Chapter Text
“The question is, will you choose yourself?”
She reached a hand forward, but just before Luz grasped it, the Titan drew his hand back for a moment.
“I must warn you; this power will change you. I can’t promise you will be the same afterwards.” They warned. Luz considered the warning for a moment but continued all the same, grasping his hand.
“Whatever it takes.”
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When Papa Titan first warned Luz the power would change her, she did briefly consider he was being metaphorical. She knew almost certainly it would be something drastic, the power of a Titan isn’t something to scoff at after all. Yet the power she had been infused with was far more drastic than she initially anticipated. She drummed her claws against the sink, the sound echoing around the bathroom. She tilted her head to the side, observing herself in the mirror.
This… would take some getting used to.
She leaned forwards slowly, bringing a claw up to pull at an eyelid, as if somehow underneath would be the usual white colour her eyes had. Yet the inky blackness continued to seep the rest of the orb. Her usual brown eyes had shifted directly into gold territory. They shone under low light, reflecting off her claws ever so slightly. She let go of her eyelid and shifted down to her lips, pulling her upper lip back to reveal her teeth. Sharp canines greeted her, sharper than any human had any right to have. The rest of her teeth had also sharpened to a point, but none had elongated to the length of her canines. They more resembled witch’s fangs then humans. Almost reminded her of a vampire.
Her hand moved up to her hat, the last part of her outfit still on, and slowly pulled it off and cast it aside to look at her hair. One of the few changes she didn’t entirely mind if it were permanent. Sure, normally she preferred shorter hair, but there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with how it was now. It certainly had far more volume than before, and she loved the colour. Honestly if she had changed back, she would be tempted to dye her hair back into the shade it was now. There was also the pair of horns now adorning her head, a feature that would likely be impossible to hide, even if she somehow hid everything else. It also put a weird weight to her head, one she’d have to get used to. It wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, just… different.
Her eyes trailed down to her body now. She had found out the coat could be removed. At first glance it appeared part of her, but upon removal it seemed to just be the same texture and colour as the fur that now covered almost her entire body. The only part of her that remained free of fur was her face and some of her neck. Well, part of her legs too, but she’d get back to that. It was an odd sensation to be covered in fur like she was. She ran her claws through it for a moment. That was another fun part, finding that despite her fingers looking like bone, she could still feel things like normal. And her fur was incredibly soft.
She flexed her fingers in front of her, trying to get used to the fact that yes, that bone was indeed her fingers. Or they were. The sound they made when they removed reminded her of King when he would rub his little claws together. She brought her claws together, a light clinking sounding off as they tapped against each other. Tentatively, she pressed a claw into her palm as a test, pulling away with a light hiss as she indeed proved they were as sharp as they looked. That would change how she handled things, unless she filed them down. Would the bone grow back like nails? How could she even be sure how her own body worked anymore? The fact she had no idea didn’t sit completely right with her.
Her gaze returned to her body in the mirror, looking at her torso. While the coat had rib-like bones, those seemed not so decorative, as after discarding her coat she saw every rib she had wrapped around her body in the same bone appearance as her fingers. Looking down at her legs, she found that they too had been partially covered in fur. This was confirmed after removing the pants, showing indeed she was covered neck to knees. Though it would appear what she believed were some sort of cool boots were in fact not part of her outfit like the rest. She tapped her claw against the blackened skin of her shins. It was indeed skin, as it squished slightly, but far tougher than her human skin before. And it was quite the sight to see bone on the outside of the body. Shins and kneecaps were normally inside the body.
The weirdest part for her, if she were completely honest, were her feet. She no longer had five toes. Instead, she had two large claws, and her heel was also hard as bone. It made it so when she walked, she could hear her footsteps click against the floor. Not to repeat herself, but it was definitely an odd sensation to flex her toes and only feel the movement of two instead of five. They were just as dexterous though, despite their appearance. She could clasp onto things a if she so chose to.
Her gaze finally returned back to her face, looking herself in the eye as she stared at her new look. The words from the Titan echoed once more in her head.
“I must warn you; this power will change you. I can’t promise you will be the same afterwards.”
“No shit.” She whispered to herself, feeling the beginning of tears behind her eyes. She rubbed aggressively before they fell, taking a deep breath in to calm herself down. Once the excitement had died down, and she had time to truly process what this new body meant for her, the reality came crashing in. She wasn’t sure if what she would describe was exactly body dysphoria, but it was likely similar. She knew nothing was inherently wrong with her body, or her appearance. She looked pretty cool all things considered. But it wasn’t what she was used to. Not her human body. It just felt so strange to observe. She wasn’t natural.
She could never really go back to the human realm now, could she? She knew she didn’t really want to live there anyway, she didn’t fit in. But back then she could always at least choose to go back every now and then. But now? She had no choice. Not unless concealment stones could cover up all… this. Even then, it would be an illusion, she reasonably wouldn’t be able to navigate the human realm without suspicion.
If somebody shook her hand, would they feel how hardened her fingers were beneath the illusion? She couldn’t wear shoes anymore without special tailoring of some kind, so would people hear her talons clicking on the floor? What if she caught her horns on something, what then? No, reasonably living in the human realm was no longer a possibility. And while she was sort of ok with that, it still really sucked that she couldn’t even make that choice herself without serious effort.
Did she regret the choice she made, accepting the Titan’s power? No way. Never. She would do it again just as quickly, without hesitation. She did not regret her choices. This power was helpful, no, necessary, in stopping Belos before it was too late. Had she not accepted she was pretty certain she would have been too weak to stop him. He may have won without this power to assist her. But she still gave a huff of frustration knowing she’d need to deal with the consequences.
At least her friends and family were supportive of her during this time.
Eda and King were understandably ecstatic to see her form. It did look like a weird mix of King and Eda’s harpy form after all. But they also understood how this changed her, and the fact she could no longer feasibly return to her old home. Still, it did make her feel a lot closer to King as a result, seeing as she was quite literally half his species now. That was a bonus she supposed.
Camila was shocked. She tried to be ok with it, but she was having a hard time of it. Luz couldn’t blame her. Seeing your own daughter irreversibly changed into half a demon? She’d probably be a little hesitant to accept the change herself. Regardless, Camila understood her choices and didn’t make her feel bad for it. She supported her daughter all the same. At least Luz promised her mother that even if she couldn’t stay in the human realm any longer, she’d visit as often as she could. It wouldn’t be difficult as long as she remained hidden in the house, right?
Amity… if she were being honest Amity was a little too enthusiastic at first. Don’t get her wrong, she cares for Amity a lot. But Amity marvelled a little too much at her awesome girlfriend’s new look. She showered her in endless words of affection and love, saying how gorgeous she looked. And under different circumstances Luz would have accepted it with gusto. But as Amity came to understand what this meant for Luz, she stepped back a moment to instead comfort her girlfriend. She tried to assure her everything would be alright. Luz was glad to have her as her girlfriend.
Willow, Gus and Hunter were equal parts shocked and surprised. Willow and Hunter at least seemed to better understand why Luz wasn’t as excited about this new development after the excitement died down. Ironically Gus was the one who understood her concerns best, even if for different reasons. He was upset that his friend wasn’t human anymore because he thought it was really cool to have somebody from another realm as his friend. Not that being part Titan wasn’t immensely cool and awesome in of itself. But honestly Luz agreed. She would certainly miss being human.
It was going to be interesting letting Vee know she wasn’t the only demon in the family anymore.
With a heavy sigh Luz slowly stepped away from the mirror, turning away from her reflection. It would take some getting used to, not being fully human anymore. It felt like every time she looked at herself, it wasn’t really her body. And to be fair, it wasn’t entirely. She was sure as time went on she’d grow used to it. But she also had fourteen years of her life as a human beforehand. It would just take some adjusting. She wondered if other changes might emerge as she grew older. Would she eventually grow a tail? Would wings sprout from her back? Would she grow tusks?
Only time would tell. For now though, she had to get used to this new normal.