Mythic (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 11 - For Educational Purposes

Dedicated to Phoenixfantasyfox for the AMAZING fanart <3

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Chapter 11 - For Educational Purposes

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Still on the soft edges of sleep, Rena snuggled into something warm at the edge of her pillow. 

That something then muttered in their sleep and responded by pulling her closer. 

Having never had her bed respond in such a way before, Rena squinted and blinked the world into focus in a dreamy confusion to find Cayden lying beside her, one arm draped over her chest, the other in place of a pillow. 

To find herself nestled up against his chest, her own head resting just under his. 

Rena froze, jolted into awareness in record timing. 

Her movements caused Cayden to wake, his eyes clearing faster than Rena's ever would due to his training. They were soft as they studied her, like he was waiting to see her reaction. 

Something like pity stared back at her from the brown depths. 

Rena nudged his arm, indicating she wanted to sit up. He lifted it. Rena pulled away from him, unsure what to say as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. He'd apparently slept on top of the blankets, and she'd somehow made her way between them. 

I don't remember going to bed. I just remember...

"You fell asleep on me," said Cayden, sensing her question. He sat up, feet over the edge of the bed. "I picked you up and put you to bed, but you were...restless." The pause told Rena that restless was toning it down. A lot. "You kept waking up, calling out, but you seemed calmer when I was beside you, so..."

He trailed off, and with it, Rena remembered where she was. 

That wasn't a nightmare. Her fingers dug into the sheets beneath her. We were kidnapped. They... they drained the ley guards, and I'm--I'm--

Rena arched and twisted around to look behind her. 

Five extra limbs sprouted from her tailbone, each one covered in silky burnt-orange fur tipped in ebony, like they'd brushed against the night sky. They moved in unison yet separately, responding, to her surprise, to her unconscious commands exactly like her arms or legs would. 

She ordered them left, flinching at the sudden movement. Moving them individually was a challenge, and Rena eventually settled for curling them around her legs, trying to prevent them from twitching. 

"Right," she said after a deep breath. "Yesterday. That actually happened." 

"You might want to check the mirror," said Cayden. "We have a bit to talk about before someone comes to collect you." 

Rena's hand lifted to her cheek, unable to stop it running over her neck like there was something wrong with it. "Why the mirror?" 

Cayden waved her over to the standing mirror. "Go and see." 

Wary, Rena stood up, half-expecting to be pulled back by the weight of her tails but they were lighter than she'd expected. After a few experimental steps, Rena stared back at what was apparently herself in the full length mirror. 

If it was to believed, the tails weren't the only changes. While still human, her face was more angular than it had been, her eyes brighter, their violet no longer dull but playful under long, dark lashes. Once more, the ley had played havoc with her hair, growing it several inches past her shoulders and giving it a glossy sheen, but it wasn't that she couldn't tear her eyes from.