Beautiful Souls

by Mullanix, Sarah

  I slapped his arm playfully, then regained my breathing pattern after it had been so pleasantly interrupted.

  “I’m serious,” he laughed. “Remember? We used to have sleepovers…oh, like, ten years ago. I say we revisit our more youthful years.”

  “Oh? So you want to play tag, and watch cartoons, and get sick on too much candy, do you?”

  “Well,” he wrinkled his face, in an adorable way that only Leo could pull off, and considered the possibilities. “Maybe I could find some new activities to fill our night,” he winked.

  God, I missed this.

  “I’m sure you could,” I teased. “How about dinner at my house tonight?”

  “That’s not new,” Leo protested.

  “Let’s just postpone those ‘new’ activities till a later date, and we’ll start off tonight with dinner instead. Maybe we can just hang out in my room for a little while afterward,” I returned his flirtatious wink with one of my own, somewhat mocking him.

  I knew without a doubt that I wanted what Leo was proposing, but with us just starting to get back on track, I didn’t think it was the best time to be moving into new territory.

  “Why, Ms. Olson, was that an invitation?” he quizzically asked in the most playful and knee-quivering tone possible. Leo stood, put a hand out to help me to my feet --- still such a gentleman --- and straddled my feet with his. He pressed his warm palms against the small of my back, pulled me slowly closer until every inch of our bodies touched, then he kissed me as if our lives depended on it.

  I lost myself in the kiss and could’ve sworn that I even blacked out, yet when the kiss was over I pried my eyelids open and realized that I remained standing. Leo smiled, and at this moment, all felt right with the world once again.

  “Why, Mr. McMyllin,” I began to answer. “Yes, that was most definitely an invitation…to dinner.”

  “Okay, okay,” he laughed.

  It was so good to hear him laugh again.

  “I’ll be over for dinner later. What time?”

  “Um, I don’t know. How about six?”

  “Sounds good. Can you do me one favor, though?”

  “Depends,” I smirked.

  “Can we just keep it all strictly human tonight, please? I could really use a night of how life used to be. You know, no magical problems to be hashed out or supernatural ramifications to consider. Just for one night?”

  “Sure, of course. That sounds nice, actually.”

  “Good.”

  “Agreed.”

  “And we’ll tell our parents about Zoey, and Luke, and The Book tomorrow, all right?”

  “Shit, I almost forgot about that.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  Dinner was great, just like old times again before my new magical world --- which I had actually come to enjoy parts of and sometimes thrived in --- screwed everything up. I would never fully choose to go back, of course, but it was a nice change of pace to take that burden off our shoulders and relax just for the night.

  The lasagna and cheesy garlic bread --- good old-fashioned comfort food --- was delicious. My dad, mom, Leo, and I all sat chatting around the kitchen table as we stuffed ourselves. I hadn’t felt this full --- in more ways than one --- for a very long time.

  I wanted to remember this evening. It was one of those special times, for one reason or another, that I would look back on years from now and reminisce fondly over the good times and good feelings shared by all.

  I could feel it in every single fiber of my being that tonight was special, simply for the normalcy of it. Being a Natural, with a family full of similarly talented Witches and Warlocks, had blown normal right out of the water a long time ago, and now normalcy was the unique and different I craved.

  I did everything imaginable to emblazon this moment for all eternity in my mind; I inhaled the smells, filled my memory with echoes of chatter, felt the thickness of the warm, muggy air --- an after-effect of a just-cooked-in kitchen --- listened to the scrap of our chairs as they scooted across the floor, and savored the feeling of complete and utter joy from being surrounded by my happy, safe, and smiling loved ones.

  It was all wonderful. If it hadn’t been for the looming death this morning of an evil, voodoo-practicing Witch who stole the soul of Leo’s mom and The Book Of Magic, coupled with my idiotic decision to soul-possess one of her inhabited souls for myself --- which I remained too terrified to test out --- it would have been a perfect evening.

  No one could take another bite, and after a sufficient amount of time had passed chatting, stretching, yawning, and holding down our chairs with the weight of our overly-bloated stomachs, we decided to reconvene in the living room for a little bit of TV and fire-gazing.

  My mom demanded that we leave the dishes right where they sat until tomorrow. Leo suggested he and I head outside for a walk, and after asking my parents’ permission, we set off for the back woods.

  “Let’s go to the cabin,” Leo abruptly said when we had walked approximately halfway across the freshly turned over topsoil of the cornfield. It felt loose and squishy beneath my shoes.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Why exactly do you want to go there, though?”

  “Let’s get into the trees and I’ll explain, ‘kay?”

  “All right.”

  We reached the woods at a record-paced, speed walk while thrill, excitement, and anxiousness spread like wildfire between our two bodies, feeding off one another.

  Leo and I ducked under the newly-sprung, kiwi-green leaflets. A flow of orange light burned through the gaps of the treetops and a droplet of sunlight sat on each tiny leaf, reflecting the setting sun as we stood face to face, our hands locked and caressing fingers intertwined.

  “I want you to shift,” Leo quietly demanded.

  “Right now?” He had caught me off-guard. I felt the nervous drop of my stomach which was even more of an uncomfortable feeling on such a full stomach. “I don’t know how. I don’t even know what to do.”

  “That’s why I want to do this here and now…with you.”

  “I thought you said no magic tonight?”

  “Well,” Leo said grinning. “We can tolerate just a little bit of magic now can’t we, Bec?” He kissed me in an act of encouragement. It worked.

  Leo kissed me once more, lightly on my wanting lips; his lips felt almost as if they were barely damp feathers, caressing and enticing me. A sharp thrill of heated, electrified tingles shocked my entire body, causing the hairs on my neck and arms to stand at full attention.

  He pulled away suddenly and stepped back. “All right, let’s do this,” Leo said, clapping and rubbing together his palms.

  “Leo,” I protested. “I don’t know…”

  Out of nowhere, he shoved me; not very hard, but enough that I stumbled back a bit.

  “What the fuck, Leo?”

  He shoved me again, harder this time.

  “Stop that!” I demanded.

  I shoved him back twice as hard as he had done to me, but a second later my body felt the blow of his equaled retaliation.

  “Stop it, stop it, stop it! Why are you being such an ass? What the hell’s wrong with you? ” I fought back the sting in my eyes, and my body shook violently. Uncontrolled emotions and anger ran rampant throughout my heated blood. I started to scream, but it was cut short by my body changing.

  I recognized the sensation soon enough from having witnessed Leo endure the change a handful of times. I was shifting right now, right here. I felt my back hunch over, and I bent down toward the muddy forest floor. My body morphed; some parts shrank to smaller sizes while others elongated and swelled, growing with muscle. I hadn’t noticed that my eyes remained closed for the entire transformation until I felt my hands hit the moist, spongy moss patch, growing from the earth beneath me.

  That’s when I opened my eyes. I soaked in the atrocious sight of black paws where my hands used to be. Relief spread through my body --- whatever it was.

  Oh
thank God, I’m an animal.

  Peace filled my mind at the realization that I hadn’t shape-shifted into some type of hideous, beastly monster or dark, malevolent Wizard. I realized now just how stupid what I had done really was, and thanked heaven the situation had turned out adequately enough. These thoughts were wiped away quickly as the predator’s natural instinct and mind-clarity took over. I was aware of how focused I’d become.

  I was overwhelmed with the acute awareness of my environment, my internal GPS was infallible, and my senses were on fire. Leo stared at me in awe, and grinned his crooked grin from ear to ear.

  The feeling of the animal’s instincts combined with my own human emotions and memories felt amazing. I was strong, vivacious, and alive. The two souls --- the animals and my own --- were intertwined and had truly emerged into one.

  Leo shifted into his mountain lion form moments later, and together we bounded through the woods, easily clearing fallen trees and debris. We wove between newly grown saplings and low branches. It felt amazing to run this way; so easy, free, and astonishingly fun. I don’t know how long it had accumulated inside me throughout my seventeen years, but my body was relishing in this energy and the activity of the experience.

  We ran, fast. Four-legged speed and power definitely beat out two human legs, any day. Leo and I --- mountain lion and I don’t know what; some type of black cat-like animal from the looks of my paws and the long tail attached to my hind quarters --- had reached the cottage almost as quickly as when we’d flown. Both were equally thrilling.

  Leo and I approached the tree with the knot hole and shifted back into our human selves. Surprisingly, the garnet-colored beads on my antique chain along with the weight of the brass key still hung along my collarbone, draping between my naked breasts, unharmed and unaltered. Naked?

  “Oh my God, Leo! We’re naked!” One of my hands went straight between my thighs, the other immediately clamped over my nipples. I dove behind some protective brush. “Leo, do something!” “Well, I clearly didn’t think this all the way through…or maybe I did,” he reconsidered with a quiet chuckle.

  “Leo!”

  “Okay, okay…hold your nipples,” he laughed.

  “Dammit, Leo! This isn’t funny! I’m hiding in a bush…naked! Oh no, now I think there’s a squirrel or something back here starting to sniff around a little too closely.”

  Leo chuckled. “I’m on it, set of clothes coming right up.”

  I thought I heard another chuckle escape him as he turned or clicked whatever it was inside that knothole that made the cabin appear. Leo obviously didn’t have the same hang-ups over nudity as I did. He casually walked up to the cabin door, now covered with new sprouts of bright-green, ivy leaves sprinkled in amongst the larger, darker leaves that had returned to life this Spring, re-sprouting from the past seasons.

  “Be right back,” Leo called from the cottage doorway.

  I considered momentarily sneaking a tiny peak Leo’s direction, but ultimately thought better of it. Instead, I took the opportunity of having these few moments alone, to take in my surroundings. It had usually been so dark all of the times that we’d ventured out here for Sunday dinners. Even the first time I’d been here, it had been very late and completely coated in darkness --- apart from the enchanted, illuminated ground cover which entirely surrounded the cabin --- I was never fully able to view this area of the woods. Now, I soaked it in thoroughly.

  The sun had sunk lower in the sky, playing with the surrounding shadows of the forest. Trees seemed to dance as the red-orange glow permeated the spaces between. Birds chattered overhead, hunkered in their nests for the oncoming night as the bats, I so enjoyed, had begun their evening hunts.

  A breeze blew through the treetops overhead, rattling the newly formed leaflets, and seconds later I caught a slight chill. I hugged myself to fight off the goose bumps when I heard the cabin door click open.

  “Provisions have arrived,” Leo spoke in a gallant voice, as he walked away from the cabin toward me, still crouched in the bushes. He carried a wad of clothing balled under his arm.

  Leo handed the lump of clothing over the bush, and I reached up for it. I pulled but they didn’t budge from Leo’s grasp. Were the clothes caught in the twigs? I raised my head slightly to see what the problem was, and I caught sight of Leo laughing at me from the other side of the bushes. He still hung on to the wad of clothing, and wasn’t letting go. For every tug I made, he pulled back.

  “Leo, seriously?”

  “All right, all right…here. Get dressed, and I’ll wait right over here.”

  “Turn around,” I demanded.

  “Yes ma’am, whatever you say.”

  I quickly threw on the baggy, much-too-large jeans and plaid shirt. I double-rolled the bottoms of the pants so I wouldn’t trip and fall over their excess length.

  “Need any help back there?” Leo called.

  “Very funny. I’m almost done.”

  I buttoned the shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone, then stood on my bare feet and made my way around the bushes toward Leo. “All dressed,” I stated.

  Leo turned to me and my heart lost its regular rhythm when I took in the sight of him. He was wearing nothing more than a dark t-shirt along with a faded pair of light-colored jeans that hung low on his hips. He was barefooted as well. Something about it all --- the frayed ends of the jeans falling onto his bare feet, how the cotton shirt rippled across his brawny chest --- was completely erotic and provocative.

  “You look good,” I spoke before I thought it through.

  “Well thank you, Ms. Olson, so do you.”

  “Thanks,” I blushed, even though I knew he had been partly teasing due to the bagginess of the clothes. “Who’s clothes are these?” “Mine,” he answered.

  “Oh.” It felt overly intimate to be wearing Leo’s clothes, but I liked it.

  “You do look mighty fine in my clothes,” he added.

  “Speaking of clothes, what happened to ours?” I took a step closer to him.

  “Gone,” Leo answered quickly. “They sorta rip to shreds when we shift. There’s a spell to keep them intact and reappear when you shift back to your own body, but I was a little too preoccupied today and it slipped my mind.”

  “Convenient,” I stated sarcastically.

  “For me, yeah. Not so much for you.” Leo smirked as he nudged my arm with his.

  “Uh, huh. So, Mr. Plan-Ahead, how are we going to get all the way back home through these woods…at night…barefooted?”

  “I propose we revisit the sleepover idea,” Leo said with the world’s largest grin spread wide across his gorgeous face.

  “Leo!” I let out a frustrated giggle. He was way too tempting for anyone’s good. Still playing the roll of good girl, I shot Leo and eye roll and my ‘get-serious’ glance.

  “Just kidding, Bec. There are some boots inside. I’m sure one pair will be close enough to your size to work for tonight. Besides, were not walking anywhere.”

  “All right, spill it,” I demanded. “How are we getting home?” “Wouldn’t you just love to know,” Leo put his arm around my waist, leading me into the cottage.

  We stepped through the threshold and I felt the warmth hit my face as the smell of cedar and smoke rolled through the air and rose to my nose. Leo must have started a fire while he had been in here collecting clothes for me. I thought back to when I’d come here that first time with my parents and my dad had built a fire in the blink of an eye, too.

  “There wouldn’t perhaps be a trick to building a roaring fire like that, would there?”

  “Ha, you noticed, did you?”

  I nodded. “My dad did the same thing.”

  “Ah, well, this cottage is enchanted so anyone inside can start the fire. Any other time it’s just a simple incantation. All you need to do is blow some of your sweet Natural breath onto a spark or two…and viola.” Leo gently caressed my lips with his fingertips as he spoke. I tried to ignore the heat from his touch s
preading throughout my body. “How do you know such much more than I do?”

  “I’ve been studying and practicing for an entire year longer than you have, Bec. Besides, you have way more talent than I’ll ever have.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know about that.” I shook my head, lowering it to focus on my fidgeting fingers.

  “Trust me,” he leaned close, almost whispering the words.

  “Right, trust a Warlock, huh?” I teased. “A hormonal, teenage Warlock that has me all to himself, locked up in a magical cabin that’s conveniently buried deep in the dark woods?”

  “Point taken.” Leo winked and flashed a crooked smirk. “We only have about twenty more minutes until we need to get back to your house, why don’t you come sit down with me for a few minutes before we go.” He wrapped my hand in his and led me to the couch. We snuggled in front of the blazing fire.

  “Why do we need to go back so soon?”

  “You’ll see,” he answered, as he brushed a stray hair off my forehead. Leo gently ran his fingers through my loose hair, resting on my shoulders. “You really are beautiful. Have I told you that lately?” “A girl can never hear that enough.”

  “In that case…you’re beautiful…” He kissed my forehead. “…and smart…” He kissed me on the tip of my nose. “…and funny.” He moved my hair, cupping the back of my head as he caressed my neck with his warm, moist lips.

  I tilted my head to the side, relishing in Leo’s soft kisses.

  “You're sweet and kind…” His lips moved to my ear, giving it a tiny, pleasurable nip. “…and I love that you shape-shifted into that gorgeous, black panther…”

  “Is that was I was?”

  “It was hot!”

  “I know the feeling.” I nodded my head ever so slightly.

  Leo continued, “…and I love that you cuss like a sailor…”

  “I do not,” I protested.

  “Okay, sure you don’t.” He kissed my cheek.

  “I don’t,” I insisted.

  “Okay.” He kissed the other cheek. “…and I just love you.”

  Leo’s words hit me with welcome shock. I was confused at first. Had I heard him correctly? I gave the bombshell a moment to sink into my brain, while flashes of memorable moments and images of Leo over the years flooded my mind. I was overcome with the emotions from all the years we’ve spent together. I suddenly felt like I had been waiting for this moment my entire life, and my heart ached with the realization that I needed Leo, in my life and in my soul, always and forever.