Alexa sits up in bed like the room is about to pitch over at any time--one arm on the bed, one on the bedrail, propping herself up, giving herself support. It can't be that simple, can it? Surely there should be... Something? Side effects? Operations are one of those things that should knock you out for a week, right? Not like you took a long nap?

She buries her face in one hand and groans. It was supposeed to take long enough that everybody could forget, especially [i]her.[/i]

What was she thinking? She [i]has[/i] a girlfriend already! If you wanna get real technical about it, she's got two! She doesn't want anybody to misunderstand, get the wrong idea about... About things! Things and stuff! Especially since she doesn't even know what the right idea [i]is[/i] yet!

I mean, Ramses is. Well. Nice. Incredibly nice. Kind. Danced with her. Sought her out after she tried to bully her way into an appointment. Fed her. Held her. Arranged this whole thing for her. For someone Ramses only met once at a party.  I mean, who does that kind of thing? Goes to that sort of effort for a stranger?

Is this flirting? Is that what Ramses wants in return? Is this courting? Is Ramses just a naturally good, kind, outgoing person? Does she want more?

And what does Alexa want them to want?

She groans, and hauls herself to the mirror. Feels around her face for sharp edges or indentations, for any telltale gaps, razor-sharp lines of fresh brass, and finds none. Is it weird to almost be disappointed at that? She... Well, it would be quite rude to say she expected worse. And in retrospect, none of the Coherents show terrible signs or scarring as a result of their modifications, so she doesn't quite know why she thought she'd come out with scarring.

Still, she finds herself grinning at the mirror version of herself. Mugging at the mirror, making faces, sticking out her tongue.

Huh. 

Brass?

Is it funny that she hadn't thought what it would look like? Pink, neon blue? It's a good color obviously but... Was that an intentional material choice? Did the magos have a point to make in choosing that? 

"Peter Piper picks pickles. Quick brown fox. Toy boat toy boat toy boat. Rrrrrroll. Things thought thoroughly."

Whew. Everything still works as it should. She wasn't that concerned, but... Whew.

She grins again, and makes a few more faces, just for good measure.

And now, the part she's been... Well, dreading isn't the right word. Anticipating, in the same way you anticipate test results, maybe? Everything so far has been so excellent, she's almost afraid that the most important part won't work.

Salty seems like a good place to start. She at least knows what salt is for--you put it on the rim of a martini--but has never understood why. She picks up the rod--thick, brittle, brown, with white speckles across its surface. Snaps it between two fingers, studies the crisp inner structure. Lays it on her tongue and--

Briefly, she's convinced that Ramses must have miscommunicated what she wanted to the priest and that she's ended up with the tongue of a gourmand.

What is this? The way it sits on her tongue, slowly dissolves? Draws out all the saliva, craves more? Almost before she knows it, the other half of the pretzel is in her mouth and gone and come on, you can't just give her one of those, that's blatantly a trap. With some reluctance, she sips the water.

Sugar is similar, but almost in the opposite direction? The fragile wafers sandwich a filling between them that tickle her tongue, beg for more. She could scrape the crackers clean for hours, if they weren't gone in seconds. 

Dangit, she should have savored them more. Most of the salty drink recipes also call for sweet fruit, or something similar. Should have tried them together.

Sour is like lightning on her tongue, sucks her lips in. She laughs as she tastes it--not a favorite, she doesn't think.

Bitter just leaves her grabbing for the glass of water. Is that really a flavor? People choose to eat that?

That just leaves spicy, which... Well, at first, she's pretty sure she doesn't taste anything at all.

And then, well, after she can taste it, drinking water just makes it worse.