How much did I grow? Who: Nate and Cora Where: His house What: 2 friends having a sleepover changes when Cora Dreams and wakes up different When: 05/25, at the recital, then 05/26, early morning Warnings/Rating: PG-13-ish for talk of physical changes, and snuggles? Status complete
It had all happened so quickly, Cora wasn’t quite sure how to explain it, or if it had really even happened. She’d gotten a strange, prickly feeling at the back of her mind just a split second before she’d heard the shouts of the crew who were dismantling the backdrops, and seen the shadow of the falling rigging. One of the younger dancers had just passed into that shadow, carrying a jumble of drapery that had gotten tangled around her feet as she tried to help clear the set. The little girl fell, and Cora didn’t stop to think, she just threw herself on top of her friend.
There was a flash of bright blue, and an audible crunch that knocked the wind out of her; and the next thing she knew, she was staring up at her mom and her dance teacher, blinking spots out of her vision from staring up into bright lights. No exoskeleton, no concussion; barely even a bruise. The other girl was crying, but she was more scared than hurt, and Cora had been praised as a hero for shoving her out of the way.
She’d thought for sure the light had hit her, but now, as she lay nestled in a fortress of pillows and blankets in Nate’s house, trying to quiet her still-racing mind? She wasn’t sure. She was still thinking about spiders and armor--and hobbits and cave trolls and mithril and Shelob and Sting--when she drifted off to sleep and Dreams.
Nathan had nearly had a heart attack, when it happened, and had been very solicitous of her to make sure she was okay and ready to still stay over. he had his suspicions, but kept quiet, just enjoying having his friend there for now. tomorrow would be soon enough to talk about things right?
He smiled as he drifted off to sleep.
She dreamed about making a tentative truce with a former rival, in order to track down a common adversary. She dreamed about being trapped in a wicked man’s hypnotic spell, but fighting her way free; and having to make a choice between vengeance, and doing The Right Thing.
Sleeping so close to her, Nathan felt a trickle of those dreams, even as he relived some of his own.
She woke, feeling disoriented yet again, and burdened by the weight of the decisions she’d been forced to make. She felt as if she had really been stretched...and it wasn’t until she reached out to shake Nathan awake and misjudged the reach of her arm--topping a section of the pillow fort--that she realized she really had been stretched.
Snapping awake with new reflexes gained this last week from the years of life he had lived in the dreams, Nathan looked at her and gasped.
"Flonq! You grew, Cora! You look amazing!"
He swallowed and forced his mind to not think on the fact that she looked very very pretty. "I'm going to need to loan you some clothing"
And then he hugged her tightly, ignoring the new curves . "You’re still my best friend."
Cora flailed a bit, pushing the pillow off her head and clutching the blanket to her chest. She could tell without even looking that her shirt and shorts no longer met in the middle, and the shorts--and her undies along with them--were really riding up. Still, hugs were a priority, especially when she was trying to ground herself in waking reality.
“I guess there’s more of me to love now, too,” she blurted out, when she found her voice. The changes there were more subtle than they’d been for Nate--and much more subtle than the changes in other aspects of her personage. “How much did I grow?”
“About a good foot and a half? Maybe? But not too much more, and expanded maybe, some, wider shoulders, and some curves.” He colored and grinned, not looking below her eyes. “At least you skipped part of puberty? Trust me in that you are lucky.” He rubbed his face and turned, reaching for the robe near the bed and then bringing it in to wrap over her. “That was my dad’s, and it should swim on you.”
He had nabbed it recently. Borrowing, that’s all.
“Hang on.” He realized he could show her. Her reached out to her mind and linked to her, and let her see through his eyes, see just how she looked, and how pretty she was.
Cora wrapped the robe around herself, snuggling into it's warmth. It smelled like Nate, and that was comforting. Home away from home. She smiled, eyes wide as Nate showed her how she looked. She could have gotten up and gone to a mirror, but she still felt a little shaky from the dreams. Or maybe it was from the metamorphosis.
But yes, she noticed that she had breasts, which Nate was politely ignoring. Brave man. "I bet you're still way taller."
Nate noticed, and did his best to ignore for now. And glanced down her entire, robe-shrouded body, but then looked back to her eyes. You are different, and Pretty in a different way, and still Cora. And that gave him a sense of joy. He nodded to her. “Maybe so. I’m doomed to be forever tall. But I’ll always give you the best hugs.” He nodded. Tallness didn’t matter, hugs did.
He gently touched her face, searching with his eyes, concerned. “How are you feeling?”
She smiled. There was nothing wrong with a best friend who could carry you on his shoulders. "I feel...a little lightheaded. And sore, but I can't decide if that's from the dancing, or from fighting in my dreams."
“Probably both, and from growing fast. You’ll soon be hungry too. I’ll loan you some clothing, and we can tell mom, dad, and your parents what has happened.” He glanced at the clock, then nodded. “Want to tell them now or later?”
It was six-thirty in the morning, so they would be awake soon anyway, he was sure.
“Now, I guess,” she said, pulling her braid over her shoulder and running it through her fingers. It was as long as ever, and still a lot like her mom’s. At least that much was familiar. And her face was mostly the same, just more grown up. The rest she would get used to. “Better than freaking them out when they come for the picnic and wonder where you left me.”
Nathan nodded and rolled out of bed, and reached for his closet. He soon found the sweat pants with the drawstring and the shirt he had thought of, and some tie down loafers since her feet were probably larger, too.
He handed those and some socks to her and then jerked a hand toward the restroom. “I’ll give you some privacy and step outside. Come out when you’re ready and we can call your folks and talk to mine, both.”
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Just remember you’re not alone, ever.”
He turned to go.
Cora pushed up the sleeves of the robe as best as she could, and hugged the clothes to her chest almost as tightly as she’d held the blankets just a moment earlier. She scooted to the edge of the bed, legs poking out of the bottom of the robe a little as she tested her balance. “I’ll just be a minute.”