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“Okay…  Enough tail touching,” Chris murmured, her cheeks bright red as her breath rate picked up.

“O-- oh, yeah!  Sorry about that,” Gretchen laughed as she removed her hand.  “I’ll try to be good; I promise I’m not always like this,” she said innocently.

“I guess ninety-five percent of the time technically isn’t ‘always’ so you have a point,” Chris teased in response, flashing a sly grin.

Gretchen giggled and was about to respond when she glanced at Chris’s mouth and faintly blushed.  “Even your fangs are cute; how adorable.”

“Ugggh!”  Chris groaned, crossing her arms while turning her head away.  “Is everything about me cute to you?” A brief period of silence passed before Chris shifted in her seat and eyed Gretchen once more, seeing her incredulous look and raised eyebrow.  “I’m guessing that’s a stupid question?”

“Yup,” she chimed in response.  “There are far worse things in the world than being cute, right?”  She asked innocently.

“If I hear the word ‘cute’ in reference to me again, I might shrivel up and die,” Chris retorted with a dramatic huff.

“Okay, okay!  I’ll stop…  For now, at least,” Gretchen said gently.  A look of mild worry appeared on her face and she looked as though she had something to say but was hesitant.

Chris glanced at Gretchen, her ears twitching and then perking slightly as she noticed her dear friend’s apparent dilemma.  “Is something wrong?”

Gretchen sighed and resisted the urge to tell her everything was okay before changing the subject.  “It’s not illegal to use magic in self-defense when you feel you’re in danger, but transience and magic-related matters are in…  Well, a state of legislative flux, I suppose,” she said softly.  “There are cameras at the park, so don’t be surprised if the police end up speaking with you.”

Chris’s heart raced as an icy chill ran down her spine.  That didn’t sound good.  “Am I going to be in trouble??  Shit.”

“I highly doubt it!”  Gretchen quickly assured, placing a hand on her shoulder.  “Based on the situation you described, it’s extremely obvious you were defending yourself.  They’ll most likely want to make note of your apparent magic abilities since they’re trying to maintain a register of magic users.”

“They are??  I didn’t hear about that.”  Chris touched her chin and thought back to the various news broadcasts and articles she had viewed.  She understood why they would want to keep that information on file, but it also felt somewhat invasive.  “How did you find out about this?”

Gretchen froze like a deer in headlights, only stopping to acknowledge the waitress when their tasty treats were delivered.  She ate a spoonful of tiramisu and let out a sigh before leaning back and staring at the ceiling.  “I may have used magic to defend myself once…”

“Oh?”  Chris cocked her head.  “I must know more about bad girl Gretchen.”

“It’s not like that!  Really!”  Gretchen laughed in response.  She quickly quieted down and spoke just loud enough for her friend to hear. “Long story short, I was at a party and a drunk girl kept trying to start shit with me because she thought I was trying to steal her man…  After I asked him if he knew where the bathrooms were.”  With that, she rolled her eyes. “She followed me outside with two of her friends after a while.  I’m not sure what she told them, but they tried to attack.  I made an illusion of a tiger appear and they basically fell over and sobbed while trying to get away.  One peed herself and another banged her knee up something fierce.”

“I wish I could have seen that; sounds fun.”

“I admit that I thought it was funny at the time-- and I still think it’s funny now,” Gretchen insisted with a devilish grin.  “A couple of days later, the police had me come to the station and they asked me a lot of questions about my magic.  I told them that the illusory tiger was about the extent of my abilities and that I might be able to make other big cats.  It went on like that for a while and they eventually thanked me and let me be after giving me a lecture ensuring I only use my ability in dire situations.”

Chris recalled the illusory magic cast upon her to help disguise herself as her old male self during her male-to-female transformation.  “So, you lied?”  She whispered.

“Kinda, yeah,” Gretchen readily admitted.  “There’s no reason for them to know everything I can do.  I created an illusory tiger and I admitted as much to the police.”

“I get it,” Chris agreed, having resolved to do the same.  If the police spoke with her, she’d say that it took all of her energy just to muster up a small sonic burst, and that she hadn’t been able to use magic for any other purpose.  That would have been true until she utilized that second spell the other night.  “Do you disagree with magic users being registered?”

Gretchen briefly contemplated the question before responding. “Yes and no,” she conceded.  “I get why they’d be wary when magic abilities are extremely broad and little understood. If criminals commit crimes with magic, it makes sense that they would have their abilities well documented.  But, I don’t like how they treat magic users with so much suspicion right out the gate-- all the probing and questioning, the accusing stares and all that.”

Chris slumped in her seat, let her hands fall to her sides as she thought everything over and tried to figure out how she felt about everything.  Magic and transience were heavily on her mind and it was impossible to drown those thoughts out.  “Magic and transience…  I wonder what the relation is exactly,” she mused.  “Can magic only be used by those who went through transience?  You haven’t gone through it, right?”  She finally decided to take a sip of her chai latte, enjoying the vibrant, sweet and spiced flavor.

Gretchen shrugged.  “There are magic users who don’t appear to have undergone transience, but the majority of magic users seem to have undergone the process in some way.”  She put a hand on her chin with her elbow propped on the table.  “I did some research for the sake of my own curiosity and it seems there’s evidence to support the theory that non-transient magic users are much more likely to undergo transience later in life.  This could all be hearsay, though,” she admitted.

“Maybe some non-transient magic users actually did undergo transience-- just on a much smaller scale.  Something less visible-- more intangible, could have changed within them,” Chris mused.  If magic existed, along with strange whispers from somewhere they couldn’t comprehend, did that mean souls were real as well?  What about the afterlife?  Her ears drooped and her face contorted into a frown.  “My brain kinda segued into a bunch of existential bullshit I don’t have the energy to actually deal with,’ she whined, taking another sip of her chai before leaning forward and resting her forehead on the table.

“We’ve all been there, hon,” Gretchen reassured, giving Chris’s back a gentle rub.

Chris breathed slowly and felt her body warm up under the woman’s touch.  She had always known women to generally be cuddly and receptive to soft touching, but she didn’t fully understand it until she became female.  With her skin so sensitive, the gentle touching felt nice and also likely did something to her serotonin or endorphins; she wasn’t quite sure of the science behind it, but she wasn’t going to complain.  “I’m starting to get why you like all the gentle touching…  Like, when I run my hands over your back and sides, or gently rub your shoulders and neck.  It’s not that I didn’t understand before, but I enjoy that kinda treatment way more now in this body,” she confessed.

“So you’re saying you like it when I touch you?”  Gretchen giggled.  “I’m happy to hear that.  You deserve only the gentlest and softest touches.”

“Mmmm…”  Chris mumbled, feeling herself relax as her tail gently swished.  As time went on, she grew tired, her body aching. ‘Was it because I used magic?’ She mused, recalling when she stopped that sonic boom and then promptly passed out.  “Hey…  Does using magic make you really tired?”  She asked, tilting her head and peeking up at Gretchen.

Gretchen briefly paused.  “Why don’t you come by my place?  We can talk more there,” she suggested.  “And you’re obviously free to take a nap or even pass out all day if you need to,” she added.

“Y-- Yeah, that sounds good,” Chris agreed.  She wasn’t about to put up a fight.

A little while later, Chris sank into Gretchen’s couch and sipped on some warm jasmine oolong tea, relief washing over her.  “Thanks; the tea is great as always,” Chris said with a weak smile.

“Do you need anything else?  Are you still feeling weak?”  Gretchen asked in concern, sitting next to Chris while placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t need anything.  Still weak, but better than I was at the cafe.”

“I’m happy to hear it.”

Chris took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before finally asking, “So, about using magic and feeling tired?  You wanted to move that conversation here?”

Gretchen nodded.  “I just don’t like talking about magic-related things in public.  Call me paranoid, but I don’t need people eavesdropping.”  She took a drink of her tea before continuing.  “There are some first-generation mages that have figured a thing or two out about how magic works and what it is.”

“First generation-- mages?”  Chris blinked.  “Magic users are calling themselves mages?”

“It’s just the term being used.  It’s more convenient to borrow a term than make up a new one, isn’t it?”

“I guess.  It's just, well…  Makes life seem like a video game, or a fantasy novel.  I know this is reality, but it’s just kinda weird,” 

“I get it,” Gretchen laughed.  “First generation being those who immediately developed magic once transience came about, and potentially those who have used magic for longer.”  Seeing Chris’s look of further confusion, she continued.  “I don’t know all the details, but magic may have developed before the first noticeable outbreaks of transience.”

“Okay, and what about me getting all tired?”  Chris inquired.

“Oh, right!!  Basically, the energy-- or life force, mana, or whatever, used for magic, is your vital essence.  If you don’t have proper control when spellcasting, you’ll expend far more mana than necessary.  Let’s say that spell you used requires five mana points to use.  Since you’re inexperienced, you may have expended fifty mana instead, letting the excess leave your body instead of staying contained.”

Chris digested those words, sinking further into the couch cushion as she rested her head back and blankly stared at the ceiling.  “Basically, I don’t know how to control my mana properly and am spending too much.”

“Basically-- at least, that’s the likely case.  I still have issues with containment and control, but I’m getting better,” Gretchen added.

Chris eyed Gretchen curiously.  “How did you figure all of this out?”

Gretchen momentarily averted her gaze and bit her lip before looking at Chris.  “Basically, I met someone who understands magic better than I do and they helped me.  They’re very private, so I don’t want to violate their anonymity.”

“I get it,” Chris nodded, adrenaline once again pumping through her veins. The tip of her tail, which was curled against her hip, flicked about quickly, her ears perking.  ‘I could learn more-- more spells, better control…’  The fantasy nerd in her was already geeking out; who wouldn’t want to learn magic if the opportunity was presented?  “Can you talk to them about me, then?  Let them know you have a highly trusted friend who is trying to learn-- or, I suppose you could teach me.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Gretchen quickly responded.  “I’m-- err…  Not a great teacher, to be completely honest,” she admitted sheepishly while scratching her head.  “You’d get way more out of learning from them than from me.  I can’t make any promises, but I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Appreciated,” Chris smiled, trying not to show how eager she was.

“I can tell you’re excited,” Gretchen grinned, as if reading her mind.

“W-- What?  Why would you say that?”  Chris huffed and crossed her arms.

“Your ears perked and your tail wagged so damned cutely.  I can’t get over how fucking precious you are, ugggh!”  Gretchen groaned before leaning over and wrapping her arms around Chris, burying her face into her neck.

“I told you to-- never mind,” Chris mumbled under her breath, deciding to let that proclamation of her cuteness slide.  It wasn’t like she disliked the touching and cuddling after all.

“Mmmm,” Gretchen contently sighed, nuzzling Chris before pulling back slightly and gazing up into her eyes.  “When you’re up to it, let’s go get you some beauty supplies and a tail brush.  Demis with fluffy tails like you should always have a tail brush,” she insisted almost a little too eagerly.

“R-- Really now?”  Chris stammered, growing increasingly flustered.  Between learning magic, adjusting to womanhood, and learning to deal with her animal traits, Chris had a full plate.  She was both eager and apprehensive to push forward.

CHAPTER END

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