The monster girl was glad that her face was obscured, and her tone muffled, in this moment.

So it easier for her to shrug, Calypso raising her arms, “What’s so hard to understand about me being a crazy person nowadays? Isn’t that enough of an answer?”

But Sal stood firm, her arms crossed. “If ya remembered, I’m takin’ classes in seein’ through bull. Try again.”

“Okay,” Calypso rose her mitted hands. “Clearly I’m the enemy here. Just tell me your points and I’ll provide answers—”

“Actual answers!”

“Actual answers,” Calypso tried to ease her dear cousin through her light hand motions. “I will give actual answers. This is just all so sudden for me, I don’t know exactly what to say to you right now. I feel that’s fair.”

“Fine, I’ll layin’ all the cards on the table,” Sal rose her fingers to dictate her points, while maintaining her folded arms. “You tryin’ everythin’ in your power to keep avoidin’ meetin’ people—extended to us too, you not even showin’ up to most of your classes or even sleepin’ in them, and now you’re sneakin’ out! That don’t paint a picture of someone tryin’ to get better!”

Calypso first responded with a long, rueful sigh.

“It’s not like there’s a map for recovery, y’know. I wish to heaven that there was, but there really isn’t.”

It was in that moment, Sal sunk a bit in her stance. That was about as hard to watch as it was trying to her damnest not to lie to her. Calypso had no qualms in faking emotions, coming up with truths people only want to here—it was the only skill she was good at. But this was Sal. Seeing Sal trying to be a disciplinarian alone, when Calypso knew more than anyone that all she wanted to do was to have fun and tease.

It hurt her heart, when Calypso figured that this was the source of this entire thing. Trying to get back, those simple times. How impossible it seemed, and the harsh reality that it truly is to achieve that with her now.

“Sally, I… It’s not like I want to be this way. It just seems like with every step, the very universe conspires to keep me low, in the dirt. And yet—that’s exactly… My problem. I am overdramatic, I am whiny and… It’s just that…”

Calypso felt her eyes water for the millionth time, muttering such a small “damn it…” under her breath.

“Oh, forget it…” Calypso grumbled more than she liked. “It’s a tangle of wires that are nerves. We want to untangle them, we have to untangle them because its unhealthy, it’s not meant to be that way. But for whatever reason, it is my normal. And you all have to respect that sometimes.”

“Then all of this—it’s for nothin’!” Sal pleaded, “What’s the point then?! You have to get better, you just said so yourself! So why keep fightin’ up unless there’s nothin’ we can do?!”

Calypso looked downwards, “You said it, not me.”

She practically heard the air sucked out of the room.

“My own mother threw me out, after all. And hey, you yourself said that Aunty and Uncle don’t even want to face me like this. It is hard, Sally—no matter what anyone does. You get entangled with my nonsense, and you have no idea how to get out.”

“Just…”

It took a few seconds for Calypso to look back at Sal. To see her drained, defeated and devastated.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Just… Can you not brave this alone? Just… Tell me what’s going on… Trust me again.”

Calypso immediately chomped down on her lip. She didn’t care that she drew blood, that her fangs punctured it. The pain was minuscule.

But she had to let go, feel it slowly heal back after. Suck away the excess so what she was going to say next was absolutely clear.

“Tell you what…”

Calypso extended her mitt, towards her dear cousin. “I’ll talk to you about everything tomorrow. And not only that, I’ll keep touch with you every single day afterwards. Just like old times when we all lived together, chatting up about everything under the sun and until the moon rises. I do owe you that much and willing to take that step, at least. Do we have a--?”

Sal pulled her into a hug, nearly strangling her under her affectionate weight.

Calypso sighed out, both out of relief that she didn’t have to dig into with her claws during that possible handshake and the fact that offer was enough for her cousin.

“I’ll be glad once you get back to your usual self…” Calypso joked. “Otherwise, this caring Sal is a tad too much for me to handle—”

“I care,” Sal verbally pouted, it made Calypso proud. “I just express it differently, by pushing n’ proddin’…”

“So like a psychopath with animal test subjects—” Calypso smirked a bit at the irony.

“Like you aren’t one either,” Sal quipped and bit back, patting her back.

Calypso giggled, pulling away from the hug. “See? It’s already working, you’re actually making fun of me again~”

The wrapped up girl smiled with her eyes, by closing them and pushing up her cheeks. “Now lemme get ready for class and begin the day right. But starting tomorrow, you’re looking at a Calypso that’s going to start trying…”

***

“I wouldn’t call it lying, Gale—”

“We’re not even going to school today—” Gale immediately pointed out, “You told me to meet out here and evade any kind of eye contact…”

Once again, the duo found themselves in the forest. It was minutes since they’ve met up again, Calypso telling Gale what happened that morning. Calypso was flexing her semi-normal nails, still long but aren’t claws anymore, her brown hair trimmed back to her nape again. The only longstanding problem left were her very pronounced fangs, which she swirled her tongue around because of how unnatural and unruly they were being.

“True, but—” Calypso sighed. “Even ignoring—y’know—the massive elephant in the room of telling your family that you’re a murderous monster to begin with… It’s not like I haven’t done this before. Obscuring of truth? Sure. But I do tell people what I’m ultimately feeling, just not the details. Because hearing the overall statement is already draining, so I get off scott-free every time…”

Gale rubbed the back of her neck as she continued to walk with her new friend, “Yeah… I guess it’s not really lying in that case…”

“And that’s going to be the case here. Use my clinical depression as a metaphor for what’s going on. Play up my lunacy, say that going out at night and roaming are coping mechanisms to keep the worst at bay. Maybe even mention you—n-not as a bad influence, but me being desperate for friends—so when you call, I follow.”

Calypso then gestured towards Gale, who turned to her. The skeletal monster girl having her hands in a presentation and showmanship of proving something existed, all with a very lazy smile.

“Can you question such a damaged and tortured face like this anymore, once you hear all that~?”

Her face and energy dropping as soon as Calypso turned forward was too fast, even for herself. Especially since there was an audience seeing that happen in real time.

“Okay, like, it’s super weird seeing both of you show up at the same time…” Gale tried to ration out her response.

“’Both of you’…?”

Gale had both index fingers upward, swinging them side to side as she explained.

“Remember how last night, that I legit think it’s night and day, with you turning and what not--?”

“It’s not an evil personality take over,” Calypso banally shot down. “The two fucked-up halves make a terrible whole, trust me—”

“—And I do! But you definitely let things loose when you’re a monster… But I kinda saw both sides show up there, during that whole explanation.”

Rubbing at her arm, Calypso hummed in thought. “Well, I guess… It’s less sides and… What’s beneath the surface. You never know what lurks under the surface, really.”

She suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened, looking side to side.

“You felt that too?”

“A tad, yeah—” Gale shivered, looking at Calypso. “Is it the Jaw Guy…?”

“There’s no way…” Calypso made her voice low. “Regardless if it had hours to fed and power up… It was bravado and honor, it would've met us head on or rushed in already. This? This feels… Calculated. Human and clearly not.”

Gale made a noise of worry, getting close to Calypso as a result.

“And here we thought we were going to be the hunters today…” Calypso looked about, unable to hide her trembling smile that flashed her fangs. “But we’re the prey, once again.”