Blaise woke abruptly to the babble of voices all around him. Some were shouting, others babbling excitedly. He could sense fear, excitement, anger, surprise, lust--all of them at once, all real, immediate and so tangible he felt like he could touch them. Something was seriously wrong. Again.
Blaise rolled out of his rack, stumbled and fell to his hands and knees. He'd been expecting to roll off of the top of a pair of stacked bunks. Instead, he'd been lying in a double bed. One which, to judge by the state of the bedding, he'd been sharing with...someone else. Who was already up and around, apparently.
Looking down at his hands, Blaise knew that something else was wrong. His skin was very dark brown, his hands were smaller than they should be. Long black hair hung around his face, tickling his ears and neck.
And he had breasts, clearly visible to him where the rather skimpy nightgown he was wearing gapped open at the neck. Blaise stared at them for a moment, trying to grasp what was happening--and noting idly that they were very nice breasts.
Then he shook his head and shifted position, sitting seiza with his hands on his thighs. That, at least, was familiar from years of martial arts classes. It felt wrong--his hips were wider than he was used to and the weight of breasts where he shouldn't have any was distracting--but adopting the posture helped.
Blaise concentrated on his breathing, pushing aside his alarm and confusion--pushing aside all the emotions he was sensing. A few minutes of concentration and a little mental fumbling eventually blocked out the babble of voices. He wasn't sure exactly how he'd done that, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
The storm of emotions was another matter. His best efforts did no more than turn it down to a manageable level. (Does Ami have to deal with this all the time?) Blaise wondered. (It has to be Ami's body; there are no other attractive young black women on the island,) he thought--and only then noticed that he had his memory back.
(Yesterday I had my body but no memories. Today I have my memories but not my body,) Blaise thought. (Christ! What else could happen to us?)
Then the door opened. Blaise looked up, thinking, (I'm not ready for this yet....)
[Blaise] Things Just Get Stranger and Stranger
Blaise rolled out of his rack, stumbled and fell to his hands and knees. He'd been expecting to roll off of the top of a pair of stacked bunks. Instead, he'd been lying in a double bed. One which, to judge by the state of the bedding, he'd been sharing with...someone else. Who was already up and around, apparently.
Looking down at his hands, Blaise knew that something else was wrong. His skin was very dark brown, his hands were smaller than they should be. Long black hair hung around his face, tickling his ears and neck.
And he had breasts, clearly visible to him where the rather skimpy nightgown he was wearing gapped open at the neck. Blaise stared at them for a moment, trying to grasp what was happening--and noting idly that they were very nice breasts.
Then he shook his head and shifted position, sitting seiza with his hands on his thighs. That, at least, was familiar from years of martial arts classes. It felt wrong--his hips were wider than he was used to and the weight of breasts where he shouldn't have any was distracting--but adopting the posture helped.
Blaise concentrated on his breathing, pushing aside his alarm and confusion--pushing aside all the emotions he was sensing. A few minutes of concentration and a little mental fumbling eventually blocked out the babble of voices. He wasn't sure exactly how he'd done that, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
The storm of emotions was another matter. His best efforts did no more than turn it down to a manageable level. (Does Ami have to deal with this all the time?) Blaise wondered. (It has to be Ami's body; there are no other attractive young black women on the island,) he thought--and only then noticed that he had his memory back.
(Yesterday I had my body but no memories. Today I have my memories but not my body,) Blaise thought. (Christ! What else could happen to us?)
Then the door opened. Blaise looked up, thinking, (I'm not ready for this yet....)