31. Uncomfortable
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After we left Sue's place on Sunday we got fast-food at a drive-thru while I 'hid' in the back seat with my horns and tail.

We all ate when we got back to our apartment, then I spent the afternoon inside with Lily while she taught me a new spell to hide my horns and tail. My girlfriends meanwhile enjoyed a nice hot shower together then watched some tv.

It took me longer to learn how to hide the demonic attributes than it took to learn how to make them appear in the first place, and the experience was completely different.

When I was a normal human girl and I added the horns and tail, it was a novel experience and I enjoyed having them. Making them go away again wasn't a big deal. It wasn't till I had them return again that I suddenly realized I missed them when they were gone.

Now that they were a natural part of me, making them go away felt awful. It was like important parts of myself were missing. It almost felt as bad as I imagined it would feel to return to my old guy-body. Or I guess it was a little like getting rid of an arm and a foot or something.

It just felt wrong.

Like I was distinctly aware of my horns being missing whenever I turned or moved my head. Not feeling my hair moving against them, feeling how my head's centre of gravity was slightly off. It was like wearing new clothes with an itchy tag.

And without my tail it felt like my whole sense of balance was off. Plus I didn't have anything to swish back and forth, or wind around my waist. And every other minute I'd try, like I'd glance down as I tried to wrap it around and I'd be expecting the tip to come into view but nothing would happen. And I'd realize it was gone, then I'd feel sad and naked and weird.

"Lily this sucks," I pouted. "It feels bad, I don't want to make them go away I want to just keep them and live with it."

She sighed, "Mara the day after I first gave them to you as a costume, you explained in detail why you couldn't keep them all the time and how much trouble they'd cause you if you had to attend classes with them."

I made a face then shrugged "Ok but that's when they were just a costume. Now they're a part of me and I don't like how it feels when they're gone."

"I understand Mara," she replied, "But you know all those same reasons still apply. Even if you were willing to risk going to school like that, what will you tell your mother? You'll be visiting her and her girlfriend in two days. If you refuse to conceal the demonic attributes, you'll have quite a bit of explaining to do I think."

I sighed loudly then grumbled, "Fine. I'll try and get used to it. I guess."

Having said that, I immediately let them return then I hopped in the shower to get cleaned up after the weekend's adventures.

After that, while I was towelling off I finally noticed another change. This one was a lot more subtle though. I leaned over for a closer look at Lily's tattoo on my ankle, then asked "Hey Lily? Are you still around?"

"Yes Mara," she replied. "What is it?"

"So this tattoo," I said as I continued staring at it. "The ring of runes, that's what's keeping you bound to me? When those runes are all gone, you'll be free right?"

Originally her name-glyph was surrounded by twenty-one small runes. Now there were only eighteen of those little runes left. Three of them had vanished, leaving gaps in the circle.

Lily was quiet for a few moments, before she replied "You are correct, the small runes are similar to the runes I used to trap Verothilas, and those which imprisoned me within my amulet. With your help, and with Melissa and Susan's help, as I get stronger more of those runes will fade. When the last one is gone, I will be free."

"And I'll be dead," I sighed. "I can't exist without you right?"

Lily sighed as well, "Mara that's not likely to happen for a very long time. Clearing three of those runes at once was only possible with the energy I absorbed when we defeated Verothilas. I expect it will take us an average of five years to clear each of the remaining marks. That means we have about ninety years ahead of us."

"I guess that's better than five or ten years," I said softly. "It's still weird thinking I've basically got like a count-down clock on my ankle that shows me how long I have left to live."

She sighed again, "Mara don't think of it like that, and please don't obsess over it. For one thing it's many years away from happening. And when I'm freed, that won't necessarily mean your death. You and I have plenty of time to make alternate arrangements. So don't think of it as a count-down to your demise. Our relationship will certainly change, but it doesn't mean you have to die."

I thought that over for a few moments, then nodded "Ok Lily. Thanks for explaining. I'll try not to worry about it."

When I was done in the washroom I slipped on a nightshirt then joined my girlfriends on the sofa. Me and Melissa and Susan got delivery for dinner, then the three of us wound up all crowding into my bed for the night.

We had another good night, but I was more convinced than ever that if we couldn't use the big bed at Sue's house then we absolutely had to get a big bed in here.

Monday morning I made breakfast for the three of us while we started making plans. Both Melissa and Susan had to go out tonight, since we'd be spending the next couple days at mom's place and they wouldn't be able to do their contract stuff there. First though, we realized Sue needed to go home and pack up a bunch of clothes and other things she'd need as long as she was staying with us.

Then Lily spoke up and said she had an errand she wanted me to take care of first. My girlfriends agreed to drop me off at the mall on their way to Sue's place, and after I was finished doing Lily's thing I'd join them at the house to help with the packing and stuff.

When the three of us were dressed and ready I was about to head out the door when Melissa stopped me.

"Uh Mara? You're forgetting something."

"What?" I frowned. "I'm dressed, got my purse, phone and keys..."

Susan gently grabbed my tail and said "You have to hide this stuff Mara."

With a loud exaggerated sigh I did the spell and the demonic stuff disappeared, and I was immediately irritable and uncomfortable. I sat in the back seat and pouted for the short drive over to the mall. After they dropped me off Melissa and Susan drove away, while I went inside and made my way to the bank.

It was just two days till xmas and the mall was as busy as you'd expect. The visit to the bank ended up taking what felt like forever. Before we left Sue's place yesterday, me and Lily picked up that silver brooch and put it back in the velvet box. The box was now in my purse, and Lily wanted me to lock it up in a safe deposit box.

First I had to wait till I could speak with a manager or something. Then there was a bunch of paperwork to fill out and stuff. Then I had to wait a while more, and finally I got a funky looking key and the manager took me to get the box out of the vault.

Then I was left alone in a little room so I could do my box business in private. As soon as the door closed I let my tail and horns return. Instantly I felt better, I relaxed and smiled.

I opened the velvet box to double-check that the brooch was inside, then closed it and stuffed it into the metal box.

"Hey Lily? Why do we need to lock this up in a bank vault?"

She replied, "It's the most secure option available in short notice. Ideally I would lock it in a strong box, seal the strong box in a safe, and dump the safe in the deepest part of the ocean. Either way, the point is to ensure nobody gets their hands on that brooch and accidentally awakens Verothilas."

"Ok," I nodded, "That makes sense."

I was about to take the metal box back out of the little room when Lily reminded me, "Hide the horns and tail Mara."

That made me pout again, but I did what she said. Then the manager took me to put the box back in the vault, and I was finally done with the bank for now. I was grumpy and uncomfortable again, that brief reprieve in the little room wasn't enough.

As much as I wanted to get somewhere private so I could let my horns and tail out, I realized being at the mall gave me the chance to pick up some surprise gifts for my girlfriends. At least doing something fun helped take my mind off how uncomfortable I felt.

It was another hour or so before I finally finished up at the mall. Then I hurried home with my purchases so I could put them away. And of course as soon as I was home I let my demonic bits out again.

It was around noon and I really needed to get over to Sue's place but I didn't want to take the bus, or even a cab or ride-share. Basically I didn't want to have to hide everything again already.

"Lily? Can you get us over to Sue's house with magic?"

I could imagine her sighing and rolling her eyes. She knew why I was asking, I wasn't fooling her. Not that I was trying.

"Oh very well," she sighed. "Just this once, because I still have power to spare after what we absorbed from Verothilas."

I grinned, "Yay! Thanks Lily!"

As usual there weren't any swirly magic effects or flashy lights. The best way I could describe it was like a video cross-fade effect. My bedroom in the apartment just faded away and I found myself standing in the family room in the basement of Susan's house. There wasn't even any sense of movement or anything.

"Wow!" My grin got even wider, "Lily that was amazing!"

Sue and Melissa were upstairs and I hurried up to join them.

They had a lot of the work done already. There were four boxes ready to go, three full of clothes and the fourth had make-up and toiletries and stuff like that in it. Sue was filling a fifth box with books and stuff from the office-bedroom.

I helped where I could, and after another hour or so Sue had everything she figured she'd need over the winter break. Then the three of us carried everything out and loaded it up in Melissa's car.

As we drove home Melissa commented, "Two days before christmas is very much the wrong time to try getting contractors to do estimates on home repair."

"I'll take your word for that," I replied. "Were you looking into it?"

Susan nodded, "Melissa made some calls while I was packing? She did manage to get through to a couple, so we might get someone to come over next week and look at the house."

I asked, "Are you going to get it fixed?"

She shrugged, "I don't know yet? I want some estimates, like to know what it'll cost to fix. And maybe what it'll cost to replace. Then once I have all the figures, I'll try and make a decision in the new year."

She added, "I'll want your opinions too, like we can all decide together."

Melissa pointed out, "It's your house though. Should be your decision right?"

Sue agreed, "Yeah I'll make the final decision, but I still want to know what you both think of the options."

At that point we were in our spot in the parking garage, so we left that conversation for later as we hauled Sue's stuff up to our apartment.

Her stuff wound up piled up in a corner of the living-room, next to our TV. It kind of sucked and I felt bad for her, like she basically had to share either my bed or Melissa's bed, she didn't have a room of her own, and all her stuff was just in boxes.

It was temporary though, and she didn't seem to mind. If anything I had a feeling she was happy we were all living together, even if the conditions weren't ideal.

With all that out of the way, Melissa and Susan both showered and got ready to go out. I did the opposite, I got undressed and just put on a nightshirt. I gave them both a kiss and wished them a fun night, then after they were gone I heated up some leftovers for dinner. Finally I spent the alone-time wrapping some gifts while I streamed a movie on the TV.

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