AN~ SabrinaPuckLOVE & Erica J: Thanks! :)
Purpleflower23: Tandem, in this case, means at the same time. Silvermoon is fine for me. :) It's pretty. And thanks for the update comment! I try.
When Sabrina finally found her body, she was shocked and slightly horrified, because said body was in the woods behind the house, trying to seduce Puck.
Puck, looking very worried, was backing away from Sabrina's body, which had its lips puckered and wasn't looking around at all.
Sabrina blinked, then stopped. Is that really what I look like from the back? She wondered. Then she shook her astral head, clearing it. She had more important things to worry about, like why her body was moving on its own, and trying to seduce Puck, of all things.
"S-Sabrina?" Puck asked worriedly. "What are you doing?"
Sabrina zoomed toward her body, trying to enter it, but was met by a force that stopped her in her tracks. Something else was in her body. Or someone else.
And she thought she knew who.
Sabrina then did what she should have done when she first realized what was happening: she stopped time, then headed for the area of the town that had been commandeered by the Fae kingdom.
She was starting to feel a little woozy, and spacey. She wondered if this was what she'd been warned about; what happened when people stayed outside their bodies for too long.
But if Moth had stolen her body, then maybe she could take hers... if she could find it.
She searched. And searched. And searched. She'd gone through almost the whole Fae quarter before she found a startlingly familiar room. It looked just like Moth's room in The Golden Egg, pink and fluffy with pictures of Puck all over everything. And Moth was lying on the bed.
But would she be able to do to Moth what Moth had done to her?
Head swimming, she decided that it was worth a try, at the very least.
She headed for the body, and stuck a tentative astral finger towards Moth's hand.
As soon as she touched the body, she was sucked in, just like she would have been with her own body. It made her wonder if bodies needed spirits as much as spirits needed bodies.
She stood up experimentally, testing out Moth's body. It... well, it was hard to describe, but it didn't fit right, exactly. The body was shorter and curvier than her own, though the waist seemed to be the same size. The eyes could see farther, too, and more clearly, and her skin seemed more sensitive.
Still trying to get used to her new- and hopefully temporary- body, Sabrina ran off back home, because she had no idea how to use Moth's retractable wings. She was exhausted when she arrived, partly because time was still stopped, and that took a lot of effort, but partly because Moth's body had much less stamina than her own. Still, she decided that finding out what on earth was going on was more important that resting.
She grabbed Moth's- her own? Oh, this was too confusing- arm tightly, and the girl immediately snapped out of her suggestive pose to swing around.
Sabrina suddenly found herself staring into her own eyes, looking up at herself. She almost let go of the arm she was holding, then stopped, simply putting her other hand to her head and muttering, "Man, this is too weird."
Moth, too, stared down at her body, then started stuttering, "What? You- But- I put up- how did you- where- What is going on?"
"I should be asking you that." Sabrina snapped. "I'm not the one stealing people's bodies."
"Says the girl inside my body." Moth countered.
"You started it!" Sabrina rolled her- Moth's- eyes. "Why are you in my body, anyway? I'd think you liked yours better."
Moth sneered. "To get Puck, of course."
Sabrina blinked. "Explain that to me? 'Cause it's not computing. At all."
"You two are engaged, correct?" Moth pointed out, as if explaining something to a very small child. "And I knew you could leave your body, so I deci-"
"Wait." Sabrina cut her off. "How did you know that?"
Sabrina was then treated to her own face giving her an astoundingly creepy look as Moth said, "The Hand has spies, Sabrina. More than you know." She continued, "As I was saying, I knew you'd have to leave your body eventually, so I waited. As soon as you left your body, I left mine and entered yours. And now I'm engaged to Puck!" She gripped Sabrina's necklace with Sabrina's fingers, smiling.
"So you just randomly tried to seduce him?" Sabrina asked. "That was stupid."
"What?" Moth snapped. "But you're engaged. What else would you do?"
"Some people have relationships that are based off conversations and hanging out, not just lust." Sabrina said, not looking at her body or the person in it.
Moth blinked for several seconds. "So, you two don't kiss."
Sabrina shook her- Moth's- head.
"Or make out."
"No." Sabrina clarified.
"Do you even hug?" Moth asked.
"Rarely." Sabrina said.
"Then-"
"We're not normal." Sabrina cut Moth off again. "And so help me, if you start acting like a lovestruck little idiot around him when you're in my body, I'll make you regret the day you met him."
Moth made a face.
"But more importantly," Sabrina continued, "get out of my body. Now."
"I can't." Moth said.
Sabrina glared.
"Really, I can't!" Moth protested. "Not all of us can leave our bodies at will, you know. I had to do a spell to get here in the first place, and I'm here for at least three days. Then, if my body's available, I'll go back. I was hoping you'd be there and it would be permanent."
"And you're telling me this because...?" Sabrina asked.
"You hold the cards now." Moth said. "And you'd have to have precisely the right timing. It's extraordinarily unlikely that you could get out of my body at exactly the right time."
Sabrina smiled creepily, an expression that suited Moth's face very well. "We'll see. So we're stuck like this for the next three days?"
"Yes." Moth said. "And this isn't going to be nearly as fun as I thought it would, is it?"
"No." Sabrina said, then she let go of Moth, who immediately froze.
Sabrina looked over at Puck and grabbed his arm.
"-Are you-" Puck continued what he'd been saying before, then stopped and looked down. "Moth? What is going on?"
"I'll explain soon." Sabrina said. "Just come with me."
Puck pulled back. "Give me one good reason to go anywhere with you."
"'Cause I'm not really Moth." Sabrina sighed.
"What?" Puck gaped.
"It's complicated." Sabrina said. "Just trust me on this for now? We're just going to the living room, then I promise I'll explain."
Puck looked at the frozen body of Sabrina, then at the completely still world around him, then, after a long moment's hesitation, sighed and said, "Let's go."
Sabrina led Puck to the living room, then let go and left him there to track down the rest of the family. She gave them each a brief explanation, brought them, too, to the living room, and left them there. Once they were all present, she took a deep breath, composed herself, and started time again.
Everyone in the room started speaking all at once, most of them starting in the middle of sentences. Sabrina waited a few seconds, then said "Quiet!" In a voice that demanded to be listened to- a trait of Moth's that Sabrina's voice didn't have.
Everyone shut up.
"Right." Sabrina sighed. "Now, I know you're not going to believe me, but I'm not Moth. I'm Sabrina."
Everyone just looked at her for a few seconds, then Daphne said, "Prove it."
"I just stopped time and brought you all here, and you want me to prove it?" Sabrina blinked. "How?"
"Tell me something only Sabrina would know." Daphne said.
"Our first night after Mom and Dad disappeared, we had scrambled eggs, Lima beans, and ice cream because they were the only things in the house." Sabrina said. "Then we watched the only Disney movie we owned, and you told me all about what you wanted your birthday party to be like, and we slept in Mom and Dad's room."
"Not good enough." Puck said, crossing his arms. "Moth could know that."
"You want something really embarassing?" Sabrina asked. "'Cause I can do that. Something about us..."
"Like what?" Puck asked skeptically.
"You cried at your dad's funeral." Sabrina said. "And you told me you hated your dad. Then you told me I was being stupid for not wanting to be a fairy tale detective, 'cause I was good at it. Then you burped in my face. It smelled like hamburger."
"All right, I'll give you that." Puck said. "Moth might have known everything but the hamburger smell."
"So, assuming for the moment that you're really Sabrina, what happened?" Granny asked.
"When I went out to try spying, Moth stole my body." Sabrina said. "She's going to be there for three days, and then, if her body's empty, she'll go back to her own. I needed a body, so I took hers. And I'm stuck like this. For three whole days."
"That stinks." Red said.
Sabrina snorted. "That sums it up nicely. Although I might have used a stronger word."
"So what are you going to do?" Henry asked.
Sabrina took a moment to fully enjoy the fact that her father had just asked her what she planned to do about a problem before saying, "Deal with it, and try to make it as horrible as possible for Moth so that she wants to go back. Could we keep her here?" She asked Granny. "I don't want her seeing anything important, but nobody's going to believe her when she says she's her, and I don't want my body to die before I'm back in it."
"Of course, liebling." Granny said. "You'll be staying here, too, yes?"
"Yeah." Sabrina sighed, fidgeting. This body just didn't feel right.
"I wonder what would happen if your body was killed while Moth was in it." Jake said thoughtfully. "Would she die, or would she simply return to her own body? Or would you die? Or would she become nothing but a spirit, trapped here until her body died?"
Sabrina shuddered. "Let's not find out, all right?"
The door opened then, and Moth, still inside Sabrina's body, entered the room.
"This is just too weird." Sabrina said. "I can't believe I'm stuck like this for three days."
Moth glared at her, and the room started to shake. "You've ruined everything!" She snapped. "Another plan, gone to pieces! Why can't you stop meddling?"
As she finished, Sabrina- well, Moth-'s hair caught fire.
"Ow!" Sabrina screeched, running for the kitchen. She stuck her head under the sink and kept it there until the fire was out. In the process she learned that not only do fairies have stronger eyesight than humans, but they also have better senses of smell.
"Sabrina, I think you're going to have to show Moth how to control your powers." Veronica said tactfully as Sabrina walked into the room.
Sabrina sighed. "Wonderful. Can I learn how to use hers, too?"
"I'm not teaching you." Moth sniffed haughtily.
Sabrina sneered at her mockingly, then turned to Puck. "You'll show me, right?"
"Sure." Puck said, rubbing his temples. "This is so freaky. I just agreed to teach Moth a lesson."
"Trust me, buddy, it's not any easier from my end of things." Sabrina said, then gestured to Moth. "Let's get started, body snatcher."
The three headed outside, followed by Daphne and Red.
"Stay in the yard?" Daphne asked. "I want to watch, and I'm still grounded."
"So's he." Sabrina stuck her thumb out in Puck's direction. "I couldn't leave anyway."
"Let's just get this over with, without the distractions." Moth snapped, and the wind picked up.
"Would you get a hold on yourself?" Sabrina asked, exasperated. "Every time you have a strong emotion, it messes with the weather, and sometimes with other stuff. Like earthquakes."
Moth blinked. "Truly?" She asked. "That's quite interesting. How do you keep from changing the weather at your slightest whim?"
"Practice." Sabrina said. "But for now, just calm down. We'll work on these things in steps, all right?"
"What steps?" Moth asked curiously.
"Just a question, first?" Daphne asked.
"What?" Moth snapped.
"Why hasn't Sabrina killed you yet?" Daphne asked. "Or Puck. I'd have thought one of them would at least have hurt you..."
"That's my body, remember." Sabrina pointed out. "I hate Moth, but I'm not going to hurt her, 'cause anything permanent will still hurt me in three days."
"That's if you get your body back." Moth said smugly.
Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "You really want to keep my body? Yours has better eyesight, a better sense of smell, is less sensitive to cold or heat, and has better hearing. Plus, you're used to the height."
"Then why do you want yours back?" Moth asked. "If mine's so wonderful?"
"Because it's mine." Sabrina said. "And I have more superpowers."
"Maybe I want to keep your superpowers." Moth said.
"Please no." Red whispered.
"Let's just get on with it, shall we?" Sabrina asked.
"Fine." Moth snapped. "How do I control these things?"
"Which one?" Sabrina asked snidely. "There's a lot."
"The easiest one." Moth said.
"Well, I started with gravity." Sabrina said. "And that was easy enough, but I don't think I want you making things float. We'll do that if you end up stuck on the ceiling or something. And flying... the only difference is that my wings aren't retractable. Barriers are also none of your business, unless you accidentally create one-"
"So what are you going to teach me, then?" Moth snapped, and the wind began to pick up again. "It seems as if you're just listing things you don't want me to know."
"I'm getting there." Sabrina said testily. "Patience is a virtue, grasshopper."
"All right, first off, you can't call me that unless you actually teach me something." Moth rolled her eyes.
"Coming from the girl who refused to teach me anything." Sabrina pointed out.
"I don't want you knowing what I can and can't do!" Moth protested.
"Well, same here!" Sabrina snapped.
"Guys." Puck sighed. "Just try to get along for now?"
"I wasn't the one causing problems." Sabrina muttered. "Anyway, where was I?"
"Which powers you're going to show her." Red prompted.
"Right." Sabrina said. "Thanks. So lie detection doesn't really need to be controlled, it's just kind of like seeing. That leaves the elements and weather, right? 'Cause I kept the other ones."
Moth glared. "Funny, isn't that what I wanted you to teach me in the first place?"
"It's a lot of stuff to go through." Sabrina said defensively. "I didn't want to miss anything."
"Whatever." Moth said. "Just get on with it."
"I'm getting!" Sabrina snapped. "Sit."
"Why do I have to sit?" Moth asked, folding her legs daintily underneath herself.
"Because I said so." Sabrina snapped. "Anyway, let's get started, shall we?"
"That's what I've wanted to be doing for the past hour." Moth muttered.
Sabrina ignored Moth's comment and said, "Now, we'll start with the elements. Which is your favorite?"
"Umm..." Moth looked around, as if hoping for a hint. "What are my choices?"
Sabrina raised one of Moth's delicate eyebrows. "Earth, water, wind, and fire. Fire's my favorite. Or water."
"Of course it is." Daphne said quietly. "I like earth."
"Which is wonderful, but we're talking about me." Moth pointed out sarcastically.
"You can't always be the center of attention." Puck said in a singsong manner.
"Can you just answer the question?" Sabrina asked Moth, who was glaring at Puck.
"I suppose I prefer air." Moth said.
"Right, then." Sabrina said, "Now, this is how you control air..."
And so began the worst afternoon of Sabrina's life. She'd gone from being instructed on how to act like a couple to teaching one of her worst enemies how to control her powers in a matter of hours, and was not enjoying it. She eventually showed Moth enough of the basics that she wouldn't accidentally set anything on fire, and managed to impress upon her that any misuse of those powers would have severe consequences, and, most importantly, kept from killing anyone, but that was the sum total of her accomplishments for the day.