Jon sat on the kitchen table later that afternoon, sipping her coffee, along with the rest of her family. Things were as normal as they'd ever been, since that fateful day nearly a week ago. "So," her mother said, "how was everybody's day today?"
Zoe shrugged. "I dunno. Not terrible, I guess. Athena changed, too, so at least I have a friend going through this with me."
"Oh I'm sorry to hear that," Mr. Madison replied. "She didn't get anything terrible, I hope?"
"She's a...a snake-girl thing. A naga, or lamia, or whatever they're calling them. But she doesn't seem to mind. I think she might even actually like it."
"Well, that's nice, at least," their mom replied. "Some people really do take well to a change; I've known a few people where it's like they're not truly themselves until they're transformed into something else." She suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing that maybe this wasn't something her children wanted to hear. "And of course it's nice that you have someone to share this with. Jon, how about you?"
Jon shrugged. Things had happened today, but they were mostly her private affars, or not much of her business in the first place. "I dunno," she said. "Not much interesting."
"I learned to fly today!" Mikey announced. Suddenly, all the attention was on the young harpy-girl, who was in her now typical casual outfit of nothing at all. "I did!" she said. "I figured it out at recess, and I flew around the school!"
"Are you sure that's safe?" Mrs. Madison asked, more than a slight tinge of worry in her voice.
Jon smiled. "Well," she said, "I've been flying for almost a week now, and I haven't had any crashes." It wasn't a strictly accurate comparison, since Jon's mode of flight didn't require continuous forward momentum, but Jon didn't want her little sister deprived of the one true joy offered by her new body.
"I suppose that's true," her mom mused. "Well, that's very neat, dear. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."
Some time after coffee, Jon was tinkering with an old Mac when Mikey came into her room. "I just wanted to say thanks for calming Mom down," she said. "It's going to be bad enough being like this without being forbidden to have fun."
"Eh, Mom's not really that much of a worry-wart," Jon said. "Even if she did that,she'd come around eventually. But hey, no problem. People like us, we've got to look out for each other, right?"
"Like what? People who've been turned into mythical girls?"
Jon chuckled. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'good siblings stuck in the same kind of predicament.'"
Mikey smiled, sitting down on Jon's bed, tailfathers angled sharply upward to prevent bending them against the mattress. "Can I...can I tell you something?" she asked. "You won't laugh?"
"Of course I won't," Jon said. "Not if it's serious."
The harpy-girl side. "I...I made friends today. With a boy."
Jon smiled. "That's nice. What's he like?"
"His name is Alan," she said. "He's really curious. About harpies. Jon...liking a boy doesn't mean I'm...girly, does it?"
"Is that what this is about?" Jon said. "You just mean you like him as a friend, right? There's nothing feminine or masculine about that."
Mikey sighed with relief. "Good."
"...can I ask you a question?" Jon asked. Mikey nodded, and she continued. "Why the naked thing? There are clothes that would fit you."
The young harpy shrugged her shoulders, her wings ruffling a bit."I dunno," she said. "I guess...Mom kinda tried to put me in girly clothes when I first changed, and I'm kind of scared that if I start wearing clothes when I don' have to, she might try it again. Besides, I just...kinda like it, is all. It feels right."
