Tia(C) really wished she(C) wasn’t fronting as they reached a familiar door. A strange woman opened it and beckoned her(C) inside,

  “That’s her,” Tia(T) told Tia(C) to which she(C) responded with an affirmative. She(C) then greeted the woman who then replied in kind. Tia(C) slowly trudged down a hall marred with corrupted memories and into Tia(T)’s old room.

  “Let's try to switch again, you’re worse than normal.” Tia(T) softly said to Tia(C) in an attempt to calm her(C). As she(C) slowed her(C) breath Tia(C) pushed back and Tia(T) pushed forward.

  Tia(T)’s mother knocked on the door and forced Tia(C) back into the world of static. Tia(T)’s mother demanded for them to kneel before her to which Tia(C) respond while arming her(C) skin,

  “You really shouldn’t be fronting.” Tia(T) stated as she(T) forced a switch. Tia(C) panicked and tried to trigger her(C) spikes but she(C) was already reeling in their innerworld from the forced switch,

  “I’m really sorry, but you were falling apart.” Tia(T) murmured knowing Tia(C) wouldn’t hear her(T) in her(C) current state.

  A few minutes ter Tia(C) came to see Tia(T) waiting for her(C),

  “Why did you wait?” Tia(C) asked her(T),

  “Because I care about you, “Even if the world stands against us we will stand strong together.” Even if I didn't reply in the moment, what you said has been a driving force for me, so mind telling me what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know, everything just feels like too much and you’re the only thing to hold onto in a raging storm.” Tia(C) sighed, floating limply before Tia(T),

  “Well if you can find the source of the storm I’m more than happy to help you quell it,” Tia(T) replied with a hug before heading off to front.

  As Tia(C) watched Tia(T) leave her(T) room, Tia(C) took a fragment of their interface and flew to the small shrine they had. She(C) sat on their prayer mat in front of it and watched what was happening.

  “A growing boygirl like you should eat more,” Tia(T)’s mother told them,

  “I have told you before mum, I’m not a boy. Also altered eat differently to unaltered so there isn’t much gained from eating this.” Tia(T) replied calmly and firmly,

  “I think I know the boygirl I gave birth to more than you young mandy.” Tia(T)’s mother scoffed in reply,

  “Mother I do care for you, but if you keep pushing u- me away I will leave permanently,”

  “Oh please, it’s you who is forcing this, you’ve changed since you met those frost carvers, you used to be such a nice quiet boygirl, but now it’s demand after unreasonable demand!” Danger yelled, as Tia(C) armed her(C) skin once more,

  “It’s okay,” Tia(T) whispered to Tia(C),

  “What are you whispering about now ####?” Danger smugly asked.

  Tia(C) backed away while pulling in energy, coating them in a fog. As Danger made another swipe Tia(C) activated her(C) spikes, leaving scorch marks in the new ice. When Threat attacked once again Tia(C)’s spikes extended and grazed it. As Tia(C) looked around for a strong point of energy to draw, Threat continued to attack. Tia(C) was suddenly pulled away from the front,

  “Please be okay,” Tia(T) muttered as she(T) tried to close the cracks that covered Tia(C)’s body.

  Tia(C) woke on their pray mat as Tia(T) knelt in prayer to the deities they worshipped.

  “Are you okay?” Tia(C) asked worry clear in her(C) voice,

  “I’m fine, how about you?” Tia(T) replied in a calm and soothing voice,

  “I feel like shit.” Tia(C) said in a monotone voice, she(C) idly twiddled a small script that could theoretically kill her(C).

  “Don’t.” Tia(T) sharply stated as she(T) snatched it away and broke it,

  “It was fine, and it’s not like we know any other way to fix me.” Tia(C) zily drawled,

  “No, it’s not and you aren’t broken or worthless, but I may have figured out a way to help, I just need your memories for a moment,”

  “Sure,” Tia(C) responded as she(C) pulled herself(C) apart and revealed absolutely everything to Tia(T),

  “You aren’t worthless, and you should talk about this more,” Tia(T) stated firmly as she(T) saw Tia(C)’s memories and thoughts, “And so to start, would you like to be a guy?”

  “I can’t,” Tia(C) stated as she(C) floated off their mat,

  “Why not?”

  “You remember how bad it was for us back then,”

  “Sure, but ignoring all consequences, would you?”

  “Whatever. What’s your point?” Tia(C) said with a scowl, Tia(T) smiled and pulled Tia(C) to front with her(C).

  Tia(T) quickly made their body male and backed away before it could effect her.

  “Wha-” Tia(C) started before recognising he- his voice, “Why?! Why why why?” he screamed as everything fell into pce, “Why doesn’t it hurt, why did it take so long to find peace, an end to the fractures?”

  “It’s okay, let it all out,” Tia(T) gently whispered,

  “But it shouldn’t work and it still doesn’t work! You can’t do this and switching between would take more energy than we have!” Tios muttered in panic,

  “It’s okay we’ll figure it out, but first we should head home, Aragoctonid will probably have some ideas.” Tia said as she comforted him,

  “Yeah, okay… Could I walk us back in this body?” Tios asked nervously as he calmed down,

  “Of course, call me when we get there,” Tia replied before drifting off to her grove.

  Tios started walking to the nest. It wasn’t hard to find as it was a massive reservoir of heat capped with the coldest temperatures around. It also wasn’t a difficult trip, and Tios took his time enjoying the euphoria of a correct body. But the worry of how he and Tia would co-exist despite their differences gnawed at him. He knew that a self heating rock could bridge the energy gap but they tend to break complex things and Tia wanted a body as close to unaltered’s as possible, and still wanted unaltered friends. In the end he would probably just end up not fronting or maybe going dormant so Tia could live as her true self.

  As he stepped into the snow that marked the edge of the frost carver’s nest Tia came to the front, she was oddly quiet.

  “Tia? You okay?” Tios asked as she walked nervously towards the nest.

  “Who- who was that?” Tia stuttered, her head turning side to side, “Wha- what d- do you w- want?”

  As she did so Tio saw the scenery was overpped with simir scenery from before they were frost carvers. Knowing he wasn’t likely to be able to force a switch he came up with a pn,

  “Hi, I’m Tia,” he said while trying to hide his grimace,

  “R- really?!” Tia excimed, “Yo- you’re real?”

  “Yeah, and I can help you, if you’ll trust me?”

  “Y- yeah! Of course I will!”

  “Okay, I need you to try to step back mentally,”

  “Sure!” Tia replied as she pushed back into their innerworld. Tios guided her unconscious body over to the shrine and waited for her to wake up.

  A few hours Tia woke up in a daze,

  “What happened?” Tia(L) asked,

  “Nothing good,” Tios replied, “and it caused you to split up,”

  “Oh,” Tia(S) said as she looked around,

  “Yeah, oh,” Tia(L) responded, “so, what now?”

  “Probably the same as before?” Tia(S) answered,

  “Well then I’ll go back to the front, is there anything I can do for you Tia?” Tios asked,

  “Could you smooth the body?” Tia(S) asked,

  Tios nodded and headed off to the front. Once there he started to smooth their body, not enough to induce dysphoria but still as much as he could otherwise.

  By the time he started walking again they were rather low on energy. Not enough to be a concern, but at a point where they couldn’t pull sufficient energy for the air for it to be sustainable.

  By the time they got to the central mountain of the nest it was dark and Tios had to rely on how things held energy to navigate. Tia had also put herself back together by then and was in the front with him.

  As they walked they greeted the few people around and updated them on Tios’ new name and pronouns. They had been living there for a few years and had never had any major problems with anyone. Everyone had their differences, but they are never used as a reason to harm nor an excuse for harm.

  “Hello Tia,” Aragoctonid said in his uncomfortably deep voice as they reached the narrow crack he lived in,

  “Hello Aragoctonid, I have chosen to take up the name Tios he/him,” Tios said with a slight bow,

  “Very well my child, what query do you have for me?”

  “We never can hide anything from you, can we teacher?”

  “Tia can but obvious truths are hard to hide.”

  “Did you already know?”

  “No, I could see the pain and poison but not the fang, and now I see it I can offer my help to catch the cause.”

  “Okay, so, we don’t have enough energy to sustainably switch our body between the two of us.”

  “Is Tia listening?” Aragoctonid asked,

  “Yeah, I’m here.” Tia said,

  “Good, so what ideas do you two have?”

  “A self heating rock could work but it has problems, we could also go dormant while not fronting which would be difficult or exert greater control on who fronts which has the same difficulty, we could increase our energy but that would take a long time.” Tia listed,

  “How have your personal projects been going?” Aragoctonid asked in the voice he used while teaching,

  “Fine?”

  “Have you checked their base?”

  “The tracks!” Tios shouted,

  “What?” Tia asked,

  “When we are building spells it slowly forms a track that makes it easier to use!”

  “And would that let us change our body?”

  “Not right away but as an end goal it could work.”

  “I could create the spell, but what about before it works?”

  “Expand from the middle,” Aragoctonid said, “It will not be perfect but it is only the start.”

  “Okay… Okay that could work,” Tia acquiesced, she then proceeded to sighed, “I was hoping to leave the nest soon.”

  “We can’t always get what we want, but yes it can be irritating even if it is just a small dey.”

  “Yeah, suppose so, also the vilge where we are from is getting worse.”

  “Most pces are, but no matter how hostile they become they cannot make as disappear and there will always be those who will stand with us. It unfortunately lies to those who like you Tia want for peace to bridge that gap.”

  “But why can’t you help?”

  “Selfishness mostly, I was never an unaltered and while I would probably try to bridge that gap if I was faced with the same problem as you I’m not.” Aragoctonid sighed, “As spiders are as apathetic to us as unalter are to them.”

  “That is a horrid reason!”

  “Tia, do you wish to bridge the gap with spiders, pnts and all else that can be altered?” Tios asked,

  “Maybe!” Tia shouted, “But this is different!”

  “Just as spiders to me.” Aragoctonid replied, “I will help you where I can but it is not my battle to be fought.”

  “Okay… Okay fine, I can work with that. Thank you for everything Aragoctonid.”

  “You’re welcome, you are both wonderful students and I hope you succeed in whatever you pursue.”