Chapter 4: Converging PathsJason pulls herself up into a sitting position, her body quivering in fear and with a tremble in her voice she asks, ”Wh…Who are y…you”

  “I am Cil and this is Theo. We are here on behalf of the Magicians Lodge. It is our task to find you, get you to the lodge in the Citadel so they can transport you back home. So can you please come down here so we can talk normally and I don’t have to shout so much?” the wolf says calmly but firmly.

  A meek voice comes from the hammock. “F...fine I’ll c…come” The snow leopard pushes herself up on the brim of the hammock but paralyzed by fear her elbows buckle.

  She tumbles headfirst out of her cot and nds on her back, her fall broken by some bushes. The two on the ground flinch, the expression on their faces speak of secondhand embarrassment but that quickly changes to concern as they hear pained screams from the fallen woman,

  “IT BURNS! Why does it hurt so much?” She fell in a rge bush of poison ivy.

  Theo immediately rummages through his satchel and Cil covers her arms in a tarp from her pack and pulls Jason out if the bushes. Large blisters grow under her fur, her soles and palms are covered in red sores and her eyes are bloodshot and start to swell shut

  “Here, drink this.” Theo hands the patient an open vial which she readily drinks, reducing the pain a little.

  Then Theo starts to look intently at her as they start to hear a low hum. To Jason it sounds like the hum of a rge power transformer. Slowly the swelling and sore spots start to recede as beads of sweat start to form on the mages face.

  “Why do you have to make camp above a LITERAL field of poison ivy?” he loudly compins between bored breaths.

  “Wha…”

  “You’ll still be sensitive for quite some time by the way. I have done everything I can do for you now, the rest is on you.” He adds frustrated.

  “I…I…I didn’t know, looked soft, thanks for helping” Jason whispers beaten, tears again welling up in her eyes

  “Cut it! See what you’ve done?” Cil growls and punches her brother in the shoulder. “He doesn’t mean it like that, He’s not angry it’s just that healing with magic takes an immense amount of energy and he doesn’t feel appreciated if you are reckless around him. Ha! I’ve seen that exasperated look many times before, trust me. Just give him some food and everything will be forgotten.”

  Just at the mere mention of food Jason’s stomach starts to loudly rumble “Well… I have none” she mumbles.

  “Just sit with us, we were preparing our camp anyways before we found you. Rest while I go hunt us some dinner and Theo prepares the fire, then we can introduce each other properly and discuss how to proceed. Sounds good?” Cil says softly, then guides her to where they were setting up their camp,

  “Here, take my bedroll for the time. We will get your stuff ter, I’m not good at climbing trees and right now you are in no shape to do so either. Rest, sleep if you can. It will do you good. We will wake you when dinner is ready. All good?”

  Jason just nods and climbs into the bedroll, wincing slightly as the rough textile rubs against her still sore body. She then watches Cil stringing her bow before she strides off deeper into the forest and Theo squats down, mumbling in front a pile of firewood that suddenly bursts into fme, followed by him filling two pots with water from the river.

  While Theo hasn’t warmed up yet to their temporary companion Jason feels safe enough to let his guard down far enough to fall asleep.

  She wakes up briefly as Cil comes back from the hunt, Bow in one hand and three hares bound together on a rope in the other.

  “Sorry that took so long. I need to train more with the bow,” she says exhausted.

  “She normally uses traps when there is time,” Theo adds

  “At least then I can do something else and don’t have to wait in one spot. Prowling and stalking after prey isn’t for me. I like a more head-on approach.”

  The next time Jason awakes from friendly chatter from the campfire and a lovely smell emanating from the pot on the fire.

  “Oh good, you’re awake now. I just wanted to wake you up, the stew is ready” Cil says with a kind smile on her face and hands Jason a steaming bowl of stew once she sits down with them.

  Once they all got some food into themselves Theo states, “I think now is the best time to introduce us to each other properly. I am Theo and this is my sister Cil”

  “I’m Jason”

  “Jason… Interesting. Please tell us about yourself and how you came here, the lodge is highly interested in drifters.”

  “Lodge? And what’s a drifter?”

  “A drifter is…well…someone like you. Someone from a different world washed up here like a piece of driftwood. And the Magicians Lodge is the governing body of all things magic. Their main job is to make legisture about the safety, legality and ethics of spells and the sensible use of magical components. They also care a lot about collecting knowledge, they operate the rgest library on the entire continent. They asked us to write a short report of the drifter and eventual physical changes and other oddities during the transference, the process by which you came here.”

  “A lot has changed actually. I was a human before and…”

  ”See, I told you!” Cil interrupts, pointing an accusatory finger at her brother.

  He waves her of and asks Jason, “Were there any that look like you do now?” and scribbles in a journal.

  “No, none. No magic at all, just humans and … well, animals. And I…”

  “No other kin? I couldn’t imagine to live like that, no magic at all… How curious. Normally you need lots of powerful magic for a transference to happen, usually by accident during dangerous experiments” Theo continues with his report,“What was the process of your transference, could you describe how the changes went down? I am highly curious to find out.”

  So Jason tells them everything that has happened, from his arrival at the field of ponds until they all met but she mentions nothing of her…thorough explorations during and after the transformation. At this revetion Theo drops his quill and Cil’s jaw drops “you were a guy?” they say in unison.

  “Yes. A guy, a man, male, whatever you want to call it” Jason bursts out.

  “Highly irregur. We have no documentation from the st century that this ever happened.” Theo says sck jawed, reaches for his dropped quill and continues to write energetically in his journal, “Why didn’t you say so immediately?”

  “Because you kept interrupting me all the time!”

  “Wow, I…I’m speechless. Shit, I can’t imagine…how confusing that must be, do you even view yourself as a woman?” Cil mumbles, eyes wide and a hand covering her mouth in shock.

  Jason almost starts to tear up again but manages to keep it together. “I… I think so. I mean I have the body… I didn’t have much time to dwell on that. My mind was occupied with hiding and surviving. I pyed around with some names to use until I get my old life back but none fit,” she grumbles, scratching the back of her head, nervous because she isn’t used to so much attention, “But yes, I’d call myself a woman. At least for now.”

  “There will be enough time for that. It’s a long way to the Citadel, the capital of this empire, up north” Cil says with a slight chuckle in her voice. Jason asks back, “Speaking of empire. Where the fuck am I?”

  Cil pours them all another bowl of stew as Theo starts to expin, “You have nded in the Kingdom of Petrov, named after the elven royal dynasty but more commonly known as the Forest Empire. We are known for our wood and steel production. We import the ores and refine them to forge high quality tools and weapons.Another big part of our economy are grains and livestock from our vast pins.

  To the east, behind the White Mountains is the Golden Coast Empire ruled by the Numinov family. Most parts of their nds are an arid desert. They specialize in precious gems and metals.

  To the south, past the Emerald River are the Stone Fields. A vast expanse of mountains and barren tundras ruled by the dwarven cn Barthok. Their wealth is in everything the mountains give them. Limestone and granite for construction, ores and raw gems for sale or further processing.

  To the west are just high cliffs with the occasional small port town but the only good sea access is on the north coast, where the capital is.

  The forest we are currently in is called Svatobors Keep, named after the forest god.”

  Wow. I don’t think I can remember all that so quickly, maybe I should have written something down” Jason mumbles after the onsught of information.

  “Don’t worry, he likes to talk. Just ask him again sometime ter and he’ll gdly repeat himself,” Cil teases.

  “You mentioned humans, dwarfs and elves. Are there other types, I think you called them kin? Like Cil and I,” she questions.

  Theo continues, “Your kin are called Forestborn, or as some call them Beastfolk. A pretty young kin all things considered, legends say they were created by Svatobor himself. During a great war a long time ago the then king has ordered his workers to go deeper and deeper into the forest to hack down the thickest trees they could find in order to make siege engines. Doing so they found themselves in the deepest center of the forest, the sanctum. Cutting down trees so deep in the forest was forbidden, they all knew, but because their king was vengeful and prone to anger they did as ordered.

  As Svatobor saw the damage they caused it infuriated him. Filled with rage and deep sadness about his forest he cursed all the workers including the king. To repay him for the damages he turned the king into a rge tree in hopes to repopute the forest. Don’t think the workers got away unharmed, they were still complicit in the crime. He decided to make them join his dominion by turning them partially into animals, thus creating the Forestborn. Other kin are pretty rare here, I will tell you more about them when we meet them.”

  “Wow. Is this all just general knowledge? I don’t know if I can keep up”

  “Most of this is but he also is a huge bookworm. Firstly it’s just a load of information in a short period, give it enough time and you will understand. And secondly you don’t have to if you’re not interested. You’ll be home hopefully sooner than ter,” Cil mentions with a sly smile on her face

  “So what’s the pn then?” Jason asks

  “If you decide to join us and follow along our first stop will be the Emerald River Fort, where we were coming from. We will hand in our report and pick up supplies for our journey north towards the capital so you can be sent back home as soon as possible. The length of the journey depends greatly on the weather, in the current conditions I expect it to take the better part of a month but that may vary. Oh, and we have to pay back the vilge for your thefts,” Theo expins.

  “Yeah … sorry about that. I don’t ′have any money to pay back, Can I work off my debt somehow?”

  “Don’t worry about that, we got a budget for any … damages you caused. We found the tinderbox by the way and you probably should give back the knife, we will handle the rest. You still have it, right?”

  “Yeah, it’s in the hammock”

  “O crap, we talked about relocating your hammock over here right? Completely forgot about that, should we go now or do you want more stew? Cil suggests.

  “No, I’m full. We can go,” Jason answers and holds his hands on his stomach.

  “Perfect, then there is still some over for breakfast,” Theo chimes in.

  “Are you even fit to climb after all this?” Cil worries.

  “I think so. If I fall you’ll catch me right” Jason says, his face heating up. This time she is gd for all her fur, because without it her face would be red like a tomato.

  “Sure, I will do my best” Cil chuckles, her tail starts to wag behind her.

  Jason climbs the trees successfully and they retrieve the hammock without incidents. “This time we put it closer to ground level. You don’t need to hide anymore and there is less risk of injury,” Theo recommends.

  Once everything was said and done they collectively decided it was time to get into their beds and sleep.

  It is hard for Jason to fall asleep. Not being alone makes her feel safer but it also allows her mind to wander. The happenings of the st few days constantly repy in her head, keeping her restless. She rolls around in her hammock but no position feels comfortable.

  This night she identifies some new oddities about her new body that she was too exhausted to notice previously. Her tail gets in the way every time she rolls around. She has to consciously move it away or it gets tangled up in between her legs. Her muzzle extends further out than her old face so she sometimes bumps her nose against the taut canvas. And of course her new body reacts differently to her moving around, her chest and butt jiggle with every slight movement but at least her dense fur keeps her warm. Silver linings right?

  Rustling from the campsite pulls her out of her thoughts. She hears a whisper, “You still up?”

  It’s Cil.

  Jason sits up and pushes the tarp above the hammock aside. “Yeah. Couldn’t sleep, too much going on”

  “Fuck, I can’t imagine… All things considered you are dealing pretty well with your… situation. I would be reduced into a crying mess if I were in your shoes.”

  “Already did that… before we met.”

  “But still… I think you are doing great. And if you want to talk or have any questions I am here for you.”

  “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I’m not sure if I want to know the answer, but… I was wondering… about anatomy. How different is it to humans… you know, the monthly period? I am vaguely aware on how that goes down,” Jason asks, ears folded down in embarrassment and her face flush with heat.

  Cil answers equally flustered, “Well… for Forestborn It’s a bit of a mix between an estrous and menstrual cycle, as we are part human and animal. For most of the year it works like it does for humans but every third cycle, so about four times a year you’ll experience estrus. Don’t look at me like that, it is your own body we are talking about. That information normally gets passed down from mother to daughter and with me being adopted I had to go through simir embarrassing conversations.”

  “Yeah I know, but it’s still a bit weird. I should have known you were adopted when Theo introduced you as his sister but I wasn’t sure.”

  “His mother picked me off the street when I was a child, but back to expining. Estrus is more commonly known as being in heat, you’ve heard about that?”

  “Yes and I’m scared about the implications.”

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds but there are some things you have to be aware of. First is the smell. Once you are in heat it is pretty noticeable for other Forestborn but there are easy to make potions to mask that. Just rub some around your neck and beltline and you’ll be safe… safer from unwanted advances. Secondly you will experience some swelling and heightened sensitivity in your chest and lower region. And stly the thing you are probably the most worried about is the heightened want to… get frisky with someone.

  I can assure you it is not as bad as you think. You won’t throw yourself onto everything that moves. It just means people you are interested in feel more attractive and those you don’t like will be more repulsive, it goes both ways. And you still got agency about your actions, it does not feel like a fuck or die situation. It just means good things feel better.

  Oh, very importantly, without contraceptives you are almost guaranteed to become pregnant, though you still can conceive without being in heat. I have a bit of everything with me… should the need arise,” Cil expins while struggling to find the right words.

  “That’s… actually somewhat reassuring,” Jason answers.

  “I’m gd to hear that… Ivy,” as Cil says this she gently touches Jason’s forearm.

  “Ivy?”

  “I… I was thinking about a name for you. Having a name that fits your body would make your life a bit easier, at least choose one to use in public. In private we will call you however you want. And it has a personal connection to you because of how we met.”

  “Please don’t remind me of that,” the embarrassed snow leopard utters.

  “Oh but that’s the whole reason,” Cil ughs.

  “I will ask Theo to get me a compendium of the local pnts and animals at the earliest convenience” Jason chuckles, slowly finding the humor in this situation.

  “Just think about it, I think the name fits you. “ Cil mentions while softly touching Jason’s shoulder. “Good night and try to get some sleep, I’ll do as well,”

  Cil caresses Jason’s shoulder and as she walks back to her tent with a spring in her step Jason can clearly see her tail wagging.

  >At least someone is happy< Jason thinks to herself, a content smile creeps up his face as she watches Cil enter her tent. Jason still rolls around in her hammock for some time, thinking.

  >Ivy… Ivy, I think I like this one<

  And with a deep sigh and a smile on her face Ivy falls asleep.