"I dunno," Karyn said, as she fastened Sarah's sports bra for her. "Are you sure it's safe? I mean, they did attack you."
Sarah sighed, running a wing-tip through her hair, brushing it back behind her shoulder. "It was just my mom that attacked me," she said. "And...well, she and Dad were under a lot of stress, so maybe they've finally cooled down? But no, I guess I'm not sure. Even if it's not safe, I have to at least check on them."
Karyn nodded. "Just be careful."
"Thanks," Sarah said. She looked herself over in the mirror. So different from the reflection she was used to seeing; she had the same face, framed by the same long blond hair, and the figure was familiar, but the wings in place of arms, the spindly blue-black lower legs and talons, the spread of tailfeathers behind, and the rainbow plumage covering everything below the waist still seemed alien, even though she'd had them for nearly a month.
And that wasn't all, as she'd found out a couple days ago. She still wasn't sure what to make of the fact that she was oviparous. On the one hand, laying eggs was a lot less mess and hassle than her period had been, and it was quite a bit shorter as well. On the other, it hurt like hell and was just plain freaky. Still, there was no point in dwelling on it, she supposed. There was nothing to be done about it, and she didn't have to worry about laying another clutch for almost another four weeks. "Well," she said, "let's go."
Karyn gave her a funny look. "Excuse me?"
"Let's go. You know, to check on my parents."
Karyn stifled a laugh and wound up emitting a sort of half-snort. "You might consider asking," she said.
Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Would you please come with me?"
Karyn nodded and wheeled herself out of the guest room. Sarah followed close behind. Karyn got the okay from her parents to use the car, and the two of them headed off to see what had happened at the McMillan house.
The trip didn't take long; with all the untransformed remaining indoors, traffic was still light during the day. Karyn pulled into the McMillans' driveway, unfolded her wheelchair, and lifted herself into it. Sarah watched, envious; here she was, minus both her useful appendages, and Karyn had enough extras to move around despite having lost her legs. It wasn't fair, but again, there wasn't much point in dwelling on it. She opened the garage door; whatever had happened to her parents, their car was still here. She took a deep breath and prepared to head inside, wondering what she would find.
