Helping Claire adapt

"Fuck... I knew I shouldn't have trusted her... I knew it!" I screamed, punching the floor in front of the couch.

"You couldn't go against her will, I imagine...?" Dahlia asked, sitting on the floor next to me as we watched over Claire.

"I... I was too scared... They were seven... And one of them had a terrifying ability... I had to protect Claire..."

She sighed. "Don't blame yourself, Ed. There's nothing you could have done... Now, all we can do is make sure Claire adapts. We'll be here for her."

"I never wanted that... I wanted her to live a normal life... Fall in love with a nice girl, marry, live happily..."

Dahlia didn't reply, she was just staring at Claire. Claire was immobile, completely limp, almost like a corpse. It was such an unsettling sight...

"Is that how it looks like when someone is turning?" I asked Dahlia.

"Yeah... You just... lay there, as if you were dead, **** for a few hours before finally waking up."

"I see..."

"Ed... What happened while you were away? Please tell me everything."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Alright... I tried to infiltrate my parents' company, hopping from skin to skin, until I found Elise, my parents' secretary."

"Elise? The skin your mother was wearing?"

I weakly nodded. "I... I swore I wouldn't wear a woman again, but she would have made things so much easier, so I conceded and skinned her, to approach my parents more easily..."

I told her everything that happened. How I discovered about my mother's nature, the time I spent as Elise, the coven, Melissa, the choice my mother gave me about Elise... I was starting to cry as I spoke, but Dahlia pulled me closer and hugged me.

"I'm sorry, Ed... I can imagine how hard it must have been for you."

"First Elise, and now Claire... I only made things worse with my lust for ****..."

"Relax, Ed. You couldn't have predicted that. But let me tell you, skinwalkers love to occupy high spheres of society. If you want to keep being a vigilante after today, you'll cross paths with more, it's inevitable... Some might be part of other powerful covens, maybe even more powerful than your mother's... And crossing them might put all those you care about in danger."

I stayed silent, still crying. Considering what I've seen with my mother's coven, I knew what she said was right... I couldn't keep going like that...

"Claire is still herself, she can still be with you. With us. She can have a happy and fulfilling life still."

"But she's no longer human... She'll have to live fake lives now..."

Dahlia sighed. "Ed, there's something important you're not realising."

"What?"

She stared at me seriously, her eyes full of sadness. "You two have each other. I was alone when I became a skinwalker, I ran from my family out of fear and shame and had no one to confide in, no one to support me. You have no idea how hard it was for me; playing roles for fifteen years without having anyone to show the real me to, it was terribly painful. But your sister already accepted you when you became a skinwalker, and even now that you're both skinwalkers, you can count on one another. You have someone you can be yourself with."

I looked down, processing what she said. It was the first time I saw Dahlia act so **** since we've first met. She was completely honest there, I had no doubt about it.

"You're right, sorry..." I shakily stood up, grabbing my backpack. "I'll... restore Melissa. I'll be right back."

"Alright."

I went to the bathroom and locked the door, taking a deep breath.

How could I let this happen...? I'm pathetic...

I undressed and grabbed my neck, pulling hard to free my face from Melissa's. I didn't see any reason to edit her memories since she was already aware of everything, so I simply removed her skin, closing my mouth shut as I tried to suppress a moan when I recovered my original genitals.

I quickly wore my own clothes and dressed Melissa's skin before restoring her. The gentle warmth of her soul left me through the spines as her skin reinflated. Being 'soulless' again really was an uncomfortable feeling, it was like there was a cold void inside me.

It's a feeling Claire will experience too, now...

Melissa slowly woke up, and I helped her stand.

"Are you alright, Melissa?" I asked.

"I-I am, yes. Thanks." She replied, blushing slightly. "What... What about you? These memories, they're real, right?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately, yes..."

"I'm sorry..."

The two of us walked back to the living room. Claire was still ****, and would probably stay that way for a few more hours. Dahlia smiled weakly when she saw us come back.

"Hi Melissa. I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but I'm Dahlia."

"N-nice to meet you."

"I'll get the drinks I was about to bring earlier." Dahlia said as she got up.

"Thanks." Melissa and I replied.

"Afterwards, we could try to play a game, maybe? There's nothing we can do while she's still ****. We need to relax and be in the right state of mind to take care of Claire when she wakes up."

I wasn't really in the mood, but she had a point, so I nodded. After coming back with our drinks, the three of us sat on the carpet in front of the couch and started to play some Mario Kart. I hadn't played Mario Kart since Claire and I were kids, it was making me feel nostalgic.

Finally, as the sun was starting to set, we heard Claire stir and groan. We immediately paused and turned to check on her. Spines were coming out of her fingertips...

"Claire? You're okay?"

"Ed...? My head..."

She tried to hold her forehead, but Dahlia stopped her. "Careful, Claire. These can be dangerous."

"Huh?" She seemed confused until her gaze landed on the spines, her eyes instantly widening. "What?"

"Mother... turned you... You're a skinwalker now..."

"I'm... a skinwalker...?" Claire murmured, still fixated on the spines.

"Yes..."

Her spines slowly retracted, but Claire didn't speak. She seemed lost in thought.

"I'm sorry, Claire... I wasn't able to protect you..." I said, looking down.

She held my hand in hers, smiling warmly at me. "Ed, I'm... I'm fine. Don't blame yourself."

"But... You're no longer human... The life you started to build here is over..."

She squeezed my hand gently. "It doesn't matter... At least, I can stay with you, now... You're the only one who matters to me..."

"Claire..."

We hugged each other, her gentle embrace able to make me calm down. I knew she was shaken up, but she still tried to see the positives and be optimistic.

"In a way... I'm glad it happened. Now I can truly relate to you." She said softly. "I admit... I was a bit jealous of you and Dahlia..."

"Jealous?"

"Dahlia spoke about some of the countries she visited and lives she experienced, and it seemed... fun..." Claire replied a bit embarrassed.

"I suppose it can be fun..." I awkwardly answered.

I did enjoy my time as Elise before I learnt the truth about my mother. It was nice to be seen as someone else, someone so different from my normal self.

Claire got up and looked at Melissa, only now noticing that she was here. "I'm sorry, I forgot about you. Who are you?"

"M-Melissa. Edward's... assistant." Melissa shyly replied. "N-nice to meet you, Claire."

Claire tilted her head. "Assistant?"

"Mother ordered her to help me. She's my link to the coven, and... a skin I can wear if I need to..." I said, blushing as I said that last part.

"I see... Nice to meet you, Melissa."

"How are you feeling, Claire?" Dahlia asked.

"Cold. Is it normal?"

"Yeah... And it only gets worse the longer you spend outside of a skin." Dahlia replied.

Claire freed her spines again, gazing at them intensely. "I... stab someone with these to turn them into skinsuits, right? That's what you did with me, Dahlia?"

"What? What are you talking about?" I asked, taken aback by what Claire said.

Dahlia appeared more sheepish and looked away. "While you were away, Claire... wanted to try wearing my current skin, but I couldn't just remove it without a backup one, so she offered me to skin her and send her soul inside Dahlia's skin before I'd wear her own. We stayed like this for a short time before returning to normal. In fact, it was when you called her last time..."

Claire stared at me before I could say anything. "I asked her to do this, Ed. I gave my consent back then, so don't get angry at her."

I sighed. "Okay."

"Anyway, maybe you should try to use your new abilities on someone to get the hang of it?" Dahlia said.

"But who?" Claire asked.

I looked at Melissa. "Hmm, would you mind, Melissa...?"

Melissa shook her head. "N-no, I don't mind..."

"Thanks." I said, smiling at her.

Claire hesitantly came closer, her hand raised. "Are you... Are you sure I can do it?"

"Y-yes."

After getting the confirmation she needed, Claire plunged her new spines into Melissa's neck. She gasped, but soon started to deflate, as Claire's eyes widened again.

"This feeling..." She muttered.

"Her soul." Dahlia said. "You now have her soul inside you."

"It's warm." Claire spoke before crouching and examining Melissa's skin. "I really did that..."

"Now all that's left is for you to try her skin. Come, let me show you."

Dahlia gently took her hand and the two of them went to her bedroom while carrying Melissa's skin and clothes, as Claire would obviously not undress in front of me. Meanwhile, I approached the window and observed the outside, trying to calm down. I was still too shaken to help her, but I was glad Dahlia was here to guide Claire. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, doing my best to properly calm down.

I need to support her like she supported me.

After a few minutes, Dahlia walked back to the living room, followed by Claire in Melissa's skin. Claire was blushing slightly, while Dahlia had a faint amused smile on her face.

"You're already done, Claire?"

"Y-yeah." She more timidly replied. "It's... incredible."

I let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah, it really is."

"You two should get back home and rest for the evening. Tomorrow we'll think of how to take care of Melissa and how to deal with your mother and her underlings." Dahlia said. "I don't want to see them anywhere near my friends."

I smiled. "I don't think Ashley will be a problem. She's a bit strange, but she seems kind."

"She admires you, right?" Claire added. "I can recall your meeting with Mother's group through Melissa's memories. It's pretty trippy..."

Dahlia giggled. "You'll get used to having other people's memories soon enough, don't worry."

"If our mother comes back, please tell her we're at my flat, Dahlia."

"Thank you for your help, Dahlia. And I'll... think about what you said tonight." Claire replied. "Have a good evening."

She nodded. "You too. Be careful you two."

As we left her apartment, Claire spoke. "So, you... huh, wore Elise before?"

I blushed, looking away. "Yeah... It was to get closer to our parents..."

"You've been a woman three times now, right?"

I timidly nodded.

"How... How was it like for you?"

I didn't want to lie to her, especially not after what happened.

"I'm ashamed of it, but... it wasn't bad..."

"Do you... prefer being a woman?"

I sighed. "I don't know... It's hard to say what's my own feelings and what's caused by these new instincts..."

"I see..."

We reached our flat shortly after, and Claire and I ordered a pizza for dinner. I didn't have the energy to cook.

"How do you find being someone else?" I curiously asked.

Claire looked at her body, smiling sheepishly. "It's incredible... I knew what you and Dahlia could do, but experiencing it is another thing entirely... I can recall everything Melissa knows."

"Yeah, it's quite creepy, but amazing at the same time." I replied.

"We could become anyone..." Claire muttered as she looked down, as if she was thinking about something.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. Just wondered what to do next. I should restore Melissa for now." Claire said before walking to her room.

What does she have in mind?

I would hopefully know sooner or later, so for now I set the table, since Melissa would eat with us. She joined me with Claire shortly after, and the three of us enjoyed a nice dinner together.

For the sleeping arrangements, since I didn't want to wear Melissa if I didn't need to, I offered for her to use my bed while I'd sleep on the couch. It took some convincing, but she agreed.

Claire was taking what happened so well that it eased the guilt I felt, even if some lingered. And a small part of me was truly glad that I now had the possibility to stay with her without time forcing us apart, since she would no longer age like a human.

What should we do, now...? I wondered as I laid on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

As I was quite drained, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep.