Family bonding time

The next morning, we were all awakened by the doorbell ringing. Since I was in the living room, I got up first to check who it was.

Of course it's her... I internally cursed when I saw 'Elise' through the peephole, smiling, with a bouquet in her hands.

I unlocked the door and faced her, my anger clear as day on my face.

"Good morning, Edward. What's wrong?" She asked.

I scoffed. "You really can't guess what's wrong?"

"E-Ed, please calm down." Claire said as she hurriedly joined me.

Mother smiled at her. "Hi, Claire. How do you feel?"

Claire timidly looked away. "I, huh... am fine."

Claire's answer seemed to make her happy. "Good. I'm sure you'll get used to your new abilities in no time. May I come in?"

"N-"

"Y-yes, go ahead." Claire replied before I could protest, opening the door fully and stepping away.

Melissa joined us in the living room, still sleepy from the look of it.

"Good morning, Melissa." Mother said as she sat on the couch, before observing me. "I didn't see your full appearance before since you were wearing Elise and Melissa, but you have changed quite a lot too since you left. You've been working out often, hmm?"

"Yes."

She then looked back at Claire, who hesitantly sat next to her. "Tell me, what do you plan to do from now on, Claire? Since you're my child, you're now also a member of my coven. If you want to come back with me, I can guarantee you that all the members will treat you well."

Claire shook her head. "T-thanks, but I'll stay with Ed and Dahlia. I don't want to leave them."

Mother smiled playfully. "Dahlia, hmm? She seemed very protective of you. Are you two already close, perhaps~?"

It made Claire blush slightly. "N-not yet. She's just... a very nice person."

"Not yet? So you do plan to get closer to her~?"

Claire's blush intensified, making it obvious that she indeed wouldn't mind getting closer to Dahlia. I wondered what the two of them did while I was away, apart from this time where they apparently switched bodies.

"Why are you acting like you care, Mother? You didn't pay us any mind when we were still living at the mansion, but suddenly, you're interested in our lives? I find it hard to believe, especially considering what Father had planned for Claire." I declared, a bit frustrated by her attitude.

"Why do you think I helped her escape, Edward?" Mother replied, standing up and facing me.

Despite being more than thirty centimeters shorter than me, she was making me uncomfortable. Even in Elise's tiny skin, she still had this imposing aura around her as she stared at me.

"Remember that I did allow the two of you to do as you pleased. I never forbade you anything, and even helped you get what you wanted, be it paying for boxing practices, comics, or games. As for Victor, after Claire left, who do you think prevented him from pursuing her? Discriminating against someone for a reason as trivial as their gender or sexual identity is something I find especially stupid. I'm a monster, not a bigot." She said, snickering. "Besides, I knew Claire missed you deeply, and I was aware you were doing fine since Claire was still in contact with you. I let her join you like she wanted."

Both Claire and I were surprised by her declaration.

"You... You helped me?" Claire asked.

"I told you I never was fond of kids, Edward, and that's true, but I'll admit that you two grew on me after a while. Maybe my own maternal instincts finally awoke after having you." Mother replied, chuckling. "You are the first children I gave birth to as a woman, after all. I never had the possibility to do so before becoming a skinwalker."

"Thank you..." Claire timidly said. "I... I had no idea it was thanks to you..."

Mother smiled. "You're welcome, my child. It saddens me a little that you two don't want to live close to me, but I'll visit you sometimes and I do hope you'll visit me back too. You could even invite Dahlia if you wish, we'll receive her properly."

"We'll... think about it. We have other things on our mind for the time being." I replied.

"Fine by me. I will also need some time to deal with the aftermath of what we did. Tell me, mind giving me and Melissa a small tour of your town while I'm here?" Mother asked. "Maybe show me some places the two of you frequent a lot?"

"If you want, although there's not much to see. I spent most of my time at the bar, working out at the park, or at the library to read comics with Claire." I said, shrugging.

"While you get dressed, I'll brew some coffee for you." Mother spoke as she approached the coffee machine. "I need another one myself."

"Okay, thanks."

I quickly put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and joined her again in the living room. Claire wore her favourite comfy overalls and Melissa a knee-length denim skirt with a sweatshirt.

"You won't be wearing Melissa today?" Mother asked as I drank the cup she gave me.

I shook my head. "Why would I need to? I feel perfectly fine right now."

"And you, Claire?"

"I'm... a bit cold, but I'm fine too. I... wore Melissa for a short time yesterday."

Mother grinned. "So? How was your first time being someone else?"

"It was my second time, actually..." Claire timidly replied.

"Hmm?"

"Dahlia... put my soul in her skin before... and wore my skin."

"Oh, soul-switching, hmm? Minh likes to do that with his... 'possessions', to spice things up. Ah, Minh is a member of my coven. A skinwalker I turned myself fifty-four years ago."

"I recall him from Melissa's memories. He seems... interesting..."

Mother giggled. "That's one way to describe him, indeed."

After finishing breakfast, the four of us left the flat, but Mother knocked on the door of my neighbours first.

"What are you doing?"

"Picking up one of mine, of course." Mother replied, chuckling.

A young couple lived there, married for a short while. The husband, Noah, was working at a local real estate company while the wife, Cindy, stayed at home. She was looking for a job, apparently. I wasn't really close to them, but we were on cordial terms.

Cindy opened the door, fully dressed, and smiled when she saw Mother. She glanced at me, too.

"Are you ready, Ashley?" Mother asked, whispering her name.

Ashley? She skinned my neighbor?

She nodded. "I am, Elise. I have some groceries to buy, but I can spend some time hanging out with you all." She then approached me, smiling. "Would you mind if I keep you company for a bit, Edward?"

She appeared less shy, but maybe it was due to her relying more heavily on Cindy's personality, as opposed to before when she was just being herself.

"I don't mind, Cindy." I simply replied, using the name of her skin since we were in public.

"Thank you."

I wasn't really sure what to show Mother first, so I went for the park since it was the closest location. It had a pole I used to do pull-ups regularly and was fairly well-maintained, so jogging here was relaxing. Mother seemed to like it too. I brought her to the bar afterwards, but it was obviously closed currently, so there wasn't much to see. And we concluded with the library, a place Claire often went to to read comics and novels for free.

Claire was observing the inside, as if she was searching for something.

"Claire, what's wrong?"

"I'll... huh, tell you later, okay?" She hesitantly replied.

"Okay."

She had something on her mind, that was clear, but maybe she was too shy to say it while Mother and Ashley were around, I didn't know.

"By the way, where's Aisha?" I asked Mother.

"Somewhere, I don't really know. She was fairly angry due to what I did yesterday. But she won't cause you any trouble, I assure you."

"How can you be so sure? She does hate me and Claire."

Mother snickered. "Because I ordered her not to, and she would never disobey an order from me."

"I hope you're right..."

"I am, my child."

After this small stop at the library, we found a restaurant to eat lunch. An Italian one Claire and I liked quite a lot, not too far from our flat.

"My husband and I, we love this place." Ashley said, still playing Cindy's role perfectly. "He's a friend of the owner."

We ordered something to eat and engaged in some small talks. Mother kept asking Claire about her life. Meanwhile, I thought it might be a good time to learn a bit more about Ashley.

"So, Ashley, do you have any hobbies?" I started a bit awkwardly, keeping my voice low.

"Hmm, I do like drawing. Always liked it since elementary school. It's why I tried to go into Arts when I started college."

"I see. It's a nice hobby. I wouldn't mind seeing what you draw someday."

At that, she blushed slightly, breaking the facade she put on using Cindy's personality.

"Thanks, Edward. I'd be such a mess with that compliment alone if I was fully myself..."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"We're in public... I have an image to maintain, it's our rules. My own self is far too different from Cindy, so I let her personality lead me, burrowing mine underneath."

"Ah, right... I had to do that when I was Elise, too. It was quite awkward with her boyfriend."

Claire glanced at me after saying that, she probably wanted to know more.

"I'm used to it now, but I still like to have some time to be myself here and there." Ashley looked away, smiling sheepishly. "Even if I used to hate myself, you and Minh showed me that I could still be loved as I am."

I smiled too. "Indeed. You don't need to change who you are."

The waiter arrived with our food, so Ashley fully went back to playing Cindy's role. After enjoying our meal together, she left us, since she had to buy groceries and clean the flat before Noah would come back. She smiled at me warmly before we parted ways, she clearly enjoyed this short time together.

Finally, Claire, Melissa, and I escorted Mother to the airport, as it was time for her to leave.

Mother smiled at us. "Take care, you three. We'll see each other again soon, I'm sure."

"Thank you, Mother." Claire said, smiling back. "I'll... I'll definitely visit someday."

"I hope you will."

She waved at us as she walked away. I didn't know what to feel about her anymore at this point... She apparently cared for us a lot more than I was led to believe, even if her care was a bit twisted due to her nature as a skinwalker. But I still felt bad for Elise despite all that.

Claire, Melissa, and I went back home afterwards. Claire texted Dahlia, informing her on what happened, before looking at me shyly, as if she was about to admit something embarrassing.

"What did you want to say, Claire?"

"Hmm, yesterday, when I was trying Melissa's skin, Dahlia told me about a skin I could potentially use. A mean girl in her class."

"A mean girl?"

"A Korean model, apparently. She said she was a huge bitch, and that I wouldn't have to feel guilty for taking her place."

It was hard to imagine Claire as a model, even if she was fairly cute as her own self.

"The offer is interesting, but... I had another idea I wanted to talk to you about." She continued.

I raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

She blushed. "You see, sometimes, when I went to the library, I saw... twins there. I thought... we could maybe try to be them?"

"You want us to... become twins?" I asked, surprised.

"I-I know it's not right, but... only for a short time? Just to see?" She pleaded.

She clearly wanted me to accept, but I wasn't sure if we should play with innocent lives like this...