“Ah, Duncan, I’d hoped we’d see you again.”

Duncan smiled at Arwen, and bowed to the rest of the people present.  “The group seems quite helpful.  I know I didn’t open up much last time, but this week...”  He wiggled his fingers.  “The Moon is up, but I can’t do much yet, it’s too weak.”

“We’ll leave that to next time, then,” said Arwen.  “Come, join the circle.  Perhaps you can tell everyone a little more about yourself.”

“Without the other, there’s only so much I can say...” said Duncan, doubtfully.

“Try anyway,” encouraged Arwen.  “Why don’t you start?”

Duncan looked around at all the encouraging smiles, and nodded.  “I suppose I can do that much.  Hello everyone, my name is Duncan.”

“Hello, Duncan,” echoed the others, as they had the week before when he first met them.

“I can’t explain everything about my situation tonight, but I’ll explain what I can, and save the rest for next week.”  He glanced over at Arwen, who nodded.  “It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.”

Duncan took a moment to gather his thoughts.  “For most of my life I’ve seen myself as exactly what you see.  A man, content enough in his life and pursuits.  I’ll admit that I have fantasized about all kinds of transformations for much of my life, but I wouldn’t say that becoming a woman was a focus.”

“All that changed about almost two years ago, when I lost my job.  I found myself at loose ends, overqualified for most of the jobs available.  Frustratingly so.  I ended up with too much time on my hands, and some of that was spent exploring my other side, Donna.  My wife was... not understanding.  It’s not that she’s unsympathetic to trans issues generally, but she’s also quite clear on the point that she married a man.”

There were murmurings of support from others in the group.  The brash one, Terry, made it clear that she felt Duncan’s wife was being unfair.

Duncan chuckled.  “Hey, it’s not like I can’t see it from her perspective.  She’s a good person, just... y’know, very straightforward.  And very straight.”  His eyes went a little distant at a memory of the Valentine’s Day where he’d been stuck as a catwoman.  “Well... most of the time, anyway.”

“Oooh!” exclaimed Terry, clapping her hands.  “Tell, tell!”

“I can’t,” said Duncan.  “Not the important parts.  And I shouldn’t, anyway.  She’d be unhappy if I shared stuff so private.”

“Aww.”

“Anyway.  That was bad enough, but as I said, the job market for my skill-set was pretty poor at the time.  I ended up having to take a side job to make ends meet.  Uh, as Donna.”

“What could you do as Donna that you couldn’t as Duncan?” asked Terry, curious.

“Oh.  My.  God.”  This from Robin, who’d sat silently and unhappily through the last group session, unwilling to even share his name.  “You’re Blue Vixen Donna.”

Duncan looked away for a moment, then sighed and nodded.  He turned to face Robin.  “And I am so very sorry about whatever happened to you.  I didn’t mean for my gift to hurt you.”

Robin held his hands up as if to deflect the apology.  “No!  No, that was the most amazing week of my life.  Don’t blame yourself for my stupidity.  Please.  What you ch... ch...  Why can’t I say it?”

Duncan sighed.  “Can you wait until next week for an explanation?  I promise, it will all be clear.  To all of you.”

The others murmured and nodded, and eventually Robin did as well.

Arwen then guided the conversation around the circle.  Terry brashly claimed that everything was fine, and she was hoping to transition soon.  She was wearing a cute blouse and feminine slacks, and her makeup and hair were perfect.  She was fully as tall as Duncan, but Terry wore her height unapologetically.

Gary made a point of lounging on his chair like some kind of great cat, legs spread pointedly wide in his jeans.  He spoke eagerly of how close he was getting to having enough money for his surgery.  Duncan smiled at how Arwen counselled just a little more patience.

Helena, pretty in her floral dress, had let her hair go back to its roots, it was hanging limp and uncared-for.  She complained about how much work it was, and had a tale to tell of meeting an old friend from before she’d started trying to pass as female.  “The pitying look he gave me when he first saw me...  I mean, he never said anything, was a perfect gentleman about helping me out.  But I couldn’t get away from that look fast enough.  What is wrong with me?”

Arwen and the others hurried to tell her that she shouldn’t let the encounter distress her, and that she looked as pretty as ever.  Duncan could tell that Helena wasn’t buying it.

“If you could look like anything you wanted, what would it be?” he asked.

Helena blushed and looked away.  “It’s silly.”

“I like silly,” reassured Duncan.  “And if you don’t ask, how can you possibly receive?”

“I...”  Helena whispered, barely audible. “I want to be a kitsune.”

“Magical foxlike creature from Japan, lots of tails, can turn into a human woman if she pleases?”

Helena nodded, eyes sparkling.  “That would be...”

Duncan smiled at her.  “Next week.”

Helena’s confused look almost made Duncan laugh.  Arwen hurried the conversation along to the elfin Ciara.  “You told me something important in this week’s session.  Do you want to share it?”

Ciara nodded, holding her head up bravely.  “I don’t want you to use female pronouns for me any more.  But...”  She indicated her body, not quite five feet tall and slim as a reed.  “I can’t see myself as male, either.  So please use zie and zir for me.”  As if saying that had used up all zir bravery, zir smile faded and zie turned zir pretty face to zir lap.

“Of course we will,” said Terry.  “That’s a big step.”  Then she led the others into a couple round of “For zie’s a jolly good person.”  Ciara cheered up immensely, and sung along with the others at the end.

Last Arwen turned to Robin.  “Is there anything you’d like to share?”

Robin sighed, and looked to Duncan.  “Thank you for your gift.  That night was the most incredible night of my life.  Everything was right, finally.  For the first time, when I looked into the mirror I didn’t cringe at what I saw.”

“And then?” asked Arwen softly.

“I went to a bar, alone.  To see if it was...”  He shook his head.  “Got hit on by a couple of guys, and you have no idea how amazing that felt.  Then...”  His head lowered, and tears started trickling.  “Then one wouldn’t take no for an answer.  I’d been drinking a little too much, and...” he giggled slightly hysterically. “The dancing was fun.  Afterward... not so much.  When I realized what he really wanted, I panicked, tried to get away.  I was so weak!  It was terrifying.”

“What.  Did.  He.  Do.” grated Duncan, more than a little Goddess leaking into his growl.

Robin stared at him, transfixed.  “He was pissed.  And drunk.  He grabbed for me, and my dress tore as I struggled away.  I screamed and screamed, and finally it got through that I wasn’t just playing hard to get.”  His voice hitched.  “He called me all kinds of nasty names and kicked me out of his apartment.  I walked home clutching a shredded dress around the scraps of my dignity, and burned all my female clothes.  Two days later, I woke up normal.  I couldn’t stop crying.”

“Oh, Robin.  I had no idea,” said Arwen softly.  “Look, we should probably stop here.”  She shot a pointed glare at Duncan, who looked away guiltily.  Freed from Duncan’s gaze, Robin collapsed in a sobbing heap.  

Duncan filed out with the others, looking back from the door guiltily.  Arwen made shooing motions, but at least she didn’t appear angry with him.