She nods. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

She breathes slowly, a few last tears prickling around the corners of her eyes, and considers.

"I... I wouldn't mind pants again once I've got the figure to easily pass anyway, but they probably still wouldn't be my go-to? That's maybe getting ahead of myself? Um. I can give an answer in aesthetics and vibes, maybe?"

"Aesthetics and vibes is really the question. I think the answer should also be about that, yes."

"I don't know if all the aesthetics line up on this world, but... if you fused 'caring and sincere princess' with 'dashing and roguish pirate queen'? Maybe fill the gaps with a helping of 'magical girl'?"

"I'm, uhh, quite sure I don't know what that would look like. But I'm not the one who has to know your true identity; you must do that."

"The third thing, beyond electrolysis and clothes, is the question of HRT. We've managed to end up at a really huge array of options, and we've made some real leaps and bounds in how well the transition goes, especially for anyone transitioning post-puberty. The new, advanced options also require more frequent bloodwork, which I'm assuming you'll be able to handle yourself? If that is an inconvenience, a more traditional choice of hormones and anti-androgens can still achieve perfectly acceptable results. Ultimately, there is no way around experimenting with the regimens, and I'm sure we'll make adjustments along the way. But I'm sure you can handle those."

"Ooh. Shiny advanced options with more science and note-taking. Sounds like fun. Once upon a time I was scared of bloodwork or injections, but I mostly got over that. This is a pretty good reason to go the rest of the way. What sorts of improvements can those provide over the old-fashioned versions?"

She's getting a bit more excited as the conversation shifts to options, drumming her fingers on her thigh and wiggling a little bit in her seat.

"A bit of everything? It means both faster results, and a better final outcome. The breasts tend to come out earlier and better. Fewer mood swings and other side effects, better for your general health, just incremental improvements in various areas. And the precise bloodwork helps even more in amplifying the advantages for both the pace of your transition and your safety during it."

"And, to get any fertility worries out of the way, do you want to do gamete harvesting to feel 100% safe about your fertility?"

She bobbles her head back and forth as she considers. "I... on some level the idea of ever having a kid is a viscerally terrifying level of responsibility? I can't rule out that I'd ever want to, but... hmm."

She looks down at her hands for a long moment.

"The smart thing to do would be to set some aside. It's not like it would be a commitment to do anything with them."

Eventually she nods. "Yeah, should do it."

"Yeah, we can get that done for you, it's really not a big deal. And it's cheap enough that it's a fantastic investment for peace of mind, a lot of people like getting them preserved just for that feeling of safety."

"Now, I think that I'll want to try going through some of the main HRT options with you. Some of them might be less appropriate due to your medical background, and others might have side effects that are dealbreakers. I have several compact tables with the regimens that I recommend my clients most often. If you could walk up and look at these?"

She points at some of the information-dense tables attached to the wall of her office, listing up quite a few different combinations of hormones and other medications together with their side-effects and how precise you have to be with your bloodwork. Then she sits down in front of a computer screen to look up more information on them, before managing to find a solution that's probably the best starting point for Sable.

She leans close and looks through the tables carefully, nodding thoughtfully. "Y'all really have put a lot into improving the options here. Definitely better than what my old world has."

The resulting solution winds up with more reliable early breast growth and a bit of help overcoming genetic predispositions to a smaller bust, quicker fat redistribution, less risk of interfering with sexual function, and very good odds of preventing male pattern baldness. It also avoids the electrolyte issues that some androgen blockers like spironolactone run into.

"Yup, it's common enough that you can get it as an all-in-one pill, don't even have to get it custom-ordered. It's totally OTC and easy to find somewhere, if you can't bring a fresh pill bottle with you before going on a trip."

"And this is a bit awkward to mention, but... there's a tailor. A lingerie tailor that really helps the trans community and people just at the beginning at the transition, you know, like you. And for the blood work, you're going to need to choose a snek. Most of my doctor friends insist on one of those Friendly Sting models, supposedly as painless as the blood work ever gets. I think that you're going to want to pay that little extra considering how much blood work you'll be doing with this new regimen."

She smiles softly and appreciatively at the mention of the special tailor, then giggles suddenly. "Y'all have portable blood work kits, and you call them sneks? That's adorable!"

"Yes, that's what they are. Well, I think there's more geckos because they're cuter and less scary for kids, so most hospitals use those? But even if it's a plastic gecko with all the bloodwork stuff, we still call them sneks."

"Gosh there's so much care that goes into making everything comfy and nice and good here. Like so much more of the world is built around trying to be just that little bit kinder to people."

She flops back into her chair with a happy smile and a bit of a wiggle.

"Well, I think that's the main points done. I think you want to go over to getting new clothes? Maybe especially some new underwear. And precut tape kits, if those are also a helpful tool for your needs."

She nods. "That does seem like the next thing. That and however getting my other appointments works."

"I can get you the address to the tailor I was talking about. It's within comfortable walking distance from here." She writes out an address on her phone, showing it to Sable. "She also knows about makeup routines and beauty products and hair and stuff, she really knows a bit about everything."

"She sounds incredibly helpful. Thank you so much."

Sable notes the name and address down in her contacts, and saves it.

"Probably there aren't any hair appointments left today?"

"No electrolysis appointments! And I get the impression that you'd want to have permanent hair removal on many parts of your body, which can't be done without the hair being grown out first, so a sugaring would get in the way of that, sorry."

"Just so. Alas. Well, I'll have to book something for the morning. Anyone you'd recommend in particular?"

"There's this other place, that a lot of my clients went to and liked, which does lots of other beauty stuff, too? But you can't really cross-compare different services, so I'm not sure they're really any better. I think they're really all the same, they use all the same equipment, you know. But I'll write down their address, too."

"Shiny. Thank you."

That goes into her contact list too.

"Anything else you'd recommend for today? And how often should we book follow-ups?"

"I don't really have any recommendations, in general? It's really up to what makes you feel nicer. For the longer-term, I think a slumber party would be nice and affirming, they sure make me feel sexy and awesome. In terms of follow-ups: I'll give you a dirty secret, everyone just follows a bloodwork flowchart anyway. Unless you get worried or one of the Meaningfully Worrisome side effects happen to you, you won't need to book any physical follow-ups. Feel free to call me if there's something you want to ask about, but I think that just telling the lab to send all the bloodwork results to me is all the follow-up that's really necessary."

She blushes and sputters a bit. "A slumber party? Who even... I... what..."

Sable clearly has not considered the idea that slumber parties were a thing she would ever get to have.

"Well, it's more of a long-term thing! I couldn't really come up with anything that I thought would be necessary on your end, so I thought about something that could be an example of something you might eventually like."

"I mean, yes, but... do thirty-year-old women just get to have those here? There's no cultural pressure to be more 'mature' or something and not do that?"