In which Sorel and I have The Talk

Sorel nudged me awake in the middle of the night and we went outside to talk. I could tell she was serious, but I had no way to prepare for what was coming.

“Quinn, do you like me?”

“Huh? Sure. I guess so. You’ve been a lot nicer since you’ve changed.”

“Do you think the transformation altered my personality?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re more feminine. You’re certainly less of a jerk.”

“You used to hate me, didn’t you?”

I shuffled and looked at the ground. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“And you don’t hate me any more.”

“Yes, I told you that. You are becoming a woman!”

“I know. I feel the same inside, like nothing has changed. But everything is different.”

“That could just be the curse,” I said, trying to be helpful.

“I don’t think so. That takes over my body, but it’s not a part of me. “ She takes a deep breath, as if steadying herself. “You know, you could have really made my life miserable with that curse.”

“No. Remember, you’re immune to me.”

“You’re not being honest. You could easily have persuaded or tricked the others into saying things that would have set off the curse. I know you would have done that to the old Sorel.”

“Is that why you’re being nice to me?” I asked, thinking I was finally starting to piece things together.

“At first. Then I was nice because I realized that you didn’t want to humiliate me. Because you’re a good person at heart.”

That made me uncomfortable. I did have a reputation to uphold, after all. “I suppose. I don’t mind helping you. I’m sorry about what happened to you, and I’m glad I can be here to help you.” So much for my reputation.

Sorel bit her lip, took a deep breath, then looked me in the eye and said “Quinn, I want to be more than friends. I want to be more than just nice to you.” Then she left those words hanging there. I didn’t know what to do with them.

“But…you’re really a guy…”

“Do I look like a guy? Do you really still think of me as a guy?”

I had to be honest. “No. I suppose not.”

Se leaned close to me and kissed me. It was a long, tender kiss, generous and passionate and erotic all at the same time. It left me stunned.

“I…I thought you couldn’t…”

“The curse does not apply to you. That wasn’t the curse. I wanted to do that.”

‘That was nice,” I admitted. “Really nice. But I need to think about this.”

“Take your time. But not too much time ,” Sorel said. She spread her wings, then took off into the night sky.

Things were so much simpler when adventuring was all about killing monsters and taking their stuff.