It Started With a Spinny

Last Reveal

Vee flinches backwards with a wet rattlehis, looking down to see Luz, but the Luz she used to be at summer camp!

"Gah," she flinches again, this time into her human shape.

"Gaha!" she flinches back into her basilisk shape.

Amity holds her arms, "Hey hey it's okay Vee, just breathe, breathe!"

Vee breathes, slowly and deliberately.

"Helloooo?" a familiar voice asks through the door, "is this the correct creepy house in the middle of nowhere, or should I try next door?"

Vee swallows, "C-COMING!"

"Oh thank baphomet, hi Luz! Maybe I won't get murdered tonight."

Vee laughs weakly, reaches up to squeeze Amity's arms, nodding with a forced smile. With a last rattlehis her features shift back to her human form: her torn grape-black pants, her squash- and topaz-orange striped jumper, her beige hands open and trembling.

Amity's hands hold hers, Vee looking up to see Amity's eyes filled with that patient kindness as she squeezes her hands: "It's okay! You've got this!"

Vee nods uncertainly, squeezes back, before reluctantly letting go and walking over to the door, hiding mostly behind it as she opens it to-

"Luz!" Masha rushes up to hug Luz, or tries to, stopped by the tray in Luz's frozen hands. Masha smirks, "Ha, still avoiding that hug I keep threatening you with. Well played Luz, well played."

Luz looks down wide eyed, looks up, "Yes! The hug, which we talked about, on the phone, you and I!"

Vee shakes her head as she lets the door close.

Masha raises a thin eyebrow, "You sound flat again," their deep brown eyes widen, "oh no, you're coming down with a cold right before the Festival?"

Luz stares, "I, um, yes a cold, that is reason why-"

Vee holds Luz's shoulder, letting out a heavy: "It's okay Luz."

Masha looks over to her, blinking: "Luz?"

Vee flinches, frowning awkwardly, "Um, kind of? Not really?" She rubs the back of her neck, "I am the one you've been talking to on the phone, but it's... complicated. Would it, would it be okay if we sat down so I could try to explain this whole mess?"

Their eyes light up, "Ooo, the plot thickens – please do go on!"

Vee smiles awkwardly, moving to sit on the heavily patched ruddy-pink armchair. Masha enthusiastically plonks themself down on the dull orchid-purple bean bag, a few more beans spilling out of the many re-sewn seams. They cross their long legs, their mauve leggings bright between their sable-black boots and raisin-black skirt. They cross their light-beige hands too, the matching colours of their acrylic nails aligning: sunshine-yellow, vista-white and amethyst-purple meshed together, deep-black forefingers audibly tapping together as they critically examine Vee. They frown, "You're very nervous."

She laughs weakly, "Yeah, this is gonna be hard to explain."

"Can I guess?"

"Um, sure?"

"You're a kitsune."

Vee blinks, "A what now?"

"Hmm," they tap tap their nails, "not that then. Shame as that would explain the shapeshifting."

Her hearts stop. "Sh-shapeshifting?!"

"How you've changed shape since summer camp."

Vee blinks, "How, how do you-"