You may notice that your body is going through some changes.

The alarm clock wakes me up for the first time since summer vacation started, but when I reach out to hit the snooze my hand just thumps on my empty nightstand. Then I remember that I moved it over to the dresser to prevent myself from my normal three snoozes before I woke up.

Today was the start of school, and I needed my snooze time to get ready from now on.

Slipping out of bed I curl up my left arm while I stretch out my right toward the farthest corner of my attic bedroom, the feathers of my right wing brush against the drywall as I stretch that wing with a groan.

Then I turn around and do the other arm and wing.

Still half asleep I start preening the feathers with my hands. It had been another night of uneasy sleeping, tossing, and turning to try to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Before Change Day I had normally slept on my back, but my wings get in the way now.

One nice thing about getting up with no snoozes is that I get to the basement shower first, my dad had put in the walk in stall just for me because I needed the room for my wings, but both of my brothers like it too.

And Theo will use up all the hot water if he can, trying to wake up from trying to sleep with his new set of antlers which were just as bad as my wings.

With no one beating on the door and yelling at me to “Hurry up” as I wash up, I’m able to take the time to comb out my hair. I used to keep it a shoulder length bob, but I’ve let it grow in over the summer.

Longer hair is easier to braid and flying without a braid tends to leave your hair a tangled mess. I could have just cut it shorter too I guess, but I wanted some control over how I looked after what the Change did to me.

Getting irritated about everything again made the halo lit up, which only made me more irritated.

The ring of golden light over my head lits up the room and the mirror, showing me my long black hair, pale skin, and my equally golden eyes with had lit up at the same time as the halo. At least no one was in the bathroom with me, I didn’t like getting to know what sins people had which I could see by its light.

I live with two teenage brothers that I now knew way too much about, not to mention my parents.

Hair combed out, I headed out the sliding door to the patio to watch the sunrise and air out my wings. Water mostly beaded off of them, but if I didn't let them fully dry they would keep dripping for a good half hour and would smell musty.

From the open windows above the patio, I could smell bacon cooking. Another advantage of waking up before my brothers, I got the extra slice my dad always cooked up just to see us fight.

He always did have a rotten sense of humor and now that all three of his children were all teenagers he felt he didn’t have to hold back anymore.

The Change turning him and Theo into green eyed, white haired people with antlers didn’t help.

Fortunately, becoming what at best guess where Wendigoes just gave them an increased appetite for meat, no cannibalistic tendencies.

That and the ability to summon pocket snow storms.

And would it be cannibalism? It’s not like anyone is human anymore, everyone had become something else when the Seal that cut us off from magic and turned everyone human finally broke.

2=

The Seal had been a punishment for everyone on Earth and to force all the magical races which had been trying to kill each other to learn to live in peace as one people by turning them all human, and we all knew how well that had worked.

We didn’t know how bad we had been before the Seal had been put into place, because it not only took magic away and turned everyone into humans, but it did so in a way that we had always been without magic and it had always just been humans.

Which didn’t make much sense, but then it was magic.

That troubled a lot of people, but me, I had to worry about starting the tenth grade in high school as a winged freak. At least everyone else would be in the same book.

At least getting a set of wings also meant losing a lot of weight. It was hard to fly with flab, and it also meant getting rid of my glasses since I now had the eyes of a hawk. All without any driving need to spot prey and pounce on it from the air to feed myself.

Instead, I had a cheese omelet, toast, and my bacon with the extra slice.

Which I cheerfully bit into as Theo and Berny stumbled into the kitchen wincing at our father’s cheery “Morning boys, hope you like them fried, because that's what kind of eggs you’re getting.”

Like my dad at the stove, Theo had shot up several inches during the Change and had to duck pretty low to get even his cut down horns under the door. He had grown frustrated enough with them to take a saw to them every week.

My dad over at the stove had to bend over nearly in half, and then twist his head sideways to get through the door since he was rather proud of his eight point rack. Although he might have to change his mind about keeping it once it got too cold for him to drive his convertible with the top down. He works from home most days, but sooner or later it would be raining on a day he had to go into the office.

Berny didn't have to duck, he had only grown a few inches over the summer, which may have had nothing to do with the Change. Instead, he and Mom had packed on some muscles and now tanned up with ease. Along with getting green hair to go along with their bright green eyes.

Their eyes had already been green before the Change, in a darker shade. If you looked hard enough there was always a clue there before as to what you would become. Dad had always loved to barbecue and winter sports. And Mom liked to joke that he had always been horny.

That kind of joke had been embarrassing enough to light up the halo and I was then shown exactly what she meant, and how accurate about it she was. I had to leave the room for a while, at least heading outside to preen the feathers was always a good excuse.

A lot of my extended family, which with my mom’s four brothers and two sisters was pretty extended, were what people called Green men, or Green women. They had an affinity for plants which was pretty handy since Grandma was a Green woman and owned a farm that had been in her family for four generations. So that was the so called clue of what she would become.

Grandpa had been a hoarder. Although he claimed he just liked to have around everything he might need one day, it was still hoarding, and that was the clue.

Now he had to sleep in a steel framed barn. Dragons are too big to fit into a building, and they sometimes breathe out fire in their sleep. Grandma says that she loves being able to stretch out in bed now, but is going to miss sleeping together with Grandpa in the winter, he had always kept her warm.

At least Grandpa had Doofus with him. My family dog had also changed and started breathing fire in his sleep as well. He had been terrified of Grandpa at first, but Grandpa could still speak and Doofus understood the word “Treat” well enough. After enough sausages, he got used to a school bus sized flying lizard as his new best buddy and roommate. However, he did not and I doubt will ever learn to enjoy Grandpa's morning flights.

3=

There usually wasn’t much talk at the breakfast table, so it surprised me a bit when my Mom reached out to touch my arm. “The bus is going to be here soon Mandy, and you still need to get dressed.”

“Oh, right.” I still wasn’t sure if I was going to take the bus. Flying would be easier and quicker, and my wings meant I took up more space. But my friends were on the bus.

Then again, no one could touch my wings in the air. People had gotten grabby in public with my bright white feathers which shimmered in all the colors. Little kids like to try to pull them and that hurt. So flying it is.

Normal shirts don’t really work with wings.

I had spent part of the summer learning how to sew with Grandma in order to give me something to wear. Most of my tee shirts had the upper back cut out and hemmed, and the lower back split with long ties sewn onto the ends so I could overlap the back together by wrapping the ties around to the front to knot them together.

Theo had pointed out that if I tied it in the back, teenage boys wouldn't be able to resist pulling the knot loose, since that is what he would have done back in the tenth grade.

The top I picked out today was teal with a double set of ties which pulled the material tight just below my chest and left a gap between the bottom of my shirt and the top of my jeans. The double tie-offs helped keep everything in place while I was flying, or at least that’s what I told my dad when he complained.

The outfit along with an old set of faded jeans tended to get a bit cold up in the air, but the cold didn’t bother me much anyways.

But by the time I was ready, the school bus was pulling up a the end of the block. Berny was catching a ride with Theo who I turned down when he made one last second offer to drive me to school. But wings and hatchbacks don't go together.

I did walk down to the bus stop to tell the driver with the wrap around sunglasses and hissing hair that I was going to fly in. I think she was new, it was hard to tell with the scales on her face.

Then I waved to Marta, my friend who had turned into a pony sized unicorn. She slowed down to a trot and nodded at me in passing. She could speak, but she had never been a morning person either.

She could also now run fast enough that she might even beat me to school. I wondered if she would still be able to run track.

I secured the book bag over my neck and one shoulder, no more backpacks for wing girl, and attached it to my belt with a carabiner to keep it from slipping around and tangling my wings, or falling off. It had been a gift from my Uncle Jimmy, one of the other Dragons in the family along with his daughter.

If Grandpa was a hoarder, then Uncle Jimmy was a crazed survivalist. Amy was a bit more of an information gatherer than a hoarder, but her new apps for after the Change dating were doing well. The only thing she regretted was that Tinder wasn't available for the exclusive use of Dragons.

She used a photo of me, with my permission, for Heaven sent, but I haven’t made a profile yet.

Bag secure I take a running leap to kick off the top of the front fence post and took to the air.

The sight of the ground far below had taken some getting used to. There hadn’t been any fear or dizziness. Those weaknesses got yanked out when the wings got stuck on, it was just that the sight was unreal.

I had gotten lost a few times, luckily I took my phone with me. GPS for the win.

Plus I didn’t fly alone the first few times I went up.

Learning to fly with three dragons, two of which were eager to tear anyone who even hinted at wanting to harm me from the skies, Grandpa and Uncle Jimmy, and the other to destroy them on social media, Amy, I was pretty safe.

So when the sun was blotted out of the sky above me I wasn’t too worried.

4=

I just did a bit of a wing over so I could look up and wave. “Good morning Grandpa, you aren't going to follow me all the way to school are you?”

The huge lizard all covered in various shades of brown scales rumbled deep in his chest, loud enough for me to as much feel as heard. "Should. High school boy never change." His lips curled back a bit to show off his teeth, each one half the size of half of one of my arms. "But they need a reminder every now and then."

I held my arms in tight as I gave a good flap to rise next to him. "Didn't you get Grandma pregnant when you two were seventeen?"

He raised his head, the one eye on my side narrowed. "Hrmmm… We still didn't have Jimmy until we were eighteen, and married. And we both had a plan for our lives.”

“At least you aren't copping out and saying it was a different time.”

Turning to me, he let all his teeth shine in a big smile. "The times don't change, just the names."

Then he winged over himself and began to circle around back toward the rest of his regular route to check on every one of his descendants. Ever farther away close to where my grandmother would be finishing up feeding the animals, I could see the drone Uncle Jimmy had keeping an eye on my Grandpa.

Some people had been targeting people because the stories said using parts of their bodies or even eating them would make them more powerful. Some people in Japan remembered the stories about becoming immortal by eating mermaids.

Someone happened to them. They couldn’t show the pictures on TV. Uncle Jimmy approved.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Things are pretty shook up right now, but I hope my Uncle doesn't get in trouble for arming his drones.

Up ahead was Ogden Municipal and I could see the school buses starting to pull up, at which point I realized that I had no idea which bus was my normal one when looking down at them from above.

So instead of landing and waiting for them, I circled into land next to the west entrance and open the door for Marta who was struggling to try to get the latch with her horn. "Thanks, Mandy, I guess I should try the door with the pad for people in wheelchairs next time. At least I can use the push bar to get out."

Marta followed me to my locker since we had the same homeroom, and it wasn’t like she could open her locker, or had anything to put in it.

As I was shoving in my books for the after lunch classes I heard Marta snicker. “Well, at least he finally lost the weight he always wanted to get rid of."

Turning to look, I had to see his bright orange cap to recognize Carlo Perez. The formally short round guy was now close to seven feet tall if he stood upright, covered in bristly dark hair, a long blue nose, tusks, and eyeballs that bulged from out of their sockets. He lifted a clawed padded hand at us.

"Hi, Mandy. Hi Marta. I think I finally hit puberty.”

Despite all the new, sharp teeth, his smile hadn’t changed.

Neither had his bullies.

Kris Petterson was now nearly as tall as the new Carlo, but a whole lot thicker with red skin and a set of black horns rising from his forehead, orange eyes, and the same old smug grin as he shouldered into the now taller boy.

The bully managed to get out, “Watch where you’re…” before he was up against the far side of the hall, slammed into the lockers hard enough to make the entire row shake and rattle as he was held up by the neck two feet off the ground by a set of hairy knuckles.

Carlo had turned and taken one step before his arm grabbed the red skinned varsity football player and carried him up into the air and across the hall.

My friend narrowed his eyes. "In case you haven't been keeping up Kris. Things have changed. I’ve changed, you not so much.”

He took another step across the hall, lifting Petterson until his head began to lift a ceiling tile. "It's still a matter of debate what people like me get called, but I'm pretty sure we're a lot stronger than a common red oni. So why don’t you do us both a favor and we don’t try to find out how much stronger?”

With that he dropped Kris to the ground and turned back to me and Marta, twisting his shoulder around into some contortion that seemed to pull back his long arm back into his sleeve as he pinched the cuff with his other hand to keep it from bunching up.

Looking me in the eye he whispered. "Tell me if he tries to punch me from behind so I hit him for real. Please let him be that stupid.”

I shook my head. “Naw, he just glared at you and shuffled off with everyone looking at him.”

Carlo smiled and half closed his eyes. “Good enough… for today.”

Then the bell rang and we had to get to homeroom.

5=

For the first time ever, I sat in the back row.

It’s what I could have preferred to keep people from messing with my wings, but getting sent back there in the name of not blocking the whiteboard was a little humiliating.

Marta had it worse with just a big empty spot at the back for her to stand in. And while I didn’t mind sharing a book with her, nearly getting stabbed in the shoulder every time she tried to read the right hand page was getting boring fast. I whispered, "Do you need glasses?"

She rolled an eye at me. "No, I keep trying to read with both eyes. My nose keeps getting in the way."

Miss Butama cleared her throat at up. The pretty younger teacher didn’t get a seat either with her long red scaled snake tail instead of a lower body, but she had mastered rearing up to get taller when she needed to get everyone’s attention.

She was still wearing glasses, but I think it was still because she was so pretty that she needed to wear them for men to take her seriously.

I wonder what she was going to do to get around once winter hit. Is she still warm blooded? Her upper half is still human, right?

She tapped her wood pointer on her desk, “Alright class, today will mostly be covering the syllabuses in your classes and introductions. I am Miss Priya Butama, your homeroom teacher, and I am going to ask everyone to speak up and let me know if you have encountered any special needs for your new bodies that were not mentioned on your family surveys.”

"I'll start. I'm a lot more sensitive to the temperature where I still have skin. Which is why I wore a winter coat to get to school today, but a sleeveless blouse inside the school. Principle Shedling has chosen to turn on the furnace early this year for the needs of some of our students and staff. As well as for himself.”

My mom was in the PTA and said Shedling was now gray skinned, hairless, and felt cold all the time. He had shown up to school meetings to figure out how to accommodate the new needs of the students in a parka in the middle of the summer and his breath had been misting as he breathed out.

Marta introduced herself and joked, “Still no hands, have to walk around naked in public. Plus I’m having some trouble talking, I’m a little horse.”

She got some laughs, not as many as she deserved. I think everyone had lost a little bit of the sense of normalcy they had gotten back over the summer by being a place that should have been familiar, only to see everyone who had gone to school with now all different.

Then it was my turn. “I’m Mandy Featherston, and I’m sorry… But I’m too big to stand on your shoulders and try to get you to do the right thing. You’re all on your own, same as before.”

That got a few more laughs, although Marta claimed it was because I was a hotty now instead of a horse.

She shrugged me off after I hugged her, but she did let me hug her.

First period had us back into a class with Carlos, he looked around when we came in then stepped over some other desks with a boneless slinking motion to clear a space for Marta. “I’m helping you out here, so no horsing around.”

Marta glared. “I will stab you.”

The furry teen slapped both of his hands over his heart. “Oh no, penetration, and we haven’t even dated yet.” He reached up to fiddle with his hairy pointed ears. “But I was thinking of getting some piercing, maybe you could hook me up?”

He turned to see Marta with her head hanging low and slumped down himself. “I’m sorry Marta, I just… I just have to laugh and make jokes or it all comes crashing down on me. Sorry.”

She let me hug her again and hang on this time.

After a big Carlos started talking again, like back when we were normal.

“So I know it will be weird, what with Mandy knowing a real dragon, and me looking like something from a dungeon. But I missed gaming with everyone over the summer. Maybe we should try a science fiction game, you know, like Bogeymen in space?”

Marta snorted and looked up at him. “Bogeyman is what you settled on?”

Carlos pulled up his hood. "Now, although lurking under girls' beds sounds like fun, the consensus is either Bugbears or something in Polish I can't pronounce.” He looked around. “Isn’t it taking a long time for the teacher to get here? It's been more than fifteen minutes, I think we can leave right?”

At that point Mr Shedling entered the class, a parka with the hood down showing his solid black eyes shining like ice and fog drifting out of his mouth with each word.

“My apologies students. Mr. Cust called off at the last moment. We're hoping he will return to class in time, but today was too much for him to face." He shook his head sadly. "I wish I could say he was the only one, but we're down six teachers today, so I'm going to ask all of you to do some self study and not cause any trouble. We just don't need it today."

With that, he turned and walked out of the class.

After a moment a girl with red skin and a single black horn in the middle of her forehead stood up. “I’m Iris Petterson, I have a copy of Mr. Cust’s syllabus from the class website. I’m going to go ahead and read it out loud just so we’re all familiar with it.” She shrugged. “And I am a self confessed teacher's pet, but I think it might help today be a bit more normal." She forced a grin. "And normal is good."

It looked like being a red Oni ran in the Petterson family, but being a jerk didn’t. We actually had a nice discussion afterwards about US history.

Which wasn’t normal, but it was nice.

6=

Third period I was on my own in chorus class. It had seemed a natural pick after the change, but becoming what could only be called an angle did nothing for my voice. While everyone else was taking their voice testing, I used my phone to put in a bid on the school network for a transfer to band, maybe I’ll have a talent for playing a horn? Do they even still have harps?

A guy named Bill something or other had a frog face and long fingered hand that he reached out with to brush his fingertips along the back of my right side wing. I knew his creepy desire to touch me elsewhere and the halo flared up.

I could feel what I called people's sins, hungers, or desires when the halo was up, but any contact with the wings did the same thing. Not anywhere else, just the wings.

Before I covered my eye to stop myself from seeing everyone else’s sins, I snapped out my wing in what I planned to claim as a reflex action, and sent Bill, and his desk, tumbling over a few times.

People were freaking out, and some of them tried to close in to try to comfort me. “No. Keep back. Don’t touch me!”

Between my fingers, I could feel the halo shine even brighter as Mr. Seimens called for everyone to leave the room.

When the light calmed down it was just me and an otherwise normal, or rather, human looking girl wearing sunglasses sitting next to me. She gave me a sad smile and then leaned forward to hand me a small six ounce bottle of water. “I knew someone was going to need this today, you can pay it forward to someone else one day.”

I was sitting on the floor by this time, so I had to reach up to take the bottle from her hand. Cracking it open I took a drink and asked. “What happened.”

She raised her hand and spread out her fingers. “I heard them say you went all glowy and you caught on fire, then everyone started remembering the worst things they ever did, at least until they got away." She giggled while grinning wide. "You made Willy Billy piss himself getting out of here. He was so busy trying to get to a bathroom he only had time to threaten to sue once."

I took another sip. “So you’re without sin?”

She shook her head and lifted her dark sunglasses to show the unbroken skin over her eyes. “Nope, without eyeballs. Can’t see the scary light, can’t get scared.” She began rocking her head side to side while speaking in a sarcastic tone.”Not that I ever did anything to ever feel bad about.”

The blind girl held her hand directly towards me, “Sheila Jones. Prophet.”

I shook her hand. “Mandy Featherston. Angle.”

The prophet grinned. "Well, aren't we quite the pair? Going to lead me to a manger. That could put us in business for at least two thousand years and that story is way overdue for a remake.”

I spend the next half hour in the nurse's office before getting released for lunch. Which turned weird.

Carlos had gotten into a screaming match with the lunch ladies about Marta eating her oats inside the cafeteria and getting to have a mixing bowl to eat out of instead of the cardboard cylinder. By the time I got there, it had been settled and I was able to sit down to eat my lunch.

Baloney sandwich, a bag of Cheetos, a banana, a bottle of water, and a pudding cup.

Carlos shook his head at me sadly. I slipped up and asked him why. “I assumed you would be eating like a bird now.”

He caught the Cheetos I flicked at him in his mouth with a grin, then nearly went over as Marta kicked his chair partially out from below him with a deftly applied rear hoof. Unfortunately with Carlos's new long legs, all he had to do was stand up while the chair shot out from below him.

I saw Sheila walking out from the lunch line with a hot tray and wave her over, before dropping my head in shame as I realized I was waving at a blind person.

Only to see her wave back after a moment and head our way. Carlos started at me accusingly. “What?”

He slowly shook his head. “Hear I am. Finally tall, dark, and handsome. And my friends at last invite a hot girl over, but they pick someone who’s blind. Thanks a lot.”

Sheila skipped a step as Carlos called her hot but then grinned as she hesitantly circled a few chairs and errant book bags in her way.

Setting her tray on the table, she reached over to ruffle the hair on Carlos’s head. "You know what they say about blind people's other senses right? But still, thanks for the compliment hairball.”

7=

“So you can see?”

Sheila nodded. “Kinda, I know enough about the immediate future to know if I’m about to trip on something, or if I need to dodge out of the way. But there's a delay between knowing something and being able to react. Stuff from farther up is mainly brief impressions."

She froze for a moment, then looked across the table at Marta. “You will be able to become human again when you want to, I don’t know when or for how long. But it will come someday.” She frowned. “I think you have to work at it though, and the horn’s there no matter what you do.” She shrugged. “Sorry. But at least you don’t have to learn braille.”

Marta nearly lost her mouthful of oats and blinked rapidly before she swallowed, tried to speak, coughed again, then tried again. “Thanks. I owe you one. A big one.”

Sheila started to ask something, then sighed. “Nope, your horn won’t fix my eyes. Bummer.” Then she brightened up. “Hey. Does it work on arthritis? We're not sure what my grandma became, but her knuckles still hurt."

We all stared at her until she began turning her head from side to side. "What?"

I was the one to ask. “She can heal with her horn?”

The prophet raised her eyebrows. “Seriously, no one outed them yet. I mean, unicorns? No one even tried that yet?”

Marta and Carlos had questions. I had a phone call. "Grandpa, could you put the Acoya house on your route? Their daughter Marta, yes the unicorn, she may be on a hunter’s list. Yes. I’ll thank Uncle Jimmy later, but you may want to let Grandma talk to them before he shows up with a security system.”

I hung up to see all three of them looking at me. Marta looked a little embarrassed, Carlos sort of proud and Sheila confused.

“What’s your Grandpa and Uncle going to do, glow at people to make them feel bad?”

Carlos started laughing, giving me a good view of the rows of teeth going down his throat.

I pulled out my phone and tapped on the last family photo, then I turned the phone to her. Only for her to frown at me. "Ah, still blind Mando… Oh, got it now. Wow. Big. Your grandpa would make an awesome tattoo.”

That makes me look at the photo again. "Yes… but that would be weird for me to get it."

Carlos chimed in that he would have to shave a spot, which would be pointless since it would grow over, and Marta said her parents would kill her.

Then her head jerked up as she looked past Sheila. “Trouble.”

Kris Petterson was heading our way, with most of his football buddies behind him.

I stood up and took Sheila's arm while Carlos stepped to put himself between the footballers and the seer. Sheila looked up in mild distress as I took her arm, before tilting her head back. “The worst part is being a teenage girl and not being able to roll your eyes.”

She still went along with being tugged off to the side, taking her tray with her. “Paid good money for this.”

Kris faced off with Carlos, backed up by some various characters from fantasy movies and mythology. Some of them looked unsure about being there, or even upset with Kris himself. Others had cruel smiles on their faces or just determined looks.

I heard Sheila start to comment behind me. “What we have here are some big tough boys who used to be on top of the social structure in high school, and thought that was something that mattered. Now no one knows what anyone is capable of, so they want to make someone into an example.”

"Of course, some of them are just here because they've been told to be team players…”

The largest guy, with one horn, one eye, and the name Maeto on his varsity jacket yelled "Shut up Shee, no one wants to hear it."

Shiela whispered. “Ladies and gents, my brother Bruce. We have the worst luck with eyes…”

Kris looked back at Bruce and they exchanged a nod. Then the big red boy took a step forward, “You caught me by surprise earlier pig boy.” One of the most unimaginative nicknames Kris had been calling Carlos since elementary school. "It's going to be different this time." He held up his fist for emphasis, thick hard clumps appearing on his hand and growing into spikes as we looked.

Alright, not exactly a sin reading Halo, but in terms of getting into a fight a bit more impressive than I would have guessed. Of course, Carlos, with his fascination for all things magic, was too busy leaning in to get a closer look at the spikes on Kris’s hands to even be aware he was being threatened.

“Virgins.”

Everyone froze for a moment to look back at the unicorn standing idly at the back of the room. “I know every which one of you are still virgins. The boys anyways. Anyone who starts something gets outed in front of the whole school.”

Carlos gave her a confused look. While I just nodded to back her up. She hadn’t ever mentioned having that power, but then she never said she didn’t either.

Bruce the cyclops threw up one hand. “Not it.”

8=

Most of the other boys in the room hastily threw up their hands as well, as did some of the girls, as a chorus of “Not its” echoed throughout the room.

Kris was too confused about how things were going to speak up, but one guy in the middle of his pack, one of the ones who looked like he really didn't want to be here called out "It." as everyone else finished.

People stared. The guy had black feathers on his head and a beak, as well as scales on the back of his hands running up to the yellow talons on his fingertips. He crossed his arms and gave the whole room a glare with his bright yellow eyes. "I'm Sixteen. There isn't any shame in not having hooked up with anyone, or not having a girlfriend yet. We’re young. Don’t let anyone shame you about it.”

Carlos crossed his arms as well. “Here, here. But speaking of girlfriend? Hey Bruce can I ask your sister out?”

Even the skin over Sheila's eyes blushed.

The big cyclops snorted. "Half-sister. And yeah sure, take her out for dinner so I can get enough to eat for once."

“Love you too bro!”

Petterson finally had enough, his right cross came out of nowhere and took Carlos across the mouth. Blood flew out and my friend's head rocked sideways.

Before my friend could hit back, I was taking a step forward, the halo burning like a whole bonfire on top of my head.

My body was engulfed in golden fire, and my hand as I lifted it was filled with flames rising from the air to form a sword. My vision was focused on the man in front of me who had hurt my friend. The guilt and shame of others faded away to the background as I focused on the one under judgment.

Who had nothing inside.

Kris Petterson felt nothing. No anger, no joy, no guilt, no sin.

My flames could not touch him.

They could however keep his friends back.

I heard a stomp beside me. Theo stood at my back, his horns making snapping sounds as they grew out to six points, and his sharp meat eating teeth were exposed as he snarled. Others circled the jocks. Some of them angry, some determined, and some just looking at their friends and bothers with shame.

Shiela stepped forward and set her tray back on the table with a clank. "This really should be a one on one fight guys. Man versus man. That's what we still are right? Humans at least.”

Kris looked around as his backups stepped away, turning back just in time to see a hairy fist fly at his face. Carlos had only grabbed him that morning, this time he put his whole body into punching the red skinned boy.

There was a crack, and he went flying back to nearly knock down several of the big guys behind him.

The teachers finally showed up then, the lack of staff had meant a lack of monitors in the cafeteria to keep an eye on things. Our principal's arrival was known when the whole room dropped a few dozen degrees.

There was some yelling and big one eyed Bruce announced that Kris’s neck was broken.

Carlo nearly fainted.

As people called for the nurse or an ambulance, Marta squirmed her way through the crowd around Kris's limp form. A big long sharp horn helped with that.

Dipping her nose down, my friend touched the tip of her horn on Kris’s forehead, well above the bloody ruins of his face.

There was a light, and the indescribable sound of bones unbreaking as a groan came from the no longer injured bully. Marta turned and trotted away. “Had to test it on somebody, and if it could go wrong, who better?” She then muttered. “Now I just got to work on getting my body back, I am so sick of being white.”

The police showed up and afternoon classes were canceled. My brother snuck off to the auto shop with Carlos to help cut his horns back again, while Bruce tagged along to try to recruit Carlos into trying out for the team.

It might be a good idea really, I don’t think we’re playing RPGs again anytime soon. Real, or realish life was a lot more interesting now.

For instance, the feathery virgin guy came up and introduced himself, then asked me out on a date.

“Sure Claude, but you might have my grandpa show up at your house tonight to check you out. Don’t worry though, he’s just a big softy.”