Becca and Mirror were worried. They were so worried that they acted completely, suspiciously normal and fine as they stepped into the mirrorverse to go somewhere else. Without her.

That was… Kalos didn’t know how to feel about that, actually.

If she’d been her old self, fresh to the Mansion, she would have cried and begged for them to take her with them. She’d wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet, right? So… that was almost like she’d asked for it, really.

Becca’d mentioned that Kalos should go visit DocProf to be sure, but then she left. Kalos decided there wasn’t enough of a problem to bother. Physically, she didn’t have a scratch on her.

She yanked the soggy crinoline over her head and tentatively reached out toward the mirror her parents had walked through.

No. She might be curious, but Kalos wasn’t sure she wanted to look just yet. Even seeing her hand, all brown on the back with a pink blush on her palm instead of her proper coral… she didn’t feel like her. Like a stranger broke in and she was seeing through their eyes. She felt like an imposter in her own body.

Kalos disappeared into the bathroom and took the hottest shower of her life, scrubbing her elbows and knees especially, since they’d had spots she could never quite itch before and finally she could. Through the fog of the bathroom mirror, she finally gave in and looked.

Her hair was the same coily-kinky curl, but solid dark black. No more reds and pinks with threads of all the shades in between. Kalos wiped away more of the steam, took a step back, and looked at herself over all. It was like she’d been desaturated. And of course she had to step in close again to see her eyes. She looked left and right and marveled at the whites. She was so…. so normal now. Totally changed. Could she even be called Kalos any more? Did she want to be Kalos any more?

She went through her normal hair care routine: blotting, oiling, detangling, squnching, mousse… none of that changed. Kalos noticed she had toenails now. And fingernails. She dug around in the bathroom until she found Becca’s nail polish and painted each one of them a different color.

Kalos felt a little more like herself, then.

Herself, but different.

---

ομαλός might be more accurate, but, like… ew. Who wanted to be called normal?

ισχυρός might fit her new personal ideal, but… Kalos did not feel powerful, even with different “powers”. Mostly what she felt was alone. Nobody but her mom had gone through a change like her. And Becca… Becca was needing some time to process.

μετασχηματισμός and πεταλούδα, metamorphosis and butterfly, were too on the nose…

Kalos scrubbed her fingers in her hair, not caring that it was flat on one side where she’d slept funny. Because she could now sleep funny. There was no “cage” or “crown” to keep her from sleeping on her hair. In fact, just because she could, Kalos ran her fingers through her scalp and down on through the ends of her hair, pulling a lock out so that she could inspect the inky blackness and shine of it. Things hadn’t been bad before, when she was a mutant. But some parts of her just felt free-er now. And yet some things she couldn’t get used to.

She pursed her lips and made up her mind. Kalos would continue to be brave, and there was one person who absolutely terrified her… but didn’t have to terrify her any more.

Kalos slipped out of her room and walked all the way down to the counselor’s office, barefoot. That was another thing she kept forgetting. Shoes.She ran back up and dug out some house shoes and ran back down. Gemma should be in her office hours now, but not forever.

”Excuse me.” Kalos knocked because she’d noticed that politeness went a long way with some people. ”Could I ask for a favor?”

Realistically, the answer had almost never been “no” even when Kalos should have been denied. Still, somehow Kalos always expected a “no.” She hesitated, but not for long enough for her to lose her nerve.

”I want to dye my hair.” Bravely, she forged on just as she’d practiced in her room beforehand. ”I need help. Or. A professional. Professional… help.” She finished lamely. ”I thought you might… know what to do…? Y’know?” Because of all the people here, Gemma’s hair was the closest in texture and color to her own.

Gemma had heard about what happened. The whole Mansion was reeling from it. Rumors had suddenly become reality, and everything was on high alert. Humans, mutants, even adapteds the Mansion was prepared for. But magic... that had never been a thing before. And it suddenly explained a whole lot about Gemma's experience with Ez.

She knew Mirror was going to turn up at her office eventually, once they had time for themselves, not doing the work of supporting Becca and Kalos through the process. Maybe Becca too, once she was ready to talk. But Kalos? When she saw Gemma, she usually ran the other way. Which was understandable, given her background, and her powers. She was going to need someone else to help her proc...

>>”Excuse me. Could I ask for a favor?”

Gemma blinked at the knock, and moved to open the door. She knew the voice. She was not prepared for the face.

Kalos was... strikingly different. But also still very much herself. Gemma smiled at her, trying very hard not to stare at the brown-skinned, shy child on her doorste.

"Of course." she stepped aside to let her into the office. Well. This was unexpected.

>>”I want to dye my hair. I need help. Or. A professional. Professional… help. I thought you might… know what to do…? Y’know?"

Gemma knew better than to barge in on someone processing something that had happened to them. Especially a child. And Kalos was doing the right thing on instinct, claiming ownership of her new look and new body. Gemma nodded with a smile.

"... Of course. I can take you to the salon I usually go to... would that work? They have a lot of colors to choose from. Do you have one you'd like?"

With Gemma's sort of casual reply, Kalos was realizing that she hadn't thought this through, exactly. Going out meant going outside. Even though she had ventured outside more and more before... that was before. She hadn't left the Mansion since the incident.

She stammered for a moment before stopping and intentionally making herself calm down enough to speak properly. She'd better start by answering the question posed to her.

"Pink." She tried not to be too embarrassed by her choice, but her cheeks colored anyway. "People hardly recognize me, I hardly recognize me. I thought... it'd be like a transition, maybe."

Would it be alright? Did they have to get some kind of permission? Or-? Kalos had only left the Mansion grounds three or four times, now. Her record for that being okay was thus far limited to the times she had gone with one of her parents.

"How do you usually get there? Is it far?" She would for sure take her cell phone and keep it on her person, no! In her hand. Kalos fished out her phone from her hoodie pocket. Yes. Now she was ready.

>>"Pink. People hardly recognize me, I hardly recognize me. I thought... it'd be like a transition, maybe."

The look in Gemma's eyes softened as she nodded again. "I think that is a neat idea."

Kalos had changed from one moment to the next; one, she was a mutant, and now she was human. But she was also a teenager now, not the scared little girl who had come to the Mansion. And she was clever enough to try to take agency in what was happening to her.

>>"How do you usually get there? Is it far?"

"I usually walk down the street. It's not far. We can take the car too, that only takes a few minutes. But the walk is nice." Gemma answered. "Would you like to go now? I have some time."

They could walk. They really could. There was nothing stopping them. Kalos shifted her weight back and forth between her feet and tried to measure how much courage she had inside of her today. She'd spent some here and she knew she had to save some for the salon that Gemma had mentioned because it was sure to be full of unfamiliar experiences and people.

If Kalos ever wanted to change, she had to continue to do things that were difficult for her.

"We can walk." She felt a splash of cold fear in her chest as soon as Gemma said "now" so Kalos sent a quick message in a group chat to both parents that she was taking a walk with Gemma.

But it was fine. She was fine. This was all perfectly safe. Still, she couldn't quite repel the cold spot of fear in her chest.

"Would it be alright if you hold my hand on the way?" She didn't want to get lost, after all. Or fall up into the sky.

>>"We can walk."

Gemma could tell Kalos was hesitant about going. She never left the Mansion much, and Mirror and Becca had been with her as she slowly learned about life in New York. As a mutant, and not a gorgon. And now, as a human. Venturing outside, even with Gemma, had to be a big step. She saw her sending a message. Good.

>>"Would it be alright if you hold my hand on the way?"

"Of course" Gemma smiled. She picked up her purse, gathered her phone and keys and put on her jacket. Then she held out a hand to Kalos. "Ready? Do you need a coat?"

Two words made Kalos regret how much she'd feared Gemma before.


> "Of course"

Of course they could go together. Of course Gemma wasn't of a mind to reprimand or belittle her. Of course she could even help smooth out her silly fears. Of course.

"I think my hoodie is enough. It's not cold enough for snow yet." Her shoes might be more of an issue considering how stiff and unused they were, but this felt like a "strike while the iron is hot" moment. If they didn't go now, there might not be a later.

"Ho-how often do you go?" She tried for casual conversation, gripping at what little they had in common first. "I don't- I mean, when I first came here my hair was very short." and unkempt and cut jaggedly. She'd done that herself after she'd been caught once by her hair and dragged back beneath the courts to move muck around. They'd ripped out chunks of her hair anyway so it seemed wise to take away any hand holds she could.

Since that sort of abuse was no longer a concern, she'd let it grow.

"I feel like it's taken forever to grow longer." Kalos hesitated as they neared the front door, offering her hand to Gemma first and having to move very deliberately over the threshold.

She wasn't going to stay in a cage, even if the cage was one of her own choosing. Not any more.

They walked out the door, hand in hand. Gemma waited to Kalos to set the pace; she rarely ventured outside, and had never gone out with her before, so they would have to take their time. Gemma had time. Once they were out in the street, she headed towards the hair salon.

>>"Ho-how often do you go? I don't- I mean, when I first came here my hair was very short. I feel like it's taken forever to grow longer."

"I usually go once a month or so." Gemma answered. Right now, she had her hair in braids, and those needed to be maintained. She wondered how much Kalos knew about all this. Or even Mirror and Becca. "My hair grows... like, five or six inches a year? But it can look slower because it is curly, like yours. I don't often straighten it."

Kalos regretted not dressing more witchily as soon as she'd stepped out the front door. She felt that visceral reaction outside the same as always: a cold splash of clingy fear. If she had let herself cast her one spell first, then she wouldn't have to worry about what was next... silly Kalos was still lacking foresight, even when that was her only trick.

"You can straighten it?" or, a more important question... "Why?"

As they walked, Kalos' grip tightened unconsciously. It would take a crowbar to dislodge her hand while they were not under a roof or umbrella.

They walked, Kalos clinging to her hand for dear life. Gemma was not sure if it was better to walk faster or slower for the girl's comfort, so she allowed Kalos to lead. In the meantime, she would answer all the questions she had, which was good for comfort and distraction.

>>"You can straighten it? Why?"

"Some people do." Gemma nodded "There are ways to make it straight, but it takes quite a bit of work. I don't often find the time for it. I like to have it braided more." she added. Brainds were easier to handle in her everyday life of running around the Mansion putting out fires. "You can try it if you want to. Mostly it is up to fashion..." she glanced down at the girl "... and some people having expectations about what hair should look like. But we don't really listen to those people."

Kalos couldn't imagine her hair being straight. Short? Sure, she was only just now growing it out. But straight? It seemed like its very nature would have to be wrestled.

"But braids look super tight to your head skin." Kalos didn't even try to hide her staring. Staring at Gemma's hair was better than focusing on what was above the hair-- which was nothing. "Don't you miss, like, feeling air in your hair?"

Looking up as she was, Kalos caught her shoe on a lip between uneven sidewalk pavers and tripped. That micro-second of the feeling of falling was enough to upgrade Kalos' hand-holding to full on side-hugging. Thankfully, it wasn't much more of a walk from there.

A little bell rang over the metal-framed glass door and once they were across the thresh hold, Kalos realized she'd been holding her breath. She let Gemma go by inches, and had to admit that the little shop was... not what she expected.

>>"But braids look super tight to your head skin. Don't you miss, like, feeling air in your hair?"

"I do sometimes" Gemma smiled. "Sometimes I have the braids undone. The good thing is, with hair like ours, you can do a lot of..."

Kalos tripped, and the grabbed on to Gemma. She put an arm around her shoulders. "You're doing great, hun. Almost there."

They made the last leg of the trip with Kalos holding on to her for dear life, but they made it. The salon was small and friendly, barely bigger than someone's living room. Two women looked up and smiled when Gemma entered. One of them was already working on someone's hair in front of a large mirror, but there were two other empty chairs ready for clients.

"Mrs. Taylor-Cervantes!"

"Hello" Gemma smiled, waving her free hand "I wanted to introduce you to someone. This is Kalos. Kalos, this is Ruby, and Jemma, with a J." the women smiled at Kalos too. "Kalos is just learning how to care for her hair."

"Come over here, take a seat" Ruby patted one of the empty chairs "We are going to answer all your questions, okay?"