=::= Tally's PoV =::=

I felt my heart-rate spike when I realized Beth wasn't going to be allowed to come with me to talk with this Stacey person.

Part of it was I figured Beth was in trouble for skipping class and Ms. Watson wanted to do her yelling in private. But mostly it was because I really needed the support, a lot more than I was letting on.

I forced myself to keep calm as I followed the other foxgirl down the hall to her office. Stacey closed the door behind me, then she moved around to sit behind the desk while she motioned for me to take one of the guest chairs.

At least the chairs had gaps at the back, so when I sat down my tail had room to hang out the back. Ms. Watson's office was the same, but out in the waiting area the chairs didn't have that and they were really uncomfortable. It was just one of like a million things I hadn't got used to yet.

The lady introduced herself, "My name is Stacey Saunders. Would you like to tell me your name, and how old you are?"

I gulped but nodded, "My new name is Tally. I'm sixteen, my birthday was a couple weeks ago. And um, I'm trans. But I didn't mean to do all this yesterday? Like um, I wasn't going to change my body till after I finished grade twelve? And I hadn't planned to do the fox stuff at all..."

Stacey gave me a sympathetic smile, "Ok Tally. So if you weren't planning on becoming part fox, I can imagine this is a big surprise and a big adjustment. I'm not going to ask how you accidentally cast the spell, I don't need to know what sort of things kids get up to these days."

She probably meant that as a joke but I was way too uptight to notice if it was funny or not.

After a brief pause she continued, "So how can I help you? You probably need to get your ID updated? And if this was an accident, I suppose I should ask this. Are you planning to keep these changes?"

I blushed but nodded, "I want to stay like this. And yes ma'am, I need to get new ID. And um... I guess I'm going to have a lot of questions about having animal parts..."

Stacey did that sympathetic smile again, "Most of us are using the term 'demi-human' now, if you're looking for a fancy-sounding word to cover folks with 'animal parts'. Personally I'm comfortable with that, and I identify as a 'foxgirl'. If those labels don't work for you that's fine too, I don't want to come across like I'm telling you how you should identify. Just offering examples."

"Ok," I nodded slightly but I was still kind of overwhelmed.

She watched me for a few more moments then asked, "Would you like to tell me what's got you so uptight? Is there something about me that makes you nervous?"

I was still blushing but I asked, "How do you know I'm nervous?"

"Your ears and tail, Tally. They broadcast your emotions to anyone who knows how to read them."

Stacey grimaced and added, "It's over two years for me and mine still do it too. I can't play cards anymore, doesn't matter how good my poker-face is when my tail's wagging back and forth because I have a good hand."

"Oh," I gulped as I blushed even brighter. I hadn't realized they were doing that, but it made sense. I knew dogs did that, and foxes were in the same family.

She asked, "So do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

After a second or two I sighed, "I'm a little scared for what's going to happen. It's about my parents... I haven't really told this to anyone else yet but they're not happy. They wanted me to wait till I was finished high-school before I changed. And they're really unhappy about the animal stuff. Like we've never even had a pet, my dad's allergic to most animals and my mom's got this huge bug up her butt about animals shedding and leaving fur on all the furniture and stuff? So they both kind of flipped out yesterday..."

"I'm sorry Tally," Stacey actually looked and sounded like she meant it too. "Are you afraid they're going to kick you out of the house?"

"No!" I shook my head. "They'd never do that. They're just uptight, upset... I think they're going to try and pressure me to reverse this next month. Like I asked mom if she'd take me to the mall yesterday to buy some new clothes, and she said no. She didn't come out and say it exactly, but she sort of... She made it sound like she assumed this would be undone next month and I'd be back to my old self."

Stacey sighed, "I see. That's why you didn't go to the government office yesterday to take care of your name and ID? You know they're always open for forty-eight hours after a full moon, even on the weekends."

"Yeah I know," I nodded slowly. "My parents didn't want me rushing out to update my ID and stuff. It wasn't till I got to school this morning and met up with Bethany that I actually had someone be supportive."

The fox lady sighed again but asked, "Do you want to go ahead and do the legal name-change and get new ID? If you've got your old ID with you I can help you with it right now."

I gulped but nodded, "I've already updated my school stuff. I want to update everything else. I don't... I don't want to change back. I know they say nobody can force you to use that spell if you don't want to, but I'm worried my folks will get more upset with me. I'm sure they'd never kick me out, but..."

Stacey gave me that sympathetic look again, "I get it hon. I've been in this job for almost two years now, I've talked to a lot of young folks in similar situations. And you're right, nobody can force you to use the spell. And even if they coerce you to use it, nobody can force you to change yourself into something you don't want. The magic simply won't do that. And I'm not saying your folks are like this, but I've heard all the different tricks and strategies some parents will try."

She hesitated then asked, "Tell me hon, have they been using your new name? I know it's only been a day, but have they started making an effort? What about acknowledging your gender?"

I gulped and looked down at the floor, then slowly shook my head. I half-whispered, "No. Not yet."

Stacey was quiet for a few moments, but I could guess what she was thinking. My folks were being unsupportive. Maybe they wouldn't kick me out, but maybe they wouldn't make me feel very comfortable or welcome either. I already knew I had a serious problem with clothes, I didn't have much that fit and the tail made everything harder. I knew there was a tailor at the Pen Centre that did adjustments for tails but I had to get clothes that fit first and I didn't have a lot of money.

"Ok Tally," the fox lady finally said. "One thing at a time, let's take care of your ID since that's something we can do right now."

"Thank you," I said quietly as I dug out my old ID. I had my health card and I snuck my birth certificate out of mom's desk last night. And I had my new student card, I set that out as well. I was still pretty happy with it, even if Stacey didn't need it I liked seeing my new name and picture on it.

She took the health card and birth certificate, and opened up her laptop. She did some typing and stuff, then asked "Have you thought about your middle name? You don't have to change it, but most people do."

I made a face, my middle name was just as masc as my deadname and I hated it just as much. It took me a few moments before an idea came to me, and I smiled. "How about Amelia?"

Stacey smiled back, "It's your name Tally, I can't help you choose it."

"Tally Amelia Lambert," I said, mostly to myself. "So my initials will be TAL. Like Tal, short for Tally."

"Is that what you want to go with?" Stacey asked.

I nodded, "Yes please."

She did some more typing, then scanned my health card and birth certificate. A bit more typing, and finally a laser printer in the corner of her office whirred to life. It spat out a half dozen pages, which she gathered up.

She placed them in front of me on the desk and said, "Please read this very carefully. Pay close attention to the name, be absolutely sure I've spelled everything correctly and it's how you want it. I know this feels like it's fairly easy, but this is still a big deal ok? We're changing your legal name, the way you'll be known to the world, on all your paperwork, everything. You don't want a typo or some other mistake you're going to regret. It's easy to change it the first time, but it gets progressively more difficult with each subsequent change."

"Ok," I nodded, and I sat up straight and focused on the papers.

She added, "If it looks good, sign the last page. You'll have to sign with your old name I'm afraid, but that should be the last time you have to do that."

It was basically a legal name-change application form, but most of the fields were already filled in for me. My new name looked good, I liked the middle name and my new initials. The rest of it was fairly straightforward.

When I got to the end I picked up a pen she placed on the desk for me, and I signed the last page. There was a flutter in my stomach as I did it, knowing it was the last time I'd have to use that name.

Stacey took the forms back and she signed it as well, then did some more typing and stuff. Her printer spat out another page, which she placed before me. This was the form to officially change my gender marker.

That sent another flutter through my stomach, and I signed it immediately. And with my new name too, which was almost as exciting.

Stacey smiled as she took that form back. There was some more typing, then she said "Ok last step is I need a new photo."

She showed me where to stand against a blank part of her wall, and she got a special camera out of her desk. It only took a few seconds and she had the picture. There was one last form for me to sign with my new name, which got scanned into the computer.

Finally Stacey opened a locked filing cabinet and pulled out a few different-coloured official-looking sheets of paper. They went through her printer one at a time, and she signed each one when it came out.

"Ok Tally," she said when she was done. She set the pages out one at a time, "This is your legal Change of Name certificate. This is your temporary birth certificate, the real one will be mailed to you but this should do for now. And this is your temporary health card. You'll need to keep the old one as well, unfortunately. The temp one has your new name and photo, but the old one's still in effect till the new one arrives. Don't loose any of this stuff, there's a fee if it gets lost and has to be replaced. With these three things you should be able to update everything else. Like bank records or anything else, just show them this stuff and get things changed over."

I picked up the new documents and stared at them with a wide smile. It was done, it was official. And both the birth certificate and the health card had an F on them now, so I wasn't just legally Tally but I was legally a girl too.

"Thanks!" My cheeks almost felt sore I was smiling so wide.

Stacey grinned, "I'm glad you're happy Tally. I know it's exciting."

"Yeah," I nodded as I continued staring at the forms. Eventually my smile faded and I folded everything up and put it away in my backpack.

I sighed and looked up at her, "So what do I do about my parents? Like, they're probably going to freak out when they find out I've done this."

The fox lady sighed as well, and she got more serious again. "I can't tell you what you should do hon. All I can do is tell you what your options are."

After a deep breath she gave me the run-down. "First here's the bad news. As long as you're living with your parents, there's not a lot we can do to help you in terms of financial support. What we can offer is free counselling, both for you and for your parents. If they were willing to come in and talk to someone, Maria's got the most experience and would be the best choice. Jessica's the next best option, especially if your parents already know Maria as your friend's mother and feel uncomfortable about talking with someone they already know."

She continued, "If you were forced to leave home, either because your folks kicked you out or if they threatened you or otherwise made it too uncomfortable for you to stay there, then we'd be able to help in other ways. There are group homes, hostels, places we've vetted and we know they're safe and inclusive. We'd also be able to secure some funds for you to help you settle in. I'm talking about necessities like new clothes, or altering existing clothes to fit your new body, and any other things you need because of your new body. And we can help you with applications to get you additional support, educational funds, and so on."

"Finally there's a middle-option. If you had to leave your family home but you already had somewhere else to stay, like a friend's place, we could still get you some funds to help with your various needs, and maybe even some money to help with room and board. It's not enough to set you up in your own apartment, but it's usually enough to cover your food and a small amount for whoever you're staying with to offset additional expenses like utilities. There's some requirements and paperwork but we'd help with that."

After another deep breath Stacey said, "One last thing Tally. I'm mentioning this because you said this was unexpected, but we're available to help you get adjusted to certain other aspects of your new body. By which I mean, women's health issues, birth control, that kind of thing. And I can help you with some tips and suggestions to handle being part fox."

It was all overwhelming and I found myself staring down at the floor. I really just wanted to curl up under the chair and cry, but I forced the emotions back and kept them buried deep.

"It's a lot to consider," I said quietly. "I don't really know where to start."

Stacey gave me another sympathetic look. "I know hon. One good place to start is with a supportive and understanding friend. If you like, I can invite Bethany in here to join you?"

I gulped but nodded, "Yes please."

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