"Er, my skin is softer," Yoshi replied, somewhat self-consciously. She sat in one of the exam room chairs while Felix perched on his own seat across from her. "And I smell differently. I cry more easily as well...much more. And, er...I-I can see that my body is starting to change. J-Just a little bit so far, but..."

"Mmhmm," Felix murmured. He was noting something down on a clipboard; despite only having the two digits at the joints of his wings to use, he handled the pen and clipboard without any apparent issue. He asked, "How are you feeling about all this?"

Yoshi brightened. "Um--excited! And--and also relieved. As if I've been holding my breath for a long time."

Felix glanced up. "Hmm, you do seem more upbeat today," he remarked. "Is that right?"

"Ah, yes!" Yoshi agreed. Felix smiled.

"Good!" He lowered his antlered head again, but continued, "Well, I'm inclined to agree with your shapeshifting teacher: I do think as your body changes, you may find it an easier place to shift in and out of. You may not always need that ring to help you, but I'm glad you have it in the meantime. Now," he added, "how would you say your support system is? Friends, family...are you getting what you need?"

Yoshi paused a moment, as if considering. She smiled, and brushed some of her hair back out of her face. "Yes," she said. "I am very lucky."

[Note from the guy that makes this comic: Hey, so I wrote this part of the chapter months and months ago, and I feel obligated to point out that what you're seeing here is now illegal or threatening to be illegal in several US states. This (minus the shapeshifting part of course) is the gender-affirming care for minors that people are fearmongering about: a patient on a new medication that can be stopped or adjusted at any time, checking in with their doctor about the effects of it. A minor whose guardian has given consent for treatment, and whose mood and mental health are markedly and noticeably better after a few months of treatment. This is apparently enough to get a doctor slapped with a felony in Alabama. Minors are not getting surgery, not that it would be anyone's business besides theirs, their guardian's, and their doctor's, if they were; I can tell you as a trans adult, doctors already don't even trust their adult patients to make the decision to get gender-affirming surgery without jumping through hoops that cis people are not required to do.

If you're cis and reading this, I beg you to care about trans people. Restricting access to gender-affirming care will kill people. It does already; statistics range, but nearly half of trans people attempt suicide at some point. Sometimes this is because when you cannot live the way you need to, sometimes not living at all seems easier. Depending where you are, there may be local trans rights organizations you can support--give it a search online. You can also start with Lambda Legal. If you're a Twitter user, @TrackTransBills can tell you what bills have been introduced in your state.

Also, just to get ahead of it, if you're about to comment and complain about me getting political here: save it, and don't.

Thank you for reading.]