The rest of the morning was a jumble of physical euphoria and indulgence as the duo alternated between chasing bots, chasing one another, and various combinations of the two. By the time Miss Zwavel came out to bring them in for lunch the pair was laying on the grass, eyes closed, panting for breath. Four instant repair scrolls had been expended, two minor healing scrolls had been applied, and yet one bot still sat in pieces while both Brooke and Sarah sported a variety of minor wounds soon to be healed by their demonic constitutions.

The promise of food was stronger than any amount of fatigue however, and the demand that they get cleaned up before eating only served to offer one last competition; A race to the downstairs bathroom. The duo dashed through the halls as both their mothers shouted for them to slow down, and it was only thanks to her additional limbs that Brooke managed to avoid ending up on the ground. Instead, she claimed victory once more, arriving at the marginally closer, marginally nicer downstairs bathroom a moment before her competition.

Sarah huffed as she stood before the bathroom door, barred entry by the larger demon she’d been facing down all morning. “You don’t even sweat! You should just let me use this bathroom!”

Brooke however was having none of it, facing the other girl with a grin. “Nope! I’ve still gotta shower to get all the dirt off so a bigger better shower means a bigger better time for this bigger better demon.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Oh please! You only won, like… three times out of five! That’s hardly conclusive!”

To Sarah’s surprise Brooke nodded along. “True true. You know what, seeing as we can’t decide who the real winner is… we’ll just have to share the shower.”

The accompanying wink from Brooke sent Sarah sputtering, bouncing back with a burning blush on her cheeks. “No? Oh well, guess I’ll just take it for now.”

Even as she closed the door she couldn’t resist one last comment. “Maybe next time…”

…

Lunch was sheer delight for Brooke. Bones covered in tough, gristly meat, cheeses and breads with hard crusts, and all manner of chewy pastry allowed her to indulge her more destructive desires. As they were finishing up however, she was faced with a dilemma.

“So! What’s next for your big day? What’s your new demonic body aching for?” Miss Zwavel asked with sparkling eyes.

Instantly an idea occurred to her, and just as quickly she pushed it aside. Things were going well, no need to make things weird! Well… weirder. “Uh… Well I still want to work on my art project? Maybe something with clay?”

Miss Zwavel tapped her chin. “Well we can’t exactly get your art project today, but I suppose I could go pick up some clay? It might take me a bit though, so you should probably think of something to do in the meantime. Anything else?”

Brooke shifted awkwardly, doing her best to keep a lid on what she actually wanted to say. “Uh… well… maybe… running through the woods? The backyard is great, but dancing around the trees seems like it’d be a lot more fun…”

The older demon nodded. “That makes sense, though you should wait until it gets dark. Sorry sweetie. What else ya got?”

Brooke was really struggling to come up with anything else. She just couldn’t-

“Brooke. Honey. Just say it.”

Brooke blushed as she floundered. “H-how do you keep doing that?!”

This time it was her own mother who spoke up. “Oh sweetie, you really aren’t that hard to read. It’s practically written on you from head to toe that you’ve got something you’re shying away from saying.”

Brooke blushed harder at that, but finally gave in. “Well it’s just… I want to go outside and just… stand in the sun.”

The looks she got were mildly confused but encouraging, obviously waiting for more details.

“W-well I uh… w-want to do it n-naked…”

Oh gosh the blank stares were too much! She just had to explain it all, whatever they were imagining was definitely way worse than the truth at this point!

“I mean as a statue! I want to go out back and just be a statue in the sun for a while! I want all of you to come out and relax and enjoy me like a piece of art!” She buried her face in her hands as she finished, too embarrassed to meet anyone’s gaze.

With a slight chuckle Miss Zwavel was, as usual, first to speak up. “Ah, I see. I hear that’s fairly common among gargoyle types. Of course sweetie, we’ll all be happy to spend some time outside with you. Isn’t that right?”

“Oh! Oh of course we will sweetie! I already told you yesterday, didn't I? You really are a work of art. Today we’ll just be treating that a bit more literally.” 

Sarah cleared her throat with a fake cough before taking her turn. “Y-yeah! It’s all cool! Whatever you wanna do is cool. I’ll be cool, you’ll be cool, it’ll all be cool.”

And so it was that twenty minutes later Brooke stood in the backyard wearing nothing but a blanket. The first steps outside had been harrowing, but the further out she got the more her desire overwhelmed her embarrassment. By the time she found the perfect spot to stand she was barely even thinking about how odd the situation was.

Slowly, so as not to lose the blanket, she chose her pose. She stood with one leg back a bit, arms out to either side. Her lower arms were extended out but with muscles tightly flexed, fingers splayed, and claws raised. Her upper arms were likewise flexed, but curled upwards, fingers curled more inwards even as her thumb, pointer, and middle finger remained mostly extended. She shifted her stance slightly, making sure the muscles in her legs and ass would be nice and visible once she froze. Her tail curled slightly upwards and she put on a confident smirk, chin high, as she looked down at an imaginary viewer.

It took several minutes before she was satisfied, and several more minutes before she could settle down enough to let the changes wash over her. But slowly, as she let herself sink into the peaceful stillness, life seeped out of her skin. Bit by bit the unnatural light dulled until she looked like little more than expertly cut stone and jewels. Even her eyes grew dull, taking on only a mimicry of what they naturally held.

Perhaps there should have been fear to it. She’d certainly been concerned the first time she noticed it happening, but at that moment she couldn’t bring herself to be scared, to reject herself, to question the body she’d found herself in. Instead of fear she was awash with an all consuming, all embracing feeling of comfort. It was like a hug from herself, or slipping into a warm bed on a cold night. It was like the joy of a brilliant morning on a day with no demands on her time. It was the feeling of being comfortable with who and what and where she was. It was the feeling of becoming one with the world.

She barely noticed as her vision dulled, more caught up in the way her awareness expanded. Light and colour and sound faded from her mind, and yet the world opened up around her, a sense for the space expanding second by second. She was entirely aware of her mother’s approach, the concern on her face and held in her posture. Though she couldn’t hear what her mother said, she knew she was double checking with Miss Zwavel that she was okay.

She couldn’t feel it when the blanket was pulled off, not in the way a human mind would be, yet she was aware in a way that felt just as real. She could tell her mother’s eyes were on her, as if the attention were a physical sensation. She could tell her mother was examining her material, her pose, her shape. She knew that her mother was worried, but at the same time, impressed. She didn’t see her mother slowly pacing around her, and yet she watched every step as she did. She loved her mother, she hoped her mother loved her too. Not just as her daughter, but as the work of art she was allowing herself to be. Somehow, she was sure she did.

After some time the others approached, took their turns inspecting her, and soon moved on to the second part of her request. They relaxed. All four of them. Brooke wasn’t thinking, not really, not like she would if her brain weren’t made of stone. There was a simplicity to what could be called her thoughts. It was like a deep breath for the soul, and she enjoyed every ambiguous moment of it.

So it was that hours passed, and a blanket was placed on her once more. It took a moment for her to even recognise the signal, but as nice as being a statue was, she had things she wanted to do as a person. So, with some hints of reluctance, she allowed herself to move once more. Little by little she was drawn back into herself, her vision expanding and the life returning to her limbs.

It took several minutes, but before long she was her animate self once more, a satisfied smile and drooping lids adorning her face. It hadn’t been at all what she’d expected, and yet, it had been exactly what she wanted. She’d certainly need to do it again sometime.

That said, she’d been immobile for hours, she felt rested and energised and was raring to move! She turned her gaze on Sarah, her dopey smile shifting slightly towards a grin. “So once I’m dressed… ready for round sixteen?”

Despite blushing ear to ear Sarah smiled back. “Oh you’re on!”

…

Brooke sat down for dinner with some consternation. Her mother looked far too excited for a meal that looked largely similar to one she’d had earlier that day, and Sarah wasn’t doing a great job hiding her amusement. None of them moved or spoke as she settled in, so after several awkward minutes of waiting Brooke finally took the bait. “Alright, out with it, what’s going on?”

Miss Zwavel’s smile widened slightly as she failed to entirely hide her glee. “Well you see, I had an idea while you were enjoying your statue time… Today is all about you, letting you enjoy and experience your new body and come to appreciate who you are now… But it’s also a day for us to get to know you. So I realised, if you’re going to be eating with your claws…”

Her mother raised her hands, letting out a positively giddy giggle while wiggling her fingers in what she might have thought was a menacing fashion. Atop her fingers were a set of claws, much like Brooke’s own. “Look! I’ve got claws!”

Brooke stared wide eyed at them, then at her mother’s absolutely giddy face, then at Sarah who was brandishing her own, and finally at Miss Zwavel who was also presenting her set. 

Miss Zwavel cleared her throat and Brooke’s mother had the decency to look a little embarrassed about her outburst. “Yes, well, I made some prosthetic claws for us so that we could join you in your preferred method of eating.”

Her mother bubbled out another giggle even as she tried to contain it, and then huffed in faux annoyance at Brooke’s raised eyebrow. “Listen! Not all of us can just grow our own if we want them! You make them look so fun, so of course I’m excited to see what all the fuss is about! Plus! It’s a good, wholesome, mother daughter bonding activity!”

Brooke lowered her eyebrow in surrender, smiling back at her mother. “Okay okay I get it. Go on, give them a try.”

While Sarah had never had claws before either, her mother was right. If Sarah wanted them, she’d grow her own. The only one at the table being offered a truly novel experience was the singular human.So, with giddy excitement buzzing through her body, Brooke’s mother pulled a hunk of pork onto her plate and, after one deep breath… absolutely went to town on it.

The three demons looked on with wide eyes as the human tore into the meat with wild abandon, tossing chunks into her maw as if she barely intended to chew, or tearing them off the tips of her claws as if she weren’t still sporting totally human teeth. There was a mumble of “So that’s where she gets it from...” from Sarah, but Brooke barely noticed. Seeing her mother go at the food had urged her to do the same, and soon both mother and daughter were lost in the delight of their savage indulgence.

It wasn’t long before her mother had to stop and actually pace herself, but the mood had been successfully set. The quartet ate without thought or concern and simply enjoyed the experience, laughing and joking as they went. Food flew, messes were made, and all were bonded in the ridiculous affair.

The meal lasted over an hour, with their feeding frenzy slowing into the second half to facilitate conversation. As they cleaned up Brooke looked at her mother with a fond smile. This was what she’d been missing, what her mother had been missing. They’d been barely half people for so long, and all it took was a week to make them shine again. 

…

Her mother had worn the claws for the rest of the night, causing no end of trouble with her new digits before eventually being dragged off by Miss Zwavel. Brooke, as usual, refused to think about any of the banter the two adults had exchanged regarding them. 

So it was that Sarah and Brooke were left alone once more, relaxing in the living room as the sun finished its descent. They chatted, watched some TV, and soon enough were both yawning and ready for bed. A nice, quiet end to an incredibly active day…

Though, if she was being honest, there was still one possible indulgence left available. A desire that she hadn’t yet given voice to. Even as they walked up the stairs she found herself waffling. It wasn’t until the absolute last moment, as Sarah was walking past Brooke’s door, that she finally made a decision.

It wasn’t even a conscious one. Brooke’s hand had simply grabbed Sarah’s as the slightly older demon had slipped past her in the hall. She didn’t want Sarah to go. Not yet. Just… Just a bit more. A minute, or an hour, or a day, she wasn’t sure how much was a bit, but just a bit more.

Despite the bravado her new form could grant her, and the playful flirtation that seemed to come so naturally, there was something flatfooting about the simple intimacy that she wanted to ask for. She tried to get the words out, but couldn’t put anything together that really made sense.

Fortunately, Sarah was patient, and after several minutes of piecing together the broken collection of words Brooke had provided, Sarah boggled. The most recent word had snapped everything into place, or at least she felt relatively confident it had. “Bed? Are- are you asking if I’ll sleep with you?”

Brooke lit up when Sarah finally got the idea, only to blush ruby red as she realised the need to double check the phrasing. “Y-yeah b-but like… Actually sleep, just, you know… sharing a bed not… yeah. I just…” 

She sighed, the hard part was out of the way, and so the honesty afterwards came easier. “I’ve really enjoyed spending all day with you, and I just… don’t want it to end yet. So I figured… the bed’s a queen, that’s big enough for two…”

Sarah was matching Brooke’s blush with one of her own and refused to meet her eyes, but after one big deep breath managed a firm nod. “Y-yeah… yeah I think I’d like that too… I’ll… I’ll go get changed in my room then meet you back here?”

Brooke responded with a stiff nod before stepping into her room. “O-okay uh… I’ll… I’ll see you soon?”

Sarah gave another, equally awkward nod of her own before turning towards her room with military precision and marching off as if all her joints had locked up.

The moment the door was closed behind her Brooke broke down into a fit of giggles, struggling to get her clothes off through the laughing fit. Goddess they were such dorks, they’d had their hands all over one another all day, heck they’d had various parts of one another inside each other! Yet they were getting debilitatingly flustered over the prospect of sharing a bed. There was something wonderful about it.

Ten minutes later Sarah was back, and five after that they were both lying in Brooke’s bed, Sarah on her side because of her wings, and Brooke on her back because of her arms. It took another twenty minutes before they finally broke through the awkwardness and allowed themselves to actually cuddle up together.

Once again, Brooke couldn’t help but compare it to their play fighting. They’d made just as much contact if not more while out there roughhousing, and yet somehow this felt so much more intimate. She was so much more aware of how soft Sarah was, both in terms of her skin and what lay beneath. She was toned of course, she was obviously athletic, but she wasn’t hard, just firm. Someone who could take a squeeze. 

Brooke let herself relax, indulging in how her body naturally found itself settling in the embrace. Her tail wound itself around one of Sarah’s legs, and Sarah had covered it with one of her wings in a way that seemed gently possessive, making Brooke smile. It was nice. One of her arms was trapped beneath the other girl, but her demonic constitution was keeping it from becoming an issue, allowing the arm to wrap around and settle between Sarah’s wings. The other arm on that side was curled upwards, being hugged to the other girl’s chest, while one of Sarah’s arms lay across her own.

They just laid there like that for a while, enjoying the comfortable position for as long as their bodies would agree to it. Finally, as she could feel herself slipping off to sleep Brooke allowed herself to indulge one last demonic instinct. She leaned over, and gently tapped one of her horns to Sarah’s. Their horns weren’t particularly sensitive, and as far as Brooke knew there wasn’t any deep meaning to it, but something about knocking horns like that left her feeling deeply satisfied. It was amidst that satisfaction that both girls drifted off to sleep.