Chapter 7

Amara kicked off her covers as she yawned, stretching her arms over her head. Before she could finish, a loud thud caught her attention, and she groaned with frustration. Looking at her nightstand, she saw that her left wing now sat where her phone had previously been charging.

She pocketed her phone before moving to the middle of the room, where she stretched open her wings. When she flexed them, her wings had just enough space to open, so long as she didn’t face the short wall, and she did her best to avoid breaking anything else.

Thankfully, she’d figured out how to dress herself, but only if the clothing accommodated her wings. Racerback tanks were the most comfortable, and she’d already ordered a new set online.

Pushing out into the hallway, she carefully made her way to the living room. The walls were covered with fresh scratches, and a stack of partially broken frames sat on the floor. She walked at an angle, eyes darting between the walls and the ceiling, and she counted at least 4 new gouges before she cleared the hall.

“So long security deposit...” Amara mumbled.

Her living room was fairly open, and it combined with the kitchen to make the largest room in the house. There was a small breakfast counter between the two spaces, technically, but Amara didn’t feel like it counted. She started making her morning coffee as she checked her messages.

Her wings had appeared late Saturday night, and Nick had stayed with her Sunday in hopes of finding a way to hide them. After hours of research, including a quick fuck, they’d decided it was no longer feasible for Amara to go to class.

Setting her coffee on the counter, she set up her laptop and emailed all her professors for the week. As replies slowly filtered in, she gave Nick a list of teachers that he needed to visit to get her homework. He was planning to swing by later this afternoon, and Tessa had offered to bring her lunch.

With nothing to do, Amara briefly considered taking a shower, but the memory of yesterday’s attempt still haunted her. Hopefully the new shower curtain would be here soon.

Maybe I could sneak into a locker room? Who am I kidding, I can’t sneak anywhere with these.

Amara hopped onto her couch and turned the TV on, wondering what she could do with her sudden vacation.

The next few hours passed slowly. At first the downtime had been nice, but before long she was itching to do something. She frequently found herself staring out the window, up at the sky, wondering what flying out there would feel like.

When Tessa showed up with bags of fast food, Amara was ecstatic for the distraction. She opened the door, hiding behind it to stay out of sight.

“Alright, let’s see these bad boys! I’m used to people lying about their size, so don’t let me down.” Tessa smirked as she kicked the door closed, and her eyes went wide when she saw Amara. “Fucking hell, Amara, you weren’t kidding.”

‘Right? Hang on, let me open them up!” Amara moved to the center of the living room, then extended her wings out to let Tessa inspect them.

“And you can actually fly? What’s a girl gotta do to go for a ride?” Tessa walked slowly around her.

“I’ll do it for free if you can guarantee no one sees us, but until then I get to be a hermit.”

“I think you’re worth a lot more than free, but you do you.” Tessa laughed as she finished her circle. Her eyes darted from Amara’s wings, to her tail, to her horns, and Amara was surprised to see her friend’s aura pulse slightly.

The two sat down, eagerly digging into their food as Amara shared all the details from her adventure in the gymnastics building. She was thrilled that the tension had vanished between them, and their lunch felt just as natural as always.

Tessa also shared updates about her magic side projects. She had more theories she wanted to test, and the two agreed that Amara would make a great bodyguard should anything strange happen. They had started to think that these strange occurrences might not be natural, and that running into other mages might be inevitable.

They agreed to meet up again Saturday, then Tessa had to leave for classes. Hugging goodbye, Amara wrapped Tessa up in her wings and her tail, and she caught another pulse in her aura, which made her smirk.

The day dragged on, and Amara grew more restless with each passing hour. When Nick arrived with her homework, he caught her in the middle of trying different YouTube exercise routines. They spent a good chunk of the afternoon together, doing homework and making food, but he sadly had other plans for the evening.

The rest of the week continued in a similar fashion. Amara spent quite a bit of time trying to stay caught up with her classes, and thankfully many of her professors were kind enough to offer brief summaries of the week’s syllabus. She supplemented her schoolwork with more demon research, but most of what she found was hypothetical.

Before she knew it, Friday evening had descended, and she was no closer to finding a way to hide her wings. Nick had just arrived with food, and she opened the door to let him in.

“Niiiick I’m so bored!” Amara groaned.

“Oh, hi Nick! It’s so good to see you! How was your day?” Nick walked inside, closing the door behind him as he mocked Amara. “It was great! I’m so glad you asked.”

“Yeah? Should I ask about the weather too?”

“Hey, maybe I just want to feel appreciated sometimes.” He set down his backpack before joining Amara at the counter.

“Appreciated? Is the constant sex not enough anymore? I knew it! You only like me for my brain!”

They stared at each other for a moment before breaking out into laughter. They started eating dinner, and Nick handed over her homework while catching her up on his day.

Unfortunately, Nick’s research into her wings had also hit a dead end. The few theories he had were starting to pull from fiction, and Amara stopped caring at that point.

“I finally find the silver lining to this transformation, and immediately have to hide myself away. This sucks.” Amara groaned as she pushed her empty plates away.

“Hey, we’ll figure it out. Just the other day you were complaining about not being able to fly, but look at you now!”

“You’re probably right ... doesn’t make the waiting easier though.”

“Well, speaking of change, I’ve got something I kinda wanted to talk to you about?” Nick moved to the couch and gestured for Amara to join him.

“Should I be nervous?”

“Um, nothing has happened yet, I’m just trying to stay on top of things.”

Amara got up and joined him, taking care not to hit him with her wings. “Alright, I’m a big girl, lay it on me.”

Nick leaned forward, and Amara realized that he was more nervous than she’d initially realized. “So ... I asked Vee out.”

“AAH! Nick! Fucking finally!” She threw herself at Nick, squeezing him tight. “I thought you’d never do it! Tell me everything!”

“We’ve just been talking a lot more frequently, and since you’ve been locked up this week, we ended up spending more time together.”

“So what’s the plan? Fancy dinner? Crime spree?”

“Nothing crazy, we’ll probably just get some cheap food and hang out. I guess she’s got a lot on her plate right now, so we’re gonna wait a week or two.”

Nick cleared his throat, then kept talking.

“But there’s a lot I haven’t talked about with her. If we start dating, I don’t know what that means for you and me.”

Amara grew quiet, the reality of the situation setting in. “I ... hadn’t thought of that.”

“Best case scenario, she’s cool with us continuing to hook up. However, if she asks this to stop, I’m gonna have a hard time explaining that you need sex the way you need sleep.”

Amara pulled back from Nick, his words spinning in her head. She curled her tail around herself, pausing for a minute before speaking. “I ... think I need time to think about this. No rush, right?”

They looked at each other, each recognizing the uncertainty in the air.

“You know I’m always here for you, right?” Nick asked. “We’re not dating, but I realize I kinda did this without asking...”

“No, you’re right. We’re not dating, and you deserve an actual partner.”

Despite their agreement, the tension refused to dissipate. After another few moments of silence, Amara stood up, excusing herself to the bathroom.

Did you really think nothing would ever change? That he wouldn’t want something more than a fuck buddy?

She closed the bathroom door behind her, then turned on the faucet to fill the silence.

Vee’s cool! Maybe she’ll let you keep hooking up! If not, Tessa is poly, and clearly into you, so you have options; This isn’t the end of the world.

Cold water splashed her face, but it did nothing to dislodge her thoughts. Despite her best efforts, it was tough to stay positive.

As she dried her face, a strange feeling swept across her body. It felt similar to the pulses of heat she felt the last time she and Nick fucked, but smaller, more focused. Instead of feeling more connected with space around her, however, that connection turned inward.

She shivered, then opened the door to share this feeling with Nick. She tried to close the door behind her, but she couldn’t feel her tail. She panicked, and a quick examination revealed that her wings and horns had also vanished.

“Uh, Nick? I think something happened!” She walked into the living room to rejoin him. As she did, she swore her clothes weren’t fitting right anymore.

When he looked up, his eyes grew wide with shock. “Fuck!” He flinched in surprise, and his phone clattered to the floor. “Amara? Is that you?”

“Ha ha, very funny. Everything’s gone! Is that good or bad?” She sat down next to him.

“I ... guess that’s also true.”

“Also?” Amara groaned, bracing herself for another surprise. “Great, what else? Is my skin red? Am I on fire?”

Nick opened and closed his mouth a few times, the words taking a minute to catch up. “No, you ... you’re Vee?”

“Shut the fuck up! I am not!” As she spoke, she realized that her voice was higher than usual.

Nick nodded slowly, unable to say anything else. Amara stood up and ran to the bathroom, her pants almost tripping her as she did so.

Sure enough, when Amara looked in the mirror, she saw long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and an athletic figure several inches taller than normal. “Why am I Vee?!”

She returned to the living room, frantically pacing around her couch. “The point of hiding my demon bits was to get back to class! I can’t go back like this!” Amara froze, strange blonde hair bouncing in front of her face. She collapsed next to Nick as she groaned. “Does this mean I can shapeshift now? It has to, right?”

Nick pulled her close, but his body felt stiff and awkward. Either things felt different in this new body, or Nick was trying to hide his own conflicting feelings. “Alright, this is certainly strange, but I think you’re right. This is definitely shapeshifting, and now we just need to figure out how it works.”

“Okay, well, what’s worked in the past?” She started thinking back to when aspects had previously appeared. “I tend to gain more control when we, well...”

They looked at each other, both finishing the sentence in their minds. At the same time, they both pushed away from each other and moved to opposite ends of the couch.

“Absolutely not, nope, not gonna happen. Not while I’m literally Vee.”

“I felt weird even thinking about it.”

“What other options do we have then?” Amara asked.

“I ... I don’t know. it’s interesting, normally your abilities show up right after we hook up, but we haven’t done anything since yesterday. Does this mean your control over them is increasing?”

“Do I look like I’m in control?”

“Okay, fair point.” Nick paused, running ideas around in his head. “We should just start trying shit. Try to turn back!”

Amara nodded in agreement, then stood up in the middle of the living room. She closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling from the bathroom. She thought about that sense of control, of connecting with both herself and the space around her, and tried to look inside herself.

She stood perfectly still for a minute before opening her eyes. “Anything?” She asked hopefully.

Nick shook his head.

She wasn’t surprised, the connection she was looking for had never materialized. The two of them kept talking, and wound up spending the rest of the evening trying to re-activate her shapeshifting abilities.

They explored meditation, yoga, exercise, and nothing worked. Whatever feeling Amara had connected with refused to resurface, and eventually they ran out of time to keep experimenting. Nick needed to get home, and was unavailable to keep running experiments with her tomorrow.

Amara went to bed in a sour mood. She had successfully traded one problem for another, and was no closer to getting her life back.

Waking up Saturday morning was disorienting, to say the least. Amara stumbled to the bathroom, half-asleep, her new body completely forgotten about. When she finally looked in the mirror in the middle of washing her face, she literally screamed in surprise.

The rest of the day proved to be one frustrating inconvenience after another. Vee’s body was taller, but slightly less curvy, so Amara struggled to find clothes that fit comfortably. She also accumulated a series of bruises throughout the day as she kept running into drawers and counters.

While it was slightly relieving to not worry about her wings destroying her place, it was overshadowed by how much she missed her demonic traits. She’d gotten used to closing doors and drawers with her tail, and after her night at the gymnasium, even walking without it felt wrong.

If nothing else, she felt confident enough to do more investigating with Tessa. They had agreed to only go during the night, though initially that had been because of her wings. Now, as long as Amara disguised herself walking around campus, it would be easy to stay out of the way in whatever basement Tessa wanted to explore next.

She pulled out her phone, desperate to get out of the house.

Amara: Up for some snooping tonight?

Tessa: Got ur wings under control?

Amara: More or less. What’s next on your to do list?

Tessa: Tbh I think the science building again, wanna check a few things. That cool?

After agreeing on a time, which was much later than Amara would have preferred, she spent a few hours trying to find a good outfit. She settled on a pair of loose cargo pants, a baggy hoodie full of school spirit, and another one of her beanies to hide her hair.

Hopefully, the disheveled wardrobe would help disguise her current body. As far as she could remember, Vee never wore anything this casual, so leaving the house didn’t feel too scary.

She spent the rest of her day trying out various exercise programs again. Interestingly, it felt like she was just as athletic now as she was in her normal body, apart from the missing tail. Either her newfound strength was inherent to her, regardless of form, or Vee’s body was ridiculously agile.

After a hearty dinner, Amara gathered her things and left the house for the first time in over a week. The open air felt incredible, and she stared longingly up at the sky as she walked.

She looked around, didn’t see anyone, and felt brave enough to pull her beanie off. Without her horns, she noticed that she couldn’t read the wind as easily as she had the week before. The lack of connection felt strangely isolating, especially given how little she’d bothered to think about her horns over the last few weeks. She’d gotten used to the idea that they were simply a cute decoration, and discovering they had uses had been a pleasant surprise.

Once she heard voices again, she pushed her hair back into her beanie and adjusted her posture. There weren’t too many students out, and Amara had a feeling that most of them were already at parties for the night.

The sun had set hours ago, and the campus was now illuminated by a series of tall lamps scattered across the sidewalks. She took her time getting to Tessa, partially because she was trying to avoid other students, but also because she was thrilled to be outside again. She took every scenic route she could, wandering over fields and around trees, eager to explore the open world.

As she finally drew close, she saw Tessa leaning against a tree near the science building. She had a backpack slung across one shoulder, and a pair of bulky headphones hanging around her neck. A look of surprise appeared as she realized who was approaching.

“Vee? Damn girl, I almost didn’t recognize you! Going to a costume party or something?” She asked.

“Oh, this? I just felt like trying something new.” Amara smirked. It felt strangely validating to see that her shapeshifting was this effective. She watched as Tessa pulled out her phone, typing quickly for a moment. Her own phone vibrated a second later, and she fought the urge to laugh as she checked her messages.

Tessa: Be careful, Vee is here

“So, what are you doing here? You’re normally the party girl, shouldn’t you be at a frat house or something?” Amara said. She sent out a quick reply through her phone.

Amara: I’m super close!

“I was just ... waiting for a partner. I wanted to do stuff with Amara, but since she’s been sick, I just moved my plans around.” Tessa mumbled unconvincingly.

Wow, Tessa is not good at lying.

“Isn’t that such a bummer? She’s really seemed off her game recently, I hope everything is okay ... Hey! Let’s send her a pic!” Amara pulled her phone out, then moved behind Tessa and rested her head on her shoulder. While definitely on edge, Tessa went along with it, and the two smiled for a selfie.

“Though, if I’m being honest...” Amara leaned in, lowering her voice, “hasn’t Amara seemed a bit different? I swear she’s like, way hotter now, and I can’t figure out why.”

Tessa coughed in surprise, obviously trying to hide how nervous she was. “I-I haven’t noticed anything? Sometimes college just changes people, y’know?”

As they talked, Amara quickly drew something on the selfie they just took, then sent it to Tessa. When it arrived, small red horns had been drawn over Vee’s head, and her eyes had been colored amber. Tessa looked at her phone, paused for a moment, then her eyes went wide with realization.

“You’re such an asshole!” She yelled, hitting Amara. “When the fuck did this happen? Holy shit, you’re like a perfect copy.”

“Yesterday! Cards on the table, I can’t really control it yet. I’m ... kinda stuck like this.”

“But why Vee?”

“Fuck if I know.” Amara shrugged. “But hey, at least I’m not you!”

Tessa glared at her. “You know, I think I liked you more before you turned into a demon. Now you’re all confident and assertive and shit.”

They both headed towards the Science Building, and Amara saw Tessa’s tattoos light up slightly underneath her hat. With a flick of her wrist, the door leading inside clicked open, and the two girls entered.

“Well, does it feel good knowing that you can shapeshift?” Tessa asked.

“Absolutely! I miss my demon bits like crazy, but I think I’ll figure it out soon enough.”

Most of the outer walls of the Science Building were made of glass, so the two of them had plenty of light to navigate with. After the first few turns, however, they approached the door to the basement, and were forced to pull out their phones. Their flashlights turned on just as the door closed, enveloping them in darkness.

“You need a phone for light? No spells for that?” Amara asked.

“That’s ... not really how witchcraft works.” Tessa said.

“Well, how does it work? I’ve been trying not to bombard you with questions, but I’m insanely curious.”

Tessa pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs, and they started walking through the hall towards the hidden room.

“How to keep this simple ... So, magic can’t create anything, it’s mostly about channeling energy from other places.”

Amara moved closer, eager to learn more.

“Our world has very little magic, and trying to draw from here would be tough. Instead, we use magic runes to connect to other, inherently magical planes, and borrow that energy for ourselves. Humans are innately nonmagical, so this is our only option.”

As they approached the tangled mess of ancient plumbing, they slowed their pace. While they made quicker progress than Amara had last time, it was still slow going.

“Okay, so, you’re not creating anything, you’re just ... moving it around. And the tattoos build a bridge to bring it over?”

“That’s ... not the worst comparison. Most importantly, the runes also set the destination. If we put those runes on a structure, like what Brandon attempted, we’re telling the magic to always go there. But, if we tattoo the symbols on ourselves, we can summon the magic to us, wherever we are.”

Amara stepped over the last few pipes, then huffed in satisfaction. When she looked back, she saw Tessa still a minute behind her.

“So what are your tattoos? Where do they draw their magic from?”

“These are low-level telekinesis runes, and pretty much all witches have these. They connect with my own strength and transform it into psychic energy.” Tessa finally crawled out from the piping, then sighed in relief before stretching her arms out. “I mean, technically they take my energy and briefly phase it through- Look, it’s complicated, I’m paraphrasing a lot of this stuff.”

Amara led the way into the hidden room, flicking on the light. It was strange being back here, staring at the familiar brickwork and runes. In many ways, it felt like this was where everything had pivoted; Her transformation had suddenly stopped being entirely about her, and she was now constantly aware that people in this world wanted her dead, enslaved, or banished.

The table against the back wall was still there, cracked in half from Brandon’s fall. All other signs of his presence had vanished, however. The scattered piles of books and papers were gone, leaving only Amara’s bitter memories of her would-be owner. It also looked like many of the runes had been scratched off, at least partially.

“Hey,” Tessa spoke up, “you gonna be alright? Being back here?”

Amara shook her head. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. What’s the plan?”

Tessa moved forward, scuffing a few more of the runes as she walked. “I had a thought a while back, after freeing you. This room is a lot like the others, right? Out of the way, in an old basement, likely from the original university. Well, the other rooms had large magic circles, and I think there might be one here too.”

“Like, a secret one? I spent a lot of time here, bored out of my mind, and I never saw anything like that.”