Saturday comes faster than expected and it’s time to return home. Lillie rides with me like we agreed on Monday, and I start feeling nervous. I still haven’t shifted on command before. 

Lillie and I walk in to see Mom, Dad, and Viv cleaning up from lunch. I can tell that Viv was able to eat and I’m happy to see her feeling better at least.

“Hey everyone.” Lillie and I greet everyone at the same time. A series of greetings return. Mom and Dad take the dishes, telling us to go hang out. Lillie leads Viv and I outside. Viv stays quiet until we hit the treeline.

“Why are we coming out here?” She looks at me suspiciously.

“Well, Ash says she is going to show us how she can shift.”

“Oh my God! Have you seriously not dropped that yet? How much longer are you going to keep this joke going?” Viv glares at me.

“I’ve never been joking. At most, I was unsure, but I shifted again on Monday. Let’s go into the forest before anything.” I match her glare with my own.

“No, I’m not going to be a part of this.” Viv turns back and I don’t stop her.

“I don’t think she’s joking, Viv. I’ve agreed to this with a promise that if she fails, she’ll see a shrink.” Lillie comes to my defense. 

Viv hesitates before reluctantly nodding. We go all the way to the edge of the property. This location can’t be seen from the house or the trail.

“OK, let's get this over with,” Viv states.

I nod and start taking off my clothes, learning from the last two times.

“Why are you stripping?” Lillie asks.

“My clothes ripped both times.” Viv scoffs at my response and Lillie nods.

I take a deep breath, trying to decide whether to stand or not when Viv breaks the silence.

“Okay, so we proved you were wrong. Now let’s go back inside.” 

“Dude, it’s been half a second. This would be the first time I shifted on purpose.” I retort. Viv glares but waves her hand.

I think about the rumor, and how Chris and Shasha are doing everything they can to bully me. Just two seconds pass and Viv is done.

“Do you know what? I’m tired of this madness. I agree you are delusional, but I don’t think a therapist will be enough. I’m going to go tell Mom and Dad to send you to an asylum.” Viv storms off. I see red, and the pain starts.

“Look Ash-” Lillie starts to say something but I hold up my hand. I lean into the anger at Viv and pain while thinking about what I look like as a tiger.

The pain, while less than last time, spreads and Lillie’s eyes go wide. As before, my joints realign and fur sprouts everywhere. The skin on my stomach loosens while my nails grow and sharpen before disappearing into thick paws. A couple of moments later, I am looking at Lillie’s shocked, pale face.

While I was focused on shifting, Lillie had sat down against a tree. I lay down and put my head on my paws to look as non-threateningly as possible. 

“Ashka?” She asks after what feels like an eternity. I lift my head enough to nod before putting it back down. I don’t move a muscle as she goes quiet again, afraid of scaring her. Her pale face slowly regains color as she processes what is happening.

“Can you change back so we can talk?” She requests when all her color returns. I nod and start thinking about my human form again until an ache forms in my chest.

Once my body is back to normal, I quickly get dressed and sit across from Lillie. While I hope that she isn’t scared of me after seeing that, I still want to give her space.

“So, what are you thinking?” I ask carefully.

“I honestly don’t know what to think. I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t.” We go quiet again. 

I didn’t think I would be the one thrown through a loop, but what she brings up didn’t even cross my mind. After all, if there is such a thing as shapeshifters, who's to say there aren’t vampires or witches out there? I don’t get to speculate for long.

“Oh my goodness! You must have been so scared! You went through shifting all alone, only for us to call you insane and playing a sick joke. I’m so sorry!!” She slams into me, putting her arms around me as she continues to apologize.

“It’s okay.” I pat her back and return the hug, consoling her. “I probably would have had the same reaction. I’m just happy you're not scared of me. And at least you gave me a chance to show you.”

“You’re right. Viv just waited maybe a second before calling you crazy and leaving. But I wasn’t that much better. I was only going to give you, like, 3 more minutes.”

“That’s not what I meant. You could have just said that you don’t believe me and not talk to me until I gave up or you shifted.”

“Thank the lord I didn’t! Please tell me you’ll help me when it’s my turn. But you can’t defend Viv. She should have waited with me. Do you know what? Let’s scare her. Shift back while I go get her.” She rushes up and tries to pull me with her. I resist, shaking my head.

“No, Lillie. Viv is probably near shifting. I can’t blame her for her reaction, just like I can’t blame you. But please get her so we can talk. I might be able to try again.” She nods and runs off.

I check the time on my phone before zoning out into my thoughts. Viv seems to be going back to how she was in middle school. Back then, she was touchy and lost her temper all the time because she was insecure about being adopted.

Moments later, Viv comes storming back.

“What did you do to Lillie?” At this point, I start wondering if a part of her believes me and she’s just in denial. “Did you find a magic trick with some kind of tiger costume? Why are you so stuck on this? What is wrong with us being in a normal family? We. Cannot. Shift. We are normal!” She immediately starts firing questions before she is all the way to me. It almost seems like her temper never left. I put my phone away. “Or is this about how you have to be oh-so-much better than me?”

“ENOUGH!” I yell to stop her. She has lost all control and I’m on the edge of losing mine. Anything further will only bring chaos.Regardless of my efforts to stop a fight from happening, nothing seems to stop her. She raises her fist, ready to punch me and takes a step forward.