Transformation Tragedies [CoRIII]

Chapter 3 - Antlers

Tuesday 6.00PM

[The sun didn't set yet as the atmosphere unfolds in the typical look of a summer evening. While the Elmore citizens have dinner, a specific household decides to join in the early pattern as well. Judith Fitzgerald tried to outdo herself with tonight's dinner, as she felt determined to challenge her cooking possibilities. The shelled fairy always does everything she can to keep her family happy, besides not saying no to new experiences, while being extremely eager and perfectionistic. But at the other hand, she can be pretty reasonable if she wants to. This usually is the case when her husband Patrick is involved. The tall and big-antlered shelled fairy is just as strong as he looks and his defensiveness for his family is even stronger than his wife's. Due to his knowledge about how vulnerable his species can be, his overprotectiveness could sometimes get out of control. Especially over his daughter Penny, how she hates it.

Penny tries to understand he only means good with his protecting and knows she got into trouble with her powers before. But she only sees that one day as a good lesson. It was when she broke free from her shell in Gumball's presence and ran away because of a misunderstanding. She also felt too vulnerable and insecure to properly process her feelings, and tried to escape while taking the forms of beasts she saw herself as. But Penny isn't a beast. Not at all. Gumball made her realize that after he encountered her in the forest, in a wolfish form evolved from grief. The yellow fairy wasn't the same ever since. She still gratefully thanks Gumball for teaching her something so important that night.

Transformations aren't new to Penny. She started getting used to her powers and learned how to live with them, and even saw use in them. She has seen lots of forms of herself and refused to go back into her shell for that matter. It's a part of her now and should be something she's proud of. But no matter how well she now understands the concept of her own shapeshifting, something about it in general just... worries her. But no, not regarding her own change of form...]

Patrick: Penny, are you coming? Dinner's served!

[Her father's calling from downstairs snapped Penny out of her thoughts. She stares blankly at the papers of her notebook in front of her and slowly gets up from her chair.]

Penny: I'm coming!

[She immediately sighs after hearing her father making his way into the dining room and she glances one more time at her papers. She feels disappointed for not having been able to do homework another day. It's not long until school's out, but she's too far behind schedule. She didn't manage to complete her tasks, which is extremely unusual for the yellow fairy. She is too distracted by her thoughts and actually had a few emotional breakdowns at night. But she didn't want to tell her parents. Because she made a strong promise... she isn't planning to break...

After Penny settled at the dining table with her parents and little sister Polly, she can't handle faking her smile any longer and keeps her head low with a frown on her face. Judith fills each plate of her family members and offers them drinks, but at first glance isn't aware of Penny's unease. After three of the fairies dug in to their meals, Patrick is the first one to notice his daughter actually not being alright. He tries to recall whether he yelled at her about something, but can only conclude he had been softer than usually the last days. This brings him immediate confusion and he actually starts feeling worried. While Judith cleans Polly's cheeks with a napkin, Patrick lowers his shoulders and bends a bit forward in order to look his oldest daughter in the eye. Penny tries to force her tears to stay inside as soon as flashbacks play in front of her eyes again. Why now!, she restlessly thinks and her wings lower themselves. She can see it all again... She can hear it all again... The gigantic silhouette towering above her... The terrifyingly sharp teeth... and yellow eyes that stared into her soul.