Muriel tried to think this through. She'd never seriously considered the possibility of having children before, partly because she hadn't yet had a boyfriend who she thought could make the transition to being a husband and father (and hadn't had a boyfriend, period, in a good while,) and partly because she wasn't really sure she'd be any good as a mother, despite her own mother's assurance that nobody ever thinks of themself as a good parent.
But...it wasn't difficult to see that, though Muriel hadn't intended to encourage it, Jenny had clearly imprinted on her. Not enough to forget her own parents, whoever they were, but still...she was already looking up to the policewoman as any child does to their parent. And now that she really thought about it, she had to admit that she'd come to feel the same way, whether she'd meant to or not.
Still...what if her parents were out there somewhere? What if they really did want their daughter back? It was hard to imagine that they wouldn't already have filed a missing persons report, to say nothing of more intense search efforts, but the sun could easily have thrown a monkey wrench into that plan. Maybe they'd been rendered incapable of doing so? Or maybe Jenny no longer matched the description of their child - certainly she wouldn't have had snow-white hair and a nonstandard mammary configuration. And when she didn't even know her own name, that left precious little to go on...
She could just picture the bereaved parents showing up at her door to find their lost little girl, only to find that she now thought of some stranger as her mother...how could she do that to them? But to leave Jenny hanging indefinitely in the hopes that they'd turn up...admittedly, it had only been a bit over a week since Muriel had found her, but it could be months or even years before enough pieces came together for that to happen...
Still...who was she kidding? She wanted this. Jenny was such a sweet girl; she couldn't ask for better. And if she could be there to help her...to protect her...to watch her grow into a young lady...
"I'll do it," she said. "But...if her real parents show up, I don't want to get in the way...I'll apply for guardianship, but I want to give it some time before I'd think about adoption."
"Excellent. But..." Hawkins glanced at Jenny, who was busy talking to Tetra, and leaned in towards Muriel. "You should consider," he said, "that she's just a child; it's unlikely she'll really understand such distinctions. In her eyes it might be seen as you not really wanting to be her mother. Most likely you're either in or you're out."
Muriel nodded. "I'll have to think about how to explain all this to her...but if it has to be one or the other, I'm in."
He nodded. "Very good. I'll make the arrangements for support, but I'm afraid you'll be on your own as far as guardianship goes, unless you need a character witness - my department might be on the rise, but we hardly have enough leverage to simply create a 'Jennifer Walsh' out of thin air, to say nothing of the ethical implications."
She laughed. "Bah, I'm a low-level municipal police officer; I do as much paperwork as legwork. This should be nothing. But...I have to ask: how much of this is really about 'the public good?'"
Hawkins smiled. "I may seem detached to you, Ms. Walsh, but remember that that means there's something there to be detached from. It's a happy turn of events when doing my job dovetails so nicely with doing something I believe will help people individually."
The shady figure pulled out his phone, and a surprised look came over his face, as much as the mask would allow. "God, my partner's going to kill me. I think it's time for me to go, Officer, but please don't hesitate to call if something comes up." He turned to Jenny. "It was nice to meet you, Jenny," he said. "You did a very good job today."
The white-haired girl smiled. "Thanks! Thanks for savin' us!"
He nodded. "Thank you for your help, as well."
Muriel smiled. "Thank you, and...take care."
Steve gaped as she looked at her mother...the rich purple hues on top of the green, the long single-petal gown that wrapped around her lower body as an almost unbroken dress until it tapered out near the ground, the leaf-cloak...she looked almost royal, if it weren't for the same no-nonsense demeanor and gentle twinkle in her eye...
But...she was all right. Her mom was all right! She'd changed in body, but nothing bad had happened to her...Steve felt a wave of relief wash over her. "Y-you're okay!" she said, throwing her arms around the flower-woman.
"I am," her mom replied, hugging her. "I'm all right, dear...thank you for coming with me. Oh, doesn't this sun feel wonderful?"
It did, Steve had to admit...the morning light was warm and energizing...but she remembered her concern about the sun, and looked down at herself...
She was greeted by her bangs falling down into her field of view, longer than before and the same warm pink as her petals, which had grown, too - not to the ground like her mother's, but still noticeably so. The tips came partway down her shins now, and the convergence point where there was full coverage was just above her knees...
Now that she did have a longer skirt, she wasn't sure she wanted it after all...but she was stuck with it now. Pink petals and pink hair - and the flower atop her head now rested on a bed of dark green leaves spread out across her hair...was this it? Was this her final form? Or did she have more to go yet? Would she change like her mother, become green-skinned or grow another piece of built-in clothing?
Speaking of, Mrs. Daguerre had opened her leaf-cloak to reveal that she, too, now had tiny flowers on the tips of her breasts - not the tall, jack-in-the-pulpit kind that sat atop her head, but something a little shorter and broader. "Fascinating," she whispered. "Steven, my...my leaves are able to hold away from these, but that shirt can't be very comfortable for you..."
Steve frowned - as a matter of fact, it wasn't. It wasn't excruciating or anything having the shirt press the little blooms against her chest, but it was uncomfortable... "Uh, no, it's not..." she said.
Her mother smiled. "Well, take it off, then."
The flower-girl stared. "Wh-what?"
Her mom nodded. "Part of my goal was to understand what you're going through, honey" she said. "Knowing what I do now, I think that's probably the best solution. Go ahead; I won't be upset."
Steve blinked as she tried to grasp this - her mother wanted her to go around topless!?
David frowned slightly as Adora led her inside. Why was she wearing lipstick? She hadn't thought any of her sisters were becoming particularily girly...but this wasn't something forced on her, at least not directly - she'd felt the tube between her fingers as well as the movements to apply it...how strange...
And it had set the devil-girl off, too...David still wasn't sure she really understood what Adora was all about. She'd act all lascivious, but never press too far beyond the bounds of propriety...well, most of the time... Was this just a sort of experiment on her part, to see how people would react? She didn't know.
And there was the fact that she was naked, too...yet she didn't seem at all lewd about it. Brazen and proud of her body, maybe, but not lewd...she was such a strange mix of different attitudes, and you never knew from one moment to the next which one you'd be dealing with...
But...David had to admit that she kind of liked that. Basically everybody else in her life (sisters excepted) was solid and reliable...Adora was more unpredictable and exciting. What did that say about her, the angel-girl wondered?
She was distracted from the question by the sight of the devil-girl's bare behind, tail swishing sinuously behind her...and then by trying not to be distracted. Adora led her into the kitchen, standing unclothed in front of her parents like it was the most natural thing in the world...and neither of them seemed troubled by it, either.
"Mom, Dad," the devil-girl said, "this is David. She's a...friend from school."
The angel-girl felt a little shy at the sudden attention, but smiled and said hello. "So," Adora said, "let me show you around..."
