Story by Noelle. Nia knows Isabella, and when they're feeling a little experimental with gender identity, why not lend them a favor, an outfit, maybe a whole identity for a while.

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Isabella couldn’t keep their gaze fixed on any one spot for more than a few moments as they sat and waited. Alrest more than any other reality they’d visited left them with feeling oddly on edge. As the warm summer breeze brushed against their fur they’d manage a few moments of quiet bliss. But then something or other would catch Isabella’s attention and remind them once over that they were feeling antsy. They’d find themselves gazing at the children scamering around playing, or catch glimpse of a driver squabbling with their blades over what gear to buy, something would come up and remind Isabella exactly where they were. They sighed as they took a sip of their tea, feeling silly for having scheduled this little meeting in the first place. The moment they’d managed to wind up back in Alrest they’d called for Nia. It had been impromptu and sudden, even by Isabella’s somewhat sporadic standards.

That didn’t stop Nia from showing up right on time. She sauntered up so quietly that that Isabella hadn’t even noticed her until her distinct voice was right in their ears. Meetings between the two had always been somewhat sparse, partly because even now Isabella had never fully gotten the grasp on their reality hopping abilities. But each one had left an impression. Nia and her voice were more fresh in Isabella’s memory than some people they saw on a near daily basis.

“Oi, there ya are,” Nia mused, “been wonderin’ when you’d show yer face around ‘ere again!”

Nia flashed Isabella a big grin as she took her seat across from them. She arched her back in a long stretch, face scrunching up like she just ate a lemon as she pulled her arms out as far as they could reach. Dromoarch took a seat beside the table. If he felt any discontent over being relegated to the floor, his regal posture did little to convey that. Dromarch as always gave off this air of effortless gratitude, simply happy to be there first and foremost. Isabella gave the pair a somewhat awkward wave before waiting for them to order their drinks.

Once the waitress scurried off to get Nia her drink, the catgirl’s eyes laser focused onto Isabella. The wicked glint Isabella saw in them made them almost forget it had been their plan to meet up in the first place and wonder if Nia had planned something.

“So, we don’t meet up in person for over a year, and suddenly you ask me to meet you here for a chit chat?” Nia cooed, stirring her piping hot tea with a little spoon.

“Err, s-sorry for not keeping in touch more,” Isabella apologized sheepishly, “I have been getting better at controlling my powers, but there’s still no sure thing.”

“What? Nah, that’s not my point!” Nia laughed, “we’ve both got our own lives, yeah? Don’t sweat not popping in more! Especially when this visit is so deliberate~”

“Deliberate?” Isabella asked with a nervous cough.

“Oh yeah, c’mon, this little cafe? You can’t tell me you don’t remember the first time we were both here,” Nia prodded as she took a long sip of her drink.

Isabella paused, thinking back to one of their earliest jumps through reality. As it had turned out sixteen year olds are pretty terrible at managing their powers and a young Isabella found themselves crashing right into Torna and winding up having an awkward yet shockingly amicable afternoon with the group. Beyond Akhos asking too many questions and the smoldering Malos death glare being just a little uncomfortable, it wound up being a pretty nice day. Of course the main reason for that wound up being Nia. Of anyone there the two had hit it off the best, to a point where Isabella kept in touch all this time later. Now that they were an adult a good bit had changed in both of their lives. Torna no longer existed, Isabella had gotten a much better grip on their powers, and through that they’d only gotten closer to Nia. One time they even managed to track down one of those weird borderline realities where Nia’s whole reality existed as a video game franchise and had a little laugh playing through a game-ified version of Nia’s big adventure with Rex.

In recent years they’d not seen each other nearly as much, but the bond ran deep despite that. It was so deep in fact that even just the selection of this location in specific had been enough to clue Nia in on just what this whole meeting was supposed to be about. The last time they had been here together Isabella had mentioned not being sure about who they were or who they wanted to be. Nia had been supportive at the time, insisting that whatever Isabella needed, it’d be worth a shot. Now, years later at this point, Nia seemed to pick up the conversation right where it left off in her brain. She leaned in as she asked:

“So, are you feeling like you need a change~?”

Isabella flinched, wondering if they were really that easy to read or if Nia just was especially good at sifting through their facial expressions.

“I’ve been… I dunno, I’ve been thinking about my feminine side, wanting to get more in touch with it…”

“Ahah, I knew it, well, you know what I’m gonna say- you should do what makes you feel right about yerself, nothing else matters.”

In the past Nia had been far less firm with her suggestions. Ever since that very first encounter Isabella’s looks and gender expression had been a common topic of discussion. Back then Isabella was even further behind in their journey of self discovery and Nia had been a big part of getting them to where they were today. Back then she spoke about how it can be hard to find the courage to be yourself, or that sometimes it might take a while to realize who you really are deep down at all. Today she came at Isabella with a rather firm and passionate thesis as if she’d been planning to make this argument all day.

Of course it wasn’t too surprising she felt this way. Even now the Nia that sat across from Isabella was not exactly the one they’d met in their youth. While Nia still kept that bright yellow jumpsuit and even would wear it with some frequency (especially when Isabella asked), she’d come into her own as a woman and blade. Isabella was happy for her that she was able to walk around freely looking as however she wanted to look. And it seemed that doing so had lead to her feeling altogether much stronger about being true to oneself.

“I’m just not sure what’s right, y’know?” Isabella sighed. They saw no need to pretend Nia’s assumption on the topic of the conversation was wrong. And in turn Nia’s usually smarmy attitude had taken a rather serious slant.

“Well, it’s never about findin’ that exact right answer right away,” Nia insisted, “it’s about tryin’ things out and seeing what feels right!”

“Well yeah, and I’ve certainly tried other things, but I just don’t-”

“Stop right there,” Nia interjected.

“H-huh?”

“That’s a load of shite right there,” Nia said flatly.

“H-hey!” Isabella huffed, “don’t be like th-”

“It sounded like you were gonna say ‘I just don’t know’, like, you ‘just don’t know’ what to do about these feelings,” said Nia.

“Err, yeah…”

“But you do know,” Nia’s face curled into a cheshire grin, “that’s why you came to me, right? Without even saying it, I already know what you’ve come to ask me for~”

Isabella gulped. They weren’t even sure what they had come to ask Nia for. Yet at the same time they believed Nia when she expressed how confident she was.

Dromoarch cleared his throat, “My Lady, I believe you are causing Isabella here unneeded worry with that expression of yours.”

“Awwwh, come off it,” Nia chuckled, “just having a bit of fun! It’s not often I get to have all the answers in me hands, let me have a bit of fun!

After a moment of silence from an incredulous Dromarch and a half-melted from embarrassment Isabella, Nia conceded with a roll of her eyes and moved along with her point.

“Aaaaanyways,” she stretched the word out, as if taunting Isabella with the wait, “if there’s one thing that’s clear it’s that, for as long as you’ve known me- you’ve wanted to be me.”

Isabella’s awkward stammering was so incapable of forming a coherent word that it essentially formed as a confession in its own right. Nia couldn’t help but smack the table with a hearty laugh whereas Dromoarch for his part seemed far more taken aback by her reaction than the statement. Isabella sunk a bit in their seat, feeling almost like they should vanish away to a different reality right that moment until Nia opened her mouth again.

Their initial plan had not bee to ask for something quite so bold as that. Honestly they weren’t even sure what they were going to ask for, just that they wanted to talk to Nia about their gender since she had always been someone to talk to on the subject. But Nia had read deeper into Isabella than they anticipated, finding a truth that was impossible to deny but almost as hard to accept.

“Honestly, it’s a wonder it took this long to come up, you’re not exactly subtle~” Nia mused, reaching out and holding one of Isabella’s hands in her own.

“I… s-sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Nia insisted tenderly, “I wouldn’t bring it up, and I sure wouldn’t laugh about it if I didn’t think it was a good idea~”

“That’s a relief, I- wait, what?”

Nia snorted another little laugh at Isabella’s sudden shocked expression. Isabella went flush at the realization that their lingering, often intrusive thought had not only been so utterly called out, but now seemingly encouraged. They stared at Nia, and then at Dromoarch, finding faces that were equal parts supportive and prepared. Isabella scratched the back of their neck, wondering just how much they’d thought about this very topic themselves before meeting up today. Had this plan predated Isabella even asking Nia for tea today?

“I know you don’t see what I do in Rex, but for a long time now I’ve been thinking of taking a nice, long journey with him. He’s been feeling restless an’ if he’s gonna go to Architect knows where then I want to be there for him. I was prepared to put my life on pause but now I’m thinking-”

Nia ran her fingers over Isabella’s fur, brushing softly as she maintained eye contact.

“What if you move to Alrest for a bit? Dromarch will keep you company, help you get adjusted, and we both get to do exactly what we want~ I get to spend a nice, long time with Rex; you get to spend a nice, long time as me!”

Isabella stammered, looking around for any sort of answer. Eventually their gaze landed on Dromarch, who in no uncertain terms simply stated.

“I live to protect and serve My Lady Nia, however I have never made any claim that it is a specific Nia to which I pledge. I would gladly walk beside you if you’d have me,” he insisted, bowing his head to Isabella with enough reverence not even Nia could manage to be coy about it.

Isabella was at a loss for words. Nia had joked and teased about making a proper blade out of Isabella before but it had all been just that- teasing. Now Nia seemed not only capable but eager to make Isabella into a copy of her and let her parade around as her substitute while she went on a not so little date with Rex. While some part of them wanted to jump at the bit and agree, there was a nagging thought that prevented Isabella from fully jumping right into things.

“W-well, what if… what if I stay as… Nia…” Isabella trailed off at first, the statement by itself enough to tangle them.

“Whaddya mean?” Nia asked.

“I mean, like, what if you get back and I’ve become… like… what if I just am Nia? Like, I don’t want to be Isabella anymore?”

Isabella exhaled sharply, expecting this to be the finishing blow to the house of cards that was this silly idea. But before the breath could fully even leave their lungs Nia had an answer.

“Well, you’ve got your own universe, an’ I’ve got mine! If you really feel the need to stay as me forever, then sure, why not?”

“A-are you serious?!” Isabella stammered out. Even Dromarach looked a little surprised.

“Of course! Who am I to argue with someone wanting to be so beautiful?” Nia teased, “I’ve known you long enough to know that if you were me, I’d be okay with that. Besides, you’ve always liked that silly yellow suit way more than me~”

Isabella chuckled the sort of uneasy laugh that was saved for moments that felt too good to be true. The moment felt like it was halfway between a dream and a sitcom, like they’d wedged themselves into some cozy little detour away from reality where they’d get to have things go exactly their way, just this once. Deep down they had no clue if they truly wanted to be Nia forever. But now that they’d been presented the option, the actual thought that it could happen and be not just accepted but even welcomed and encouraged played on loop in their mind. Some part of them was still nervous about it all, too worried to accept it. But that part grew quieter by the second as Isabella’s curiosity overtook their nervousness.

They had come asking for help on this very sort of subject matter, who were they to turn it down now that they’d received it?

Nia took one last, long sip of her tea before tossing down payment and a gracious tip and beckoning Isabella with a wag of her finger. Isabella considered finishing off their drink, but figured they had far more pressing things to attend to. So they followed, walking back with Nia and Dromoarch until reaching a cozy little bungalow just within eyesight of the town square. This had become Nia’s home whenever she found herself back in Gormott. Almost every shelf and surface had a thin layer of dust on it. While it was well kept, it was clear that Nia was never much of a homebody.

Isabella took their seat next to Nia. Silence hung in the air for a moment as Isabella wondered what to even say or do now. Nia for her part simply leaned back against the arm of the sofa and waited. After clearing their throat, Isabella finally managed to start the conversation.

“So… how does this… work?”

“Well I’m so glad you asked,” Nia cooed cheekily, “Was wonderin’ if you were gettin’ cold feet!”

“I- well, I didn’t exactly plan to be you today, I’m still kinda processing all of this!” Isabella insisted with a huff.

“Right, right,” Nia gave a condescending nod as she rubbed her hands together. Ether gathered and swirled around her fingertips as she leaned in and pressed her hands square on your chest, “lucky this is gonna be pretty simple, so I doubt you’ll have trouble keeping up~”

Isabella opened their mouth to reply but couldn’t quite manage the words. It felt like they had just dipped their body into an ice bath. While ether was everywhere in Alrest, Isabella’s body had never really taken it on so directly. And now as it coursed through their body they could only manage a gasp and a shudder as Nia massaged their chest. Hairs flaked away beneath Nia’s touch, eventually sheering almost all of the fur off Isabella’s breast. The lost fur simply vanished away, shimmering in the light until it diffused entirely into it. Nia’s hands moved gently down to Isabella’s belly, sculpting and outlining as she sat over them.

“I won’t finish your chest just yet, that’ll be a whole ordeal in an of itself,” Nia commented as she pressed down on Isabella’s navel. While they certainly felt something shifting beneath the surface and the ether based hair removal tingled, Isabella at the very least could manage to speak now.

“Wh-what exactly are you doing? I assume this isn’t just a shave…”

“Of course it’s not a shave you idiot,” Nia scolded with a laugh, “You of all people are well aware of my healing powers not being your typical sort of healing. I can restore- or alter- the makeup of just about anything, as long as there’s still life there.”

“And you can make copies of yourself like that?” Isabella asked as Nia sculpted their body into a more lithe figure as if working a pottery wheel.

“Well not directly copies, but if I’m gonna do a complete change, working with a template as solid as myself isn’t too complicated. I’d probably make ya a bit lopsided if I tried to make you into Dromarch here.”

Isabella tried to push the mental image of a sloppily put together quadruped with mismatched leg lengths out of their mind. Thankfully Nia’s confidence in constructing her own form seemed to be well founded. Through the course of just this short conversation Isabella’s whole torso had been defurred, save for the parts of the back Nia couldn’t yet reach without flipping Isabella over. Admittedly it felt fairly awkward, especially since Isabella’s limbs were now just a bit too long. Nia for her part kept a somewhat brisk pace, already kneading Isabella’s shoulders. At this point Isabella was just lying flat out on the couch with Nia sitting on their belly. If Isabella had felt weird about having Nia so casually on top of them, they were far too distracted by their arms’ shrinkage beneath Nia’s fingers.

“Lookin’ good so far,” Nia commended while working on Isabella’s fingers.

“Heh, yeah?” Isabella asked, wincing at the rather unpleasant feeling of fingernails forming. It didn’t necessarily hurt but even several moments later their fingertips glowed with a tenderness.

“Oh yeah,” Nia nodded, “isn’t she looking good, Dromarch?”

“H-hey, I’m not a sh-” Isabella began to protest but was quickly hushed by Nia putting a finger over Isabella’s muzzle. They recoiled almost instantly, shutting up as to not get any ether in their mouth. They weren’t even sure if that would do anything, especially since they were already technically breathing the stuff. But at this point Isabella was convinced just about anything could happen so they didn’t want to chance it.

“Yer gonna be me, aren’t ya?” Nia asked, moving her hand away from Isabella’s face.

“W-well, yes-”

“And even before that, you were gonna ask me to help you try being more feminine, yeah~?”

“Yes…” Isabella grumbled from behind the blush on their face.

“Then I see no reason to not use she, at least for the time being! If ya really don’t like it, you’d better tell me now since I am not gonna resculpt your whole face just to undo it!”

Isabella rolled their eyes, not quite fully feeling ‘she’ yet but willing to play along. This was about experimenting after all, so they were going to at the very least humor it. As if to really drive home the point Nia got up from her spot and went to work beneath the belt. Isabella winced in fear of the sensation to come only to find that they hardly felt anything but a tingle as Nia’s hands passed over their crotch. Nia’s touch was delicate enough that she hadn’t needed to touch anything at all, which likely was a relief to both parties involved. Isabella for their part wasn’t about to mess with that, at least not with others in the room.

Instead they just lied there as Nia continued to ‘heal’ Isabella’s lower body. With the legs it felt as if they were pulling in on themselves, folding in the excess length until Isabella was finally Nia’s height. Given that Nia was so small in general, much of the change had been simply reduction. That tingle all over their body could very well have been all the excess mass vanishing away into the ether flow leaving them with just enough for the shape Nia was encoding. Isabella had seen enough sorts of powers and magic in enough realities to know that they were better off not obsessing over trying to figure out the specifics of how these things worked. Considering they hadn’t heard a single bone snap into place, or any real unpleasant popping sounds in the process of restructuring Isabella’s legs and sculpting their new heels and toes, they figured it was a better method than most would have been.

“Alright, get up so I can clean up yer backside!”

Isabella hesitated for a moment before slowly sitting up. Their limbs had fully changed, as well as most of their upper body. But their butt and back had remained mostly untouched given the positioning they had started in. And as such, as they sat and eventually stood up, there was this odd disconnect that carried all the way up to their head. Never before had Isabella reckoned with the idea of their head being too heavy, yet now atop their somewhat petite shoulders their current head couldn’t help but droop. Nia snickered softly as she went about converting the rest of their tail to an elegant brush.

“Y’know, you should really thank me for this one,” Nia insisted as she brushed Isabella’s fur through her fingers and out of existence.

“Got a thing against tails?” Isabella asked.

“Poor Dromarch always complains about getting his caught in doors and what not,” Nia chided, “so if he gets it caught all the time, I can’t imagine you’re better at avoiding it~”

“H-hey! I… very rarely squish my tail!” Isabella huffed.

“And I would hardly say I get my tail caught all the time my lady…” Dromarch sighed.

“Now, let’s get to the main attraction~”

Nia sat Isabella back down and got to work right away at squishing and tugging their face. For a solid few seconds Nia just held her hands on each side of Isabella’s muzzle and gently pushed in. The ether bathed Isabella’s face and the falling fur would have probably made Isabella sneeze if it lasted long enough to get up their nose. Eventually Nia’s soft pushing had made enough progress that Isabella’s face had nearly flattened out entirely. She took the last bit of excess mass and, as if balling up clay, sculpted a small little nose.

“Ooh, this’ll be good,” Nia purred as she ran her fingers over Isabella’s neck while ruffling the fur on top of their head with her other hand.

“Wh-wha-” Isabella’s question answered itself before they could even ask it as their voice croaked out in an unmistakable accent. They shut their mouth instantly, that now furless face going bright red upon hearing Nia’s voice come out.

“Awwh, don’t be shy, you hear that voice all the time, what’s the difference now~?” Nia encouraged, feathering out strands of Isabella’s new hair with each flick of her wrist.

“I… err… oh… oh this is….”

Nia let Isabella deal with the various feelings they were going through as she got to finishing up her work. The ears were easy enough, considering Isabella’s weren’t too far off, just needed some reangling and reshaping as she tugged them into a longer shape. Nia spent the new few moments picking at little parts of Isabella’s face, getting all the little details just right. When it was all said and done Isabella sat back and let out a little sigh of relief. Nia gave them just a moment to catch their breath, before gently placing both hands onto their chest.

The next moment came much like a defibrillator shock. Isabella jolted, seeing nothing but searing white for a split second before suddenly snapping back to reality not even in the slightest bit of pain. At first they thought Nia just gave them a shock to be rude, but a quick glance down revealed a modest pair of breasts and perhaps more surprisingly, a diamond shaped core crystal. Isabella gaped at it, fingers shaking as they finally managed to poke its slightly warm surface.

“Don’t worry, it’s just for show, you’re not actually a blade. But pretty convincing, eh~?” Nia prodded.

“N-no kiddin’...” Isabella replied softly, instinctively slipping into the same speech pattern.

“You’d better be too~” Nia insisted as she clapped Isabella’s bare shoulder, “Because you’re in charge of whatever goes on here! As far as the world is concerned, you are Nia! If things get truly dire, Dromarch knows what to do, I trust him entirely.”

Dromarch might have protested Nia’s sudden departure if not for the shameless flattery he gladly accepted. Before Isabella could even muster their first full sentence in this body Nia hopped up and basically bolted out of the bungalow. Isabella considered giving chase for a moment, but realized that given they had the same body and Isabella was less familiar with it, it was a chase they’d have lost regardless. So they just kind of sat there, staring at nothing in particular. Dromarch for his part was quickly to come to their side, giving Isabella an inquisitive look as he got their attention.

“Are you okay, my lady?”

“Ah! I-” Isabella blushed, sinking a bit in their seat.

“Oh, my apologies, if you don’t wish to be called that I shall cease at once. I only referred to you that way on instinct, given that you do look like-”

“N-no, it’s fine Dromarch,” Isabella insisted, holding up a hand. Their voice still felt strained, but with each word they felt a little more at home with it, “people would find it weird if you didn’t call me that, right?”

“Mmm, a fair point indeed my lady,” Dromarch nodded, “on that note- while a blade such as myself and your original body may not have a need for clothing. Your… new body is a bit more-”

Isabella looked back down at their bare breasts before practically flinging themselves at Nia’s closet. They scrabbled into that big yellow suit so quickly that Dromarch couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“I don’t think anybody is going to see you in here my lady, I mainly meant for when you are in public.”

“I-I don’t mind not wearing clothes, but it’s Nia’s body! It feels… I dunno, invasive! I shouldn’t look at her nude!” Isabella insisted.

“...My lady, she has given you the body to use. And I do imagine she expects you to bathe during her extended vacation with Rex…”

“R-right,” Isabella nodded, realizing perhaps now just how much they’d signed up for on a whim.

“If it’s any consolation my lady, you do already seem to be quite comfortable in her body,” Dromarch noted.

“Yeah? You think so?” Isabella asked, not sure what they’d done that gave such an impression.

“Of course! After all, you didn’t feel modest about being nude as her until I mentioned that you perhaps should. You’ve slipped into your new skin quite well.”

“...Thanks Dromarch,” Isabella replied, rubbing their cheek, “I can’t lie… it really does sorta feel like a dream come true, just a bit.”

“Well that’s great to hear,” Dromarch smiled, “if you need anything at all, do not hesitate to ask. While you may not actually be my driver, you are acting in her stead and I will behave accordingly. Especially when doing so may help you feel more at home with yourself.”

Isabella smiled, fidgeting with their fingers as they sat there with Dromarch. While it was not exactly what they had been expecting in terms of experimentation, they couldn’t argue with how it felt. Maybe being Nia and being a girl would be something that they’d regret. Maybe it wouldn’t quite feel right at some point, but for the time being, the longer they sat there and the longer they stewed in the moment, they more certain they were that this was going to be a good time.

Nia stretched, putting a pin in Isabella for the time being. She wasn’t sure if this really counted as ‘being herself’, but she was sure going to enjoy it while it lasted.