tushanshu | 004 ✞ (AUDIO)

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004 ✞ (AUDIO)

[The morning everything first went crazy, Midii was unaffected. She checked, just to be sure. There were no bodily changes, no strange new abilities, and she felt like herself. But there were Network posts advertising those less fortunate, and from the sounds of things, it wasn't going well for many. So she decided to stay put.]

[Today, however, she wasn't so lucky. From the moment she woke up, she knew something was wrong. The kind of wrong that actually required her to ask for help:]

I need clothes. Please. I have money, and can pay you back.

[There was a momentary pause, and a low groan could be heard in the background.]

...is my stomach supposed to hurt like this?

[Her voice might sound familiar to the select few who were around her enough. Only deeper. Older. By nearly ten years. And if that wasn't enough to hint as to who this was over the Network, she didn't block her address.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Definitely.

[Network IDs, Midii. You know about them.]

[She did. But those IDs only told you which location the person was calling from. It could have just as easily been an older figure borrowing his console. For whatever reason.]

[Besides, given the circumstances, could you blame her for wanting verbal confirmation?]

Alright.

You've been to my quarters before. You know the way.

[She's certainly not going anywhere.]

Yes.

[He didn't linger on the console; he didn't have time for that, anymore. Instead, there was a quick shopping round in Fire, and he was knocking at Midii's door shortly. ... and not looking at the opening, since she preferred concealment over the network, so.]

[It took longer than usual for Midii to answer. Even though she only lived in a one floor, small complex. Even though she had been expecting Damian within the half hour. The reason soon became clear when she finally opened the door...wearing nothing but a large sheet:]

[She didn't look particularly happy, but that was nothing knew. If nothing else, her displeasure came more from a discomfort at her current physical state, rather than any sense of embarrassment at being seen.]

[After all, she was covered. And privacy was a luxury in soldier camps, anyway.]

Come in.

And...thank you.

It is not a problem.

[He came in, and closed the door behind him. And.]

I have brought the clothes, but, before you put them on, I will ask you to - and this is connected to the stomach hurting that you mentioned - go take a shower and check if you are bleeding from between your legs.

In case you have not been taught about it, that would be something that comes with physical maturity in women, not a problem to be alarmed about.

[As seems to be a recurring theme between them, Midii took a moment to absorb his latest 'orders' for her, a mixture of light confusion and flatness to her expression. She glanced down at herself, then up at him. Brows furrowing.]

I think I would have noticed if I was bleeding, Damian.

[For one, the sheet was white. Though, after another moment's thought, the flatness turns to faint concern. She recognized what he was talking about--she was 11, not 7, after all--but the problem with never having experienced such a thing before was that she hadn't recognized the signs.]

You really think...?

Turn around.

[If she'd been sitting, the blood would be seen on the back of the sheet, after all. Gravity.]

And in any case, it is a possibility that needs to be looked into. And, yes, I have come prepared for that, as well.

Shower. Make yourself as comfortable in your body as it is now, before constraining it. I am sure it will be rectified, but, until then, there is no reason to feel worse about it than absolutely necessary. Yes?

[She complied with the first request, if only to show him that her sheet was clean. Which it was. She was right about not bleeding. Yet. But at the second, she visibly frowned and sat down on the armrest of her couch. The sheet slipped down one shoulder as she repositioned herself to fold her arms across her (still covered) chest, clearly unhappy with the delay.]

I don't need to shower. I showered before I went to sleep last night. [The luxurious warm water always soothed her; it was becoming a regular habit of hers.] I just want to get dressed.

[The longer she spent around him and his demanding ways, the more her own stubbornness was beginning to show. She kept her voice low and calm, not wanting to snap for fear of him up and leaving her completely...but there was only so much she could take. Moreso right then, for some reason, she could feel her temper getting short.]

I was not making a comment on your cleanliness.

[He was not! And he even did explain why he was suggesting a shower. There were few places where one was more at peace with their body, or got to observe it in as pleasant an setting.]

But have it as you will.

[He stepped closer only to deposit the paper bag by her side, then away again, taking an upright position by one of the windows, looking out.]

There are painkillers in the small blue pouch. And, should my guess turn out to be correct, anyway, materials to prevent bleeding on your clothing, anyway, in the green one.

[... yeah, he was glad that he was on his own when dealing with his body for the first hour or so, he could guess additional attention was likely to be unpleasant for her.]

[Truthfully, she didn't care what he was commenting on, or why he was giving the orders he did. Midii just knew what she wanted right then, and that was to get herself into a more presentable state. So she did.]

[Nodding at his explanation, she briefly bent down to examine the contents of the bag. The blue pouch he mentioned, she found at the very top; this, she took out and placed on the table, as a reminder. The green pouch was a little further down, buried in the small pile of fabric.]

[There was a Japanese design paper curtain over in the corner. The kind that would easily obscure her unclothed form into little more than shadows, offering her just enough privacy. Not that it would have mattered, as he'd looked away almost immediately. She quickly moved behind it before dropping the sheets and grabbing the materials from the bag. ]

[The dress he'd chosen--smart, considering one could be more liberal with size than with, say, a pair of pants--slid over her head in a wave of cottony softness. It was only slightly big, but there was a large sash she was able to tie around the waist that held it comfortably to her new frame. The rest was easy enough to figure out. She spent a long time glossing over the picture diagrams on the green package, not yet needing the items inside but keeping them on hand in case he was right and that situation changed.]

[Self-consciously smoothing out the last of the wrinkles in her dress--an uncharacteristic habit for her--she quietly stepped out from behind the curtains and attempted a smile as a peace offering for her earlier snappishness.]

This feels much better.

Thank you.

[Damian wasn't curious. So, yes, he was looking out.]

[On the other hand, he was aware of her changing, and it seemed enough for his body to warm up. As sensations went, it wasn't unpleasant; as far as his need for control went? Nope. Not welcome at all. So he focused on the outside, until she spoke up again.]

[Then he turned, and nodded, face calm and composed.]

You are welcome, and I am pleased.

[He took her in, the aesthetic intake satisfactory. It made him smile a little, too.]

Do try to rest and make sure you do not get hurt, because of the difference in the way the body acts. Are you in need of anything else?

No. I can't think of anything right now.

[That wasn't to say she wouldn't have more questions in the future. Questions that, instinct told her, Damian might have answers to.]

[But it was more than that. When he smiled at her, implied that her current appearance pleased him, her stomach did something strange. Beyond the light cramping of muscles. Something she had never experienced before. Then, when he glanced at her up and down, she'd had the urge to resist smoothing out her dress further. To keep her hand still, she folded her arms across her ribcage, just beneath her chest.]

[The room was small, and it only took a few more steps for her to reach him. Standing at his side--though not too close--in an attempt to share whatever view he had found so interesting out the window. Not knowing what he was thinking, she assumed it had something to do with the magic still wreaking havoc over the city.]

Is it bad out there? [She was torn between appeasing her curiosity by going out to see for herself, and the strong urge to lock herself away in her room in hopes of hiding from it all. Two opposing natures, waging war inside a body she was unfamiliar, yet not entirely uncomfortable with.] You said this body might act differently than usual. Do you mean just because it's older now, or is there something else I need to know?

Bad?

[Damian blinked at her, and had to hold his breath for a moment, rather than react to her proximity. She was... very close. That made him, of all things, want to lean closer.]

Not this far. I hope that most people who need help will have the sense to ask over the network. I do not know if many of the kedan have been affected.

As to the bodies... [He shrugged.] Menstruation is not the only effect of hormones, even though it is the least concealable. And some of the effects can be uncomfortable, to one extent or another.

Also, being stronger can have unexpected effects, if you are not mindful.

[On her end, Midii didn't take much note of the closeness other than the part where his presence was...comforting. As much as could be expected in the current situation, at least. He was the only person she had ever let come to her quarters. There was a reason for that.]

Hormones. [A frown. Again, not an unfamiliar word--she knew all too well its effects. Particularly on boys and men. But she was still treating their situation as fairly unique, considering both rapid aging and magic itself was involved. Things could be different.] What other effects could they have? How uncomfortable?

[That was a reason he could have understood, too, if he ever allowed himself to admit to anyone's presence being comforting.]

[He shrugged.]

I am also still barely discovering the full scale of the effects. But emotions tend to be stronger, harder to wrestle under control. There is more feedback from the body itself and the senses.

I am sure there will be more to talk of.

[Her lips pressed together in a thin line at the word emotions, eyes momentarily averting. She was nervous. Even her own body was apparently no longer hers. The one thing her life she had some semblance of control over, and it had been taken away from her.]

[It actually took effort not to start crying.]

I don't like this.

[He could see the effort to push the tears away. It was strange, to be this aware. And to be this invested.]

I do not think that many people do.

For what it is worth, it is easier than finding yourself trapped inside your body. Incapable of doing much, or anything at all.

...could that actually happen?

[She looked up at him, blinking back the moisture, as a look of genuine fear at the thought washed over her.]

[ Only the fingers of one hand, overall loose by his side, clenched slightly at the question. It had been over a year ago, but he remembered his body doing what he didn't will it to, and then his voice speaking another's words... ]

[ His voice was calm, however. ]

People have been possessed, here, before. After the technologically-rich satellite crashed, there were... entities with it designed to protect it. They were vulnerable to electricity.

So you do know how to stop it if something like that happened again.

[Still not very reassuring, but it was better than having no idea at all.]

The people who were possessed...did they survive?

If we run into the same kind of entities, yes.

[See? Could be worse. Has been worse, and likely will be. No need for tears, right?]

They did survive, yes. The... problems with worse survival rates were the gang war, early on, and the jiangshi.

[Jiangshi? She vaguely recognized the term; while nobody had ever told her about them personally, she'd done her research. Gone back through as many archives as possible.]

Those were the...undead, it said? People who came back to life? [SOMEHOW]

Reanimated corpses, out after living people. To be killed by them - or even bitten - meant to become one of them. Of course, for us 'foreigners' there was 'resurrection' within a few hours. While the body that had been 'infected' went on to wreak havoc until or unless it was stopped.

[Fun fun fun!]

I'm not sorry I missed that.

[Understatement of the century.]

[Damian's face was completely serious.]

Your wisdom is far beyond your years.

004 ✞ (AUDIO)

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