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Jayr stripped and stood motionless and naked as Alex circled around her and made notes Rarely had she felt so uncomfortable or vulnerable, but if the doctor could help her, then it would be worth it
"Were you born with this?" Alexandra said, tapping the patch of puffy purple skin six inches above the flat circle of her left nipple
"Yes" Jayr covered it with her hand briefly "I should have htly"
"Port-wine birthetters" The doctor used the flat of her fingertips to push at the edges "It looks like a dented heart Kind of cute Any bleeding or inflammation here?"
"None, ever"
"Good They can be a probleht, narrow hips, no pubic or underarm hair--you don’t shave it off, do you?" When Jayr shook her head, Alexandra took out a slim pen that, when she clicked its handle, shone a narrow beaht "Open your ht inside Jayr’s s, your wisdom teeth never erupted" She stepped back, sniffed, then leaned in and sniffed a second time "Do you use tobacco?"
She should have bathed before coed Must be fro the fireplaces" She pointed behind her "Hop on the gurney and lie down"
Jayr reth of her ars and used a device she said would deterloves?"
"Leftover huheaded Kyn, too" She straightened "I need to perform a pelvic and an ultrasound to confirical supplies and an ultrasound uess is that you never acquired secondary sexual characteristics when you were hu words o through puberty, Jayr At least, not all the way" Alex handed her clothes to her "Every human makes a physical and emotional transition froered by the pituitary gland secreting horans to irls, the ovaries are stimulated, in boys, the testes" She frowned as she watched Jayr dress "You’ve got a slight bowing to your calves"
Jayr glanced down "They have always been shaped so"
"It’s usually a sign of o without food a lot when you were huht up was very poor, and food was often scarce" She glanced down at her flat chest "One of the sisters said hunger was a good thing It kept ht is definitely a contributing factor in the onset of puberty," Alexandra said "It’s the reason so er than they should Starvation, on the other hand, has a way of postponing things After you made the transition to Kyn, did your body mature in any way?"
"No I relanced down at her flat chest, and felt the usual bleak wash of depression "I have lived in this body for six hundred years and better, so I have acceptedthat could be done to ive you any false hopes," Alexandra said firmly "If you were human, we could try medication, maybe some artificial implants, but your Kyn metabolism would automatically reject the I could possibly transplant to build up your breasts About the only thing surgically I can do for you is get rid of that birthmark, if you want"
Disappointment made Jayr retreat into herself "I thank you, but no, I as," Alex said "First, though, I’d like to do a gynecological exam and perform that ultrasound, so I can be sure there’s no internal trouble contributing to the problem Do you have a decent medical vendor?"
"An excellent one I will see to it that the equipment and supplies you need are delivered before the week’s end," Jayr promised "What could be insidethere" Alex gestured toward her abdomen "Nature can’t always irl or a boy, you know In very rare cases there are people born with extra reproductive organs You ht have ovaries and testes" She took out a copper-tipped syringe "Time to pay the bill Slide up your sleeve, please"
Jayr watched Alex drao vials of blood "What do these people born with too many parts do about it?"
"In your time they had to live with it, if they were allowed to live at all A lot of hermaphrodites--that’s the common term for people with the condition--were killed at birth if they showed visible characteristics of their dual gender"
"Characteristics?" Jayr said faintly
"Being born with a vagina and an oversize, elongated clitoris There’s been a lot of debate over the last fifty years as to whether or not the clit is just an underdeveloped penis Some can be hidden froed or displayed" Alex gave her a guileless look "Got anything tucked away down there that I should know about?"