The SUV rumbled off down the drive, and with it, any sense of adult supervision. Karen flicked her tail where she lay, webbed ear to the floor, as the vibrations slowly died away. In part, it was comfortable down there on the thick cushy rugs. For another part, she felt almost too uneasy to move, her stomach roiling in knots of discomfort.
It would be easy to attribute such discomfort to her surroundings. Logan’s home was dragon territory, it stank of the reptile’s acrid scent. Some bloodstains still lingered from the scuffle with Matt, the mage’s mind-bending uncle. The wooden balcony connecting the stairs of this two-storey lounge to the upper rooms held some claw marks, and the light fixture was still missing a couple of bulbs.
But that wasn’t it. A more rational part knew this was her friend’s home, and despite only being a couple months here, the lodge felt like a home. The sofas were soft, the fire crackling cosily, the TV was nice and dim, and the shelves held nicknacks from all five members of the weird orphaned household. Hunting trophies, pretty crystals, macaroni paintings and mouse skulls jumbled together in a grisly menagerie of life.
A muffled thump from the bathroom prompted her to roll over, and struggled upright. Maybe her discomfort stemmed from this situation.
“Soooooooo, any bets what he’ll be?”
Maddie smirked at her from the couch where the mermaid looked radiant, her coppery tail overflowing and coiling around it. Her chin was propped demurely on crossed arms scattered with freckles, her platinum blonde hair artfully tousled in a loose braid. A little eyeshadow made her bronze reptilian eyes stand out even more, and her lips shone with honey coloured gloss. Altogether, she looked gorgeous enough for a date, confident and relaxed in her true form.
Karen gave a thin smile as she considered her own dark naga tail, reptilian scales blending into tawny skin and sharp, if plain, features. They’d called it movie night, and they had invited her, but it was hard not to feel like a third wheel. Should she have dressed up? Groomed more? Turned them down?
“Uh… dunno, wolf-man?” She muttered, awkwardly hauling herself up on the table piled with pizza boxes and junk food, “Or a naga too?”
“That’s not a bet- you gotta choose one, c’mon.” Maddie swiftly slithered over and picked up a wide box, “Heh, last two slices of mega-meat say he’s a griffin.”
“Heeey, that’s mine you goblin!” Karen huffed, “Whatever, you’re on. Cos no way he’s not a griffin. He can’t even speak Avian.”
“Not good enough, you’ve gotta be specific!” The blonde naga reared higher on her tail, lifting the box completely out of reach. “Besides, he was saying how comfy a griffin would be to sit with, remember?”
“Yeah, me, and I’m not a teddy! Don’t drop it!” She snapped, “Urgh, fine, fine. He’ll… he’ll be as human as us. Class B.”
Maddie raised an eyebrow, teetering higher.
“And he’ll have lips. Specific enough?”
“Cheeky.” Maddie relaxed, setting the pizza down on safe neutral territory between the scaly tails that sprawled and wound across the floor. “You’re not mad, are you?”
“What of? You two know-it-alls getting together? I am not interested in beanstalks.” She snorted, glancing away.
“Yeah, yeah, you like strong guys, I know.” Maddie leaned closer, soft and radiant, “That’s… not what I meant. You’re wound up. And I’m your BFF, sooooooooo… spill. What’s up?”
Karen breathed in, averting her gaze from those shining eyes. “Don’t know what you mean.”
“Bullshit. Don’t think I can’t read you just because you keep switching faces, something’s eating at you.”
That was true. It wasn’t the form or the lodge or her friends.. It wasn’t lessons or school, magic or flying.
Her brother had killed a boy.
How was she meant to handle that? Her tongue felt like sandpaper against her naga fangs,
her pulse quickened, and her tail coiled close. No wonder Ollie had been so silent, it was like being paralysed all over again. Her jaw wouldn’t work for fear of slipping, saying the worst thing possible.
“AND VOILLA!”
The bathroom door burst open to reveal Logan, the young mage dressed casually in a vest and shorts around his sparse frame. Or rather, the inhuman form he now donned, a familiar one to her eyes. His skin was crimson and scarlet, patterned with subtle spiralling markings that seemed to emanate from his dark eyes. In contrast, his black hair was snow-white, tied back into a messy bun, no doubt because of his missing digits. Instead of arms, his shoulders gave way to great light-grey wings, with three red talons at each corner, and avian talons for feet too.
Maddie gave her a gentle smile, setting one bronze hand on her dark webbed one, before glancing over, “Oooooo-oooh, wow! Looks cool- and I wasn’t far off.”
“Tengu.” Karen snorted, and pulled the pizza box over with her tail, “I win.”
“Yeah, yeah, I forget, you’re not a fan of Fei, are you?” Logan hopped over the couch, perching on it with a smile.
“Mmm, she’s annoying.” She grumbled, focussing on the delectable mix of chicken, pepperoni, bacon and pork that crowned her prize. “And weak.”
“I think someone might be jealous.”
She cast a glare at him, “Race me then. I’ve nothing to envy.”
Logan broke into chuckles, wings flaring as he raised his palms. “Yeah, yeah, just messing, I know you can kick anyone’s ass in the air. And besides, I can’t fly like this- aerodynamics does not like the humanoid shape.”
“Really? I’ve seen Fei fly though?” Maddie slipped behind him, “Ooooh, you’ve got tail feathers! Cute!”
“Y-yeah. Well, natural Tengu have a natural flying magic, of sorts, some wind elemental skill. Like how Gorgons have the natural talent to paralyse.” Logan blushed, crossing his wing arms, “Veil only alters the biological, so never tried either. Sure enough, no magic copied, so no proper flight with this…. An alchemist could probably create potions of levitation, or learn wind magic, but that’s just separate from the form.”
“While griffins don’t need any magic cheats to fly.” Karen added through a mouthful of pizza.
“Yep, you’re incredible, majestic, and honour us with your presence.” He flattered, before considering the table of food, “And… take a sizable tithe in food, apparently.”
“We split it!” She protested, “Not my fault you’ve got the smallest appetite here.”
“Yeeeeah, food’s to be eaten. Waste not want not.” Maddie added, quickly snagging a spare piece of pepperoni. “Why’d you choose a Tengu anyway?”
“Uh, well because Matt’ll be handling the kids for a while?” Logan sat beside her with a small smile, “He doesn’t approve of trying Veils of species like this- says it’s unnecessary. But screw that- if I can pull this off, then I reckon I could probably try a dragon veil too. It’d be fun to hang out with the hatchlings in their shape.”
“And you don’t accidentally petrify anyone if it goes wrong.” Karen shot.
“True- oh, and so I could try this,” He breathed, then pulled his wings around Maddie in a hug. The naga broke into giggles, her tail quickly coiling close around him in turn, enjoying the fluffy embrace, hidden behind grey feathers. Karen watched a moment, stomach curling, then averted her gaze to eat, tail lashing. Maybe she ought to feel happy for them, but the emotion simply wouldn’t come.
“So, want to hit a film on?” Logan opened his wings after a long moment, and plucked up some of the conspicuously fuller pizzas, cheese and veg and hawaiian. “Did you choose between “At World’s End” and the Rome one?”
“When in Rome.” Maddie clarified, “It’s funny, come ooooon.”
“Sure, I don’t care.” Karen muttered.
“You gotta have a preference- I’ll enjoy either!”
“And my choice has been completely vetoed.” Logan rolled his eyes. “What is wrong with 2001?”
“It’s got an hour of apes hopping around? That’s not even sci-fi.” Maddie slithered from him, and leaned close to her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Karen growled automatically.
Then she stopped. She breathed. She felt her stomach roil, tears threaten her eyes, as if balancing on a tightrope above total collapse.
“But… I don’t know what to do.” The words stung as she forced them through her fangs.
“Yeah, you can talk to us,” Maddie murmured, “We’re your friends, riiiight?”
She slumped, edge of her tail idly brushing off the others for strength. For confidence. For courage.
“I don’t know what to do.” Karen began, “But… you can’t tell anyone. I…”
Two golden reptilian eyes, and dark kind eyes watched her.
“I know how Caleb died. I found out what happened on Halloween.” She felt her voice choke, tears welling at her eyes, “My brother, Ollie, killed him.”
The emotions came in waves. Confusion and shock, their pupils narrowing, their brows twisting as her stomach roiled. Then, fear, horror, dismay. What if it turned to anger?
Karen screwed her eyes shut, and forced words to come, before it was too late, before they judged him.
“It’s… I should’ve been there. They got cut off after the fire at the Halloween party, Caleb was taking care of him, but pigeons kept coming, kept distracting them, driving them off into the woods, then… that thing, the Bad Egg, it stabbed him. Veil or something.”
Her mouth felt dry as she swallowed, tail coiling close around herself. “He’s never had veil before. He turned into a griffin. Caleb tried to protect him- idiot. He shouldn’t have. He should’ve ran. Oliver panicked, lashed out, and… and was left alone. Slashed him up. Turned back, not sure… if it was timing, or what, but… when Diana found them, he’d lost too much blood.”
There came the sound of soft footsteps, heavy slithers. Then feathery wings and warm arms wrapped around her. Karen wobbled and leaned into them, hugging both close, weak sobs heaving from her lungs. It was disgraceful, but they held her as she buried her head in Maddie’s shoulder, feeling a feathery hand pet her hair.
“How’d you find out?” Maddie’s voice wavered.
“He told me. Eventually. In bits and pieces, once I realised… once I figured out that he’s like me.” She sniffed, “He didn’t mean to. He panicked. Like I did, but worse.”
“It’s not your fault.” Logan murmured, “If I hadn’t botched that stupid potion, you might’ve been ar-”
“Stop it.” Maddie snapped. “You both did the best you could with what you knew. That’s all you can do. If you want to blame something, blame that egg thing, it’s not… you’re not to blame.”
“I’m going to kill it.” She breathed, hot tears rolling down her cheek, “I’m going to pluck out its eye, tear out its tongue, rip every wing off and make it crawl.”
The soft feathers shifted as Logan took a step back. Maddie held her as the tears came and went, listening patiently to promises of vengeance. All the ways she’d slaughter the bad egg, by talon, claw and weapon, but those were nothing compared to the more pressing problem.
“...but I still don’t know. About Ollie, what to do,” She eventually admitted.
“That depends.” Logan perched on the other couch with a deep frown, claws steepled, “Do you think completely he’s like you? I mean, technically griffins aren’t a magical species- any individual could be veiled into a griffin. If it was Veil…”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Yeah. Like me. He’s been…” Karen pursed her lips, tried to breathe, then curled her hand and revealed a grey feather. “He’s been shedding, like I do. But he’s not on human Veil, and he’s not trained in magic,, but… I can see it now. I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. The instincts, he’s got them. But somehow he’s staying human?”
“I think maybe…denial?” Logan breathed, rising to stand. “Let me… alright, so… identity is a huge component of shapechanging. Circean Resonance, right? You’re probably dealing with focussing on your human identity to shapechange. While Ollie… his only moments, his one memory as a griffin is…”
“The worst?”
“Yeah. Absolutely awful. So he, whether intentionally or not, is denying that- oh, and, and, he’s not attuned to a miracle stone. Karen took like a week, or more, to change with that thing, but if all the magic is hers, then Ollie is both resisting the… griffin nature? Curse? And lacks enough magic to change? Maybe.”
She sniffed, glancing up, brow furrowed, “That… Doesn’t sound insane. But how come I changed fully then? I mean… my… I didn’t enjoy scratching you.”
“No, but you loved flying.” Maddie pointed out.
“Yeah- Ollie’s had a… taster, while your first griffin change was… uh, like a volcano boiling over. An eruption. I don’t know if Ollie might eventually experience the same thing, a permanent change.” He paced, back and forth, “At the moment he’s maintaining human form, but… symptoms of griffin-hood. He might be balanced, or… he might be teetering, for lack of a better word.”
“He’s not balanced.” Karen whispered, “You’ve not really seen him since then. He’s always in a state. He barely talks. He thinks he’s a monster. He’s unstable.”
The webbed, but reassuring hand of Maddie laid on her shoulder, the naga nodding. “It’s tough. He’s… does anyone else know?”
“No.” She breathed, thinking. “I… I couldn’t tell my folks. I’ve been so much trouble to them- and to tell that Ollie is that, but worse? And younger? I can’t… but others might guess. Just… just because I’m his sister….”
“It might be possible to control it though. Denial can’t be healthy, take it from me.” Logan grimaced at the ceiling. “I could try making another instinctive bird veil- or even griffin- though he might know how to fly already. Maybe if he got to fly, he could accept it.”
“Except the part where he gets arrested and who-knows-what,” Maddie slipped upright, palms raised, “As soon as there’s another griffin in town- especially the kid Caleb was found with- they’ll know it was him. Best case scenario, he’s guilty of manslaughter.”
“He’s a minor though- he’s what, twelve, right?”
“Thirteen.” Karen winced, “We can’t let them lock him up.”
“They wouldn’t- the kids have killed people and they’re not imprisoned.” Logan sighed. “No matter how much Matt would want them to be.”
“What?”
“Wai- the dragon kids?!” Maddie gaped, “Which one? Are they okay? Was it Shen? Who’d they… what?!”
“Uh, definitely Nessie. And probably Hex, not sure on Shen.” He swallowed, “Look, in fairness, they were all pieces of shit. Dragon hunters, and the Revealers who killed my old man. Buuut, I don’t think the dragons have lost a wink of sleep over it.”
“Aw.” Karen blinked, “I’m glad he was avenged.”
He looked at her, bit his lip, then gave a quiet nod. “Yeah. Me too. It’s… not what he would have wanted, but… I’m glad they’re not out there.”
She made a mental addendum to the already existing mental note not to aggravate the dragons. If dragon hunters died to them, then she would not fare well. “But… Caleb wasn’t a piece of shit. He was… urgh, he was good, he was our friend for as long as we lived here- same as Maddie. Ollie’s definitely lost sleep over it, it would never fly as self defense…”
“It was a kid lashing out. They can’t imprison a kid for that kind of situation.” His voice wavered uncertainly, “Besides- surely it’s better to control it than the change happen when you’re not expecting it, right?”
“No waaaaaay, people are terrified!” Maddie groaned, “Come on, you think Caleb’s folks would settle for ‘oops, it was an accident’? While mystics are settling here? People couldn’t ignore a murder, even if they wanted to!”
“Mmm-hmm,” Karen choked, tears on her cheeks, “But… if he’s going to change, what can we do? Move away?”
“You stop him changing?” She offered, as if it was obvious.
“It’s not that simple- I don’t really understand this mess, but the griffin runs deep in them, it won't be a matter of rules.” Logan considered.
Maddie sighed and hugged him, shaking her head. “For god’s sake, how come I’m the least magical here but I can see a solution.”
“You can?”
“Suuuuure can! Ollie’s the only hard evidence right? So if he doesn’t remember, then there’s no evidence, no trauma, and no griffin, it’s all sealed off.” She pointed a neat nail to the door of the lodge’s laboratory, “And we’re in the house of a guy who can seal off memories.”
“You can’t be serious.” Logan bristled, throwing his wings wide as his crimson face contorted, “Matt doesn’t do that anymore- you can’t just cut events out of people’s lives!”
Maddie recoiled, then sniffed, “Looooook, I know it’s personal, but this is different. Do you think Ollie wants to remember this? Wants guilt? Wants arrested?”
She stirred, blinking between Maddie’s pensive glance, and Logan’s reddened bewildered face. Her stomach roiled, her tail brushed against Maddie’s, mind whirling. “I… I don’t know. I guess.. It’d be… good if Ollie could go back to his old self. But what if Matt just… rats on him to cops, like with his old clients?”
“He betrayed mafias and criminals, power players.” Logan curled his lips, as if choking on the very words, “He’s not the sort to turn over a scared kid- but it’s not a solution. He’d be living a lie.”
“He’d be living the life he had until some gross demon interfered!” Karen barked, “Logan, you’re dismissing this out of hand- don’t forget, I lost memories too! Thanks to her!”
Maddie flushed, sinking down, her tail piling over itself.
“I’m dismissing it because it’s not acceptable, it’s sick.” Logan grunted, “He’d have that griffin mind stuck in a human body- if it even stabilises him.”
“And? Karen lived that way her whole life.” The naga objected. “Kind of.”
“Not really, and you both know it.” The young mage laid a hand on his face wearily, “Think about it- what if someone ripped away your true form, but left those instincts, those dregs, left you trapped human forever? Would you accept that?”
“No,” Karen shuddered.
“Yeah,” Maddie scoffed, then blinked, staring at her. “Wha- Karen, you were human. What do you mean!?”
“Me?” She met those eyes with equal confusion, “You’re a gorgeous mermaid, why would you give that up?”
“Because then I’d… I’d basically never have lied. I’d never need to lie!” Maddie slumped, a hand to her heart. “I’d just be me.”
“But you wouldn’t.” Logan gasped, “You’d just be tying yourself to live behind a mask. Forever. That’s not fair, you’re wonderful you shouldn’t… have to just… urgh, why do I sound like a damn Revealer?”
“Because you’re being idealistic,” Maddie sniffed, wobbling as she wiped her eyes, on the verge of tears. “Come on, it’s… I appreciate it, but you don’t know what it’s like, not being human. You get to have Veil as just a fun option, not a matter of life and death. Not pain every single day.”
Logan scowled, nostrils flaring, and stalked over to throw a log in the fire, “Yeah. Sure. Magic’s just my life, my legacy. No biggie.”
“You know that’s not the same as species.” Karen slipped beside Maddie offering her a hand and a napkin. “You’ve always got a choice, Logan.”
“Not as much as you’d think.” He shoved another log on, poked it, and turned with a frown, “Wait, what about your choice Karen? You’d stay griffin, not go back to your old life?”
“Uh, I can fly.” She shrugged. “You ask me to never have wings again? I’ll say no.”
Both glanced at one another, before a slight giggle broke the tension.
“What? What did you think I’d say?” Karen snorted, “Flying’s the best. And it won’t be that long till I master shapechanging, then I can be me twenty four seven.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m just… surprised you’d roll with it, even with all that’s happened.” Maddie wiped her eyes, “Now I’ll have to try it sometime, if it’s that fun.”
“That, I can help with. Sorry, I didn’t mean for my… hypothetical to upset you.” Logan set another log on the fire and looked softly to Maddie. “I didn’t realise either of you felt that… strongly…And I can’t stop you, I don’t want the kid arrested, but… there’s got to be a better way.”
“It’s be nice if we knew what the hell is going on.” Karen flopped on her stomach, toying idly with her amulet, “Why me and Ollie? Why the Bad Egg? Why’d he change back so quickly?”
“Diana not such a hot teacher after all, huh?” The mage turned back from the fire, a more playful glint in his eye.
“Shut up. I can and will throw you in the lake.” She rolled over, staring at the ceiling wearily. It was hard to tell if she felt better or worse for opening up. She wanted action, wanted to do something. There were options, but neither felt perfect- let her brother join her as a griffin? Cut the trauma from his mind? Maybe that was that, there were no permanent perfect solutions with magic.
“Wait- hold on, what if we’ve been thinking about this all wrong?” Karen paused, grabbed a slice of pizza, “What’s the… the… temporary principle thing, in magic? Uh, every action, reaction, that rule?”
“Newton’s third law?” Maddie suggested, “That’s not magic.”
“The Principle of Ptolemic Equilibrium,” Logan cocked his head. “Did Diana not teach you it?”
“Not by name, I’m kinesthetic, but yeah- magic’s stronger when temporary. When there’s an end. What goes up,” She flung the pizza up, hard enough for it to slap off the ceiling, and stick for a moment. “Must come down. Right?”
“Uh… eventually, yeah. Is that going to leave a mark?”
“Who cares- but what if my condition, our griffin-ness isn’t the throw- the action. What if we’re the fall?”
Logan tensed as if ready to scoff. His brow furrowed. He brushed a hair out of his face. “That… you’d be the counterbalance, the undoing of a spell in you that exists in someone else…. But it would be the opposite.”
“So if they became griffins- something else became human?” Maddie caught on, her eyes wide, “Wai- is that possible?”
The pizza fell from the ceiling with a wet thump.
“No- not that I’m aware,” He steepled his fingers, turning away, “There’s… mainly the Circean Resonance and the Principle’d say that’d take a colossal spell to achieve. But…”
“But if you don’t realise your work is temporary, just passing the debt off to someone else, it’s a lot easier!”
Logan flinched and darted back, staring at Karen in shock.
“Yup, I’m a sorceress.” She grinned.
“Hold on, I need… I need more digits.” He breathed in, then muttered, “Release.”
On cue, as if sweeping up his body, the red patterned skin, claws and wings began to retract, almost turning over on themselves in a pattern from his chest outwards. He stumbled, teeth bared with a snarl of pain as feathers stabbed back into his arms, but in a moment was himself again, fists clenched with all ten fingers.
Maddie gaped, “Wow- you can just undo it?”
“He’s not the best mage in our year for nothing.”
“Uh, I’d better be the best mage in school, compared to you newbies.” Logan flopped onto the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Right, that’s better- where were we?”
“Uh, balance and counterbalance- so it’s almost sacrificial?” Maddie queried, “Like, Ollie and Karen paid the cost for someone else becoming human elsewhere?”
“No, that’d be… remote working is hard. This spell is already so mental for plenty of reasons that I can’t picture someone pulling it off at a distance, that’d be… honestly, pretty much godlike.” He groaned. “Then the other challenge is the Circean Resonance.”
“Identity, right?” Karen slithered around, tail lashing with excitement. .
“Bingo.” He snapped a finger, “Magic isn’t a supercomputer, it leans on the unconscious identity for consistency. That’s why your human form- or naga form- is consistent, no matter what Veil you use. Any scars, injuries, rough looks, they all carry over. But that same identity is… like an immune system against permanent change.”
“But there must be some way? Or else Karen makes no sense.” Maddie slipped up onto the sofa beside him.
“That was my working understanding until tonight.”
“Jerk. But I didn’t really lose my human identity- or any identity- I just became inhuman enough for Veil to work, right?” Karen crossed her arms, leaning up over the couch, “And… when Logan read my mind, it was deep right? You said it was like…”
“It was like you’d always been a griffin.” He considered, “So…wait, what if that’s it? What if it’s pre-empted you altogether? Distance by time, not by geography.”
“You mean she was born like that? In her DNA?”
“It kinda works. But then I’d be inheriting it from… one of my parents, right? And neither of them were griffins.” She sagged.
“You sure? Your old man is a real character, and he’s missing a digit, could be from… secret griffin past, I guess?” Logan chuckled slightly.
“Nah, woodworking accident. And he’s got siblings, and… I trust him. He’s just solid.” Karen gave a slight smile.
“True. Not your mom either? I guess none of those ideas approach the main issue, the identity matter.” He scowled. “Argh, why’re you so confusing? Sure Diana’s not figured out anything?”
“No- not about this.” She admitted, “Like I said, she knows I’m not… really a word learner. I know the ideas about mass, and focus and ideas, but…”
“You sure? You’ve not exactly been showing off your success.” Maddie slipped over to her, “Maybe knowing the words could help you out?”
“Hm, maybe. But no, I try to shapechange to my human self each day, and only stick with it if it’s perfect. I can always get like… three quarters right, but hundred percent is the goal.” She bit her lip. “....Wait.”
“Don’t throw more pizza.”
“No- yeah, no! Wait, Logan, how does shapechanging work if you don’t have an identity!?”
He narrowed his eyes, “Everyone has some identity. Even if it’s just proprioception, the sense of your own body…. Though, I mean, theoretically, if you didn’t have a concept of self, you’d be like clay for transformation magic.”
Karen bolted upright, a tension like lightning shooting through her mind, “What about an amnesiac? What if you forgot your own species?”
The mage frowned, narrowed his eyes, and stared past her. His brows raised, a bead of sweat ran down his face.
“Logan?” Karen twisted, following his gaze towards the window.
Five orange eyes flickered in the twilight, beholden to mangy avian bodies on the windowsill. The pigeons were silent, unblinking, but shifted their wings.
“Denrol.” She growled as everything surged into motion. Logan ran for the door, Maddie for the curtains, while she snapped the Veil like rubber band. Instantly her tail piled together in tingling pain as lightning coursed through her veins. Fins sprouted claws, then paws as they lengthened, bones formed and her top split to make way for dark wings. Logan reached the door, shouting something, Maddie drew the blinds, and the pigeons took to the air.
The pizza boxes went flying as the griffin bounded over, hissing at the retreating vermin, then pulled her wings tight to squeeze through the front door.
“Shit.” Logan cursed, clutching his head as Karen screamed in fury. “It heard. It knows. We need to-”
She flared her wings and took to the sky in two bounds, chasing after the horror with a savage scream.