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Chris winced, glancing at the sign-wielding man shambling toward them. She didn't want to deal with this right now; He was still relatively far away and wasn't moving too quickly, but he'd be near them eventually.

Rodrick frowned, his fluffy tail drooping low. "Do we want to deal with this right now?" He quietly asked.

"I don't think so. There's no reasoning with those types," Gretchen coldly replied, turning her nose up in disgust.

"We don't want goddamned witchcraft allowed within the law!!!! All heretics will burn in hell!" The man angrily spat, successfully causing everyone in the vicinity to disperse.

Chris took a deep breath. Some of her wanted to confront and tell off that guy for his bullshit. She wasn't entirely sure what he was ranting about, but he sounded insufferable. She shook her head, knowing it would be good to pick a pointless battle. "Let's go. Nothing good would come from us staying."

"Let's head to my car," Gretchen replied, gesturing for them to follow.

The parking lot took them away from the blithering old man, which Chris was grateful for. Before long, they reached Gretchen's car and breathed sighs of relief.

"Well, that was fun…" Chris grunted and crossed her arms. "The most important thing is that we get to see you again, though," she told Rodrick warmly.

Rodrick blinked, his ears briefly perking. "Oh, well… I'm glad you think so fondly of me," he coyly replied.

"We always miss you, man!" Gretchen grinned.

"I missed you guys as well! How's the sewing going, Gretchen?"

A fuzzy warmth enveloped Chris as her two best friends conversed. She didn't feel anxiety or existential dread over her body's feminine nature for the first time since changing. She was out with two incredible people and had a body brimming with energy. Not a single ache or pain plagued her, and she felt she could even run a marathon. 'Is it really so bad?' She mused, considering her current life situation. Besides the fact that she'd have to sit to pee, which wasn't a huge deal, how much would her life have to change? Her job was in remote IT, so having female anatomy wouldn't hinder her in any way. The more she thought about it, the more she realized the monumental benefits of her new form. Nothing stopped her from going on hikes and doing physical activities with her friends.

"Chris? Does that sound good?" Gretchen asked, waving her hand in Chris's face.

Chris blinked, jumping slightly in surprise. "Oh-- what?" She had been so long in thought she tuned out the last couple minutes of conversation.

"Well, all that estrogen hasn't stopped you from your usual daydreams, so that's a win, right?" Gretchen teased.

"I wasn't daydreaming! I was-- err… Ruminating or something," she replied before shaking her head. "Anyways. What were you saying?"

Rodrick eagerly chimed in. "I took an Uber out here so we could all pile into Gretchen's car! Want to get in the back with me?"

Chris watched the way Rodrick's tail frantically swished. 'How cute,' she briefly mused. Wait, what? She stopped herself. 'Cute like a puppy. I've always loved puppies,' she reassured herself. "Sure, why not! I'm not sure where we're going now, but I'm glad to be out of my apartment for a while."

"I don't blame you."

The group entered the car and buckled up before Gretchen pulled out of the parking lot and drove off. Chris still wasn't used to guiding the shoulder belt between or over her breasts, which had been quite tender. Regardless, the minor inconvenience wasn't enough to set her anxiety off. She was able to sigh in frustration and segue into less stressful thoughts. 'I wonder if I could drink a little.'

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Gretchen asked.

"How about your place?" Chris suggested. "I want to try drinking a little, and I'd rather do it somewhere safe and with people I trust."

"You're so responsible now! I like it," Rodrick teased.

Gretchen looked at the rear-view mirror with an eyebrow raised. "What are you on about? Chris has always been the most well-behaved of us. Remember when you tried that Diet Coke and Mentos experiment in the middle of a Seven-Eleven?"

"Ugggh! Point taken. Don't remind me, please!" Rodrick whines, putting his hands over his face.

Watching this scene, a giggle escaped Chris's lips. After the sound ran, she laughed more loudly, a wide grin on her face. She lived for this banter; when was the last time she could chill and kick back with her two favorite people?

"Woah!" Gretchen gasped in astonishment.

"What??" Chris squeaked, turning bright red as she clenched her hands over her knees.

Gretchen smiled at the rear-view mirror before changing focus to the road. "I haven't seen you laugh and smile this intensely since the change. I love it; I want to keep up this energy."

"O-- oh, well…" Chris shifted and took a slow breath. "I'm having a lot of fun with both of you."

"Same! Even if you're way, way cuter now, you're still Chris!" Rodrick insisted.

As Chris grew flustered, Gretchen grunted before scolding Rodrick. "You're too much. Tone it down a little."

"Sorry!" Rodrick quickly replied, turning toward Chris as his ears folded down. "I'll try to be more careful."

Chris was a little embarrassed, but she wasn't mad. It was bizarre to have people referring to her feminine traits, but it wasn't like feminine characteristics were inherently wrong in any way. On the contrary, she would rather be an attractive woman if she had to be one, so she almost felt-- flattered? She felt it before when Gretchen complimented her and now again. "I mean. I'm cute, right?" Chris sighed, resting her head back. "I appreciate you trying to keep those comments to a minimum, but slip-ups aren't going to make me freak out, so don't worry."

"Oh, yeah-- fair enough! That makes life easier," Rodrick replied.

"Besides. If I got mad at you over every time you blurted something out without thinking, there's no way our friendship would have made it this far."

Gretchen laughed. "She's not wrong. You're a lot better than you used to be, but that's definitely a thing you do."

"But that's why you love me, right?" Rodrick asked oh so innocently. "I'm a cute, lovable rascal of a puppy, so I can get away with it." He grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

"Well, you're definitely a rascal and a puppy, so I'll just let you have the cute and lovable part as well," Chris retorted with another giggle, reaching up as she gently patted Rodrick on the head.

The rest of the car ride was spent in good spirits. Rodrick, Gretchen, and Chris reveled in one another's company, enjoying the jovial vibes and generally having fun. Chris found herself thinking about everything they could do together; there were endless possibilities.

Before long, the group showed up at Gretchen's second-floor apartment. Cute plushies sat on shelves, with various posters of bands, anime, and television shows she liked lining the walls.

Chris sat on the comfy beige sofa and sank into the cushion, letting out a low sigh. She actively thought about how every inch of her body felt in an attempt to stay aware of her new form without letting her anxiety run rampant. 'So far, so good.' Her adrenaline still ran high, but tonight had been an exceedingly positive experience.

"Bathroom! One sec," Rodrick stated as he went straight from the front door and banked left at the kitchen and down a hall.

"Kay! What do you guys want to drink? Should we order some more food?" Gretchen called as she sat her purse and keys down before entering her kitchen and going through cabinets.

Chris trusted Gretchen to be stocked on booze at all times, so she was sure there'd be a fair selection. "I probably shouldn't start with something too hard. Do you have any cider or mead floating around?" A more appropriate question would have been to ask what varieties she had at this time.

"Yeah!! Let's see," Gretchen chimed before intensifying rummaging efforts. She pulled a large, dark bottle from her cupboard and put it on the table. Seconds later, a six-pack of glass bottles were removed from the fridge. "I have Dragon's Blood, a mead, and this six-pack of local hipster cherry cider that's super good… It's called Cherry Kisses, but I promise it's great despite the shitty name."

Chris furrowed her brow. Cherry Kisses was absolutely a dumb name for an alcoholic beverage, but she had to try it. The alcohol content was likely 5% or less, and she thought it might be necessary to start small. "I'll take a bottle of the cherry cider. What's the worst that could happen?" She shrugged.

Rodrick strolled out from the hallway. "I'll start with one of those cherry kisses as well," he said without meeting a beat.

"I'm not sure how you can say that with a straight face," Gretchen giggled, coming out to the living room with a well-padded dining room chair, which she sat next to Rodrick. She then went to grab the drinks.

"What??" Rodrick scoffed as he carefully sat and adjusted his tail through the gap. "I think the name is kinda cute. It's like when you drink, the tasty cherry flavor kisses your lips on the way in-- or something."

"Or something," Gretchen teased before sitting on the couch beside Chris.

Chris grabbed the bottle opener from the end table and opened her drink before handing it to Gretchen. As time passed, it grew increasingly easy to go with the flow and ignore the changes she had endured. She sipped her drink and was immediately hit with a delectable coalescence of cherry and honey. "Mmmm… Yeah-- regardless of the name, it's pretty great," she insisted.

"Let me try," Rodrick enthusiastically chimed before taking a big chug. His ears immediately perked, his tail wagging. 'Honestly, yeah! This is great. Where'd you find this one?"

"You know that big booze shop near the community college?"

Chris once again stayed quiet while her friends conversed. Not out of any awkwardness or negative feelings but purely because she enjoyed the jovial ambiance and air of normalcy. She couldn't remember the last time she had a night like this, especially when considering the fact she couldn't drink much in her old body due to medical issues.

She recalled a thought she had a minute or two ago as she drank. It was easier to go with the flow and ignore the change tonight; was that a good sign? 'Ignore?' She mused, carefully thinking over her word choice. Was she ignoring her changes or accepting them? Where was one supposed to draw that line?

'I'm a girl, and I'm having a great night with my friends,' she forced herself to think. 'I'm-- a girl…' How did this acknowledgment make her feel? She didn't feel like she would have a mental breakdown or anything similar, but she did feel incredibly strange. Whether that 'strange' was good or bad was up for debate, but she genuinely felt mostly okay.

Chris finally chimed in when a rumble of hunger manifested in her stomach. "Sorry to interrupt, but where were we on the food thing? I'm feeling a pizza with ham, pepperoni, grilled chicken… Maybe some red peppers, mushrooms, and pickled onion." She remembered the barbecue from earlier and was still on a meat binge.

"Oh! Yeah! Let's get you some food," Gretchen apologetically responded.

"I know what everyone likes," Rodrick added. "I'll take care of the order and pay for everything, so don't worry!" With that, he pulled up a delivery app on his phone and began thumbing through the menus.

Rodrick and Gretchen were eager to provide Chris with anything she wanted during her tumultuous period of change.

Chris faintly blushed. "Thanks-- I really appreciate it." Her stomach rumbled again while she unconsciously ran her tongue over her teeth. Upon brushing against her canines, she quickly remembered that her second leg of transience had already begun. As much as she wanted to ignore it, the slight pressure at her spine's base made it impossible. Unlike her male-to-female transformation, Chris had much more confidence in dealing with the trials yet to come. After all, nothing could be as earth-shattering as the last week of her life.

"Still craving meat?" Gretchen curiously asked. "It's not a problem! I just need to know how to better prepare any food I make for you in the future."

Chris shifted, pushing her legs together. After drinking nearly the whole bottle, she felt a tingly warmth. The alcohol had removed some residual edge, leaving her more relaxed. "Yeah. It's probably because of my transience, but I've been craving meat pretty badly today…" She opened her mouth and touched one of her canines. "Check this out, Rodrick."

Rodrick finished placing the order and turned to look at Chris's mouth. His ears immediately perked, and his eyes widened before he looked. "Oh-- yeah, you really are developing fangs.

Chris carefully watched Rodrick's reaction to seeing her teeth. Was he being bashful? She closed her mouth and let out a sigh. "What a pain. But that's life for ya."

Gretchen drained the remainder of her drink before setting the bottle down. "At least none of us have to live with that guy from the park."

Chris thought back to the weathered old man from the park. Since she would soon be a demi-human, would she have to deal with people like him? Also, his sign said something about regulation; what was being regulated? She was quickly made aware of how little she knew about transience-related matters. "Ummm… Can I ask a stupid question on the topic of that guy from the park?"

"I thought I was the one who asked stupid questions," Rodrick grinned.

"I might not have an answer, but I'll try," Gretchen added.

Chris let out a slow breath. "What's being regulated?" She sheepishly asked. "I don't know much about transience and recent politics beyond information that's common knowledge."

"Oh! Do you mind if I ramble? I want to ramble," Gretchen insisted, hopping in her seat.

Rodrick leaned over to Chris. "She's going to ramble no matter what now; we should accept our fates."

"Smart man!" Gretchen giggled. She then cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyways.  Since the usage of magic is still fairly new to our world, there are a lot of unknowns. I won't get into the nitty-gritty, but the short of it is that the government wants to regular, or rather, ban the usage of magic in any way, shape, or form."

Chris briefly considered Gretchen's words. That sounded like a good idea on paper; there have been plenty of news reports about magic being used destructively. "I see. I can understand not wanting people to accidentally set a store on fire with magic, but what about magic that heals others or doesn't harm others in any way? Like what you can do."

Gretchen grimly nodded. "Yeah, that's the problem. Blanket banning the use of magic is too totalitarian for my liking; there's a middle-ground somewhere."

Rodrick had been contemplating, his tail slowly flicking. "I feel you, but I can also understand why people are scared. Especially after that-- err… Freezing incident," he quietly stated, his ears drooping.

The room briefly went silent. Chris remembered seeing the news articles three months back; apparently, someone had been practicing ice magic in an attempt to cheaply air condition his apartment. The end result was the entire apartment floor getting flash-frozen, killing four dozen people.

"Umm-- Hey, Gretchen," Chris stated, breaking the silence. "How do people even learn how to use magic? I've heard that it comes to certain people naturally. At least to an extent."

Rodrick's ears perked. "I'd love to know as well."

"I can only speak for myself. For example, I'll try to explain how I learned to do this." Gretchen replied with a smile. She then held a hand up and concentrated before conjuring what appeared to be an apple in her hand.

Chris blinked in astonishment. "You can create things out of nowhere? I thought you used light or illusion magic-- something along those lines."

"Try touching it."

Chris paused and met Gretchen's gaze before looking toward the fruit. "Alright. If you say so." She reached out and attempted to brush her fingers over the shiny red fruit. When her fingers simply slipped through as if nothing was there, she quickly pulled back in surprise. "Wait, what?...  Oh, I think I get it."

Rodrick had been watching intently. "It looks completely real; that's amazing. How did you learn that trick?"

Gretchen faintly blushed. "Thanks. I appreciate the kind words, though I wish I could actually summon delicious fruit." The illusory apple vanished as she folded her hands in her lap. "It's hard to explain, but I, and many others, started to hear a kind of whispering. After I figured out how to focus on those whispers, I extracted-- well, they're kind of like words, or symbols, maybe?" She brushed her fingers over her chin as she figured out how to explain herself adequately. "Once I can interpret those whispers as a word, symbol, etcetera. From what I've seen, people are calling these 'etchings.' I can see it clearly in my head and use my-- energy? Is that the right word? It drains my stamina a bit, but I can call upon the etching in my head to perform a specific spell."

Chris couldn't help but wonder, 'Is this something I could do?' Maybe if she focused, she'd be able to hear these whispers. Those who underwent transience were more likely to develop such abilities.

"Woah!" Rodrick was utterly intrigued. "I think I may have heard those murmurs. When it happens, sometimes I feel tingly…  I thought I was losing my mind, to be honest. Do you just keep learning new magic tricks? What are these whispers?"

Gretchen shook her head. "Sorry. I really don't know," she admitted with a frown. "I learned three spells with relative ease, but the new whispers I've picked up on have been garbled and impossible to comprehend yet. I'm unsure why it's harder now than earlier, and I do not know where the whispers come from."

Chris had a lot to think about. "That's really incredible. I appreciate you sharing that with us."

"There are talks of people being able to teach these spells to others, but apparently, it's not failproof, and people frequently have different aptitudes," Gretchen added.

Chris raised an eyebrow, taking a swing of frosty mead. "If you learned to use magic through a mysterious whisper, how can you pass that on to others?"

"I wish more information was available," Gretchen sighed, downing her bottle before placing it on the coffee table. "It's basically just rumored at this point since magic use is still fairly new and little understood."

Chris also sighed, sinking into her seat as she rested her head back and stared at the ceiling. "Magic and Transience, huh?" She muttered, her cheeks reddening from the booze. A slight throb in her nipples caused her to wince and glance downward at the feminine mounds tenting her shirt's fabric. 'Tits aren't that bad, I suppose,' she conceded. The combination of great company and drinks made her feel light and airy despite having much to consider. 'I'm a girl, and I'm having a great night…  I have new things to learn,' she insisted, refusing to let negativity consume her.

Chris reached her apartment door a few hours later and fumbled with her keys. "Thanks, guys. I'll see you both really soon," she said with a warm smile.

"It was amazing seeing you!" Rodrick cheered, stepping forward as he pulled Chris into a gentle hug.

Chris appreciated that the beast of a man didn't squeeze too hard, but she couldn't help but feel peculiar as he did so. He had a smokey, slightly musty scent-- but musty in a good way. Did that make sense? It certainly didn't to her. She pulled away with faintly red cheeks and a slightly elevated heart rate. "Yeah. I had a great time. It's good to have you back," she said with a warm smile.

Gretchen was the next to hug Chris. "I'm so proud of you; you had such an amazing night. I don't know if I could handle what you have so gracefully."

Chris felt her breasts press against Gretchen's, their feminine frames separately, only by a thin layer of fabric. Unlike Rodrick, Gretchen's scent was sweet and floral. While her fragrance often changed, she always smelled great. She felt the same peculiar sensation from when she hugged Rodrick. "I'm trying. Thank you."

A few minutes later, Chris was alone in her room. She stripped naked, still lost in her head, while musing over what Gretchen said. "It's worth a shot, right?" She muttered, grabbing a pair of boxers from atop her dresser.

Before she could get dressed, she caught a glimpse of her reflection and instinctively turned toward the mirror. The woman reflected still looked every bit as beautiful as she did the last time she got a close look. She had flawless, pale skin, wide hips with a supple rear, and perky breasts. Blond hair fell to her shoulders, with deep red eyes accenting her face's gentle features.

Her immediate response was to freak out. How could such a beauty be her? She wasn't supposed to be a she at all. However, her panic subsided in seconds as she recalled the evening she just had. Rodrick and Gretchen had both spent time with her in this new body, so the most awkward phase was over. Not only that, but her family knew her job and everyone else that mattered. Her family would still have to actually see their new daughter in the flesh, but she didn't care right now.

After a few seconds spent gazing upon her reflection, she placed her hands on her hips and had a brief thought. 'This body would probably look great dressed up in a bunch of different ways.' She first imagined Gretchen in one of her sundresses and then tried to visualize how it might look on her own body. As the image came into focus, her cheeks suddenly turned bright red. 'What am I doing?'

Chris quickly pulled on boxers and a tee-shirt before grabbing her phone and flopping backward onto her bed. She'd go to bed shortly, but there was something she couldn't get out of her mind.

Without further delay, she opened a search engine and began to tap away with her thumbs.

"How do I learn magic?'





CHAPTER END

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