Beneath My Exterior

An Abnormal Family ~Wren

I've barely made it two steps inside the cafe before a hand grips at my shoulder. I frown at first, the young waitress standing before me unrecognisable until I notice her glimmering purple eyes.

"The hell happened to you, Wren? Shouldn't you be in school?" My friend Kylie asks in concern, eyeing the stump that could never pass as a left hand anymore. I sigh to myself, rubbing my aching head.

"It's a long story." I grumble. "This guy at school turned out to be an exorcist and apparently he had a score to settle with me, so--"

"You're kidding! An exorcist?" Kylie hisses, her hand clenching around the drinks tray she's holding at her side. With a weary glance across the busy cafe, she leads me through the cobalt blue curtains into the kitchen, where Clint's trusty team of Nazaree chefs work.

"Hey, Warren." Rob, a red, smiles as he carefully ladles pig's blood into a row of glasses. "What're you doing home so early?"

I wave him off, shoving my disintegrated hand into my hoodie pockets. "It's nothing. Just felt sick."

Kylie groans, tapping her foot the way she always does when she's agitated. "The exorcist." She says, keeping her voice down. "What legion was he from?"

I roll my eyes. "Really, Ky? Blood Moon, I think it was. His name was Cole."

"Blood Moon?" She furrows her brow. "T-That doesn't make any sense, though. Shadow Heart had close ties with them, so when our forces were cursed, they should've been next..."

"He was a Nazaree, don't worry about that." I explain sheepishly. "Still had a silver dagger though... In fact, he kinda reacted exactly like you did when you started working here with me."

She winces at that, probably remembering the incident four years ago when she'd been accepted as a waitress at the cafe. One look at me, a demon, was all the exorcist instincts in her had needed to retaliate. Unfortunately for me, that involved her smashing the nearest wine glass and driving it clean through my chest. If I hadn't been able to repair the hole she'd made in my body with shadows, I would've been a goner.

"He carried his holy weapon... at school?" Kylie frowns. "That can't be legal."

"Yeah, but Seraphine seemed perfectly content with him having it." I lower my eyes, suddenly remembering exactly what my stepfather's witch had done with that dagger after she stopped it from destroying my heart. I choose not to share that information with my friend. "She prevented him doing any real damage, but wound up spraying me with water to get me out of the way. That's why my hand's all messed up... and my body's transparent."

"That's rough, Wren." She sighs, guilt tainting her expression. It's like her default emotion, ever since I came into her life and revealed what it was truly like to be an Animatroph. "And you can't grow your hand back?"

I shake my head. "As far as I know, this is the best body I can make until feeding day, since Seraphine disintegrated part of it. It's fine though. I'd feel bad asking for Clint's soul early..."

"Damn."

I scan over her most recent form as a purple; a thin blonde girl with a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare soul in that body of yours, would you?"

She offers me her trademark crooked smile. "This one's kinda hot, isn't she? But no. Wouldn't wanna jeopardize poor Ashley Cookson's modelling career by turning her into a corpse. I'll be keeping it nice and safe while I'm hijacking her body."

"You purples are way too overprotective." I sigh to myself, glancing over at the staircase behind the counter. I point my good thumb in that direction. "I think I'll go lie down then. Maybe some rest'll grow back my hand."