Accept what you are, and meet your maker

I shook my head, as I realized just what I’d been thinking about. Trying to strike a deal with Lucy? To what end? I’d seen what was inside her, the kind of woman she was. Tragic though she may be, she had been irreparably warped by her experiences. Billions of people have been bullied, but they didn’t slaughter their bullies in cold blood, and get away with it!

It wasn’t like what Lucy had done was even a crime of passion. Those murders had been utterly premeditated, meticulously set up, and brutally carried out. Flicking through the memories, I felt that same twisted enthusiasm each time she killed a skinwalker too. Most of them were early skinwalkers, those inexperienced ones who were just beginning to explore their powers. Most of them were just like me.

I shuddered as I thought about it, contemplating the explosion that had saved my life. I doubted it had been intended to allow me to escape, and rather had just been Candida’s attempt at assassinating the hunters who were pursing her, but regardless it had been her actions that had allowed me to get away. These hunters, even Lucy, who had seemed the most reasonable, still were hunters at the end of the day.

The other early skinwalkers who they’d killed had been just as relatively innocent as me. They’d cut them down. Visions flowed to my mind, memories from Lucy's POV, watching Kobrina banging the head of a pretty boy off the wall of a nightclub mirror again and again, the disgusting crunch of bone emanating before she dragged what was left of him out of the club by his hair. From the files they’d been studying, “he” had originally been a girl named Claire, a tomboy who’d taken the chance to get to see what it was really like to be a funny, popular guy when she got turned into a skinwalker. Really, what was the difference between what Claire had done, and what I’d done inside Lisa? Both of us just wanted to know what it was like to be attractive, to be popular, to experience life as the other gender…

These hunters won’t stop. They won’t rest until we’re all dead. I didn’t choose to become a skinwalker, but now that I am one, as far as they’re concerned, my life is forfeit. I need to face facts, and stop running from what I am! If these hunters will kill me for being a skinwalker, then what’s the point in trying to say I’m still human, trying to beg for their pity, beg for my life? It’s not fair, none of it is fair. I have to stand up for myself, for my right to survive. It’s not like they’re morally righteous saints, they’re murderers in their own right! They’re thugs who love ****, and relish in the chance to cause as much of it as possible.

Candida… Candida is my best bet. She was able to source the ingredients, build and plant a bomb within twelve hours, destroying the hunters base, and not only could they not stop her, they didn’t even know it was going to happen! Candida may be a monster, but she’s the same kind as me. Together, we can take these hunters down. With me joining her, it’s a fair fight; two hunters to two skinwakers. And I already have Lucy’s skin, so maybe now I can actually hurt these hunters in a fight.

My mind made up, I now just had to work out how best to get in touch with Candida. I puzzled about it for just a moment, before deciding to try calling her. I didn’t know if the number was right, or if it was even her, but I was **** enough to try. I’d noticed it in my phone a few days after I’d been turned into a skinwalker. I’d never had a lot of contacts on there (blame relative unpopularity for that), and upon getting Lisa’s number had developed a bad habit of checking my phone contacts as a reminder that it was still there. I knew it was a little pathetic, but that was the kind of thing inexperienced guys with a serious crush might do anyway, so I didn’t think I was being unacceptably tragic.

It was after I’d been turned, I noticed it. There was a second contact entry for Lisa, underneath the original one. The one had a series of flirty emojis beside it, an immature yet still funny addition, that I’d wondered about. I hadn’t wanted to think about it at the time, as I suspected it was an addition of Candida’s number, which I hadn’t wanted to try for obvious reasons.

Now, with both our lives on the line, I didn’t have a choice. Nervous, sitting in Lucy’s small body with her deflated face hanging over her breasts in front of me, I dialed it up from the home phone of the house I’d raided, and waited with baited breath as the dial tones played from small, tinny speakers. All at once, it seemed like there was a burst of static from the other end of the line, and then suddenly the call disconnected. I sat there in silence, unsure of what to do, before the phone rang suddenly, and, still unsure, I answered.

“Hello?”

“Well Alex, fancy getting a call from you. Apologies about having to call you back, it’s just I’m unsure if any of my lines are tapped, and so I needed to respond from a burner phone.”

“I can relate to the paranoia…”

“You’ve seen the news?”

“No…”

“Hmm, well. Let’s just say, I’ve been clearing out a pest infestation. Though, I already checked. It seems I didn’t quite get the pests I was looking for. Pity.”

I grimaced a little, understanding the need for ambiguity yet also finding it uncomfortable for Candida to refer to any people, even her enemies, quite like that. Using terms like “pest” was so demeaning to the hunters, and it seemed like by extension, to humans in general. It was a small reminder, at least for me, that Candida was anything but human, and hadn’t been for so long that she certainly didn’t consider them equals.

“We… we need to meet up, and talk about things.”

“Oh, like a date?”

Even in a situation like this, Candida couldn’t resist teasing. Still acknowledging the need for ambiguity, I played along.

“Exactly. Where shall we meet?”

“Hmm, well, have you ever heard of Konenburg hill? The views of the city are great, and it’s such a charming area. There's the remains of a Church at the top of it. I always like to go there to clear my head. Let’s say, 9am? Wear something… nice.”

With that, she hung up, leaving me to ponder our meeting. Her last line surely wasn’t just talking about clothes either.

---

“That was delicious babe, thanks again for whipping that up. What are your plans for today?”

The distracted boyfriend gathered his things, as he got ready for the commute to work, before turning to listen to his girlfriend as she finished washing the dishes.

“Oh, I suppose I’ll just keep looking for jobs. I feel so guilty, leaving you being the sole earner, especially now we’ve got a mortgage to pay.”

She looked so sheepish, embarrassed, but in an endearing way. It melted her boyfriend’s heart a little seeing it, as he walked closer and pulled her away from the sink, turning her around and holding her close.

“Hey, hey. Don’t worry about all that. I really appreciate you searching for a job, and I know how tough it was getting laid off when your work went bankrupt, but seriously…”

She looked to the side a little, and he grabbed her chin and pulled her so she was facing him.

“… Isabelle, babe, I love you. And I swear, coming home to you each night, is worth more to me than any money in the world, okay?”

“Brad…”

She looked up at him, almost surprised at how intense the sudden affection she felt for him was, before he kissed her. She melted into it, a kiss that started chaste but progressed into hungry tongues dancing in and out of each other’s mouths. Brad **** himself away after a few minutes, his boner so obvious through his suit trousers.

“Holy shit, darling, I want nothing more than round two with you this morning, but I definitely need to go to work. Although, you know…”

Brad rested his hand on Isabelle’s belly, causing her to gasp a little.

“…why don’t you consider this practice for when we start making some little ones? I just know you’re going to make the hottest wife imaginable once we have the ceremony in May, and with that big promotion I’ve got coming up in work, I’ll probably be earning enough for you to stay at home and raise the kids.”

Brad started walking to the door, as Isabelle bashfully blushed, how much she craved that future written all over her face.

“Ahhh-ah… Brad? Just one more kiss?”

He needed less than a second before he pulled her close to the sounds of an excited squeal, kissing her again. A few moments later, Isabelle had a dreamy expression on her face as she waved him away from her doorstep, before stepping right inside the house again. She leaned against the door, eyes closed, enjoying a smile for a moment, before walking over to the bathroom and leaning on the sink.

Hoooollllyyyy shit…

I really hadn’t expected Isabelle’s life to be this enjoyable. After my call with Candida, I’d stayed the night in the house, restoring the boyfriend and wearing the girlfriend. It just made sense; He was going to be spending the day in work, while Isabelle was currently unemployed, and had the whole day free. I was wearing Lucy underneath Isabelle’s skin too; that way there were no awkward questions about the skinsuit of a petite pink haired girl floating around.

I just wasn’t expecting Brad to be so horny this morning… or expect I’d enjoy what we did together so much.

I tried to calm down, as I remembered the expert way he’d handled my body this morning, knowing all of Isabelle’s sweet spots and knowing exactly how to get his fiancé going. I fidgeted with her engagement ring around my finger, as I rubbed my thighs together, trying not to think of the wet heat in between my legs that was practically begging for release.

Okay, okay, get it together! I have to get into town and meet Candida, and I have to get out of Isabelle and give her life back sometime… it wouldn’t be fair to steal it outright…

I pulled Isabelle’s messy, light brown hair into a ponytail as I adjusted her glasses, finishing up with some lipgloss and a touch up of her light, natural look makeup routine, before heading out to her car.

Well… maybe if I survived all this, I could come back for a few days? I’m sure Isabelle wouldn’t miss just a couple days, right…?

---

The weather was bright and cold as I drove up Konenburg hill, grateful for the ease Isabelle’s car gave me in getting here. Although I’d never been to the top, it was well known in town, both for its good views over the city, and its suspiciously low property values, the mystery over the fire that had destroyed the Church at the peak being the bane of the local homeowner’s lives.

Driving closer, the alien appearance of the Church became more apparent, the remains of it’s structure, even destroyed, indicating that it had been no ordinary place. Rather than being a Christian Church, or a Mosque, or Synagogue, places of worship as one might expect to find in a moderately sized college city, this Church had been built by a strange and secretive sect. Their beliefs had been as opaque to outsiders as the thick stone used to build their Church, and all of this lent itself well to wild scandal and gossip the night the Church had burnt down at the height of one of the Churches greatest ceremonies. The deathtoll was unknown, and with a large-scale government cover-up that only increased suspicion. After all, with an incident like this it was impossible to hide everything, and just enough had gotten out to start the rumor mill, over-active imaginations filling in the rest in a plethora of crazy stories.

What a cursed place to meet… Candida really does have a flair for the dramatic.

Parking Isabelle’s SUV, I stepped out, shielding my eyes from the sun as I began walking towards the Church ruins. I could hear the sound of wood striking stone, growing louder as I stepped inside the ruins, finding a gangly skater boy who looked like he must have only recently escaped puberty. He appeared to be practicing tricks, using the fallen pillars and warped steelwork to good effect as unusual accessories to his sport.

“Wow, you’re really talented.”

I commented, appreciating the skill on display, causing the young man to nearly trip as he realized he wasn’t alone.

“Ahaha, damn, you scared me a little. I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here. Miss…?”

“My name is Isabelle. And you?”

I smiled warmly, as he smiled back.

“I’m Jack. Are you just here exploring, or…?”

“Hmm, well, not just that. I like to do a little photography too, you know?”

In my hands was Isabelle’s DSLR camera, enjoying the sound of the shutter release as I took a picture of the Church’s remains.

“Ah, it can be so hard to get the settings right in lower light… Ah, got it!”

One more snap yielded a picture I was happier with, as I continued my explanation.

“I’m off today. Well, I suppose I’m off everyday, for now, but… yeah. I guess I just needed some time out of the house, and I’d always heard this hill had great views of the city, so I’m here. If you wanted my candid answer, a.”

Jack seemed to nod along for a minute, skating close to me, stopping right when he was close.

“You know, I think I get more and more impressed each time we meet Alex.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Candida.”

I rolled my eyes, as he just laughed.

“No, but really. You always have an excuse, a rational little reason. You’re such a natural roleplayer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a young skinwalker slip into roles quite so seamlessly, and shamelessly, as you do. You were born to be one of us.”

“Ehehe… ehm, thanks. I think?”

I cocked my head to the side, not sure what to make of such dubious praise. I knew that from Candida, being complimented on how well my personality meshed with being a skinwalker was meant only as the highest compliment, but it was such an evil thing to be good at, I couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable about it.

“So, I’ve started cleaning up our little hunter problem. Did you see the news, what I did to their little base?”

There was a sinister fire in her eyes as she relayed the story, that seemed to bleed through the chill façade of Jack Candida was wearing.

“I more than saw the news actually.”

I muttered it darkly, causing a questioning look from Candida, that was answered as I explained everything that had happened. He sat on his skateboard as he listened, while I just leaned against a semi-fallen pillar.

“Wow, that’s crazy… so they’d found you and everything! You’ve got some balls to attack a hunter like that in the apartment, but nothing about your approach can really be faulted. Nice choice wearing Grace too, she would have been my choice as well.”

Candida smiled at that, just causing another question from me.

“You know Grace? Like, you know her well enough to comment about her being the most suitable skin in that situation?”

An evil grin spread across Jack’s face.

“Why, of course. I did do a little reconnaissance on you once you started University after all. I didn’t wear Grace, but I’ve been to your apartment before.”

Goosebumps tingled across the back of my neck, such a creepy idea as Candida watching me before filling me with a bad feeling. Come to think of it, she had mentioned back at her apartment, when I’d been there as Lisa... she had mentioned she’d been watching me for a long time. ‘In one guise or another’, or something like that, she’d said? I felt ever so slightly queasy thinking about it.

“Aww, don’t look so down Alex! You know I only wanted what’s best for you!”

“Did you?”

I replied, so deadpan and utterly lacking enthusiasm.

“Of course! I gave you the greatest gift of all, didn’t I? Or are you still not entirely sold on how special it is to be a skinwalker?”

I looked down at my shoes, at the much smaller feet in Isabelle’s cute white tennis shoes, my conflicted feelings no doubt playing over my expression. Even if I had reservations, it was so hard not to be distracted at the captivating sight of her body below me, my heart soaring a little seeing myself in her shape.

“I mean… I’d be lying if I said there weren’t perks…”

“Only perks, huh? C’mon Alex, you don’t have to be shy around me. Although, I won’t say it isn’t cute when you are… listen. Your lifespan had been massively increased, your freedom increased even more. Any kind of person, any kind of life, from that of a wretched vagabond to the most spoilt, luxurious life of a princess are open to you now. Don’t you realize how deep a gift you have now?

An ordinary person, they’re so constricted. Constricted by their social class, by their race, by their gender. Even if they go to great lengths to change this, to elevate themselves beyond the often cruel hand dealt by nature, they will always face struggle and years of hard work to get the results they want. You have none of these restrictions. You can be a bodybuilding god, the peak of masculine power one day, and an adorable cosplayer girl the next. You can live the life of a wealthy tech magnate, basking in your riches as your fuck your trophy wife, or you can be that same wife, living a life of nothing but sex, money and absolutely zero responsibility. All of it can be yours, for as long or as little as you want it. Haven’t you enjoyed yourself so far? Being Lisa, being Isabelle, being whoever else you’ve worn inbetween?”

“I… I guess…”

Candida seemed to sense my hesitance, sense the conflicts that had been raging in me ever since what she'd done to me, the struggle written in my body language.

“You know, it wasn’t just potential I saw in you Alex. That wasn't the only reason I turned you, it wasn't the only reason you were so interesting to me. Do you really want to know the emotional core of my motivation, what spurred me to want to know as much about you as I could? To start to think you needed to become a skinwalker, and would never find happiness going the way you were going as a human? Let me tell you what I saw, when I first became aware of you. I saw someone who was lost, someone who didn’t know who they were.”

I meet her eyes, almost seeing Candida through Jack, as it seemed she could almost see me through Isabelle.

“I saw someone who was restricting themselves. Someone who had these deep urges, this frustration, this desire to live, to experience. But you were always a natural liar. You lied to others about what you wanted, and even more than that, you lied to yourself. You constructed a whole worldview in your head, built up with the building blocks society’s expectations had given you, a set of pre-determined goals that you thought if you achieved, maybe then you would be happy. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“A-ah… I…”

I couldn't believe she was saying this to me, her words seeming to strike close to home as my own thoughts scrambled. Ideas about what I’d wanted before I came to university, the dreams I’d carried, came in a flurry, before I replied:

“…I… I wanted to have friends, and a girlfriend, a normal, fun life. That’s what everyone wants, right? What’s so strange about that?”

“Normal goals, a normal life. What are you studying?”

“You did the research on me, you already know what my course is!”

“And is that what you want to do with your life, really? Does it keep you up at night, burning with enthusiasm? Tell me, Alex. Why did you choose that course at University?”

“I… it’s because it will get me a job. It’s a safe bet, it’s what employers are looking for.”

“And is it your passion?”

“No.”

“Well then, there you are. A goal, that society told you to pursue, and you thought that if you did, maybe…”

“… maybe I’d be happy.”

I finished her sentence for her, proving her point. I knew she was right. Everything she was saying was making far, far too much sense not to go along with it.

“There are certain signs that someone is living a fake life. A skinwalker in particular can spot them, being so naturally good at living fake lives ourselves. You were never really that happy, were you? You were living each day on a promise, and a prayer, a hope that you’d be happy in future if you toed the line now. But you always had certain desires you were keeping to yourself, certain dreams you were repressing, repressing so hard you didn’t even know you had them. Sometimes it takes being someone else to really be honest with yourself.”

I sat in silence on a fallen pillar now, the weight of all Candida’s words sitting heavy on me. Somehow, it was like she’d taken a shovel to my heart, and started digging, uncovering the threads of different feelings and manifesting them to be clearer, letting the light fall of things I’d been trying not to think about.

“I… I…”

I tried to speak after a while, trying to articulate how I felt.

“…you’re right. You’ve really got me. I guess words really are a weapon if they’re used right.”

“The truth always hurts, don’t you think? But, well, don’t fret now. That maybe was part of the emotional reason I wanted to turn you, but I could talk for hours flattering you with all the practical reasons I knew you’d be a good candidate. I’m not like some of these other skinwalkers, you know. Just turning people to cause chaos, or to sadistically see how long the newbie can last before they slip up and get caught by hunters. No, I really have an eye for digging up all stars, and you’re my favorite pick yet.”

I looked up, my sad smile meeting her playful wink. It was such a strange feeling, being lectured to by what appeared to be a nineteen year old skateboarding slacker, who just so happened to have over a century of life experience. It definitely felt weird for such a young guy who seemed like the type who’s dream was a night of pizza, beer and weed, to somehow seem more mature than the twenty eight year old woman I was wearing, a woman who’d just bought a house with her fiancé, a place to raise a family and have a wholesome life.

“Thanks, Candida, I think. That was a lot.”

“Hmm, consider it tough love from me. In a way, I’m like your parent, being the skinwalker who turned you and everything. Just don’t let that put you off having sex with me, unless you’re into that? Can I be your mommy dommy gf? Or, well, since I’m a guy right now, you can just call me Daddy.”

He smiled as he closed the gap, getting right up in my personal space. I grabbed his face and pulled it to the side before he could kiss me.

“Ahem! See this!”

I flashed Isabelle’s engagement ring.

“I’m engaged…?”

“Ohh, cheating on your fiancé with a hotshot skater kid? You’re such a bad girl, ‘Isabelle’. Or maybe are you the mommy dommy gf, sneaking around behind your man’s back as you show a young guy the ropes in bed?”

“Stooop, on my God…”

I pushed him away, as my panties grew damp between my legs. This body was still so horny after everything that had happened earlier, that these hot fantasies easily were getting me aroused.

“…Even if that does turn me on a bit…”

‘Jack’ beamed a triumphant smile.

“… I still want to have respect for Isabelle and Brad’s relationship. Neither of them deserve cheating.”

“Wow, Alex, you’re always so pure… but, well, your innocence is part of your charm, I suppose.”

“Hmpf.”

“Anyway. You said you got one of the hunters back at the apartment. Do you have their skin with you?”

“I do…”

I reached behind Isabelle’s neck, pulling her skinsuit open. Here in the darkened ruins of the Church, there was more than enough cover that we couldn’t be seen, as I pulled the face of the woman I was wearing down to reveal Lucy’s underneath.

“You really got a cutie, huh? How does it feel in there?”

“Her memories are extremely traumatic, actually.”

I couldn’t help but find it trippy speaking in Lucy’s voice after speaking with Isabelle’s all morning, hearing her higher and more childish register contrast against the slightly lower tones of Isabelle. Going from a man’s voice to woman’s, or vice versa, was naturally weird; but it was the kind of weird that one clearly expects. The more subtle differences between two women’s voices felt all the more emphasized from how much less they were expected.

“Well, naturally. She’s a hunter, that goes without saying. It’s not the kind of line of work one falls into without a horrific backstory. Other than that?”

“Well… it feels really good. She’s capable, extremely so. Despite her small size, her reaction times, range of skills, and strength is very high. I’d say she’s a little like a swiss army knife: unassuming, but full of surprises.”

Candida looked pleased.

“Good, good! She should give us something more of a chance. Let’s hope having to fight their friend gives them pause, they’ll hold back because they don’t want to damage her skinsuit, and that’ll be just another advantage for you.”

I cringed a little, as Lucy’s memories seemed to indicate that Kobrina would not, in fact hold back. The fact that I was wearing Lucy might just make her fight even more viciously.

“So then, will we make a plan?”

Candida’s evil smile had returned, as she asked the question. I just had to hope we could come up with something good…