A wind of change [Kait]

Invidia was her name – and that was all that Chloe knew for sure.

She heard other things. They thought she was a demon, which might not be true, and that she was a shapeshifter, which would be stupid to lie about. The rest of what she heard was brain-dead gossip. Some people thought she was a spy for the Devil, gathering information about the mortal world for some kind of future invasion; several others believed she was here to corrupt the souls of the innocent. These people probably said the same things about Chloe, when her back was turned. The rumors about her probably involved more sex, though.

Chloe thought that was funny. At least, it hurt less when she decided not to take it seriously. She’d never even had sex!

Right now, Invidia was sitting around in the courtyard, classes were over, and Chloe didn’t have and extracurricular activities to be running off to: a perfect opportunity to introduce herself. Two clawed toe-feet tapped against the sidewalk, heralding Chloe’s approach.

“Hi. Invidia?” Chloe got her attention with a shoulder-high wave, and her tail unconsciously mirrored the movement. “Sorry if this is weird, but it’s getting really stupid that we haven’t met yet.” She glanced at Invidia’s horns; her reasons for saying this should have been obvious. “I’m Chloe.”

“I…” She didn’t look like a succubus. What the hell was that supposed to mean? That she was unattractive? That she didn’t look like a slut? “…Thanks. I think.”

Chloe recovered from her confusion. “Anyway. I’d consider myself a fraudulent demon, as in, not actually a demon. I don’t think I’m a demon, anyway. I just… sort of look like one.” And she had the kind of power you would expect from a succubus or an incubus, too. Chloe wasn’t about to share that part of her story. “Though I suppose all my memories of not being a demon could be a lie.” Shrug.

“What kind of demon are you, then?” Chloe hoped she had found someone genuinely knowledgeable about demons. It was probably a good sign that Invidia could tell she wasn’t a succubus. Unless Chloe was actually a succubus in denial, or something.

A shapeshifting demon. Chloe had heard about that part. The bit about the human mother was new.

After some hesitation, she decided to tell the short version of her story. “It’s, uh… I don’t think I got cursed to look like this,” she said. “I mean,” chuckle, “it is a curse, sort of. But I don’t think anyone cast a magic spell on me to make me this way. It’s just a really unfortunate genetic disorder from another universe. Which is where I come from. I think.” She sighed.

Despite Aurora’s insistence that she probably came from another universe, Chloe had her doubts. She got to a point where being insane seemed more likely than her memories being true. This island was too much for her. She was probably in a mental hospital somewhere, curled up in a ball muttering to herself about an island in the pacific.

“Did you know your dad very well?” She blurted out the question and immediately regretted it. Chloe cringed at herself.

That was probably a misstep. Judging by the sigh and her reserved tone, Chloe could tell that it wasn’t a pleasant subject for Invidia.

“I’m… trying to learn about demons,” Chloe said. “Books have been useless so far. None of it agrees with itself. I thought it’d be better to ask someone with firsthand knowledge.” If people were going to keep calling her a demon, and if demons were real, she ought to learn a little about them. Hey, for all she knew she might even be one.

She frowned. “Sorry if that... wasn’t a good thing to ask.”

”That’s part of it, yeah,” she said. “Everything about me says, ‘demon.’ How I got here, what I look like, what I can do…” she trailed off, realizing how little of that information she was willing to give to Invidia.

She decided to start her interrogation before Invidia started one of her own. “So! What are real demons all about?” She stopped and scrunched her eyebrows, not quite looking at Invidia anymore. “No, that’s a super vague question. I mean…” she faced Invidia again, “Where do real demons come from? And, why would they come here?”

That was probably a good place to start.

She noticed a few other students off to the side, whispering to each other and doing a very bad job of acting like they weren't watching their conversation with great interest. Chloe resolved to think up a way to mess with them by the time this conversation was over.