Read from chapter 1 here!

Find every chapter for "A Lesson in Transience" in this gallery!

“J-- Just…  Don’t get too close!”  Chris growled, shaking her head as she lifted a hand to keep Rodrick back.

Rodrick hesitated but ultimately agreed as he stepped back and gave Chris some space.  The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable.  “Y-- Yeah…  Just let me know if I can do anything,” he said quietly.

Chris closed her eyes tightly and took slow breaths, putting her hands over her ears as she tried to drown out her senses. ‘I’m okay-- I’m okay…  Relax,’ she demanded of herself.  A maelstrom of primal emotion crashed through her, flooding her with adrenaline and mixed feelings of sadness, frustration, and exhileration.

Aa she focused on remaining calm, everything around her gradually quieted.  Nothing else existed, only her.  So what if her senses were going crazy?  It was just another side effect she’d have to deal with.

“Chris…  Is everything o--,”

Chris heard Rodrick momentarily but his words trailed off and quieted.  Seconds later and the entire world around here was silent.  She kepther eyes closed and breathed slowly, her adrenaline cooling as Rodrick’s scent and the sounds around her faded away.  ‘This is better…’ Despite being better, something seemed quite off.  It shouldn’t be that silent, right?

‘Vss… ach… t…tal…’ A peculiar yet familiar voice sounded in her head.

Chris nearly jumped but stayed grounded, her heart rate increasing as she realized what was happening.  That voice again-- was this real?  That could only mean one thing, and if she listened carefully enough, she might gain something.  “Vess acht…  What?”  She muttered as the words grew clearer.

When she opened her eyes, there was only a softly glowing pale fog as far as her eyes could see.  Her surroundings in no way resembled the place she once stood.  Her initial reaction was to panic, but she grabbed her wrist and tightly squeezed, telling herself that she was likely seeing an illusion conjured from her own mind, or that she was eeeing into the realm from which the magic whispers emanated from.   Strangely, her panic never progressed beyond a faint inkling; she felt in control once more.

“Vess ach’tal,” she stated clearly, believing she had finally worked out the phrase flitting in her mind.  In an instant, she was standing in the waking world once again.  She stared at Rodrick and blinked, seeing he looked extremely worried by this point.  How long had she been standing there?  “I’m fine-- I mean it this time,” she promised, putting her hands up.  The sounds around her had quieted significantly and she felt a faint prickly warmth within her ears.

Rodrick let out a sigh of relief, seeing a noticeable difference in his dear friend’s demeanor.  “I thought I lost you for a moment. You whispered something I didn’t understand before your eyes snapped open.”

Chris stood in silence, touching her chin as her mind reeled back through the events that just occurred.  First, her senses went out of whack and she couldn’t control her ability to hear or smell.  Then, primal instincts welled within her and she quickly became overwhelmed.  Finally, she was able to achieve some type of meditative state and recite the words whispered to her just as she did last time.  She put a hand on onf of her ears, feeling the thin layer of fluff and the higher position, the warmth within them still noticeable.  “I think…  I think I learned a spell that let me dampen my sense of hearing,” she whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear them.  “And whatever episode I was having seems to have passed.  I’m okay now-- really,” she promised with a genuine smile, appreciating Rodrick’s protective care.

Rodrick tilted his head and thought for a moment.  “So you really can use magic now.  I know you said that already, but it’s pretty amazing to hear,” he smiled, also talking quietly.  “Do you want to go home?  If you’re not feeling good, maybe that’s best,” he suggested.

She thought momentarily before shaking her head.  “I think some more fresh air will do me good.”  To be honest, she didn’t know if being inside where scents could concentrate in a small area was the best idea.  Not with how the last twenty minutes or so had gone.

“If you’re sure,” the wolfish man responded with a slight tone of worry.  Maybe he was overthinking things, but he couldn’t stop himself from being concerned.  “Should we sit down somewhere?”  He asked as a follow-up.

“Let’s walk for a bit longer,” she replied.  “I’ll let you know if it’s too much, okay?”

With that, the two began to walk and chat as the sun just started to dip in the horizon.  It didn’t take long for the incident earlier to fade into the back of their minds, both friends laughing and continuing to catch up.  It had been a while since they were able to relax and unwind in each other’s company and Chris’s new body did little to deter either of them from having guy talk together.

Chris would periodically look to the sky and notice something off.  A slight flicker-- or a distortion, perhaps.  “What is that…”  She muttered under her breath after seeing it for a third time, only for it to elude her when she tried to locate it.

Rodrick looked where Chris averted her gaze to and tilted his head, his ears folding to his head.  “Hmm…  I don’t see anything either,” he said simply, his ears perking up once more.

“I think I might be losing my mind.  Maybe I’m just tired.  Did you see something?”  She added, scratching her head as her short tail flicked behind her.

“Nope.  I haven’t noticed a thing, so maybe you’re just losing your marbles,” Rodrick suggested with a cheeky grin.

“I lost those days ago,” Chris retorted.  “Well, I didn’t exactly lose them.  They just moved up here,” she grunted, pointing to her lower abdomen.  “If you’re wondering, it felt completely, incomprehensibly bizarre.”

Rodrick’s cheeks flushed at that comment and he averted his gaze.  “Well-- err…  I can imagine that would feel strange.  I’m glad you can joke about it.”  He offered a weak smile, wishing to remain supportive.

Chris faintly blushed in return, considering the implications of her joke.  While she was no longer in a state of constant and prolonged panic, she was still periodically hit with waves of dysphoric disassociation, where her body didn’t quite feel real.  She’d remind herself, ‘I’m a girl now,’ and feel a mix of confused emotions swirl in her mind.  She’d never again step foot into the men’s room, and she’d be referred to as “Miss” and “Ma’am” for the rest of her days.  If she wished, she could identify as male, but she genuinely felt more comfortable with letting everyone see her as a ‘she’ rather than going that route.

She briefly recalled her therapy session with Dr. Patel and reminded herself that there was no right or wrong way to think and feel.  “I can’t undo what happened.  It would be an insult to Gretchen, Dr. Rowena, and every other awesome woman for me to whine and mope about it infinitely.”

Rodrick grinned widely in response.  “You’re a real champ.  You seem to be handling the second leg of transience swimmingly as well, especially when considering how well you rebounded after your senses went out of whack earlier.”

Chris smiled weakly as the two friends moved around a couple of slow walkers and continued down the sidewalk.  While continuing to talk with no real destination in mind, she’d occasionally glance downward and mull over the odd sight.  Her shoulders and arms were pale, soft and free of any blemishes.  The shape of her perky, well-formed breasts tented the fabric of her top.  There was nothing remotely masculine in her line of sight, and on top of that, the well-fitted outfit made her constantly aware of every feminine nook and cranny of her body, with each steop causing her hips to sway while the overall shorts clung to her inner thighs and crotch.

“Is something wrong?”  Rodrick asked with concern, noticing his friend’s periodic scowls and downward glances.

“No-- it’s just…  Weird, I guess,” Chris sighed.  “I’m wearing these damned cute clothes.  When I saw myself in the dressing room mirror, I found it hard to believe such a beautiful woman was actually me. I-- I don’t mean to sound vain or anything like that, really.”

Rodrick’s ears twitched as looked Chris over. ‘She’s not wrong,’ he mused to himself before shaking the thought from his head.  “You’re not being vain at all.  You’re still attracted to women, and from what I know of your tastes, it would make sense if you found your new form attractive,” he promised.

“Y-- Yeah…  I guess you could say that,” she confessed before letting out a slight huff.  “Because of these clothes, I feel everything in excruciating detail,” she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.  “It’s way easier to ignore all of this when I’m wearing something baggier.”

“I think you should keep dressing like this,” Rodrick blurted before taking time to think things over.

Chris blushed and stopped in her tracks, casting a curious look his way.  “You think so?  Wjy is that?”

“Errr, well--,” Rodrick started.  “I just think that outfit looks great on you.  You look adorable and I’m sure other feminine clothes would fit you equally well.”

Chris wasn’t sure if she hated or appreciated Rodrick’s tendency to say what was on his mind without overthinking.  Her heart raced and a deep pang of embarrassment pulsed through her.  At the same time, she wasn’t actually upset. ‘Is it so bad if I’m adorable?’ She mused, averting her gaze as she bit her lip and tried to process her confusion.  “Maybe…  I’ll think about it,” she replied bashfully.

Rodrick laughed, his tail flicking about.  “I guess I didn’t think that through, but I already said it,” he shrugged.

“It’s okay.  I’ve said it before, but I’d rather be a cute girl than an ugly one-- wait…  That came out sounding really shallow, didn’t it?”  Chris groaned.

“I mean.  If I turned into a woman, I’d want to be cute too,” Rodrick insisted.  “So, if you’re shallow, I am too.”

Chris’s face contorted into a slight smirk as she leaned over and shoved her shoulder against Rodrick’s, sending him a step to the side.  “In that case, we can be superficial together.”

“Everything’s better with company,” Rodrick agreed with a wide, toothy smile.

As the sun finally dipped out of sight, Chris looked into the horizon from her seat next to Rodrick on a bench, enjoying the gentle night breeze that caressed her soft and sensitive skin. ‘Today was good, right?’ There was that hiccup earlier, but she managed to overcome it.  For some reason, though, she felt more tired than she should have been.

“Mmmmm…”  Chris yawned, reaching to scratch one of her ears.  Why did her body ache?  A moment later, she felt the warm tingling in her ears and recalled the spell she used earlier that day.  That same tingling had spread down her neck and shoulders; was that normal?  She knew very little about magic.

“Tired?”  Rodrick asked gently.  “We should probably get you home; I’m sure it’s been a long day for you.”



“Maybe not a bad idea,” Chris agreed.  “It has been a l--,” her eyes narrowed as her eyes peered upward, stopping mid sentence.  It was faint, but she saw a slight glow.  There was definitely some type of distortion there that seemed unnatural to her.

Rodrick opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself and followed Chris’s eyes toward the sky.  When he squinted and looked carefully, he finally noticed something as well.  “Huh…  I think I see something strange up there.  Is that what you talked about earlier?”  He asked softly.

Chris stared for another few seconds before nodding her head.  “Yeah.  I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t seem like a good thing to me,” she insisted, promptly standing to her feet.  “Let’s head to the car,” she suggested, trying hard to keep her infelction free of anything resembling anxiety.

Rodrick agreed and stood with Chris, also repressing his mounting nervousness.  Chris was intelligent and perceptive; he had a tendency to trust her judgment on most things, so he was happy to follow her lead.

The two friends briskly walked without a word, with Chris occasionally glancing over her shoulder toward the aerial disturbance.  Whatever it was seemed to be getting worse.  At this point, other people out and about began looking up and chatting amongst themselves about the anomaly.

After another minute of walking, Chris stopped and turned completely, staring up with a grimace.  What was that sound?  A faint hum emanated, hitting her ears uncomfortably through the magic protection.

“Chris…”  Rodrick said worriedly, putting a hand on her shoulder.  “I’m starting to get concerned.  What is that? Shouldn’t we leave?” He asked, looking around at the other confused citizens.

Chris didn’t say a word, instead keeping her eyes on the disturbance.  The hair on the back of her neck stood up, a feeling of complete dread mounting. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but something bad was about to happen.  The glowing shimmer let out a flash and the humming intensified, audibly filling the streets.

“Chris, we sh--,” Rodrick bega in a state of panic.

“We need to leave. NOW!”  Chris commanded, her eyes wide in horror.  She was just turning to leave and had grabbed Rodrick by the wrist when a bright flash pulsed through the cool night air.

“BOOM!” 

There was nowhere to run as a shockwave exploded in all directions from the disturbance, quickly closing in on Rodrick, Chris and everyone else.

CHAPTER END 

Read up to chapter 23 two months early on Patreon!         



https://www.patreon.com/posts/lesson-in-23-103833923 (chapter 23 - 1 month early, $2.50 tier)

https://www.patreon.com/posts/lesson-in-24-1-105729934 (chapter 24 - 2 months early, $5 tier)