An uneasy day at college

My night wasn't a peaceful one. I woke up multiple times, and even had a nightmare I couldn't quite remember but that involved Claire. When I properly woke up the next day, the first thing I did was to check on her. I quietly opened the door of the room she stayed in, and was relieved to see her still sleeping soundly.

I let her sleep more and got dressed. In case Mother indeed had a skinwalker watching us somewhere, I wanted to show that she didn't break me. I would be my normal confident self, I wouldn't cower in fear. I wore my usual elegant style, with some of the clothes I bought in London. I didn't want to go for a more gothic style today. I wore a pair of white high-heels, some sheer pantyhose, a tight white skirt, and a white shirt and blazer. An extremely sexy and elegant look.

I smiled when I saw my reflection, like always since I embraced Seo-Yun's life, and got to apply my makeup before going downstairs to prepare breakfast. I went for a Korean-style breakfast, a very filling one I hoped Claire would enjoy.

Once done, I went back upstairs and knocked on Claire's door. "Claire, are you awake?"

I heard her stir and yawn. "Sis? What is it?"

"Breakfast is ready, want to join me downstairs? I'll be leaving for college soon."

"Sure, give me a minute." She tiredly replied.

Shortly after, she appeared in the kitchen, still wearing her pajamas and yawning.

"Did you manage to get enough sleep?" I asked as she sat in front of me.

"Somewhat. I... had a nightmare during the night."

I held her hand. "I'm sorry to hear, but you're safe now. Take all the time you need to recover."

She smiled weakly. "Thank you, sis."

We finished eating breakfast in silence afterwards. I really hoped Claire would get better soon, but it would probably need some time. Seeing her like this hurt me so much.

I need to make sure Mother won't do anything else to her...

I quickly went to my room and grabbed something that could be useful for her: the taser I kept just in case. It'd be far less conspicuous than her service gun.

"Here, keep that with you. I think even a skinwalker would be stunned by it." I said as I got back to the kitchen and handed her the taser. "But don't open the doors to anyone apart from me and Dahl, only use this as a last resort in case someone breaks in."

She hesitantly took it. "A-alright. Be careful out there, okay?"

I smiled. "I will, don't worry."

I gave her the password to my laptop in case she wanted to watch any movie or anime and left the house, driving to the campus. I was getting nervous, but I couldn't show it. I had to keep acting strong. Like yesterday, I let Seo-Yun's soul influence me more, to help me stay confident and proud.

When I arrived, I reunited with Dahl at our usual spot. She was with Laura and Sherine. She was also trying to act like nothing happened, but Laura clearly had a lot of trouble doing the same. She seemed more meek and anxious.

"Hey girls!" I said with a smile as I joined them.

"Hey Yun, it's been a while. Dahlia was talking about your trip to London. How was it?" Sherine asked.

"Quite fun. London was very different from how I imagined it. Dahl and I toured the city, visiting most of its famous landmarks."

I started to explain the different things we did, obviously omitting everything related to Dahl's family. Sherine seemed very interested in our trip, asking a bunch of questions, especially about the fashion shoot.

After a moment, her eyes landed on Dahl's ring. "What about the ring? It looks like an engagement ring."

I held Dahl's hand and grinned. "We're engaged now~ I wanted to mark her as mine and let everyone know that she belongs to me~"

It surprised Sherine, but Dahl probably told Laura while they were together already, since she didn't react much, apart from smiling slightly.

"You're... You're together?"

Dahl nodded, blushing. "We wanted to make it official after returning from the trip."

Sherine smiled. "I see. I'm happy for you!"

"Thank you."

While waiting for the seminar to start, we asked Sherine and Laura to help us catch up with the classes we've missed. Thankfully, we didn't miss anything too important, but Dahl would probably need to tutor me to help me understand a few things.

We always held hand while walking to the classroom, and everyone's gazes were on us. Most people were surprised, some seemed disappointed, and a few probably were imagining some pervy stuff about Dahl and I. Coming out as a lesbian would definitely affect my reputation, but I didn't care. Dahl was more important than my reputation anyway.

The professors were chill, they didn't bother us much about our absence. As such, the morning classes went relatively well, even if I struggled with a few things. Laura had a hard time focusing, though.

During lunch, Laura went to the bathroom, with Dahl and I accompanying her. We wouldn't leave her alone for the time being.

While she was in the stall, I whispered to Dahl. "What could we do? She and Claire are completely shaken since it happened..."

Dahl sighed. "I don't know... For now, all we can do is make sure they're not targeted again."

"We have no intention of doing so, I can assure you." A familiar voice spoke quietly from behind us. When we turned around, we saw Sherine, smirking at us. "Hello again, cuties~"

I grit my teeth, instantly recognising the skinwalker who was with my mother. "You..."

She put a finger on her lips. "Shhh, calm down, will ya? Don't make a fuss, Laura would hear. She already feels bad enough as is, don't you think? Let's talk, just the three of us, after college ends. Meanwhile, I'll keep playing the role of cute and innocent Sherine, Laura will be none the wiser."

Dahl approached Minh, glaring at her. "Only if you remove Sherine's skin afterwards."

Minh snickered. "Unfortunately, it won't be possible, I have to keep an eye on you. Aga's orders. But I'll restore Sherine as good as new once she's back, I give you my word."

Laura got out of the stall and noticed Sherine. "Oh, did we take that long?"

Minh smiled Sherine's usual smile. "No, don't worry. I needed to use the bathroom too. Keep a seat for me, will ya?"

Laura nodded. "Sure."

Dahl and I exchanged a glance before walking out of the bathroom with Laura. We knew we were in a disadvantageous position when it came to dealing with Minh. We had no real way of forcing her to restore Sherine, and if we tried anything, it might only lead to my mother's whole coven ganging up on us. All we could do was compromise.

During lunch and the afternoon classes, Minh kept acting like Sherine, not letting out any hint of who she truly was. It was good for Laura, who didn't suspect anything, but for Dahl and I, it was nerve-wracking to know that our friend was being worn by another skinwalker.

After college ended, we accompanied Laura to my house. We believed that her staying with Claire while we dealt with Minh would be better, and it'd allow us to talk privately at Dahl's flat.

"I can't believe this fucker is wearing Sherine now..." Lia said as she clenched her fists, having switched with Dahl.

"I should have expected it... They wouldn't have left us alone so easily, and Sherine was the most convenient identity to use to keep an eye on us." I replied dejectedly. "She's another innocent I dragged into my personal problems..."

"Stop with that, Yun. It's not something you could have predicted, and it's already done. Now we need to think of how to deal with this coven without it leading to more conflicts."

"You think we can?"

"Your mother is willing to talk, right? So there's a chance."

I sighed. "I hope you're right..."

We texted 'Sherine' to let her know where we wanted to meet, and saw her waiting for us in front of the building when we arrived.

She smiled when she saw us. "Heya~! I was afraid you'd be late for our first date, girls~"

Lia didn't bother replying to her, she opened the door and dragged her inside, with me following them.

"I'm usually the one taking the initiative, you know~?" Minh said in an amused tone, not resisting at all.

After entering the flat and closing the door behind us, Lia turned to face her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not really in the mood to flirt when a stranger is wearing the skin of one of my friends." She replied dryly.

Minh smirked, sitting on the couch and crossing her legs. "That's just how I am, but fine, I'll tone it down. You're right that it's a bit early to be all firty with each other considering how we first met."

"So, what do you want?" I asked.

"I just want to get to know you better, that's all~ Especially you, Yun~ We're pretty much adopted siblings, after all." Minh replied, chuckling.

"What are you talking about?"

"Even if she didn't give birth to the human I used to be, Aga is my mother too." She continued. "She took me under her wing, she raised me and made me who and what I am today. And she's always seemed to have a soft spot for you and your sister, despite you two being children she initially gave birth to in order to keep her cover."

I scoffed. "You want me to believe that her traumatising Claire and Laura is because she had a soft spot for us?"

Minh simpered. "Oh, she was being extremely lenient, trust me. What she did was out of love. You haven't seen what she can do when blinded by pure rage. The hunters who dared to kill our mentor and one of Aga's children a while ago learnt the hard way that you don't mess with her. But with Claire and Laura, we've been pretty gentle, simply borrowing their identities while waiting for your return in order to send a message. I'll admit that I pity them, though. I don't like to see cute and nice girls suffer like this."

"And yet you did it anyway..." Lia replied, venom in her voice.

"If you'd like, I could easily reverse that and make them forget about it." Minh declared while freeing her spines. "I can manipulate memories a lot better than most other skinwalkers, even deeper ones."

Lia shook her head. "No, I certainly won't let you use these spines on either of them again."

"Your loss. May I know your real name, Dahlia? You already know mine and Aga, after all."

"This is my only name." Lia simply replied.

"Hmm, you threw away your old identity, then? Interesting. Let me guess, were you transgender, perhaps?" Lia's gaze narrowed, and it was all Minh needed as an answer, it seemed, as she chuckled. "I knew it. The signs were there in Laura and Sherine's memories."

"And what if I am? Why would it matter?"

"Relax, cutie. Despite what you might think, I'm not here for a fight. Don't you think it'd be hypocritical of me as a skinwalker to judge someone for that? Like I said, I just want to know you better, I promise. It's not everyday I meet new skinwalkers, after all, and while I do know some things about Yun from her past childhood and Aga, I know nothing about you. You've been a skinwalker for fifteen years if what you said to Laura is true?"

"Yes."

Minh let out a playful sigh. "Ah, you're all making me feel so old now. I miss the seventies..." She then observed the room. "And you apparently love plants, too. It's an interesting hobby."

Minh's phone rang, but it seemed to be her personal phone instead of Sherine's.

"Ah, excuse me a moment." She pulled on her neck and removed Sherine's face, revealing the face of the Asian girl she was wearing before, and then smiled more warmly as she took the call. "Yes, Melissa? Ah, I'm sorry, I'm away for the moment, but just ask Ashley or Matthew, they'd gladly give you a hand. I'll be back in a week at most, don't worry, cutie~ See ya~"

After hanging up, she pulled back Sherine's face and smiled. "Sorry about that, it was an important call. Anyway, I'll take my leave for now." She then got up and approached me. "Aga wants to give you a chance despite what you did, so I suggest that you don't blow it up, Yun. She may love you, but even she has her limits, and the coven will always come first."

"Does she want Yun to join her coven?" Lia asked.

Minh chuckled. "Oh, she'd be absolutely delighted if that were to happen, but I think a proper truce would satisfy her. But she'll explain it better when she comes back. I know she wants to talk to Yun and Claire properly and privately. Now, see ya tomorrow on the campus, cuties~"

On that, she left the flat, leaving Lia and I alone. She sat on the couch and let out a loud sigh, and I sat next to her, holding her hand.

"It wasn't too bad, I suppose..." She said. "At least they seem to be able to be reasoned with."

"Yeah... I still don't like that, but I know we can't do anything else..."

"As long as what Minh said is true, Sherine, Laura, and Claire will be safe if we don't provoke them more." Lia said before wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me. "But for now, I want to relax. I'm too pent-up. Just for a brief moment, I want to forget about our issues."

I kissed her back. "It's a good idea. I've been quite nervous since yesterday too."