Devotia Ch. 12: Reflections

- - -

It takes a little under a week to find a way to see Mykah again. While Callie technically has full control over who she does and does not summon, it often feels like Velena sees her as a Devotia under probation, still training to earn the full responsibilities of the position. Most of her summons were selected by Velena, with a few scattered ones that Callie deliberately requests, but if the Magister suspects they are too personal to her then she often furrows her brow and drags her feet.

Another visit to the Fleeting Fox is quickly rejected, as is any other meeting place outside of the villa. But, after a significant amount of protest and her own lecture about the need to be trusted with the responsibility she already wields, Callie finally gets her way. She sends along a very brief note to both Ciron and Mykah, summoning them both to see her at the same time.

The initial meeting is awkward as the three of them meet near a comfortable pond outside of the villa. Callie watches the little tiny fish dance in the waters, glittering softly in the bright sunlight. Ciron arrives first, anxiously strolling into the courtyard and taking a seat on the soft, mossy ground near her, trembling slightly.                             Callie places a hand on her shoulder, smiling to encourage her. "I'm glad you're here."

Ciron shakes her head quickly, her blonde hair bouncing in its tight bun. "This is a mistake," her eyes are full of something slightly deeper than fear, "I shouldn't have come here."

"Yes, yes you should have," Callie grabs her hand and holds the nervous girl in place. "I promise you'll feel better after it's done, but it's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared," she huffs. After a soft look of disagreement on Callie's face Ciron looks down and quietly admits, "Fine, I'm scared."

"It's going to be okay. Do you have everything in place to move out quickly and be set up on your own? Is there anything you need from me?"

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to have my aunt assassinated?" Ciron smiles at her timid joke. Callie laughs with her, shaking her head. "Everything should be ready."

"Good. When Mykah gets here he can..." Callie stops, hearing another set of footsteps enter the courtyard, and turns to see Mykah strolling over to them. "There he is!"

Callie leaps up from her seat, walking over to Mykah and greeting him with a warm hug that he returns happily. Just as she pulls back from the hug, he laughs excitedly and hugs her again. "It's fucking good to see you," he grins.

"Right back at you," her eyes beam.

Mykah looks behind her, noticing Ciron hovering a few feet away and raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Who's this?" He whispers. "I thought it'd just be you and me."

"It will be, later," she nods, taking his hand. "I need a favor first..."

"Callie..." He pauses, letting the silence ask the rest of his question for him. They had been through so much back home and Mykah could immediately recognize her tone, usually accompanied by a risky request and a terrified attempt to break the rules somehow. Mykah sighs, unable to say no to her. "What do you need?"

"Mykah, this is Ciron," Callie leads him over to the shy girl hiding behind her. "Ciron, this is my good friend Mykah."

"Hello," Ciron waves quietly.

"It's good to meet you," Mykah responds kindly.

"Ciron wants to be threaded, but is being blocked by a shitty family member," Callie explains. "I told her you could help."

Mykah takes a deep breath, staring at Callie for a long and serious moment. He looks up at the sky, dropping his eyes back to meet her after a few tense seconds. "... It's a lot of work, Callie."

"I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important."

"I know," he nods. "It's not a fast process, it'll take an hour or two."

"We have time," Callie confirms. "You're my only summons this afternoon and Junivere graciously offered to take a tour of the new theater to give us space. You're lucky she likes me now, she hates theater."

Mykah smiles politely, turning to face Ciron for the first time. "It's good to meet you. Are you sure you're ready for this? It can be kinda intense magic."

"I'm ready," Ciron confirms, putting as much confidence into her voice as she can. Callie grins, seeing her step into her own a little more.

"And are you sure you trust me?" Mykah rubs a hand on his shoulders, massaging a knot just below his neck. "The way this magic works, most people won't be able to undo it, but I will. That's a lot of power to give a stranger over your fate."

Ciron takes Callie's hand and gives it an assured squeeze. "If she trusts you, so do I."

"Okay," Mykah nods, cracking his knuckles and taking a preparatory breath. "Callie, do you have a good place for it? We'll need some access to sunlight and a comfortable place for her to lay down."

"I had a lounge room set up for us," Callie says. She waves them to follow her, making her way into the villa. "It's got some wide sofas and a private balcony."

"Perfect," Mykah smiles. "Ciron..." He turns to the noble beside him who's walking as though to avoid making any sound. "...uh, I guess you'll want a new name?"

"I'll pick after," she replies quietly. "I want it to feel like it fits."

"Okay, Ciron for now," his head inclines. "How much do you know about threading? How much do I need to explain in advance?"

"I know some, but not much," she concedes. Callie remembers the feeling well. Honestly, much of her threading with Mykah had felt like they were both winging it and she's amazed it went so well.

"Alright, short version then." Mykah walks beside her, using his hands to explain his points as he speaks, the way he always does. They rarely seem to stand still and Callie finds this trait endearing in her friend. "I won't be able to change many basic traits of yours: hair color and texture, eye color, birthmarks, scars, stuff like that. I'm sure there's more experienced mages who could, and they could probably help you later. I can change most other things, though they are somewhat limited by your physique already. Your height and general build are going to be pretty similar, but I shift the rest of your body to look more feminine."

"That's incredible," Ciron grins, her nerves fading slightly.

"It's pretty wicked magic," Mykah replies happily. His voice always rises when he talks about magic and it's clear he's both knowledgeable and passionate. "The main thing you'll need to decide is how feminine you want your body to be, cause I can still preserve some muscle density and stuff if you want to still have some masculine aspects."

"None of it," Ciron replies quickly. "Full feminine please."

Mykah's face turns slightly red as he continues, breaking away from looking at Ciron. "Lastly... ahem... you'll have to decide if you want to keep... um, it." He clears his throat, adding, "I can make the change, but it'll add a lot more time to the procedure and it'll hurt a lot more. It's really sensitive skin."

Callie's face warms as well, walking ahead of them and opening the door to the lounge room. She invites them inside, seeing a comfortable sofa placed out onto the balcony ahead of them and following them as they sit down. Ciron seems equally embarrassed, her own face bright pink, and she looks down at the floor nervously for a few breaths.

"I'm sorry that it's such a private question," Mykah acknowledges. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary."

"It's okay," Ciron squeaks. She takes a deep breath, turning to Callie and asking, "What... what did you choose?"

Normally, Callie didn't love answering the question. Both Junivere and Mira had asked her why she'd made that choice in spare moments and she'd deflected with an answer about it being easier. But, inside Callie knows that isn't the full answer. In reality, it had just felt right. She'd spent tons of time wondering about what it'd be like if things were different down there, but especially as Callie has stepped into her own sexuality, she loved what it could do.

"I kept it," she confirms, smiling and trying to hide the little wisps of embarrassment that bubble in her stomach.

"How... how did you decide?"

Callie takes a breath, looking out over the balcony and trying to find the right words. She wants to say something about it feeling in tune for her body, it being a heavy decision that took ages to wrestle with. But, inside she knows the answer is a bit more simple and she pushes away her shame to reply:

"I just think it's hot."

"Oh," Ciron's face flushes fully. She fidgets in her seat and Callie can see a variety of thoughts flash through her head that are easily recognizable.

She places a hand on the girl's knee, leaning in and muttering in her ears. "It can be very exciting..." Callie soaks up the nervous excitement on Ciron's face, enjoying the way she could tell the noblewoman's pants must be a bit tighter than before.

"I didn't know other people felt that way," Ciron says quietly.

"You should see the looks on people's faces when they find out," Callie mewls, her own lust on full display. "I can confirm that plenty of people feel that way."

"Okay," Ciron bubbles happily. She turns to Mykah and responds, "I'll keep it."

Mykah nods, standing a few feet away from him and stretching. He pulls his legs back, teasing out the tightness in his quads before bending at the hip to touch his toes. He massages his wrists and forearms, grabbing a pillow and placing it at the base of the sofa.

"Go ahead and lie on your back," he tells Ciron. "Get as comfortable as you can, you'll need to stay pretty still for the next while." Ciron nods, laying down and shifting until she feels settled. Mykah turns to Callie, "Feel free to watch if you want. Unless we need someone to cover us? How illegal is what we're doing right now?"

"Not at all," Callie smiles. "It'll maybe cause some people to talk and gossip about me for aiding this, but I don't care about that. We're way safer than in Rookwell and I can handle people talking."

"Good shit," Mykah confirms, kneeling down beside the couch.

Taking one last final deep breath, Mykah holds out his left hand over Ciron's chest and lets it hover about half of a foot above her skin. His fingers move slowly and independently, dangling like a spider dropping down from a web. With his right hand, he makes a pinching gesture, raising it to the beams of light around them and plucking a strand out of the air. The light condenses, turning into a long, golden thread that glows and sparkles with energy. With a motion that is remarkably similar to guiding a needle through a stitch, Mykah scoops his pinched hand down towards Ciron's body, pulling the magical strand through her skin. The motion is quickly followed by another, weaving the next strand into a place less than an inch below where the previous thread landed.

The process continues like that for a while, left hand dangling and glowing to solidify the strands that the right hand directs in. Mykah moves fluidly and skillfully, working his way across her different limbs and ensuring that each thread falls just below the previous one. Ciron twitches occasionally and Callie knows that it isn't the most pleasant experience. Each thread burns initially before fading into an itchy tingle as successive ones are weaved in.

"Deep breath on this one," Mykah coaches, pulling a strand through Ciron's lower neck. She obeys, exhaling a tight hiss as the burning magic slowly cools. "Well done. There's going to be a few more just like that, and they'll hurt slightly more now that your body is in a little bit of shock. Just keep breathing when I tell you; you're doing great."

Ciron nods as more threads follow, and Callie is impressed by her ability to maintain her composure as the pain builds. Mykah continues up the neck, slowly weaving thinner bands into her chin and jawline that Callie knows will remove the little bits of beard the girl can grow. She smiles, shifting in her own cushion on the floor and imagining the look on Ciron's face when she realizes how much smoother her skin is now.

The changes are slow and nearly impossible to detect in the moment. No individual thread seems to change very much, but over time the differences are noticeable. Ciron's hips lower slightly and fill out more, her legs tone and become a little more lanky than before. Her waist narrows by an inch or two, followed soon after by her arms losing some of their width. Ciron's chest won't be particularly large either, Callie notices, but by this point she'd grown fairly content with her own meager breasts and suspects Ciron will enjoy it as well. It was certainly better than none.

Ciron's face changes the most. Her cheeks round out and highlight her high cheekbones, which used to be a rigid and rough feature but now looks elegant and distinguished. Her eyebrows sharpen slightly as well and her brow softens. Mykah leaves her nose as it is, already fitting in well with the rest of her features, and Callie is surprised by how abundantly cute Ciron's already lovely face becomes.

Ciron's threading takes more time than Callie remembers her own taking, though she isn't sure if that means her features were easier to work with or if being the person undergoing threading made time seem fuzzier. It takes nearly two hours to complete the task, and by the end of it the shadows in the room have grown longer and Mykah's face more tired. He drops his shoulders as it ends, smiling brightly and wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"Now, sit up very slowly," he says to Ciron, letting her use his arm as a support. "It's going to feel a little tight for a few minutes, but the burning feeling should subside quickly now that it's over." His eyes flick across her new form, glowing faintly as the immediate magic fades, searching for any potential mistakes or things that need fixing. Satisfied, he grins and says, "Welcome to your new self."

Callie throws Ciron into a warm hug, pulling her towards a wall in the room where she had brought a mirror in for them. She steers the girl over, holding her hands over her eyes and only releasing them when she's in full view of the glass.

"Wow..." Ciron mutters, awestruck and baffled. She touches the mirror, and then the same spot in her face to confirm that the changes were real. "I'd had dreams where this happened... but..."

"It's so much better once it's real," Callie smirks. She looks over the girl's reflection, hovering at her shoulders and taking in her new form. "Not fair," she calls back to Mykah, giggling happily, "you made her prettier than me."

Mykah snorts and lets out a bark of laughter. "I think you'd just have to accept she was always going to be prettier than you."

Ciron sighs contentedly, stepping closer to the mirror and tugging at her clothes, loving the way they fit her so differently than before. She scours over every new curve and line on her body, touching and grabbing every piece with a bright glimmer in her eyes.

"Thank you," she turns to Callie quickly, repeating it in Mykah's direction again. "I... I don't know what to say other than that... It's incredible. I feel incredible."

"We're happy to help." Callie hugs her again. "Do you have any idea what you want your new name to be?"

Ciron faces the mirror again, gazing at it a while before shrugging. Her eyes meet Callie's through the reflection and she asks, "Would you name me?"

"Cirene," Callie says quickly. She's surprised the name falls out of her tongue so quickly but once she sees the girl's wide grin she knows it fits.

"Cirene," she repeats, hearing the words exit her newly feminine voice. "Cirene.... I love it."

"Welcome back to the world, Cirene," Mykah calls over to them, tired and satisfied. He plops down onto the sofa, having his feet fall over one of the armrests and letting out a proud exhale.

Cirene can hardly erase the smile from her lips and she strolls back over to Mykah, loving the slightly different way her body moves, hips swaying a little with each step. She's a little clumsy, but it's clear her grace will develop quickly.

"I want to be your patron," she says quickly.

"What?" Mykah sits up suddenly, eyes darting between Cirene and Callie rapidly. "You're serious?"

"Did I forget to mention?" Callie smirks, delighted she kept the secret from him to see his surprise.

"I have the money," Cirene repeats, still giddy with delight. "Callie told me to wait to tell you, but she said you were gifted and, well..." She gestures down to her own form. "Clearly you are. You could do incredible things at the college."

"No way," Mykah shakes his head, hardly able to believe his luck. He waves a finger at Callie, smirking, "You said you'd find a way, and I don't think I believed you. You're serious?" He asks one last time.

"Completely," Cirene smiles.

Mykah jumps up and hugs her tightly, his exhaustion quickly replaced by excitement. He throws an arm around Callie as well, laughing in disbelief.

After a few moments, Callie steps back and leans against one of the marble columns, facing the two with a confident and assured smile. "There's another important aspect of business we'll need to attend to," she explains. "Both of you will still need to leave with blessings."

Cirene's face flushes brightly and Mykah lets out an incredulous breath. He shakes his head, and she wonders if he had also not believed her when she'd told him this would have to happen.

"If I may," she says to Mykah, eyes flicking to the flustered girl beside him, "I would love to show Cirene a thing or two about her new self."

Callie had doubted Cirene's face could turn redder, but at her suggestion it quickly does. She shuffles in place, shifting from foot to foot and holding her elbow shyly.

"Of course," Mykah nods, affectionately tapping his knuckles against Cirene's shoulder.

"If you head outside," Callie tells him, "you'll find two priestesses, Salome and Willow, who'll get you comfortable. Feel free to take a bath or get something to eat, I'll be with you in a little while."

"Have fun you two," he grins, waving at Callie and stepping out of the room.

Now alone with Cirene, Callie feels a warmth in her chest blossom with excitement. Despite having significantly more experience than she used to, Callie hadn't encountered another threaded girl in Solva yet, and with the cute blush across Cirene's cheeks she's quite excited to.

"Sit with me," she extends a hand to Cirene, guiding her to sit on the couch next to her. The girl's palm is slightly damp and her breaths are shallow, hardly able to maintain her composure as she takes Callie's elbow and lowers herself onto the soft cushions.

"I can't lie," Callie's voice drips with suggestion, "I've been looking forward to this for the whole past week."

"Y-you have?"

Callie nods, leaning in a little closer. Callie had been with a number of shy supplicants before, but none of them excited her nearly as much as Cirene's submissive gaze. She takes a subtle glance down at Cirene's lap, happily seeing her bulge twitch.

"I don't think you realize how cute you are," Callie whispers, raising her hand to Cirene's hair and pulling it out of its tight bun. The soft strands fall to the sides of her face and Callie brushes them out of her eyes, letting her fingers run through it affectionately. "I'm eager to show you."

"Oh," Cirene croaks, hands folded tightly into her lap. Her eyes dart up to Callie towering over her and she gulps quietly, mouth suddenly dry.

Callie sighs, though it's a little bit of an act. She sits back into the couch, looking at Cirene and saying, "But I suppose this isn't just about what I want. I'd like to know what you want."

She hides her smirk, seeing the quiet girl retreat shyly into her own head. Callie used to be just like her, terrified of stating her desires out loud to anyone, much less ever acting upon them. As she sees the same sheepish glow on Cirene's face, Callie builds a deeper sympathy for why Junivere enjoyed messing with her so much their first few days... It was adorable. Cirene melts immediately under the pressure, eager but unwilling to let herself admit it, desperate but unable to act upon it confidently.