(Holy crap, chapter four, and what a reverse cliff-hanger we left off on, huh?! A hundred feet up, plummeting to the earth… nice. XD And I’m so, so happy that you guys like this, and I’m incredibly grateful! Seriously, I can’t believe the reception I’ve seen for my story. Anyway, enough of my gushing, on with the tale of our Skyborne player and their Alv friend!)

I plunge, tumbling downwards, head-over-heels, whooping in elation as I submit to the joy of flight, the ground below rapidly rushing up at me. While I’m still falling, I unfurl my wings, flaring them wide and catching the onrushing airstream, slowing my descent from ‘oh-my-god-I’m-gonna-effing-die’ to ‘well, this might sting, but at least I’m not going to break the planet in half with the impact of my face into the dirt’.

Asteria’s face is tilted up at me, her eyes wide, her mouth opening as she watches me. I bring my wings down in a quick flurry of beats, slowing my momentum even more. “Watch out, I’m coming in hard!” I yell, unable to totally halt myself. “Get out of the way!”

Instead, the buxom, lissom mage reaches up, her arms out and ready. With a final yelp, I crash into her, both of us ending up on the long, pillowy grass. Face to boobs, I tilt my head upward to stare into Asteria’s azure eyes, as I feel her arms tighten around my waist, before she squeezes gently. “Hey, newbie.” She purrs, and I flush beetroot as she smirks. With a stammered apology, I… reluctantly? Disentangle myself from her lithe, pale arms and reach out to help her up. Her strong, delicate fingers wrap around my hand, and I tug, pulling her to her feet.

She chuckles huskily, and lets go slowly, her fingers trailing over my leather bracer. “Nice landing, sweetie. A little more practice, and you won’t need a pair of airbags anymore!”  I turn crimson again and splutter as she cracks up, almost howling at my embarrassed face as I try not to explode in humiliation.  Eventually, though not soon enough for my preference, Asteria calms down, her ample chest heaving lightly as she straightens up, her lips still curled into a cheeky grin. Sighing, I complain, “Can… Can we just go back to town?”

On the journey back to Tillberry, I good-naturedly suffer Asteria’s mild ribbing, my cheeks slowly returning to their usual colouration. The village comes into sight, the waving grain bobbing and swaying in the gentle breeze, with several more Argonauts around than last time. More players means more excitement, the atmosphere of the little hamlet still as welcoming and vibrant, but… more intense, somehow. Hefting the sack of deer parts, I enter the gates, side by side with my saviour, the same gate guards from earlier recognizing her and bowing.

Back in the square, I look around, staring at the scenes of camaraderie spilling out from the tavern, the arm-wrestlers from before now toasting with large wooden mugs, froth slopping out of the great tankards as they roar with jubilant laughter, clearly having a ball. The Alv musician has laid his lyre to one side and is strumming a powerful harmony on a strange instrument that resembles some illogical fusion of electric guitar and old-fashioned vacuum cleaner, the sound coming from it melodic, but discordant. The winged Lizzara and the Scottish-accented hyena-man role-players are sitting to one side, the pair tearing into the contents of a wooden platter, piled high with skewers of grilled meat, dripping with rich sauce. An even larger platter of empty wooden spikes lies next to the tiny winged lizard, several townsfolk giving the pair a wide berth, possibly for fear of being eaten by mistake. The hyena-man growls, “slow doon, Mur, ye’ll choke yesel’ wi’ yer vittles’!” Swallowing, Mur retorts, “Ulged better munch-munch faster then, or Mur gonna eat all the meatsticks first!”

It takes a good few minutes to worm my way through the crowds to the bar, displaying the hides from the Diomedan deer as proof of my success, and receiving a relieved nod and smile in return from many of the patrons. The bar-mistress winks, “Aye, good work, Skyborne. Those wretched things’ve been a sore subject for many a farmer ‘round this neck o’ the woods. Sheep, pigs, even cattle. All torn to shreds and gobbled up by them beasts. But, since they’re dead, we’ll get a bit of peace for once! The whole village is in your debt. And, speaking of, here! Your reward, fifty ducats!” She reaches behind the bar and produces a pouch, about the size of a grapefruit, plonking it in front of me.

Thanking her, I jerk open the drawstring neck of the leathern purse, tipping its contents into my palm. Gleaming golden disks, each one about an inch and a half in diameter, pile into my gloved hand. Staring at the glittering heap of wealth, I slowly pick one up and turn it round, watching the light play over its brilliant gilt surface. “Whoa…” I breathe, my eyes widening, before shovelling the coins back into their pouch and tucking it away in my inventory as quick as I can.  This… was…“AWESOME!” I can’t help myself, and a familiar voice replies.

“What’s awesome? You make a lot?” turning my head only, to prevent my wings from flattening half the bar clientele, I nod, a wide smile on my face. Asteria stands there, looking indulgently at my infectious excitement. “Yeah, I got fifty gold coins for it! They’re called… Ducks, or something.”

With a sudden chuckle, Asteria reaches out and pokes my cheek. “Ducats, silly. And that’s quite the haul for your first quest. Well-deserved, too, even though you took on something higher-level than you were really ready for. Congratulations, you’re a proper Argonaut now.”

I blush at the praise, feeling awkward about it, but weirdly happy. “A-Anyway, the, uh… the armourer or blacksmith? I really need some better equipment, and I need to find my friend, too. They said they’d be here in-game after school, but I don’t know what their characters are…”

Asteria reaches out and pokes my cheek again. “Hey, hey, no biggie. I’ll send you a friend request too, that way we can play some more together! It’s fun to play the ‘wise older-sister’ to someone for once. I’m the youngest of three siblings, after all. Now, let’s get you some better gear, yeah?”

I nod, suddenly tongue-tied. The youngest of three?? But she’s so… mature, and confident. She seems so relaxed and comfortable in her own skin, unlike me. She beckons, and leads me back out and through the crowded plaza, along a less-bustling, quieter side-street, to a stall at the end of a cul-de-sac. The front is open, with collapsible screens of stout timber acting as security when the shop’s not in business. An anvil and forge occupy most of the interior, with racks and shelves overflowing with farming equipment and basic weaponry, a couple of mannequins in armour at the back.

A feline young person with a puffed-out tail and fuzzy ears on the top of their head is hammering away at a slab of metal, their hands ensconced in huge leather gauntlets, swinging a mallet with precise, forceful blows, the glowing hunk of ore steadily taking the shape that its crafter desires. Asteria waves, calling, “Hey Trinity! Who’s in charge today?”

The…person? I’m still not sure if this ‘Trinity’ is a catboy or a catgirl, puts the hammer down and steps around the anvil to give Asteria a hug. “Hey there! First time we’ve seen each other in this game, huh? As always, your boobs are practically hanging out, Astie. Did you learn nothing from Demon Could Weep XI, or Eternal Fiction 90???” I raise a confused eyebrow at Trinity’s comment, and the taller Alv rolls her eyes at the short, androgynous blacksmith. “Yeah, clearly not! Have you seen my outfit?! I’m hot as hell!”

I stand there a little awkwardly, waiting for them to finish their apparent reunion. From what I can tell, Asteria and Trinity have played lots of games together, and I find myself peculiarly…  jealous…. I wish I had friends like that. Although, that would require me to be less of an introvert…

Finally, Asteria and her IRL-friend break up the get-together and focus. The Alv introduces the shorter, vaguely-genderless cat-person, and I can’t take it any longer. “Sorry if this sounds rude, or impolite, but… what ARE you? A guy? A girl? Because I legitimately can’t freaking tell and it’s giving me a headache trying to work out how I should address you!”  Asteria snickers, while Trinity shrugs. “Well, actually, we’re neither. And both. You’d probably call us ‘gender-fluid’, or maybe ‘non-binary’, since we alternate at different times. Some days, we’re guys. Others, we’re girls. And, also, the reason we’re called Trinity, is because we have three distinct individuals that make up our whole. The term is ‘system’.”

I blink, trying to work out what I’d just learned, while a calm, placid-faced Trinity informs the unperturbed Asteria that the part of them in current command is ‘Dex’, using the male pronouns. Asteria nods and smiles. “Great. Well, Dex, would you be able to take a look at my little friend here? We need some better equipment.”

Dex nods and scampers over, examining my battered gear. “I see, I see… a Bulwark class, good for a noob… but yeah, this shield’s had it, you’re gonna need a brand-new one. Luckily, I can definitely set you up. What’s your price-range? I’ll give you a good deal, since you’re a friend of Astie.” I stammer something about “Fifty ducks”, and he chuckles, “Oh, I can definitely work with a budget like that. Got any materials you wanna trade in too? I’m in the market for any and all hides, ore, that kind of thing.”

Fumbling for a second, I swing the sack off my back, carefully extricating one of my wings from the strap, and dump the seven Diomedan deer-pelts on the counter, looking at the small, fluffy catkin in hopes that these are worth something to them. With twinkling eyes, Dex began sifting through the skins in a practiced manner, running clawed hands across the bloodied hides. “Niiiice, very nice. Good quality, very little damage…. Oh, I’ll be able to put these to great use! I don’t know what your level is yet, so how about we check that, yah?”

Opening my menu, I swipe across to the Status tab, looking for my level. It’s higher than I’d thought at 5, the bar a hairs-breadth from tipping it over into 6… Another detail catches my eye, just above the level…. Name: Callex. Race: Skyborne. Class: Bulwark. Gender: Female.

“What… What the… WHAT THE FFFFFUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK?!?!?!?!?!?!”

Alerted to my panic by the unearthly, high-pitched scream that emits from my lips, Asteria whirls, rushing over to me, as Dex cowers, hissing and covering his furry ears in annoyance, clearly not expecting me to shriek like a grav-train. I reel, tottering back and falling against Asteria’s ample chest as she pulls me close, her cerulean eyes wide with concern.

“What is it? What’s wrong, did something happen? You’re shaking!” the gentle Alv murmurs softly, holding me as she strokes a hand across my face, her cool fingers feather-light against my suddenly-heated skin. Gulping back another scream, I reach out and make my status screen visible to her with the touch of an option, then point at the text denoting my gender. Reading it, Asteria’s eyes focus on where my trembling finger indicates. “Oh. Ohhh, I get it. Something happened when you were making you r character?”

Nodding, I choke out, “Y-yeah…. Something made me trip… I hit the menu… must’ve been then…” I start hyperventilating, before Asteria pulls my head to her breasts, cradling me tenderly as I shudder, holding back the flood of emotions rampaging through my body, her voice soothingly crooning to me as Trinity straightens, their face changing from the placid, docile default to a sharper, more alert aspect.

Between gentle caresses of my back, Asteria murmurs, “Not now, Kyla. I think either we might have some explaining to do, or we may have another one on our hands. Remember Dane?” The soft gasp from Trinity’s second identity draws my attention as I slowly calm down enough to speak without screaming.  “Wh-who is Dane? What do you mean, ‘another one’? I don’t understand!”

Asteria sighs, “Dane… was a friend of ours. He had something like this happen to him in another game, but… it wasn’t a problem for him. He… he was overjoyed. It felt right, and, eventually, Dane… became Dana. She was transgender. Born a girl…in a guy’s body. She told me that, until she’d experienced how it felt to be a girl on the outside, she’d never understood how wrong she’d felt. But, after she realised it, she knew that she was happier as her authentic self, and… well, she’s been a woman physically for about six years now. Callex… how do you feel, in a body that’s not the one you’re used to?”