From the experience of the trans people he’d been talking to, at the support group and online, he didn’t think the dysphoria would get much better. Most of the improvement had come in the first few days after he got over the shock of the sudden new body, or in the first few days after he started wearing men’s clothes again.

On and off that day, I thought about that Missing Child poster I’d seen and what Mom and Dad were feeling and thinking about all this. Did they know I was trans by now? They almost certainly knew I’d venned into a girl body at least once; they’d have heard from Tim’s parents by now, even if the police hadn’t told them about the details of their investigation and what they’d learned from Meredith and Sophia.

She did a twirl, which was adorable and would have been much prettier if she’d had room for her dress to flare out without bumping into the walls and furniture.

“Well, it’s only around five or six times a day now instead of almost constantly. That’s better. But it’s still plenty bad.”

“I should be able to make up my mind by now, I’ve tried out like ten different girl names either online or in person.”

A couple in their forties went in the machine just as we got in line, and they came out again a few minutes later; the woman was younger and prettier, wearing a much more expensive-looking outfit, a dark blue dress that Meredith said looked like silk. The man was a wolf or wolfhound; the woman put a collar and leash on him and led him out toward the parking lot, probably to avoid trouble with the mall cops, police and animal control until they got home.

“I know this is only going to be for a couple of hours, but it’ll be a taste of what you can have all the time, later on.”

I’d pretty much given up on trying to convince myself I wasn’t trans by that point. I was still trying to convince myself that a girl body, whether human or dragon, was a “nice to have” rather than the burning need it had soon become once I’d started thinking about it.

Were some trans women lesbians, if that was the right word for it? The parental control software wouldn’t let me find out and I couldn’t ask anyone.

Now I had a label, and Meredith’s permission to use it. I wasn’t sure if I liked the fit of it, but it certainly sounded a lot nicer than what Nathan had called her last time he and Dad were gossiping about her.

Wings

part 1 of 62

This story is set in dkfenger's Trust Machines universe and is a sort of sequel to my Pioneers, though I think it stands alone tolerably well. Thanks to dkfenger for opening up his fascinating universe for other authors to write in.

Thanks to ChiriVulpes, clancy688, dkfenger, Nicole, and Rellawing for feedback on early unfinished drafts.

Thanks to clancy688, dkfenger and Fiona for research help.

The Late Unpleasantness

Four / Dream Interpreter

By Jo Dora Webster

How will Belinda survive being called upon to interpret dreams again?