11 Oct 2024
Augustus looks up from her sketchbook to smile across the yard at it, eyes blinking hard. The Changeling distracts itself from the way the tic and expression both push the skin around her eyes into soft little folds and creases by staring at the way the sun cuts a halo against the broad silhouette of her shoulders instead. Eventually, it glances away altogether — even with sunglasses on, it is too bright to withstand gazing directly at her for long.
"Now who's got a lot to say?" Augustus asks, poking her tongue out from between her teeth, and Changeling turns to busy itself with the bleach again, scowling.
17 May 2025
Augustus' car is still parked in the driveway, it notices immediately. The car engine was not passing at all, but idling, and when Changeling's mother opens the door to lean inside, a noise in the cacophony sharpens enough to be distinguishable to Changeling's hearing: Augustus is crying.
When a bolt of lightning illuminates the shape of her through the rain — a split second recognition of her hands pressed harshly over her ears — the Changeling can hear her shriek.
The first time Augustus spent the night at the Changeling's house was far from planned...
02 Oct 2024
"My mother was called in for an emergency shift," it explains tightly. "So she could not drive me at the correct time. She informed me I would simply have to wait inside the store until my scheduled shift arrived."
"Oh, gross, don't do that," Augustus supplies immediately, and then forces herself to course-correct, head twitching to the side. "Or, I mean, you could, like it is allowed, but you don't have to. My lunch break just started, so you can just sit with me instead."
The Changeling turns its head just enough to stare at her from the corners of its eyes. "Obviously," it says, and its tone broadcasts the implicit 'Idiot' so clearly that even Augustus can hear it. The whole thing makes her feel unbearably fond.
19 Nov 2024
Something strange feels caught inside of its rib-cage, though. It does not really understand what or why. Perhaps it is worried about Augustus? But it has felt that before, and that does not feel right. Or, at least not wholly right.
Then it thinks that it is not sure if it has ever heard anyone else speak in its defense before. Not really. The feeling in its throat intensifies at the thought, sharp and aching.
Tomorrow, Aurora will go back to college and never call to talk to Augustus, and so as long as Augustus doesn't think about it, it will be much easier to forget that it hurts. Tonight, it is Augustus' birthday, and she is going to have a good time hanging out and having fun with her best friend, and there is nothing anything can do to change that.
She nods to herself and gets her bag, makes sure that her car doors are locked, and then goes to knock on Changeling's door.
15 Oct 2024
It is bad already, but she knows from experience that it will continue to get worse. The goalpost is shifting further back every time Augustus gets close to fulfilling the insistent need to move. Her head snaps back hard enough to ache a little, muscles in her neck yanking sharp against nothing at all, leaving her a little dizzy. Her breath catches uncomfortably in her sinuses.
A distressed noise catches high up in the back of Augustus' throat. She is having a truly terrible time.
"Okay," comes Changeling's voice finally, its tone as flat as always. "I suppose I will watch the register, then."
26 Nov 2024
A memory of a teacher's voice nags in the back of her head that hiding will not fix anything at all. All of the tasks and problems will still be there, unfinished, whenever she manages to emerge, she knows it. Augustus does her best to shove the annoying insistence away; she knows she isn't fixing anything, but she feels less like she is liable to crumble and meltdown entirely while she is here. The hiding solves nothing, maybe, but at least it helps with that.
08 May 2025
"Do you ever wish you knew Spanish?" Augustus asks unceremoniously one evening. "Like, enough to speak it?"
01 Oct 2024
"You're warm," Augustus mumbles, half to herself, shuffling the rest of her body in closer to pin her arms down under the weight of her own chest, body pressed up against Changeling's side. It freezes, hands hovering uncertainly above her shoulders, unsure of what to do with itself. Usually, it would have shoved her off immediately. Usually, she would have asked before she touched it at all. She used to forget to do this frequently, but has not done so in a while. Do I hate this? Changeling wonders anxiously, and has no answer for itself.
Oblivious, Augustus finishes curling her body around the Changeling's side and sniffs pathetically. Instead of asking for either forgiveness or permission for the breach in etiquette, she says, "Cover my eyes, man — your lamp is too bright."
04 Jan 2025
The Changeling is barely discovering what it means to want to be touched at all. What if this want is purely theoretical? Wanting the idea more than its actuality? Will Augustus be disappointed?
Would Changeling?
27 Oct 2024
'Changeling,' she thinks about texting, wishing against all reason that it was here for her now. 'I went on a walk and got hit by a car. I came all this way, and did not even get to look through the stupid card packs. How is that fair?'
04 Apr 2025
A little snippet of a "Magical Realism / Werewolves are Known" AU where Augustus wakes up after her first shift. TW: blood, gore, body horror, Horror. Not a lighthearted, casual shapeshifter wolf situation.