ghost | Glowfic Constellation

His sister is nearby and notices the flinch, and the way he's looking out the window like there's something that could kill him on the other side of it.

"What's that, Darren? Is Timmy stuck in a well?"

castmyown

He snorts. "No. But there was a - thing. A magic thing."

Savannah Tiffany Sanders

morethanimaginary

"A magic thing," says Savannah. "Specific."

castmyown

"Vana, this is important," sighs Darren. "It came from the woods and I don't know what it is. Help me look for it?"

Savannah Tiffany Sanders

morethanimaginary

"Sure," she shrugs.

They inform their dad, who is confused, but it's not like he can help with it at all, so he wishes them luck, tells them to be safe, and off they go.

After a brief talk, they split up to find it as fast as possible, with cellphones at the ready if something goes wrong. Darren is jittery about staying in fullform while this close to people, but Savannah isn't. She keeps to the skies - it's about the only advantage she gets, since her brother's the one who sensed it.

castmyown

Even on foot as a human, though - Darren's the one to find the 'magic thing.'

When he does, he stares.

shesepankh

Bella is already awake when he finds her, but hasn't been for long.

"AAAAAAAAAH!" she says, staring at her paws. She cranes her neck around for a look at her wings. "AAAAAAAAAH!" She looks at Darren. "Hi welcome to my freaky transformation dream?" She trips over her tail and goes over like a sack of potatoes. "YIPE!"

castmyown

Darren is still staring. He recognizes the voice. "Bella? What...? You must have just- this isn't a dream," he says, some mixture of stunned and in awe. "You're a sphinx."

shesepankh

"Thank you, Obviously Figment Of My Imagination Darren," says Bella, attempting to get all her feet under her, "as you know I never read old plays -" She fails at the "feet" project. "This dream would be more fun if I just magically knew how to operate a sphinx."

castmyown

"Nope, you've got the real one, promise. Er - remember when I mentioned the apartment complex instead of a box?"

shesepankh

"What in the world does that have to do with anything?" She manages to stand up on all fours and starts experimenting with moving one foot at a time, carefully supporting herself on the other three. She unfolds and folds her wings.

castmyown

"Welcome outside of the box. Do you want help with - um, learning how to walk in your natural form?"

shesepankh

"There is nothing natural about this! I'm a fucking sphinx!"

castmyown

"Yes, you're a sphinx."

He glances around, reflexively, because he is paranoid. Seeing no one, he then shifts.

He is then a lovely grey-blue winged stag. Cloven hooves, antlers - the whole deal.

"And I'm a peryton. Um. Do you want help with walking or explanations first? I'm a little nervous about being here in fullform but I can wait a little while because this is probably a lot to handle right now."

shesepankh

"What the hell kind of dream is this?" She seems to have the hang of her feet well enough to take cautious steps toward him, circling around. "Why am I a sphinx and you a peryton? Is Angela a dragon, is Savannah a unicorn?"

castmyown

"Unicorns don't exist, dragons are extinct, and my sister is also a peryton," he informs her. "As far as I know Angela's just a normal human. But I thought you were, too, so I could be entirely wrong. Also, not a dream."

shesepankh

"How did this happen? Do people just randomly turn into mythological quadrupeds all the time and nobody happened to mention it?"

castmyown

"Er - kind of? Though we go through some trouble to make sure it's not mentioned. Okay, in the past - day or so, did you touch any weird amulet necklace things? Did it feel like it gave you some kind of shock? Like an electric shock, that's usually what it feels like."

shesepankh

"A lady in the grocery store dropped it and I couldn't catch her to return it, and it shocked me."

castmyown

Darren is confused! "She just - dropped it? Wh- you know what, nevermind, that is not the thing to focus on right now. We'll figure whatever that is later. Keep the amulet safe, please, you'll really, really regret it if you don't. They're really old magic, they let - people like us look and feel like humans."

shesepankh

Bella facepaws. "Okay, I'm going to pretend that this isn't a dream for a while. Within the parameters of this magic system - I need the necklace and it'll let me be human-shaped again?"

castmyown

"Yes. Did you lose it or drop it or - something? I can go get it if-" He spots the necklaces around her neck. "Oh, no, it's right there. Okay, er- so, a sphinx gets a medallion that lets them be a false human."

He looks a little uncomfortable, pawing the ground a bit and flexing his wings.

"So um - that sphinx has a child with a normal human. You don't get a hybrid, you get another sphinx, except - the medallion's spell transfers to the kid, too. They don't need a medallion, it's just - on them. But the spell can be disrupted, it's not perfect and if they get a medallion that's - basically - the right frequency, meant for that kind of creature, it tries to turn them human. Except it can't, because you're already turned human, and the spell - breaks. Then you are a sphinx."

shesepankh

"So you're saying one of my parents is - or was - a sphinx."

castmyown

"Yes. But it's probable that they would have absolutely no idea, because - if they just stay human, if they never find an amulet that breaks the spell, it passes on to their kids, too."

shesepankh