Chapter 7 - Getting Caught Up
Her eyes. They're pretty.
Those were the first thoughts that Mels could manage, looking down at Christi. His sight was fuzzy, there was ringing in his ears, and his limbs were numb. He was slumped over like a ragdoll. Kneeling there, he looked into her eyes.
One silver, one purple.
"Mels? Christi?"
It was muffled but he recognized Aylala's voice. Slowly Mels turned to his left to find her looking at him with her large, owl-like eyes. They're filled with worry, joy, and a hint of fear.
"Aylala?" He said weakly, heaving as he did.
"Easy Melyssi. You were gone for four hours. That means, from your perspective, you've spent about a day in Christine's mindscape. It's a lot of stress for anyone to take."
"Nevertheless, you've done beautifully," another voice said, slowly recognizing it as Mama Mizoleta's. "She's completely stable."
"So, it worked," Mels wheezed. "Wonderful. Sorry, I gotta lay down."
Immediately Aylala took Mels' head in her talons as he began to fall over. Mels' vision was fading as he laid down gingerly. The last thing that Mels saw before he blacked out was Aylala's mouth moving. He could not hear her voice, but he presumed that they were words of comfort, which were followed quickly by a motherly smile. He reciprocated as he fell into an easy sleep.
--
Christi blinked slowly as she felt claws moving smoothly along her body. When she looked up, she saw candles floating above her, slowing coming into focus. She did not move as a silver-scaled kobold came into her vision. Her kind smile came into focus, though strangely it faltered as it looked down at her.
"Strange, both her eyes are silver again," she said, her voice muffled.
"Pardon?" said another muffled voice.
That's Aylala!
Christi thought, but peculiarly, it wasn't in her voice. It sounded... ditzy.
Crystal?
Omigawd, Christi?! You know my name? Wait, how do I know your name? And who's Aylala?
A little quieter, please. I know this is strange, but we will figure it out. I think because you're still a product of corruption, my holy magic prevents us from truly joining. Whatever happened, it was slowly coming together. What happened in her mind. What Mels did.
Mels!
Melsie!
With a sudden surge of strength, she sat up and looked around her. She was sitting in a large, circular room, decorated with books and a throne of pillows and blankets. Before her, the silver kobold stood back, hands held up defensively. Christi blinked away her blurry vision, enough to recognize the bottom-heavy kobold.
"Mama?"
"Christi, are you alright?"
"Where's Mels?" Mizoleta pointed behind her, and Christi turned to Aylala, tending to a passed-out Mels.
Christi's eyes shifted purple.
"MELSIE!" Christi screamed, crawling over to him, cupping his face in her hands. His eyes "It's ok daddy, I'm here! Baby girl's here!"
"Christine!"
She looked up at Aylala, not even noticing her initially. She stared in disbelief.
"What are you saying?"
"Whaddya mean?" Christi said, tilting her head like a confused puppy.
"Aylala, look at her eyes," Mizoleta said, coming to stand next to her. "They're purple now."
Aylala's eyes shifted from Mels to Christi, looking more confused than Christi could ever remember her seeing.
"Hm? Of course, they're purple, why wouldn't they be?" she asked as if it was the most obvious question in the world. She looked back down to Mels. Melsie. "But that's not important though. Is Melsie-poo going to be okay?"
"Your breasts," Aylala stammered. "They're growing again."
She looked down and realized that for this whole time, she was topless. Just like Aylala said, her breasts were slowly inflating again like before. Confused, Christi put a finger to her lips, which were slowly plumping up as well.
Um, Christi?
Don't worry Crystal, let me handle it.
Her eyes shifted silver. And her breasts began to shrink to their size from before. "Hi, Aylala."
The owlith struggled to find worlds, shaking her head. But eventually, she found them. "What did you two do down there?"
Christi looked down at the resting Mels. It took a bit of time, but she came to understand what happened. The memory was still a bit fuzzy, but one thing stood out. She leaned down to gently kiss his forehead. She rose confidently and smiled at Aylala and Mizoleta.
"This is going to be hard to explain."
--
After a long diatribe on all she can remember from Mels' time in her head, the three of them concluded that Crystal is here to stay, and something must be done, even if she has no intention of harming her. But just to be sure, they decided on a ritual. Now wrapped in an ornamental cloak, Christi took deep, meditative breaths as she sat and crossed her legs. Amongst the dimmed candlelight, she sat in the middle of the room in the center of a glyph being drawn by Aylala. In front of her incense burned, filling her nose with a strong, herbal scent. Mizoleta explained that the mixture of herbs included the same plant that allowed Mels to enter her mind. As she breathed in the medicine, it felt as if her entire nervous system was wrapped in a weak fire, making her body warm and numb. Taking another deep breath, she looked around the room. It was only her, Aylala, and Mizoleta. They had taken Mels to another room to rest, reassuring her of his condition, but she couldn't help but worry.
His confession was as clear as ever in her head.
When Aylala finished the glyph, she came to stand behind Christi, squatting and placing her hand on her shoulders. "I know you know the spell," the owlith stated. "But if something happens, I'll be here to share its burden."
Christi thanked her and took one last look around the room. Mizoleta stood near the room, outside of the glyph. She was petting her fox pelt as she watched them.
"Take a deep breath, Christine," Aylala commanded.
Christi obeyed, working the spell in her mind, and the familiar stress of magic weighed on her. The glyph around her glowed a soft gold and began to move, weaving around her like a spider's web. They made a few cycles around her before locking into place, and a trilling whine sounded off her mind. As she looked ahead, a shadowy figure began to enter the room. Christi was scared for a moment but as the figure was revealed, she suddenly felt a bit more annoyed. It was Crystal of course, and her near-comical hourglass figure was wrapped in the same cloak.
She greeted Christi with a bounce and a wave. "Hiya Christi!" she said elatedly.
"Hey."
Crystal plopped down in front of Christi, crossing her legs as well. Despite the cloak covering her, her enormous breasts jiggled obviously beneath the fabric, hard nipples poking through.
"So, what do you wanna talk about?" she asked, unable to sit still. "Ooh, wanna talk about Melsie and his adorable ears?"
"I guess you're not worried about him then," Christi responded.
"What? Oh, of course not silly! He's like, super strong and stuff, he'll be fine after a while."
Christi sighed, letting her worry melt out of her. "I know he'll be fine. I'm not here to talk about him. We need to discuss what to do, now that you're in my mind."
"Whatcha' mean? We talk about what we talked about before! Magicky things, the House, Aylala, and Melsie. Especially Melsie." Crystal sighed wistfully at his name.
"I mean, now that we're two minds in one, we need to decide what to do so that one of us doesn't go insane."