(Hayli’s turn! Terra said she'd let me write more, and since I had the time, I have! - Hayli) 

I arrived at Terra's hotel early in the morning, bright eyed and scaley tailed. I darted my eyes around looking for the shell that she inhabited to appear in the lobby. As soon as I did, I jumped her into a hug, noting the awkwardness it caused her.

"Good morning, Earth." I said letting go of her.

"Um... G-good morning." She replied face red and eyes darting around the room. Clearly something was going on here, though to say it was a crush would be too much speculation- after all being hugged in public can be embarrassing as Sairah can attest to.

"I want to go to Hana." I say leading us out the door into the street.

"Sounds good." The monotone reply came.

I suppose I should come out. Well, come out with my sexuality so she knows Earth has no chance with me. "Ah, right. I suppose I should tell you... I like girls. Just in case you thought this was something else."

"I didn't." She replied.

I stared at her for a second, then gave a grin to her, "Good. As long as you are Earth, we are friends." Then I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along before any question could pass her lips. Every so often she would try to ask something but would instead have to apologize as we tried multiple times to trample pedestrians ahead of us to death. 

As soon as we approached the Carriage Station, we went inside and bought tickets, two ways. Then we stood outside to wait.

I kept one eye on Terra who was standing awkwardly against the wall of the building, every so often slightly squatting and crossing her leg over the other. She was silent and kept her eyes onto the ground. Such great company.

Soon enough a carriage pulled up and we jumped in.

I noticed a demoness already inside, with a really cute blue suit and pants. She seemed a bit familiar- like from a background of a memory or something. Maybe she looked like someone Ilyah had mention to me or something. To be polite I greeted the departing passenger, "Oh, hello. I'm Hayli and this is..." I sigh slightly before finishing, "Earth." 

The demoness cocked her head and gave a little chuckle, then in an accent that I didn't expect replied, "Nice ta meet'cha Hayli. I'm Olli. Welp, sorry, I can't stay and chat but I have business to attend to, Princess." She stood up, grabbing a small suitcase from beside her, and turned towards Terra. "I expect I'll see you again soon, my dear Earth."

Terra was sweating and grasping the hilt of the cheap she carried around, even well after she left and closed the door.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

She let go of her tension and slumped into the street across from me. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Did you know her?"

"Knew." She replied bluntly. It was clear to me she didn't want to speak on it anymore, so I left it at that.

The carriage ride began, and after a bit Terra asked me from where I came.

"I live in the East. Specifically, in a small town called Hill Valley. It's located on the peninsula and right on the coast so it's great for a Water Dragon like me."

She looked a bit quizzical, "Water Dragon?"

I smiled; I could afford to be a bit narcissistic this time, "Yup! You're looking at what the books call the most beautiful creature in the sea."

Terra deadpanned replied, "I think the books only describe the actual animal and not humons."

I leaned closer and gave her puppy dog eyes, "Are you saying that I'm not beautiful?"

She grew red and looked down. "Yes. C-Cute, but not beautiful." 

Well, well. She thinks I'm cute. I'd be flattered but the line between crush and idolization is thin, and I wasn't sure if I wanted a girl to want to look like me when I was already copying my cousin. "That's half rude. Where are you from then?"

"I live in Nathers. To the south of here. It's booooring. Currently, I mean. Vern and I used to make so much trouble for them before being banned from the woods." She replied.

Uh. "Why would you be banned from the woods?" What did she and the twink do? 

"No, no. We banned ourselves, in order to protect ourselves. We weren't going to risk wandering back over the border for a fifth time."

"Oh." I stared at her trying to rationalize how she and her brother had managed to even reach the border from those woods. I was pretty sure it wasn't that close, like even a hunter wouldn't go that deep into them. I was legitimately worried about her and the twink if they could manage to get that lost.

"So, Water Dragon, how's it being a Hero?"

"Great! I get things, and all I had to do was show up at one gathering when I was younger with all the other heroes."

"Oh, yeah. That." She leaned back more.

"Did we meet then?"

She shook her head, looking at me with a squint. "I- Probably not. I was preoccupied with some matters else for part of it and the other half I was forced to spend exclusively with my siblings and parents."

"Oh well, too bad we didn't meet then. It could have been fate now for us to meet again." Actually, it was too bad because having a friend like me back then would have made things even easier. 

"Fate is a myth. It would be an eventuality, seeing as we are parts of the same shared group."

Ugh, she's like that? I really hoped that was part of her egg brain. The idea of fate and the act fortune telling was seen as feminine after all. "I guess so."

"You're not stuttering anymore, and you sound more relax."

I blush, I had perhaps rubbed out that nervous tick last night. Plus, if I just kept how she looked now in mind I didn't have a lesbian panic that often. Time to lie. "I get nervous around new people. This is how I usually talk around Sairah or my friends. Also, I may have drunk a potion to calm my nerves, Well, two of them."

"Aw, it was cute seeing you so nervous though." She turned to the window and looked as we finally got out of the city. It lasted until a deer came into view and she turned away, a strange sort of look on her face. 

"Earth, do you know any magic?"

"Not really. You?" She replied.

"If I have any water, yes." I lied. Any liquid was fine, actually. "Besides that... well, I know a little bit of hypnosis."

"Hypnosis?" She parroted back, seeming to be interested in it. Did she have a thing for that type of stuff? 

"Yeah, just enough to make people do small things like eat a bug, be themselves or kiss me." I gave a cheeky wink, "But Sariah would kill me if I used it for that. It if I forced someone like you to kiss me. Not like I'd do that though."

She laughed nervously, "Well, I hope that's true because I'd probably be killed by her also. So, yeah. I'll pass on that." She stopped and thought before continuing, "Though it might be fun to see what being hypnotized is like. Always sounded like a neat thing in books. N-not for that reason though!" She blushed and stretched to try and distract from that little comment. "Not sure why she was worried about that, we're new friends, that's a weird thing to do to a new friend."

I gave a fake little "Aw." and acted upset she didn't want me to fuck around in her head.

"So, new friend, what exactly are you planning for us to do in Hana?"

“Um, hang out, look around… It was really just to get away from Sairah, honestly. I need to get away from her every now and then she tells me. Or I’ll grow codependent.” And stare at the egg for any more signs and buy a potion for us regardless. I hoped it would still be in stock when we got there.

"Oh, she's planning to make you codependent to me instead?"

I giggled, "That would be fine by me, bestie."

She seemed to be happy at the term bestie, which was a nice surprise for me. It was a much better alternative to her living deadname. Enough use of bestie and the deadname might get a reaction as well.

We chatted idly, surface stuff, not really going any deeper. Like about the twink and Sairah and training and Hero and Shield stuff. Eventually we ran out and spent the last few minutes in silence. I watched her look at her reflection in the glass and frown, then press against it so it didn't come into her vision while watching as we approached the little town of Hana. 

The carriage came to a full stop, the driver ringing a cute little bell to tell us we arrived. It opened and they helped us out and Terra tipped him as a different set of passengers entered and left.

It smelt like shit. I wanted to get away from the edge of town where the fields were as soon as possible. I looked that direction, looking for a... Oh! There it was. A pub, the pub. I wanted to see Gera's spear. I jogged towards it, Terra briskly walking behind me.

"The Pub?"

"Yuh, huh. They have memorabilia from the last Hero from Hill Valley in it." I explained.

"How long ago was that?"

"Like twenty of my lifetimes ago."

I opened to door and pulled it wide open before dashing inside and getting a nice little table by the far wall, right below a rather large mural of some knights. I left Terra alone to search for Gera's items. 

In the back was the section for Heroes from the east, and in a little case was the ornate ceremonial breastplate of Gera, and nothing else. Not even her placard gave her respect, misspelling Gera as Gela. Humans...

I went back to the table, calling Terra away from looking at a wall of photos. We drank our drinks with little conversation before I told her we were going shopping, with the excuse of needing new clothes. I did, but so did she- and a good way to get more evidence to confront her with is how she acted in a dress store. That was one of the places I was most awkward even well into my transition.

 She groaned in false protest as I pulled her inside. I went to find some dresses for her. I kept an eye on Terra as she paced around every so often going to a rack and touching the fabric of a dress and staring longingly at it or going to a mannequin and copying the stance or in rare cases pulling one out placing it next to her body and then pushing it back and looking around to see if anybody saw her do that.

I grabbed a white dress for me, and two black sundresses for her and a ballerina outfit for... reasons. (What reasons Hayli, what reasons?) (You'll see when I think of how to incorporate it, Terra. - Hayli)

I brought it up to the counter and Terra placed down some knee highs on the counter with them. I wanted to mention they were for women but held my tongue just in case that pushed her more into her shell. It wasn't like she didn't know this was a dress store. 

Next up was the general store, which Terra was much more willing to go into, practically pulling my arm off to drag me in. She went to look at soaps while I went to look at the potions.

"Lady Grafein's Active Transformative Gender Potion for Future Ladies." Read a large flask. I picked it up and turned it around, "Two doses, take half of flask. Warning: Will only change what you want to be changed. Do not use on animals."

I grabbed it and took it to the counter and paid for it. Terra purchased her stuff and we left the building.

"So... What potion did you buy?" She asked.

"N-nothing." I tried to think of a lie. Both to keep my plan secret and myself as well. I didn't know if she was self-hating or whatever at this point. "Just some um... curative potion. To fix something." 

Terra looked me over like she thought I was sick or something then shrugged, "Well, okay then."

Good, she bought it. I held the back with the potion closer to me as we walked back towards the place we came from. Today had been nice, Terra was much easier to get around places with than the towering Sairah. She was a sweetheart but sometimes the bear could cause accidental damage to people when walking.

Terra was kicking up dirt as we walked, much to my annoyance. It was making it annoying to breathe. So, when her stomach grumbled, I hauled her ass into the nearest place that claimed to serve food and sat her down. Toast time.

"When was the last time you ate?" I asked.

"Um, last night?" She replied buttering her fourth piece of toast.

"You skipped breakfast? That's not good you know." This girl was going to die if she was left alone. Skipping meals and the ability to cross the border with a simple walk in the woods? Wonder she wasn't dead yet.

"Technically this is my breakfast."

We chatted some more and ate, but soon I was focused solely on eating. After a while I realized her eyes were on me and kicked her on purpose to get her to stop. It was creepy on one hand and making the image of future Terra pop up in my head on the other one. After another awkward exchange, Terra suddenly stood up, said she was done and drug me outside and back to the carriage station, flashing the ticket at the driver as we hopped inside, pushing me in first.

"S-sorry, for that. I panic in awkward situations."

"No, it's fine.  I didn't help either. Um, Earth... Te- thank you for today." I try and encourage her.

To that she cocks her head and worriedly asks, "You're welcome?"

We arrived back in town and after a quick hug goodbye we left each other for the night.

Sairah greeted me as I arrived back, "How'd it go?"

"Fine."

"Not fun or no evidence?"

"Not fun. She is like me, definitely. She spent half the time rubbing her face and grimacing when she felt stubble. And don't get me started on the dress store."

"You get that potion?"

"Of course. Can you watch over me?"

"Of course. Get washed first."

I complained a little but did so. I went up and took a shower and put on my pajamas. I sat on my bed and poured half the potion into a bowl. Sairah grabbed the flask and put it aside. 

"You know it isn't going to change much."

"It's going to stop me from forgetting to take a dose." I said downing the potion in the bowl.

Sairah looked at me and tapped her foot. And then in a graceful motion I went limp and tumbled onto the floor.

---

Terra swore as the quintuple war went to Sairah. Her deck was almost nothing at this point and it was mere moments till her loss.

"So, how's the brother?" She asked as her ten beat Terra's two.

"Peeved I left Ricka with him."

"That stalker you mentioned. You let her stay around."

"She's a friend of ours."

I coughed, "A friend?"

"I do not like what you're implying, Hayli."

I grinned, "I only imply it's strange to only have girls as friends."

She swore as her last card went to Sairah then turned to me as the bear shuffled the deck and put it away, "Is it? All my friends have been girls, actually. Vern's the only guy I ever hung out with."

That was a slip there. "Oh, you're that type of guy?"

"I had a crush on one of them, one of them."

"Oh, sure."

She hmphed and whined a little.

"So, is it on Fredericka?" Sairah asked.

She looked actually offended by that, "No. She likes Vern regardless."

"Why?"

"Horrid taste." She laughed. "What about you, any friends you had a crush on?"

"Hayli can barely even make friends with people she doesn't have a crush on."

"H-hey!" I threw a pillow at my Shield who caught it and slid it underneath her butt.

"I mean if you were a pretty girl, she might have been stuck going iluhioololoin."

Terra laughed, "If I were a pretty girl..." She seemed to be enjoying imagining it before shaking her head, "Well, unfortunately I am a guy."

"For now." Sairah winked at me. I shook my head at her.

"Uh, sure." Terra replied. "Sairah... weird question but how accepted are you two in Hill Valley? Not as humons. The other reason."

"Oh, the East is way more progressive than down here for such things. Love, race, species, gender. You can love who you love and be who you are. You'd enjoy it."

"T-that so..." She looked at her hands. She seemed ready to ask a question then swallowed her words and instead said, "Seems nice. For you I mean. I'm straig-" She stopped, "Mostly straight."

"Mostly?" Sairah asked.

"Yeah, mostly? What one dude caught your interest once?"

"No, I mean, like straight means I like just women, right? But any fem presenting person I can crush on. Regardless of actual gender identity I suppose." Hell yeah, Terra. Wait, wait, wait. She might be into girls like me already. I mean clearly, she becomes that way later but still... 

"Sapphic." Suggested Sairah.

"Again, I'm a guy." She lied.

"Don't think there's a better word." I spoke.

"Okay, enough of this- time for you two to embarrass yourselves! When did you realize you were gay?"

Sairah went first, "Sixth grade, when a girl kissed me on a dare. Really hammered it home how I didn't feel anything when my boyfriend at the time kissed me and how I found him and all men boring and droll."

"Boring. Hayli?"

"I've always known I like girls."

"Really?"

"Yes, that was the least of my concerns to sort out."

She tried to press me on my other concerns, but I wanted to hold those cards to the side for the moment. 

Sairah yawned and told us to go to sleep. Reluctantly I retired upstairs while Terra curled up on the floor. I could hear Sairah and some maids barricading Bianca's door for safety. Terra's safety. She wouldn't be able to get out of drinking with the High Mother and anything that came with it.

I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. Soon. I would get Terra to pour out of that fragile shell and into my arms soon. I happily picture me, her and... that other girl in my head. There had been a few others, but this was the only one that I saw... doing things with Terra and I in that way. I usually would have ignored it, but after Terra said she knew Olli earlier I was worried. After all, they had horns themselves. I did not want to risk her having another demon as a childhood friend. I mean, what chance did I have then?

No, Hayli. Bad Hayli. You're cuter and more beautiful than anyone she's met and as soon as she accepts herself, she'll in no way reject you whenever you ask to date her no matter who else ends up alongside the two of you.

Three days now. Three days where Terra has to be her false self before she's trapped on a boat with me.

I was evil, wasn't I.