But I learned how to swim and I learned who I was, a lot about livin' and a little 'bout love

The hike back to the hotel was easier for Morgana, even though she had considerably less energy and her legs were a little sore. The fact that her hair was still damp certainly helped fight off the neverending heat from the sun.

“One thing I don’t like about this place is how it’s always so hot and muggy,” Carly said, putting words to Morgana’s thoughts at the moment. She raised her hand to shield herself from the sun’s rays. “I know this is supposed to be an island paradise and everything, but would it kill Dakota to put in a few clouds to give us some cover?”

The only clouds in the sky were the cartoonishly fluffy white ones, and they all conveniently never traveled anywhere close to the sun.

Morgana nodded, she couldn’t agree more. “Some nice, overcast rain would be great,” she murmured in accord.

Carly smirked, glancing over her shoulder as the hill steepened. “Oh? Well isn’t that something? And here I thought your goth days were behind you?”

“No!” Morgana sputtered, turning red. “That’s not what I… never mind.”

“I like this weather,” Marley said, taking a deep breath and exhaling. “The clean air, the bright sun, the breeze that’s not too warm, but just warm enough to not be chilly… it’s fantastic!”

Carly rolled her eyes. “What a surprise, plant girl likes it when it’s sunny out.”

“Hey!” Marley elbowed her sister in the side. “I’m not a plant anymore! I just happen to like the sun, that’s all!”

“Right, right, right,” Carly said, trying not to smile. “You’re totally normal now, sure. Hey, wanna head about ten feet that way for me? Just to show off how human you are?”

Marley flicked her sister in the forehead.

Morgana sighed as she watched the two playfully shove each other and shook her head. She was shocked at how much energy the two of them could have. Even after recharging from that dip in the lake, she still felt exhaustion building, and they weren’t even halfway back yet.

At least downhill isn’t as strenuous, she thought.

“So what was that you were saying before?” Carly popped up in front of her again, snapping her out of her train of thought. Startled, Morgana nearly lost her footing, but managed to retain her balance. “…Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” Morgana said, recomposing herself. “You just caught me off-guard, that’s all. What were you asking?”

“Oh, I was just curious what you meant when you said that wasn’t what you were meaning to say,” Carly replied with a rambling of word-babble Morgana couldn’t quite decipher. “You know, about the whole ‘not being a goth’ thing. Didn’t you say you weren’t going to go down that route anymore?”

“Um… yeah, well…” Morgana quickly glanced away. “I just… look, it’s one thing to not want to be some dominating, controlling witch. But I still love the aesthetic, you know? The cool black clothes, the leather pants, the makeup, my hair and contacts…”

In terms of her physical appearance, Morgana was set. The only problem was that her image of the “ideal goth” happened to be a selfish, dominance-obsessed freak.

That wasn’t who she wanted to be.

“…I guess I’m just not suited to it temperamentally, though,” she admitted sheepishly, scratching her cheek.

“Ah, who needs that bother?” Carly chortled, patting her on the back. “I think you’re fine just the way you are!”

“But she’s right that she doesn’t seem very gothy,” Marley pointed out. “You’re more of a goth when you’re cosplaying, sis.”

“Who, me?” Carly placed her hand over her chest, looking slightly put-out. “Why, I never! I’m perky and full of energy and life! What’s goth about that?”

“Perky goths exist,” Marley said, gesturing to Morgana for emphasis.

“Yeah, I guess so…” Morgana admitted. But that wasn’t quite what she wanted to be, either.

Nick had asked her to consider the kind of person she wanted to become. Not hiding behind a persona, but the real her. And her experience yesterday with the mirrors had only reaffirmed that.

Dawn had saved her from elimination, and she would be eternally grateful to the cat girl for that act of kindness. But if Morgana wanted to win (and on that note, she honestly wasn’t completely sure) then she needed to do more.

“I need to stand out,” Morgana asserted. “Find a way to be myself, while figuring out who I want to be as well!”

“…Huh. That’s interesting…” Carly stroked her chin thoughtfully. “I’ve never thought about it like that before. I’ve always just kind of been myself…”

The idea of being yourself while simultaneously trying to live up to an image of yourself you wanted to emulate was something that hadn’t ever struck the cosplayer before. When she dressed up as a character, she did so knowing that they were just images and costumes. They weren’t really her. She didn’t ever really try the whole “becoming a character” aspect of the community before.

“Maybe that’s something you should bring up with Rose,” Carly suggested. “She might be able to shed some light on changing your identity like that, since she’s an actress and everything.”

“No, it’s not… it’s not like that,” Morgana mumbled, looking down. “It’s more like… I guess I feel like I’m not enough sometimes, you know? I see people like you, or Dawn, who seem so cool and put together, and compared to you, I’m just a little kid. But I want to change too! That’s why I chose that transformation. I wanted to see myself as an adult… but we saw how that went.”

“I get it,” Marley said, stepping up to the other side of Morgana and wrapping her arm around the other girl’s shoulder. “I think… when I was Mimi, I felt the same way. I wanted to see who I’d become when I was done transforming, and, well… this is what I ended up with it.”

She cast a side-eyed glance towards Carly. “…Could do better…”

“Hey!” Carly socked her sister in the arm. They laughed and play-fought with each other while Morgana was trapped in the center. But a few seconds later, Carly stopped, walked around Morgana, and stared her in the eye.

The goth stopped walking, not sure what Carly wanted from her.

“Don’t be in a hurry to grow up,” Carly said, her tone serious. “Adulthood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, seriously. When I was your age… well. I made a few mistakes-”

“Understatement!” Marley disguised with a cough, earning her a dirty look from her sister. Carly turned back to Morgana immediately, though.

“The thing is… of all the things that happened to me… I think the hardest one to go through was Emmy,” she said quietly. Her heart ached just recalling it. “Dealing with that… it was brutal. More than I ever could have expected. And honestly, I was still a kid then. I grew up way too fast.”

Morgana stared at Carly, her face scrunched up in confusion. “Emmy?”

Carly’s look turned pained. Marley winced out of sympathy.

“That’s right… you weren’t here for that. Okay… I guess I can tell you, then, since you’re one of us in the harem now.”

By the time they made it back to the hotel, Morgana was bawling.

“I’b sho sowwieee!” She sobbed, rubbing the tears from her eyes. She didn’t care that she was displacing her contacts, it wasn’t like she could see anyway. Her face was covered in liquid. “That… that’s awful…!”

“Hey, no, come on now,” Carly said gingerly, patting the goth on the back as she led her over to a couch in the lobby. Morgana was so overwhelmed with sadness that she didn’t even register how tired she was. “I know it was hard. But it’s okay. I’m moving on. One step at a time.”

Marley took her sister’s hand, and Morgana’s as well. She could tell that Carly was just putting on a strong face because Morgana was sobbing. She had to be the strong one for both of their sakes.

One positive, sick as it was to think, was that because Morgana was crying, her transformation wasn’t kicking in. During their chat heading down the mountain, Marley was starting to get a little warm between the legs, and she didn’t want to have to finish that hike feeling pent up.

Of course, babysitting a sobbing goth wannabe-witch wasn’t so thrilling either.

The twins let Morgana cry her little heart out, and soon enough the goth sobered up, wiping her eyes and looking up pitifully at Carly. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Carly. That must have been awful.”

When Morgana first met the cosplayer, she’d thought that Carly had never gone through any hardships before. She assumed that she was just like those other slutty e-girls she always saw online, just using her body to get ahead and living an easy life.

But nothing Morgana had been through could compare to that loss. All she could do was cry tears of sympathy for the other girl as Carly comforted her, and wish that she could do more.

And Carly, for her part, was stronger that Marley gave her credit for.

“Hey, how about we go take a dip in the spa, and watch something heartwarming to cheer us up, huh?” Carly suggested. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Morgana sniffled and nodded. That did sound like fun. And as she was recovering from her crying fit, she was starting to realize just how sore her body really was.

A dip in the spring was just what the doctor ordered.

Of course, what the girls didn’t count on was running into Nick on the way to the spa.

“Oh! Nick! Hey!” Carly rushed over and pulled him into a big hug. “It feels like it’s been forever since I saw you! What’s up?”

“H-hey,” Nick said, pulling his head up. Carly had a bad (good?) habit of pulling people into hugs breasts first, burying their faces in her cleavage. Which was usually appreciated, but not under circumstances like these.

Of course, that couldn’t compare to Marley’s massive glomp, which felt like she was trying to turn back into a slime and suck him inside of her.

While her sister was squeezing the life out of Nick, Carly turned and realized that he wasn’t alone.

Dani was there, and she was looking a little awkward and uncomfortable, which immediately made Carly feel nervous.

“D-Dani, hey,” Morgana said, greeting the tomboy first. She appreciated that Dani had let her off easily after yesterday, and wanted to stay on the other girl’s good side.

Dani nodded at Morgana, but other than that she hardly acknowledged hearing her. She kept looking at Nick- probably because that was the safest place to look, instead of ogling Carly who was dressed up in one of her skimpier outfits (who also happened to be a character Dani found incredibly hot.)

Carly for her part, did not share Dani’s shyness. While it was a little awkward seeing her, she still greeted the tomboy as a friend.

“Hey Dani! You and Nick together, huh? Let me guess: he heard what happened to everybody yesterday, and was beside himself with guilt for not being there to stop it, so he’s been rushing around all morning trying to keep everyone happy. How’s that? Am I in the ballpark, at least?”

Dani’s jaw dropped. Carly was pretty perceptive as far as people were concerned.

“Yeah, that’s exactly right,” Nick confirmed, managing to squeeze out of Marley’s clutches. “I just wanted to make sure that no one needed any emotional support after… well, you know.”

It was a respectable thing to do. Heartwarming, in fact.

But the conversation kind of died after that. Luckily, Dani decided to resuscitate it.

“So, uh… how was your walk?” She asked awkwardly. “You guys have fun, hiking to the lake?”

“Oh, it was a blast!” Carly nodded enthusiastically. “You should have come with us, it would have been amazing! We saw these really beautiful waterfalls, here, take a look!”

She stepped over to Dani and held up her camera, flipping through the roll of footage she’d captured.

“Wow, these are beautiful,” Dani murmured, looking at the crystal blue waters and the falls cascading down the cliffside.

“I know, right?” Carly laughed. “Still, these photos don’t really do it justice. You really should have come! Maybe we can go sometime later?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Dani said offhandedly, not making any commitments at the moment.

Nick winced. This was painful to watch. He wasn’t quite sure why, or what dynamics were at play here, but it felt like both girls simultaneously wanted to spend time with the other, while also not wanting to be anywhere near each other.

In summary: a pain in the ass.

“We also went skinny dipping,” Carly offered lamely in a **** attempt to keep the conversation from dying. “That was… um… fun… yeah…”

Dani’s face turned red and she hastily shoved the camera back into Carly’s hands. That was the last thing she needed to think about right now.

“Carly… damn it,” Marley muttered under her breath, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands. Her sister could be a real fucking dumbass sometimes, even when she was being perceptive in other areas.

Carly paused, and realized just what her statement has insinuated. “W-wait, I mean… I wasn’t suggesting… look, when I said we could go together later, that didn’t mean I was saying…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Dani said, quickly bailing out her friend before things got even more uncomfortable between them. “Don’t worry. It’s fine. I didn’t think you were suggesting… you know. You’re good.”

Carly sighed in relief. The last thing she needed was more embarrassment right now. She was still a little fragile after revealing all that stuff to Morgana earlier.

“So, uh… yeah.”

Everyone stood around just twiddling their thumbs. Dani and Carly were too afraid to say anything lest they give the other person the wrong idea, Morgana was petrified at just the inkling of an awkward silence, and Nick was smart enough to recognize a powder keg when he saw one and knew that his input would probably be the worst thing for all parties involved.

So to everyone’s relief, it was Marley who broke the silence.

“Well, this was fun and all,” she said, placing her hands on her hips defiantly, “but I just spent my whole morning climbing a mountain. And I’m frigging suffocating here. Plus my legs are sore. Just because we may be twins, that doesn’t mean I like mountain climbing. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to go to the spa, and get my bath, please.”

She looked pointedly at Carly. When her sister didn’t get the hint, she had to elbow her in the side first.

“So in other words,” Marley hissed, “I need you to come with me, since I can’t go on my own. Carly? Now, please?”

“Oh!” Realization dawned on Carly’s face. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t even think about that! Yeah, no, you’re totally right! Sorry, sis!” She apologized, a sheepish look crossing her face. “I didn’t think… yeah, no, you’re right. Let’s go!”

She turned to Dani and Nick and offered them an awkward smile. “Catch up with you guys later, maybe?”

“Yeah, sure,” Nick nodded, and Dani mumbled something.

But then, as the girls passed, Nick saw Morgana’s pale face, and the puffiness around her eyes.

“Wait, Morgana, are you okay?” He asked gently, taking her arm to stop her while trying not to be too forceful about it.

Morgana looked at him in wide-eyed surprise. “Yeah, I just… sorry, I was thinking about some stuff… and I really need to take a bath, so…”

Then a brilliant idea dawned on Carly.

“Wait, I know!” She grinned. “Nick, you can come in with us!”

“Wait, what?” Nick asked, his eyes widening.

“Wait, WHAT?!” Morgana nearly fell over in shock. “B-but… but that’s…!”

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Carly was **** to clear all the awkwardness of today away, not to mention yesterday, and she felt that the best way to do that was with some good, old-fashioned teasing of a guy she enjoyed goading.

Of course, that offer wasn’t quite extended to just her.

Marley jammed the heel of her foot down onto Carly’s toes, causing her to wince. Carly turned to her sister in stunned confusion, only to see Marley nod over at Dani.

Oh, right. Inviting Nick while he was hanging out with Dani was basically like just inviting Dani. And that was…

Carly shook away her hesitation swiftly and cracked a grin. “Well, alright then!” She chirped. “Let’s do that! Dani? You want to come with? It’s just a bath, after all, we’ve done that before!”

Dani’s eyes widened and her face paled. She immediately glanced at Nick.

Being naked in the bath with Carly wasn’t that big of deal, even if she would be embarrassed as hell. Nick seeing her naked in the bath wasn’t that big of a deal, even, thanks to her transformation.

But seeing Nick naked in the bath? Seeing his… business?

No fucking way. Dani would die of embarrassment.

And, besides that…

“No, I’m good,” Dani said quickly, shaking her head. “I already used my allotted time for the day. I can’t get anymore. So you guys go, have fun. Nick and I, we had basically finished what we wanted to talk about anyway.”

She thought she’d been able to cover that pretty well. Lucky for her, that was basically the truth.

“…Well, if you’re sure,” Carly shrugged. “You do what’s best for you, I guess.”

She was just relieved this wouldn’t go down an even more awkward path.

“Are… are you sure you guys are okay with that?” Nick asked, speaking mainly to Morgana and Marley. He knew Carly didn’t care one way or another about their clothing, or lack thereof.

“Yeah, it… it’s no biggie,” Marley mumbled, even as her red face said otherwise. “Nothing you haven’t seen before, right?”

“Uh-huh…” Morgana echoed with a mumbly nod, clearly not convinced.

“Great! Then it’s settled!” Carly hastily rushed the three of them towards the spa, eager to get as far away from the cloud of awkwardness that seemed to appear whenever she and Dani spoke with one another these days.

She did cast one last glance over her shoulder, though, and she saw that Dani was looking back at her too. They quickly looked away from one another again. But then something told Carly to check one more time, just to be sure. Once more, Dani was looking back at her.

Again.