Page 17

It was a week before the year ended, and Anna was roped into another study session.

George hadn’t left to go to work but instead sat on a chair that was pulled away from the table and was reading a book.

The trio had gotten used to their new studying schedule, it was annoying for some. But at least the topic was different enough every time.

Besides that, White had now commented on her own changing appearance. Red’s appearance hadn’t changed from its current form, same with Lilly who hadn’t changed at all. While White herself was shorter, her features had softened like a child’s, but compared to her original self, it wasn’t much of a change. What she was most happy about was her clothes had changed into a simple white robe and black cloak, no longer having any resemblance to her previous work's attire.

Jen announced, “So Anna, we have a special lesson today.”

“About what?”

“About Special and Amazing People.” She smiled. Jen pulled out a notebook, “I’ve written down today’s lesson in here, cause there is no one book for this topic.”

Jen began her lesson at the table, “So Anna, there are a lot of interesting people in the world.”

She talked about some famous authors, scientists, mages, weirdly enough people from folklore and fiction, and even some animals. Some had weird quirks, others did not. A bird that carried daggers, a mage that tricked a country into signing for peace, a doctor that carried numerous syringes, and her childhood favourite author who was framed for a crime she didn’t commit and wrote books in her head for her entire prison sentence.

Suddenly though, Jen’s atmosphere changed. Switching from a bright teacher mode, her smile softened and a warm lovely look filled her eyes.

“You see, I wanted a child pretty early on… just the idea sounded amazing to me. Wasn’t sure how many I wanted, I was an only child you see.”

George stood up, walked and pulled out the chair to sit next to Jen, putting his left arm over her back.

“The happiest day of my life was your birth…” Jen placed her notebook to the side, “The third was when George proposed to me.”

George reached out his other hand which Jen grabbed.

“The second… was when I learned, I was blessed with three lovely darlings.”

Anna’s eyes widened.

[...!] (Lilly)

[Wha…] (Red)

[How…] (White)

“I’m going to ask, so as to ensure I’m not making any mistakes. How many… of you?”

Lilly, still shocked, mumbled, “Three… girls…”

“Knew it.” Jen rested her head on her hand and smiled brightly, which George soon shared.

“How… long…” Anna asked.

“A long while. I’m pretty observant,” Jen proudly praised herself.

“You all are just so cute,” Jen blushed, “You all have your quirks, interests, likes and dislikes, you act and react differently, but always adorable.”

George said, “We… Jen especially wanted to tell you earlier, but she thought it was best for you to come forward yourself.”

“Then I changed my mind.” Jen added, “I… wanted to make sure my daughters knew they weren’t alone, and that we will always be there for them.”

At Jen’s last comment, Anna became silent.

“Anna?” Said Jen.

…

“Can… we… be left alone…” Anna asked.

Jen and George turned to look at each other and spoke through their eyes for a moment.

“...Okay dear,” Jen turned back, “But we will continue tomorrow morning… we have something important to give you then.”

Jen got up and tried to step closer for a hug, but Anna stepped off the chair herself… “Thank you… I need to rest.”

And the trio went back to their room, with the parents staying in the open part of the house.

…

The parents didn’t follow and kept to their promise.

…

…

…

[What do we do…] (White)

[Nothing?] Red replied, [Them knowing there are three of us doesn’t change much.]

[It…changes everything…] Lilly corrected with dread.

After a while darkness fell and the night was quiet. However, they were unable to sleep. For hours they just laid on their bed still, where they just stayed stationary in the Soul Pool.

[Are we going to discuss that?] (Red)

[...] (Lilly)

[... I don’t know where we would even begin?] (White)

Jen and George didn’t enter their half of the room, the trio assumed they probably did that to avoid distributing them.

But at some point, they heard the door open and footsteps of them stepping outside the house.

[Come on, we have to at least talk about it.] Red asked again, She was fine with having multiple topics drop dead, but this one was something they would have to deal with tomorrow.

AwhooooooOO!!!!!!!!!

[What was that?] (White)

[It was a howl.] (Red)

White got off the bed and started to walk into the lounge room, but before she even had a chance to leave her room.

Jen yelled, “Anna, stay hidden!”

“OVER HERE YOU BASTARDS!” Then they heard a loud yell from George a further distance away.

[What…] (Lilly)

[We are under attack.] (Red)

[Come on, let’s quickly hide.] (White)

[Wait, I hear something…] (Red)

Then a cracking sound was heard in their parent’s side of the room.

[Don’t control the body you two!] (Red)

Anna’s body went to a combat stance, and her ears twitched at the sounds of movements.

Tearing down the curtain that separated the two sides of the room with its jump, a wolf with a slobbering mouth and hungry red eyes stared at Anna.

“Fuck off!” Red kicked the beast in the face, knocking it back and surprising the beast.

[Red! Let’s get out of here!] (White)

Red confidently replied, [Don’t worry I can kill this beast with our bare hands.]

[Maybe! But two more are coming in!] White yelled, seeing in the corner of her eye two more fuzzy creatures break through the front door.

“Fuck…” Red muttered she was confident about not dying, but she didn’t think she could deal with three wolves in a child’s body without burning the house down.

The wolf that stood angrily in front of her attacked as part of its pack entered the building.

Red slid under the paw swipe of the wolf and dived out of the recently destroyed window.

She rolled off the ground and went back into a sprint.

[We need to find cover!] Lilly warned.

[Where? There is nothing around here besides flat land.] (White)

[What are you talking about? The perfect spot to hide is right there.] (Red)

Red began to run east, but as she did. They heard the breaking of wood from behind, as the wolf jumped back through the window damaging the frame again.

[The forest?! Red, that is literally the most dangerous spot.] (White)

[And by far the easiest to avoid creatures in, besides, look around, there is nowhere else to go.] (Red)

She was right. Every other building has either been broken into or completely boarded up.

Some of the adults were fighting outside, but adding a kid to that circle would just put them more in harm's way.

[..Fine… but go quick. The wolf is still after you.] (White)

[Of course!] Red boosted her strength with her Blood attribute and legged it into the forest.

As she ran, her heavy footsteps left behind a muddy trail, which the beast sniffed and soon chased after.