POX RIDDEN

Chapter 10

The next day, Milee and Tonah decided to stay in their room. Milee wanted to try morphing again and see what else she could do. She wanted to sit at the beach and do it, but Tonah absolutely refused to risk anyone else catching sight of what they were up to. He had also insisted on waiting until they had finished breakfast and brought more food to their room before starting.

"You always feel faint after trying it. I have a hunch that it's using up all your energy and I want to make sure you don't fall ill in the process."

Milee grumbled under her breath as they walked up the stairs, their arms laden with leftovers from the kitchen. Tonah rolled his eyes in retaliation but didn't say anything further.

Back in the room, Milee sat on her bed and closed her eyes. Before she could get started, Tonah interrupted her. "Wait -- what are you going to try this time?"

"I don't know. I'll figure it out along the way."

"Why don't you pick a target and work towards that? Like your hair again."

"Alright. But I don't want to change my hair again. I want to do something else. Maybe I'll change the colour of my eyes."

Tonah looked frightened. "What if something goes wrong? Don't pick something as sensitive and important as your eyes."

Milee huffed in annoyance, but privately she thought he had a point. "Okay, I will try changing my lips, then."

Tonah still looked unsure, but he held himself back and nodded.

Milee closed her eyes. She formed the mental image of her body. She was getting very comfortable with this part. She reached her face and focused on her lips. She had never realised how fleshy they were. She thought she could make them a little thinner. Her lips seemed agreeable enough, and let go of some flesh. They felt thinner, but she realised that the extra flesh was still waiting close by. It needed to be sent somewhere else. She pushed it gently and it moved upwards. She kept pushing, not particularly knowing where this was headed. After travelling upwards for a while, she came across her nose and allowed the flesh to enter it. Her nose suddenly ballooned up.

She opened her eyes. Tonah was blue in the face, stifling his urge to laugh at her. She rushed to the mirror and saw her comical reflection. It was ridiculous, her lips were stretched so thin that some of her teeth could be seen outside. And her nose was as large as a plum. She burst out laughing and Tonah allowed himself to laugh out loud too. They laughed until their eyes were full of tears. Milee's face was back to normal now, and she picked up a breadstick and nibbled on it.

"That was fun," said Tonah.

"I wonder what else I can do," said Milee, scratching her chin. "Could I change the colour of my skin?"

"I'm guessing that would use a lot more energy than just your hair or your nose," Tonah said doubtfully.

"Well, then I'll just eat more. After all, you brought the entire kitchen with you," she said, gesturing exaggeratedly at the mounds of food lying on their table. Tonah scowled at her.

She closed her eyes and tried again. This time, she searched her mental image to understand what other properties it carried. There was flesh, which she had manipulated the previous time. Just beside the flesh were bones and muscle, although they seemed impossible to budge. Those probably couldn't be changed. She sensed blood, which seemed to have a mind of its own. She didn't feel confident enough to try anything with her blood.

There was hair everywhere on her body. It seemed to be the part that was most willing to bend to her wishes. She sensed shapes. Everything in her body had a shape. Her fingers, toes, shoulders, ears, nose, every single thing had a shape. And the shape could be manipulated! That was exciting. She wanted to try changing the shape of something immediately, but she held on and kept exploring.