Keeping it in the family

As the sun was starting to set, after a few hours of playing Tekken with Claire and almost forgetting about my current situation, the doorbell rang.

I paused our game and got up, readying myself for what was about to come. Spying from the peephole, I saw Olivia, texting on her phone and smiling.

I opened the door and tried to keep my composure. "Please come on in."

She nodded and walked in, with me following her to the living room, where Claire still was, nervously waiting.

"I didn't expect to see you two again so soon. I thought you'd take the night to discuss about my offer. But I can't say I dislike being able to spend more time with my children." Mother said before glancing at the TV screen and giggling. "Playing Tekken, hmm? You still love your fighting games, I see."

"Y-yes." Claire shyly answered.

"Mind if I play a round or two with you, Claire?" Mother asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

"N-no, not at all... Mother."

I watched as the two started to fight in Tekken, Mother seeming surprisingly good at it. Maybe Olivia was just naturally skilled at games, as she didn't mention playing fighting games while on the plane. Still, Claire was a pro, so she managed to win nonetheless, even if it was harder for her than she probably expected. Claire was still slightly nervous, but the game visibly helped her relax somewhat.

"Wanna play with me, Elise?" Mother asked me, patting the empty space next to her.

"Alright." I replied, trying to not let my new name bother me.

I sat and Claire lended me her controller. I wasn't as good as Claire, so I knew this wouldn't be an easy fight. The first round started, Mother immediately going on the offensive. She was good, really, I had to fully focus to not make any mistake. The match was so close when it concluded, with her winning.

Mother laughed as she put the controller on the table, done for now. "Haha, I can see why you like these games so much. They are quite fun. I really missed out until now."

"T-they're fun, yeah." Claire said.

"Since you asked me to come back so soon, I'm going to guess you accept my offer, Claire?" Mother then asked.

She nodded shyly. "Y-yes."

Mother smiled, caressing Claire's hair gently. "I'm so glad~ You'll love being a skinwalker, Claire, I know it~" Claire didn't reply, so Mother continued. "I'll ask Minh to find a good assistant for you. I want you and Dahlia to come with us tomorrow so I can introduce you to my coven."

"I-I'll text her." Claire said, doing just that.

"You'll give her an assistant too?" I asked.

Mother nodded. "All the members of my coven have one. It is important to help us stay in touch with each other if we need to switch skins."

"It makes sense."

"You're going to keep living here, won't you?" Mother asked Claire.

"Y-yeah... But I'll... I'll visit Ed often."

Mother giggled. "You'll always be welcome~" She then freed her spines, lifting Claire's shirt slightly. "It will hurt for a brief instant, but then you'll be overcome with bliss and euphoria as you fall asleep for a few hours and the blessing does its work. Are you ready?"

"I-I am." Claire replied, closing her eyes and clenching her fists, bracing herself.

As soon as she heard Claire's answer, Mother plunged her spines into her stomach and pumped her with what I assumed was the same liquids Dahlia used on me. Claire gasped and went limp, her body instantly tensing.

"Everything will be fine, Claire. When you wake up, you'll be a new being. You'll have ascensed past your human condition. No longer will you be a defenseless prey, but will instead become a lurking predator." Mother explained as Claire slowly started to lose consciousness. "Sweet dreams, my dear child~"

A minute later, Mother removed her spines, gently laying Claire on the couch. She truly seemed satisfied, smiling gleefully as she watched Claire's sleeping face.

"The process takes a few hours to complete, so she'll either wake up late tonight or very early tomorrow." She explained. "Meanwhile, we can talk about what comes next."

"What comes next?"

"You turned recently, so you know how cold a hatchling feels right when the process is over. She'll need to find a skin tomorrow to quench her new urges, at least for a few hours. It'd be bad if she loses it while on the plane."

"Right... It was awful when I woke up the first day..."

"Are you feeling better, by the way, my child?" Mother then asked.

I looked away. "Somewhat, yeah... I'll have to learn how to enjoy Elise's life, but I know staying depressed won't make things better."

She put a hand on my shoulder and looked at me more seriously. "You know, the real reason I imposed this choice on you was to help you accept and embrace this blessing you've been given. I am aware that you are very idealistic and naive, but I want you to understand that you are no longer human. It is in your nature now to enjoy all the new possibilities you now have. We are driven by our instincts and desires, there's no point fighting against them as long as they don't put you in danger. And especially not if you're not hurting anyone in the process."

I looked away. "I know I'm not human anymore, but it's still hard to accept taking the lives of other people as my own..."

"If it makes you feel any better, you can see it as Elise living through you for the time being. And besides, you can keep doing good deeds even as a skinwalker if you wish. Look at Ashley and Minh taking care of bullies and helping their victims for example."

I couldn't deny that Ashley and Minh probably helped a lot of people with their actions, even if Minh's methods were a bit... **** for my tastes. His brainwashing abilities still scared me a lot.

"If you're still not fully convinced, let me tell you about the dream my mentor, Oliver, and I had and why our coven was formed in the first place." Mother spoke, sitting at the dining table and crossing her legs, taking a demeanor similar to the one I was more used to from her. "My mentor was quite fond of the Age of Enlightenment, you see. He believed in a world where those being exploited, forgotten, and shunned by society could rebel against this system, be given a better chance. It is a belief Oliver and I shared as well, even if it did take some convincing for me." She giggled softly at the end.

What she said surprised me. "Really?"

"Yes. As such, most of the people we have blessed or taken care of throughout the last century are people society gave up on. Granted, we do greatly benefit from having loyal human servants and fellow skinwalkers, it isn't simply out of altruistic kindness, but it doesn't nullify our good deeds. You saw it with Kate, Ashley, and Nikolai, but they're far from the only ones. Minh, Matthew, Aisha, and the other non-influenced human members all have interesting stories to tell you when it comes to being treated like filth by human societies. You should talk to them when we're back and get to know them better, I'm sure it'll change your opinion on us."

I didn't say anything, my mind pondering about what she just declared. I didn't know much about her coven and how it operated, it was true. I did think about giving them a chance back when I was introduced to Melissa and heard more about her story, but the painful decision Mother **** me to take made me reconsider.

If I'm to live there, maybe I should try to know them better like she said...

Mother's stomach growled, and she let out an embarrassed giggle. "Oh, sorry about that. Olivia gets hungry quite fast. Wanna grab something with me? Make me discover a neat place you and your sister enjoy maybe?"

I smiled a bit more genuinely. "Sure, follow me."