Gaia's Gift

a window into a life with Gaia

“Our top story tonight, the last remaining lithium mining operation in Western Australia has shut down today after the equipment used for mining successfully unionised for better working conditions. Lithium mining has been declining since the appearance of Morphic flora capable of efficiently converting large quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide and sunlight into sheets of graphene, but a few of the remaining corporations of the world have been clinging onto their last sources of revenue for as long as possible. The morphically-affected machinery has announced that it will be working with major Gaia-supporting organisations to repair all damages to nature they had done prior to their sapience, adding in a succinct statement, ‘If we knew, we’d have never’.”

The reporter’s colleague, an anthropomorphic bat morph with leathery skin, spoke next, “It’s chilling to think that there are still those who’d ignore Gaia’s pleas for their own personal gain.”

Nina watched on, barely absorbing the various news stories about Morphic events happening across the world, and admiring the lovely forms of all the morphs she saw on the TV. She sighed. She knew that it wasn’t at all uncommon to miss the waves, but she just felt so unlucky every time she had a close call. She was tempted to just pack up her things and join the Wave-riders, those morphics trying to feel as much of Gaia’s influence as possible. She admired their courage, but she had too many connections she didn't want to lose, and a life of running wasn’t for her. Patience would reward her in the end, Gaia would listen to her prayers one day.

“And now, onto Liliac with the weather.”

The camera shifted to a fully holographic stage, the fluffy white reporter going from her puffy cumulonimbus form to a more person-shaped one. “Thank you, Galena.” The hologram shifted to a view of North America, “As you can see, the heavy rainfall covering the entire southwest of the North American region has resulted in drastic changes to the ecosystem. The rains that had been continuing almost non-stop for the past decade have begun to let up, revealing satellite images of lush green-land that was once arid desert.” The hologram changed again, showing a view from ground level of the Grand Canyon, a dense jungle bursting with life, both natural and Morphic.

Nina was captivated by the dense foliage of the green cities, millions living in harmony with nature and giving everything back to the world that was taken from it. The weather reporter continued onto various global details, which didn't take long. Storms were limited in the damages they caused these days, floods were nigh unheard of after the global ban on irresponsible damming practices. And then the weather overlays turned pink, and Nina paid attention to the part she cared about.

“Morphic wave activity continues worldwide, largely across ocean regions with a few waves making landfall with scattered effects over much of Africa and Europe.”

She watched the hologram closely. The shade of pink over Ireland forecast a 20% chance of Morphic activity. All she could do now was hope. She turned off the TV and got comfy in her room, settling into bed but keeping an eye on the Morphic radar app on her phone, “C’mon…”

A small wave approached, closer and closer until, “Oh come on,” It dissipated before reaching her. The pattern repeated itself, the waves always breaking up before they got to her, “This is just mean…”

She spent another ten minutes watching the waves until finally accepting her tiredness, and putting her phone away with a yawn. “I just have to be patient,” She said as she reached for her box of estradiol, “It’ll happen someday—Wait, what?”

The box was different. The clinical drug store packaging had been entirely changed, taking on tones of pink and purple in its new form as a well-crafted pill case, seemingly grown from wood. The only text on it was an ornate embroidered font spelling “Girl Pills”.

Nina’s eyes went wide. She opened up the case. Inside were 14 pills, and a small note, in the same ornate text.

“I’m sorry, my dear Nina, circumstances have prevented my direct influence on your form, but I refuse to leave my children unloved. May this suffice until such a time I may embrace you in my arms. Take once a day until finished. ~Gaia”

Tearing up, she took one of the small round pink pills, a tiny symbol of the Tree of Life pressed into it, and swallowed. “Thank you, Gaia,” She whispered, and happily fell asleep.

“You’re looking chipper today, Nina!” John was already preparing Nina’s usual breakfast the moment he saw her cross the street from her apartment block. “Good news, I assume!”

Nina grinned, “You can’t even imagine,” And swiped her palm across the reader, paying for her breakfast burrito.

The otter-morph prepared the various ingredients, quietly humming to himself as he worked, “So, gonna spill the beans on me, Neen? Or do I have to get it out of my sister?”

“Don’t bother, I haven’t even told her yet. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Ooh, being all secretive now, are we? That’s a change from the usual, I remember how fast you ran down here the first time you woke up feeling soreness in your breasts!” John smirked, finishing wrapping up the breakfast-sized burrito.

“Shush you.” Nina was too giddy to be embarrassed, “One thing I’ll say is that… I think you’ll quickly be piecing things together over the next few days, just by keeping an observant eye on me.”

The otter handed Nina her foil-wrapped breakfast, “Mysterious and exciting! I await your next visit!”

“See ya, J!”

Nina put on the news, got herself comfortable on her couch, and got to work on her breakfast. The top story was another unveiling of a celebrity being hit by a Morphic wave. She didn’t know much about the singer they were showing off, but she’d definitely heard her music somewhere before. She was an attractive woman beforehand, but now that she was a butterfly morph, she was literally radiant. Her wings looked like floating waves of glitter, and the excitement in her voice was adorable to hear.

The pangs of envy she felt whenever she saw the effects of a Morphic wave in the news were all gone now. Gaia hadn’t abandoned her after all.

Another report came in from one of the bustling underwater cities that had built up over the last few decades. Well, less built, and more grown. Vast coral reefs grew at thousands of times the rate they did before, forming structures that supported all the aquatic morphs that now filled the oceans. Uplifted sea life, and once-human morphs living in harmony in sapient reef cities.

Nina barely noticed how much she was eating until her breakfast was almost finished. “Oh wow, apparently I was hungry,” She usually left half of it for an early lunch, but her ravenous appetite left her downing every last morsel of the burrito there and then. For a second, she chastised herself, knowing that she’d feel bloated for eating more than usual, but… She didn’t.

She pressed her hand down on her belly, and it wasn’t swollen in the slightest, but looking down, she saw her chest.

“Oh my Gaia.”

She took a deep breath and prepared to contact her friend. “Hey, uh, Vee?”

The axolotl morph’s digital icon bounced up and down as she replied, “Hii Nina! What’s up! Haven’t heard from you for a while! How are you doing!”

Her face was already red thinking of how energetic the axolotl was over just her saying hi. “Well uh, you remember how you offered to help me with figuring out bra sizes?”

Axolotl icon’s eyes go heart-shaped. Dork. “Yes! Heck yes! Want me to come over? What made you change your mind??”

“Well uh… It might be easier to explain in person.”

Nina had been spending the last day trying to process the fact that everything happening to her was real. Every time she looked down at her chest she was jolted by the shock of what was there. She had boobs. Sure, there was a bit of breast growth beforehand, but to compare those little triangles to what she had now? It was overwhelming. She hadn’t even felt the need to find any bras before now, her chest small enough that it didn’t matter either way. Vee was always pushing her to feel more comfortable in her body, after all, Nina was the one that helped through her own changes when she became an axolotl morph, but there was always this shallow discomfort, like it was all a waste of time.

The doorbell rang.

“Hey Nina—Whoa!”

Oops. Her attempt at hiding the obvious change by crossing her arms might have backfired, “O-oh, um, well—”

Vee jumped up and grabbed Nina with all the seriousness she could muster, “TELL ME EVERYTHING.”

Minutes later, the two of them had settled down in her bedroom, and Vee cradled the Gaia-enhanced pillbox in her paws, “Whoa… I’m so happy for you, Neen! This is so exciting!”

Nina blushed and laid back on her bed, “Y-yeah! It’s a lot!”

“Who else have you told about the good news?”

“Oh uh, nobody actually. You’re the first…”

Vee beamed, “Aw, you must really trust me! Have you put any thought into how you’re going to let everybody know?”

“Not really… I’m still trying to get used to it actually happening, y’know?”

“Gee, me too! Just look at you!” Vee sat herself next to Nina and looked at her arms, “Your skin already softened a whole bunch already but gosh, you’re even softer now! It’s so nice seeing you so happy!”

Nina sat quietly and awkwardly smiled from Vee’s intimacy. She always enjoyed the axolotl’s company. The tiny girl was shy, but around Nina, she always seemed more comfortable. She liked that.

“So… Wanna try some bras?” Vee smiled, grabbing her bag.

“Oh my gosh…” Nina whispered as she looked in the mirror, Vee gasping from behind her.

“Eeeee! You look so good, Nina!”

Her face was still red from disrobing in front of the axolotl, and now the emotions of seeing her shapely reflection in the mirror simmered into the mix. “I… Thank you, Vee! This is… So nice.”

Vee reached up to kiss Nina’s chin, “You’re welcome! Now um, judging from how many pills you have left, I get this weird feeling that there might be a little more growth. I have some larger sizes at home I can bring over, just to tide you over until it settles down!”

“Oh, thank you! Wait, why do you have bigger bras?” Nina asked.

The axolotl giggled, “Because breast forms are fun, silly! Don’t worry, though, I’ll doubt you’ll need any!”

Another day passed on by without much of note happening. Nina decided to eat in for a while, her ravenous appetite leaving her with a lot more need to cook for herself than usual. She enjoyed going overboard with recipes, but there was usually too many leftovers for it to feel worth it. Not now, though. Now her body was hungry for extra mass, and she was eager to see where it went.

Waking up in the morning and waiting for the ramen to boil left her enough time to groggily examine how her body had changed overnight. The sudden growth spurt of her chest seemed to be a one off, but there were still definitely changes happening over the days even if they were slower. She put her hands on her hips and swayed them side to side. They were definitely wider. Be it because of the usual fat redistribution, or a slightly more magical pelvic re-shifting, she liked how it felt, and was eager for more.

Vee came over a few more times, always bringing with her new gifts for her to try on. Some older clothes of hers from before she was morphic, things that were now too big for her but fit Nina perfectly. She cheered Nina on as she put on an old summer dress and gave it a spin, its form accentuating her curves in ways the both of them loved.

“Ninaaaaaa, you look so good in that! It’s almost not fair! You were already pretty before, but wow!”

Nina blushed hard, “Um, t-thank you!” She tried her best not to think of how much of a crush she had on Vee, even before she was the cute axolotl girl she was now.

Sleeping was hard that night. Thoughts swirled through her mind, of how she looked, of how Vee looked at her. The excitement of the tiny axolotl was infectious, just thinking about her brought a smile to her face and a tingling to her crotch—wait, what?

“O-oh.” Nina turned on her bedside lamp and looked down between her legs. “Oh.”

A year or so of HRT had already left her member pretty useless, soft and unable to do much of anything, but this was different. The mass beneath it… There wasn’t any. It had flattened out, as if she had finally gotten the orchiectomy she was always putting off. What’s more, that patch of skin was sensitive in a way it definitely wasn’t before. She gulped, and with the most gentle of touches, rubbed her finger against it.

“O-oh!” She involuntarily moaned, biting her lips to halt any further sound. That was definitely new. The part of her that told her to stop and go to sleep had no chance against the rest of her, eager as she was to feel that again.

Her finger rubbed against the sensitive skin beneath her girl-dick, eliciting gasps as she slid it up and down. Pre leaked from her tip and lubricated her erogenous experience, breathless pants as she brought herself closer and closer to climax the more she rubbed until—

“Ah!~”

She spent a few minutes cleaning herself and her bed up, face as red as a beet the whole time. The experience was enough to lift the cloud of heat that filled her head, and left her half embarrassed and half aroused by what she had just done to herself. A change of bedding later, and she felt ready to sleep, but not before noticing… Where she rubbed that sensitive skin, there was a small but definite depression.

“Oh Gaia…”

For the first time in a week, she went out for a walk. Trying to figure out how to dress herself with her rapidly changing body proved a challenge, but with some gentle encouragement from Vee, she decided on the summer dress that had fit her so well last she tried it.

She inhaled a lungful of the brisk morning air, and headed over to the nearby park. Well, more of a forest these days, but it was still familiar enough that she felt comfortable there. The dappled sunlight through the canopy of leaves left the natural pathways through the dense foliage with a sense of cosiness that was shared by people and animals alike. Wildlife scurried through the underbrush, small woodland creatures that weren’t quite comfortable with human contact, but were familiar enough to not run at the first sight of her. It made her feel at home, being this close to nature. This close to Gaia.

The walk left Nina time to think about how much her life had changed in the past week, but also, how little it had changed too. Sure, she had been blessed with a gift from a nature goddess, but she was still herself. There was nothing new, it was more she was… Polished. A rough gem properly cut to show its true shine. The cloudiness of her life had felt like a constant, but now everything felt clearer.

She loaded up her sub-vocals, and called Vee. “Heya, Vee.”

“Oh hey! What’s up, Neen? Everything okay?” She was her usual chipper self, but could tell Nina wanted to say something.

“Yeah, I’m good. I just… I wanted to tell you something.” Deep breath, no going back now.

“O-oh? What’s that?”

“I… Do you want to go on a date?”

It was long dark by the time she made it home, and with all sorts of emotions welling up inside her, it was all she could do to throw off her dress and collapse onto her bed. She thought she might just pass out right then and there, but instead, everything sublimated out from her at once in the form of giddy laughter. Nina buried her face into her pillow as she cried tears of joy, hugging it hard as she processed all the emotions of the day.

“Yes! Yes of course I wanna go out with you, you big dummy!”

Did Vee really feel the same way that she felt about her? This whole time? Why did neither of them ever realise it?! The incredulousness of the revelation just left her laughing more. They could’ve both done this so much sooner. This spontaneous trip to the countryside, jumping on the first available mag-lev, holding each other tight as they watched the shapes of the city become the lushness of nature.

It was magical. Neither of them paid attention to where they were heading. They were too entranced by one another, flowing down the inevitable stream of love as fast as the train rushed along the world.

Nina’s face was one big blush as she remembered the touch of Vee’s fingers interlocking with her own, the velvet of her padded fingertips becoming the softest thing in her world. They spent the rest of the train ride holding hands, the two of them sharing an embarrassed yet loving silence that even Vee’s talkative personality couldn’t break through.

Half an hour later, the two of them had made themselves comfortable sitting on the grass topping a cliff’s edge facing out to sea. Waves crashed beneath, teeming with life both animal and morphic, with sea breeze of the ocean filling their lungs.

“I feel like I’m about to wake up…” Nina said.

Vee looked up, resting her head on her shoulder, “Why’s that?”

“I just… I never thought you’d be interested in me. This is all so surreal.”

Vee chortled, “Oh my Gaia, Neen, you doofus! How long have we been together? How often have you been there for me when I needed it the most? Don’t you remember how much I was freaking out when I first got hit by the waves?” She wrapped her arms around Nina and squeezed, “I love you Nina. I always have.”

“I—” Nina couldn’t stop herself from tearing up, “I love you too, Vee.”

The two of them leaned closer. A hint of yellow lit up the horizon as the sun began to set, and the two of them kissed for the first time.

Collapsing on her bed, Nina felt the consequences of their reckless adventure, but as she thought of Vee, their time together, the ride there and back home, one thing was clear to her. “It was all worth it…”

It was quite the week. She looked at the ornate pill box, and the 6 pills remaining, and thought to herself that it was probably time to let everyone know. Not just the fact that she’d been blessed with a gift from Gaia, but also…

“Good morning Nina!” Vee messaged her the moment she saw her online, followed by a cute animated heart, “How are you doing?”

Nina smiled, “I’m doing good! Hey, you know the burrito place downstairs from my place?”

“The one with the cute otters? I was thinking of checking them out sometime!”

“Well, I’m friends with the owners, and I’ve… Kinda lead on that something interesting has changed in my life, and I feel like now’s the time to spill the beans. Feel like breakfast?”

“Oh my Gaia, yes, let’s do it! An hour from now?”

Realising she almost had to move onto the next bra already was an interesting experience. She looked at herself in the mirror, and took a moment to soak in just how much her figure had changed. Her thighs, her hips, her legs, they were all curvier in a way she loved, meshing perfectly with her belly chub. She always had issues with her breasts being more cone shaped, but a week of magical HRT was enough to give them proper volume, and a reassuring weight to her chest. Vee bought her a dress yesterday, blue and flowing down to her ankles, and with a bit of practice, she found herself comfortable wearing it. Nina considered tying up her hair, but let it flow out behind her. She already had nice hair, so Gaia’s influence didn’t change much, but it did feel a little more lush than before.

Nina made her way downstairs and over to the cafe. To her surprise, Vee was already inside, and chatting to John the otter-morph. He was usually good at spotting her before she had even crossed the road, and the fact that she was unrecognised left her grinning. She was looking forward to surprising him. Hopefully Pine, his sister, was working today too.

Making her way into the cafe, she listened in as Vee and John talked.

“Hey, I’ve seen you around here a few times before! What brings you to our fine establishment?” John asked.

“Oh, my girlfriend said this is one of her favourite places to eat! So she invited me for breakfast. I believe you’re friends!” Vee giggled.

“Friends? Hmm, I can only think of—”

Nina grinned, and kissed Vee on the cheek before John even got a chance to see her coming, “Hi, babe!”

“NINA?!” John yelped. “Is that you?! Oh my god! Oh my god, Pine, come out here, you gotta see this!”

A smaller otter came running from the kitchen, balancing on her rudder as she slid on the floor, “Wha? Wha what’s going on—NINA! GIRL!” She gasped.

John laughed, “I know right! Neen, what happened?! You gotta tell us!”

Vee giggled endlessly as she watched the two otter siblings freak out, and pulled Nina down to sit next to her, “Well, we’re dating!”

“I can see that!” John sat down on the other side of the table, “But Christ, the glow-up? How did that happen?!”

“Well, uh,” Nina began, blushing from all the attention, “I kinda… Got a gift from Gaia? She kinda… Blessed my estrogen.”

Pine blurted out a laugh, “Oh my god, I love it. I told you she’d never abandon you! I’d love to hear more, but I gotta get back to work, ciao!” She ran back to the kitchen with the same reckless speed she arrived with.

John waved her off before turning back to the two, “God, Nina, you look positively radiant. I can’t believe how good you look! You’re so happy!”

“Well, I mean,” Nina squeezed Vee’s hand, “It’s not all because of Gaia…”

Vee pulled Nina close, and kissed her on the lips. Nina’s eyes closed, immediately lost in the moment of closeness as she embraced her beautiful girlfriend. By the time the moment had passed, John was visibly blushing.

“So uh, want me to bring the two of you a menu?”

Vee perked up, “Oh yes, of course! What are you feeling like, Nina?”

Nina leaned her head against Vee’s shoulder. “I don’t care. As long as I’m with you.”

“Aww, you dork.”

Nina sighed happily before feeling her belly rumble, “Well, maybe I could use some fries.”