Chapter 64.3

February 26th

One day until the full moon.

Silence permeated the chambers deep underneath Lysander Hall, just as it always had. They had seen periodic bursts of activity in the past, of course; several students in the AV Club once spent several days scrubbing the remnants of Amara’s fight against the cult from the floors, walls, and ceiling, and more recently, several magic wolves had briefly called this place home. Barring any unusual circumstances, the eerie concrete hallways served no practical use.

Unfortunately, tonight was no ordinary night. After weeks of waxing, the moon was nearly full, and tonight marked the first of three nights that its presence would be strong enough to force a lycanthropic transformation. Over the last week or so, optimism that Amara and Vee would return with a cure had started to fade, replaced by the creeping dread that Nick would be forever changed by this curse. Even Chloé, who always had trouble reading the expressions of other people, noticed how drastically Nick’s demeanor had changed.

He’d once been the most emotionally stable of the group, and now every step he took shook with fear. Actions as simple as opening a door or hugging a friend seemed to scare him, as if his curse might break free at any moment. Heavy bags underneath his eyes betrayed that he wasn’t sleeping well, and his usually jubilant mannerisms had been replaced with sagging posture, hushed whispers, and fearful glances.

Over the course of the last week, Chloé had worked extensively with Tessa, Imani, and Ruby to put together a fail-safe in case the cure never arrived. Ruby knew the most about Nick’s impending transformation, as she’d talked extensively with Tadghán, while Tessa and Imani spent countless hours trying to find ways of magically restraining him should the transformation happen. These conversations had been hypothetical and hopeful at first, but in the last few days, that optimism had faded, replaced by sorrowful acknowledgement that whatever solution they came up with might need to be permanent.

As for Chloé, much of her free time involved coordinating with Dean Halsen about the upcoming full moon. She’d been in contact with him quite frequently, in fact; after Amara and Vee left for The Wilds, relaying news of their situation had been her responsibility. They’d also coordinated on cover stories for the girls’ absences and gathered classwork to make their return as painless as possible.

On some days, Chloé felt like she saw the Dean more than her own friends.

It made perfect sense, and she knew the current situation was stressful for everyone, but it still sucked not having Amara and Vee around. Ever since her failed attempt to shapeshift the other day, Chloé felt especially isolated. Not just from her friends, but from the entire world. Although she’d resolved to ask Tessa for help in dealing with her condition, the impending full moon made that ask feel more and more costly every day. How could she justify asking for magical solutions to her own problems when Tessa and Imani desperately needed every possible hour to find a way to stop Nick from rampaging across campus?

Floating several feet above the floor in the central chamber, Chloé sighed in resignation. Or, at least, she felt like she did. She still wasn’t entirely sure what her body looked or acted like when she wasn’t pulling it into a single form. Underneath her, Tessa, Imani, and Ruby prepared Nick for his first night of transformation.

The best solution they’d put together was a complicated series of magically reinforced straps, shackles and chains. As the only one who could apply magic to objects, Tessa had spent countless hours preparing them. Even then, given the short time span, she’d barely had enough time to finish the bare minimum of enchantments. Chloé had spent many hours with Tessa as she painstakingly inscribed magic onto each and every link in the chain, grumbling in frustration the whole time.

Nick, Ruby, and Imani had procured a collection of heavy-duty power tools and bolted a series of bases to the floors and walls in the chamber. Initially, the group had hoped that Chloé’s powers could suspend the chains directly in the walls by phasing them inside the concrete, but a quick test revealed this wasn’t possible. Every time she attempted to merge objects by phasing them together, they forcefully shunted each other away like the repelling ends of two magnets. On her own time, she’d repeated the experiment several times with other objects, and the results never changed.

Just another limitation of her powers.

A pile of blankets, originally donated for the wolves, sat in the middle of the arrangement, and Nick nervously knelt in the center. He took a slow, unsteady breath, then looked around at everyone present and quietly spoke up.

“Whatever happens tonight… I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do, but given what the last few nights have been like, I just…” His voice caught for a moment before he found the strength to finish his thought. “Whatever I become, it’s not me. I promise.”

Tessa sat down and pulled him in for a hug. “There’s still time, Nick. And besides, even if they don’t make it back, this is only our first attempt. With more time, I could easily reinforce the chains even more, and I suspect lining the shackles with silver might help weaken you once the transformation starts. If…” Tessa hesitated briefly, her voice shaking. “If this becomes a regular occurrence, I promise you the first time will be the worst.”

Nick forced a smile before giving Tessa a kiss. “I appreciate your optimism,” he said.

“If there ever comes a day where I’m the group optimist, something has gone terribly wrong,” Tessa chuckled. “But if I have to pretend for a night, I think I can manage. Just remember, it’s exactly like you said; this curse isn’t you. Don’t ever forget that.” Tessa wrapped her arms around Nick and hugged him close, burying her face into his shoulder.

“We should start,” Nick muttered a minute later. “I can feel the sun starting to set.”

Everyone present quickly got to work. As they started preparing the equipment, Nick removed his pants and his shirt, gently folding them beside him before settling down in a simple, form-fitting pair of long boxers. The first round of restraints were a series of leather straps affixed to his arms, legs, chest, and neck. Afterwards, based on the knowledge that Nick’s body would grow to unnatural sizes, they had a series of secondary straps and metal shackles of varying sizes. When possible, the group had tried to acquire restraints that could adjust to Nick’s changing form, but finding such items proved difficult. The last step was affixing Tessa’s magically reinforced chains to each and every restraint, then affixing them to the bases.

Each additional fixture weighed Nick down with far more than the weight of the materials present. Chloé watched patiently as they slowly secured his restraints, and each additional click brought more fear into his eyes.

As she wasn’t helping to attach everything, Chloé opted to instead float beside Nick. She hovered just above the ground, crossed her legs, and manifested herself visually, but not physically. “Hey, don’t forget, you’re not alone. I may not be the best fighter, but as long as I’m here with you, I can stop you from hurting people even if you somehow break free.”

Nick smiled at her. “Thanks, Chloé. I’m really glad you’re here, even apart from your abilities. You might be the only person in this room who truly understands what I’m dealing with.”

“Really?” Chloé cocked her head.

“Shortly after we all started hanging out, there were a few times where you talked about your body dysphoria. How much you struggled with your self-image, how the body you saw in the mirror never felt like your own. It made sense to a point, but it was always a little difficult to imagine. After all, I love my body. Yeah, I had a few nitpicks, but that was it. Now, when I’m in the bathroom, I’m terrified to look in the mirror. I see all these trace elements of my curse—body hair, bulging muscles, altered face shape—and they remind me how foreign my body feels right now.”

Chloé listened to him intently. She’d never once imagined they might share something like that in common, and her thoughts drifted back to her own magical condition. “…It sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Nick muttered, “it really does.”

Soon enough, Nick was fully secured. Imani and Ruby left the chamber after sharing their own words of encouragement with Nick, but Tessa and Chloé stayed. None of them knew what to say, and awkward silence filled the chamber as they waited for the inevitable transformation.

With nothing to distract her from her own thoughts, Chloé’s mind wandered to all the exhaustion she’d fought this last month. Initially, she’d held onto hope that her condition might improve over time, that she might grow stronger with practice and find it easier to manifest, but such changes never happened. She thought about trying to shapeshift, about the conversation she’d just shared with Nick, and eventually it proved too much. She gathered the strength to speak up, and turned to face her friend.

“Hey, Tess?” Chloé quietly asked.

“What’s up?”

“Um, so, do you know how I’ve been kinda struggling with my condition? Well… look, things have been really hectic ever since I first reformed, and it’s been a lot to take in. When it first dawned on me that holding my form was really difficult, I thought it might improve over time, but that never happened. By the time I pieced that together, those wolves had already started appearing, and then Nick got bit, and I—”

“Chloé,” Tessa said, interrupting her. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. We’re friends, right? I’d do anything for you.”

“I mean, yeah, I know that, but I didn’t want to distract you from everything else we’ve been wrestling with,” Chloé muttered. “Lately, it’s just… I don’t think I can keep going like this anymore. I was wondering if you and Imani might be able to help me out.”

A quiet giggle escaped Tessa’s lips. “Chloé, is that really all you wanted?”

“I-is that too much to ask?”

“Oh, it’s very much the opposite, girl,” Tessa said with a smile. “I’ve already started. Together with Imani, and even Nick if you can believe it, I’ve been putting something together for you.”

“Really? Seriously?!” Chloé asked, inadvertently floating a little bit higher.

“Obviously, you little goober. You’re my friend, I love you, and I hate seeing your condition isolate you like this. Now, this project of mine isn’t quite done yet, but I can tell you what it is if you want. Alternatively, I can keep it a surprise.”

Chloé briefly teared up before throwing her arms around Tessa. “Ohhhh, Tessa! This means the world to me, you have no idea! I think I want it to be a surprise, though. Is that okay?”

Tessa hugged her back just as enthusiastically. “It makes no difference to me either way. I can’t say for sure when it’ll be done, as I’ve still got a few things to puzzle out, but I’m doing my best. Like you said, it’s been a struggle to find time, and I might have to pause for a few days if… y’know.” She hesitantly looked towards Nick.

“Of course, Tess! Even just having something to look forward to is enough for me,” Chloé whispered. “Besides, it might be exciting to wonder about what you’re—”

A loud, hollow crack interrupted Chloé’s words. It echoed around the barren chamber, followed by a pained gasp and a rustling of chains. The girls broke off their hug, turning to check on Nick as they braced for the worst.