A Scale of Sapphire

Ethan(?)

Well, they hadn’t kicked me out yet, that meant things were going better than expected. I don’t really know what I was planning when I first stumbled into this little hamlet, maybe a quick bite, or maybe a quick death. Humans and sentient life were rare now, and my previous encounters with other survivors had been short and bloody. Each one of those encounters spaced out far enough that by the time I found anyone, I was starving, badly enough that my instincts took over.

I’d spent my days hoping to find someone strong enough to do what I hadn’t been able to do myself. To kill the monster. Instead, these people seemed intent on saving it. It had been about a week since I arrived, and each day, someone would volunteer to feed me. Cass volunteered every day, but I was worried about drinking too much from her, so Nori had fed me last night. I’d also tried Aoife’s blood, and no, it didn’t taste like cinnamon or sugar. It was like a fruit smoothie, and it chilled me to my bones.

It had also changed me. For the next few hours, I’d sprouted horns similar to her’s, patches of blue scales had spread across my body, and a freezing mist had swirled around me. These effects faded with time, but they left me hesitant to drink from the other more magical residents. The last thing I needed was to be more dangerous, although the others would probably disagree.

It was quite strange, honestly. Nobody here seemed frightened of me at all. They trusted me. Cass had gone so far as to offer me the spare bedroom in her house. It just didn’t make sense. Ah well, at least I hadn’t killed anyone recently. I hadn’t even tried. For now, that’d have to be good enough.

Erica

I yawned and leaned back. The fish really weren’t biting today, were they? Honestly, that may have been for the best. I had an unusual fishing partner today, Willow, and I was genuinely concerned that if something took her bait, she’d just get pulled straight into the lake. Willow and I hadn’t really talked much since we’d fled. I’d tried, but she was always busy with something. She always found something that needed doing. Today though, she had come to me. She had knocked on the door of the house I shared with Aoife and demanded we go fishing, just the two of us.

It was clear that she had some ulterior motive though. She was sitting there, squirming, hardly paying attention to her line. She kept shooting these little glances my way, opening her mouth, words about to cross her lips, before she thought better of it. I don’t think she realized that I could see her. The new shape of my head offered a much wider field of vision, after all. I wasn’t bothered that much. She’d say what she wanted to when she was ready, and when she had found the words. It wouldn’t help if I tried to rush it. I just kept twitching my line and basking in the warm sun. I could probably take a really nice nap here, if I wanted, and maybe I would sometime. 

I took a sip of the shitty red wine we’d brought, chilled nicely by my lovely gf. Not my usual drink of choice for a fishing trip, but we didn’t have beer or cider, and fishing just didn’t feel right to me without booze. I guess I’d picked that up from my father, from back before I’d moved across state. He and his buddies had this great spot on the river, just a bit north of our old house. They’d bring a cooler full of cheap beer, and once I turned 18, he’d started passing me a can too.

“Just don’t tell mom.”

…

I missed him. 

I hadn’t told anyone yet, but when we’d run away from Cyrus, we’d run towards my old home. Someday soon, if I could, I wanted to make the trip back to my place, just to see. I wasn’t naive enough to think he was still alive, still out there, but I wanted to go home. To say goodbye.

“Erica?”

So it was time.

“Yes, Willow?”

“Do you love her?”

She paused.

“Aoife, I mean.”

I took another long sip of my wine.

“Yes. More than anything.”

“Good.”

She turned away, but not before I saw the tears running down her face.

Willow

That was it then. She loved her, and she meant it. I was happy for them. They had each other, and that was good. Of course they did. They’d fought for their lives together. They’d spent night after night wrapped in each other’s arms. They’d watched over each other. The two of them had lived for each other, and would have died for each other, and I just hid. I should’ve been out there, looking for her, protecting her. I should’ve been there when she realized who she was, but I’d failed.

She deserved better.

She deserved Erica.

They deserved each other.

“Willow…”

I turned towards Erica, no longer bothering to hide my tears. She was staring down at me, her massive hand hovering uncertainly above me. She looked worried. The dam broke.

“We grew up together, you know? From the start, it was always the two of us. I still remember fighting off her bullies on the playground in elementary… the bullies are a little bit bigger now though…”

This isn’t how this was supposed to go. They loved each other. I should be happy! Instead, I was crying. Over what?!? That my best friend was happy?!? It was stupid, and I hated it, but I just couldn’t stop!

“When everything went wrong, when the whole world fell apart, I should’ve been there for her! I should’ve protected her! I’ve always protected her… I’m just too weak now…”

“You love her, don’t you?”

Fuck.

“I do. More than anything.”

“Then come with me, I have an idea.”

Her hand finally descended, running gently through my hair. It was surprising how soft and gentle they were, given her size. I was sure she’d make Aoife happy.

“Ok… I-”

There was a sudden, hard tug on my line, and I was flung into the water.

Aoife

I was bored, and lonely, and everyone was busy. As kind as the Fletcher’s had been, they didn’t really get out much, and I think our first interaction had left them with a less than favorable impression of me, Cass and Ethan had been spending a lot of time together, and that meant Cass had been spending most days inside lately. It turns out, while the sun won’t kill a vampire, it’s pretty uncomfortable for them. Willow and Erica had been MIA all day as well. I’d swung by the lake at around two to check on them, but they’d quickly shooed me away, and now they’d kicked me out of the house. Even when I’d smelled blood coming from inside, they’d both just shouted that everything was fine, and I should just get on with my day. As if I could, after that.

Just as my anxiety/boredom combo was about to reach a breaking point, the door opened and the two of them started making a beeline for me. They both had little bandages on their arms, and Willow was shaking slightly. What the hell happened?

Erica approached first.

“Aoife, Willow and I did some talking today, and she has something she’d like to tell you. Willow..?”

Erica gently nudged Willow, still shaking, towards me. Willow yelped.

“U-um. Aoife. I really like you, and I have for a really long time. Like, the romantic kind of like. I was gonna just deal with it, c-cuz I saw how much you two care about each other, but Erica said I should tell you. If it’s at all possible, I’d really like to date you! And… I’d like to get to know Erica better as well…”

Wait what?!?

I looked towards Erica, unsure of what to do or say. Had these two really talked about this? Was this even allowed?!? I really cared about both of them, more than I could possibly ever hope to express. Surely they couldn’t both feel the same way! How would that even work?

“Aoife, you’re thinking too hard about this.” Erica smiled at me. “Willow and I talked. We both love you, and we’re both willing to explore a relationship between the three of us. I’d happily keep things exclusive between the two of us if you really want, but personally, I think this fairy girl’s pretty cute. It’s your call, little Saph.”

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

She’s even pulling out the pet names now. Fine. Sure. I was mostly worried about whether they were into each other or just me, but it seemed like there was interest in all directions here. I guess… maybe we could try this.

“Ok… I don’t-” Words don’t fail me now. “Ugh, I really want this. Like, this sounds too good to be true, and I think I’m having a hard time accepting this because of that. If you’re both sure, then I guess so am I.”

They shared a look.

“Oh, we’re sure.” Willow smiled, pulling out a small red vial.

“Very sure.” Erica followed suit.

Before I could process what I was seeing, they drank, and they changed.

Willow grew.

She grew and grew and grew, passing my height and growing even further. Her musculature grew increasingly toned and defined, and familiar bull horns twisted out of her head. The pixie I’d been looking down on moments before now smiled down at me, standing just shy of six feet, laughing softly, as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

With Erica, the change was different. She shrank, though nowhere near as much as Willow had grown, now standing at a respectable seven and a half feet tall. The biggest change though, was in her face. Slowly, very slowly, it became more and more human. Her snout gave way to human lips, and much of her facial fur faded away. She still maintained a thoroughly animalistic look, her nose was certainly not human, and her ears were definitely still cow’s ears, but the structure of her face was much more human, and her lips were…

“You’ve kissed me so many times in so many places since we started dating, Aoife…” She crouched down and gave me a sinister grin.

“My turn.”