As Sebastian began to drift off to sleep, his body rose and he hovered vertically a foot off the ground. Black feathered wings, with teal tips sharp as razors, burst from his back, shredding the pastel button-down shirt he had been wearing. His body slowly began to change as well, softening at the chest, dipping in at the waist, and rounding at the hip. The changes were slight and subtle, but easy to see for anyone familiar enough.
Eyes snapped open, revealing inky pools with only hints of teal shimmering underneath, staring unblinkingly at the vampire, completely and unfathomably expressionless.
A voice, soft and cold, with an eerie echo, sounded from Serena's lips:
"Hi, Xandy."
xoxo
"You look confused," Serena said after a pause, in the same strange, echoing monotone. "There's been a sort of transdimensional paradox. That Sebastian really did die and lose his memory. If you want my opinion, it's for the best that he doesn't remember you. Otherwise, he would despise you, as I do. Can you imagine how it would feel knowing it took literally dying to stop being taken for granted?"
Her wings flexed as she continued. "And I'm the person you left behind, in a foreign country, on that cute little aborted search and rescue mission. That's probably for the best, too. You never really saw me as a woman, or even as someone who could be desired regardless of gender identity. I loved you more than anything and it wasn't enough. I even pushed away someone who was attracted to me because I kept hoping you would come around." Though her voice remained expressionless, oily red-black tears slipped from inky-black eyes and down her cheeks. They left trails that looked like discolored paint water on her cheeks and burned acidic marks onto the floor.
"Sebastian is still bonded to you. This version of me is not. Lucifer stayed with me and took over my duties to the realm I now serve until I got control of myself. He helped me make new bonds when the opportunity presented itself. Sebastian needs him more now, to acclimate to his life as an adult."
Something flickered in her eyes. For the briefest moment, their original bright teal was visible, until they filmed over with that darkness again. "Don't lament that Sebastian has lost his memory. He loves you." She plucked one of her own teal-edged black feathers and placed it on the end table by the couch. "This will remove any lingering doubt. The split between my being and his was not as clean as one would think. He had... dreams, I suppose you could call them, about conversations he had had with... others. It doesn't matter. I'm doing you this one last favor. Enjoy what you have. It'll last if you make it so. If you have any questions, you can ask Lucifer."
With that, she seemed to float up away from Sebastian's body, leaving him as he'd been before she'd visited. Sebastian blinked awake, seeing only the last vestiges of what he took to be a mirage, before closing his eyes and resting again.
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