The Mendicant closed and barred the door behind them.

"No distractions," they explained. "You two, over to that wall. As I said, stay still and quiet. Olivia, please approach the center of the circle."

The design carved into the wooden floor was the most intricate Olivia had ever seen. She still remembered being impressed the first time she had seen Rose's healing array, but the ritual circle the Mendicant had prepared was an order of magnitude more complex. She couldn't even imagine the work the celestial mage had put into drawing it out.

Unsure, Olivia's hand reached to the collar of her tunic.The Mendicant nodded. "You can begin disrobing, yes."

Olivia swallowed. She gave her two closest friends a smile–and then pulled her shirt off. As she disrobed, the Mendicant continued explaining.

"The ritual will use my magic to reshape your body, but yours will still be the mind directing the changes. That means you must be clear of mind and definitive in what you want those changes to be."

Olivia felt a flicker of panic, but she quickly smothered it. She had told the others, when she met with Robin back in Correntry, that she didn't have any particular wants or needs beyond finally looking like herself, and while that was true, it wasn't absolute. The simple truth was, when Olivia pictured what she was supposed to look like, she saw herself clearly. She knew that she could do what the Mendicant was asking.

"The process will be long, and you must stay focused. My magic will ensure that there is no pain, but there will still be some discomfort. The body instinctively rebels at being manipulated, no matter how much the conscious mind might embrace it. Do not worry about anything you might feel during the transition, and just focus on directing the changes."

Olivia nodded her understanding as she stripped off her breeches. Cadence darted forward to take the pile of clothes away, and Olivia was surprised that her own words had proven accurate. She didn't feel any shame or nervousness to be nude in front of her closest friend and the woman she had fallen in love with the first day they met. There was nothing to be embarrassed of, after all–the body they were looking at wasn't hers.

The Mendicant nodded their approval as Cadence carried the discarded clothing out of the ritual circle. "Take some time to clear your mind," the Mendicant instructed them. "I do not know your training habits, but if you have any sort of experience with trances or meditation, I suggest putting them to use. Feel your body. Become aware of every muscle, every vein, everything that makes up your form, and turn your attention fully inward. Once you have your thoughts in alignment, we'll begin."

Olivia gave one more look at the two most important people in her world, and she closed her eyes, blowing out a breath.

Olivia wasn't a mage. She hadn't learned to meditate or anything like that in the course of her training. But one thing she didn't need any practice with was dwelling on her body. Normally, that sort of introspection was riddled with angst and disgust, a dysphoria that she had always recoiled away from, like a child reaching towards an open flame and getting singed.

This time, there was none of that. She accepted her body for what it was, but also accepted it as an incomplete image. She wasn't her body anymore than her body was her. Even after the slow changes of Robin's elixir, her body was still that of Oliver Dennan, the youngest son of the Dennan line. Her body was that of a fencer, a courtier, a diplomat in training, a blending of well-maintained athleticism and carefully honed masculinity.

But she wasn't Oliver Dennan anymore, and she hadn't been for a long time–if ever. She was Olivia Argent, a fledgling squire of the Argent Order, a knight dedicated to helping others, even in the face of derision and misunderstanding. She was an adventurer, an explorer, a vanguard who fought with the wind dancing around her. She was nervous, and earnest, and perhaps too blunt at times, but she was resilient. She had survived being burned alive, even if the pain of that experience had forced her to hide away. She had made the sort of friendships Oliver Dennan couldn't have imagined, and been pulled free of her hiding place by encouraging hands, even when they had to be rough to help her find freedom.

Her body might still be that of Oliver Dennan, but that didn't change who she was. She was Olivia Argent, and she knew exactly how her body was supposed to feel.

"Let's begin."

#

Cadence recalled, months earlier, when Olivia, then Oliver, had gotten an itchleaf rash. She remembered looking at the powerfully-built "boy's" body, and being careful not to look too hard, lest she provoke "him" into retreating. That was, in fact, the same day she had called Olivia by her new name for the first time.

Remembering that, Cadence had feared that Olivia did the wrong thing with her gesture, that there was no way she could focus with Cadence, and Adeline even more so, watching her.

Cadence was wrong.

There was no embarrassment in the eclipsed girl's pose now, no self-conscious blush or awkward cringing away from being seen. She stood exposed, in the middle of the ritual circle, and it was like Cadence and Adeline weren't even there.

Cadence smiled proudly at how far her friend had come since they had met, and she felt tears rim her eyes. Next to her, Adeline wasn't so reserved, the knight doing her best to muffle her soft sobs. Cadence reached a hand towards the woman, and Adeline promptly crushed her fingers in a vice grip that Cadence almost had to use a Surge to endure.

The circle around Olivia began to shine with pale white lights. Rather than the entire pattern glowing at once, lines seemed to trace through it, lighting up briefly before dimming, creating a massive, intricate display of magic.

Although Cadence hadn't noticed it through the bulkier clothes Olivia perpetually wore, her body had started to show the effect of the potion she had been sipping each week. Cadence couldn't help but compare the girl's body to that day in the river, and she was surprised by the difference that the tiny changes to her chest, her shoulders, her hips, made to the lines of the girl's body.

The lights continued to pulse more and more rapidly, some of the lines starting to become tinged with hints of pink and blue, illuminating the room in dazzling, dancing hues, all gentle and pastel.

"Let's begin."

Cadence hadn't known what to expect from the transition ritual, but Olivia physically floating off of the floor still caught her off-guard. First a few inches, then a foot, then two, Olivia lifted into the air. The lights that had danced around her on the floor followed her into the air, running around her body now. Even as they formed a shell of pink, white, and blue light, Olivia's legs lifted up, her body curling and tucking together into a loose ball of girl.

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Adeline gasped softly, and Cadence squeezed her hand, reminding her of the Mendicant's demand for silence. She couldn't really blame the knight, of course–even as they watched, the lights that had formed an intricate lattice around Olivia jumped to her body itself, tracing her skin in lines of the same pastel colors. Soon, the girl's original skin tone couldn't be seen, her entire body glowing with pale light.

And then the change started. They were subtle, slow, such that it took minutes of watching before their direction became clear. It was her legs that began to show the changes first, her feet beginning to shrink while the proportions of her legs changed, Olivia's muscles rearranging themselves as slowly as a flower blooming.

It was over an hour before Cadence saw the profile of Olivia's chest changing, the already softened lines of her body filling out. Still, Cadence could see that the strength of the squire's muscles hadn't dwindled, even as they changed shape and position, softness only hiding the solid power that lurked beneath them.

By the time the second hour had passed, there was no mistaking the person floating in the center of the lattice ovoid as anything but a woman. In fact, Cadence noted with a small smirk, there was no small resemblance between the woman Olivia was showing herself to be and the one standing next to her. In fact, she saw more than a few familiar features in the girl…

#

Olivia felt like she was in a soft, warm dream, suspended in an ethereal state between lucidity and insensate peace. She could feel the Mendicant's magic moving around her, through her, but it didn't require any conscious thought to direct that magic. She felt it curve around her hips, and she pictured herself. She felt it sink into her chest, and she showed it how she was supposed to look. She felt it slipping through her fingers, her toes, around her face and between her legs, and as it moved, she gave her knowledge to it, teaching it what her body looked like.

Time lost all meaning amidst the languid, malleable sensations of the ritual, while images danced through her mind. Her mother, distant and remote. Alyssia, slender and bright. Rose, delicate and robust. Beryl, powerful and aggressive. Farris, striking and confident. Allana, brazen and beautiful. Cadence, blending the sun and moon, both yet neither.

And Adeline. Adeline, grinning fiercely as she fought a monster three times her own size. Adeline, cheering as she called for another round. Adeline, soft and reassuring as she hugged a lost and nervous girl. Adeline, dirty and passionate and enraged, an avenging figure overwhelming a living nightmare. Adeline, leaning against the wall of this very room, her gaze one of mingled excitement and encouragement and pride and…

"It's done."

#

Next to Allana, Tenebres jumped, jolting her out of her light doze. The six of them had sat down on the floor outside of the Mendicant's ritual room, waiting in tense silence for their friend to emerge.

Twice, Apothic Order healers had tried to usher them out of the hospital. The first time, an acidic look and small growl from Allana had sent the mage scurrying away, but the second time, Anthony, the self-important older healer they had met on their first day in Keystone, had approached them, claiming to need to the Mendicant's assistance.

Farris had bodily carried the man away, returning several minutes later with an assurance that they wouldn't be bothered any more.

In the hour since, Allana had lapsed into a light nap without quite realizing it, as Beryl had a little while before, but now, as the door to the ritual room finally opened, she leaped to her feet, the others following suit.

Cadence was the first to emerge, her cheeks wet with tears but lifted by a massive smile. "May I present to all of you, your friend and mine–"

"Cadence," an unfamiliar voice called, "I'm tired and hungry. Can we please skip the drama?"

"No!" Cadence said, her smile uninterrupted. "As I was saying–"

"Please?"

"It would be over by now if you just let me finish!"

The voice responded with a sigh, even that sound laced by the same smoky crackle as the earlier words. "Fine, go ahead."

Cadence turned back to the group–then sighed. "Okay, the moment is ruined."

"Cadence?"

"Yes, Farris?"

"Please get out of the way before I throw you through a wall."

Cadence cleared her throat and hastily announced, "Olivia Argent!" before skipping out of the way.

Allana felt like the breath left her body as Olivia emerged from the ritual room. There was no mistaking the woman as anyone but Olivia Argent, even if she looked very little like she had a few hours earlier.

Her hair was the same, a tangled bush of brunette curls that hung past her shoulders in coils and ringlettes. Her eyes were the same, still a dark green, with flecks of brown and gold making them appear brown in the right light. Her skin, too, stayed as it was, a rich, healthy brown that made Allana think of well-seasoned wood.

That was where the similarities stopped. While still tall, Olivia was now merely tall for a woman, her eyes an inch or two above Allana's, maybe half a foot shorter than she had been before. Similarly, her shoulders were still broad, her arms and legs still strong, but their scale had changed. If her old body had been built like a wolf, she was now a deer. Just as strong, just as fast, but put together differently.

When Adeline emerged behind Olivia, the similarities were obvious, but at the same time, the two looked nothing alike. Yes, they both shared a blend of curves and strength–a claim Allana could make just as easily, as could Farris. In many ways, it was the default build for female battle-gifted. But where Allana was lithe and Farris was stocky, Adeline was statuesque. She looked like a painting or a sculpture, a master artist's concept of the woman warrior–and if that was the case, then Olivia was the work of a skilled student, following in the master's footsteps yet making something all her own.

Clothed only in her bright gray cloak, pulled up and fastened to look like a dress, Olivia had the beauty of an ornate sword, glittering and gorgeous and poised, yet ready and able to strike at a moment's notice.

"How do I look?" she asked, the meekness in her tone familiar even if the voice that came from her lips wasn't.

The words broke the dam, and suddenly, the girl was swamped in supportive hugs and cheers of excitement at how good she looked.

Allana held back from the rest, smirking as she watched how quickly the reserved girl got overwhelmed by the compliments and attention.

She found herself standing next to Adeline, who was still looking at her squire with the face of someone struck by a powerful and sudden realization. Allana chuckled a little and bumped an arm against the knight's.

Adeline flushed and shot Allana an embarrassed look that she didn't need a charm boon to decipher.

"Think we can get Tobias to take a few of us to Correntry for a day or two?" Allana asked.

Adeline tilted her head. "Why?"

Allana gestured from her chest to Adeline's, then turned to look at Olivia. "I don't think she's gonna be able to get by borrowing our clothes."

Adeline turned to look at her squire again–and her flush darkened. "I suppose they would be a little… tight."

Allana threw back her head and laughed. "C'mon!" she called to the group. "Let's get this girl fed!"

"Then we start training!" Cadence added.

Olivia turned to give her friend a confused look. "Training?"

"Sure." Cadence winked. "We're gonna have to spend some time working on your balance now."

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