A Stag in Doe's skin

Surgery

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Roise asked, rubbing her thumb over the sharp and reflective material of the angelic blade. She looked up at her friend.

Alice was currently sitting on the side of a bathtub, barely illuminated by the dim and dingy light above them both. She was wearing black trousers and her dirty chest bindings.

"Roise," Alice muttered, a static underneath her voice, "I can't live like this." She looked up, the smile on her face was strained. "I need this."

Roise simply nodded and went over to the medical kit she had placed on the counter earlier. She opened the box; inside was a handful of sutures, threads, bandages, sedatives, and a few clothes. Her surgical mask and gloves were also present.

Roise sighed. She wanted to help her friend however she could, and it wasn't that she had a problem with what they wanted. Instead, she was scared of failing, scared that her friend's body couldn't handle the angelic steel, or that she might not be careful enough with it.

Roise narrowed her eyes and sealed her fear away. She'd only fail if she thought she would.

"Alright then," Roise spoke, taking out a sedative syringe. "So, you said to keep you under for a week?" She looked over at her friend.

"Yes," Alice spoke, an edge in her voice. "So that the angelic wound has time to settle."

"Why do we need the angelic steel? I mean if it's so dangerous, then why don't we just use a normal knife? We could probably get actual surgical equipment that way as well!" Roise tried to explain.

"I'm too powerful for that."

"What?"

"My magic. I've tried to... cut them off before, but they always regenerate. It needs to be something I can't heal."

"And that's why you needed my help." Roise realized why Alice had asked for her aid. She needed someone she trusted to watch over her. A part of Roise appreciated the show of faith, another part of her felt even worse for her friend.

To think that her friend had been suffering like this for so long, it made Roise feel awful. In truth, Roise had worried that Alice was rushing into this, although now that she realized how long Alice had been enduring this torment, she felt a surge of determination.

Roise carefully prepared the syringe, her hands steadier now with a renewed sense of purpose. "Okay, Alice. Let's do this," Roise said, her voice firm but gentle.

Alice lay back in the tub, exhaling deeply. "Thank you."

Roise nodded, placing the syringe to Alice's arm. "I won't let you down." With a quick motion, she administered the sedative. Alice's eyes fluttered shut, her body relaxing into the tub. Roise watched her for a moment, making sure she was completely under before turning her attention back to the angelic blade.

The blade shimmered in the dim light, glowing an eerie and unnatural light. Roise reached out and lifted Alice's chest bindings, then used the blade to cut them off. It sliced through effortlessly; Roise was shocked at how little effort she needed to apply. She reached into her medical kit and pulled out her mask and gloves, quickly wrapping them around her face and pulling them down her hands before she returned to her friend's side.

She picked up the angelic steel blade and gently pressed it against her friend's skin. "And now, I'll make my primary incision," she muttered as she pushed the blade into Alice's skin.

Alice's eye snapped open, and her body shot up from the bed she was lying in. She immediately regretted it; her deer-like body had an annoying tendency for sleeping. When she was alive, she acted very, very differently. She'd sleep a solid eight hours then be awake for a solid sixteen hours. Now? Well, she'd sleep about an hour every three hours. Granted, her body was now very much built for the new sleeping patterns. She didn't like the way her body shot up so suddenly; she also didn't like the headache that came with it. Well, her body had probably been asleep for about a week; it was probably desperate to wake up.

As Alice rubbed her head and looked around, she briefly wondered where she was. Red and pink striped walls and paintings of forests, as well as being incredibly clean. She may not have seen this room before, but she knew this was Rosie's house. Probably a guest room or something. She looked over to the bedside table and saw a metal tray with a metal food dome on it. She reached out and lifted the tray, moving it over her lap. She lifted the dome, putting it back on the bedside table. Her eyes returned to the tray. There was a plate, two slices of toast, a side of scrambled eggs, and a couple of pieces of bacon. Culinary was also present. A sealed envelope and a hand mirror were resting there as well. She used the fork in her off-hand to pick at the scrambled eggs, taking a few bites as she picked up the letter in her main. Her nails were short but sharp; she was able to peel the simplistic seal off and pull the paper out. She let the envelope fall as she began to read the letters before her.

It's good to know you're awake, my deer friend. Sorry, had to.

'Well, that's a dreadful start to the day' Alice rolled her eyes.

First off, I'd like to say sorry for not being there. I really wanted to see you wake up but I'm afraid I had some Susan issues to take care of. You know how she is.

'Oh, don't I ever'

Now, a few updates. First off, you were wrong about how long it would take. It's been about a month and a half. I was worried that the angelic cuts wouldn't heal at all, but luckily they did.

Now, I gave him the 'you're dead and in hell' speech and all of that, well, we got to talking and he mentioned this thing called 'Testosterone'. Apparently, it's what makes men into men (And here I thought it was being stupidly brave) but nope! It's this chemical.

Now look, I know that everything after 1933 is 'Completely worthless and foolhardy' but this seemed promising.

We gave you a few injections of it (I should have asked for your permission, I know, I'm sorry for not doing that. However, I think you might forgive me when you see your reflection) He thinks your magic had an effect on it; it shouldn't have affected you as quickly as it did.

Now, I'm afraid I have to cease writing now; I'll be back up in a few hours.

Alice put the letter down; she was... wary, to say the least. She didn't completely trust the information she was given. Although she had always thought herself smart and reasonable, she decided to at least see the result before she made up her mind. She picked up the mirror, a slight tremble in her hand as she turned it around to look at herself.

She struggled not to drop the mirror as she looked at herself. Her soft features were more pronounced and sharper. Her shoulders seemed broader. And... was that facial hair? Did she have stubble? Could she grow a beard if she wanted?

Her smile was as wide as it could go. She'd need to give Rosie something nice for this. Her smile fell a small bit. 'Alice' didn't exactly suit her anymore; should she change her name?

Alastor. She had always liked that name.

Alastor grinned as he pulled the blanket off of himself. He spun himself around and let his legs hit the ground. He saw now that he was wearing some simplistic boxers. He looked around briefly, quickly spotting a white shirt, trousers, socks, and shoes sitting on a nearby desk.

Alastor walked over and began to get dressed. He had a big day ahead of him.