#fluffember 2020

“Ah, well I can certainly do that! Now, hold still...” Eversong shut his eyes, not accustomed to the pandorian’s magic and let Ydris do his work. He felt his body change, not painfully but it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Before too long the newly made human wobbled on his two legs before falling to the grass. Ydris held out a hand, lifting Eversong up onto his still weak knees.

“I took the liberty of making sure you had clothes, I don’t think anyone wants the image of your body burned into their minds.” Eversong snorted, managing to copy the grin spread across the magician’s face and nodded. He let Ydris lead him inside, his new form earning him a collection of shocked reactions and questions he couldn’t answer. Thankfully Ydris shushed them and led the transformed Eversong back to Az’s room.

At the sound of the door creaking open Azalea slowly opened her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as she took in the two figures in the doorway. Surprise and shock was quickly washed away as her connection confirmed it was indeed Eversong standing before her. Az moved to get up, making it to a sitting position before her soulmate stumbled forward to hug her. He fell to his knees, still unaccustomed to the two legged form but instinctively held her close. Azalea wrapped her arms back around him, hugging him tightly as tears pricked at her eyes. She buried her face against his thick neck, finding he smelled like home despite Ydris’ clothes.

The magician smirked as he watched the two struggle to get Eversong comfortably on her bed. Once they were fine however he gently shut the door, leaving them be while he returned to the rest of the group. Az curled up against Eversong’s new body, one hand moving to cup his face.

“I don’t know what I thought you were going to look like but I can’t imagine you any other way now.” She grinned, laughing softly as Eversong returned it with his tongue sticking out playfully. “I’m guessing you can’t really talk yet though, but that’s fine. I don’t mind...” she nuzzled against him, tucking her head under his chin as he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad you did this...” she murmured softly followed by a yawn. “I wish I had thought of it sooner...” She felt Eversong nodding and grinned a little. “Thank you…” she mumbled into his chest as sleep swept her away again.

Ydris returned to the main room to a collection of confused and curious faces. “Eversong desired being closer to Azalea, I simply assisted him in that.” He shrugged as he found a place to sit down amongst the others. 

Rebecca glanced over at the hallway leading to the bedrooms before scooting over to the pandorian. “Is she doing better?” She asked softly, concern etched across her features.

He hummed softly and nodded. “I believe she is doing far better with him in there now.” A small smile graced his lips but he knew they were all still worried, even him. Especially him. While he lacked the memory of the experience, out of all of them Ydris knew what it was like to come out of the druid’s mental tinkering. Az had been quiet about what she experienced so far but it certainly seemed like she had been tortured instead of mind wiped. He was grateful she had left in one piece, even if it was a further scarred piece. His lips curled into a frown as he fretted over the dragoness.

“Ydris!” Rebecca’s voice cut through his thoughts and he blinked as he realized she had been trying to get his attention.

“Yes my goddess?” He asked, gaze returning her as she let go of his arm and sat back.

“Does Eversong even know how to be a human? Are you sure this was a good idea?” She glanced nervously back towards the room, the others looking up from where they had returned to their own tasks. Scott’s brows rose but he held his tongue. “I mean I know you don’t remember when you transformed Midnight and I but he did struggle initially with getting the hang of being human. I’m doubtful Eversong’s any better at it and he’s just a normal horse from what Az has told me. He’s never been turned human...”

Ydris hummed softly in thought, to be honest he rarely did think these things through which often lead to Rebecca giving him a long talk afterwards. “Az has admitted they share a… connection yes? Perhaps they can share knowledge through that?”

Rebecca gave him a suspicious look before relaxing back into the couch. “Maybe, she did make it sound rather similar to what I share with Midnight after all...” She paused a moment before poking Ydris in the arm. “You’re sticking around here until he’s turned back to normal. I don’t want Az panicking over him because neither you or Eversong thought this through.”

“Indeed flame, but I can adjust my tastes as need be.” Ydris shrugged and picked up one of the spare poles, putting more marshmallows on. “But yes, it is certainly a mixture of sweet and spicy. I believe… you would consider this closest to perhaps cinnamon?” He squished one of the fresh marshmallows as he spoke, smiling at the soft treat before roasting it over the open campfire infused with Az’s natural magic.

“Cinnamon huh… cuz I definitely didn’t taste that, it seemed totally normal to me.” Az carefully twirled the hot dogs over the fire as she spoke, trying to roast them evenly. “Can you make it so I can taste that?”

The magician paused, looking curiously over at his friend before tapping his chin and letting the stick float on its own over the fire. “In theory yes… it would involve making it so you have a pandorian tongue which may feel strange initially but you would be able to taste magic.”

“Didn’t you say it seems like Connie and some others can taste magic? Why a pandorian one?” Az leaned forward, lifting her hot dogs off the fire momentarily.

“Ah well I’m not certain exactly how they can to tell the truth.” Ydris simply shrugged. “I know how our tongues work and I know how I could give one to you. Now the question is, would you like to try it?” He grinned a bit too wide, she knew it was probably a bad idea but so far Ydris’ transformations hadn’t been problematic… yet. 

Az thought it over a bit, figuring at worst she’d probably be able to tease the spell apart by now if it came down to it. “Yeah let’s do it.” She grinned, excited to taste things like Ydris could.

The magician’s grin increased twofold and he clapped his hands together. “Magnifique! Now simply hold still, stick your tongue out and go ahhh for me please.” Az did as instructed, shutting her eyes as he worked his magic. It certainly felt weird and for a moment her tongue felt heavy and huge before it seemed Ydris adjusted. “There we are, now try this...” Az opened her eyes to see one of the marshmallows floating over to her. “You should be able to taste what I can.”

Az couldn’t help but smile at the sight of how excited the pandorian looked. Gingerly she took the marshmallow between her fingers and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes went wide and she gasped a little before finishing and swallowing. “Ahhh you weren’t kidding about that cinnamon!” She fanned her mouth as she looked for a bottle of water they’d brought out and gulped it down. Ydris simply chuckled and put more treats going.

“I suppose now would be appropriate to see how it tastes as a s’more hm?” He grinned and produced the box of graham crackers and chocolate they had brought out with them. Az nodded and set aside her hotdogs in favor of a slightly spicy s’more. It was as they pair were nibbling away at them that Rebecca and Connie returned to the bangalow and found them roasting food outside.

“You guys are having a party and you didn’t invite us? How could you?” Rebecca set a hand on her chest, faking offense before breaking into a grin. “Ooooh s’mores and hotdogs, nice!” She quickly worked to untack Midnight and let him join the other horses before settling in with Connie at the fire.

“Yeah you both should try this...” Az grinned mischievously, Ydris mirroring her as he floated over a pair of s’mores to them each. They watched as first they noticed the sweet and then Rebecca’s face shifted and looked confused. However Connie’s reaction was even better as his brows furrowed and he looked completely taken off guard.

“Why did you put so much cinnamon in a smore?” He tilted his head, looking at the remainder of the somewhat sweet treat. “These… these aren’t even cinnamon marshmallows, is it in the chocolate?”

Just as he had promised he had popped in and checked it out and there wasn’t a single sign of the musician or her blue and white horse. Carl Peterson and Josh had been roaming about but only Lisa made Az as jumpy as she was. Speak of which she couldn’t help but flinch when she felt a hand suddenly rest gently on her leg. Looking over she saw Scott’s worried expression as he tried to give her a reassuring smile. Under it she could easily see his poorly masked concern and she did her best to return the kind expression.

“I’ll be fine, just… nervous.” She chuckled softly and patted her friend’s hand. “Thanks again for coming with me.”

“Hey it’s no problem, you and Josh are some of the few friends I have that are into western, it’s the least I can do.” Scott managed to laugh with her and for a moment she felt her worries wash away. The pair rode over to where the Oklahoma cowboy was standing with his mare by the new riding arena. “Hey Josh!” Scott called out, waving as they approached and the blonde young man turned around.

“Oh howdy! I take it this is Az?” He grinned and waved back. “Scott’s talked my ears off about your riding skill.” He added once the pair were close enough.

Az couldn’t stop the big grin that played across her lips. She wished she hadn’t waited so long to talk to the fellow cowboy. Josh was so much like the version of him she once knew and she forgot how much she missed him. “Yeah, I hear you got a bunch of new western games set up here?” Az and Eversong stopped near the fence and looked out over the arena where a few riders were practicing barrel racing. “Been wanting to stop by and try them out I gotta say.”

Josh nodded and jabbed a thumb towards the riders. “Yeah we got the standard three barrels, some pole bending and I’ve been cooking up some Jorvik originals.”

“Oh well do ya mind if we try them out? I’ve been aching for something new and honestly running the same setup at home over and over gets pretty dull.”

“Sure! Feel free to try and break my record but I promise ya it won’t be easy.” Josh smiled so warmly it made Az feel at home. She soon lost herself in the western events, finding even Eversong was managing to enjoy the challenge despite competitive racing not being his thing.

“You’re a good person.” Somehow the cowboy managed a smile that made her heart go into overdrive and melt all at the same time. She felt every last wall remaining crumble as he spoke. “You’re kind, caring, dedicated.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “You’re a good friend, you’re so good at everything you do. You put your all into everything you do even your shows, big or small you throw your entire self into it. You care so much more deeply than I ever felt I could. Az you and Rebecca make me feel like I can achieve that someday too.” He gently pulled her into a hug and held her as she broke down into further sobbing against his shoulder.

Az clutched at him like her life depended on it, fists clenched against his back as she clinged to his shirt. So many new waves of emotions washed over her as her mind reeled.

“How?” She croaked out once the tears began to finally subside and she could breathe again.

“Hmm?” Scott tried to turn his head but she still hid her face from him. “How? I mean… you’re not who you used to be. You’ve changed. I wasn’t happy with who I used to be either but I’ve changed too. We’re allowed to move on and become better.” He rubbed at her back, wanting to comfort her as he felt more tears falling against his shoulder.

She rasped and heaved as her emotions and feelings flew into a confusing tornado within her. Az could barely grasp what he was saying but his words rang true the longer she took in deep breaths and contemplated. Finally the tears stopped and she was no longer heaving. Slowly she pulled back and returned to holding Scott’s hands. They were coarse and a bit bigger than her own but comforting and strong. She finally met his eyes and the way he smiled at her made something twist within her, a feeling she hadn’t had since before she had arrived in his world.

Scott’s brows rose, Az almost never talked about her old family. “Oh? Would you… would ya wanna do that? We got plenty of pillows sitting around...” He glanced at the other furniture, ready for the plucking to make into a fort.

“Would you be up for it?” The redhead glanced hopefully up at him, the tiniest smile on her lips. Scott couldn’t say no at the first smile she’d cracked since he’d cuddled up with her on the couch.

“Absolutely.” He returned the smile and let her sit up before moving to stand with her. Slowly they tugged all the cushions off the couches, stole pillows from the other rooms and built a sizable fort for two.

The sun had long since set when the two had finally settled into the center of their pillow nest with a big bowl of popcorn and watched videos on Az’s phone of animals. They giggled and almost didn’t notice the sound of a key in the lock and the door opening before clicking closed. Az put her finger to her lips and pulled back the sheet that acted as their curtain.

She almost yelped when she found Ydris smiling on the other side, leaning far down to look in at them.

“Salut mes amours, what do we have here?” Ydris’ smile was easy as always and Az found it contagious. The pillow fort inhabitants glanced between each other before Az grabbed Ydris by the collar of his shirt and tugged him in. The lanky magician tumbled inside and found himself curled up between them. “Isn’t this a bit… small for three?” He grinned and snapped his fingers. Before Az could say anything she found the fort had enlarged and the three of them sat on a massive plush surface.