David

  My eyes flickered open, then closed again. Obviously I was dreaming, or something, because the st thing I remembered was going to check on my undry only to somehow end up with a pink bra. I could still feel that bra, in fact, cold and wet between my fingers. Which was why it made absolutely no sense for me to be seeing trees or stars when I looked up.

  Also, why exactly was I ying on my back? I was pretty sure I’d been upright a moment ago. Unless the whole thing was a dream? That… would make sense. Though it was sort of discouraging, since it meant I’d passed out at my desk or something… Not to mention the fact that I apparently couldn’t stand up to Anthony even in my literal dreams.

  “Heroine?” came a voice, from above me. Tentative and curious, and also kinda nice on the ears? It made me want to know who’s voice I was listening to.

  Opening my eyes gave me an easy answer - though I didn’t get a proper look until I’d propped myself up on my shoulders.

  She was standing at my feet, her own boots toeing the line of a circle, without quite crossing over it. There were symbols etched into the dirt, I realized - or more like bckened and burnt into it? They were bisected by this circle, which I realized surrounded me. Alongside several other circles that seemed to connect to individual characters in the dirt, creating a sprawling geometric formation all around me.

  All of which was very interesting, and slightly concerning, but considering this was a dream and I could wake up from it at any second I decided to put my focus on the speaker instead. It was a young woman, maybe my age? Though she looked a good deal shorter. She had bright orange hair, standing in contrast to her dark skin. It had been pulled into two frizzy buns on either side of her scalp.

  I was wondering if maybe she’d dyed her hair that color when I noticed something - her eyes were yellow.

  “Heroine?” the figure repeated, frowning faintly.

  She was… talking to me? But she’d called me a heroine… Which meant this was probably one of those dreams where I was a woman? Those were always fun, if confusing. I always seemed so happy in them… Though I’d never had one where I was lucid before. Or any lucid dreams at all for that matter.

  “Who are you?” I asked, trying not to flinch at the sound of my own voice. It was so high pitched, but also somehow really soft? Sorta breathy, too. I liked it. For a girl, I mean. It gave me a weird sort of… fluttery feeling? “Also, is it just me, or does that moon have a ring around it?”

  “Does your world… not have a ringed moon?” the girl asked me, frowning. “Weird.”

  My… world?

  Wait. The circle around me. The strange symbols. The girl’s bright yellow eyes, like nothing I’d ever seen before. Like nothing on Earth. Because this wasn’t Earth?

  No. No way. It was just a dream, isn’t it? It was… I mean, it had to be a dream… didn’t it?

  “Heroine?” the girl repeated, her voice so soft and excited and gut wrenching because she was referring to me and I wasn’t even a girl let alone a heroine. I was nothing like the sort of figures who got summoned to another world in fiction! I wasn’t confident, or cool, or… anything, really! Also, I was a guy! Not a girl! Not a Heroine!

  Panicking, I reached up to grab a strand of my hair. Except I didn’t really need to reach up, did I? Because my hair was long, down past my shoulders, the tips brushing against the tops of my… my breasts. Breasts constrained in what I was suddenly realizing was a way too tight top.

  I tugged at my hair. It didn’t help. How could it help? How could I transte all this into simple pain? It was different from anything I’d experienced before. More complex than anything I’d ever had to deal with.

  Where was I? Who was I? David? The human man?

  “Heroine?” the girl repeated, her voice soft.

  I… I couldn’t deal with it. Couldn’t deal with this girl, and the worry in her eyes, and the hope fading from her voice as she repeated my supposed title. I pushed myself against the ground, trying to move onto my feet.

  Except, getting to my feet involved going up a lot more than I was used to. I’d gotten taller. Also… muscur? Not huge, bulging boulders of muscles or anything, but my arms were definitely a lot thicker and more muscur than the nky things I’d had before.

  So, I was a tall, muscur woman? For some reason? Had I finally become the girl my mother always said she wanted? …No. It wasn’t like that. I mean, sure, I looked like a girl, but I was still a man on the inside, right? It’s not like you can just change that! If people could actually decide their genders, would gender dysphoria or trans folks even be a thing?

  “Heroine?” the redhead repeated, her frown deepening. “Is everything alright? Did we catch you at a bad time or something?”

  “N-no, I…” Wait. We?

  I looked around, hurriedly, but I didn’t immediately see anyone. Just the girl, standing there in her green cloak with a frown on her face, and a… cy statue, I guess? A big massive thing that looked something like a… I don’t know, a simplified representation of a man? Except one that had been crossed with an orangutan or something? It had absolutely massive three-fingered hands, sitting at the end of thick, long arms that went all the way down to the ground. Its shoulders looked like they were carved from rocks, formed into round joints. Maybe that meant it could move? That would make a sort of sense - I mean, someone had obviously put a lot of time into making this, no matter how misshapen it looked to me. They’d even dressed it up in a red loincloth and golden anklets!

  Suddenly, the creature’s head turned, revealing a stone brow above two rge eye sockets. Instead of eyes, though, it had two glowing red dots, which narrowed and focused upon me. And then it spoke.

  “What’s the hold up Lonna?” it - he? - asked with a deep, gravely voice.

  “I don’t know, Talith. The heroine looks a little sick.”

  “Transportation sickness?” Talith suggested, turning more fully toward me, and stepping forward.

  I’m not proud to say it, but my response was less a dignified hello and more a terrified squeak as I stumbled backwards to nd on my ass, before starting to scoot backwards until the entire circle was between me and him.

  “Is she… Afraid of me?” the construct whispered.

  “W-Who wouldn’t freak out after seeing a statue move!?” I called out in response, finally pushing myself back up and off the ground.

  I was definitely taller than I had been. I mean, the towering figure in front of me was actually sorta kinda… about my size? Maybe an inch taller, but that’s about it. My pink tee - don’t judge me, it was undry day - was basically straining just to contain my muscur upper body. My stomach was basically bare, while my lower half… Well, I’d been wearing a pair of baggy gray sweats, so they were pretty much fine. They just rode up a little bit. My shoes were basically the same size as before, thank God…

  “What the hell,” I muttered to myself. “I’m ripped!”

  “Heroine,” came a familiar voice. This time, I had to look down to see the (apparently rather tiny) figure. I wanted to say she was maybe five feet tall? Mostly because that would leave me at around six feet, and I didn’t even wanna think about being too much taller than that. Either way, the girl’s shoulders basically came up to my elbow. Or at least they did when she was standing. Right before me, though, the girl was suddenly dropping to one knee as I watched, her green cloak flowing with her movements, so as to cover her body almost completely from the neck down. The only thing peeking out was her knee.

  “My name is Lonna,” the woman told me, bowing her head. “The Lapsi with me is my brother, Talith. We have summoned you here, today, to ask for your help.”

  She lifted her head, letting me see her eyes again. They were filled with fervor. “An evil woman by the name of Sorissa took the throne of this kingdom two hundred years ago. She’s immortal, which is a fucking - I mean, that’s why we need your help to defeat her. Only a true Heroine can stop her.” Suddenly, she smiled, her voice shifting from respectful, almost worshipful, to that of a coconspirator. “I bet you’re used to that sort of thing, though, huh? Killing despots, I mean. Maybe we get a drink together, and you tell me all about your adventures? Like, what’s the fiercest force you ever faced? Do you just use your fists to fight? Or maybe you’ve got a hidden weapon of some sort… Can I see it?”

  “Lonna…” Talith grumbled, his voice low and slow. “I’m pretty sure there’s something else you need to tell her, too, isn’t there?”

  Lonna flinched, Talith and me for a moment, before biting her lip. The way she stared down at the ground, digging the tip of her foot into the ground like a child about to confess wrong doings to their parents… it was actually kinda cute, to be honest? But also probably the prelude to something serious, and maybe even private, which meant I definitely needed to speak up first.

  “Um…. Excuse me?” I said, with a smile. You know, in the vague hope that it would somehow make what I was about to say go over well…

  Lonna smiled back, bright and wide, and full of hope. Which only made me feel even more anxious - not to mention guilty, and stupid, and wrong. I mean, it was pretty obvious what had happened at this point.

  “I don’t know who you were trying to summon? But I’m not the heroine. I’m not even a girl. My name’s David…”

  Silence. Pure silence, not even broken by the local wildlife. Which was… kind of concerning, actually! I mean, I expected everyone to be a bit upset that their spell had gone wrong, but this felt more like the world as a whole was holding its breath. I was the only one even moving - though that was mostly shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, while Talith and Lonna stared at me in shock.

  Talith recovered first, crossing his arms, and lowering his stone eyebrow. “I told you that this was a bad idea, Lonna. Spells have never been your specialty.”

  “W-What!?” Lonna, who had been standing stock still, mouth slightly ajar, snapped her jaw shut and turned to face her rger brother. “Don’t you dare pin this on my spellmanship! I followed the instructions perfectly. I mean, sure, there were a couple symbols I’d never seen before - but look!” She pointed towards one of the symbols on the ground, that looked sort of like a T that had done the splits. “That one’s the Sapphi symbol for person. And that one…” She pointed to another symbol, a clockwise spiral. “That’s the mia symbol for need. And there’s also symbols for desire, fetching, and searching - among other things - but this is definitely the heroine summoning spell!” She grabbed a scroll from the dirt as she spoke, unraveling it to reveal an inked copy of… well, I assumed the circles around me. “The spell to summon a Heroine - this is it! There’s no way I’d mistake the spell - and there’s no way I’d mistake the heroine!”

  She jabbed a finger at my stomach, as she spoke. “The muscles. The height. She’s an ass-kicking machine, just like I imagined her! There’s no way in hell that she’s not the heroine I summoned!”

  “But… I’m a guy…” I whispered, backing up a step. I still wasn’t all that sure what was going on, but from the way they’d been talking, it sort of sounded like this girl could use magic? Which would be a ridiculous cim, under normal circumstances, but I for one was more than willing to embrace the concept at this point.

  Of course, that also meant her finger was quite possibly the most dangerous weapon I’d ever seen, depending on how magic worked…

  “You can’t be a guy!” Lonna all but screeched, jabbing her finger again toward me again. “You’re supposed to be the heroine who resonates with my desires. And the heroine I desire is an ass kicking woman, who’s going to defeat Sorissa and save this nd!”

  “Lonna…” Talith’s voice was low, as usual, but a hint of anger had crept into his words. “If he says he’s a guy, he’s a guy. A person is always what they say they are, even if not who.”

  “But…” Lonna’s eyes flicked back and forth between Talith and I, before finally coming to center on mine. I don’t know what she saw in them - fear, maybe? - but whatever it was, it caused her to defte a bit.

  “...Fine. If you say you’re a guy, you’re a guy,” she muttered, directing her stare at the ground, instead. “But you’re still the heroine.”

  “Lonna…” The anger was gone from Talith’s voice. Instead, the Lapsi sounded almost tired, for some reason. “Why would the heroine be called the heroine if she wasn’t a girl?”

  “I don’t know! Maybe the spellcrafter misgendered her!” She pointed to the circle that stood beneath our feet. “All I know is, that spell was the heroine spell, and I cast it. So that means you are the heroine, Mister Avid, or whatever.”

  “It’s… David, actually.” My voice was low, and uncertain, but I did my best to at least keep it from trembling as I spoke. “I’m not a heroine. Promise. I don’t even know how to fight. You’d be way better off just sending me home, and trying again.”

  “...No way,” Lonna said, crossing her arms into an “x” and gring at me. “No. No way. This is a hero summoning spell, not a hero banishing spell, you know! I couldn’t send you back if I wanted to!”

  “Wait. You can’t send me back home?” I was distantly aware that the expression on my face must have been be a funny one. I mean, my eyes were wide and my mouth had to be open enough to catch passing flies. I bet you’d be making goofy expressions too, though, if someone told you that you’d been stolen from your home and that you’d never be able to return to it. I mean, just the first part was pretty mind breaking, as far as I was concerned!

  “What about a message?” I asked, after a moment, stepping closer to Lonna - only for her to be the one to step backwards, this time. She almost looked scared for a second, but I didn’t really have time - or space of mind - to feel bad about it.. “Can we send a message out?”

  “I could maybe manage to send a letter…” Lonna admitted. She was standing on one foot, now, using the other to rub against the back of her other ankle. “I might even be able to send you back home, too. But that would require finding the right spell…”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Lonna.” Talith stepped forward as he spoke, coming to stand next to his… sister? “You’ve already stolen the poor guy from his home. If you can’t return him, you should at least give him some tips for living in the new world, and send him on his way, so that we can get to thinking about what to do next.”

  “Send me… On my way?” David whispered the words back, caught off guard.

  Talith turned his head to David, and gave a small nod. “Sorry, I’ve got my hands full taking care of this one. We can’t afford another mouth to feed; especially not a useless one. If you’re not the heroine, then-”

  “I’m not useless, though!” I protested, desperately. Not that I was sure what I was actually useful for, but there had to be something right? “And besides, don’t you think you have a little bit of responsibility toward me!? You dragged me into this world! If there’s not a way back-”

  “There’s one way back.” Lonna was smiling, again, as she spoke. It… wasn’t a particurly nice smile, though. I mean it was a sweet smile, but there was something… off about it…

  Also, was I just imagining it, or did she have fangs?

  “Hold on a second,” Talith warned, lifting up a thick, cy finger. “I don’t know what my sister has in mind, but I can promise you that it hasn’t been thought out. You’d be a lot safer just making your own way, from here -”

  “I want to know how I can get back.” I was surprised by the certainty in my own voice. Maybe it had something to do with my new, brawny, body, but I felt like I could handle a little danger if it meant getting back to the world I knew. “If Lonna knows a way-”

  “It’s not that I know a way,” Lonna interrupted, her sickly sweet smile widening. “But I know where the way is. The Queen happens to keep an impressive library of spells; including the hero summoning spell, as it happens. Now, I didn’t have all the time in the world to peruse her library, what with her being alive, but if she was… less alive…? We could probably find a spell in there that would send you back home.”

  “I’m not killing anyone,” I said, shuddering. “Especially not without knowing the situation. Maybe if I go talk to the Queen-”

  “She’ll take your head off.” Talith spoke the words calmly, and without inflection. Like they were fact, without a hint of doubt. “Lonna’s pn is stupid, and crazy, and you’re obviously not a killer. But if she even finds out about your existence, she’ll take your head off a minute ter. For the st time, I’m telling you - your best bet is to go find a nice farmer, or whatever, get married, and start popping out kids. Live a nice, peaceful life.”

  “...Kids?” I looked down at my body, again. At my breasts. They’d been accepting me as a guy, so I’d almost forgotten, but… “I… My body is… This isn’t how I’m supposed to look. I was - I was smaller, and I was - I had a…” I blushed, faintly, not entirely sure how to ask the question on my mind. It wasn’t like I could just let the matter go, though, so after a moment I gathered my courage, took a deep breath, and asked, “How do I get my dick back?”

  Both Talith, and Lonna, stared at me for a long moment. Eventually, the Lapsi said “Oh.”

  Then Lonna tilted her head back to the sky, and just started to ugh. “Of course. Of course you don’t normally look like this. Why would you? You said you were a guy in your old world, right? Well, even if we can’t get you back, I know there’s some body changing spells in that library. Come with me, and you might actually get to have a dick again, one day.”

  “Or you might die.” Talith glowered at Lonna, as he spoke. “He’s not the Heroine, Lonna; he isn’t even a girl. He probably can’t even use a weapon.”

  “Then you’ll teach him,” Lonna’s replied, patting Talith on the chest as she stepped towards me. “You say you don’t want to kill someone - but I’m betting you’ll change your mind after you’ve seen some of what Sorissa’s done to this pce.

  “For now - why don’t you come with us? We’ll give you a pce to stay, keep your existence secret from the queen, and help you figure out what you want to do next. Not a bad deal, right?” Lonna grinned as she spoke, but it didn’t really reach her eyes. The adoration, from earlier, was gone as well. All I could really sense from her, at this point, was rigid determination.

  I wondered what she’d do if I said no…?

  “...Alright…” I muttered, deciding not to test her in the end. “I’ll go with you.”

  EmilieEmber

  David (by an old roommate of mine) WARNING: It spoils the character's femme-name

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  [colpse]Lonna (from the same source)

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  [colpse]And Talith (from PB Manning)

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  [colpse]