Mark sat quietly on the bus, looking around. She couldn't quite keep from feeling nervous; going to school and doing her community service was one thing, but going out in public, in her personal life, like this, was...it was a sobering thought - like this was just her now...
Thankfully, if any of the people on the bus had any thoughts about a very casually-dressed angel riding with them, they kept quiet. She didn't need to deal with any more of that right now. The bus arrived close to her destination and she got off, catching only a brief stare from an old Italian lady. Stepping out and looking around, she sighed contentedly. Maybe she had changed, but the atmosphere of this neighborhood was the same as it had always been.
She walked off from the bus stop, making her way towards the club. The cool evening air was a welcome contrast to the warmth that awaited her inside. As she approached, Mark could hear the muffled sounds of the music. She gave her wings a last stretch before pulling them inward; it might be a little too crowded to walk around with them idly half-extended as she normally did. Then she pushed open the door and went inside.
The bouncer, a big quiet guy who'd become part-warthog after being exposed to the sun, was waiting in the entry hall. He looked Mark up and down, quizzically. "Don't think I've seen you before," he said, speaking up to be heard over the music.
The angel-girl hesitated - should she say who she was? She didn't want to draw attention, didn't want to have everybody saying "oh hey, Mark, so you're a girl now?" all evening...maybe she should just go incognito? Seemed to be working for Zach. But...this was her own stomping grounds, not some place she should have to hide!
It took her a minute to decided. "I'm...Mark," she said. "Michalski."
That got a raised eyebrow and a low whistle. "Damn."
She nodded and paid, and he motioned her inside. She sighed, relieved; he wasn't the sort of person to be sharing that, so it would be up to her to decide how she wanted to handle this. That was one of the reasons she liked this place; the staff didn't butt into every single thing involving an underaged patron like some clubs she'd been to.
And speaking of underage...she sighed. It wasn't exactly true that alcohol didn't affect her; it did make her glib and leave her feeling pleasant, it just didn't get her drunk, or at least not the parts of "drunk" that impaired her senses or mental function. She could have gone for that right now... (She wondered, as she went in, did this protection from the negative effects extend to any other...mood-alterants? She wasn't a druggie, and didn't really have any plans to be, but it was an interesting question.) But she was already under her mom's watchful eye, and if she came home smelling of alcohol...it wouldn't go over well.
Robert sighed as she watched the strange woman go. She prayed that whatever was troubling her, God would see her through it in His good time. The devil-woman returned to her cleanup work for a while longer, and then decided that she had done enough for one day. She was drained both emotionally and physically, and she had more work to do yet; she should be rested for it. It was time to go home.
First, though, she made another trip out to the cemetery. With her mind off her work, it was harder to keep from focusing on the strange sensations; the jiggle of her breasts, the idle, subconscious swishing and curling of her tail, the feel of her hooves softly clomping down into the turf. She tried to focus on other things...
"Ah, Robert, you've...returned," the tree said, providing a welcome distraction. She nodded. "I've made a start at cleaning it up...I'll be by again to get what I didn't take care of today."
"Of course...and I shall see...you then, I hope?"
She nodded. "Yes...have they talked about finding my...my...?" She couldn't even choke out "replacement," no matter how hard she tried.
"Not yet...you still intend to...resign, then? Pity..."
She sighed heavily. "I...I have to. I can't serve as this, and not after...everything, either. Don't you want me to? I almost...I burned...!"
Father Maxwell sighed. "Robert...you have a passon for...serving the Lord. It is...often misdirected, but...it would be a shame...for it to aid noone. And I do not...believe that you...truly want this yourself."
"But I can't serve as...as a...a w...w...woman..."
"That is not in the charter...Robert. The only thing holding you...back from serving with...this church is your...own conscience, if you...really believe that."
She sighed. "I...I can't. I just can't..."
"Very well," the tree-man said. "But if you should ever change your mind..."
The devil-woman smiled in spite of herself. "Th-thanks, Father..."
Riley was idly flipping through one of Charlie's manga in the living room after dinner when her m-her dad came in, her face white. Terri looked up at his husband-turned-wife. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Th-that was Jay," Toby said. "Hedgeton...it's disappeared."
Her wife-turned-husband gaped. "What? Disappeared? The town, or the people?"
"She didn't say," Toby said. "But it sounds pretty serious..."
Riley leapt to her feet. She didn't know why, but she felt an urge within her...something bad was happening, and something needed to be done about it. "I'll go," she said.
Her parents stared at her. "Riley," Terri said, " you can't just...just..."
Riley shook her head. "I have to," she said. "For all we know, if there are any others like me, they have no idea what's going on here..."
"Neither do you," Toby pointed out. "This could turn out to be something entirely different than you're prepared to face..."
Riley shrugged. "I gotta. I don't know how I know, I just know."
Terri sighed and nodded, and Toby went to grab the car keys.
