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As Chris sat on Gretchen’s couch, an endless torrent of disjointed thoughts swirled in her mind.  Could she truly learn more about magic?  Was she ready to further embrace life as a woman-- and as a demi?  What about her sexuality?  Did she want to try a lesbian experience with Gretchen?  What about those strange feelings toward men she had experienced?  

Her cheeks reddened as she took a deep breath and shook her head, trying to loosen up and out all concerning thoughts from her head. ‘Now’s now the time…  I need to relax,’ she told herself, attempting to focus on the moment she was in right now.

Gretchen came out from the kitchen with a large bottle of mead and two glasses.  She put the bottle on the table and uncorked it, pouring them both a hearty amount and handing one of the glasses to Chris.

In response, Chris smiled weakly and accepted the drink.  “That obvious, huh?”

“I can tell when you need a drink,” Gretchen innocently replied.

Chris sighed and ruminated over the past day before shaking her head once again and downing a hefty gulp of the delectable honey wine.  There were hints of cherry and citrus accented through the potent sweetness.  She couldn’t help but smile, finding the flavor nostalgic.

Gretchen casually flipped the television on and sank into the couch next to Chris, letting out a relaxed sigh.  “Chill time,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“Chill time,” Chris agreed.  An exchange of ‘chill time,’ was mutually agreed upon to mean there were no obligations.  They could chat, sit in silence, watch television-- anything they wanted without pressure.

Chris pulled her knees up, angling them so her legs were off to one side.  She hadn’t fully comprehended the fact that her mannerisms and posture had become more feminine.  Due to the nature of her wide hips and lack of male equipment, she found herself comfortable in different sitting positions than she had as a man.  She pulled out her phone and idly scrolled through reddit, using the stream of random information and stories to occupy her mind and drown out busy thoughts.

“Look at this,” Gretchen giggled, holding her phone out to Chris.

Chris peered over and saw a clip of a cat laying on a German shepherd dog’s back and hitching a ride as it trotted around.  “Adorable,” Chris chuckled in response before they went back to their respective phone usage.

While distracting herself, the mention of ‘transience,’ on the local news station caused Chris to glance up.  “Hmm?”  She mumbled.

“Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for this interview, Ms. Tanaka,” a male interviewer warmly stated.

“It's my pleasure-- please just call me Aoi,” a blue-skinned woman with scales and an aquatic flare replied.”



“Of course, Aoi.  Can you tell us a bit about your work and why you’re visiting our fair city?”

“Hmmm…”  Aoi thought for a moment.  “I’m a transience advocate and researcher,” she replied.  “I’ll be presenting at the Transience Conference this weekend and am hopeful that transients and jatorri alike will attend in order to learn and broaden their horizons.”

Chris tilted her head.  “Jatorri?”  She asked out loud.

Gretchen peered up and scrunched her nose.  “Oh, it's that Aoi girl…”  She said with a sigh and a shake of her head.  “It’s a word she’s pushing REALLY hard that refers to non-transient folks.  Apparently she heard it once and is trying to force everyone to use it.”

“Oh…”  Chris thought briefly.  “What’s the problem with that?”

“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with having a phrase for people who haven’t gone through transience, but the whole ‘jatorri’ thing seems pretentious to me,” Gretchen continued.  “We’re already calling people who haven’t undergone transience ‘non-transient’ and ‘unaltered,’ which are normal words that everyone can understand.  If it’s a matter of keeping it short, unaltered has just as many syllables as jatorri,” she added.

“I see…  That makes sense,” Chris conceded.  She wouldn’t pretend she was educated enough in these matters to have a strong opinion.

On the television, the interviewer prepared his next question. “You mentioned researching strange activity in the area; could you elaborate?” 

Aoi nodded.  “There have been reports of strange happenings here in Reddington,” she responded, referring to the city’s name.  “On top of higher than usual rates of transience, there are whispers of strange explosions and sightings of creatures that don’t appear to be transient individuals.  I would like to find the through-line that connects all of these happenings.”

“Oh, yes.  I think we’ve all heard the rumors,” the interviewer continued.  “So you think these explosions and strange creature sightings are connected to transience in some way?”

Aoi shrugged.  “That’s what I’m here to find out.  I have a hunch that says ‘yes,’ but hunches aren’t based on science or empirical evidence.”

Chris zoned out of the interview, her heart racing as she immediately thought back to the explosion in the sky-- the one she apparently stopped using magic.  What about the apparent creatures that have been spotted?  She certainly hadn’t seen any. Perhaps she’d have to keep her eyes open for odd critters; her senses of sight, smell, and hearing were certainly far better than they once were.

Gretchen’s giggling snapped Chris out of her state of deep thought and she turned to give her an incredulous look.  “What?? Why are you looking at me?”  She huffed.

“When you get lost in thought like that, your ears fold against your head and the tip of your tail flicks around adorably.  I’m not making fun of you, I just can’t get over how god damned cute you are,” she admitted.

Chris deeply blushed, averting her gaze as she down another swig of mead.  “If you keep saying things like that, I’m going to start thinking you like me and find me attractive.”

“Both things are true,” Gretchen conceded.  With that, she scooched closer to the adorable fox girl.

“What are you-- ahh!”  Chris squealed when Gretchen suddenly nipped her on the neck while resting a hand on her knee.  A shiver ran down her spine and a hot tingle of arousal sparked between her legs.

“Maybe-- umm….”  Gretchen blushed and pulled back slightly, offering a longing stare.  “Do you want to cuddle, maybe?”  She offered.

Chris’s heart raced.  Cuddling likely meant that one thing would lead to another-- was she ready for this?  Then again, Gretchen was exceedingly respectful when it came to consent, so maybe that wasn’t a bad idea.

“S-- Sure, that sounds great,”  Chris said softly, fidgeting a bit as she felt Gretchen’s warmth against her.

A few minutes later, Chris found herself in Gretchen’s room, standing awkwardly near the bed as she glanced around while waiting for her cuddle partner to exit the bathroom. It was far from the first time she had been in this room, but it was the first since she had finished transience.  Her tail gently flicked, her ears half tapered as attempted to psyche herself up. ‘I’ve already masturbated…  Gretchen was with me when I transformed.  This isn’t a big deal,’ she insisted.  She’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t curious and aroused by the idea of a lesbian experience.

“I’m comfy now,” Gretchen grinned, exiting the bathroom in a translucent, white nightgown that didn’t quite reach her knees.  “You’re not going to cuddle wearing all of that, right?”  She asked accusingly, raising an eyebrow.

Chris blushed and shifted on her feet.  It was true she was still wearing ‘outside’ clothes; they weren’t the most comfortable things for laying in bed.  Was she supposed to strip down to the bra and boyshorts she had on?  Then again, bras weren’t exactly a comfortable article of clothing for relaxation.  ‘Female bodies are so damn frustrating,’ she sighed, considering how strangely everything fit her feminine frame along with how cumbersome bras were.  On top of that, it was still strange to think of herself as a woman at all.  It wasn’t like she was having an existential crisis over her sex change any longer, but she had spent thirty years of life as a man-- being socialized as a man.

“Do you trust me?”  Gretchen asked softly, offering a warm smile.

“O-- of course!  I trust you completely,” Chris quickly replied, realizing she had been standing silently without answering her question.

With that confirmation, Gretchen opened her closet and rustled around momentarily before pulling out a matching nightgown.  “In that case, here’s my suggestion.  Wear this and only this.  No bra, no panties-- or whatever undies you have on.  They’re super silky and comfy…  As far as modesty goes, what do we have to hide from each other?”

Chris gawked at the translucent gown in Gretchen’s hand and then looked at Gretchen herself, just barely seeing the outline of her nude form through the fabric.  “W-- Wait!  What about my t--,”

Before she could finish her sentence, Gretchen turned the gown around and displayed an opening in the back, roughly at tailbone level and with some extra vertical space.  Near the bottom, there was some lacing much like a corset or even a shoe.  “Tail hole!  There should be space for your tail to stay comfy and it can be laced up from the bottom to cover more skin depending on where your tail’s base naturally rests.”

Chris was equal parts embarrassed and impressed.  “You really thought this through…”  The fact that Gretchen went out of her way to get the gown with her anatomy in mind touched her on some emotional level.  After letting out an exasperated sigh and scratching her head, she conceded to Gretchen’s whims.  “Fine-- okay,” she agreed, reaching out to take the gown.

Moments later, Chris closed the bathroom door behind her, leaving her cuddle buddy with a triumphant smile.  ‘I should be used to my body by now,’ Chris reasoned, gritting her teeth slightly as she stripped down.  When her bra came unclasped and fell to the floor, she sighed in relief, reaching a hand up to gently rub one of her breasts.  The cool air felt nice on them after a long day out, though her nipples immediately hardening due to lower temperature was a little bit of an annoyance.

Upon stripping from her boyshorts, she felt a similar sense of relief and a slight bit of awkwardness as the hot fabric peeled away from her vulva and cool air enveloped her sex.  She momentarily stood completely nude, focusing on the womanly sensations of her body; the slight tingling within her genitals, the weight of her breasts, and even the shape of her waist and hips, which impacted her center of gravity.

A quick glance toward the mirror left her flustered. ‘I’m so damned cute, though,’ she mused, placing a hand on her hip as she watched the way her tail rhythmically swayed from side to side behind her.  Feeling dysphoric over her new body, followed by a sense of giddiness over how nicely she turned out had become commonplace over the last few days.  How did that even make sense?  Flipping from feeling anxious over her new sex to fawning over herself in a matter of seconds.

She shook her head and decided to simply bring it up with Dr. Patel in her next therapy session.  For now, she would see any positive feelings regarding her womanly vixen form to be a good thing.

Without wasting any more time, she pulled the nightgown over her head before reaching behind and fidgeting with her tail, trying to get it through the opening.  She still wasn’t used to having an extra, cumbersome appendage and felt deeply embarrassed when she failed to maneuver it properly.

“Do you need any help?”  Gretchen called from outside.

“With my tail perhaps, yeah,” Chris loudly muttered in response without thinking.

A moment later, the bathroom door opened and Gretchen trotted in.  “Oh my gosh, you-- no…  Fuss over your cuteness later,” she insisted as she approached Chris from behind. 

“O-- oh, hi!”  Chris squeaked, growing increasingly self conscious.  Why did she say she needed help!?

“Is it okay if I touch your tail?  I’m just going to guide it through-- nothing weird, I promise.”

Truthfully speaking, Chris was sure she could get her tail through the opening without help.  Sure, she was struggling for a moment, but she almost had it when Gretchen asked if help was required.  However, since Gretchen was already here, wouldn’t it be rude to shoo her away at this point?  “Y-- yeah, go for it,” she finally replied.

Chris shivered when Gretchen’s lithe fingers brushed over her tail’s base, goosebumps appearing all over as a hot tingling bubbled between her legs.  A sudden realization came over her at that moment. ‘The base of my tail is an erogenous zone, isn’t it?’ The sensation of Gretchen maneuvering the appendage and guiding it through the opening led to a myriad of strange, undoubtedly sexual feelings.

When all was said and done, Gretchen turned Chris toward the mirror and smiled brightly, slinging an arm around her waist.  “We match!  Look how cute we are,” she purred happily, her hips swaying slightly as she leaned in and nipped Chris’s neck affectionately.

“A--ahh!  Y-- yes, cute,” Chris stammered in response, unable to deny how adorable they looked together.  The fact Gretchen stood a few inches taller was still alien to her; she’d have to get used to being shorter than most people when considering the fact she stood no more than an inch or two over five-feet.

Gretchen took Chris’s hand and nearly dragged her back to bed.  “For the sake of your tail, we should cuddle face to face,” she insisted before letting go of Chris and climbing into bed to maneuver blankets and get comfy.

“Makes sense,” Chris agreed, taking another deep breath before climbing into bed and adjusting the blankets.  She was extremely careful not to hurt her tail as she scooched close to Gretchen.  Seconds later, she felt an arm around her waist as Grethen pulled her close.  Without warning, she found her face resting against the nape of Gretchen’s neck while a gentle hand slowly traced over her back’s curve.  What was this?  Her whole body tingled as she gave in and allowed herself to be the little spoon.  

Being held this way made her feel small and supremely feminine, but none of it felt bad or wrong.  She felt vulnerable, but not weak.  On the contrary, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief-- but, why?  “Gretchen…”  She mumbled, unconsciously nestling close and burying her face into her neck and shoulder.  The way Gretchen held her felt so warm-- so comforting and soothing.  When she suddenly felt delicate fingers scratching the back of her head and behind one of her ears, she nearly melted.

Was this how women felt when they were swaddled and lathered with gentle love?  This safety and warmth?  “Sh-- Shouldn’t I be the one holding you like this?”  She asked weakly.

“Maybe next time,” Gretchen purred in response, kissing the top of her head.  “You’ve been through so much, Chris.  Let me coddle you and fuss over you, okay?”  She insisted.  “Before you get all paranoid that I’m doing something I don't want, I promise that I’m very much getting something out of this,” she assured.

“Mmmmph…”  Chris huffed slightly and let out a content sigh.  Being a small female, she felt like it was okay to let go; to be weak and vulnerable while someone comforts her in this manner.  Was this another advantage of being a woman?  “This…  Is nice…”  She conceded, the tip of her tail flopping against the bed.

“Let me take care of everything tonight…  I’ll gently lead and make sure you feel satisfied and refreshed,” Gretchen purred, leaning in as she very lightly nipped one of Chris’s ears and brushed her fingers over the base of her tail.

“A-- ahh…”  Chris gasped as a hot throb of arousal coursed through her loins, her nipples hardening as her heart rate picked up.  Why did that sound so damned wonderful?  She wanted to let go-- to let Gretchen completely take the reins for the evening.  “I-- I will leave myself in your hands,” Chris agreed.  After much internal back and forth, she couldn’t deny how appealing Gretchen’s proposal was.

CHAPTER END

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