Jason only had a small laptop, and it was mostly for work purposes. Still, he was willing to let Charlie borrow it. Charlie sat down at the dinner table and started searching the web for resources on being trans. There was no shortage of information, but an awful lot to sort through.

“Apparently I was something called an ‘egg?’” Charlie mumbled to herself. “I guess a cocoon is kind of like an egg.”

All of Jason’s work stuff was on this computer. Charlie pulled up a directory and started looking for information on what to do next. She had to find a doctor, first off. Then there was the matter of paperwork that Charlie had to start filling out. How much paperwork was there? Oh, it turned out there was so much paperwork.

“Charlie.” Charlie looked up to see Jason standing in the doorway. “It’s time. The cocoon is about to hatch.”

Charlie’s heart started pounding and she stood up to follow Jason. They returned to the shed, Charlie stooping to get inside. Andrea’s cocoon was in there, jerking about as Andrea moved inside.

“How much longer?” Charlie asked, pacing back and forth in the little space available.

“Not long, now.”

With a groan, Charlie started biting her nails. The spell had gone wrong, hadn’t it? That was why Andrea hadn’t emerged when Charlie had. Or she’d emerge fine, but take one look at herself and start screaming in horror. Agreeing was one thing, but actually living with the fallout of the decision was going to be something else entirely. Or she’d decide she couldn’t bear to be around Charlie anymore and immediately flee, probably taking the car with her.

That last one actually felt more real than the others. Charlie groaned and started pulling at her antennae. How was she supposed to explain all this to Andrea?

Finally, a bunch of hands pierced the cocoon from inside and started ripping a long vertical tear. A young woman, covered in goo, pulled herself out and nearly collapsed to the floor. Jason ran up, helping her to stand and wiping off some of the goo from the cocoon.

Andrea’s body was covered in red fur from top to bottom, save for her arms and legs. She had long black hair, with fuzzy black antennae popping out of the top. Her wings, though they were crumpled from the tight space, were black at the top but were infused with red splotches toward the bottom. She was absolutely beautiful.

“Charlie!” she cried, rushing into her arms and soaking her clothes in goo. “You’re so much bigger! And… Charlie, why do you have breasts?”

“It’s a long story,” Charlie replied in a choked voice.

The two returned to the house, where Jason gave Andrea a towel and a change of clothes. While she wiped herself down, Charlie explained everything she’d been up to since emerging from her own cocoon. Andrea’s expression ranged from confused to worried to tense. It was not inspiring much confidence in Charlie, who started to wilt the longer the story dragged on.

Andrea picked up the clothes Jason had given her and avoided looking at Charlie as she said, “I think I need some time to think, alone.” To Jason, she asked, “Is there somewhere private I can go?”

“The guest bedroom,” Jason replied quietly, pointing down the hall.

“Thank you.”

“Andrea, I—”

“Charlie, I just really need to be alone for a little bit.”

Charlie felt completely powerless. There was nothing she could do as Andrea walked away. She wrapped all her arms around her stomach and sat down on the couch, then laid down and curled up into a ball.

Eventually, Charlie had to do something or she’d lost her mind. That, and Jason was getting annoyed by the constant tapping of her leg against the coffee table. Changing into less gooey clothes, Charlie stepped outside and stretched her wings. Now would be a good time to practice flying.

It came almost naturally to Charlie, and she found herself gliding easily over the trees. She suspected that it must be part of the magic. Wings this delicate probably couldn’t naturally lift something her size and weight.

Turning took a little bit of work to figure out. Controlling her wings was simple enough, but figuring out how to position them was a struggle. Charlie was a little worried that she wasn’t going to be able to turn around and head back. She’d have to drop to the ground (landing; something else she hadn’t practiced yet) and walk the entire way back to the cabin, if she could even find it. Fortunately, she was able to master the basics within a couple hours of practice.

“I feel so alive!” she cried, splaying her arms wide and laughing freely.

She was starting to get a little tired, though. Maybe it was time to start heading back. Back to Jason and Andrea. Charlie groaned. She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to have to face her problems.

Still, she made her way back toward the cabin. What did this mean for her plans? She and Andrea were supposed to spend the year traveling. Was that still the goal? If not, what were they supposed to do? Would Andrea even be willing to stay with Charlie, now that they couldn’t have a romantic relationship?

“I’m living in a nightmare~” Charlie chimed to herself. “How could this have happened~? I thought things would get better, not worse~”

She started to descend early. Charlie would rather walk the rest of the way back. Anything to put more time between her and facing the inevitable. With a deep breath, Charlie dropped down between the branches. The landing was rough and she ended up toppling over herself.

“That could have gone better,” Charlie muttered, picking herself up and brushing the twigs and leaves off.

So much of Charlie wanted to say that Andrea would suddenly realize that she was actually bisexual and was just waiting to tell her such when she got back. She was fooling herself, though. The breakup was inevitable and the longer she put it off, the harder it would be to deal with. Better to face the music now and get it over with.

When the cabin came into view, Charlie spotted Andrea sitting in a wicker chair on the porch and just staring off into the distance. With a deep breath, Charlie stepped away from the tree line and started walking up to her. Neither said a thing until Charlie was standing on the porch, all her arms pulled up against her body in nervousness.

“I’m sorry,” Andrea said, looking down at her lap. “I’m just not attracted to women. I thought about it, and I… just can’t. I’m not sure what to do now. I still love you, I’m just… not attracted to you. I’m really sorry, Charlie.” She paused. “Is that still what you’re going by?”

Charlie nodded, not trusting herself to speak without sobbing.

Andrea continued, “I actually asked if Jason could make me bisexual with magic, but he objected on moral grounds.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Charlie said, unable to suppress a chuckle.

Andrea smiled grimly, adding, “I can try to wear him down, but I honestly don’t have very high hopes.”

The two didn’t speak again except for small talk. That night, Charlie took the guest bedroom and Jason took the couch so Andrea could have the other bedroom. They all reconvened for breakfast. Jason looked like he hadn’t gotten a very good sleep, and Charlie and Andrea were way more interested in their food than acknowledging the other’s existence.

“This is unbearable,” Jason muttered.

Charlie grumbled, but she understood what he meant. They had never meant to stay any longer than they absolutely needed to. The house was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. She felt bad; the last thing Charlie wanted was to be a burden on Jason, after everything he’d done for the two of them.

This had all been a mistake, hadn’t it? If she’d never suggested this, Charlie could have just spent the rest of her life in denial about being trans and been happy enough with Andrea. That would have been bearable, right? No, probably not. She’d only had her wings and extra arms for a few days, but Charlie couldn’t imagine going back to life without them.

Did Andrea feel the same way? Charlie didn’t know; she hadn’t had a proper conversation with Andrea since she emerged from the cocoon. But she wasn’t freaking out, at least. Must still be getting over the shock of what had happened to Charlie. Wonderful.

Charlie stood up and said, “I need to clear my head. I’ll be back.”

“Charlie,” Jason said softly.

Andrea just looked down at her plate.

At the door, Charlie picked up her boots and walked outside. She pulled them on mid-stride, hopping on one foot to do so. The forest was alive with the sound of small critters darting around and chattering. Her crunching footsteps just added to the symphony.

She stopped walking when she could no longer see the house. Charlie took a long, deep breath, then screamed. Swinging madly, Charlie slammed her fist into a tree, hammering it with her fists. The bark cracked under the pressure, but when she stopped to catch her breath Charlie’s knuckles were bleeding.

“I’m stronger, too,” she muttered, inspecting the damage she did to the tree. “Not just bigger.”

Charlie groaned. This really was the best possible body she could have asked for. But was it worth losing Andrea? No, not really. Or… maybe. Relationships ended; that was just the way of the world. But if she and Andrea weren’t going to stay together, was it really fair to Andrea to drag her into this as well. She’d only agreed to this for Charlie’s sake.

With a long sigh, Charlie leaned up against a tree and slid to the ground. She pulled her legs to her chest and began to cry. It was over. Her relationship was really over. Charlie and Andrea were going to have to break up and that’s all there was to it. They’d got their separate ways and probably only see each other a couple times a year at most.

She’d really been looking forward to spending the rest of her life with her girlfriend. Now she was going to have to wander as a hot, buff, tall moth girl until she could find someone who could like her body. And even if someone could see past that, they probably wouldn’t be as keen on becoming an insect-girl as well. Charlie really wanted a girlfriend who could share this life for her.

“Of course, the one thing I couldn’t have predicted threw all my plans in the garbage.” It really was a hopeless situation. But not talking to Andrea wasn’t going to make the inevitable any easier.

Charlie stood up and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. With her hands in her pockets, she began walking back to the cabin. She was just going to march right in and break up with Andrea. Better not to even think about it; thinking too hard would just make her hesitate.

As Charlie approached, though, she saw that Andrea and Jason were both outside. Jason seemed to be helping Andrea learn how to fly. Charlie felt a pang of jealousy. She actually had wings! If anyone was going to teach Andrea, it should be her!

She shook her head and continued forward. Charlie couldn’t be thinking like that. Their relationship was over.

“Hey,” she mumbled, walking up to Jason.

“Hey, yourself. Feeling better?”

Charlie just grunted in reply. Andrea touched down, much more gracefully than Charlie had the day before. For a while, nobody said anything.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Jason said, slowly walking away.

Charlie sat down on the porch while Andrea slipped inside. She returned carrying a small bowl of fruit that she passed to Charlie: peaches and plums and oranges and apples. It all tasted much better than Charlie was used to.

“I guess we need to talk,” Andrea finally said.

“Yeah.”

“This body is great,” she continued. “It was really exciting to think about, but actually getting to live it is something else entirely. I’m really glad I agreed to this.”

“That’s wonderful,” Charlie replied. “I’m happy that it was the right decision for you. I hadn’t realized how much of a change it would be for me, but I’m glad we asked Jason for help.”

“The extra arms are nice, especially in the kitchen.”

“I can imagine, but I’m much more into flying myself.”

“Flying is fun, but I feel like it’s going to take some time before I feel comfortable going very high or fast.” She paused. “Look, Charlie, I don’t think we should split up. I don’t know if we can still be partners if I’m not attracted to you the same way, but I think we should stick together, at least for now. Leaving each other now feels a little hasty after all we planned.”

“…You really want to stay with me?” Charlie asked.

Andrea nodded, smiling softly. She continued, “We’re still friends, right? And I do love you, even if not in exactly the same way.”

Charlie admitted, “And I still love you, though it’ll probably take some time before I stop being attracted to you like I am. But I’d hate to lose you, especially with how vulnerable I feel at the moment.”

“Then the plan is still on?”

“The plan?”

Andrea chuckled, reminding her, “We were going to travel the world together, weren’t we?”

“You still want to see the world with me?”

“Absolutely. Do you still want to? I can understand if you need more time to process a change this big.”

Charlie grinned, admitting, “At this point, I think that following through with the plan as if everything were normal will do me more good than obsessing over what happened. So, yeah, despite this setback, I’d be happy to travel with you.”

“Great. When do we leave?”

QuillRabbit

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