Wither, Whither [AU] [Private, Join-Requests Allowed]

Anya nodded. "It does feel a bit weird, yes. Come on, I'll tuck you into bed. Speaking of, I like how you made your own version of Ib's bed." She gently picked Mary up, carrying her to her bed and starting to tuck her in. "Just relax, close your eyes, and imagine... imagine sitting with Ib under that tree with the swing. It won't take long for you to fall asleep. So... sweet dreams, Mary."

"It's... weird." Mary repeated lethargically as she followed Anya's instructions, imagining the scene in question. "But not... bad." Sitting under the tree with Ib, a blue sky above, and endless fields of green. Just pushing it back and forth, back and forth... It was oddly soothing. Before she was even aware, she'd passed into sleep for the first time.

Anya smiled as Mary slipped off to sleep for the first time in her life. "This is just the beginning Mary... of all the things you should have been able to experience, but couldn't... now, let's get started..." It would be a long night for her. First this, then inevitably explaining things to Tiara. Then again, it wasn't like it was any trouble. She was more than happy to do this, after all.

Mary felt... odd. Warm. She was resting in a cradle of warmth. It was comfortable. Really, really comfortable. She didn't want to move at all. For a long time, she simply lied still and basked in that warmth. Was it sunlight? Was this what it felt like to lay in the sun? Or was it something else? Did it matter? She was comfortable. And content. Nothing was worrying her at all. Then she heard the sound of something tapping against wood. It reminded her of one of the painted ladies, sort of, when they were crawling about. Curious, Mary abandoned the warmth - somewhat reluctantly - and opened her eyes.

To her surprise, the world was blurry for a few moments.

Blinking tears out of her eyes, Mary sat up, rubbing at them with one hand only to pause and stare at it in confusion, wondering why. Then she realized that she could feel the fabric of her dress sliding across it. Experimenting, she grabbed the sleeve by its collar and pulled it down to reveal healthy, pink skin. It wasn't part of her anymore! Caught up in marveling at the somewhat changed texture of her dress, and the feeling of moving her sleeve up and down her arm, Mary was brought from her musing by the sound returning once again. It was coming from the door. Mary's eyes widened in realization as she realized someone was knocking on her door.

Reminded of the reason she abandoned the comfort she'd been enraptured by previously, Mary lifted the sun-blanket off of her and cast it aside. Free of the blanket - and significantly colder for a brief moment - Mary slid off the bed and onto the soft carpet she'd chosen for a floor. Wait... The floor was soft. She could feel it through the thin fabric of her stockings. Anya had made those 'real' too? Instinctively, Mary wiggled her toes to explore this new sensation, only to be caught off guard yet again in that she had toes. Previously, she'd only known the feeling of... nothing, really. She couldn't feel anything that didn't touch her skin before, but now...

The knocking sounded once again.

Embarrassed that she'd been so thoroughly distracted from her intent yet again, Mary went to the door and opened it to see who was knocking, a light blush on her face.

When the door opened, Mary would find Tiara standing there, grinning. "I could hear you moving about in there. Get distracted?" She of course knew of Mary's situation now, thanks to Anya. She'd noticed something odd about the girl before, including the texture of her hand when she'd held it before. Learning the hows and whys had been interesting, to be sure. Now, she could clearly see a healthy flush of color as Mary was blushing, and was rather pleased to see it. "I'm going to assume you have some questions. Mind if I come in? We can talk for a bit if you like."

Mary blinked before stepping aside, "Um... sure!"

Tiara stepped inside, and took a seat on the side of Mary's bed, hands in her lap. "So... I'm sure you've noticed some of the changes to your body thanks to Anya, so... how do you feel?"

"It's really weird," Mary said immediately, rubbing her arm absently, "but not... bad."

Tiara nodded. "Anya said that, aside from a few things that need to be worked on, your body is mostly human now... and before you wonder about it, Anya didn't tell me about your past or anything. She just told me what I needed to know so I can help you. She felt, and I agreed, that if you want to tell me about your past, you will. Otherwise, I don't need to know."

Mostly human? Was this what that felt like? Then Mary heard the conclusion of Tiara's dialogue and looked away somewhat bashfully, twiddling her fingers, "I... don't really mind but... What would you even want to know? There's... I could tell you about the dolls? We played a lot of hide and seek, but they could teleport so it wasn't really all that fun."

Tiara just chuckled. "Honey, I want to know, whatever it is you want to tell me. I'm here for you, whatever you need. Now, do you have any questions about your new body?"

Mary tilted her head, thinking, "Should I have any?" She asked, confused. She could feel, now. Anya had made her 'real.' What else was there to understand? Was there something she was missing?

Tiara shrugged. "I don't know what exactly you are feeling or thinking, Mary, so I can't answer that. I suppose if something comes up, we'll answer it then. Now, as you can see, your dress is real now, and not painted on. So, you'll need more clothes to wear, since your current clothes can get dirty... and I suppose I'll need to teach you how to get dressed... hm..."

Mary simply listened in confusion as Tiara mused to herself aloud. Then there wasn't a question she should ask? Was there or wasn't there? When the woman mentioned her dress, Mary nodded brightly - on more familiar ground - only to be lost once again when she mentioned that it could now become dirty, and that she'd need more. Or get dressed. Wasn't she already dressed? She was wearing a dress. If her dress got dirty, couldn't it simply be cleaned? Mary's mind whirled. There were so many things her book hadn't covered! It was frustrating, but a bit exciting if she were honest, "Tiara... what do you mean?" She asked when the woman trailed off into silence, "if my dress is dirty, can't I just clean it? Why would I need another? Why would I need to get dressed when I'm already dressed? I'm wearing one right now - you just told me..."

Tiara blinked a bit. "...Ah. Sorry, Mary. Clothes need to be cleaned after being worn or getting dirty. When that happens, you have to take them off so they can be cleaned, and change into different, already clean clothes. This is why we need to get you some more clothing, so that you can do that."

Mary hm'd thoughtfully, "That makes sense, I guess."