Petra grimaced. Another day of shopping, more of those fucking stares. She was sick of them, as she perused the skirts, the stockings, the things she found cute. Her flat chest tightened a little as she clenched her fists in anger, her jaw set. She couldn't afford to do more than this, but for christ's sake, it was almost 2020, and there were
still
clueless bastards out th-
She stopped short. A new store. Mannequins lined the window, and by god, that was
good
stuff she was seeing. But she scratched her head as she looked up, because it wasn't advertising as a clothing store. Hell, she couldn't work out
what
it was advertising as.
Heartmend... What kind of name is that?
Still, it was new. It had cute, sexy stuff in the window. It was at least worth a look.
Pushing open the wooden door with a coloured glass pane, a small bell tinkled, and Petra only had time to notice that it was more
office
like, than anything else, before the proprietress stepped in. She was short, maybe 5'2", waiflike, and with a cheeky grin and short, spiky hair. A younger store owner wasn't surprising, but Petra felt her breath quicken a little... She
liked
this sort of woman, and the grin from the owner widening let Petra know that she knew
damn well
how she was affecting Petra.
"Welcome to Heartmend, where we give... Well" she leaned one elbow on the counter, and gestured to Petra. "...What would you change about yourself, if you wanted to?" Petra frowned. This sounded sketch as hell, and she was about to leave, but... She sounded sincere. Still frowning, she gestured at herself, tip to toe, and cocked her head.
"Pretty much all of this." She didn't say any more, and, after a moment, the elbow lifted, the other arm supporting it as the owner cupped her chin in thought.
"Fair, a lot of people don't like their bodies, in one way or the other, even people who
say
they don't. You're honest about it, and, to be equally honest, that helps a lot. Oh!" she stretched one hand out "I'm Kendra, and I run this place, where we..." She chuckled "We satisfy customers who come in with just those needs." Petra, cautiously, shook her hand. She wasn't exactly rich, but she
did
at least want to hear this person out. If only so she could let folks know if it
was
sketchy.
"So, er...
How
do you do that, exactly? Are you a surgery of some kind? Because" she gestured toward the window "If you are, your advertising is ten kinds of weird." Kendra laughed, and Petra wasn't exactly reassured. But still, as Kendra rounded the counter and gestured toward a full length mirror, she still went along. After all, no harm in a mirror...
Kendra, behind her, grinned more widely. "Okay, so, fair warning, while I'm giving you a free sample, it may just freak you out a little. Close your eyes, you'd know if I was gonna be a creep." Reluctantly, Petra did, and... She was at least sure she wasn't being touched, or jabbed with anything... But her cheeks... Something was happening to her cheeks. Her mouth. Her neck. They felt... She didn't quite know how they felt. And they kept feeling it, sort of, when Kendra spoke again. "Okay, you can open your eyes now. Oh, and I've put a chair behind you, if you feel light headed or whatever, just plop yourself down and take some deep breaths. It's okay. I'm used to that."
When Petra's eyes opened, she saw... Her. Well, it
was
her, but it wasn't...
Her
. Her jaw had softened, rounded itself, her neck a little thinner, and... She hadn't felt anything with her nose, but... She slumped into the chair, rubbing, checking with their hands and trying hard to take Kendra's advice. But her breathing quickened as she ran her fingers... She was... She was
Her
. The
real
Her. She didn't even flinch as a pair of light hands started massaging her shoulders, and Kendra's voice, soft and reassuring, tried to talk her down "Heyyyy, deep breaths. In and out, girl... Iiiin and ouuuut..." After a short time, Petra was calmer. Well, sort of. That massage had been nice, and she kind of wanted more. But...
"You're used to this, so...
What the fuck
?" Petra wasn't shouting. She'd gotten something she'd wanted, she was just... This wasn't real. It
couldn't
be real, even though her fingers, her eyes, even her own breathing, the feel of her mouth told her it was. She wanted to know, and Kendra, kneeling on her haunches in front of Petra, grinned again.
"Feels good, doesn't it? Of course, everything after that has a price, but I think you'll find it an easy one to pay. And no, it wasn't surgery. And yes, it is real. And though this is 2019, it was magic. Cool stuff, huh?" She winked. "Not even the best bit, although, y'know, some folks disagree. Check your wallet." Petra blinked, and then hurriedly reached into her bag.
"Shit, yeah, it..." The words stuck in her throat. She knew what Kendra meant, or thought she did, but, as she rapidly flipped through her cards, all those photos (Ugh, those photos), they... They were her too. Her as she was now. And she looked up, her mouth hanging open.
Kendra's smile was warm. "Take your time. I'll be right over here, you can relax until you feel ready to ask some more, and we can talk price." As she stood up, she pulled up her arms, made finger guns, and winked. "Alakazam!"
Petra snorted, feeling a little better already. "That... That was really cheesy." And, as Kendra returned to her desk, Petra heard her comeback.
"I know, right?"
It was a few minutes before Petra calmed down. She had a lot of questions, sure, but... Magic sorta answered a lot of them, and it was really hard not to believe. She'd been staring at the proof the whole time, running her fingers over it, marvelling at it. So her first question was a more practical one.
"Okay, Kendra... What's the catch? What are the limits?" Kendra grinned again, and Petra felt a little warmer at that grin. Somehow, it managed to get across that she understood, while also getting across that yes, she was