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Vee clutched her hands in front of her. The silence of the night air made the pounding of her heart seem deafening as she waited in front of the door to the house her closest friend lived in.
Her closest friend. Dahlia. She wore black dresses with white ribbons, kept her hair cut short, had the most adorable smile with a gap tooth in the center... and had an interest in the supernatural. Vee knew from previous visits that she kept plenty of tarot decks, had named various gemstones that she kept clean and held a general respect for all things fantastical. Honestly, she would've been the best first choice, even if she wasn't Vee's closest friend.
Today, she was going to reveal another part of herself to her. Today, she was going to reveal that she was a Basilisk.
She had told her friends about her real name last week, and they had taken it rather well! They were glad to drop using Luz's name in exchange for her real name, something that made warmth bubble up in her chest whenever she thought about it. They were glad that Vee seemed to be opening up more, and Vee was delighted her friends accepted her for who she really was.
Everyone in the group deserved to know about her basilisk form, of course, but something in her told her to be cautious about it. This was more serious than revealing her true name. She was revealing that she was actually a human-sized reptile that ate magic, and Vee knew that would be harder to digest.
Vee lifted up her hand to knock again when the door opened, and she shot it back down to clasp with her other hand again. Dahlia's grin got even wider when she saw who was on the other side of her door, and she reached forward to grab Vee's hand. Vee couldn't fight her instinct to smile back. "Hey, girl! Wasn't expecting a visit, but I'm always glad to see you."
With that, Vee was pulled inside the barely lit house and the door shut behind her. Dahlia didn't let go of her hand. Something about that sent tingles down her arm and spine, so she slipped out of it. Dahlia simply laughed, turning around to face Vee fully. "So, something up, or did you just wanna hang out?"
Vee began clutching her hands together again. "I did want to talk to you about something, actually..."
Dahlia's smile fell, replaced by an intense stare. She said nothing, though, leaving Vee to come up with words.
Vee looked away, heart pounding. "You know how I told you my name was Vee last week?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, that's... not the only thing I've been hiding from you guys. I’ve kept this secret for so long, but the more we got along, the more I felt I needed to share this with you, and I got scared because if I told you the truth... " Vee paused, and took a deep breath before continuing, "What if you didn’t react well? What if after you saw me for what I truly was, you would stay away from me and everything we’ve been through together would be for nothi-"
Dahlia placed a hand on Vee's arm. Vee's voice broke, and she glanced up to the other girl. Dahlia smiled again. "Don't worry. Whatever secret you have, that can't break what we've got." She took her hand off of Vee, holding up seven fingers and placing her hands on her forehead. "We're cabinmates, girl! That's a bond that lasts a lifetime."
Vee stared at Dahlia for a brief moment as she did their cabin handshake, before she mirrored it herself. She giggled, and Dahlia laughed with her. "I guess you're right! Well..." Vee lowered her hands, then breathed in. She clutched her hands together again. Camila told her to just go for it.
Here it goes.
The tingling from her transformation kicked in, and Vee let it wash over her as her form went from the Luz-like appearance to her natural Basilisk appearance. She made sure to keep her jacket on, though, to at least keep some part of her appearance the same. She glanced up from the ground after she was done, brushing her claws together.
The look in Dahlia's eyes was not what she was expecting. Instead of... fear? Deranged fascination? It was just... awe.
"Whoa." Dahlia breathed. "So you're a shapeshifter!" Dahlia brown eyes seemed to shine. "This form is really cute, by the way." She reached a hand forward, then paused. "Is it... okay if I touch your skin?"
Vee blinked— it was always weird switching back to sideways blinking from her human form's blinking— then looked down at her arm. "I... guess you can." She held out her arm for Dahlia to take.
Dahlia took the arm in her hands, brushing over the scales slowly and carefully. Her eyes still seemed fascinated with every second that passed. Her thumb brushed over the back of Vee's hand, and Vee's heart shuddered. Her ears pressed against her head.
Dahlia glanced up to Vee's face, and slowly took her hands off of Vee's arm. "I'm happy you told me." Her grin returned. "Do you have, like, an inbetween form?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah..." She had plenty of magic, and still a few magic cards left at home. Vee could do this. She focused, letting her human form come back, but only partially. The scale patches on her face and body, her basilisk ears instead of human ears, and her natural eyes were the most noticeable features on her half shifted forms.
For some reason, Dahlia's attention was making Vee a bit more nervous. "How's it look?"
"Adorable!" Dahlia replied, a bit louder than intended. She winced at her own voice, then leaned forward to place a hand on Vee's shoulder. The contact made Vee's heart skip a beat. "Listen, Vee. I just know the others are gonna love the real you, too. And if they don't..." Dahlia lifted up a very skinny arm. "I'll beat them up."
Vee stared at the arm, then back to her friend's grinning face. "You're skinnier than I am."
"You get my point, Vee!"