EscapismisMyHobby

Honestly, this started out as kind of a joke that I was going to keep as a draft, maybe as inspiration to write something else, I don't know. Yet, I wrote 8 chapters fairly easily and drifted away from the comedic tone of the first chapter before I realized it. So, all that said, I'd like to know: would anyone who's read this far like me to rewrite the first chapter? There'll be a poll at the end of this chapter so cast your vote!

Thanks for reading.

Going Through Changes

          I lay in bed, drawing small circles on Noelle's stomach, my head lying on her chest, tired and aching but refreshed and happy nonetheless. Yawning, I ask another question. "Any ideas for my first 'upgrade', oh great and substantial Arbiter?" I hear a small snort above me, and feel the tickling of air rushing past my hair. "There should be one for 'wit and vocabulary', perhaps that could aide you in your journey, oh small and irreverent mouse." She punctuates her sentence with a smack, square on my butt, drawing a harrumph and a pinch from me.

"Hilarious... Seriously though. You said I should have some leeway to add a few things right away, yeah? Might as well do something now, I'm way to tired to start a whole new journey anyway." She looks at me fondly, seeing through my words, and answers - shifting into lecture mode again. "Yes, you should be able to afford 2 to 3 changes currently, you have some spare energy floating around your soul that hasn't been assimilated yet. That has left you some wiggle room. If you open your status and go to your Growth tab, you should see what I mean."

"Right, I should probably go over all my options before trying to puzzle out which ones to grab, duh." Sighing deeply, I reposition myself to Noelle's side, our shoulders touching, and try to magic up a projection of my status. To my surprise, it actually works! But I instantly feel a miniscule drain from somewhere in my chest; it feels like I'm holding up a needle on a single finger and have to concentrate to not let it drop. "Woah, this feels kinda freaky, huh?" Talking about it made me drop the needle, and the projection sputtered and died. Another amused chuff, this time on my left, follows a crisp image of my status above us.

Ignoring the rest of the information, I focus my will on expanding the Growth tab. Then, using my old system as a guide, I consciously filter everything out that I can't yet choose. This leaves only 4 big options available to me, though there are quite a few of the small ones that don't require a full night's rest to process. A few of which I'll leave queued up. I'll go ahead and do those, thanks~.

Level: 1 / 99 [-]

• [Exp: ~14~/05]
• [Skills: 3]

Growth: [-]

• Hair Removal: Selective [0] [0.01hr]
• Selective Infertility: Passive [0] [0.03hr]
• Pigment Alteration: Hair [0] [0.02hr]
• Pigment Alteration: Epidermis [0] [0.05hr]
• Musculoskeletal System: Reinforcement {Minor} [3] [3.0hr]
• Organism: Reinforcement {Minor} [3] [2.5hr]
• Muscle Articulation: Control [2] [0.5hr]
• Sensory Organ: Reinforcement {Minor} [2] [0.25hr]

There's a few more I could grab, but growing a penis seems less important then making sure my body is strong enough to survive and I don't want to tap out my 'exp' just yet. "Hmm, yep. That looks about right. Whatd'ya think?" I smiled at Noelle, not even bothering to hide the blush at some of my choices. When she finished going through my list, she seemed mildly amused. "Muscle articulation, hmm? And what exactly would you need fine control of every muscle in your body for?" Shit, she knows.

"Uuh, you know, I'm actually something of a crafter myself. I'll be making a lot of my own gear. So fine motor control is extremely important." Nodding my head repeatedly, Noelle seems to believe me. Or at least, I thought she did until she leaned over me to whisper in my ear. "You know, that's something everyone here is born with by design~" Her tongue snakes out, much longer and thinner than it was just 10 minutes ago, and coils around my ear. I shudder in desire, not lying to myself this time. "It also helps with rather, specific problems..." She takes my hand lower and lower to rest it upon the part of her pulsing with need - again. A deep shuddering groan escapes me and I force myself to calm down.

"Hmmm~, then let's sleep and maybe I can wake you up with a nice surprise~?" It's her turn to groan, and she falls back to the bed, taking the big spoon and dispersing my list. "Hurry up now, your body wont fix itself." I can't help but laugh out loud at the impatience in her voice and settle into her arms, yawning and drifting off to sleep, happy.

*** 

I climb off of her, allowing her to breathe as I ask for a favor. "Mmh~, think you can clean me up for real this time? I'd rather not vaporize all the water in my skin or something equally horrible." She does so begrudgingly, discontent with me stopping our little games. "Sorry. I'm somehow starving and super energized right now. No offense to you, but I think I need something with a little more nutritional content." I give her a wry smile as I feel an energy sweep over me, removing all of the sweat and stickiness and compressing it into a little ball that Noelle pulls out of the air. Interesting~.

I start stretching as she stands up, contorting my self into more and more ridiculous shapes while she watches, having fun with the new control I have over my muscles and ligaments. "Here," she says with distinct amusement and tosses me another horse pill. "This should help with the hunger. Sorry if it's not the most appetizing thing. It's all I've got on hand." I shrug, I've definitely had worse than a holistic subsistence pill - though I'll remember to bring some delicious food with me next time. Something tells me that she doesn't eat much else.

Flexing my new magic muscle, I conjure some water to help the pill go down. I marvel at the new sensation as a small stream of water shoots from the tip of my finger straight into my mouth. With the cumbersome pill dissolving in my gut, I try my hand at creating a reflective surface to inspect the new and improving me. I do have a basic mirror in my soul-pocket, but this is good practice, It's not that I haven't figured out how to pull stuff out of it yet. Well, it would be good practice if I could get it to work right. The best size I could conjure was about 50 cm², not nearly enough to reflect all of me - obviously - and as reflective as a muddy puddle.

With my 4th best pout, I look over at Noelle who's gazing at my body longingly from the bed, despite the fact that we've indulged our lust already. Noticing my look after ogling my newly toned stomach, she laughs melodically and conjures a full mirror behind me, prompting me to turn around. "Hmm yeah... The white hair was a nice touch. I wish it were a bit longer, though... Oh well, changes for later. It's just long enough for a ponytail how it is now anyway."

The changes I went through this time were fairly extensive compared to my time in the pod. That first time, it didn't really feel like much was different. I felt a bit lighter on my feet, could breath a little deeper, and see a little more clearly but that was it. Definitely the healthiest I'd ever felt in my original body, but not any better than my time as my various healthy 'characters'. This time though... a quiet "woah," escaped me when my much sharper eyes moved on past my hair.

I'm still roughly the same height, maybe a centimeter or two taller, and my silhouette had barely changed - only a bit more filled out and solid. Beyond that, much was different. My previously sickly pale skin was now a nice rich olive shade, a healthy hue of pink colored my flesh, my face and body are a little more fleshed out where it counts, my hair, eyebrows, and lashes were a stark white, my eyes were a deep purple, and I could see the distinct lines of muscle moving under my skin. As short as I still was, I didn't quite look powerful and muscular - but my body looked honed and trained to a decent degree.

I catch sight of Noelle in the mirror, as appreciative of the new me as I am, just far more blatant in her lust. She was staring rather intently at my butt, though that is understandable. What was once small and flat was now very well filled out and perky. There was a good bit of obvious muscle, with a nice bit of flesh to round it out. Just like my derriere, my chest had filled out some more as well. "Oh yeah, if it keeps going like this, I'm really gonna enjoy my time here." There were a few less than cosmetic changes as well. As I had shown earlier, I'm much more flexible now. My flesh is far more elastic... everywhere... and I feel a fair bit heavier as well; I'm even lighter on my feet despite the added density.

I close my eyes and let out a long, thin breath, hyping myself up for the beginning of my new life. I turn around, pulling Noelle from her appreciative stare, and walk towards the bodacious blonde. "Sooo... uhh... I guess it's time to go, huh?" She breathes a sad sigh and sits up on the edge of the mattress. "Yes, I suppose it is. It's... It's been quite a while since I was able to talk to someone like this Xerin, I hope we can talk more in the future." Jeez, she looks anxious right now, "I could stay a little longer? We have all the time in the world, right?"

Seeing such a powerful woman look like this is really pulling at my heart. Yet, before I could try further to convince her, she slowly shook her head. "No, we shouldn't. I'm sorry little mouse," She takes my face in her hand and pulls me to her naked chest, "I have quite a bit to do on Zelldostra; and you have a brand new world to explore, don't you? Besides, I did mention a surprise for next time didn't I? Just give it some time once you get out there and we'll talk to each other again, okay?"

I know she's right. I know she is. But I just can't figure out this feeling in my chest; all I know is that I really don't want to leave her, and I'm hoping beyond hope that she wants to stay with me too. I've never really felt anything like this before and I don't know if I like it or not, but all I can do is give a shallow nod and try not to let this swelling emotion burst. If I don't ever see her again, I don't want my tears to be the last she remembers of me...

I pull away with my eyes closed, and her arms fall to my waist. Taking a deep breath, 'in through the nose and out through the mouth,' I nod again. This time with determination. I will see her again, and maybe, at that time I'll have figured out what exactly this ache in my chest is. I look up, her green eyes locked onto mine with a mischievous glint. "Hmmm~ It is hard to let go, honestly. What if someone catches my little mouse while I'm away~?" She tightens her arms and plants a chaste kiss on the top of my head, contrasting the heat in her voice, "You'll have a new toy to play with soon, so I don't mind if you catch a few bunnies in the meantime. But I'll be the only one claiming this little mouse, understood?"

She punctuates the question by lowering one hand to cup my core the other gripping a cheek hard, her tumescent heat on my stomach. "Y-yes..." I say in a small voice, lowering my head into her chest and taking in her heady, unmasked scent. "Hmmm~, I don't think I heard you~." She lifts me up, placing her arms under my knees and her hands wrapped completely around my waist, "What was that little mouse~?" We're not quite eye to eye, myself being a little taller to make room for her equipment, but we're close enough that our hot breath mixes and our noses almost touch. I plant a small, tender kiss on her lips, pulling away at the feel of her questing tongue. "...yes, mommy..." I breathe out, and, at last, she lowers me onto her.

***

I clamber off the bed, groaning at the soreness everywhere. I've gotta admit, it was a good workout, and it helped me sorta get used to the changes in my weight and strength, but geez that lady has some stamina. The lady in question is currently on her side, propped up on her elbow like a "French" girl, whatever that is, looking quite amused at my groaning. "Uugh, you did this you know? By next time, I'll be ready to give you a taste of your own medicine, you animal." She just laughs at my very serious threats, her eyes shining with emotion. "Hmm, I'll hold you to that, but it really is time for you to get started..."

She stands, cleaning herself like she did me; only this time, she hands me the small pearl with a blush not a tenth as fierce as my own. I bring it to my nose in a daze and the fresh scent of clove and mint tickles my nose. It relaxes me, her cleaning of me going unnoticed as I'm steeped in nostalgia and fresh, tender feelings. With a caring smile, she kisses my head and drapes a plain black robe over my body. This startles me from my daze and my throat seems to close as I realize that it's time to go.

"...Right," I choke out, pocketing the pearl. "So, um, how does this work? A-And how can I talk to you again?"

"It's fairly simple, really." She answers calmly - maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I can hear a small quiver to her voice. "Just stand in the circle I'm about to create. Ah, close your eyes and completely exhale before you teleport. That's common sense here so don't forget it." I nod smartly as she carves into the floor with a finger, inscribing runes and symbols into the shape of an esoteric circle. "To talk to me, you'll have to find any active shrine of mine and pray there. The normal ones are fairly numerous - at least one in every city, but if we want to hold a conversation you'll have to find one with a gemstone - a rhombicosidodecahedron¹I just think they're neat - embedded in the altar." She speaks quickly, sounding embarrassed with what she's saying as she finishes the circle.

I nod my head slowly as I step into the circle, still processing the implication of her words. As everything clicks, I can't help but gasp and stare at her, wide eyed with the revelation that should have been obvious at this point. The last thing I see is her bashful smile as she snaps her fingers, and the world goes white.