Dinner, explanations, and stories

Laura smiled. "Okay. I'm not going to refuse your cooking."

Dahlia couldn't stop smiling. "I'll get to it immediately! You can just wait with Yun and Claire meanwhile."

She ran to the kitchen with a spring in her step, her enthusiasm almost contagious. I was really glad that it went well.

She's so cute~

Laura sat on the couch next to me and observed me curiously. "I'll admit, it's... kinda freaky to see you like this while knowing that you're in fact Ed on the inside..."

Claire giggled."It was my reaction at first, too. I had a hard time believing it."

I crossed my legs and smiled at her, imitating the elegant way Seo-Yun always sit. "No one could ever guess that a man is hiding underneath this face, right?"

"That's my point. You're a man, how the heck does it even work?" Laura asked, abashed by my womanly display.

I shrugged as I looked at my body. "Honestly, I have no idea. It's most likely magic, because there's no organ or anything inside once someone becomes a skin. And we can wear someone regardless of the size or gender."

"So... You're like, fully female?"

I nodded. "Yeah. On the outside and on the inside, I'm one-hundred percent female currently."

"How... do your abilities work exactly? Like, are the original Seo-Yun and Dahlia... dead?"

I shook my head and freed the spines from my hand. Laura still jumped a little in surprise at the sight.

"No, they're still alive, we can restore them back to normal if we remove them. But I don't plan to do that for the time being, and neither does Dahlia. As for how it works, I'm still a novice, but from what I've seen and what Dahlia told me, when we stab someone with these, we absorb their soul and turn them into a deflated skin that we can wear afterwards. With their soul come their memories and their personality, allowing us to mimic them if we need to. And if we want to restore them, we can edit their memories to make sure they don't remember anything strange."

"That's so freaky..." Laura commented.

I chuckled. "I agree."

Laura observed my body again, more pensive. "And... being a woman like that... It doesn't cause any dysphoria?"

I blushed slightly. "Not really, no... It's... apparently common for skinwalkers to feel more comfortable wearing skins of the gender opposite to their assigned gender at birth. And having Seo-Yun's soul inside me allows me to adapt more easily, too..."

Once I was done explaining, Claire spoke, having something to ask. "D-do you think you can... get pregnant too?"

From the kitchen, Dahlia replied in a joyful and teasing tone. "Yep~! I can't wait to see you go through your first periods, Yun, I'm sure it'll be fun~"

"Wait, I can get periods too?!" I asked, taken aback.

Dahlia giggled. "Of course. As you said, you are one-hundred percent female right now, and periods are unfortunately part of the package for most of us girls."

I didn't think about that at all, even thought it made sense. It wasn't something I was looking forward to experiencing, especially since Seo-Yun's memories told me that hers weren't easy to deal with, apparently. Claire gave me a compassionate smile, while Laura only seemed more intrigued.

"It's insane..." She said. "Like, shit, magic and fantastical creatures are real, and two people I know are in fact strange creatures wearing someone else's skin, one being a man wearing a woman... Dahl, do you have some beer or something in your fridge? I think I need one..."

"I do. Give me a minute and I'll bring one to you. And please ignore her, Claire. She's almost twenty-one anyway."

"It's fine, I don't mind." Claire replied, smiling.

Dahlia arrived shortly after with a beer, a bottle of soda, a bottle of water, and four glasses.

She smiled at us. "Here you go. I still need some time to finish cooking, but you can drink something in the meantime."

She went back to the kitchen and we started to drink. Laura quickly emptied more than half of her bottle of beer in one go.

I leaned closer and whispered, there was something I wanted to mention. "Just a heads up, Dahlia really dislikes being reminded of her human past, so could you avoid asking about it during dinner?"

"Really?"

I nodded. "I don't know what happened to her, but she always seemed depressed whenever she mentioned it."

"Okay, I'll be careful." Laura said.

"Do you have more questions about skinwalkers?"

"Actually, yes. How many of you are there?"

Dahlia replied before I could. "In this city? No idea. Maybe there's another skinwalker roaming around somewhere, but I don't believe it's a very popular spot. Most skinwalkers prefer to live in major cities, but we're pretty rare overall."

Laura was surprised, but sighed. "Okay... I'll... cancel my planned trip to Rome then..."

Dahlia's head popped out of the kitchen's door frame. "Oh no, you can go, it should be fine. If you really want to feel safe, I can even come with you when you do. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Still... now that I know that, I don't think I'll ever feel as safe again. How the heck am I supposed to when I know that there are skin-stealing creatures walking around?"

"In ten or eleven years, I can turn you into one of us if you want to feel safer." Dahlia jokingly said.

She seemed so much more carefree suddenly, now that she knew that Laura accepted her.

"I-I think I'll pass... At least for now..." Laura awkwardly replied. "How would that even work?"

"The spines can produce a special liquid able to turn a human into a skinwalker, that's how we're 'born'. But we can only do so once every decade, pretty much. And I already turned Ed last week."

"I see..."

"If you have more questions, I can answer during dinner, alright?" Dahlia said before disappearing in the kitchen again.

Laura agreed, still blown away by all these revelations. We turned on the TV and played some games while waiting for Dahlia to finish her cooking. Afterwards, we all sat at the table, with Dahlia bringing a plate of lasagna.

"Good thing I already had the ingredients, it made it easier. Bon appétit~" She sat next to me and served us.

It was delicious, Dahlia really was good at cooking.

"Thanks for encouraging me, Yun." She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, which surprised Laura.

"Hmm... Are you two...?"

"We're dating, yep!" Dahlia cheerfully announced as she leaned on my shoulder.

"Huh... Congratulations?"

"Thanks!"

"I've always wondered how you knew to make balms and other kinds of medicine. Did you learn it before becoming Dahl?" Laura asked after a bit of time to regain her composure.

Dahlia nodded. "I've been a skinwalker for fifteen years, and was able to learn quite a few things during this time: I have a good grasp on the Japanese language due to my stay there, I know how to cook a decent variety of meals, I know some martial arts, have a pretty good knowledge when it comes to plants, and a few other things."

"That explains all the plants you have." I commented.

"You've been to Japan? How is it like?"

Dahlia looked away and blushed. "It was pretty nice..."

"What are you hiding?" I asked as I leaned closer, a teasing grin on my face. "What did you do in Japan to blush like this?"

She sighed. "Okay, fine. Can you all promise me to not be freaked out?"

We all nodded, Dahlia took a deep breath, and she started.

"So, it was about six years ago. I had been living the life of a professor in history at the university of Sydney for about three months but was starting to get bored. I overheard one of my students, Maria, talking with her friends about an upcoming trip to Tokyo, and thought it might be a nice change of pace. I'd never been there before but always heard great things about Japan. I found an opportunity to replace the student, restored the professor I was wearing, and lived Maria's life for a month and a half, waiting for that trip as enthusiastically as her."

Laura seemed to feel a bit uneasy, but Dahlia flashed her a reassuring smile. "It sounds creepy, I know, but, unlike most skinwalkers, I always did my best to respect the lives I borrowed. Anyway, I arrived in Tokyo alongside Maria's friends and was in awe at how pretty and clean the city looked. It was always buzzing with activity everywhere, but was practically spotless. We toured the town for a few days, visiting restaurants and touristic spots. It was really fun and made me want to stay in the city for longer. I restored Maria and became one of the employees of the hotel they were staying at."

Dahlia's cheeks reddened more. "By pure luck, the woman I replaced was a lesbian and frequented a popular gay bar in the city."

I eyed her suspiciously. "Hmm, I think I see where this is going..."

She let out an embarrassed giggle. "I-I don't think you do... I went there after her shift like she always did and started to flirt with another regular that me and the woman I was wearing both found pretty cute. After a few drinks, we were at her place, slept together, and started to date. I stayed as her for about a month until I had to help another regular of that bar go back home because she was too drunk to do it by herself. I switched to her afterwards. She was an employee at a local company. After a few days of frequenting the bar as her, I got closer to another woman and the same thing happened, pretty much. At this point, I was wondering if I wasn't playing Cupid for them, and decided to help the other girls find someone too. Next thing I knew, in two years, I helped form about twelve couples and even a throuple."

Laura and Claire were both stunned by her tale.

"Okay, I admit that I didn't see that coming..." I simply said. "You must have had a lot of fun, I imagine?"

Dahlia nodded. "Yeah, I did. It was when I was starting to really feel bored and lonely, but it helped me feel better for a while."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to think of that... It... It sounds creepy and cute at the same time..." Laura added, confused.

"I can understand. Our abilities are uncanny, that's why I was always so afraid of revealing them to other people. And the vast majority of the skinwalkers I've met are all... selfish assholes, to say the least. I never got along with them. Not that I'm a saint myself, I did use my abilities for selfish reasons too, but I never harmed the lives of those I wore, and, before becoming Dahlia, never planned to keep a life permanently."

"So... You're not gonna leave her?" Laura asked.

"No, I'm tired of moving all the time, of having fake relationships, of faking who I am... I wanted a steady life and a fresh start, but I didn't want to steal the skin of a good woman. When I saw Dahlia and observed her for a short time, I realised that she was perfect for me." She put her hand on her chest. "And now, after two years, I can't even imagine living as someone else. I'll carry her skin and soul to the grave."

"I see. That's... good."

We finished eating, with Laura being fairly quiet after Dahlia's declaration.

Dahlia went next to her and gave her a hug. "I really hope that what you've learnt today won't change our relationship."

Laura returned the hug. "I... I don't think it will... Even if I'm seeing you under a new light now... I just need some time to process everything..."

Dahlia smiled warmly. "Thank you. I'm glad to be your friend."

"I suppose that you don't want Sherine to know about you and Ed?" Laura continued as she grabbed her skateboard, ready to leave.

"No, it's too early, I don't fully trust her yet."

"Alright. I'll stay quiet, then, even if it'll be weird to see Seo-Yun hanging out with us while knowing it's Ed inside."

"You'll probably get used to it." I replied with a smile.

"Hopefully. I need to go, but we'll probably talk more tomorrow, I'll most likely have a few more questions."

"Fine by me. Take care, Laura." Dahlia said as she walked her to the door.

We all wished her a good evening and saw her leave, Dahlia going to the window to observe her, a serene smile on her face.

"Thank you for being with me, Yun, Claire. I would never have been able to do it on my own." She said, almost crying again.

I gave her a tender kiss. "No problem, I'm really glad everything went well."

"You two should probably go back home too, we'll see each other tomorrow, alright Yun?"

"Yeah. Have a good night~"

We left, I drove Claire to our old flat, and went back to my new home. I was feeling pretty tired, today has been an eventful day. After a quick shower, I flopped onto the bed and quickly fell asleep.