The drive was exactly as awful as Kyle had expected. They stopped only once, and when the truck opened the sun was only beginning to rise. They had a few minutes and almost no privacy to relieve themselves without a trace of dignity, then it was right back up the steps onto the truck. Fay didn’t blast them with magic and tear the truck to pieces, but she did cry almost constantly after their stop, with only a brief respite while she ate.
There was no privacy for that either, though at least having her sister living with her had given Kyle some time to mentally prepare for that to happen. It wasn’t like the process was unpleasant for her by now—the residue displeasure faded as it became more routine. The protest of her memory was always fainter than the relief of no longer feeling a pressure she couldn’t resolve, along with the general warmth that came from being in the baby’s immediate presence. She’d have called it brainwashing if she hadn’t used her laptop to browse a few “mommy blogs” when she should’ve been doing her homeschool work.
“And all this only happened because the baby didn’t want to drink regular milk?” Kara said, from atop her third fortress of pillows and blankets. Now that they were awake there was little they could do to kill the time. “Do you think Mom and Dad would’ve let you keep her if she did? I know tons of people with farm animals.”
Even if she hadn’t changed me, she never would’ve let us keep her in the stable. Even considering that physically hurt, as she imagined Fay’s terrified cries in the dark, surrounded by rusty metal and spiders. “No point thinking about what didn’t happen,” she said flatly. “I did plenty of that in school, instead of actually accomplishing anything.”
Kara shrugged. “Fair, I guess. Something else, then—have you told your magical friend about me yet?”
Kyle hit herself weakly with one hoof, wincing. “No. That’s… I probably should’ve.”
“Obviously. It isn’t like we’re bothering to keep any information from them anyway. But you and the baby have your magic, right? Maybe there’s something I can do too. For all we know, I’ve been able to change us back this whole time and just didn’t know how.”
That seemed very much like wishful thinking to Kyle, but she didn’t bother saying so. Just like arguing things that didn’t exist, trying to fight optimism with realism was another way to keep her from actually making progress. “I’ll send another message as soon as we get the internet.”
She glanced down at her phone, lifting it into the air. Flitting on the edge of exhaustion, she could barely lift it. But she only needed to touch it with her snout for the screen to come on and show her that there still wasn’t any service. “I should’ve brought it out with us on that bathroom break.”
“No point.” Kara slumped back into her pile of cushions. “Life is on hold until we fix that. Nobody to call. No friends to see, no games, no class, nothing but baby and—”
“Magic,” Kyle interrupted. “I’m not saying it’s worth-it, but… how many people do you think get to learn this stuff?”
“Not me,” Kara hummed. “Keep bragging, bro. I’m not sure I’d trade levitation for having a baby I need to feed. You go for it if you’re into that, I guess…”
Like she had a choice.
The rest of the trip went much like that, with Kara alternating between anger and disappointment at their lives left behind, Fay crying, and Kyle herself barely conscious with exhaustion.
At least they had the heater to keep the truck reasonably warm, and the blankets to rest on. Whenever she accidentally touched the bare metal of the trailer, it sucked the heat from her like a gardening tool left out in the snow.
She probably dozed, because at some point she looked up from the pillows and found Kara building a pillow fortress around a giggling Fay. She wasn’t even up long enough to express her gratitude before she faded again.
Then they stopped, and the doors banged open. Fay had given up on crying, though with the sunlight she briefly lurched for the exit—until the movers appeared in the opening. She stopped dead, staring in their direction before darting back towards Kyle. She caught her in her wings, shielding her from the strangers as they began working.
Behind them was an industrial-looking wall. Even if she’d been young the last time she saw Grandpa’s house, she remembered enough to know it wasn’t made of metal crudely painted the same green as the evergreens visible off to one side.
She wanted to investigate whatever was out there, but… some part of her didn’t want to get close to these strangers either. Instead she waited, until the last of the bags were removed and she could finally make her way to the exit without resistance.
She moved Fay to her back, and the foal didn’t fight her. After the misery of their trip, she probably just didn’t have the energy.
As Kyle neared the end of the trailer, she felt the chill of freezing air on her skin, slowing her and making her shiver. Kara didn’t even seem to notice, and she squeezed past her to peek outside. There was barely enough room for both of them to stand abreast in the truck.
She stopped at the edge of the trailer, taking her first good look around. A square structure like an old bunker rose a single story from the rocky soil of a mountainous cliff. Behind it, an oversized wind-turbine painted green and brown whistled as the wind passed unevenly through its blades. The truck parked at the end of a gravel path, though even the gravel was greenish. This place is probably invisible from the air. The truck didn’t give her a good enough view of the bunker’s low roof, but she guessed it probably matched the surrounding rock.
The only thing Kyle couldn’t see were her parents. Oh shit.
The nearest doors were open, polished steel on the inside even if they were matte on the outside. That was where their luggage had gone.
A shadowy figure appeared from the gloom there, taking shape as he emerged. Tall and thin, with white hair and the jacket of his suit under one arm.
Grandpa looked exactly the way Kyle remembered him, without so much as an extra wrinkle on his face. He didn’t actually join them in the pale arctic sunlight, but only went as far as the bunker’s exit. “It’s delightful to see the two of you again, Kyle and Kara. Welcome to the Lodge.”
Wow, the name was not ominous or anything.
when your grandfather is secretly a evil genius in a bond movie
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The parallels with this Borderlands 3 scene are striking
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I was gonna say...
Maybe we are just jumping to conclusions... Maybe he isn't a selfish, morally dubious asshole. It's possible, right?
Well, this can't be good. I get the feeling that cell service will be the least of the twins' concerns...
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It's never a good sign when you can hear someone pronounce a capital letter.
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As long as the stay the the Lodge doesn't involve anything Lodged anywhere questionable, things will be ever so slightly more amicable. Oh who am I kidding? Humans are the anal probing aliens in this case.
On the one hoof, their parents being diverted to another location is very ominous. On the other, their mysterious grandfather being there to greet them personally isn't worst-case scenario. Yet.
It's probably a bit late to get any more help from Monday. I doubt they'll be getting any Internet or cell service in that mountain bolthole.
Oh great...
Totally trust this old coot.
gotta trust flurry heart on this, this doesn't seem to be totally legit.
...Please tell me he isn’t a Vampire.
Why do I het a bad feeling about this?
Yeah...no. This ain’t ending well
Well, here we go.
I don't like him
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I am reminded of The Lighthouse from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This won't go well for the three of them... Maybe the grandfather will get shot next. Please shoot him next.
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Maybe Flurry wants a playmate. Hehehe.
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Or a dad? *shrug*
Place your bets, folks! Mafioso? Vampire? One of the Invisible Masters themselves? Or the most terrifying of them all: your run-of-the-mill greedy, heartless, rich old man?!
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Honestly, every time Kara complains, I want to remind her that she could have been changed when Flurry was pining for that, instead of for, say, a crystal guardspony protector to deal with the irritating flunky.
And so it begins...
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Truth. Kyle changed genders— would've been Kara's turn.
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That would've been amusing
Ok, so Grandpa has some kind of preper’s bunker. Yeah, I’m sure everything’s going to be fine.
I am thinking Silver Twilight Lodge or something such. Who knew some great old ones could be cute and fluffy and only demand cookies in return of power?
Edit:
In my mind these people seem too competent and rational to act against the interests of Fey. Any sane person can spot that this is indeed a baby and that it is only likely that somewhere there is a mommy. One thing which might be true though that what is good for our Equine heroine in long-term might not be what they want or aim at in this moment of time.
Masons in their natural habitat.
Okay, so we know that this mysterious grandpa has ridiculous amounts of money, a team of doctors on demand, a hidden bunker complex in the wilderness, and an active interest in what's going on with his grandkids slash magical creatures. What we don't know is anything about what he actually wants or is trying to achieve out of this mess. The next chapter should creatively be revelatory.
Gonna try and call it now - I bet Grandfather is Monday. At least, that'd be an interesting twist.
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I know this conversation is a few months old, but as the story is still in progress, I'd like to pipe in that as a trans woman, it makes me uncomfortable to see Kyle constantly referred to by she/her pronouns despite identifying male. If he still considers himself a man, he's still a man, plain and simple.
It's also a little more confusing to see the she/her pronouns, honestly. I keep forgetting he considers himself male because the narrative keeps misgendering him. The reader way less likely to forget his body changed no matter how you refer to him since that's the entire premise of the story.
If this experience leads him to realize he was trans all along, that's another thing, but there seems to be no indication of that.
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I would find it more confusing if the pronouns were still male. So... Why is your confusion more important than mine?
I ug the cliffhanger!!
Horrible place for a page break with so little new info.
That said there’s way to many possibilities atm. Government good/bad guy. Rich in the know. A hidden master. Combinations of the above and more I’ve not listed.
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I never claimed my opinion was more important than anyone else's. All I did was share my opinion.
Pillow forts for everyone.
Oh great their grandaddy is an evil sorcerer. Right into the lion's den!
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For what it's worth, Inky, I'm also trans and think I've seen those signs.
Even before they changed, Kyle had deep envy for their sister and has expressed pain for the differences they'd had since freshman year. I don't think it's just hormones rewiring their brain, either - they seem increasingly at home in ways a cisperson probably wouldn't be.
I may be wrong, of course, but my hope is that Kyle just hasn't been willing to really go through that introspection yet.
I certainly hope they turn out to be trans.
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possible? yes.
Likely? no.
Why does this introduction feel less like a family reunion and more like a villain intro?
Hmm. Staying out of the sunlight. Yea, my bet's on "vampire".