I'll Be Horned For Christmas

By DerbyGhost

Hell’s Belle - Sweet and spicy with a hell of a kick. This classic Margarita is infused with Ghost Pepper extract, mango purée, and cinnamon. It shouldn’t work, but somehow it does!

As we made our way through the secret terminal, I tried my best to keep my eyes to myself. I really did, I swear. There’s this point in movies where the normie main character is whisked away into a secret world where everything is bright and exciting. It’s the easiest technique to draw someone into a fantasy world. You take a fish out of water and then have all the magical and bizarre creatures drop lore about their world so the audience knows exactly what’s happening. I stepped out of the elevator expecting to be absolutely wowed by the sights and… well… it was an airport alright. 

Sure, there were a massive variety of cryptids, creeps, furry fellas and ladies, and the occasional Dracula waiting for their coffees or snagging extremely overpriced snacks at the newsstands. It was an airport. Well, according to the signs it was a Ley Line Nexus. When I later asked Ash what a Ley Line Nexus was she just shrugged her shoulders and said “I dunno, magic airport?” 

We shuffled along and eventually ended up in one corner of the terminal, the only enclosed bar in the whole area. It had one of those old fashioned tavern signs hanging on the outside of a busty goat lady and in a font that you really had to squint to understand it read The Three Horned Goat. 

Ashley stopped in front of the bar and smiled proudly, flourishing her hand like she was just unveiling the next grand prize of a game show. “We’re here! Aw cornbread, I can’t wait til you get to meet my friends. Now Chappell, she’s the bartender. She’s a harpy and an absolute sweetie-pie. Makes a damn good drink too. And then there’s Bronte, well he’s a hoot and a half if he’s not all gloomy. But the holidays typically cheer him up. And you’ve already met El, but she’ll probably be here too. Don’t worry, you’ll get it when you see her. Oh an-”

I was listening, I swear, or at least trying to keep up with the rapid fire speech of my flighty attendant. But then I felt it again, the crackle and surge of energy coursing through my body. I almost doubled over, but Ashley was able to keep me stabilized. 

“Cornbread and cakes dangit, it looks like your body has shifted into maximum overdrive. Sorry, sorry. I get a little rambly when I’m ‘cited.” Ashley continued the charge, pulling me into the bar. Several people called out a greeting to Ashley, and she replied with Merry Christmas’s in kind until we made it all the way to the bar and got face-to-face with who I assume had to be Chappell.

It’s one thing to be told in an off-handed remark that you’re going to meet a Harpy, it’s another when you’re standing face-to-face with a six and a half foot tall woman with wings who’s eyeing you like you’re a delicious chicken nuggie. She was imposing, in a sexy ‘I could eat you for breakfast’ way. Her wings were a beautiful purple and violet and rustled gently with every bit of movement. Around her cocktail shakers and beer glasses floated like satellites distributing drinks around the bar. If you looked just right, you could see ghostly hands grabbing patron’s credit cards and handing back change for a small arcade in the corner. 

Ashley leaned over to me and whispered “Most harpies train in some magic abilities to help them do psychoki… uhh psychicanet… well. Adapt to their lack of hands. You can’t tell right now, but she’s got some killer concentration keeping all of this going at once. One blink, and woosh it’s White Russian all over your top. Dairy everywhere. Hate to see it.”

“That was one time and I’m pretty sure some undead little shit was fucking with me. I feel no shame for that. And please, Ashley. Don’t you try to turn the attention back on me. You’re the one who brought a present to our get together. Who’s your friend?” Chappell’s voice was harsher than I expected, but had a wry sharpness of someone who was used to bantering with drunks. I flinched under her eye contact, trying to shrink myself to fit behind Ashley. It was no good, my legs were still a little shaky and I couldn’t pry myself from her frigid grip. I usually didn’t get this spooked, but tall women just activated this cower and beg instinct in my brain. 

“Ah, yeah ‘bout that. This is Rudolf, and he might have just gotten hit with a whole boatload of magical energy from El. Are we good to use your staff room so he can finish his metamorphosis?” Ashley gave a sheepish grin in response to Chappell’s no nonsense look. 

“Fine, and you can borrow a uniform too. It should adapt to whatever his new body looks like, standard glamoutfit. But, I do need something in exchange.” Chappell’s gaze had switched back to me while she was talking. “My other bartender totally bitched out on me and dropped her shift. If you’re wearing one of my uniforms, you’re going to help me out. Deal?”

“I, uh, I’m not sure.” I stammered. “Not that I don’t want to help, especially since you’re going to help me but I have no idea how to do anything like that.” I felt a pulse at the base of my spine and let out a whine. The warmth that had been bubbling under my skin was starting to feel euphoric, the magic was letting me know that the Big Change was coming.

Chappell laughed and tilted her head in the direction of her many circling whiskey glasses and fresh pours. “Trust me, I don’t need your help actually making the drinks. I just need someone to look pretty, put dirty glasses in the dishwasher, and maybe chat with some cuties. Do you think you could do that for me?” 

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I think so.” My voice now was coming out as a whimper. I couldn’t hold back the change for much longer. Fortunately, Ashley seemed to pick up on my discomfort and helped me push through the bar and back towards another room labeled “staff only.” This seemed to be a theme for my night. 

Ashley supported me the whole time, holding me up until we got to a plush purple couch sitting in front of a large CRT tv and a floor littered with game consoles. The staff room was nice and cozy, not that I could really tell. The heat had built up to a point where I felt like my clothes would catch on fire. My forehead was sweating, and there was a slight tugging sensation as bits of my body stretched and pulled like melty marshmallow.

The sound of Ashley’s voice pried me away from the churning sensation of my body warping into something completely new. To be fair, as soon as I hit the plush comfort of the couch I forgot she was even there. “Do you want me to give ya some space or anything? Take it from me, changing can be kind of personal so I totally get-”

“No, please no.” I interrupted. “I want, no, need you here.” My words came out in bursts in between the pleasant pulse of heat over my whole body. At this point I had come to crave the wave of flames that crashed over my body, drinking in the sensation as ancient magics shaped me as they pleased. I was nothing but putty to forces beyond my control and my body craved it. My face took on a different kind of heat as I realized that I was letting out little gasps and whines with every pulse. With my newer voice the noises went from “experiencing something dramatic” to “shut the computer down as soon as mom enters the room.” But that too set my heart racing. Knowing that Ashley was watching me writhe and moan made me want more. More changes, more feelings. I wanted to dwell in these sensations as much as demonly possible. 

As much as it felt like it would last forever, the sensations ebbed until I was left panting and wriggling. Everything felt off but nice. I tried to push myself up to a sitting position, but I was nothing but jelly. Literally, everything wobbled a little bit more than usual. There was a quiet part of me in the back of my mind that knew what had happened. Ever since my voice changed in the elevator, it was a possibility. A hope. A dream that was buried so deep I thought I would never think to voice it. These were things that happened in stories deleted from browser histories. These were things that happened in badly translated hentai accessed late at night. 

“I’m a girl, aren’t I?” I said, drinking in the sound of my voice. Somehow it got even prettier to my ears, the tones registering in sweet symphonics. Did I get better at hearing? I flicked an ear and… Wait. I flicked an ear? I had the feeling I wasn’t hit with the standard demonic whammy. Maybe I was a little more goat, goats were associated with demons, right? 

“I would say more like one hell of a woman. And… well… Maybe you should see for yourself. But hush my puppies girl, you turned out. You.. Well. Umm.” Ashley couldn’t look me in the eyes and looked a bit out of breath herself. “Good. Really good, actually. Are you okay, y’know, with the changes?”

“I… Well let’s say this wasn’t really what I was expecting when I woke up, but it’s one hell of an early Christmas present.” I couldn’t hold back a few manic sounding giggles as I reflected back on my day. “Oh my God, I need a new name. I’m fucking free of the Trevor prison!”

“Some of my friends say the best thing about bein’ trans is you get to name yourself,'' Ashley said. “We can try some things out and see what fits, or maybe bounce some ideas a-”

“Mary. It has to be Mary.” I cut Ash off, there was no other choice out there.

“What, like the girl who got all knocked up and said that it was angel cum? You honestly didn’t seem that into Christmas but whatever floats your boat.” 

I shook my head. “It’s, uh, my mom’s name. Or was. And I look a lot like her so… I’m carrying the family legacy. Or at least trying to, and it makes me feel like she’s not really gone. Oh, wait. Speaking of family. Do I even still look like them? Fuck, are they even going to recognize me now. Is there, like, a mirror or something?” 

Ash looked around for a second and shook her head. “There’s not really a mirror so umm... Here, I’ll take a picture and you can see for yourself.”

With shaking fingers I took the phone from Ashley to look at the picture of myself. For a moment my brain didn’t want to register that it was an image of me, even if I saw the resemblance. The woman in the image looked like she could have been a younger version of my mother, a fact that flavored the joy that I felt an almost melancholy tang. Well, my mother if she happened to not entirely be human. The nonhuman features stuck out first. The nubby horns on my head had grown until they were about the size of an eraser, but they were also joined by beautiful ivory antlers sprouting out of the side of my head. I tilted my head to the side, feeling the weight of my new horns. Like my gender, they felt right. Like they belonged. 

My ears had migrated upwards, they pointed out and tapered upwards much like a deer. They had a cappuccino shade of brown with light white speckles freckling them. My body was covered with soft hairs, the sturdy kind that could survive a long winter. My old body hair used to bother the heck out of me, but this fine coat of fur wasn’t triggering the same icks. I ran my fingers over my arms giggling at the velvety smoothness of my new self, the new sharp nails scratching every spot just right. I was a beautiful reindeer demon. A beautiful… reindeer… Wait.

A little nagging doubt sprang up in my brain. Ashley had been calling me Rudolf all night and now I was a demonic reingirl.  “Did… Did you know this was going to happen?” I tried to keep my voice even- attempting to cling to the Midwest monotone that had stuck with me for most of my life. But I couldn’t help but let some of my emotions leak in. My new voice demanded different tones and life, and something in me told me I shouldn’t be content with just flat words from now on. Taking an extra look at my chest, I didn’t think I would be flat anything any time soon. 

“What?” Ashley’s response was guarded and on the edge of sounding hurt.

“You said when you first saw me you thought that we were kindred spirits. That there was some hollow energy to me. Did you know that I was a demon girl? Was it some kind of magical sixth sense that let you see into my soul?” As much as I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t a possibility, the doubts still lingered. 

“No! Absolutely not.” Ashley shook her head and rushed over to my side. “Girl, I am an idiot when it comes to magic shit. You were lonely. I was lonely. I might’ve.” She paused, fishing for a word. “Might’ve, might’ve suspected that you had somethin’ goin’ on. But I thought it was mostly egg shit. You went on a whole rant about your name and how it didn’t fit ya.”

“Not a very cis thing to do, huh?” I sighed, my anxiety brain had me all worked up over nothing. I guess it was obvious to anyone but me, but ain’t that just the way? Sure there were signs that I should have recognized, but how could I have recognized it on my own? Any time I tried to think about myself I either fell deep into a despair cycle or ignored it by burying myself in work. And yet it was still there- the longing for a new self.

“My deer Mary,” Ashley scratched behind my fuzzy ear. “Cis people barely even know about the word ‘cis.’ That pretty much puts the nail in the coffin girl, you’re trans as hell.”

I took a moment and looked at my new body. Thought about the joy that it brought me. The sheer thrill of wearing the clothes that I had always longed for. Even with the horns, the antlers, the hooved feet, and the tail… Well I couldn’t really hate those either honestly. I felt confident in my body. Confident in how I looked and sounded for the first time in my life. All those giddy feelings were bubbling through me and it all was coming from me! From who I was. From being happy with myself. From being trans. 

“I am trans as hell. You’re so right. Oh my God. I’m a girl. And a demon. And I’m trans as hell. And. And. And. I want to get plastered.”