“Ready, miss, thanks for waiting. Here we go.” He put his hands in front of me, urging me to get walking.
“Nice getup, bro,” Ulric said with a grin.
“Don’t encourage him.” I nudged Ulric’s shoulder to get him moving and checked to make sure Cedric was following. “We don’t know what waits out there, so let’s keep this speedy. If anything happens, one of you should get me airborne, and the others should fight. Or maybe we should all go airborne? I’m not the best person to come up with our battle-aversion strategy. I wasn’t even good at Battleship.”
All the humor fled from Ulric as we walked. “Because of my age and stature, I can change in a hurry. I’ll get you in the air if Mr. Tom and Cedric can run interference.”
“Yes,” Cedric replied.
“I excel at battle,” Mr. Tom said.
“Okay, then,” Ulric said, his grin creeping back.
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that,” I murmured, peering into the shadows as we walked. The still night allowed for sound to carry, not hindered by the scattering of leaves in the wind or the groaning of branches, but not a sound drifted out of the trees. Houses, pushed back from the street, sat quietly, their lights either dim or dark. The crescent moon hung high in the sky, shedding weak light.
“Why do you dye your hair the same color as your other form?” I asked quietly, my footsteps the only ones that made a sound.
“I assume you are talking to me?” Ulric whispered. I couldn’t tell if he was mimicking me, or if he was also on high alert.
“Mr. Tom’s form is not white-gray, so I am clearly not talking about him.”
“I used to have lush black hair that was a similar shade to my form, thank you very much,” Mr. Tom said. “I have now given up hope that you will do the right thing and change us all back to the glory of our youth, however.”
“That ship has sailed, Mr. Tom,” I replied.
“Wonderful, yes, using my words against me. How fitting,” he said dryly.
“Oops. Sore subject?” Ulric chuckled. “I thought that was part of the deal, though.” He bent a little as he looked right, the houses having ended and now just wood around us. This was the perfect place for an ambush, and had been used for that in the past. “I read that those who are chosen regain the power of their youth.”
“The power, yes. We do have the power, and all the wrinkles to go with it,” Mr. Tom grumbled.
“So it didn’t work in your case?” Ulric asked me.
“It would have, and I definitely allowed some body upgrades, because why would I pass that up, but…” I shrugged. “I’m me. The world at large is always telling us women that we need to be younger, prettier…but I’m comfortable being me. There is nothing wrong with me. I’ve earned the right to look my age and still get taken seriously.”
“And if they don’t take you seriously, to hell with ’em.” Ulric pumped a fist. “I like it. Well, if I make the cut, you can age me up if you want, I don’t care. The pink hair is my way of owning who I am, to answer your earlier question.” He gave me a small bow. “I didn’t forget.”
“Oh, good. We were waiting with bated breath,” Mr. Tom said.
“I was a boy who grew up when pink was solidly for and worn by girls. Given my other form is pink…I was teased. A lot. Add to that my smaller stature, my chattiness, and my usual good mood, and I stood out about as much as you do in this town.” He laughed when I frowned at him. “When I got older, being teased turned into being bullied. Then being beaten. I was jumped by four big dudes who left me for dead. That was a good time. I had to drag myself back home. I didn’t have many friends, and those I did have wouldn’t dream of sticking up for me and paying the price. Some of those years were pretty rough, but they taught me to accept myself. The only reason those people targeted me was because I didn’t fit into their worldview, which made them insecure. People still react like that sometimes, but I just smile and nod. If it makes them angrier, then I ignore their anger, and if they decide to push the matter? Well, I’ll make them sorry.” He shrugged. “So I dye my hair to let people know that I’m comfortable in my own skin.
He pulled a face. “An unforeseen development is that it’s become trendy for guys to wear pink. I got complimented for my hair the other day. People probably think I’m wearing my hair like this to be cool rather than celebrating being different.”