One more surprise showed up just two days after the first snow.

Olivia was returning to Keystone with Adeline and Caden after a long day of hunting the monsters that had spawned with the unexpectedly powerful first blizzard of the year, all three bundled up in thick coats to stay warm. Between them, they had accounted for four lesser frost monsters, along with over a dozen minor monsters. Unpleasant chill aside, Olivia still glowed with the experience she had gained from the fights–many of the frost monsters had some wind aspect to them as well, helping her gift of wind start to grow alongside her gift of the vanguard, both starting down the long road to Initiate.

That was when she noticed the swirl of snow behind them. It was headed straight towards Keystone, with the trio of adventurers the only thing standing between the mobile flurry and the town behind them.

"Company!" Olivia called out to her companions.

The other two turned, and Caden cursed at the sight of the approaching disturbance. It was like a dervish of snow thrown in the air as whatever-it-was approached. Caden hustled through the ankle-deep snow on the road to get behind the two melee-oriented knights, and he grumbled in discomfort as he stripped off his thick winter gloves to pull out his bow.

"What do you think it is?" Oli asked Adeline, drawing her own sword.

"Not sure," Adeline said, eyes locked on the approaching presence, "but it must be pretty strong to be throwing up snow like that."

The knight-gallant twitched one hand, and her astral sword suddenly occupied it.

"You're going to fight?" Oli asked. So far, the knight had mostly abstained from battle, letting the lower-levelled adventurers earn some experience instead.

"It's been a long day," Adeline said simply. "I'd rather get this over with and get in front of a fire."

"Agreed," Caden said.

Oli shrugged and turned back to the dervish of swirling snow and frost–and then she heard Caden gasp.

"What is it?" Adeline asked, guessing, as Olivia had, that the celestial's awareness boon had let him spot something they hadn't yet.

"It's no monster," Caden said simply, relaxing their bow. "You can put the weapons away."

"What?" Oli asked, squinting her eyes at the mobile snow storm. "What is it then?"

Adeline figured it out next, laughing and dismissing her sword, but it was another minute or two before Oli got it. Just before the flurry would've washed over the three adventurers, the swirling winter gale simply vanished–to reveal a dozen well-armed men and women in the green cloaks of wardens.

And at the front of the group were four familiar faces.

"You look different," Rose observed by way of greeting, peering at Oli's face closely.

#

"I still don't get what you're doing here," Olivia asked as they walked.

Adeline was speaking with Farris at the front of the party, the warden not even showing any strain as she sent the snow flying off the road in front of them, leaving a clear path for the group to follow and creating the cloud of frost Oli had noticed.

"We killed the legion hag down by Jellis over a month ago," Rose explained. "Word just hadn't gotten to Correntry before you left."

Beryl interjects, "'We' in this case meaning Farris and Elway."

"We helped!" Rose insisted.

"Yes, we did the heroic work of fighting off some gnolls to buy them time, it was extremely important," Aton said sarcastically, shooting Olivia a wink.

"Yes it was!" Rose stuck her tongue out at the swordsman, who took the chance to lean down and catch the young warden in a kiss.

Beryl groaned loudly. "They've been like this for weeks," she complained. "It's worse than anything the outsiders did."

Olivia grinned at the larger girl's good-natured tone, and the other two soon split apart, Rose with a flushed smile and Aton with a satisfied smirk.

"As I was saying," Rose continued, as if she had never been interrupted, "after we killed the legion hag, we headed back to Correntry to get our winter assignments."

"We got there just in time to find out what had happened out here and get sent back out on the road, with a few others." Beryl gestured at the wardens following behind them. "We're supposed to help out on hunter duty until the King can get some replacements figured out."

"I barely got a chance for a good bath!" Rose complained. "Caden, please tell me there's an inn worth the name in Keystone?"

"There is," Caden confirmed, but before Rose could get too happy, he added, "but I think we've got Keystone handled. We're gonna have to send you all out to some of the more remote villages."

Rose's smile turned into a spiteful glare. "Your new hair looks silly," she told him primly.

"I think it's pretty cool."

"Thanks, Aton."

"Whose side are you on!?"

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Beryl watched the bickering for a moment before turning back to Olivia. Without the awkward entanglements of mired crushes getting between them, Oli found the athletic girl much easier to talk to, and left the other three to their friendly arguments.

"You hit Apprentice?" Beryl asked.

"Yep, a little before the battle started up," Olivia replied. "Caden too."

"So did we. Aton even scored Initiate with that fencer gift of his. Course, that's nothing compared to Farris."

Olivia arched an eyebrow, turning to the lead warden, who was still idly talking to Adeline. She couldn't help that, despite the history between the two, they were walking with just enough space between each other that they were unlikely to bump into each other by accident. That was odd.

Apparently not noticing the body language Olivia had seen, Beryl continued, "After everything she did down by Jellis, the warden-captain herself gave Farris an Adept totem of thorns to get her over the line, on the same day she was promoted to warden-lieutenant. And her first action with her new title was promoting Rose and I to full-fledged wardens!"

"Beryl! That's great!" Olivia reached out to bump a fist against the girl's arm.

"What about you? Still a squire?"

Olivia shrugged. "I guess so, technically. But that just means I get to keep working with Adeline, so I don't care too much about it."

"How about those other two? The ones who hooked up with you after that mess in the deadlands?"

"Tenebres and Allana? They're good too. They're out with another ad–uhm, another knight, clearing some of the other villages."

"Good to hear. They seemed like a good match for you two." They walked along for a little longer before Beryl finally addressed the obvious. "So you started your transition?"

"A little," Oli told her. Absently, she found her hand straying to the flask always sitting on her belt. It had been nearly two months since she started drinking the potion Robin had given her, and the effects were, slowly, starting to show themselves. Her hair was well past her shoulders now, and she hadn't had to shave in a week. She thought that, maybe, there were some changes in the lines of her body too, but she was all too aware that she might've just been fooling herself on that front. "But I think I'm going to be taking the next step soon."

#

When the Mendicant entered the inn the next day, Farris and Adeline standing behind them, Olivia knew that it was time.

The healer looked like a matronly woman today, a weary but loving mother who greeted Olivia with a beatific smile.

Olivia swallowed, and when she tried to speak, her voice failed her. She had to clear her throat, drawing supportive smiles from the six other youths in the taproom, before she managed to speak. "Are you sure?"

The Mendicant nodded. "We've turned a corner in the care of the plague victims. Anthony and the others can afford to manage the remaining patients for the day."

Behind the sage, Farris gave Olivia a warm, genuine smile. "I'm going to be heading out soon to check out Cobblestone, but I wanted to be here for this."

"So did the rest of us!" Rose interjected from her table. "It was my idea!"

Aton placed a hand over hers. "Time and place, doll."

The Mendicant smiled tolerantly. "Nevertheless… If you're ready, we can start the ritual within the hour."

Olivia swallowed thickly again. Her tongue suddenly felt too thick for her mouth, and her throat felt like it was closing up. Now? Just like that?

After weeks, months even, of waiting, Olivia had set her mind on not thinking about the Mendicant's promised help. Every other time, something had come up, to the point that it was easier to convince herself that she'd never get the true physical transition she dreamed of. But now, suddenly, here it was.

A hand rested on Olivia's shoulder, and she turned to see Cadence standing behind her. Olivia felt tears spring to her eyes.

When she had first met Cadence, Olivia had been so frustrated by them. Their insistence at making Olivia confront the things she had spent half a lifetime hiding. Their willingness to just present themselves however they wanted. Their presumptuousness that they knew what was best for Oli.

But if not for Cadence, Olivia might've never come to accept the part of herself her father had tried to burn away, all those years ago. She might even still be hiding behind he's and him's, still calling herself Oliver.

"It's okay, Oli," Cadence said softly. "Whatever you want to do, all of us are here to support you, okay? It doesn't change who you are if you're not ready."

Fear ran through Oli in a silvery bolt as Cadence's words forced her to consider giving up this chance, losing what might be her only opportunity to finally have her body reflect her soul.

No. She might've been nervous about the ritual, but that was a tiny candle compared to the bonfire that was her fear of losing this chance.

Behind Cadence, Tenebres nodded his head at Olivia while Allana gave her a thumbs up. A few tables away, he noticed tears in Rose's eyes, and a fierce smile on Beryl's face. Aton arched an eyebrow, as if to challenge Oli's reluctance.

She finally turned back to the Mendicant, and to the two women standing behind them, each a matching puzzle piece in the woman Olivia wanted to become.

Adeline met Olivia's gaze, her silvery eyes boring into the eclipsed girl's soul. Her nod was a tiny thing, and Olivia was confident no one but her had noticed it, or the miniscule movement of her lips forming a pair of silent words.

"Okay," Olivia finally said. "I'll do it."

#

"The rest of you need to stay out here," the Mendicant said, lifting a hand at the assembled crowd that had followed Olivia to the sage's hospital. Behind them was the closed door to their ritual chamber.

"What?" Cadence asked. "We came to support her, and we can't even be there to see it?"

The Mendicant shook their head. "The ritual is an exceptionally intimate process. It eases the transition for no one besides Olivia and myself to be present." At the collection of blank looks their words drew from the group, the Mendicant sighed and clarified, "She will need to be nude and exposed for the duration of the process. The mind's instinctive shame of sharing that experience with others can affect the clarity of the transition."

"Cadence can come," Olivia said, startling even herself with the words. "And Adeline. I have nothing to hide from either of them."

Cadence blinked in surprise, but that didn't compare to the look Adeline gave her.

"Are you sure?" Adeline asked, her silver eyes wide.

Now that she had made her decision, Olivia wasn't scared anymore, or nervous, or anxious. In fact, she felt calmer and more clear-headed than she had in a long time. Maybe ever.

"Positive. I'm only here because of both of you–I don't have any shame revealing any of myself to either of you."

The Mendicant gave Olivia a mild look, then nodded. "Very well. The rest of you, wait here. Cadence, Adeline, you can come with us, but I must ask you both to stay quiet throughout the ritual process. It will take some hours for us to finish, and both Olivia and I will require our utmost concentration for the duration."

Both women nodded. Olivia gave one more smile to the rest of her friends, tinged by a hint of apology. "I hope you all underst-"

"Oh shut it," Allana said merrily. "We all get it."

"Go get started," Rose told her, sniffling through tears.

"We'll be waiting out here for you," Tenebres said, his own eyes rimmed with a little extra red..

"Good luck, Olivia," Beryl added with a broad smile.

Farris and Aton, the only two who had any real understanding of how important this was to Oli, didn't offer any words of encouragement. But the looks they both gave her were enough to convey how they felt. The three eclipsed didn't need to exchange words.

"Okay," Olivia said, turning to the Mendicant. "Let's start."

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