Commission for Anon, thank you so much for commissioning me!

 
	Trent glanced out the window of his small one bed apartment. The leaves had long since turned brown and orange and had begun to fall out of the trees en masse. The sidewalks and roads in some places were absolutely covered in leaves. The man knew that now was the perfect time to go camping. He could feel it inside, smell it in the air, Autumn was here and called him to the great outdoors.  The cold kept most people away, kept them in their nice, warm homes. They would miss out on such joys as fishing out by the lake or relaxing with a beer by the campfire with smoked meat and marshmallows browned over the flames every year, but not Trent. With a smile, he turned back to his computer, tabbed away from his work and started to browse a local grocery store’s website for supplies. He needed food first. Meats, bread, some veggies, beer, some chips, a little bit of candy for smores, and maybe a little flask of whisky, “All of that should last me a week or so,” Trent grumbled to himself as he added them to his digital cart.
Trent put in his order and moved to another site to put in an order for some fishing line and bait, gas for his heater and stove, and a new sleeping bag and little inflatable mattress. He took a break from work, going to take a look at his equipment that he kept in the storage closet on his little balcony. His tent was looking good, the tackle box was organized and his fishing rod was only a little dusty. He smiled and nodded as he marked down a few more things he thought we would need and then started to wonder if he should invite anyone. 
His parents? Well, they worried about him and he checked in monthly… usually. They didn’t enjoy camping much. 
	With a quick glance at his phone, Trent browsed through his friends’ numbers and wondered if any of them would be interested. He spoke to them of course, probably not as much as he should but they did hear from one another. He shrugged them off too. A nice long trip alone would do wonders for him especially after having to go into the office last week, “Everything should be here in two or so days,” The man told himself as he returned to his computer to put in for his time off. With a sigh, he settled back into his work.


	“Hurry up!” 
	“I’m coming! I’m coming!”
	“Is it ready?”
	“Almost!”
	“Well get it ready!”
	“Where’s my backpack? What about my other backpack?”
	“Have some extra bread. I baked it myself.”
	“Do we have extra oranges?”
	Green worms, soft worm shaped monster girls who scuttled about on numerous little claw legs and each one was a varying shade of green from emerald to minty to lime to blue-green to a bright yellow-green. There were six of them, all sisters, prepared for the move that would come soon. Their large cabin home was being moved out of so everything was either being sold or traded for food and warm clothes, “Girls!” Their mother called as she entered the cabin with her husband in tow, “Are we ready?” Their mother was a papillon, the usual final form of a green worm after they went through metamorphosis. They would go from a small, squishy bug woman to a tall, gorgeous butterfly with large, multi colored, vibrant wings. 
	Each girl was incredibly excited, “Almost! I’ve almost prepared my magic spells!” Mona exclaimed.
	Pilla nodded, her antennae bouncing on her head, “I made some extra food with the ingredients we had left.”
	The third sister, Flora, showed their mother her almost over-stuffed backpacks, one worn on her back and the other strapped to her long worm body, “My bags are all set.”
	“I want to take more fruit with me…” Leta grumbled.
	“We can go get some, Leta,” Joanne giggled and prodded her sister.
	The youngest of the six, a blue-green worm with long and curly hair of the same color and bright orange antennae nervously tapped her claw-like arms together, “I-I’m kind of scared…”
	“Anabelle!” All of the sisters cried before mobbing their sister, patting and hugging her.
	“I know you are nervous,” Ophyllia, the mother papilion mused, patting her daughter on the head, “But this change will be good for all of us. We will have peace, new forests to live in, and most importantly, a new supply of potential husbands!”
	“They need us, right mom?” Mona asked, recalling what they had all been told in recent time.
	“Correct. Save them from their miserable lives and shower them in love. At least I think that’s what that crier was shouting,” The papilion rubbed her chin for a moment.
	Their father chuckled, “I’m sure it's an exaggeration. But if the Maou wants us to move to this other world and take it over, who are we to complain?”
	“I am SO excited for all their technology!” Pilla hollered.
	“I’m excited to finally score a husband!” Flora swooned just thinking about it.
	Leta ran her claws through her hair, “Oh, I just can’t wait.”
	Ophyllia checked a pocket watch in her dress shirt, “Oh! It’s almost time!” She put it away and clasped her hands together, “Finish preparing girls! A few of you head into town and turn in the last bit of furniture we have!”
	The girls start excitedly scuttling around the cabin grabbing things they needed and didn’t.

	At nearly the same time in another place and in another world, Trent pulled his Jeep into his favorite campsite. The man smiled as he saw the view from his spot. A small clearing right on the bank of the shimmering lake, right next to a long sandbar, ripe for fishing. He smiled again as he saw no other occupants in the area. Few knew of this spot and even fewer would dare come out here in the fall. It was only ever very popular in the spring and summer as the lake got too cold for most due to the frigid winds coming down from off the mountains up north. It only got colder at the end of summer. After a quick ‘I’m there’ text sent to his mother-- in case something happened to him-- Trent returned to his vehicle and started setting up camp after putting his phone into airplane mode. He had brought some firewood with him but the previous occupant had been kind enough to leave a few pieces behind for him. He wished they were still around so he could thank them, but would make no real attempts at finding them. He quickly decided he would leave some wood behind for the next visitor instead, “First thing’s first,” The man mumbled to himself, knowing there was no one around to hear him as he started getting his tent set up. The first day, as was his tradition, would be easy going once his temporary abode was set up. First was the ground mat, a large dark green tarp that the tent would go on top of. The tent was made for four, big enough for Trent not to have to keep most of his equipment stashed in his car. 
	An hour passed as he slowly prepared the tent, making sure to take his time and clear the area of rocks. The door was set up in the direction of the lake so he could wake up and see the sun rising over the lake every morning. A nice cot was set up before his inflatable mattress was filled and tucked into the tent and laid on top of it. His thick and warm sleeping bag was laid out with an extra blanket or two at the ready, and his bag of clothes was tossed inside. He threw the rainfly over the tent as a precaution against rain and to keep some extra heat in. It would remove almost all visibility out of the tent but would keep him warm. 
	Trent put his hands on his hips and nodded at the tent he had set up, “Still got it,” He told himself as he went back to his automobile. The sun was inching ever closer to the horizon and Trent’s stomach was starting to rumble. He grabbed his chuckbox from the Jeep, each pot, pan, and piece of cutlery rattling and clanking around as the box was set down. Next out was the ice chest and his prize. He popped the lid off and grabbed an ice cold beer. With a satisfying noise, the tab popped off when Trent lifted it. He downed some of the drink and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. He grabbed some newspaper and lighter fluid from the chuckbox and got to preparing a small fire. Pieces of wood went into the pit first along with a few small sticks. Some newspaper was placed at the bottom of it and some lighter fluid was poured out onto the logs. Next was a single match thrown onto the newspapers. They slowly went up in flames, then the sticks and finally the logs as the cracking fire started. 
	Trent grabbed the folding chair and table he had brought along and started to cook using a small propane burner. For the first night he prepared a stew with already prepared ingredients. The beef was already cut, the potatoes were skinned and cubed, carrots were in thin disks, and the onions were diced just to name a few. With the setting of the sun came the finishing of his beef stew. He ate up, filled with renewed vigor. 
	He scrubbed his pots and cutlery clean before looking out of the inky black lake. It was as good a time as any to get some fishing in, he decided.

	“Is it time?”
	“Stop shoving!”
	“I wanna go first! I wanna see my man!”
	“Girls, calm down…”
	“Dad, can you carry me?”
	“Dad, can you carry my backpack? I’m tired!”
	“My tummy hurts…”
	“Girls! Hush!” Ophyllia glared at her children until they calmed down. Each young green worm anxiously tapped their little caterpillar legs on the ground as they stood in a small crowd. Their entire village of about thirty or less waited their turns to go through a portal. A royal mage, a brown feathered, haggard harpy, clad in the finest black robes held up her long, gnarled staff with a colorful, precious stone grafted onto its end that shone in the sunlight. She took her time as she used magical chalk to draw magical runes along the ground, trees, rocks, and whatever else was nearby. 
	The witch’s assistant and protege, a small and colorful familiar, held a leather bound journal for her master that contained the runes that the head witch was drawing, “This is taking forever,” A sleepy weresheep grumbled as she leaned on her husband.
	“Well, maybe if she had hands this would go better,” A satyr giggled as she sipped on a bottle of wine that she passed to the weresheep who graciously took a sip. 
	A slime sloshed back and forth impatiently, while her mermaid friend - who sat in a large tub of water pushed by her husband - hummed a quiet tune to herself. A lesser succubi in a fancy dress turned to the others. She had appointed herself as mayor of the village– no one really contested her– and did her best to lead the village and broker trade, “My friends!” She cried, “Our harpy friend here is almost done! From what she has told me, we should come out near a lake much like our own. A town will be nearby where we will easily be able to settle down!”
	A few younger members of the crowd cheered while a few of the elders simply clapped, “Finally!” Mona, one of Anabelle’s sisters, cried.
	“Now I know you have all come to view me as a big sister or your leader, but I will most likely have to step down as we will be sharing this town with some others and I am going to retire,” The succubi sadly explained, “But, I am sure whoever is elected to lead you will do a good job and–”
	“It’s done!” The harpy hollered as she took up her staff, “Bagool, gabool, bahbahbool! Open up you portal tool!” 
	The earth trembled, the trees violently shook, the air was sucked from everyone’s lungs, and the gray clouds rolled in. Thunder roared and lightning struck the earth giving the air a charged feeling. Anabelle could feel her hair standing on end. With a loud noise, a gaping blue portal opened. Most struggled to look at it, while it was flat, it had an unnatural depth to it. The young green worm clung to her mother for safety as the crowd started to approach the gaping portal, “Come one, come all! Just make sure you don’t fall!” The harpy squawked as she waited for everyone to pass through. 
	It felt just like walking until she felt herself being pulled by something akin to a giant, invisible bird talon. Anabelle’s entire family was pulled along together, a few whining about feeling like they were being stretched out but also squished. The other villagers were being pulled through the wavy blue void as well; it was like a long tunnel with the blue color only being broken up by lighter or darker shades like day and night fighting one another in a swirl. Some of the other villagers were pulled off down side shoots, leaving the others behind as they were taken to where they needed to be. Anabelle didn’t understand how the magic teleportation spell knew where to put them, but she didn’t complain. The gods were looking out for them and soon she would have a husband to call her own. 

	“Anabelle!” A voice cried.
	The green worm shot up, “Huh? What happened?”
	Her big sister Flora pulled her to her legs, “We all passed out. But look!” She gestured to the wide lake in front of them. They were on a small bank for a beautiful lake surrounded by gorgeous trees with orange leaves and the mountains along one side of it, “It’s beautiful,” Flora swooned, “The perfect place to find a husband, right?”
	“R-right…” 
	“Now where should we go…” Pilla mumbled. Each of the six green worms stood in a circle with their parents standing side by side at the lake side. A brisk wind blew through them, making each of their soft worm bodies shudder.
	“Ah!”
	“Cold! Cold!”
	“Coats! Get your coats!” 
	Each of the girls reached into one of their backpacks and grabbed their big, warm coats. Each one’s torso was now warm but their long worm bodies were still exposed, “Mom! Can we go!?” Leta cried.
	“Hm? Ah, I see,” Ophyllia giggled as her children huddled together, “It should be safe for us to walk freely. The Maou’s forces have already taken over, as I understand it. Let us walk along the shore to the town. I believe it is… that way,” She pointed east, “Come now!”

	Trent was out fishing early on his third day of camping. He had been at it all day and had cooked up one of his catches for lunch. He had his little table next to him with his hard liquor sitting on it. Camping without drinking is just sitting in the woods, or at least that's what Trent usually said. The sun was on the horizon and he was considering being done for the day.

	The grouping of green worms gossiped gently while gradually gliding over the ground on their green legs with as much grit as they could gather for their great journey. They felt like they had been walking for hours and most of the green worms were starting to whine. Their muscular forms weren’t built to travel so far on their tiny legs, “Mom, are we there yet?” Mona moaned.
	“You asked that twenty minutes ago,” Pilla pestered.
	“Girls!” Leta looked around.
	“What?”
	“Huh?”
	“Listen!”
	All six girls as well as their parents stopped at the edge of a clearing. A soft strumming of a guitar was carried on the wind along with a quietly singing voice and the banging of drums and the whistle of some kind of wind instrument. Anabelle frowned, the noise sounded… unnatural. All six green worms peeked through the bushes. Down on a long sandbank, where the music was coming from, was a single man with a fancy looking fishing rod in his hands. The six watched in awe as he cast his line and sipped on a little bottle next to him, “Oh. My. God,” Leta gasped.
	“A man!” Flora was doing her best to not freak out.
	“Who gets him?” Anabella whined.
	“Me! I saw him first!” Pilla was grabbed by the others before she could make a mad dash for him. 
	“Girls,” Ophyllia had a big smile on her face as the girls all turned to her, “Look. I understand you all desperately want him. But we practice what?”
	“Monogamy…” The girls replied.
	“Right. You will draw straws. Longest gets to court him. Hubby?”
	The man nodded, having come prepared for this. He held out six sticks of different lengths before hiding all of them in his hands. Each greenworm took turns taking one, each time a longer one was drawn the last girl would whine in defeat. Last to draw was Anabelle of course with Mona having the longest so far. She felt defeated as she grabbed the last one, “WHAT!?” Mona cried, seeing the smallest sister with the longest stick. She carefully compared them, “Noooo! I want him!” She moaned.
	“Poor Moaning Mona,” Ophyillia sighed before giving her lucky daughter a tight hug, “Good luck, Anabelle.”

	Trent glanced behind him, thinking he was hearing voices again, “Probably nothing,” He told himself. He whistled along to his music, gently tapping his foot as he rebaited his line and casted it out into the water. Trent had been hearing things for a short time, seeing things too. He wasn't going too hard on his liquor, but those birds were looking a little too big… and humanoid. Shapes in the water too. Twice now there had been a rough tug on his line and when he reeled in his lure was gone both times. Now he was using a simple hook with a worm on it just to try and figure out what was going on.  
	A time passed before he got discouraged, gently tugging on the line as he sipped on his liquor. He sighed to himself, wondering where all the fish had gone. As he moved to reel it in, something tugged on the line. Trent stopped for a moment and looked out into the water. A woman appeared in the water, her long, wet, orange hair whipped as she rose out of the water, the fishing hook in one hand, “Hi, neighbor!” She waved at the man.
	“Uh. Hi,” Trent weakly returned the wave. The woman attached a big fish to the line and grinned before disappearing beneath the water. The last thing Trent saw of her was a large emerald colored fish tail, “A… mermaid?” Trent reeled in the fish, it was still flopping on the line. He picked up his liquor and looked at the bottle. He regretted buying a new brand and poured it out into the sand before heading back to his campsite. At least the fish would make a good meal.

	Trent cleaned up his trash and retired early after putting everything in his campsite away. The sun was down and the only thing illuminating the area was the fire pit and an electric lantern. After the weird things he had seen all day, he decided to skip his late night reading. He crawled into his sleeping bag and turned the lantern off, wondering if he should return home early. As he lay down and thought about that option, Anabelle curiously approached the outside of the tent. Trent could hear a strange skittering outside. The sounds of night all faded away as he hyper focused on the sound. The green worm was quietly examining the Jeep. She had never seen anything like it in her entire life. 
The man sighed, settling into his sleeping bag, deciding that the noise was just a mouse or rat eating his scraps. He tossed and turned, getting comfortable in his sleeping bag. He sighed as he got toasty warm and closed his eyes, ready to sleep as he ignored the moderately loud scuttling near his Jeep. As soon as he felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep, his bladder felt full, “Of course,” He grunted to himself. He threw open his sleeping bag and put his shoes on followed by a thick hoodie. He unzipped the flap and stomped out into the cold air, lantern in hand. He glanced by his truck and saw nothing as Anabelle had quickly ducked underneath the vehicle.
Trent stepped out into the woods and found a good tree to relieve himself on. Anabelle wiggled out as swiftly as she could and headed for the tent, slipping inside as she desperately tried to escape the cold. As soon as she was inside, she set her bags down next to Trent’s things before suddenly remembering that the people of this world haven’t seen monster girls before. She had to hide, she’d get him at night, she decided. She scrambled about, trying to fit herself underneath the cot but couldn’t due to her plump worm body and it being way too long, roughly six foot 4 inches long. She moved to the other side of the tent and tried to hide behind the bags. She frantically moved them aside to find a spot to lay down. She made space for herself and grabbed a blanket to throw over herself. 
Trent stepped back into the tent, setting his boots by the door. As he took his coat off and went to toss it by his bags, “Mwe!” Something cried as the coat struck it. 
	Trent stared in shock at the creature before him. A woman, a cute one admittedly, stared at him. Just like the mermaid before, he could not believe his eyes as he gazed upon this girl’s squishy looking green worm body. He felt nothing but dread, “What the hell did I eat?” He groaned to himself, annoyed more than fearful of what he thought were visions, he got into his sleeping bag and turned off the light, praying he could sleep it off.
	Anabelle stood stock still, her heart pounding as she had gotten so close to her quarry. Now was the time, she decided as she gently removed the top layer of his sleeping back and moved him onto his back. Trent squeezed his eyes shut as the hallucination poked and prodded him with little claws. The green worm climbed on top of him, eager to begin the cocooning. She kissed and licked his face, giggling and cooing as the man laid still, waiting for himself to either wake up or fall asleep, whichever came first. Sleep did come and then the cocooning, trapping him within a papery or leaf like case with the giddy green worm who was free to do as she pleased with him during her long, long metamorphosis process.

	The first thing Trent felt as his eyes slowly opened from his slumber was the thirst. His mouth was ridiculously dry and tasted like ash. He coughed as he sat up on his cot, rubbing his face and stretching out. He stood, his legs nearly giving out underneath him. His entire body felt weak, like after a long day at work sitting at the computer but magnified by a factor of ten. Like he had been sitting in his office chair for days on end. He rubbed his legs to get the feeling back before picking up his water bottle from the floor. He found himself downing all of it to quench his thirst. Next was the hunger, his stomach rumbled and cried out for food. Beyond the thin walls of his tent, the morning sun was already out and shining brightly. Birds were chirping, which Trent found strange for this time of year, especially with how many it sounded like there were. With another stretch the man undid the tent’s zipper and was blinded by the bright sun. He stepped out and looked around. 
	The leaves on all the trees were regrown and of a lush green color. There were no signs of the leaves that had been falling just yesterday, and the sun was positioned as if it were late spring or early summer. He stood still, totally shocked as he gazed at his surroundings, unable to tell if he was dreaming or if by some cosmic joke he had hibernated the year away. His eyes turned to his Jeep. There was grime on the vehicle as if it had been sitting out for… half a year maybe. Same with the tent. Trent rubbed his face, wishing he could wake up. Unfortunately for him, it all felt much too real to be a dream. He tried to remember what could have happened last night– whatever last night was to him at least. He was drinking, fishing… and he was seeing things. His stomach rumbled again, his thoughts would need to wait. He opened up his Jeep and tried to find some food that hadn’t gone bad. Jerky was all he found, the bag had gone unopened. Everything else went into a trash bag, mold covering it all. 
	“Good morning!” A cheery voice called from behind Trent. He whipped around to see a beautiful woman approaching from the lake shore. She wore an orange button up shirt that struggled to contain her shapely bosom, her plump legs here contained by a set of black leggings with a sky blue skirt hanging from her wide hips. Her hair was bright orange and flowing with some curls in it. Her emerald eyes gazed at the man with so much joy that it stunned him. She was beautiful, the most wonderful creature Trent had ever laid eyes on and she was smiling at him, coming right for him. His heart was pounding as she stepped closer and closer on her black pumps. She gave him another sweet, warm smile with a giggle then slowly leaned forward, hugging him around the neck and kissing him on the cheek, “I was hoping you’d stay asleep for a while longer. I just needed to step out and– stretch~!” She sang the last word as she stretched her body out. Two large butterfly wings of deep topaz and sapphire hues shimmered in the sunlight. Two antennae that Trent had taken for just messy hair bounced on her head. When Trent caught a glance of her rear he spotted a slim and chiton covered abdomen that had a blue sheen to it that jutted out of her tail bone, “Trent?” She called the man’s name, “Is everything alright?”
	A flash of pictures in his brain came to him, a hazy vision without much substance like a fleeting dream. He saw that green worm lady, who looked quite similar to this woman, then the two cuddling up in something like a cocoon as the woman pleasured him for what felt like years. It… didn’t feel real. There was no way any of it could be real. The man just shook his head and turned away, returning to cleaning up his camp, “I’m still seeing things,” He whimpered to himself.
	The papillon’s face contorted into a look of hurt, “D-does my form not please you? Did I do something wrong?” 
	Trent watched the woman’s eyes fill with tears, “W-what? You– haven’t done anything wrong,” He assured her and cleared his throat, “You are one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. Even if you are a figment of my imagination, you look wonderful.”
 The butterfly girl’s cheeks turned rosey as she blushed at the comments, “Thank you~!” She giggled and hugged him again, “Oh, I feel so much better now. Do you?”
Trent rubbed his face and his eyes, “I, uh, yeah. Sure. So who are you, strange butterfly apparition?”
	She gave him a weird look, “It’s Anabelle, Trent. And I’m not an apparition, I’m a papillion. Remember? We talked while we were in my cocoon? You told me all about yourself and I kept going on and on about our future?”
	Trent couldn’t recall any of that, maybe bits and pieces but not much, “Whatever you say,” He finished loading up his Jeep and climbed into it before trying the ignition only for it to not even rev up the engine when he turned it. With a defeated sigh, he put his forehead on the steering wheel. Next he tried his phone which was also dead. Trent groaned, knowing he had a long walk ahead of him to the nearest town.
	“Is something the matter?” Anabelle asked, tilting her head.
	“Car and phone are dead and I’m still seeing things,” He grumbled, “Look at me, talking like a crazy person to someone that doesn’t exist.”
	“Why do you keep saying that? You’re starting to hurt my feelings. You keep acting like you don’t want me around,” The papillion whined and gave him a stern look. 
	“I want to go home and I want an explanation as to what’s going on,” He grunted, “How can someone sleep for half a year?”
	“Because you were in a cocoon with me while I went through metamorphosis,” Anabelle explained as she picked up her two bags, “Are we walking?”
	“Metamorphosis?”
	“Remember? You saw me when I was just a pudgy little green worm. Now I’m tall, beautiful and I have a husband~!”
	“H-husband?” Trent felt light headed as he quickly realized she meant him, “I just need to get home,” He said quietly to himself, “Gotta see a shrink,” He started walking with Anabelle walking close behind him.

	The duo walked down the side of a thin paved road, “So there’s a whole bunch of monsters like you?” Trent asked aloud to the butterfly behind him.
	Anabelle nodded, “Yup! My family consists of my five sisters and my mom and dad. Dad is human, of course, mom is a papillon and me and my sisters were all green worms when we came through the portal, but there’s a lot of other kinds of monsters!”
	“...Portals?”
	“Yeah, that’s how my people came to this world, of course!” Anabelle cheerily explained.
	“Yeah. Okay,” Trent sighed. 
	Anabelle’s antennae twitched, “Something big is coming! Should we hide!?”
	Trent listened for a moment. A truck was rumbling along the road, a semi truck perhaps. Trent breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank god,” He stuck out his thumb and moved off the road, praying they’d stop to pick him up. 
	Anabelle saw him do this and copied it. A big shining green semi truck slowly rounded the bend heading towards the nearest town. The truck honked and came to a stop. Trent smiled, finally feeling like good things were happening. The trucker rolled her window down to reveal a girl with grey hair wearing a trucker hat. She removed it with a furred, paw-like hand which revealed two tall, sharp ears that twitched as she scratched her head, “What in the Maou’s name are the two of you doing all the way out here? Havin’ freaky woods sex?”
	“We were in my cocoon!” Anabelle explained quickly. Trent rubbed his face, hoping his eyes were just playing a trick on him. 
	The wolf girl laughed, “You musta’ been in there for a long time! Hop in you two.”
	Anabelle grabbed Trent’s wrist and pulled him to the other side of the truck. The man, not knowing what else to do, opened the door and climbed in, slinking into the back row. Anabelle sat in the front, looking around at the semi’s dash board, “Wow!” She could hardly hold herself back from touching all the flashing buttons, “I’ve never seen anything like this before! I feel like I missed out for half a year!”
	“Half a year!?” The wolf girl gave her a look, “You were in that cocoon for half a year?”
	“Yup! At least that’s what Trent here says. He had something similar, a lot smaller, but it didn’t work,” She said as she reached over and poked at the dials on the trucker’s radio.
	“Well, just buckle up and I’ll get you two to town. Where are ya headed?”
	Trent gave the name of his town grumpily. 
	“You’re damn lucky I’m headed that way,” The wolf girl thought for a few moments, “The name’s Lucy.”
	“I’m Anabelle, nice to meet you. Don’t mind Trent, he’s really grumpy after sleeping for so long with me,” She giggled, “I’m sure he’s going to be real sweet once he feels better. Oh, what have the two of us missed in the world?”
	Lucy chuckled, “I’d call you a liar if you didn’t look so earnest. There’s way too much to give you the quick run down. Well, as you can guess, the Maou’s forces took over handily.”
	“Who?” Trent grunts.
	“Have you not told him ANYTHING?” Lucy scoffed, “The Maou is our queen.”
	“She’s really strong,” Anabelle added.
	“Almost like a deity. Anyway, her army rolls in here, takes out electronics, cars, guns, all that kinda stuff with big magic spells. Now to even drive you need a mana engine! Electricity came back fine and there’s a whole lotta legal shit going on with guns right now,” She sighs, “I just wanna go shootin’ with my hubby but we’re stuck in legal hell with this.”
	“I-Is it like that everywhere?” Trent struggled to maintain his composure.
	“Oh, the gun thing is really an east coast issue,” The wolf woman grunted, “The lilim put in charge there is a big pussy.”
	“No I mean this invasion bullshit! Is that ALL OVER the country? The world?” He snapped.
	“Sheesh, you’ve really gotta have sex with your man more,” Lucy whistled, “And to answer ya, mister panties-in-a-twist, yeah. Monsters won in the USA, most of Europe that matters, Russia, and a few others within days. Places like China held out a bit longer. Japan, Australia, Mexico, a lot of others just gave up and surrendered at the first showing of massive magical power.”
“How the hell can you win overnight!?”
“Ya think your politicians couldn’t have been influenced by our advanced spy forces, then you really don’t know what’s going on,” Lucy gave him a smug look in the back mirror, “‘Specially if they’re all as pretty as your wife here.”
	“Aw, thank you! You’re quite pretty yourself!” Anabelle grinned, struggling to keep her wings in a comfortable position, “Trent, what’s your house like? Is it big?”
	“It is a tiny… one bedroom apartment,” He was staring out the window at the town they had just rolled into. He was shell shocked, there were monster women everywhere with human husbands out doing… normal everyday activities. Shopping, jogging, chatting, eating lunch at a restaurant, it was like nothing had changed but the way they looked.
	“Tiny? But we’re going to need a big house for all the babies we’re gonna have!” Trent felt light headed. He closed his eyes, leaned back and focused on breathing, “Ah, he must be tired. Better let him rest,” Anabelle decided, “Oh, Lucy?”
	“Hm?” The wolf girl glanced at the papillion.
	“Thanks for picking us up. I’m sorry he’s being so grumpy.”
	“Ah, it’s fine. A lot of guys, my own husband included, were resistant to all this. You just gotta show him you’re here to help him and improve his life. It may take some time, but he’ll come around. They always do,” Lucy smiled.
	Anabelle frowned, “I always imagined my husband being so loving and warm right out of the cocoon…”
	“Well, ya did kidnap and… well, I don’t like using that R word, ya know? Just give him a little slack. The men here are a lot more sad and timid than back home.”
	“Better that than angrily combative, right?” Anabelle let out a hollow laugh, “I never would have gotten a man back home. I was so timid and scared.”
	“That metamorphosis made you pretty friendly and upbeat it seems,” Lucy gave her a fanged grin, “Stop looking so worried. He’ll come around to ya, I promise. It’ll just take a bit of time.”
“Yeah. You’re right. He will,” Anabelle decided, her wings lightly flapped, “Thank you.”
“Any time. Anything else I can help you with?” 
“Any idea how I can find my family? It’s a big world and I’m… already nervous. I could use a chat with my mom,” The papillion wondered.
“Oh, have your man show you how to use a computer. It’s a little tough, but he’ll teach ya. Go down to any kind of government building and ask for a ‘Second Contact’ device. Then ya go to this ReGroup website and plug that doohickey into the computer and it’ll automatically connect you with your family. Everyone’s done it and its free. Ya should get an address, phone number, email, all that. You’ll get a hold of them one way or another or they’ll contact you. It’s what I used to get in touch with my best friend again. That crazy bitch was husband hunting down in the Amazon rain forest!” The wolf laughed.
Anabelle did her best to commit it all to memory, “Trent? Did you hear what she said? I might need you to remind me,” Glancing back behind her, she saw that the man had actually fallen asleep in the back seat, “He looks so peaceful when sleeping.”

	Trent woke up as Anabelle shook him, “Trent? Ready to go?” 
	Lucy smirked from the front seat, “Man, you really zonked out. Did ya have a nice nap?”
	“Where are we?” The man grumbled.
	“The town you told Lucy about!” Anabelle unbuckled him and took his wrist, “Come on! I’m sure Lucy is ready to move on! You can sleep at our apartment!”
	“Our?” He gave her a look.
	Lucy growled, “Yeah, both of yours. If you think things are bad right now, things are gonna get a whole lot worse for you if you act like this!” 
	“I-Is that a threat?” Trent shrunk away and quickly began to scramble to leave.
	Lucy grabbed the collar of his shirt, “I’ll hurt you if you hurt her if the police don’t come after you first,” She shoved him back into the chair before climbing into the back of her truck, “Get goin’ you two.”
	“Bye, Lucy!” The papillion cheerily called before exiting the truck’s cab. Trent was a little shaky as he followed her. Looking around, he could quickly recognize where he was. He found himself in front of the hotel he passed on his way to go buy groceries– when he did go out rather than ordering them.
	“Home is that way, I think,” Trent told himself as he shoved his hands deep into his coat pockets and started walking.
	Anabelle huffed as she hefted her two bags carrying everything she owned, “Trent? Can you carry a bag for me?”
	He wasn’t completely heartless and couldn’t stop himself from taking the bag from her, “Do you really intend to follow me home?”
	“Of course I do! It’s my duty as your wife to make you happy. How can I do that if I don’t come home with you?” She gave a big, warm smile and hardly could hold herself back from hugging him right there on the sidewalk.
	Trent gave her a small, tired smile, “You don’t even know me, Anabelle. How can you be so gung ho about our relationship?”
	“A mamano just knows when they’ve found the one,” She put a gentle hand on the man’s shoulder and simply smiled again, “I don’t expect you to understand, but Eros has blessed me with a wonderful man and I will not squander it. Shall we be off?”
	Trent blushed but shook his head, “I don’t know if I’ll ever understand you,” But he begrudgingly motioned for her to follow.

	Anabelle’s feet were starting to hurt as her and Trent arrived at the apartment area. It was a tiny neighborhood of three story tall buildings, each containing little apartments. The sun had nearly fully set now, what little light was out still glinted off of the papillon’s still hardening wings. She stared at the street lights overhead like a moth to a flame, nearly stopping under each one to stare up into the cold, unnatural light. She had never seen anything like it. Trent had to keep reminding her to follow him as he stepped into the neighborhood and started toward the office. 
	The man pushed open the doors, glad to have made it shortly before they closed. It looked about the same, same leather couch in the waiting area, two offices across from one another, the communal room through a set of double doors, a workout room off to one side and the scent of chlorine in the air from the little hot tub in the back. Only one office had a light on, drawing Trent over to it. A woman sat in the big leather office chair. She was obviously older and obviously a monster girl due to the animal ears on the top of her head, making him hesitate before walking in.
	Anabelle impatiently pushed him in, “C’mon!”
	The woman looked up at the couple, “Welcome, welcome,” She warmly greeted, the two pointy ears on the top of her head twitching as her long, grey tail appeared, “What can I do for you?”
	“Is Mister Green here?” He weakly asked.
	“Ah, Mister Green?” The fox woman thought for a moment, “No. I believe he moved on shortly after the portals opened.”
	“Moved on? He was old but I didn’t think he was on death’s door,” Trent gasped.
	“Death’s door– Sir, he simply sold me the business and moved to the beach with his mermaid wife!” She laughed, “He merely retired.”
	“Oh.”
	“Well, is there anything else I can do for you?”
	“Right, well,” Trent nervously cleared his throat, “I, uh, I used to live here. I’ve been… sleeping for half a year. Do I still have a home here or is everything gone?”
	“Room number?” The woman turned to the computer and listened for the number Trent quickly gave her. She typed in the man’s name as he gave that as well, “I see here your room is still on hold for you. Lucky for you a year long hold on housing had been put in place,” She smiled, “Is this your wife? I can quickly add her to the lease.”
	“I-I don’t know…” Trent sighed, still unsure what to make of everything.
	“Well,” The fox woman’s warm smile turned into a serious, almost disapproving stare, “You are six months behind on rent. But lucky for you, I offer a newlywed discount.”
	Trent swallowed all the saliva in his already dry mouth, “Y-yeah. Wife. She’s my wife.”
	“Wonderful!” The smile returned, “What’s your name, dear?” Anabelle said her name, making sure to give Trent’s last name as her own, “Give me just a moment.”
	A small stack of papers was placed in front of Trent for him to review along with Anabelle. He saw his rent had been more than cut in half and his missed months forgiven. Anabelle’s name was on the forms as well. Most everything was exactly the same as it had been before. Diligently, he signed the papers and passed it over to Anabelle who shakily tried to copy him without really understanding it, “So, we’re all squared away?” Trent asked, the exhaustion in his voice was painfully obvious.
	“It seems like it. I hope your six month long rest was pleasant,” She giggled.
	Trent just nodded and left the office. Anabelle turned to the landlady and smiled, “Have a good night!”
	“You as well, Anabelle. Oh, and do tell me if he gives you any trouble or if you need any accommodations with your home.”
	Anabelle smiled but shook her head, “He won’t be any trouble. He’s just nervous. He’ll come around.”
	The fox woman smiled, “Ah, young love. Who am I to pretend I know him better than you do? Have a good night.”
	“Thank you!” Anabelle left the office and stepped out into the cold air to find Trent sitting on the curb staring up at the stars. She plopped herself down next to him, “It’s so pretty,” She whispered as if speaking loudly would scare them away.
	“Yeah. I think I finally can admit this is all real,” He mumbled back.
	“How’s that?”
	“The stars never looked right in my dreams,” He chuckled, “But how can this be possible? I still don’t understand any of this.”
	“Do you need to? Do you really feel like you need to understand magic and politics about this?” The papillion asked, “I’m a simple girl. All I want is my hubby and my family. Can’t you want the same thing?”
	“Well, I’m not going to call you hubby,” He joked as he rose to his feet and offered Anabelle his hand, “Come on. I need a drink.”
	Anabelle took it and wouldn’t release his hand as she stared him in the eyes, “Thank you.”
	“Yeah, well…” He stopped himself from being snarky or mean to her, “Come on.”
	The walk was short and took the two up three flights of outdoor stairs to the third floor. He unlocked the door, still holding the papillion’s hand and led her inside. The butterfly woman immediately dashed deeper into the dusty apartment and started looking around. She found some moldy fruit which she scrunched her face up at and moved on, looking around the kitchen and opening everything she could as Trent slowly looked around and made sure nothing was missing. 
	Trent sighed after he finished the search of his one room apartment and put down the bags he was carrying, “Well. Welcome home. We can clean up tomorrow. I need to sleep.”
	“Coming~!” Anabelle sang after eating some curious looking crackers that she found in the cupboard. Trent got changed and climbed into the queen sized bed and closed his eyes tight, ready to quickly fall asleep. Anabelle hurried into the room and looked around at the sparse walls and furniture before climbing on top of him, totally naked and straddling him, “How about we try for a baby tonight?”
	“Wha– Tonight!?” Trent sat up straight, “We just met! You want a kid already!? I don’t know if I have a job!”
	“We will be provided for, I’m sure,” She kissed him on the cheek.
	“Anabelle.”
	“I’m sorry, I can’t help myself,” She sighed and lay in the bed next to him, clinging to him tightly, “When I was a green worm I was hungry for your spirit energy and now that I’m a papillon I’m hungry to have a child!” She giggled, “Your child~”
	“One thing at a time,” He grumbled before rolling away from her. 
	She scooted toward him, pressing herself against his back, pressing her forehead into the middle of his back, and her arms wrapping around his stomach, “Good night, sweet heart.”
	“...Yeah…”

	Anabelle woke up and looked around slowly. The sunlight that streamed in through the folding blinds cast a dim light across the room. She stared at the ceiling, her eyes crawling across the popcorn shapes of the paint. She looked around, unable to see her husband. She frowned, disregarding the funny shapes on the ceiling and started stomping around the apartment looking for her husband, “Treeeeent~!” She cried as her wings fluttered behind her. There wasn’t much to check in the tiny apartment and she quickly located him as he loaded expired food into trashbags, “There you are~!” She leaned in and hugged him, “Ew, you’re stinky!”
	“I’ve been cleaning all morning,” He grumbled, shooting her an annoyed look.
	“Can I help?” She cheerily asked despite his looks.
	“Just… put some clothes on and help me carry these out,” Trent grunted as he wiped his hands off. Anabelle dashed back to the bedroom and put on some of Trent’s sweats and her shirt that her big butterfly wings somehow went through the back of. Trent handed her a bag of trash that she easily carried as she trotted after him where he sulked to the waste disposal. He threw his three bags into the big compactor and took the bag from Anabelle and threw it in.
	“What is that?” She wondered as Trent closed the door and the hydraulics started.
	“Trash compactor,” He simply stated before making his way back to the apartment, “I don’t have any food. I can’t feed you right now,” He sadly admitted, rubbing his face, “I’m already failing you.”
	“It’s okay,” Anabelle smiled as she picked some flowers, “I just need some nectar and my tummy will stop growling!”
	Trent smirked, “If you were anyone else I wouldn’t believe you. I’ll order some groceries and talk to my old job. I don’t know if I’m still employed.”
	“Okay. Just let me know if I can do anything,” She started to suck the nectar from the flowers she had picked, making Trent look away.
	He shuffled back into his apartment and headed to his computer where he booted up his usual grocery shopping website only to find that it was down with a message saying that due to new laws, people had to go to the store in person for any kind of shopping. He groaned and grabbed his phone, calling for a tow truck to collect his Jeep before taking a very fast shower, “Anabelle, I need to step out,” He quietly told her as he got dressed, “I’ll be back later, okay?”
	“Okay,” She gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, “Have a good day,” Trent could only give her a small smile and a key to the apartment before stepping out. Anabelle was left alone, wondering what to do. First was a shower, she decided. Then it was off to get her ReGroup doohickey. She just hoped that whoever supplied it would also help her use it to find her family. With a bit of confidence in her otherwise worried heart, she stepped out into the world dressed in her best clothes.

	Hours passed, the sun had been close to setting for a while now by the time Trent returned to his apartment. He had four bags of groceries, his Jeep was in the shop to get a mana reactor installed for the engine, doing away with the need for gas in it. He didn’t get why he couldn’t just use gas, but if he didn’t have to pay for mana and the conversion was surprisingly cheap, he didn’t mind. He had four bags of groceries, two in each hand full of necessities for him to eat. He felt exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally after all the talking and walking he was forced to do. Thankfully the tow truck driver had agreed to pick him up and take him to get the jeep.
	He stomped up the stairs and made for his apartment. He could hear noises of conversation from multiple apartments but was glad he would be entering the quiet of his home. He shifted all the bags to one hand and unlocked the door before pushing it open. He was hit with a wall of noise as soon as the door was opened. All the chatter and conversations turned to excited clammoring as the people in his home spotted him.
	“Is that him!?”
	“Oh my god, he’s so cute!”
	“Hi, Trent!”
	“You bagged a good one Anabelle!”
	“Here, let me help you with those!” 
	The bags were taken from Trent somewhat forcibly. Anabelle stood at his side as she started to point at and name her sisters. Three of them were green worms of various greens, the other two were papillons like their sister along with their proud looking mother. Each one was clamoring at Trent still, barraging him with comments and questions, “Isn’t it great!? My whole family is here! The nice lady at the post office helped me with that ReGroup thing and let me use their phone to call my mom!” Anabelle was grinning but that quickly became frowning as her husband did nothing but freeze up, “Trent?” She touched his arm gently and gripped him. 
	It was as if this little touch had flipped him back on. He wrenched his arm free and with long strides went directly to his bedroom where he closed the door on the rest of his house. Anabelle’s family all collectively frowned.
	“Is he okay?” One sister asked.
	Another sister had tears in her eyes, “Did I do something wrong!?”
	“Anabelle,” Ophelia, the level headed mother said quietly, “Go check on him.”
	“O-Okay,” Anabelle simply nodded slowly and carefully made her way to the bedroom as each of her family members whispered quietly to one another. She tried the handle and pushed the door open, closing it behind her before standing in the unlit room. The only glow in the room was the gentle, white moonlight streaming in through the window. It took her a moment to even recognize a shape sitting on the floor as Trent. He was hugging his knees to his chest and putting his face on those knees. As softly as she could, she strode to him and took a seat at his side, “Sweetie?” She whispered, gently touching his arm.
	He glanced over at her with an exhausted look on his face, “I can’t do it.”
	“Do what?”
	“Be around all these people. The repair shop, the grocery store, the tow truck driver who kept talking my ear off, and now your family. It's too much for me. I want to go back to being alone. I want my old life back!” He didn’t snap at her, or yell at her. He couldn’t bring himself to be upset with her, “I-I’ve only just begun to acclimate to you and now I have to deal with all of this change and…” He sighed, “I’m sorry.”
	“There’s no need to be sorry,” She whispered back, “Back home, I always thought everything would be perfect when I got a husband. I’d be his perfect butterfly and he’d be my perfect man. I guess I never thought I’d need to change at all for him. I just wanted everything to work out. It had to,” A quiet, hollow laugh escaped her lips as she stared at the floor.
	Trent frowned, “I’m not the man you wanted. I bet you feel like you’ve wasted your time with me, huh?”
	“Of course not. You’re my husband and I’ll love you unconditionally as long as I draw breath. And even past that!” She giggled, “I’m the one who needs to start being accommodating with you. I know you said you want to be left alone, but would you like to be alone together?” She offered a single, delicate palm for him to place his hand in.
	Trent smirked, “Yeah. I think I’d like that,” He put his hand on hers, interlocking fingers as they two felt one another’s warmth.
	“I’ll make my family leave,” She whispered, not wanting to let go of her husband’s hand.
	“Don’t. Go spend time with them, I’m gonna get in bed,” He leaned over and kissed the back of her hand, “Have fun.”
	“I-I can’t. I need to be spending my time with you,” She concluded hastily.
	“I’m not going anywhere, and sending them away will only make them worry, right?” He squeezed her hand, “Go have some fun and catch up.”
	“Okay… I-I love you,” She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
	“Yeah,” Trent felt himself swallow nervously, “I-I-I love you too.” 
	They stared at one another, neither sure what to do before Trent leaned over and hugged her tightly, “At least get in bed, don’t just sulk here, okay?”
	“Okay, okay,” He got up off the floor with Anabelle still clinging to him up until the moment he climbed into bed. 
She ran fingers through his hair, “Rest.”
	He nodded and watched her go, his mind mulling over the words they had both just shared. He dismissed any doubts from his mind if he had really meant it. She had been nothing but sweet and accommodating. It wasn’t her fault he had his little meltdown after all the stress he had experienced over the day. He wanted to do something for her, but what…?

	“Goodbye!” Anabelle waved at her family as they left her home. She took a bit of time to tidy up the kitchen before hurrying to the bedroom to check on her husband. She quietly opened the door and stepped inside to find that Trent was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out an opened window, letting the cool night time air into the stuffy room, “You should be sleeping.”
	He blinked and glanced over his shoulder at her, “Can’t sleep yet.”
	“Why not? Something on your mind?” She sat next to him, prompting him to stand up in front of her.
	Anabelle could tell his nerves were wracked. He was thinking of something. He was nervous, “Yeah. There’s something I need to do, I think.”
	He took a deep and shaky breath as his wife tilted her head. Without a word, Trent turned and put his hands on her shoulders before kissing her on the lips. Anabelle’s heart started to pound in excitement. Her hands caressed the stubble on her man’s face before clutching him, forcing him to make out with her. She pulled him on top of her as she fell back onto the bed, “Is that what you wanted to do?”
	“No. T-this is. You said you wanted my baby, right?”
	Anabelle thought he was kidding until his pants dropped. 
	Trent blinked and his wife’s bloomers and panties were off. She had a look of excitement and joy on her face even before Trent was fully unclothed. As soon as his manhood was out, Anabelle’s shirt was off and she was playing with her breasts for him, “Come on! Come on!” She giggled excitedly. He gripped her hips, pulling her into position, making her heart flutter and lungs gasp happily. She reached down past her already wet pussy and grabbed the man’s member, hastily lining it up and gently trying to pull him in. He did as she silently demanded, gently sliding into her womanhood. Anabelle cried out, moaning and gasping as she felt herself being penetrated. The sensation was unreal for both of them, a perfect feeling, like the other person was made for them. Not too loose or tight, not too big or small. Anabelle wrapped her legs around her husband’s hips, giving him a little bit of room to continue his gentle thrusting into her. She grabbed his hands off her hips, panting heavily and smiling cheerily as she locked her fingers with him. He thrust gently and slowly, panting and gasping as he continued pleasuring himself and her. He pushed deeper with a powerful thrust, feeling the pressure in his loins pleasurably build and build. He couldn’t even cry out and warn Anabelle before she yanked him in with her legs, forcing him balls deep in her. The butterfly cried out, incoherently crying her husband’s name as pleasure and joy consumed her. Trent gladly gave her the seed she so desperately wanted as he stopped holding back, quickly emptying his load into her throbbing and eagerly awaiting womb. 
	As soon as the throes of elation subsided, Anabelle’s mind went from the joyous love of her husband to the day dreaming about having his children. Trent sighed, sweat pouring down his body before he climbed into the bed, ready to cuddle with his wife. But she had other plans, quickly straddling him and rubbing her already full woman hood on his swiftly hardening member. The scent of sex was coming off her body as well her pheramones coming off her body due to her being in the mood for baby making, further enticing her husband to continue having sex with her without saying a single word, “I love you,” She whispered as she gave him a quick kiss, eager to start again.
	“I love you too,” Trent gave her a stoic look, a bit unsure about going for another round. He shrugged, unsure if he’d be unable to even stop her if he wanted to stop.