Chapter 4: 4: Interruption

"Ma'am?" A voice called from behind Violet, causing her to freeze as she sat hunkered on the floor. She didn't know how long she'd spent having an emotional breakdown, but she'd been pacing around the room with her new legs for quite a while before she did. She assumed that she hadn't noticed the sound of the door opening, but regardless, she was now kicking herself internally for even having succumbed to her emotions like this in the first place.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" The voice continued as Violet quickly rose to her feet, wobbling a bit as she did so. 

Great, now she was going to have to convince a stranger that she was okay. Not long ago, Violet would have been able to say she was fine and sell herself on it too, which was the first step in convincing other people that it was true. Now? She didn't know what her condition was.

Either way, not wanting to keep them waiting, she wiped away her tears and spun around to face whoever had just come in.

Spinning around right after standing up, as it turned out, had been a mistake. Violet stumbled backwards as gravity protested her actions, reminding her that she was not in sync with her body yet. She landed squarely on her ass just in front of the closet mirror, and both Violet and her tailbone thanked her new rear end for the extra padding it provided.

Deciding that she'd embarrassed herself enough, Violet just opted to just look up at the person who'd come in. She was... another demoness, one with pale purple skin and a lithe, toned figure showing faintly through her medical scrubs. Her horns were short and stubby, and her waist-length black hair was tied back into a ponytail. Her spade-tipped tail looked pretty much identical to Dr. Wess's, swishing side to side behind her. In one hand the woman held a tall disposable drinking cup with a lid.

Her voice had originally come from near the door, but seeing Violet fall, she'd apparently rushed over to try and help, the horned woman now standing just in front of the closet.

"Oh Mother, are you alright? Dr. Wess had a meeting to attend and asked me to bring you some water."

"I'm fine. Wait, 'Mother?" Violet said as she glanced at the cup, then back to the woman. 

The demon girl giggled under her breath. Her voice had that similar, unique resonance to Dr. Wess's, distinctly sweet and feminine but with a slightly husky edge. The sound seemed to come from deeper within her throat, but without the expected masculine undertones. "Oh, sorry! It's just an expression. I forgot that Dr. Wess said you weren't from Laevonia, and I don't see humans at this hospital often. We mostly just get Daemorans as patients on Vrau'hael. Anyway, was something the matter? Before you fell down, that is." The demon girl said, reaching down with an outstretched hand. 

"I'm alright, really." Violet initially ignored the offer of help, but after another failed attempt at standing begrudgingly reached up and grabbed the woman's hand.

Two things became readily apparent as Violet was pulled to her feet; First off, this girl was strong, not even having to lean back for leverage as she effortlessly yanked Violet up off the ground. Violet remembered how Dr. Wess had needed similarly little effort to push her back down against the bed when she first woke up, and gears inside her head were beginning to turn. The gears immediately ground to a halt again as she felt the girl's hand in her grip. Her body temperature was considerably warmer than any living creature Violet had ever touched before, and her skin was softer than it had any right to be. It gave Violet a relaxing feeling, like handling clothing that had just come out of the dryer.

A bombshell had also dropped a moment ago; this woman wasn't human. But... were they really called 'Daemorans'? She had to be kidding. Maybe it was something to do with their name in English; Were they actual demons, or something else? Regardless, Violet's already-flimsy gene-modder theory had apparently just been hit by a cratering charge. Only now did she process the fact that she might be the oldest human alive to have met alien life, but also holy shit she was talking to an alien, not to mention a tall strong demon girl alien! How cool was that?

Violet's brain was abuzz again as she looked the woman up and down without thinking. Violet didn't know how their aging or timekeeping worked, seeing as these... Daemorans...? were apparently a different species, but she looked to be in her early twenties going off of Earth years. Another interesting note was that she was quite tall. Considerably tall. At least eight inches taller than Violet, if the human girl had to guess. Oh dear. Violet cleared her throat and looked away, a faint blush playing on her face.

To distract herself, she subconsciously changed the subject. "So... you people aren't just gene-modded humans then? Dr. Wess never got around to clarifying that part." Violet said as she brushed a few creases out of the thighs of her suit.

"What? No, of course not! I mean, I guess I get the resemblance, but I've never really seen body mods that extreme. I didn't think you'd be that uninformed. You're in good hands though! Wess is one of the leading figures in medical research for both humans and daemorans." She gave that cute giggle again, her cheeks flushing a slightly darker shade of purple as she offered the cup in her hand to Violet. "I'm Ashburn, by the way! Or Ash, if you prefer."

"...Thanks, Ashburn. I'm Violet." Violet took the cup from her with a half-hearted smile and popped the lid off. Seeing it was indeed filled with water, she took a sip, which quickly was followed by her chugging half the contents. She hadn't realized just how thirsty she was until now.

"Oh geez, I'm lucky my moms didn't give me your name. I'd never have lived it down! But it's a nice name on you!" Ashburn laughed at her own joke as Violet continued to drink. She had to hand it to the horned girl, it wasn't often that Violet wanted to keep talking to someone like this. Part of it was just a fascination with talking to an alien - in English, no less - but Ashburn seemed nice and genuine. It was also fortunate for Violet to have a distraction from everything else going on in her head, even if just for a bit.

"Either way, it's nice to meet you, Violet. I'm a patient assistant here." Ashburn continued as she slipped a small personal device out of her back pocket. She spoke English with an interesting accent, one Violet had only really considered now. It was a strange mix of several accents she'd learned about in high school, but the dominant resemblance was to a Scottish accent, such as from Edinburgh. It was in the way she emphasized certain syllables and sounds, and let others fall away. Combined with the odd resonance of her voice, it was certainly a unique way of speaking, but it was far from unpleasant to listen to.

The device Ashburn pulled out was odd-looking; it was like the tablet Dr. Wess had been using, but the size of a mobile phone. She flicked it on, a set of holograms flitting over the screen as she began to read off of it. "As for a bit of additional housekeeping, the doc said that you're free to stay for a few more days if you need some more time to adjust. She also said that, because you essentially qualify as a refugee, you're eligible to receive basic assistance & housing accommodations after your discharge, assuming you are willing to be registered into Laevonia's civilian database."

As the demon girl was suddenly rattling off a number of things Violet hadn't even considered yet, she was a bit taken aback as she listened, her head suddenly beginning to swim with anxiety. "Wait, I hadn't even... I can get a place to stay? Really? Shit, I didn't even think about what I was going to do after I got out. I spent all my savings getting onto the colony ship."

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Ashburn nodded in response, continuing to read from the weird holo-smartphone she had in her hand. "Mhm! It's not a difficult process; I'd just need a DNA footprint from you - that is, a saliva sample and a fingerprint sample - and you should be registered and assigned a housing unit within the next few days. Or, if you weren't wanting to stay, it's a bit more of an involved process, but... given enough time, arranging a flight back to earth wouldn't be too difficult. It would be a rather lengthy ride, but not nearly as long as the one your colony ship took to get here."

"No, no, that's okay! I... got on that ship to get away from earth in the first place." Violet hesitated, trying to mull over what she was being told as she spoke. "And y-you mean, like... I can stay here? What about..." Her anxiety crept up again as another thought came to her. "What about the body? M-my body. How am I supposed to pay for all this? Am I gonna be in debt for the rest of my life!?"

She looked down at her body with a twinge of panic, and then looked back up at Ashburn. And goodness, did she need to look up at Ashburn. She was still getting used to her presence; the whole demon girl part wasn't that hard to come to grips with, all things considered, but she was just so damn tall. Violet had rarely interacted with other girls back on earth. Even after she had come out, mechanic's apprenticeship was regrettably a rather non-diverse elective for her to have picked. Not that Violet had really minded; for her, hydrogen fuel cells and car transmissions were never bad company.

Either way, Ashburn simply returned her gaze with an expression of sympathetic confusion. "Sorry? Of course not, the procedures you underwent were deemed necessary to your survival! And beyond that, you didn't request any additional cosmetic alterations or modifications. Emergency procedures are covered, even for noncitizens. That body you have now is yours, nobody here is going to take it away from you."

Violet felt tears welling up in her eyes again. She mentally berated herself for it, but she let herself cry once more, if only a little bit. "This... this is actually real? I really... I really get to stay like this?"

"Oh, honey." Ashburn said, her tone suddenly shifting from confused yet energetic to a softer, caring one. Violet couldn't see her, though, having shut her eyes tight as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.

"I need this to be real. I don't... I didn't know. I didn't know I wasn't okay with the way I was."

Violet stumbled forward, losing her balance as her head began to fog up. Ashburn, however, was right there to catch the shorter human girl, who squeaked almost imperceptibly at the sudden contact. The woman's steady grip pulled Violet out of her emotional spiral with a shudder. She felt ashamed of herself for putting Ashburn in this situation, even if it was on accident and helping patients was her job. But at the same time... the Daemoran's skin was so soothingly warm, and her body heat was a wonderful momentary respite from the chilly, sterile air of the hospital room. It was like a hot cup of cocoa on a cold winter morning.

"Hey, careful! I've got you. Let's get you over to the bed, okay?"

Violet took a moment to respond, not wanting to bother this woman any further. Eventually she just decided to step back and walk over to the bed herself; Ashburn lifting her hands off the girl without another word, but staying close in preparation to steady her again should she need it.

Violet reached the bed, hoisting herself back up and into it with a sigh. At this point, she figured she was better off just being honest, at least to a degree. "Sorry about that," She said as she looked over at Ashburn, who promptly handed her a tissue to dry her eyes with. "I don't usually... talk about that sort of thing with people. I guess it just hit me harder than I thought."

"It's alright, love. No need to apologize; I read some of your file, after all. Going through everything you have... to be frank, I won't give you any speeches about how strong you are or anything - Mother's grace, I know how annoying that is - but don't invalidate your own struggles either. You've been through a hell of a lot and found out about all of it all at once." Ashburn said as she took a seat at the nearby stool. "Is this what you were upset about when I walked in?"

Violet didn't respond, but Ashburn seemed to understand. The daemoran thankfully didn't press the matter. "So long as you're doing okay now, how have you been adjusting otherwise?"

"Not badly. Not great at balancing yet, but I'm okay, mostly."

"That's good. I also see you found something to wear. Did you find the rest of what was sent to you?" Ashburn asked.

"No? Something was sent to me?" Violet replied with confusion.

"Ah, the local government office shipped us an aid package for you. It's on the counter... there." Ashburn did a quick scan of the room before pointing over at a white plastic package next to the closed window. Whoops, Violet had assumed it was medical supplies or something. "It should have a few other basic amenities that are yours to keep, along with the clothes, assuming you were planning on registering as a citizen and all that. Want me to grab it?" She asked.

"No, I'll get it. I need to practice anyway." Violet said. She hopped out of bed and made her way over to the counter a bit more steadily than before, hiding her excitement at the fact that she'd get to keep her suit. She'd awoken with a new body, new clothes, and apparently, a new place to stay, which had all  been given to her with startling generosity - by a species of demon girls, no less. 

As far as things go, there were worse ways to wake up.

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