Satyr Play 04 Pt. 01

"What options do I have? What about the kids?" Chris argued.

"I'd like eyes like Auntie Dayshia too!" Emily said.

"What about glamors? You didn't say it was impossible," Chris pushed.

Henry nodded. "I'd have to speak with some people I know to see if there are any available options." He scanned Baba's spells to see if there were any glamor spells she had that might work. He pulled his mind away from a few that felt tainted with evil and was left with a few that might work. Again, he'd need Mahati's knowledge of linking a glamor to someone.

"Can you turn into a Satyr?" Danny asked.

"Are you wearing your kilt?" Dayshia asked.

Henry gave her an annoyed look. "Yes."

Beth looked at Dayshia with a curious expression.

"He's forgotten on occasion and gave everyone a show. A big show," Dayshia teased.

Henry stared at Dayshia until she dipped her eyes in apology. He next looked to Danny and nodded. He stood and faced the group, then dropped his glamor.

"You normally go around bare-chested in the winter?" Beth asked with a smile.

He returned her smile. "I don't actually feel the cold too much, but I'm also rarely in my true state outside."

"You don't have feet," Chris said, looking down at Henry's hooves.

Henry nodded. "True, but hooves are tougher and extremely stable."

Chris moved closer and looked into Henry's eyes. "You don't have goat eyes, but you do have floppy ears."

"Also true," Henry simply stated. "I also have three fingers and a thumb on each hand, but they're much stronger than Human hands. I use my Human glamor to enable my hands to use a keyboard."

Chris looked troubled. "How do I reconcile your existence with my beliefs?"

Henry blinked at the man in confusion. "Why should my existence have any impact on that? I've never claimed I nullify your beliefs. That would be terribly arrogant and ignorant of me. I certainly don't have any answers when it comes to religion," Henry assured him. He looked closer at Chris and saw he was struggling. "Look. Take some time to think about it. There's no immediate need for you to decide. It's obviously a deeply personal issue. You should feel comfortable about making it."

"While I empathize with my husband, I don't have any desire to leave my next state to random chance. I'm a rip the band-aid off kind of person," Beth insisted.

"There are other races you might choose. That said, I don't have a complete list, and with the purposeful lack of information on this, I can't give you any real advice on the races. My circle of friends doesn't contain that large of a selection," Henry explained, and Beth raised her palms to stop him.

"It's fine, Henry. I don't need to see a catalog. I'm also happy to remain looking as I do, but if there's an option which just incorporates a small cosmetic adjustment and a lovely one at that, it suits my needs." She hugged her daughter and smiled at Dayshia. "If doing this proves it works, then it protects my children from random chance as well," She glanced at Chris' look of concern. "...should we decide to give them this option." Her husband nodded.

Beth looked to Henry. "So, how do we do this?"

Dayshia turned to Henry. "Do you recall exactly how Tish was holding your hand on her stomach?" He nodded. She looked to her sister. "Maybe you should lie down on the couch."

Beth stretched out on the sofa as Chris stood back, holding the kids as they watched. "It doesn't hurt, does it?" she asked her baby sister.

Dayshia smiled. "No, I haven't heard anyone report pain from the change. It certainly didn't hurt for me." Beth nodded, reassured.

Henry stepped closer. "Dayshia, place your palm on Beth's stomach, skin to skin. Beth, you rest your hand on top of Dayshia's, your thumb and first finger gently wrapped around her wrist. That's good. Now keep it there until her change is complete." Dayshia nodded seriously. He looked into Beth's eyes. "This part is different. Tish ingested the Wild Magic, and we are going to deliver it externally."

"Can't I ingest it?" Beth asked.

"Uh, no. That's not an option," Henry said, and Dayshia snorted but quickly controlled her expression. "It's the same energy, just a different delivery method, but I had to mention it. Still want to proceed?"

"Yes," Beth indicated.

"Okay. I'll give the energy to Dayshia, and she'll direct it down through her hand into you."

"I'll do what now? I've never directed Wild Magic!" Dayshia said, looking up at Henry.

"When you feel it entering your body, guide it down your arm and through your hand into your sister. Invite it to follow with your will," Henry explained.

"Oh! I can do that!" she responded.

"All set?" he asked and got nods.

Henry placed his hands on Dayshia's back and opened his rift slightly.

"Oh!" Dayshia gasped.

"What?" Beth asked nervously.

"The energy feels good," Dayshia grinned self-consciously, and Beth frowned at her. Dayshia concentrated and directed the pooling energy down her arm and out through her hand.

"Oh!" Beth gasped.

"What? What happened?" Chris asked nervously.

Beth's body was tingling madly, and in places only her husband was supposed to assist with. "It feels really good!"

Henry kept the energy flow rate low as they were just aiming for a controlled accumulation, and it seemed to be going well.

Beth bit her lip and looked over at her husband. "I love you," she mouthed as the tingles spread throughout her body. Then her eyes rolled back as she whited out when her transformation began.

They watched very closely, holding their breath as nothing was happening. The energy continued to seep into Beth's body.

Henry shut the rift when he saw her change begin. He didn't want to overload her.

Beth's eyes began to grow, and her lashes extended and became feathery. "It's working!" Dayshia squeaked.

"Keep your hand in place," Henry insisted, and Dayshia returned to concentrating on her sister.

They watched Beth's eyes grow and slowly take their new shape. Her lashes were long and beautifully feathered like Dayshia's. When Beth relaxed, Henry lifted his hands from Dayshia. "It's done."

Dayshia lifted her hand from her sister's stomach and straightened out her shirt. She looked at Chris. "She'll need a few hours of sleep as the transformation takes a lot out of you."

"Can I get my pretty eyes now?" Emily asked.

"We're going to wait until your mother, and I can speak about it tomorrow," Chris said to Emily then he turned to Dayshia. "Are you available to visit again?"

Dayshia looked to Henry, who nodded. He raised a finger to get their attention.

"This is incredibly important. Keep what you saw here tonight to yourselves. Don't tell anyone that the change can be controlled. It's not possible for me to do this individually for over four billion people. If word got out that we've figured out how to choose the race, that would be cruel, as it would lead to a great deal of pain and heartache for a very large number of people. And there's been far too much of both recently for people to endure more," Henry said seriously. He saw serious expressions and nods.

"I'm going to look into a way to get glamors for people. I'm going to work with those who know much more about magic than I do, so we can hopefully come up with a solution for everyone if at all possible," Henry said, and Chris nodded.

Dayshia hugged Henry. "I think we should call it a night." She looked at Chris. "Have Beth call me in the morning so I can fill her in on how her vision works."

He nodded and kissed his sister in law's cheek. The kids got hugs from their aunt and gave Henry handshakes.

Henry made his way to the front door and touched it to link it to the closet door at his place as it was becoming his go-to door for returning home.

He looked back at Chris. "You have a lovely home and a wonderful family. Thank you for dinner, and I hope to see you again soon."

The man shook his hand and nodded.

Henry opened the door and ushered Dayshia through. She looked around, orienting herself as Henry closed the door and released the spell. "I'm home with company," he called out.

The twins came charging around the corner with smiles on their faces, sliding to a stop just before Dayshia.

"You met Aadya and Maliha earlier, yes?" he asked Dayshia.

"Yes, hello!" Dayshia said to them with a smile.

Aadya leaned forward and rubbed her cheek against Dayshia's affectionately. "Day Shaw."

Before the woman could react, it was Maliha's turn to rub her face against her other cheek. "Daysh."

"Day-She-Ah," Henry corrected gently. The twins looked to him and rolled the sounds around in their mouths.

"Dayshia," Aadya said, and Maliha repeated it.

"Excellent!" Henry praised them, and they grinned happily at him. Dayshia saw their pronounced fangs and her eyebrows went up.

"Camila is very pleased with their improving vocabulary. We have a meeting this week with Nuru Onwudiwe to officially register them as Members of the Villamor family.

"Nurrrrrrrrrrrru!" Aadya crooned, rolling the 'r' happily until it sounded like purring. Her sister picked it up and chased her back to the living room.

"Just thirty more minutes of TV, then it's sleepy time," Henry called out. A crooning came back around the corner. He looked to Dayshia. "They fall back on the noises when they don't have the words."

Tish stepped around the corner with Celeste in her arms. The girl was looking very sleepy, so she'd likely just fed. Henry reached out his arms and gathered the baby against his chest. He sniffed her head, and she cuddled in, asleep in seconds.

"It's not fair! I feed her, and she takes so long to fall asleep for me. Henry picks her up, and she's out," Tish moaned.

He lifted his nose to look down it at her. "It's my superior cuddliness."

Tish snorted dismissively with a grin. Henry carried the baby to her room and got her settled before joining the two ladies in the hall again, where they had their heads together, speaking in low tones.

"Anything I can hear too?" he asked.

Dayshia looked up with shock on her face. Tish seemed a little more embarrassed. He crooked his finger and led them into the living room where they sat on a couch, Henry facing the two women. "What's up?"

"You know our discovery tonight?" Dayshia asked.

"Yes..." Henry said cautiously.

Dayshia continued. "It seems Tish already knew it worked. Go ahead. Tell him."

Tish looked at Henry and saw he was waiting. "On the night of the Skyfall event, I was in my sister's backyard soaking in the green light with my entire family minus one brother-in-law. We were hugging, the entire bunch of us all at once. I was feeling very vulnerable emotionally. As I held them, I wished for some way to keep them and stay connected to my family. I didn't want to have to hide our child from them and stay away. I needed them. I wanted them so badly."

Henry was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and he didn't have to wait long.

"They transformed."

Henry blinked. "How many?"

"All thirty-four of them. They're all Fauns."

Henry was stunned. That would be impossible to explain. Then his brain choked on something. The Skyfall Event didn't trigger any transformations on the first night that he was aware of. "Hang on a second." He pulled out his cell and dialed a number.

"Hi, Henry!"

"Hi, could I ask you to look at something for me?" he asked.

"Uh, sure. Are you going to send me a picture?"

"No. It has to be in person. I need you to use your special sight. Is your bedroom door closed?" he asked.

"Hang on." There was a click in the background. "Okay. All set."

Henry stood and guided Tish to the hall and stood her in front of the closet door. Then he touched the door, linking it to the bedroom door. He hustled back to the living room, tugging a confused Dayshia with him, and they moved as far away as they could. The twins watched them with interest.

"Okay. Open the door," he said.

He listened carefully as Siobhan opened her door and faced Tish alone.

"Hi, Tish. What—Oh my god! How did I miss this!" the Selkie gasped.

"She has a rift, doesn't she," Henry asked. Dayshia gasped.

"Yes! Not a large one, but it's definitely there," Siobhan sighed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tish exclaimed nervously.

"One more experiment. Dayshia, go back to stand next to Tish." With a curious look at Henry, Dayshia rushed back to the hall to stand next to her friend. "Well?" he asked Siobhan.

"It's closed!" she responded.

Henry walked back to join them and saw Tish's confused expression. "This is why Siobhan couldn't see the rift inside you. It only opens when other sources of Wild Magic are absent. I don't know why."

"But I was standing in a backyard filled with Wild Magic!" she asserted.

"Yes, but you pulled on the Wild Magic within you with the strength of your will. The rift answered. You saturated your family with Wild Magic due to the group hug. Your need and will shaped a spell to guide their transformation. That explains why you didn't actually need to physically touch all of them directly. You performed magic."

"What?" Siobhan gasped.

"Her entire family, all thirty-four of them, became Satyr's during Skyfall," Henry explained. He paused. "How are they not all over the news?"

Tish was reeling with the evidence that she actually was responsible. She admitted to herself she'd suspected though she couldn't be sure, but Henry just confirmed it. The concept that she'd performed magic was both thrilling and terrifying! She pushed that from her mind as he'd asked a question.

"They... they called in sick, worked from home, took a temporary leave of absence from their jobs, and some made excuses for weeks before going back. The kids are all being homeschooled. With the loss of so many people, their jobs have been extra forgiving, and the schools welcome parents keeping the kids at home to reduce the students in the classes. They haven't all experienced smooth sailing when they went back to work as Fauns but with Lorelei's music easing the way, they haven't experienced any violence or fear. None of their coworkers are aware of their family's state, and they've been keeping the secret. They also work all around the Philadelphia area and don't live in the same neighborhoods. They haven't gotten together since that night."

Henry saw the sad expression on Tish's face. "So, the very thing you dreaded has come true. You've been forced apart."

She nodded with tears coming to her eyes. Henry opened his arms, and she rushed into them. He rubbed her back as the tears flowed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked gently.

She sniffed. "You've been overwhelmed with demands since you returned. Not being able to see my family didn't seem as important."

"Well, it is, and we're going to do something about it!" he said firmly.

She blinked at him.

"They're all invited to the Christmas Party at Meixiu's mansion. I'll have to ask Meixiu first, of course, but I'm sure she'll be on board for the extra guests at the party. I'll set up doors from their places to the mansion, so we don't have to worry about the extra sleeping requirements."

Tish's eyes lit up excitedly, then she was clinging to him again with more tears in her eyes. Henry looked to Dayshia. "Your family is invited as well!"

Dayshia joined Tish for a group hug. Henry peeked through the closet door and saw Siobhan was grinning happily. "Of course, you're invited, too."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" the gorgeous brunette said.

"Thank you for assisting us with this," Henry said sincerely.

"My pleasure. Lunch on Monday?" she asked.

"Sounds good. Good night," Henry said, and they hung up their phones. Tish released Henry and rushed through the door to give Siobhan a hug. When Tish rejoined Henry, Siobhan was all smiles as he closed the door, dropping the link.

Henry caught Dayshia trying to hide a yawn, so he pulled her into a hug. "I think it's time I walked you home."

"All that way? Such a gentleman," she teased.

"I know. Try to keep the fact under your hat. I don't want everyone expecting such over the top gestures," he nodded thoughtfully.

Dayshia untangled herself from Henry and gave Tish a hug goodnight. They left the condo, and he hooked his arm through hers as he leisurely walked her down the hall to her door. He smiled as he faced her. "As Emily clarified, I'm your boyfriend, yes?"

She chuckled as her eyes twinkled happily. "Yes. If you don't mind, I'd like to take it slow as I've messed up previous relationships in a wide variety of ways."

"I'm okay with that as long as I'm not forbidden the pleasure of your kiss," he teased.

"Oh, kisses are mandatory. That's non-negotiable," she said seriously.

He smiled and leaned forward and captured her mouth with his. She made a little involuntary sound of hunger as he caressed her lips with his and tasted her mouth.

By the end of the kiss, she was clinging to him, almost grinding against him as his hands slid down her back. Destination: Heavenly Ass.

She suddenly pushed back, but her hands seemed to be fighting her intent as they clung to him.

"Okay! Okay, okay. That's good for tonight. We should stop before I forget my rule about taking it slow," Dayshia gasped as her body trembled.

"Do-do you think your sister will ask us to return tomorrow?" he asked as he caught his breath.

Her eyes were watching his mouth, then flicked up to his eyes. "Yes." She chuckled. "Of course, she'll go to church first, showing them her new eyes, just to see what the congregation makes of that. She always was one to push the faith of her community."

"Chris must love that," he said.

Dayshia smiled at his observation. "So, you picked up that dynamic from dinner? Good for you. Yes, they have their disagreements, but they are solid."

"They're a wonderful family," Henry agreed.

"Okay, you'd better head home as I'm in danger of jumping your bones right here in the hallway," Dayshia said.

Henry took two steps back and blew her a kiss. Chuckling, Dayshia's smile suddenly dipped as she realized she'd forgotten something. "I don't have my keys."

The door opened, and a blushing Michelle smiled timidly at them.

"Listening in?" Dayshia squeaked.

"Someone thumped against the door, so I looked through the peephole and saw you two. It was very hot!" Michelle explained as her face grew redder.

Dayshia cast a look back at Henry and licked her lips as her memories were very fresh. "Good night, Henry."

"Good night, Dayshia. Until tomorrow. Oh! I'll be on Eden for a few hours in the morning as the twins need to exercise their wings. I'll be back by noon at the latest."

She smiled at him, then squeezed by Michelle to head to her bedroom.

Michelle remained in the doorway, looking at Henry. He smiled at her in question.

"Could-could I get a good night kiss?" she asked quietly.

"Oh! Yes—"

Michelle's lips were on Henry's in a flash as she rushed out into the hall to press herself against him. She gripped his wrists and pulled his hands to press against her breasts, so he gave them a gentle squeeze. She moaned loudly, and her kiss became more aggressive.

"Michelle, it was my date night, you know," Dayshia's voice said, cutting through their haze of lust. "Just ask him for your own date."

The woman pulled back and saw the heat in Henry's eyes as he focused on her mouth. When his hands squeezed her breasts once more, she gasped as lightning raced through her body. She pushed off and rushed back inside.

"Good night, Henry," Dayshia said with a grin as she could see he was still dazed.

"Night," he managed. Then he was alone in the hall. He took some deep breaths to settle himself and pulled out his cell. He sent a quick note to Meixiu asking if it would be possible to include Tish's extended family and Dayshia's family at the Christmas Party at her mansion. She immediately sent him a SQUEE emoji and a message stating she would love to include them.