Becoming Monsters: I'm Blue 13

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

This idea comes from Amethyst Dragonfly.

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Chapter 13: The Queen's Race

"Alright, mister, you have three hours to use. You're either going swimming with me or you're doing your homework. Your choice"

Justin found himself wondering if he REALLY needed to move into his seaside mansion with his amazing, beautiful, loving girlfriend that badly. Seriously, he hadn't even brewed his coffee yet. Seemed a shame to waste a Wish. "Um. Promise not to let me drown?"

Abbey smiled slightly ferally at him, but her verbal response was interrupted by the door to the guest room opening up. A slightly tired-looking Todd came out, followed by the Korean woman. Song. No sign yet of May or Ghata, and no sound of the baby. "You all were quiet last night, almost forgot you were there overnight."

Todd looked over at her quizzically. "None of us were any such thing, sorry to say. We figured you were ignoring us to be polite. Heck of a house you've got here."

Justin glanced at Abbey, who just shrugged a bit. He shook his head slightly. "You know what, no need to elaborate. I'm just going to assume Alex woke up crying at some point."

"We'll go with that, sure." Todd looked unapologetic now that he knew that whatever it was didn't wake up their hosts. May came out of the Nursery, Alex in arms and Ghata in tow.

"Alright! Anyone want some caffeine with Abbey and I? I do this for my day job, so I know what I'm doing."

Todd raised his hand with a slightly wistful look on his face. None of the others did, though, and Ghata got a brief look of disgust on her face before she managed to smooth it out.

Justin looked over at her. "That's okay. I don't have it here, but if you swing by the shop later I can get you Masala Chai with an employee discount."

She looked back at him with hands on her hips. "First of all, just because my family is from India doesn't mean my drink of choice is Masala Chai. Second, that sounds delicious, and I'm definitely taking you up on it."

Justin grinned a bit and pulled out a third mug. In May's arms, the baby was snuggling and looking comfy. Justin thought that fair, considering exactly where that snuggling was taking place. Still, it didn't take long for him to brew up a good start to the morning, grab a banana, and get on his swim trunks. His relationship with Abbey might be cute and wholesome, but the thought of seeing her in a swimsuit was more than enough to have been the deciding factor in which activity he chose for the morning.

There... may have been some regrets about this decision about thirty minutes later. Abbey, looking quite pretty in a white one-piece, regarded him coolly as he dragged himself out of the waves. "I did say that we were going to exercise, Justin. I meant it."

His breathing was both deep and rapid as his body struggled to remember what it was like to have oxygen available. He could only look back as he panted, trying to not be too embarrassed as Ghata and Song were standing next to his girlfriend. Todd was sitting on the dock with May, looking at the proceedings with some amusement as they talked about something that Justin couldn't make out. Not from this distance, and not over his own roaring heartbeat.

Finally, he slumped. "Alright, alright. I get it. I'll work on..."

"Nope. Mana limited, remember?"

"... fine. I'll swim a SLOW lap, hit the showers, then do the construction lines for one of my portfolio pieces. Happy?"

To Abbey, this was a major victory. The events of the last several days had knocked his enthusiasm for the more mundane side of their lives down a peg. When a magical mansion, Delvers, enchanted glass swords, Wishes, and a dragon were present, it was easy to forget the little things. You know, like finishing his education or taking care of himself. Though she didn't want to admit it, she wasn't doing all that much better than he was on the fitness front. She was just better at hiding the heavy breathing, given that she didn't need to if she didn't want to.

He got back into the waves and started swimming out a bit. Once he was out of earshot, Ghata turned to Abbey. "Mana limited? Um. Not a hundred percent solution, but we kind of buy lesser mana potions in bulk given how we do what we do. If that's what you need, we can supply it."

The blue woman looked out at the waters, where Justin was smoothly moving out towards the turnaround point. "I think I'll take you up on that... tomorrow. Not today. If he starts in on that sword project of his I don't think I'm going to be able to pry him loose any time soon. Certainly not before work, and you want your chai."

"Good point."

"So, uh, Ghata. Meant to ask. How long are you all going to be staying in the area? No difference to me how long you're in the guest room as long as you're good guests, but expectation management. Neither of us makes all THAT much, and I'm assuming that since you're college students neither do you. Supplies might be an issue. I'd rather he not have to fight another dragon any time soon."

"Probably a while. Alex can't travel over the mountains for a bit, not until the doctors make sure he's healthy. All of us can do our classes remotely, too. We'll figure something out for food. We always do, and it's not like we're completely broke anyway." The Indian woman's eyebrows furrowed suddenly. "And what do you mean

another

dragon?"

Before Abbey could respond, a shadow passed across the sun that had nothing to do with the clouds overhead. As Justin made it back to shore, a thunder of wings sounded along with an enormous impact on the sand. Agnes, the titanic silver Dragon landed on an open stretch of beach... then stretched like a cat, pushing up sand dunes as she did so.

"... I should really know better than to ask that kind of question, shouldn't I?" Ghata's face was securely in her palm. Song nodded. "I assume since you aren't panicking, we're not in imminent danger."

At the dock, Todd stood. He was obviously assessing the threat... but then his stance eased. "Danger Sense isn't pinging! All clear!"

Agnes... well, it isn't quite right to say that she padded over, but she walked softly. She even laid her chin down on the sand, so that she would only have to look downwards a small amount to see them. "Justin, Abbey, I see you have guests today. That didn't take long."

Abbey was closer this time. Mostly because she didn't need to grab a towel to dry off. "It didn't, ma'am. They needed a place to stay for a bit and we had empty rooms."

Song looked at Abbey, then at the dragon, then back at Abbey. "Why does that dragon sound like my

ajummah

?"

Justin was, by now, wrapped up in a towel. "As long as we're all here, I guess. Guys, meet Agnes. She works with the IRS." He looked back over at the enormous dragon staring at them. "Don't worry, not going to try to stab you with a glass sword this time."

"I wasn't worried. It didn't even scratch the scale you hit the other day."

Ghata looked

very

sharply at him. All things considered, sharper than the sword he made. "What Level did you say you're at?"

"Two. To be fair, it was our first day in the house."

There were four slapping sounds as all four guests simultaneously facepalmed. Alex didn't join, but to be fair he probably didn't understand the need to do so.

Agnes smiled slightly, an expression that was both much larger and much more horrifying on a head the size of a small car. "I am obligated to ask if you are charging rent, of course. It could affect the paperwork I've been doing on your behalf."

"We aren't," Abbey interjected. "We were just making arrangements for food and the like, last I checked that is not on tax paperwork." The last was said with a grin that might have matched the dragon's had she been of a size.

"I do hope you still have that smile after we talk today. I have some preliminary results from your program applications, and while they are tentatively approved they will not be on the terms that you likely want to hear. Mind if I come in?" Agnes swung her head over towards the mansion.

Justin scratched the back of his head. "Um, while I don't mind, it's a bit difficult when you're most of the size of the building. If you... oh."

The air about her shimmered with power , and with a thunderclap of contracting air the enormous dragon was no more. Standing near the center of what used to be a terrifying beast was instead a tall woman. She looked to be a shade over six feet tall, garbed in a sweater and slacks, skin clad in silver scales like the ones she wore at full size. Her face was ageless in a way that only the particularly long lived Races could be. "We didn't get the chance to utilize this form last time around."

Abbey laughed briefly. "You let me come out, grow to half your size, and have Justin leaning against my knee like a toddler. There was an opportunity."

"Perhaps, but he was the one who had just tried to stab me." Her smile was warm and completely without a hint of sarcasm.

Justin felt the laughs from his friends were an appropriate kind of thing to endure for all of that. "Alright, alright, I get it. If it makes a difference, I got the idea for my Art final from that. Should still be coffee in the pot if you want some."

"Yes, please. Why do you think I like taking so many assignments in this state? Black, three sugars."

"Like it sweet, huh?"

"I'm from Georgia, dear. You should try the tea sometime."

Before too long, they were again seated around the kitchen table. This time, unfortunately, was not nearly as pleasant as the night prior.

Abbey had her elbows on the table, head in her hands. "So our timeline is going to be... a lot faster than I think is practical."

That was one way to put it. Justin's head was leaned back, a look of pain on his face. Todd was in the room, too, a notepad and calculator out and a look of incredulity on his own face. The conversation had gotten one paragraph in before the other ladies fled, taking a slightly-fussy Alex with them.

"I'm afraid so, and for what it's worth I agree with you about the practicality, but since the source of this home was considered an individual power it is the best I could do. Your first bill is not going to be the zero we had hoped for, but rather the first year of five incrementing upwards. After that, it will go to 120% of your normal annual tax until the deficit is handled, which will be approximately ten years assuming no major shifts in value." The amount that Agnes has quoted was... if not impossible, certainly a brutal amount for them to try to cover. And that was a fraction of what they'd be on the hook for moving forward.

"Okay, it's August. That's going to be assessed in April, right? I haven't gotten to put in too many tax returns, but that should take a chunk off the top this time." Justin was grasping at straws. Nobody in the room could blame him.

"You can't depend on that. You know the amount, and have until then to make this work. Once you get past the hump, I assure you that this price tag is exceedingly low for the asset you have on your hands."

"And I assume that we don't get a discount for telling you that it is actively siphoning our mana at the moment?"

"I am presently ignoring the fact that you just told me this mansion is actively magical beyond its creation, which would double its assessed value. Does that count as a discount?" Agnes had a wry grin on her scaled lips and a wry tone in her Southern Belle accent. "I won't be around here too much longer, unfortunately, as soon as I got the initial contact over with my boss realized he did not need to be paying a Dragon for this case. The local IRS office can handle it from here."

"That's not very encouraging. How am I supposed to make a good impression on them? Never going to match what I did with you." The line between humor and sarcasm is, at times, a thin one. Justin was in the middle of one of these times.

She laughed, warmly and honestly. "Let's hope that is not necessary. Or, if it is, that you make it much sharper." She stood. "Thank you for the coffee, I will let you enjoy the rest of your Saturday."

She left. There was another thunderclap of forcibly relocated air, and the rush of enormous wings. Silence remained at the table.

"Uh, I know this technically isn't my problem to try to solve, but I am a math major." Todd was still looking at the door. "Might be able to help a bit on the mental whiteboard."

"Tell you what," Abbey absently replied, "we need to get ready for work, but I think I'd like to take you up on that. Since we do need to eat, and other incidental things, the rate we're earning is probably not going to cut it to make the goal six months from now... much less the one the following year, or the one after that."

"I'm good at a few things on this kind of mapping. What I can guarantee is that I'll find a baseline for you two. Whether that will be enjoyable or not, no clue, but I'll find what you need to survive. We can work from that, when we compare it to what you normally take home." Todd's notebook had a concerning number of pages of notes. "Uh... if I may make a starting recommendation? Ask for raises. "

Both had been independently thinking about this in the first place, truth be told. They both made sure to get themselves as presentable as possible. They both made sure to eat early, get on the bus early, get there in time to talk to their bosses. Justin was the first to get to talk to his, if only because he had a lot less preparation to do and his boss was predictably sitting at his desk doing approximately nothing. "Sir? Do you have a moment to talk?" The large man, who Justin really only thought of as the Desk Jockey, glanced at him and grunted noncommittally. Justin took that as assent. "Sir, it has been a year since my last raise. I didn't mind before, since this was just working ahead, but now I have expenses cropping up. I would like to ask you for a performance review and raise so that I can meet those."

His manager swiveled his chair towards him, a slack and noncommittal look on his face. "You make, what, a dollar over minimum?"

"Yes sir. Never once had a complaint, and I hold down the closing shift solo three to four times a week."

"Yes, you already work close to the weekly hour cap. I saw your reports and reviews. I can offer a 20 cent raise."

An extra eight dollars a week wasn't going to cut it. The boss didn't need to know what the nature of Justin's need was to know that. "Sir, I need more than that. It won't be enough."

"Too bad. It's that or zero."

Justin took a deep and powerful breath. "I'll... take it, sir."

"Good. Now get out there. Lunch rush is about to start."

Dejected, Justin tied on his apron and got on the line. As much as he wanted to tell the man where to shove his offer, now would not exactly be the best time to put in his two weeks notice. The opposite of that, really. Still tempting. As he slung coffee-flavored confections to his regulars, he hoped Abbey's request had gone a bit better.

About two blocks away, the blue woman was making her case to an absolutely uninterested Magpie. "Sir, I feel like I am ready to step up in this organization. You already trust me as one of your main Coinage clerks, Mr. Phillips has sent me as a courier to Guild Marshal Shapiro, I have assisted our staff lawyer, and this is all just the last week."

Her second-line manager was... not swayed. His harsh croak of a voice, she once heard, had not changed in the least during the Change. "In order for that to happen, an opening needs to be there, then your qualifications will be compared to other peers to see who has earned the slot. You are hardly past probation young lady. What you have done are marks in your favor, that is true, but you are hardly the only one of our employees fighting for those positions."

"I... see, sir." She did see. She didn't LIKE it, but she saw. Neither coworkers nor customers could miss that she was preoccupied that afternoon.

When Ghata came by to check in, she could tell instantly that her new friend was desperately trying to come up with alternatives, and from that she could figure out what had happened. Without saying a word about it, she gave Abbey a hug when time permitted, then got walking down the street. Todd was running numbers. Song was working on a paper. May was taking care of Alex while also working on an essay. Ghata? She had some time on her hands, and while exploring was fun there were things that needed her touch.

As the sun began to set, the Indian woman walked into a coffee shop. One that was empty except for one man behind the counter. "Welcome to... oh, hi Ghata. I owe you some chai, don't I?"

She smiled. "Make it strong, please. Touch of cinnamon, too?"

"A woman of refined tastes I see. Coming right up." Justin got started with the simple order, smiling slightly as it came together.

"Justin, any luck today with the finance front?"

"Good news, I got the raise and my tips are up a bit from usual. Bad news, I don't think Agnes is going to be all that impressed by either. Not quite stuck on square one, but I'm not on square two yet. Would you like..."

"If you ask me if I want whipped cream on cinnamon chai, I'm leaving."

"You know, good point. You have to understand who I usually serve drinks to." Justin's grin was broad as he put the tea on the counter and got her payment.

"Now for the fun part of the festivities today. How's you Mana doing? I hear you're a bit limited right now."

Justin felt that she was going somewhere with this, but where that might be he did not know. "Right at 36% right now. Coming back a bit slow."

"Then I encourage you to enjoy the tip." Before she touched her own cup, she placed two tiny bottles on the counter beside it with two tiny clinks. The fluid inside of them was a cheery blue color.

Justin's eyebrows furrowed. "Are those what I think they are?"

"If you think they're Mana Potions, then yes. Todd has quite a stock of them, he'll understand why I felt you need them more."

"I... ah, I'm not sure what to say..."

"Try starting with 'thanks,' that usually works. You have two things that need a lot of mana put in besides the house. School, and that apprenticeship of yours. I figure one for each should be good to get you ahead of the game."

"Alright then, thank you." Justin broke off as another customer came in, a black-furred Cat Beastfolk ordering something creamy. The woman left to go do who-knew-what before too long, and tipped well. In Copper Coinage. Delvers. Always forgetting that the rest of humanity had to take extra steps for that.

At least Justin had a more direct way to use it than most. He pocketed the Coins before getting back to Ghata. "Any reason why you're being so generous? These potions are a lot of things, but 'cheap' is not one of them."

She took a sip."Besides the fact that you're putting us up in your home, and the fact that you make some truly excellent masala chai?"

"Those might do if you handed me a twenty. I might even think you were flirting and have to tell you I'm taken."

"I keep forgetting that's a thing for most people... but in any case, that's not it. The expense of these bottles? That's an investment. A small price to pay for an enormous future. You and Abbey have one together, I think. I want to see it happen, instead of the IRS having to impose... shall we say

draconian

penalties?"

"I still don't know what you're getting out of it, Ghata. Goodwill is a bit thin on the ground in a city where demons can run down the streets."

"The world can be a terrible place, Justin." Ghata was looking into her cup. "It can be harsh, judgmental, and cruel. People you depend on can leave you, and the pillars of your life can turn out to be built on a basement of salt and sand. I'm tired of that. Been tired of it, really. People hate people all the time, with no good reason. Why can't I love for no reason?"