The Devlin Family

Beneath your bare feet is a carpet of cool soft moss. Looking around the square yard you see an exit in each direction, each with encircled by one of those nasty vine things. You'd gotten through the first time but were you willing to risk it again? And even if you got through what other dangers lurked out here?

"Great." You sigh. "Now what?"

You consider screaming for help but quickly squash that idea. You'd rather starve out here than give Bron the satisfaction of coming to rescue you. Walking around the fountain you inspect it closely. Nothing seemed amiss. Just like the one in the garden the center spire depicts a host of gremlin faced gargoyles of gray stone with a steady stream of water burbling from the top and flowing down. You already knew climbing the slick wet stone to look around and get your bearings would be impossible. The dark pool beneath is quite still despite the water flowing down into it, you see the reflection of the moon and stars in the sky.

Huddling down at it's side you pull the shawl tight. "Vespera? Are you here?" There is no reply. You let out a long hopeless breath and rest your head against the cool stone of the edge of the fountain feeling that you just weren't ready for this world.

You sit up straight. "Wait a second." Standing back up you look back down into the still dark water. Again you see the reflection of the night sky and the central pillar rising up from the surface...but what you don't see is your own reflection. "What the heck?" Looking around the space for a stick or stone or anything you might use you find the are neat and tidy of any such detritus. Impatient with this damn maze you mutter. "Fuck it." And you thrust your own hand down into the water.

You feel the moment your fingers touch the surface and then...nothing but cool breezy night air beneath. Your hand can be seen and seemed none the worse for wear. Pulling it back you look it over to see nothing wrong. "Huh."

Leaning down you then dip your head into the pool and experience a most disorienting sensation as suddenly you feel gravity push down on your head from the opposite direction. Looking around you realize your head was now sticking out of the main fountain. What you had seen within the maze fountain wasn't a reflection but a window looking up through the other identical structure. You shake your head in wonderment and pull yourself through, climbing out the other side and back into the central area of the main garden. You weren't even wet.

You look around and all seems as it should. Gazing back at this larger fountain you notice the water here looked normal, you could see your own rippling reflection looking back at you. Dipping a finger in you pull it back wet. Whatever that passage was it seemed to be one way. You were shook but you also felt...bolstered. You had made it through a magical maze, with a little help from Mom. Maybe you weren't so ill prepared for this world after all.

"Keep an open mind." You whisper the mantra your father had drilled into you all these years. You don't even glance toward the house and the safety it offered. Your eyes locked on the tree line in the distance you say. "I'm coming Vespera. I'm coming to find you. You are NOT alone."

In bare feet you run. You turn off the path before the maze to sprint across the open lawn, red and gray shawl flowing behind you like a cape, and toward the wild forest.

***

As you reach the tree line you slow to a jog and then a walk. Soft tended lawn makes way to wild grass, mossy roots, and low shrubs. The tender soles of your bare feet are poked and scratched as you enter the forest proper. Taking each step carefully you creep forward. The canopy above sways to the rustling wind and blocks much of the moon's light sending you into a deep darkness. But this was nothing compared to what you were looking for. Your eyes scan between the trunks looking for a darkness so deep it would make this dim light seem like midday.

"Vespera." You say in low but firm voice. You did not believe yelling would have helped but it would have let anybody or anything else outside know of your location. "Vespera, it's Jacob. I'm coming. I'm coming Ves. We'll be together again soon."

Careful to keep your protective shawl covering as much of you as it could you make slow but steady progress through the dense forest. You stumble a few times, you get a few bruises and scrapes, but you keep on going. All you could think about is your sister alone in that terrible emptiness.

"Vespera. Vespera. Come to me, please."

There is a noise nearby though you don't make it out. Stopping dead you tilt your head to listen more closely, your wide eyes scan left and right looking for a blot of purest black.

"Ves?"

"Jacob." A thousand individually nearly silent voices made one stronger one says back.

"Ves!" It is her! Your head turns back and forth looking for before, at last, you see the inky blot of dark nothingness that cloaks her descending from the high branches of the trees. Floating in the center you see her pale white face get closer and closer.

Holding your arms out, offering her the embrace that had been interrupted from before, you are surprised as she actually recognizes and accepts your endearing gesture. She slips noiselessly down into your arms, you blush as you grope through the dark and fill your hand with a familiarly shaped soft globe. With a hot blush rushing to your cheeks you quickly move your hand off of the unmistakable contours of a woman's bare breast and slip your arms around her slender hourglass waist. As gently as before you feel her tentacles engulf you in a hug. Her all encompassing embrace isn't precisely warm but it does shield you from the cool wind. The smaller tentacles of her hair caress your face with tenderness and affection.

"Together."

"Yes, together. You don't have to be alone anymore." You whisper as you hug her tight. "Hey, uh, sorry I grabbed your boob." Even now you could feel her exposed breasts pushing into your chest, the flesh a bit firmer than a human's but feeling generally similar. If it were possible for light to bounce off of her you realize now that you'd be looking at a very naked twin sister. You hold the hug a long time. "God I missed you. Did that spell hurt you?"

"Bright." Is all she says in return. She didn't seem any worse for wear, the spell seeming just an inconvenience, though you really couldn't tell.

"It certainly was." Around you the sights and sounds of the forest had faded away and you found yourself in that unsettling abyss that surrounded her. "Hey, can I get some light again. Just a little so I can see."

The light level rises again and the sound of the forest return. You can barely make out the shape of Vespera's tentacles slowly shifting and moving around her outlined by the pale dappled moonlight that gave the forest a soft glow. Even with the gloom around her reduced her skin simply rejected or absorbed any light hitting it. The visual effect of this very unnatural property being deeply unnerving to look upon but you knew you'd have to get used to it.

You are forced to push some of her tendrils away as they begin probing too deeply into your nostrils and ears, some had begun trying to pull your lips apart and others were snaking into the spaces of your pajamas.

"Gentle." You remind her. "Be gentle."

"Gentle." The tendrils retract.

"You can touch but you just have to be careful. Like this." You reach up and run your fingertips across her white cheek, that wonderful sensation of softness from the thousands of tiny filaments that made up her face tickling you. Mimicking your movements she does the same back to you. Seeing her eyes up close is yet another disturbing experience. They shone like glass, though not through by any earthy light, yet as you stare into them you see an endless infinity of twinkling and shifting star like points of light. You don't mean to say it aloud yet in your awe you whisper. "What are you?"

"Vespera."

You smile. "Yes, of course. And that's all you need to be."

You hear voices, echoes from the past. Your father, "Whatever she is, she scares me." Your mother's sorrowful reply, "Me too darling." Grandma, "That thing is not right, we can't have her here. She could be a threat to everything." Devany, "I don't feel safe around her." Bron's growl, "She's a freak. I don't want her here!" Ciara, "I am scared. What does she want?" And even young Lucian, "Don't let her hurt me Mom, she frightens me."

"Alone."

"I'm so sorry. They don't...understand you like I do." You take one of her tentacles and squeeze it tight in your hand and the pair of you share a quiet moment. You can't be sure of course but you choose to believe that she is comforted by it.

Then, shamefully, comes your own voice from earlier this very night. "She is terrifying! I hate her!"

"Sadness."

"No! No, Ves." You grip her shoulders and stare into her middle set of eyes. "I never meant those words! You have to understand Vespera, I was trying..."

Her eyes glimmer and for just an instant her mouth shows the hint of a smirk. Did you see that right?

You look at her suspiciously. "Wait. Are you...teasing me?" A tentacle wraps around your wrist and squeezes way too hard, the bones begin to crunch and pop in her effortless grip. "AHHH! No, gentle!"

She pulls back quickly. "Gentle."

Stepping back away from her you rub your sore, but thankfully uninjured, wrist then point at her accusingly. "You were teasing me! Ha! That's not fair."

Her white mask of a face tilts to the left showing no emotion yet glowing just a touch brighter.

"I'll remember that." You warn jokingly. After a moment's thought you say. "What about Beatrix? I didn't hear Trixie's voice there. Was she afraid of you?"

You then hear your little sister's sing-song voice. "Vespy! Hey, long time no see. How ya doin Sis? I don't know about you but I'm havin a terrible day. I had to turn down another date at school today. But he was sooooo cute. I nearly melted! Ohh my God. I asked grandma to brew me up a Forget Me potion but she said we really shouldn't be doing that again. Oh my God, I'm tellin ya though Vessy, he was soooo cute. Okay, first he had his hair all brushed over like this..." Trixie's voice fades though you knew she'd probably talked like that for twenty minutes straight without a break. You cannot help but grin. That was the most Trixie thing you'd ever heard. Of course, of all of them, she'd be the one not to be frightened. You couldn't imagine much scaring your vivacious fun loving little sis.

"Well things are going to change. They're going to learn you are a part of this family whether they like it or not, and me too." You tell her. "They won't talk about you like that anymore. Not while I'm around. We're both oddities in this weird family, we Devlin twins gotta stick together."

"Together."

"Heck yeah." You then think of your troubling encounter with your father. "But...you have to give me a bit of time. I need to figure some things out first." Straightening up you say in an upbeat tone. "But tonight is our birthday. This is our night. Let's have some fun, let's get to know each other. We have so much catching up to do." You clap your hands. "So what do you want to do Ves? Name it, anything at all."

***

There is a long pause and, for a moment, you worry Ves hadn't understood what you had just said. You are just about to say something when her ability to mimic the sounds of her past conjures forth the voice of Trixie as a child.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

You furrow your brow. "I...don't understand."

"Ready or not, here I come!" Trixie's ebullient voice from her youth calls again, bringing back so many good memories with it. "Found you! Ha ha ha!"

"You want...to play hide and seek?"

"Seek."

"You're joking. I haven't played that since..."

"Seek." With a tentacle she reaches out and nudges you back a step. "Hide."

"You're serious." As you look into her mysterious six eyed face you let your imagination consider what life had been like for her. She had gotten glimpses of you, her twin, enjoy a relatively normal childhood. A time of games and adventure and carefree fun as she sat isolated and alone. She wanted a taste of that life now and you were only too happy to give it to her. "Alright. BUT!" You hold up a finger. "No funny business. You can't go disappearing or teleporting or anything like that."

Her dark body wavers, though you could barely see it. "Play."

"And, just to make it more fair..." You pull the shawl from your shoulders. "...you have to wear this."

She looks at it then back up to you. "Mother."

"Yeah, it's Mom's." You approach her. "Come here. Have you ever worn clothes before? I don't suppose you have. Here, I'll show you." She doesn't oppose you as you drape the long wide cashmere cloth over her body as best you could. Feeding the fabric between tentacles and around her back you loop back to the front then around her butt then around front once more. "I don't really have any pins or anything. Maybe you could hold it?" With impressive dexterity she takes the garment from you and pulls it tight across her torso. The tendrils at her back pinch the fabric tight between them to hold it in place. Stepping back you direct her movements by showing her what to do by tugging and shifting your own Pajama top. "Yeah. This part a little higher. Yeah, that's it." Only now that you were looking at it from a distance could you make out that the red and gray pattern upon it were interlaced with stylish runes and sigils that blended flawlessly into the overall style.

You cannot help but notice that, despite being a monster from another dimension, Vespera had a hell of a figure now that you could see it. Her curvy hips were about as wide as her full bust, between them a well defined narrow waist. You weren't sure but it almost looked like Ves might have abs! With her middle part actually clearly visible you could now make out better the elegant shape of her shoulders and neck. She twirls in place to give a view of the back, beneath the crazy mass of limbs sprouting from her back you see she had a well shaped round ass too. She spins back around and you give her the thumbs up. Her core is much larger than you initially thought. Judging by her torso, had she been human, you'd reckon she'd stand around seven feet tall. Given the curling coiling nature of her limbs however she could stand either much lower or much higher than that, if you could really say she stood at all. There were thick tentacles where her arms and legs would be though many more sprouting from her back and sides as well. Occasionally the long tendrils that made up her hair would swoop down over the fabric giving you a sense of their length. The effect of how the shawl is held to her ended up making it look like a short strapless snugly fitting dress a woman her age might wear out the club.

"You look fantastic!" You say with a big grin. "You should wear clothes more often. I could have some made for you if you wish. Damn Sis. There are professional models that would kill for a figure like that."

"Fantastic...Kill." She seemed confused by the whole thing but she holds the shawl snug. "Hide."

"Okay Ves, now we can play." You look left and right. "I'll hide first. You come find me. Cover your eyes now and count to 20." Two tentacles come up to cover her six eyes. She doesn't say anything but you assume she is counting and you take off into the forest. You whack your shin and swear under your breath but you keep dashing through the trees in search of a hiding place. Given the situation the best you can find is a hollow at the roots of an old oak tree. You tuck yourself up against the trunk and hold very still. 30 seconds later you see Vespera's glowing face peeking down through branches at you. "You cheated!" You laugh. "No way you could find me that fast." Her eerily beautiful face glows a little brighter. Next you seek as she hides and you find her with little difficulty thanks to the red of the shawl and the white of her face. There is more laughter as you tease her about being terrible at the game despite seeming to be made out of darkness itself.

And so it goes. The night is spent into the early hours prancing, playing, and just having having a grand time among the trees of the old forest. She tells of you games using voices from the past and you teach them to her. Hide and seek, tag, red light-green light, Simon says, and many others. It was your entire childhood condensed into a single night and easily the funnest most laugh filled time of your life. Simply put it is your best birthday ever. Ves didn't always understand and some of the games didn't make much sense with just two of you but it was a hell of a good time regardless, being a grown ass man you hadn't played these games in a very long time and they brought you back to a happier and simpler time. Oh how you now wished Ves had been there. You sensed that, like you, she recognized how silly this was for a man and a woman of your age to be doing this yet you also sensed that she was enthusiastically adoring every moment of her first proper birthday night.

The only unpleasant moment came when you decided to play show and tell, where each of you would head out into the woods separately to find something interesting then meet back to show the other. While you had brought back a stick that vaguely had the shape of a snake your sister had brought back the body of a freshly killed doe, it's misshapen body broken in a hundred different ways. You patiently explain to her that she couldn't treat living things in this way even as you have flashbacks to that initial moment back in your bedroom where she had first grabbed for you. Thank goodness you fought her off when you did!

Despite the wholesome fun, being but a man of flesh and blood, you eventually tire. Also, your feet are freezing cold and sore from scrabbling through the underbrush all night long. It had to be close to 4 am when you eventually collapse down into the soft earth inside a folly that stood at the shore of a small lake on the Devlin property. The structure looked like the broken empty ruins of an ancient tower. Knowing what you did now you realize this place might not be just decorative as you had always assumed. You lie on your back, huffing and puffing, and staring up through the stone shell of a tower and into the clear night sky.

Vespera follows you in in hot pursuit, the narrow door giving her no problem as she rushed in to fill the cramped circular space and was just about to scoop you up when you wave your hands and call out. "No! I'm done!" You pant. "I'm toast. I'm played right out. Oh my God, mercy! Mercy! Ha ha ha ha!"

Her tentacles slow from an exciting wriggling to a calmer waver and she lowers down to kneel beside you. Her head tilts in that curious way of hers. "Tired."

"Yes. Tired."

"Sleep."

"No, not sleep. Just...rest. Whew! Don't you get tired?" You pat the ground beside you. "Come here, come lay down with me Ves."

***

"Oh my God I can't remember having such a good night. Thank you Vespera, that was so fun." You wave her forward and pat the ground beside you again. "Come on, take a rest with me."

Vespera looks down at you lying before her, her head tilts, then she looks up and around at the interior walls of the broken tower. A few of her tentacles crawl up the stony sides. Then she looks back down at you again.

"Ves?"

She lowers, as if kneeling, at your side as her focus remains centered on you. One of her limbs glides over your stomach and another across your chest.

"Gentle." You remind her.

"Gentle."