LIGHTNOVELONLINE 119. Heart to Heart
We got through the rest of Canada Day without any more trouble. It wasn't quite the happy celebration we'd wanted, but we all did our best to make the most of it. I somehow slept through dinner and part of the evening, but I woke up about a half hour before we wanted to head out for the fireworks.
True to her word Sasha already had the enchanted items ready for our werewolf friends, so they could accompany us as well. The former goddess had me provide the power to activate the enchantments she'd created, then the two of us presented the wolfgirls with their new bling.
According to my cousin, the enchantments were meant to give the two wolfgirls full control over shifting between forms. It meant nothing could force them to change if they didn't wish it, and it also had the side-benefit of unlocking the 'wolfgirl' form for Cerys. That left the blonde werewolf grinning as she reached up to feel her pointed furry ears, while her fluffy tail happily wagged up a storm behind her.
Sasha also promised her enchantments meant the leather accessories would stay in place and adapt to fit the two werewolfs regardless what shape they took. So even in their wolf forms nothing would fall off or get lost, nor would either item be too tight or too loose.
Melanie's new bling was a black leather bracelet or cuff that she wore around her right wrist. It definitely suited the strong confident tomboy, and it looked good on her. Cerys didn't want anything tough or rugged like her girlfriend got, she was leaning in the other direction and picked out a cute collar instead. It was made of tan-coloured leather that complimented her hair, and when she asked her girlfriend to help her put it on there were some blushes and embarrassed smiles between the pair.
I couldn't help think the choices suited them both pretty good. Cerys was more like a big happy puppy than a scary wolf, while Melanie was definitely the strong tough girlfriend. The others obviously noticed that stuff too. There were a few knowing looks from both Kaylee and Sasha, while Willow made a joke about the wolfgirls just needing a leash between Cerys's collar and Melanie's cuff to complete the ensemble.
The sorceress immediately apologized and asked not to be mauled to death by angry wolfs, but neither of them were upset with her. Cerys blushed while Melanie face-palmed, and everyone else just smiled. Or almost everyone. Kaylee had a thoughtful look on her face that left me a little worried, and a little curious what she was thinking about.
So with the wolfgirls safe and protected from any future exposure to wolf's bane the seven of us headed out together to catch the fireworks at city hall. I felt sort of awkward about sleeping through dinner and missing half the evening but nobody said anything about it so I tried not to let it bother me.
The fireworks show was ok, it was about forty minutes long and was mostly uneventful. The only interesting thing was when we spotted our new neighbours there too. We didn't talk to them or anything, but there was definitely something supernatural going on with two of them.
I already knew the petite grey-haired catgirl was another plushie-user, and the taller green-haired girl seemed like a human as far as any of us could tell. The petite purple-haired girl had something supernatural about her though, but none of us were sure what exactly.
On the other hand it was pretty obvious that the three of them were together, from the way they were hugging and stuff. So none of us wanted to intrude or anything.
When the fireworks were finally over we all just headed back to the house again, where we ended up watching something on TV while we talked and ate some snacks. The night came to an end around midnight, when Nina teleported home and the two wolfgirls disappeared down to their basement together. Sasha retired to her bedroom, and Kaylee accompanied me into my room. And rather than head home, Willow spent the night on one of the sofas in the living-room.
Saturday morning we all had leftover Chinese food for breakfast, then the wolfgirls had to go to work while Willow's dad came by to give her a drive home. Nina came over around noon to spend some more time helping Sasha with stuff, and Kaylee and I hung out together in the backyard.
We were cuddling under one of the big trees at the back of the yard when my girlfriend asked quietly, "Were you serious about converting that spare room into a bedroom for me?"
"Yeah," I replied softly. "If you want it. We'd have to talk to the others first, but I'm sure they'd be ok with you moving in too. If that's what you really want."
Kaylee was quiet for another couple seconds, then she asked "What about Nina? You don't think she might want to move here, to be with you and Sasha? Maybe she'd like to have that room for herself."
"Or even Willow," she added with a grimace. "She didn't seem to be in any big hurry to go home. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd be happy to live somewhere she could be open about her magic and sorcery, instead of having to hide it all the time."
We were both quiet for a bit after that, while my thoughts went spinning off in two different directions at once. Like on the one hand maybe she had a point, and I decided I needed to talk with my little sister about it. I definitely didn't want Nina to feel left out or unwelcome, although I also didn't want my parents to feel like I was trying to tempt Nina away from them already.
At the same time I knew Kaylee might be right about Willow too, the cute sorceress definitely seemed comfortable hanging out with the rest of us. It was almost hard to believe she'd only been part of the club for a couple weeks.
I finally responded, "That applies to you too though right? You can't be open about magic and supernatural stuff at home either. You'll have to keep quiet about that in residence too, when you go to university. I'm sure you'd be happier living somewhere you don't have to hide all that stuff right?"
"Yeah I guess," she replied with a shrug. She sounded almost wistful as she added, "Except there's nothing that special or different about me, I'm just a normal average human. Apart from knowing how to use some of May Hawthorne's magic that is. Willow's a sorceress, she's been blessed by Hecate. She'd fit in here better than me. Same with Nina, for obvious reasons."
I turned slightly so I was looking at her, and I couldn't help frowning slightly as I studied her expression. I finally asked, "What are you saying Kaylee? Do you want to move in here, or are you asking about something else?"
Her cheeks coloured and she looked away. She took off her glasses and pretended to clean them while she stared at the grass for a few seconds. Then she slipped her glasses back on again, but she still didn't look at me.
Instead she continued staring at the grass in front of her feet as she admitted, "I don't really know what I want or how I feel right now. There's a lot of confused thoughts and stuff in my head. I guess maybe I'm a little envious of a few things?"
She continued softly, "Like um, back at new years one of your moms said something about not eating too much because of her metabolism, and you pointed out she could make herself look however she wanted? You can do that too right? And Nina? Angels, demons, goddesses, you can make your body into anything you like. Same with shape-shifters like Melody. Even werewolves can do that, or at least they can switch between two or three forms. But none of you need to worry about health, or gaining weight, or anything like that."
"And you can do that to other people too," she added. "Like those guys yesterday? You did that with just a thought, right? You turned a couple average teenage guys into a pair of tiny bunnyboys."
"How did you find out about that?" I asked nervously, as my cheeks took on a similar shade to hers.
Kaylee gave me a funny look, "It's practically the only thing we talked about at dinner last night. Willow checked Kyle's and Danny's social media pages while we were waiting for the food to arrive, and after she saw their latest updates and a selfie she asked you what exactly you did to them. So you told us all about it."
I was positive I slept through dinner, I had no memories of the meal or the conversation Kaylee was describing. I tried not to fall down that rabbit-hole though. That and the stuff about Willow's former friends was all distractions anyways, the real topic was what my girlfriend was trying to say.
So I focused on her and asked again, "What are you getting at Kaylee? Are you asking me to... Is there something you want me to do? Or something you want?"
Her blush got brighter as she sighed, "Like I said, I'm kind of envious? If I was... If I wasn't human then I'd have access to better magic. I could reshape myself however I wanted. Maybe I could even learn to teleport? And I'd fit in here better, if I was one of the supernatural girls. Instead of the token human who hangs out with all you supernatural types."
"And um," she added after a brief pause, "You told me the other day, you could turn me into a demon, right? How would that work, exactly? I mean um, what would we have to do for that to happen?"
My eyes widened and my heart started racing as I stared back at her in surprise, with no idea what to say or how to respond. On the one hand I was kind of shocked, considering this time last year she thought all demons were evil monsters. On the other hand I was glad she'd obviously progressed way beyond getting past her prejudices, that she was actually considering something like this. And on yet another hand, I was even kind of excited at all the possibilities this could lead to.
And finally I was scared, because she was my girlfriend and I didn't want to upset her or disappoint her, and I definitely didn't want to mess something up and accidentally hurt her. And it felt like changing her very nature, including permanently destroying her humanity, was way too risky to trust me to do it.
"Cass? Please say something?" Kaylee asked after I'd been silent a little too long.
I still didn't know how to respond though, I couldn't think of how to react or what to say. That's when I heard myself reply, in a calm quiet voice.
"Yes Kaylee. I could make you part-demon," I told her. "Maybe even a full demon. We wouldn't have to do anything special, there's no preparations we'd need to make. We could do it right now in fact, or this evening if you prefer. You might end up having to spend another day here to recover afterwards though. However, there's a few things you need to know up-front."
By that point my heart was pounding as I remembered the conversation I had with a voice in my head last night. I'd managed to forget for a half day, but now I was listening to someone who wasn't me use my voice to calmly explain to my girlfriend how I could make her into a demon.
My voice continued, "First, my demonic magic isn't strong enough to do this. I'd have to use divine magic, and I am a goddess of chaos. Second, you'd need to be absolutely certain it's what you wanted, because there's no turning back. Third, there's a possibility if we do this, you won't be able to use May Hawthorne's magic anymore. You might be giving up the magic you know to gain access to the magic you want."
Kaylee interrupted, "But you can still use that magic right? Your body's demonic but you've used May's magic all along."
"I can," I heard myself say, "But I'm a special case. And I'm not saying you'll definitely lose access to that magic, only that it's a possibility."
Not-me added, "There's one last thing Kaylee. If you become demonic, your body might not look entirely human afterwards. You might sprout horns or a tail, or you could change in other ways. Even if you do end up looking human, you might not look exactly like the human you are now."
She frowned, "You look human even though your body's demonic. And Sasha looks human even though she's part demon, right? So why would I be different?"
My voice explained, "Like I just said, I'm a special case. As for Sasha, she's not technically part demon. She's a human-demon hybrid, also known as a cambion. They have a lot of demonic traits, including greater access to magic than a human, but cambions are not strong enough to teleport. For that, you'll need to become part or all demon."
Kaylee looked thoughtful for a second or two before asking, "Once I have access to demonic magic I'll be able to change my appearance right? So if my body becomes something too different I could still blend in, like Nina does. Or maybe I could look even like me again?"
Not-me replied, "We could teach you how to change your appearance. You might not enjoy it though. You're correct that Nina could make herself look however she wanted. So can Julie and Tanya. But they don't. They look like them. They look the way they do because that's what's most comfortable to them. And if you become a demon, what's most comfortable to you may not be what you're used to, or what you're expecting."
"I'm not trying to scare you off," the voice added, "But you need to understand there are potential risks."
My girlfriend grimaced as she stared at the grass again for a few moments. After another second or two she responded, "Thanks for explaining all that Cass. I think..."
I was practically holding my breath as I waited to see what she was going to say, part of me hoping she wasn't really going to ask for this while another part of me was almost looking forward to the possibility.
"I think I need to sleep on it," she finally decided. "Now that I have a better idea what could happen and how it might change the way people see me... I'm still envious of that stuff I told you and I think maybe I'm still interested in this? But yeah. I definitely need to take some time to really think about it."
Hearing that filled me with relief. And at the same time, disappointment.
This time it was just me as I half-whispered, "I'm glad Kaylee. I didn't think you'd really want that. I never thought you'd actually consider giving up your humanity..."
She gave me a wry smile and teased, "Then why'd you keep offering to make me a supernatural? Even back at new years you were joking about having a variety of 'cures for humanity' available."
"Oh," I blushed. "That was just a joke, and I was mostly talking about the plushies. And I knew you'd never take me up on any of that. Or at least, I didn't think you would."
Kaylee sighed as she pulled me into a hug, "Last year I definitely wouldn't have. Even six months ago I wasn't interested. But a lot's changed since then. I've changed. And um... I don't know. Like I said, there's stuff I'm envious about. There's other stuff I haven't really mentioned yet because it's... Some stuff's hard to talk about Cass."
"Anyways let's let it go for now ok?" she added. "I'm going to take a couple days to think about this stuff, then maybe we can talk about it again. All right?"
I nodded as I hugged her back, "Ok Kaylee."
We ended up just hugging quietly as we continued to enjoy the backyard and the nice weather for another hour or so. There weren't any more difficult conversations though, at least not for the rest of the day. My girlfriend kept quiet about maybe wanting to become part demon, and I kept quiet about possibly being possessed.
And finally, as it started getting towards dinner time Kaylee decided she should probably head back home. We exchanged some kisses and another hug outside the front door, then she set off for her parents' place while I went back into the house to see what Nina and Sasha were up to.
