"Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." – Sherlock Holmes

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Of Impulse and Fey

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"So, tell me this again really slowly," I said steepling my fingers together as I sat on my bed. Natsuki huffed in annoyance, but complied.

"I come from a different planet in the Otome system very far from here. Our people had heard of this mainly aqua planet from our cousins, the Amazons. No, they were not merely a mythological race," she quickly commented at my look of incredulity. "My kind was a proud warrior race, just like them, of what you know as "shape shifters". We actually shift into our "Children", which is a complicated version of our ancestors who choose us specifically to carry their abilities on. My child is called Duran, the ancestor of ice.

Though we were a planet of warriors, we were virtually a peaceful planet with all our neighbors, except one; Vuxgurg, the forbidden planet, whose inhabitants were all underhanded scoundrels making coin through the galactic black markets. The forbidden planet was ruled by a monarchy system, like ours. Their queen at the time had been a wicked woman named Tomoe. The vile creature was always jealous of our kind because of our peace and prosperity. She was sick of it really, and attacked us when we were most vulnerable, mating season."

She stopped here to seat herself beside me on the bed. Natsuki had kept my robe on, but the silk kept sliding off her bare shoulders because of her slightly smaller frame. I made sure to glue my eyes either on the floor, my hands, or directly into her own eyes because I was sure that if I looked anywhere else I'd lose my head with desire. This was not the moment for such things. Still, even though I was sure I could convince her to share my bed, I felt like that would spoil things between us. Natsuki didn't feel like a challenge or a conquest, I had greater respect for her than that, which was quite frightening.

"She and her people tore up the mothers first, as fragile as they were in their pregnant states, they were the easiest to kill. Later, I watched thousands upon thousands of my comrades' fall beside me in battle. I watched blades cut messily into their beings. I saw them mutilated for the sake of sport by the enemy. I heard them cry out in agony and suddenly fall silent.

When the battle was over only a handful of us survived. None of the destruction struck true to my heart until I found my little sister while wading through the bloody carnage. Her small body pooled in so much blood. Her once golden halo of hair was slick with chunks of reeking flesh and stained red with the substance that course through our veins. Her name was Alyssa. She was to be our next queen. The young of our planet were always chosen to lead our kingdom because we felt that the heart of a child is honest and pure. They know greater mercy than those who have seen battle."

As she grew sullen once more, I felt the icy cavern of my chest warm, my body crying out to console this beautiful extraterrestrial.

"The remainder of us searched high and low for the last of the culprits responsible for the genocide of my kind. It was most disappointing to find that queen Tomoe and a few royal family members had gone off radar. However, as we waited for them, select members slipped up in their hiding and we were ready to catch them. Now the only one left is the brazen queen herself, the coward is near though. I can feel it," she finished off with a bright fire blazing in her amazing emerald orbs.

"What happened to the others in your group?" I asked.

"Dead. They died off fighting against the other family members only leaving me."

Her shoulders had looked as if the very walls of my house were upon them. The sadness and anger made her eyes sing a song of great sorrow that she tried to hide from everyone, and at times, herself. Yet, despite all this show of emotion, I couldn't help the niggling feeling that she still wore a heavy mask. I had the feeling that there were many sides to her that she was careful not to show.

With no other way to voice my sympathy, I laid my hand atop hers, squeezing gently until she brought those wonderful eyes to level with mine.

I had never known more than fleeting affection for other women, but the sucking feeling in my heart made sure to tell me that this was not the case.

"I know you'll find her and avenge your people," I said quietly before allowing my hand to hesitantly retreat. Somehow, I knew that a lingering touch would be most unwelcome. Sitting back to lean on my hands I blew up my bangs and rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

"Now, how do I break this to Reito?"

…

For as long as Reito and I have known each other, it is rather clear to say that we have a very logical head on our shoulders, so I knew that explaining the situation to him would be particularly hairy. Still, I did my best to try anyway. He had just come home from grocery shopping when I told him, Natsuki standing in the doorway with an air of aloofness to mask the uncertainty she was feeling. I could see she was uncomfortable by the occasional miniscule twitch of her left hand. "She's a what?" Reito asked, whirling toward Natsuki's direction with wide eyes. "You're joking, there is no way you can shape shift, you're human!" He looked back and forth between us a few times to assure himself that this was some sick prank a new lover and I schemed together before realizing that I was completely serious.

"Okay… if everything you say is true, let's have at it then. Show us," he haughtily demanded the newfound extraterrestrial. Natsuki had given him such a poisonous look I thought she was going to kill him for asking such a thing. I had asked of her to do the same, although a lot more gently. She had told me that shifting in front of others was as intimate as sex and only close family and partners were allowed to witness the change. "Reito, let's not get too brash," I pleaded, trying to quell both disbelief and rage permeating from both parties. "'Too brash?'" You can't be serious Shizuru. You believe the garbage this woman is spouting?" Natsuki clenched her fists at this, but quietly stood her ground, knowing how precarious the circumstance was. She and I both knew that if I could convince him, she could avoid having to shift in front of us. At my silence, an outraged Reito stormed off to his bedroom like a teenage daughter. After a quick mental tug of war of whether to go after him or not, I hurried after. Reaching his bedroom, I closed the door behind me; I wasn't sure how well Natsuki could hear through walls.

"Shizuru," he whispered harshly to me, obviously thinking the same about her hearing, "How can you accept this willingly? Did she give you some kind of proof that you've forgotten to share with me? She could be lying for all we know. It could be one of her schemes to crawl back from the depths of ugly hell and back into your life!"

I sat beside him unsure of how to describe how I was feeling about this whole thing. "Reito, I just can't shake the feeling that she's telling the truth. If I didn't, I would be hell bent at calling the police and trying to find my precious dog," I said while staring down at my wringing hands. "You whole heartedly believe her. This is complete bullshit," he growled angrily as he turned to stand away from me. "Reito, please don't think that I have been so careless as to not think that she didn't cross my mind. I very nearly thought it was Marguerite. Listen; to appeal to your logic, let's say what she says is true. We cannot simply demand her to do something that makes her uncomfortable and/or angry because she is not someone from this planet, let alone galaxy. Who knows what she is actually capable of; I know you and I are well equipped when it comes to defending ourselves against danger, but Reito, she's not human!" I whispered hoarsely.

His shoulders drooped slightly at how accurately I had assessed the situation.

"Please, Reito, go back outside and just look. Look at her eyes," I pleaded desperately. "We can't ask such a thing from her. Please, use your senses and look."

A tense silence flooded uneasily between us. After a few moments, his shoulders sagged and he sighed heavily. Another two ticks went by and he slowly turned back to face me; however, he still did not meet my eyes. "Fine, Shizuru, have it your way," he stated quietly. My heart broke a little; I couldn't lose a good friend over something so trivial as my dog being an alien. "Well, at least she doesn't look like an Ood."

When I saw his mouth quirk up a little, I knew we would be okay soon enough.

…

Back in the kitchen, Reito and I looked on quizzically at her rigid form. While we were away, it seemed that Natsuki was fighting an internal battle of her own. To be fair, Reito later gave her more credit at her tenacity at being proven right by staying in the house while we were gone. Her long cobalt blue hair cascaded down her spine. We were all rooted to our spots in the room, neither of us willing to break the silence, when Natsuki reluctantly spun around. When her eyes flashed in my direction, I could not help but marvel at her beauty. It was such a pure and unadulterated allure that I could find no fault in her. I began to pick out all the flaws I found in myself; this surprising me to say the least because it had been eons since I felt so self- conscious, I didn't let that show on my face though. Snapping back into focus, I noticed that Reito had been squinting hard at Natsuki. He was trying to make the connections. She obligingly stood completely still, so as not to ruin my faithful butler's concentration. I could see the gears in his mind grind away at the information, but always getting caught by stubborn logic. As he was about to give up, Natsuki took in a particularly large inhale and exhale.

As she let out her breath, she began to shrink at an alarming rate into my robe. I felt rather than saw my eyes grow wide and I nearly leapt at the chance to catch her as she fell had it not been for the beginnings of blue fur on her porcelain skin. Her frame crumpled into the canine form my friend and I had been accustomed to with an awful crunching sound and small grunts of discomfort. Seconds later, she was entirely enveloped in my silk robe and I meekly lifted it off to find her bold eyes staring expectantly at me. There was no special white light. No clap of ominous thunder. No special effects of any kind. This had been a true transformation from an otherworldly alien life force. "I realized that earthlings had yet to have any encounters of another kind," the massive beast informed us. Speechless, Reito lent heavily on the marble island while I, well, felt my knees buckle and watched the world go dark.

…

"You're lucky I had a few more of those perfume salts left when you were obsessed with corsets."

"Yes I am," I replied whilst absently rubbing a bag of ice on the small lump at the side of my head. Natsuki couldn't catch me as I fell and Reito couldn't find the strength to move as I was told later. Natsuki had decided to remain in her canine form. It was a lot more reassuring than seeing her as a human again.

We were all situated on the living room couch, if only because we weren't quite sure of what to do with ourselves. "I think I'm going to take the day off tomorrow," I stated quietly. Reito looked at me with approval. I was sure he didn't want to be alone with Natsuki anymore now that he believed the truth. With the last half hour spent in silence sprinkled with small yawns and sleepy eyes, Reito announced that he was going to bed. "I think we are all in need of a bit of sleep now," I said getting up. It wasn't until I reached my bedroom that I vaguely noticed the soft clicks of Natsuki's nails on the hardwood floor behind me. "Um, I believe that I should show you to the extra bedroom." Natsuki looked puzzled. "Wouldn't you want your own bedroom to sleep in? You could have the whole room to yourself for, you know, privacy?"

"Any privacy I had has now been stripped away," she said in a dull tone.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want your own bedroom?" I asked almost hysterically. It wasn't that I minded her difference, but now I knew how gorgeous she was. It didn't seem right to be sleeping with someone who could pass for a god. Who was to know how I would react when I needed some "alone time" so desperately, and hadn't looked to others for casual sex because I was so keen at getting home on time to keep Natsuki's schedule regular. That all aside to the fact that Reito and I invaded something so precious to her.

It wasn't fair to either of us.

Natsuki narrowed her eyes and gauged my reasoning for the worst. "It wasn't my intention to be staying here longer than necessary anyway, human," she snarled, revealing sharp teeth. "If you wish to stay in separate rooms because you're uncomfortable with what I am is no skin off my nose." I helplessly watched her stalk off in the opposite direction of the hallway where the spare bedrooms were located. I desperately wanted to call out to her to tell her that that was not the case at all. I wanted to tell her that it…could very well be that I was in love with her. I wanted to say that I'm only scared to be in the same room with her because I was afraid she would pick out all the faults I see in myself. My brain continued to pound against my skull, and I simply retired to my bed. Perhaps I was being too shallow anyway, love at first sight? Give me a break.

…

"What would humans know anyway? They are foolish and narrow minded," Natsuki muttered bitterly while shifting back to her original form. I was being generous by showing them something that is a part of my kind, something private, only for them to toss me aside like a freak. A small, barely audible knock came at her door. When she opened it, Natsuki saw Shizuru's retreating silhouette back to her personal bedroom. As Natsuki started to close the door, a silk robe slid off the doorknob to the floor. As she bent to pick it up she felt her ire fade and allowed her mind to clear. "They're scared children too me. These sheltered, pitiful children who never once stepped outside to play, never knowing the dangers and wonders of the real universe," she said while going to sit at the edge of her bed.

Thinking back to Shizuru, Natsuki wondered at the tan head's mind. It was like a fortress, everything in but never out. When Shizuru suggested for Natsuki to sleep in another room, it was devastating beyond words because the taller woman had accepted her so freely in the beginning. It wasn't as if she could read her thoughts, and that woman could definitely play poker. (Although Natsuki didn't know exactly what a card game had to do with impassive expressions.) "What would humans know anyway?" She repeated.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I thank you for all your kind words and help, they assist me in becoming a much better writer for you. This story is can also be found on Adultfanfiction and Archiveofourown. I hope you have a wonderful Friday and an awesome weekend. Next chapter coming up next Friday.