MegaSuperKami

Content Warnings:

Mention of sexual assault, mention of violence, and heavy emotional turmoil.

Despite accepting that I would have to wait for the two that stormed away to come back, I wasn’t content to just sit there and do nothing. I stood from the lavish couch and walked to one of the large windows where the light of mid-morning filtered through the neutral color of the sheers between the curtains and the window. Pulling the sheets of cloth to the side, the world outside of this house revealed itself to me. 

In a word, I would call the area before me beautiful. There were finely curated flowerbeds a stone’s throw away from the building proper filled with an array of different fall blooming plants. Tones of purple, red, orange, yellow, and green spread deliberately around my field of view. I wish I had my phone to take a picture of this. Jenny would love to take notes. Actually, I wonder what happened to my phone. I had it in the pocket of my sweatpants. The sweatpants that got shredded by the claws of a supernatural creature. It would be really annoying if I had to replace it, because I’m pretty sure that wasn’t covered in the warranty. 

Tiredly smiling at my own joke, I looked further beyond the flowers wistfully. Now that I knew to pay attention to it, I realized just how much better my vision had become. My eyes had been all but useless unless I was within less than a foot of something, but now I could see clearly into the horizon. I could practically count the leaves on a tree a hundred feet away. I could see the wall that ran the entire way around my field of view. The wall likely encircled the entire estate, though I’m sure with the way that property worked out in the country that the wooded area outside the walls for quite some way were also under the same ownership. That told me that I was in the country, but I still had no idea where I could be in relation to anywhere I knew.

The further I looked, the more skeptical I became. This was kinda crazy. Am I sure that I didn’t get dosed with some intense hallucinogen? Seeing someone who had turned into something that was only supposed to exist in fiction was one thing, but actually being the one that was now experiencing the things that should be fictitious just blows the top off the powderkeg. I held my hand in front of my face, and marveled at how surreal everything felt. 

My hand, the hand that I had since I was born, grew and changed many times before. That said, it happened over the course of months or years before now. But this? The hand that was in front of me now was entirely different and unfamiliar. It had hints that it used to be mine, yet also didn’t. Slender, delicate, soft, and pristine. The scar from when I fell off my bike as a child was gone without a trace. The freckle that was on my index finger, similarly vanished. It was very appealing, just as the rest of what I’ve seen of my new self is. I was incredibly happy to have been given a miracle transition, and I bathed in the euphoria for a little bit there. There was still something alien about it all though. As if I was an imposter in my own skin. Perhaps it was simply too good to be true. 

Am I even me anymore? ‘Awakening’ sounded like something important. It was hard to not struggle with the thought of what may have awakened. Was it my body? My mind? My soul? Something else entirely?

Coming to a conclusion that I needed to shelve that topic before it got out of hand, I jammed it into Pandora’s Box where it could be with all of the other unresolved issues in my life. Some of them might take a while, since I doubt I could see a therapist about any of this magical, life-changing stuff.

I shook my head and wandered aimlessly into another room. Though I tried, I couldn’t really get into admiring the woodwork or the design of anything, I just walked around and familiarized myself with the area a bit. The downstairs was very open and connected in a circular pattern, with no doors in the sizable doorways to separate the spaces. There was a half bath in the back corner of the ground floor. Helpful to know about when I might need to use it.

Autopilot took over and my mind kept going back to some pretty rough places. No matter how much I yearned for a distraction, nothing was able to cover up the noise of it all. Thankfully, at some point maybe an hour later, the front door swung open. The only reason I could even tell how long it had been was the few chimes I had heard from the grandfather clock that stood in another room that appeared to function as a study.

Turning around from the seat I had taken at the kitchen island, I saw a glimpse of Liz rushing up the stairs and Damian walking somberly towards me. I turned back to the granite countertop and continued tracing the veins in the stone with my finger absentmindedly. He didn’t even say a word, he simply came up and sat down in the barstool next to me. He looked like he was tired and trying to compose himself. My own expression surely wasn’t any better after all the time I had spent fighting against despairing thoughts.

“You once again have my apologies for that outburst. There are a great many things it seems that I must apologize to you for, but not many things that are truly forgivable.” He took some time to gather himself and didn’t say anything further for a few moments.

Damian seemed likely to stay silent for a bit longer, so I took the initiative. “Am I still the person that I used to be. Am I even human?” My voice came out bitterly, though I didn’t intend to have that effect. I didn’t realize how close I was to breaking down.

He seemed unsurprised at my questions or tone. Softly, he responded, “You are the person that you have always been. Fear not.” His face scrunched up a bit. “As for if we are human, the answer is maybe we are.”

It felt like a slap to the face. The old fox man didn’t even know if I was human or not. I laughed ruefully and a wry smile turned the corner of my mouth up. “So you don’t even know. Silly of me to think I’d actually get some straight answers.”

Despite my rude manner of address, Damian was unphased. “You are correct. I do not know. I’m not sure if anybody does. It is a hotly contested idea to those that know of it.” He stood from his seat and went toward the fridge. Turning back to me he asked, “Would you like anything to drink?”

I nodded my head and mumbled, “Just some water.” 

He poured himself some iced tea that had been in a pitcher within the fridge and filled a second glass with water from a filtered tap next to the kitchen faucet. Damian set the glass in front of me, which I ignored for now, and continued his explanation. “You see, a Were is seemingly not entirely human. Clearly, there are a number of things that differ between a Were and a human, even while the Were takes a human form. One might expect a Were to assuredly be inhuman. That may not be the case though. If two Weres were to conceive a child, the result would be entirely human with no remarkable differences. That poses a strong argument for the sake of us being humans with special abilities, rather than entirely different lifeforms.” He took a moment to sip from his glass of tea.

“Truly, the answer changes from individual to individual. It is my observation that the answer is simply an opinion formed on a case-by-case basis.” He looked forward, not glancing in my direction.

That was one issue down at least, assuming that I trusted his words at face value. For now, I had no reason to trust him entirely nor compelling reasons to doubt him. Until I could get more information, I would simply have to take his words with a grain or two of salt. Not that my humanity was that terribly important to me anyway. I’d frequently daydreamed about being something else.

“Thank you for telling me that. It eases my worries a little bit.” I took a sip of the cool water, which was refreshing in this harsh atmosphere I had looming over me. “Tell me something else. What was that whole thing about earlier? Was my transformation really that jarring? If you are going to judge me for being trans, then go ahead old man. I’ve had plenty of other things wrong today, so getting discriminated against by an actual fantasy monster might brighten my day a little.” A dry smile stayed on my face while I waited for Damian, who had cast his gaze downward, to respond.

Damian placed one hand over the other on the counter and squeezed the hand below. “No, that was not the problem I can assure you. It is in the nature of a Were to change forms. Not only to their animal aspect, but in their human form as well.” Looking up from the counter he continued,  “Both Liz and myself accept this, and consider ourselves allies of the movement to have more control over the autonomy and expression of one’s self. I saw the pained look you had when I asked if you had been a man, and assumed that I was wrong before Liz broke up our meeting. These changes, are they something that you are comfortable with?” Looking over to me with a kind but worried expression, it seemed that he expected me to answer.

With a melancholy sigh, I turned my head only enough to look him in the eyes. “I think I do. I’ve thought several times by now that I received my ‘miracle transition’ from this. Still, it just seems too unbelievable for me to settle into the changes quite yet. The changes are almost… too perfect. Too good to be true.” I ran my finger along the back of my hand, enjoying the softness of both.

Damian nodded, “It can indeed feel like that at first. The ability to appear however you want is a dangerous one. You may have achieved something that fits your definition of ‘perfect’ yet still does not entirely fit within the vision you had of yourself. This can take time to come to terms with. I am simply relieved that you did not change into a form that was unwanted, as it would take quite some time to teach you how to alter yourself willingly under normal circumstances.”

“Excellent, another thing to file away for later.” I shook my head gently in annoyance. “Then why was Liz so riled up earlier? And even before that she acted like an angsty teen.” 

Damian’s expression became complicated. “I… cannot speak on Liz’s behalf. It would be best to hear those words from her directly. I can at least say that it was nothing about yourself personally. No, Liz’s outburst was unrelated to who you are or what you used to look like, instead it was related to the events from last night as a whole.” 

I scowled and gave Damian a dirty look. “Why should I bother hearing her out? Since I’ve had time to reflect, I realized just how bad the things she had done to me are.” My voice was starting to climb with anger. “She attacked me, attacked an innocent animal that tried to protect me, turned me into some creature I’d never heard of before, and took advantage of my helplessness to have her way with my body. Why would I possibly give her the chance to speak for herself?!” By the end, I was practically screeching with tears rolling down my cheeks.

Not at all phased, Damian met my pointed stare with a calm, unflinching steadiness. “I will not discount the injustices that you have suffered. They are very real, and it fills me with regret that my failure to prevent Liz from losing control, and my subsequent failure to contain Liz ended in such tragedy.” A pause hung in the air, thick and dreary. “At least know that Liz was not in control. She may remember parts of the night, but the actions taken were not hers. They were the actions of some primal beast that knows only base desires. Hunger, thirst, thrill, lust, and so on. Such are the only things that drive this beast.” He looked remorseful as he hung on those words.

Picking back up, he finished his thoughts. “Liz deeply regrets what transpired. She regrets losing control, and everything thereafter. I understand if you cannot forgive what has been done, but I implore you to not hold it against her. Her only fault was having a teacher that was unable to prevent a mistake that led to terrible consequences.” Damian stayed stoically serious as my own anger ebbed away. In its place was a rather hollow pit in my chest. “Instead of Liz, place your blame onto me. It was my failure that caused you such misfortune, and I ask that you spare Liz from any hatred that might arise from it.”

The last of the prior emotions drained to nothing. I stared thoughtfully at the tiled floor. If his words are truthful, then it isn’t so much the case of him taking the blame as it is just that much more difficult to blame anyone in particular. There was a distinct feeling that I should trust him somewhere in my gut, which really made it hard to doubt him in any meaningful way. 

If Liz wasn’t in control at all, it wasn’t like she was some drunk forcing herself on someone. And the clear remorse that Damian showed made it hard to blame him either for something that he was seemingly only involved in as a third party. If his words are sincere, then this was an accident that caused Liz to shift into an uncontrollable beast. There is no clear ill intent from either of them. Liz seems angry, but maybe that’s anger placed toward Damian for his failure? At the beast, perhaps? Maybe even anger at herself. Shit, with the way she reacted after waking up I wouldn’t be surprised if she was more agitated about what happened than I was. After all, I was still living in a fantasy land this morning. I was still thinking with my d- Okay, right, I don’t have that anymore. I was thinking about dick at least.

I shook my head slowly. “I can’t promise anything to you right now. There is way too much that’s happened, and I understand way too little of it. All of this supernatural stuff was nothing more than stories until I chanced upon a monster stalking through a barn in the middle of the night.”

Grimacing, Damian shook his head as well. “I understand that it will take some time to work through the shock. I will provide what support I can in the meantime. Regardless of that, I hope that you do not view a Were as monstrous. We are people just like all others. It is in your actions that you become a monster, not the other way around.”

Right, I was one of them now. I sighed deeply, then looked back at Damian. “I need something else to think about right now. Like, what are the plans for the immediate future? Am I to stay here in confinement until you deem me ‘ready’ or something?”

“You are not confined here, “ he answered simply, “and in fact I intend to provide transportation to get you back to your home, wherever that may be. I will then need to seek guidance from some of the more knowledgeable Weres in respect to your unique situation.”

He took another deep drink of his tea, draining the glass. Ice cubes rattled against each other as he set the glass back down. “That you have changed so soon after awakening, perhaps only minutes afterwards, is incredibly worrying. It is unheard of by myself. As I mentioned before, a Were traditionally is not much different from a human until they are able to harness the powers at their disposal.”

I squinted my eyes worriedly. “So, am I in some kind of danger? Am I going to turn into a m-” I caught the word in my mouth and sighed again. “Am I going to go berserk like Liz did?”

His expression lightening a little bit, Damian responded, “I don’t believe that will be the case, no. What happened to Liz was… incredibly rare. I have since forbidden her from attempting another full transformation until I can assure that it will be safe for all involved.” He paused and glanced away for a moment. I followed his line of sight, to find nothing of interest. Soon, he looked back at me and refocused. “Another thing that should be addressed is the physical change you have experienced. My wife pointed out that since you changed physically, it might cause some troubles for you if you suddenly reappeared in your life looking completely different. How drastic of a change did you undergo? We didn’t see what you looked like before, and as such have no point of reference to compare to.”

I tilted my head in thought, glad at least that I wasn’t seemingly at risk of going feral. I didn’t actually know how much I had changed last night. I knew that there were some very… personal changes, but I hadn’t actually seen myself as I am now besides looking down at my body. I had even purposefully ignored my reflection earlier as I looked out over the flowers and the surrounding estate. Also, why hadn’t I seen his wife if she knew that I was here? Strange, but I suppose I’ll probably meet her at some point.

“I don’t know, to be honest.” I shrugged.” I haven’t taken the time to look.” 

Damian nodded at my words with a surprisingly understanding expression. “There is a large mirror in the bathroom just around the corner. You may use it to see the result of the changes, if you so desire.” He pointed a finger in the direction that I knew there was a bathroom from my previous exploration. “I also have one more thing for you.” 

Standing from his seat on the barstool, Damian walked over into the kitchen and deliberately angled towards a particular drawer. Sliding the drawer open on its nice, smooth, undermount tracks that- Anyway, he reached into the drawer and pulled out a small rectangle. Shockingly, I was familiar with it. It was my phone, so I hoped that I would recognize it. They all looked the darn same these days, but mine was distinctive enough with its cute, pink flowery pattern on the back of its soft blue case.

Holding my phone out in front of me, Damian stood there. “This morning, you received dozens of notifications from people who are likely worried about your safety. It would be best to find some way to alleviate their panic before they call the authorities or otherwise cause a lot of unnecessary ruckus.”

I giggled quietly to myself, which caused Damian’s eyebrow to slowly creep upward. “So, this means I’m not grounded anymore?” The way that he got my phone out of the cabinet and sternly gave it back to me reminded me far too much of my own parents. It, in a way, caused me to release a lot of the remaining pent up stress that I had been building today.

Hand rising to meet face, Damian sighed in a way that I’m convinced only a parent can when they have to deal with the shenanigans of a brat. “No, you are not grounded. Please, take a moment to talk to your friends and family and tell them that you are alive and well.” Damian turned away toward the front of the house. “I am going to start preparations for sending you back home. Whereabouts might you live now?”

I told him the name of my town, an entire state west of here.

“Goodness, you are far from home. That makes things a little more difficult.” He ran his hand down his beard in thought. “No matter, I’ll get things ready. Take your time with your personal affairs. I will be down in the study when I am ready.”

With nothing further to say, he walked away toward the front of the house, then turned around and went up the stairs. I looked down at my phone, which survived the night in relatively good shape all things considered. Only the top corner of the screen was visibly damaged. When I tapped the screen, it came on just fine. The battery was still at around 25% or so, which was plenty for now. 

Ahhhhhhh, I hate that though. Looking down towards the notifications got my heart racing with anxiety. I always hated seeing piles of messages and such. In this case, there were no less than fifty messages across multiple messaging apps and a dozen missed calls. I put my phone away in the pocket of the sweatpants that I was wearing and decided to tackle that part last. 

Getting up from where I had been sitting at the kitchen island, I walked towards the bathroom that Damian had said had a large mirror in it. There had been a great deal of worry about what I looked like now. Nothing that I could really place, but a feeling of being unsettled and maybe a bit scared of what I would see. Nonetheless, I think it was time to finally see for myself what I look like. Hopefully I wasn’t unrecognizable.

Padding along the cool stone tile of the kitchen barefoot, I entered the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Taking a deep breath, I turned toward the tall mirror that covered almost half a wall of the modestly sized bathroom. Facing me on the other side of the glass, was some kind of weird doppelganger. She may have been my sister, or a twin even with how similar we looked. The facial features were similar enough that we could have easily passed as one another if we used a little makeup. She was also incredibly cute right now, wearing baggy pants and a shirt easily two sizes larger than was likely to fit. I could even see her breasts slightly tenting the fabric out just enough to know that they were there. It gave her a really soft, billowy look like a comfy Friday night with friends. I reached out, and so did she. Our fingertips met with the feeling of cold glass.

The unexpected feeling of cold glass forced my brain to recalculate what it was seeing. That wasn’t someone different, that was me. My eyes blinked and so did the reflection. I put my hand against my face, and so did it. I felt the absolute absence of coarse hairs along my jawline, and saw the figure in the mirror trace along the somewhat softer curve than I remembered. A single finger went over the bridge of my nose, and I think the one in the mirror was a little smaller than mine by a small margin. That hand then went up to my eye and felt how delicate the skin of my cheek was against my palm, which reflected back to me the slightly more prominent eyes that bore a richer shade of brown than I was used to seeing. Not having my glasses on also made my features stand out more. Pulling my hair down in front of my shoulder, I saw how thick and healthy it looked draped there. The length was about the same as it had been, but it was clearly fuller and shinier. I couldn’t make out much of the shape of my figure with the aforementioned oversized articles of clothing, but I could see hints of the wider hips that I noticed earlier.

This… was me? Just an hour ago, looking down at myself was strange in a way that I couldn’t really explain. Now though… Now I sensed the growing ball of joy forming in my chest. I gripped my hands against my chest and pulled them as close as I could muster the strength for. This was me… This was me! My face was still clearly mine, but with a few minor changes that cemented the femininity that I wanted to express. It made it so much easier to accept now that I could see the smile spreading across my face. I was cute, my smile was infectious -to me at least -, and it was me!

I hugged my arms against myself and squealed with joy. There were so many things that I didn’t understand with all of this supernatural stuff, but right now this made sense. This was right. This was more right than it had ever been. I was sure that I wasn’t exactly being quiet, so it's possible that the others in the house might hear my little dance of joy and giggles. I didn’t care. All that mattered in this moment was that smile that I kept looking back at in the mirror, which only managed to cause a feedback loop of happiness and delighted noises.

MegaSuperKami

Heck yeah! We got to end on a positive note this time! Way to go Sam! Life can be confusing and all kinds of overwhelming, but take advantage of the joys that you can along the way.

We got to have some one-on-one time with Damian today. It was actually a rather long sit down, but I think that with some mature communication things can start to get better now. I am incredibly happy that Damian managed to clear some things up, and his wife seems to be helping from the sidelines somewhere for now as well.

Anyways, this was a good talk. Glad that Damian is acting the adult to mediate all of this. And now I'm really looking forward to the next chapter. I hope you are too!

Thank you for reading, hope you have a wonderful day!