Adventures in Transformation

Langly sat at his desk scribbling away in a leather bound journal. His phone chimed and vibrated beside him with a notification. With a quick glance he stood and pocketed the phone. He popped his back and left his office into the quiet halls of the building. After hours the lights were still bright , but the absence of other people caused the halls to echo his footsteps in an otherworldly fashion. He reached the main door and pulled it open.

"It's not like it was locked." He said coolly.

The boy outside the door made a sour face, his hands jammed in the pockets of his hoodie. He was a beanpole of an early teen, pale and freckled, his ginger curls mashed under a black cadet cap. "Yeah, just stroll on in without invitation. I'm sure that would end well."

"The halls of the council are open to all MagicTouched, that still includes you."

"Yeah, well, I haven't felt very welcome since the whole un-death thing, so I'd rather not risk it."

Langly huffed. "Kevin, get your scrawny sorcerer arse in here. I'm on the council and I'm telling you, you are always welcome here."

Kevin blinked before putting his hands up, "Maybe don't do that. I don't think anyone would be happy if they found out you gave me an extended invitation-"

"They don't like it, fuck em." Langly said with a shrug as he turned back toward his office.

​

Kevin grimaced before hurrying behind him. A few long strides and he was at his heel, he looked around the halls as they walked.

"It's weird, this building is totally different from the one back home, but it kinda feels the same." His face fell as he noticed the gems by the doors glowing red as he walked by. "Second thought, setting off all these alarms is kind of ruining the nostalgia."

"You're too bloody young to be nostalgic. And yes, I remember how old you actually are." He snapped before Kevin could open his mouth to protest. "Twenty six is still young, call me when you're knocking on forty."

He stopped at the door to his office and ushered Kevin inside before shutting the door behind them. He pointed to a chair and Kevin sat on the edge of the seat obediently, hands on his knees, fingers drumming. He followed Langly with his eyes as he collected items from the shelves.

"Why'd you pick me for this anyway?"

"You were an obvious choice, you're MagicTouched and no matter how bad you fuck up you can't die from this."

"Wait, wait- people can die from this?"

"It's a dying art for a reason. My master's other student turned herself inside out. Of course this will be a much easier transition, it's not like you'll be turning into a bloody bird."

Kevin's eye twitched. "Being totally honest, I've only been a vampire about a decade- I'm not super sure how sturdy I am at this point-"

"Oh calm down, it's not the most pleasant process in the world, but humanoid to humanoid is the safest bloody shift out there."

"So, it's like a pill, right? A capsule you just sorta keep in your mouth?"

"That's what I use, yeah, but I'm human. I was worried about you accidentally swallowing it and being sick."

"I didn't think about that... So, what am I going to use?"

Langly held up a small bottle filled with what looked like rust brown grains of rice. "I concentrated the formula and compressed them into something more manageable for sub-dermal implantation." He watched as Kevin's expression went from nervous curiosity to one of uneasy confusion. "It's a bloody shot." He grumbled holding up a syringe. Kevin jumped to his feet so fast that chair flew backwards with a screech. Langly scowled. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Are you?! That's a big freakin' needle! I'd like to see you use that!"

He sighed and rolled up his sleeve revealing three spots of varying redness on his upper arm. "I did, three times. I did make sure it was a feasible concept before testing it on you. I got a longer lasting shift with this method, but being a vampire your reaction could be wildly different. Your body may well reject it like a dhampir or metabolize it at an accelerated rate. There's only one way to find out and it only stings a little. In all honesty if you can't take a little prick this isn't a school of magic you want to dabble in. I can find someone else to send-"

"No, no, I'll still do it. Just, like, take it easy... okay?" Kevin said sheepishly before collecting the chair from the floor. He sat down looking extra pale as Langly pulled up a chair of his own. He prepped the syringe as Kevin pulled off his hoodie and rolled up his sleeve.

Langly took hold of his arm and paused. "Fuck'n'ell, you're like fuckin' ice."

"Undead, remember?"

"Undead and underfed, when was the last time you ate?"

"Few nights ago."

"I don't believe that."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "It's true! I was just a bit conservative, the lady I picked had four kids. She was a super easy mark, but I kinda felt bad, like she had to be exhausted already."

"Maybe that's a sign to quit preying on mums."

"I can't help that moms love me. I'm adorable and they want to help me, it's super easy to get them alone- and man I really hate the way that sounds out loud..."

"You aren't hurting anyone, as long as you don't keep skimping there's nothing wrong with your preference. Just remember, hungry vampires make mistakes." He frowned then and looked towards the door, "shit, I thought the building was empty..."

Kevin whipped his head around wide eyed, "I didn't hear anybody-" He slowly looked back to see the needle in his arm and Langly giving him a smirk. "Ow."

Langly withdrew the needle and pressed his thumb over the wound using his other hand to toss the syringe over to his desk before starting the timer on his phone. "Now, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Kevin gave him an over-exaggerated glare in return. "You do know I could snap your neck like a twig if I wanted to, right?"

"Yeah, but you won't. I've pissed off far bigger and scarier things than you, pumpkin." he said in a cheeky tone before giving Kevin's nose a quick boop.

"Somehow I don't doubt that." He looked back at his arm. "Um, what is this supposed to feel like?" He clenched his teeth. "Cause this shit is really starting to burn."

Langly moved his thumb away, but the implant was still in place, no signs of rejection. That was when he noticed the freckles starting to vanish from his skin one after another. He looked up to see the brown of his irises contracting leaving china blue behind. Kevin yanked out of Langly's grasp with a pained yelp grabbing at his face as his previously perfect smile shifted in his gums. His bottom teeth derailing into an overcrowded mess as one of his top canines was push up and over his other teeth. The curls of his hair fell straight and faded to a pale blonde and began to shrinking closer to his scalp. he fell to the floor writhing as his bones popped and cracked loudly. Suddenly it was over. Kevin panted into the carpet, he felt sore and raw, but nothing near what it had just been. Trembling he pushed himself up, no easy feat. The room seemed much darker than it had been before, more muted, certainly less defined. He rocked to his knees and heard a very soft thump. He looked down to see his ring on the floor. He picked it up and attempted to slide it back on, but it was now clearly too large for his finger... except that didn't look like his finger or hand at all. He turned his bands back and forth before rubbing them together. They were warm and rough, calloused in a few places , nails worn short. He reached up and touched his face. The skin wasn't as soft as he was used to and with a little pressure he could feel the prick of hairs just underneath. He moved his hands up and ran his fingers through his hair. finer, less course, it felt nice, especially where is was cut shorter, like at the back of his neck. He smiled as he patted it.

" A bloody improvement if you ask me." Langly said looking over his near mirror image still kneeling on the floor.

Kevin stopped playing with his hair , his cheeks a bit redder, and tried to stand straight up, but had to catch himself and grab hold to the chair to get up properly. His back and knees protested as he got his bearings. "You need a chiropractor or something, dude. How do you live like this?"

"Daily." He answered dryly. "Appreciate the experience, mate, it's the only way you'll see middle age."

He wobbled as his feet shifted easily inside his shoes. He laughed. "You've got little baby feet."

"I feel this a brilliant time to remind you of your current mortality." He smirked at Kevin's wide eyed expression. "I told you this art wasn't some too bit bloody glamour. Every cell in your body has been transformed into an exact copy of mine at the point I took the sample. I wouldn't try anything too risky until we see exactly how long this lasts, but once the kinks are worked out you can enjoy a little taste of humanity whenever you want. Watch the sunrise, sing a hymn, your choice. Now let me get you clothes that actually fit, before you trip and crack your bloody skull."

Kevin's face brightened with a realization as Langly turned away from him to search a nearby cabinet. He hurried around the desk and pulled open the first drawer, pens, pencils, a few papers. He checked a few of the smaller one until finally pulling open the largest at the bottom. One could practically hear the chorus of angels singing in his head at what he was seeing.

Langly balanced the folded clothes on one arm as he shut the cabinet door. "Once you get changed we should test how well you can pass for me-" His mouth fell ajar as he turned to find Kevin crouched over his open desk drawer, a bitten candy bar in each hand, cheeks crammed full with chocolate like some sort of goblin. "Fuck'en'ell . You do bloody realize there isn't a chance in hell that you'll be human long enough to digest that."

Kevin glanced down at the candy in his hands, swallowed hard, and shrugged.

Langly sighed , "I'm having some second thoughts about this plan."

"I'm not." Kevin slurred around another mouth full.

Submitted October 16, 2019 at 11:44PM by Thedaspokesman https://ift.tt/2BdYWBN