Tinge

The Brewmaiden

she/her * trans female * elderly

"Countless scrolls and potions in the Marketplace and Trading Post, and yet not a single scroll or potion had been invented to change a dragon's assigned gender at hatching. Until recently."

Tinge composed a few experimental brews at first, hoping one of them would change her into what she had so desired for some decades. A couple changed her into a different species, and then back into a Bogsneak again. No, no - this was to be expected, a few flaws and mishaps there and here. She would get it right and perfected.

But when?

The middle-aged Bogsneak logged 164 concoctions before arriving at the "when."

That is how many she went through before hitting upon the one and only. Finally, Tinge thought, as she could truly be herself in both mind and body. She walked proudly amongst her fellow plaguelings, many of them mystified at why, others questioning if there was something just slightly off about her form. Tinge had already been known by her chosen name and pronouns for a while, so it wasn't a earth-shattering revelation to most of her peers.

Most of them.

One rather pale-looking dragon excitedly reached out to Tinge as she passed by, poking her wing to get her attention. She turned around and smiled. This was one she was familiar with.

Lillith, the deaf Coatl, who had been born in the Nature flight and rejected as a hatchling due to both their ill-looking coloration and deafness. Plague had taken them in, cackling at the irony of taking so many disabled immigrants from Nature. They wore a set of red-tinted goggles so that the plaguelings wouldn't target them; despite the armistice in place between the two flights, tensions remained high among both, and it was even worse for those who dared to cross over into the opposing territory. But they hadn't a choice.

Tinge knew their backstory well, naturally. She'd been the one to take them under her wing, and taught them all about brewing potions, vaccines, powerful deterrents against the Wandering Contagion. The moving border had passed their humble village by now, but Tinge knew she would make good money selling her potions to anybody on either side. She hadn't expected to take care of an abandoned Coatl, but she was grateful for the extra help.

They had a system of pidgin signs between them; it hadn't been easy for Lillith to communicate at first, so they sought out as many books on the subject of sign language as they possibly could, which hadn't been very many, to their surprise.

"Tin!" Lillith hastily spelled out her shortened name, "Tin, you changed! Was it that mix? The most recent one?"

She nodded, and took to a sluggish motion of claws. "Yes, am more comfortable now."

"I poked my claw in, but it didn't work for me," they huffed, involuntarily squeaking with their seldom-used voice. "Is it only for you, Tin?"

Only for me? Her muddy thoughts raced. Only for me...?

"Lillith... do say... you that want change, also?"

Their eyes sparkled with joy. "Yes! Yes, I want that!" Lillith seemed to hesitate for a second, then enveloped the both of them with their wings - an odd decision, as no one else in the village would know their sign language. But clearly, they wanted to tell Tinge a secret. The most important of all secrets, with their trembling claws. "Tin... I think I'd like very much to be a girl. C-Can you call me a she?"

"Of course."

"And, and, can you keep trying? Can we make more of these gender-changing potions?"

Tinge grinned quite widely, now having glimpsed the beginning of something truly wonderful. "Yes, my dear daughter," she hugged herself. "Can make for all species."

(to be continued)