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Travis coughed a bit before the upper half of his body rose from the bed. He looked down in the darkness, seeing himself as strange and unnatural. He had no idea how to get rid of it. Ever since the forceful transformation he underwent because of the demon, whenever he got too harshly emotional, he started turning into a creature that very few would ever have seen before, if any. It was an uncomfortable process. He went to sleep as his normal self which made him know that he changed during his nightmare. He quietly got up, knowing that the others were just in the other rooms. He got out of his bed, turning on a bathroom light in the bathroom in his room.
A rush of brightness filled his eyes which made him close his eyes quickly, backing away, feeling his back hit the wall behind him. He snorted and huffed out greatly from the disturbance and opened his blazing emerald eyes and adjusted. He looked into the mirror on top of the sink, seeing two glassy eyes of green stare back at him. His skin was darker, a pale shade of literal black, clashing with his hair. His head was heavy with large curling horns on each side of his head. He was hideous. He felt the weight of his tail, feeling scaley spines along his back being pressed down by his clothing. He felt larger, more firm, but he hated it. He felt rougher.
He knew he was hot from the sweating from his dream, which made him notice how panicked he was. He wanted to calm down now. It could take hours for it to happen. He could detransform slowly, but he wanted it to be within minutes for once. He at least needed this wretched reminder of Michael to be gone. He made a low growl in his throat at himself, flinching when he heard the animal-like noise that sounded deep and rumbling from his throat, echoing in his thoughts. He felt like an animal. He felt like Michael all too much. He stared at himself, reaching up to one of his horns, bothered by it.
He wanted to be normal again. He didn't want to be whatever this was, especially if it would freak someone out. He needed to focus on getting it away. He closed his eyes to breathe, trying to imagine it all going away, yet all he could manage was the eerie thoughts of his body slowly becoming unlike him. He grabbed his horn that roughly dug into his head like it was meant to be there. As if it has any right to taint his body with its destined evil.
Aaron opened his eyes to black, hearing a loud thud with his sharp ears. He turned his head over around his room, knowing it wasn't actually his and he was just staying here along with his friends. He didn't know what time it was, but he knew he wasn't supposed to be awake during this time. That wasn't normal. He got up, sniffing in the air while feeling a shift in the tone of the place. Everyone should be dead asleep, so whatever woke him up must be out of the ordinary.
He stood up, wondering if it was his business to get involved, but he remembered that his friends were all here, and everything they've done for him to save him already lay on him. He needed to make sure everyone was alright. He slowly shifted to the door, slowly running his hand down the halls, hearing a heavy breath. He smelled an unfamiliar scent of anguish. For how unfamiliar it was, he had the caution alerting him in his mind. It smelled of the one he (nor anyone) does not speak of. He knocked on the door he heard breathing coming from, listening to understand no one was going to answer it.
“Hello…? It is…well…Aaron. I hear someone up…” And he heard a response almost immediately. It was Travis, the one that stood by him in suffering. They had to experience it all together, being forced to fight each other in some weird battle. He had to see Travis' body stare down at the Ultima with intent to kill him. He'd never thought of him like that, at all.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Aaron, you should be resting. I just woke up.”
“I smell something off…please…let me in? I want to make sure you're okay.” He said, trying to be as honest as he allowed himself. He could feel the tension in the other's voice, which made him understand this wasn't the most amazing time. He heard the door open and the light suddenly shifted to a warm light that illuminated from some of the corner of his eye. It must've been a lamp, meaning Travis was doing something.
Aaron slowly stepped in, swaying his tail back and forth slowly as he went, carefully brushing past things that weren't really in the way. He heard Travis step back which made him turn his head to him, keeping his ears pointed out to hear the smallest movements.
Travis uncomfortably got on the bed, feeling exposed with this part of him even if it was just Aaron. He self consciously curled his tail in on his lap out of instinct. He was already getting used to the form which he was ashamed of. He should not be treating his features as if they were normal.
“Would you like it if I closed the door?” Aaron said softly, keeping quiet while he reached his hand to meet the door.
Travis nodded. “Yes…” he said, sounding the same even when he felt his vocal cords change drastically. The door shut quietly.
“Why are you up? I thought I heard a noise…” Aaron's real question was “are you okay?” But he could not ask that so straight up. He heard silence, which felt like Travis not knowing how to respond. Aaron took a step closer and heard Travis shift back, which made Aaron take another sniff before realizing what was happening to him. Aaron put his head down in understandment, understanding the smell of roughness now. He understood the change in air as well as the difference in breathing for Travis.
Travis saw his realization which made him grab the covers to his bed and push his legs close to himself, hiding the lower half of his body along with his tail, knowing it would make no difference though. “I…I can't change back… How do I change back?” He felt distressed, quickly asking the question when he realized he was able to. Aaron must understand the most of how he feels right now, which meant he may be able to help in some way.
Aaron did know how Travis felt right now. He wanted to assist him greatly, but he felt as if Travis deserved much more than a tutorial. Aaron inhaled an gave a deep breath. “We're both cursed souls, which means I could bring my eyes out to you. May I see?” He hadn't the complete idea of how Travis may look right now, though, if he brought out his ultima eyes to see, he may be able to help more with the full senses. He had never tried to do this on command, but he heard Travis give a soft inhale from the question, which entertained him more to do it.
“I don't…okay…” Travis trailed off, not wanting to stop him or say no to Aaron, but he came to an understanding when he realized that this was because Aaron wanted to help. Aaron would be the one with the one of the most vague ideas on how he'd look since he presently cannot see his body. It made him comfortable to be around, knowing Aaron could only guess the horrors of what he could become. There was a time when Aaron didn't need to guess, though, and that was something way big that he suppressed.
Aaron closed his eyes, knowing both of them will witness him trying to do it on command. Aaron stopped his breathing and focused on the suffocating he endured. He remembered the fight with his own friends during the transformation. He remembered how a muzzle felt on his face and how it felt to kill. He was a murderer. He is a cursed soul, damned to torture and death. He and Travis stood by each other in each other's suffering while they were controlled, knowing it was just them for a long while.
Travis saw bright red eyes with glints of pain and orange blend in with it, hearing Aaron's breathing grow rough immediately. Travis felt as if he was cowering beneath him from the fear of judgement, feeling his tail curl in with the clicking of spikes on it. His horns felt heavier, and he knew his eyes stuck out like the sore thumb they were. He faced down, seeing his long boney claws, knowing Aaron was seeing his grossed face. The lower fangs that stuck out of his mouth and curved over his upper lips were the worst. He turned his head down to hide behind his knee close to his chest.
Aaron saw the fear in Travis when he was shown to him. He could see how uncomfortable and troubled this form made him. Aaron stepped closer on the bed, studying the other underneath his eyes closely, understanding how he must feel right now.
“You cannot just ignore this each time it happens. It is a part of you that you wish it were dead. You can't let it control you.” Aaron told him, seeing Travis’s shoulders become less strained while he looked up at him. He was glad he was doing a good job at helping another already. Travis took a deep breath, looking confused when he stayed the same.
“It's not gonna be immediate. Let yourself calm down.” Aaron told him, seeing Travis slowly sit more proper in front of Aaron. “Accept that this won't define you as long as you don't let it. Please, Travis. Don't become like me.” The only reason he could see Travis’s green eyes glow a hope in them was because he was worked up right now. Travis sat up in front of him, looking tired.
“Thanks…why did you want to see me like this?” Travis asked, not going to be able to understand why Aaron would ever purposefully use his eyes just to see this damned body.
“To make sure YOU know it's not as bad as everyone will make it out to be.” Aaron didn't need eyes in use to know how much that hit Travis. Travis’s chest pushed down in a breath and he looked at Aaron with an emotional grasp with that realization. Travis jerked to give Aaron a hug, so Aaron pulled him in for one.
“Thank you…for understanding.” Travis thought that would be proper to say for the moment. He wrapped his arms around Aaron, wanting to feel close to the only one who could get this. Not even Katelyn could look at him right from what had happened. He felt like a monster, but Aaron was also a monster, which let him not feel incredibly alone.
Aaron's eyes faded away, feeling way too calm to keep his eyes when Travis was clinging onto him. He turned down his head to give him a soft smile, unaware if it was returned.
It was. Travis felt his head grow heavy so he let go to lean back to rest his neck from the heaviness in his horns. The pillow did it's best to accommodate his horns. Aaron didn't let go of the hug, feeling Travis move, unknowing he was trying to end the hug, which let him feel confused to why he felt Travis lay down when they were hugging. He realized quick enough to stop having his arms wrapped around him. Travis made a rumbling coo from Aaron's niceness and endearment. He didn't know of the demonic sound he made until he made it, hearing Aaron laugh.
“What was that?” Aaron asked, making Travis widen his eyes and remember what he did.
“Oh- uh…oops…” He looked down and felt Aaron's laughter die down. Travis was new to all of his features right now, making him feel frightened that he may do something accidentally that his body could do that he didn't know about. He really didn't trust himself like that?
“Can…I touch your horns?” He heard Aaron say and looked at him, unsure why he would ever ask that.
“You can touch my ears for it to be fair. I just…they seem cool.” Aaron told him bravely, making Travis calmly turn less panicked. His eyes wandered up to Aaron's giant ears and decided it may be a fair trade. His horns were found cool. A piece of his demon side was considered cool. That didn't feel like something someone would say to describe something as gross or disgusting.
“Sure…” Travis said, feeling Aaron raise a hand that gently brushed his fingers along his hair, feeling him find his way to his horn. Travis leaned tiredly into the hand that accidentally brushed him and felt his eyes grow heavy while he looked up at Aaron inspecting them. He felt a hand wrap around his horn. Travis told himself that this was okay, and nothing bad was going to happen from this, though he was frightened at first when he realized how easily Aaron could tug on them and cause a lot of pain. Aaron wouldn't do that, though. Travis sleepily raised a lazy hand and brushed the Ultima’s soft ear, breathing in how soft that was and feeling it again.
“Huh…how…sssoft…” Travis commented. Aaron flicked the other ear, feeling the tired man enjoy it. He felt a long the horn, realizing how tough and heavy these must be to carry around.
“Yup,” Aaron said, hearing that his distraction worked to make the other one tired with his slurred speech. He should be calling sleep soon.