Seran's Sauna
Bricot stared at the building apprehensively. Clustered in between a soup kitchen run by gnomes and the Troll Toll, a busy building where it seemed half of the neighborhood was waiting to dispute tickets they'd received from those vexatious trolls, the business he stood before didn't quite seem out of place but it was just...odd. The sign just read "Seran's Sauna and Spa" and it wasn't some professionally done sign; rather, the sign was constructed of cardboard and the letters were painted on. In addition, it was impossible to see into the supposed sauna from the outside thanks its one window being so darkly tinted it was nearly opaque. It didn't really seem like a sauna. Bricot had expected it to be a white, inviting place with plenty of scantily clad people, hopefully women, moving in and out. He realized now that thought had all been fantasy because first off people probably disrobed inside, not before and after, and secondly he had come here due to a referral from a weird place so it was not so bizarre this place was equally strange, at least from the outside.
The man sighed and looked down at the card that had been given to him. Sure enough, he was in the right place at least according to the card. The address matched, the title matched, but heck if he knew what those runes at the bottom of the card meant. He shrugged and looked to the sauna's door. He had been sent here on a promise and he was dependent on the promise being kept.
Bricot took a deep breath and jogged to the door before his courage left him. He opened the door and stepped into the sauna.
Immediately he found himself in a different environment than expected. While the outside of the place had indicated shoddiness, the inside was exquisite. The floors were softly carpeted, painted portraits of flowers decorated the walls, and there was a nice, tranquil hum to the air. The square room was large, too large for the space the place had appeared to occupy. Of course, he could have just misjudged the size, but he didn't think his spatial skills were that poor. He suspected something else was at work here.
"Magic," he muttered.
At the far right of the room were three hallways. At the far left was a wide white desk behind which sat a woman. Bricot squinted at her and saw it was not just a woman--her pointed ears marked her at least fey related, probably elven. At present she read a book, not even seeming to notice Bricot.
Bricot walked up to the desk, unsure what else to do. He clutched the card tightly in his hands as he made his way across the room. He glanced around nervously, but no one else was around except for the elf. It was still early in the morning but he would've thought someone else would've been present here. He gulped and looked to the elf.
"Excuse me, ma'am..." he said, his voice trailing off when she lifted a finger. He waited at the desk while she took a feather from her hair and place it between the open pages of the book. She closed the tome, threw it under the desk, and looked up at him expectantly. There was a moment of awkward silence before he realized he was supposed to speak first.
"Umm..." he began. "Hello?"
"Hi," the elf spoke, her voice high and lilting. "How may I help you?"
"Well..." Bricot held up the card. "I was told to come here."
The elf narrowed her eyes at the card, and then snatched it away from him.
"H-hey!" Bricot stuttered.
The elf ignored him as she read the card. After a few seconds, she rubbed the runes at the bottom and whispered a word. She smiled and handed the card back to him.
"I see you've met Crumb," she said.
"Yes." Bricot nodded. "He said--"
"You were rude," the elf said, smiling.
"You've talked to him? Did he call you? I didn't mean any offense, I didn't realize how much he hated nodding."
"Call?" the elf scoffed. "How crude! Of course not! The runes were sufficient."
"What...what else did he say?"
"That you're here for an opportunity. Well, Bricot--"
Bricot blinked. At this point he wasn't even surprised the elf knew his name. Crumb had known it as well.
"I'm sorry to say I don't have one for you at the moment."
Bricot's shoulders slumped.
"But shortly I will. I just need something from you."
"I don't have much of anything!" Bricot burst out. "That's why I went to that cottage. Someone had written that he had an amulet that could take me somewhere else, new place, new planet, something more than nothing! B-but he said that he got rid of that crap, that us humans are only interested in the 1%..." Bricot shook his head. "After he got mad he said you'd have something for me, but like I said I don't have much of anything."
The elf laughed. "That's fine. I only ask a favor. If you comply, then I will ensure you a worthwhile career."
"I don't want a job, I want another world."
"Believe me," the elf said, sitting back. "What you'll have will seem like another world."
Bricot scratched his head. "I don't know..."
"All I ask is you try my sauna." The elf stood up. "Trust me, Bricot. You're better off without that amulet. Who knows where you could've ended up? I promise you'll be satisfied with how this ends."
Bricot considered. As genuine as the elf seemed in speech and how little she asked of him, he still had a difficult time trusting her. She was an elf, after all. Even if she wasn't a fully mischievous fairy there was still some playfulness in her smile. Still...
"Ok, all I have to do is try out your sauna?" Bricot asked to which the elf nodded. "And what exactly do I get out of this?"
"Oh," the elf giggled gleefully. "That's a surprise."
"I don't like surprises."
The elf shrugged. "No one does. Do you accept?"
Bricot took a deep breath and nodded.
"Wonderful!" The elf jumped over the desk and turned Bricot around with a forceful push before laying a hand on his shoulder. "I'm Seran and welcome to my sauna!"
"You're Seran?" Bricot said as he was led by the elf to the rightmost of the hallways at the end of the room. He held out a hand to her. "I...well, you already know my name but it's nice to meet you."
"Sorry," Seran replied, pushing his hand away. "I don't shake hands."
"Oh."
Although Seran had smiled with saying this, he saw a little bit of anger in her eyes. It seemed to Bricot that he had broken another taboo among nonhumans; for gnomes it was punting, for whatever Crumb was it was nodding, and for elves it seemed it was a handshake.
"I'm so glad you came!" Seran said as they reached the opening to their intended hallway. "Mondays are usually terribly slow. Usually I'd have the sprites deal with you but you got lucky! Seran is attending to you personally."
"Yes?" Bricot said.
"Oh yes!" Seran replied, leading him down the hallway. "It's much more fun this way."
It was here that events became confusing for Bricot. Although they both walked down in a hallway, it was not a consistent hallway. While the walls were most oftentimes a slight shade of yellow, their hue shifted constantly and there were a few odd times when the walls weren't constructed of drywall but instead a myriad of flowers, grinning, demonic faces, or a wall of writhing, hissing snakes. The floor too changed at times, mostly marble but sometimes it was soft grass, slightly heated metal, or woolly moss. Bricot also swore that he and Seran occasionally passed other things--things, because they some of them weren't people or humanoid by any means. Whatever they case, most of them moved past too fast for him to get a good glance but a few times here and there Seran would greet them. Although he meant to ask her who they were, the changing environment soon distracted him.
When they were walking on glass and the walls were amber, Seran suddenly yanked Bricot to the side. They stepped through a door and then the hallway was gone. Bricot blinked. The room they stood in was small, its only features being a porcelain tub and a sink. Seran motioned to the tub.
"I recommend bathing or showering before a trip to the sauna," Seran said. "Why don't you get in?"
Bricot stepped away from Seran and looked down at the elf.
"Er," he mumbled. "Doesn't one have to be naked to--?"
"Well yes," Seran replied. "How can you expect to be fully cleansed if you're dressed? Don't worry, you don't have anything I haven't seen before. I'll make your bath worth it."
Bricot raised an eyebrow. Seran sighed and shook her head.
"Crumb is right. It's always sex with you humans. I'm just going to add a few things to the water, that's it--and I don't mean me."
"I didn't mean--"
"I understand, Bricot. Just get in"
Bricot nodded. If this was part of the favor, he might as well go through with it. He disrobed, though he kept his eyes off Seran while he did so. It wasn't like she was undress too, but it all still seemed embarrassing. He didn't just get naked for anyone and this was a little strange. He knew a lot of people who'd like to be in the same situation as him but the elf made him nervous. The mischievousness still hadn't left her eyes.
Bricot arranged his clothes in a neat pile before stepping into the tub. He climbed into the tub while Seran turned on the faucet. Warm water sprayed from the faucet, quickly filling the container until the water was up to Bricot's shoulders. The man sat back and began to relax a bit even with the elf in the room. However, he sat up a little when the elf reached into her pockets and procured a few vials. Before he could muster the courage to say anything, she uncorked them and dumped their sparkling contents into the water. The different colored liquids mixed together, darkening the water to a murky grey. A few seconds later, the water heated up, bubbling a bit. The bath still felt nice, warm, and relaxing yet a sudden bubble of panic popped in Bricot's mind as he recalled stories of cauldrons and witches.
"What was that?" Bricot asked. He wanted to move, but his muscles were so relaxed that it was difficult to get them active. His mind too was calming and his previous panic dissolved. Cauldrons and witches? What was the elf going to do? Eat him? Turn him into a frog? How ridiculous!
"Something that will help out with the sauna," Seran said softly. "Just relax."
"I..." Bricot let out a deep sigh and sunk into the water. "Am."
The elf smiled. Bricot sighed and let his rest against the back of the tub. His thoughts were mostly absent as he sat in the warm, bubbling water. For a few minutes he stayed like this until the water got a little hotter and a large bubble burst in front of him, soaking his previously dry head and neck. He sputtered and opened his eyes, looking up to Seran. She held out a hand to him.
"That's enough," she said. "Come on out."
Bricot stepped out of the tub and dried himself off or at least tired his best to do so. Some of the blackness from the water seemed to stick to him and just wouldn't come off as if attached. He let it be. The bath had done more than put his mind at ease. It had also removed any uncertainties he'd had of the favor earlier. It didn't seem so bad thus far.
When Bricot moved to grab his clothes, Seran shook her head.
"Leave it," Seran said. "We'll retrieve it later if you need it."
Bricot shrugged and wrapped the towel around his waist. He let Seran lead him out of the room. He barely noticed as they walked over a bridge of ice, though his feet were a little cold when they walked into the sauna. They warmed up soon enough in the sauna's presence. Bricot took a seat on the bench before the hot coals. He barely protested when Seran removed the towel from around his waist. He was too focused on the red coals. The intense warmth put him at ease and he saw shapes dancing amongst the coals, flickering sparks that coiled and writhed like snakes upon the stone before dying out. He watched this cycle of rebirth among the snake sparks as they bounced, squirmed, and extinguished, the repetitive movements hypnotic and entrancing. Slowly his vision dimmed so that only the coal in his site. He vaguely tried to reposition himself closer to the coals but his body was stiff and unresponsive. He gave up after a moment. His eyelids became heavier and heavier until he fell into unconsciousness.
Some time later, Bricot awoke. He opened his eyes and saw only darkness. At first he thought it might just because the sauna's coals had died down. This theory was quickly struck down because he felt not just his face covered with something but his entire body. He tried to move something but only his hands responded something. He wriggled his fingers and felt something dry and flaky break off of them. Touching his fingers to his palms he noticed that his digits felt strangely hard and pointed. In additions, the texture of his palms was rough and...scaly?
As panic rose, Bricot twisted his wrists until more of that flaky stuff fell off his arms. With his elbows partially freed, he bent them upwards and would've laughed in triumph as his arms became totally free had his face not been totally covered.
How was he breathing with his face covered? This thought permeated Bricot's mind for a moment, the ensuing panic freezing him. It was also this panic that drove him to grab at his face with his freed arms. Although his face's shape felt more pointed than he remembered and a little flat and thinner as well, he scarcely cared. He tore at the material with his...well, he supposed they were claws even if that didn't make much sense. He'd certainly never had claws before or at least clawlike fingers.
Whatever the case, enough of the material peeled off so that he could see again. Bricot blinked and found things weren't as he expected. On the fringe of his vision he saw the slope of a serpentine snout still somewhat covered by a black crust. Ahead of him the coals of the sauna had long since gone dead. He raised a hand to his eyes and confirmed he had black-scaled slender hands with digits that terminated in black claws. With this same hand he touched his snout, confirming it too was his. He tried to turn his head down to see how the rest of his body might have changed, but the black crust still mostly immobilized it. With his hands he scraped away the rest of the crust that was on his changed cranium. Now able to move his mouth, he opened it and took a deep breath, a forked tongue quickly flickering in and out orifice. His jaws snatched shut after he saw that.
"What the hell?" he said in a tone higher pitched and more...hissy than he was used to.
Desperate to see how else he had changed as well as regain movement of the rest of his body, he tore away at the substance on his neck. Once this was accomplished, he looked down and shrieked.
The rest of his body was encrusted, but that wasn't the problem. Rather, his encrusted body just wasn't his--his legs were longer and slender, something large and thick protruded out from his body and stretched out into the distance, and his upper chest pushed out far more than it usually did. He figured he shouldn't really be surprised the rest of him looked so different especially since he had the head of a snake and scales instead of skin, yet he shouldn't have been different at all. The elf had changed him not into a frog but some sort of humanoid snake.
Bricot flexed his shoulders while he worked on uncovering his protruding chest. The substance came away easily, revealing narrow shoulders and the reason why his chest protruded: he had breasts. He stared at them blankly. Large and full, the scaled breasts hung there. They were his, that was for sure. They were firmly attached, a fact he confirmed by momentarily cupping them, their supple shapes feeling pleasant in his clawed hands. They moved a bit with every breath he took and bounced a little bit more when he poked them. He moved his hands further up their surface and immediately removed them when they came in contact with his puffy nipples.
"Breastsss," Bricot hissed in disbelief. "I've got breastsss."
What did that mean? Had the elf changed him into a female humanoid snake thing? There was only one way to find out.
Bricot got to work on removing the rest of the crust. He got most of it off his back first, revealing a few rows of keeled dark scales there instead of the smooth scales that lined his front. In addition, he saw that the thing that came out at the bottom of his spine was a thick, long winding tail that shook itself free of the black substance when he had uncovered a portion of it. Bricot stared at it for a moment before looking at his breasts and wondering which of them was more disturbing to have.
He shrugged and began scraping away at his lower torso. His waist turned out to be more pinched in than he remembered and his hips were fairly wide. He looked over his body thus far, noting its serpentine soft and his feminine curves. His gaze fell down to his crotch and wondered how much longer he could consider himself a male. He hoped that he still had his male equipment down there but the crust's flatness did not seem promising in that regard.
Before he uncovered his crotch, his feet began to stir. He wiggled his toes and was not surprised when talons emerged from the crust. With a little more effort he was able to free the rest of his legs, leaving the crust on his crotch the only spot left. He stood up from the bench a little unsteadily thanks to his wobbling breasts and the addition of his tail. Still, he managed to get to his feet and when he did so he stared at his crotch. He shivered a bit due to the cold and placed his hands on his hips.
"Here goessss nothing," he said, bringing one hand to his groin. He scratched the covered area once and it all fell away.
He groaned. More accurately, she groaned. Her scaled, smooth crotch was bereft of anything denoting him as male, only cradling the pink petals of womanhood. She reached down to curiously confirm what she saw when she heard someone snap their fingers behind her.
Bricot turned around as the coals to the sauna stirred aflame. Seran stood smiling.
"What do you think?" she asked. "Do you like the surprise?"
"Like the ssssurprise?" Bricot hissed. "I told you I hated ssssurprises especially ones that leave me as a big breasted snake woman!"
Bricot pushed up her breasts to accentuate the last few words. Seran laughed which served only to piss off Bricot further.
"Oh, darling," Seran said. "They're really not that big." "They're big for someone who's never had them before!" Bricot said, then pointed to her crotch. "Especially weird have weight up here and none down there!"
The elf shrugged. "I did as I promised. What you have seems like another world, doesn't it? And," she laughed again. "It's only just begun."
Bricot meant to angrily reply, but the elf's logic struck her. She was not only a...she but no longer even human as well. Now everyone else would treat her differently because of her sex and species. Yet also she now had the opportunity to interact different. It was like a whole new world, yet she wasn't completely satisfied with Seran's argument.
"Fine," Bricot said. "But why both? Why couldn't I be jusssst a ssssnake or jusssst a woman? Why both?"
"Because I can get you a job as you are."
Bricot blinked and peered at the elf. "A job? Here?"
"No," Seran replied, shaking her head. "Elsewhere. Follow me."
The elf walked out of the room. Bricot was about to follow her out until she realized she was still naked. She looked around the sauna but there was nothing she could use as clothing.
"Ssssseran!" she called, walked to the door. "I do think I need my clothesssss back now!"
Seran laughed and tossed something back. Bricot caught the object and examined. It was a white towel. She wrapped it around herself and found it could cover her just her lower torso or her upper chest but not both.
"Um, thanksssss," she said, deciding on covering her crotch. "But you can ssstill ssseee my boobssss." Bricot blinked and looked down at them. It still felt strange that they were hers. "My boobssss..."
Bricot looked up and saw Seran was moving away rather quickly. Not wanting to get lost in the strange labyrinth between here and wherever the elf was taking her, Bricot quickly followed behind. Well, at least she tried. Walking with the towel in one hand, her other arm covering the breasts, and her tail trailing behind her didn't make it easy. Still, she managed to just keep up with Seran and when they exited the hallway into the sauna's entryway Bricot felt a great sense of relief and some confusion.
"I thought you were bringing me sssomewhere," Bricot said while Seran moved back behind the desk. The elf ducked and reached for something under the desk. When she reappeared, she was holding a card.
"I'm not," Seran said, holding out the card. "You'll have to drive there yourself."
Bricot took the card and looked down at it. It was similar to the one Crumb had given her but marked with different runes at the bottom and an address was written at the top, thankfully in English. Bricot stared past the card to her mostly naked form.
"Ok," she said, looking back up to Seran. "But can I have my clothessss back at leasssst? I'm not going out there like thissss!"
Bricot motioned to her naked body.
"You legally can," Seran said with a shrug. "Marginal Mythic Act gives you a lot more freedom in that regard than your human form ever did."
"I don't care!" Bricot hissed. "There'sss a whole line out there for the Troll Toll. I don't want to be ssseen like thisss."
"Fine." Seran snapped her fingers and the clothes appeared on the counter, though soggier than when Bricot had last seen them. "Sorry about their condition. You splashed them when you got out of the tub."
Bricot narrowed her eyes at the elf.
"Really? I don't remember that."
Seran laughed and shrugged.
"Is there sssomewhere I can change privately?" Bricot asked.
"I can look away," Seran replied. "But like I said earlier, you don't have anything I haven't seen before."
"Fine," Bricot said, turning away from the elf.
She grabbed at her clothes and dropped the pile and the card in front of her. Immediately she gave up the idea of trying to fit her taloned feet into her shoes or socks. She took off her towel and grabbed her underwear. It came easily enough up her scaled legs but it didn't really stay up well on her wide hips and her tail making it so she couldn't fit them all the way up. Still, she held them up with one hand and pulled on her pants one leg at a time and found they didn't really help the situation. Groaning, she let go of her pants and watched them both drop to the floor. She sighed and grabbed her white shirt. At least that fit still, though its wet near translucency did little to conceal Bricot's black-scaled breasts or perky nipples. Finally, Bricot picked up the tower and rewrapped it around her waist. It would have to do.
Bricot scooped up her clothes and card before turning back to Seran who was staring at her with a smile.
"I thought you ssssaid you could look away," Bricot said.
"I can," Seran said. "Didn't say I would."
Bricot sighed.
"I don't know if I really should be thanking you but..."
Seran raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you anywayssss. Though I do wonder issss there any way--"
"No," Seran said, shaking her head. "You are how you are, girl."
Bricot nodded. She walked away from Seran and towards the sauna's door. She stopped once she was in front of it because it was different now. There was a mirror on the door and in it her reflection. She stared at the strange snake woman who stood there wearing only a towel and a wet shirt that looked like it was barely able to contain her breasts, though she knew this was more her insecurities than anything. She turned her head and flicked out here tongue, her thick tail moving to curl around her legs.
Bricot smiled at herself and then opened the door, stepping out into the late morning sun. She raised a hand to shade her eyes and nearly dropped her towel. She caught it before it was too late and kept both hands tightly on it. Breathing evenly, she made her way to her car, all too aware of the glances those in line outside of the Troll Toll were giving her.
"Marginal Mythical Act my asssss," she said, taking her keys from her pants and opening it. She glanced back at Seran's Sauna one last time. "Doesssn't make it normal."
Bricot had to adjust her seat a little when she got in her car because she was actually taller though thinner than last time she had been in. The feeling of her taloned feet on the pedals and her claws on the steering wheel did feel strange, but it was nothing compared to figuring out how to sit with her tail. She ended up laying it across the passenger seat. Other than that, she had no trouble getting everything started and thus she backed up and drove away from Seran's Sauna.
On the way to her next destination, Bricot considered again her status. She had gotten what she wanted...sort of. But what had she expected? She'd foolishly put herself at the mercy of a mischievous mythical. That'd she ended up like this wasn't so bad. She still had her mind, though she wondered if that had changed somewhat. How did you feel about guys now? And girls? She honestly didn't know, but she was hopeful for the future because wherever she was referred to couldn't be too bad, right?
A few minutes later, Bricot pulled up to her destination. It didn't seem like anything special, just a grey building that didn't look out of place compared to the rest of the city. She couldn't quite read its sign yet though. So, she pulled up to the parking and squinted.
"Aoxec'ssss Arthouse," she read, then saw another sign below it. "Help wanted: Female models." It took a moment for these words to register in Bricot's mind. Then: "You've got be kidding me."
Bricot groaned and sat back in her seat. She stared at the sign and thought that what awaited her was certainly something different.
After another moment of quiet consideration, she stepped out of the car and into her new world.