To Find Madame Cyra

In the dream I was treading just underneath the water, it was clear as the sky and though I could see far below me there was nothing but black. Though I was underwater I didn’t need to breathe. Soma was across from me floating in the water, their glowing hair extending out like a bioluminescent halo. We just stared into each other for moments on end. I looked curiously for a minute. But nothing happened. Then when I moved forward to get a closer look , so did they. I put my hands up reflexively in surprise, so did they. I tilt my head, they tilt their head. I put my hand out, they put two of their hands out and one of ours touched.

I understood then and there that the soma was a construct for a puppet. I could feel the emptiness where the mind should be and I filled it. I was pulling the strings, having it move whatever way I wanted. But I also felt a growing resistance, some conflicting will trying to take back control. I resisted but it grew and grew and I no longer could stop it. Their puppet started to attack me, its glowing silver moon turning a sickly red. I could only take hold and stop a pair of their arms, luckily the water softened the blows but I was being overwhelmed. Then the puppet wrapped itself around me as it pulled further and further down. I could feel a violent energy. Afraid I struggled trying to squirm away. Then enraged I grabbed onto the face of the puppet and pulled it toward me and I swallowed the red moon. Indescribable feeling filled me, I was in rage as the power filled me to the core. In my hands I could feel the energy from the puppet start to sap away into my own feeding into my hunger for more. Till it was too weak to float and sank down into the abyss. Watching it disappear I noticed a silvery light came ahead, looking up there was a giant soma looking down at me expressionless, floating on the surface. One of their giant hands came barreling toward me, and I was not able to move fast enough in the water to get away. They pulled me towards their face before giving me a kiss, their large mouth covering my whole head. Then they swallowed me whole into their being.

The next morning I woke up in a cold sweat, remembering the dream. Going into the bathroom I notice two small stubs of horns jutting out of my forehead, poking through my hair. I was really turning into one of them. Brushing my teeth I noticed my canines were sharper and a bit longer than I remembered them being. It was still early. I was the first one out of bed. After getting ready I put on a hat, it was tight around my horns but it obscured them. Heading straight toward the address on the card. It wasn’t that far from the apartment a couple blocks from the main road and the night market. Looking at the address I looked back at the building. “The Lounges: café, bar, and hookah lounge”. Got to be the place right.

Entering there was, café and bar to my right and hookah lounges to my left, a stage in the center back and more couches in front of that. There was one person whipping things down, see me she looked annoyed.

“Hey kid, it's Sunday, we don’t open till eight thirty today…and it's not even seven,” The elf said after checking her pocket watch. She had deep olive skin, long pointed ears, and was wearing a button down, vest, dress pants, and a bowler hat.

“Sorry. First time here. Looking for a madame cyra? I was given this card with this address. Am I in the wrong place?” I said looking at her confused.

“That would be me. Who gave you that name?” She asked, peering at me.

“Kahina sent me. Said you could teach me,” I replied, scratching my head nervously.

“...She did now…hmm. I’ll do it but you got work for me. I need some hands to run this place. Think you can do that? What's your work experience like?” She asked.

“Dockhand for about 2 years,” I said.

“Huh. Must be stronger than you look. I’ll have you work as a barback tonight? It's going to be busy,” She said as she kept cleaning up the place, giving everything a once-over.

“I guess. Got nothing going on today. Is this going to be a full time thing? I still got school and another job,” I said not knowing what I got myself into.

“Work for me kid. Nights on weekdays, after school and all day on weekends. Make more money here on tips. Around midnight when we are not busy, if you're here I will teach you what I know,” She said as she ran around to stock the café.

“Ok…you need help now?” I said.

“I thought you would never ask. If we manage to set up early. I will teach you something before we have to open,” She said with a huff after lifting a large bag of coffee beans. For the next hour I helped her set up, running all around the whole place. When that was done I was already sweaty in my clothes. I took off my hat to air it out and wipe my forehead without thinking.

“Horns huh? That’s different. You are a strange color for an elf. What are you then?” She asked, looking me up and down.

“Not really sure. You know what a succubus is?” I said.

“Yeah, spirits that typically prey on lonely horny men, those things,” She said with a questioning tone.

“Yeah. I had visions of myself turning into one. And I summoned one. The horns I have…that I just got in today look like smaller versions of the ones they had,” I said quietly.

“No shit? You managed to summon one?” She said surprised.

“Yeah, it wasn’t hard. The first time was during a full moon and they were pretty much asking to get summoned,” I said, looking away a little embarrassed.

“Ok, don't need to know more than that. Have you summoned anything else?” She said cutting me off.

“I summoned an imp. And a Djinn that told me that I need to embrace my beast, being the succubus. Apparently that is one thing that my Idol requires of me,” I said awkwardly.

“Really? That is interesting. Never heard of such a thing before,” She said as she gazed off into the distance.

“Kahina was there when it happened. I summoned the djinn when I was there with her guidance. That was yesterday,” I explained.

“So she sent a horny teenagers with a perverted idol my way thinking I could take care of you? What a joke,” She said

incredulously.

“It’s the truth. She just said you would teach me. It's not like I came here expecting to do anything like that with you. I was expecting someone closer to the Kahina’s age than mine,” I pressed.

“Ok ok. I believe you. And I’ll take that as a compliment,” She said as she gave me a tap on the shoulder and looked me in the eyes. “I will teach you. Sorry for being hard on you. It’s just strange is all,” She apologized.

“It is really strange. I am not sure what I am going to look like when the transformation is done. Every day something is different, and sometimes I feel the changes happen to me right away. Like…I am not sure how people are going to see me. I have my chest pressed in cloth to hide some tits that I formed. They are small now but I don’t know what I am going to do if they get bigger…” I ranted, needing to talk about it to someone.

“Hmm. Maybe she was right to bring you to me. As you can see I am not the most feminine presenting woman. Whatever happens you can always work for me. It's hard being different. Even here, not everyone is so open minded,” She said as gesticulated towards her masculine clothes.

“Thanks…I have just been scared,” I said honestly.

“Do you not like the changes or do you…” She asked.

“Umm…I…I think I do. It doesn’t feel as wrong as what I was before I awakened. I didn’t like my body at all. I like myself better now I just don’t know what others would think. Like my mom is supportive now because she thinks I am elf, if she knew about the horns and especially the breasts she…might not be,” I confided.

“Yeah, my folks were not supportive of me when I came out lesbian. And that was rough. So I understand, but you can only hide for so long. And I am not sure if you can really hide it much longer. Are you going to always be wearing a hat now when you're home?” She said with a sympathetic face.

“You're right. I can’t hide this…maybe I try to break it to her slowly. Confess about the horns then the rest?” I thought out loud.

“Up to you. Might not be easier if your mom figures you were holding out on her,” She said.

“...hmm ok. I can’t tell her why though,” I said pensively.

“Yeah, because then she might try and have you break it off with your idol which never ends well,” She said. Cyra went to show me the upstairs where she keeps a hidden store of magical stuff, as well as her apartment. Explained that the bar was a front to launder money made off the magic since she didn’t want the government to try and crack down on her business or try to **** her to work for them. She told me that you can use items that the spirit is close to and bonded with to summon them easier. She also tried to explain to me the basics of how to cast magic where summoning is not involved where you're pulling power from the astral plane directly. Demonstrating how she can summon a ball of fire between her fingers by doing just that. I did the same thing, but I just summoned a ball of water that spilled onto the floor. Cyra actually was relieved that was all that happened since her first time almost resulted in lighting her house on fire.