I was not ready to see everyone else.
As soon as we passed through the door, Camilo's hand guiding me, he said, "She's back everyone!"
"We only got like seventy percent of Kai back, you mean," Alec teased. "The magic took the rest."
"Oh my god, a redcap got into the school!" Scott exclaimed, fighting back laughter of his own.
I stood there, staring at my two shit-stirring friends for several heartbeats, then turned to Ollie who was… vibrating? "Ollie, can I borrow your baseball bat, I need to do some urgent realignment of— are you okay?"
"You're SO CUTE," she squealed, rushing forward to hug me like addressing her had been the starter gun for a race.
I couldn’t help but laugh as she made impact, and I hugged her back fiercely. Ollie hugs were perfect in every way. I was curious now, though… there was a mirror on the back of the classroom door so…
“Let go, I haven’t even seen myself… let me look in the mirror,” I said, gently prying her off me.
Everyone was silent as I turned and Alec reached out to close the door for me. Such a gentleman…
Oh wow. My image came into view in the mirror, and I was speechless. I mean, I looked pretty stupid in the mismatched and oversized clothes I found five days ago in the storm, but… my face. I was really pretty, at least, I thought I looked pretty. My eyes especially… they were bigger—no, not bigger, it was like they were more prominent. Their grey depths looked so much more blue and… I don’t know. It was so difficult to pinpoint what exactly about my eyes was different, and yet they were different. That trend continued throughout my face, from the subtle curve of my cheekbones, to the soft button of my nose. Somehow, it was all the same, but cuter and prettier.
More feminine. I looked more feminine… and my heart responded to that realisation by flipping, then stopping, then hammering faster than a train at full tilt. I couldn't deny it… I liked how I looked now.
As for my body… Unfortunately, Alec’s earlier description held true. Even through the baggy clothing, it was clear I had wide hips and thick thighs. It was like whatever celestial being that’d crafted my new body had gone out of their way to give me the most delicious curved hips they possibly could. If I were to continue with that figurative tangent, I'd say they really liked hips, and that was why it seemed like extra care and attention had been put into the precise curve. Damn it, though, but curvy hips were amazing. I wasn't sure how much I liked them on me but… okay I liked them. I admit it.
My waist was actually my favourite change, however. It was thin in relation to my hips, but still solid enough that I didn't look like a 90's barbie. I could imagine someone grabbing it in both hands and— oh gods… that was a hot idea… oh I was definitely blushing.
Anyway… um… fuck, the more I looked at myself, the weirder I felt. Every little movement as I looked in the mirror was reflected in this small, elegant, but vaguely stocky young woman.
Oh damn, this was real. This was really real. I no longer had a guy body…I had either cute hobbit mode or statuesque angel mode… but both were girls.
"That's… different," I finally said, running a hand through my still-short brown hair. Now that I looked like a girl, I could see my hairstyle being called a messy pixie cut.
"Honestly, you look kinda hot," Scott remarked, then shot me a sheepish grin when I glanced in his direction. "Only admiring, not hitting on you."
"You're giving me humanised tinkerbell vibes," Imogen said softly. "You make a really pretty girl…"
For some reason, that one hit me directly in the heart, and I shuffled slightly in place, feeling very awkward. "Thanks…"
"You do need new clothes, though." Ollie interrupted. "If it weren't for these," she said, grabbing and squeezing my hip, "Your pants would be on the floor."
Feeling hands on my new hips, especially Ollie's firm grip, gave me full body goosebumps. In a good way.
"Forget my clothes," I said, glancing at my friends in the mirror. "Why are you all so calm about this? Magic just turned me into… well, this!"
They all traded looks, but it was Immie who answered. "We've been watching it happen for the past five and a half days. It wasn't exactly a secret that one of the school's best crafters was unconscious with their form changing. You're not even the first person to start looking different…"
That was reasonable, I guess… still… it was news to me…
"I need to sit down," I said softly.
Immie's arm was around me straight away, and she led me over to the sofa I'd been using as a bed. I sat down heavily and tried not to meet anyone's eyes. I felt so conflicted.
I should hate that this was happening to me—that my body had changed so drastically and without my consent… but at the same time, I felt strangely at ease. My brain kept trying to flip out, but then I felt so comfy.
"There's one thing I want to know," Scott said, interrupting my train of thought. "Well, everyone wants to know actually… Why were you out there alone?"
The silence hung heavy as I processed the question, then the panic that it caused. Fuck! What did I say? Did I come clean? No. Definitely not… I couldn’t…
“U-uh… I just wanted to get some stuff, and I mean, all the houses have been cleared…” I stammered, knowing full well that my excuses sounded like utter shit even to my own ears.
Alec scoffed and sat down on the side opposite Immie, who’d joined me on the sofa when I sat down. “Let me guess, you were thinking about your latest project and you didn’t even consider the dangers?”
“Something like that,” I lied, feeling ashamed that I had to do it. I mean… did I have to do it? I didn’t like lying… but I also wasn’t at all comfortable with anyone knowing the truth. Anyone except April, that is…
Alec’s arm snaked around my waist, and he said, “Next time, bring us, okay?”
I nodded along with him, but internally I was very suddenly and totally aware of his arm. I could feel his fingers, warm and strong on my side… and it tickled a whole lot, on top of being kinda… hot? No, that wasn’t the right word.
“That tickles,” I said, and pushed his arm off. It retreated, and as I was looking up, I saw Immie and Ollie sharing a cryptic look with one another. Odd. I wonder what that was about.
“So… Kai…” Camilo said slowly, kicking at the ground. “What actually happened out there?”
Alec was crowding me again, so I shuffled closer to Immie, who put a much more platonic arm around my shoulders. “What do you mean?”
“You were just out in the suburb and then suddenly you’re stumbling back to the school? Were you hurt?”
“Oh!” I blinked, frowning again as Alec’s arm brushed my side. Did he always take up that much room? “I um… oh, no I just suddenly started getting really cold and—” I thought of something, an excuse maybe… “No, before that I found an attribute orb on a body, I think someone missed it. Anyway, I took it and used it on toughness—so I can work closer to the forge—and then I started feeling funny so I was walking back. The blizzard was really bad, though and I saw some weird monsters at one point, but I hid from them… anyway, by the time I found the way back again I was getting really cold. That’s when Chloe found me.”
Ollie snapped her fingers and lit up. “That’s right, you got found by HAG.”
“Don’t call her that, she doesn’t like it,” I said automatically… then froze. Oops… that wasn’t something pre-Silver Kai would say.
Fortunately, Ollie shrugged it off with a wave of her hand. “Chloe was out looking for that Silver chick. God, she was cool. Super beautiful too, like a model! I wish I had armour like she got from that goddess lady. The way she just shouldered the scorpions out of the way!”
Scott scoffed and punched her lightly in the arm. “Dude, stop fangirling over her. She probably has an angel boyfriend anyway, you ain’t going to get in her pants.”
“I’m not even into girls,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “No need to get jealous.”
Wait… did Ollie just acknowledge that Scott had a crush on her? I mean, I sorta suspected it, but…
“She weirds me out,” Camilo blurted out of the blue. “Who the hell even is she? She acts like she’s from around here, but nobody recognises her.”
“Who cares,” Immie groaned, then squeezed me by the shoulder. “Point of all this is we support you, Kai—”
“—A,” I interrupted, completely catching even myself off guard.
“What?”
Blushing furiously, embarrassed beyond measure, I caught Ollie’s eye and pleaded with her to understand what I was saying.
Her expression lit up with excitement when she understood. “Kai—a. She’s saying we should call her Kaia now.”
“Oh…” Immie said, surprised. “Well, then that makes this extra important. We support you, Kaia… including if you’re changing your pronouns to match your body, or if you decide you don’t want to after all. Fuck knows you’ll need people watching your back in this shithole.”
“Not just the gender stuff either,” Alec said from beside me. “We got your back when it comes to crafting and levelling and stuff. Just say the word and we’ll put a group together to find whatever you need. Don’t go out alone again, okay? We were worried. The eigh— the six of us, we’re gonna live through all this by being a team.”
“You got it, coach!” Ollie clapped, laughing.
I laughed with her and patted Alec's knee. "Thanks everyone… seriously. I've noticed these changes coming for a while and I was really worried."
"I guess the advanced warning is why you aren't freaking out?" Alec asked.
"Oh, I'm absolutely freaking out," I said, with a laugh that definitely didn't match the grimace on my face. "I have a vag. I can feel it, like you can feel your arm or your toes. I'm more than a foot shorter than I was before the Storm… it's overwhelming."
Beside me, Immie made a little sound and said, "If you need help with girl stuff, you can come to me. Also, you can just come to me if you need comfort. I'm only stabby with the enemies."
"Thanks, Immie," I said, feeling very small all of a sudden. I was about to have a whole shitload of problems. Who knew what the more bigoted people would say about my transformation…
she needs to go talk to april!! she needs a good strong hug from forge lesbian!!
i still really want to see those 2 get together April is my favorite!
April team less goo (✯ᴗ✯)(✯ᴗ✯)
I realy want a lesbian couple between April and Kaia. The blacksmith couple
It was like whatever celestial being that’d crafted my new body had gone out of their way to give me the most delicious curved hips they possibly could. If I were to continue with that figurative tangent, I'd say they really liked hips, and that was why it seemed like extra care and attention had been put into the precise curve.
*Side-eyes the author.* You don't say...
As far as where to take the story, can we get Kaia to just tell her friends already?
I do agree that her friends at least should be in the know about Silver. I get it would be hard. But they clearly are good people and care about her.
Plus there is no way she keeps her cover for any real length of time without some additional backup now that the group is generally safe.
I Def enjoy exploring all her gender stuff combined with her rampant horniness. Makes for some silly fun. As much as I like the crafting, the character/relationship building has been the real draw for me so far, and we have a pretty big cast, which may be hard to give everyone proper time. Seeing the core group, April, and Chloe resolve into the main focus would be ideal.
I'm so glad she's got supportive friends! That's so freaking important.
Especially since it sounds like everyone in the school knows what was happening to her and she's a famous enough crafter that people know who she is.
In response to your question:
I would love to see more of what happened to the rest of the world. Maybe not having them go off and explore the rest of the world themselves, but finding another group of survivors and hearing some rumors would be neat. Connecting with others at all, even if only briefly would be cool, especially if Kaia's brother came back.
I'd also really like to see that Thunderbird taken care of, or at least go away for a while so they can go a little further out without being in such extreme peril.
Mostly though, I REALLY want to see the school become self sufficient. Like something where they can grow their own food and not have to scavenge from grocery stores all the time. Basically getting themselves set and in a position where they can explore a little more.
On a more individual level, I can't wait to see how Kaia's relationships with everyone change now. I'm super excited to see all the reactions to the new her, both good and bad, but ESPECIALLY Chloe.
I'm looking forward to the shrine being put together and possibly more info/backstory to Cynath. Also antsy to see how Chloe reacts to Kaia
I can NOT wait for when this all goes to hell again and Kaia is revealed to be Silver!
Love the story.
Directions I like:
Explore new gender expressions, be FLUFFY - Supportive friends, love seeing Kaia being included with the girls, but also given time/space to be a badass crafter and angel.
Amazoness Angel Lesbian
Explore how world is changing. What happened to other survivors? It seems odd that out of the entire world, only Cynath is being active, so I would expect other locations to have patrons as well. What is the government doing?
How does the system work? Can we get some more firm answers?
Powers!
Adventuring out into the wider world, is everything hostile? Maybe meet good changed creatures/beings.
Plus others, but those came to mind first.
Here, I'm going to add on a bit - I'd like to see a zoo at least once, see what happened to it. Also, all of the above, and: does anyone have a weaving/tailoring class? Maybe there should be, or people that just know how to (thinking back to the youtube rabithole explanation from ryn), because, though it will be a while before it's a problem, it *will* be a problem. Also, how does group long-distance travel work? only so much gas, right?
Polycule
Expeditions! If the school is now a safe zone, they need less people defending it. They can try to connect to other safe havens and find out what all happened downtown.
Good friends are good. Every time Kaia is with them, it makes the disconnect between them and Chloe more mysterious to me.
As for direction? Uhm... I want more people to be taken into confidence about Silver. And actually I'd be kinda interested in her taking on more priestess duties and proselytising Her glorious name to the people.
Kaia's gonna need to tell people that she's silver eventually, but there is the question of who and how fast. This group could probably keep the secret (I half expected her to bring it up in this chapter). She should probably tell someone in charge so she can get a proper cover story for why kaia and silver are never available at the same time and also so that the search for her can be called off cuz she hasn't been seen for the past week and still has yet to be properly permanently recruited. Chloe seems like she's catching on, probably even more now cuz she is aware of cynath lore, which probably includes the trans aspect, but I don't know whether she'll be angry, supportive, or both