~FUMIKO SORA VITALIS

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(Above. Picture of Fumiko. The short haired version. Made in the EvE Online Avatar Engine)

As she was gingerly following behind the demon on their way to the kitchen, Fumiko noticed that Skylar seemed extremely tired.

Her walk was slow, and her tails lacked any sort of vitality in the sway of their movements.

Before she could process her own line of thinking, Fumiko grabbed one of her sister’s tails as it flicked past her.

“What are you doing?” Skylar glanced over her shoulder.

“Why do they have this shape holed in them?” Fumiko asked as she poked a finger through the diamond shape below the spear-shaped end.

Skylar just shrugged. “I’ve seen depictions of succubus who have rings before the heart or spade at the end of their tails… It makes me wonder how close some of fictions are to the reality of it all.”

“But you’re not a succubus.” Fumiko pointed out, “And that would be far more troublesome! You’re already a pervert.”

The second tail flicked Fumiko’s nose, making her release her grip as she flinched back for a second.

“The pads of your feet make your walk soundless.” Fumiko observed, “Seems like having digitigrade legs are useful.”

“You think?” Skylar arched a brow, “I’ve noticed a few glaring flaws with them already.”

Fumiko frowned.

Having digitigrade legs was basically what made animals run faster or jump higher… so how were there possibly any disadvantages?

“We live in a human society.” Skylar explained, “Humans have designed things according to a plantigrade leg set-up – which just thinking about it – means that I can’t use most technology made to use a human’s leg set-up.” She waved a hand above her horns, “I’m also much taller because of my legs now, and would be severely unstable without the counterweight of my tails… which I’m now kind of understanding why I have two of them. The weight of one tail wouldn’t have been enough.” Skylar then sighed, “And I can’t put on any footwear anymore either. Granted I do have padding under my toes… but combine that with the fact that the shift in my centre of gravity has changed my locomotion, it makes walking a bit weird and uncomfortable.”

Fumiko processed this information for a moment. “What else can you tell me about your form?” She asked after a while. Concluding that her first assumptions were wrong, and that most of her theories might be also.

Skylar shrugged, “The horns are a little heavy.” she shook her head from side to side a little.

They arrived at the kitchen and Fumiko went to rummage the fridge as Skylar sat down on her usual stool at the kitchen island.

As she tried to prepare for dinner, Fumiko noticed that her hands were trembling.

She was still terrified and uncertain. Her mind still flinging doubts after doubts, and dark thoughts at her.

“So, is there anything you can’t eat now, or…?” Fumiko tried to distract herself further by keeping the questions coming.

“Well, the shape of my skull has shifted, and I’m pretty sure my mouth has much more teeth now… it suggests for a completely different diet, but I think the only way to know is to try.” Skylar ran her tongue across her sharp teeth experimentally.

Fumiko stole a glance as she was doing this, and noticed that aside from the increase in teeth due to the addition of the slight snout, Skylar also had thinner lips and eight canines instead of the usual four!

‘What kind of damage can those do?!’ Fumiko gulped, before closing her eyes and shaking the thought out of her head.

“How long is your tongue anyways?” she asked Skylar. Focussing on the second weird thing she took notice of in her mouth.

“I’m not sure actually…”

Skylar stuck her tongue out… past her chin… to have the tapered tip rest squarely in her cleavage.

Fumiko’s mouth fell open as she went speechless.

Skylar’s eyes went wide as her face clearly bore the expression of ‘I-didn’t-know-it-could-do-that-either!’

“Well, at least it’s not blue or something.” Fumiko turned back to preparing the ingredients as Skylar reeled the appendage back into her mouth.

There was silence for a while after that.

Skylar had already told her everything she herself knew about the events that had led up to their present moment, and Fumiko found herself stumped for any more questions

This new transformation had brought with it the heightened senses and the extra burst of speed, but Skylar had had time to experiment again in the hours Fumiko had taken to get back to the penthouse, and nothing else had changed.

“I’ve always wondered.” Fumiko eyed her sister when they had finally finished and had settled down to eat, “what’s it like seeing the world with cat eyes?”

Skylar smiled, “I wouldn’t know.” she shrugged. “These may look cat-like but they’re not cat eyes. I can see the world normally… my peripheral vision may be a bit narrowed due to the vertical slits, but my ears compensate for that. I think I may be wired to see more kinds of colours, since I can now differentiate shades much better and see even the paint-strokes on a dried wall. However, I can’t see ultraviolet or infrared.” she explained. “I am happy with the new eyes though. It will make doing art so much more interesting.”

“You’re still going to do your job?” Fumiko perked up at this information.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Skylar was a bit confused, “I’m a digital artist, I don’t need to interact face-to-face with my clients to do or deliver my work. And I won’t be sitting down twiddling my thumbs on the days that I don’t have summons. Not to mention that we still have to buy groceries and stuff.”

“What about your other stuff…? Karate? Photography? Gym?”

“I can postpone those for now. And I already got a black belt, so I was thinking of moving on to another hobby.”

“Why do you do that by the way?” Fumiko asked. “Mister Xander told me that you keep giving up on sports. Gymnastics, football… now martial-arts…?”

Skylar lowered her eyes to her plate for a moment. “Ever since my father died, I knew that my mother had cancer.” she paused, taking in a deep breath. “She made it past the timeframes they set for her every single time, and I kept expecting her to stay strong and make it out every single time. In the end though…” she sighed. “I watched her wear her bravest face in front of everyone and break down crying when she was in her room on her own. After every session, when she was lying there weak on the hospital bed she would tell me these wonderful stories, of things she always wanted to do, and things that she never could. I learned there and then to never hesitate to try what I could and to not look back in regret. So, I try what I find interesting and let it go once that interest passes. My only passion is art… Mum always loved it when I drew for her or showed her the pictures of the places I had been.” Skylar stopped talking abruptly. She paused for a long moment before continuing. “I’m glad I tried as much as I could. I may die a demon tomorrow to the unfairness of this universe, but I’ll have no regrets! And I won’t stop either, I’ll keep doing what makes me happy regardless of opinions. I know that it makes no sense to try out so many sports without fully committing to any of them, and that from an outside perspective it makes me look like a fickle person… but I don’t really care what others think.” she shrugged.

“I’ll wash up.” Skylar got up and brought the used plates and other utensils to the kitchen.

Fumiko sat there in silence.

Suddenly the whole deal about Skylar turning into a demon didn’t seem all that significant in the grand scheme of her life.

Which it now made sense as to why Skylar herself seemed so calm about the situation despite the heavy number of things that had happened to her in less than twenty-four hours.

It wasn’t that she was accepting of everything.

It was that she was struggling to do her best with any hand life was willing to deal to her.

Fumiko felt a little sick with herself.

She had always had a tiny bit of jealousy towards Skylar because she seemed to have everything.

A rich stepfather, a fortune to her name, a two-storey penthouse on top of a private building… but it didn’t seem like Skylar was of the same mind.

She didn’t look down on Fumiko. Didn’t care about the fame of her stepfather or her money. Never showed any inclination to flaunt the Vitalis name.

Fumiko remembered a conversation that Xander had had with her mother when they were still in Japan before the move.

They were joking about how she herself was a stubborn child, and how Skylar resembled her in that aspect with her refusal to live on Xander’s money.

Fumiko– despite keeping herself rather reserved – had actually love the fact that her mother had married a rich man. Even if she wasn’t fond of getting a sister in the lifestyle seemed like a worthy trade.

Now Xander was paying for her courses… Skylar bought the food they ate with the money she made…

“I guess the devil doesn’t need to have horns…” Fumiko whispered to herself as she watched the nightlife pass by in the city below… a bitter taste left in her mouth.