"Half shape-shifter?" I asked as I stared at mom's back. "That's... What? Mom that's not a real thing. It's impossible."

She sighed, "It's the truth hon. Your father and I agreed not to say anything unless you manifested, and that normally happens around age twelve. When you passed your fourteenth birthday without anything happening, we thought that meant you were a normal human."

I frowned and drank the rest of my juice while mom finished making my breakfast. She set the plate down in front of me, then got the juice out of the fridge to refill my glass.

"Thanks mom," I said as I started eating. I felt like I was starving and the bacon smell had my mouth watering.

While I ate she made herself a cup of coffee, then sat down across from me. I was already almost finished the first half of my sandwich, and it didn't take long to polish off the other half as well.

I washed it down with another full glass of juice, then finally sat back and apologized "Sorry mom. I don't know why I was so hungry, but that was great. Thank you."

She sipped her coffee then shook her head, "It's fine hon. Changing yourself last night would have taken a lot of energy, even though you're smaller now. It's even worse if you make yourself larger. If you've had enough to eat, you'll probably want to go back to bed soon. Your dad said until you get the hang of it, the first couple changes will take a lot out of you."

I found myself staring at her, "You're serious aren't you? This is for real? I'm an actual shape-shifter?"

"You are," mom nodded. "I'm sorry hon, I know it's a lot to take in."

"Yeah," I sighed as I slumped back in my chair. "So... I don't even know where to start? So does that mean you and dad are too? What can you change into? How do you do it? Will it keep happening in my sleep? What if I don't want to change again, what if I want to stay like this?"

"Slow down Melody," mom said, and hearing her say my new name again filled me with joy.

She had another sip of her coffee then explained, "You're half shape-shifter, half human. That's why I called your father, he's the shape-shifter. I'm the human."

My eyes widened, "Is that the real reason you two split up? Does that mean he's some kind of monster or something? Am I a monster too?"

"Not at all hon," mom shook her head. She reached out and took my hand in hers, "You're not a monster, I promise! You're my child. Whether you're a boy or a girl or anything in between, you'll always be my child and I'll always love you."

I held mom's hand as I fought back some more tears. "Thanks mom. So um, that's why you called dad? He's going to come and explain things?"

"That's right," she nodded. "I don't have all the answers, I only know the things I picked up from him when we were married."

It still seemed surreal to me, almost unbelievable. On the other hand I somehow turned into a cute girl overnight and I had no explanation for that. So if my mom said I was a shape-shifter, then maybe that was the answer.

After a few moments she asked, "Are you still hungry? I can make you something else if you like?"

"No thanks," I shook my head. "I was starving before, but the bacon sandwich filled me up..."

I stifled a yawn as my voice trailed off, then I blushed "Maybe I could use a bit more sleep."

Mom gave me a smile, "Go get some rest Melody. It'll be at least an hour till your dad gets here."

There was another flutter of joy as she used my new name again, and I smiled back. "Thanks mom. You're the best."

We both got to our feet, and she gave me a hug then sent me upstairs to get some more sleep while she tidied up the kitchen.

It was a little freaky how fast things changed, like I was starving then I was fine, then I was yawning and now as I got to the top of the stairs my eyes were already half closed. I stumbled into my room and collapsed onto my bed, I was probably asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

There weren't any dreams, and it didn't feel like I slept all that long before I woke up again. It was more like a power-nap than a deep sleep, but I felt a lot better as I sat up. I stretched, and shifted so I was sitting on the edge of the bed.

For just a second or two I thought everything this morning had all been a really nice dream. Like that made a lot more sense than actually turning into a girl in my sleep, coming out to my mom, and having mom accept me and start using my chosen name.

I almost felt scared as I looked down at myself, but it wasn't a dream. I was still a girl, still Melody. A wide smile settled on my face, and after a glance to verify my bedroom door was closed I moved my hands to my chest and cupped my breasts through the t-shirt.

They were definitely real, and it felt absolutely amazing. My heart started racing as I felt the soft yielding warmth of my boobs. It was even better than I imagined.

Next I moved my hands down to my lap. I bit my lower lip and ran my right hand up along my thigh. I was excited and curious, and maybe it was cliché but I really wanted to know what it would feel like.

Before I got the chance to find out, I faintly heard someone knocking at the front door. A moment later my mom called "Coming!" as she hurried to answer it.

"Crap," I sighed.

I took a few deep breaths then moved to my window and checked. Sure enough dad's big black pick-up was in the driveway, dwarfing mom's little sub-compact. A few seconds later I heard quiet talking downstairs, and I was positive mom was filling dad in on all the details, including the stuff we talked about earlier this morning.

My heart was racing a bit as I moved back to my bed. I sat crosslegged with my back against the wall and waited. Sure enough I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and a few seconds later there was a gentle knock at my door.

I gulped, "Come in."

The door opened, and instead of my dad some strange woman stepped into my bedroom.

She looked to be in her early twenties, and she was about five-foot-eight, same height as Kelly. Her hair was light blonde with darker streaks, done up in a bun at the back. She was wearing pink nurses scrubs, and the hospital name tag on her chest identified her as 'Alison Sinclair'.

That was my dad's and my last name, and for just a second I wondered if dad remarried but never told me. I dismissed that idea pretty fast though, he'd never do that. Then I wondered if this was an older half-sister I'd never met before, but that seemed just as unlikely.

She smiled at me, "Happy birthday kiddo. Your mom tells me you'd like me to call you Melody? And I'm guessing she/her pronouns work for you?"

"Thank you, and yes please." I said as I stared at her. "Uh, who are you?"

She smirked slightly and gestured to her name tag, "My name's Alison."

I frowned, "Ok, um, why are you here? I don't really need a nurse. Did my dad bring you?"

Alison was still smiling as she moved to sit at the foot of my bed. She shook her head and replied, "Not exactly. My shift starts in just under an hour and it was easier to come see you like this? Otherwise I'd have to change for a quick visit, then change again before I went to work."

"Huh?" I frowned. "I don't understand."

Her smile faded and she took a deep breath then stated, "It's me hon. I'm your dad. Though while I look like this, she/her pronouns for me too if you don't mind. I quit firefighting not long after your mom and I split up. Now I'm a nurse. I just do the dad thing when I'm spending time with you."

I was silent as I stared at her, and it felt like maybe my last grip on reality was crumbling. My dad, the tall strong brave tough outgoing manly firefighter, the man I was positive was disappointed in me for being shy quiet and sensitive, was now a cute blonde nurse in pink scrubs calling herself Alison. Who looked young enough to be my big sister.

She watched me for a few seconds then said, "It's ok Melody. I know this is overwhelming, I know it's a lot to take in. I'm a shape-shifter, I look like whatever I want. I can be a man or woman, young or old. Blonde or brunette. I don't even have to look human. I could be an animal, I could even be something out of mythology or fantasy."

"This is all too much," I half-whispered. "When I woke up this morning I was confused but happy? Like this is all I could have ever hoped for, it was a dream come true? Then mom said I was half shape-shifter, and now all that stuff you just said... What if I don't want that? What if I don't want to change. I like this."

"You don't have to change kiddo," Alison replied. Her voice was soft, compassionate as she explained "The first change usually isn't so drastic as this. And typically it manifests a lot younger, around age twelve, and tends to be something superficial? Hair or eyes, usually. I get the feeling maybe you've been saving up, waiting till you could do it all at once. Maybe that's why it took you till your eighteenth birthday."

I frowned, "But I don't know how to do it. I didn't even know it was possible. How could I do that?"

"Instinct," she replied. "Or something subconscious? Or both? I don't know hon. It's something you need to learn though? Now that you've manifested, you'll need to learn how to control it."

"But I don't want to change again," I said as I shook my head. "Can't I just stay like this?"

Alison gave me a sad look, "Nobody can force you to change, but sometimes emotions get out of hand. If you have no control over it, you might change accidentally. And worse still, you might change in public, or where someone could see. That's why you need to learn how to control it. So you don't change by accident. And if you did change unintentionally, you'd want to be able to get back to this again right?"

My eyes widened and I nodded. The thought of accidentally turning myself back into my original form, or maybe even something worse, then getting stuck like that was too scary to contemplate.

"So how do I learn? Will you teach me?"

"I will," she nodded. "I can't right now, but first thing tomorrow morning I'll be back here."

I frowned, then a cold fear settled in my stomach. "What about school? It's exams next week, I can't go in looking like this. But I can't change back... I mean I don't want to. I won't. And how will I explain this to my friends?"

She shook her head, "You can't go back looking like that, no. And neither your mom or I would try and force you to shift to a form you don't want. We'll figure something out, I can come up with a medical excuse to get you out of your exams. Or maybe we can arrange for you to write them here? We'll figure something out hon."

Alison glanced at her smartwatch, "I don't have a lot of time before I have to get going, so let's quickly go over a few things ok?"

She immediately dove right in without waiting for a response, "Now that you've manifested, your abilities are going to be really sporadic at first. It's probably going to take you three or four days to recharge before you're ready to change again, so you don't have to worry about anything happening just yet. I'll be back tomorrow morning, and I'm going to take Friday off so I can spend the day with you. I'll be here Saturday too. We'll get you up to speed as fast as we can so you won't have to worry about any more spontaneous changes."

She continued, "Your mom's out getting you some new clothes, unless she goes too crazy she should be back in under an hour. Normally I'd say don't buy too much of any one size or style incase you want to keep experimenting and find a different shape, but if you're positive this is what you want then you can probably go out with her later and buy some more clothes, maybe some make-up and jewelry if you like? I'll leave that up to you and her, but if you need some more money for stuff like that just text me and I'll take care of it."

There was a brief pause as she looked thoughtful, then she ended with "I think that's all for now? Do you have any questions?"

I stared at her for a few seconds, as I tried to process everything she just said. And once again it felt like my grip on reality was slipping.

"Yeah actually," I finally responded. "I have a few questions. Why are you a girl? Are you trans? Should I be calling you mom? Or should I still call you dad? Or should I call you Alison?

She gave me a patient smile, "I know this is confusing at first Melody, so try not to be too overwhelmed? You can always call me dad if you want, I'll always be your father no matter what I look like. While I look like this you can call me Alison. When I look like your old man, dad works best. My pronouns change with my appearance. As for your first question, I'm a girl because I got bored of being a guy. I'm not trans, if I had to pick a label I suppose gender-fluid works? I'm a shape-shifter, I get bored of being the same thing for too long. I'm a girl now, maybe I'll be a guy again in a couple years? Maybe not, who knows?"

I frowned as I stared at her, and got a cold feeling in my gut. "Is that... Am I like that too? I'm not really trans, I just want to be a girl because I'm bored of being a guy? And maybe in a few years I'll get bored of being this, bored of being Melody and want to change again?"

Dad shook her head, she moved closer and pulled me into a hug "I'm sorry kiddo I didn't mean to suggest that! I'll be honest with you, I don't know the answer to those questions? But my gut tells me that's not the case. Or if you do, maybe it'll only be superficial things? Hair and eye colour, height, that kind of thing. Please don't worry, ok hon?"

I tentatively hugged her back, and as we held each other she said softly, "If this is you, if this is who you want to be, then this is who you are. You're a girl, your name is Melody, and you're my daughter."

Her words sent another little wave of happiness through me, the fears and confusion were momentarily forgotten as I smiled.

"Thanks dad."

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