Lire's Quest for Change

Lire, a trans woman and a warrior, looked at the dead body of her enemy. He died a gruesome death, with his body transformed into a melting pile of flesh like a wax figure left in the sun for too long. The ugly corpse was decaying fast, leaving only bones now. His arms were shrunk to the size of twigs, with his fingers looking like tiny black needles.

“Well, that's enough time wasted on him.” she said to herself. She reached into her pouch and pulled out the magic blue rock she got from the old woman on the beach. She never knew if it was really magical or not, but ever since she had it in her possession, she'd been much luckier than before. It was almost as if the rock was whispering words of encouragement in her ear whenever she was about to do something risky. With that thought in mind, Lire stood up and began walking back home.

The last few days had been rough for Lire. She got into an argument with her father when he found out about her secret stash of women's clothing hidden under her bed. That wasn't even the worst part - Her father decided to get rid of her entire collection by burning it all in the backyard fire pit! Not only did he burn them all to ashes, he even threw away some of Lire's hand-carved wooden statues of gods and goddesses.

Lire started running when she heard yelling coming from the house. “Those sculptures were one-of-a-kind! How could you destroy them like that?” she shouted at her father while trying to catch up to him as he walked back toward their small house on the edge of town with a bag full of Lire's favorite dresses and shoes.

Her father turned around when he heard Lire's voice behind him and looked at his daughter with tears streaming down his face. “I'm sorry; I just couldn't bear to see those things anymore knowing what they represent... I wish there was some way you could go back to being our little boy again!” he said as he put down the bag and ran up to hug his weeping daughter.

“That is impossible! I am who I am now; there is no going back! Can't you accept me for who I am?!” shouted Lire back at her father as she pushed him away from her and picked up the bag full of clothes and other belongings from the ground where he dropped it during their embrace moments earlier. “There are many others out there like me, but because you can't accept me for who I am, we are going to have to leave this place so that you don't destroy anything else precious to me!” screamed Lire while walking off toward the forest without turning around again after saying those words.

Lire stopped walking when she felt a presence right behind her. She hadn't heard any indication that someone was close enough to hear her previous conversation with her father. “Who are you? How did you get here so silently?” asked Lire as she turned abruptly to face the stranger standing just behind her.

Before Lire could react further by swinging her sword at the unknown person, a swift motion grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her attack in its tracks. Shocked and off-balance, Lire lost her footing and tumbled to the ground along with the mysterious individual. Their heads collided during the fall, and both of them were rendered unconscious.

It wasn't until several hours later, near midday, that a group of hunters discovered the two unconscious figures lying atop one another in the forest clearing. The hunters had been on a days-long journey, seeking deer for their village. They'd found few tracks in the surrounding woods and encountered no animals, so they decided to stop and rest for lunch. As they enjoyed their meal, they discussed the surprising sight they'd just stumbled upon: Lire and her unexpected companion.