“Then you need to let me see you.”
“But I’m not…um…”
“If you’re sick, I can get you medicine.”
“There’s no medicine for…this.”
My eyebrows rise in concern. “Aisen, get decent, I’m coming in after three knocks to see how you’re doing. I have to.”
“Uhh,” he whines. As promised, I knock three times, pause, and then open the door.
What I see is nothing bad. My nephew’s hands are holding up the covers over him. When I get closer, I notice his hands are red-orange in color.
“You shifted in bed,” I say gently. That’s not illness, and I sense mild relief. “You can shift back.”
“That’s not…the problem.” He pokes his little head out of the comforter. His face is smooth and orange, similar to mine when I’m in my kraken form.
“I used to shift all the time in my sleep,” I say, gently. Sitting down at the edge of his bed, I notice his tentacles squirm under the sheets, but that’s normal in this house. “It’s a regular part of being a monster.”
“But that’s not…”
My gaze tracks the rest of the bed. “Did you ink the sheets? I’ve done that.”
“No, I didn’t do…that.”
I try to pull the comforter, but he holds it still. My eyebrows rise in shock when another thought rises. “Aisen, being a fourteen-year-old boy comes with…changes.” I bite back a grimace. “Some nights you might experience something called a nocturnal emiss?”
“No! Not that either! Ew.”
My relief is significant. I’m not exactly enjoying this conversation. “Aisen, then what is it? Because we have to get you to school.”
He whimpers. “I…shifted into another monster.”
My eyebrows rise, and I stand up. “Wait, what?”
Aisen takes off the covers and nods. He’s in his kraken form, a miniature, red-orange version of me. In the next moment, he morphs again, and I step back.
Woah. He’s a massive red octopus.
A giant cephalopod now occupies Aisen’s bed, and the tentacles, each several yards in length, occupy the room. He knocks over a chair, and I nearly leap to get out of his way.
It’s startling for sure, and I try to school my disturbed expression. After two more seconds, however, I recognize Aisen’s eyes in the giant octopus form. He’s still my boy. And he’s discovered another monster form. This must be a distressing time, so I need to be there for him.
“Look at me,” he whines, his voice deep in the bestial form.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.”
“It is?”
“Yeah.”
His eyes roll. “You look so freaked out, Uncle Reed.”
After calming my expression, I sit on the only unoccupied corner of the mattress. “I was just surprised. I’m getting used to it. And now I am.” I give his massive tentacle a light punch. “You’re totally fly.”
He snickers. “That’s not a thing anyone says anymore.” With that, we both laugh. I consider it a win that my nephew seems more relaxed than moments ago.
“Look, Aisen, I accept any monster forms you have.”
