Conversations and consequences.
     

     
--- pre-dawn ---

     
     Early the next morning, just before actual sunrise, Brianna trots back to the cabin and slows to a walk as she approaches the back porch. She avoids the wooden floors so as to not disturb her sleeping friends and stands just to the side. A soft voice speaks up close by making her start.

      “Enjoying an early morning run?”

     Looking around Brianna finds that Amy is curled up in a lounge chair wrapped in a blanket and holding a steaming mug.

      “I didn’t think anyone was up yet, and yea, I had a nice time getting out early.”

     She looks closer and realizes something unusual about Amy.

      “Hey, you’re not wearing your feathers.”

      "No, I’m not,” Amy says quietly.

      “Why? Jun didn’t take them away again did she?” Brianna asks with a bit of heat.

      “No no, nothing like that. My feathers are laid out nicely in my room waiting for me. I took them off last night when I finally returned from flying. Well, except for these,” she states as she extends one leg out from under the blanket and stretches out her talons.

      “Oh, well, alright. Why did you take them off?”

      “I wanted some time to think about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my feathers. I’ll never give them up voluntarily. But I am intelligent. I’ve been thinking about all the different angles of how this is going to permanently affect my life. Not to mention all of you. I wanted some time to think a bit more clearly without the stress of having my wings withheld from me.”

     Brianna nods and trying to move as quietly as possible steps up onto the porch so she can lay down beside her friend. She accepts a mug which gets filled with hot cocoa then waits patiently for Amy to continue talking.

      “When I took off my wings and feathers last night, I could feel that I had to physically peel them away from my skin. It felt like I had painted myself with liquid latex and was pulling it off. They had already started to bond to me before the twenty-four hour limit. I guess once it’s started the time gets shorter.”

      “So, why leave the talons on?”

      “Jun didn’t tell you yesterday, and I’m not sure if she knew, but my feet have altered too. Even my legs to a small extent. I was already permanently stuck walking up on my toes. I couldn’t put my heels on the floor no matter how much I tried, not without doing some serious damage and tearing tendons and ligament and even some muscles. My talons give me a much better balance than my human toes did, so I left them on.

      “They’re a part of me now, and it probably won’t be too long until it’s like I was born with them. I can tell that my human feet are shrinking and reshaping along with my legs. My foot is well over halfway gone. I’m pretty sure that the next time I fly I’ll be pulling my feet up against my belly instead of letting my legs stretch out behind me. It’ll be natural for me to do that.”

     She grimaces suddenly and quickly extends both of her legs out in front of her to rest on the closest chair.

      “Damn. Sudden cramps from my legs changing. That sucks,” she announces.

      “Well it looks like your knees bend backwards now,” Brianna says with a little giggle.

     Amy looks sideways at her large friend with a small smile and shakes her head.

      “Yea, right. Come on now, you know better than that. Those are my ankles.

      “Just like your hind legs my knees have moved up higher with shorter thighs and longer lower leg and foot bones. Even my hips are changing some. I can feel myself leaning forwards more when I stand up. I almost need my tail feathers to help balance me.”

      “How are you doing, up here,” Brianna asks and reaches over to tap the top of Amy’s head.

      “I hate it when my feathers get caught between the pillow and my head and get pulled on,” Amy tells her with a smirk.

     Brianna gives Amy a look and the white feathered girl giggles.

      “I know what you mean,” she says more seriously. “I’m doing better, thanks to you. I was slowly drowning in despair until you made them give me my feathers back.”

      “I hope what they did will not hurt our friendship, we are all so close.”

      “I’ve already forgiven them. Yes, what they did was cruel and driven by fear. But, it was a fear for my safety. I can understand it. If you’re wondering, I didn’t answer Jun’s question yesterday when I whispered in her ear. I told her first that I forgive her, and then that I was simply disappointed that she didn’t trust me enough.”

      “I’m still so very sorry for that, Amy,” Jun says from the doorway. “It took Brianna verbally hitting me upside the head to see what I had done to you.”

     Amy turns and holds out her hand to Jun. The Fox-woman steps over and takes the offered hand only to be pulled down into a hug.

      “Sit with us. Have some cocoa,” Amy tells her.

      “So, not to be insensitive,” Brianna says, “but how much longer would you have been able to hold out?”

     Amy stares off into an unknown distance for a minute as she thinks.

      “If I somehow survived the fall, then in less than a week I would have wound up in the hospital with the majority, if not all, of my bones broken and probably other internal injuries to go with it. I’d be your plaster metal and bandage statue-mummy to look after for the next several months at least after that I assume.”

     The quiet hum of a motor precedes the appearance of their purple scaled aquatic member who joins the trio and accepts her own mug of steaming cocoa.

      “No feathers, bird-brain?” Susan queries.

      “Not right now. I’m enjoying a little time without them for the moment. I kept the talons though out of necessity. It’s easier to walk and keep my balance with them.”

      “Ah, makes sense. Gonna take those off to shower later?”

      “Can’t. It’s already too late to get them off. They’re all me now.”

      “Oh. That’s pretty quick.”

      “Yea, almost couldn’t take off the wings last night as it was. Seems to be happening faster since the bonding began from the first bits.”

      “How is everyone doing with their changes?” Jun inquires.

      “I love that I’m a woman now. I’m still working through the whole Shire sized mare part, but I’m settling into it pretty quickly. I’m obviously nervous about revealing myself to my ranch workers. That’s going to be interesting to say the least.

      “But I’m so scared and worried about Alexandra that I’m a nervous wreck inside. After what Jun finally told us she went through when Alexa captured her, and then told Jun all about how bad the abuse has been, I am afraid I’ll never see her again. I don’t know if I can take that. I love her, unconditionally, and I hope she knows that and comes back to me.”

      “I tried to get the message through once she released me and we got a chance to just talk. She saw her changes as a chance to either get back at people who had hurt her, or just get away and disappear completely. I’m pretty sure that what she almost did to me was a big wakeup call when it finally sunk in that she was literally one muscle movement from killing another person. Her fangs were buried in my belly, all she had to do was squeeze on her poison sac and I’d have been her next meal. It scared her when she fully realized what she had done.”

      “How are your wounds doing?” Amy asks.

      “They’re healing. A bit faster than I expected even. Our new bodies may have a bit of a benefit with a better constitution. I just hope that Alexa can clear her head and come back. She may be scary looking, but she’s still the sweet girl that we all know underneath as far as I’m concerned. It’s just going to take some work for her to come back out again.”

      “At least George and Rebecca seem to be taking it pretty well, maybe that’s a good sign for most of the others you employ?” Susan tries to pull the conversation back around to something less worrisome.

      “Maybe. I can only hope,” Brianna answers.

      “My tail is not the worst thing that has happened to me. I have to admit the little girl in me is ecstatic to be the Mermaid Princess, but the reasoning adult is pretty damn worried about how I’m going to be able to move forwards with this.

      “I’m very much an aquatic creature now. I even have to make sure to keep myself wet when I’m up on land and I absolutely have to have a wheelchair to get around now. I tried crawling around on the floor a couple of times and that just doesn’t work for anything more than a couple of yards at best.

      “The ability to curl up my tail tight against me makes finding a comfy nook to rest or sleep in a lot easier, above or under water. I’ve grown some more gills too, and you can see where all of them are now even while they’re closed,” Susan tells everyone and gestures at both her neck and the sides of her upper ribs to point out the faint lines that mar her flesh in those locations.

      “I’m really glad that I can still breathe air, it would be a lot worse if I was restricted to just breathing water.”

      “Well, like I mentioned a moment ago I'm a lot more stable with my talons now. I’m having to really think about my feathers though. If I put on my wings and don’t take them off then I’ll lose the ability to use my hands almost completely. They’ll get merged into my wings as the bony structures and all I’ll have left to work with is the extra claw they added onto the end of the thumb.

      “That’s not really able to handle any fine or even moderately fine manipulation. I’d essentially become permanently disabled without even the benefit of being able to freely move around like Suz can when she’s in water. I’ll probably need an assistant caretaker to be around me on the ground for the rest of my life.

      “Although,” Amy continues pensively, “I’ve started trying to do little things with my talons. There’s some promise that I could get good with that.”

     Amy reaches out with one foot and grasps the large thermos in her talon then carefully pours herself some fresh cocoa and puts it back down.

      “How are you doing Jun?”

      “I’m not too happy to be honest. I love my job at the hospital, and I just don’t see them letting me continue working as a doctor with all of this fur. It’s a disaster when it comes to maintaining a sterile field. I’m already finding shed hairs in my bed.

      “If it weren’t for losing my job though, this might not be so bad. I’ve studied the history of my ancestral Japanese culture pretty extensively, especially when it comes to the legends of the Kitsune. Even as a kid I was fascinated by them, and now I am one. At least physically. And a Five Tail to boot!” she states proudly.

      “I take it that’s something good then?” Susan asks.

      “The Kitsune gain tails as they grow and learn. The lowest rank is basically a newborn kit with only one tail. The older and wiser they get the more tails they display. And the more power they have.”

      “So, where do five tails rank?” Amy prompts.

      “Nine is the most and the most powerful one. That would be Inari herself, although the historical legends allude to the possibility of there being other nine-tails as well.”

      “So having five tails is not too shabby then I take it. That would make you a mid ranking foxy.”

      “Yes, it is. It would also mean that I’d have certain responsibilities to go along with it if I really were one of the mythical Kyūbi no Kitsune.”

      “So, what if you could find a way to do something about your new coat?” Brianna wonders. “Would you be able to continue working as an active doctor then?”

      “Well, actually, if you are to believe the tales then Foxes are capable of shape shifting. Were that possible then I might be able to disguise my true form and remain a doctor,” Jun says, but there is something in the way she says it that catches Amy’s attention.

      “Wait,” Amy interrupts. “There’s something you’re not telling us. In fact, it’s been brought up a couple of times that your costume only had three tails. Yet there you sit waving five at us. Spill. What do you know?”

      “I honestly don’t have any clue as to where the two other tails came from. I swear.”

      “Okay. Keep going,” Amy pushes.

      “Well,” Jun stands up. “I’ve been trying some things. And I can do this now.”

     She stands still for a moment and four of her tails seem to shrink down and merge into the central tail. A moment later and she has only one tail extending from her tailbone. Turning around she lets the others see and feel that there’s no indication at all that there should be more than one tail present.

      “I can also change my face some,” Jun informs as she turns back around to face them.

     Closing her eyes, Jun’s jaws shrink and pull back into her face until her muzzle is no more than an overly developed nose and chin that protrude out an inch or two.

      “That’s amazing!” Amy gushes. “Is that all you can do?”

      “I still can’t get my fur to recede, yet. I don’t seem to be able to change my legs or paws so far. And no matter how hard I try or how well I can hide the rest of my tails, I just can’t hide that one even a little bit.”

      “Soooo, you still going to keep telling us you’re not a real Kitsune?” Brianna wants to know.

     Jun smirks at them.

      “Weelll, maybe not quite so stringently,” Jun giggles.

      “Okay, be that way. But you keep that up and get better at it then you just may get to keep doctoring.”

      “Yea, I really am hoping so. That’s what’s keeping me upbeat and going.”

      “Anyone got a feel for how Petra is doing?” Susan asks.

      “I don’t think she’s doing all that good actually,” Jun says.

      “No, he’s not,” Amy states which gets a look from Brianna.

      “I know what I said, Bree. Peter may have taken the name Petra, and is referring to herself in the feminine, but Pete is still in there and having a really hard time with the new gender.

      “Jun told us about how strange he was acting when she found him in the woods. Since he got back to the cabin he’s been fighting the new girl internally the whole time.”

      “How do you know this? She seems to be doing alright to me,” Susan says.

      “I’ve had a couple of talks with him and her. Pete is trying to adjust and accept that she is Petra now, but it’s hard on him. His male ego has taken some pretty hard hits and it’s dragging down his core self. Peter never had any transgender leanings like Brianna did. He was solidly and happily cis-gendered to the male body he was born with.

      “Having Jun forcibly, to his point of view, point out his new breasts to him was a big hit to that male ego. He couldn’t dismiss it now that someone else had noticed them. Then he went and laid a clutch of eggs.

      “He pretty much told us himself, in his mind that act was probably the most female thing he could have done short of having sexual intercourse with a man and it just about shattered what was left of his male ego. She’s trying to rebuild her persona from the inside out, but still has what’s left of him getting in the way.

      “Petra is very very confused right now. She’s going to need all of our support and probably a professional or two to help get her through this,” Amy looks pointedly at Brianna.

      “I think I know one who can help,” Brianna says with a nod. “As long as she can get past the whole mythological creature thing that is. I hope she doesn’t have a fear of snakes. Maybe I should go see her for myself and see how she does with me first.”

      “Not a bad idea. Once we leave here that is,” Jun agrees. “We only have a few days left on our scheduled vacations. We are going to have to come up with something fast about how we’re going to deal with returning or not returning to the public view.”

      “I think some answers from the company are in order, personally. And I want straight talk, no hiding behind proprietary secret Bee Ess or hedging their talk with half truths.”

      “You have a point Susan. They owe us a whole lot on that front and then some. And we’ve all been very patient with all of their tests and scans and poking and prodding,” Brianna states. “I’ll be sure to line up some kind of conference with them by tomorrow at the latest.”
     
     
--- early afternoon two days later ---
     
     
     Susan looks up as the sound of large wings heralds the landing of her friend.

      “Good timing Amy, we’re about ready to start back up again. The flight help any?”

      “Some. I just let the empty air around me take precedence and didn’t think about anything to clear my head. Is that woman going to be alright?”

      “No, she’s not alright,” Jun answers from the doorway. “We all heard her bones snapping. Both of her legs are broken in multiple places, her pelvis does not look right, and at least one arm is broken if not both, not to mention the damage to multiple ribs.”

      “That’s not good. I’m sorry she’s hurt, but Petra beat me to it. I was about to leap over and sink my talons in her face myself. I never thought Petra could move that fast.”

      “She definitely proved the old axiom of ‘fast as a striking snake’. I wish she hadn’t though. It’s not going to help our position. While I agree that woman was being a royal pain in the ass, what Petra did will put us on the defensive now.”

      “Yea, I suppose so. Help me get my wings off if you would. I still want my hands free for this.”

      “Oh, good, the three of you are here,” Brianna says as she comes outside. “They’re ready to reconvene. And this time all of the lawyers are going to be kept out, from both sides.”

      “Should have done that from the start. They were getting in the way of intelligent conversation,” Susan states.

      “What about Petra? Please don’t tell me they’ll keep her out too,” Amy wants to know as she is carefully folding her wings over her arm.

      “No, she’s waiting for us in the conference room. They admit that woman was being obstructive and an idiot and actually trying to get us mad. We’re going to have some problems to look forward to because of her, but right now it’s only going to be the five of us and the real doctors and techs from their side in there.”

      “How are the wings?” Jun asks. “Any trouble getting them off?”

      “No, they came off fairly easily since it was a short flight and I only had them on for an hour. But I think it may already be too late to get my feathers off. At least not without some serious pain,” Amy says while smoothing out the plumage on her chest.

      “They’re bonding even faster then,” Jun replies. “You’re going to have problems keeping your human arms free soon if that trend keeps up. Maybe even the next time you put them on for even a short flight later today I’m guessing.”

     Amy nods, but protectively hugs her wings closer as they walk back inside.

      “Guys, I’m sorry about earlier,” Petra tells them with downcast eyes when they enter the room. “I guess I have some anger issues I need to deal with. I just got so mad at her though! I literally saw red around my vision and couldn’t stop myself from lashing out. By the time I was able to get control over my anger she was already past the screaming part and gasping for air in my coils.”

     Amy artfully drapes her wings over the back of her chair to display them then turns to her sinuous companion. Stepping over she gives Petra a hug.

      “I’m pretty sure all of us were pissed at her by then, and you only moved faster than anyone else. I was on the verge of violent mayhem myself. Bree says that there won’t be any lawyers in here this afternoon, so hopefully there won’t be a need for a repeat of this morning.”

     Petra nods and returns the hug then they all take their places at the table.

     The doctors and techs from the company file in and take their seats with several apologies being made by both sides. The talk barely resumes when they are interrupted by the doors opening up. Everyone turns to look in surprise at the figure that enters, but it is Brianna who moves first and the fastest.

      “ALEXA!” she cries out as she grabs her sister in a back breaking embrace.
     
     
--- later that night ---
     
     
     The fire crackles and sends sparks drifting up into the air as six odd looking individuals sit around it.

      “That’s just nuts. I can’t believe they did it. It was so irresponsible,” Amy states as she stares into the flames.

      “What are you going to do?” Jun asks. “Will you put on your wings again?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “How about their idea to alter the wings a little bit to allow you to get your hands or at least your fingers through to the outside? That might work.”

      “And it also might seriously mess up the air flow around my wings to the point where I would not be able to fly properly or even not at all. So no, there is no way I’m going to risk that,” Amy says while idly preening her feathers by running her fingers through them.

      “If they could connect to the micro computer then maybe they could do something to change what would happen. Give you a better chance to keep your working hands or something while leaving your ability to fly in tact,” Susan says.

      “Yea, it would. But that’s the problem, isn’t it?” Amy responds. “There’s no computer in there. Not in any of us. The damn thing’s just gone, along with every other bit of any devices they stuck in us.”

      “Well, to be more accurate, those things have been absorbed and integrated into our own bodies. Technically speaking, we’re all cyborgs now,” Brianna adds.

      “Yes and no,” Petra corrects. “All of the mechanical structures they built into the costumes have been merged and integrated into our bodies, and at the same time they were altered to become mostly organic extensions or replacements that match our bodies.

      “We all have bio-mechanical augmentations woven through our skin, bones, muscles, and other tissues now. We’re harder to injure from accidental and intentional damage, with variations according to our new forms. Amy, for example, has hollow bones just like a bird making her lightweight, but those new fibers that are throughout her entire skeleton have two effects. One, they further reduce the amount of bone to make her even lighter, and two they make her bones at least twice as strong as the average human's bones, maybe even more. And we’ve all got some type of enhancement like that based on what we are now.”

      “They didn’t really understand the technology they were dealing with,” Alexa says. “It was, and is, way beyond them. We’ve all paid the price for both their ignorance and arrogance.”

     Brianna smiles down at her sibling and pulls her closer against her side. She hasn’t let Alexa get more than a few feet away from her since she returned without reaching out and touching the girl affectionately again.

      “What the hell were they thinking?!?” Amy suddenly exclaims. “They find a damn crash site for an extraterrestrial spacecraft, and they kept it secret? Instead of getting as many of the smartest people from around the world in there to study and research the thing, they create a company and build their entire physical corporate center over top of the place!

      “And now, they’ve roped us into their secret too! In exchange for continued help and support and medical care we have to keep quiet and tell nobody about it,” she trails off as her ire loses steam.

      “Yea, that does grate on the nerves a bit if you look at it that way,” Jun commiserates with Amy. “But we all agreed to it and signed our acceptance on the dotted lines. We’re freaks for the rest of our lives, and we have to hide something huge along with ourselves to one degree or another, but at least we have some place to turn if we’re in need of help.

      “I mean, we pretty much have a blank cheque right now. They’ve got you a caretaker lined up already Amy. Susan will have a part time assistant for when ever she is on land starting tomorrow. All at no cost to us. The rest of us don’t need nearly as much help with day to day life for the most part. Although I guess Bree could use some help with bathing, but it looks like she’s already got that covered from her ranch. They really are trying to do good by us.”

      “Brianna? Um, do you think Rebecca might be my caretaker instead?” Amy asks hesitantly.

      “Well, I know both she and George adore you. They’ve never been able to have children, and I think they’ve kinda adopted you as a surrogate daughter anyways along with Alexa here. All you’d have to do is ask and I think it would be a done deal.”

      “Those two are sweet on all of us, even after our changes,” Petra giggles. “But yea, I’m pretty sure that Ames is their favorite.”

     Amy stands up and gently cradles her wings in her arms. Staring down at them, she makes her way out of the ring of light from the campfire.

      “Amy? Are you okay? Where are you going?” Alexa asks.

     Amy continues to walk as if she hasn’t heard her friend. Just before she fades into the darkness she pauses for a moment.

      “I think I’m going to go out for a night fly. I’ll see you all in the morning,” they hear drift back to them on the breeze, and then she’s gone.

     Alexa stands up and walks a few paces as if to follow.

      “Let her go,” Jun stops her.

     Alexa turns and retreats to settle in once again beside her sister and gladly returns the hug she receives.

      “How are you doing, my little web spinner?” Brianna questions.

      “I’m here. I need to be here. I need you, all of you. I don’t want even one of you to go away. Not even for a minute. That’s why I tried to follow Amy.”

      “She’ll be okay.”

      “But, she’s going to put her wings on. She’ll lose her arms and hands.”

      “Yes, she is,” Bree says. “And it’s going to be a hard thing for her to deal with afterwards. But to not do it would be even harder. Amy really is meant to fly, I believe that. We just need to give her some space right now, and when she comes back we can give her all of the love and support she needs to get through it. She gives us so much of herself, can we do any less for her?”

      “No, I guess not. I want to help be her assistant too. I’m not going back to that school so I’ll have plenty of time to be around.”

      “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on? Why did you keep it from me when you know I could and would have done something about it?”

      “I didn’t want to burden you, Sempai. It was my trials to bear, I had to get through them on my own.”

      “Ah, so it’s to be like that then Kohai?”

      “Hai.”

     Brianna shifts so she can turn to look at her sister and pulls her face around so they are looking at each other.

      “Bullshit,” she quietly says. “Alexandra, I swear you can be the most stubborn intelligent idiot I know sometimes.

      “I am saddened that you did not come to me. I’m here for you. I’m your big sister and I love you. I will always listen to you and do everything I can for you. And you have four other sisters right here who will back me up. Well, one of them is off dealing with their own demon at the moment, but still. You did something terrible because you didn’t think.”

      “I know, and I am so sorry Jun. I let my own inner demons rule over my new instincts and you got hurt. I’m glad that you are healing and will be okay. I hope you can forgive me in time.”

      “You scared the hell out of me, Alexa, and hurt me deeply both physically and mentally. I was helplessly wrapped up in a cocoon of your impossibly strong silk and no more than a thought from being digested from the inside out. Your fangs were buried in my belly and caused some serious damage. I’m lucky it was not fatal just from being stabbed with those things. I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to stop having nightmares from that ordeal.

      “But, I will not abandon you or turn you away. We may need to be a bit cool with each other for a while, but I still love you.”

      “That was also not good,” Brianna breaks in. “You’ve got some bridges to fix because of that. But that’s not what I’m talking about.”

     Alexa looks up at Bree with a confused expression.

      “You intentionally and knowingly put yourself into a harmful and potentially deadly situation. You knew more about these space-borne, technology enhanced, transformation inducing, gifts of our new bodies than all of us put together. At the time, even you did not know just what would happen by not removing the costumes before the set time limit expired. It could have killed us, you included. Changed our bodies in such a way that it could no longer sustain life and left any one or all of us dead.

      “Yet you left your suit on, knowingly. Welcoming the risks. Were you trying to die? Is that what it was?”

     Alexa bows her head, ashamed.

      “Yes,” she barely whispers.

      “Oh my god,” Brianna says as tears escape to trickle down and she pulls her beloved sibling into a tight embrace.

      “Please, never never never do something like that again. As much as everything else has confused and tormented me to one degree or another through all of this mess, the one thing that hurt the most was the thought of losing you. I was going out of my mind thinking you’d run off somewhere, never to return. It broke my heart.”

      “I -”

      “No, no apologies Alexandra,” Brianna stops her. “No debasing yourself. Just understand that I love you, and promise me.”

     Alexa nods.

      “I promise Brianna. I love you too.”

     The friends sit quietly and watch the fire. A few minutes later the sound of large wings is heard. Looking up to try and catch a glimpse, each one offers a silent prayer of luck and well being for their friend.
     
     
--- the next morning ---
     
     
     Brianna walks slowly through the early morning mists as they begin to burn off in the rising sunlight. Looking up to the sky she spots a large bird high up among the sparse clouds. It appears to be circling the general area of the cabin.

      “I wonder if that’s Amy. I hope she’s alright,” Brianna says softly.

     She continues to watch the airborne figure and a few minutes later it makes a sudden course change, practically diving straight at her. Brianna quickly recognizes that it is indeed her friend who has apparently spotted the large Centaur and is coming down to join her. Brianna stops in the middle of the clearing she is in and waits.

     Amy gracefully swoops in and with a great flapping of her wings lands a few scant feet in front of Brianna. The look on Amy’s face is neutral and unreadable. She holds her wings awkwardly out before her and stares at them for a moment before looking up at Brianna.

     With tears starting to trickle down her cheeks, she says, “They’re gone,” then collapses to the ground.

     Brianna quickly steps forward and kneels down to lay beside her friend where she can gather the small woman up in her arms and cradles the bundle of feathers to her chest. Amy tucks her head up under Brianna’s chin and snuggles into the embrace, her tears slowly falling. She does not sob or shake, nor let out any great wails of distress; the tears are her only outward sign that she recognizes what she has lost.

      “They won’t come off now, will they,” Brianna quietly asks.

     An even quieter, barely heard “No” is whispered and drifts up to her ears.

     The newly minted equine woman holds one of her closest friends tight and lets her spend her grief.