“Hi.”

“Is it really you?” 

“Yeah. Well, I don’t really use that name anymore. Not for some time.”

Tee stood there for a moment, until Cass jumped up and pulled them into a hug that lifted them off the ground with several feet to spare. If they hadn’t been in this new body, it would have felt more than a little constricting, but if this was really their friend -- an idea they desperately wanted to be true -- then it was more than welcome. Tee was softly lowered again, and they plopped down on the bed, thoroughly confused. They sat there for a moment, thoughts racing through their now mostly-artificial, partially-magical brain. They looked at the very, very large woman, all muscle and confidence, and tried to see in her their old friend. It was hard going for a bit. “But like, really?” The mercenary nodded again. “You look different.”

“You don’t even have a face, Tee. Unless there’s one under that visor?” The person Tee was trying to think of as Mal -- or was it Tore now? -- took off his/her/their boots and scooted backwards onto the bed, arms wrapped around their legs.

“So what name do you use now?” Tee asked. They were testing the waters, to make sure that what it looked like was happening, was actually happening.

“Well, acquaintances call me Loki. Clients call me Tore. But uh…” There was a slightly awkward pause. “I think my name is Cassandra now, Tee. I’m not uh… I’m not a guy, I don’t think.” She smiled almost apologetically, and Tee took a moment to process the revelation. Cassandra seemed almost upset at their reunion, and Tee was happy to let her focus on this instead. Whatever was bugging her, this was clearly important too.

“That’s… wow,” they said. “Uh… fuck, you probably want more than that. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting to see you and looking like… well, you look very different.” They paused. “I don’t know how this world works. Do body swaps and stuff like that happen around here?”

Cassandra shook her head. “Pretty much only deadstones. Not even the best surgeons could have turned me into, well…” She grinned down at herself, the melancholy pain on her face temporarily replaced with a kind of happy pride. “I’d say it’s an improvement.” Tee nodded. If they’d had teeth, they would’ve bit their lip. They’d had a crush on M-- on Cass for a long time. Them being a giant woman made those feelings bubble up to the surface all the easier, even if the circumstances were more than a little strange. “So yeah,” Cass continued. “I got really hurt, died, ended up like this and arrived at some weird-ass revelations about myself. I take it that’s how you ended up all… beep boop?”

“Beep boop,” Tee said in confirmation. “Flock let me use this one. Apparently she’s trying to find an alternative to people cloning braindead bodies. You know, a less creepy one.” Tee paused. “I like her. She’s good people, I think.” They noticed Cass grinning at her. 

“Not just ‘cause she’s hot?” 

“Well, not just that,” Tee said. The visor had a sculpted mouth, but it was mostly there for aesthetics. They couldn’t actually smile with it, or they would have. It was nice to banter with her friend again. It had been a difficult few days. “It definitely doesn’t hurt. But I don’t want to talk about her, I want to talk about you! When did you come to the realization? How long have you known? Can’t have been that long, right? Or did you know… back then?”

Cass shook her head. “Ages, actually. After I’d given up looking for you two. I really wanted to talk to you about it. You were always so… open about the fact that you were exploring your gender identity, and at first I thought maybe I was some kind of genderfluid and that I’d just adapted to my new body. But then I realized that the thought of going back to my old body was horrifying, and it kind of cascaded from there.” Cassandra paused. “I’m still having trouble believing you’re actually here. I think I’m in shock,” she laughed.

There was a pause in the air as Tee processed the new information, really wanting to be supportive of their friend. But something was screaming at them in the forefront of their brain, holding up a sign that was louder and more neon than any outside.

“What do you mean, you gave up looking for us?” Tee asked. 

“Well, it took so long to find you that I just kind of tried to move on. I can’t believe it took us so long to bump into each other.” She paused. “I feel like an asshole for giving up, honestly.” Cassandra’s shame was obvious on her face.

“But we’ve only been here for like a week,” Tee said, and they really really wanted to frown. “You say you changed ages ago…” Realization began to wash over them. “Oh,” they said. “Oh no…” 

“Wait,” Cass said, tears forming in her eyes. “You’re saying you only… but I…”

“How long have you been here, Cassandra?” Tee asked, their heart filling with dread and trepidation. They didn’t want the answer because a part of them knew it wasn’t going to be ‘about a week’. 

“I… It’s been five years.”

Oh. 

Cassandra had spoken softly, yet was like a bomb had gone off next to Tee’s head. They could feel their skin tingling, their mind vibrating, a ringing in their ears. There was no way, right? That meant Cassandra had been here all this time, scared she’d lost her friends. She’d gone on an entire exploration of gender and self in all that time and Tee hadn’t been there for her. The guilt, irrational as it was, was overwhelming.

“I’m sorry,” they managed. They were glad to hear that their weird voice modulator managed to pick up their voice cracking. “I’m so, so sorry.” Cassandra began to break down, her hand on her mouth as if to hide, tears running down her face in silence. Tee shuffled closer and pulled Cassandra into a hug, her head falling against Tee’s shoulder as she gently sobbed. There was a familiarity to the position they were in. On more than one occasion, Cass’s depression had broken her down to a point so low that Tee or Ellis (or both) had stayed up all night holding her, comforting her while she tried and failed, over and over again, to figure out what was wrong. At least this time there was a cause.

“I missed you so much, Tee,” Cassandra cried softly. All Tee could do was softly stroke her hair as she sniffled. They sat like that for a while, until Cassandra sighed. “You’re warm,” she said. “Why are you warm?”

“This thing is mostly magic,” Tee said. “That’s why the voice is so garbled.” 

“Ah,” Cass said. “Yeah, the weird shit tends to mess with like, signals and connections, and vice-versa. I was considering trying out magic but I use a lot of tech and I don’t like to risk losing it.” Cassandra sat up straight again, more than a head taller than Tee, and just leaned her head on theirs. “Is Ellis who we’re looking for?” Tee sighed. Now that things were starting to sink in, they were starting to fear for Ellis. How long had he been here?

“Yeah,” they said. “Nobody here has seen him, not that Flock knows of, anyway. That’s why we’re going up to Double M. Whoever that is, if anyone might know, they would.” Cassandra nodded. 

“Not wrong,” Cassandra said. “I haven’t gone to see them, but they’re… hard to ignore. And if it’s nothing, I live ten floors down from there, so you’ll have a place to stay while we look for him.” Cassandra paused. “Or we wait.” Fuck. Tee hadn’t considered that possibility. They’d assumed that they had simply arrived later. But what if Cassandra was simply early, and Ellis wasn’t even here yet? She took a deep breath, and found a silver lining. If he hadn’t arrived yet, the odds of him being mugged in some alley were a lot lower. Ellis was a sweetheart -- their sweetheart -- and it got him into trouble when his good-natured attitude and trust in random strangers got the better of him. If he wasn’t here yet, they could make sure they would know the moment he arrived.

“I’d like that. Flock offered a place to stay but… well… it’s not the same.”

“Not the same as staying with a friend?”

“Yeah.”

“I think you’ll like it,” Cassandra said. “It’s not very big, but it’s home. I managed to make it very cozy over the years. We’re pretty happy there.” Oh. It made sense, of course, that Cass had found someone to live with. She’d had years to move on. Tee tried to mentally make the switch.

“Oh? Who are you living with? A partner?” Tee asked innocently. Cass scoffed softly.

“No, not… no. Not like that. Wait, you know him, actually. Hey Mort, come say hi.”

The cat pattered over to the bed a little drowsily. Tee assumed he’d almost managed to fall asleep. “I already said hi,” Mort mewled in soft protest.

“Yeah, you said hi five years ago,” Cassandra said with a little grin. Mort cocked his head and looked at Tee, then at Cassandra, then back at Tee, and then back at Cassandra.

“I feel like I’d remember meeting the robot lady,” he said, and blinked.

“Not a lady,” Tee and Cassandra said at the same time, and Cass smiled at them. Tee could have kissed her. Well, they couldn’t have, without a mouth. But if they had, they could have. But wouldn’t. Not without her consent, at least. They thought back on the agreement they’d made with Ellis, about Cass. Even without a physically beating heart, Tee still felt their pulse quickening. Everything going on, Tee hadn’t had the time to agonize over their crush on Cassandra. But with that smile, which was very distinctly her friend’s smile, now that they knew where to look, the old feelings came rushing back.

“Apologies,” Mort said. “I took a shot and missed. Not a lot to go off of here.” He looked their androgynous frame up and down to emphasize his point. “But I still don’t remember meeting robot people. I didn’t even know there were robot people.”

“You were very baby,” Cassandra said. “This is Tee, the person that fed you after I got you off that freeway.” Again, Mordecat looked between the two of them, and shook his head.

“Sorry, nuffin. Anyway, I’m sleepy. Scoot.” He jumped up between them, looked left and then right, and decided to curl up on both their laps in a way that could not possibly have been comfortable for any creature other than a cat. Cass chuckled softly and scratched him between the ears. 

“Yeah, we… I stayed at some people’s for a while. We figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea if I had a companion. He’s sapient. You know, mostly. For a cat.”

“Oi, I can hear you.”

“I know,” Cassandra said with a little grin, and Tee nestled against her arm. They weren’t going anywhere, a cat on their lap, so they might as well get comfortable. As excuses for comfort and affection went, it was one of their better ones. “Anyway, he’s pretty great, he snores but only softly, and doesn’t like unprocessed food. No raw meat. Also no belly rubs.”

“Hate those,” Mort grumbled, his eyes closed and purring softly again. “Bad touch.”

Tee felt Cassandra wrap an arm around them and their nonexistent heart skipped a beat. Cass kissed the top of their synthetic head and they couldn’t contain a satisfied, electronic sigh. “I’ve missed you, Tee.”

“I missed you too, Cass. I’m so glad you found yourself. And me, of course. Both. I’m glad you found both of us.” They felt Cassandra chuckle softly.

“By the way, there’s a good artificer on the way up. Do you want to stop by and, y’know, get you a face?” Tee would have blinked if they’d had eyes. That was a good point. 

“Uh, yeah, actually. If it’s not too much of a detour? It would be nice to be able to, yknow, smile again.” 

“Gosh, I can imagine,” Cass said. “It’ll be good to be able to look you in the eye. You always did have very pretty ahhh--” Cassandra stopped talking and Tee looked up at her in confusion. “I’m so sorry, I just didn’t… That was inappropriate… fuck, I’m so sorry…” Cass devolved into embarrassed, apologetic noises.

“Oh hush,” Tee said, satisfaction smeared thick in their voice and they snuggled more against the already flustered Cass. “I liked it. And I wouldn’t mind being pretty and handsome again. Especially if it gets you to make sounds like that again.” Tee grinned, if only on the inside. They’d missed this. They’d missed her. 

Cass squeaked a while longer before they both fell asleep against each other.

Elamimax

^_^ look how cozy

If you like this story and want to know how it ends, the whole thing is up on my patreon! Subscribers will get access to every single chapter right now. Other than that, I will be posting a chapter (maybe even two) every other day (I don't think we'll get many more four-a-day like this :p). If you're in the mood to catch up on my other stories, feel free to check them out. Additionally, Horns in the Library 1 is now available as an ebook! 

I also want to point people at the discord server of the ever-prolific QuietValerie (right here) where you can find her wonderful stories, like Ryn of Avonside, Falling Over and The Trouble With Horns, as well as other authors' works, and talk about them with fellow fans, and even the authors themselves! I heartily recommend joining it and reading their works! (Also check out Walls of Anamoor. It's rad as heck.) 

Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all in the next one. 

<3