Ty returned to Camille’s forest and was startled to find that it was withering. The vines had fallen in heaps, the flowers were drooping, and the great tall trees were shedding their leaves.
The tall burly deer God found Camille sitting on a rocky throne. She looked terrible, her eyes were sunken, and when she saw Ty she sighed dejectedly and put her head in her hand.
“W-What happened?” Ty blinked, motioning to falling leaves and dying plants.
“I suck.” Camille sighed heavily. “I transformation raped a couple of crows.”
“What?” Ty said in uncomprehending shock. “What do-“
“I used two birds to get myself off. I changed them. And I raped them with my power by forcing them to get off. They didn’t want it. They’re both grossed out. I suck.”
“Oh.” Ty said simply. “Where are they now?”
Ty glanced down to Camille’s hooves and with a start he realized they were gone. Her feet had been entirely scorched away down to the bone, and the nuns that remained were blackened and smouldering.
“C-Cam, your...”
“I know.” She sighed. “I tried to undo your ‘gift’ and I started to burn up. I guess my power can’t counter yours. Then I decided to kill the plants. They weren’t beautiful anymore. Like me.”
“Okay.” Ty began to hyperventilate. “This is not where we need to be right now. You need to calm down.”
“What if I didn’t want this?” Camille spat. “Queen of the forest my fucking spotted ass. I’m just a gross pervy deer. Now, was that from me? Or was it you?”
Ty was so hurt that he reeled back as if slapped. “Hey! I’m not the one who change raped a couple of animals here!”
Camille whimpered and teared up. “No, you’re right. W-Would you... go? And check on them?”
“Yes.” Ty sighed. “Just... promise me you won’t do anything stupid. I love you.”
“Yeah.” She said sullenly. “I love you too.”
=====
After a hike of nearly two hours in the dead of night, Ty found the family of crows resting at the base of a grove of trees. He stopped for a moment, staring at them in his night vision under the moon, and was suddenly taken with how beautiful they all were.
There were two adults, a male and female. Under the female’s inviting wings Ty saw two youngsters cuddled under her sleeping peacefully. The male had a slightly older child of maybe twelve nestled next to his father. They were all sleek and fantastic.
Ty cleared his throat gently and jumped as the father darted one eye open, staring directly at him in eerie silence.
“H-Hello. I wanted to talk to you. Uh, on behalf of Camille.” Ty whispered.
The father sighed as the others stirred and gently set his oldest son on his side to let him rest. He approached Ty and stared up at him fiercely. The bird’s eyes were menacing.
“Tell her highness that as two newly intelligent creatures we’ve both decided that we disliked what she did to us so completely that we want no part of her new world anymore. Change us back, make us dumb again, I don’t care. Just leave us alone.”
“I would never do that to you, friend. I barely even know what happened.” Ty sighed and held his snout for a moment. “What did happen?”
Ty felt a presence to his left and realized that the female had snuck to his side with frightening stealth and was listening.
She held her hand on her hip and sighed. “Look, these new bodies are amazing. We love them. But your queen, deer, whatever, she held us in this agonizing pleasure and pain thing and forced us to get off so she could. We feel...” she sighed and trailed off, shaking her head.
“We feel dirty. Used.” The male finished, hanging his head. “Imagine being brought into existence and feeling all that. We were made helpless to resist.”
“I understand.” Ty said weakly. “That must have been terrible.”
“The worst part is, I kind of liked it.” The female wrung her wing/hands together nervously. “It was kinky as hell and I guess I enjoy that.”
“She should have asked us!” The male insisted. “She might have liked it but I didn’t! The only one who touches me is my mate! What else will she force us to do? Huh?”
“You have valid points and I hear them.” Ty said diplomatically. “We can’t go around forcing our will on other creatures. That’s not what we wanted.”
“Okay!” The male threw his hands up. “There! Finally something is making some sense! I mean, I’ve only just been brought into the world.”
“Who are you, anyway? You deer?” The female crossed her arms. “What is all this?”
With a heavy sigh, Ty began to tell his story. The two crows crouched down in the trees, listening patiently, occasionally exchanging glances, as Ty told the complete truth. When he was finished, the two stared at the buck and seemed even more exasperated.
“Okay, let me get this straight.” The male sighed, putting his beak in his hand. “You’re not even an animal. You’re a human. But you changed into an animal.”
“Yes.” Ty whispered, seeing one of the child crows tossing in the grass sleepily.
“You’ll pardon me saying, but do you realize what you’ve done?” The female said crossly. “I mean, the five of us are new to this whole world of yours. We can’t just fly about anymore, can we? If we’re spotted by man, God, I can’t even imagine what could happen.”
“You have a fair concern, friend.” Ty admitted. “If you desire, I can turn you back into simple birds. Let you keep your mind, enjoy your freedom. Or change you back all the way.”
“No!” The male said quickly, staring back at his children. “No, I think we have to acknowledge how much more we can do like this. The idea of going back to that small and limited form would feel like being trapped in my own flesh. And if you take our intelligence...” He paused and gulped. “No, no. I remember before. I was always there, but never able to control my mind or my thoughts. Don’t take that.”
“Yes.” The female hung her head. “So what do we do? What do you want from us?”
“What do you want?” Ty asked.
“I want this new world of yours.” The female said.
“I want an apology.” The male said stiffly, feathers visibly bristling. “And... a name.”
Ty blinked. “Camille didn’t give you names?”
“No.” The lady crow spat. “Now, that’s going to be enough for tonight.”
Ty nodded, slunk away nervously, and turned around to start the long walk back to Camille.