Azalea PoV

My heart was racing as I stared at Kelcie. “A what?”

“Otherworlder,” Kelcie replied with an expectant look on her face. 

I looked away from her. “I, uh, have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Kelcie sighed, and turning back to her, I saw her smiling sadly at me, hurt in her eyes. “You’re not a very good liar.”

I opened my mouth to respond, only to close it again. I had no idea why I was so reluctant to say anything, especially since she basically knew already. 

“Some of your behaviour… could be excused for simply being a fairy. But not your random references and peculiar phrases that have nothing to do with what you’ve told us of your life in Fairy,” Kelcie shrugged, looking pleased with herself. “There is also the matter of your special skill, one that you refused to tell us how you got it.”

I grimaced. I guessed I’d been having a little bit too much fun with my pop culture references. 

“I’m not the only one, either,” Kelcie continued quietly. “Callie and Raya noticed as well.”

“I guess there’s no point in concealing it any longer, I suppose,” I sighed, shaking my head. 

“You mean… I was right?” Kelcie squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. She jumped up and hugged me like a young girl would hug a doll. It was a strange feeling, although not unpleasant, if I was being honest. 

I stared at her in shock after she let me go. She’d only been guessing and I just gave it away. Well… there goes all of my cool, mysterious vibes. I realised that I actually felt relieved that someone else finally knew. I’d been keeping this secret for far too long. Even before I got all of my memories, I had felt different to everyone else, and would occasionally spout what seemed like nonsense, but that I somehow knew meant something. 

Kelcie hugged me again, I could get used to those. “Thank you, for telling me. I’m happy to keep it a secret for you. Although, I’m pretty sure Callie’s already worked it out.” 

Kelcie kept holding me and it felt comfortable and warm, so I just stayed still and enjoyed the hug while it lasted. 

“I’m not surprised, it feels like Callie is hiding something from us, to me.” I mumbled into her chest. 

With a stammered apology, Kelcie let me go, blushing profusely. My wings reflexively buzzed and caught me from falling too far. 

“It’s fine!” I giggled. “I liked your hug,” I added, shyly, a blush warming my cheeks. 

“Umm, thanks? I think. So what’s trans mean?” Kelcie asked. She was still blushing, but had mostly gotten a hang of herself now. 

“It’s a term for people who aren’t comfortable with the gender of their physical body.” 

“Oh, then no I’m not-"  Kelcie shook her head immediately- “I don’t have soul dissonance.”

I had a thoughtful look on my face. “Soul dissonance? Is that what people call it in this world?” 

Kelcie sighed. “The nicer people do, yeah.”

“That’s hardly surprising. I had to deal with that sort of bigotry in my old world too,” I said, shaking my head at people who can’t just leave innocent people alone. People who had enough difficulty coping or fitting in as it is. 

“What… makes you ask me if I’m, what did you call it? Trans?” She asked, hesitantly, perhaps a little worried as well. 

I looked down at the ground several feet below me, before looking at Kelcie in the face again, and let out a soft sigh. “Because I saw you in the building, at West End.”

“I, I, I…” Kelcie’s face went white as paper as she stammered. “… Please don’t tell anyone! I can explain.” 

I shook my head with a little smile. “What’s there to explain?” 

“Because I'm a- a freak?” She shouted, breathing heavily. It looked like she was moments away from a full blown panic attack. 

I hadn’t realised that she was so worried about all of this. It must’ve been awful for her. I remember all of the times that she’d sneak away, obviously to renew her transformation. I tried to cover for her during those points, although I’m not sure how well I did. 

With a soft sigh, I activated [Fairy Magic] and mumbled, “Enlarge,” in Fairy.  A bright light flashed from my body, accompanied by a strong sense of vertigo as everything shrunk around me. My Hud was flashing the low mana warning as I watched, which I ignored. Suddenly I was struggling to continue hovering with my new size, my feet hitting the ground with a thud as I landed. 

Kelcie’s eyes were large and held confusion as she watched me walk towards her, five times larger than I used to be. 

“But… how?”

“Fairy Magic. I use the Fairy language to create spells,” I said smugly. 

“Oh, is that what you were just speaking? It sounded beautiful,” Kelcie said, seemingly already less upset. 

I hugged the taller girl. I was still pretty short, I’d estimate that I was probably still under 5ft tall, but I could hug her properly now. Kelcie hesitated for a moment, before wrapping her arms around my back. Placing them in a way that showed she was being careful of my wings. 

Stepping on my tippy toes to reach her ear, I whispered, “You’re not a freak, ok?” 

“How do you know?” She sobbed. “My family…”

“Your family are idiots if they’re the ones who put it in your head that you’re a freak. Listen,” I moved back slightly so I could see her face, unshed tears sparkling in her eyes, “you prefer this body over your old one right?”

Kelcie nodded reluctantly, as if she was telling an awful secret. I smiled gently at her, squeezing her shoulders softly as I did so. 

“I know that feeling well,” I said, before taking a deep breath, “it’s how I felt when I got my memories back after reincarnating. Being in the proper body was amazing.”

“You mean you…?”

I nodded my head, “Had soul dissonance? Yes, although on my previous world, we called it being transgender. Someone whose gender identity was different to the one they were assigned at birth. I wasn’t born a girl there, and I felt that I was in the wrong body, which made me feel really depressed and upset, we called it dysphoria. Though I went through a process to become one, become my true self. And when I gained my memories back, realised what I had gained here…”

“But I don’t…” Kelcie started to say, but at my dubious expression, stopped. “You really think I have soul dissonance?” 

I shrugged. “It’s up to you to decide. I just wanted to let you know that it’s no big deal that you look different to your transformation. You’re Kelcie to me. I care about you and don't want to see you hurting like you’ve been.”

Kelcie smiled at me, before looking down at her feet, frowning. “I just, um, I- I. This form, this body, it feels… right. Me. Like the real me. My other body… It just feels so unpleasant when I have to go back to it, even for just a moment.” Kelcie shuffled some loose stones around with her foot, and then stopped, looking back up at me. “Oh, gods, I’m a girl, aren’t I?” Tears streamed down her face, a smile breaking through.

“Yes you are,” I beamed. 

My cheeks started to ache as I smiled at my friend's happiness. Kelcie grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug as she cried tears of euphoria. I could feel my own tears mingling with hers as we hugged and cried together. At one point one of us started giggling, soon taken up by the other, and it took a few minutes for us to settle down. 

I yelped as I suddenly shrunk back to my normal size, startling us both, which kick started our giggling all over again. 

Kelcie sighed, looking wistfully around for a moment before speaking, “We should probably find the others and find out what’s going on. We need to let people know about the West End disaster and also settle everyone before it gets dark.

“Ryel is probably getting into trouble too, no doubt-” She shot me a glare as I giggled at that- “Speaking of trouble, I don’t want you running off like that again. You could’ve died. You would have, if you hadn’t used your potions.” Kelcie sighed sadly. “Just, be more careful please? I know I’m repeating myself, but I can’t lose you.” 

I sheepishly looked around anywhere but at my friend and her accusing, scared orange eyes. 

“Everything turned out alright though, right?” I looked down at my thumbs as I tapped them together. 

Kelcie sighed heavily, I could see her shaking her head out of the corner of my eye. “This time, sure. But next time? Or the time after that? You might not be so lucky. You would’ve died, and Ryel along with you, if it wasn’t for those ancient potions. Potions that you’re rapidly running out of, I might add.

“I don’t expect you to not put your life at risk. Especially not if you’re going to be an adventurer. It’s part of the job. Just, let us back you up, next time, okay? You’re not the only one who wants to kick a dragon's butt,” She finished, smiling at me warmly. 

My heart fluttered as I looked up in her smiling face, I couldn’t help but smile back. 

I only too eagerly agreed with that. “Deal!” 

“Now, come on. Let’s go and see what everyone has gotten up to in our absence.” 

I fluttered down and sat on her left shoulder. Leaning to the right, perhaps a little more than I usually did, I relaxed into her comforting presence and decided to check my notifications. 

Ding!

Congratulations! Due to successfully rescuing and escorting the survivors from West End. You have unlocked and completed the secret quest Rescue of West End! 10,000xp rewards, 5,000xp bonus given, due to your special skill. 10g has also been rewarded. 

Ding!

Congratulations! You have hit Rank 10 in [Telekinetic Pulse], unlocking a new skill! 

Ding!

Congratulations! You have unlocked [Telekinetic Bullets] Rank 1

Ding!

Congratulations! Your [Psychic Slash] is now rank 8

Ding!

Congratulations! Your [Kinetic Shield] is now rank 7

Ding!

Congratulations! Your [Orphic Instincts] is now rank 5

Ding!

Congratulations! Your [Fairy Magic] is now rank 8

Ding!

Congratulations! Due to successfully stopping a dragon attack on Eidencrag, you have unlocked and completed the secret quest Dragon, friend or foe? Due to the dragon being more than 1,000 Power Level higher than you, 20,000xp rewarded. Reduced to 10,000xp for only driving it off. 5,000xp bonus given, due to your special skill. 

Ding! 

Congratulations! Due to successfully completing Dragon, friend or foe? You have unlocked, Dragon, friend or foe? II Rewards vary. 

Accept Decline

Ding!

Congratulations! You have reached Power Level 371

I gasped after reading through my notifications. “What is it?” Kelcie asked, looking over at me in alarm. 

“My Power Level increased quite a lot,” I said, with a smile. “I also hit rank 10 in a spell and gained a new one. Then for the cherry on top, I completed two secret quests and got a third one.”

“Wait, really? That’s great!” Kelcie replied, then stopped walking before her eyes got that distant, far away look of something checking their own notifications. 

Kelcie spoke up a moment later. “For mine, it says I completed the Rescue of West End! quest, but that’s it. No other quests. I did get a level from completing it though, thanks to you sharing your special skill in the party-” Kelcie gasped, suddenly looking at me- “your special skill is related to you being an otherworlder, isn’t it?”

I smiled at my friend. “Yes ma’am!” I said, saluting her cheekily. I had noticed during our travels that Kelcie responded positively every time I used female pronouns or titles, another indication of her true nature. It was adorable, and as usual, her cheeks went a little pink as she blushed. I leaned over and hugged her face briefly, then giggled. I had become a facehugger! 

Kelcie looked at me with a puzzled expression, “What’s so funny?”

“I’ll tell you all about movies and why they’re one of the greatest forms of entertainment on any planet, another time.” I shook my head, still giggling quietly to myself. 

My beautiful friend still looked puzzled for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders, almost launching me off of them. “I can’t wait to hear more about your old world, and you.” 

I blushed at her words, a silly little grin on myself. “Yes ma’am.” I enjoyed watching her blush. It’ll never get old. 

We fell into companionable silence as we walked. I sneezed as Kelcie had to stop to let various sized carriages and carts pass, kicking up dust and stirring the smoke in the air. Now that we had walked back onto what looked like a main road, we could see a lot of activity going on. It was mostly emergency services, making sure the fires were put out, or the injured being seen to. 

I watched as plenty of unrest and chaos caused by the dragon and opportunistic looting were still gripping the city. We passed many guards, and apparently temporarily deputised adventurers, attempting to wrest control back from the brink of total anarchy. A few fights broke out as we walked along as well. We had been warned away from interfering by the guards though, so we just kept walking. As various siren-like sounds went off all over the city, I could hear children, and even a few adults, wailing, many standing or sitting near burned down or looted buildings, being comforted by their parents or family. The sights were awful. 

I thought back to what the dragon, Venia, had said. About the Lord of the city apparently provoking her to attack. My friends had told me about the Dragon Lords declaring war on humans and the other various mortal races while we fled West End. The way that everyone had talked, it sounded like an unprovoked war. But Venia hadn’t seemed to care about the war, only about the man she had been looking for. 

While we made our way towards the others, I decided it was time I checked out my new skill. I would’ve looked earlier but I’d gotten distracted. 

[Telekinetic Bullets] Rank 1

Fire several small balls of telekinetic energy from the casters’ hand/s. Causes blunt and piercing damage. Chance on hit for one or more bullets to pass directly through the target and strike another enemy behind the first. This is a ranged attack of up to 40 feet.

Suddenly I was excited and impatient to test it out on an enemy. Unfortunately not today, though, it was getting late. I glanced up at the sky, and noticed that the sun was already starting to set. 

I sighed as we turned down a side street, finally getting off of the busy road. The smells and dust and dirt that was being kicked up made it unpleasant. Especially as there was still plenty of thick smoke in the air. Not that this side street was much better, but it had less people, so was definitely an improvement. 

“That’s it, hold that stance. Now, punch!” We heard Olivor before we saw him. Turning the corner revealed Ryel punching Olivor’s open palm, before she over extended, stumbled, and fell over giggling. Olivor chuckled as he helped her back up. “You did well, up until you fell over. Good job, girl.”

After seeing Kelcie and I, Ryel thanked him, then ran over to meet us. “Mister Olivor was just teaching me how to punch the undead!” Her voice was happy and excited, but I could see the pain and anger in her eyes. She was still hurting, and would be for some time to come. 

“That’s great! Are you hoping to get the brawler class like him?” I asked, smiling at the young half orc girl. 

Kelcie frowned briefly, but otherwise didn’t say anything, only smiling at Ryel when she looked at her. It was adorable how much of a mumma bear Kelcie was with her charge. 

Ryel shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe something with fireballs? That sounds fun!” 

I giggled. “It definitely sounds fun.” 

“Where is Callie and Raya?” Kelcie interrupted, looking at Ryel. 

She pointed back at the building behind her, “In there. They’re talking with the guards about what happened,” she said, trying to hold back tears. 

Kelcie moved forward and encircled the girl in a hug. “It’ll be alright,” she murmured. 

Olivor stepped up to chat with us, a small, sad smile on his face as he watched Ryel and Kelcie hug. “They got my report before I came out here with the soon to be fierce warrior. You two should probably head in as well. They’ll want to hear your side of the events. Given all that’s happened lately, support will be lacking, but there’s a good chance that an expedition will be mounted by the adventurer’s association to wipe out the undead before the threat gets worse.”

“I’m coming!” Ryel shouted, pulling away from her hug with Kelcie. “I have to come!”

Kelcie crossed her arms and frowned at Ryel, “You don’t even have your class yet. What makes you think that I’ll let you go? Or that anyone would?”

Ryel pouted, before getting a cheeky grin on her face, that turned a little blood thirsty at the end. “I’m sneaky. Plus, it’s my birthday soon!” She frowned, shaking her head as a sad look passed over her, “Well, I think it is, mumma said so.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, even as Kelcie turned to glare at me too, “What?” I asked. “She’s got you there!”

My friend just sighed, not answering. “Come on Azalea. Sounds like we’re needed inside.” Kelcie pointed at Ryel. “We’ll discuss you going later,” she said, before strolling off fast enough that I had to hold onto her shoulder, or risk falling off. Definitely mumma bear material.