slightly. She gently shook Mira, trying to get her to let go, but there was no response. Leaning down, I listened to her shallow breathing.

“I think she’s asleep.” Gently lifting her up, I tried to carry her to my bed without waking her up. She went completely limp in my arms.

“Knowing her, I’d wager she barely slept, since coming to this world,” Aeriel said.

She was sleeping so soundly this morning that she didn’t even wake up when she fell on the floor!

“It just shows how comforting is it being near you.”

I laid Mira down on the bed, trying to ignore how red my face was becoming.

I’m still not used to this! At this point, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being called cute, or comforting…

“Let’s leave her to rest,” I said, swiftly walking out of the room.

 

Settling back down in the kitchen, I lightly slapped my cheeks, trying to stave off my embarrassment.

“S-so, um, now what?”

“Okay.” Emily busily rushed around the kitchen, packing up the dishes and plates that had been left out from breakfast. “First thing we need to do is move all your stuff here.”

“So what’s the plan for that?” I asked.

“You need to contact Grace, and find out if your parents are home currently. If they aren’t, then we’ll head over there and start grabbing things. Does Grace have a car?”

“She does.”

“Cool, in that case we can-” Emily’s voice trailed off as her ears snapped upright, twitching slightly. She scanned around the room for a moment, before staring at the hallway.

“I think your phone just buzzed,” she said. “You left it in the bathroom.”

Oh, that’s why I couldn’t find it.

“Ah, I’ll go get it then.”

 

Aeriel followed a short distance behind me as I made my way to the bathroom.

She’s a bit like a cat, doing the whole “I have to be near you” thing.

Looking around the bathroom, I found my phone sitting on the shelf near the sink. Picking it up, I read the message Grace had sent me.

‘I’m thinking of moving out pretty soon.’

That’s… a big deal. Is she having trouble hiding her tail and horns?

Deftly pressing the buttons on the lower half, I composed a reply.

‘When are you planning on doing so? Also, can you help us move my stuff to Emily’s house?’

I hurried back to the kitchen, so that I could discuss today’s plans. My phone vibrated again on the way, and I slowed down to read the message.

‘I don’t have a time frame yet. A few of my uni friends are moving into a share house, and they asked me if I wanted to go too. I might have better luck explaining the whole dragon thing to them, rather than to mum and dad.’

“Woah, what’s up?” Emily asked as I arrived at the kitchen. “You look kinda frantic.”

“Grace is moving out of home,” I responded. “Not sure when, though.”

Another message came through as I was speaking.

‘Are you planning on moving into Emily’s place?’

‘Yeah. She has a spare room, and her mum offered to let me stay here,’ I sent back.

‘Alright. Mum and Dad just left to go shopping. I can bring your stuff in my car, but I need you here to work out what you wanna take.’

“Grace said that we can use her car to bring my stuff here,” I said, looking up from my phone towards Emily and Zoey.

“Okay. When would be a good time for us to head over?” Emily asked.

“Right now.”