Kimi felt herself able to breathe a little easier now. Was that the medicine? She was drifting in an uneasy sleep, from the fever. She could feel it burning inside her, as she felt... strange changes going on.
When she first changed, it was like pieces of dried skin had fallen off, revealing a different thing inside. Her change was still going on though. She knew that. But this time, the changes were all happening within her. As something in her pressed and probed the new flesh reshaping her skin.
She opened her eyes, feeling a little strange. She was still in the tent, and she saw her new 'sister' Lomasi placing a wet cloth over her head.
"H-How long was... I..." Kimi coughed a bit.
"Four hours. You will be fine. It is a known illness of the forest." Lomasi explained. She was looking at the young child in the most peculiar way. Like there was something even more odd about her.
"Why... are you.. staring at me," asked Kimi.
"Lomasi blushed a bit. "Not wish insult. But- you have funny ears. Spirit ears," She said with a chuckle.
"W-What?" Kimi felt her ears. They had reshaped themselves into very fine, delicate points. They also stretched out enough to poke out from her hair, trailing almost down to the ground when she walked. She was a freak! If anyone saw this... what would she do?
Yet she knew her changes were not yet complete. Something inside her was still... finding it's way to the surface. She was feeling so scared now, as she tried to push back. She couldn't deal with more changes!
"I... I need to... go to the forest. I need a cure," She said shivering.
"Medicine will cure you, it needs another day." Said Lomasi gently as she put her back to her bed.
"N-No! I mean to be me again. To be-"
"Hush little sister. You be fine soon. We go forest tomorrow, once you better."
"P-Please..." Kimi cried. Someone wake her up from this nightmare! This isn't right! It's not! She wanted to hold back any further changes in her body, but she couldn't fight whatever was building inside her.
Wordlessly she closed her eyes...
The fairy Kiki woke, with a... sadness in her eyes. Farin was with her, and noted that look. She hugged him, feeling at peace with him once more. All around them fairies flew in the green forest that was their home. The sun here, was itself bathed in warm light.
"What is wrong my love?"
"Part of me... is confused," Said Kimi. "Everything here is perfect... and right... but somewhere, some part of me..." She wasn't sure how to explain it. Should she explain to Farun the strange ideas she had been having? Maybe she should ask more about their world... everything here she just took for granted. There was a place to her, she filled it. It was really that simple. Fairies didn't tend to question much, except for where the next place for them to be was.
"Farin? How... are we here?" She asked.
Farin smiled, used now to his mates questions. "Because we are."
"But- what about... how you came to be?"
Farin placed a hand onto the young fairies bulging pregnant stomach. "Just as you bring new life, so was I born the same way."
"But- what about the first fairy?" Asked Kiki.
Farin looked a bit saddened at that. "It's not spoken much... but our Queen was once the dream of the first human. They were companions. He brought life by imagining her. She in turn named him Merlin. Naming was new to humans."
"What happened?" Asked Kimi.
"The world changed... the queen stayed behind, believing humans should always have a little magic. It is what made them special. They among all creatures, have infinite imagination."
Kiki felt a bit bad now. She knew the potential for human imagination. While Farin seemed to romanticise it, she knew humans were not to be trusted. She was one! ... once. To be honest, she didn't know how her relationship to Kimi worked out. They were sharing memories but lead completely different lives. Time also didn't always work the same for them. At some point they simply lived another life, then the other would remember... but they were both free to live the life they had.
Where did 'Kieth' fit in for both of them? She understood Kimi had more of Keith, but to Kiki it was a vague memory.
"Couldn't we go.. see this fairy queen?" Asked Kiki. If anyone, surly she would have the answer.
"The way is closed... her tree however is still here. If you like, you can go visit it. Perhaps you will find the answers you seek there my beautiful flower."
Kiki fluttered, feeling another small kick in her stomach. She had to find the fairy queen. She needed answers!
Alex went on her shopping trip with her new father, mother and sister.
The twin dragon girls were quite a sight to others who saw them, especially with the large wingspan they had.
Shopping for clothes in the 'younger' isle was surreal to Alex. She felt bad that she got her sister into this too, but.. at the same time, their family seemed to have been healed by the experience. Andy was no longer drinking and was looking for work, the relationship she had with her sibling was better...
... was anything actually worse? Well- there was the dreaded monthly problem. She was confident though it couldn't be that bad. Even if his sister always got rather angry at everyone when it happened.
Alex got a number of clothes, including a number of jeans with a hole cut. Still she wasn't sure if it was big enough for the rather larger tails they had.
"I think this would look nice on you sis," smiled her twin Sally showing a few dresses.
Alex laughed and blushed furiously. "Er- I dunno about that," she said in the end.
"Go on. Pleeease?" smiled Sally a bit more.
Alex rolled her eyes and in the end relented. Dresses were easier she had to admit for their form so it was a practical decision as much as a fashion one.
The family then glanced at another two in the shop who seemed to be really struggling. They saw what seemed to be the largest transformed person ever, a dinosaur along with a petite squirrel-girl, with the most unusual feature on her being two tails.
"Not Pink!" Said the squirrel girl.
"But it will look nice on you," said the dinosaur boy.
"Not pink! Jus' somethin' er- maybe blue an' black."
"But it wont suit you!"
Susan and Andy chuckled a bit watching. It was certainly a very surreal sight. But then, weren't they too? The dinosaur boy looked to be trying to find clothes that would fit himself too. But it looked to be near impossible to find any garment for him. Not that he seemed embarrassed at all for it.
Even the twin dragon girls were quietly impressed by the sheer strength that one looked to have, although they could tell by his eyes he was a 'gentle' giant. It was just as well, that young girl looked to be a handful.
"If you behave sis, I'll get you a nice toy for you," smiled the dinosaur boy. "Just leave it to me. I'm going to find for you the best clothes you can have. It'll be a good mix of everything.
The squirrel girl gave a conflicted look. Something in her really wanted that toy. "O-Okay..." she said.
