Becoming Monsters Im Blue 08

Becoming monsters is the creation of AiLovesToGrow, setting used with permission

This idea comes from Amethyst Dragonfly.

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Chapter 8: Exploration

The simple act of slowly waking up in the arms of your loved one, or with your loved one in your arms, is a truly magical thing. Especially when it follows a remarkably good night's sleep, together in your own home for the first time. This effect is somewhat spoiled when a phone goes off to the tune of Eiffel65.

Abbey reached over to the side of the bare mattress, barely able to reach it without leaving Justin's embrace. She accepted the call with a groggy "hello?"

The voice on the other end of the line was not one she wanted to hear. "Abbey, where are you? Your shift started fifteen minutes ago and I haven't seen you." The rough voice of Mr. Phillips sounded much more worried than mad.

Abbey found that comfortable, drowsy feeling evaporated

instantly

. She almost literally rolled out of bed and struggled to get her bearings. "Uh, sorry sir! Nothing serious, just an alarm issue. I'll be there as soon as I can!"

"Please do. Mondays get busy by lunch." There was a click from the other end of the line. Abbey immediately started a litany of unladylike and uncharacteristic swearing as Justin slowly came to.

"Abbey? What's wrong?"

"Neither one of us set our alarms last night! You have a class in fifteen minutes, and I'm fifteen minutes

late

already! Come on!"

He struggled a bit to get up. To be fair, he had been quite comfy. "Alright, moving. At least we both showered last night, so we can skip that step." He strode over to the Dorm Room door and opened it, relieved to find that it still led exactly where it had the night before. Fifteen minutes to get ready and get to class was, if not trivial, then at least easy if he started from here. He'd done it in the past often enough, both in reality and in his implanted memories. Oddly, almost always on the same days. It would have been completely impossible if he had to catch a bus, even if he knew exactly where he was starting from.

Note to self, I need to figure out a LOT of things about the house besides just its contents.

Abbey didn't pause for niceties. She could just go without things like food for a while without major detriment, and got running towards the bus stop as she expended precious slivers of magic to get into her clothing to be work-appropriate and straightened out. Justin managed to not topple over as he got into something he could go to class in without breaking any rules, then ran to Literature. His recent self-care kick meant he both got there in one piece and in time. Bit of a shock to him as he got into his seat. He even had his notes from the story, no matter how boring he found the fact that the narrator kept on calling everyone phoneys.

This was, of course, exacerbated by the fact that there was a long list of things he needed to do, which could not be done while listening to the lecture.

His mind steadfastly refused to stay in the room his body was stuck in. Abbey had created a mansion out of nothing. Somewhere, on prime beachfront land in Washington State, there was a rather welcoming cube with Corinthian columns that had not been there twenty-four hours prior. In it were a multitude of rooms, nearly all locked, and at least one door led miles away in a single step.. Granted, a Wish made it, but still. That was the kind of thing that even metaphysics were really leery about allowing to exist. And those rooms, what could they contain? That was a LOT more space than two people would ever need to live in, and given how he had worded the Wish that meant that the magic of it all was anticipating a LOT more needs than just their own in order to make their life together a smooth one.

Justin's heart did a backflip at that last thought. Their life together. THEIR life. TOGETHER. She was his, and he was hers, and everything was right with the world. The dopey look that came across his face unfortunately attracted attention from the teacher, forcing him to answer questions about how people acted during the general plot, which prompted him to make a comment about the main character clearly projecting on people, which started a rather vicious debate among the half of the classroom that consisted of rather opinionated Literature majors, which in turn kept his mind off of the mystery for the next fifteen minutes.

None of this stopped the dopey smile from returning to his face as soon as class let out, mind, but his train of thought was pretty thoroughly derailed.

Abbey, too, had a brain that wanted to be by the seaside, but which was otherwise occupied. Preparations for a shift at the bank were usually a brief thing, though critical to get right. This time, though, in the wake of the recent robbery and with significant chunks of the lobby cordoned off for repairs? They took more time. Brittany shot Abbey a significant look as she desperately tried to keep up with the increasing numbers of incoming people, making sure they stayed in the new patterns the ropes denoted while doing all of her regular tasks. The clock-in process was the same, but no shortcuts or imprecision could be tolerated this time. Not when the entire place was on elevated alert.

Same for dealing with customers. Abbey found that she recognized a few of the people coming through. Distinctive shapes, personalities, and language quirks she recognized more now that she had been taking the Guild Hall bus and having visited the Guild Hall itself. It made them more... okay, Human wasn't the word. Many of them weren't, and would be insulted to be called that. It made them more real. More like distinct people.

Still, Abbey could not let herself be distracted. The people in this line tended to be more understanding of heightened security, true, but neither were they known for patience. That combined with those same exacting standards and heightened scrutiny to make her day one that was not exactly easy on the nerves.

It was no wonder when both found themselves back at the dorm room after dinner that evening, both wanting a rest and neither able to contemplate any such thing. Both looking at that wooden door that shouldn't have been there, which shouldn't have led to anything if physics had anything to say about it. But... it didn't. It was Justin who broke the silence. "Looks like yesterday was real after all. After this morning, I was doubting my own senses there for a bit."

"I thought I might have dreamed it, too. Glad it wasn't one, that means you actually did tell me you love me, and I did tell you I love you too. Shall we go explore?"

"Of course." The door, as before, opened easily. This time around, though, they beelined for the kitchen... once they stepped around the mattress they'd left in the hallway. As before, it was unfurnished... but this time, the door by the dining room was labeled. It had not been, before, but now it featured a small placard in an elegant cursive. "Master Bedroom." Abbey shook her head. "It's even in my calligraphy handwriting, but I didn't write it."

"I didn't even know you did calligraphy."

"I... kind of don't, anymore. Mom insisted, but it always hurt my hand. I mostly use it on documents I want to be hard to forge."

"Even with the shortcut, I'm learning something new about you every day. Any bets on how much of a bedroom will be behind there?"

"Besides there being four walls in soothing colors, no bet."

"Looks like I'm not the only one learning. Come on, let's take a look!" With that, Justin stepped forward and opened the door.

What was behind that particular door was pretty sizable. They weren't going to be playing baseball in it or anything, but it felt larger than what should have been able to fit. The ceiling was high, enough so that Abbey could at least sit on the ground in her fully giant form. The carpet on the ground was soft, a surprisingly small bed stood in one corner with a bedside table and lamp. Really, it was barely bigger than the dorm room mattress that still sat upstairs. To the side was another door, presumably to a bathroom of some kind. Everything there felt... smooth. Comfortable, in a way normally reserved for clothing and buildings that had been lived in for years. Justin instinctively felt that he'd be able to find the doors and make his way without needing light to see by.

The predicted bathroom was there as expected. It looked a hair odd at first, but then made perfect sense. Everything was split-level. One sink, one toilet, one shower head? They were each meant for someone of a standard size. The other was clearly set for someone with their head near the high ceiling. There was a tub, one section of it shallow, the other deep enough that Justin could dive in it... or Abbey could soak in her full natural form. Much like the outside, it felt like it shouldn't work... but just as much felt like it did anyway.

Justin looked to the side as his blue lady stepped forward, reaching out in wonder towards that tub. Abbey was enchanted. "Justin... do you mind if..."

He smiled. "Go ahead and take a bath. I'll keep poking around?"

"Thanks, love." Yep, the word definitely still gave him the tinglies. Again. He suspected it always would, and didn't mind the thought at all. "It's been a long time since I could just... do that. As me."

"Completely understandable. I'd join you, but safety first. Until you're used to it again, I don't want to risk getting stepped on or drowned." As he began to step out, he could hear the whoosh of her shapechanging mists coming forth. Since he wasn't here to get soaked just yet, it was time to scoot.

Abbey was a bit disappointed as the door closed, he'd entirely missed the hint. Then again, when the tap turned on and unleashed a stream of water that was both quiet and warm, the emotion evaporated. She had said it had been a long time. Truth be told, this would be the first time since the Change she could take a warm bath. Despite the depth of the tub, it filled fairly quickly, and with a contented sigh she stepped in to settle into the contours at the bottom. All eighteen feet of her. She felt weightless, like both body and soul were floating there. Like the world, for once, wasn't weighing her down.

Justin was still in their room, poking around to look at the little details. There were outlets seemingly everywhere, though he could have sworn that they didn't actually exist until he went looking for them. The bed, too, was made in similar soothing colors to the walls... though no spare linens were evident, nor places to go and do the laundry.

It feels like an idea, almost. Something I might think to myself, but before I finish the whole process of putting it on paper.

His hand instinctively went to the drawer on the bedside table, the lamp coming on as he did as if trying to be helpful. That was when Justin noticed that it was both dark outside and light inside, but no light fixtures were apparent in the room other than the bedside lamp. Despite the fact that it only turned on seconds ago, he'd had no trouble at all seeing. He shook his head, trying to get it settled with about as much effectiveness as trying to settle a beehive by the same method, and opened the drawer he'd been reaching for. In it was only one thing, an envelope, stuffed thick but unsealed and unmarked. Inside was the answer to one of his questions... but the start of a great many more.

It was a deed. A document of land ownership, for about an acre and a half on that beach. Somehow, this particular Wish was asserting what they would need into reality. Whether some bit of matching paperwork existed in a filing cabinet in an official location, whether whatever obscure digital system was used to track such things got updated, whether the place had actually been owned by someone before who might come looking and wondering why it suddenly had a large structure on it... ah, there was the address. Justin pulled out his phone and input it to check things out.

The place was still technically within Washington, sure, but significantly further South than he'd have thought. Basically directly West of the Guild Hall, he wouldn't be biking to work or school any time soon. Not too far from the nearest town, but it was a smaller kind of place rather than the city he was used to. No noted owner, no pictures online. What kind of life would he be building here? Because make no mistake...

The thoughts were interrupted by a flicker in the moonlight. As if something large had passed between the moon and the home.

Justin had played enough games that his first thought was "dragon!" His second thought was more along the lines of how ridiculous his first one was... but just in case, he should go see what was up. "Abbey, I'm heading outside for a bit. Join me when you're done?"

In a slightly dreamy and contented voice, she replied "sure thing" through the closed door.

The evening air was pleasantly cool against his skin as he stepped out. The bedroom had a view towards the beach, so if there would be anything to find it would be in that direction. It was odd, there wasn't really a cloud in the sky, so that couldn't be it. That said? It turned out that it wasn't hard to find.

The creature was enormous, a titanic reptile looking like it was nearly the size of the mansion. Plated in silver scales, with a pair of huge wings, its claws were nearly the size of Justin himself. A Dragon. Of course. Abbey had made their castle, so it simply followed that this would be a thing.

There was no way an untrained man, Level two and a half, in a crafting Class to boot, could fight this thing. Justin found that he couldn't bring himself to get out of the way. Not with Abbey in the house behind him. It was an odd feeling. Knowing, for fact, that he had loved, and was about to die defending her. Invoking his power, his hands slammed into the sand at his feet, drawing forth a straight longsword made of glass.

He charged. His feet pounded the sand as he dashed forward with all of the power a couple of weeks of real training could muster. No matter what he did, the further away from Abbey he was the safer she would be. With a shout, he lunged at his target. With a feeling of sick dread, his blade shattered instantly against the scales of the Dragon's front claw, utterly without effect. The only result was his sweat, labored breaths, and the soft thuds of the shards hitting the sand.

The dragon lowered its colossal head until one eye was squarely on the young man. In a rough woman's voice, she asked "are you done yet?"

There was absolute silence for about five seconds as this processed through Justin's mind. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he finally managed to half-squeak "I think so."

"My name is Agnes. I assume you live here?"

"Uh... yes. Trying to get used to it, this is a..."

"A new development, I know. Undeveloped beachfront in consideration for a hotel, but without any deals finalized, suddenly has an owner and a full structure on it? Unusual, even for these days. The IRS sent me to check. So. I seem to have your attention. Please, explain yourself. This will rather dramatically change the nature of what I have to do here. Start with your name, Class, and Level. And don't lie. I will know."

"Justin Majors, Shaper, Level 2. Didn't quite get to three before I gave up on it."

"You seemed rather determined to take down a Dragon for someone I would likely kill if I sneezed while pointed in the wrong direction."

"Please forgive me. I didn't realize what... who... I was dealing with. My girlfriend is in there, and I wasn't about to let you past without a fight." Justin wasn't QUITE sure whether the word should be "girlfriend" for "fiancee," but didn't think it was quite worth discussing with an IRS Agent who happened to be a rather large Dragon. He also hoped Agnes didn't notice his slip of the tongue.

"Nice recovery." She noticed. "This still does not explain the mansion, nor your sudden ownership of the property. A Shaper might have pulled off making this, but not at your Level."

Right. That. "Um. May I go inside to get Abbey? She will be able to explain this a bit more effectively than I can."

The Dragon... Agnes... turned her head to look directly at him. It was unnerving and terrifying in equal measure. "I sense you are making your way towards a point, somewhere. You know what, sure. I can wait here for a couple of minutes. Please don't make me knock."

No, that didn't sound like it would end well. Justin definitely hustled to get back to the bedroom, where he found her getting dried off. With some regret, he could not stop to admire the proceedings. "Abbey, you need to come outside. Like, use magic to finish getting ready. I'd tell you why, but... well, it's kind of unbelievable until you see for yourself."

"Justin, we're in a seaside mansion that didn't exist 48 hours ago at the height of a two year relationship that didn't exist two weeks ago while both of us have to go back to work tomorrow. What could be less believable than

that

?" Despite her words, she stopped doing things the mundane way and was whisked clean and dry by her magic, suddenly in her business suit... which thankfully included flats. High heels seemed counterproductive on sand.

"A mansion-sized Silver IRS Dragon that is here to ask us some questions."

"... you know what? Next time? I'll just trust you when you tell me something like that."

The young couple didn't exactly sprint back to the Dragon, but neither did they take their time. Agnes, thankfully, was waiting patiently. Justin supposed she must do this often. Abbey didn't even ask before she reverted to her full eighteen foot form. It definitely was not to the Dragon's scale, but it was three times better than where she had been. "You had some questions for us?"

Agnes gave Abbey a very significant look. "I see more is at play here than I thought. Marid?"

If Abbey was surprised at the voice or the easy identification, she didn't show it. "Yes, ma'am."

"I didn't realize Marid Wishes came with this kind of magnitude."

Abbey have a slight, shy smile. "A lot of things went into it, but it surprised me too."

She turned to look at Justin's tiny form. "Did you willingly give this man your Wishes?"

"I did not, but I'm glad it was him in the end."

Agnes sighed deeply. "Why is it that none of you ever know how to present easy questions to me? Alright, I need to ask you both a few more things to determine just exactly how big of a tree the nearest paper mill will have to chop down to cover the amount of text I need to account for this."

The questions ended up taking an hour and a half. She did not at all enjoy having to be told that they did not know all of the building's contents, nor how it was receiving utilities. Just that it was a home, and the wish had been intended for them two.

"Okay, I think I get it. This will hopefully not take too many trees, but I need to get an inspector out here. Actually, scratch that. I need a team of them, and a real assessor. Just setting some expectations, the annual property tax for this place is probably going to fall into the $120,000 range. Is this something you will be able to sustain?"

Justin sagged at hearing the number. "That's about three times what I make. Love?"

Abbey shook her head. "Around double for me. Even adding us together and ignoring things like food, utilities, and education, we can't afford that."

"Add another tree to the pile, I guess. I know of a program you might qualify for, but it is a phase-in. Not forgiveness. Do you believe you will be able to get yourselves to that point in a reasonable timeframe?"

Abbey felt a pressure against her ankle as her boyfriend leaned against her. His voice came from far below, as he was trying to speak up for them. "It's... possible. Not going to be easy, but we can. This is supposed to be a place for us to be together through anything life can throw at us, it wouldn't be much of a Wish if we gave up on it after a couple of days. I'm getting ready to graduate, and hopefully after that I will be able to do better than grinding beans to be paid beans."