Shady Hybrids AU

BOOK 5 CH 3: Second Curse's A Charm

Oh god. Oh god. That has no right to be so terrifying.

I hear the door swing open with a creek and whip around. Cold, biting air blows into the room, I know because I immediately start shivering.

Cupquake is standing there, hovering in the air. We stare at each other for a second. She silently moves up to me and makes a sympathetic face. Despite the fact it's clear she's trying to ask me a question, not a word comes out of her mouth. I hope it's not because she's scared of me.

"Uhm...Cupquake?"
"Heya, BigB."
"...Is everything okay?"
"Oh? Uhm, yes." Oh, she's definitely scared of me.
"Just spit it out, what's the matter?"

She gulps.

"Are you feeling alright? Tiffany heard you yelling nonsense last night, and when we found you, well..you know."
I decide to be honest for once. "Uhh...I'm really, really confused. And a bit scared."
"Yeah, understandable. I was kinda scared too." She nods. "You're a spider now, BigB."
"...Well, that makes sense." I chuckle a bit. "That's why my blood's silver. And the whole eight eyes thing."
"I think the eight eye thing is the most..striking out of all of them." Ouch. "But you can adjust, right..?"

"I can try." I vaguely remember earlier on, when we were talking. "James was right, I was affected. I thought it was just residue from Last Life."

"Oh yeah, we all thought so. You weren't the best at denying it."
"Maybe."
Tiffany and I exit the room we were in and walk up some stairs. On the top floor, it's even brighter, with sunlight streaming through the windows, rays dancing on the wooden floor.
It's so unbearably bright that I have to squint and cover my face.

Squinting, I can still see Justin hiding in the corner, away from the light. He's hanging from a railing on the ceiling. He almost looks like a bat.
"Justin, what are you doing?" Tiff asks, chuckling.

"Avoiding the sun. I forgot to bring a fire resistance potion. Again." He sounds quite annoyed about that.

"You should probably start remembering." I comment.
"I'm getting old, I forget things." Justin responds. "And it's just easier to avoid the sun. Even if I'm just under the sun, I still feel uncomfortable."
"I thought you said it was alright with the potion?" Tiff questions again.
"It's fine, I can stand it if I go outside! Better than being burned alive. Just when I'm inside it's easier to just avoid it."

"I thought the rays of the sun didn't affect you unless you were actually outside."
"You thought wrong."
"And it's easier to...hang off a railing?" I add, teasing slightly.
"Yeah." He responds, deadpan.

"..Right."
"You might have to get used to it too, BigB. You're a night mob as well."
"I..think spiders can survive in the sun."
"I sure hope so, or you're gonna have to start taking fire resistance potions wherever."
"Yeah, yeah, sure." I'm tired of Justin's rambling, honestly. I mainly just want some time to myself.

We remain awkwardly silent for a bit. Until I eventually start backing to the door. But apparently I can't do that, because I start getting dizzy again and grab on a chair so I don't fall to the floor. I fall with a WHAM anyway.

"You alright, BigB?" Tiff flies over to me, holding out a feathered hand to help me up. I take it, as she pulls me with the most force she can muster.

"Yeah, just...dizzy." I fumble out, trying to shake off the swirls in my head.

"That might just be because of the new...new weight in your head, with the new eyeballs and all." Justin suggests.

"My head doesn't feel heavy, though. It's mainly my vision. It feels wrong." I reply.
"Because you have eight eyes." Oh, right. "Tiff, do you have any cloth or something?" What?