Tanya hasn’t left her house all week, she couldn’t possibly, not after what she did. She was just trying to help Chloe, that’s all she wanted, but what she did cannot be undone, and she’s not sure how she’ll ever be able to face looking at her, or even herself, ever again.
The spellbook she found at the antique store just said that the spell would give the target “the strength to tackle their problems head on”. She thought it would boost their confidence or something along those lines, but she’ll never forget what she saw when the dust settled and she realised what she had done. The Chloe she always knew was no longer standing before her, she was something… different… Something terrifying, and no longer completely human. She remembers the pit in her stomach when she saw what she had done to her best friend, and the look of horror on Chloe’s face when she looked into the mirror before running out of the house, clearly mortified with what she had become.
The weight of what she had done sunk in immediately, she had ruined her best friend’s life. How is she meant to work in that state? How is she meant to get around the city? How is she meant to have even the most basic interactions with other people? She’s still recognisably Chloe, her hair and face were mostly the same outside of a few parts that changed dramatically, but she’ll never be recognised as a regular person ever again. Tanya had cursed her to live a life of solitude, hiding from those who would be terrified by her mere presence. She honestly can’t blame her for running away like that, who wouldn’t want to get away from the person who took everything from them in an instant?
She spent the rest of the day going through the book, desperate to find anything that could possibly reverse what she did, but there was nothing of the sort. The effects of the spell are permanent, and as far as she can tell the closest thing to a cure would be putting her out of her misery, but even if this is all her fault, Tanya wouldn’t have it in her to kill someone, especially not her best friend.
All she can do now is lie in bed and wallow in despair, desperately wishing there was a way to undo her sins. There have been some knocks on the door in the past week, accompanied by a voice that isn’t entirely familiar. No doubt people are coming here wondering where Chloe is, but what would she tell them? What can she tell them? At best they’d just think that she’s crazy, and if they did believe her she would likely get locked up, or worse, for what she did, not that she wouldn’t deserve such a punishment.
She’s starting to run low on food, but she doesn’t have it in her to get more, not even a delivery order, as that would still require her to face another person. All she can think about is what she’s done, and how it can never be forgiven. She spends another night unable to sleep properly, hoping that wherever Chloe is now, she isn’t suffering too much.
Meanwhile, outside Tanya’s house, Chloe is perched on top of a nearby streetlight, several parts of her body, as well as what’s left of her clothes, are stained in red. She’s very concerned about her friend, who hasn’t left her house all week. She can tell she’s alive in there, she can smell it, but she isn’t sure why Tanya won’t come out.
She wants to thank her friend for what she did, for opening up a whole new world of possibilities for her, and she’s starting to regret immediately leaving the house to test out her new body when the changes happened, since they haven’t seen each other since that day. She’s come back a few times to check in on Tanya when she isn’t busy seeing what she’s now capable of, or trying to satiate her hunger, but she never answers the door when she knocks. Maybe she’s jealous? Chloe’s been out here having the time of her life, while Tanya’s stuck at home. She wouldn’t entirely blame her for being jealous either, who wouldn’t want what she now has?
To think just a week ago she was just a timid, frail girl who was looking for a way to save herself if someone tried to assault her again when she’s out at night, she never could have expected just how much that spell would help her. She’ll never forget how she felt when the dust settled and she started to realise how much the spell had empowered her. The way she now stood much taller than her friend, who always had a small advantage in that regard. The utter disbelief when she looked at her face in the mirror and discovered how sharp her teeth were now, and how strange and otherworldly her improved eyes looked. How she reached up to touch her face, only to discover that she now had claws, fucking claws! The way that her body felt so light, and moving around felt so effortless, even though she must have been much heavier than before. The initial overload of information from not being used to her enhanced senses. The intense feeling inside her, like her body was filled with so much energy that she might explode if she couldn’t find a way to release it, and find a way she did.
The first thing she did after leaving the house was test the capabilities of her new body, and she could barely believe the results. She was so much stronger, so much faster, so much more fearsome than she used to be, than anyone else had ever been, and she could barely contain her excitement. She would no longer be the scared little girl who needed to watch her step wherever she goes, it was their turn to watch out for her. Now she can go wherever she wants, do whatever she wants, take whatever she wants. On that first night she decided to track down the man who assaulted her, and she was shocked how easily she managed to do it. Even if the scent of his cheap cologne mixed with booze was fresh in her mind, finding him in a busy city at night should have been no simple feat, but it only took a few minutes for her to lock onto her target after searching the district where everything took place.
She tailed him from the shadows, sticking to the tops of buildings and other places where she wouldn’t cause a scene, until he makes for an alleyway, no doubt to try and trap another woman there, and she decides to make her appearance. The look of abject terror in his eyes was exactly what she hoped to see, and she made sure that he’d never be hurting anyone ever again.
The rest of the week played out in a fairly similar, if somewhat less personal, manner, with Chloe trying out things she never would have been able to do before, and constantly testing her new limits. It’s clear to her that she’s still not entirely used to this body, but with every passing day she finds herself able to move a little more swiftly, climb a little faster, react to things a little earlier, break things a little easier. The more she pushes her body, the more it improves so that she can pursue whatever she happens to desire at the time with increased intensity. Sure, one side effect of the new body is that she’s developed a craving for fresh meat that never completely goes away, but it’s not exactly hard for her to find a supply, especially when there are still so many disgusting people like that man infesting her city. It certainly doesn’t help that it feels so good either, she can barely help but squeal with delight when she first sinks her teeth into her prey for that night.
She almost finds it funny that of all the new abilities that she now has thanks to Tanya, the one she appreciates the most is that she no longer has a reason to care what other people think, and that there isn’t a problem she can’t solve with her new body. Her exploits grow bolder by the day, and it’s only a matter of time before people start to find out about her, but that doesn’t matter, by the time they try to do something about her she’ll be too powerful to be stopped anyway.
Chloe’s mind jumps back to the present, and back to Tanya. She’s started to grow impatient waiting for her to show herself after a week, and even if she’s alive that doesn’t mean that something else couldn’t have happened to her. Tanya is the only person she still has any form of attachment to, both as her best friend and the one who created the new Chloe, so if someone did something to hurt her then Chloe will be sure to make them suffer.
Chloe decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands and see what’s going on, it’s not like a simple locked door is going to slow her down anyway. She swiftly jumps off the streetlight and lands just outside the range of its light, making almost no noise in the process, and walks towards the house. She’ll make sure to show exactly how much she appreciates what Tanya did for her, and who knows, maybe she’ll even get her to try casting that spell again.
