Talk with Minh and meeting with Mother

The next day, Claire stayed at my home again, just in case. Even if Minh swore they didn't plan to do anything more to Claire and Laura, I prefered for her to at least take another day off to try to relax before returning to work.

I met with Dahl, Laura, and Sherine in front of the lecture hall before our lecture started. They were talking like normal, neither Dahl nor Minh betraying what was really going on. They had a lot more experience than me when it came to acting, I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep a straight face the whole week. Minh sometimes gave me a sly grin while Laura wasn't looking, visibly amused by this situation.

"When's your next photo shoot, Yun?" Minh asked.

I tried to keep my cool and smiled. "I've been quite busy these last few days, I haven't gotten the time to plan anything yet. What's certain is that I won't have another trip like the one in London anytime soon."

"The finals are getting close, better focus on your studies, right?" She said in an amused tone.

"Yes."

Our lecture started soon after, so our brief discussion ended here for now. Being with Minh like this, parading as Sherine, was making me feel so uneasy. Minh simply kept playing Sherine's role for the day, Laura still unaware of what was truly going on.

Once the day of college was over, I managed to have some time alone with Minh while Dahl distracted Laura and left with her. We were in a classroom, the door locked thanks to a key Dahl gave me.

"What is it, Yun?" Minh asked with a clearly fake innocent smile.

"We told Laura that you were wearing one of my professors, don't do anything that would make her believe otherwise, please."

She chuckled. "I told ya already, I'm not gonna do anything else to her. The poor cutie is clearly traumatised enough as is." She then grinned. "If you need a professor to act like me for a short while, I could try to arrange that, though~"

I shook my head. "No, don't mess with anyone else."

"I was joking anyway~ But seriously, relax, girl, or you're gonna get white hair fast. I won't do anything to Laura, Claire, or Sherine unless Aga orders me to or you try to mess with us more."

"Do you swear it?"

Minh placed a hand on her heart in a solemn way. "I swear it on Aga's name~"

"Aga... Is that my mother's real name?"

"Agnieszka, to be more precise." Minh answered. "We all call her Aga, though."

"I see..."

"I'm sure you must be quite curious now, but Aga will answer your questions herself once she comes back. Make sure to invite Dahlia too, she has a few things to ask her."

"I will."

Minh leaned closer, smirking. "You know, I'm sure we could become good friends once everything is settled. We're not so different, you and I~"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you stole the life of a bully, just like I did~" She said, stretching Sherine's face and making me glimpse at the Asian girl she was wearing underneath. "This one, Yumi, was such a stuck-up cunt. She always belittled everyone, thinking herself superior, I just had to put her back in her place. Yun was the same, right?"

"It may be the case, but that doesn't mean we're the same." I dryly replied.

"Oh, come on, isn't it satisfying to dominate a bitch like this~? You even remodeled Yun's life to be more to your tastes too. This feeling of pure ownership and domination is pretty addicting, don't you think~? I've loved putting bullies in their place these last few decades. Like what you did with your idiotic father. I heard everything from Aga, it was sublime~"

I crossed my arms and glared at her. "You hurt innocent people, I'd never do that. My father deserved to be punished, and so did the old Yun."

Minh tried to caress my cheek but I pushed her hand away. "Oh, I love when you stare at me like that~ Anyway, good on you to still believe yourself to be so pure and righteous. I wonder how long you'll be able to keep this mindset~ You're a skinwalker now, you'll always be seen as a disgusting monster by the majority of the world, no matter how much good you try to do."

"I am aware of that, but I don't care. I'll stay true to myself."

"Heh, good luck, Yun~ Now, if you excuse me, I need to return home before my parents start to worry. We had planned to go to a restaurant together tonight to celebrate mom's promotion."

I sighed. "Fine..."

"And I'll repeat it again if it can reassure you, I won't do anything to Sherine. She may have some... weird thoughts at times, but she's a sweet girl."

"Weird thoughts?"

"A young woman can have some pretty wild fantasies, you know? But well, see ya tomorrow, have a good evening~" Minh said, waving her hand and leaving the room.

Ever since our first encounter, she always had such a carefree attitude, like everything was just a game for her... She was getting on my nerves.

Only one more week and she'll disappear from our lives...

I left the campus and went back home, trying to calm down before meeting back with Claire. I told her about my short discussion with Minh and our mother's true name. She didn't seem much surprised, she apparently recalled it from the time she was worn. I cooked for us and we then spent some time playing games together before going to sleep afterwards.

This routine continued until the end of the week. Laura hesitantly returned to her dorm room during that time, but Claire prefered to stay with me until Mother arrived. Minh kept playing Sherine's role perfectly, and didn't cause us any trouble, something I was begrudgingly thankful for.

Today was the day. Mother sent us a text to warn us, telling us that she'd show up at my place. Lia, Claire, and I were waiting in my living room, trying to play a game to relax. We were all quite nervous, to say the least.

The door rang, and I immediately jolted up. Through the peephole, I saw Elise, typing something on her phone while waiting. I slowly opened the door and glared at her.

She looked me in the eyes for a brief moment before speaking. "Your face may be different, but this hateful rebellious gaze of yours that you so often gave your father is still exactly the same. I never expected to be on the receiving end of it someday."

"You really didn't expect it after what you did?" I replied dryly.

"S-sis, calm down. Remember what we said." Claire exclaimed as she approached us with Lia. "Let's... Let's just talk."

Mother smiled when she saw Claire. "Good morning, Claire. And you too, Dahlia."

"G-good morning..." Claire shakily said while Lia didn't bother replying. "C-come on in."

"Don't try anything with Claire." I warned Mother as I let her in.

She chuckled. "I'm just here to talk, I won't harm her in any way. Keep her next to you if you don't trust me, I can sit next to Dahlia. She'll be able to keep an eye on me this way."

Lia nodded. She wasn't in any risk close to our mother, since she sorta was a skinwalker herself thanks to Dahl. Claire sat next to me at the table, with Lia and Mother in front of us.

She smiled while staring at me. "You truly chose a magnificent skin as your main one, my child. And a surprising one at that. Had I not known you took this identity, I would never have guessed it was you underneath. You're so elegant, so feminine; such a contrast with the old you." As I didn't say anything, she continued, leaning closer. "I was truly excited when I learnt that you became a skinwalker, and that you used our gift to take **** on your fool of a father. For the first time in my long life, I felt a new emotion: pride in one of my children."

"If you enjoyed it so much, why did you come to harm Laura and Claire?" Lia asked.

Mother glanced at her. "Unfortunately, Yun's actions indirectly caused trouble to my coven. Losing Patricia's cover so suddenly, without the time to think of a backup skin, was a hard blow. Her funds and position were extremely useful to help my acquaintances. I needed to send Yun a message, as I told you when we met after you returned from your trip. It was a lesson, too." She continued as she stared back at me. "Even back when you were still human, you tended to act without thinking of the consequences, and this habit has persisted even after becoming a skinwalker, it seems. You should consider yourself lucky that it's me you messed with and not another, more ruthless group of skinwalkers or other supernatural beings. I am quite lenient and forgiving, but there's no doubt another group would have done far worse to Claire and Laura in retaliation."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I know, Dahl told me that skinwalkers loved to take rich and influential skins, and I decided not to pursue my original goal anymore after our first meeting."

Mother snickered. "Good call. You have no idea how many of us are hiding in plain sight, under the skins of powerful people. Quite a few are in our city, wearing successful lawyers, CEOs, doctors, scientists, politicians... Even the chief of police is a skinwalker from another coven."

This revelation stunned Claire and I.

"How... How many skinwalkers are there...?"

Mother simply shrugged. "No idea, but probably around a thousand. It is a massive and flourishing city, after all. I personally only know a few dozens, but we are masters at concealment. There's no doubt I've met more of our kind who never revealed their nature to me."

We gasped in shock. A thousand skinwalkers in my hometown? So many skin-stealing monsters roaming around? How many have I interacted with throughout my life back when I was still living there? Just thinking about it shook me to the core.

While I was trying to regain my composure, Lia spoke. "So, why did you come back? Yun already told you she wouldn't cause trouble to you anymore when we returned."

"You don't seem as surprised as them, I assume you're from a big city?" Mother asked.

"You didn't answer my question." Lia talked back.

It amused Mother. "I came to bury the hatchet and spend time with my children properly, that's all. Believe me, there's nothing more to it."

This answer didn't seem to satisfy Lia. "Yun and Claire told me a lot about you and their father. You didn't care about them back then, but now you suddenly decide to pay attention to them?"

Mother crossed her arms and looked at me and Claire. "I won't apologise for the way I acted, but I'll admit that I haven't been a good mother when you two lived with me and your father. I did give you the freedom to do as you pleased, and even helped you financially, but I know I could have done more. The reason I didn't is simple: I try to never get too attached to humans. Our ways of life are too different. I think you understand that, Dahlia?"

Lia glanced down, not replying. Meanwhile, I thought about what she just said. It was true that, even if she seemed cold towards us, she helped us do what we wanted when Claire and I lived there. She paid for anything we needed without much arguing, except on a few occasions where we were being unreasonable. Without her, our time with our father would have been far worse.

"Despite that, my children still managed to grow on me after a while, something I never expected to happen after more than a century living as a skinwalker." Mother continued, looking at Claire. "When you declared that I wasn't family anymore, Claire, it stung a lot more than I would have thought."

Claire timidly spoke. "M-Mother... What you... What you felt when you wore me... Was it real?"

Mother smiled. "I made sure not to tweak your memories in the slightest. You know everything I did and felt as you."

"I see..."

"Do you really trust her like this, Claire? There's still a possibility she's lying and did in fact alter your memories." Lia declared.

Mother stared at Lia. "You're a cautious one, it's a good trait to have. But I give you my word that I haven't altered her memories in any way. Feel free to check if you'd like."

Lia sighed. "There's no point. You definitely have a lot more experience than us when it comes to memory manipulation, it would take too long."

After a short pause, Mother spoke. "Minh told me you were now engaged with Dahlia, Yun?"

"I am, yes." I simply replied.

She giggled. "Moving fast, I see. You quickly got enamoured with her, hmm? If you do trust her that much, I suppose Claire is in good hands."

Lia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I've been quite curious about you since I learnt of your existence. A clearly lonely skinwalker who befriended my children after turning one of them. I was wondering if you had any hidden agenda, but our interactions led me to believe that you truly do care about Claire and Yun. You went through a lot in the past, haven't you?"

Lia glared at her. "It's none of your business."

"You're right, it's far too early for us to share our stories." Mother said as she got up. "I do hope we can rekindle our relationship someday, but I know it'll take time for you to forgive me, so I won't pressure you any longer. If you ever want to get back in touch, Yun, Claire, just send me a text with the phone I left you."

"I'll... think about it, Mother." Claire timidly replied.

"What about Sherine?" Lia asked.

"Minh restored her already. Don't worry about her, he's a pro. She won't remember anything strange." Mother started to walk away towards the door, but stopped and glanced at me. "Remember my warning, Yun. I'll welcome you with open arms if you do decide to come back, but if you try anything, my coven will always come first."

"I won't do anything. All I want is to live in peace, now." I replied coldly. "If I ever have to travel to our hometown someday, I'll warn you."

I wasn't sure what to think anymore after these revelations, but I still felt angry about what Mother did to Claire and Laura. I couldn't forgive her so easily.

Mother smiled. "This face really suits you perfectly, my child. Keep enjoying this life~ Farewell."

On that, she left my house. I let out a loud sigh, relieved that it was finally over.

"Claire, are you alright?" I asked as I hugged her.

"I-I am... I'm relieved... Being skinned and worn was scary, but... she did really care... I don't think she was lying."

"I believe so, too. It went a lot better than I expected." Lia said. "It doesn't make what she did to Claire and Laura any less bad, but she should leave us alone now."

"Hopefully. Laura will need some time to recover properly." I replied.

"I'll tell her it's over and she can now try to relax. See you tomorrow, Yun." She said, giving me a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

"Claire, are you really thinking of contacting Mother again?" I asked once we were alone.

"I... I don't know. Not right now, at least. But maybe later... I-I know you hate her but... I wouldn't mind revisiting our hometown in the future." She softly spoke.

I looked away. "I see... I'm not sure how to feel about all this, to be honest..."

"Let's just take our time, alright?" Claire said with a smile while holding my hand.

I smiled back. "Yeah, we're not in a hurry."