Confide in Aurora

I thought about it for a moment, wondering whether or not I should accept her offer to talk. Considering that I pretty much rejected Dahlia's offer to help, I didn't have anyone I could talk to.

Maybe it'll be good for me to have a confident.

I served her the mozzarella sticks she ordered and smiled weakly. "I wouldn't mind, but I don't really know where to start, to be honest."

"Why not start by telling me more about yourself?" Aurora asked as she took a bite of her snack. "I barely know anything about you, after all."

I chuckled. "True. Well, I grew up in a very conservative and rich family with my younger sister. My parents were... assholes, to put it bluntly. Rich assholes who only cared about power and money and who saw those poorer than us as beneath them. It was probably due to the comics and games we loved while growing up, but my sister and I never agreed with their views. Ever since I was a kid, I've always admired superheroes like Batman and Spiderman. I wanted to be like them and make the world a better place, you know? I tried my best to stand up against injustice and help people."

Aurora smiled. "It's admirable. I too wish to make the world better. Although, I assume that things didn't go well with your parents?"

"I broke ties with them. Or well, it'd be more accurate to say that they broke ties with me, as they kicked me out when I finished high-school. They couldn't stand me disagreeing with them and taking the side of those being oppressed."

"Must have been hard." She said.

"It was at first, but I managed to survive and find a job here. My sister also joined me a few months ago, so we've been living together. Things have been going fine since. At least until recently."

"What happened?" Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just say that I went through something... life-changing, and I'm trying to come to terms with that." I replied, sighing.

As I spoke, an idea suddenly came to my mind and I paused, staring at my hands. I admired superheroes, I wanted to help people, but I used to only be a normal, powerless human, I couldn't go against crooked politicians or other criminals. Now though, I was more than that... My abilities as a skinwalker were creepy and unethical, yes, but it was up to me to decide how to use them... I had the possibility to use them for good. I could become anyone and learn everything they knew; I could easily expose corruption and find all the deepest, dirty secrets these people were hiding.

Great power comes with great responsibility, after all... I though, smirking slightly.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Edward?" Aurora asked.

"Tell me, it's a random question, but if I had the possibility to truly make our society better, to expose all these crooked assholes governing us and help the oppressed, do you think I should do it?"

She looked at me curiously. "Why are you asking me that?"

"I... It was just some wishful thinking." I replied, chuckling awkwardly. "If I had the possibility to help more people, I'd do it without any hesitation, though."

"I would too." Aurora replied as she finished her snack. "It was an interesting conversation, but I should take my leave now. Have a good evening, Edward."

I smiled at her. "You too, and thanks for listening to me. I'm usually the one listening to other people, but it did help me feel better to have someone to talk to."

"You're welcome." She said before grabbing her guitar case and walking away.

It went pretty well. I'm glad I spoke to her.

I had a newfound determination burning within me, now. I would cleanse this city from its corruption, I would make it safe for Claire, Sarah, and all the citizens living here. And when I'm done with it, I'll aim higher.

I got back to work feeling far lighter than I started. I still had to think about whether or not to tell Claire about my condition, but I now had a goal and finally saw the potential this curse gave me. I was still dreading losing my own skin and identity, but if what Dahlia said was true, I had a few years before it happened as long as I rationed my use of skins properly.

Once done with my shift, I cleaned the bar and started to walk back home. I still had these desires pestering me whenever I looked at attractive women, but it was a fairly good night overall. My mind was far more at peace.

Like yesterday, the light was on and I heard a game being played when I came back to my flat.

"I'm back." I announced as I approached the couch where Claire was sitting, a controller in hand.

"Welcome back, Ed." She replied, smiling. "How was work?"

"It went pretty well, apart from a drunk man causing some trouble at one point."

"Are you alright?" She asked, looking a bit worried.

"Yeah, I dealt with him and had someone call the police to take care of him."

"Be careful, okay?"

I chuckled. "I will, don't worry. Now go to sleep."

"Fine, Mom." She replied with a giggle as she saved her game.

I left her and went to my room, laying on my bed after changing into my pajamas. I was feeling more confident and optimistic now that I had a proper goal in mind, I truly believed that my powers could help people if used well.

I fell asleep peacefully soon after.