Secret Novel Chapter 25: Bath and Reflection (Patreon)

Madeline sat back in the large bathtub in her home. She had enderblooms floating on top of the water to bring the water to the perfect hot steaming temperature for herself. Not only did the flowers bring the perfect temperature, but their smell filled her now very sensitive nose. She had always loved taking hot baths and her family had the luxury of owning their own bathtub, but the process of heating the water and filling the tub was an endeavor so it was a once a week luxury. At least most of the time. After her mother had passed Madeline found it easier just to wash herself with a rag and water than to make a bath just for herself. Now though, filling this bath tub with hot water was as simple as tapping the spout and adding a few enderblooms. She'd been taking baths nearly everyday now. It was so nice after a long day of study and practice to just come here and relax in the tub.

As she relaxed into the water trying not to think about her new features, she felt the ears on her head shift into a more relaxed position instead of being almost pulled back flat against her head due to her worry and nerves of having new ears. Once the initial shock was over and her fear and nerves took control, her new ears were nearly always pulled back until now. Them moving brought her attention right back to the fact that she now had large fox ears, and focusing again made them shift… Again… Madeline wished that Eda could have been more specific about what the permanent version did, and not just say she didn’t consider it fashionable.

Begrudgingly she did have to admit that her hearing was leagues above what it used to be, so the ritual had worked in that sense. For instance, right now she could hear the fire crackling out in the kitchen even with the door closed. She still had to wonder if the ritual had actually worked correctly since she now also had a new nose, or at least the bottom part of her nose was different. The book hadn’t mentioned anything about that, but she was sure she did it right.

Reaching up, Madeline, for the hundredth time, gently touched her fox ears. Of course they instantly flicked away, like every other time. Apparently they didn’t like being touched. With some effort she did her best to command them not to move as she gave them another feel. They were so soft, especially the fur on the inside. Rubbing the sides also gave a pleasant feeling, but gently scratching near the base made her let out a relaxed groan. It was still insane to her that she now had fox ears and nose.

Looking to her side, Madeline could see her reflection in the mirror on the wall. Even though it was crazy and definitely not very human looking, she had to admit they kind of looked cute. Maybe the cutest thing about her appearance. There was that little spark of euphoric joy inside of her at realizing something about herself was actually cute, and she couldn’t help but shyly smile at herself. The ears also being expressive and moving to a more relaxed forward position with her smile only made them look cuter. Deciding to have a little fun, Madeline did her best to move them on her own. It was actually really difficult and very strange since it was all so new, but she managed to do it a little. Well she could very easily make them flick, since they had been doing that every time she touched them. Though the longer she spent playing with and moving her ears the better she got at it. She was quite good at making expressions and having them naturally change to fit that, and she was getting the hang of pointing them in different directions. She wasn’t getting the hang of moving them individually yet, but she would get there eventually.

When her eyes weren't on the new ears, they were on her nose. It definitely stood out like a sore thumb, and did look slightly animalistic. Which made sense since it was a fox nose. She also had to admit that it fit in with the ears and helped with the cuteness of her face just a little bit. Even if she still looked masculine. The nose was also helpful for plants in an odd way. She could maybe get to know what a plant was just by the smell. In fact there were some plants that looked similar enough that she got confused so maybe the smell could help differentiate them.

Madeline wondered if having animal parts was something naturalists did. She had been referring to herself that way since Eda’s tome never gave her a name to call herself. The only thing she found was the term naturalist in the mage’s books. Then again they might be wrong and that was just the name they gave this type of magic user and not what they called themselves. Did they even really have a name at all? Well she probably might never know since, from what she understood, they were all gone now. She was the only one. That was an upsetting thought, but she pushed it away to think about something else. Something less sad.

Would she be able to wear her cloak with the hood up now? She would need to as it got colder, so did that mean she would have to lay her ears flat? That didn’t sound comfortable to keep them like that, even if they had been that way for a few hours today. She could make some holes in the hood to have her ears out, but would they get cold then? They did have fur, but still that didn’t feel right. Maybe she could do some tailoring and add little covers for her ears. Though they might fall off if she moved her ears. What if she made a little tab at the top that the tips could catch onto so it would stay on? While her tailor brain wondered about how she could alter her cloaks she did feel good about one thing. At least she didn’t have to mend the clothes to fit around a tail. That would be hell if she had grown a tail as well.

[I would personally love a fox tail, regardless of how much work I would need to put into mending clothes, but to each their own.]