Tea and Rosé - The Beginning
Tea wore a wide grin as she pushed open the apartment door. Rosé followed slowly with a more guarded expression. Tea’s long, thick hair was so dark it almost looked purple, while her sister was blonde. They both had the look of girls who had not missed many meals, but where Rosé’s body had a conventional hourglass shape, her sister carried her excess in her tummy and hips.
“Woah…” Tea breathed, “It’s so white!”
She carried a bag over one shoulder. All natural fibers in browns and tans, the bag could only be hand-woven. Rosé’s luggage was stainless steel, like a very large briefcase. It had no wheels, and the blonde’s shoulder dipped from the effort of carrying it.
“What, the walls?” Rosé asked, “They look like normal walls to me, though the lights aren’t very bright…”
Tea said, “I thought Hell was supposed to be dark?”
“Outside it is,” Rosé noted. “But the buildings are all well-lit, like that shop we passed.”
“Ugh, fluorescents? That sounds awful!” Tea tossed her bag to the floor and bounced around, exploring the apartment.
Rosé pouted but said nothing. She’d just wandered into the kitchen when Tea called to her.
“Rosé, come see this! The bed is so weird…”
Rosé stepped into the first bedroom to find her sister sitting on a bed. Tea had changed back into her natural form—pale green skin with a pair of antennae sprouting from her brow and large floppy ears sticking out from her purple hair.
“A-aren’t there beds in the Faewyld?” Rosé asked.
“It’s just Faewyld,” Tea said, “And yes, but they’re not so… springy.”
“I think that’s the actual springs.”
“What, metal? Why in the Nine Realms would Humans put metal in their beds?”
Rosé’s bed back home had metal springs and a metal frame. “What else would they put in them?”
Tea let out a musical, tinkling laugh. “Why, feathers, of course!”
Rosé shrugged. “It looks like a normal bed to me. Though I’ve never seen one with a wooden frame.”
“This is gonna be so much fun!” The green-skinned girl bounced up from the bed and wrapped her sister in a hug. Rosé was so surprised that she dropped her camouflage. Her skin turned pink, and a pair of large horns curled around her ears.
“I’m so glad we’re doing this together!” Tea said into her sister’s hair.
“M-me too…” Rosé squeaked.
***
The sisters were returning to their new home with bags of groceries when they passed a young human woman in the hallway.
“Hey there, are you guys in apartment twenty-three?”
“That’s us!” Tea grinned, “I’m Tea, and this is my sister, Rosé.”
“I’m Hope. Nice to meetcha!”
Hope was a short, slim woman with nut-brown hair in a pixie cut and deep brown eyes.
“So you’re our neighbor?” Tea asked.
“Yup! Welcome to the building! Feel free to bang on the wall if you need a cup of sugar or anything.”
“W-we’ll probably just use the door…” Rosé murmured.
Hope couldn’t make out the blonde’s words. “Hmm?”
“Don’t mind her,” Tea said, “She’s a little shy.”
“Oh, that’s alright. If you want, we can hang out sometime. I think you’re the only girls my age in the building.”
“That sounds fun! We don’t have any hu*—er—*friends in the city.”
“Sweet. Well, I’ll let you take your groceries in. I’ve gotta get to work anyway. See you ‘round!”
Tea waved to the girl and followed Rosé into the apartment.
Rosé dropped her bags on the counter and rounded on her sister. “What was that?”
“What?”
“You were about to say ‘humans,’ weren’t you?”
Tea pouted. “I caught myself!”
“You need to be more careful. Just because humans know about the magic realms doesn’t mean it’s safe for us out here.”
Rosé’s skin had turned a faint coral as she struggled to hold her illusion.
“Relax, Rosé,” Tea said, “She’s just a regular girl. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Uh, she could freak out and tell the cops? We don’t know where she works; maybe it’s some lab where they’ll lock us up and do experiments on us!”
Tea sighed. “Even for a half-demon, that’s pretty cynical.”
“I’m not a demon!!” Rosé’s skin reverted to full pink, and her horns reappeared. Tea just barely managed to hold in a laugh at the irony.
She dropped her own camouflage and held up her green palms soothingly. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I was just excited to meet a real human, that’s all. I promise I’ll be more careful. ”
Rosé’s shoulders slumped. “That’s all I ask.”
Tea had more thoughts on the topic but decided to drop it for now. “So, what are we making for dinner?”
“Quesadillas. It’s like the only thing I know how to make.”
“With poultry?”
Rosé’s lip twitched into a smirk. “With chicken, yes. Do you not eat meat?”
Tea huffed. “I’m not a vegetarian or anything, but we hardly ever eat flesh in Faewyld.”
“I’m not surprised; if you call it ‘flesh.’”
“What else should I call it? That’s what it is.”
“Just say meat, you weirdo.”
“Fine, fine. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I won’t make you handle the ’flesh’, but if you wanna chop up those peppers and onions…”
Rosé cooked chicken in a skillet and warmed up a griddle to cook the quesadillas. Tea watched her douse the meat in dark red powder and reach for a bottle of hot sauce.
“Um… maybe just a little of that on mine?”
“Don’t you season your food?”
“That’s not seasoning, Rosé; it’s hot sauce.”
“We put it on everything back home. How else would food have any flavor?”
Tea gave her sister a flat stare.
“Fine, I’ll put just use a little on yours.”
When Tea took her first bite, her face turned so purple Rosé thought steam might come out of her ears. She gagged and coughed, gulping water to soothe her mouth. She was preparing a volley of accusations when she looked over and saw Rosé looking like someone had just stepped on her pet almiraj. Clearing her throat, she quietly took a deep breath and bit into the wedge of cheesy, spicy food—water glass at the ready.
“It’s –hng– really good, Rosé…”
“I’ll make yours with no seasoning next time,” Rosé muttered.
“Uh… thanks. A tiny bit would probably be fine. Maybe just a dash of that powder.”
“Mm.”
“Sorry. I heard you had spicy food in Hell. I guess I’m kind of wimpy.”
“Sorry…”
“It’s not your fault, really. This is supposed to be a learning experience, right?”
“I guess…”
Tea took another bite. “I’m kinda getting used to it.”
A second later, she drained her water glass and got up to refill it.
***
“What’s that one?” Tea asked, pointing at the TV.
“The Amazing Race,” Rosé replied. “These teams compete to see who can travel across the country and get to the end first. Do you not know about reality TV?”
“I don’t know about any TV,” Tea said with annoyance. “We don’t really have TVs in—”
–knock, knock–
Tea jumped up to answer the door, where Hope stood with two flat cardboard boxes.
“Hey, they messed up my order and brought me too much pizza; you guys want some?”
“What’s… uh… sure!” Tea said, glancing at her sister, who was nodding eagerly.
Hope squinted at Tea. “Have you… never had pizza?”
“We, um, come from a really small town…” Rosé squeaked from across the room.
“Would you like to, um, ‘hang out’ with us?” Tea asked. “We are going to watch television.”
Rosé paled, but Hope smiled warmly. “Sure!”
The three women watched TV, with Rosé explaining things to her sister while Hope occasionally chimed in to correct her. Before anyone noticed, Tea had eaten twice as many slices as the other two. Reaching into the empty box, Rosé clicked her tongue at her sister. “Did you take the last piece?”
Tea shrugged, hovering the triangle between her teeth and taking a big bite.
Hope giggled. “It’s fine, there’s another box.” She slid the empty box aside and opened the fresh one.
“But that one’s yours…” Rosé protested softly.
“It’s fine. I wasn’t going to eat the whole thing.”
Eyeing the human, Rosé agreed that the two big slices she’d had were enough to sate such a small body. Her sister, on the other hand, looked chubbier than ever, wiggling happily as she stuffed her face. Not wanting to cause a scene in front of the human, Rosé took one of the smaller slices from the second pizza and held her peace.
As they watched TV, Tea continued eating, making small appreciative noises with each bite. Hope didn’t seem to mind, so Rosé said nothing.
“What’s that soup?” Tea asked, nodding to the screen.
“That’s not soup, it’s ramen,” Hope explained. “Have you guys never had ramen either?”
“I have, but it didn’t look like that,” Rosé said. “It’s just noodles… in a plastic pouch.”
Hope’s lips made a flat line. “Instant ramen? That’s not the same.” Her face lit up as she added, “There’s a place in town that makes amazing ramen. We should go sometime!”
Tea nodded enthusiastically, and Rosé noticed her sister’s face looked rounder than usual. Maybe it was her cheeks full of pizza.
By the time Hope went back to her apartment, all of the pizza was gone. When she was sure the human was out of earshot, Rosé rounded on her sister. “Why did you eat so much?”
Tea stared at the floor. “It was really good…”
“Well, she’s gonna think you’re a pig!” Rosé poked Tea in her stomach and found it soft and pliable rather than the taut fullness she expected.
Tea stepped back, swatting her sister’s hand away. “Don’t call me a pig! She offered it, didn’t she?”
“Well!” Rosé trailed off.
“It’s fine, Rosé. We’re here to live, right? To experience the… human world?” She whispered the word human, to Rosé’s relief.
Rosé sighed, dropping her arms to her sides. “Fine, I’m sorry.”
“I know you’re worried, but it’s going to be okay. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy, yeah?”
“Yeah…”
Tea wrapped her sister in a hug. Rosé hadn’t noticed how soft her sister’s hugs were, like hugging a big warm pillow. Tea let out a huge yawn. “It’s time for bed, I think…”
***
“Is that what you guys are wearing?” Hope asked, grimacing as she took in the sisters’ outfits.
“What’s wrong with this?” Tea asked, making a playful twirl. The dark-haired girl wore a tunic with linen trousers. Hope wanted to ask if she’d come straight from a renn faire.
“You made it sound like a nice place, so I thought we should dress up!” Rosé added, brushing the jacket of her suit. By contrast to her sister, the blonde wore a stiff grey suit with a coral shirt and burgundy necktie. Hope thought she looked like a lawyer from an 80s movie.
“Alright,” Hope said, dropping a fist into her palm, “First, lunch. Then, we’re going shopping.”
Both sisters were overwhelmed by the menu, but once Tea found a bowl without meat and Rosé found one that looked sufficiently spicy, they dug in with gusto. Hope was delighted. Tea considered getting a second bowl, but one look from Rosé made her reconsider.
Hope drove them to an outdoor mall and parked outside a clothing boutique. As the trio walked toward the store’s entrance, three young men who appeared to be college-aged approached them.
“Hey, look, you guys! Three cuties and three of us. Can we buy you cuties some drinks?”
“No, thank you,” Hope said, “We had drinks with our lunch.”
The human girl turned, herding Tea and Rosé away from the guys. Unfortunately, the remaining two had circled around to block their path.
“What’s your rush?” Guy number two asked.
“We’re not so scary, are we?” Said guy one with what almost sounded like genuine curiosity.
Rosé looked in panic from one guy to another, then to her sister and Hope. Slowly, her back stiffened. Her cowering posture became proud and confident. When she spoke, her voice came out as a sultry purr.
“I don’t think the three of you could satisfy me, let alone all three of us…”
The three young men’s faces went blank, staring enraptured at Rosé. Aghast, Hope glanced up at her new neighbor. Rosé looked strong, confident, a glowing beauty. When they met, Hope thought the curvy blonde was pretty enough, but now, she found herself daydreaming about ripping that suit off to see what was underneath.
The ringleader of their little trio of harassers realized Rosé was not as “thicc” as she first appeared. She obviously spent a lot of time in the gym. The second noticed she had freckles, and her hair was more red-gold than blonde. The third was certain Rosé’s hair was dyed blonde and that she must be a particularly light-skinned Latina.
Tea felt the magic wafting off of her sister like an understated yet irresistible perfume. It was like the musk of a forest floor with hints of spring buds about to bloom. The Fae had never encountered her twin’s magic first-hand. The last time they’d been in the same room, they were little girls, not yet matured into their abilities.
“Uh… Rosé?”
As if her name was a magic word, Rosé blinked. Her eyes went wide as saucers as she returned to herself. With an effort, she drew her magic back, forcing her body to its normal human state.
It was too late.
Two of the guys sighed with satisfaction. Rosé felt energy flow into her body, leaving her sated. Like she’d eaten three bowls of ramen, but full all over her body instead of just in her stomach. Her shirt puckered as their Desire collected in her chest. The increase was barely perceptible, and she prayed that Hope hadn’t noticed.
The human woman looked dazed, as if she’d just woken up. As the trio of dudes stumbled away, she asked, “What was that?”
Rosé stammered and made unintelligible noises, so Tea came to her rescue. “Rosé can be very persuasive sometimes, right Rosé?”
“Uh… yeah…” Rosé shrugged as Hope’s eyes traveled over her conservative outfit. Even the three guys hadn’t ogled her with that much heat.
Tea spoke more firmly, “Hope.”
Hope’s eyes shot to Tea’s, where the pupils had dilated so wide the irises nearly disappeared. “It is fortunate those men had somewhere else to be, is it not?”
Hope’s voice was a flat monotone, “Yes… fortunate…”
“Ready for shopping?” Tea’s eyes returned to normal, and Hope snapped out of her second trance.
“Whew…” Hope sighed, “Maybe I should get a taser…”
As the trio entered the store, Rosé looked at Tea with an expression that was equal parts ashamed and reproachful.
Five minutes later, Rosé stepped out of the changing room. She tugged on the frilly white crop top Hope insisted she tried on; it didn’t cover her nearly enough.
“Dang, girl!” Hope said, “I can’t believe you were hiding those girls in that boxy suit!”
Rosé observed her human form in the full-length mirror. Her chest had always been on the large side, but now she looked… swollen. Like she’d been stung by two bees in just the right spots. She’d never fed off of humans before, and if this was the consequence, she was going to have to keep a tight grip on her abilities.