Dyeing the Spider Silk was easier than I remembered it being. Perhaps that was due to the newly activated skill. I decided on a blue-green color for the suit. It would be dark enough to cover the splotchy gray, but not so dark as to be gloomy. It was going to be a nice ocean color, hopefully. The suit had another hour to soak before I began rinsing out the dye.

Mom loved her new suit and made a big production of taking the old one out of her packed bag. She'd packed her clothes in the borrowed bag. I had to take everything out and repack it in the new Island tagged bag. I sorted through what she chose as I did. I got rid of things like her heavy sweater but made sure she had a light cardigan. She'd packed too many skirts and not enough tops. She didn't need her winter boots or her hat. She did take her knitting, which wasn't a bad idea.

I sorted out her bags and packed my own. My clothes were easier to pack. Most of my stuff matched anyway, shades of browns, purples, and blues. It was just a matter of figuring out how many of each item I could fit into the bag.

The pots of aloe, Seaweed Balm, and the Vallerian all made it into my pack. I'd have to go to the temple in the morning to pick up the rest of my prescription. It was dangerous carrying around that much V, but I couldn't rely on if the Island had a supply or not. That was partially why I decided to pack my knives. I had another reason other than robbery prevention.

You never knew when you'd run into a Goblin Crab on the beach. They strapped onto my wrists when I was out gathering palm fronds on the beach, but they could be attached to a belt just as easily. We were going to be on an island that, up until last year, had been uninhabited. Better safe than sorry, who knew if the beaches were crab infested or not?

I was nearly finished with the summer shawl I'd been working on, I'd finish it on the trip. As I debated which project I should start next, I found out I didn't have enough yarn for anything other than another summer shawl. So that's what I'd do. One shawl in heather blue, the other in heather purple. I didn't even have to pack extra needles.

The Spider Silk had turned out lovely. I rinsed it until the water ran clear and hung it out to dry. As long as I didn't forget to grab it in the morning I'd be fine. I hadn't told Mom it was real Spider Silk. If for some reason she got herself in trouble, I didn't want her pawning it off like she did some of my other stuff. It was never pawned long, just until she won back her losses. Still, I didn't want to give her the temptation. Now that it had been dyed a nice color it was worth a lot more than what I paid for it. Annie had been right about that.

Mom had cooked Ring Rabbit stew. It really did look like she had tossed everything we had in the kitchen in that pot. Was that lettuce? I poked at the stew with the spoon. I took a bite. Yup, lettuce. I discreetly spat it out in my napkin when Mom wasn't looking. It didn't taste bad, but the texture was too much. I don't think anyone really liked soggy hot lettuce.

I told her about the day's events. She gasped at all the right moments, apologized for being so blase earlier. I told her I would be fine, that the healer took care of most of it, but that I'd be peeling like a lizard in a few days.

We decided to try and get to bed early. I had some soap deliveries to make in the morning and I needed to get my medication. Perhaps I should unpack my knives and wear them? I didn't normally wear them in town, but the drug problem was getting really bad and with that the overall crime rate. Perhaps it was time to start wearing them regularly.

I wasn't that skilled, but I could manage to kill a Goblin Crab on my own. The junkies didn't know that though. For all they knew, I was a martial arts knife master ready and willing to skewer anyone who tried to rob me. Life didn't work that way and junkies weren't always logical, but it couldn't hurt to head out tomorrow prepared.

~~~~~~~

Today I was male. A part of me had expected the change. I pulled my hair back tight against my head in a bun.

I did still like the color of the swimsuit I'd bought and dyed yesterday. I tried it on again before I got dressed. Not bad, it covered everything and made my chest look flatter. Good choice all around. Though, I wasn't happy with how rounded it made my butt. No matter what suit I wore I'd probably have at least a little curve. Nothing I could do about that. But it made my chest look flatter...

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I turned in the mirror. Strands of brown hair were already escaping from the bun. Brown eyes staring back at me with dark circles under them from lack of sleep. The burn still stood out shiny from the aloe I'd been slathering on it. It still looked inflamed, but not terribly so. My chest though, it was flatter.

I didn't have much in that department to begin with, so seeing it flatter... I wished I could go out in a shirt and pants. I might actually be able to pass as a boy if I didn't have to wear girl's clothes. That was all wishful thinking.

I put on my dress and the dreaded boots. Gods I hated those boots. Why had I chosen pastel purple? A simple brown would have been just as functional. If I wanted something with color, I was ok with blue. Why pastel paisley purple of all the absurd things?

I looked at myself in the small mirror. I'd kept the top of the swimsuit on just to see how it would look with the dress. It felt like I was wearing a sack of potatoes. It was plain brown, but it just wasn't me. I longed to be able to put on a pair of pants without people looking at me as if I were a whore.

In other countries, it was ok for females to wear pants. It didn't make much sense if you thought about it. Female adventurers could get away wearing the most absurd armor. A woman could walk around on the beach wearing next to nothing. Put a woman in a pair of everyday pants though, people would judge the shit out of them.

How the morals of this country became so skewed I'd never know. It's always been that way, and it would probably always be that way. Women wore skirts and dresses, men wore pants. That was it. It didn't help that a woman in pants became the prostitute's calling card. Pants on a woman equaled a loose woman. Though if you really thought about it wearing a skirt would make for easier access. The dock workers would certainly be grateful I was sure.

I packed up my soaps and strapped on my knives. I was in a bad mood today and was feeling stabby. I had one knife on my belt and one on my wrist. I couldn't wear my sheath over the burn on my hand and arm, so I had to wear that one on my belt. A part of me hoped that someone would try something. Though I'd miss the boat this afternoon if I got caught up in a shanking. I'd be a good boy and keep my toys to myself.

I hurried through my deliveries. But I'd intentionally left a few bars in my basket for a reason. When I got to the temple and explained the situation to the pharmacist, he gave me a worried look but handed over the V. I packed the packets inside my soap wrapping. Unless someone tried to open a bar of my soap they wouldn't find it. It was probably more secure than stuffing it down my underwear.

The pharmacist offered to get an escort for me, but that would be like advertising I had the stuff. It wouldn't take long after my escort left me at my doorstep before junkies would be breaking in and demanding the drug. No, it was safer to buy a few more pots of aloe and Seaweed balm and leave it at that.

It was all anticlimactic though. I wasn't accosted like yesterday and no one followed me home. I'd been all geared up to protect myself and bust some nuts, but that didn't happen. It was probably a good thing since I didn't really want to be delayed by another guard investigation.

I placed my soap bars with the hidden V in my bag. It wasn't illegal for me to have it when I had a prescription, but if they looked through our stuff I didn't want anyone to be tempted. I added a few bars of soap without the V too. Just in case I needed to open one to show that it was soap. The new pots of aloe and Seaweed balm were added and considered myself fully packed.

Mom had left for the docks to check in before me as it would take longer for her to make her way there. I had both packs ready to go and all I had to do was lock the door and leave. I checked the window, made certain our damprid packets were on the sills, and double checked the cupboards for perishable food. I found an old potato in the back of one cupboard and tossed it into my burn pile in the backyard.

I couldn't think of anything else I needed to do, but still, I lingered. I was excited about the trip, but a part of me just wanted to stay home in bed and rest. I'd get plenty of rest on The Island, but there was just something so appealing about your own bed, your own blankets.

Blankets, gods above, I nearly forgot my blanket. It had been years since I'd slept over anywhere, but even then I couldn't fall asleep without my blanket. It would be a mistake to think I kicked that habit now. I barely had any room in my bag with all the soap, the knitting, and pots of ointment. I decided to tuck it away in my mother's bag. She still had room. After the trip, I'd have lost some of the bulk in my bag by using my medication, the balls of yarn, and the soap. So it should fit on the way back.

I was finally ready to go. I shouldered both bags, one on my back and one on my front and locked the door. I wouldn't be back for three weeks. It seemed like a long time, but time would probably pass faster than I thought.

I gave one last look back, hefted the bag I was carrying in front, and went to meet Mom at the docks.