Growth

-----Kaede's POV

With Yui now gone for the meeting, the rest of us are waiting in anticipation. But at least in this house, it hasn't been all that boring.

Mell: "I'm glad I've finally stopped growing-"

Mell has been steadily growing over the week and has now properly grown into the dress I gave to her. She's maybe a few centimeters shorter than me, which still scares me as I feel like tomorrow she'd surpass me, making me feel as if I'm younger than my own daughter. But thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case. Her voice has also undergone a change due to her body changes, but she still acts the same as before, which has given her quite a unique aura.

Faye: "Can't believe I'm now the shortest one here..."

Mell: "I'm sorry..."

Faye: "No no, it's fine!~ Don't feel bad. It's not like you could control it, Mell."

At least Mell has gotten used to wearing my dress as she's no longer embarrassed showing it off to everyone. I also gave Mell a second pair of underwear and taught her how to put on a bra, but she still prefers me to dress her when it comes to that. I don't mind though since it also allows me to examine Mell's body in case there's any other further changes.

Lillian: "But to think that the little Mell that was trapped in that cave is now such a beauty... I'm honestly a little jealous."

Kaede: "Pfft. You're saying that you're jealous when you look like that. Look in a mirror."

Sicily: "Mhmm!"

I somewhat wish for Mell to revert back to the way she was. Her cuteness really did liven up the variety between everyone here. But now all that's left is her cute personality. Looks wise, I will admit that Mell did surprise me as I did not expect her to develop quite nicely. Makes me feel even more protective of her... I have to keep away the guys that'll try and snatch my Mell away. That's if they don't realize that she's actually a vampire. And actually, I might not even need to worry in that regard.

Fleur: "So? Are we going to try it?"

Kaede: "Uhmm..."

We then moved outside the back of the house, not wanting to be in the line of sight of people walking by. Yesterday we talked about the idea of flying as I am aware that Mell, Fleur and Faye have all inherited my powers to a certain extent. But the other thing we needed to test was flying.

Kaede: "Now, remember. It took me all my life to figure this out, so don't expect too much."

I then proceeded to grow out my wings from my back, stretching them out as I move them around a little. I'm grateful that the black dress Mell and I are wearing has an area where it exposes our back as it conveniently allows the base of my wings to grow freely and not damage the dress.

Mell: "So cool~"

Mell wastes no time in moving up to one of my wings before gently feeling the ridge of it. It's surprisingly a bit ticklish, but that's probably due to me not being used to being touched there.

Fleur: "I wonder how we will work."

Faye: "Yeah..."

In their case, they already have their wings tucked behind them. I questioned before if they'd have two sets of wings or just keep the wings they already have.

Mell: "H-how does it work?"

Faye: "Well, Kaede might feel it differently, but for us it's just like moving an arm-"

Faye then extended her feathered wings out. It's the first time I've seen her or Fleur do this as my eyes lock onto the many shades of green that has now spread across my vision. The top ridge of her wings were bright green as the feathers slowly faded into lighter greens the more closer to the bottom.

Faye: "Heh. It feels weird moving them after so long."

Fleur: "..."

It was then that Fleur timidly extended her own wings, slowly stretching them out as her wings too had the same color as Faye's. Although, Fleur looks to be a lot more nervous about this which is understandable after everything I know of their past. She doesn't even fully extend her wings only to tuck them back in.

Mell: "Wow~"

Faye: "Hehe. You did it, sis."

Fleur: "I'm not sure about flying though..."

Faye: "You got this!"

Faye tries her best to encourage Fleur, putting on a bright smile as Fleur slowly smiles back somewhat nervously.

Kaede: "But to answer your question. I guess it's also the same. It's a bit different though since I have to grow them out whereas Faye and Fleur already have their wings."

Mell: "So then, how do you do it?"

Kaede: "I did it instinctively. It's kinda hard to describe it."

I recall the moment when I chased after Lucien during our fight. I just leapt up into the air without thinking, only to realize that I was actually flying up in the sky moments later.

Kaede: "...Think of jumping up into the sky, chasing after a star."

Mell: "Hmmm."

I watch Mell as she look up in the sky. She gently bent her knees before springing up, jumping into the air just like how I explained, only no wings were to be seen as Mell landed back on her feet.

Mell: "I'm not sure."

Kaede: "Like I said, it took me my whole life to figure this out. Don't worry if you don't get it immediately."

Mell: "Okay."

Fleur: "You could try and make her fall."

Kaede: "What?"

I swear I must've misheard that. Well, I do sort of understand Fleur's reasoning. Don't some birds push their babies out of the nest to make them fly? I remember hearing that from somewhere but I'm unsure if that was real or not.

Fleur: "That's how we were first taught. I remember it... Quite vividly."

Faye: "Oh yeah! Don't worry though. Just a small cliff was enough to kick our instincts into gear."

Kaede: "...How small is a small cliff?"

Faye: "The cliffside where Yui's mansion should be good."

Kaede: "That isn't small at all!"

I still remember when I flew Yui down from her balcony. Everyone below us were tiny, there's no way that can be considered small.

Fleur: "But aren't we vampires now? I wouldn't think a vampire would get hurt all that much from a fall at that height."

She makes a good point, but that's only taking me into account, along with the old vampires. Mell, Fleur and Faye might be considered weak for vampires, so I'd like to not risk anything.

Faye: "You could also be at the bottom to catch her in case it doesn't work."

I guess there's also that option. I'm confident I can quickly fly up and grab Mell if things don't go the way we plan. But still, that's asking for Mell to jump off on her own. I can only imagine how terrifying doing something like that would-

Mell: "Okay!"

But surprisingly, Mell accepted their idea, leaving me a little stunned at how to take that.

Kaede: "Are you sure?"

Mell: "I trust you'll keep me safe, mom. You've been doing that ever since the beginning. So I'd like to give this a go."

How can I say no to her when she's praising me like this. How did she get so good at swaying my heart?

Kaede: "Okay. But I'll catch you the moment I deem it to be too dangerous."

Mell: "Mhmm! Thanks mom!"

She proceeds to hug me as I subconsciously retracted my wings for her to more easily wrap her arms around me. It's been a bit since we've hugged like this, and it makes it all the more obvious how much Mell has grown as our chests collide with one another. It's honestly quite absurd to think that a month ago, Mell was but a child, but now she's like a fully fledged woman... Scary.

Faye: "Then are we going up now?"

Kaede: "Yui's in a meeting remember? We'll have to wait until she gets back."

Faye: "Ah, right."

We break off from the hug as I ruffle her hair a little as a big smile appears on her face.

Kaede: "You're quite brave for wanting to do this."

Mell: "Hehehe."

Well, actually Mell's been brave since the beginning. She's been through hell, and despite all of that, she followed Sicily, Lillian and I into that nobles mansion, watching Sicily slice that man's throat. She saw countless injured soldiers, some even dead as she helped me with the bandages during that siege. And even after all that, she came with me during that spider job. Maybe to her, jumping off a cliff is nothing.

Kaede: "I'm proud of you, Mell."

Mell: "Mmm."

We share another gentle hug as I rest my head on top of hers. Fleur and Faye watch with big grins on their face as I end up locking eyes with them. Yeah, I love you guys too hehe. This here is my family, so seeing the mood among all of us is quite soothing to my heart.

Sicily: "So! How's the flying going?"

Just then, Sicily and Lillian came back out with some food in their hands. Yup, those two as well are also important to me. They're like my sisters in a way, supporting me in areas that I couldn't, like taking care of Mell when I was busy at the academy. I swear I'll protect everyone here, no matter what.