Sibling Argument
I fall over as the wagon rapidly stops. My skin feels weird and itchy and I just feel like I want to go back to ane and manya so bad.
“Allright, what's going on!?” Martin yells.
“I don’t know, she seemed mentally unstable then started crying, fell over and started shrinking but it stopped now.”
“Thom- Rose, what’s going on?”
“I dunno…I feel weird and itchy.”
“Alright, I’ll go take your disguise off then and give you a checkup.”
“Don’t look at my belly though…”
“I…Okay?”
Martin takes my shirt off while I crouch over to hide my belly.
“Your mark is definitely shining brighter than before and it looks like about half your body is covered in scales now. Can you stand up?”
“Yeah…”
“Seems like you’re about a head shorter now…Please take off your hat and mask.”
“Okay…”
Taking off my mask he seems a bit surprised, “Your face is partially covered in scales and your facial structure completely changed…Do you feel anything besides itchy?”
“I dunno…”
“You said you felt weird before, can you try to describe it?”
“I…I dunno. It’s hard to think right now…”
“I see…Does thinking hurt? Or is it more that you can’t concentrate? Does your head feel foggy perhaps?”
“Yes, foggy! It feels foggy.”
“Right…Can you count to ten for me?”
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.”
“Allright, what’s 18+5?”
“Eighteen…Plus five?”
“Yes.”
“Uhm…I’m sure I know this but…I can’t think of it.”
“How about 2+2?”
“Four.”
“Okay…So slightly diminished thinking capabilities.”
“Oh no…Am I getting stupid, Martin?”
“I don’t know yet. Let’s take a break and discuss this with your people.”
“No please don’t! Sob I don’t wanna meet them right now sob.”
“Alright, let’s add greatly diminished emotional control to the list…Come on, let’s go together.”
“I don’t wanna! Sob”
“Right…Taric, get them here.”
“On it boss.”
“No please don’t!” I beg while holding onto his leg.
“Susan, you’re a woman, you know about emotions and shit, right? So, you should know how to handle this until they get here, right?”
“What the hell does that have to do with anything!? I don’t know anything either.”
Feeling a huge hand on my shoulder I turn around and look at Daniel who’s just silently staring at me, “Are-are you gonna hit me?”
He shakes his head, gets a little closer to me and just sits there breathing deeply while looking at me and keeping his hand on my shoulder. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s scary or because he’s so calm but I do feel myself calming down from it and the fog in my head clears a little.
“Sorry, for crying. I don’t know why I did that.”
In a deep gravelly voice Daniel answers, “Are you feeling better?”
“A little?”
“That’s good. Don’t forget to breathe.”
“Okay.”
About a minute passes until I can hear the sounds of footsteps as ane, manya, John and Sher Aka come running over.
“Rose, are you okay?”
“We’re sorry about before oko, we should have just expla- Eh? Eh!? Let me take a look at you!”
“Huh? Why?”
Ane gets close to me and inspects my face, “You look just like Scarlet…”
“I do?”
“Scarlet, look!”
“You’re right…Even the scar has faded quite a lot. Are you feeling okay, Rose? It looks like you’re already mostly covered in scales.”
“I’m itchy…”
“Yeah that’s normal. Try not to scratch at it too much until your body is ready or the molt will take longer.”
“Okay…”
“Also is it just me or did you get smaller?” Manya asks as she picks me off the ground, “No you’re definitely smaller.”
“Put me down, manya! We shouldn’t be close!”
“No we should! We’re sisters after all! I was just surprised before but what you feel isn’t wrong, Sher Aka explained it to you, right?”
“Yeah…Still I shouldn’t be near you too much. I need space.”
“What you need right now is to stay with us until your molt is over.”
“Fine! I’ll stay with John and Sher Aka then, not you two!”
Poking my nose she asks, “How is that gonna work, silly? We stay in the same wagon.”
“I-I’ll just sit next to them and not cuddle with either of you!”
“Well…As long as you stay with us that’s fine. Just don’t force yourself to not be near us.”
“I’m not. Now let me go!”
“Oh, sure. I’m sorry.”
Sher Aka holds her hand out to me, “Then shall we go together, Rose?”
“Yes, let’s go.” I say as I hold her hand and we get going.
“You’re looking a lot cuter than before, Rose.”
“Really?”
“Yes, very much so. How about we steer the wagon together for a bit?”
“Sure, sounds good.”
“Oy Sherry. Stop this. It’s creepy.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, John.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Rose, it seems like John and I need to have a small fight. Could you go ahead and sit down at the front? I’ll join you soon.”
“Sure. Are you going to be alright?”
“Yes of course. As you know, fighting between siblings sometimes is completely normal.”
“I guess that’s true…I’ll wait.”
“Thank you.”
—------------------------------------------------------
Going a bit away from the wagon, John and Sher Aka begin to argue.
“So, what’s your problem, John?”
“You know exactly what my problem is! You’re trying to become the mother of my best friend.”
“So? You got a problem with becoming an uncle?”
“Don’t make it sound that simple!”
“It very much is that simple though. There is a child that I like that needs a mother and I’m willing to adopt it. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is everything surrounding this! Do you have some ulterior motive? Do you want the money or status that co-”
Slap
With a look of absolute disgust Sher Aka answers him“How dare you even insinuate this. I would never adopt a child for reasons like that. Have you gone crazy?”
Rubbing his cheek John answers, “Have I gone crazy!? You’re the one that’s gone crazy! Why the fuck would you even suggest this, if you didn’t have ulterior motives!?”
“And here I thought after sixty years you’d know your sister! I guess I was wrong…”
“Oh please, don’t pull that crap now.”
“I’m not pul- Fine, you want to hear my ‘ulterior motives’!? My ulterior motives are that I’m not going to be able to marry a man. After what happened to me I have trouble even shaking hands with men because they disgust me so much. If I want a child I have to adopt it but no one is going to give a child to an unmarried woman like me. I now have the golden opportunity to have a young child in front of me that needs parents and is about to be sent to a brute of a father to live with against her will. A child that’s suffering, a child that needs a mother, a child that I have grown to like quite a lot and a child I won’t outlive! Is it so wrong for me to want to be a mother!?”
“It’s exactly because of your disgust of men that I don’t understand why you would want to have, Rose.”
“What? Don’t tell me you still think of her as a man…”
“How can I not!? She is a man! I don’t understand how you can just look past the exterior and be fine with it!”
“Gasp I can’t believe you just said that about your friend!”
“What? No, not like that! Sigh I know she’s cursed and I know she’s a girl. I’m not denying that nor am I saying we shouldn’t treat her how she really is inside. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t understand how your fear and disgust is not triggered by her body. How is that going to work during the time her curse is still active? Will you just suppress your disgust every time?”
“I…I actually don’t feel it anymore from her…”
“Wait what? You don’t? Since when?”
“Well…If I had to name a specific time I’d say it was probably when she got that scar. I already saw her as a child trapped in the body of an adult man at the time and that helped a lot with feeling less disgust but it was only when I saw how hurt and pitiful she was that night that I lost all of my disgust for her. I just couldn’t see her as a grown man anymore after it. I always just saw the child within from then on.”
“Sigh So you’re actually serious about this?”
“Of course I am.”
“So you really want to become the mother of Rose…?”
“Yes.”
“I still don’t get it…And I still dislike this.”
“But?”
“There is no but. I said what I wanted to say. I oppose the idea but I won’t stop you because you at least have good intentions and you thought it through.”
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeing Sher Aka come back I ask, “Did everything go okay?”
“Yep! We talked it out and I’m glad we did.”
“That’s good.”
“Do you mind if we sit a little closer than usual today, Rose?”
“No.”
“Great~”