Mystery Lake

[46] Breakthrough

With everyone's tension mercifully easing despite the setbacks and lingering anxieties, questions that had been glossed over were asked and answered.

Eugene's mom launched into full-blown, probing curiosity about this mysterious Rydia who had captured her son's heart. He scribbled vague verbal details about her. She was tall, muscular, poised, protective, demure, intimidating, and sweet. Roxy didn't agree with all those specifics, but love can see what it likes. The old lady lamented that she didn't get to meet the girl and made her son promise to bring her over after lunch so that she could get to know her properly.

The details of the 'lubrican' needed discussion. Roxy entertained the possibility that the entity could have been responsible for the reversions. It would have had to be hanging around for a while for the timeline to line up. She hadn't gotten any hints that such actions were possible for it. It sure seemed like the kind of creature that would brag about it. The way it idolized her might work to explain why she was excluded from any transformational consequences. As the supposed guardian of the mystical lake, it might have abilities they didn't understand. Still wild speculation.

The old lady made sure they had as many servings of the massive meatloaf as they could possibly want. There was plenty of it to go around. Mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables rounded out the rest of the dinner, along with rolls, pudding, and a tray of butter that was passed around.

Joel had always been a big meat eater, and Jess could pack away plenty too. She would have thought that Alyssa wasn't so much of one, but after the diner situation, she went straight for meat and noodles. And she was getting through the dinner eagerly.

It wasn't easy for Roxy to keep up the animated mood for everyone. Fortunately, smiles had momentum, and they fed off each other. Alyssa found herself sweating and made sure to get paper towels from the counter before the old lady got up. She did a few small exercises to stretch and relax. Maggie wasn't at all skilled in mesmerism like her husband, but she could lead meditation in a calm voice for those who needed it after supper. Alyssa eagerly took her up on this offer.

Barry was curious about the prospect but not very committed. Layla's residual enthusiasm helped push them in the right direction. Despite trying on smiles and being warmed by Roxy's mood in the familiar Joel way, she could tell that her roommate was still muted in his overall presence. The food was a pleasant distraction, and the cheerful conversation was another layer of that. Beneath it all, so many worries flooded his mind. Roxy could tell. Barry did not handle the unexpected well.

Being Chiara had already settled into his routine, along with Layla leaning close to him. He had such tense problems when it came to girls, but being one himself bridged the gap and offered a translation. At least in Barry's mind. Roxy honestly didn't think it was such a big deal. Granted, she had traversed the greatest psychological distance, but that was in no small part due to accidentally inhaling some legendary fairy princess and playing host to her. Shower time had altered a lot of things for her, but it was hard to separate that from all the fairy confusion. Had she been shy and demure because of the endorphins flooding her body to make her compliant to fairy sex orgies, because it activated something in her, or for other reasons?

She couldn't be particularly reflective because she had to keep up the appearance of cheerfulness for the group. It felt like trying to drag an elephant across a field of gelatin. Exhaustion. She just couldn't keep up with it anymore. The last gasp of being a clown for the sake of the others had been used up. It did the trick, but now she needed to eat, probably take another nice shower, and curl up in those blankets, and let some real sleep happen instead of just a snoozing appetizer.

Layla tried on Brock mode around Barry, in the pleasant smiling form of hopeful encouragement. He really needed stretchier clothes, but he managed. Barry didn't have a resounding sexuality. Roxy didn't think he was asexual. Joel thought that Duncan more so hinted at that possibility, but Miranda demonstrated that it wasn't a permanent state. So, her assumptions about others probably didn't count for much.

Jake found just the right spot to rub near her shoulder as she wobbled lightly in the chair. She wanted his hands to go lower. Maybe right before bed. At least the walls seemed to be decently reinforced. Eugene ate the slowest, even though it was clear he enjoyed his mother's meal.

He probed about the specifics of the change, not wanting to deflate the buoyed mood around the table but curious to understand it. Alyssa relayed that she was the first to change while still downstairs near the vault, with Miranda comforting, hugging, and encouraging her. This piece of information seemed to disprove that Alyssa, or her ability could have something to do with it. Melting monsters, but not their change. A residual effect from those creatures also seemed to be ruled out, as they would have been equally affected as well, and Roxy even more so due to her proximity to them before they retreated.

Alyssa described a conspicuous lull after her reversion. She trudged up the stairs with renewed determination, no matter how she looked. The first encounter was with Maggie, who was preparing this supper, and Chiara in her familiar spot as cook's assistant. No oddities popped up or remained in any of their thoughts about these particular moments. The others were alarmed to see Alyssa back and in need of a better-fitting change of clothes, but cautiously so for the moment. Chiara vacillated between throwing herself into food prep, washing her hands with both the coldest and hottest streams available from the sink, and rubbing her fingers like a desperate nervous tick until they started to hurt.

Miranda seemed to show some nervousness in the midst of her support, but it translated into hugs and standing still. Roxy knew that Duncan liked to wander around his high school campus, starting in his junior year. Duncan would take lunch. And just make idle orbits. He said that he liked to watch people and take in the experience, like a neutral camera eye, observing so many things without judgment. Roxy knew that such a perspective was impossible and silly, but she just listened as Duncan recounted it. Separation, isolation, and dulling.

How strange that Duncan and Miranda could present themselves as leaders and play that role when they would have been just fine as part of the unseen and anonymous background. The key difference between Barry and Duncan was that Duncan could look perfectly normal even when he was achingly alone, while Barry wore all those feelings clear and close to the surface. No wonder he fit so well with Layla. They were both simple hearts with clear truths.

Alyssa and Duncan stuffed their truths inside, desperate to free themselves from so much pain. She and Jake were all about fixing things. Taking an active role, not holding back, though they differed greatly in shades of thoughtful and emotional. Crap… The old lady's intuition was probably on the money. She didn't see how she was romantic, though. Romantic implies a certain idealism, right? Maybe she had that inside her, but it's difficult to really pull it out in a way that makes sense.

She stuffed herself quite happily. The meal had no fluff or breadcrumb bulking. It genuinely filled her up with well-cooked meat. She tended to her own dishes and the dishes of those immediately next to her, even though the old woman assured her that she didn't have to worry about that. The others soon joined in to do their part, rinsing and making sure that no food got dried on. It was all so mundane.

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It would have been easy at that moment to believe that they hadn't recently been visited by creatures, both mythical and terrifying. That it was just a fanciful anecdote to be passed around and easily forgotten. But the melancholy remained, despite the helpful and friendly boosts. Magic filled the wide gaps. The world was normal, and yet it might never be so again.

Much was shared, but catching up took even more. Details. The odd things that the little man said, implied, and left unspoken. Fairies would be after them for everything they had done and everything they might do. More and worse were coming, and they would have to do what they could. Everything that was supposed to work had basically already been done. They could just pile on more charms, horseshoes, and inversions of their clothes, but if it didn't work already, there was really no guarantee that it would work in the long run.

Miranda half-heartedly raised her hand to speak before bringing it down. She looked like she'd been chewing on a question, or something like it, for so long that it had lost all of its flavor.

"I'm sure it's in my notes since we talked about it in the car, but what's the deal with names and fairies, and why haven't the fairies we've known brought it up? Granted, that didn't even really occur to me until after I took everyone's notes about fairies, and I couldn't think of a good time to bring it up. But isn't that one of the big things that fairies are associated with? Changelings too. They want what humans have and will take their names if you happen to share them with the wrong group. Does that sound right?"

Roxy assumed that Miranda had it right. None of the fairies had asked them for their names or even broached the subject. It was all about physically eating them, taking other things from them, or getting revenge for some perceived slight. Now that she thought about it, though, it occurred to her that Cerberus was actually the one who was most interested in their names. If only he were still around, she could ask if there was anything to it. They had only given him their chosen names, not their birth names. Did that matter either way? Did it work like an alias? If they gave out their real names, would that be a bad thing?

Miranda's proposed notion made them all think about the recent events, even though there didn't seem to be much time for reflection lately.

Released from dinner, they congregated in the main living room area as the old lady worked with each of them to set up small, comfortable meditation spots all over the floor. With a perfectly positioned pillow, Roxy's mind wasn't so much on creating Zen as drifting into the nearest nap. She wobbled in place and let her head sink before launching up to catch a vague state of wakefulness.

Maggie urged her to use the long couch instead, and she eagerly crawled onto it in compact form, dragging her pillow and clinging to the nearest blanket. Jake positioned himself nearby so that he could easily reach over and squeeze her hand or even brush her hair if he turned around. Roxy was only vaguely aware of this as she sniffled lightly and sank into her post-meal nap.

The old woman's soothing instructions did reach her, but they were more of a distant, cheerful broadcast than a set of instructions that worked their way into her brain. Breathing, tensing, and relaxing, followed by gentle rotations and a subtle back and forth.

Observe your body, relax your body, and know that your body is always changing. Roxy made sure her butt was facing the deepest part of the cushion and stealthily let out a long, relaxing, silent fart. Perfectly controlled, like a maneuvering jet in the void of space in a space movie. She didn't even smell anything.

Back in high school, Joel would often release gas quietly and then wait to see the results. The problem always was that he would wind up with a telling chuckle as soon as his nearest neighbor curled their face up in a sour look. This time, she could imagine Alyssa sitting down on the couch later and detecting the phantom leftovers. Poor Alyssa.

A part of her delighted in all this. And her princess pal didn't scoff at it. Of course, a lady like that couldn't publicly proclaim her approval of tooting, but the amusement was still palpable. She drifted around these idle, bubbling waters as waves of restful drowsiness pulled her along.

Barry whispered something like a weak plea that almost made Roxy sit up in concern. She knew moments like this. Barry was painfully sincere. He just wanted to be happy, not be alone. A lot to share with someone like Joel at the time. The big guy didn't know what to do with it. He urged his roommate to work out, to stay active, and to think more about himself so that he could bolster his confidence. The guy remained more like a statue through all these prospects, as if he were being asked to take up Mount Everest. Agreement but uncertainty about how he was supposed to tackle it.

Back in the moment, a quiet calm settled around Barry, even as his stomach worked to digest dinner. What could she possibly say to him that would lift him out of this familiar, mopey mood? You aren't alone. As for happiness, there is just the pursuit, and you need to chase it down. Fun little quips, but lacking in practical prospects.

Roxy knew that you could fake happiness until it takes proper root. Wear a smile until it settles into your skin and your soul. And then find renewed happiness in the people and places that helped the most. She couldn't communicate this to Barry because just saying it never worked, especially at this moment when her body felt more like a listless, weighted blanket.

"Whoa, what the..." That stumbling note of surprise almost jolted Roxy out of her restful position. It was enough to get her eyes opened and her arms braced against the cushions. Sitting comfortably on the floor next to Layla was Chiara, her clothes disheveled in a phantom-like fashion. It worked... Although Roxy felt that whatever had happened still didn't make sense.

And that left Alyssa sitting there with her jaw tight, clearly nervously anticipating whatever epiphany might bring Ross back as well. But that wasn't all.

It took the group several lingering moments to realize that Miranda wasn't with them. Instead, a subdued and uncertain second Roxy sat in her place, scrutinizing her tanned hands as she looked around at the others. Judging by the fact that she was wearing the same clothes as Miranda, the doppelganger's identity didn't seem too challenging to guess.

Still, the original Roxy and others wafted the name Miranda at her. Roxy's twin straightened and drew in a nervous breath before subtly nodding.

More powers, Roxy had to assume. Barry first with supernatural sight, then her with whatever was going on with this barely communicative companion, but more the ability to cut worlds open with a slice of her hand. Possibly Layla swiftly shifting back and forth. Alyssa's expulsions. The old lady's intuitions. And now Miranda looking like her and leaving whatever 'gift' Jake was supposed to get unknown.

No wonder two different fairy kingdoms had a beef with them. A little dip or splash in a lake, and not only had they changed so much, but they also had powers they could never have imagined before.