Ken looked to Haru curiously. he noted that the girl seemed more at peace with herself then ever before. It was certainly interesting and different not to see the anxiousness in her every step. She still wasn't what one could call 'confident' exactly, but there was something in her resolve now that was stronger. It was just about coming to the end of their study period and Ken was already wondering what plans to make. Still with everything going on with Jon, what could he say? It was hard to think back on any normal routines, when they knew Jon was essentially a 'goddess' of some kind. Albeit, an underpowered god with a stone that didn't work at the moment. But the slug girl had their entire life- no reality in her hands... could anyone be trusted with that power?
"You're different," the fox boy said to Haru.
"I feel different," The three eyed girl said smiling a bit. "It's quite nice really."
"You thanked Jon for becoming this... does that mean you would never want to turn back?" He looked to her still curiously.
"I... think- no I know I'm fine with this now." Said the girl adamantly.
"It's only been a few weeks though. It's such a big decision to base the rest of your life on. You sure you don't want to give yourself more time to decide?"
"To decide," Haru thought. They had now joined a 'club' that knew this situation was only temporary. Eventually, people who were desperately unhappy with their transformations might change back. She wasn't sure how Jon would phrase the wish, but even with the best of intentions there is no way to account for every single person's desire or circumstances. The stone has demonstrated omnipotence... but not omniscience. That was the task of whoever held it. She felt sorry for Jon, bearing such a task alone. But what could they do? She looked back to Ken at his question.
"I know what you mean but, to tell you the truth my life wasn't as interesting as it is now. Being a girl... well..." she blushed a bit. It wasn't exactly something she would have ever thought... but it was just okay? It wasn't that she was unhappy with being a boy, it was just that.. she was happier this way? It wasn't that she was 'unhappy' before either. But this form gave her a different perspective on things, and it was okay to experience and learn this. In a normal human life, there was no way to experience this... it was good.
Ken looked sympathetically. "What I mean is though... your life wasn't really so bad before either. You just needed a bit of coaxing out." He had an idea of what Haru was like before, but he didn't think she was that bad.
Haru smiled a bit. It was nice that he cared like this for her. "It's not just about being a girl or a boy. I just.. like this life now. I don't want to get rid of it without exploring what it could bring. I didn't have a choice in what I was before. Now that I have a real choice..." wasn't it really that simple? One could choose in this world. Well- not quite. They couldn't choose what their 'second' sunlight form would be, that was as random as being born again. But it was a re rolled dice and a person could now choose between two forms...
A choice of two unknowns vs one unknown... a choice is a good thing. One had two choices in how they existed!
"I think I understand," said Ken. "But you don't really know what either body would take. It's possible that 'Harry' might one day win the lottery while Haru never will," he said thinking about it. "Or anything else could happen in the future... I'm just saying you should take your time."
"I already won the lottery," said Haru hugging him.
Aneeza was starting to feel really itchy. It was a bit strange, like a kind of static was building up on her as she floated down the path to the bank. The feeling was like having a balloon rubbed and placed near her skin. It seemed to start close to her chest, rising upwards to her hair, making it raise upwards.
People glanced at the space girl giving a laugh at the static charged hair. Aneeza felt mortified. Why was this happening to her now? She just had to go to the bank to get her pay cheque into her account. She held it like it was the most precious thing in the world.
She entered the bank- and gasped as she set off the alarm.
A few people looked at her oddly, and a security guard came to turn it off. "Sorry miss, sometimes that happens. Are you carrying anything with a security tag?"
Anneza stared at the security guard blankly and uncomprehendingly. He was some kind of devil- fortunately he was wearing pants, though with red skin not much else... freak she thought in her head. She shook her green hair of the static charge. A small arc of static jumped between her two antenna.
The devil security guard blinked at the small charge dancing around her. "Ah.. I see I think you just set off the alarm with those things on your head..." He said laughing mirthfully.
Aneeza stared again. Laughter.. ridicule... dismissal... and why was she building up so much static charge?
"Go on miss, join the line" the security guard said gesturing to the four other creatures waiting to be served.
Freaks.. all of these creatures around her were freaks! Here she was joining the 'line'... she moved her legs to push herself towards them with all the grace of a goldfish, bracing her legs to stop at the right moment. Everyone gave another look at her. It seemed she had made their day or something as there were little snickers of laughter. Finally it was her turn. She took out a card from the inside pocket of her sleeve. It still had her old name on it.
"Hello. How may we help you?" Asked the cashier. She seemed to be some kind of... angel creature? She had black skin, though brilliant white wings. it was certainly different and contrasted to the devil security guard... a strange sight indeed. She guessed it suited her, indeed she was very pretty- she paused. Was her transformation affecting her mind?! Aneeza just gritted her teeth. She had to deal with these changed now... she took out her card and placed it to the window, and her pay cheque. She was finding it hard to stay in an upright position, the static was repulsing her from the plush carpet of the bank.
"Oh you wish to put money into your account?" She looked at the card... "I am guessing this was your previous identity? We just need to ask a few security questions. What is your date of birth?"
Aneeza looked blankly again. What was she asking?
"Maybe you could tell me your post code? Or Address?"
Aneeza looked blankly again. "Aru," she said in the end. "Aru, Aneeza.. je's a..."
The girl looked awkwardly. "I don't understand..."
Anneza sighed and took out her sign cards. At this point the cashier realised the girl had some kind of 'disability', which drew out some sympathy. She was also given the letter explaining her inability to say the right words.
"Tell you what, just put your PIN number into the card reader. We'll accept that too." It was a rule that was introduced as a way to quickly identify people.. it was quick and painless for most of their customers who had suffered a change and needed to prove identity quickly.
Anneza blinked as she put the card into her reader. The numbers looked dizzying to her. She didn't know what her number was, and she didn't recall the 'shape' to press in this time either. It had been so long since she had to do this kind of thing and the stress of her change has made her forget some of these smaller things. Still she had to try and remember... The space girl could feel the urge to break down but she wasn't going to. She just had to put this pay cheque into her account!
She put in what she hoped was her pin number, the cashier looked at the terminal oddly. "Oh.. that's strange. your card has lost all its information on it." She gave it a quick inspection. "Did you place it near a magnet maybe? Or anything electrical?" It was a bit odd for both the magnetic strip and chip to go hay wire...
By the expression Aneeza could tell something had gone wrong with her card. So she couldn't use it to verify her identity. This was going to be a long and drawn out process. Her antenna gave another brief arc of static, which made the cashier jump slightly. Anneza's green hair rose upward following the lightning arc, giving her a very comical appearance. She caught the cashier smiling uneasily, clearly amused but not wanting to say it.
The cashier wasn't sure what to make of the girl. Still she caught the doctors note and guessed this person was Andrew, even if she had no way to actually prove it by their own system. It was also apparent that the static energy she was carrying wiped out cards... that could get very difficult. Without the right security protocols she couldn't access the account like this.
"I'm sorry miss, but we'll have to reset your account. I'll send a letter to your address so that it can be done securely. We'll try and work something out considering your... disability. I'll put you in touch with an expert." She made a note that the girls change might be prone to erasing cards, and with no ability to speak English at all, this could be a very tricky thing to sort out.
Anneza sighed and left, the cheque still in her hand- just as she felt another more powerful static charge run across her body. What was going on? It happened since she... since she put on these clothes to cover as much of her body as possible. A dawning realisation came to her, that her body might physically need some exposure to release the energy, much as human skin needed to 'breathe'.
The static was probably produced by her locomotive force. Whatever it is that made her float was a very efficient process, but nothing was a hundred percent efficient. If there was some kind of 'energy' flow going on around her body, and her antennas were directing it... that might explain a few things. Not that she knew much about physics.
She traced her hand across the static charge, noting that she felt 'warmer' above her chest. It was starting to feel painful. This didn't happen with...With her dress. Was low cut clothing a requirement to her biology too?! she cringed at the thought, even as she tried to pat down her hair as it was starting to stick up again.
She'll endure it a little longer until she got home.
