Therapy for Shapeshifting

Lily(fin) remained downtrodden looking when Axo entered the room, despite the uplifting color she naturally brought to the environment. At best, the emotionally flooded youth glanced up and then back down at her feet. Her feelings were all over the place. On the one hand she wanted everyone to be out of the room and leaving her alone. On the other hand, she wanted someone to give her a hug and reassure her everything was going to be ok. In fact, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what she wanted at the moment.

Lily(fin) looked up finally as Axo inquired. Axo was an interesting sight, and that is what probably tilted the field in her favor. She nodded yes softly. “Ok.” Followed by a sniffle.

Axo took sat in a chair that a nurse had brought up for her. "I'm glad you're willing to talk. I know that you're probably feeling overwhelmed right now." She started as she brushed a lock of pink hair out of her face. The nurse who had brought her the chair also handed her a granola bar and a juice box, which Axo then held out to Lily/Fin. "Let's start with a snack. I find that talking to people when my stomach is empty can be really irritating sometimes. Does that happen to you too?" She asked politely. She was using small words that an adult would use when talking to a child. Though this little girl in front of her was quite a bit older in their natural form, and also a boy, Axo felt that taking a less mature approach would help lighten the mood a little bit.

The snack seemed to peak her interest more than anything else at the moment. Lily(fin)‘s attention quickly fixated on it and while hesitant at first, reached out like serpent that retracted the catch close afterwards. She started eating. The rate that the granola bar was disappearing was an indication of how hungry she had become.

With her mood slightly improved, Lily(fin) nodded to Axo’s comments. She couldn’t yet respond because her mouth was full of either food or drink.

Axo waited patiently and scribbled little passages into her notepad to pass the tine and give Lilly(fin) some privacy while they ate.

Lily(fin) finished and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Her long hair kept falling in front of her face, or brushing up against her cheek, which was an annoying unfamiliar thing to contend with. She finally just collected it in her hands and held it.

“Thank you.” She sighed.

"Of course! It can be hard to think straight when your stomach wants attention." She said with an amusing expression. "Can I ask why you've taken on the form of Lily?" She asked, wondering if the shapeshifter had any say in what form he was going to take

Lily(fin) wrinkled her nose and shrugged her shoulders. She was noticeably perplexed. “I don’t know ma’am. I was only trying to be Mr. Johnathan. Which I got to work after some failed tries. Then along the way I ended up as several different people I just met.” She paused, as it dawned on her that she never met Ben Taylor. “Though I didn’t meet a big black guy.”

Axo wrote down some key points as Fin spoke
1: Fin can choose the form he wishes to shift in to, but isn't great at controlling it yet - that suggests his power has only recently surfaced and he hasn't been able to train it
2: Fin can accurately shift into forms of people he hasn't met - perhaps he'd seen Ben in the hallway and was able to shift into someone he's seen but not noticed
3: Fin seems to have been raised on old school morals, which can suggest either a great relationship with his parents, or a terrible one. Leaning more towards a good and healthy relationship with his parents because he seems to feel safe enough with his emotions to express how he is feeling

"Learning how to use your gift properly without any training can be extremely difficult. I think that you being able to shift into someone at will, even if you don't get it right the first time, is amazing. So many people have no control over their gifts at all. You should be proud of yourself." She stated with a smile. "Can I ask, why were you trying to take on Johnathan's form?"

Lily(fin) couldn’t help but feel good at the affirmation. The right corner of her mouth curled up into bashful grin, before quickly returning to the more sullen expression.

She shrugged again, “I felt like I could?” She seemed unsure of that statement, like she knew something but didn’t know how she knew. She took a moment to think about it in more detail. “I figured he seemed like he was in charge around here, so I could get away with moving about with less questions asked.”

She looked down in shame, “I am sorry if that was wrong of me.” Her mind now wondered if that was considered stealing.

Axo offered a more sympathetic expression and softened her tone a bit. "It is always nice to ask the people we care about before using something that is theirs - even their appearance. However, I'm sure Johnathan will understand, he was also a young mutant discovering what his gift could do at one point." She explained carefully, trying to give comfort while still acknowledging the mistake made. "What made you want to move around without anyone questioning you?" She asked, keeping her voice softer.

Lily(fin) thought about her comment, and it seemed to register morally with her. In regard to her inquiry, Lily(fin) once again had to slow down and rethink her actions.

Finlay had never had any serious injuries before. He had been sick for a spell, but nothing out of the ordinary. This had been the first time he had been hospitalized and it was a far cry from the action-oriented lifestyle of being on a farm. “I was curious and wanted to see if I could get away with it.” She confessed sheepishly.

Axo nodded in understanding; "That's completely understandable and healthy for your age group. Curiosity is only natural. Do you think you're calm enough and have enough energy to try and shift back into your original form? I can help talk you through it if you'd like."

Lily(fin) nodded accepting her offer. “Ok, I’ll give it a try.” She didn’t sound very sure of herself. To be honest, whatever form she was in felt like her original form.

Axo smiled and gave little encouraging claps. "Okay, lets try this. Why don't you try telling me things about your appearance that you like when you look in the mirror? Of course, in your original self." She said, smiling

Lily(fin) felt embarrassed by the question. “Umm I don’t know?” She mumbled in avoidance, while awkwardly rubbing her upper left arm with her right hand.

"That's alright." Axo said, thinking of other ways to help. "Lets try something else. Why don't you tell me some of your fondest memories from your child hood? Do you have any memories that you would say really built you up to who you are today?"

That seemed less embarrassing, so Lily(fin) decided to give it a try. While looking at her toes, peaking out from under her hospital gown, she replied, “One winter, Da had timbered a few large trees on the property and gifted us with a bunch of firewood. We spent each day playing with the axe and splitting the logs.” She smiled fondly as the memory emerged more clearly in her mind. “We had a fire going every night. And we tried our best to learn how to cook over it.” She smirked, “the Christmas dinner we made our parents wasn’t the best, but they pretended it was delicious.”

Axo relaxed her posture, it were as though she could melt. "That's so sweet, and I'm sure it meant a lot to everyone in your family. Such a meaningful experience." She said, placing a hand over her heart. "And how did that experience shape you into your teenage years?" She tried to subtly add in the words teenage in an attempt to remind Finlay's subconscious that he was a teenager, not a young child. Repetition and memory guidance often worked well when she had patients that dealt with age regression. Perhaps it could apply here, too.

Lily(fin) shrugged. “I don’t know, ummm. I guess it made me realize it’s what you do with what you got that matters?” As he was answering his long brunette hair shortened and became blonder by the second. As it neared it’s usual length, the ends began curling ever so slightly. He looked up, his eyes now blue as well. “We worked hard for what little we had. I guess living poor makes loving rich?” His features were becoming more angular.

Axo sat back in her chair a little bit, repositioning herself. "What a mature mindset to have for someone your age. I'm sure your parents are so proud of you and how you've grown up." She said while jotting down some more notes. "That reminds me, I forgot to ask how old you are." She asked nonchalantly as she looked back up from her notepad to secure eye contact.

Lily(fin) replayed in his memory the many times his parents had celebrated his progress in life. It made him feel bittersweet. On the one hand the validation and acknowledgment brought happiness. On the other hand it made him miss his family. This had been the first time in his life he was separated from them.

“16” she replied, as her face simultaneously reverted back to Finlay’s, despite the body still being that of a 8 year old Lilly. Lily(fin) stifled a yawn with a strained effort.

"Sixteen is a big age. There's a lot going on for 16 year olds. When I was 16, I was always dealing with bullying, hormone changes, friendship drama. The works." She said, huffing out her cheeks as if just the thought of her teenage years was exhausting. "When things start to get really overwhelming, what do you do to ground yourself?"

Lily(fin) listened respectfully, but couldn’t quite relate to Ms. Axo’s teenage experiences; save the hormone changes. To be fair, her entire teenage years were post-rupture.

She raised a confused eyebrow, “What do you mean ground myself? Is that like relaxing?”

Axo nodded and smiled brightly. "You're on the right track. When I say 'ground yourself' I mean, what do you do to calm down when everything is getting to be too much? I, personally, like to brush out my hair, listen to my favorite songs, or sometimes I just write how I'm feeling in the form of poetry. I learned the last one from my dad when I was just a little younger than you are now." She mentioned her own childhood a second time in an attempt to get Finlay to open up more about himself and how he functions when he's just being Finlay. The subconscious is a powerful thing, and while she didn't know much about shapeshifters, she felt that the way to train the shapeshifting gift would be along the same lines of helping someone navigate who they really are.

Lily(fin) again looked puzzled. It was obvious to a trained therapist that she had never slowed down to think about something as deep as the concept of grounding himself before. She just did stuff to do stuff, with no higher intellectual motivation behind it. It made her wonder if she was lacking in the understanding of being a mature person.

“I don’t know. Maybe like tinkering with my Da’s broken harvester?” He enjoyed the challenge, problem solving and mechanics of the machine. Plus it would be of great help if he could get it working for the family; it was a long shot though since it was quite rundown.

It was very slow, like boiling a frog, but the length of his body was changing.

"I think that's a wonderful grounding technique. Learning how to be handy can take a lot of time though, and patience." Axo started, once again subtly insisting that Finlay's original form was older than what his new form currently showed. "Did you ever feel like it could take all day long to work on the harvester?"

Lily(fin) seemed to perk up a bit at the topic. Axo had discovered something interesting to him. “Oh yes ma’am. I would lose track of time easily. But with all the chores around the farm, I only get moments here and there to experiment on it.” He smiled talking about it with the thoughts of the tools and effort he’d put in so far on the beast of a vehicle.

His body had returned back to its original form, the hospital gown looking much smaller on his frame now. The muscle tone was returning as testosterone flooded his system once again. The taunt attire did little to hide that he was no longer female. All was back to normal save one thing, his voice was still Lilly’s.

Axo stood up, still smiling so that it was clear she was listening, and moved towards the closet. She brought back some plain clothes that were more appropriate for a 16 year old male. "I figured you might be more comfortable in these." She said, setting them down neatly on the bed next to Finlay. "So, back home, did you have anybody you were interested in? Like a girlfriend, or a crush? Or has the busy farm life not left much time for that either?" The question was targeted. If he was going back to his birth given form, but his voice had not changed, it was likely that the hormone fluctuation was still affecting him. She assumed that talking about girls may give a little boost to get him back to normal.

Finlay thanked her for the clothes. He moved from his chair, peeled himself more accurately, having to use it for assistance lest he fall to the ground. His legs felt like jello. He then reached for the bed and fell towards it, catching himself easily and positioning himself into a seated position. From there he carefully put on the pants, while still wearing the hospital gown, trying desperately not to expose himself. If only be knew that when he turned from chair to bed, the more open ended back of the hospital gown flashed his backside to the therapist for a brief moment, he would have been mortified.

Once his pants were on, he removed the tight gown. His physique was lean but well tone from an entire life working on a farm with all its consistent physical demands. The shirt went on next. It felt like a weighted jacket in his tired arms, and took a while to maneuver his hands and head through the proper holes. It felt so awkward having a hard time getting dressed.

The next line of questioning made him involuntarily blush. He shook his head, “No ma’m. Nothing like that yet.” His short answer made it clear that he was unprepared for such an inquiry. Though it was the perfect line of questions to get him from thinking how frustrating his situation was.

Axo looked up towards the ceiling in an attempt to give him some privacy. "Well, I'm sure there will eventually be someone that catches your eye." She said with a soft tone. "You talk a lot about your father, but haven't said anything about a maternal figure. Is there something weighing on you?"

Finlay bobbed his head, grateful they weren’t going to continue talking about that topic, especially since as of late he has literally been the opposite sex and was still trying to wrap his thoughts and feelings around that shell shock.

“Oh … no. Ma is wonderful. Guess my Da is more on my mind because I was with him running errands in Sheridan before all this happened.” He gestured to himself and said it in a tone that made you wonder if he thought there was something seriously wrong with him. But on the plus size, his pitch had lowered and voice settled back to normal.

Axo smiled brightly, her white teeth on show for a second. "I'm so glad that you have a healthy relationship with both parents. And look at you now! You're back to good ol' Finlay. I'm sure they're proud of who you've become. It takes someone with a strong mind to overcome challenges as well as you have."

Finlay looked down at himself and finally realized that he was indeed back to normal. Well, not normal, but back to his original self. He smiled. It was a tired smile as he patted himself down as if not entirely sure he was back to himself.

“Sweet.” He celebrated. Next he looked to Axo, “Thank you.” He said grateful that whatever she had done seemed to work.

Axo nodded and handed him a card with her pager number on it. "You can always contact me if you need to need to talk, or if you're stuck in another form, or for whatever other reason. I'm always happy to help." She paged Johnathan with a simple number that means "ok" - implying that what needed done was done

Finlay took the card and looked it over. He thanked her again. When she left, he collapsed onto the bed and exhaled a long sigh. The softness of the bed was so inviting, that the idea of moving from his belly flopped position didn’t even cross his mind.

“What a day.” He murmured into the sheets.