Artwork is NOT done by me, it was done by https://bsky.app/profile/razor-zharp.bsky.social !

Johnny gets more than he bargained for when he visits Neo Burmecia to learn about its culture. Now, he'll see what Burmecian life is like firsthand! Story attached below is written by me:

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Johnny was a bit of a vagabond. He had wandered all around Gaia, never settling in one place. It wasn’t because he had to be, but because he liked learning how different the world was. They all shared the same one, but one section of the land lived different lives from the others. The man loved learning about new traditions, cultures, and everything in between.

There was one group that Johnny had never interacted with - the Burmecians. Not for lack of wanting to, his travels just never brought him into Burmecian territory. It didn’t help that their original village of Burmecia had been destroyed during the calamities with the eidolons, but it had since been rebuilt. And a visit to Neo Burmecia was Johnny’s next destination.

Upon arrival, Johnny noticed something odd. There weren’t any Burmecians around. Perhaps he got here at the wrong time? Maybe there was some kind of town meeting or ritual going on that he wasn’t aware of. While he didn’t know much about Burmecian culture, he had heard stories of ritualistic dances that were once done back when the Burmecians settled at Cleyra. Perhaps they were doing one of those?

He didn’t want to interrupt anything that might be going on, so he didn’t call out for anyone. Still, it was odd to be all alone in what appeared to be a fairly small town. Johnny would have expected to run into any Burmecian, or at least be able to see one by now. That just made Johnny all the more curious as to what was going on. Where were they all hiding?

Johnny stopped and looked around, seeing if perhaps he was being watched by someone. And when he did, he saw a Burmecian woman walk up to him, the first person he actually saw.

“Hello!” Johnny waved to her in a friendly voice. “I’m a visitor!”

“What business do you have in Neo Burmecia?” the Dragoon asked, spear at the ready.

“I come in peace, I assure you!” Johnny said with a nervous chuckle and hands up. “I just want to learn about your people.”

“Is that so? Why?” the Burmecian questioned, not lowering her weapon.

“I am interested in learning about all cultures! And I’ve not had the pleasure to see Burmecian ones firsthand. Not many people can say they have.”

“And that is for a reason.” the Burmecian squinted, but lowered her weapon. “We do not take kindly to outsiders.” she paused. “But perhaps I can help get around that.”

“Like what? Introduce me to everyone else? Where is everyone, actually?”

“They heard there was an unknown coming towards us, so they went into hiding until it was safe to come out. It’s my job as a Dragoon to ensure our people are protected and feel secure. Our history isn’t exactly a pleasant one.”

“Understandable, and I’m sorry for what happened, for what it’s worth.” Johnny frowned. “Not that my opinion on the matter well, matters much, I’m sure.”

“It does not.” she paused. “But, it is appreciated nonetheless.”

“I’m Johnny, by the way. I didn’t introduce myself.”

“I am Rona, guardian of Neo Burmecia,” the dragoon officially introduced herself. “But, before you are introduced to everyone else, first, I must perform a ritual.”

“Of course, no problem.” Johnny nodded. “What kind of ritual?”

“I find it best to not tell you until it’s done. But before I do, tell me, do you truly want to learn about our people? About the Burmecian culture?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” Johnny answered earnestly. “I want to learn all kinds of things from all kinds of cultures. Human, Burmecian, Moogle, even Chocobo.”

“Very well.” Rona closed her eyes and hit her spear on the ground twice, causing the tip of it to glow a golden color. “Rah…lah…cu…la, raaa…” she said with closed eyes, the glow from her staff amplifying as her words got more intense.

Johnny had to admit, the glowing and its intensity were making him a bit nervous. It felt like his whole world was shaking as the Burmecian performed the ritual, whatever the ritual was. And suddenly, Johnny felt a strange twinge in his body form. A warmth was building up in his chest and spreading all throughout his body. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it certainly didn’t feel normal.

He wanted to ask what was going on, but also didn’t want to be disrespectful and interrupt Rona’s ritual after he had just said he wanted to learn about Burmecian culture. Johnny looked down, noticing something was wrong. His face was growing! And rapidly! And it wasn’t just elongating, it was growing silver fur on it, not too unlike the fur color on Rona’s snout! Johnny watched as his beard was fading away into the fur and his nose was turning into nothing more than long, slitted nostrils resting at the tip of the snout.

“W-what’s…what’s happening…?” Johnny questioned, his face blushing as a hand went up to his chest where he felt another warmth forming.

This wouldn’t be any more calming to Johnny, as he felt his chest start to get softer underneath his palm. There was a strange sensitivity there now, with his chest pushing out into the modest mounds, Johnny now suddenly sporting a pair of breasts! As his chest inflated, hair grew from it just like his new muzzle, matching the same silver color that was found there. Likewise, the same fur was growing over Johnny’s hands, all while the size of them became bigger. Johnny’s fingers became a bit more jagged and animalistic, with his nails sharpening into a set of claws resting at the fingertips. The fur spread to Johnny’s other hand and arms, all while the sleeves of his hoodie were melting away, being traded away for peach, ruffled fabric that was rather oversized, the sleeves not connected to the rest of his remaining hoodie, held by only gold bands that materialized on the forearms. Over his hands, a pair of fingerless black gloves formed, with a gold ring on the ring finger - of which would merge in with the middle finger to leave Johnny with only four digits instead of his original five. Some loose gold bracelets formed on the wrists, giving him plenty of new accessories, and that was just the start!

The hood of Johnny’s hoodie would disintegrate into nothingness, as well as most of the hoodie itself. Everything except the upper region was gone, exposing all of Johnny’s now-furry midriff to the air. Peach fabric covered up his chest, just snug enough to support them and double as a bra, with gold jewelry across the center to cover up the underboob that would be there otherwise. Both garments became attached to a golden ring that was attached to a choker around Johnny’s neck, the only remnants of the hoodie remaining.

Johnny looked up to Rona with a panicked, embarrassed look on his face, who was deep in focus of her chant. “T-this isn’t supposed to happen is it?” Johnny asked quietly, the blush on his face only harshening when he heard just how feminine his voice had become, that lump in his throat now minuscule and causing a drastic octave change.

However, she did not respond and kept chanting, much to Johnny’s chagrin. Especially when he felt a strange feeling form between his legs. This made his face the reddest as he felt his manhood slowly recede into his body, leaving womanhood to replace it downstairs. The reworking of his reproductive systems to an internal one was an incredibly strange sensation that he never had expected to experience, yet here he was!

That would be a part of Johnny’s body that wouldn’t be visible through his clothes. The same could not be said about his hips and rear, both of which would build up extra mass and become much more noticeable on his body. To give them extra amplification, the sides of his upper body sucked inward at the navel to give him an undeniable hourglass figure, complimented by an arch forming into Johnny’s back. More silver fur coated Johnny’s body, growing all the way down to his toes.

However, once there, the toes would become much different. The base of them turned wider, losing a toe in the process on his foot just like he lost a finger on each hand. And the nails would become larger than his feet themselves, turning into large claws resting at the tips of his feet. He felt unbalanced as his legs felt like they had another knee put into them on the wrong side, the structure of his legs turning digitigrade. To make his balance worse, from behind him, a thin, long tail trickled down that was only slightly shorter than his legs so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. The new appendage was a strange one, and it would move on its own to make the whole situation even more awkward for Johnny.

The pants that Johnny was wearing rode up to his knees, where they became much puffier and turned a beige color. Attached to the hips would be a ruffled peach skirt matching the sleeves he had, complete with a brown belt around the waist. The alternation to Johnny’s feet to Burmecian feet would cause his shoes to tear off, but they were quickly replaced with open socks that had a gold bracelet around them with a purple gem hanging off of them.

Johnny tried to find his balance in everything, one leg on the ground barely keeping him up while the other was in the air with his knee bent up. His hand felt the fabric he possessed now, his confusion and panic at an all time high.

“Why are you doing this? I didn’t know you’d do this!” Johnny asked in a panic, but his words fell on still deaf ears, Rona too focused on the ritual to even register that Johnny had talked.

The fur would finish growing on Johnny’s body as it covered up his head and grew over his ears, no more traces of visible skin anywhere on his form now. With Johnny’s ears, the length grew substantially along with their width. The sides were a defined curved that ended in a pointed tip to make his ears triangular. Extra muscles formed in them to make them emotive. They would perk up if excited, droop down when nervous, which is what they were doing currently! Johnny’s hair grew much longer, the rather short hairdo extending well past his shoulders and to the center of his back. The bangs became especially large, the separation forming at the center into two large ones hanging off the side of his head, with the rest of his hair tied up in a ponytail before being let down freely to the black. The black color of Johnny’s hair shifted into a bright, light brown, tied up with an orange band attached to a piece of golden headwear around his left ear. Hanging off that and wrapping around the underside of Johnny’s new muzzle would be some more jewelry with another purple gem. Johnny’s teeth became larger, wider, and more pointed, continuing the trend of gaining more animalistic features. His eyelashes became more plentiful and noticeable, especially near the outer corners of his eyes. Johnny’s eyebrows turned the same brown color as his hair, while becoming much thinner to give his face more feminine facial features. And with that, the last thing Johnny could be called was a human man anymore! Now, he was a Burmecian woman, dressed in traditional Dancer attire. The colors were peach and orange with beiges and golds, complementing each other and making Johnny’s silver fur really pop!

“I-is it over…?” Johnny asked, his blush never wavering, if anything, it only gotten worse when he felt the breeze of the wind brush past his fairly exposed body, especially the upper half of it! The tingling he felt when the transformation started was gone, and he felt “normal” again, as normal as someone turned into a Burmecian woman against their will could be, anyway!

“Yes, it is done.” Rona said, the light and shaking stopping as the staff returned to normal, Rona looking up at Johnny.

“What did you do!? Why did you…why am I girl! A Burmecian girl!?”

“You wish to learn our culture. We do not like outsiders. This is…a way to compromise so we both get what we want.”

“But why not tell me first! If I knew this I…”

“Wouldn’t want to learn our culture?” Rona cut Johnny off with an angry look. “If you truly wish to learn, you will learn firsthand. You will pull your weight. We’re not zoo animals to watch.” Rona said coldly.

Johnny wanted to say more, but getting on Rona’s bad side seemed like a bad idea. If she turned him into this, perhaps she could reverse the changes later! “A-...alright. I…understand.” he frowned, closing his eyes and bowing her head.

“As you should.” Rona said. “Head up, being a Burmecian is no reason to mope.”

“Couldn’t you at least have turned me into a male Burmecian?”

“The wills of the Gods are what they are. I had no say in the matter.” Rona replied with a smirk, making it hard to determine if she was being honest in her words or not. “Now then, let me show you to your new home so you can meet your sisters. They’ll appreciate a new one. We haven’t had a new Burmecian in a while since the founding of Neo Burmecia. You’ll be a welcome addition to our village. Now, come along.”

Rona started walking and Johnny went to follow, having to stop himself from falling over. He had never walked with digitigrade legs and a tail before! Not to mention the center of balance of his body being out of whack thanks to the new addition of breasts. Modest as they were, it still made it awkward to walk combined with everything else going on! Rona didn’t wait, so Johnny had to push forward. Each step felt like taking a step for the first time, really driving home just how foreign Johnny’s body felt to him now. Each step he felt parts of his body jiggle around that never jiggled before, a strange, wide sway of his hips with each step. Having to keep brushing hair out of his face didn’t help either. Johnny had trouble controlling his tail too, and often found it being given a small jolt of pain when it accidentally slapped the ground, wall, or a wood post in the ground.

Eventually, Johnny was led to a lodging area, where Rona finally turned around and acknowledged him again. “Now then, Johnny was it?”

“Y-yes, that’s my name.”

“Not anymore it isn’t. Not while you’re like this.” Rona replied. “From now on, your name is Jyoa.”

“Jyoa? Why can’t I just use my normal name?”

“It’s not a Burmecian name.” Rona replied matter-of-factly. “You wanted to see Burmecian culture, so you’re going to live as a Burmecian. And to do that, you need a Burmecian name, Jyoa. Now, go introduce yourself to your new sisters, who will teach you more about your role as a Dancer. It is a position of high honor, you should consider yourself lucky.” she stepped aside and held out a hand.

Johnny looked to Rona for a moment with a silent anger. None of this he signed up for! Now he was being given a new body, a new sex, even a new name! But…he did want to learn the Burmecian ways. It was why he came here. He just didn’t expect this to be the circumstances that he would learn about Burmecians! Regardless, there wasn’t much he could do now but steer into the madness.

She took a deep breath. “Okay…Jyoa…I can do this. I’ve introduced myself to people before.” With that, she stepped inside the living quarters to meet other Burmecians, hopefully ones more pleasant than Rona…

There was a strange jingling with each step, the quiet of the inside of the building making it easier to hear the jewelry swinging every which way on her body. In addition, due to the shape of her new paws, Jyoa could feel her large claws clicking on the floor with each step, another reminder of just how different her body was now. At least she wasn’t constantly about to fall over anymore! She had walked enough now to have gotten used to walking in a Burmecian girl’s body, but living in one was another story!

Eventually, she made it to the shared area, where there were four Burmecian girls there. One of them was dressed up nearly identically to Jyoa, another dressed not too unlike Rona was, although with different pins attached to her Dragoon uniform. One Burmecian was quite young, a child wearing a simple outfit resting against another older Burmecian wearing a dress and apron, brushing the hair of the young Burmecian, seemingly the girl’s mother.

“Uhm…h-hello.” Jyoa said, raising a hand awkwardly when they all turned to face her, hearing her enter.

“I’ve never seen you before!” the Burmecian Dancer got up and walked up to Jyoa, looking her up and down. “What village did you come from?”

“It’s a…complicated question.” Jyoa replied with a soft blush as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m a traveler and well, I’m not normally a-”

“Your hair is really pretty! I’d love to brush it!” the young Burmecian girl interrupted Jyoa’s sentence.

“Oh…thanks?” Jyoa answered with a weak smile, not too sure how to take that.

“What’s complicated about asking where you are from?” the Dragoon stood up, looking at Jyoa with uncertainty.

“Rona told me to come here, she uh…did this to me.” Jyoa said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “You see, I’m…not normally a Burmecian or a girl. But Rona did…some kind of ritual to make me one. I wanted to learn about Burmecian culture, and she thought learning it firsthand as well, this,” she motioned to her body. “Would be the best way to do that.”

“No one has done that ritual in years. It’s very ancient Burmecian magic.” the Dragoon commented, hand on her chin as she looked Jyoa up and down. “Fascinating, you don’t look like you’ve never been a Burmecian before. I’ve heard of that ritual, but I’ve never seen it firsthand. It’s supposed to be an honorific one, not many people willingly turn themselves into Burmecians.”

Jyoa decided to not correct the Dragoon about this change being willing. She figured it would just cause more problems than solutions. “But, yes. I am here to learn about Burmecians, their traditions, their cultures.”

“I’ll show you all the dances we Dancers do! We haven’t had a new girl to teach in so long! Oooh this is exciting!” she clapped her hands together while practically jumping up and down with excitement. “You and I are gonna be best friends new sister! Oh! I should introduce you to everyone!” she pointed to the Dragoon.

“That’s Cileth, she’s a dragoon recruit, and I’m Liona, I’m a newish dancer, but I know most of the ritual dances already! I study very hard!” she said proudly.

“And that’s Mia. She’s the daughter of that lovely lady named Bria. She handles the cooking and housekeeping of this building!”

“Nice to meet you!” Bria said with a smile.

“Yeah! You’re pretty! I’ve never had a new big sister before!” Mia said with excitement.

“And who are we talking to?” Cileth asked.

“Jyoa, that’s the name Rona gave me. She told me it was a traditional Burmecian name.”

“I haven’t heard that name in years. It was rather common in our old home, less so now.”

“There haven’t been many new Burmecians being born, with all the moving and war. But now that it’s calm, perhaps that’ll change! Then I won’t be the other mother of a young child around here.” Bria commented with a homely giggle.

“I guess technically I’m a new Burmecian. Just, wasn’t born recently.” Jyoa replied, a silence falling the room as the topic wavered out.

“Anyway! I better show you to your room! Don’t worry girls, I’ll take care of our new sister Jyoa! Can’t be best friends if I don’t!” Liona smiled, turning her attention to the Burmecian Dancer before her. “Follow me!”

She started walking down the hall, Jyoa giving a nod to the other three girls before following behind to see what her new room would have in store for her.

“And here we are! Welcome!” Liona exclaimed, throwing her arms out grandly as she opened the door to the room.

Jyoa walked in front of her, seeing the room. There were two beds, one on each corner with a vanity stand at the center separating the two sections. Each side had its own closet filled with garments, namely casual wear and Dancer uniforms like Jyoa and Liona currently had on. On the nightstands, there was a book that was rather thick, looking like there were hundreds of pages bound in the leather.

“Welcome to your new room, friend!” Liona said, walking up and grabbing onto Jyoa’s hands, lifting them up as she pressed the tip of her muzzle against Jyoa’s. “We’re going to have so much fun together!”

“T-together?” Jyoa asked, flustered by the unexpected friendly physical contact.

“Together, we’re going to live together! That’s your bed and that’s mine! We each get a half of the room!”

“I thought it would have been more…private.” Jyoa frowned, ears drooping, a feeling she wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to.

“Us Burmecians always live in pairs! Be it a sibling, a friend, or even a Dance partner like us! We’re all those things but blood sisters, but even better than blood, we’ll be spirit sisters!”

“Really? You never live alone?”

“Never. At least not us.” Liona shook her head. “Burmecian strength is in numbers! We have to trust one another, be vulnerable with one another, or else we might not be ready if war comes again.” she replied solemnly before shaking her head. “But that’s a downer topic to think about! There hasn’t been a threat of war in years since the Mad Queen fell! What we have to focus on is you and your dancing!”

“R-right…dancing…” Jyoa blushed at the thought of moving her body around in such…skimpy clothing, worried about how awkward it might feel for…certain body parts to jiggle around.

“Dancing is one of us Burmecians’ greatest traditions! We all learn at least one, even the Dragoons know at least one dance, but Dancers like us know all sorts of them! Unless you plan on joining the Dragoon program like Freya or Cileth, you and me will be performing dances every week!”

“Every week? Isn’t that…excessive?”

“Not at all! If we don’t who knows what would happen. We perform to entertain the higher beings, offer our moves in exchange for them watching over us. We do it to keep Neo Burmecia safe! Or else who knows what the eidolons might do. Plus it’s fun! It’s good on every layer!”

Jyoa nodded. It was fascinating how ingrained dancing appeared to be in Burmecian culture. She had seen a few dressed up like that before in books, but didn’t think much of it. Apparently Jyoa was wearing renown cultural attire! When she thought of Burmecians, she usually pictured Dragoons like Freya from the legends, not Dancers. But it seemed as though they were as important than the Dragoons, if not more so!

“So…how exactly does all this dancing business work?” Jyoa broke the silence, taking a deep breath. She was really doing this!

“First, you have to learn the basics! Dance is a language, and our bodies are the way to speak it. Every movement is intentional, delivering the messages to the Gods above!” Liona answered. “Let’s start with simple movements that are apart of nearly every ritualistic dance.”

Liona walked into the center of the room, pushing out a leg and bringing it around in a circle as she slowly moved it up to her other leg, making a circular motion with her arms before bringing the palms together up at her chest. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath before “exploding” her arms out, jumping into the air with her legs spread out fully in front and back of her, landing in a splits before rising herself up.

“There. That’s a basic start for you!”

“That’s supposed to be basic!?” Jyoa was flabbergasted at the assertion that those movements were basic. “You…want me to do the splits like that? I’ve never done that before!” Jyoa blushed, knowing it wouldn’t be as painful as it would have been to do this morning now that she didn’t have anything in the way downstairs.

“It looks like a lot, but I promise it’s easier than it looks! Us Burmecians are built for this!” Liona reassured Jyoa, walking over and grabbing her hand to bring her into the center. “Take it step by step, follow my lead!”

Jyoa didn’t want to disappoint Liona, and she did come here to learn about Burmecian culture, and these ritualistic dances seemed to be a major part of it, that was clear by how serious Liona was taking it when everything leading up to this point gave Jyoa the impression that she was more “fun-loving” than the average Burmecian. The way Liona moved was full of grace, and the expression showed just how important it was to Liona that Jyoa took this seriously.

“Okay…let’s do this.” Jyoa took a deep breath. “So you start with the leg…” Jyoa said, extending it as far out as she could. “This…isn’t too bad. I thought it’d be a lot more strained.” she admitted with a small giggle.

“Burmecians are very flexible and agile! It’s why so many of us become Dragoons or Dancers!” Liona said proudly.

“Okay, now put pressure on your other foot as you spin on the ball of it.” Liona instructed, moving slowly as Jyoa did just that. It wasn’t too unlike standing on a hardwood floor in socks, moving smoothly as Jyoa started to spin in place.

“And now the arms!” Liona instructed, Jyoa mimicking Liona’s movements. While the movement of the arms wasn’t too concerning for Jyoa, the way her chest moved was. The top of the garment did keep her bosom in place, but it was still open at the center, so there was a small degree of jiggling around, making Jyoa blush a little bit at the sensation of her breasts moving around, very much not something she was used to! It was worse when she made the sudden movement to bring her hands together.

“Now the big finish! Don’t be afraid to land with some force, Burmecian bodies are very resilient!” Liona said.

“I’ll have to trust you.” Jyoa replied, not entirely confident that would be the case. Regardless, she and Liona jumped up at the same time as Jyoa spread her legs out with a flair of her arms, matching what Liona did earlier and now, the two Burmecians landing into splits.

“That…wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” Jyoa admitted. She thought it was going to be much more painful! Although, because of how painless it was served as a reminder that she was lacking the manhood that was there before. It did make the blush on her face deepen as she slowly moved her body back up and looked to Liona.

“See? That wasn’t hard at all! You might not be a natural Burmecian, but you’re a natural dancer!” Liona smiled, running up to Joya and hugging her tightly, the feeling of her chest against Liona’s own not helping quell the strange feelings all this made her feel.

“I guess so.” Jyoa admitted with a small, awkward laugh. “But…I have to ask,” she said, breaking off the hug and motioning to her body. “How do you uh…get used to erm…” her blush was becoming a bright red that shone through her fur. “The body uh…moving around like that.” she motioned around her chest, unsure of the right way to say.

“You just do! It’s just your body, your body moves when you do! It’s not different than you’re hair blowing in the wind!” Liona replied with a giggle, finding the question more silly than anything. “Which by the way, you have some of the best hair I’ve seen on a Burmecian! Very silky!”

“T-thank you?” Jyoa wasn’t entirely sure how to respond, and was still embarrassed by well, everything! “So…what happens now?” she asked, not sure where things were going to go from here.

“It’s still probably too early for dinner, Mia and Bria won’t be done cooking for another few hours. Maybe you could go outside and watch the Dragoons train? They let any Burmecian watch! So long as you don’t get in the way or distract them. Cileth is probably out there already!”

“I don’t think that’d be a problem. Guess I’ll go do that then!” Jyoa nodded, feeling a bit of excitement at that. Dragoons were what the Burmecians were most known for in the greater parts of Gaia, so being able to see them train firsthand and see their regimen was one of the things he was looking forward to when she arrived at Neo Burmecia. She just didn’t expect to be watching them train as a Burmecian, a female one at that! But, things had already snowballed to this; not much she could do about it now!

Jyoa waved goodbye to Liona and left the housing, heading towards the Dragoon training area. It was a large, open field and there were a handful of Burmecians there watching them. Some were older, some were younger, some dressed casually, others dressed like Jyoa was or in military guard uniforms to ensure no spectators would run into the fields.

“Wow, did you see how far Rona jumped?” one Burmecian said to the one next to her excitedly.

“Yeah! I hope I can jump as high as her one day!” he responded. “I can't until I'm a nee recruit when the next cycle starts!”

“Are you excited for the performance?” the female Burmecian turned to Joya.

“Performance?” she was a bit caught off guard by the question.

“Yeah, you Dancers perform the Cycle of Renewal! It’s a way to reset the spirits of everyone, and send the spirits lost.” the male replied. “How have you not heard about that? It’s one of our most important rituals!”

“Uh…I’m new here.” Jyoa replied, rubbing the back of her neck, deciding it better to not reveal the entire truth of the day to them.

“New and already a Dancer, how remarkable! What village did you come from before?”

“None really. I just wander around Gaia, learning. But, my stay here is…an extended one.”

“Must have been one of the Burmecian villages that got attacked.” the man frowned. “We’re sorry.”

“It’s…fine. Don’t worry about it.” Jyoa was unsure how to respond, and in an effort to make things even more awkward for everyone involved, decided to change the subject. “But that’s in the past! I’m Jyoa! Who are you two?”

“I’m Karlo, and this is my wife Pia’la.” he held his hand out to her.

“Nice to meet you, Jyoa! What brings you here? Want to watch the Dragoons?”

“Yeah, I’m here to learn Neo Burmecia culture.” Jyoa answered earnestly. “Outside of here, it’s what you’re most known for.”

“Really? Huh, never would have guessed!” Karlo chuckled a bit. “Good for us! I’m going to be one soon, maybe I’ll be famous outside of Neo Burmecia!”

“I’m sure you will, honey.” Pia’la smiled, putting her arms around him. “I’m just here to support and so he has company!”

“What do you do?” Jyoa asked Pia’la directly. “I’ve mostly just met Dragoons and Dancers, and one cook.”

“I’m a merchant!” Pia’la said proudly. “Though we’re self-sustaining here, after well, everything that happened to Gaia with the eidolons, us Burmecians decided to be less isolated. So, I go into Alexandria and exchange Burmecian goods with the others.”

“Really? Rona told me you didn’t like outsiders. I’m surprised you’d be doing that if Neo Burmecia self-sustains!”

“You met Rona? Is she as awesome as she is out there?” Karlo asked with a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

“Not surprising she would say that. She’s a great Dragoon but she’s too prideful sometimes! Cross-culturel is good for us! Bahamut forbid Neo Burmecia gets attacked, we’ll have allies to come help us!”

“Yeah, we get a little of their culture, and they get a little of ours! Makes us both stronger and learn more about our friends to the North.” Karlo said, but quickly jumped back to the topic he truly wanted to talk about. “Tell me more about Rona!”

“She’s…a character, I can say that much.” Jyoa said with a small smile.

“Sorry, he just admires Rona so much.” Pia’la couldn’t help but giggle at her husband. “All the aspiring Dragoons do, she’s the model to follow!”

“She really is! She helped a lot when it came to rebuilding our society here!” Karlo said, pure admiration in his voice. “Rona did it all! She kept us safe when we were traveling between outposts, didn’t rest until every single Burmecian had made it here safe! This place is kind of a safe haven for us. It’s protected because of her.”

“She did all that, huh?” Jyoa nodded as she listened to the tale that Karlo was weaving. Jyoa’s first impression of Rona wasn’t exactly a positive one, considering that was turning him from a human man to a Burmecian woman! But, the story did explain some things as to why Rona was more reserved about letting an outsider into Neo Burmecia. By the sounds of it, she went through hell to get the Burmecians here, and was very protective of them, perhaps to a fault. Did that make Jyoa less annoyed about being turned into a woman of another species? Not exactly. But, at least it offered another perspective.

“Guess there’s a lot more to her than I thought there was.” Jyoa offered a weak chuckle.

“There’s so much to her!” Karlo’s tail was practically wagging. “I mean, just look at how high she can jump! I wonder if she has dragon blood in her somehow…it would make sense how she became so good as a Dragoon if she did!”

“How is a Burmecian going to get dragon blood in them, silly?” Pia’la couldn’t but giggle at her husband while Jyoa looked on at the Dragoon training.

It was very militant, everyone moving in sync with the leader of each “pack” of Dragoons. The ones at the front leading the others had emblems hanging off their neck going down the front of their uniforms while the ones behind them, presumably the lower ranks, were lacking this. She noticed Cileth among the leaders instructing the recruits. The leaders would instruct them to jump one by one, and then the recruits would jump down with their lances to descend onto training dummies. Some were smoother than others, seeming like a mixture of new recruits and those who would be promoted to higher ranks soon.

Seeing how high the Dragoons would jump was awe-inspiring for Jyoa. She had heard about just how agile they were, but seeing it in person, those stories didn’t do it justice. Burmecians in particular were known in Gaia for being the best Dragoons, and Jyoa could see why. In an instant, they could be up dozens of feet into the air, descend down just as quickly, and attack and land back on their feet all in one smooth motion.

“I’m going to be doing that soon! Ooh I can’t wait!” Karlo commented excitedly. “I just want to run out there and jump with them!”

“Soon, my love, soon.” Pia’la giggled and ran her hand down her husband’s head gently.

Jyoa stayed for a while, a full hour even! She didn’t realize just how much time had passed; it was like watching an entire show. The athleticism was truly unrivaled, and it wasn’t like anything he had ever seen before. The stories often said how great they were, he just didn’t expect those stories to not live up to the real thing, when they were far better! She said goodbye to Karlo and Pia’la before walking away from the training to return back home. Jyoa had gotten her fill, and she could only take so much “oohs” and “awes” from Karlo. She bid him and Pia’la goodbye as she left the scene, walking back into the main town square of Neo Burmecia.

Jyoa put her hands on her hips as she looked around. It was still too early to return back to her temporary home, and this was the first real time she had a moment to herself ever since Rona first transformed her. Her eyes went down to her body, seeing her breasts in her vision again, past the tip of her muzzle. It was odd, for having such a drastically different body than before, and yet, it was starting to feel a bit more natural to her. The oddity of having much of her torso exposed, the odd digitigrade legs with big ol’ paws and claws, and the tail swishing behind her were all not as apparent.

And that’s when a thought hit her. Did she care if she ever returned to her old body? Of course, she wanted to go back to being a human man at some point. But…she felt oddly…comfortable? Like, she was truly assimilating in with the other Burmecians. Learning the Burmecian culture firsthand and so…in-depth wasn’t something she was expecting to do when she first arrived at Neo Burmecia. And she barely scratched the surface of it all!

Jyoa took a seat, bringing her hands up to her face, seeing their dulled claws attached to the Dancer garment, hearing the jingling of the bracelets on her arm. This was her hand, her arm, her body. Afterward, hands traveled down her sides, feeling the inclines of her figure, and a small smile even crept across her face. All things considered, there were much worse things to be transformed into. She shuddered at the idea of some rogue wizard turning her into a frog while she traveled; she almost was once after walking into a particularly sketchy town! But, this body was elegant, regal, and seeing the Dragoons, and being taught the dance by Liona, being a Burmecian was something to be proud of! They had so much culture, and Jyoa got to be a part of that culture! She had only been in Neo Burmecia for a few hours, and she was getting so much experience in their culture! And there was so much more to learn still!

“I see you’ve adjusted well.” Jyoa’s ear twitched and perked upon hearing a familiar voice. Looking up, she saw the very Dragoon that had done this to her, Rona standing over her with a smirk and crossed arms.

“You! I thought you were training!”

“I’m done for the day. I had to see how you were faring with your new body and what you’ve learned.” Rona answered, earnestly being heard in her voice.

“I saw the Dragoons during their training, and well, they were magnificent. I’ve never seen something so great!” Jyoa forgot she was talking to the woman who put her in this situation in a foreign body for a moment, excitement in her voice. “And I learned this!” she got up, performing the dance sequence that Liona had taught her before.

“It looks like you’ve been learning quite a bit.” Rona smiled at the performance.

“I have!” Jyoa smiled, then reality came back to her as she sat back down. “But…why did you do this to me? I know you didn’t have to!”

“Because, I could tell you truly wanted to see the way of our people. “It’s as I said before, we aren’t zoo animals for people like you to come and watch.” Rona explained, sitting down next to Jyoa. “And you wouldn’t get the true experience of our culture if you weren’t one of us. Many of our traditions are kept between Burmecians. We cherish them, honor them, and we don’t want others who don’t understand their importance trying to spread them out.”

“So, you’re saying if you didn’t transform me into a Burmecian-”

“You wouldn’t be able to see our culture in action in the first place.” Rona finished Jyoa’s sentence for her. “Our dances, our Dragoon training regime, it’s special to us Burmecians.”

“And…what about the girl part?” Jyoa asked, a small blush forming on her face.

“To see if you were serious. If you begged to turn back I would undo the magic.” Rona answered. “But if you were truly wanting to learn about Burmecian culture, you’d be willing to do it in any body, regardless of what it looks like. Once I saw that you didn’t, I knew I was right to let you in. I can turn you back any time you want. Or at leat make you a male Burmecian.”

“No!” Jyoa said, the blush deepening at just how quickly she cut that line of thinking down. “I’d rather get the full experience I am in the middle of. A-after all, I don’t want to break Liona’s heart, she’s excited to have a new Dancer. And there's the Cycle of Renewal ritual I have to learn the dance for.” Jyoa cleared her throat. “Besides, I don’t want to interrupt my learning about Dancers, they seem very important to…us Burmecians.”

“They are.” Rona put a hand on Jyoa’s shoulder. “Very well. If you ever change your mind, you can find me whenever you’d like to return your old form to you. At least, so long as it’s still in my memory. Wait too long and the magic might not be reversible. Burmecians aren’t known for polymorphic magic for a reason.”

“That’s…good to know.” Jyoa replied with an awkward chuckle and nod. “We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. But for now…I’m…happy with how I am. I want to keep learning more. I want to truly experience life as a Burmecian, not just a day or even a week. That is…so long as you’ll have me.”

“We’d house any Burmecian, organic or not.” Rona smiled, getting up. “You were given a room for a reason.”

“Thank you, Rona.” she looked up at the Dragoon for a smile. “I thought I was going to hate you for what you did but…well, guess you helped me see a new side of myself, of the world even! I…appreciate that.”

“It’s not my preferred method, but I do what has to be done.” Rona nodded. “Take care of yourself, and don’t make me regret trusting you within Neo Burmecia. If you cross a line, things will be worse for you.” she squinted her eyes.

“There’s the Rona I remember.” Jyoa couldn’t help but laugh, even though she knew Rona’s threat was genuine. “Don’t worry, I have no plans to hurt any Burmecians. I’m here to learn Burmecian culture after all!”

Rona smirked, crouching down as she leaped up into the sky, above the clouds so that Jyoa couldn’t see her. Jyoa looked back down, standing up herself. “Wonder if dinner is ready, haven’t got to see what Burmecian cooking is like. I better get back home, I’ve been out for a while. And I’m sure Mia isn’t going to let me sleep without begging me to let her brush my hair.” she giggled a bit to herself as she started making her way back to her home for the foreseeable future. She had learned a good bit about Burmecians, but there was still a lot more to learn! And she was looking forward to experiencing every faucet of Burmecian life and culture!