The rest of the time waiting in Justin's office was spent in awkward silence. Andrew didn't know what to ask without revealing he knew way more than a recently Uplifted individual should, and Justin had no idea what to talk about with someone who was essentially a newborn. He usually didn't have to handle this part, because most Uplifts couldn't even speak at this point. Generally they'd be waiting in a holding cell until someone with a translation skill or trait could arrive to calm them down. Arguably, someone with such an ability would be better suited for Justin's job than he was, but the ones with traits were generally high ranks who considered the job beneath them, while the ones with skills didn't have the combat ability necessary to fill the role. Truce or no, if they sent someone weak to pick up the new uplift, the monstrous races would just kill them both.

An hour or so passed that way, until there was a hesitant knock at the door, and an unnecessarily attractive woman peeked in. "Hello? I was told to report here as an orientation guide for a new Uplift?"

"Yes! Please, come in, come in!" Justin waved her in, more than ready to hand Andrew over for someone else to deal with. "You're a changeling as well, yes?" The woman nodded hesitantly. "Good! Here is the general orientation packet, along with a few specific suggestions I've noted might be helpful. Of course, you're free to disregard all of this if you wish, but be warned that if you are found negligent in your duties, there are harsh penalties. Uplifts may appear to be fully mature but they are essentially children and in need of a similar level of guidance. If you do not believe you can handle such a responsibility, best to speak up now, rather than face the consequences later." Justin finished in a serious tone.

The woman nodded. "I understand. They warned me already when I accepted the task."

"Good. I assume you have suitable accommodations prepared?" Justin asked.

"I- recently lost my roommate and with the compensation for this task, I can cover both rents." The woman assured him.

Justin pursed his lips. "I'll make sure to put in for an extra housing allowance. That compensation is meant to reward your service, not to support your charge. If there are any other expenses, within reason, let me know and I'll see about getting you reimbursed."

The woman's eyes widened slightly. "That- uh, thank you. That helps a lot."

"Of course, one of your first tasks should be getting them set up with their own account, through which they'll receive their own allowance… eh, it's all in the packet." Justin waved dismissively. "Though I'd suggest seeing about getting them a name sometime soon." He paused thoughtfully for a moment. "I believe that is all… do you have any other concerns before you go?"

The woman was leafing through the packet, giving it a cursory look over, before glancing at Andrew. "Can- can they understand me?"

"I can." Andrew nodded, causing the woman to jump slightly.

Justin chuckled. "They managed to get the One with Nature perk. Very convenient, let me assure you."

The woman nodded. "Then… I think that's all? I can always call if I have any questions, right?"

"Unless I'm handling another retrieval, yes." Justin nodded. "But as long as you leave a message, I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

The woman gave the packet another once over, before turning to Andrew. "Shall we go then?"

Andrew nodded, standing up to follow her out, pausing at the door to turn back to Justin and giving him a small bow. "Thank you for… everything, I guess."

Justin smiled back. "It's no problem. Just doing my job."

Andrew gave him one last nod before turning to follow the woman out. "So… what's your name?" Andrew asked as they headed down towards the lobby.

"Oh, I completely forgot! I'm Quinn, sorry." She flushed. "It's- it's my first time doing something like this… changelings are pretty rare, especially in the noble races. I'm one of the few in the city so I was pretty much obligated to put my name on the list of people to call in case of a new uplift. Not that I'm complaining or anything! I just- well, I never expected it to actually happen, particularly not so soon."

"Soon?" Andrew asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Quinn nodded. "I just moved to the city a few months ago. I'm a Dungeon Streamer and this is where all the best dungeons are."

Andrew blinked. "A dungeon what?"

"Stream- oh, right, you wouldn't know!" Quinn smacked her forehead in a 'duh' motion. "Basically, I delve the local dungeons, recording everything I do and then post it onli- er… on the inter- ugh, there's this place where I can post it where other people can view it and the more people who do, the more money I make, okay? It helps people get familiar with the dungeons before they delve them themselves, though some people simply watch for the entertainment value."

Andrew blinked at her, his eyes widening slightly. His orientation guide was a freaking influencer! Which, he supposed, explained her unnaturally good looks… who needed a filter when you had shapeshifting? Though if she was going into dungeons for it… "So you must be pretty strong then, huh?"

Quinn flushed. "I- I mean, I'm just starting out… my videos are more exploration based, focusing on the dungeon environment, rather than combat."

Andrew nodded. So the short answer was no, she wasn't strong. Not that it particularly mattered, he supposed. "So what are we going to do now?"

"Well, first, we need to get you some clothes and a few other basic necessities." Quinn explained, glad for the change of topic. She wasn't exactly proud of what her videos had turned into recently, but money was money and living in the city was expensive.

They took the portal back to the station, then another to what looked like a shopping district full of shops and advertisements, all competing to grab the most attention possible. Quinn ignored all of it, dragging Andrew away from the main strip and down a few side streets until they arrived at a small, out of the way shop. "Quinn! It's good to see you!" The person behind the counter exclaimed as they walked in, coming out to pull her into a hug. "How have you been? Have you had any issues with those new outfits? They aren't too constricting, are they?"

Quinn flushed, pulling away. "They've been working perfectly, Alana. Just like you said. I'm here about something else. A new uplift, a changeling." She gestured towards Andrew. "They need some clothes."

Andrew blinked at Alana as she turned to face him, raising a finger to point at her. "Why are you made of jello?" He asked numbly. The woman was literally see through!

Alana giggled. "It's slime, dear." She explained, letting her hand turn to goop before reforming it. "Even slimes can be Uplifted, and my race is the result! Though I do sometimes wish the system had named us something more creative than 'Slime Folk'." She added with a grumble.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "So does every beast folk out there." She retorted. "I think the only ones happy about it are the Dragon Folk."

"I think they're more happy about being one of the few rank seven races than they are about the name." Alana countered, before clapping her hands and sending a small ripple through her body. "But enough small talk! We must resolve the tragedy that is your current outfit!" She exclaimed, waving at Andrew. "You are literally wearing a sack!" Alana immediately dragged Andrew deeper into the store, picking pieces of clothing off the racks as she did, before shoving him into a small changing room with the pile of clothes. "Put those on while we find you a few more outfits. Shout if you have any questions." She insisted, before rushing off to plan Andrew's new wardrobe with Quinn.

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Andrew blinked down at the pile of clothing, picking up the first article: a plain, white bra. He looked up at the mirror to see his pretty elven face staring back at him. "This… is going to be awkward."

*

Since his only other forms were an insect, a goblin, a rabbitoid, and a leaping terror, none of which would be acceptable for walking around a city, Andrew sucked it up and put the clothes on, all the while questioning the decision to give him a half-shirt that exposed a good portion of his midriff and a freaking skirt! Admittedly, the clothing did make him look attractive, but he felt practically naked wearing it! He would literally kill for a male form right now… which was convenient, since that's what he'd have to do if he wanted one. The only upside was that the clothes fit perfectly, so while they showed more skin than he thought they should, he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing anything they shouldn't.

"Everything okay in there?" A sudden knock came at the dressing room door as Quinn checked in on him, causing him to jump.

"Y- yes, I'm- I'm done." Andrew sighed, opening the door and stepping out, shifting awkwardly as Quinn stepped back, looking him up and down.

Quinn clicked her tongue as she finished. "I need an elf form."

Alana nodded along as she looked Andrew over as well. "It would certainly help. Maybe you could pick it up from this one?"

Quinn's expression twisted. "Unlikely. I might get her original form, but acquired forms are hard to share."

"What a shame." Alana yawned as her own form began to shift, changing to look a lot like Andrew.

Quinn scowled at her, before flicking a loose button at her, which sunk under her 'skin' as Alana giggled. She rolled her eyes, turning back to Andrew and raising a few bags worth of clothes. "I picked out a few different styles for you to try out. You should spend a few days seeing what you like before buying anything more."

Andrew nodded. "Should I try them on to make sure they fit?" He asked as he took the bags.

Alana snorted. "Don't worry, all my clothing is made with those who can alter their shape in mind. No matter what form you take in the future, my clothes will make sure you look your best!" She announced proudly, before pausing. "Within reason, of course."

"That's why we came here." Quinn nodded. "The usual shops don't carry auto-fitting enchantments, since self-cleaning and enhanced durability are more popular. Most people don't need to worry about suddenly changing shape, you know?"

"What?!? You didn't come just to visit your precious friend Alana?!?" Alana exclaimed in mock offense.

"As if I'd ever willingly visit a bitter old puddle of muck like you." Quinn snorted, sticking her tongue out at her. Both women then giggled before pulling each other into a hug. "It was good to see you."

"You should come over for dinner sometime." Alana insisted.

"I'll see what I can do." Quinn sighed. "You know how it is. Everyone always wants more."

"Hey, you don't owe them anything, remember that." Alana replied in a serious tone. "You give them what you can, and that's either enough, or it isn't. No one has the right to push you to do anything you don't want to do."

"I know." Quinn muttered, nodding along with a slightly bitter expression, before turning to Andrew. "Come on, I should get you home and set up before it gets too late."

Andrew blinked, looking out the window and noticing the sun was only just starting to set… again. How far from the forest was Nobilis?!? That was at least a two or three hour time difference. Andrew shook his head. "Okay."

Quinn led the way back to the portal station, heading to yet another pad which led to a residential district. Andrew was starting to think the Bonded were severely under utilizing their portals. Though, in order to set things up this way, you needed quite a bit of city planning, making sure everything went in the right area… The City was more of a natural sprawl. Quinn's building wasn't exactly close to the portal, so they had to walk a good fifteen minutes to get there, which was not fun with Andrew's reduced stats. It did give him some good experience for his Walk skill though. They then took the elevator up to the fourth floor, then room four zero four, which turned out to be a small, but comfortable looking two bedroom apartment.

"Welcome home!" Quinn turned, spreading her arms to show off the small apartment. "That's going to be your room over there, the bathroom is down there, and the laundry room is in the basement. Uh… let me show you how to put away your clothes real quick, then I'll start making dinner, okay?"

Andrew resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he followed her into the bedroom, watching her fold and put away the various articles of clothing. There were only a few sets, so she finished fairly quickly before leaving to start making them a meal. Once she left, Andrew sat down on the bed, taking a moment to process his current situation and figure out a plan. The short-term goal was to focus on leveling up as quickly as possible and getting to his first Class advancement so he could pick up some Affinities and maybe a portal trait. It'd be nice to at least have an option to go back to the tribe. If he could, he'd also find a way to get a male form, but given the level of this society, he figured they'd look down on random murder, so he wasn't exactly sure how he'd managed to do that… maybe walking around and getting some poor bastard to attack him? He was a pretty young elf… or would that be entrapment? Either way, he didn't have the power to pull something like that off. Not yet at least. So he was going to have to spend a bit of time being female… Andrew let out a weary sigh. *I'm starting to regret killing that elf.* He grumbled internally. *Should have just dragged her back to the tribe.* A thought for which he immediately chastised himself, because while being a girl was weird, it wasn't on the level of what would have happened to the elf if he'd given her to the goblins. Not even close.

Andrew shook his head, refocusing. His short-term plans were just to level up and get stronger. The question was, what to do after that? He wasn't returning to the goblin tribe, at least not for more than a visit. Plus, the noble races seemed… interesting. For starters, they actually had bathrooms. A severely underrated invention in Andrew's opinion. Plus all the other technology, but seriously, bathrooms! No more shitting in a fucking pot!

Additionally, there were clearly dungeons in the area, which were apparently common enough that Quinn could make a living as a Dungeon Streamer. Andrew wasn't sure how to feel about that, considering how dangerous the Shaman had made them sound, but he wouldn't mind checking them out. Maybe he could talk Quinn into letting him tag along at some point? Something to consider later. Andrew grinned slightly as he realized the major point of all this. He was now completely unattached with a whole world to explore! A world full of magic and mystery! As long as he had the strength, he could do whatever he wanted!

Andrew chuckled to himself as he got up and headed out of the room. Maybe he was worrying too much? He was so used to having responsibilities. To his family, to the Bonded, to the tribe… but now, he didn't have any! Sure, Justin had helped him out, and the government here was clearly supporting him while he got situated, but he was one uplift among hundreds that were born every year. He wasn't anything particularly special. The noble races didn't need him to help them grow. Even if he'd be useful, he wasn't necessary. He could leave and they'd just shrug it off with an 'ah well' and no harm done. It was an oddly freeing sensation.

"Hey!" Quinn caught his attention as he walked out of the room, waving him over. "I forgot about the whole name thing. As in, you need one, cause we can't keep calling you 'they' or 'them' or 'you' or whatever." She explained, pushing a piece of paper towards him. "I wrote down a few ideas for you. As you can see, they're all fairly androgynous, because as changelings, gender is kind of… not a thing? I generally stick with female forms, but it's all a matter of preference. Maybe in a few years, I'll prefer being a man, and if that happens, I don't want to have to change my name. So it's a good idea to stick with names like Sam or Jaime. You could also do a Nick/Nicky type thing where they're close enough that the switch is easy. But, you know, in the end, it's your name, so it's up to you. Just look it over and see if anything speaks to you." She finished tapping the piece of paper.

Andrew took the paper, looking it over for a moment, nodding slowly. "Okay, I just have one problem."

Quinn blinked at him. "What?"

Andrew pointed at the paper. "I can't read."

She frowned, coming over to look over his shoulder, then back at him. "My handwriting isn't that bad!"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "No, I mean, my trait lets me understand what you say, but I still can't understand what you write."

Quinn's eyebrows shot up. "Oh…" She looked down at the packet, then back at him. "We're going to need to fix that."