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It was an odd scene, to be sure, the thoroughly normal setting of the kitchen occupied by two officious strangers in formal dress, and the normally steady Eloa seeming to flash between anger and genuine panic. The way she was acting was enough to set a knot of anxiety forming within Dain's own chest in response, but beyond that basic reaction, he seemed oddly nonplussed about the situation. The two strangers, after all, didn't come across as particularly threatening, so much as... bureaucratic? They had the same sort of world-weary look as the people he'd encountered during the few visit's he'd had to the civic center, and they seemed to display the same sort of lightly sarcastic, half-suppressed annoyance that the others had to angry confrontations. As worried as Eloa might be, Dain, for the moment, had no reason not to take them at their word - especially since, given what he had seen several nights ago, it made some sense that such a visit would follow. Nonetheless, though, Dain couldn't help but wonder about one thing - and if the officials answered it the right way, perhaps it would put everyone slightly more at ease.

"This, um... this isn't about Joao, is it?"

From the way all three of them looked back at Dain, with various expressions of shock and surprise, it was easy to assume that it wasn't.

Eloa spoke first after she got over her shock. "How in the world did you remember that name?"

"I, uh, I didn't, I-"

Reo held up a hand. "I'm afraid that due to an... oversight by one of our colleagues, some files were accidentally revealed on his tablet that shouldn't have been there. It is unfortunately possible that such a name might have been among the documents on display. However, while that name is still relevant to certain sectors of government, it has no relevance to our function."

"But, you... know about him, right?"

Reo cocked his head. "Well, we know of him, certainly. Like I said, he's not relevant to what we do, so I don't know much more about the incident with him than is general knowledge, anyway. The fact of the matter is, though, that he has nothing to do with why we are here, and whatever his history with the government, is not related to you. You, Dain, are a separate person, with separate choices to make, although it is my fervent hope that you consider your significantly more carefully."

"Speaking of that..." Laeva interjected.

"Yes, that's right - we should probably get started, so that we don't take up too much of your afternoon." Reo turned back towards Dain, smiling amicably. "I think that we should probably adjourn to your room, now, as our testing and conversation will most likely go better in private."

Dain could see Eloa bristling at the suggestion, her ears flattening out in anger - but Reo, sensing this, turned back to her for a moment. "If you truly want, you can stay down here and guard the stairwell, but I assure you were are only here to do our job, and then leave. We aren't here to hurt anyone, and having you hovering around hysterically while we conduct our examination will only lead to embarrassment for your child and wholly avoidable trouble. Remain calm, everything will be fine, and we'll be out of your fur before you know it."

Eloa still looked unhappy, but grudgingly nodded her assent.

"Very well, then. If you'll lead the way for us, Dain?"

Still reeling somewhat from the sudden appearance of the governmental agents, Dain slowly walked out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, hearing them follow along behind him. At least they had confirmed one thing - they were certainly here as a result of whatever evaluation had been displayed on his tablet earlier. That, and they knew something about Joao - maybe not much, but probably more than what Eloa had been willing to mention. From the sound of it, though, Joao's troubles, whatever they had been, were certainly more real than imagined, and Dain was still curious as to what could have caused him to run off all those years ago. Perhaps, if whatever the agents had in store went smoothly, he might even be able to convince them to talk about what they knew about the man Dain assumed was his father.

They made their way up to his room, and Reo glanced around, taking in the room's decor as Laeva closed the door quietly behind them.

"Huh... not quite what I'd expected to see, but I suppose it does fit your file." Reo took one more glance around, before setting the case down on top of Dain's desk and tapping open the digital locks. The hardshell case arced open, revealing a variety of polished-metal devices nestled carefully into a series of foam cutouts. Dain didn't immediately recognize any of them besides a pair of relatively standard-looking injectors, but they all looked somehow vaguely medical in nature.

"All right, then," Reo continued. "Might as well get the physical bit out of the way, before we move onto other things." He fiddled with a couple of the devices for a minute before looking back at Dain, seemingly puzzled at the fact he was still just standing there. "Oh, yeah, you can go ahead and strip off those clothes now, we're just about ready to start."

Dain looked back at him, slightly shocked. "Uh... you mean, take off my-"

"Yes, yes, take your clothes off. I assume you have been to a medical exam before, haven't you?"

"B-but I-" Dain cut himself off when he felt Laeva's hand come to rest on his shoulder."

"Dain," she said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. In many ways, this is just like the routine exams that most young men and women get when they're going through the trial-heat period - and, thanks to our modern technology, there's very little of the process that is at all invasive."

"Right," Reo replied. "That, and it's your responsibility as a citizen to undergo this exam, especially in light of our current population crisis. So, please do as you're told. Assuming you are not as... brash as your mother, I think we can get through this smoothly."

"All right..." Dain carefully took off his shirt and pants, trying to ignore the fact that Reo was staring at him. Not with any real sense of lust or interest, though, just... staring, simply because there wasn't any compelling reason to look elsewhere. Dain folded up the clothes and set them at the foot of his bed, turning around in his underwear to see the two agents standing side by side, staring at him.

"Actually," Reo said, "you'll need to take those off too."

"R-really?"

"Yes, really - our testing will involve the areas that are currently obscured." He paused, apparently trying to contemplate Dain's reticence. "I realize that some people are hung up on modesty, but I should inform you that the both of us, in addition to our other duties, are fully licensed medical professionals, and you will be observed in a clinical manner."

"In fact," Reo continued, reaching for the buttons on his shirt, "If it would make you more comfortable, I would be happy to strip down as well, so you don't feel as though you are being singled out for such a thing." He managed to get a couple of buttons undone before Laeva reached over to grab his arm.

"Reo, seriously. Remember what you said about being professional?"

"I fail to see how doing such a thing would be unprofessional, especially if it would put the subject at ease. Besides, I had thought it would be something that you would appreciate as well..."

Laeva pulled her hand back, her ears seeming to dip in embarrassment. "This is hardly the time..." she mumbled, before walking over to fiddle with some of the equipment in the case. Reo looked back over to Dain, his hand still on one of the shirt buttons.

"Still, if you would find it helpful..."

"No! Uh, I mean, it's, um, just staying how you are now is fine, let's just get this over with..."

Dain slid off the underwear, still feeling a bit self-conscious in front of them, but oddly not as much as he would have expected - the amount of nakedness that had gone on so far during his experiences with trial heat had apparently inured him somewhat to the phenomenon. At least there wasn't any embarrassing arousal to make the situation even more awkward.

"All right, then," Reo said, bringing up a small, oblong metal device with some sort of emitter at the end. "Let's start with some basic imaging."

He walked up to Dain, who instinctively covered himself. "If you could not do that, please," Reo said, and Dain reluctantly moved his hands away. Reo made a cursory glance down. "Yup, looks perfectly normal for your age, but let's do the metrics anyway."

Reo held the device down at crotch level a few inches away, and pressed one of the controls. A beam of light shot out from the device's emitter, playing a red grid of laser-generated lines first across his balls, and then along his partial sheath and the portion of mercifully unaroused penis that protruded above. After a moment, the grid shut off, and then the device beeped and ejected a small card with a series of numbers from its side. Reo scrutinized them for a second before responding.

"Yes, like I said before, looks totally normal. Dimensions are a few millimeters above normal across the board, but well within the expected normal range. Digital caliper measurements also indicate a normal, healthy girth, and extrapolated dimensions at full engorgement seem to indicate a normal range across the board as well, with a properly functional length and a secure knot." He looked back at Dain, as though trying to contemplate something. "Although we really should get a nonextrapolated measurement as well, I think that we'll forgo it for this examination."

"We'll have to use the alternates for gamete analysis, then," Laeva interjected.

"Yes, yes, that's right." Reo stepped aside, letting Laeva walk over with one of the injector-looking devices in her hand. "I'm going to press this briefly against your testes, is that all right? You'll hear a little noise, and maybe the slightest pinch, but it shouldn't hurt." Dain nodded, and let her press the device up against him. It nudged his fur aside, and he could feel the coolness of the metal against the skin beneath. The tip seemed to push inward, nudging up against one of his balls, and then it made a slight hissing noise for a moment before Laeva pulled it back. "There. That didn't hurt at all, did it?"

"No..."

"See? And that was one of the more invasive parts right there. You're doing just fine, Dain."

The device ejected a small ampoule, which went into another tablet-like device for a quick analysis. "Gametes are fully motile, and the genetic payload looks nice and healthy."

"Ah, good!" Reo replied. "That's only half the battle, though, and not even the most important half." He turned back to Dain. "Hmm... maybe it would be better if you lay down on the bed for this next part."

"Okay..." Dain went to jump onto the bed like he normally would, but Laeva stopped him. "With your feet towards us, please."

Dain turned around, lying sideways across the bed with his feet hanging over the side. It was sort of weird to just be lying there like that, with his penis and everything on display, looking up at the two agents. For their part, they looked just as disinterested as he probably looked uneasy, although Laeva tried to give Dain an encouraging smile as she reached over with the other injector.

"You'll probably feel a bit weird for a moment," she said, as she pressed it in gently toward the back of Dain's neck, reaching around almost underneath where his head lay against the sheets. This injector, though, didn't hiss so much as buzzed against him, a buzz that seemed to vibrate all the way down his spine, and his stomach flip-flopped for a moment. That wasn't the weird part, though.

Still looking down, Dain had an excellent view as his penis twitched, let out a droplet of clear fluid from its tip, and then vanished into its sheath like a rodent bolting down its hole. For a moment, there was just a circle of darkness where it had been, before the top of the sheath rapidly pulled together on itself before the whole thing seemed to rapidly sink in between his hips, retreating beneath a patch of flat fur that ran along below his belly. Below, he could see the slight outline of his retreating balls before they were gone as well, leaving a flat line of fur between his legs. That fur, though, quickly began to ripple, tilting down and away as though someone was combing it in a part to either side, before it seemed to retreat into the skin entirely. It very quickly became a line of pink flesh, which puffed out slightly into a familiar female configuration, the hood at the top just barely arching out into visibility from Dain's perspective.

"One point seven three seconds," said Laeva, looking over at a wrist-mounted display. "That's got to be a record or something."

Dain looked back down, stunned at the sudden transformation. She had had no idea there was a device that could cause it to happen involuntarily like that, and she had to admit that, actually watching it, it was a truly remarkable display. The strangest thing about it, though, was that even while she watched the dramatic transformation taking place, in terms of actually feeling it happen, it was barely any more noticeable than it usually was - aside from the brief moment of nausea, the actual transformation had barely felt like anything at all, just a slight reconfiguration and a moment of feeling something moving about a little inside, before it returned to the by now thoroughly normal "being a girl" feeling between her legs.

"Wow, that was..."

"Oh, you've never seen it happen directly before? That's not all that uncommon, actually." Reo gestured over to the device that Laeva was holding. "For some reason, it doesn't normally happen when you're naked, from what I've heard. We do need to examine the transition, though, and the inducer makes it possible - well, in this direction, at least. Quite the dramatic thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it was..." It was completely crazy-looking, actually, and Dain still had no idea how it could even work like that. "It was something else, yeah. Watching it like that, though, and still not feeling anything really, it's all so..."

"Disconcerting? I can certainly imagine how it would be, although it is, in fact, apparently a normal part of your particular functioning. The two forms apparently have considerably different neural pathways that they connect to, which would be very uncomfortable during the transition, so the body seems to naturally put a neural block into place to prevent sensations from that particular area during the transition. It's a fascinating thing to watch on an EEG when overlaid with localized electrodes, as a massive amount of neural activity in the pelvis is dissipated to nearly nothing by the time it makes its way up the spine. I doubt you're much interested in all of that, though, so we should probably move on to the female portion of the exam." He gestured over to Laeva. "I believe you're usually the one to do the honors?"

"Yes, hun, that is the way it works," Laeva said, before starting momentarily. "Reo, I mean. Er, Doctor Reo..." She trailed off, looking a bit flustered, and turned away from both of them to lean over the case and retrieve a new group of equipment. Dain glanced over at Reo quizzically, and noticed that the man's eyes strayed in a particular direction before turning away to gaze at a blank section of wall. At least, Dain thought, he wasn't looking at her - being naked in the male form had felt embarrassing enough, but being naked in the female form was even more so.

Laeva walked over with the next device, which apparently was a close analogue to the imager that the doctors in the clinic had used on Dain before. She moved it in a series of precise motions over Dain's stomach and pelvis, observing its display carefully when it made a series of electronic chirps at the end of each pass. "Mhmm. Mhmm. Yep, everything looks good. Now that they're unobscured, all internal structures seem to be developing normally, and are where they should be in terms of maturity."

Laeva removed the device, then came back with a white, puffy swab attached to the end of a long, slim stick, which was soon hovering between Dain's legs. "Hmm," Laeva said.

"Is there a problem?" Reo said, looking over.

"Oh, not exactly - just a little surprised, that's all. The next step is to get a sample of internal secretions for hormonal analysis. Given the female genotype listed in your charts, I'm just... surprised not to see any visible at this point."

Reo walked over and placed a hand lightly on Laeva's waist. "Laeva, you know that's just you, right?"

"Oops, sorry..." Laeva's ears dipped back in embarrassment again.

"Although, if it's the production of secrections you need, I'd be happy to help." Reo stepped over to the side as he reached down, unzipping the fly of his pants across what Dain realized was a somehow hitherto-unnoticed bulge. Laeva looked over, shocked, as he did something with the underwear beneath, and a moment later his full erection was on display, the fly of his formal slacks billowed out to either side. It was at least as large as Dain's own, when he had it, a spiderweb of thin, bright red veins twining around its vividly blue length. It was already fully extended, with the knot flared out at the base, holding it away from the thin line of fuzzy sheath that was just barely visible beneath. For a moment, Dain couldn't help but stare at it, tensing with a sudden fear - and another part of her, she realized, was tensing as well, giving a completely inappropriate twitch. He wasn't possibly going to... was he?

"Reo, are you completely insane? There's a subject in the room! How can you possibly think that's appropriate?"

"I don't see what the problem is," Reo replied. "You wanted the production of secretions, right? As you just mentioned, after all, Dain's female form is of a type that is productive between heats. Therefore, it seems logical that the sight and scent of a full male display should be an efficient and effective technique to stimulate such production. I'm sure at the moment you would agree as to its effectiveness?"

Laeva somehow managed to look even more embarrassed as she glanced back, although the look was partly belied by the fact that her tail had begun to twitch about rapidly behind her. "That- That's not-"

"Besides, I'm sure that Dain would prefer this method, as opposed to having you rooting around inside her with that swab trying to find an appropriate secretion..."

Reo was right, but that still didn't change the fact that he was exposing himself a few feet away from Dain, who was suddenly all too aware, both of her nakedness, and what an erect penis in close proximity to her nakedness had meant just a couple of weeks ago.

"What are you, uh, what are you going to do to me with... that?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"Hmm?" Reo looked at Dain quizzically. "I'm not planning on doing anything to you. Like I said, it's simply on display to encourage you to release the secretions that we need to analyze, which will be much easier to access if your body reacts as it should. If need be, I can move a little closer to provide more of the scent. However, if you are at all concerned that I might make some attempt to mate with you against your will, rest assured that it would never come to that. This is, after all, merely diagnostic."

"A-and just who, exactly, are you diagnosing?" Laeva replied, seeming to look at him with some indignation, her thighs moving to press tightly together beneath her skirt.

"Why, my dear, I'm sure I have no idea whatsoever what you mean..."

"Yeah, right. You're doing this just to torture me, aren't you? Just to t-tempt me..."

"Um, guys?" Dain asked from where she lay on the bed. "I, uh, I think maybe I felt something, so you can just do the swab now and get... going..."

"Well, I'm sure that was never my intent," Reo continued, with a wide grin on his face. "However, if you'd like to explain to the subject just how effective such a technique is, perhaps-" He stopped talking, abruptly, as Laeva reached out and wrapped her hand around his exposed shaft, and Dain could see him wince a bit as she gave it a hard squeeze.

"I can't believe you would do this, in front of someone!"

"The subject has been through at least one trial heat, after all, so I hardly think that this is so extraordinary as to be beyond the-" He halted again with another wince as Laeva clamped her hand down on him, grabbing his shoulder with the other as her tail continued to twitch manically.

"Reo?"

"Yes, Laeva?"

"Shut up." Laeva punctuated it by pulling him forward with her shoulder and mashing their muzzles together. Their tongues were quickly flicking and intertwining as they pulled each other into an embrace, and Dain watched, shocked, for a few moments more before blushing and turning away to find a nice, uninteresting piece of wall to stare at. What the hell were they doing? Apparently, the boy from the hallway incident before wasn't the only one interested in posterior-grabbing, but last she checked, they were supposed to be examining her, not each other... In fact, Dain couldn't think of anything much more awkward than lying on her bed, naked, not sure if she was even allowed to get up at this point, while something nearly unimaginable was taking place just a few feet away.

Dain tried not to think about the sounds, although if Reo had been right, her date with another bout of arousal was all but guaranteed. Still, she wasn't sure just how much more awkwardness she could take. Dain seriously considered getting up and at least grabbing some panties to pull on for some sense of modesty, but that impulse was quickly cut short when she felt the impact of someone landing on the bed beside her.

Dain glanced over to see Laeva lying on her stomach a couple of feet off to the side with her legs hanging off the side, her headfur mussed and a crazy, happy grin on her face. The top buttons of her blouse were partially undone, and Dain could see a decent amount of brown-furred cleavage bulging out beneath her. There was a rustling behind her, and Dain glanced over to see Reo edging up the hem of her skirt, the fabric rippling as it clung tightly to her hips for a moment before sliding to bunch up around her waist. Below it, she was wearing a pair of sleek, lavender panties with lace trim, highlighting curves that framed the blue shaft that was quickly nestled against the subtle valley between them.

Reo leaned over her, his shirt missing, and whispered softly into her ear, just loud enough for Dain to make out where she lay a few feet away, practically paralyzed and fixated on the pair next to her, filled with feelings of panic and inexplicable anticipation.

"Ready?"

Laeva simply responded by gliding a hand gracefully down her side and gently pulling the fabric down to rest at the very top of her thighs. Reo slid back, his shaft moving down and away before slipping back, this time disappearing between Laeva's legs as his hands gently clutched at her sides. Laeva's body reverberated as the first thrust bottomed out, earning a grunt from Reo and a muted moan from her, which dissolved into giggling as her flicking tail somehow caught the edge of Reo's belt for a moment and went almost spastic trying to get free, twitching its fluffy tip across Reo's shaft as he pulled back and causing him to gasp in surprise. He thrust forward again, though, Laeva rocking forward before thrusting her hips back against him. Reo only went once more, though, before Laeva reached a hand back and gestured for him to pull out. As soon as he did, his shaft standing awkwardly at attention and glistening with a coat of slick moisture, Laeva moved to roll over onto her back. As she did, Dain caught a glimpse of shiny blue flesh between her legs, a color that almost matched what Reo had. Dain hadn't known that girls could have the same variations in color, and might have even been surprised, if there was any left beyond the sheer fact that two near-strangers had just enfolded each other in a tight embrace and were going at it on the bed next to her, the bed shaking and rocking underneath her as it transmitted each motion and meaningful thrust.

It was a performance, though, that Dain couldn't tear her eyes away from. That was due, in part, to it being unlike anything she had seen before. It wasn't at all like how it was during her heat, where the focus was clear, filled with panting and thrusting and an unspoken mutual desperation, clinging tightly as instinct forced them together. Were it not for the occasional thrust or hip-grind, they seemed to be more snuggling together than anything else, tongues darting and flicking happily across each other's muzzles as their hands hugged and roamed and caressed, kissing and giggling and almost purring, their eyes locked on each other as they sought out just the right place to touch to elicit a thrilling shiver and a slight, muted cry of sheer joy, their only concession to their precarious situation as they explored each other eagerly. In fact, in a weird way, it almost seemed like they were playing, but in the closest and most intimate way possible. As strange as it was, the display was light and happy and fun, a pleasure to watch, and felt oh so good...

Wait - it felt good?

Dain glanced down to see her right hand pressed firmly between her legs, her hips still grinding slowly against it, her mound soft and hot and tingling comfortably beneath the gentle pressure of her fingers. She had been so absorbed in watching them, she'd hardly noticed her body making a barely conscious decision to act on some of the feelings the display was generating. Dain pulled her hand back, feeling a little embarrassed - watching the impromptu display was one thing, but she certainly hadn't planned to get involved! She brought her fingers up, grimacing at the slickness that covered several of them, before an increase in the noises beside her, and the bed rocking under her, made Dain look back over.

Apparently, Reo and Laeva had decided to get a little more into it, Laeva hugging Reo close and licking frantically at his neck as she accepted a pair of quick, hammering thrusts. Dain watched as she pressed her muzzle in tightly against Reo's muzzle, muffling an intense, passionate moan as her hips shuddered and her legs splayed out trembling to either side, nearly landing on Dain's own, and close enough that Dain could feel Laeva's fur trembling against her own as she came hard amidst her partner's laboring thrusts. A moment later, Reo cried out too, a low, barely suppressed moan quickly covered up by a muzzle-locking kiss as his hips shuddered between Laeva's. They held each other close for a while longer, riding each other through the throes of orgasm, with Dain as transfixed by the scene as ever. By the time the two of them even noticed Dain's existence, several minutes had elapsed, and a very relaxed and tongue-lolling Laeva finally turned to look at her while she held the half-dazed head of Reo snuggled close against her bosom.

"Arger," she said, panting, "is going to kill us."

"Mmmfh..." was the only reply that emanated forth from between her breasts.

"Um..." Dain said, off to the side. "About the..."

Laeva nodded sheepishly towards Dain, her ears drooping in embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess we do owe you one heck of an explanation for that..."

"Actually," Dain said, holding up her glistening fingers, "I was wondering if I could get the swab thing over with now..."

A quick run of the swab across her sopping fingers and a general cleanup later, the three of them ended up sitting cross-legged on her bed, Dain in a new pair of her boyshorts-style underwear, and the two of them in decidedly rumpled but mostly-restored clothing. Reo, surprisingly, was the one who looked embarrassed now, his gaze fixed blankly down at the patch of blanket between them, as a chagrined Laeva began her promised explanation.

"I know that wasn't very professional - okay, not professional at all - but we've been, well... very busy lately, with a lot of time on the road and without any opportunities to blow off some steam. We were already both a little hot and bothered, and when your mother was going off downstairs, I think we both started to imagine how thrilling it would be to do something right under her nose. I don't think we ever meant to get you involved, maybe just sneak into the bathroom or something before we left, but Reo just couldn't resist teasing me, and... I know, it's not a real excuse. We didn't uphold the standards we're supposed to measure up to, and we subjected you to something that we never should have, and if we hurt or troubled you in any way..."

"Um, well... I wasn't really disturbed, I mean... it was really unexpected, and weird to see it happen, but it was also really... beautiful, kinda. I mean, it was just, you looked so loving, and happy, and I've never seen anything like that before..."

Reo seemed to almost blush through his fur at that, but Laeva just nodded, seemingly in understanding. "Yeah, I guess it's not exactly an everyday thing. You've probably only seen what it looks like through the lens of heat so far, on one side of it or the other. What happened with us, well... I guess it's just something that happens when two people know each other almost better than they do themselves."

She reached over to put an arm around Reo, who finally looked up enough to meet Dain's eyes. "Reo and I first met a ways back, during our first year of schooling together. I finally invited him to a couple of my trial heats, but by that time we had grown to know each other in different ways. Everything just came together, and we found ourselves spending more time together than apart. We were adept at some of the same things, took the same specialization, and when we were assigned our positions as medical agents, we were lucky enough to be paired together. We've been doing that for about a decade now, and while the job has its ups and downs, having the opportunity to spend so much time with someone I care about... well, it just makes every day worth it."

Reo nodded. "Laeva has certainly put it far more eloquently than I would be able to. I do apologize for letting my impulses control me, as what we did was indeed not the most shining example of proper, professional conduct. We are certainly lucky to have what we have been able to share with each other, and due in large part to my own folly, we have acted in a way that could put our partnership in jeopardy."

"There were a few additional tests we were supposed to run, but I am sure they will keep for another time, or another team. I have one more thing that I am required to mention, and something I am required to give you, but we will not trouble you further - unless, of course, there are any particular things you would wish to ask of us. All that we would ask, if you could find it within yourself to do so, is to keep what transpired here between the three of us."

"Uh, yeah, okay, but..." Dain trailed off, trying to figure out what she wanted to say amidst the lingering awkwardness of the conversation. One issue, though, was still hovering towards the front of her mind. "I mean, if I have to keep a secret for you, then... can you maybe not keep secrets from me? Like why you were really looking up stuff about me, and the people I know, and... my dad..."

Laeva sighed softly. "I guess we do owe you that." She turned over to Reo, looking chagrined. "I told you before that he wouldn't believe us being clueless about his father."

"Yeah, well, it's information that he's not really supposed to have. I hate to say it, but if we tell him the real issue here, there's more of a chance we get burned than if he tells our boss we did it in front of a patient. Still..." Reo turned his head back and regarded Dain solemnly. "I suppose if we're going to have any chance of establishing trust, trust that we may well need in the future, I should tell you as much as I can."

Reo glanced nervously to the side, clearing his throat before continuing. "Joao, you see, was one of the first shifters we were able to thoroughly study after the cataclysm, and one of the first ones to happen spontaneously - that is to say, instead of having the potential from birth, as you did, he was one of the ones to transform later in life due entirely to the demographic desperation still resulting from the cataclysm. Because of that spontaneous transformation, there was much to learn about the unique biological processes that his body underwent. However, at the time, we didn't understand that his mind was undergoing changes that were nearly as dramatic, and when he perceived one of the scientific procedures as too... invasive, he became uncooperative with his colleagues and came to believe that they intended to persecute, and ultimately vivisect him. That was, in fact, never the case, but his paranoia eventually drove him to act rashly. After a particularly dramatic incident that for him proved and justified his fears, he finally ran, and has been running ever since. I suppose I can't entirely blame him, but the reality of the situation is much less fraught than he imagines it to be - the only goal we have for him is to be able to help him return to mental stability, and ensure that his paranoia does not lead to him causing himself harm."

"...And the part you're not telling me?"

Reo sighed, seeming to anticipate that response. "Well, the one part that I do know, I really can't tell you - not just because of the trouble I could get into, but because it's a part that doesn't make much sense, even to me. Perhaps, with the context of the people who do know the complete story, it might make sense, but all I know about those parts are vague rumors. What I've told you really is most of what I know - none of my colleagues know much more, and no one I've talked to knows the specifics of any of the key incidents that led to his desperate flight. After what that flight put your mother and yourself through, the reflected paranoia and fear that I'm sure you've felt as a result, I know that you want answers about why all of that had to happen in the first place. Unfortunately, I just don't have all of them."

"Then who does?"

Laeva shrugged. "Maybe our higher-ups. Maybe the people even higher up that they have to answer to. Maybe only Joao himself. Look - if it will make you feel better, and help you to trust us, well... I'll do a little poking around when we get back to the regional office, see if there's anything more we can find out without stirring things up too much, and get a message to your tablet with any information that's worthwhile. I can't promise we'll find out anything more that what we've already told you, though."

"Okay..." Dain nodded, feeling slightly... disappointed? Well, not exactly. After all, she'd only really known about Joao for a few days anyway, and the stuff from earlier on she could barely even remember - and it wasn't like what she and Eloa had gone through had really been all that problematic or painful. Aside from being distant, Eloa had kept most of her anger and fear to herself, and Dain had never had to suffer through any of it. Still, now that she knew a little more about what had gone on, she had to admit that there was an undeniable curiosity about the mystery surrounding Joao - and if a pair of suddenly-indebted government officials were willing to bring more of it to light, she was certainly willing to go along with it.

"Is there anything else we can answer?" Laeva asked. "I mean, not necessarily about Joao, but about any of it, anything you're going through..."

"Er, well... actually..." Dain looked over towards the equipment case. "Would it be possible to get those inducer things? I mean, ah, it would be kinda nice to have something I could use to, y'know, change between forms when I want to instead of it just happening..."

Laeva smiled, but then shook her head. "I'm afraid we can't do that. The inducer, well... like we said earlier, it only really works to induce the shifter to revert to their default, dominant form, not the other way around - if we'd started the exam in your current state, we would have had to get somewhat more inventive to get you to shift to your other state. It's also designed primarily for short-term, limited use in a clinical setting, and probably isn't safe to use on a regular basis. However, there are some other techniques you can use to spend more time in the gender you prefer."

"Wait," Dain replied, as a part of that explanation caught in her mind. "You're saying that being a girl is actually my... normal form? But... I don't understand. I mean, I grew up as a boy, I spent years and years like that, the girl stuff didn't even show up until just before I started school, so how can that be normal?"

Reo interjected with the answer. "Yes, well... with shifters, the 'default' state can be a bit complicated. Most of the non-spontaneous shifters we've encountered were born female and later developed male traits, so your case, most likely due to Joao's genetics, is more unique in that the shift was essentially reversed. That being said, though, the type of shift you went through is actually more interesting to us given the current gender imbalance and the type of shifting that you are descended from. However, for almost all shifters, the eventual default state is female - simply because those organs, once they are fully developed, become more central to the body's function, and the hormones released by them have a far greater impact on the body's drives.

"I apologize if this has been explained to you before, but the act of shifting, at least in the case of those like you, is not a complete substitution of the full set of male organs for the full set of female ones. The transformation that occurs primarily does so for the external presentation of the genitalia, along with some internal structures located wholly within the pelvic region, while many of the other internal structures, predominantly female ones, retain their complete forms in either configuration, and were in fact maturing inside you even when, to all external evidence, you were completely male. Admittedly, there are certain advantages to this configuration in periods of crisis, as it means that even while pregnant, a shifter can perform the male role if required while the baby remains safe and secure in an unchanging womb, but the development does mean that over time, the male form can take on a more... vestigial role.

"Now that all those organs in both forms are mostly matured, there are two different sets of hormones at work, governed by two different systems. While the male systems are usually activated "on demand," as it were, the female organs are locked to an internal, estrual cycle that asserts itself regularly under its own timetable. In shifters, that cycle usually presents itself as the core hormonal response, and to ensure that the female systems stay in control enough to maintain the hormonal cycle, most shifters 'default' to the female form on a regular basis, even outside of heat, to ensure that both the shifting and constant parts of that form are properly in sync by the time the next heat arrives."

"So... there's no avoiding it?" Dain replied, trying to process all of the jargon that Reo had just recited. "I'm just gonna have to be a girl most of the time?"

"Well... as Laeva mentioned, there are certain things that can be done to influence it. Some studies have shown that the role you consciously play can have some effect on the form you take most often - for instance, acting more friendly with girls and more romantic with boys may cause your female form to take precedence, and vice versa. Similarly, gendered clothing choices can have some effect, especially undergarments - wearing panties, for example, which are more comfortable in one form than the other, can encourage the form they're most comfortable for. However..."

Reo reached over into the metal case, and came back up holding a small, black plastic hinged-shell box with a universal female symbol on the top and a small metal clasp holding the two pieces together.

"I suppose this is as natural a segue as any to talk about the one other thing I really must go over with you. As I mentioned before, while shifters often present as a predominantly physical change, it is important to take into account the mental changes that can accompany it - most specifically, the unique situation that shifters find themselves in when it comes to developing a gender identity, and becoming comfortable with all the aspects of both their forms, including the one which manifests later on and can therefore feel considerably more alien. One of the concerns with Joao was, in fact, him being able to come to terms with the spontaneity of the change, and finding a way to reconcile his own self-image with his alternate form. As a result, the female form never became one that he was comfortable with, and it is believed that certain tests that required the assumption of that form for extended periods may have been what eventually pushed him over the edge. Given that... history, and the fairly abrupt onset of your shifting, the government would like to encourage you to consider taking some preemptive action, to help ensure that you have an easier time coming to terms with your new role."

"Um, okay, but I... I mean, it hasn't really been a problem or anything. I mean, I don't really know how to, ah, think of myself exactly, as a boy or a girl, or both or neither, but... I don't really feel conflicted, either. I mean, I get it - sometimes I'm a guy, and sometimes I'm a girl, and there's heat and more responsibility and stuff, but it all seems pretty, well, normal by now."

"And that's a good sign - I think that the idea is that, now that we've been able to see that you're handling things well and not showing any signs of instability, we'd just like to help keep you on that path and make sure that you can develop into a healthy adult who is equipped, both physically and mentally, to assume their adult responsibilities, both to themselves and to our society.

"So, what I'm supposed to say is that the government would like to encourage you, for now, to spend as much time getting familiar with your female form as you feel comfortable with. Given your class assignment, that should be fairly easy to reconcile, as most of your gendered education will be related to that form as well, as will the group of students that you spend the most time with. If you are willing to do this, and do some additional curricula that our agency will assign to help you become fully comfortable in your role as both a shifter and a young woman... suffice it to say there is a very strong possibility for significant rewards, including possible assignment to careers that are otherwise extremely selective, as well as significant priorities in mate selection for your subsequent heats, additional resource allocations, and other perks that could be important later on. Some of these are already available simply by virtue of your designation of a shifter, especially of your particular type, and if you can find it in yourself to overcome your familial concerns and allow us to help and to teach you, then your future has the potential to be very bright indeed."

Reo proffered the box to Dain, who reached out and took it hesitantly. The plastic was cool to the touch, and opaque enough to conceal all but the faintest outline of what lay within.

"In that spirit, here's something that may help with that comfort level. Its operation is fairly straightforward - it is meant to secure comfortably in place along the curve of the female genitalia, is slim enough that it can be comfortably worn under panties or other undergarments, and once activated will operate automatically. For the best effect, it should be put into place just before you go to bed and worn overnight, as doing so will both help you sleep comfortably, and encourage your body to maintain its female form during the subsequent day. You don't have to use it all the time, but it you use if for a few nights a week, and each night for a week or two preceding your next heat, it should help the female form go from feeling almost normal to being second nature. As a result, it should allow you to go into your next heat without having to deal with unpredictably spiking hormones, completely out-of-control urges, or any other complications that might arise from your forms being out of sync. Like I said, it's not mandatory to use it or anything, but I'd recommend trying it out and letting it help you become as comfortable with your new form as you are with the one you grew up in."

With that, Reo stood up, closing the metal case and securing its clasps as Laeva carefully brushed out the creases in an effort to straighten her clothing into a presentable form.

"Again, we do apologize profusely for any discomfort we may have caused you. We owe you a lot for being so... understanding about what happened. That reminds me..." Reo pulled out a mini-tablet from one of his pockets and tapped a few commands on it, and a moment later Dain's own tablet gave a confirmation chime from where it rested on the desk.

"I've added a contact icon for us to your tablet's taskbar. If you need our help, or just want to talk, any time of the day or night, just press that and we'll do whatever is within our power to help you. All right?"

"Okay..."

"Then, I suppose it is time for us to take our leave. Thank you again for handling all of this so well."

Reo turned to go as Laeva rested a hand gently on Dain's shoulder. "It gets easier, really. There's no way to know what the future may bring, but... after what you said, I... I truly hope that one day you are able to find the same sort of happiness with someone you can love without hesitation." Then she turned, the door swung open, and they were quickly off down the hallway.

Dain stuck her head out the door, watching them go down the stairs, and endure a truly icy glare from Eloa as they made their way towards the door. "Are you both quite finished?" she asked them in a sharp, clipped tone, her ears and tail practically vibrating with barely suppressed rage, and she blocked their path and made them open up their equipment case, demanding to know if they were trying to somehow smuggle Dain out in a case that was far too small for it. Reo merely glanced back towards the stairs, and Eloa followed his gaze to see Dain watching them from the doorway. Seeing her standing there, looking just fine, seemed to make Eloa relax significantly, her tail abruptly calming as she stepped aside and brusquely shooed the two agents towards the door.

As soon as the front door closed, Eloa turned and came pounding up the stairs, immediately enfolding Dain in a protective bear hug. It felt slightly embarrassing to be that close to her mother, dressed only in her underwear, and it felt especially awkward and unusual given how hands-off Eloa usually was.

"Oh, Dain, I'm so sorry I couldn't stop them from getting to you!" She paused squeezing Dain tightly. "They didn't hurt you, did they? They didn't stick anything inside you, install and strange things under your fur, or anything like that? If they did, so help me, I'll track them down, and... and..."

"Uh, mrmmm," Dain said into her chest, and Eloa thankfully slackened her embrace so that Dain could face her. "Mom, they... they didn't do anything to me. I mean, nothing more than what the doctors did at the clinic. They checked my forms and stuff, and used one of those things to scan my stomach, and they really didn't touch me at all." Each other, though... that was another story, and one that she couldn't even how Eloa would react if she heard it.

Eloa pulled back a little in response, still holding Dain at arm's length, seeming to notice her state of partial undress for the first time. "They made you take off your clothes..."

"Well, they had to examine me, like at the clinic, so... like I said, they just checked and made sure I was healthy like the other doctors did. That, uh, kinda seemed like what they wanted, mostly. They really wanted to make sure both my forms were healthy and that I was doing okay as a shifter and stuff, and how important it was to make sure I get comfortable with it. They said if I fulfill my responsibilities well, I might be able to do anything I wanted when I was done with school. They didn't want me to do anything weird, just to make sure I got comfortable with being a girl and stuff so I don't have problems with my next heat. They, uh..." Dain hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was wise to talk about what else they had said, but it seemed important regarding the reason that the agents had been there in the first place. "They told me a little more about what happened with Joao, and just wanted to make sure I didn't have any problems like that."

Upon hearing that, Eloa looked back at her with an expression that was suddenly, almost intensely curious. "Tell me exactly what they said about him. Even if you think I might not want to hear it, it's important enough that I don't want you to hold anything back, okay?"

Dain was a little surprised about her mother's sudden change in emotions, but she went over what the agents had told her, including the questions that they didn't have the answers to. She left out the part about the agents looking up more information, though, as to explain that she'd have to explain why they were doing it for her - and to do that would break what she'd promised to keep secret in exchange for that help. When she finished explaining, though, Eloa seemed to nod in understanding.

"Huh. Joao was always tight-lipped about what had happened, and I never thought it would have been something like that, plus it's certainly possible that they're omitting something important or outright lying, but... somehow, it rings true. Joao could be the nicest guy, but he wasn't the most stable one. He'd wake up some nights screaming, and there were some days he wouldn't let me look at him at all before running off. I didn't really know about him being a shifter, though, until after the government took him away the first time, and back then I didn't really understand the significance of what that meant. It doesn't change the fact that the government did something to him, though, when they took him away, and when he came back he was more messed up than I'd ever seen him. Then he took off, for good, and at first I thought the government had taken him away again, but... I guess, in a weird way, it's good to know that he's still just running, instead of locked away somewhere. Because that's what I thought happened to him... that's why I was so afraid they were going to take you away too."

Eloa pulled Dain in for another hug, holding her more gently this time as she spoke softly into Dain's ear. "Back when I had you, and you were a boy, I felt disappointed about what that meant, but at the same time I felt so relieved when it looked like you'd grow up to be a normal boy, because it meant that the government wouldn't come after you like they did him. Then, when you began to shift, I was so elated by what you were, and at the same time so afraid that the government would find out and take you away from me too. When they showed up, I thought for sure that it was over, that they'd take you away and I'd never see you again, but... you're here, and now that there's a good chance that they don't have him, and that I might one day see him again... maybe they have changed. Maybe there's some hope. Just... promise that you won't let them take you away, okay? Promise that if they ever try to mess you up like they did to Joao, you won't let them. If they just want to make sure you're okay and do well as a shifter, then I guess that's acceptable - after all, I want you to do well too. If they ever try anything else, though... promise me you'll let me know, and I'll make sure you're protected, okay?"

Dain nodded her assent within her mother's arms, and Eloa finally released her. "All right, then. If you want to talk to me about any of it, you know I'm always here to listen, right?" Dain nodded again, and Eloa turned to walk towards the door. "I'll have dinner ready soon..." she said, her voice trailing away down the hall.

Dain closed the door, flopping down on her bed. Her first impulse, interestingly enough, was to take a moment to laugh out loud at the sheer absurdity of it all. Ever since the shifting began, it really had seemed like there hadn't been a single situation that hadn't resolved itself in some strange, unexpected, and probably sexual manner. She'd made some mistake and pissed Caure off, and now her friend was closer and more enthusiastic than ever; she'd gotten into a conflict with someone at school and had ended up invited to their heat; her secret, as it were, was revealed to an entire class of students who took less than a week to just shrug it off as totally normal; and now the feared government agents who were purported to do terrible things to her had instead made love on her bed. Not that far from where she was laying, in fact...

After hastily pulling the sheets off, and not wanting to lay down on the bare mattress until she had a chance to reset it, Dain set about getting dressed again, starting with the underwear that was already growing uncomfortable from the lingering effects of arousal. As she finished up and began remaking the bed, though, she thought over the events of the past few weeks, and in truth they did seem more on the absurd side than most. Every perception and expectation she'd had going into situations had been vastly different that what actually happened, and it seemed like every time she might be making sense of things, something new would come along to throw yet another complication into her life. In fact, so much had happened that the incident with the two agents barely even stood out among everything else.

At least the agents had answered a few important questions - although not necessarily in the way that Dain had wanted. Mostly, they'd confirmed what she'd heard before, from other doctors and teachers: that regardless of how Dain had lived his life up until recently, from now on her life was going to be much more about being a girl than it would about being the way Dain was used to. Except... what he had been used to had already begun to fade when the changes began, and once heat had come around and rapidly demonstrated how different things had become, Dain had already been settling into a new sort of normal. Not that long ago, boys and girls had seemed worlds apart, and being a girl had been completely alien. Now, though, having had a chance to be both, there were really far more similarities than differences, and ninety percent of the time, what happened to be going on between his or her legs didn't really matter either way. While there were some inconvenient things about the female form, there were inconvenienced in the male form as well, and all things considered... why not try to do what was being asked of her? Being female a little more couldn't hurt, and knowing that she would be for a given day would mean that she could wear more of what was expected, fit in better, and worry even less about being different among her peers. As alien as it had appeared at first, being predominantly female actually started to seem like the route to a real, new normal, one where she could just slide back into a usual, comfortable social place and concentrate on being herself. After all, if what the agents had said was right, she was mostly female all the time no matter what form she was in - something that had, fully acknowledged or not, been obvious from the time the chnaging lines of her body had necessitated the shopping trip with Eloa.

Dain looked over to her desk, where the box the agents had left her was still resting. While Reo had more or less said what it was, he hadn't exactly been clear on what it did, or how it worked. The box itself didn't make the matter any clearer, even when Dain walked over and inverted it to see if anything was written on the bottom. Beyond another copy of the universal female symbol, though, there was nothing else.

Still, Dain was curious enough to unhook the latch and open the clamshell to reveal its contents. The device inside didn't look like much at first glance: sort of a narrow, fleshy oval, curving up slightly towards each end, composed of a thin, soft, almost translucent material. On the other side of it, there was a tiny control panel made of flexible plastic, with a tiny row of LEDs glowing in an incomprehensible sequence, and a single, slim button that domed up slightly from its surface, small letters stenciled underneath spelling out the word "ACTIVATE." Beyond that, there were no obvious instructions for the thing, although maybe there wasn't a need for it - after all the device's operation seemed simple enough. The fleshy side was obviously designed to be pressed in against the exposed skin between her legs - the "vulva," Selaue had called it - and the button was designed to start it up to do... whatever it actually did. Come to think of it, aside from "making things more comfortable," Reo hadn't really explained what, exactly, the thing would actually do to her.

Suddenly feeling a little apprehensive, a feeling compounded by the realization that the fleshy stuff that made up the thing was actually growing warm between her fingers, she reached over to set it back down in the box - and noticed a small, black cube that had apparently been tucked underneath it. She exchanged the two, turning the cube over in her fingers. Four of the sides were blank, black plastic, but the fifth had another, similar button labeled simply "On," and the last side had block letters etched into it that read "This side facing tablet." Curious, she set it down on her desk next to her tablet, and pressed the button on what was now the top face of the cube. At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds, there was a series of beeps: first from the device resting in its box, then from the cube, and finally the notification chime of her tablet as its screen came suddenly to life. On the taskbar, a new application icon quickly swelled into view, next to the one at the end that the agents had installed. The label was less than clear, referring to the application as "3YR2B7TWNY", but the icon appeared to be a minuscule representation of the fleshy device.

Dain pressed the icon, and watched as a screen came up, something that looked like some sort of abstract control panel with a bunch of numbered, unexplained settings. Trying to change any of them, though, quickly brought up a dialog box that read "To modify the settings of this device, enter your registered medical provider number and verify that you have read the cautions and usage instructions in the device manual." Apparently, the device had already been set up by someone who had one of those numbers, probably one of the agents - and while Dain could probably browbeat one of them into unlocking the program, she wasn't eager to have yet another new and complicated thing to deal with. In any case, the device could wait; her grumbling stomach, quickly flaring up as the scent of cooking spices wafted up the stairs and under her door, could not.

Dinner was, at least since Eloa's renewed engagement with her, more subdued than most - in fact, for a while it almost seemed like the old normal, with both of them quickly shoveling down food in silence. It was only toward the end, when Dain was licking her plate clean, that Eloa had suddenly fixed her with an intense stare and posed a forceful question.

"Dain, when we talked earlier... what didn't you tell me?"

"W-what?" Dain replied, keeping the plate in front of her face to disguise any guilt that might have flushed across it. Was it just how she'd responded, or had Eloa overheard more than she was letting on? "I, um, I'm pretty sure I told you everything important that happened..."

"Dain, I've known you long enough to tell when you're not being entirely straight with me. I know it's not that you don't want to tell me, but if they're holding anything over you-"

"No! I mean, um, no, it's nothing like that, it's just..." Dain cast about quickly in her mind, trying to figure out something else she could put forward. Even more than not wanting to break her promise, after all the strange things she'd already had to talk to her mom about, she really didn't want to have another discussion that involved sex in graphic detail. She realized, though, that there was one thing that she could mention - and that doing so might even satisfy some of her own curiosity. "I mean... they, uh, gave me something. They said it was supposed to help me get used to my forms, but that it wasn't exactly standard procedure to give it out and I shouldn't really tell people I had it..."

"Oh, really?" Eloa replied, the curious look from before spreading across her face, although not quite as intensely. "I think you should bring it down for me to have a look at, to make sure it's not anything underhanded..."

Dain ran up to her room to retrieve the thing, bringing the whole package, box and all, down to the kitchen table. She stood next to Eloa as her mother opened up the box, scrutinizing the unusual object inside as she turned it around in her fingers. As she did, though, Dain heard her let out a little gasp of recognition, while her ears wavered and dipped in embarrassment, her tail twitching nervously.

"Um... does that mean you recognize what it is?"

"Er... Dain, you're sure they gave you this device for a medical purpose?"

"Yeah, that's what they said it was for... that I should wear it at night and it would help me get used to my female form. Is it- Isn't that what it's for?"

"Well..." Eloa said, quickly depositing the device back in its box, almost as though it were too hot to hold onto. "I'm sure that it could possibly be a medical device, as it does look a little different, but it also looks very... similar... to a device that I acquired to take care of some other female needs after Joao went away..."

"Um, what do you mean by 'other female needs?'" Dain asked, the question seeming to only exacerbate her mother's embarrassment. "Are there, um, some kind of extra needs that true females have that shifters don't?"

"Oh, no, it's not that, it's just..." Eloa stammered, looking down at the box, as she somehow managed to visibly flush beneath her fur. "I, uh, I thought it would be easier talking to you now that you're my... well, close enough to a daughter, but there are certain things that are even too, um, intimate for that..."

"Okay..." Dain trailed off, glancing down at the box as well. "I guess, um, can you maybe just tell me... should I use it like they said? Is it safe to do that?"

"Oh... yes, of course, it's quite safe to use something like that. It should probably be, ah, very comfortable to use, in fact. It might feel a little strange, though, and you should remember that you can just take it off if you don't like it. They, um... they don't want you to wear it all the time, do they?"

"No, they just said to use it when I'm in bed and about to fall asleep, and it should do what it's supposed to."

"Yes, that should be fine. Just remember to take it off before you leave, and only use it at home where you have some privacy. Oh, and if using it makes you want to... vocalize or cry out in any way, don't be embarrassed about it. That's completely normal, and I won't mind at all, as long as you remember to go to bed on time. Okay?"

Dain nodded, although she still had no idea what her mother was referring to. "Um... why would it make me cry out, though? I thought you said it was supposed to be comfortable..."

"It should be... oh, no, not like that. It wouldn't make you cry out in pain, but..." Eloa trailed off, flushing even more deeply. "Dain, I- I'm sorry, I just can't talk with you about this any more. Just... just use it or don't, but if I have to keep talking about this, I'm bound to either crack up laughing or faint from sheer embarrassment..."

"All right... Sorry about that, but you did ask to see it..."

"And it's fine, it's just... I've had a very long, strange day, Dain, and I think you have too. Maybe we both just need a break, a chance to catch our breaths... Say, do you have much in the way of homework tonight?" Dain shook her head. "In that case, then... how about we make tonight movie night? There are a couple of things on the video network that I wanted to take a look at soon, and I think you might find them interesting too. I'll whip up some snacks for later, and we can curl up on the couch and take a night off from having to worry about anything else but having fun. What do you say?"

Dain nodded again, realizing that Eloa was right; curiosity about the device and her mother's reaction aside, taking a moment to just relax and do something thoroughly normal was immensely appealing.

"All right, then. Go bring that back up to your room, get a quick shower in and get dressed in something comfy, and when you get back down I'll have everything ready and we can relax."

As Eloa walked off to putter around the kitchen, Dain complied with her request, heading upstairs to jump in the shower, still ignoring the array of mystery products and washing up with the familiar, reliable fur shampoo that had served her well so far.

It wasn't until she was most of the way done, rinsing up under the warm water, when she realized how normal it felt now to wash up as a woman. When it had first started, and even up until recently, it had been a novel experience - it was the one time of the day where she hadn't been able to hide her body behind clothes and ignore it. It had created both a feeling of some kind of alien experience, and something if not directly sexy, then at least titillating. Coming initially from the perspective of a boy, and one unlikely to visit a girl's heat at that; while he would have been loath to admit it, there had been some strange, illicit thrill of being able to run his hands along a girl's body and being able to feel her most intimate parts, even if at that particular moment those parts were her own. But those impulses had been fading, and this time there hadn't been anything at all: no pondering her female form in the mirror, no curious explorations, no subversive thrill (or any thrill at all) from washing between her legs. It had all been automatic, and seemed like the last line had been crossed in terms of the form's otherness. Heat, while still crazy, was normal enough to face again, other arousal was now taken in stride, walking around in public as a girl no longer felt even the slightest bit weird, and now her female form, laid bare, was no longer even a novelty, just Dain how she always was.

As she thought that, though, she also somehow felt a little bit guilty that she'd taken this new form so easily in stride, so completely that it could essentially be considered a normal part of her life. Sure, it was a more preferential status, with seemingly more benefits by the day; but at the same time, Dain couldn't just write off his entire childhood. Maybe he hadn't done all the things that were traditionally considered masculine, but up until a few months ago, being a boy had been a core part of his identity, his behavior, and his personality. Now, at least in the eyes of seemingly everyone else she knew, that part of Dain was just some sort of unimportant, vestigial footnote in her life, something to be dragged up when he had to go to some girl's heat, and then just... tucked away in favor of going about her "better" female existence. To accept that so easily, to brush that part of his life aside, felt like... well, not a betrayal, exactly, but still some form of abandonment. In a way, he realized, it almost felt like trading away a key part of his life, even if it was for a newer and perhaps even more comprehensive one. Still, that one part, along with the simplicity and integral sense of self that it represented, was something he wasn't keen on losing. Even if the female form wasn't something "other" any more, in a certain sense when Dain was in it she felt not quite like Dain, but a little like she had stepped into and was inhabiting someone else's life - a better life, with new experience and opportunities, but still something quite different than the path that he had thought was his to tread. And now that it was beginning to feel normal, now that it was beginning to feel like his - her - own, what did that mean for the life that had previously been his? What if one day she woke up, and it was the life from before, the life that she had known so intimately and that was tied so much to who she was, that was now alien and "other?" If that happened, who would she be then? Would she still even be Dain, at her core, or some new, almost unrecognizable being, emerged from the discarded chrysalis of her previous self?

It was an unsettling thought, one that she didn't really want to accept, and she tried to figure out an argument against it as she toweled off in her room and dug through the drawer that contained her "lounging around" for something to pull on. How much, after all, did your physical form really affect your core personality? It wasn't just your physical form, though - it was all the behaviors, all the interactions, all the things with others that played out differently for boys and girls. A fight for a boy might end with a punch or a smack, but a fight for a girl might end in cold stares and days of silence. If all those interactions added up to form your personality, then, in certain ways at least that balance had to weigh in much more heavily on the masculine side - after all, it had years of interactions, compared with a few brief months living predominantly as a girl. True, those months had been eventful enough that in some ways they'd almost felt like years, but at the same time, maybe it was true that whatever the form below, what happened between her ears was essentially the same. And after all, it wasn't as though the world had completely forgotten that Dain was also a boy - several pending heat invitations indicated that his male form was still desirable in some way, and Caure loved her equally and enthusiastically in both her forms. So, maybe it wasn't so much about being a boy in a physical sense, although that might certainly help to stem her worrisome line of thought, as much as it was making sure that deep down, it was her own personality, not the forms she took on, that was the most crucial thing to pay attention to. After all, even non-shifters couldn't necessarily help how they looked outwardly, but they often managed to have personalities that diverged wildly from what people might assume from their appearance.

Looking down at herself, though, she knew that the assumption at the moment would be 100% female, with clothes that weren't exactly helping the matter. Being lost in thought as she'd gotten dressed, it took her glancing down to realize that Eloa had continued her methodical cycling of Dain's wardrobe into what she considered to be stylish and appropriate. That meant that instead of Dain's normal lounging clothes, a ratty T-shirt with some action-show mascot or other on it and a pair of baggy shorts, she was wearing a more form-fitting shirt with a trio of brightly-colored, cuddly animals on it, and some kind of snug, curve-hugging, extra-stretchy pale blue pants that for some reason ended abruptly shortly below her knees. Normal or not for her form, it seemed hard to hold onto the concept of being a boy at the core while wearing them, as they were, in every respect, undeniably girly. At the same time, though, she quickly realized that they were, in fact, considerably more comfy, and something about the snug feel of them against her fur made her feel immediately cuddly, ready to just curl up, luxuriate and relax with some much-needed time off. Maybe, she thought, she might even get a break from the nonstop arguments of her own thoughts.

She padded back downstairs to the living room, or the "den" as her mother called it. Strangely, for all its comforts, it was the room in the house that usually saw the least use. They always ate meals in the kitchen, and Dain was used to either working on things at the workshop, or spending time studying in her room - she'd always preferred doing things like that upright at a desk rather than splayed out on a couch, and usually only ended up there if there was something very specific she wanted to watch, or on the rare occasions, like the aftermath of certain activities during her heat, where she was simply too exhausted to focus on anything else. Eloa, apparently, was much the same, and as she hadn't been that interested in socializing with Dain before, she'd found ways to keep them both busy with things to be done by themselves. As a result, the living room had only usually seen use when someone else was visiting. In fact, this was the first time Dain could even think of Eloa proposing anything at all like this, but then again, since the shifting had begun, a whole new side of her had seemed to open up. If anything, now that she thought about it, that was one of the things that made it feel like Dain was using the female form to live some alternate life: in male-Dain's world, Eloa was an adequate if distant parent, always cold, neutral and at arm's length; in female-Dain's world, however, Eloa was a warm, doting mother who wanted to be as engaged as possible, buying her things not just because she needed them but because she thought Dain might like them, and proposing fun things for them to do together - things that the Eloa from male-Dain's world would never have even dreamed of.

Eloa was already sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a robe and fiddling with a remote for the remote that hooked into the house's multimedia network. On a tray in front of her, bowls of meat puffs and the triangular crunchables that Dain loved were crackling pleasantly, just out of the oven. As she walked over, Eloa managed to get the system fired up, and the wall in front of them faded from its usual off-white to a deep, momentary black, and then came to life to display the network-search interface.

'Ah, there you are!" Eloa called out to her, still focusing on the remote. "Sorry it's taking so long to set this up - since we hardly ever use it, I'm a little out of practice. Ah... there we go, though. I found the playlist, and we should be all set. Oh, this should be fun - a nice night in, with just us girls!"

It was a normal enough statement, but the way Eloa said it so casually, with the implicit assumption that Dain really was just a girl now, caused all the thoughts from before to come bubbling back up, along with the sense of diffuse betrayal. In some way, Dain knew that he needed that boy part of him, that it was important - and yet, more and more, people were just assuming that it was all about the female form. It was certainly understandable, given how she was presenting herself to the world now, and every day as a girl would only further it - something that would happen more and more, she knew, especially if she followed the advice of the agents and the desires of nearly everyone else. And suddenly, sitting there, Dain wasn't sure if she was willing to accept that.

"Um... mom?" Dain asked, and Eloa turned to look over at her, taking a break from scrolling through the media titles listed on the wall-screen.

"Yes, Dain?"

"I, ah... I know this sounds a little weird, but while I know that everyone kinda wants me to be a girl a lot... do you think it's all right if I spend some days as a boy, too?"

"Hmm... does this maybe have something to do with the visit from earlier?"

"Well, yeah, maybe a little, but... everyone wants me to spend time in my female form, and I get why that's important and stuff, but at the same time I want to be a boy, too. The girl stuff is new, and interesting, and it's not that I don't like it, it's just that... people seem to want me to be a girl all the time, but I feel like I need to be a boy sometimes too. And, and not just when I have to be, like for a girl's heat or something. I kinda just want to, well, just be a boy, and work on stuff at the workshop like I used to, and have some time when I don't have to think about girls, and boys, and heat, and all that stuff, just..." be myself, Dain almost wanted to say, but she wasn't sure how her mom would take that - in fact, given the way her thoughts were going, she wasn't even sure if that was precisely what she meant, anyway.

"Well, yes, like I'm sure everyone has already told you, once you get older being a woman is simply going to take up much of your life, because I think that's the form you have to have for certain things - when you're in heat, and when you get pregnant, and have kids, and while they're nursing at your... chest... as far as I understand from what everyone's told me, you have to be a woman for all of that because your body won't be any other way. I think what people are trying to tell you is simply because of that, because you won't have a choice but to be a woman most of the time, you should also spend a lot of time as a woman now so that you're fully comfortable being in that form for long periods of time, on top of all the other changes those things entail. I don't think you should look at it like you have to be a girl all the time, though, or that you're forbidden from being a boy. Both of those aspects are still part of you after all, and if you want to be a boy when you're not in school, or spend some non-school days back at the workshop, I think that would all be fine. In school, though... well, I suppose that's still up to you, but you might find it a lot easier to fit in, and figure out how to interact with different people, if you stick with being a girl so you're not having to switch between two very different perspectives while trying to deal with the other students, and the confusion that might cause. I know it can't always be easy, reconciling those two parts of you, but I think the advice being given is simply coming from a desire to help you succeed in your new situation, and a lot of that, in this case, revolves more frequently around your female form. Does that help answer your question, at least somewhat?"

"Actually... yeah, that helps a lot. If you're... if people are okay with me doing that..."

"I don't see why they wouldn't be. Anyway, we're supposed to be having fun, remember? There will be plenty of time later on to fret about things, male or female, but in the meantime, come on over here, get all curled up and comfortable, and let's just enjoy the evening, okay?" She patted a spot on the couch next to her.

Dain nodded in agreement, plunking herself down on the couch next to her mother, and and curling up to rest her head on her knees, her tail flipping over to curl partway around her ankles. Eloa wrapped her arm around Dain's shoulders, pulling her over a little bit to snuggle against her, using her other to pull the snack tray in even closer before setting the movie in motion across the wall.

Following her mother's advice, Dain tried to relax instead of dwelling on her own thoughts, and once she did so she was able to get into it and have what turned out to be quite an enjoyable evening. Eloa had picked a double-feature of pre-cataclysm films imagining science and technology as it might have continued to progress had the cataclysm not hit. There were vehicles that glided over sparkling roadways and flitted through the sky, domed cities with massive chrome skyscrapers that stretched towards the heavens, robots that could do all manner of miraculous things and a subset, called 'androids,' that were supposed to be almost exactly like people, with the same sorts of thoughts and feelings instead of just computerized calculations and solutions. The stories were compelling enough that it was easy to get lost in them, munching on snacks and snuggled up comfortably against her mother's warmth, it was like some perfect snapshot of a childhood that she'd never had. As much as it might have made things even stranger, as much as she knew how important and necessary her male side and childhood experiences were, there was a part of her, feeling that comfort, that almost wished she'd started shifting much earlier so that her earlier years could have been more like this, and less the way it had been, in so many ways entirely on his own, not even realizing what it was he had been missing.

Eventually, with the credits of the movie rolling and the snacks converted to empty, crumb-decorated bowls, it was time to head off to bed. Eloa gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading up to her room, and Dain took a moment to luxuriously uncurl from her comfortable perch before going to get ready for bed.

She was finishing taking off her lounging clothes, and getting ready to pull on the panties and sleep-shirt that she had begun to experiment with wearing to see if it felt more comfortable in the case of unexpected morning arousal, when she heard a beeping noise coming from her desk. Wandering over, she saw that her tablet had come to life, a reminder screen poking up from the icon of the program she'd installed earlier, reminding her to "apply the device" before going to sleep.

Looking over at the box where the device lay, she felt a moment of trepidation, even though she knew that the thing was almost certainly okay. Still, if she was going to try and do what the agents and her mother had recommended, it was probably something she had to at least try out. If it did work as intended, after all, it would make certain things much easier - and if it meant that she would have less spontaneous shifts, even if it also meant spending more time in her female form, then it might be quite useful indeed.

She walked over to her desk, glancing down at the box for a moment before opening it back up. Whatever the thing was, it had come back to life in anticipation of her use, the lights on the back of it varying their brightness in a sort of cycling, throbbing pattern.

Dain lifted the thing up, still feeling a little weird about how it felt warm to the touch, but knew that she needed to at least give the thing a try - after all, if it did something uncomfortable or otherwise weird, she could just as easily seal it back up in its box and forget about it.

She wasn't exactly sure, though, how to put it on. It seemed like it might be easier from a prone position, so she lay back down on her bed, spreading her legs apart a little to gain access. Was she supposed to just... press it in down there?

She cupped the device in her hand, moving it down between her legs, and settling it gently in place. She wasn't sure that it was aligned the way it was supposed to be, but as soon as it made contact with her flesh, it seemed to somehow settle into place, the edges of the device seeming to perfectly cup the periphery of her mound. The material felt fleshy and warm against her own skin, snuggling in against her even as the surface of it seemed to yield and conform around her. She could feel her nether ridges begin to sink in to the material, feeling it press them gently together and hug them closely even as she felt another part of it seem to engulf the hood of flesh at their apex, ever so gently tugging it back. Then she felt more of the material descend around her button, sending a quick, happy thrill shivering through her belly as the soft material wrapped itself snugly around it, engulfing it in a cocoon of warmth.

She waited for it to do something more, but once it settled into place it seemed content to stay that way, snuggly warm and incredibly comfortable, conforming to her perfectly and feeling as though that was where it always should have been. Dain bent down, trying to see what it looked like in place, but there wasn't much to see - once it had finished conforming to her body, the lights on it had turned off, and now it just looked like she had a bare, blank patch of flesh between her legs, instead of the normal ridges and folds. The device was so incredibly thin that it hardly bulged out any more at all, and when she took the agents' advice and pulled on a pair of panties on top of it, they fit just as well as they always had.

Dain pulled on her sleep shirt, sighing happily as the comfortable warmth settled in further between her legs. Dain still wasn't entirely sure what the device was for, or exactly what needs it was supposed to be fulfilling, but while the sensation of it against her was... satisfying, in some diffuse way, it didn't feel anything like the arousal she'd experienced before, or the directly sexual sensations she'd elicited with her own fingers. Instead, it just made her feel warm and relaxed, just sort of generically happy and sleepy, and it felt absolutely natural to just flop onto the bed and curl up under the sheets, purring drowsily into them as the warmth permeated deeper, snuggling its way up between her legs and radiating out across her belly. Everything just felt... perfect, somehow, that her body was just exactly the way it should be, warm and sleepy and safe. Dain was more than happy to give into the snuggly sensations flowing through her, and she let them carry her off into a deep, blissful slumber.

When she woke up the next morning, Dain felt completely rested, even more so than she normally did - and a quick check confirmed that, exactly as the agents had advertised, she had remained resolutely in her female form. Even better, however, the device worked, it also at least initially seemed to have suppressed the arousal that Dain occasionally awoke to in while in her feminine form. The device, having served its purpose for the night, released easily on its own as she changed to get ready for school, sounding off after a few moments to make sure she didn't forget its presence in her discarded panties, and only ceasing its chimes once it had been placed safely back in its companion box. The application on Dain's tablet seemed to indicate that it was now recharging, and Dain was content to leave it alone and get back to her usual, and now slightly more convenient, routine...