Luna followed her phone's GPS directions as she drove Ash's car along the crowded city street. As she calmly maneuvered in and out of traffic, it was hard for her to believe she'd been a bad driver before ascending. Actually, it was hard to believe she'd been bad at anything. Even just days after her induction, *everything* seemed so much more manageable, most things she found trivially easy.
"In three hundred feet, you will arrive at your destination," the computerized voice prompted her. She quickly spotted an empty parking space, and slipped Ash's four door economy car into it so deftly you'd think she'd done it hundreds of times.
Even before she got out of the car, Luna felt a tingle of excitement. She was actually going about her day, by herself! Just hours earlier she felt the same way walking into a clothing store. Despite how much she had liked being cared for by her former Guardians, Regan and Addison, she found every minute being independent so exhilarating.
Luna checked for traffic, pushed open the door, and stepped out. Instead of feeling threatened by cars whizzing by on the busy city street, she found it exciting. Before she ascended, she'd been afraid of even calm parking lots. After all, most cars had tires taller than her former tiny five-foot-three-inch stature. Now that she was a much more average eleven-feet, the cars seemed so modest, small even. She made her way to the parking meter, touching her phone to add enough time for her lunch with Addison.
A few steps down the street, she felt strange being surrounded by women her size. What was absolutely normal for everyone else, for her was anything but. Even the windows, the buildings, the signs all seemed much less impressive. She reached the restaurant, and privately chuckled in satisfaction at being able to just reach out and pull the door open. She even instinctively ducked her head down under the door-frame, despite having a couple feet of clearance. She was just used to thresholds always feeling monstrous and high above her head.
"Luna!" Addison immediately spotted her, reaching out her arms. They fell into an embrace which Luna held onto firmly. To Luna, Addison now felt like her twin sister, ascension having made them exactly the same height.
To bystanders, however, they couldn't have looked more different. Addison had a real edge to her, her short dark brown hair accented with crimson streaks, while Luna's welcoming appearance was topped with long died blond hair. Likewise for there outfits, as Addison was wearing a tight black full-coverage police uniform with signature law enforcement boots buckled up nearly to her knees, while Luna's outfit was casual and brightly colored, a cut-open yellow tshirt over a blue sports bra and patterened blue skin tight pants -- some of the few starter clothes Regan had given her. Their heads gently fell against each other before Luna finally let go and Addison could continue. "Tell me. How's it going? Are you loving it?"
"Actually, I kind of am," Luna used a quiet voice and ducked her head, as if she was embarrassed to be saying it. "Sometimes I seriously don't believe this is happening. Everything feels so easy, so effortless. Like driving! I'm suddenly a good driver! Every few minutes I have to ask myself, is this really my new life?"
Addison laughed. "Yeah, you're going to feel like that for a while. In addition to the shock of ascension, you were induced, which amplifies even those advantages. You're really going to be quite good at anything you do." Addison turned to the hostess, "we're both here, table for two." The woman grabbed menus, and led them out into a cozy and dimly lit dining space.
---
After they settled in and the waitress took their order, Addison got suddenly serious, "Luna, I want you to know, I'm here for you. You're not the first tiny I've seen ascend, so I know how overwhelming this process can be." She reached a hand across, touchingly taking Luna's in her own. "Tell me how it's been so far, and don't leave *anything* out. I may not be your Guardian anymore, but I still need to keep you out of trouble."
"Ohh, thanks so much Addison. I admit I have been a bit overwhelmed." Truthfully, Luna had experienced so much in just a few days, she wasn't sure where to begin. She started with the most recent event. "Like this afternoon, before I parked, I saw a woman carrying a man, and I found it...incredibly distracting. I couldn't keep my eyes off them, off him. Regan warned that I'd be attracted to men, but this wasn't just attraction. I was instantly aroused, like I wanted him, a random stranger in broad daylight! Is that normal?"
Addison snickered, "perfectly, perfectly normal. As you get used to it, it won't be so distracting. Plus, you'll see other men rarely enough that you'll grow to enjoy it. Trust me, the effect is much stronger on those of us who don't have a husband to heal us frequently. Ask Regan."
"Grrrr, can't say I'm too happy about that," Luna grumbled. She couldn't imagine any random man causing her to react that way. She also didn't seem to have much of a choice. "Though like you said, at least I have Ash.
"I have to say, it's kind of a trip having him so small I can just pick him up. But every time I hold him," Luna paused while the waitress dropped off their drinks. "Every time I hold him, he seems to get ... noticeably excited. This morning, I gave him a little relief in the shower, and ten minutes later he was poking into me as I carried him down the stairs. Is that typical? It makes it hard to keep my hands off him now that ascension has me perpetually in-heat."
This time Addison didn't laugh. "I'll admit, self-control is tougher for some than others. I myself have a rather modest reaction to men. They get me going, and I can't help a little touching and toying with them, but it's easy for me to draw the line. That's why I don't need to visit Healers frequently like Regan; it's why I was able to go into law enforcement. If Regan wasn't healed at least once a month, I'd be getting a call to pick her up for improper social conduct with Ash or some other random John, and She'd lose her Guardian status.
"The best advice I can offer is to give it a little time. For now, keep Ash or one of us with you as much as you can, until you know you can handle your urges. Ash made it to work and you made it here, so you must be able to control yourself some." Luna snickered and tilted her head as she sipped her drink. "And you didn't jump out and chase this man you saw on the street?" This time Luna laughed, shaking her head and smiling. "Then it sounds like you're doing fine.
"As for Ash, well, men can't help their reactions any more than we can. I'd like to tell you it's because you're his beautiful ascended wife, but truthfully, it's not. Ash is wagging much of the time I carry him too, and I hardly tease him. With Regan he has no chance, that woman is a super flirt. Though she flirts even more with you." Addison shot Luna a steely glance that made her blush. "My best advice is to take it as a complement, and enjoy it. They certainly do. Just remember social conduct law. It's summarized in the Guardian's handbook."
"Yes, yes." Without thinking, Luna proceeded to rattle off the relevant passage word-for-word. "Carrying is legal, unless protested, unless he would be in danger. Teasing or touching is legal, as long as the man does not verbally protest. Kissing or healing are illegal, unless married or an advance permission is recorded. In public, Guardians are legally responsible for their men being clothed so as not to make a public disturbance. Care should be taken... Blah..Blah.." Luna could have recited the entire handbook, perfect photographic memory being another of ascension's gifts.
"Correct. What the law and handbook don't cover is our social conventions. It's quite normal to have a little fun and provoke a man, especially when holding him -- even if he's not your husband." As Addison took a sip of her drink, Luna cringed. She was a little embarrassed at the suggestion that would even carry a man who was not her husband. However, as soon as the thought occurred, she realized how silly it was. Dozens of women carried Ash any given week, as they had her when she was a tiny. It was inevitable part of being too small for the world around them. She guessed that she too would carry a man if they needed her to.
Luna's distraction ended as Addison continued. "However, it's an unwritten rule that if you explicitly *mention* his little unit, you are offering to take care of it for him, in a way he appreciates."
"Wait, what!?" Luna felt a picture perfect stream of memories flooding through her mind. In each one, Ash was being teased for his male reaction, her perfect recall showing her the other edge of it's blade. "Are you saying that when Regan teases Ash about his 'manly pokes', or his 'little gun' that she's offering to get intimate with him?"
"She's offering something, but it's not exactly intimacy. We'll play with a man anytime he'll let us, but it's just fun. You two have been in a really unique situation, a man married to a tiny. To a tiny, touching or rousing a man may feel intimate. To us, glimmer and healing are so powerful, they eclipse everything else. We consider fondling a man a type of playful game. Eventually you will too.
"Consider this. Now that you've been healed, do you feel you want or need anything less?" Luna squinted her eyes, unwilling to confirm Addison's truth. "As a tiny, you were quite permissive about the way Regan and I tease Ash. However, ascended women, at least those who are Equalists, are generally even more permissive. Once you experience the healing, and how important it is for our gender, keeping a man to yourself often seems, just wrong."
"I hear what you're saying. I guess that's why there are so many poly-marriages." Luna squirmed a little in her seat, the conversation making her uncomfortable. "Addy, you know I'm not a jealous person. I *encouraged* you two teasing the both of us. And even when Regan took things a little too far and caused an accident, it never bothered me. It seemed all in good fun, and Ash never seemed to mind. Plus, I support him helping the healing centers when he's needed. So I guess I understand where you're coming from, but it's one thing to understand it another to do it. What about kissing? That has always been our special thing. The thing we keep to ourselves."
"It's very sensible for men to only kiss their wives. Even though it's technically legal to kiss a man with his permission, it's not a good idea as he can *always* claim he was coerced. They just glimmer too hard, too fast. Even your sweat can influence him. As a member of law enforcement, I'd only ever kiss a husband, or a Healer who has agreed to it as part of the contract.
"As for kissing women, most wouldn't even think twice. We only experience 1/10th the glimmer men do, and it's a women's world out there. If you can't kiss 99% of the population, and you can't kiss other people's husbands, then there isn't anyone left. However, it's really up to you two. You don't need to do anything different than you are doing now. I'm just letting you know more about the world you're becoming a part of - the way normal ascended women look at things, at least most of us."
Addison paused as the waitress arrived, placing their lunches in front of them. A cheeseburger for Addison, and a chicken ceasar salad for Luna. Addison immediately commented on her order, "another thing, Luna. If you want to keep that buff body ascension has blessed you with, you are going to need to eat more than salads. The healing dramatically speeds up your metabolism. If you eat too light, you'll waist away pretty quickly. "
"Okay." Luna looked down at her salad, fork in hand. She liked salads. "So I'm perpetually in-heat, I'm turned on by any guy who looks my way, and I have to eat like a pig to avoid turning into a stick. Any other surprising reveals for this ascension thing?" She laughed, and Addison laughed along with her.
"There are a few more, but I don't want to overwhelm you." Addison sliced her knife down through the burger, cutting it in half. Then she raised it up, almost brandishing it between her fingers. "It's all a really a small price to pay for being the evolved gender." Addison had slipped her fingers around her knife, but something looked wrong. It took a few seconds for her to realize the knife was casually bending it in half, right between Addison's fingers! When Addy finished, she set it on the table. Luna marveled that it was not only bent in half, but one end was molded to the contour of the finger it had been pressed around.
"What!? What did you just do?" Luna picked up the knife, trying in vain to straighten it. "How did you do that?!"
"*That* is the power within. Only 2-3% of women can cultivate it, but as an induced, it will be easier for you. Have you had any moments where it seemed like the world slowed down, where things became very easy all of a sudden?"
"Yes," Luna nodded. "I got into a sticky conversation with Ash. I was trying to figure out a way out of it. Suddenly I could see each shower droplet falling. Then I found it really easy to figure out what to say to him. Like I could predict the conversation before it even happened."
"That's it. That was your intellect kicking in. Again, unsurprising, since you were induced." Addison took the bent knife away from her and yanked on it, not budging it's shape, "Strength is similar. It doesn't happen because of muscle, it happens because of will. Here, see if you can straighten it." Addison handed the knife back, before taking a bite of her burger.
Luna was perplexed. She knew what it felt like, that morning in the shower, but she didn't know how it happened. All she knew was that she wanted something, badly. She took the knife in hand, and pulled on it firmly. However, the power within didn't find her, and the knife remained bent.
Even so, Luna wasn't discouraged. She knew she'd learn eventually. She thought about Ash, and what she was becoming. She had known she'd be bigger than him, and with that she'd be stronger than him. She didn't know about this. She also somehow knew, if *he* needed the power, she would find it.
Suddenly, the world started to slow down. The waitress walked by in slow-motion. A pitcher of nearby pouring water solidified into a surreal stream of slowly falling translucence. Luna looked back at the knife, and started to bend it. It wasn't easy like she expected, it was incredibly firm, but as she wrenched against it, it slowly moved. She had it almost halfway straight when she noticed she was gripping it so hard one end of the metal was squishing flatter between her fingers. It startled her, and BAM. Suddenly the world was fast again, the knife fell out of her hands and crashed to the table.
"Not bad, not bad." Addison picked it up. "It took me years to get that far. No doubt induction has given you an edge on all of us generationals. In time you'll see what you're really capable of. For now though, you better eat that salad. And you might want to think about ordering something else to wash it down. Like a steak." Addison chuckled, taking another hefty bite of her burger.
Luna smiled, forking some of the salad into her mouth. The waitress stopped at their table, giving them both a bothered look as she picked up and walked off with the bent knife. Luna looked around the room, wondering how many there knew about what she and Addison could do. She realized that as a tiny, she'd grown up in the same world as these women, but she hadn't grown up *with* them. There was so much she didn't know. Luna wondered what other secrets of ascended life were hiding right in front of her, in plain sight. That would have to wait for another day, as she remembered the favor she meant to ask.
"Addy, I was wondering if you could pick up Ash up from work today and keep him busy for a while. I have a special dinner planned, and I could use the extra free time to get ready." Addison nodded, setting down the messy burger, and gently, almost sexually wiping her lips clean with her napkin. "Great, drop him off at 7pm. I'll give you the booster seat when we get out of here. Ohh, and one more thing, can you help me pick out a dress?"
"No need. You and I are the same size, and I have the perfect thing for you to wear."