Julia felt like her blood had turned to ice as she looked at her friend. Inside she pleaded with her ears to have heard wrong as they stood in an empty room. He had asked to speak with her during their lunch break which was nothing unusual. They ate together often. She had grown curious whenever he had asked to speak to her privately and now she felt like she was going to panic. “John what are you talking about? People don't just grow nine centimeters in one day.” Even as the words left her mouth Julia knew that wasn't the truth. She had in fact grown more then nine centimeters since the previous day gaining an additional twelve. How did John know that though?

 

“That's just it I know they don't and it isn't just that Julia. How come no one else has noticed? I remember you always had trouble getting things from the top shelf in storage except that one day you came to work wearing heels. I know because you used to always ask me to get things for you whenever I was around. Julia what is going on and how come no one else has noticed?” John had actually noticed Julia's increase in height upon her arrival. He had been too surprised to say anything and that surprise had only continued to grow as he'd seen her throughout the day. No one seemed to think it was strange. Surely some of them had looked and seen that she wasn't wearing heels or any other height augmentation.

 

What should she say? Julia could feel her mouth going dry as she struggled to think of a believable reason. John had known her for several months and she had indeed asked him to retrieve a few things from the higher up shelves as much as she disliked doing it. She didn't like troubling others. If he had only known her for a week or a shorter period she might be able to convince him that he'd just never gotten a good look at her. Even then it would be a stretch. Why hadn't his memory been altered like all the others? Julia took in a deep breath as the answer seemed to slam into her. John had always had a knack for finding her whenever he wanted to. Some of the other nurses and doctors had even made jokes about how he had her scent. “Oh no. No. This can't be.”

 

The sudden shift in Julia's voice was enough to peek John's concern. As she took a step back from him he raised his hands not in a defensive stance or an aggressive one but rather to show that he wasn't armed. “Hold on Julia. I didn't meany any harm. I just want to know what's going on. I don't want to cause any trouble for you but if you could just explain to me what happened or give me some idea how you grew at least nine centimeters in one day and why no one has noticed I'm appreciate it.” John was actually quite surprised whenever he saw tears beginning to form in Julia's eyes. As much as he wanted to know what was happening he hadn't meant to hurt her. “If you don't want to talk about it now it's fine. We can talk later.”

 

“No.” Julia didn't know what she was saying no to. Was she saying no to talking or no to John leaving? Was she saying no to the entire situation? She couldn't be certain yet she knew that she couldn't just let him leave. “John I am so sorry about this. I didn't realize that you were. Well if we're still talking you I don't suppose you would understand. I'll. I'll explain it to you later but oh by the spirits I am so sorry!” It felt like something had ripped into Julia's chest and taken hold of her heart. The strength seemed to drain from her body even as her vision threatened to blur. Yet she could still feel energy running through her body and being shaped by her will.

 

“Sorry what are you talking.” It felt like the room had been suddenly flooded with steam as a fog seemed to wrap around John's body and seep into his mind. He felt like the strength was flowing out of his body like at the end of an adrenaline rush and was made to slump forward. It surprised him whenever he felt a set of hands on his shoulders holding him up. When he looked to see who it was he found himself looking directly into Julia's eyes. It was strange but it took him a moment to realize why it was strange. Julia was shorter then him and she most assuredly wasn't taller then him. So it was even stranger whenever he found himself looking up at her. It also felt like her hands were covering more of his shoulders.

 

“I'm sorry John. I'm so sorry. Please try not to be scared. I'm.” Julia took in a deep breath. How could she say she wasn't going to harm him? As she felt John shrinking smaller and smaller it seemed ridiculous. Yet the alternative she felt was far worse. “I'll do my best to make this up to you I promise. You'll have a good life you'll see.” By now John was only waist high and Julia had to bend at the knees to keep her hands on his shoulders. This wasn't to sustain the spell but simply done in order to keep him from falling down. Not that he had a great distance to fall at this point. His clothing was beginning to hang lose on him and she slipped her right hand under his arm to help keep him steady.

 

It was clear to John that something was very wrong. Unfortunately the magic altering his body was making it very hard to think strait. He could hear the concern and even fear in Julia's voice. He knew something he didn't want was happening to him but he wasn't certain what he should do. Rather then try to pull away from her hand he leaned against it. He could feel that hand growing larger though. Where it had once only covered his right side now it was beginning to press against his legs. Looking down he realized that he was naked and instinctively covered his penis as he tried to clear his head. “What is? Um what is. What's happening to me?”

 

The words formed on Julia's tongue but she couldn't convince her mouth to open. She didn't want to say she was the one shrinking him. As John became small enough Julia slipped her hand underneath him. In his disoriented condition it was easy for her to take his legs out from under him. As he fell back into her palm she quickly began to gather up his clothing with her free hand while the fingers of her right wrapped around his still diminishing body. She would take some serious heat for leaving work early but at the moment she had no choice. It was far more important to get John out of there and explain what had happened. “We're going to be leaving John. Just please try to stay calm and I promise answers will be coming soon.”

 

As his clothes had fallen away and his body shrunk in size John had felt a slight chill. The feeling of Julia's warm skin was rather nice. Yet as he shrunk the rate at which he shrunk grew slower and he found himself able to think more clearly. Currently he was setting in the center of Julia's palm with his legs just dangling over the edge. Whenever he felt the heels of his feet brush against the edge of her palm though he tried to stand up and that's whenever Julia's massive fingers came down upon him pressing him against her palm with gentle but unstoppable force. He could smell her hand lotion as he was pressed against her skin and looked up at her face. Her index finger wrested just below his chin and yet he could feel it moving further up. “Julia what is going on? This isn't. This can't be real! Please stop!”

 

“I'm sorry John. I'm so sorry but I can't. I'll explain soon.” As she spoke Julia pressed the hand holding John against her chest. He was still shrinking even as she finished gathering his clothing under her free arm and slipped out the door. Fortunately the hallway was empty and she more sprinted them walked towards the stairs. While the elevator would have been quicker the odds of meeting someone was higher and she wanted to get out of the building as quietly as possible. Fortunately by now John was so small that it would be difficult for anyone to hear him especially wrapped in her fingers and pressed against her chest like he was. Yet he still continued to shrink. Right now he was roughly the same height as her pinky and middle finger laid side by side. Soon he wouldn't be any taller then her pinky finger was wide.

 

What was going on? As the magic finished its task John's mind returned to normal. Except he wasn't in a normal situation. Rather he found himself confined in darkness with the warmth and scent of Julia's hand engulfing him. He was held lightly against her palm and some streams of light made it in between her fingers. In his reduced state he could feel the changes in acceleration as she walked and turned corners even more precisely then he had been before. He wasn't of a mind to appreciate what that truly meant as even as his body had been reduced in size and strength its endurance had remained sufficient to endure these forces. Even his ability to think clearly with the altered condition of his brain would have astounded him if it wasn't him in his current situation. All he could think about was Julia's words and try to grasp them. “Julia! What's going on! Someone help! Help!”

 

Julia tried to swallow but her throat was dry at this point. She had adapted her ears to hear a wider range of sounds then she normally could have and refined her control of her fingers. This not only provided additional safety as she could hear a threat coming more easily but allowed her to better perform her job. Now it allowed her to insure she didn't squeeze John too tightly and to hear his calls for help even whenever others wouldn't be able to. She wanted to comfort him but she couldn't at the moment otherwise she would risk being heard. It was unfortunate that she had to stop by her locker in order to retrieve her keys.

 

The world had changed so much around John that he couldn't be certain what was happening. He could hear things but he couldn't recognize them. The click from Julia opening the lock on her locker was an odd thump he didn't recognize. One sound that he had figured out was the constant thumping of Julia's heart. This wasn't an easy rhythm but rather a frantic pounding. There was a dull rumbling and there was a brief flash of light. Before he could comment though he felt Julia's hand tilt beneath him slowly enough for him to recognize what was happening but too quickly for him to take hold of anything. The fall wasn't like what he had experienced before. While the distance was several times his height it went by in a blur and he was engulfed in something warm and soft. There was another rumble and the light banished while he accelerated backwards. The softness of the wall behind him protected him from the impact as did the softness of what lay behind and his own endurance. John found himself dizzied by the sudden blur of motion but little else.

 

Julia's coat had a small internal breast pocket for holding onto things you didn't want to lose. Normally this pocket was empty but right now there was nothing she wanted to lose less then John. She didn't have time to explain the situation to him. A few of her coworkers stood in the room. Given that it was her lunch break there was nothing surprising about her presences. Rather they likely assumed she intended to step outside. She was more then a little grateful for this as she finished putting her jacket on and retrieved her keys without anyone seeming to notice. It was more difficult to feel John through her coat pocket and that worried Julia. She was far more comfortable whenever he was against her skin so she could insure he wasn't having too much pressure put on him. She had strengthened his body so she was certain that he would be fine but her heart still worried about her little friend.

 

The thought of John as a friend made Julia's heart shake for a moment. How could she even think of such things after what she'd just done to him? She knew what would happen if she didn't but how would he look upon her after this? These thoughts were racing through Julia's mind even as she dashed down the hallway.

 

Brad, “Hey Julia where you off to in such a hurry!”

 

“Sorry Brad I have to step out for a bit and my lunch break is about over. No time to talk.” Even as she spoke Julia continued walking at such a pace she was nearly running. The speed with which the excuse had flowed from her lips surprised even her.

 

It was easy for John to hear what was being said but apparently he couldn't be heard. At least he didn't believe he could be. As he felt around in the darkness he felt something press against him pushing him back against the soft wall behind him. The force rolled over him gently pressing him into the material and whatever rested behind him. It then moved over his body again and again. It took a moment but as the realization set in John believed that Julia was petting him through her pocket. Was she trying to console him? “Julia please stop this! I don't know what's going on but we can talk you don't need to do whatever this is!”

 

“I do. Spirit help me but I do John. You'll understand soon just please try to relax.” By now Julia was out of the hospital and made her way into her car. Part of her wanted to take John out of her pocket and speak to him right there. She couldn't do it though. She couldn't face him at the moment. Hopefully by the time the car ride was over she'd be prepared though she didn't know. She was rather surprised whenever he seemed to quiet down and settle in against her chest. “Thank you. Just please do your best to relax and I'll explain everything soon. Just give me thirty minutes and I'll explain everything.”

***********************************************************************************

Julia took in a deep breath as she tried to decide where she should start. Currently John was setting on her favorite couch pillow while looking up at her. He had been quiet most of the time but now was looking upon her expectantly. Why shouldn't he? She had told him that answers could be coming. Part of her was thinking of asking Rina to come speak with him but she feared speaking with her would do more to worry John then comfort and he had plenty to worry about it. “I. I'm not sure where to begin. John I don't want to frighten you but. If I. I mean I didn't.” Once again Julia found herself taking in a deep breath.

 

Part of John wanted to comfort Julia. He wasn't used to seeing her this flustered. Julia was an amazingly strong willed woman as John had learned. Her dedication to her job, others and even herself was amazing. Yet despite the admiration he had for her he couldn't help but be angry with her. Common sense told him that upsetting the woman who could crush him with a finger wasn't a good idea but it was hard to listen to that. He wanted to yell at her and demand answers even while he wanted to comfort her. So he found himself thinking about what he should actually say. “Julia I would really like to know why you did this. How about we begin there?”

 

“To save your life.” This was one thing Julia could answer easily.

 

“Save my life? Does this have something to do with you growing and how. Was it because I noticed the change in your height while everyone else didn't?” John felt his shock building whenever Julia gave her head a slight nod.

 

“John you should know. I'm well put simply I'm a witch but not like the fairy tales. Well I guess it's more like being a wizard or warlock in some ways. That isn't what you want to know though. John you see we're not allowed to reveal what we are to humans. If we do we either have to kill that human or take responsibility for them. Oh John I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have even noticed the change in my height. Your memories should have been altered by the magic but they weren't.”

 

John wasn't certain what to say at first. He was rather concerned about the killing part of course. “Kill or take responsibility. What do you mean by take responsibility and why wasn't my memory altered?”

 

“I well. I mean what I did to you. For each witch it means something different based on what magic they know. For those witches who know how to it means altering the person's memories. Other then at the conclusion of a duel though I can't do that. In every case it means insuring that the person can't pose any threat to us. As for why you weren't affected by the magic. It's well it's because you're resistant.”

 

“What?” Even as Julia was trying to explain the situation to him John wasn't certain what to think. He didn't know what being in a duel really meant for a witch and how was he resistant? “Julia I'm not a threat to you. Even if you are a witch. If you'd just return me to normal I promise I wouldn't tell anyone about this.”

 

Julia could feel her chest heating up once again as tears began to form in her eyes. “It's not my choice!”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

There was no immediate response from Julia as she took in a deep breath and tried to fight back her tears. The burning had spread from her chest and into her throat making it hard for her to speak. “I. I believe I should start over. Just please let me finish and I'll explain it better. Okay?”

 

As angry as he was about the situation it was clear to John that this was important to Julia. Given how she was talking he imagined it should be quite important to him as well. “Sure.”

 

“John in this world they are things like witches and other magic beings. Like I said we're not the same as in the story books though. Each one of us obtains a certain power. Some of us first gain the ability to command fire and others water. I have the ability to transform living beings. The only way we grow more powerful is to take the power of another witch except we don't only take her power. That extra height you saw. Well I obtained that from the first witch I ever defeated the previous day. We had been hunting one another. Normally when this happens everyone close to the person has their memories altered by the magic but that didn't happen to you as well. John I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have even recognized the change in me.” As she spoke Julia couldn't bring herself to look at John any longer and lowered her head onto the table wrapping her arms around it to better block out the world as she began to sob.

 

That had been a lot of information. John was still processing it even whenever Julia's head met with the table. He felt a slight rumbling from the impact despite the pillow he was setting on. He couldn't think of a time when he's seen Julia break down like this and this was a woman who had to tell people their child didn't make it through surgery at times. Despite everything when he looked at Julia and heard her crying he couldn't set still. Despite his anger and even fear he found himself standing up and walking towards her. “Julia. Julia? Julia!” John gave a slight sigh as Julia looked up from the table though she didn't raise her head entirely. “I'd like to know the wrest.”

 

“Okay. Yes. You deserve to know. It's just.” Julia took a few deep breaths and managed to steady herself before raising up. “John you're a witches bane. At least that's our word for you. It means you're a human who's mind is resistant to magic and you can do other things as well. You also have the ability to sense a witch. Remember how you could always track me down in the hospital? I just thought you knew me really well but now I'm sure there was more to it. We call you that because such humans were the death of many witches in the past.”

 

“Julia I would never hurt you. Is that why you had to shrink me?” At least things were becoming a little more clear. John didn't know what to think of being some kind of witch hunter. He sure hadn't heard anything about it.

 

“Oh John! It's not my choice. It's not because you're a witch's bane. A long time ago witches used humans to help them hunt for and overcome other witches. The humans did more then that though they learned to kill the witches and soon they began doing that. Sense then we've been forbidden from revealing ourselves to humans. When a human discovers what we are we either have to kill that human or insure they can't reveal our secrets.”

 

“Julia I won't tell.”

 

“It doesn't matter what you won't do!” Julia couldn't help but raise her voice even as the pain welled up within her chest. Once again she looked away from John and focused on the table. “It doesn't matter how much I trust you. I have to make sure you can't tell anyone our secrets John. You can't have the ability to do so. If I don't then I'll be killed and so will you.” It was impossible for Julia to hold her tears in and she couldn't bring herself to raise her head even slightly.

 

This wasn't what John wanted to hear. He felt his heart sinking and fear building once again. “Killed by who? We could keep this a secret. You wouldn't have to tell anyone!” John didn't bother thinking anymore. Fear that he would be stuck this way and fear that he would be killed swelled up within him and his mouth began to move as quickly as the thoughts came with no consideration for the actual words.

 

“No. We can't John. I can't keep anything a secret from her. She knew the moment you revealed you had noticed the change.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Me.”

 

John felt like his heart had leaped into his throat. While the distance could have easily been measured in millimeters to him the jump was quite impressive as he leaped forward and spun to see the voices owner. What he saw was a human roughly twice his size with translucent wings giving off a soft red glow. Various bits of golden jewelery decorated her body while she war a simple red dress. “Who are you?”

 

Julia had been almost as surprised as John when she'd heard Rina's voice. He apparently hadn't noticed it but she'd set up nearly the moment she heard it fear once again clutching at her heart. “John this is Rina. She's my familiar and the source of my power. She's also the one that taught me the rules and insures that I follow them.”

 

At first John wasn't certain what to say as he looked at Rina. “Then are you the one that could let Julia grow me back?”

 

For a moment Rina said nothing but then quickly flapped her wings and flew over to Julia to hover just in front of her face. “You should have killed him.”

 

“I couldn't! He's my friend.”

 

“Please Miss Rina! If you could just let Julia return me to normal I promise to keep her secret. I wouldn't breath a word of this to anyone!” As John spoke there was some hope there. Here was someone he could speak to that could possibly have him return to normal. There was little delay for hope or despair to build as Rina's response was quick in coming.

 

“No. Do you have any idea how many times someone has claimed they would never tell anyone only to let it slip? Thousands of witches have been killed because they trusted someone to keep their secret and you're not just a regular human. You're a witch's bane.” Instead of continuing to address John Rina quickly turned back to facing Julia. “Like I said you should have just killed him.”

 

“Rina please don't make me. I can't! He's my friend and I.” Julia bit down on her lower lip as she looked at John. They had been friends for so long and it seemed like they were growing into more. With what had happened though it seemed like all of that was loss. Yet she couldn't imagine murdering him. If it came to that she would just have to let herself be killed. At least it would buy John a little more time if not much.

 

“Relax. Your solution is sufficient so long as you keep him under control. He's going to complicate matters though. Blast it and just after you'd defeated your first opponent. You know you're not the only one that has a lot to lose in this relationship.”

 

“I know Rina and I appreciate what you're doing. I'll do my best I promise. John won't be a hindrance or a danger so there is no need to tell anyone about him.” As she spoke Julia struggled to control her fear. She couldn't help the desperation that flowed into her voice though as she looked at her friend. Guilt and fear all surged through her being threatening to overwhelm any rational thoughts she might have.

 

“I suppose that he could serve as motivation. Fine. You're not the first witch that has wanted a mortal companion and it has worked out for some. I don't want to ever see him any taller then I am though. You be sure that he can't escape and even if he does it'll only lead to his death. Understand?”

 

As he had listened to Rina John didn't know what to think. The way she'd told Julia to kill him had sounded so certain. It left no doubt in his mind that she meant it. Then there had been the way she spoke to him. “Is there anyway that you'd let her return me to normal?”

 

“Not likely. If you weren't a witch's bane then you'd just need to endure until Julia gained the power to alter the memories of others. That's not an option for you though. Well I just wanted to make sure you understood the situation Julia. I don't want anything to happen to you. I have a lot of my hopes tied up in you after all. We're partners in this after all and I'm prepared to do what's best for you even if you don't want it. Now I'm going to leave the two of you to work out the other details. Oh and John. Don't be too hard on Julia. If I believe you're about to break her or spoil my chance I'll handle the situation as I see fit.”

 

John didn't know what to say as he watched Rina fly away from Julia and then make her way towards the backrooms of the building where he assumed she'd been waiting. It would explain how she'd come up from behind him. When he looked towards Julia he could see the pain on her face. With all the dread, fear and anger that had been swelling up within him it surprised him what came out of his mouth. “Well this just plains sucks doesn't it?”

 

For a moment Julia wasn't certain what to say. The tone in John's voice had changed. She could still hear that he was upset but it seemed to have diminished. “John I'm so sorry I never meant for this to happen to you.”

 

“I know. Damn it all I know.”

 

“I promise I'll take care of you and cherish you from now on. So please. Please at the very least. Please don't hate me.” As she spoke Julia couldn't help the light sobs that escaped her. She didn't want to guilt John but the fear and guilt was nearly impossible for her to contain.

 

“I. I don't hate you Julia. I'm pissed but. I'm not pissed at you! I'm just pissed at this whole dam situation! I'm pissed at your little friend and I'm pissed that I even mentioned anything! Now I know why you looked so shocked whenever I confronted you. I mean seriously. This entire fucking mess is just!” By now John had actually found the motivation to stand up and begin walking around on the pillow. He was mad at Julia that was true part of him wanted to blame her. Yet she was a friend and had been a good one for a very long time. He could see that she was in pain already and making her feel more pain wasn't going to help things. He needed an outlet for his anger so it took the form of several profanities as he walked around.

 

Julia had seen John like this once before. A wild fire had started and several people had been brought into the hospital. She and John had been working when it began and had to stay over. After twenty four hours of running off coffee and adrenaline they had then be informed their replacements hadn't come into work yet. They had to work another shift. She had actually tweaked the chemicals in John's body to keep him going but during one of their few breaks he had thrown a similar fit. It wasn't like they could leave. As tired as they were people needed them to stay. What could she do though? She wanted to tell him that she would make things better but she knew she couldn't restore him to his natural size. She couldn't even grow him large enough that he might escape and tell someone. Rather she held her tongue and listened to him while he released what steam he could.

 

It took John a few minutes to realize what he was doing and to calm down enough to be somewhat rational. Once he had he gave a long sigh. “So you said you defeated your first witch recently. What happens if you lose?”

 

Immediately Julia froze up as a cold realization set in. She felt like the world was beginning to swim and she placed her hands on the table to help steady herself despite already being on her knees. Her breath began to quicken. “Oh no. Oh no! No. No. John if I lose I wouldn't be trusted to be responsible for you any longer. The other witch she could.” Julia went silent as she took in a deep breath. Before defeat meant the loss of her magic and some aspects of her being. Now it could easily mean her friend's death or she'd never see him again.

 

“That bad huh?”

 

Once again John surprised Julia by how calm he sounded. She slowly gave her head a slight nod. “They would take you from me and they might. They might even murder you John. I. I can't lose. I can't let that happen. I'm not going to let anything happen to you I promise.”

 

So this is what Rina meant by motivation. John already had a negative view of the sprite and it had just become a lot more negative. He didn't know how tough Rina actually was but he sure would like to get his hands around her neck if they'd even fit. “I see. I guess I'm depending on you then. Sorry to drop this mess on you.”

 

“No! I'm the one that's sorry John. I never meant to drag you into this.” As she spoke Julia leaned forward and brought her face closer to John. Her right hand came up behind him and pressed lightly against him as if to offer him cover. “I promise I'll do my best to protect you even if it cost me my life.”

 

That wasn't the type of promise John really wanted someone making him especially Julia. Unfortunately there wasn't much he could think to do in this situation. “Well let's try to make sure it doesn't come to that but. What am I suppose to do now? I mean. Do you have anything I could cover myself up with?”

 

Immediately Julia set up realizing John had been naked the entire time. “I'm so sorry! Give me a moment and I'll try to find you some clothes and see what else I can do for you.” As she spoke Julia had never wished that she could alter none living matter more then she did in that moment. Unfortunately conjuring up some clothes for John didn't seem possible unless the material was living. The thought prompted at odd response from Julia as she reached up and ran her hand through her hair. She could alter organic material like hair so perhaps there was something she could do. Perhaps with cotton?

 

Now that his anger was fading John was free to feel more awkward. His hands covered up his crotch and he began to look around Julia's home. He could hear her off in the distance moving around and wondered what she was doing. Currently he was standing in what he imagined was Julia's study which left him thinking that Rina was now in Julia's bedroom. There were several large bookshelves though they held more then just books. As he walked to the edge of his pillow and looked over it he could see a remote below and found himself trying to find the television. A few plants decorated each corner except for one though he didn't recognize them and was made to remember what Julia said about altering life. Did that mean she could alter plants as well? The floor was hardwood which didn't surprise him. It was easier to clean then carpet. He was actually grateful for that if he ever ended up on the floor carpet could be a real problem.

 

It didn't take Julia long to come up with a clothing solution as she walked back into the room. She was a bit worried still. At John's tiny size it would take an impossibly high thread count to simulate the clothing he was used to. Upon entering the room she noted him standing on the edge of the pillow apparently looking at something. “I. I brought you some clothes.” As she spoke Julia felt more awkward. It wasn't that she had any issues with seeing someone naked. It happened often enough at work after all. This wasn't quite the hospital environment though and she didn't know how to approach John.

 

It took John a moment to turn around and face Julia. When he did he was rather surprised to see her massive hand reaching down for him. Before he could protest he felt her fingers once again engulfing him. The heat sinking into his skin was nice but it caught him off guard. Her fingers proved extremely nimble. The front of John's body was covered by Julia's thumb while the index finger of her right hand pressed against his back. Before he could think too much he found himself deposited in her left hand and then felt her right index finger push against the underside of his right arm causing him to lift it. Her fingers worked rapidly and then he felt a sleeve sliding over his arm. Instinctively he raised his left arm to make it easier for Julia to slip the robe on him. Glancing down he noticed a belt that he could use to close it.

 

With John dressed and standing in her head Julia moved him a bit closer to her face in order to inspect him. The robe seemed to fit nicely. “How does it feel? I hope it feels good. I used a little magic to refine the fibers so that they'd be comfortable.”

 

At first John said nothing. He was still a little dizzy by the blur of motion and from the fact that Julia had effectively just dressed him. Reaching down he tugged on the belt for a moment. It was the one piece of clothing that he had actually had anything to do with putting on it seems. “It feels fine. It's pretty nice actually.” John saw a slight smile on Julia's face even as he looked up into an eye that was larger then he was. He felt her breath wash over him and took a moment to breath himself. “So what now?”

 

“Well.” Julia bit down on her lower lip for a moment as she considered the situation. She'd explained to John she as a witch and what that meant. He was taking it surprisingly well. He would need more then just clothing of course. He'd need a safe place to sleep, a place where he could exercise and have some fun. She would need to set him up a home of some kind. They were other issues to be addressed of course and not all of them related to his survival. She wanted to ask him what he thought of her. To confirm that he still thought of her as a friend but after what had happened she didn't believe it was time for that. “Is there anything you want? I want you to be comfortable after all. I was thinking I would need to set you up somewhere that you'd be safe and could do things like exercise, watch television or something else.”

 

“That would be appreciated. Do you have anything in mind?” As John spoke he couldn't help but notice that Julia didn't seem to have any intention of setting him down. The scent of the hand lotion she used radiated up from her skin to his nose and he wondered if her skin was kept in such good condition by careful medical care or magic. He knew that the medical soap that they used could be very rough on the skin especially after repeated uses. When she spoke her breath washed over him carrying a scent of mint as if she had brushed her teeth. While she was working on his clothing had she taken the time to brush her teeth?

 

I was hoping you would have some ideas. I want you to be comfortable here and I don't want to make you feel like a prisoner. I want you to be comfortable and safe John. I'm going to do my best for you.” As she spoke Julia lowered John and brought him closer to her chest as if to give him a hug. She didn't quite press him against herself but the edge of her hand pressed against her chest. At John's size this put him looking up over the slope of her chin in order to see into her eyes. She didn't consider that with every breath she would send air rushing over him.

 

The power in each breath Julia took seemed staggering to John. Yet being brought in closer to Julia's body did bring some comfort. There was less of a feeling that he might fall off the edge of a cliff. Her throat was a massive wall before him and he could see it expanding and reducing slightly whenever she would inhale or exhale. Her words rolled over him as surely as her breath and he struggled to think of a solution. “How about a dollhouse of some kind? I'm not sure if they make things in my size though.”

 

Before speaking Julia moved John away from her chest and lifted him back to eye level so that he stood just over the edge of her nose. “I don't believe that is a good idea. John those are made more for toys then an actual living being and I want to make sure you're safe in here. I do my best to keep my home pest free but in case a snake or something else manages to get in I have to know you're safe.”

 

The idea that some rodent or small snake could kill him wasn't a comforting one. John had to admit though that Julia had a good point. “I guess. In that case. I can't believe I'm saying this. How about some kind of cage?” As the words left his mouth John gave a slight sigh. Here he was suggesting that he be kept in some kind of pet cage.

 

“Would a bird cage be alright? I could fix it up really well. I promise to make it as nice as I can.”

 

“Would that actually work? I mean look at me Julia. They're several types of insects that I believe could take me. I need need something more like a fish bowl with a lid if I'm going to avoid being killed by some bug.” The thought was exceptionally unpleasant. Almost as unpleasant as the words when they left John's mouth.

 

“I could rap it in a mosquito net and make sure it was off the floor. That would keep you safe. What else would you like though? Would you like a swimming pool and perhaps a television? I could even.” Julia bit down on her lower lip. She had thought to offer John a smart phone or tablet to give him access to the internet. Even if it was sensitive enough to respond to his touch that couldn't happen though. She wasn't permitted to give him any opportunity to tell others about her which meant he couldn't communicate with anyone. “I'm sorry John.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I was thinking I might be able to let you have access to the internet but I can't.”

 

For a moment John said nothing but took in a deep breath. Rather then speaking he began to walk forward. It surprised him that Julia kept her hand still long enough for him to reach her nose. Placing his right hand upon it he looked up into her right eyes while they both seemed to be focused on him. “You know I bet I could ride this thing. I mean seriously at this size.” John was startled a bit whenever he felt Julia's hand jerk sharply and if he hadn't already had his hands on her nose he would have fallen over. The grin that formed on his face was so wide that it was actually painful and he heard Julia desperately struggling to keep herself from bursting into laughter.

 

Julia had expected some words of comfort. That or perhaps even words of acceptance. She hadn't expected John to talk about riding her nose especially with how serious he'd looked. Now it was all she could do to keep herself from falling over laughing. If he hadn't been standing in her hand she probably would have. “By the spirit John! I love you so much you know that right! Thank you! I mean it thank you so much!” As she finished speaking Julia couldn't help but laugh despite the situation.

 

There wasn't much point in talking about what he couldn't do at the moment. Rina had made her stance on the matter pretty clear. He didn't know what kind of power the sprite had but it was clear she had some power over Julia. Despite the situation he was made to laugh as well and half tempted to jump on Julia's nose. Given his current clothing he wasn't quite prepared for that though. “You're welcome. A swimming pool sounds great but it had better be heated. I'm a little concerned about tonight though. I don't believe you have any bird cages on hand.”

 

It took Julia a few moments more to sober up though John did have a good point. As she calmed down a grin formed on her face. “You can have Rina's bed tonight.”

 

“What!” There hadn't been time for John to respond. Rather the voice of shock was that of the sprite who quickly flew back into the room at a speed which didn't seem fitting to her size. She seemed a blur to John and in moments was hovering in front of Julia's face. “What do you mean he can have my bed?”

 

“John needs some place to sleep and you don't sleep at all. Your room is the only place that's comfortable and safe for him.”

 

“Let him sleep with you!”

 

Julia's head jerked back sharply at Rina's statement. “Rina I explained to you before that such things aren't so casual with us humans!” As she spoke Julia lowered John slightly moving him away from Rina and more towards her breast once again. This was more a subconscious effort to keep him from hearing what the sprite had to say. Unfortunately Rina knew far more about Julia then she tended to want her to especially now.

 

“You've thought about having him sleep with you before. So he's smaller then you imagined. You made.”

 

“Rina!” Julia couldn't help but blush as she listened to Rina. It felt like something had locked onto her neck and suddenly it was impossible for her to look down at John. There friendship had been growing for some time and part of her had always been attracted to him. So he had served as the object of her fantasies from time to time. To have Rina blurt it out so openly especially now that John was going to be living with her was quite shocking. “You keep quiet about that! John is going to be spending the night in your room and will continue to do so until I have a home set up for him! You don't sleep after all.”

 

“But it's mine!”

 

“It's the least you can do after saying that I should murder him! My decision on this is final.” Despite her confident words and voice Julia's blush wasn't going anywhere. She couldn't stand to look down at John for fear of how he might be looking at her. Rather she found herself desperately hoping that he would just ignore what Rina had said.

 

Now John wasn't certain about the relationship between Rina and Julia. Apparently Julia did have some level of power over the sprite. He actually found himself grinning still whenever the sprite gave him an icy glance before quickly flying off. “Um Julia is she dangerous?”

 

“Um well that is. As long as I don't violate any rules she can't harm me or you.” As she spoke Julia looked towards the wall like it was the most interesting wall in the world. She still couldn't stand to look at John. She could practically feel his grin and desperately hoped it was do to his little slice of revenge rather then what Rina had said about her.

 

There was no immediate response from John. Rather he found himself looking towards the room Rina had flown off to. The one he imagined was Julia's bedroom. He couldn't be certain but it felt like he could just see someone looking back at him and wondered if it was Rina. “Well that is good to know.”

 

“So yeah. That should have your bed taken care of. What else would you like in your home? I believe that a swimming pool will be easy and I could make some exercise equipment to so you can keep in shape. I can get you your own television and we could keep the remote inside your home so that you can watch whatever you want to watch. Well it might require some work so that you'll be able to use the buttons. I'm sure we can find a way to make them more responsive though that or I could just have a special remote made for you. Oh I know you like games don't you! I wonder if I could find some way of letting you continue playing them!” As she spoke Julia risked peeking out the corner of her eye at John.

 

Despite the situation John couldn't help but grin. From the way Julia was talking it was pretty clear she wanted to get away from Rina's comments as quickly as possible. It surprised him given a few teasing pictures that she'd sent him in the past. “Well I'd really appreciate a toilet. Not to get into the unpleasant stuff but I really don't believe I'd like going in a sand box. That and some place to keep some food would be appreciated unless. Do I still need to eat? I'm not sure how this entire shrunken body thing works.”

 

“Yes!” Julia's yes felt more in response to John not bringing up what Rina had said then to his question. It was appropriate in both cases though. The eagerness with which she responded actually added more to her embarrassment and now she was looking right at John. “Yes you need to eat. You're not as delicate as you might think at that size though so you don't need to be too scared! I bet if I shop around and tinker some I could fix you up a nice little pluming system. I'll make sure of it.”

 

To this John gave a nod. Despite the entire situation he was feeling a little better now. While using one hand to hold his robe shut despite the belt he found himself starting to walk around Julia's palm. Apparently she had little interest in setting him back on the ground. After a few moments of looking down at her palm he was a little surprised to find her smiling at him whenever he turned around again. One thing did occur to him. “I believe you might want to call the hospital and make up some kind of excuse. I mean you did leave without saying anything. I would ask to do the same but it looks like I'm out of a job.” A sigh escaped John as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well there goes four years of college. You know if I had known this was going to happen I think I would have spent more time hanging out with my friends.” It felt like John had just been kicked in the stomach as another realization set in.

 

It wasn't only John that felt like he'd just been kicked. Julia knew John at work and they talked. They even spent some together away from work. However, she wasn't the only person in John's life. He had friends and family as well. They would miss him and Julia knew he would miss them as well. The light hearted feelings of moments earlier quickly vanished and once again Julia felt her guilt weighing down on her. “I'm sorry John. I'm here for you though.” As she spoke Julia once again brought John towards her chest though this time she tipped her hand. She felt him slide down her hand for a moment and then she gently pressed him against her skin. “You won't be alone. I wish I could promise you'd never be alone but I have to work and hunt but. If you want I might be able to keep you with me. I'm sure we can figure something out. I won't let you be lonely as long as you want me around.”

 

With his pain some of John's anger had returned. Part of him wanted to cry out that Julia was the one that had taken him from the world he had known. Now his captor was telling him she wouldn't let him be lonely. He knew Julia was suffering though and he had nothing to gain by adding to it. All hurting Julia would have done is added to his own suffering. He was angry but she was still his friend. Instead he took in a few deep breaths and placed his head against her chest listening to her heart beat. “Thanks but you don't need to do that Julia. You shouldn't have to give up on your life for me.” The pressure of Julia's hand relaxed and her hand tilted causing John to fall backwards with her hand. Once again he found himself elevated to just below her eyes. When she exhaled the air rushed over him and up his robes tickling him slightly. It was an odd moment.

 

“I want to. I've always enjoyed spending time with you after all. I looked forward to talking to you at lunch more then I looked forward to the food. Come on. I'm going to call into work and tell them I had to run off. They're going to be mad but well it's my first incident. Then I'll start working on a design for your home and making a list of what I'm going to need. You can watch some television in the mean time alright? That or just relax.” As she spoke Julia stood up and walked over to her desk to retrieve a pin and some paper as well as the phone setting upon it. She continued to carry John in her hand which made this somewhat difficult but fortunately both the note book and phone were rather small.

 

It wasn't clear what was going on to John. He had expected to be placed back on his pillow. Instead Julia had carried him over to her work desk only to walk back to the couch and set down. As she began to lower her hand he couldn't help but feel dizzy and looked down towards her palm. From John's perspective the fall was many meters at extremely high velocity. However, the forces that were exerted upon his body and the actual reality was that the fall was extremely short. The difference in what he felt and what he saw did much to throw off his sense of scale. Fortunately the ride was brief and by the time he had looked down at Julia's palm it was effectively over with.

 

“Just take a seat here and we'll see what's on television.” Currently Julia was smiling down at John. She had lowered him down to her thigh so that she could free up her hand. Now that she was feeling less stressed she really felt it whenever John began to walk across her palm towards her leg. The feeling brought a smile to her face though she grew a bit curious as he hesitated while nearing the edge of her leg. “Is something wrong?”

 

“Um.” For a moment John wasn't certain what to think. Did Julia want him to set in her lap? That sure seemed to be the case. He really had been expecting to be placed back on his pillow whenever she talked about him watching television but that didn't seem to be the case. She didn't seem to want to put him down. “Julia you know you can put me back on the pillow right? It seems pretty safe to me.”

 

For a moment Julia wasn't certain what John meant but then she looked at the pillow. “Oh! Well I thought you might like to set on my leg since it's warm. At your size you're going to lose body heat easily. I had better make sure to include that in the design of your new home actually. You're going to need to be able to adjust the temperature to make sure you're comfortable. Water isn't going to be a problem. At least I don't believe it's going to be I wonder.”

 

For a moment John said nothing but looked up at Julia. She seemed to be in thought. After a moment more of consideration he stepped down on her leg. He wasn't in direct contact with her skin due to her work clothes but he could still feel her warmth through it. He was rather surprised by how different her clothing felt at his current scale. Even the smallest threads seemed like thick wires to him at this point. He heard a pop and realized that it was the sound of the television turning on whenever he noticed Julia holding the remote. Rather then look at the television though he found himself looking up at Julia's smiling face while she looked down at him. He could easily make out the streaks on her face from when she'd been crying. “So what are we going to watch?”

 

“I'm not sure. Just tell me whenever we come to something you want to watch and I'll leave it there. You can read the screen right?” Julia knew a fair bit about John's shrunken body. She had did what she could to strengthen it even while she shrunk him. She didn't want a slight flinch of her fingers to end up killing him or a rough bump. She had been in a hurry though and the more she thought about it the more she wanted to work on his body a bit more. She wasn't even certain how well he could see due to his shrunken eyes. There was some frustration whenever she was made to remember Rina's words. How durable could she make John and insure that he couldn't escape and reveal her to anyone? Julia knew the sprite would protest if she made John too durable and this frustrated Julia.

 

“It looks kind of strange from here but yeah.” John didn't bother telling Julia that she could go through the menu faster then what she was. He was still adjusting to his shrunken body and the way the world seemed different. “How about we watch graveyard shift? You like it don't you?”

 

“It's pretty good.” In truth Julia wasn't a huge fan of the show though she did find it okay television. She just liked it because it gave her something to talk about with John at times. As she selected the show she picked up her phone and muted the television before dialing the hospital. She didn't want some television show playing in the background while she explain she had to leave work suddenly. She didn't have to wait long to get a high response. “Hi Veronda this is Julia. I'm sorry for missing the second half of my shift. I had a personnel emergency and had to run out for a bit. I'll try not to let it happen again. Sorry again.” As she spoke Julia hung up the phone making it clear that she'd been speaking to an answering machine.

 

With the phone hung up Julia didn't take long to turn back on the television. As John was hit by the sound one thing struck him as rather odd. “Julia one quick question. You can hear me even with me at this size. Does that mean my vocal cords are unusual or your ears?”

 

Julia lowered the pad of paper so she could look down at John and gave him a smile. “Well it's my ears. I altered them a little bit so that I could hear over a wider range including really low frequencies.” A soft chuckle escaped Julia after a moment of silence. “It's given me a new appreciation for what dogs have to endure in the city.”

 

“I see. Then does that mean you could look anyway you want?” John remembered what Julia had said about her additional height and being able to alter other life forms. Now he was beginning to wonder if she could have just returned to her original height if she had known the magic didn't influence his mind.

 

“I could but only for a short while. Witches are a lot more resistant to magic then humans in most ways even the more beneficial types. So I can change my form pretty easily but big changes would drain me quickly and leave me vulnerable if another witch was to happen upon me. Fortunately I only had to make really small changes to my inner ear to let me hear over a wider range. It really helped that I know how the ear works otherwise well it wouldn't be nearly as easy.”

 

“I see what about the extra height though?” It actually surprised John whenever once again Julia reached down for him rather then picking him up she placed her hand on her leg while folding her ring and pinky finger inward so that she could rub his back with her index finger. Such gentle pressure from something so massive from his view point was still hard to accept.

 

“That's two different forms of magic but I believe they're related. When I polymorph myself or someone else then that is me using the magic I gained from Rina to alter someone. I'm using magic to directly add to, remove from or transform something. That works fine on humans but it doesn't work on a magic being so well. The magic begins to break down when applied to a witch and thus must be constantly maintained. Little changes like what I did to my ears is easy to sustain it's so subtle and being able to better listen for a threat is worth it. Something large like making myself much taller or giving myself breasts the size of my head though isn't so easy to maintain.

 

Now when I defeat another witch part of her being is taken from her and transferred to me. Yes it's magic that does the transfer but it isn't magic that sustains these new attributes. The change is far more foundational you might say. So I don't have to sustain this new height and I can't just remove it either. It isn't just that though. When a witch takes the power of another witch something far greater is happening. Rina can't grant me the power to alter the memories of others at the moment. Yet the memories of everyone I knew except you were altered. If I were to reshape my body myself then everyone would notice the change.” As she was speaking Julia found herself gently rubbing John's back. Her sensitive finger tips were made to positively tingle each time they moved over his body.

 

As he listened to Julia John actually found himself setting down on her leg. It didn't seem like she was going to be setting him back on his pillow anytime soon. “As big as your head? That's an interesting way of describing your chest. Julia are you hoping to take some of another witch's chest line? Perhaps you've even spent some time looking yourself over in the mirror or picked out a few bras? ”

 

Julia felt herself blushing again though this time there was a rather wide smile accompanied by it. “Who said I haven't already taken a little bit up top? I would let you see some of the bras I plan to grow into but I'm afraid you'd get lost in them and we wouldn't want that.”

 

For a moment John said nothing but took a moment to look at Julia's chest. Things looked different due to his shrunken size so he had to compare her chest to things he could remember. Julia had never been particularly gifted in the chest department. With her active physical training and limited natural gifts her breast had always been a bit on the small side. “If you did I can't tell.”

 

“Just you wait until in the morning. Not every change happens all at once otherwise it might overstress the witch's the body.” As she finished speaking Julia couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at John before looking back towards her note pad. She would need a large strong bird cage and stand, some tubing and wiring. For his swimming pool she was certain that she could use a small fishbowl pump to circulate the water and she could place a heating plate underneath it to keep the water warm. Naturally she'd include a thermometer to make sure the water wasn't too hot and she'd need to make a walkway around it. A working toilet would be more of an issue. “Let me know if you can think of anything you're going to want in your room.”

 

John hadn't turned around to watch the television but continued looking up at Julia. He could think of a lot of things that he'd like but wasn't sure about the possibility. Setting around and watching television all day wasn't exactly his idea of a fun time but Julia already had plans to include a swimming pool and other things. The thought made him chuckle as he realized his swimming pool would more then likely be some kind of bowl. “I believe we should keep it to the basics for now. I just hope you can manage some plumbing.”

 

While Julia understood what John was saying she felt bad enough knowing that she would have to leave him in the morning with so little to do. She was going to insure that at the very least his home had some things he could occupy his time with. Boredom was one of the things many prisoners complained about and she was determined that this wouldn't be a prison for John. She wanted it to be a home or at the very least a luxury hotel. She knew how much he enjoyed his games and shows and was determined to find a way for him to continue enjoying them.

 

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John gave a slight grunt of effort as he tried to raise up. Sweat rolled off his head and all he could breath was heated air. Despite his efforts to kick or push away the source of the heat and pressure though nothing was happening. This had been growing worse throughout the night and at last it brought him to the waking world. His eyes opened but all he could see was darkness in front of him. Confusion entered his mind as the last thing he could remember was laying on Julia's leg. Now he found himself laying in darkness with something pressing into his entire body. It might have been pleasant if it wasn't for the prolonged exposure but he could tell from the way his legs and arms felt that he had been here for quite some time. Turning his head upward he could see some light coming from above his head and feel some relatively cool air. After a moment of thought he gave his right arm a jerk and tried to push himself closer towards the cooler air. “Julia!”

 

With no immediate response John tried to think of where he was. Something was pressing against nearly every part of his body making it difficult to move. Despite the weight though whatever was pressing into him provided a tactile pleasure. He was certain that he'd truly enjoyed the feeling if he hadn't been trapped there for so long already. As things were he was beginning to struggle again just so he could get some feeling back into his arms and legs. As he took in another breath though he noticed a familiar scent. It had been mixed in with the smell of Julia's hand lotion earlier but it was there. After a moment of consideration John remembered the scent of Julia's skin and knew that he was laying on her. The realization made him freeze up for a moment. He had been engulfed in her hand earlier but this weight was different. The flesh felt different and formed around him in a way her fingers hadn't.

 

Given the way Julia's flesh conformed to his body and the way he was position John didn't take long to guess where he was. Alarm immediately shot throughout his body and he froze up despite the tingling in his arms and legs. His mouth slammed shut and he suddenly had no idea what he should actually do. He was certain that he was laying on Julia's chest within her cleavage and the mass of flesh engulfing him from all sides was her breasts. He would have considered this impossible before hand but as he remember what she'd said the previous day about her chest growing larger he wasn't so certain. Unfortunately he had no idea of how he'd got there. He did know he needed to get out though and began to try to move himself towards the light above. Unfortunately Julia's cleavage had a firm grip on him due to their mass.

 

A slight groan escaped Julia as she felt something moving over her body. The sensation was somewhat new to her but pleasant if slight. Already she could feel her nipples growing pert and she squeezed her thighs together giving a slight sigh. As she stretched her arms out to the side and awareness began to seep further within her though she knew something wasn't right. Her eyes opened quickly. The room was rather dark, lit only by her alarm clock, and a few status lights on her computer and television but that was enough. “What the?” The moment it registered that something was squirming between her breasts Julia reached to part them. As delighted as she was to awaken to her new developments she didn't like the idea of some bug crawling over her body. The feelings changed to a mixture of embarrassment, excitement and even a little worry whenever she saw that it was far from a bug trapped between her breasts.

 

The moment John had heard Julia moving he had frozen. He hadn't heard her alarm clock going off but knew she might be waking up. Unfortunately that was beginning to look like his only hope of escape. The mass of her breasts alone was enough to hold him trapped while she was laying down. As those breasts parted he couldn't help but blush especially when he saw her face looking back at him. “Um hi. I'm thinking that something happened last night.” As Julia parted her breasts John tried not to sigh in relief. The blood flow to his arms and legs returned to normal and the weight left his chest. He was a bit nervous whenever he saw Julia reaching for him.

 

Julia's brain had frozen up for the moment. She felt her skin grow warm and flush as she blushed. She was tempted to release her breasts and let them cover up John again. Perhaps if she were to pretend that she didn't just sleep with him between her breasts things would change. That didn't seem likely to happen so instead she picked him up. As she was taking John between her fingers though a thought occurred to her and she turned her attention to the softly glowing sprite. She didn't need to ask John what had happened as she saw Rina laying on her bed. “Rina! What were you thinking!”

 

The disconnect between what was happening and what he felt happening occurred again as John felt Julia set up. His eyes told him that she was moving remarkably fast but his sense of touch said otherwise. He could still appreciate the energy in her voice and quickly looked to see the sprite. He didn't have to think to realize why Julia was upset with the sprite. The speed with which the sprite moved was quite surprising as she spread out on her tiny bed taking hold of both sides of it.

 

“It's my bed! Mine!”

 

As Rina spoke she pulled herself closer to her bed and rapidly fluttered her wings. The display reminded John of an irritated bird or a rattle snake shaking its tail. Given the implications of the situation and his previous experience with Rina he was seeing the sprite as far more of a snake then anything else at the moment. He heard Julia give a frustrated gasp and turned to her. She looked to be a mixture of embarrassed and angry.

 

“You selfish little. You. Gah!” A sigh escaped Julia as she looked towards John. “John I am so sorry. I knew that Rina was difficult but I didn't expect her to pull anything like that. Rina John could have been smothered! As long as I follow the rules you are not allowed to harm John. That's part of our deal. Then you go risking his life just so you can. If my breasts had grown much larger.” Julia went silent and found herself glaring at the sprite who was glaring right back at her.

 

“I didn't put his life in any danger. You should be grateful to me. You wanted to make his body more durable and I made it more then durable enough to have all the naughty fun you fantasized about before and dreamed about. You sure liked the thought of having him there whenever you were putting him in my bed!” As she finished speaking Rina once again fluttered her wings rapidly as if to express irritation or give a warning.

 

For a moment Julia froze up. Her jaw fell open and all she could do was stare at Rina. Due to her connection with Rina it was impossible for Julia to keep certain secrets from her. Even her thoughts weren't entirely private. While most of Julia's thoughts were private those related to the actual rules were made known to Rina and due to the threat John posed nearly every thought about him related to the rules. Especially those thoughts that involved strengthening his body. “Stop poking around inside of my head! John I'm so sorry. It seems I'm going to have to make sure to at least get your bed made today. Are you alright?”

 

It had been a shock to John waking up trapped within Julia's cleavage. He had been worried about offending her. To suddenly learn that she actually wanted him there was quite a surprise for John and now he found his mind racing with new thoughts. Exactly what did Julia think about his current situation? Did she actually still find him attractive? It seemed impossible. He was smaller then her pinky finger after all. Yet from what Rina said it seemed she not only still found him attractive but even had some ideal of what she'd like to do with him.

 

“John?” Julia couldn't help but worry as she looked at John. His prolonged silence wasn't helping the situation either. After what Rina had said what must he be thinking about? She hoped that this wouldn't make him feel uncomfortable. While she had a few ideas of what she'd like to do with John in his reduced form she had no intention of forcing him into such situations. She wasn't even certain how he saw her anymore. Did he even find her attractive or did he look upon her as more of a building? “John are you alright?”

 

The second time Julia said his name it was enough to bring John back to reality with a slight jump. “Ah sure. Sorry about that I was just a bit lost in thought.” While John was curious about what Rina had said he wanted some time to think on it. He would likely have plenty of time as he imagined he'd be staying behind while Julia went to work.

 

“Let's go down stares and I'll fix you a nice breakfast and try to get you set up before I have to go to work.” As she spoke Julia curled the fingers of her right hand around John to provide him additional protection as she tossed her covers to the side and climbed out of bed. Typically she would have liked to fix her bed but for the moment she wanted to get out of the same room Rina was in. The sprite was still holding a defensive position at her bed and was apparently watching her quite intently.

 

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Mavon 14, 1558 HH

When John made himself breakfast the most he tended to do was fry some eggs and cut some fruit up. He knew that Julia tended to take more time with her breakfast and meals in general but this seemed a bit much. He was currently watching as she sliced up strawberries added in blue berries and black berries as well as some sliced peaches. She had set the oven to preheating and from the looks of the pan the fruit was going into he imagined she intended to beak it. At the same time she'd already set out some waffle batter and retrieved some crushed walnuts. While a fan of fresh fruit and waffles it all seemed like far more trouble then it was worth to John. He had a wonderful view of Julia working and the cleavage that had swallowed him up earlier from the little pouch she'd put into the shoulder of her t-shirt. The little pouch was far to small be mistaken for a pocket but served as a secure place for him.

 

It had been Julia's intention to tease John a bit with her new chest after waking up in the morning. Thanks to Rina though she couldn't bring herself to do that. Rather she found herself trying to fight back her blush and focusing on her cooking. Yet it was impossible for her to keep from glancing at John from time to time. She knew he was secure in his little pocket but she liked watching him. As she worked she couldn't resist nudging her breasts with her arms from time to time making her newly enhanced breast sway and even squeezed them together a few times. “I'm going to be a bit late getting home today so I'm going to leave out some things for you to eat. Is there anything you'd like?”

 

Now that they were in the light John could actually get a good look at Julia's breast. They weren't as large as he imagined they would be. In order to gain a point of reference he found himself looking to her chest and then her head several times. He guessed that each one was roughly one fourth the size of her head which meant they were positively massive to him. They would have been massive to him the day before as well but now even more so. It actually served as something of a reminder of his clothing condition. He was grateful for the robes but they weren't the same as underwear or pants by any stretch of the imagination. He felt lucky that he'd been looking up at Julai's face when she spoke to him. “I'm not sure about that. I mean could I even bite through the skin of an orange or grape?”

 

Insects could easily chew through fruit but their jaws had been designed to. John didn't have special cutting jaws so Julia could easily understand his concern. “Don't worry about that! Like I said I can alter living things. I couldn't change your clothes as they are made from synthetic materials but I can shrink other things down. Now how about I leave out some sandwiches for you to eat on?”

 

It was actually a relieve to John to hear he wasn't going to have to try to eat super sized food. Though he had limited interest in a sandwiches. “Actually. If it isn't a problem do you think you could make me some pizza?” John could feel it whenever Julia's body stiffened and he was made to chuckle. He knew she wasn't a fan of greasy foods and believed he tended to over indulge. So every time she asked him what he'd like to eat he would choose something greasy often cheesy and heavily breaded. He was a bit surprised whenever he heard Julia sigh.

 

“Fine!” The word came out more harshly then Julia meant it to but she couldn't help herself. A long sigh escaped her and she looked down at her friend. “As you're still adjusting I'll fix a pizza for you to eat.”

 

“Meat lovers please with extra cheese. None of that vegan crap.” John slipped further into his pocket whenever Julia proceeded to open the oven up. Even if a brief blast of heat from the oven wouldn't have been a big deal for him at full size at such a reduced size with so little water inside of his body he had to be careful not to be cooked. Yet he was surprised by how little discomfort he felt.

 

Julia watched as John retreated into his little pouch. He had good reason to be scared. Tiny creatures had to be more careful not to die from heat exposure or freeze to death then larger ones. Even if Rina's adjustments had made his body able to handle a higher temperature he still needed to be careful. It wouldn't take much to vaporize all the water in his body and char him. She wouldn't let that happen though. With the power obtained from her first victory she could easily protect him from such heats. “Relax I'm not going to let anything harm you. Well other then yourself apparently. Okay one meat lover's pizza.”

 

Remembering that Julia had mentioned she not only took a witch's power whenever she defeated one but some aspects of her being as well John couldn't help but wonder exactly what powers Julia had gained. He would have to ask her about that later. “Thanks. Oh. Could it be super sized as well? If you're going to be shrinking it anyway you can just refrain from shrinking it quite as much.” John was hit by a massive blast of air and had to stop himself from bursting out laughing as Julia turned to look at him and gave a sharp snort. Reflexively he moved a bit deeper in his pocket as if trying to avoid a friendly slap.

 

“Oh sure and do you want it deep fried to!”

 

“I wasn't going to but.”

 

“One super sized meat lovers pizza for my very good friend!” Julia knew that John was seeing how far that he could push her. If she agreed to deep fry the pizza at this point he'd probably ask for it to covered in bacon bits next. He knew it drove her crazy when she saw someone ruining their health with a bad diet. She did want to make sure he was comfortable though so she had to consent to a few requests. “Now. Why don't you be thinking of what channel you want the television left on or anything else you might want to help you pass the day?”

 

“Well Julia there is one thing I could really use. Actually two things.” As he spoke it was John's turn to feel a bit awkward. Despite what they'd been talking about the previous day this was a bit much.

 

“What's that?”

 

“I would really like to take a bath and I need to use the restroom. Except you know.” It was a little awkward to John how little of a response Julia gave to someone telling her they needed to use the restroom. She had helped more then a few people recovering from surgery into the restroom during her career of course.

 

“Understandable. Let's see here.” Looking around Julia quickly retrieved a paper towel and began to fold it up. “I hope you don't mind but until I get you a toilet made you're going to have to bed pan it.” As she spoke Julia folded the paper towel until it was more then thick enough. Given John's tiny size she knew it wouldn't have to absorb much. A more pressing issue then what he could use for a toilet was what he could use to wipe with. At his tiny size tissue paper would be more then a little rough.

 

After a moment of thought John gave a slight nod. Was this how a patient felt whenever he had to help them to the toilet? He was just glad that Julia wouldn't need to wipe his but off. At least he hoped she wouldn't. Memories of what had happened the previous day. The way she'd dressed him and even now the way she carried him around came flooding back. Concern spoke up in the back of John's mind and he immediately resolved that would be going too far. He hadn't brought up being dressed to Julia yet but if she tried to clean his but he was going to have to say something. “So anything I can wipe with?”

 

“It's made from plant fibers so I'm just going to see if I can reduce some tissue paper for you. I swear I wish I could just reduce a working toilet to the proper size. Then again that could pose a problem. The water tension alone could make it impossible to flush.” As she spoke Julia was already walking out of the kitchen and towards one of the restrooms in her home. Her mind had already returned to the problem of John's home and an odd thought hit her. How well was he going to be able to swim? With as little mass as he had the surface tension of the water could be a problem. At the very least it would be a different experience.

 

As Julia picked up the tissue paper John couldn't help but watch her. This was the first time he'd actually seen her shrinking something. It wasn't quite what he had expected though. When she picked up the tissue paper it looked like it was moving away from him while still staying in the same position. It was becoming harder to see but other then that the only thing he noticed was a slight glow radiating from Julia's palm and a humming sound. He could still remember the fog that seemed to settle in whenever she shrunk him and couldn't help but wonder if that had all been in his mind. It did make sense though. A light show would have been likely to draw attention and Julia was trying to avoid that. “So that's it? A little glowing and humming?”

 

“Huh? A little? Oh! That's right. Well to your eyes right now there is only a little glowing and humming but that's only because you haven't trained yourself to listen for the harmonics. From what Rina told me a human can't actually see or hear anything except extremely powerful spells. As you're a bane though you can see and hear some of them. Once you get more practiced you'll actually be able to see and hear the harmonics better then me. I can only hear or see them when using magic or when another witch does. A bane can see them even whenever the witch isn't using magic.”

 

“Huh. That is.” John was a bit surprised whenever he heard his stomach gurgle and felt himself tense up. “Okay that's very interesting but I need to go! Please put me on the paper towel then get out!” As John spoke he put more energy into his words then he meant to but the need was rapidly growing. He was glad that Julia seemed to realize the urgency as she picked him up and placed him upon the paper towel then set the toilet paper next to him. It was more comforting then he cared to think about whenever she turned around and without being asked left him in the restroom. It made it even more awkward when he found a place to squat down and nothing happened. A mad dash to the restroom and now his body didn't want to cooperate.

 

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As John looked at his plate he had to take a moment to really take in what he was seeing. The dish smelled wonderful. He wasn't certain when Julia had added some cinnamon but he could smell it. It looked wonderful. It had also already been cut up into nice neat little sections. Each section was a comfortable bite and seemed designed to insure he got some fruit with each bite. Julia had reshaped and altered some wood, which he assumed came from a toothpick, for him to use as a fork. He wouldn't need a knife given that she'd already cut the food up for him. She'd also provided him with some milk. As he watched her cutting into her breakfast though he couldn't help but feel awkward about having his food cut for him.

 

Julia had placed John within easy arms reach but not so close that she had to worry about dropping some crumbs or fruit on him. Even if they wouldn't hurt him they would be quite an annoyance given his scale. She also wanted to be able to easily look at him while she ate. “I was thinking a bit about your home and realized something about the pool. I'm worried about the surface tension of the water and if you'd be able to break free of it or not. I believe that we should run a little test before I actually set a place up for you to swim.”

 

John gave a nod after only a moment of consideration. He had by now taken a bite of his waffle and fruit and was rather surprised by the flavor. “Julia this is great!” It didn't surprise John whenever Julia gave him a large smile. Julia put a lot of care into cooking and tended to appreciate it whenever people praised her cooking. At least he assumed she did. As he thought to his time at the hospital he couldn't remember her sharing her lunch with anyone other then him. At least she shared whenever she prepared her own food. She didn't seem so willing to share whenever she'd simply bought the food. “That sounds like a good idea about the water. Um Julia are you sure that it's safe for me to drink this milk?”

 

“Absolutely! I know that it might be a little strange due to the different fluid properties at small scale but I promise it's good for you. I just wish I could tell you why.” Julia couldn't help but smile as she watched John taking a drink of his milk. He couldn't just tip his cup like a human would normally do. He effectively had a droplet of milk in his cup. There was enough surface tension in the droplet to let it rise up well above the edges of the cup forcing John to more bite it then anything else to begin drinking it. Watching John drinking only served to remind Julia of how delicate he was and how much he needed her. Without thinking about it she found herself leaning in closer to him.

 

It had taken a moment to figure out how he was suppose to handle drinking. After John had bit into the droplet though he found that it came naturally. There was no choking or struggling to actually force the milk down. It once again brought up the question of how his body even worked. “Okay that was a bit weird but still good. What do you mean tell me why though? I have been wondering a bit about well how I'm even alive. I can't help but think that the reduction in my brain mass alone would have reduced my intelligence a great deal.”

 

Julia gave a slight nod and took a moment to swallow her food not really thinking about how she'd leaned in closer to John. Rather she placed her fork on the table and focused her attention on him. “It's strange. I know what I can do with my current abilities and I know what will work. Such as I knew that I could transform your body without harming you. I just don't know the how of it. It's something I've had to accept. I mean. Humans are made of minerals and water and I can transform them. Why can't I transform solid iron or water itself though? I don't know the why of it I just do. I spent a lot of time with fruit altering its form trying to work out how the plant cells continued to function even after I altered them in different ways and well I haven't had much luck.”

 

After a moment of silence John gave a slight nod. “Well you're one person and you've had these abilities for how long? I guess it shouldn't be surprising that it'd take more then a few weekends to even begin grasping any of this.” As John spoke he looked up at Julia. Apparently she wasn't used to her new chest as his eyes journey to her face was halted abruptly whenever he found himself looking down her shirt towards the two mountains that had held him trapped less then an hour ago.

 

Despite John's size it was clear to Julia where he was looking. Excitement seemed to flood through her being and she felt her skin warming up upon realizing where he was looking. The fear that he might not find her attractive after she had changed his body was rapidly diminishing. While his first experience with her new breast was a bit sooner then she would have liked and not quite what she planned she couldn't help but grin. Part of her felt it was a shame that she had been asleep whenever her breasts had engulfed John. She would have liked to know what it felt like to have her breasts growing around him Perhaps she could find out later and this time he could also enjoy himself.

 

***********************************************************************************

As John stepped down on the surface of the water he felt somewhat concerned. It was actually a relief whenever his foot broke through and he quickly sank in up to his shoulders. Now he had something important to do. “I'm in there is no need to get me out just yet.” As he spoke John pushed through the water feeling the tension and was relieved his mini muscles could overcome it. He didn't know if his strength was proportional to his size or not but it felt good to know that he could at least walk in the water. “Okay I'm going to dunk myself and see if I can raise back up.”

 

“You have five seconds.” As she spoke Julia looked at her watch. She knew that John couldn't actually drown in five seconds but she wanted to be sure he was safe. Currently she was standing just outside of the bathroom while John tested the water in a deep plate. All of her bowls would have been two deep for him. Julia would have preferred to be in the room with him to make sure he was safe but he wanted his privacy. At least whenever he was naked. She hoped that she could change that before too long. When John had mentioned bathing her first instinct had been to take him into the bathtub with her. He would have been able to use her new breast as islands to wrest upon and swim around her.

 

“I'm good! It's tougher then when I was full sized but I wouldn't call it hard. Okay I'm going to take a quick bath before you head off to work.” As John spoke he began to make his way over towards the edge of the plate. Julia had left a tiny sliver of soap waiting for him though for John the bar was half the size of his arm. He was actually somewhat nervous. The soap in question was for delicate or damaged skin but his skin was far thinner then most. He reasoned if Rina had made him as durable as she said though he should be able to handle soap without giving himself chemical burns.

 

“Hey don't stop talking to me! I'm worried about you.” As Julia spoke she turned towards the entryway to the bathroom. Her right leg muscles tensed and it was all she could do to keep herself from walking into the bathroom and handling John's bath herself.

 

“Okay this is really weird. The good news is the soap does not burn I repeat the soap does not burn. It isn't forming suds like it normally does though. It's kind of like a paste. Well I guess a thick layer of soap to me might not actually be thick enough for form suds or well much of anything.”

 

Julia didn't mention it but she had already resolved to pick up some baby soap while she was out and likely several other things. She had only intended for John to see if he could safely swim in water before leaving but he had insisted on a bath. She had actually agreed without thinking, believing she would be allowed to bath him, only to have him ask her to leave the room once he began to disrobe. To say she had felt embarrassed would be an understatement. “Make sure to get behind your ears.”

 

“Dunking myself again. I'd appreciate a bit more then five seconds.” As John lowered his head under the water he couldn't help but think of the way Julia had been looking at him whenever she'd set the plate he was to bath in down. Rather then simply leaving the room like she had done whenever he'd relieved himself she had simply stood there at first. Her had worried that she was about to undress him for a few moments then he'd asked her to leave. The way she'd seemed surprised and blushed when she left the room had been surprising and even a bit flattering if perhaps troubled as well.

 

“John are you alright?”

 

Immediately John's head broke the surface of the water and he quickly turned towards the doorway grateful to see Julia hadn't come in yet. “Yes! I'm fine. Just a bit lost in thought is all.” Once again John lowered himself into the water though this time only until his chin was covered. He needed a moment to build up his courage before standing up. “Julia I want you to know that even after everything that has happened my feelings for you haven't changed. You're gorgeous and sweet and well I would like to know what you think of me. If we might still have a chance at being a couple.” As the words left his mouth it wasn't quite the way John had wanted to say them. He couldn't quite voice the final words as completely as he would like fearful that she might see him as more of a cute pet then someone she might be attracted to. Unfortunately he was having trouble thinking of a better way of saying them and had chosen the direct approach. When Julia didn't respond right away he continued to focus on his bath.

 

Julia felt like her face was going to split in half as a smile so wide it was nearly painful spread across it. She felt her skin growing flush and she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to contain her excitement. Her fears that John might see her as no more attractive then a tall building or mountain had just been kicked out the door. She wanted to dash in there, scoop him up and kiss his entire body but her rational mind was able to keep her grounded. At least it kept her situated enough that she was able to settle for rocking back and forth. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that! I think you are to. I mean handsome!”

 

The seconds waiting for a response from Julia seemed to go on forever. He knew she felt responsible for what happened to him and on some levels he did blame her. Yet he had seen her pain and knew she cared for him. He still wanted to be with her despite what she had brought into his life. She had brought a lot of good as well. “Then does that mean you'd still be interested in well me? I mean even though I'm smaller then your pinky?”

 

“Yes! I well. Perhaps we can talk about it later. I mean this is a lot to take in and I need time to think and it's about time for me to leave for work.” As she spoke Julia still wasn't prepared to tell John everything. She didn't know how to tell him that having him need her so badly made her desire him even more. It excited in her and brought out a desire to care for him and protect him far more intense then what she had felt before.

 

“Yeah! That sounds great!” John went silent as he lowered his head back into the water and raised it up quickly shaking the water out. It wasn't the same experience of shaking his head as it had been when he'd been full sized but he didn't have time to think on such things. “Just give me a little longer to get cleaned up and dressed. Then we can talk about this later.” As John spoke he could feel his heart racing.

 

As she listened to John Julia bit down on her lower lip. If he called her gorgeous now she couldn't wait to see what he would call her later. She had not told John but she already had a good idea of where another witch could be found and had no intention of letting her make the first move.

 

***********************************************************************************

Now came the problem. It had been a bit over ninety minutes since Julia had left for work. She had left the television on for him. Set up a paper cup as a temporary toilet for him as well as provided him with his pizza and drink. Unfortunately entertainment was a good bit harder to find. While John liked the channel the current show was not one he cared for. The remote had been left on the table with him but unfortunately he lacked the mass to work the buttons. At least he believed he did? As John looked at the remote control he couldn't help but wonder.

 

It didn't take John long to decide to try to work the remote despite his scale. His first instinct being to try standing on the buttons and seeing if his weight alone was enough to push them down. The way the rubber wobbled under his feet felt a bit strange and for a moment he hoped that the button would actually go down. It felt like it shifted a bit but unfortunately the television didn't respond. It only took him a moment to decide to try jumping on the button. The experience of jumping was an utterly strange one for him. He felt his legs tense and leave the ground, his field of vision moved up for an instant, then he felt his feet impact with the button once again. It was a reminder how short his best jump was and how quickly gravity pulled him back down. He hadn't even had time to register that he had began falling. A slight sigh escaped him whenever he looked at the television to see that nothing had happened.

 

Climbing off the remote John began to walk around it. Apparently his weight wasn't sufficient to let him press the buttons even if he jumped. What else could he try? If he had some kind of hammer he could try striking the buttons and seeing if that would work but he couldn't think of anything suitable to use. After a moment of consideration he lowered himself onto his hands and knees and took hold of one of the remote's edges for leverage. Placing his right arm on top of the button put him in quite an awkward position and seemed rather strange. If he couldn't push the button by jumping on it how did he hope to press it down? A slight grunt escaped him after a few moments of effort. He felt the button wobbling under his touch and was hopeful for a moment but after a short while it was pretty clear that he wasn't going to get it down.

 

Giving a sigh John set up and was distracted from the remote by some movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned he wasn't too surprised to see Rina taking a slice of his pizza. “You know you're suppose to get permission before eating someone's food.” The words came naturally to John especially after Rina had called for his death and even refused to lend him her bed for a single night. His experience with the selfish sprite had not been pleasant.

 

“You have more then you can eat.” The moment the words left her mouth Rina took a massive bite of the slice of pizza she'd retrieved.

 

John gave a slight snort in response to the sprite taking a bite of his pizza. “Well if you're going to call for my death and eat my food and kick me out of bed could you at least answer a few questions?” It actually made John even angrier whenever the sprite responded by nodding her head. Sure she had agreed to answer his questions but she couldn't even be troubled to stop eating his food to do it. A low groan escaped him as he took hold of his own head and ruffled his hair in an attempt to vent the frustration he was feeling. “Blast you are infuriating! Okay fine. How about you tell me more about this hunt that Julia is part of? This competition between witches.”

 

Only now did Rina stop eating. “Julia told you that yesterday.”

 

“I want to know more. Give me the details.” Even if she was larger then him John felt like walking over to Rina and seeing if he could pull her wings off. Julia hadn't said that attacking Rina was against the rules after all. Unfortunately he didn't know what she could do in self defense. He had to remind himself that she had altered his body once before.

 

“They are several witches the world over each one with a familiar. The witches hunt for one another and then battle one another in an attempt to take the others power. When one witch succeeds in taking the power of another witch their familiars merge with the familiar of the winning witch serving as the core. This grants the victorious witch the power of both as well as producing a more powerful familiar. It's the only way we have to increase our power. The victorious witch also takes some parts of the fallen witch's being. The defeated witch loses the ability to communicate what happened to anyone. That part of her is taken as well. This makes witches very secretive so they have to hunt for one another. Often the witch who finds the other without being noticed is the victor. They are many battles that are won before one combatant even realizes she's fighting.”

 

For a moment John said nothing but tried to take in what Rina had told him. The sprite responded by eating two more chunks of his pizza as if it was some kind of payment for the information. “So they are other witches hunting for Julia even now?”

 

“Yes but she hunts them to. Well she's starting to. The way she found her first witch was by observing her patience. She noticed one of them had some very unusual burns and looked into the medical report. The other witch didn't even realize what Julia was when she came into the hospital. I was so excited whenever Julia injected her with the sedative. I believed Julia had the potential to go really far when I chose her as a partner. She didn't even use magic to defeat her first victim she just drugged her so badly that she couldn't fight back and then took her power.”

 

Julia was an ambush predator and the hospital was her din. She could use it to gain information and draw victims in. At least in some cases she could. The thought put Julia in a different light as he imagined her using medical supplies to overcome someone. It wasn't quite how he imagined Julia. When she had first said she defeated another witch he had imagined them confronting one another openly or Julia seeing through the other witch's trap. Instead she had taken advantage of an unsuspecting victim. It made sense. No predator put itself in greater danger then it had to. No true predator gave its victim more of a chance then it had to. “I see. Now as a witch's bane I'm able to detect them right?”

 

“You already know that answer!”

 

John gave a slight groan and shook his head as Rina looked at him like he was an idiot. “Fine! I was just wondering if I might be able to help Julia. I mean if I can sense a witch and.”

 

“Would you!” With surprising speed Rina had closed the gap between herself and John tossing her bit of pizza aside in the process. Her hands had taken hold of his and she'd pulled them against her chest while bringing her face a few nose lengths away from his so that she was looking directly into his eyes.

 

John's natural instinct was to recoil from the sudden invasion of his space. He held his tongue though as he noted the surprise in Rina's voice. Apparently she liked the idea a great deal. “I might if you'd cooperate and stop being such a brat.”

 

“Yay! Okay what would you like to know?” As Rina spoke she released her hold on John's hands and through her hands up in the air. Falling back a bit she placed her legs on the table and set so that her rear wrested on top of her legs.

 

It was impossible for John to stay still. The moment Rina had set down he'd taken a few steps back from her. The change in her personality was almost enough to put him on the ground. She had gone from calling for his death, to indifferent towards him to giving him her complete attention. She didn't even seem to care what he had said about her. This wasn't the time to think about such things though. “Okay. Well I guess the big question is could I lead Julia to other witches?”

 

“Yes!” As she spoke Rina leaned forward though she didn't stand up bringing herself closer to John. Her right hand raised and her pointer finger pointed towards the roof as if she was trying to make a point. “You've already had some practice locating witches with the way you would track Julia down in the hospital but you were aided by your knowledge of her. With more practice it would be easier for you to locate witches and see their harmonics as well. In time you could even tell how powerful of a witch they were.”

 

As she was speaking John was taking on a more comfortable pose though more questions where coming to mind. “I see and has this happened before? I mean a witch's bane working with a witch?”

 

In response to John's question Rina quickly shook her head in the negative. “No. As a witch's bane you're actually quite rare! The fact that you haven't been trained to hunt and kill witches is actually quite surprising. I heard some of the elder familiars talking about finding banes whenever they were still young or in training and doing away from them but you're actually the first I've heard of that was located by a witch and completely untrained. How do you think that happened?”

 

For a moment John said nothing but took a moment to roll what Rina said over in his mind. “I don't know! You know more about this then I do. How did I even end up being a bane?” It felt odd whenever Rina gave him a thoughtful look and set back up rather then lean forward. Her eyes half closed and she tapped her right cheek a few times.

 

“I don't know! Being a bane isn't something that a person inherits or if they do it can be dormant in the blood for a very long time. A very small number of people are simply born with the ability to detect the harmonics and this seems to make them resistant to mind influencing affects and illusions. We're not even sure who teaches banes to hunt witches. It is possible that you were simply overlooked or perhaps someone made a mistake in their report. Well assuming there is some kind of organization that banes are reported to.”

 

“Wait. If banes are rare and you don't have a means of detecting them until they reveal themselves then how do you know most of them are found and trained? I mean most of them could just go through life without ever encountering a witch.”

 

“It's possible!”

 

Despite having his questions answered John's frown was made to return as his head began to hurt. “Then how do you know that I can improve my ability to locate witches with practice when you know so little!”

 

“Information gained from repeated encounters with banes and witches in the past.”

 

Despite her lack of information Rina had a huge smile on her face as if she was proud of what information she did have. Unfortunately this was doing more to make John's head hurt then answer his questions. “Okay. Well I guess it doesn't really matter. So I may be the first bane that a witch stumbled upon before another bane did.”

 

“No! They have been others. They were killed. At times along with the witch. In one case the witch's own daughter turned out to be a bane and parent and child were killed. The parent refused to take their child's life in anyway and sought to defend them instead.”

 

A chill ran through John's spine as he listened to Rina. The notion of a parent being asked to murder their own child because that child had been born resistant to magic was a horrifying one. Yet Rina was so comfortable talking about it. The cold tone she'd been using before whenever she'd said that he should be killed had left her voice but the new warmth seemed even more frightening. “Did you have anything to do with that?”

 

“Nope. That happened before my time. Hey let's talk about how you can help Julia instead. You should help her as that would make you safer as well. You would be safer, she would be safer, she could make your life more comfortable if she had more power to I bet.”

 

John's immediate response was to take in a deep breath and walk past Rina. She had given him a lot of information to consider. Some of that information had been very unpleasant. It didn't really change his situation though. “How could I learn to locate witches more easily?”

 

“You need to practice feeling for them! Hey I know. Think about finding Julia and see if you can point in her direction! Then see if you can feel whenever she's coming closer to home and I'll tell you if she is.”

 

“You can detect her?”

 

“I always know where she is!” As she spoke Rina rapidly flapped her wings and turned to face John who still had his back to her.

 

“I'm going to need to talk to her about this but alright. I should at least give this a try. I'm just going to see if I can walk in her direction.” As John spoke he reached out ahead of him as if he was walking through a darkroom. How had he found Julia in the hospital? Often he would just think of where she liked to go and just walk to wherever seemed natural. He was almost always right. When she moved he would often end up finding her along the way. This was the first time he had consciously tried to feel out where she was and rather then sensing anything he felt rather silly. “Am I pointing in the right direction?”

 

“If I told you that you'd just eliminate all the wrong directions until you were left the right one. You need to just keep trying to walk in her direction until you're certain you're going the right way.”

 

A long sigh escaped John as he dropped his hands to his side and turned to face Rina again. One thing he truly detested was working on a problem when he didn't have any idea what the right solution was. “Rina you want this to. So how about helping out? I can't just wonder around until I think I'm walking in the right direction.”

 

“Well. I know! Close your eyes and spin around a lot then wonder around. Then see if you can feel the right direction and I'll tell you how right you are. Then once you have the right direction we can try again.”

 

“Will you make sure I don't walk into anything or off the table?” With what Rina had said so far John half expected the sprite to laugh at him. Instead she gave him a huge smile.

 

“Yeah! If you work real hard you can even have my bed tonight. Just tonight. When the sun goes down to when it begins to come up again. Not before and no longer.”

 

Despite all the horrible things Rina had said. Despite her calling for his death. John couldn't help but be shocked by how protective she was of her bed. He felt himself grinning and it was all he could do to keep himself from openly laughing. “Okay I have to ask. Rina do you still want Julia to kill me?”

 

“No! You should live and be kept comfortable and safe if you're going to help her find other witches before they know of her! Would you like me to change channels for you? I can work the remote. Well first you need to practice detecting witches. Then I'll help you find a show that you'd like and I can answer other questions you might have.”

 

“Then answer this question first. Is there anyway that Julia would be allowed to restore me to normal?” John was actually a bit put off by how eager to help him Rina was now that she believed he would be of use. Being angry with her wouldn't help him though. As long as she was willing to cooperate he was going to make use of it.

 

“I. Well. Maybe. If Julia gained the ability to alter your memories then she could return you to normal after doing so but you're a bane. I'm not sure if there has ever been a witch that knew harmonics that could alter a bane's memories. They're other options of course. There is one witch who several people know about! She keeps them isolated on an island that she controls along with the surrounding waters and air. As long as she can insure that you don't have the ability to reveal her or other witches to other humans then she's not breaking any rules.”

 

It wasn't the answer John had been hoping for. Whenever he'd asked if he could be returned to normal he also meant be allowed to rejoin society. The answer to that seemed to be a no given what Rina had said about his memories. The idea that Julia was involved in such a dangerous hunt though and her defeat could cost him his life still weighed heavily on him. At the very least he should do what he could to help her. “Alright.”

 

Closing his eyes John once again reached out in front of him and tried to imagine Julia. It was a slow day and he had a few minutes to just talk. If she wasn't busy she would likely be looking in on various patients making sure they were alright or checking in on the rehabilitation room. She could also be found in the gym at times either getting a drink from one of the vending machines or perhaps using some of the equipment. What would she be doing right now? Where did he feel that he should go? As he thought of her John found himself being pulled slightly and tried to let his legs move where they willed rather then force them. “Here. I believe she's here.” It surprised John whenever he felt some hands on his shoulder.

 

“Keep your eyes closed. I'm going to lead you back to the center of the table and you can spin around. Then I'll tell you if you get closer to pointing in the right direction.”

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“So this is how your species develops?” As John spoke he took a bite of pizza. Currently he was setting opposite of Rina while working on the pizza Julia had prepared for him. He had been quite surprised whenever Rina had heated it up for him without his asking her to do so. She had even managed to do so without drying out the cheese. So from kicking me out of your bed to heating up my food ran through John's mind as he considered how Rina's behavior had changed now that he was trying to be useful. Was she doing this to help Julia or herself though? From the way Rina talked it seemed like you couldn't do one without doing the other.

 

“That's right. We have to form a contract with a human giving them access to the harmonics or what you would call magic. This means giving a part of ourselves to the human. I know where Julia is because she has a part of me inside of her womb. When one witch takes the power of another witch we merge together and become something greater but the familiar of the winning witch is the core. Our personality and memories become dominant. So it's our goal to insure our witch wins as often as possible but even being merged into another familiar is better then our witch being killed.”

 

“Does the part of you that was placed within the witch die as well?” John had spent a few hours working on feeling out Julia's location. He had even tried to feel for other witches without much success. After a while he had learned the general orientation well enough though that further practice wouldn't do any good until Julia left the hospital. He was still trying to feel her out and sense when she left the hospital but he wasn't as focused on it. Rather he was trying to learn what he could about Rina.

 

“Yes. We don't die but it weakens us a lot and it can be a long time before we become strong enough to form a new contract. Now the more powerful we become the more difficult it is for us to form a contract. The familiar you might call my mother for example is so powerful that the last time she tried to form a contract with a human the human died before it could be finished so she never became a witch. That's what usually happens though. We become so powerful that we can't find any other humans to contract with. That's when most of us decide to have children in hopes they'll succeed.”

 

“Succeed at what?”

 

“At becoming the Resonance. A being who can perfectly resonate with all the harmonics and bring about the grand renewal.”

 

As Rina spoke there was some reverence to the way she said grand renewal that drew John's attention. It almost sounded like worship. “I see and has anyone ever achieved such a state?”

 

“No but the eldest of us can feel it. Those that have the closest to becoming the resonance say they feel the harmonics just whispering inside of their bones but they're all too powerful. If they could only make a contract with a human then maybe but.” A sigh escaped Rina as she seemed to lose some of her energy.

 

“I see. Then if you became the Resonance could Julia.” John was a bit surprised whenever Rina suddenly perked up and rapidly fluttered her wings in excitement. Once again she moved in close to him.

 

“Do you really think that's possible!”

 

The question took John back a bit. He knew even less about this then Rina did yet she seemed to seriously be asking him. “I. I don't know but. Well if you're here doesn't it mean that you at least have a chance at becoming the Resonance?”

 

“Yeah! That's true!” Before continuing Rina reached out and took hold of John pulling him into a hug effectively swallowing up his head between her breasts. “Thanks! And I'm the first one to have a bane actually working with my witch as well! Wouldn't it be wonderful if I did become the Resonance?”

 

A slight yelp escaped John as he found his head engulfed in Rina's cleavage. With one hand holding onto his pizza he only had his left hand to try to free himself. “Yeah that's. That's great but what about.” A sigh escaped John as Rina released him allowing him to back out. As appealing as he would have normally found having his face smothered by a well endowed woman's chest this wasn't the time for such things and he didn't consider Rina the person. “Now about Julia? I mean if you become the Resonance what happens to her?”

 

“The part of me placed within her when we made our contract will harmonize perfectly with her being and she'll be born again into. Well you humans might call her a god. She would be able to wield all the harmonics and raise them to any decibel and tempo imaginable.

 

John was taken back a bit by Rina's words. What did she mean by a god? Just what standards was she using for divinity here? As John considered this he began to think of what Julia had done to him and the possible implications. “Rina how many harmonics can Julia use?”

 

“Oh she can only use two right now and her command of either is far from perfect. As well.” A slight blush appeared on Rina's face and she covered her mouth with her right hand as if about to admit something she didn't want to. “Two days ago was my first merging!” As she finished speaking Rina gave a delighted squeal and covered her face with both her hands while shifting side from side.

 

As John listened to Rina he couldn't help but think of a young girl admitting that she'd only recently lost her virginity. That or a shy lady that had just experienced her first kiss. Yet it hadn't been a first kiss. She had apparently absorbed another one of her kind into herself. Yet for them this was perfectly acceptable and expected. “I see. And exactly what happens when you merge with another of your kind?”

 

“We become greater then either was before! We gain new harmonics, grow larger and take on the best aspects of both of the familiars!” As she spoke Rita jumped up and flung her arms to her sides while rapidly flapping her wings. The excitement radiated out in her voice and overwhelmed her body so that she couldn't simply set still.

 

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“I'm back!” As Julia stepped into her home she wasn't certain why she'd announced it. Rina knew where she was at all times so she had never felt the need. John would be in the study though it was possible he could be relieving himself. Knowing that John was in the home just made announcing herself feel right. Setting a few bags down she closed and locked the front door.

 

“He knew!” Rina was practically a blur as she flew down the steps and impacted solidly with Julia's nose the moment she turned her head. “Hey really knew!” Came from the sprite again as she took hold of Julia's nose in her excitement.

 

Confusion was the dominant thing in Julia's mind at the moment as she looked at Rina. It was clear that Rina was excited about something and happy. She knew that the sprite wouldn't have harmed John so she didn't need to worry about that. “Okay. What did he know?”

 

“He knew that you were home!” As she spoke Rina flew into the air and through her arms wide. “He's been trying to feel your presence the entire day! He wants to help you find other witches!”

 

“He does?” While Julia didn't feel the same excitement as Rina did she was glad to hear that he had decided to support her. Reaching down with her free hand she picked up her bags once again and began to make her way towards her study. Rina responded by flying ahead of her.

 

“Yeah! I've been telling him about witches and sprites while you were gone and he's been working on sensing your presence. He wasn't able to feel any of the other witches in the city but I'm sure he'll learn how. He just wasn't close enough to them and you're the only one he's really familiar with. You're going to have to help him get some practice! Isn't this wonderful! You couldn't ask for a better method of locating a witch then using a bane!”

 

What Rina was saying was true and good news indeed. As Julia neared her study though her mind turned to other things including her conversation with John that morning. Fortunately the sprite had calmed down a bit by the time she entered the study. She was a bit surprised to find John laying on his back breathing hard. “John are you alright?”

 

Rather then respond right away John took a moment to set up. “Hey. Did you know that sensing a witch's presence can actually take a bit out of you?” A sigh escaped John as he lay back down and took in a few more breaths.

 

As Julia neared the table she finally set the bags she'd been carrying down and lowered herself into a kneeling position so she was closer to John. “It sure seems like it.”

 

“It wasn't so bad. Wasn't so bad when you were staying still but when you started driving around.”

 

“He couldn't follow you with just his head. He kept moving and jumping around like this.” Rina wasted no time landing on the table and quickly running to the side before coming to a quick stop. She then began to move backwards as if retreating from something them hopping to the side. The sprite then charged forward only to take several steps backwards a few moments later. As she was moving backwards again she finally came to a stop and began to openly laugh. “It was so funny!”

 

By now a huge grin had formed on Julia's face as she watched Rina do her little dance and imagined John doing the same. She was trying her best not to laugh but it was proving a struggle. “I see. Well I'm glad that you're training. So is it true John? You want to help me hunt other witches?”

 

Rina, “Of course it's true! Did you think I was fibbing?”

 

The offended tone was rather clear in Rina's voice and Julia quickly raised her hands defensively. “No! No. Of course not. I just wanted to hear it from John is all.”

 

“Yeah it's true. After talking to Rina and everything you said it seemed like it's in my best interest to. Besides I'm already involved and if I can help the woman that I love then I intend to.” The speed with which Julia's hand approaching John was a bit frightening whenever he looked up towards her. A result of the disconnect between how far things appeared to him and how far away they actually where. He didn't really have time to protest or think as her thumb and index finger pressed into the sides and lifted him from the table in less then a second and he was raised to Julia's face. It was only whenever he was pressed into her lips that he actually had time to process what was happening to him. The warmth of Julia's lips engulfed the front of his body and he felt himself pulled forward. The soft pink flesh conformed to his body yet holding him securely as a small film of moisture was left on his skin. When he breathed in a slightly unpleasant scent mingled with the smell of Julia's lips suggesting she hadn't had time to brush her teeth.

 

When John had said he still wanted to see if their relationship could work that morning Julia had been delighted. During the day she had time to think about it and some fears had began to creep up within her once again. The notion that he wanted to help her in the hunt quieted those fears and supported the notion that he cared for her despite what had happened. When he said he loved her it was too much for Julia and she had to kiss him. As she pulled John away from her face and placed him back in her palm she couldn't help but smile and even blush a little. “I'm glad to hear that.”

 

“So I see.” A slight chuckle escaped John as he worked to make sure his robe was secure. Walking around with effectively a bathrobe on was still taking some getting used to. It was something that John was going to have to talk to Julia bout later. If nothing else perhaps she could get him some instructions and provide some materials for him to work on his own clothing. She couldn't shrink needles but perhaps she could reduce a bone needle for him to use. “Well right now I'm only really able to feel your presence but Rina seems to be certain that if I was actually near another witch I'd be able to detect her.”

 

“We can worry about that later. For now.” As she spoke Julia set down and lowered John onto her right thigh again. Reaching into the largest and heaviest of the bags she brought out a massive four level bird cage. The intricate metal work made the cage look similar to an old style home. When she set the cage down on the table its weight became rather obvious. “I thought this would be a good base to work from. I needed something sturdy so that it could handle the other attachments and well alterations.”

 

For a moment John wasn't certain what to say. His first thought was that you could fit a small child into that cage. It was positively massive by his standards. “I see. Well it sure looks like there is plenty of room.” It surprised John whenever he looked to see Rina flying over to the cage and opening one of the doors. It was impossible for him to resist his instincts given what she'd done the previous night. “Now that is mine!”

 

Rina gave John a quick glance over her shoulder before returning her attention to the cage. “How come he gets a bigger home then me!”

 

It was impossible for Julia to keep from chuckling as she heard the jealousy in the sprite's voice. “That's because he has more needs then you do. It isn't ready for you to sleep in yet though. I.” Julia actually felt herself blushing as she reached down and picked up John once again lifting him to eye level. “I hope you don't mind but I'm afraid I'm going to have to craft your toilet from some ivory I bought. I know that it's not quite stone but it seemed like the best choice.”

 

“An ivory toilet? Okay that is something I never thought I'd be crapping on!” John couldn't help but laugh as the image flashed into his mind. He was still a bit worried if such a toilet would function properly or not due to the reduced size and how the water would behave.

 

Rina, “I want a toilet!”

 

This time when Juila looked to the sprite she found that her familiar had actually gone into the cage and seemed to be holding one of the doors shut. “You don't poop! I don't know what you do with the food you eat but I know you don't poop. What use could you have for a toilet?”

 

“I want a toilet to!” As she spoke Rina lightly shook the cage door she was currently holding onto.

 

A sigh escaped Julia as her head began to hurt. Reaching down with her free hand she picked up what remained of John's pizza and quickly placed it within her mouth. A mixture of surprise and even a little concern whenever she saw how much of it John had eaten while she was away. “Okay now that you've only had junk to eat all day how about I fix you a nice dinner and then I can get to work on your home? Hey! Were you able to change channels?” As she had been speaking Julia glanced towards the television and was quite surprised to see that the channel had been changed.

 

“Well no. Rina changed channels for me.” The look of surprise on Julia's face nearly made John burst into laughter. Especially whenever she looked towards Rina who was still inside his cage holding onto the door looking defiantly back at Julia.

 

“Did you find some way of threatening her?” Julia felt a bit silly just asking the question but it was the only thing she could think of. The fact that John responded to her by bursting into laughter only made her feel even sillier.

 

***********************************************************************************

It felt kind of strange to be eating a steak and mushroom gravy dinner while Julia worked but much to John's surprise she hadn't fixed herself anything. She claimed to have eaten out while she was shopping and as he thought about her kiss he believed her. It didn't surprise him that she had already cut up the steak for him. Rina had left the cage after realizing it had several doors Julia could use to gain entry and was now setting on the opposite side of the room glaring at them. Why she didn't raise such a fuss whenever Julia had mentioned making him a home he didn't know but she sure seemed mad now. Perhaps it was because she couldn't see it before. Now that she could she realized how badly she wanted one. “I've been wondering. When did Rina decide she wanted a bed of her own.”

 

“The first night she saw me sleeping in mine. What do you think of this design?” As she spoke Julia held up a tiny wooden door she'd altered with magic creating an intricate flower pattern upon it.

 

“It's um well.”

 

“You don't like it?”

 

“No! I mean it's.” John couldn't help but grin as Julia once again changed the layout this time to a more traditional one. “That's better.” Looking up John watched as Julia slid the doorway in place. He wouldn't have many swinging doors in his home. Julia couldn't work with nails after all. So instead she was fixing things so that they slid together and locked into place. At least he would have some privacy whenever he was using his toilet. His bathroom was being lit by a single decorative light that he wouldn't be able to turn off. A decorative light behind a tempered sheet of glass in the wall to make sure the room didn't get too hot.

 

As she slipped the door in place Julia took one last look at the toilet. She wanted to create familiar surroundings for John but they were limits. The toilet for example didn't have a simple handle but had more of a pump built into it. In order for it to function it required a little more force then gravity. John didn't seem to mind this addition but part of her feared he just wasn't complaining. The idea that John was simply holding his tongue whenever it came to how upset he was with the situation nagged at the back of her mind. “I picked up a touch pad while I was out shopping. The clerk said it was the most responsive one they had especially when you changed the settings. I'm planning on hooking it up so that it controls the electronics in your home. It may take a while though.”

 

“You know how to do that?”

 

“Well! That's why it may take a while.” Julia gave John a grin as she glanced over at him. She had some experience with electronics to draw upon. She'd also received some help while shopping around. She'd told the clerk that she wanted a temperature controlled heating pad for a pet. She'd explained that she wanted her television control and lights to be controlled from the touch pad as well as other things. Once she had began shopping it had been fairly easy to come up with reasons for why she wanted this or that. John had gone from being an extremely pampered pet while she was at the pet shop to being an extremely sick friend that couldn't move around much or even work the television remote.

 

To this John gave a nod. “Perhaps there are some things I can do. I mean I could. Well.” At first John had thought about working with the wiring but then remembered the wires would be around the same thickness as his arms. Actually binding the wires into the proper form or moving them about was probably beyond his ability plus all the climbing around he would have to do. He didn't have any of the tools he would need either. “I guess I couldn't help much with actually building anything but perhaps I could look over the instructions on how to set everything up.”

 

Rina, “No! You have to practice locating witches!”

 

This time John couldn't help but give a slight yelp. He didn't know how fast Rina could move but he knew that one moment she was across the room and in the next she was in his face. A slight bit of pain went through his legs as it struck the edge of his table while he was getting out of his seat. Before he could say anything though a shadow engulfed him and he felt himself being rapidly lifted into the air towards Julia's face.

 

“John are you alright?” Julia had heard John's leg strike the table and saw him flinch. As she held him between her fingers she carefully pushed his injured leg forward with her left index finger rather then waiting for an answer. She then carefully moved the limb around checking for any markings that might indicate bruising. When she couldn't see where the leg had impacted the table she gave a slight sigh and brought him forward giving him a quick kiss in hopes of easing the pain a bit. “Good you don't look to have been injured.”

 

The haste with which Julia had picked him up had actually shocked John. He didn't even have time to examine his own leg. That wasn't the only issue though. The way she'd looked at his leg had also meant opening up his robes. Something she didn't even seem to realize she was doing. While Julia had pushed his leg forward and focused on the limb he couldn't help but notice how exposed he was and with her fingers pinning his arms there wasn't anything he could do about it. The fact that she'd taken a moment to examine his leg made it even more embarrassing. “Yeah but Julia. In the future would you be more careful about exposing me? I know that you're a nurse but I'm not a fan of just having my clothes opened up for a quick inspection.”

 

Julia felt the blood rush to her skin and she began to blush upon realizing what she'd done. For a moment her eyes turned away from John as she lowered him back to the table. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I guess I really need to make you some underwear.”

 

Rina, “I don't see why. As much as you enjoy the view I'm surprised you made him the robes. It's not like he needs them.”

 

Julia had wanted to tell Rina to stop. She had wanted to grab the sprite in her hand so she couldn't be heard. Yet the utter shock at what Rina was saying and the ease with which she had said it caught Julia completely off guard. All she could do was stare at her familiar and let her jaw fall open. As her eyes turned to John she felt like a deer in a car's head lights as her blush seemed to grow in intensity while an awkward smile appeared on her face. “John I'm so sorry! I'll see if I can make you some proper underwear right away!”

 

In response to Julia John gave a slight cough suddenly feeling rather awkward himself. It was nice to know that he had become such an object of desire but the presentation had been a bit much. “Yeah that sounds like a good idea.” Despite her words John suspected that Julia simply wanted to get out of the room for a moment to compose herself. Yet as awkward as the situation was he couldn't help himself. “Why didn't you make me any underwear earlier?”

 

“Well that is. I was thinking of you sort of like a patient so a hospital style gown seemed appropriate!” Julia couldn't help but hope that John would believe her. In truth she didn't make him any underwear because she hadn't thought of it. As simple of a concept as it would have been she hadn't thought to make him any undergarments. This was likely encouraged by the simple fact that part of her did indeed enjoy the view. “I'll be right back!”

 

John was surprised that Julia didn't end up kicking the table like he'd done his when she quickly stood up. Apparently she was more coordinated whenever making a quick retreat. Her foot steps positively thundered as she dashed out of the room and he gave a slight sigh. Despite his efforts he hadn't actually voiced his true concerns. As nice as it would be to have some undergarments on again his real issue was with how Julia had simply picked him up and exposed him. If he had been seriously injured he would have understood but all he had was a little bump on his leg. Coupled with how she was cutting his food for him it was like she didn't trust him to be responsible for himself. When he considered his size though he could understand why she might think that.

 

***********************************************************************************

John groaned to half awake as he opened his eyes. He didn't know what time it was but it was still dark that was clear. Currently he found himself laying in Rina's bed just a few meters from Julia though it seemed like a much greater distance to him. He could hear Julia softly breathing but that wasn't what had woken him up. Rather in that moment between Julia's breaths he could hear a soft music being played and some light coming from Julia's study. Questions just began to form in his mind but a quick glimpse of Rina and his not quite awake mind began to slip away once again. Julia had mentioned that Rina never actually sleeps and apparently she was doing something to amuse herself throughout the night. Given the sprite's typical behavior he wasn't certain he wanted to know what that was.

 

***********************************************************************************

Julia couldn't help but smile as she looked at John's sleeping form. Unlike the previous night Rina had allowed him to spend the full night in her bed which was rather surprising. She had woken up a few minutes before her alarm clock sounded and turned it off in advance so she could wake him. Now she had changed her mind and instead carefully took John between her index finger and thumb. As she began to lift him she was made to halt whenever he gave a slight grunt and seemed to be waking up. He only needed a moment to settle though and she carefully placed him in her left hand. After a moment of consideration she resolved to slip him into her t-shirt pocket and let him sleep a little longer rather then waking him up but not just yet. Straitening up Julia didn't bother turning on the lights as she stepped out of her bedroom and into her study where a surprise waited for her. “Rina.” Escaped Julia as more of a whispered hiss then a word as she looked upon John's home.

 

Rina had been busy during the night it seems. Vines now grew up around and through the bars reaching into the internal structures. Julia noted that the electronics she had carefully installed had been cast out and in their place were bio-luminescent bulbs. Several new rooms filled the inside of the cage and branches had grown into the form of steps. As she neared Julia looked down at what was to serve as John's pool and noted the clear water. Yet at the bottom of the pool several vines had grown together perhaps forming some kind of natural purification system. Some of the electronics remained as Julia noted the small television she'd placed within the cage as well as the touch pad she intended to use as a control system. It didn't take Julia long to figure out where Rina was as she noted the upper most room glowing. The little door opened too quickly for her to act as Rina stepped out.

 

“Tada! Isn't it neat! I fixed it up for myself and John during the night. He can have the lower levels. The upper one is mine.” As she spoke Rina stepped to the side giving a clear view into what Julia guessed was her bedroom. A relatively large elegant bed was seen in the room as well as several bits of furniture formed from the vines including some kind of sink.

 

“Rina that was suppose to be for John.” As she spoke Julia was having trouble keeping her voice down. In truth giving the entire building to John would be like giving an entire apartment complex to a single resident. Even with all the plans Julia had for it there would have been a great deal of empty space. She had hoped to find different ways to fill that.

 

“He doesn't need all the space. You did the same thing to me whenever you gave him my bed even though I don't need to sleep!” As she spoke Rita pointed an accusing finger at Julia.

 

“Which you put him out of!” As she listened to Rina Julia couldn't help her frustration. After spending most of the previous evenings shopping for and working on John's home to have Rina suddenly take it over was not welcome. If anything the cage had meant to be a place where he could be away from Rina. Given their initial introduction to one another and Rina's typical behavior Julia felt certain he would need some space given that unlike her his ability to leave the home was impaired.

 

“I found him a better place to sleep! Besides you'd rather keep him with yourself then have him stay in here. You just got him the cage because you wanted to make him more comfortable but hoped he wouldn't actually use it often.”

 

Julia immediately turned her attention to John. A wave of relief surged through her body the moment she saw he was still asleep. What Rina said was true but it didn't mean that she wanted John to know. Rina seemed to delight in verbalizing things she didn't want said though. “Rina that is John's home. I didn't give your bed away I just let John use it for a single night and you didn't even let him have that. If he likes what you've done you can talk to him about letting you stay but if he doesn't want you there you're going back to your place on the shelf. Do not make any other changes to his home and don't you dare change it back. You wrecked nearly all the work I did last evening without asking permission.”

 

“But the upstairs is mine!” As she spoke Rina stomped her right food against the ground and balled up her fist and thrusting them to her sides while looking up at Juila from behind the bars.

 

“Don't make me give you a time out!” When Rina had first began to live with her Juila hadn't thought much about it. The sprite was honest but that was in her nature and her demands were easy to meet. Over the the last forty hours though Juila had seen time and again how spoiled the little sprite had actually become. Fortunately Rina had some responsibilities to her just like Juila had responsibilities to her. She had bought the cage for John and Rina had altered it without permission. She was the one breaking a rule this time which meant Juila could punish her.

 

A look of horror and shock crossed Rina's face as she looked up at Julia. “Meanie!”

 

That was enough for John. Between the change in his environment and the two women arguing he'd been brought back to the waking world. As he set up he was a bit surprised to find he was no longer in Rina's bed but rather in Julia's palm. “Oh come on! Rina we had a deal. How am I suppose to work with you if.” John went silent as he glanced to his side and got a better look at the cage. What he was about to say suddenly seemed far less important.

 

Rina, “I didn't take you out of the bed this time though! She did.” As she spoke Rina pointed towards Julia though there was only one other she in the room.

 

It actually took John a moment to realize what Rina was saying as he looked at the redone cage. When he did he glanced up towards Julia. Thanks to the extra light coming from the cage he could see the sheepish grin on her face. Being taken out of his bed wasn't his primary concern at the moment as he looked back towards the cage. “Did I just lose my home.”

 

Rina, “No! We're going to live here together. I made it all pretty for both of us.”

 

Julia, “If you're okay with it Rina would like to stay with you. If you're not she can just go back to her space. I know your first meeting wasn't the most pleasant and you haven't had much time to get to know one another. She'll also fix it back to the way it was if you want.”

 

As John looked at the cage his memories from the last night came back to him. “Was that the music I heard last night?”

 

“Yeah! Come on inside and look around at all the neat things I did! It's a lot nicer then what Julia was doing for you!” For a moment Rina turned towards Julia and gave her a rather impish grin.

 

Julia was positively glaring at Rina in that moment. The sprite seemed determined to push her buttons anyway she could. “I was trying to make sure all of his needs were met. I hope that you remembered to keep the toilet working at the very least.”

 

“I sure did! He won't even need to flush it now. I made the vines so that the poop will fall down into their roots and they'll use the fertilizer. They'll also capture insects and other pest and digest them to. Can you smell the flowers? That's to draw insects to them?”

 

“Oh? And what's to keep them from trying to eat John?”

 

“They won't! I remembered to make John's body more durable whenever I put him between your boobies! I'm not a fool that's going to forget something that important! I made the vines so that their defenses won't respond to him! Come on inside John. I'll show you around while Julia makes us breakfast.”

 

For a moment John wasn't certain what to think as he looked up at Julia. It was rather clear to him that Rina was pushing her buttons and quite skillfully at that. Part of him was curious about Rina's work but Julia was more important then that. “I'd rather be with Julia while she's here. How about you show me around the vine house after Julia goes to work?”

 

Despite her initial frustration Julia couldn't help but smile at John as her frustration faded. “That sounds like a good idea. Come on John I'm going to fix you a nice breakfast. Rina you can have some bread.”

 

Rina, “Ah! I want the fancy food to!”

 

“You're lucky I don't give you the crumbs at the bottom of the toaster.” As she finished speaking Julia turned her back on the sprite and began to walk towards the exit. She wasn't surprised when Rina was out of the cage and flying beside her head a moment later.

 

“I want fried fruit and honey though!”

 

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“So you're going to be late getting home again?” As he spoke John found himself eating a mixture of baked fruit, honey, nuts and some light seasoning. Rina was a short distance away and would have been eating a smaller helping of the same thing if she hadn't used her magic to increase it in size. As things were Rina's banana was roughly the same size as her arm. Despite that though John couldn't shake the feeling that if he was to let his guard down she would try to take his breakfast as well.

 

“Yes. There was a few things I didn't get to finish yesterday. I hope to be home sooner this time. John I know you haven't been here long but have you given any thoughts as to what you'd like to do? If we're going to you know continue our relationship.”

 

For a moment John went silent and leaned back into his seat. Reflexively he grabbed his plate whenever he saw Rina looking at it. “Would you just eat your own breakfast and leave mine alone!” It surprised John whenever a look of alarm formed on Rina's face as if she'd just been caught doing something she should not and she refocused on her food. After a moment of carefully watching the sprite John turned his attention back to Julia. “I can't say I've had much time to think about it. I'm still getting used to this entire situation.”

 

“I understand. You just got here after all. If you think of anything let me know. I did have a little time to think about it while I was at the hospital though not much. Mary was pretty upset with me and kept me busy the entire day just about it. I thought she might even try to run me through my lunch break. Well I knew there would be consequences. How about I pick us up something nice to eat and whenever I get home this evening we take some time to really talk? Let's see if we can figure out how we might go about our relationship.” As she spoke Julia chose not to make any mention of them asking for John. She knew such questions would be common in the coming days but there was nothing that could be done about it. It seemed mentioning such things would be more likely to hurt him then help him. For the time being it would be best if he could forget about the life he couldn't be part of anymore.

 

“That sounds good. You know I guess it hasn't really set in what this is going to mean. I'm probably going to need to take up some hobbies.”

 

Rina, “Helping locate other witches would be a good hobby.”

 

For a moment John glanced over at Rina who had already taken another large bite of her breakfast. “Yes I suppose that it could be. I can't do much of that on my own though. Well I can think on that later today. If nothing else I'll have plenty of time to get into better shape.”

 

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“Now you're sure it's not going to try to dissolve me or cover me in sap right?” As he spoke John lightly pressed his hand into what was suppose to be his bed. The frame was made of still living vines that had been formed into a rectangular shape while the mattress appeared to be some kind of leaf as were the covers. As he ran his hands along them he was rather surprised by how comfortable they felt though part of him said that was just a better means of luring him into a trap.

 

“I'm certain. Your bed has absolutely no defense mechanisms beyond its own skin. There are no toxins or sharp points to worry about and it can't even grow around you.”

 

After a moment of consideration John settled back onto the bed and looked up at Rina. “Well it feels comfortable. It's a little strange still but I can give it a try. Now all of this isn't going to start dieing or rotting is it? I'd hate to get comfortable and then find my bed shriveling up.”

 

“Nope! The plants are quite healthy and as long as they're given water and enough fertilizer they should be fine. They're really slow growing so they don't take much nutrients at all.”

 

Giving his head a slight nod John stood up and took one last look around. Rina had actually done quite a good job of remembering what he would need. She had included a closet as well as a dresser. As he looked at the layout of his room though one thing did come to him. “You based this on Julia's room didn't you?”

 

“Why do you say that!”

 

“Because all the furniture is placed exactly like hers is.”

 

“Isn't that the proper way to place furniture in a human room?”

 

“Well as long as it's functional there really isn't a proper way.” As John spoke he couldn't help but look towards what he guessed was meant to be a makeup table. If nothing else it could serve him as a desk. So far Rina had shown him the restroom and the dining area. He could see the pool from outside of the cage and had a set of steps led from his room right down to it. The toilet looked a little off to him and he had asked Rina no less then three times if it could pose a threat to him and even some more specific questions. He didn't want to risk the toilet trying to eat him while he was relieving himself or ever. “It looks nice Rina. It's kind of what I imagine an elfs home well sort of. The ones that are made high up in the trees and well inside of the trees or giant mushrooms.”

 

“Those don't have toilets!”

 

“Huh? And how would you know they don't have toilets?”

 

“They're never mentioned in the books or shown on the television shows. Clearly unlike you humans elfs don't need to poop.”

 

For a moment John wasn't certain what to say. Should he explain to Rina that typically elfs did need to poop in most stories but television rarely got that into detail? Given that they were a fictional race it wasn't like he could prove they needed to use the toilet. Unless they were real elfs. Given that he was looking right at a sprite he couldn't help but wonder if it was possible. “I see. You make a good point.”

 

“So you like our home the way it is and you'll let me stay!” As she spoke Rina once again moved to close the gap between herself and John. Unlike in past times John didn't recoil this time but seemed a bit prepared for it.

 

“Well that depends on what kind of house mate you're going to be. Are you going to be making all sorts of racket during the night time and having wild parties?”

 

“No!”

 

“What! No wild parties! I don't see why I should let you stay then.” As he spoke John crossed his arms and gave Rina as serious of a look as he could manage. The look of shock and even panic that appeared on her face was nearly enough to make him burst out laughing.

 

“But I don't have any friends to have wild parties with!”

 

The look of panic and the fear in Rina's voice was too much for John and he soon found himself openly laughing. At least Rina seemed familiar enough with human behavior to realize he'd been teasing her and seemed to relax. “Well darn. Okay you can stay if you'll agree to owe me one for telling Julia to kill me whenever we first met. I'm still a bit pissed off over that.”

 

“What! How big of a favor? I can't just agree without knowing what kind of favor you're talking about. You're not going to demand I give you my bedroom are you!”

 

So apparently his life was worth about as much to Rina as her bedroom. It wasn't a pleasant thought but after two days of interacting with and observing the sprite John had already picked up on the fact that Rina's values and his were very different. He didn't even think he could say Rina had human values. “Well I consider asking Julia to kill me a pretty big deal!”

 

“But they're not my rules! I have to enforce the rules of the contract!”

 

It was a strange moment but John was actually a bit stunned by what Rina said. He hadn't even considered that she might have some watcher. “Rina are you capable of breaking the rules?” It felt a little strange whenever Rina shook her head no. “Now I want you to be clear with me. Are you unable to break the rules of the contract or are you unwilling?”

 

“I can't! For a sprite breaking a contract is the same as telling a human to fly without an airplane or magic. We can't do it! I didn't do it to be mean. I had to make sure Julia followed the rules!”

 

For a moment John said nothing but considered this new information. So far Rina had been honest with him. At least to the best of his knowledge. That didn't change the fact that she could have been far less hostile towards him in the beginning. He could still remember the cold tone she'd used when speaking to him. Yet she had also been doing her best to look out for Julia's well being. “Okay you owe me one favor that wouldn't endanger your life or risk serious harm to you or your relationship with Julia.”

 

For a moment Rina said nothing but shifted her feet and head about. “Well. As long as it can demand no more then thirty minutes of my time.”

 

“Thirty minutes! That's awfully cheap for calling for my death but. Fine you were only doing what you had to do. Apparently what you truly had to do at that.” John was rather shocked whenever he felt something impact with his body and sink into him. It felt like something was pushing through his flesh and grasping his bones for a moment. There was no pain to the invasion but even as it faded he felt like something was there. “What was that!”

 

“A contract silly! You just made one with me.”

 

“Huh!”

 

“Any mutually agreed upon bargain for goods or services made between sprite and human immediately results in a contract.”

 

“So if I agreed to convince Julia to bring you back some ice cream if you'd make some changes to our home that would be a contract?”

 

“Would you!”

 

“What! No. I mean. Maybe but I don't want to make another contract just yet.” A sigh escaped John even as Rina gave a disappointed moan. He had told Julia that he would try to think of something to do with his time. Now it seemed he'd stumbled upon something. Learn a lot more about sprites before he did anything else with Rina. “I'm not even sure if she'd pick some ice cream up for me if I asked.”

 

“Of course she would! She loves you and that means she's willing to do nice things for you. Picking up a tub of ice cream wouldn't be a problem at all for her. Hey if she brings back enough we could have a snow ball fight with ice cream!”

 

“I'm pretty sure I'd freeze if I tried that.”

 

“Oh yeah.”

 

For a moment John half expected Rina to offer to enhance his body so that he could handle such cold temperatures. When all she did was give a sad expression and lightly kick the ground it was fairly clear that wasn't going to happen. She had to make sure that he couldn't reveal Julia to anyone and that meant making sure he was too delicate to risk an escape attempt. It felt better knowing that this was something she truly had to do rather then something she simply chose to do though.

 

***********************************************************************************

Even if the memories of people were altered whenever she absorbed another witch's power that didn't mean past decisions changed. It didn't mean her shoes got larger either and that was proving to be quite a problem. Julia had planned for an increase in her height but she had not planned for an increase in the size of her feet. The fact that she nearly moaned in relief as she finally tossed off her shoes and allowed her aching feet some room made her grateful that John's room was in the study. A soft ouch came from Julia as she bent down and took a moment to rub the sides of her feet before picking up the takeout she'd purchased and making her way towards the back of her home.

 

John had felt Julia returning as he continued training to sense a witch. It was odd though. While she'd been gone he'd felt something had changed. Unfortunately with so little experience with such things he couldn't be certain if it was something in him that had changed or her. As he turned to see her stepping through the doorway he knew that it was her. He was having trouble judging scale these days but he knew that her study table came up much higher on her legs whenever she'd left. After spending so much time standing on that table looking at her legs it was impossible for him not to notice. “Hey! Were you out hunting!”

 

“Surprise!” Julia smiled down at John as she walked over to the table. She made it a point to stand a bit closer then needed both to show off her legs and to give John a chance to notice her relatively short skirt. From the expression on his face she believed he did and couldn't help but grin at him. “I told you that I would have a surprise for you when I got back but that isn't all. Your first night here was a bit overwhelming I know and the second night I spent all of the evening working on your home. Only to have it undone by Rina. I was thinking tonight that you and I could set down to a nice meal and really talk.”

 

While John hadn't got to do much thinking on his future while talking with Rina he still felt Julia had a good idea. They had confessed their desires to continue advancing their relationship but what did that really mean given their situation? John wasn't surprised whenever Julia proceeded to open one of the cages doors and take hold of him. The feeling of her soft warm fingers was actually welcome. As she took hold of him though John couldn't shake the feeling that something was different. Her skin felt different. At least it seemed to. These thoughts were pushed from his mind for a moment as he got a better look at her dress. “I take it that wasn't the dress you did your hunting in.”

 

“Nope. It's something I chose to bring with me in the event I put on some extra height. I was kind of hoping to put on some extra up top but that didn't happen.” Julia whispered her last sentence as if admitting to a naughty secret. Even if she, Rina and John were the only people in the room it seemed to have the desired affect.

“Well one can always hope.” As John considered what Julia had said he couldn't help but wonder how much she would change by the time this was all over. If she gained new traits each time she defeated another witch what would she look like after a few more? How would she look after a dozen? The idea of a woman who's beauty constantly increased was appealing in many ways but they were some aspects of Julia's body that he had no desire to see change. As John considered this he couldn't help but look towards her face and note the lovely green of her eyes as well as her short cut black hair. Julia's hair had apparently always been unruly so rather then battle with it on a daily basis she had taken to cutting it short. It had always looked nice on her.

 

With John in her hand there was an extra sway in Julia's hips as she walked towards the kitchen. “You know I was hoping to get more then some extra up top tonight. I thought about telling you that I had located a second witch while I was searching the first but I didn't want to get you hopes up. I was worried that I might not gain any abilities that would be useful to you.”

 

While Julia was talking John chose to focus his attention on her rather then his surroundings. Until he could overcome the disconnect between how fast it looked like he was moving and how fast he was moving it was the best way to avoid feeling dizzy or sick. He was also rather curious to hear what Julia had gained. “Hm are you saying you did gain such an ability?”

 

Rather then respond right away Julia placed her and John's dinner on the table and lifted him higher and closer to her face. “It's more then that. I know things are rather limiting right now but they will get better. As I acquire the power from other witches I'll be able to take better care of you. I'll do my best to make sure you're happy. I love you.” As she spoke Julia brought John in closer for a kiss. Rather then pressing him to her lips as she did before though she held him a short distance from them. She felt her heart positively flutter whenever John leaned in against her lips and pressed his tiny lips against her upper lip.

 

Before Julia had been giving him a kiss. Now she was asking for one. As John approached her lips he felt her breath wash over him. Unlike before this time it carried hints of mint. She had taken time to prepare for this as her clothes indicated. This made John feel all the more nervous as he wondered how he should do this. Simply pressing his lips against Julia's wouldn't be appropriate given their relative scales. After a moment of consideration he allowed himself to fall forward against her lips and felt his heart rate speed up as he did so. There was some fear in that moment. All Julia would have to do is part her lips and he would have fallen inside of her mouth. Still he pushed his feet into her palm pressing his body more firmly against her lips. He felt his arms and upper body sink into the warm flesh of her lips slightly as it conformed to hold him and he pressed his own lips against hers. Rather then just Julia's lips though John ran his tongue over it just briefly and felt a slight suction from her lips.

 

“Wow.” Julia's lips parted into a smile as John stepped away and she moved her hand away from her face. She had lifted him to her face but he had been the one to kiss her this time. She would have been content with a quick peck or the equivalent of him hugging her lips. What she had felt from him was so much better then she hoped for. A joy seemed to radiate from her lips and through her entire body making it hard for her to lower him back to the table even as she felt a warmth between her legs.

 

John walked to the edge of Julia's hand as it reached the table glad that he would be allowed to climb out of her hand rather then being set down. Yet part of him wondered if she did this so that she could hold onto him longer. Rather then step down though as he neared the edge of her hand he turned and looked back up at her smiling face. “Thanks Julia and I mean it but I'm also going to try to find my own happiness rather then wait to be made happy. I also want to make you happy as well.” John could swear he heard Rina say help her find other witches and couldn't resist the urge to look around the room. When he settled down he noticed Julia giggling.

 

“She's awful isn't she?” It wasn't hard for Julia to figure out who John was looking for. After all the time she'd heard Rina insist he should help her hunt for other witches and the time they spent home together she was surprised John wasn't hearing such suggestions in his sleep.

 

“She is persistent.” John wasn't convinced he hadn't heard Rina as he climbed off Julia's hand at last and walked over to his table. As he was seating himself he watched as Julia opened one of the carry out plates and began to load a wooden plate he knew was for him down. As he looked at the crab he hoped Julia would remember not to reduce it all the way. He could have quite a feast from just a little bit of food. He watched carefully and listened as she began to transform the crab into something much smaller. He needed to practice listening for the music and listening for the light as often as he could.

 

“That she can be. Now before I show you anything else did you think about what you might want to do while you're here?” As she spoke Julia finished reducing the plate and crab upon it. Indeed she had remembered to limit the reduction. While the plate was tiny to her to John it was a party platter with a massive crab resting upon it. She worried that it might be a bit too large as she placed it in front of Jack and saw just how much it was compared to him. If he didn't finish it she would just finish it for him though.

 

“I ended up doing some swimming while watching television but most of the time I was just talking to Rina about sprites. I figure if I'm going to be involved in this witch hunt I need to know as much as I can about every group involved. I dunno. Working is sort of out of the question. How about you tell me what new abilities you gained or better yet how about you tell me how your hunt went?” As John spoke he found himself focusing on Julia. Her hair seemed darker then it had a few moments ago or had her skin become whiter? Her eyes seemed a bit clearer if that was at all possible.

 

“I take it you mean how I discovered her. Well you know we witches aren't allowed to reveal ourselves to humans without taking responsibility for doing so. Yet that doesn't mean we don't use our powers for our own benefit. I spent a lot of time speaking to Rina about that and learning what to look for. Fortunately just because a witch knows how to create and command lightning or fire it doesn't mean she knows how to simulate their natural behavior. I found Stefanie because of the unusual burns she was leaving on her victims.”

 

“Was that the first witch Rina was talking about?”

 

“Yeah. I guess I'm lucky to find two witches so close together but I wish that it hadn't been by studying people brought into the hospital. One of the patients, a dancer, had been complaining about having trouble breathing. John you should have seen the scans of her lunges! I had to resist the urge to completely heal them when she left but that would have brought up too many questions. Still I healed them enough and I figured I could do more healing each time she returned. She came back a few days later and they were even worse off though. When I first saw her I knew something was wrong and talked to her when we had to hold her for treatment.”

 

John hadn't touched his food but found himself leaning forward listening intently as Julia talked. When Julia had told him that she found the other witches by observing her patients he hadn't given it much thought. Now he realized the full implications of what she meant. These were witches that were using their magic to harm others. It was little wonder that Julia had no issues ambushing them and taking their power from them. They were lucky she didn't kill them. Though now he wondered if Julia might be doing more then she says. “What was happening?”

 

“She's the lead dancer of the Azalen Theater. Thanks to her I was able to figure out that one of the other dancers had become a witch and was trying to get rid of her. I don't know if she was trying to kill her but she came very close to murdering her! The damage she done to that poor girl's lunges wasn't the type that just heals. I was kind of worried that healing her would reveal me to the other witch but I couldn't just let her die. Now I don't have to worry about that anymore. I'll have her lunges fully healed in a few weeks. ”

 

As John listened to Julia he couldn't help but feel a little strange. Whenever she'd first talked about the hunt he had only thought about it in terms of her benefiting from it. It seemed that she wasn't content to use her magic only to benefit herself though. It made him feel better about his situation somehow. “Well I'm glad to hear that. So how did you actually defeat her?”

 

“It didn't go as smoothly as my first one I'll tell you that much. I'm pretty glad that I modified my body before I actually confronted her so that I could resist changes in the air and electrical shock more easily. I still managed to get the drop on her but well if I had been a human I'd been dead.” As she spoke Julia placed her right hand over her chest. She didn't need to tell John that a bolt of lightning had caught her right in the chest whenever she'd dug her claws into Marian. For a moment Julia had feared that she'd be the one defeated despite being the one to ambush her. Fortunately whenever she'd formed her claws she'd made them so they'd do more then cut and pierce flesh. She had also injected a powerful sedative into her to make the fight easier.

 

“You know leaving out the details like that is only going to make me worry more. Have you ever considered self defense classes? I know they're more for defending then attacking but they could be useful.”

 

“Already took them.” Julia couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at John as she picked up a crab claw and cracked it. “You are on the right path though. They're a lot of witches that learn magic but never really consider how to fight. I was surprised when Marian responded as quickly as she did to my attack. She did have some prior experience with such things.”

 

As John listened to Julia he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. They both knew what a defeat for Julia could mean for him and most likely would mean. The fact that she had gained more power should make him feel safe but instead he found himself worrying. From the way Julia spoke the fight had been over extremely quickly and that wasn't comforting. “That has influenced your exercise routine as well?”

 

“Yes it has. I even managed to spend some time this evening warming up for my hunt. Okay that's enough about hunting.” As she spoke Julia reached out and ran her pinky finger against John's side for a moment. She could see that he was making himself nervous by thinking of the hunt. She was scared as well though more for him then for herself. Fretting about the situation wouldn't help either of them though and she wanted to enjoy her time with him. “I was thinking is there anything that you'd like to study? Perhaps you could work on your medical degree.”

 

For a moment John went silent and leaned back in his seat. “I don't believe I could get up the motivation to really study knowing that I probably won't be able to turn it into a career I would rather have something to do that would actually help us out.” The words learn to detect witches ran by John's ears the moment he had finished speaking causing him to quickly glance behind him. “Blast it. I could have sworn I heard something.”

 

Julia didn't respond right away but looked towards the study. Given this was the second time John seemed to hear something she wondered if it may not his imagination. She then turned her attention back to John. “You might have. If you want to help learning to use your natural abilities as a bane would go a long way but I actually thought of another way that you could help. How would you like to be one of the few if not the worse human to conduct a serious study of magic and its affects?”

 

John could see how having a witch detector could be a very good thing when hunting. He didn't like the idea of just waiting around either hoping for or dreading a signal. Though the more he thought about it the more he realized that was effectively the jobs of some people amounted to. Unlike them he wouldn't have to look at a screen for several hours strait which was nice. If he could do more then that though it would be nice. “How much does the job pay?”

 

“Oh well!” Julia bit down on her lower lip for a moment and felt herself grinning. “The position comes with full medical and dental benefits as well as room and board. I'm afraid starting wages are only ten dollars and hour but there is room for drastic growth and profit. You would set your own hours and have full access to the spa facilities.” As she spoke Julia was actually having trouble not laughing.

 

“Ten dollars an hour! My last job paid over three times that much!” John couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at Julia and took a moment to remove some crab from the shell. “I suppose that a lot of my bills have been taken care of though. I don't even have to pay for gas anymore. What would my responsibilities be?”

 

“Well on top of refining our witch detecting techniques you would be helping with our chief magic expert Rina to further unlock the secrets of the harmonics. You would need to develop experiments to study the affects of mystic harmonics on the world and how the environment affects them as well. While you should look for anything that might improve our fundamental understanding of the harmonics your primary concern is practical applications and use in combat.”

 

“All of this does sound very nice. Except the ten dollars and hour.”

 

“I could raise it to eleven.”

 

“No. Ten is fine.” For a moment John was made to chuckle. “What about equipment though?”

 

“Rina and I will both help with equipment as we are able. Unfortunately funding for this project is rather limited.”

 

“Actually I know where you could get some additional funding if you're clever about it. There is this guy John Kavon that would be willing to donate his entire savings if you could get it somehow. Now I happen to already know all of his personal information so if you could just change into another form for a few minutes and make a visit to the bank.” It surprised John whenever he noticed a very serious look on Julia's face. He responded by smiling. “Well I can't spend it.”

 

“But John that is your money.”

 

“Money that I can't use. At least this way it'd actually serve a purpose. Besides who says I can't use it? I'll just have to order things through the Julia shopping network rather then buying it myself. Anyway in a few months once it's clear I've gone missing all my stuff is going to be taken anyway. Actually there are a few things from my apartment I wonder if you would be willing to pick up for me.”

 

A feeling of warmth was positively radiating through Julia's body as she smiled at John. “I would be delighted to. You know I believe it's time I showed you a bit of what I gained today.” As she spoke Julia held her fingers out to either side of herself. Tiny strands of electricity began to flow and jump between her fingers filling the room with a light crackling sound. At the same time a gentle wind began to flow around the room and without using her mouth she whispered in John's ear. “Rina gains the same powers I do. I believe she was whispering in your ear like I am now.”

 

When John considered the technical difficulties being able to shrink another living person was far more impressive then controlling lightning. As he looked at the strands of electricity jumping between Julia's fingers it wasn't the rational part of his mind speaking. “That is amazing! What all can you do with it?”

 

“Well for one thing I can command electronics with it. I can also give others a really nasty shock or shred the insides of their lunges with a harsh wind. I also know how to craft a remote control for you now! Well sort of.” A slight giggle escaped Julia as how weird what she was about to suggest might seem actually sunk in. The look John gave her told her he wanted to know anyway. “Between my ability to transform living things and control electrical currents I know how to make a living thing that can produce electromagnetic waves. Once I have one of your remote controls and can gain a feel for the different signals I can make you a kind of control leaf if you will.”

 

For a moment John was silent but took in what Julia said. After a moment of consideration one concern came to mind. “Okay what is going to happen when the batteries die?”

 

A slight giggle escaped John after a moment of silence. “Well it's going to be a plant! You're going to have to give it water and let it soak up some nutrients from time to time! I'll tell you what. I'll make you a water and nutrient solution and a few remotes so you always have one good to go.”

 

“Why does it have to be a plant? Couldn't it be more like a. Oh wait. Yeah a plant is good.”

 

“Why did you change your mind?”

 

“I don't want a keyboard or remote control that poops on me or bites me whenever I throw it against the wall in frustration.”

 

John had officially amazed Julia. Given all that he had lost in just a few days he had managed to hold himself together. Not only was he holding himself together but he was making jokes and coming up with ways to help her. He was actually helping her despite what she'd done to him. Despite the world she'd brought him into. “I promise I'll make it worth it.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Oh nothing. So was there anything interesting on television?”

 

“I caught up a bit on watching Jeanette. I think that Rina liked it more then I did.”

 

“I loved that show!” Unlike before there was no whisper in John's ear. Rather where once there had only been an empty spot now set a rather excited looking sprite.

 

Julia, “Rina what are you doing! I told you I would be having an important conversation with John!”

 

“Uhuh and you did it. Now you're just talking about television. But it is so neat that you're going to be helping us John! I really hope we can find out all sort of neat things. May I have some crab now?”

 

As John looked at Rina he was rather surprised. It wasn't the interruption that surprised him but rather that Rina had gone from being a bit over a head taller then him to an even greater height. He imagined that if they were both standing his eye line might have been below her nipple line. Her hair had become curlier and now was a radiant red as well. “Did you grow?”

 

Julia, “Yes she grew. As I grow in power and she absorbs other sprites she grows and in power and size as well. Rina I'm not done speaking with John. Please go back to your room.” Despite having spoken to John about the important issues Julia wasn't ready to have Rina interrupt their time together. The last few days had been quite busy and she just wanted to spend some time with her friend without interference.

 

“I want some crab though!”

 

“Fine.” As she spoke Julia quickly snapped off one of the crab legs and held it up for the sprite. “Here. Now go back to your room!.”

 

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Mavon 15, 1558 HH

 

So he had agreed to help study magic and figure out effective ways to use it. It had seemed like a good idea the other day but as John sit by the pool he was beginning to really think about the problem. He had done a few research projects in college but that had mostly involved reading a lot of well established articles and a few books. To actually begin such a project from scratch was a bit different and he wasn't entirely certain of how to begin. Julia had said that he should focus on the practical applications first and he had to agree with her. The fine details could wait until they were in a more secure position. John didn't even know how powerful the other witches were.

 

“So are you ready to begin? How do we begin? We should begin right now. You never know when another witch is going to show up. Have you spent any time trying to feel for other witches?”

 

All John did for a moment was glare at Rina as water rolled off his body. The sprite had made her presence known by falling from the top of the cage into the pool below and splashing him. Fortunately he was dressed for swimming even if he didn't have the desire. “That's what I was thinking on thank you very much. If I'm going to do this though we're going to need to start with the basics. Is there any chance I could get some pin and paper to write with or is recording information against the rules?”

 

“It's fine but Julia will be responsible if you lose it and have to take care of any problems that should arise!” As she spoke Rina rapidly flapped her wings in order to lift herself out of the water. In doing so she sent a massive spray over the edges of the pool and all over John as well.

 

“Would you please not drench me?” John didn't know if it would work. At times he wondered how much actually got through to Rina and how much just passed through. He was a little surprised whenever Rina gave him a curious look.

 

“I thought you liked getting wet?”

 

“I do at times but not all the time and I don't like it when someone else gets me wet.” John was made to tingle as a heat seemed to move over his skin. It was a strange heat though that didn't quite rest on his body but seemed to hang just above the skin. In an instant the water covering him vanished.

 

“I apologize I didn't know that you didn't like being wet. I thought that sense you were always taking baths and jumping into the water you enjoyed it. How do you know when a human wants to be wet and when they don't want to be wet?”

 

Despite his previous frustration John couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. His first instinct had been to believe Rina was behaving the way she was to annoy him. He hadn't stopped to think that she might not know enough about human social interaction to behave properly. Unfortunately he wasn't certain how to answer her question. “Well. You use social ques like body language, mood and the environment to decide such things. You need to know what the person is doing there and I can't really explain it all. It's just something that you learn while interact with humans.” As he spoke John had actually began to feel rather awkward as he considered the situation.

 

“So I'm suppose to learn such things by spending time with you and Julia?”

 

“Not all your time with us! People need privacy at times and won't want to be interrupted. In general though yes. It must be pretty strange for you being amongst humans instead of other sprites. I guess you have a very different social system there.” Rina hadn't said anything about it but in some ways his situation was similar to hers. She couldn't go out in public and he hadn't seen any other sprites. The more he thought about Rina situation the more her desire to be around Julia and even her selfish behavior made sense. She was in a strange place far away from home in a different world then her own. Of course she'd want to claim a little peace of it for herself.

 

“Yep! Okay I'll watch you and Julia a whole lot so I can learn about human social behavior. Now you're going to need some pin and paper so that you can write notes on. Just remember that if you lose the notes or reveal them to anyone then Julia will have to take responsibility.”

 

“I know. At this size I don't believe there is much to worry about. Even if I lost the notes I doubt anyone would even recognize them unless they're walking around with a magnifying glass glued to their eye.” As Rina flew off John stood up and walked towards the chair he'd placed his robe on. The first thing he would need to do is list the magic abilities that Julia and apparently Rina had. He could then begin questioning Rina to see what she knew. Julia had mentioned that after obtaining a power she automatically knew how to use it but he couldn't help but wonder if she knew the best way to use it. Someone who knew how to use a gun might not know the best way to use it in actual combat.

 

“Here you go.” As she spoke Rina held out a thorn as well as some solid white parchment.

 

It felt kind of strange as John took hold of the thorn and what would serve as paper. Just by feeling of the paper he could tell that it was rather thick compared to what he was used to using. As he pressed the thorn to the paper a deep black ink came from the tip leaving a heavy blob. “That should do really well. Okay Rina how about we start with the basics. What are the harmonics that you and Julia can use?”

 

“Is the work day officially beginning?”

 

“Uh.” For a moment John looked around suddenly feeling rather uncertain. It was a rather strange notion and it took a moment for his mind to catch up with the question. “I believe that it has. Now if you want to talk about benefits you're going to need to settle that with Julia.”

 

“Okay! We can use the haromics of living change or polymorph, fire, water, wind and lightning.”

 

As Rina spoke John worked to write down and number the harmonics. He would then designate a few pages for each harmonic so that he could get down the fine details. “Okay now what harmonic would you say is the most powerful?”

 

“The harmonic of living change! It's one of the rare ones and it was the first haromic that I could use.”

 

“Oh! I guess that makes you quite a rare sprite.”

 

“Yep!”

 

Nodding his head John continued to write making a note besides the harmonic of living change. While he was writing his mind flashed back to what Julia had told him about using transformation magic and how long she could sustain certain affects. It brought up some general questions. “Hold on a moment. Let's talk about some things in general. Julia told me that when it came to witches she could only sustain a transformation for so long. As she takes more power from other witches does that time increase?”

 

“Yes it does. It really helps if she could take the power from another witch that knew how to use the harmonic of living transformation.”

 

“Okay and I've seen for myself how different harmonics can be combined. Now tell me this. Does it take more time to cast a very powerful spell then it does to cast a week one?”

 

To this Rina gave a quick nod. “Yes it does. It's like moving something heavy compared to moving something light. Even if you're strong enough to move the heavy object it still takes a little longer then once it's moving it's a lot harder to stop.”

 

“I see. Now that seems like a good place to start. We're going to need to come up with some kind of scale.” As he spoke John flipped the book Rina had given him over and began to write on the back page. He wasn't entirely certain how the scale was going to work out and figured he might go through a few pages while working on the rough draft of the concept. “How about we break it down by mass? We can use the mass of a witch and the mass of a human to make too different scales and come up with the best balance of speed and effect for different situations.”

 

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“Are you okay?” John was actually rather surprised whenever Rina's breathing rate had increased. As he looked at her he could swear that he saw her arms flexing and relaxing as well. The sprite's body seemed to be radiating more light and the flames that composed her hair had began to dance more violently. They had been working on studying the harmonics for a while now though John didn't think they'd done much. Surely Rina had used more energy fixing up the cage then she had on his test. Despite that John found himself documenting the changes in her body as well as the time they began. He didn't know if the information would be of any use but he'd learned a long time ago that when something strange happened during testing you documented it.

 

“Yep! How is the scale working?”

 

Rina had been casting spells repeatedly while John had been recording the time it took her to cast them. Each time she cast a spell she had increased the power so that it would influence a larger mass. The mass being a plant that John hoped Julia wouldn't mind them using for experimentation. He had been trying to determine the relationship between the mass Rina was trying to influence or the energy output with the time needed to cast the spell. The concept was a simple one. If spell A would get the job done and only required half the time to use then spell B then in a combat situation it was likely best to go with spell A even if spell B was technically more powerful. Unfortunately the relationship wasn't as linear as John had hoped that it would be. He also had to worry that the reason for the increasing delay in Rina's casting time was due to fatigue. With the changes in her physical condition he didn't believe he could rely upon any data they gathered beyond the current point. “I believe that we need to take a rest. I'm going to spend some time seeing if I can feel Julia's location.”

 

“Okay. Learning to better locate other witches is really important to after all. Instead of trying to feel Julia though why don't you try to feel other witches? She's going to be at work for a while longer and it's a lot easier to find her when she's staying still rather then when she's moving.”

 

“Rina I've only been working on feeling witches for two days now.”

 

“Yeah but you've already become really good at keeping track of Julia besides you had a lot of practice locating her at the hospital. If you count the time you spent tracking her at the hospital you've had several months of practice already.”

 

It was tempting to argue with Rina but what she said was true. Even if he hadn't realized what he was doing he had been practicing his tracking long before he knew what a witch's bane was or that he was one. It had just seemed so natural at the time. “You make a good point. Okay I'll see if I can feel anything similar to what I feel whenever I'm trying to find Julia.”

 

“Hey you could hunt for me to! Julia is my witch so our harmonics are the same but they're different enough that you could get some practice. I'll go hide somewhere and you come find me.”

 

“Okay just make sure you hide somewhere I can actually get to.” It was a strange moment for John. Effectively he'd agreed to play hide and seek with Rina. Between her appearance, her size relative to him and her general behavior he couldn't help but feel a bit off. Part of him wouldn't have felt it strange if he'd found bits of clothing hidden at different locations and clues where the next article might be.

 

***********************************************************************************

Yet another night coming home late. Julia hadn't thought of it much but she had been getting home quite late recently. Given John suddenly joining her house hold that wasn't surprising. She couldn't hold it against him either. As she walked through the front door and thought of the weekend she was quite grateful that she wouldn't have to go into work tomorrow. She was also rather excited. Before she could say anything though she found Rina fluttering just in front of her face.

 

“We made a chart!”

 

Confusion was the first thing Julia felt having no idea of what the sprite was talking about. The wiser part of her said that she shouldn't even ask Rina about it but go strait to John. “I see. Well I hope you don't mind but I'll let John give me the report. I'm guessing the two of you had a busy day.”

 

“Yep we did all sorts of tests. He came up with a lot of things for me to do and did a lot of writing in his book.”

 

Julia just chose to nod her head as she stepped into her study. John was currently in his home leaning against the bars apparently expecting her. “Welcome home. Where all did you go today? You seemed to be moving around quite a bit.”

 

“Well after I went to the bank and withdrew your savings account. They weren't happy about that by the way. I went to your apartment and picked up the things you wanted me to get as well as some extras. Sense I was already out town I decided that I should do some shopping as well. I'll be back in a moment I still have things to bring in from the car but here's your money.” As she spoke Julia placed a rather thick satchel on the table next to the cage. “Before I go out though. Did you sense any witches?”

 

“None. I'm not sure what my effective range is of course. I talked to Rina about it and she seems to believe that I'd feel any witches within a few hundred meters of here. I guess that gives you something of a safe zone.”

 

For a moment Julia froze and considered what John said. “Hey that is true! Actually I bet that will help me sleep at night. I've worried about another witch figuring out who I am and laying in wait before. With you as my guardian I don't have to worry about that anymore so long as you're near. Rina told me that you worked on some charts as well.”

 

“We did a little work. I was trying to figure out the relationship between the energy used in spell casting and how quickly you could cast it. I'm trying to find the right balance between power and speed. I can tell you about it if you want but my data is pretty incomplete at the moment.” As John spoke part of him felt like he really hadn't done enough. It had seemed like a good stopping point at the time but now when he looked at his notes he couldn't help but feel he should have done more.

 

“That is a really good idea! Wow. You're really taking your job as magic researcher seriously aren't you?” When Julia had first learned how to use magic she thought she knew how to use it in combat. It seemed that John was thinking of the finer details though and he did have a point. “So what did you find?”

 

“Well I did find that the more powerful the spell the longer it to cast it. It doesn't scale quite like I expected though. Doubling the power of the spell didn't result in the spell taking twice as long to cast. Plus the data is a bit chaotic. I'm still a little unsure about how much power it takes to actually influence a person as well so.” As John spoke he noticed Julia moving closer to the cage and lowering herself into a seated position as she listened to him. The amount of attention she was giving his words actually surprised him and made him wish that he'd been a bit more professional about his efforts.

 

“You've already began studying all of that?” When Julia had offered John a job she hadn't been certain what to expect. She already knew how to cast the spells within the harmonic after all and he couldn't use magic himself. Yet he had found a way of helping her just the same. Knowing how to apply the spells could be just as important as knowing how to cast them.

 

“Well yeah. I hope this doesn't sound too strange but I got to thinking about some of my games. You don't use your most powerful spell to destroy every little minion. You either use an area of affect spell or your quick casting light spells that do just enough damage to finish them off. Knowing when to use the right spells can make an impossible fight easy.” As John had been speaking he'd noticed a large grin spreading across Julia's face. It made him blush a little to see her giving so much credibility to his game talk.

 

“That's true! Wow. I guess my magic-fu might actually be pretty lacking now that I think about it.”

 

“Maybe. I'm still not sure after all. Unfortunately I can't see a casting time for each spell you know. I don't even know all the spells you know. Anyway, how about you bring the wrest of your stuff in?”

 

“Oh right! I picked up some groceries while I was out shopping. I hope that you like grilled salmon. Once I have dinner done I can start setting up your entertainment system.” As she was moving back towards the door Julia found it difficult to convince her legs to move. Part of her wanted to pick John up and take him with her rather then leave him behind. If she had been setting at the cage still she probably would have. For the moment though she willed her legs to continue moving and simply resolved to carry things in as quickly as she could. There was a strange feeling as she stepped outside and thought of John and how he could detect other witches. There was an increased feeling of safety where she hadn't even noticed the fear before. She simply felt better knowing that he was near and helping to look out for her.

 

***********************************************************************************

Mavon 16, 1558 HH

 

“Wake up. Hey wake up.”

 

John was made to groan lightly as he felt something pushing against his shoulder. Turning his head to the side he set up in his bed quickly whenever he found Rina leaning over him.”What is it Rina?” As John spoke his hand reached out and pressed against the remote controller he'd been using the previous night. Julia had set up his entertainment system for him and even manged to get the controls working after tinkering with them some herself. He had used dinner as time to tell her about his findings with Rina. Despite feeling that they were rather lacking himself Julia had seemed fascinated and even quite excited. The end result was that he had gone to bed late and now suspected he was being woken up early. Now he wanted to know why.

 

“Want to see something really neat?”

 

At first all John did was look at Rina. He had no idea what she was talking about and she'd just woken him up so he was thinking a little slowly. “Rina what are you talking about?”

 

“It's a surprise but you'll like it! I just know you will!” As she spoke Rina began to bounce lightly on the hills of her feet. The fact that this resulted in her breasts bouncing enticingly didn't even seem to register with the sprite but it did result in John looking away.

 

Despite being tired John was curious what Rina was talking about. He did have some concerns though. “This isn't going to be something dangerous is it?”

 

“No! You'll be safe I promise now come on before it's too late.”

 

“Will you let me sleep if I don't go?”

 

“You can sleep later! Come on! There isn't much time.”

 

If there wasn't much time it probably wouldn't take too long. Giving a sigh John found himself climbing out of bed. “I'll go so long as you promise this won't be harmful to me or anyone else. Alright!” John was rather surprised when Rina responded by slipping an arm around his shoulders and practically sweeping him off his feet with the other.

 

“Yeah! Now let's hurry!”

 

As John was lifted into Rina's arms he couldn't help but notice when he was squeezed against her chest. Instinct took over before he could protest though and he wrapped his arms around her neck as the sprite took off. While before things had only looked like they were moving by quickly this time he was certain of it. He felt a slight delay when they came to the cage door but he didn't actually get to see it open. Rather he could swear he heard the door impact with the wrest of the cage as Rina used her foot to flick it open and take off. The house moved by him too quickly for him to recognize anything that he saw and then he found himself in a flower scented room looking down at a soft pink fluffy object. Dizzy was his primary feeling whenever Rina lowered him to the ground and he began to look around trying to figure out where he was. Vibrations that shook the ground itself drew his attention soon after.

 

It had not been a pleasant night for Julia. She had John in her home entirely dependent on her and nearly all to herself but they had done so little together. The first two nights she had been able to keep him close at least but now that he was sleeping in his new home she had began to feel truly frustrated. It had been her intentions to place his home in her room once she'd finished working on it but Rina had spoiled her chance at that. A sigh escaped Julia as she shut the door and placed her bag on the bed. As she walked over to her mirror she pulled her arms inside of her shirt and quickly lifted the garment above her head and tossed it on the bed to join the bag. Now looking at herself in the mirror Julia reached up and pressed her hands underneath her breasts and lifted them feeling the weight of each one.

 

There was a moment when John had been uncertain of where he was due to the speed with which Rina moved. It didn't help that he hadn't been in this position before. As he looked at Julia his mouth nearly dropped open as he realized that he was in Julia's room standing on the light pink table cloth on her night stand and hiding amongst the clock and other nicknacks she kept there. Instinctively he dropped to a crouched position and looked towards Rina before speaking in a loud whisper. “What do you think you're doing?”

 

“Ouch.” Was all Julia could think to say as she squeezed her breasts before reaching behind herself and unbuttoning her bra. “You're not going to do.” Rina had told Julia that her body would change as she took the power from other witches. Thus Julia had went and bought a variety of garments. Unfortunately it wasn't a precise science and her current bra just wasn't doing the job. It was fine for a little while but soon enough it began to hurt. She had been too tired to worry about it after she got home the previous night but she had went shopping for a few more bras. Reaching into the bag she was made to giggle whenever she took out the first bra and held it up close to her face. “Okay I'm not ready for you yet.” With another chuckle Julia tossed the bra to the side. With each cup large enough to accommodate her face and then some she didn't think she'd be wearing that one for a while.

 

At the moment John was torn. He didn't want to risk Julia seeing him but he needed to get out of here. Yet despite the risk of being found out he couldn't help but look at Julia. The site of her holding the massive bra up to her head and thinking she might one day grow into it had a profound affect on him. When he looked at her he couldn't help but notice her lips as well and remember what had happened with her breasts. He had to wonder if her lips might have become fuller during the night. When he caught a glimpse of her hand he knew those had changed. Julia took care of her hands but the constant washing with medical soap took its tole just the same. He couldn't see any sign of harsh treatment though and remembered how her skin had felt the last time she'd pick him up. It seemed softer. Now he knew that it was.

 

The other bras Julia had picked up were far more modest in their size. Indeed she already had a few large ones in reserve but upon seeing the most recent one she couldn't resist purchasing it. Now she found herself holding a smaller white bra better suited to her current curves. She already knew that it fit but she wanted to see how all three looked on her. As she stripped away the labels she tossed them into the trash can and once again came to stand in front of her mirror not realizing she was giving John and Rina a back and frontal view. As she slipped the bra on she took a moment to adjust it then gently squeezed her breasts together and placed a finger just over her cleavage line. “Mm right there. He'd fit right in there so well. Nice, secure and warm but not too tight and where he could get a nice breeze. No need to sleep in that lonely cage anymore.” A slight giggle escaped Julia as she slipped her left hand into her right bra cup and gave her breasts a gentle squeeze.

 

“Then again maybe he would like it in here better. He could snuggle up against my nipple and rest his head right on it. Let's see how well the material breathes.” Removing her bra Julia held it up to her face and pressed it against the material. As she took a long slow breath she had to remove the bra. “Ah no. Not very well at all. So what about the others?”

 

For a moment John had been too stunned to talk. Now Julia's words had snapped him back to reality and he quickly turned to Rina. “Rina I want to get out of here right now.”

 

“What? Why? I was really careful this time and thought about all the time you spent looking at Julia's boobies. I know you like them.”

 

“Oh this one is nice! He shouldn't have any trouble in there so long as I didn't cover up. I bet he'd keep me hot enough that I wouldn't even need the covers.” A slight giggle escaped Julia as she stood in front of the mirror and slipped a soft blue bra on. As she looked at the garment she lightly messaged her nipples through the material. “My wonderful man safe against my nipple and so near my heart.”

 

For a moment John went silent and took in a deep breath. He had to fight to keep himself from turning to look at Julia. “Yes. Yes I do but this isn't right. I want to respect Julia's privacy even more then I want to see her boobies.”

 

“Oh! Is that all?”

 

John felt like his heart had leaped into his throat and lunged forward in an attempt to take hold of Rina as he saw her wings flapping. He didn't know what was about to happen but he knew he had to stop it. Unfortunately he only got a reminder of the sprite's speed as he impacted with the pink table cloth. By the time he had turned over the sprite was already fluttering in front of a rather surprised looking Julia. “Well blast.” Flashed through John's mind before it seemed to go numb.

 

“Hey Julia. John wants to continue seeing your boobies but he doesn't want to invade your privacy. So he's right over there.” As she spoke Julia pointed towards a rather stunned looking John.

 

John wasn't the only one stunned. Julia had been a bit shocked when Rina had appeared in front of her. Though she'd shared her room with the sprite long enough not to be too shocked. It was what the sprite said moments later that truly caught her off guard. Julia felt her skin growing warm and her neck seemed to stiffen as if she couldn't bring herself to look to where Rina was pointing. The very notion that John had heard her talking about him in such a way was almost enough to freeze her in place.

 

What was he suppose to do now? John could hardly believe what happened but he couldn't take his eyes away from Julia either. Even if she hadn't seen him she knew exactly where he was. It took a few moments for his brain to catch up with what was happening and his mouth to begin working. “Julia I didn't mean to spy on you. I am however sorry that.” John went silent as Julia covered up her cheeks with her hands and lowered her gaze though she didn't turn towards him. After a moment he took in a deep breath. “I would never intentionally spy on you like this. I just didn't know what Rina's intentions were and I should have spoken up sooner. I didn't want to alarm you though and I was thinking. That said if you'd like.” It was necessary for John to take in another breath. He didn't know if he wanted Julia to speak or not.

 

John had heard everything that she'd said and even seen what she was doing. He'd heard her talking about having him snuggle up to her nipple and even seen her make sure that the bra breathed well. Julia knew that she should have a few words with Rina at least but that wasn't what was raising through her mind. After a few moments of silence she finally managed to lower her hands and turn towards John who was still looking at her and apparently rather nervous himself. “John. I didn't mean. I mean I would never. I would just like to get closer to you is all.”

 

“So I heard. It's alright Julia. If you'd like and if you're ready some of those things or well all of those things sounded like they'd be rather nice. If you're interested.” John had to steady himself and not just because Julia began to walk over to him. This was not the way he imagined expressing such feelings for Julia. He often imagined it as happening over dinner or during a relaxing evening. Instead he'd been caught spying on her. Granted it hadn't been his intentions but that is how things had happened.

 

Julia took a few steps towards John and then remembered something very important. Crossing her arms over her chest Julia turned her attention to Rina for the moment. “Okay Rina it's time for you to leave the room and I don't want you coming back in here until I tell you it's alright.”

 

“Ah! But why?”

 

Rather then answer her Julia quickly reached out and took the sprite in her hand. Her touch was gentle and the sprite didn't protest as Julia began to walk towards the door. “This isn't the time for such a conversation.” Using her free hand Julia opened the door and then opened her hand allowing Rina to fly out. “Now behave yourself.”

 

“But I!”

 

A soft chuckle escaped John as Julia shut the door on the sprite. Yet with Rina out of the room a new mood seemed to fill it. Before when Julia had held him she'd gained a sway in her hips she didn't usually have. As she walked towards him now he was better able to see it where before he'd only been able to feel it in the shifting of her body as she moved. As she moved towards him John stepped out from behind the clock and began to make his way towards the edge of the table yet Julia's legs covered the floor far more quickly then his were covering the table. He had to look further and further up the closer she came to him. “So is there anything I can do to make up for the invasion of your privacy?”

 

Julia was smiling though her blush had yet to fade. She could feel her excitement building though and the heat increasing between her legs. “Well. Considering how long I let you go around without any underwear and that I shrunk you right out of yours how about we call it even? Still we should do something to make sure this doesn't happen again.”

 

“I had forgotten about that.” As John spoke he had to look strait up and even then he found himself looking over the curve of Julia's breasts. When he thought about the bra she'd been holding earlier he couldn't help but wonder if he could stand so close to her, look up and still see her face. He doubted that he would be able to unless he could see between her breasts. He didn't have to worry about that long as he felt Julia's thumb and index finger pressing into his sides and lifting him from the night stand. He expected to be lifted to her face and was a little surprised whenever he found himself brought forward towards her stomach. Julia's fingers shifted as he came to the edge of her belly button and he found himself gently pressed into it until his face met with the back of her belly button. Instinctively he spread his arms and legs to avoid falling out as her finger left him. The walls of muscles shifted and flexed around him as Julia moved squeezing in on him from time to time.

 

There wasn't far for Julia to go. As she slipped John into her belly button she climbed into her bed brushing her bras to the side as she did so. Her entire body was made to tingle as she felt his little hands pressing against her skin while she gathered up a few pillows to lay back against. As she settled down and placed her hands to either side of her John's head poked up from the edge of her belly button looking towards her face. This brought a slight chuckle from her as he seemed to be wondering what he should do. For a moment Julia said nothing but flexed her stomach muscles lightly hugging John with just her stomach muscles.“So where should we begin?”

 

There was a rush as John felt Julia's belly button closing in around him. The embrace was limited but it was impressive how much she could work her stomach muscles. The answer to her question seemed fairly clear considering where she'd put him. Yet John was a little uncertain of himself given Julia's massive scale. Knowing that he had to start somewhere he lightly squeezed the edge of her belly button while placing a kiss upon it. He felt the ground shift beneath him as Julia gave a deep sigh her right hand came up and took hold of her right breast squeezing it lightly through her bra. This held John's gaze as he pressed his hands into the edge of Julia's belly button and squeezed then relaxed them. With each squeeze John moved slightly to his right while keeping his face close to the edge of Julia's belly button lightly running his lips along it.

 

John's hands and kisses on her stomach were doing wonders for Julia. As he moved closer to the side of her belly she knew he would soon loose site of her face. That meant he would be looking down into the lower regions of her body soon. Using her left hand Julia quickly unbutton her pants and lifted them up slightly though she didn't make any move to remove her panties or even her pants entirely. With that done she pressed the tip of her left pinky against John's back and began to move it in a slight circle. As she worked she could feel his rear through his clothing and squeezed her legs together in excitement. His toes pushed into the bottom of her belly button and he even managed to squeeze some of her flesh between them. “That feels nice and you fit in there so well. Do you like it in my belly button John?”

 

“It does provide quite a view.” As Julia's pinky tip ran over his back John leaned back against it. By now he found himself looking over Julia's side as he continued his progress around her belly button. He could feel his own excitement growing and Julai's body heating up around him. A lite layer of moisture was forming on her skin resulting in a slight salty after taste with each kiss. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the edge of her pants and knew that they'd been undone. The impulse to push forward and press his body against the side of her belly button increased especially as Julia's finger tip lingered on his rear teasing it through his clothing. His progress slowed as he took a moment to steady himself and rubbed his cheek against the edge of Julia's belly button for a moment while looking up at her. “Your skin is so wonderful Julia. It's so warm, smooth and soft.”

 

“I'm glad you like it. Now I know the witch who lost it to me is missing it.” A soft sigh escaped Julia as John turned to look at her panties. Her pinky pushed forward pressing John more firmly against her belly button and holding him still for a moment. Even as she held him she carefully moved her finger though very slowly and only a little bit. As she pinned him she could feel John's lips pressing against her stomach while his hands continued to message it. A low moan escaped her as she felt John's teeth pressing into her flesh and she slowly withdrew her pinky allowing him to continue his progress certain he'd gotten a good view.

 

John couldn't help his own excitement. As Julia had pressed her finger into his back his penis had pushed into her flesh. Reflexively he'd given a few thrust against her skin before she'd eased up on the pressure allowing him to continue. As he continued to work around her navel he knew her breasts would be coming into view soon. A rustling could be heard behind him and when he looked up at Julia's arm he knew she had reached into her pants. He heard the sound of the shifting cloth and the temptation to look behind him grew even stronger. Yet again he paused and found his resolve so that he could continue onward. When he finally did make it all the way around he could clearly see the outline of Julia's nipples against her bra. He watched as her free hand pulled the cup aside for just a moment allowing him to see her excited nipple before shifting it back into place once again hiding it from view.

 

There was no jumping out of her belly button for John. Rather Julia felt him press his right foot into her stomach wiggling it around and pushing forward until he had a secure foot hold. He pushed upward with his leg and pulled with his arms. She saw his position shift and his stability was threatened as her flesh yielded ever so slightly under his weight. There was a slight stumble forward and the majority of him fell out of her navel. She could feel moisture just outside of her panties as her excitement continued to build while she felt his tiny weight shifting on her stomach as he finished withdrawing his legs from her navel and finally stood up.

 

For a moment John did nothing but look at the vast expanse of Julia's stomach. Reaching down he undid the belt that held his robe on allowing it to fall open but not casting the garment aside. A response to the teasing view of her nipple she'd given him only moments earlier. Julia's left arm moved underneath her left breasts while her left hand pressed up on her right breasts raising them both enticingly. Part of John wanted to run to those mounds as quickly as he could and dive in. Instead he pressed his feet against Julia's stomach and looked over the smooth white surface. As he looked he could see tiny marks and indicators were the skin's tone was off and even blemishes could be seen. At full size these would have gone unnoticed.

 

Julia couldn't help but squirm as John began to remove his robe. When he had left it just barely on she had to fight back a whimper. Then he had began to walk across her stomach. As he moved she heightened her senses to better experience his movements. To conserve energy those nerves that were well beyond his reach were allowed to return to their previous state. Yet the sensual message he'd given her navel seemed to still radiate through her body even as he left it and her nerve returned to normal. Her flesh remembered the attention and in the heat of the moment it was still responding to his touch.

 

For a moment John went silent but bent at his knees and placed his hand over a tiny spot on Julia's skin. The spot was just slightly darker then the surrounding skin making it stand out yet only to someone who saw in as much detail as him. As he pressed his fingers into this spot he could not only feel when Julia breathed or moved with his entire body but even when her stomach muscles flexed or relaxed. “Do you want me to come up there Julia? I believe that you do. You want to feel me exploring the expanse of your stomach but you want me up there exploring your soft mountains even more.”

Julia felt her excitement building as she listened to John. It was true. She wanted to feel his body pressed into her breasts, climbing over them and then holding onto her nipple. The thought of his legs wrapping around her nipple and squeezing it while she pressed him into her soft flesh excited her. There was a desire to pick him up and take him to her breasts. Yet she resisted this desire in an effort to draw him to them instead. “Don't you want to feel them? Come now just slip right under here.” As she spoke Julia lifted her bra slightly though not enough to offer John another glimpse of her nipple. “See what it's like to experience a breast larger then your entire body.”

 

The offer was very tempting. Instead of giving into it though John continued to take his time crossing Julia's stomach. Falling to his side John pressed his right hand into Julia's skin and stretched it as far above his head as he could while pressing his toes into her flesh. His lips met with her flesh as his left hand began to move over her skin. He could feel the warmth of her flesh radiating upwards and sinking into his own. There was a slight quake as she moaned. Something damp pressed into him carrying an aroma he didn't recognize but found stimulating all the same and began to slowly roll over his body with alternating levels of pressure. Julia was using the hand that she'd been using to pet her labia through her panties to gently message him into her flesh leaving him covered in her aroma.

 

As Julia lifted her finger she felt John coming with it for a moment as the light layer of fluids caused him to stick to her finger. He slipped free before her finger had lifted to high and she felt his full weight settle back down upon her flesh. Where he touched heat seemed to radiate from bringing pleasure with it. “That's it come on up here. You know you want to explore them. You want to be safe in the hills.”

 

John's own excitement was rather hard to deny. As he looked towards Julia's hand and watched her squeeze her nipples between her fingers his own body responded. The fluid that had soaked Julia's finger now added weight to his robe and made it less uncomfortable to walk in. After a moments consideration he allowed it to fall from him leaving him only in his makeshift underwear. She seemed to approve as he watched her hands squeezing her breasts. He felt the ground change as he moved from walking across Julia's stomach and began to move onto her ribcage. “Your nipples want to be touched do they? They want to be ridden. Then want to nurture someone.”

 

The feeling of John's hands and then lips meeting with the very base of her breasts was electric to Julia. Her right hand was made to push down against her panties more forcefully while her thighs squeezed together. She felt John's body pushing forward against her breasts flesh. Rather then trying to climb the slope of her breasts though he pushed forward into her cleavage. The same cleavage that had held him captive only a few nights past when her breasts had first grown. For a moment they once again held him captive as Julia squeezed her breasts in on his body trapping him in their embrace for a moment before relaxing her hold.

 

The feeling of Julia's breasts moving in around him engulfing his entire body was a thrill John wasn't prepared for. Before when he'd been trapped in her cleavage he had been that way for hours leaving his body sore and limited in his ability to enjoy the experience. Now he felt her breasts engulfing and molding to hold every part of his body. For a moment he was unable to resist pressing his penis into her flesh even as his oxygen was cut off. As the need to breath grew more intense he began to grind his penis more forcefully against her flesh until it seemed that pain may begin to creep in. A rush of fresh air hit John as Julia relaxed the hold her breasts held on him and he felt himself settle down once again. Leaning to his right he pressed his cheek into Julia's cleavage rubbing it against the soft warm flesh before placing a kiss upon her warm skin and doing the same for the left breasts. On a whim he rapidly shrugged from side to side rubbing his body against both of her breast at the same time.

A delighted squeal came from Julia as she squeezed her breasts together once again to better feel John's movements. This had the unfortunate consequences of halting his motions and she quickly relaxed her hold on him. “Do that again!” It took a moment but Julia soon felt John shifting about rapidly between her breasts. This time she was able to resist the urge to squeeze her breasts in on him and just barely resist vocalizing her enjoyment. A sharp gasp escaped her whenever he stopped moving and once again resumed his journey between her breasts. As he moved he began to press more of his body weight into her right breasts while his legs pushed more towards the left. The increasing incline of her upper body and the slope of her breasts was forcing him to change position. Rather then climbing between her breasts he was beginning to climb onto her right breasts.

 

As John emerged from within Julia's cleavage he gave a long sigh. “Wow! It is hot in there!” A soft chuckle escaped John as he took a moment to lean against Julia's right breast while pressing his feet into her skin to hold his position. The air was still heavy with the heat of her body and scent but it was less concentrated and cool relatively speaking. This also gave him a moment to look up at Julia's smiling face. For a moment John just held his ground looking up at her face while pressing his hands into her breasts lightly squeezing her flesh as he did so. He felt her breast shift upward making it easier for him to maintain his position and a soft breeze hit his body as Julia gently blew across him.

 

Thank goodness she had brushed her teeth. Julia couldn't imagine blowing across John's body as she was if she'd just recently eaten. At the moment her breath was clean with a bit of mint mixed in. It seemed to have the desired affect as she felt John's weight shifting as he continued towards the top of her breasts. As he was moving Julia couldn't help but look at his underwear. “How about you take of the rest of your clothes? They seem to just be getting in your way. I mean. It seems.”

 

For a moment John gripped his underwear and looked up at Julia. He was made to grin as he took a moment to roll onto his back and loosened his waist band while pulling his garment open for just a moment. Just when he knew that Julia had seen his erection he pulled his underwear back on similar to how she'd slipped her bra back on after teasing him with her nipple. The pout this resulted in was almost enough to make him feel guilty. If she had been able to hold the pout for more then a few seconds he might have even finished undressing. As things were the moment her smile broke through he rolled back onto his stomach and began to crawl towards the front of her breasts.

 

While John crawled across her breasts Julia lightly petted her labia through her panties. Pushing down on the garment she inserted her fingers and some of the cloth just past her lips and lightly moved her finger tips along them. A wide grin formed on her face as John made his way a bit half way across her breasts. Pushing up on her right breasts she brought her head forward and quickly opened her mouth. Her lips pressed into John's body pushing him down into the flesh of her breasts and pinning him. With him held secure beneath her mouth her teeth closed and took hold of his underwear. As she felt the cloth between her teeth Julia bit down hard and felt the material snap between her teeth.

 

John had felt Julia's breath wash over him and turned to see what was happening too late. He had seen her lips coming for him and even her slightly open mouth but he couldn't turn or crawl quickly enough to avoid her. The soft flesh of her breasts made it difficult to move quickly. Her breath washed over him in a wave ruffling every hair on his body while her teeth left a light layer of saliva across his back as they closed. He heard it as her teeth came together on his underwear and then he felt a slight increase in pressure as the material was drawn tight. “Now ho!” There wasn't time to finish as John felt a sudden release and a rush of cool air as Julia raised up his underwear held securely between her teeth a victorious grin on her face.

 

Julia just smiled at John at first while holding his undergarment between her teeth. Now that he no longer had any clothing to hide it she could easily see how excited he was and was quite pleased with what she found. Turning her head to the side she quickly spit out the remains of his underwear making it clear she had no intent to recover them. Fortunately she could easily make him new underwear later. “You can take off my clothes if you'd like to.”

 

While he wasn't upset John couldn't help but snort. At his size he most assuredly could not undress Julia if he wanted to and she knew it. Rather then say anything he raised himself up and looked towards her bra once again. At least he should be able to slip inside. Despite Julia's decision to undress him he still wanted to get inside of her bra cup and at the moment it seemed like the only way he would get to explore her naked breast. Soon he found himself crawling towards the front of her breast once again the entire time feeling more and more like he would end up falling especially as Julia removed her arm and allowed her breast to settle back into their natural position. As John felt the slope changing he couldn't help but wonder what the odds of Julia getting perkier breast from another witch was.

 

It was actually a bit of a relief whenever John chose to continue onward. Julia had worried that he might decide to be difficult after she'd stripped him like she did. “I'll make it up to you later I promise.” When John turned around with a grin on his face Julia couldn't help but smile as well. She wasn't certain what he'd ask for in compensation but part of her was eager to find out. Soon she found him beginning to edge his way down the front of her breasts towards her bra cup. In that moment she imagined he would have preferred if her bra had covered more of the front of her breast.

 

There was no doubt in John's mind that Julia would try to make up for stripping his clothing. He did worry about how she would try to make up for it but chose not to worry about such things at the moment. Thanks to her inclined position the front of her breast wasn't quite a fall to him. At least the upper slope wasn't. It was still enough of an incline that he was being very careful. There was also some fear as he began to move down the slope of Julia's right breast towards her bra. His eyes told him that the fall was extremely far and there was no way he'd survive. His brain told him that the fall was actually extremely short and his body was more then durable enough to survive. Unfortunately fear didn't always listen to the rational side of his brain so mixed in with the sexual excitement was a good bit of fear.

 

Each time John would move down the slope of her breasts Julia could feel his penis pushing into a new part of her breast. The feeling of his excitement was adding to her own and to her surprise her right nipple was positively aching for attention. The force with which she pushed her fingers into her labia had increased as did the rate at which she was working them against it. She froze for a moment as she felt the toes of John's left foot reaching down into her bra and wiggling around as he tried to get his leg within her cup. She had allowed the garment to continue hanging loosely upon her after she'd given him the quick peak of her nipple. Now she wondered if she should refasten her bra after John had actually made his way inside of it.

 

With one leg inside of Julia's bra John was feeling more secure. As he felt how loose the garment was he did worry about how much of a safety net it would provide. At least he could look down and see her excited nipple. One look insured him that he could easily set upon Julia's nipple if he could actually reach it. Unfortunately as he lowered himself further down gravity was becoming less of a friend and more of an enemy. Julia's tight skin yielded enough to allow him some grip but not the type of grip he was comfortable with. Yet each time he moved he felt his penis rub against Julia's breast. The feeling of her breast touching so much of his flesh, his penis rubbing against it and the knowledge of where he was mixed with the fear of falling to create a rush of sensations that was fogging his mind.

 

As John made his way down into her bra Julia's hands left her breast and her lower lips to begin working with the straps. Her heart was positively pounding with excitement as she looked down and saw only his shoulders above the top of her bra. It seemed he lost his grip for a moment as he quickly declined past the edge of her bra and Julia pulled the garment back on. A moan came from deep within her as pleasure surged from her breast and from between her legs as she felt the clasp to her bra lock back in place. “If you're uncomfortable just. Just say something. You feel so nice in there.” By now Julia had already heightened the feeling she received from her breast being touched. It was proving so intense that she was having trouble thinking.

 

The increase pressure from Julia's bra worried John for a moment. It did occur to him that he might be trapped against her breast or even smothered despite Julia's previous breathing test with the garment. With the space further restricted he felt the heat increasing rapidly but was relieved whenever he was able to continue edging his way down towards Julia's nipple. It was quite likely that if Julia had been crawling on her hands and knees he would have been pinned. He didn't even know if he would have been able to move if she had been laying on her back with only the weight of her bra holding him down. In her reclined position though he was able to continue. In some ways her bra made it easier to move as the fear of falling was reduced.

 

When Julia felt John's feet beginning to press against her aureola she couldn't help herself anymore. Her right hand pressed into her panties and her middle and index finger pushed past her lips. She felt John's foot moving against the dimples on her aureola. A surge of pleasure chased thought from her brain for a moment as his toes actually gripped a particularly large dimple and shifted about around it. Knowing that he could explore her breast in such detail was nearly overwhelming. As he moved she could also feel that he was doing more then just lowering himself down to her nipple. From time to time he had thrust his penis into her breasts. Had she been thinking more clearly she would have realized that John was having more and more trouble retaining his composure.

 

The feeling of his penis pressing against Julia's breast and indeed the entire front of his body was making it hard for John to resist simply thrusting into her flesh until he got off. Yet he still remembered what she'd said about her nipple and was determined to reach it at least. He didn't need to see to know that he was getting close to his target. He could feel the change in the texture of her nipple as he approached her nipple and how the material of the bra responded to her excited flesh. As he moved further John took a moment to lick a particularly large dimple and then press his right ring, middle and index fingers into it before rapidly rubbing it in a tight circle. He heard and felt Julia respond and pressed his penis against her flesh more sharply. “You like that don't you?”

 

“Mmhmm. It feels so good having you in there John. Go a little lower please. I want to feel you hugging my nipple! Let it support you. Please!” The speed with which Julia was thrusting her fingers into herself had increased at this point. It was nearly impossible to resist the urge to use her left hand to push John down further. Instead she busied the hand by messaging her left breast with it. The force she could exert on her left nipple with her own fingers was greater then what John could with his entire body yet it didn't bring anywhere near the same stimulation for her. The mental aspect of knowing that John was climbing down to and would soon be clinging to her nipple overwhelmed the tactile aspect. That she was augmenting how sensitive her right breast was made the situation even more intense for her. “Ah your foot is there!”

 

Julia was right of course. Yet John was having to work harder and harder to make progress. Her excited nipple pressed into her bra more forcefully then the rest of her flesh and it was deeper in the bra then he had been before. This increased the tension her bra exerted on him and made it harder to move. John found himself grunting in effort as he pushed up with his arms in an attempt to drive himself downward while pressing his knees into Julia's flesh and shifted from side to side in an attempt to wiggle deeper. There was a wave of relief as John felt himself shift downward and felt himself come to rest upon something. Immediately his legs were made to squeeze together and he pushed himself forward while shifting about. He could hear and feel it whenever Julia moaned.

 

“Ah! That's it you made it!” As she spoke Julia arched her back and drove her fingers deeply into herself. She could feel it when John tightened up his legs on her nipple and thrust his penis against her flesh. His hands spread to either side of him and she felt his arms pushing inward against her aureola as he tried to hug her breasts. Even as his arms squeezed inward against her breasts she felt his fingers pressing into it as well. They worked with rapidly alternating force with each push of his fingers sending a wave of delight through her body. Her thighs squeezed together and Julia felt her toes curling inward as John lightly bit down on her flesh.

 

His penis had been pressed into Julia's belly button and drug through her cleavage. Even with his underwear on this had been hard to resist. He had been coated in Julia's fluids when she ran her finger along his body and while he had cast aside his soaked robe some of it still lingered on him. His body had slid across the curve of her breast. Now as John thrust against Julia's breast his balls rubbed against her nipple with his penis pushing into her soft flesh with each stroke. He had hoped to reach the tip of her nipple but as he felt the pressure exerted on him by her bra he knew that wouldn't be happening. There was no time to attempt such a struggle even if he wanted to try. The build up had been coming for some time and as he heard Julia's moans rolling over him and even felt them moving throughout her body John pressed himself as firmly against Julia as he could until he felt himself bursting against her flesh.

 

Julia's fingers pressed firmly into her left breast even as John drove himself against her right. Her arms and legs squeezed inward as her entire body locked up while bolts of pleasure shot throughout it. The fingers of her right hand were left to linger deep within her vagina as she came squeezing on her fingers as she felt John pressing against her nipple. Even as he came she could feel him rubbing his crotch against her aureola and she continued to thrust her fingers into herself quickly carrying her from one orgasm onto a second as her lips finally parted. “Oh! You're wonderful John.”

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Julia took in a deep breath as she drank down a few swallows of water. She hadn't bothered putting her shirt back on as that would mean she'd need to take John out of her bra or change his position and she didn't want to do that yet. While she had calmed down a fair bit her nipple remained somewhat excited as she continued to enjoy the feeling of John's body pressed against her right breast. She wasn't certain if he was waiting for her to take him out or not but unless he actually asked to be taken out that could be a very long wait. Part of her hoped that he had simply resolved that within her bra and pressed against her aureola would be a nice place to rest. As she left her washroom and bedroom she was a little surprised to hear some rather rapid breathing. It didn't take her long to figure out where it was coming from. “Rina are you already?”

 

“That was fun!”

 

Despite the sprite's outburst she didn't suddenly appear from within the home. Rather Julia could still hear the rather hurried breathing as if Rina had been doing something very physically intensive. When the sprite's bedroom door opened and Julia got a good look at her she had a very good idea of what she had been doing. The realization froze Julia for a moment as she struggled to think of what she should say or ask. After a moment of thought one question stood above all the others. “How much did you see?”

 

“Everything!”

 

She had told Rina to stay out of the room. That didn't mean the sprite couldn't see what was going on. Given the magic abilities she'd gained recently Julia could think of several ways the sprite could have indeed been watching what was happening. It was even possible that she'd been far more involved then that due to the connection the two of them shared. No words or further questions came to Julia's mind as she covered her face and simply tried to process what she'd been told.

 

“Hey Julia? How long until you do that again?”

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“No. No. No.” As she spoke Julia continued to lay clothing on her bed. Each shirt she held up and took a moment to inspect. Rather then looking at the entire garment she was looking for those garments that had the proper neckline. “Yes!” Julia gave a wide grin as she picked up one shirt with a nice lacy cleavage cover built into the garment. “I swear John I'm going to buy some of that fabric they use to make those solid black Halloween mask and sow them into some modesty panels. What do you think of the ones I've found so far?”

 

John didn't have much to choose from. So far Julia had been through most of her clothing and she'd found three items that seemed suitable. He needed something that would keep him concealed, protected from the wind and other disturbances but also allow him to breath comfortably. Something that would let light in and even let him see out would be welcome as well. As he looked at the three garments it seemed all of them would do the job well enough. “They all seem fine to me.”

 

“Don't say that.” Julia couldn't help but give John a rather annoyed look. She hated it whenever she asked him to choose something and all he could say was he was fine in any of the cases. She was having enough trouble making a decision without him being indecisive as well.

 

The moment Julia turned her back on him and returned to looking through her clothing John couldn't help but roll his eyes. Turning his attention back to the garments he found himself debating on if he preferred the black modesty panel or one of the white ones. Perhaps he should choose the black one because there was only one and that would make his decision easier. How upset would Julia be with his reasoning if she bothered to ask? She'd probably complain if he said he chose the black one because it's the only black one. Of course. She'd complain if he didn't choose one as well. A slight snort escaped John after a moment of consideration. “The black one.”

 

“Really? I was worried that it would be too hot considering how black soaks up heat.”

 

Why didn't you say that before asking then? Flashed through John's mind and he was grateful Julia couldn't hear his thoughts. How he wished that he could flip a coin and just let it decide. It was with this thought that John began to look around the room. Another solution came to mind by the time Julia looked back at him. “I believe that the black one would contrast nicely with your new complexion.”

 

It had been Julia's intention to pick the clothing that would keep John the safest and if possible comfortable. Despite those intentions Julia couldn't help but turn around and smile at him. “You really believe so?” As she spoke Julia picked up the shirt. It was bright red with various sections of black that took on the form of flower petals. It felt kind of strange to be looking at it. The garment actually fit her which given her height increase and the increase in the size of her breasts meant it had been too big for her before. Due to being too large for her she'd never warn it which meant it was still in near perfect condition despite its age. “I remember this. It was a gift exchange. My family has a little game we play when the season comes around and well.”

 

“I'm guessing that the person who was meant to end up with that got something else.”

 

“Yes!” A slight chuckle escaped Julia as she looked towards her other shirts. “You know I didn't actually stop to think if those would even fit.”

 

Blast popped into John's mind. When he looked towards the other shirts he could see what Julia was saying. If he had only mentioned that the others appeared a bit too small for her he could have not only settled the issue but appeared observant. It was something that he would have to regret. “I thought you'd just bought them in preparation for whenever you put on some more height and size. Julia there is something I've been wanting to know. Is there some kind of stopping point with this whole trait thing?”

 

Rather then respond right away Julia held the shirt up in front of herself and looked at the mirror It only took her a moment to resolve that John was right about the shirt but she hoped she had some pants to go with it or a skirt. “The way Rina explained it to me the traits taken are ones that I need to most. I'm not sure what determines what I need the most. So once I reach a point where I don't need a certain trait anymore then I won't gain anything in that area.” For a moment Julia frowned as she looked down at her chest. “Which considering how much my breasts increased from the first witch I defeated it either means she didn't have much of anything to offer or something was saying I really needed bigger breasts.”

 

At first John said nothing but tried to contain his amusement. After seeing the expression on Julia's face though and considering the subject he couldn't help himself and soon began to openly laugh. When she glanced over her shoulder at him with a slight blush it only made the situation more amusing and he soon found himself having to set down to keep from falling over. Julia having by now turned her back on him and seeming to focus on the clothing. “Maybe! I'm sorry!” John went quiet as he chuckled a few more times. “Maybe you should ask Rina about that. Hey that is something else. Rina looks very human yet apparently she doesn't have the same issues we do.”

 

“Rina only looks that way for the sake of interacting with humans. Apparently the sprites learned long ago that it helps when interacting with their witches to look something like them.”

 

John opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it. He did wonder why Rina had such large breasts if her form was chosen for the sake of interacting with Julia. When he thought about the possible answers though it seemed like many of them could backfire. Did he really want to imply that he'd been looking at another woman's breasts while speaking with Julia? Another woman that was living in the same structure as him and prone to seemingly chaotic behavior. John quickly resolved that mentioning anything about Rina's shape would be a mistake. “That makes sense. Anyway, it seems like you've got your shirt. How about my carrying pouch and your cell phone?”

 

Part of Julia wanted to keep John snugly between her breasts while she was out. However, that wasn't practical or safe. She didn't want to risk John slipping from between her breasts and she didn't want to risk him being injured in a harsh impact or fall. In a violent car crash it would be possible for him to be thrown free of her cleavage or perhaps end up crushed beneath her body. “I was thinking that I would modify an egg. I can modify the structure and refine the carbon inside of it to make it like a titanium roll cage for you.” For a moment Julia went silent and calmed her excitement. “John are you sure you want to do this?”

 

“I'm certain. From what Rina said it'll be much easier for me to detect another witch once I'm near her. The only reason I can find you so easily is well I've had a lot of practice. Besides this way I can protect you as well. With me there to alert you to the presence of another witch you don't have to worry about being taken by surprise.”

 

“I am looking forward to that. As exciting as my first victory was it also showed me how quickly a battle between witches can be over with. I hadn't even made use of my magic. When I think about you being there and not having to constantly be listening for any possible danger well. I feel a good bit better. So you're okay with the egg roll cage?”

 

“It sounds like a good idea to me. Just make sure the egg doesn't stink.”

 

“I promise that it will be well cleaned.” After a moment of consideration Julia placed her shirt back on the bed and walked over to John where he set on the nightstand. She still loved the feeling of his tiny body between her fingers. She even found it hard to put him down at times. Lifting him to her mouth she gently pressed him against her lips taking a moment to truly feel his body against them. As she moved him away from her lips she placed him in the palm of her left hand.”I love you.”

 

It was strange. It had only been a few days with Julia but John had found himself adapting to the situation rather quickly. He was beginning to wonder if there might have been some chemical changes to his brain he hadn't taken into consideration. That or perhaps the situation hadn't fully hit him. After being confined to Julia's home for a few days he was looking forward to getting out again even if that would be limited. Just seeing the outside world would be nice. It was a strange thought that John found difficult to imagine having a few weeks back. “I know and I love you to.”

 

“You know. I really want to just snuggle you between my breast and use my magic to keep you safe. I could even use wind magic to speak with you rather then pretending to use my cell phone.”

 

“That increases the risk of you being spotted though. As long as you're using magic it means another witch could recognize you.”

 

“I know. It'd still be a lot more fun if you I could just snuggle you into my cleavage. Well the fun will have to wait for later.”

 

John tried not to show it but he was actually a bit relieved. He wasn't certain if Julia realized how much energy sex took out of him. He just hoped that he would be ready to go again by the time they finished shopping.

 

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Julia had been careful in her selection of perfumes. She had chosen one that was subtle even when close up. It was something John appreciated as he lay within his safety cage. The scent of her perfume lifted up to him just enough to be pleasing instead of overpowering or smothering. His view outside of Julia's clothing wasn't the best in the world between the cage itself and her cleavage cover but he could see well enough to get a rough idea of what he was looking at. At times he even knew what he was looking at. The difficulty in determining what he was actually seeing could have been due to his awkward position as well. He didn't worry about it too much as he reached through the cage bars and ran his hand against Julia's skin. He felt her shiver for a moment and was made to grin. Apparently she quite enjoyed having him suspended just above her cleavage hidden beneath her clothes. It wasn't the worse way to travel for him as well.

 

It was hard not to talk to John. Julia wanted to manipulate the wind to whisper to him after all he hadn't mentioned feeling any other witches. Yet they both knew it was best to play it safe especially while he was still learning to use his abilities as a bane. For now she would just have to pretend to speak to him on the phone and enjoy having his company otherwise. It was nice to have him shopping with her. Normally she would have handled her grocery shopping on the first day of the weekend and she still intended to but there were other things to do first. John had asked if they could shop for a few things for him. Given everything that he had lost there was no way she could deny him this especially as he insisted on using his savings.

 

“Okay Julia go to the datahive and see if they have dragoon the awakening in. I've been waiting to buy it as I worried it'd take up too much of my free time but now that I have so much well.” There was no need for Julia to responded. John could tell they were in the correct area from the coloring of the sign above him. He also had a very good idea of which game he was seeking despite his impaired view. He was thus a little surprised whenever he noticed Julia seemed to be looking at something and then felt her shifting about.

 

Julia took a moment to glance around her and then pushed a few buttons on her phone choosing to dial her own home phone number then simply pretend. She doubted that Rina would answer though the potential for that to happen was somewhat funny. “John? I'm in the game Datahive section of the story looking for your game. There is this other game here though. Shadow Land three it looks kind of interesting. Do you know anything about it? It has a picture of an amusement park on the cover but it's rundown and there is a woman on the cover with one side of her face looking like she's about to cry and the other like she's about to laugh. The laughing side is kind of creepy.”

 

“That's Rebecca. The Shadow Land is sort of a dark reflection of our world and she was trapped in it. Rebecca is a shadowan sort of like a human that is part shadow creature herself. As you guide her through the shadow land you have to make certain choices that can cost her parts of her humanity making her more like a shadow creature mentally. The thing is the more she uses her shadow powers the more inhuman her appearance becomes as well making it harder for the humans you find there to trust you which makes it harder to save them. Some times the game makes you give up part of your body for the sake of your humanity. Like there is one part in Shadow Lands two where you have to fight a shark creature from the dunk tank. Now you can either have Rebecca turn into a really powerful monster form and fight it directly or you can use one of the trapped humans as bait to lure it away from its power source which lets you defeat it as well. I bet if you look at the smiling face you'll notice a lot of strange things like check her teeth.”

 

“That actually sounds pretty interesting! Do you have it already?”

 

“No. Not yet. I didn't even know it was out yet and wanted to wait for some reviews before I purchased it.”

 

“Okay. If you find you need anything at home give me a call.”

 

“Thanks.” John couldn't help but feel funny as he talked to Julia. He couldn't help but imagine how she would look if anyone noticed she wasn't actually on the phone with someone. At least having people think she was crazy was better them knowing she had a tiny person suspended above her cleavage. He was rather surprised whenever she picked up dragoon the awakening as well as shadow lands three.

 

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“You wouldn't believe how many people I've caught trying to take a look at your chest since I've been in here. I wonder if they can see the outline of your nipples. Oh and the modesty guard did a great job of protecting me from the cold of the freezer.” John wasn't certain how long Julia had been shopping but he had tried to amuse himself. Most of that consisted of simply looking around and trying to locate another witch but so far the only witch he was aware of was Julia. He has also taken to observing the different shoppers and counting the number of time he caught people looking at Julia's chest. “I wonder if the number of people that try to get a peek at your chest is going to increase as you get bigger.”

 

Julia couldn't help but blush. She hadn't thought much of it but John was in the perfect position to catch others looking at her chest. It wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't also decided to tease her about it. The fact that she found the teasing somewhat exciting only added to the situation and a little bit to her embarrassment.

 

“You know you're lucky I'm in this cage instead of your cleavage. If I was in your bra I'd probably be crawling my way towards your nipple right now. Do you think I could get you off just by playing with your nipple? I mean. Can you imagine? You're in the checkout line of a shopping center and I'm playing with your nipple. If you wore a thick enough shirt or bra I bet no one would even notice me. Maybe I could make you squeal like last night whenever I went to squirm between your breasts. You'd like that wouldn't you?” As John spoke he couldn't help but notice how loud Julia's heart was beating. He knew this talk was exciting her and in truth it was exciting him. “It would be a challenge of course. You couldn't finger yourself this time so I'd be doing most of the work. Then again perhaps I could travel down. You tuck your shirt inside your pants after all.”

 

For a moment Julia had to stop and bite down on her lower lip to relieve some of the tension she was feeling. Her right hand reached into her purse to take hold of her phone but she stopped herself. Part of her wanted to tell John to stop but part of her wanted him to continue. It took her a moment but she released her hold on the phone and placed her hand over her chest.

 

“I don't believe I could open your waist band up though at this time. Then again perhaps I wouldn't have to. What would you do Julia? Pretend to fix your pants for a moment and open up for me or would you let me slide down your pants leg? You know you couldn't risk losing me in here. Besides I believe you'd like having me in your panties. Well assuming you could continue walking strait. Actually I think you're starting to wobble a bit now.” He was asking for it and John knew it. The fact that he could tease Julia and she could do so little to retaliate made it impossible to resist though especially given his position.

 

Julia actually had to jerk her hand away from her crotch as she had slowed down to look at a few boxes. Fortunately there was no one to see her petting herself. The fact that John's words alone were having such an influence on her was surprising. She didn't know if she would be able to resist if he was actually free to move about within her clothing. “Now you stop that.” Julia could swear she heard John cackle in response to her words and actually began to feel a little nervous.

 

“Perhaps by then I'd be even smaller then your nipple. Just a little bump in your bra beneath anyone's notice except yours. I'd pull myself along struggling against the tension of your bra caused by your massive sensitive breasts. You could numb your breasts to my movements if you wanted to but could you deny yourself the pleasure? I'd struggle and fight my penis being driven into your flesh as I moved along. As I moved closer to your nipple I'd reach out for it attempting to hug myself to your nurturing organ. You'd feel me but no one else would know I was there. I'd be your little secret to protect and keep safe from the entire world around you.” As John spoke Julia began to move again and it was clear she was moving more quickly then she had been a moment ago. “Even if you didn't enhance your ability to feel me I would nibble on your breasts while trying to raise my head so that I could nibble on the edge of your nipple. Wrapping my arms around it I would push down with my feet as hard as I could. You'd feel my feet shifting against and sinking into your flesh. I love my great big Julia protecting me and nurturing me with her great big titties. Keeping me warm and safe. I just want to pleasure you to show my gratitude.”

 

When Julia had placed John beneath her shirt she had imagined teasing him with every step. Her breasts would sway and bounce as he road along. The scent of her perfume and skin would mix together to intoxicate him and the sound of her heart beat would surround him. He could reach back and press his hands to her flesh but he couldn't quite reach her breasts. His little ears would hear it as her breasts rubbed against one another and she would whisper sweetly to him when she could. Instead he had began teasing her and the effect his words were having on her were far more profound then she had expected. Now she found herself breathing hard and it was hard for her to remember what all she needed to purchase. “This isn't fair.”

 

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Mavon 20, 1558 HH

 

When a witch learned a new harmonic she became more resistant to the harmful affects of that harmonic. Thus a witch that knew how to use fire could better resist being burned. This had to be factored in when figuring out how much energy was needed to influence another witch. No harmonic naturally made someone more resistant to all other harmonics or if one did Rina didn't know about it. However, a harmonic could be used to defend against another harmonic. Creating a wall of earth could protect you from a burst of cold wind or flame. Julia's first harmonic was very useful as if Julia could figure out a way to adapt her body to handle a threat she could make herself more resistant to it.

 

John had been making progress on his study of magic and in particular what spells were best suited to combat situation. He had believed that the ability to transform someone's body into a state that couldn't be sustained would be a very effective method of fighting until he'd learned two things. It actually took Julia far longer to cast a spell of transformation then it did for her to create a burst of lightning. The magic was also less of an energy wave and more of a fluid then he had believed. A wall of fire could actually defend against Julia's transformation spells much to John's surprise. This had forced him to reconsider his plan.

 

“John I can't beat the bat monster shadow thing! I need help!”

 

“Just use the focus of power to transform. You'll be able to see fine then.” John hadn't been surprised when Rina had wanted to try a few games as well. He had been surprised by how much she'd enjoyed herself though now she could be a bit of a distraction.

 

“I don't want to do that! If I do that it means her hair will be funny afterwords. You beat the monster without turning into one yourself how did you do it?”

 

“You have to be able to listen for the sound of the bat approaching and attack in the right direction once it gets close. Rina it's really hard you might just want to take a loss to your appearance.”

 

“No! Come in here and beat it for me.”

 

“Rina I'm busy. If you want my help you're going to have to wait until later. Now.” John felt his hair stand up as an odd ripple seemed to run through the air. He wasn't certain what it was but it was enough to cause concern. “Rina did you feel that?” As John spoke he didn't try to hide the concern in his voice and soon Rina was standing next to him. He was actually rather surprised whenever he saw her.

 

“Feel what?”

 

“I felt something just.” For a moment John went silent and took in a deep breath. He knew where Julia was. He could feel her and knew this wasn't coming from the same direction Julia was. “Rina if I did feel another witch do you know what it'd feel like?” As John spoke he found himself more then a little concerned. What happened if another witch had figured out Julia was one without ever coming close enough for him to notice her? What if she were to break into Julia's home while she was away?

 

“I'm not sure. Why? Do you think you feel another witch?”

 

“I well maybe. I've never actually felt a witch other then Julia before.”

 

“Don't worry if there is another witch near I'll hide you. Would you like to be put inside my bra like Julia does or would you like to go somewhere else?”

 

Despite his concern for the other witch John couldn't hide his alarm. “What! Rina I think I'm still a little big to go inside your bra.”

 

“Don't be silly. I'd just make you smaller. Then you could hide where you wanted.”

 

“Now hold on. I don't need to get any smaller then I'm already now. Beside I don't believe Julia would like that.”

 

“She could grow you back after the other witch was dealt with and she wouldn't mind. After all she values your safety a great deal. Hey you wouldn't even have to tell her that you enjoyed yourself and we could try some different things. Would you like to see what it's like to be absorbed into my breasts?”

 

“No!” It was hard for John to believe what Rina was saying especially given how casuals she was being about it. “Okay. Look I don't even know how close the other witch is. So let's just keep an eye out. I'll let you know if I feel her getting any closer and then well. If it looks like she might actually come here we can talk about hiding places.”

 

“Well I don't know if they'll be time to talk about them but alright. Now come help me beat the bat thing!”

 

John couldn't help but groan. He was busy worrying that a witch might be right outside Julia's home, while working on his magic theories and Rina was thinking of shrinking him. The situation was almost stressful enough to put him to laughing. “Rina I need to work on my studies some more. We gathered a lot of data but I need to find out what that really means.”

 

“You already worked on that a lot though!”

 

“This isn't the type of thing that's finished in a few days.”

 

“It's not!”

 

John couldn't help it. Both of his hands covered his face and he soon found himself chuckling. Apparently Rina had believed that his studies would be finished in a matter of days if not sooner. He didn't even know every spell Julia could perform though or how much power she could put into them. He didn't know if a spell could be stored and used later or if that would make her too easy to spot. He had so much to figure out whenever it came to magic. Despite all of that he felt himself relenting and standing up. “Fine. I'll help you beat the bat but you're actually going to do it. I'll guide you through the process.”

 

“Yay!”

***********************************************************************************

“You felt another witch? I mean you feel her?” Julia's heart rate had sped up. Before when she had found the other witches she'd been excited and scared. Yet she had known something about them as she had been there hunter. Now it was John who was finding the witch and she knew nothing of her. “How close did you think she got?”

 

“I was feeling her most of the day. I'm not sure what that means. At times I could feel her getting closer but then she would move away again and I'd lose her. I suspect that when I felt her was when she was actually using her magic. If that is the case she was using her magic fairly often. I believe she may have used it more then you did while moving around the city.” John took in a deep breath. He could hear and feel Julia's heart beating. Currently he was setting within Julia's cleavage just deep enough to keep his position stable but allow him some freedom of movement. He had found over the past few days that this location changed depending on the bra she was wearing. Currently John found himself riding fairly high up. Julia had taken to not wearing shirts around her home so that he could see around. She was already in the habit of keeping the curtains drawn.

 

“Okay but you didn't feel any other witches?” Julia knew that it was unlikely but she couldn't help but fear the reason this new witch had been moving about so much was she'd been hunting down other witches. From the way John was talking if this new comer was that effective of a hunter she could be in serious trouble and him as well.

 

“No. From what I could tell you are the only two witches within the city or within my detection range. I'm not sure if I actually cover the entire city. I mean my effective range could be less then a kilometer for witches I don't know well.”

 

The thought that another witch might have been just outside of her door with John home and her not there to protect him made Julia shiver. Her home was safe from most threats especially with the magic that had gone into making John's protective cage yet another witch wasn't a common threat. “John would you mind coming to work with me tomorrow? I know that it's not the most entertaining thing in the world being trapped beneath my shirt but.”

 

“I don't know about that. Teasing you is a lot of fun.” John couldn't help but chuckle at the look Julia gave him. So far her attempts to take revenge for his teasing while shopping had not worked out for her. Unless she had put Rina up to her earlier comments. John doubted that was the case though. Julia seemed to have intentions of keeping him to herself as much as she could. “I don't believe it'd work out anyway with your uniform. It's one thing to have me in my little safety cage while you're wearing a modesty cover but well they don't allow those in the hospital.”

 

“Oh. Yeah.” A sigh escaped Julia as she leaned back in her seat taking John along for the ride. “Well darn. Hey Rina.” It felt odd whenever Rina didn't appear before her as soon as she said her name. Normally the sprite was so quick to respond it almost made Julia dizzy. “Rina?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“She's still playing shadow lands 3. She's trying to catch up to me.” John couldn't help but grin when he saw Julia roll her eyes. “I don't believe she's really interested in the game she's just upset that I'm further ahead then she is.”

 

“It wouldn't surprise me. Rina I know that familiars are off limits whenever two witches are confronting one another. Is there anyway you can extend that protection to John without harming him?”

 

“Sure! I offered to do so whenever he felt that other witch. When are you going hunting for her anyway?”

 

Now Rina seemed interested in speaking face to face. Julia had seen her dart around the corner shortly after mentioning the other witch and now she was setting atop her right shoulder alternating between looking up at her face and looking down at John. “Soon I hope. The timing is pretty good at least. After work tomorrow how about you and I go for a ride John? We'll head in the direction you feel the other witch coming from and see if you can point her out to me. After that I'll take you home and go take care of her.”

 

“I like most of that plan except the part about taking me home.” John knew that he was limited in his ability to help but if there was a way he could help he wanted to do it. He also didn't want to put Julia in anymore danger then necessary. If they just found the witch and then left for Julia to return later that meant Julia may be spotted. From what Rina had told him witches didn't have it as easy as a bane when it came to spotting other witches but there was still a chance. He was especially worried due to certain rare harmonics such as Julia's ability to change the form of living things. Rina openly admitted to not knowing all of them or the full extent of their power.

 

“Just all the fights I've been in so far have been quick and quiet but there is nothing insuring that this one will be to. What if you get caught up in the fighting?”

 

“Well that is what you made my safety cage for. If you're that worried about my safety why not just create another one? Instead of jewelery though this could be something you'd have to carry if you want to pack it around.”

 

Rina, “I'll keep him safe.”

 

Both Julia and John were surprised whenever Rina spoke up. So far the sprite had shown no inclination to leave Julia's home. Though neither of them truly knew what she did all day and she had vanished at times. It was Julia who spoke up. “Rina John is going to be leaving with me. He won't be in the house for you to protect him.”

 

“I'm going to come to.”

 

Julia, “Are you serious? You never want to leave the house. Aren't you worried that you'll be seen by someone?”

 

“Nope. I can hide with John until you're ready to fight the other witch and then I can stay with him and keep him safe while you do it.”

 

Rina had seen her naked and even observed some things Julia didn't want her to observe. Julia knew that her privacy with the sprite was very limited if it even existed at all. The notion of keeping her in the same cage as John though suspended just over her cleavage was still a bit much for Julia to take in. Rather then respond to Rina she looked towards John. “Do you believe there is enough room in the egg?”

 

“I well.” John hadn't mentioned what Rina had said about keeping him safe to Julia. At least he hadn't said how she'd intended to keep him safe. He still didn't want to bring up the subject and that left him uncertain as to what he should say. “It might be a bit uncomfortable but I believe there is room enough.”

 

Rina, “See? You want to keep John safe right? This is the safest he'll be unless you want to bring him home and who knows while you're taking him home the witch might move on and you wouldn't be able to find her again.”

 

“Well that is true.” A sigh escaped Julia as she rubbed her forehead. She couldn't help but think John was also looking a little strange. He had been sharing a home with Rina for a few days now but his safety cage was a good bit more confining then even that. They were still tiny enough to fit comfortably though this couldn't be a permanent solution if Rina continued to grow. “Okay we'll do it this way this time. After this we're going to have to come up with a better solution.”

 

John responded by taking in a deep breath and looking towards Rina. He had never agreed that she could shrink him smaller then he already was. Hopefully the fight between Julia and whoever the newcomer was would be over quickly. Depending on how intense the fight was Rina would have no need to protect him. That or perhaps he could convince her to strength the cage enough that she wouldn't need to shrink him or hide him away.

 

***********************************************************************************

John felt a little awkward. The fact that being in a cage made from a magically strengthened egg shell suspended over his lovers breasts wasn't what made him feel awkward made it even stranger. As Julia had gotten dressed John had settled in the back of the egg shell like he had before intending to relax and he thought Rina would do the same. Instead the sprite seemed to be enraptured by what she saw and had moved to the front of the cage. Currently she was in a kneeling position with her hands on the bars of the safety cage which her face was pressed against and her rump practically shoved in his face. The fact that he couldn't look forward without looking strait at Rina's rear or look down without looking into Julia's cleavage was proving something of a situation.

 

“Do you still feel us getting closer?” Whenever they had first began to drive around John hadn't been able to feel anything. So they had gone in the direction that he felt the witch last time. It was a rough method and they'd talked about driving around the town when ten minutes into their journey he'd noticed something and began giving directions. Julia had been staying in the slow lane and even going slow for that lane to give him time to process the information. They weren't in any rush after all.

 

“I believe so. I want to say take the next right if you can. It's a shame we can't just go strait to where she is but I think that would get us some unwanted attention.” As John spoke he looked up at Julia's face and noted her nodding. “It's kind of nice to be able to talk to you without you holding the phone up to your head. I'm not trying to be mean but it makes you look a little crazy.”

 

“Oh and talking to my cleavage doesn't?” Julia gave a slight chuckle as she imagined what an onlooker would think. In her car she didn't really have to worry about such things. Anyone could assume she was singing along with the radio or she had a speaker phone on. Even speaking to yourself in an empty car wasn't too unusual. “This looks like a nice long road.”

 

“I wish I knew if this other witch was a long way off.” While John could feel they were getting closer he had no idea what that actually meant. “I can't see very well. Does it look like we're leaving the city or going deeper into it?”

 

“Leaving which could be a good or bad thing. It means I won't have to worry about being seen using my magic as much but it also means we're more likely to be spotted. Even if the other witch doesn't recognize me for what I am they might recognize me as an intruder.” As they'd been traveling Julia had been thinking about what she'd do if they ended up confronting the witch in her home. What if she had a family? Julia didn't think that she could confront another witch in front of her family. The danger that they might be drawn into the conflict and what even seeing them using magic could mean was hard for her to imagine. “Hey John what would you do if the witch was with her family?”

 

“Couldn't you just put them to sleep? You could just use your magic to change some of the chemicals in their blood and put them down for a little while.”

 

It felt like Julia's brain had shut off for a moment. It wasn't that John had come up with a solution but that he had come up with a solution so easily. “Well thanks for making me look like an idiot.”

 

Now it was John's turn to be surprised. He hadn't thought much about Julia's question it was a natural one. She didn't want to involve anyone else in the conflict of witches after all. He had simply offered the first solution that came to his mind that also seemed effective. “What did I do?”

 

“Here I am fretting about what I'm going to do if we find the witch at home with her family members and you just give a solution like it's the most obvious thing in the world.” A slight chuckle came from Julia as she shook her head. “I can modify the air so that it'll knock them out. Thanks.”

 

“You're just worried so you're making things more complicated then they need to be.”

 

“You're probably right. I am glad you've been helping me to think about my tactics for a few days now though. I just wish I had more time to practice them. Does it feel like we're getting closer?” Julia risked another glance down at her cleavage. It was easy to see Rina's light through her top effectively making this a bad way to go out in public. She didn't want to walk around with something glowing under her shirt.

 

“It feels like you are. I just hope this isn't my imagination.” John gave a slight sigh as he wondered if that was the case. Julia needed to gain more power and other witches would come hunting for her. It was possible this newcomer was a hunter herself after all. Yet he couldn't help but worry about Julia's safety. Couldn't he use his ability to feel other witches to help her hide? It seemed safer. Yet if that failed and she had to fight it would be best if she had as much power as she could. “Julia from what you told me those other two witches weren't exactly the best people in the world. At least that's what it sounds like. Do you ever think about the other witches though? What if this one is a nice one?”

 

“I thought about that to but we all agree to this whenever we join in on the hunt. At least if I defeat her I can be careful not to harm her. There is no guarantee that other witches will be as gentle.”

 

As he listened to Julia John nodded his head and then looked towards Rina's rear. “Rina is there anything stopping a witch from killing a defeated witch?”

 

“Nope.”

 

It actually felt like John had been punched in the stomach. Losing some aspect of your body could be costly enough. John had assumed that was the greatest risk involved. Now it seemed that wasn't the case. “So there is nothing saying that a witch has to spare the life of a defeated witch?”

 

“Nothing at all. Some defeated witches have even managed to ambush and kill the witch that defeated them thinking they would regain their power. That isn't the case but they still tried. So for a while the winner would kill the loser to insure that didn't happen. Some witches still practice these methods.”

 

Now John's concern was growing again. “Wait. You mean the witches that Julia drugged could try to take revenge? They're not witches though I wouldn't detect them.”

 

“Yeah. Ah that tree looks funny! Did you see it?”

 

For a moment Rina glanced back at John though he didn't pay her much attention. He had once again settled into a seated position and began to think about this news. Julia had already taken down two witches which meant there could be two vengeful former witches out there looking for her. Even if Julia had the advantage of magic that wouldn't help her if she never saw the attack coming. Rina had only said that former witches couldn't tell others about what had happened. That didn't mean they couldn't take revenge by themselves. “Julia aren't you worried?”

 

“Well yeah. Why do you think I always keep my ears this sharp? It isn't just for my work at the hospital.” A slight chuckle escaped Julia as she heard John give a sigh of relief. “I guess you forgot that part.”

 

“Yeah. That slipped my mind.” It actually helped John to relax quite a bit to remember that Julia had taken self defense classes. She hadn't been defenseless before and now she had magic to support her as well as an improved body. There were other concerns as well. “Rina I have been wondering about something. What's the odds of Julia coming upon a witch that is just completely outside of her league? She's only absorbed the power from two witches after all.”

 

“Oh she has more power then that! The second witch she'd defeated had actually defeated two witches already. She has the power of five witches now. Julia knows the warning signs to look for when it comes to a really powerful witch. Like you can determine how powerful a witch is by her appearance a lot of the time.”

 

When John considered the changes to Julia's body what Rina said did makes sense. “I see. So if this witch turns out to be a very powerful one what's your plan?”

 

Julia, “Lay low or even make use of my vacation days and hope she's moved on by the time we get back.”

 

“That makes sense. Okay one more thing I have to do. How many witches work as supermodels?”

 

It was impossible for Julia to keep from chuckling though John did have a valid point. If a witch became more attractive with each victory it means the most powerful of their numbers would have to be quite gorgeous. “I wondered about that to! It seems that most witches prefer to stay out of the spot light though. It makes it harder to work in secret if everyone recognizes you. Plus it could lead to your defeat. If a famous celebrity visits a town and a lot of witches lose their power then the same thing happens in another city and another then someone is going to realize what's happening.”

 

“I can see that. Hold on a moment.” John took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he tried to get a better feel for where the other witch was. “I want to say that she's too the right again.”

 

Julia gave her head a slight nod. “Okay but I don't see anywhere to turn off. I'll drive for a while longer and see what I can find. Let me know if you feel anything else.”

 

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“Ow!” Julia had been fighting it for a long time. Now she couldn't hold it in any longer. Julia had used her magic to heal several people and had began to think there was no injury she couldn't heal. Part of her had forgotten that didn't extend to herself. She could heal herself for a time but in the end the magic would wear off. John had thought of a creative solution or semi solution to that problem. She could transform those aspects of her body responsible for healing so that they would be more effective. She could use her magic to aid in digestion so her body would have the nutrients she needed. Unfortunately the battle had drained a good deal of her energy so she had only been able to make use of his method for so long.

 

There had been several times John would have liked to be returned to his full size. He tried not to think about it after meeting Rina but the thoughts still popped into his head from time to time. He didn't think he'd ever wanted to be returned to normal as much as he did now as he looked at Julia. He hadn't seen what happened. They had driven around for a while and then arrived at some very nice apartments. Julia had left them in the parking lot and a few minutes later there had been a massive explosion except there had been no fire. At least there hadn't been any fire right away. That had came later. Julia had returned before the cops arrived looking fine but then five minutes after she'd gotten back her body had began to decline and the true extent of her injuries had become obvious.

 

Julia didn't only rely on magic to defend herself. Barbra hadn't either. Julia had been quite surprised when another witch had not only started throwing magic at her but had used a gun. What had been even more shocking was the speed with which Barbra had responded to her intrusion. In her current condition Julia couldn't appreciate how much sense it made. Either she was an intruder or she was another witch come to attack her. In either case an aggressive response could be understood. Naturally this wouldn't have made Julia's burns less painful or the bullet wound in her left side. She had done what she could do to treat herself but there was limits. “Blast. John I wish you could go to the hospital and pick me up some proper pain medication. This stinks!”

 

“I wish that I could as well. Rina? Isn't there anyway you could make me normal sized for a little while just so I could help Julia? You could make it so that I can't talk and keep an eye on me to make sure I don't write anything or try to run.” As John spoke he wasn't really thinking of the consequences of such requests. He was just offering ways that Rina might be able to return him to normal. It shocked him whenever Rina gave him a rather sad look.

 

“No. But once the changes to your body really begin they'll help you heal! And John you can't feel any other witches right! So Julia's safe. Right?”

 

As Rina spoke John thought he heard true concern. This actually made it harder for him to be angry with her. “I don't feel any other witches. You really meant no chance of me informing others when it came to the rules didn't you?”

 

“Yeah. They're really strict.”

 

A slight chuckle escaped Julia despite the pain she was in. Much like John this was the first time she'd heard such concern in Rina's voice. It made her feel a bit better. “But normally the changes to my body would have already began. Why haven't they this time?”

 

“It's your injuries. If the change came upon you as quickly as it normally does you wouldn't survive in your current condition.”

 

Silence took over the room for several minutes before John was hit with an ideal. “Okay what about you Rina? How about you use some of your magic to make some pain killers for Julia? You can transform living matter into different things.”

 

“Yeah that's true! So what should I make?”

 

***********************************************************************************

Mavon 21, 1558 HH

It had been hard for John to get to sleep last night. Despite the medicine Rina had made and Julia bolstering her ability to heal herself once she'd regained enough energy she had been in rough shape when she'd gone to sleep. John had made use of Rina's old bed so that he could watch her even if he couldn't think of anything to do. He wasn't certain when he'd finally fallen asleep and didn't know if he should be happy or upset that Julia was still asleep. “Rina?” John was actually surprised whenever Rina flew into the room. The moment she flew through the doorway he could tell she was much bigger then she had been the previous day.

 

“Yay you're awake. I've been wondering when you'd wake up. I wanted to ask you something yesterday but it seemed like it would make you unhappy and you don't think very well while you're sleepy.”

 

“Rina you're bigger! Does that mean Julia is doing better?” It surprised John whenever Rina looked in Julia's direction. The fact that she continued to observe her well past the fifteen second point made him worried. “Well she's doing better right?”

 

“Yep! Your idea to make those aspects of her body that handle healing more effective was a really good work around. The magic that's been slowly flowing into her body has helped to. Now I need help with a real problem. I'm trying to catch the little girl running through the woods before the monster eats her but I keep grabbing the shadow creature lookalikes. How do you know which one is the real her? You made it past that right? I know you can use the ability from the defeated bat boss to see which one has a solid body but I don't want to use the shadowan powers.”

 

That was her idea of really important? Flashed through John's mind. Yet she had also just told him that Julia was doing better and that made him feel a good bit better. “Rina you know that's just a game right? You're not actually saving anyone.”

 

“It's fun! Plus really good practice.”

 

There was a moment when John considered asking Rina what she meant by practice but he decided not to before his mouth could move. “You have to look for her shadow. If it doesn't have a shadow then it's a shadowan that looks like the girl. It's really hard even then though as they're all running around. Now you're sure that Julia is doing better?”

 

“Thanks! And yep. It's a really good thing you thought of how she could quickly heal herself. One of the reasons many witches are discovered are there injuries. What makes it even worse is often they're defeated after barely beating another witch. Hey do you want to come back to our home with me now that you know Julia is doing better? We could play some together.”

 

John didn't hesitate to shake his head no. “I would rather stay in here and watch her.”

 

“Ah! But I want to play.”

***********************************************************************************

Given how much energy Julia had put into healing her body John couldn't help but wonder if she would actually be able to hear him. As he heard her moving in bed though and became certain she was waking up he couldn't help but try. “Good morning. I hope you're feeling better.”

 

Julia hadn't been certain she wanted to wake up just yet as she lay in her warm bed. The ache from the previous day seemed to still be lingering in her body. Part of her feared if she woke up entirely the pain would come back. As she heard John's voice though she seemed to decide it was worth being awake and her eyes opened fully while she looked in his direction. “Good morning to you to. Oh so do I. Well I guess we should see the damage.” As she spoke Julia moved her covers to the side and glanced down at her body.

 

It had been John's intentions to look at Julia's injuries. When she'd thrown off her covers though instinct had taken over and he found himself looking at her chest instead. Each one of Julia's breasts had grown from roughly a quarter the size of her head to half the size. It seemed a good thing that Julia had enough foresight to remove her clothing before she'd laid down to sleep. Despite this distraction John remembered to look and see where she'd been shot. “So are you going to remove your bandage?”

 

“Huh? Oh!” Julia couldn't help but feel silly. She'd been caught a bit off guard by the change in her chest as well. As she removed her bandage she felt a wave of relieve to see that the injury had been sealed up and from the way she felt was mostly gone. As she twitched her toes she noticed something else had changed as well and quickly pulled her covers up revealing her feet. It was clear to her that her feet hadn't reached that far down in her bed the previous night. She'd put on some extra height. “Well it looks like I'm doing better. Still sore though.” Turning towards John Julia gave him a large smile. “Thanks for all the help yesterday.”

 

“I didn't do anything special.”

 

“Nonsense. Where did you get the idea to bolster my body so that it could heal itself better as magic healing would just where off?” Julia felt her grin growing even larger as she noticed John beginning to blush. “Let me guess. It came from a game.”

 

“Ah well yeah. So you're feeling better? Because you look pretty sore to me.”

 

“I am. Believe me I am.” A groan escaped Julia as she started to get out of bed. A new pain greeted her as her foot struck the foot board. “Ouch. I guess these longer legs are going to take some getting used to.” Julia gave her foot a moment to quit throbbing before she finally placed her feet on the ground and began to stand up. Several parts of her body protested as she stood and even more so as she walked towards the mirror. There were several red patches on her skin where she'd been burned the previous day. Compared to what they'd been earlier though that was nothing. “Going from beating beaten so badly it hurts to move to a few nasty sun burn and bruises. Not bad.”

 

“Are you sure there isn't any internal damage?” John grew a little concerned as Julia went silent and he saw a light glow engulfing her body and heard the music of her harmonics. He held his breath whenever she opened her eyes.

 

“The internals are just fine. Nope this is just a day of rough play. Well a rougher sport then I would ever care to be involved in but I'm good.” Despite what she'd said Julia took another moment to look her body over. She had actually been quite worried the previous night. “John thanks. If it hadn't been for you I don't know if I'd won that one.”

 

“It's no trouble. All I did was help you locate her.”

 

“It wasn't that though that was a big part of it. While I was fighting I remembered what you said about a powerful spell compared to an effective spell and well it caused me to cast a few spells I'm not sure I'd finished casting without your advice. I believe they were what gave me the advantage I needed. Now! How about I get dressed and make us a victory breakfast? You can even pick what we have. After all you're the one that found her.”

 

John was about to agree but he couldn't quite do it. “Well you know. If you really want to repay me how about we skip the getting dressed part? At least not fully.”

 

Julia was a bit surprised and this showed on her face as she felt herself blushing lightly. “I believe I can arrange that.”

***********************************************************************************

“Why do I have to wear clothes!”

 

Currently Julia was at the kitchen stove wearing only an apron while John was setting on the kitchen table. She had intended to put on a little show for him while Rina was busy with her game. The fact that they were proving a distraction for the sprite had only made Julia even happier to wear them. Apparently at some point the sprite had noticed her walking around naked and decided to mimic her. Now John was struggling to convince the sprite to keep her clothes on while she tried to help while not burning their breakfast or getting herself burned. At least John seemed to enjoy that her old cooking apron didn't cover her nearly as effectively as it used to. “Rina when two people are lovers it's fine for them to share intimate moments around one another. Otherwise it's generally considered indecent.”

 

“Oh! So I should become John's lover to?”

 

“No!” Julia had to resist spinning around to confront the sprite mostly because she was holding a pan and she didn't want to risk splashing its contents on anyone. “It is also customary for men and women to only have one lover.” It was a bit of a relieve to Julia that Rina didn't just pick John up and fly off somewhere. Given the sprites impulsive nature she feared if she'd spoken less swiftly she would have.

 

“But that isn't the case for every human!”

 

It had been quite a surprise to John when Rina had came into the room and noticed Julia effectively naked and responded to it by starting to strip her own clothing. In truth part of John wouldn't have minded seeing Rina exposed but he knew it would make Julia uncomfortable. “Rina Julia and I both believe in only having one lover. It's a special bond between two people that isn't meant to be shared with others and would be diminished by it. Some people believe otherwise but this is how we believe.”

 

“Well that isn't fair. Hey! Part of me is already part of Julia so it's like I'm already involved! So I should be able to get naked to!.” As she finished speaking Rina gave her head a sharp nod and turned to smile at Julia and then back to John.

 

John, “Rina why do you even want to be naked? Julia is only doing this for me.”

 

“How come she's cooking naked for you?”

 

Julia, “Well it's something of a reward. A reward that doesn't end here for John and all the good work he's done.”

 

“I want to reward him to!”

 

Despite the situation John was having trouble not laughing. At times he wondered why Rina didn't insist on using the toilet even though she didn't seem to have that biological function. “There is no need for that Rina. Really what Julia is doing for me is plenty reward enough.” Even as he spoke John couldn't help but wonder what Julia meant by doesn't end here. He had his hopes.

 

***********************************************************************************

Julia took a moment to close her eyes and take in a deep breath. To just feel John setting nestled in her cleavage and the warmth that radiated from it. Opening her eyes again she lifted her drink and took a light sip before setting it back down. Apparently her breasts were still developing. John had noticed it while they'd been eating. A fact that made her chuckle. This meant that her breasts had only been developing fairly recently likely only an hour or so before she'd waken up. It was the perfect chance to simply relax with John and let him feel her chest growing around him. Except he wasn't just relaxing. Julia grinned as she looked towards the television screen. Currently John was playing dragoon the awakening while Julia followed along. “Is something the matter?”

 

John knew that this was suppose to be part of his reward. A nice meal and then relaxing in Julia's cleavage while he enjoyed his game. The notion that she was just setting around with nothing to do troubled him though. “Julia you don't need to do this you know.”

 

“What? You don't like being snuggled in my cleavage while enjoy your game?” As she spoke Julia squeezed her chest lightly bringing her cleavage in around John.

 

“I do! Believe me I do. It's just. I don't want you to set around being board. You deserve to relax and have some fun as well.”

 

“This is relaxing. Don't worry John if I wasn't enjoying myself I'd be trying to convince you to do something else. After that fight yesterday I just want to relax, cuddle with you and feel my body changing.” As she finished speaking Julia relaxed her hold on her cleavage and took in a deep breath. After the fight she had the previous day and how badly she'd been injured just setting, sipping some drinks and cuddling with John while he had some fun was fine with Julia.

 

“Are you sure? We could watch something on television if you'd like.”

 

“No. No television for me thank you. I would like it if later you'd watch The Pack with me. I really think you'd enjoy it if you gave it half a chance.”

 

John couldn't help but sigh. “Fine. But you know I have a rule against shows that start off with a sex seen in the first five minutes except for porn.” John felt his world shake lightly as Julia gave a slight chuckle.

 

“You just don't like it because they started it by showing the guy first.”

 

“My point still stands!”

 

“Oh shush and just play your game. What are you doing right now anyway? I could swear I saw a sign pointing east towards Bezon and you're not even on the road anymore. Don't you have a letter to deliver?”

 

“I'm just doing some exploring and level grinding. I want to get Meredia good and powerful before anything actually happens. Plus I'm hoping to come across some minerals so I can have the smith make her better armor and perhaps help build up the town a bit.”

 

“Didn't you need to deliver it before the day was up?”

 

“Yeah but the game doesn't actually progress to the next day or even night unless you camp or stay at an inn. That's why you saw me stocking up on all those healing items before I left town.”

 

“I also saw you cheating at cards.”

 

“My character was not cheating. I the player was just reloading whenever I lost. She on the other hand is just exceptionally lucky.” John once again felt his world shaking and had to pause the game as Julia chuckled. Unfortunately whenever she laughed he would slip further in her cleavage and he had to brace himself or risk being consumed or at least made unable to play. As nice as it was in her cleavage he was beginning to wonder if setting atop one of her breasts would be the better choice.

 

“You cheater.” Julia just grinned as John situated himself in her cleavage again and resumed his game. “Hey John have you thought about what you'd like to do when vacation time rolls around?”

 

“I can't say I gave it much thought. Why?”

 

“Well I know we can't go anywhere that you might be discovered but they're still quite a few options. Some vacation spots are chosen for the isolation after all. How would you like to go spend a week in a cabin?”

 

“Julia I don't know if I would enjoy that even if I was full sized. If you want to go I'd be glad to go with you.”

 

“No. I want it to be somewhere you'd enjoy as well or something you'd enjoy. If you don't mind just give it some thought.”

 

“Okay but I'll be honest. The money most would spend on a vacation I'm more likely to spend on a new television or sound system.” By now John had situated himself and resumed playing his game. “You know Julia this is awesome.”

 

“What?”

 

“Snuggling in your cleavage while relaxing and enjoying a game. I was pretty fond of my armchair before but this just wins all over.” As John spoke he gently rubbed Julia's left breasts. A soft sigh from her told him that she was augmentation her sense of touch whenever it came to her breasts at the moment.

 

“Well I'm glad to hear that.”

 

“Now are you sure there isn't something you'd rather watch.” John didn't get to finish as the world collapsed in on him. The feeling of Julia's breasts engulfing and molding to hold his entire body captive while the heat of her flesh sunk into his own filled John's entire being.

 

“Yes!”

***********************************************************************************

“So what do you think?” Julia grinned as she pushed out her rear and bent at the waist giving John a side view of her body. Her breasts had finally stopped expanding at roughly three fourths the size of her head and when she'd finally stood up she found out her rear had become more developed as well. This had actually been rather obvious to her as she'd felt her panties becoming more and more uncomfortable. She'd been forced to change them and now was trying on a new bra. She gave a slight chuckle whenever John attempted to whistle and clamped his hands excitedly.

 

“Very nice!” John continued to clap as Julia straitened up and began to walk towards him. He had also noticed a change in her height. Where before he'd been almost as high up as the crotch of her panties while standing on the night stand they had been moving further and further above his head.

 

“You really think so? I hope they're not getting too big for you.”

 

“Well there is no point in worrying about that. I've been thinking by the way. I know you wanted to reward me today but I remember Rina mentioned you'd prefer if I slept with you. Something about me not getting to use the bed in my home very often.” John continued to smile as he noted Julia blushing a little bit.

 

“You know if I move just a little closer I can't even see you now beneath my boobs.”

 

“Just make sure you watch where you're walking.”

 

Julia gave a slight chuckle and a nod before settling down onto her knees and leaning forward so she was closer to John. “Yeah. It's true. I'm not really a fan of how you've been sleeping in your home. I don't want you to be uncomfortable though.”

 

“I appreciate that but I was thinking we should at least try sleeping together. So would you be up to playing around and seeing if we could find a position that's comfortable for us both.” John wasn't even surprised this time whenever he felt Julia's hand take hold of him. He knew she preferred to keep him close and it wasn't something he's going to worry about at the moment. The feeling of her lips engulfing the majority of his body more then made up for any frustration about not being consulted before being picked up. As he felt himself being pulled against Julia's lips by the suction created whenever she kissed him he made sure to kiss back using both his arms and his much smaller lips.

 

“Of course! Did you have something in mind?”

 

“Well I admit I've been thinking about it for a little bit. Honestly I was a bit worried you'd end up rolling over onto me. Where do you have in mind? Perhaps we could try there first and see what can be done.”

 

Julia gave a slight giggle and quickly stood back up. Half a step backwards and she was settling down atop her bed while still holding John at eye level. “Well I was thinking that you could sleep in my cleavage once my breasts became large enough. I could just squeeze you between my breasts and they'd keep you nice and warm and safe throughout the night. So how about we start there?”

 

As Julia laid down John immediately noticed a problem. “Okay but if we're going to try this we're going to need to do it right. You need to lay like you're really going to sleep and I don't believe you're going to stay like that the entire night.”

 

“Good point.” Julia felt a little silly as she fully settled down as if to go asleep. As she lay down she took in a deep breath and then set John on her collar bone. “Just go in and let's see where you feel comfortable. I'll just let you work for now but let me know if you need me to do anything.” Julia might have been preparing for sleep but she didn't feel like sleeping. Her heart was positively pounding and a massive smile covered her face. It wasn't possible for that smile to become wider but it was sure trying whenever she felt John walking.

 

It had seemed like such a good idea whenever he said it. Snuggle into Julia's cleavage and spend the night. What a wonderful and sexy way to sleep. When John looked at her chest though and realized how small he was he couldn't help but feel as if they'd grown even larger. Each one of Julia's breasts was several times his mass. If it hadn't been for Rina magically strengthening his body he felt certain their mass alone would crush or at least smother him. Even if he did find a comfortable place to sleep while Julia was laying on her back what happened whenever she turned onto her side? It could be even worse if she lay on her stomach. “Julia do you have any ideas on how I could actually be kept in place? I'm a little worried about what will happen if you move in your sleep.”

 

As John walked closer to her breasts Julia wanted to pick him up and push him deep within her cleavage. She wanted to blow on him to hurry him along or even give him a little nudge. She repressed these desires wanting him to be comfortable with the idea of sleeping in her cleavage. “You don't have to worry about that much. I'm a very sound sleeper. For safety I'm pretty sure I can make something to keep you in place. I'll be certain to give you a panic button of some type that will wake me up if you start having trouble.”

 

Each time Julia would fully inhale John would stop for a moment and then continue walking. This slowed his progress but even at his size it didn't take him too long to reach Julia's breasts. As he came closer he could feel the heat increasing around him. As massive as her breasts were though some parts of this were enticing and part of John's body was responding. “You could probably secure me in place with a band aid now that I'm thinking about it. I don't believe it'd take much force to keep me in place.”

 

“You are wonderfully small that's true. I don't believe that would be comfortable though. I wonder if I could fix up some kind of covering for you that would keep you in place in the event I did roll.” Julia felt John's hand brush against the top of her breasts as he began to journey into the space between her breasts. The temptation to squeeze her breasts together and trap him between her breasts just for a little while almost overwhelmed her and Julia didn't know how well she could sleep with John between her breasts. Would the temptation to play with him be too strong for her? She couldn't afford to set up all night just thinking about what she'd like to do with John too often.

 

“You're probably right. Well if you can get some of the adhesive they use on them I'm sure we could make something.” Taking a deep breath John finally lay down and looked up at Julia's breasts. It was clear to him immediately this wouldn't be deep enough unless they intended to rely on their bandage fix to keep him in place even while Julia was on her back. After a moment of consideration he began to crawl deeper into Julia's cleavage.

 

Julia couldn't help but give a low moan as she felt John moving between her breasts. “Mm I don't believe you're deep enough yet.” There was a shiver that ran through Julia's body as she felt John working his way deeper into her cleavage. Soon she felt him beginning to slow and knew that it must be the weight of her breasts hindering his movements. This only served to add to her excitement. “Don't you want to be tucked away in my cleavage? A nice safe haven just for you away from the world.”

 

“When you say it that way it sounds great! I'm just a little worried about how uncomfortable not being able to move for a few hours would be.” By now John had began to have to expend considerable effort to work himself deeper into Julia's cleavage. The feeling of her flesh gliding across his and her scent filling his nose excited him but common sense soon spoke up and told him to stop. If he was having trouble getting in then he wouldn't be very comfortable for long and he could have trouble getting himself out. “Okay Julia I think this is as deep as I can go and still be comfortable.”

 

“Ah! But I wanted you deeper.” Julia couldn't help but give a slight pout though that quickly broke into a wide grin. “Now you're sure you're comfortable?” Even as she spoke Julia lightly shifted in bed causing the weight of her breasts to shift on John. The feeling of her breasts rubbing against him was a thrill and she couldn't help but give an excited giggle. “Okay what should we do now?”

 

“I would say try to take a nap but you seem to excited for that.” Despite his situation John gave a slight laugh and tried to settle in beneath Julia's breasts. If her breasts continued to grow larger then he would have to sleep closer to her face. “Just try to settle in and well see how this works out.”

 

Despite her excitement Julia tried to do as John said and took a deep breath. Now that he had stopped moving as much it was a bit easier to calm herself. Her right hand was still resting on top of her panties lightly petting her lips even as she closed her eyes. Despite that she felt her heart rate calming down as was her breathing. “This is really nice.”

 

***********************************************************************************

Mavon 22, 1558 HH

 

“You took my house mate!” Currently Rina was hovering just over Julia's face and positively glaring down at her.

 

While Julia had been relaxing with John she had expected Rina to intervene. The fact that they'd ended up spending the night together had actually surprised her. Rina hadn't even interrupted them while they'd been working on John's safety net. They had finally settled on a soft net with its edges covered in a light adhesive. She had placed this over John so that it would catch him in the event of her rolling onto her side or stomach. She had used a few vines to fix herself a collar that could deliver a rather noteworthy shock should he end up trapped in a position that would threaten his life or injury. All together she was rather happy with their solution. “Good morning to you to Rina. What took you so long?”

 

“I was trying to catch up to John in dragoon the awakening now I want my house mate back.”

 

“Rina you knew this was coming. You knew I wanted John to sleep with me from the beginning. Also a house mate isn't just something you demand live with you. If John wants to sleep with me then there is nothing you can do about it.”

 

“I don't want to spend the nights alone though!”

 

A sigh escaped Julia and she glanced down towards her chest. She was a bit surprised to see that John was still asleep despite Rina's wake up call. She couldn't help but wonder if it was being nestled in her cleavage that was keeping her from waking him up. Perhaps the sound was having trouble reaching him. “Rina it's not like he was setting up all night with you. He was just sleeping in his room you weren't even in the same room.”

 

“I was some of the time! He would do funny things in his sleep and make sounds so I liked to watch and listen.”

 

John was actually glad he was hiding underneath Julia's breast as he felt himself beginning to blush. He hadn't thought of setting any rules for when Rina could enter his room. It hadn't even occurred to him that she might be entering his room while he slept. “Are you serious?”

 

“Yeah! At times I'd spend half the night just laying next to you. You even turned around and put your head in my cleavage a few times. I think you liked using them as pillows.”

 

It wasn't only John that had been surprised. Julia hadn't thought much of Rina living with John given that they had different rooms and Julia was so protective of her belongings. The notion that she'd been sneaking into John's room and cuddling with him while he was asleep was more then a little shocking to her. “Rina that isn't the thing you're suppose to do with someone without their permission and now he's sleeping with me.”

 

“Then I want to sleep in your cleavage as well!”

 

“No Rina.” Before continuing Julia wrapped her arms around her chest and squeezed it in on John for a moment to hold him closer. “This is a special place reserved for John alone.”

 

“That's not fair we can both fit.” As she spoke Rina stomped her foot. While it was in the air there was no sound but the physical action was clear to anyone who looked at her. She was trying to make her point.

 

“It isn't a matter of if you'd both fit or if you'd both be comfortable. This is a special place I'm reserving just for John not Rina.”

 

“Mean.”

 

It was actually a relief for Julia whenever Rina turned around and quickly flew out of the room. As she loosened up her hold on John she glanced down at him. “I'm sorry about that. I had no idea she was sneaking into your bed at night.”

 

“I'm surprised she could do it without waking me. She tends to announce her presence.” John was having trouble not grinning too much. He had a beautiful woman so desperate to be in the same bed as him she'd been sneaking in and leaving before he woke up. Part of him wondered why he couldn't have been so lucky at full size. “Now that I think about it perhaps I should have been more concerned about how big my bed was. I guess I wanted to think I might be allowed to grow large enough to fit into it.”

 

“I'm sorry John.”

 

“We've already been over that don't worry about it. Now could you help me out? There is um one problem with me sleeping here.”

 

Julia actually felt her heart sink a bit even as she lifted the net that had helped secure John in place. “What is that?”

 

“I really need to go pee.”

 

Julia actually felt herself blush. She had been so eager to have John sleep with her that she hadn't considered such basic needs. It wasn't exactly unusual for someone to wake up in the middle of the night and need to use the restroom. In John's current condition and while sleeping on her his only choice would be to wake her. “Well then let's go take care of that right now. Oh and John. Sense I can no longer trust Rina to be with you while you're asleep you just feel free to wake me up anytime you need to well go.”

***********************************************************************************

“Now are you sure about this?”

 

“Yeah. It's easier to exercise with a partner after all.”

 

“I'm not sure how much of a partner I am. More like a training ground.” Julia couldn't help but grin as John walked towards her. Currently she was wearing a sports bra and some jogging shorts. She had made him some similar clothing and included some gloves. Currently he was standing on the ground looking up at her while she smiled down at him. “Okay so how are we going to do this?”

 

“Well I'm going to begin climbing and you're going to go through your yoga stances. Now I said yoga. I don't want you to be moving around much. While you're doing your yoga I'm going to see if I can climb up to your shoulder.” John couldn't help but grin as he looked at the thread he would be using as a rope. Julia had attached it so it hung down from her shoulder. “Naturally the stances you use will be up to you.”

 

A slight giggle escaped Julia as she took a step back from John and lowered herself so that her hands wrested on on the ground and her arms bent at the elbows so she was only forearms height above the ground. She then raised herself up on her toes. “Okay so how about I start with the bridge?”

 

“I don't need it that easy!” John both chuckled and shook his head at how low Julia had just put the bar for him. The fact that she chuckle too assured him she was just playing.

 

“Well fine. How about I start with the tree in that case and then move into the chair.”

 

“I have no idea what those stances are. I'm not the one that does yoga.”

 

“We're going to have to fix that. Well okay that can wait until later. What about your warm up though?” Julia didn't stand all the way up as she broke her pose. Rather she settled down on her legs. She rather liked the idea of John climbing her but she didn't want him pulling anything.

 

“I was just thinking you could heal me.”

 

“Well that's true. Though technically I could just make your body stronger with a little magic as well.” As she spoke Julia once again stood up stretching as she did so and preparing to adjust her stance.

 

“True and tempting! I just figured this could be some fun for you and offer us both some encouragements as well. Besides. If you made me stronger it might violate the rules. I'm not so sure simple physical training has the same restrictions.” Julia's step backwards had actually added to the distance John had to walk. He was rather glad Julia didn't have carpet in her home. She never liked thinking about what could hide in your carpet. As he came closer he couldn't resist looking up and gave a slight chuckle at how her breast obscured her face. After a moment his eyes quickly glanced down at her crotch and noted how her jogging shorts conformed to her body.

 

That wasn't what Julia had expected. She knew that John was studying magic in order to help her. By helping her he would also be helping himself though she knew she received the primary benefits. She'd never considered that he might be trying to find a way to cheat the rules. Was it against the rules to try to find ways to cheat them? Julia couldn't remember Rina mentioning anything about that. “You really are doing a detailed study of the harmonics aren't you?”

 

“Well as detailed as I can. Okay are you ready?”

 

“Ah!” Julia had to will her leg to stay still as she felt John's little feet come to rest upon her own as he took hold of the thread and braced himself against her body. “That feels good! Oh this is so exciting. You're really going to climb me?”

 

“That is the plan.” John couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to Julia's excitement. In truth he was a bit concerned. He knew that he would be alright if he fail. His body was extremely durable for his mass and even if he was injured Julia could easily heal him unlike herself. Despite his knowledge he wondered how he was going to deal with his instincts. He didn't even have a safety harness. The only thing that would have made his climb less secure and more dangerous is if he'd left out the rope as well. “I make no promises about how high I'm going to get.”

 

“Let's find out then. Okay we're starting with the tree.” As she spoke Julia raised her right leg and extended her harms. “Go ahead and begin.”

 

John didn't hesitate to begin climbing. He didn't know how long Julia could hold her current pose and he wanted to be well above her foot before she had to move her leg. For the moment he climbed by bracing his feet against her leg and working his way up. Soon he would have to rely on the rope entirely and that could cost him his stability. As he was climbing he couldn't help but notice how smooth and soft Julia's skin was. It brought up a question. “Julia I know you shave your legs but at my size I should be able to feel or see something. What's going on?”

 

“I use a very harsh cleaning agent to remove the hairs from my legs. I just increase my skin's resistant to damage for a short time and then get them nice and clean. It saves a lot of time actually.”

 

“Smart. Hey you know I just realized. I haven't had to shave since you shrunk me.”

 

“I changed that about your body.” As Julia felt John moving higher on her body she was doing everything she could to maintain her pose. Her new found height actually seemed to be causing her something of a problem. At least she didn't remember it being this hard to maintain the tree pose. She loved the feeling of John's legs pressing against her own and moving higher as he climbed her especially when she thought how he was coming closer and closer to her crotch. “I didn't think you'd want to have to deal with such issues. If you'd like I can restore your hair growth and make you a razor.”

 

“You can do that now?”

 

“I gained the ability to manipulate minerals or earth if you will from the last witch I defeated.”

 

“Well.” John took a moment to steady himself as he felt Julia's muscles flexing. The fact that he could feel them pushing against his feet was actually rather exciting. “Okay that's just neat. Anyway. Do you think I'd look better with some facial hair?”

 

“You might look good with a mustache.”

 

“Might? Hey how about once I reach oh I don't know your waist I can take a little break?” John didn't want to admit it but his arms were already beginning to show some fatigue and he hadn't even climbed Julia's leg yet. Indeed he was still looking up at her knee. He didn't know if he could reach her waist but he knew he wouldn't be reaching her head with how he was feeling already.

 

“I'm not sure. That sounds fine. Perhaps you could even wrest in here.” As she spoke Julia pulled her waist band out just in front of her crotch for a moment before letting it snap back into place.

 

“Looks like it'd be pretty hot there. I was hoping to cool off a bit.” Despite his words John felt his penis respond to Julia's comment. It was indeed tempting but this didn't seem like the time for such games.

 

“Oh fine then. You can have a little rest break and drink some juice but. I'm going to have to change stances. Sorry John.” As she spoke Julia switched out the legs she was standing on. This made it impossible for John to place his feet against her legs and continue his climb as he remained below her knee. As she watched him swaying with the thread she wondered if he'd give out. “Come on John you can make it.”

 

There was a moment when John worried he was going to fall right there. After swinging with the thread for a few moments and it settled down he began to climb once again. It was actually quite a relief that he didn't have to worry about rope burn. When Rina had made his body durable enough to enjoy a little fun with Julia she had made it far more durable then his size or strength would require. Unfortunately she hadn't given him stamina to match and he could feel his muscles weakening. “A little more warning before you changed feet would have been appreciated. “So how have things been going at the hospital? Have you noticed anything strange?”

 

“There has been a few patience whose injuries seemed a bit off but I haven't managed to get much information on them. It kind of makes me wish I was a police officer so I could see their records. They um well. They're missing you.” It felt a little strange whenever Julia heard John give a slight laugh. “What?”

 

“I'm sure they're just upset over the increased work load. I know I sure hated it when someone missed. So have I been officially fired yet?”

 

“John that isn't true. They miss you.”

 

“I know. Well. Some of them I would believe miss me.” John gave a slight chuckle when Julia looked down on him. He would have shrugged but his upper body was busy keeping him from falling. “It would have happened if I'd got a job somewhere else anyway. I look at it this way. If someone had offered me a job with as easy as a commute as this one and paid five dollars an hour more I would have taken it. The only thing that could have kept me from doing so is you. So that worked out.”

 

John's reasoning made sense but Julia wasn't certain. He did have friends at the hospital and even changing work locations didn't mean giving that up. If she pushed the issue would it just be more likely she'd hurt him? She would have to wait and see. “Okay. So how has working with Rina been?”

 

“She's been very cooperative whenever it comes to testing various theories about the harmonics. She can be a little overly excitable though. I'm pretty sure she hasn't learned the process yet either. I've explained to her that just having a lot of information doesn't mean I'm going to find something useful. I have to have time to.” For a moment John went silent and took in a few deep breaths while slowing down the rate he was climbing at. “This talking and climbing isn't easy you know.”

 

“Would you like to wait until later?”

 

“No. Just means I needed this more then I thought.” Before speaking again John once again began to climb. He just needed to reach Julia's waist and he'd be able to rest. Perhaps her next stance would even help him to do so. “Anyway. She doesn't seem to understand that I need time to analyze the data.”

 

“I'm going to lower my leg then go into the chair stance.” Rather then lower her leg right away Julia gave John a moment to process what she'd told him. She then made it a point to lower her leg back to the ground very slowly to avoid upsetting his position. Despite her efforts the thread was made to swing though far less then it had done before. “I can see where that would be a problem. What about your games though?”

 

As John held his position he watched as Julia's foot moved past him. As it did so he couldn't help but notice that some of her toes were larger then he was. For a moment it felt like that foot had been coming down upon him and there had been a slight bit of fear. The adrenaline was apparently good for him as he felt his fatigue diminish just a bit. “Have you noticed her referring to them as practice?”

 

“A few times. I take it you told her it was just a game.”

 

John felt himself moving closer to the floor though this was due to Julia binding at the knees. He was a bit disappointed whenever this did nothing to change the length of thread he still had to climb. He was too high for that. “I tried to. Then she said that baseball is a game but it still teaches you how to hit things really hard with a bat.”

 

“Well I guess that is true. I'm not sure if I like the idea of a sport being used to teach people how to hit others with a bat though.” As she spoke Julia looked over her shoulder at John. She was suppose to look directly ahead to insure she maintained her balance but she couldn't resist watching him as he continued to climb. Once she straitened up again he would be able to use her thigh to help stabilize himself while he was climbing.

 

“Actually. You know I think this exercise is much easier for you then it is for me. Anyway, I was thinking of taking what I know about your harmonics and turning them into a sort of battle game. That way we could theory test your spells in different situations. I really want a drink of water. How long have you been holding these poses anyway?”

 

“Ah well. Longer then what I normally would be honest. I would normally already be onto my resistance training.”

 

“Well come on then.” John had to go silent for a moment as he pulled himself hire despite his fatiguing body. “Don't let me hold you up. We're both going to get a good exercise out of this.” John continued to will his body to climb higher even as he burnt through his energy reserves. Even if he didn't make it to the top so long as he pushed himself to his limit it would be a good exercise as far as he was concerned. “I may not. May not conquer this mountain today but I'll do it eventually. So you just do what you do while I climb.”

 

Julia had a huge smile on her face as she looked down at John. “Alright! But I'm going to do the exercises that is climbing friendly first.”

 

“Yeah. That sounds good.”

 

After a moment Julia was made to chuckle as she listened to John. “I thought you had been exercising whenever I left you home with Rina. What about all that time I saw you in the pool?”

 

“Yeah that was more floating then swimming.”

***********************************************************************************

“Here you go.”

 

John was actually surprised by two things as a drink was held out to him. The first was that it was being offered by Rina and apparently made from glass. Apparently Julia wasn't joking whenever she said she could now alter earth. The second thing was that Rina was breathing hard and had a light layer of sweat on her. “Rina what have you been doing?”

 

“Watching television in the pool.”

 

“You've been swimming a lot then?”

 

“No.”

 

Before continuing John took the drink Rina had offered him and took a sip. His dry throat refused to work until it had something to wet it. “Then why does it look like you've been running a marathon?” Even as the question left him John couldn't help but think back to this first days with Rina. There had been other times whenever she'd come to him looking rather exhausted as if she'd been exercising.

 

“I'm not sure. My body just seems to be acting funny. It happens at times.”

 

For a moment John said nothing but glanced over at Julia. Inspiration seemed to hit. “Rina would you mind going and getting me my notebook? There is something I want to look at. Also thanks for the drink. What's in it?”

 

“Oh it's just some of my milk.”

 

Immediately John felt his body lock up and he moved the glass away from his mouth though he'd already taken a very large sup of it and swallowed. “What? You mean your milk from the fridge right?”

 

“Oh no from my breast.”

 

Immediately John froze up barely remembering not to drop the glass. His eyes shifted from Rina to Julia who had stopped her exercises and was looking rather stunned herself. His heart rate sped up but it felt like his blood was running cold. “Why would you give me this to drink?”

 

“Because it's good for you and you need nutrition. It's better for you then any food in your fridge.”

 

“What? How?” John truly didn't know if he cared about the answer. He was too busy trying to think of what he was suppose to do. He was quite certain Julia wouldn't find this acceptable and in truth he felt it was rather inappropriate as well. Women just didn't given grown men, especially grown men that weren't in a relationship with them, their breast milk to drink.

 

“The magic contained within will help strengthen your body by removing toxins, refining the cell structures in your muscles and bones and be absorbed more easily.”

 

There was no immediate response from John. Part of him was hoping that Julia was going to say something but she seemed to be as uncertain as him as to how he should handle the situation. Rather then speak more he took his time to breath. Several words came to his tongue but he forced them back down as he waited for rational thought to take over. Even as he began to believe he was thinking clearly he held off. Often when he felt he was thinking clearly he was still being very stupid. “Rina I appreciate your intentions and your desire to maintain my health but breasts milk is a very intimate thing. You shouldn't just share it with anyone.”

 

“I'm not! You're a good friend that I want to help. You're also helping Juila and I gain more power and your fun to spend time with and you're helping me beat video games and learn more about tactical use of harmonics. You also make funny sounds when you sleep that are just so cute!”

 

“While I appreciate that giving someone your breast milk is a very intimate action and I'm just not that intimate with you.”

 

“We could become that intimate?”

 

“No!” John actually found himself scooting a bit back from Rina in response to her suggestion. It didn't help that she'd moved even closer to him when she made it. “Sorry Rina but I'm only willing to be that intimate with one woman and that's Julia?”

 

“So It should have been Julia's breast milk? Okay.” Rina became a near blur as she moved to hover in front of Julia's face in less then a second. “Julia we need to milk you so John can enjoy some nourishing magically infused milk.”

 

None of this was what Julia had been expecting. The ease with which Rina suggested milking her was also quite shocking. In her stunned state Julia could only think of one response. “I'm not lactating!”

 

“That's no problem. You can just make the glands go active for a little while using magic and then after you've made enough milk for John you can stop. With boobies as big as yours it should be easy. Hey John you could milk one breasts and I'll get the other.”

 

There wasn't time for John to respond as Julia spoke up. “I don't need you to milk me!”

 

“Then how is he suppose to get your milk?”

 

At times the things Rina said would cause a disconnect in Julia's mind. Everything would just go blank and she couldn't think of anything to say. This was one of those moments as her mouth opened up no words came out. She had no doubt that Rina was simply trying to help but her methods were almost more then Julia could stand. After a few moments of silence rather then shock Julia found herself chuckling. “Rina I appreciate that you want to help John. This is a personal issue that's between me and him.”

 

“You're taking too long though!”

 

“Now Rina like John said. This is an intimate matter and we both have to be comfortable with it. So if you'd please just leave it alone for now John and I will talk about it later.” It was a relief to Julia whenever her suggestion didn't meet with immediate rejection from Rina. The little sprite could be very willful. As unusual of a house mate as Julia had found Rina to be before though she had become far worse since John had come to live with them.

 

“I'll give you a little time but you need to take good care of our witch's bane, coworker, house mate, employee and friend.”

 

“I will speak with him but that's all I can promise.”

 

John was rather surprised to hear the word friend at the end. It was strange to think that less then a month ago Rina had been telling Julia that she should kill him. He just hoped that a sprites opinion couldn't turn negative as quickly as they turned positive. Yet what would she do if she caught him trying to tell others about the witches? She had already mentioned several times that she had no choice in if she followed the rules or not.

 

***********************************************************************************

Mavon 25, 1558 HH

 

It was natural for a witch to use her harmonics to benefit her. She was taking quite a risk by joining the hunt after all. Julia just wished that more of them would find a way to benefit themselves while not hurting others. With some harmonics that should have been very easy. Thanks to her harmonic she had been able to help many people and cut down on her work load. Rather then fussing with someone trying to find the best way to heal them she could simply use her harmonics. This had helped to better her reputation around the hospital as well. As she looked over some of the patience she was beginning to think that there was another witch using her harmonics to harm others though.

 

“It's bad isn't it?”

 

There was no surprise whenever Julia turned around and noticed Tim standing behind her. “Yeah. Why are we getting patients from Brexington though?” As she spoke Julia placed the file back on the desk and took a few steps towards Tim.

 

“There hospitals down there handling all the cases they can. We were the next closest hospital so those that could be moved were brought here. We've had then trickling in for a few weeks now but when are they going to stop?”

 

Julia didn't respond right away but bit down on her lower lip. She had noticed these odd injuries before. It wasn't uncommon for them to take up another hospitals overflow. That was just how things went at times. This was only during disasters though or during an outbreak. This wasn't a sickness though but sure seemed to be an epidemic. 'It's like being a burn victim has suddenly become a contagious disease.”

 

“Yeah. I might expect this if it was an arsonist going around torching buildings but no property damage just the people.”

 

***********************************************************************************

“They're still coming in?” Currently John found himself setting in Julia's cleavage backwards so that he could look up at her face. She was looking down but not at him. Rather she was busy preparing their dinner. He couldn't see what it was from his position but the smell made him think chicken and rice. The spices he couldn't even begin to guess other then the pepper but he'd come to trust that anything Julia cooked would be wonderful long ago. Oddly since he'd began living with her the food seemed to improve. It made him wonder if she'd tinkered with his sense of taste and not told him.

 

“Yes. It's not as if they're life threatening and the majority will heal fine if treated which they are getting but still. Unless everyone in Brexington has decided to walk around with torches and swing them at random people I think it's a witch. I'm not sure what she's trying to do.”

 

“I don't know. The torch thing sounds possible for Brexington.” John was made to chuckle whenever Julia gave an annoyed snort. “Have you ever been there?”

 

“John I'm well aware what you think of the local resident of Brexington. Though I also think you're over reacting over a minor traffic incident.”

 

“Hey it was that bastards fault and yet the police report made it sound like I was at fault. Do you have any idea what that did to my insurance premium?”

 

A sigh escaped Julia as she listened to John. Over a year later and a major change in his life style and he still was pissed over what he considered an injustice. Whenever she listened to his side of the story she understood his feelings but there was a time when such things were best forgotten or at least put away. “Well surely you don't think they deserve to be turned into random burn victims.”

 

“I.” For a moment John went silent and rubbed his chin. “Fine. Maybe they don't deserve that. I'm sure they're a few innocents that were just unlucky enough to be born in a city of idiots or their parents moved them there. Those poor poor unfortunate people. So what are you thinking? Do you want to go down there and drive around and see if I sense anything?”

 

“Yeah. Really I want to do it now but there is no way I could get away with it. Even if I called in at work in advance after leaving without telling anyone I just. Well it could cost me my job.”

 

“I completely understand. We might not even find anything.”

 

“It just feels odd to say that when I think about it. I mean. What if someone is actually burned to death between today and the weekend? It just seems like the right thing to do would be to say forget work and rush down there right now with you. But then I think about losing my job and well.”

 

As he listened to Julia John could understand what she was talking about. She knew that something was wrong and people would be hurt. She had the ability to change the situation yet she had concerns of her own. “Well that's what you get for not being independently wealthy. Julia I get what you're saying but you know it isn't just the money. Think of all the people you help at the hospital each day. You talk about rushing down there to help the burn victims but what about the stab victim that's going to be brought in tomorrow?”

 

“John you don't know there is going to be a stab victim.”

 

“No but you don't know there is going to be a burn victim.”

 

Julia started to open her mouth to respond when the truth of what John said sank in. She was currently using the hospital as a means to locate other witches. If she lost that job she didn't just lose her income she loss a source of information. John's ability to detect witches did have limits it seemed. “I guess I can't be everywhere and help with everything.”

 

“Indeed and before you say. Well this could be more important. Remember that you have to take your own well being into consideration as well. Sure it'd be nice if you could come and go from the hospital as you wished but that's not going to happen. Even if you were to use your earth magic to create diamonds and secure a small fortune for yourself. I wouldn't recommend doing that by the way. You would still face other obligations.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Suddenly finding diamonds like that seems like a great way to draw the attention of other witches. It may be unpleasant but the less you rely on magic the less likely you're going to be noticed. Unless you want to set some kind of trap then you could leave all sorts of clues.”

 

“Well I don't believe I have the power needed to get away with that.”

 

“Neither do I which brings up another issue with this witch. If she's acting out like this she's either stupid or powerful enough she thinks she can get away with it.”

 

“That is true. Did you think the chicken was too spicy the last time I made it?”

 

“No. It could have used a little more spice to be honest.”

 

“Do you really believe so? I don't want to overpower the chicken.”

 

“The chicken can stand up to a little more spice.” As John spoke he leaned back more and took on a more relaxed posture. The smell of the food was filling the kitchen and competing with the scent of Julia's perfume and skin as he lay in her cleavage. It made him wish that he had a cold drink. “I know if you're going to start dropping signs that read here I am you had better be good and ready. I know when it comes to strategy I never drop my stealth until I have absolutely no choice.”

 

“That's not what I saw whenever you were playing dragoon.”

 

“That's because I can save and reload if I realize I mess up. Plus Melissa is just a monster at this point. You seem to be having fun.”

 

“It's fun. Thanks John. For helping me keep things in perspective. I hope that there aren't many witches that have a helper like you or I could be in trouble.”

 

“If they are I recommend that instead of fighting them you make a truce. Nothing Rina said indicates there can't be two Resonance and you could use someone to watch your back. This whole single predator thing has me worried to be honest. Most of the really successful predators I know of hunt in packs. It's strange to think that none have been formed.”

 

“I'm sure they have. Perhaps time or treachery just broke them up. Okay I hope you're hungry. You haven't been snacking just because you had a fridge put in have you?”

 

“How can I? Every time I fix myself something to eat or even get something Rina wants to eat one to. Plus I'm constantly scared that the milk will turn out to be her breast milk again.”

 

A slight chuckle came from Julia as she placed the pan to the side and began to plate her and John's dinner. Fortunately she no longer needed to make use of wooden plates or forks as she gained the ability to manipulate earth harmonics. She made no move to immediately reduce John's plate though but rather began to neatly cut up his chicken and vegetables for him. “I have to remind myself that she means well at times.” Even as she spoke Julia also began to prepare a plate for Rina. She knew the sprite would be in the room to eat with them soon enough.

 

“Do you ever worry she might be sneaking into your cleavage at night?”

 

“Well now I'm going to!”

***********************************************************************************

“Hey Rina do you want to join me and Julia exercising?”

 

“You want me to join you?”

 

“Sure. Julia and I have been asking you to stay out of so many things lately that we figured we should include you in something. Plus I'm curious to see if a sprite even benefits from exercise. Now just so you know when exercising you need to rely on the muscles in your body at their natural state rather then tweaking them with magic.” Even as he spoke John couldn't help but think back to when he'd seen Rina's body behaving strangely as if she'd been exercising. She acted as if nothing was wrong but he had taken down the time and what he saw anyway. After speaking with Julia he had a theory as to what might be happening. Yet he didn't want to risk invalidating the results by giving too much information.

 

“Is it fun?”

 

“Well it's fun to do things together. Personally I hate exercising alone but with a partner it can be enjoyable.”

 

“Sure I'll exercise with you! Just give me a moment to save my progress.”

 

That was one thing John had never expected to hear from a sprite. Naturally he had never expected to meet a magical being or be shrunk down either. Given what else had happened to him it seemed silly he would find Rina's statement strange. This actually brought a chuckle from him. “You know if you'd stick to playing just one game you'd eventually pass me up.”

 

“But then I wouldn't have anyone to ask for help whenever I was stuck.”

 

***********************************************************************************

“Rina are you sure you're going to be alright?” Julia didn't really know what to think as she looked down at the sprite. Naturally Rina wanted to do something similar to what John was doing. That meant climbing her. Except there was a problem. To truly get a workout from climbing her Rina would need to carry some additional weight. This apparently would have been too much for Julia. Currently the sprite was standing on top of nearly two hundred kilograms worth the mass with a magically augmented wire serving as her connection to them. While John climbed her Rina would try to fly to the top of her head.

 

“Yeah! I'm a little worried this will be too easy.”

 

It wasn't just Julia who was having trouble taking this site in. Was Rina being serious whenever she said that she could fly with two hundred kilograms? He had seen how her wings worked and knew they didn't rely on natural forces to fly. Her wings flapping was simply for show though apparently her ability to fly did relate to the strength of her body. “Rina you're not just showing off are you?”

 

“Nope!”

 

Julia knew that Rina was powerful whenever it came to her magic. The notion that the little sprite was physically stronger then her though was almost impossible to imagine. Both of them would know if she was using magic though as they would hear and see the harmonics. “Well if that's the case. John are you ready to make it to my breasts this time?”

 

“I'm going to give it my best.”

 

Rina, “If you'd drank my milk you'd been climbing that high days ago.”

 

John couldn't help but blush and and took a moment to look at Julia's foot. “So what pose are you going to start with?”

 

“You just begin climbing and you'll see.”

 

“Okay are you ready Rina?”

 

“Yep!”

 

Nodding his head John took hold of the rope and placed his foot against Julia's. As he began to climb upwards he could here the sound of metal plates shifting against one another and had to remind himself to actually climb five seconds later. When he looked over he could see the weights Rina was tied to were slowly beginning to lift upwards. What made the site truly shocking was that he couldn't hear the sound of any harmonics.

 

As Julia took on her first pose she could hardly believe what she was seeing with Rina. The lift wasn't quick by any stretch of the imagination. The sprite's wings rapidly beat the air though she knew they weren't generating enough lift to raise such heavy weights. There was something else going on. “So Rina. You're quite a bit stronger then your size implies.”

 

“Yeah! It's so we'll be safe.”

 

John, “I take it that a few sprites had some bad experiences in the past.” Despite his surprise John had his own concerns to think about and had began to climb. Unlike before though he found himself trying to keep up with the rate at which Rina was lifting the weights. She was bigger then him but for her to be lifting as much weight as two or three people was astounding given her size.

 

“I'm not sure. They are stories that at one time our bodies were weaker whenever we came to the human world. Apparently some humans decided to use their physical strength to force us to obey or they tried to. Then for about one hundred years we stopped making contracts with witches and when we returned we had much stronger bodies.”

 

Nodding his head John finally turned away from Rina and looked up towards Julia. Particularly at her crotch. He had a goal to reach. “Well that makes sense. Okay Rina I'm going to see if I can catch up with you.” With those words John began working his body more quickly. As his feet pressed into the skin of Julia's leg he could feel it heating up as he climbed. Apparently she liked his more rapid pace.

 

Rina, “Come on John you can do it! Let's see who can make it to her boobies first.”

 

“You're on!”

 

Julia could feel herself grinning even while she blushed as she listened to Rina and John. The temptation to reach down and lift John to chest level poked into the back of her mind but she pushed it away. She could tell that John wanted this to be a fair competition. At least as fair as it could be. They both knew she would be changing poses throughout their race as well. Except the changes in her pose would mostly help Rina. She didn't depend on her legs for stability after all. This meant if she wanted to help John she would need to hold the poses that benefited him the most as long as possible. A slight groan escaped Julia as she could feel her right leg protesting this plan already.

 

***********************************************************************************

Julia felt off. It wasn't that she felt bad. She felt rather good considering how much time she'd just spent exercising. Yet her muscles were twitching and flexing in odd ways. Her right arm shook for a moment and she feared she would have to hold it down. Yet when she examined her body she couldn't see anything wrong with it. She knew something was going on whenever she noticed John examining Rina. “Okay what's going on over there?”

 

Currently John was giving Rina a quick look over. He had also been looking up at Julia from time to time to see how her body was behaving. As he worked he'd been growing more certain of his theory. “A few weeks ago while talking to Rina I noticed she began to breath and sweat as if she'd been exercising. It was pretty strange considering that she was setting around with me whenever it happened working on magical theory. I made a note of this time and have been watching her for similar behavior ever sense. Now I'm pretty certain of my theory.”

 

“You believe we're influencing one another?” As she spoke Julia glanced over at Rina. She hadn't really thought to look at the sprite often while exercising. From what John was saying it did seem possible though.

 

“That is what I believe.”

 

Rina, “Really! What do you think that means?”

 

“Well I'm not entirely sure. I'm actually curious what would happen if you were to exercise while Julia relaxed. If you'd be interested in trying it.”

 

“I don't know. Exercising by myself isn't fun.”

 

“I can exercise with you. You'll need to do something that actually forces you to work your body though.”

 

“Okay! So should we begin now?”

 

“Hold on a moment. I'm still recovering from that climbing and Julia needs to cool down as well. I want to make sure it's your exercise that's influencing her and not something else.”

 

“Okay but when then?”

 

“I guess the sooner the better but Rina there is something else I wanted to talk to you about. I had an idea while I was watching you lift those weights. Now I know that you and I have to keep hidden or we risk revealing Julia but do you think you could take me flying? With your control of wind magic I was thinking that we could conceal what we are or perhaps there would be some other method.” It surprised John whenever Rina didn't respond right away but bit down on her lower lip. It was rare that the sprite was conflicted. “Is there a disagreement with the rules?”

 

“Well no but yes. It depends on what method we use.” Once again Rina went silent and lightly rubbed her head.

 

While Julia had been interested in what John had to say about her and Julia's exercise influencing one another she wasn't quite prepared for him to talk about going flying. It was rather clear from the way Rina had lifted her weights that she was capable of carrying John and battling against some strong winds. As long as Rina was with him Julia knew he wouldn't have to worry about birds either. “Now hold on a moment let's not get ahead of ourselves. John you really think that Rina and I have some kind of biofeedback system?”

 

“I believe so. It sure seems that way. At least it seems that your exercise routine influences her body. Though it's pretty clear that pain isn't shared. Or are you just really good at ignoring pain Rina?”

 

“Nope! I don't feel any pain whenever Julia is hurt. That would have been real bad whenever she fought that last witch. Part of me is in her though so maybe when she becomes healthier that part of me becomes healthier and then the rest of me does. Then does that mean if I make myself healthier that aspect of me inside of her will become healthier. But John I don't know if I can become healthier through exercise. I just wanted to join in.”

 

“That just means we need to try?” It felt odd whenever Rina gave him a smile and nodded her head quickly.

 

“Okay! If I can help Julia become more fit that means she'll be better suited to battling other witches. I considered what you asked about scouting to. I can follow the rules and take you scouting as long as I keep you close and make sure no one will think anything if we're seen or make it so we can't be seen. If you can think of a way to do that then we should be able to do it!”

 

Julia recoiled a bit when Rina brought up taking John flying again. Rather then simply reject the idea she found herself trying to think of a solution. Rina could turn both of them into birds and they could fly around together. Rina could also turn herself into a bird and carry John around. Julia wasn't fond of the idea of John being turned into an animal though especially as she feared someone simply decide to take a shot at him or some other bird attacking him. “Rina when you fly you clearly don't rely on the atmosphere to obtain lifted. Do you believe you could carry a large model airplane?”

 

“Sure!”

 

“Well how about this. We make a fake airplane so that it can glide. Oh wow that's a fun ideal.” Julia couldn't help but grin as she considered the options her ability to manipulate earth had opened up. “Okay we make a model air plane and then you and John can take it out scouting whenever you want. I can use my magic to make sure it's good at stable and it could even be made to glide in case your magic gives out.”

 

“My harmonics do not give out. Now it can't be anything that would help John escape.”

 

Julia actually felt a slight chill as Rina's tone seemed to change. Something about suggesting her harmonics might fail seemed to have hit a nerve with the sprite. Fortunately there were other things to talk about. “I know. Actually when I first thought about it I thought I could make it self powered. That way you could literally fly it around.” As she spoke Julia glanced over at John and gave him a grin. “Those blasted restrictions are annoying. Anyway. I can make it sturdy enough that I don't have to worry about some bird breaking it or even someone with a shotgun deciding to take a shot at it. Plus this way I can at least insure you're flying in style.”

 

Rina, “Huh? I thought we were going to be flying in an air plane.”

 

It was impossible for John to keep from chuckling. “Flying in style just means flying in comfort Rina. Well that and your vehicle is impressive.”

 

“Oh! When you're in Julia's cleavage are you traveling in style?”

 

“I sure think so.” As he spoke John gave Julia a look and she returned it right back to him. “I swear Julia you're going to have to come up with some way of increasing my pay at this rate. Not only am I head of your research department but now I'm working in information and sprite physical fitness. My job description is expanding a bit.”

 

Julia gave a slight chuckle. “Well. Look at this way. Each time I absorb the power from another witch your playground becomes all the more beautiful and you become safer. I consider that rather good compensation.”

 

Rina, “No! John is right! He deserves something nice. You should let me reward him to.”

 

Julia's mouth opened before her brain could respond but fortunately she remembered to shut it before words could be formed. She had to remember who Rina was. This thought resulted in a slight groan instead of words coming from Julia as she calmed herself down. “How exactly do you plan on rewarding him Rina? It can't be anything too intimate.”

 

“Well I don't really understand what you mean by intimate yet. I was thinking I could increase the amount of pleasure inducing chemicals inside of his body though.”

 

While John had been curious and even a bit worried about what Rina might have in mind now he knew he should be alarmed. “Thanks Rina but I would prefer not to be drugged. It's alright. I'm enjoying myself for the most part.”

 

“If you don't want chemically induced pleasure. I know! You could be allowed to contact your family. You'd have to tell Julia what you wanted to say and she could use the wind to recreate your voice. That way they don't have to worry about you.”

 

Now John's jaw nearly hit the ground. Of all the things he'd expected Rina to offer that wasn't one of them. “I could do that? I mean you'd do that for me?”

 

“Sure!”

 

“Thanks! But I'm not sure what I would tell them. They probably think I'm dead or something along those lines. I wouldn't want to make them worry more. I know they'll want to see me. I mean. What would I even begin to say?” John gave a sigh whenever Rina gave a shrug. This wasn't something he was willing to give up on though. “Can I have some time to think about this? I'll need to think of a really really good story to tell them. This isn't the type of thing people just brush off after all.”

 

It wasn't just John who was surprised. Julia had been shocked by Rina's offer as well. By having John tell her what he wanted to say Julia could insure that he didn't reveal anything about witch's. That would satisfy Rina. He would also remain in their care. John did however have a good point. If they couldn't come up with a good cover story there could be trouble. “How about you tell them you got a job that you can't talk about and had to act on very quickly? You tell them you're working on a research project but you can't tell them about it. After all. You had me collect all your favorite things from your apartment as well as your savings. I used your information so it looks like you did it.”

 

For a moment John said nothing but bit down on his lower lip. “Don't you think that sounds like some kind of paranoid conspiracy theory?”

 

“John a few months ago I learned witches and sprites are real. I've spent more then a little time wondering what else might be real. Besides haven't you heard that the more fantastic the claim the more likely people are to believe it? Naturally I'm going to have to make sure the call can't be traced. That's just going to make it easier for them to believe though.” Despite the situation Julia was actually feeling rather excited. She quite liked the idea that at least they could put John's parents at ease with his disappearance. She imagined that they would then handle his friends and other family members.

 

“Okay you make a very good point. Still. Give me a little time to think about this then when I have a story I believe will work I'll run it by you. Thanks Rina.”

 

“You're welcome!”

 

It wouldn't be a direct conversation but the notion that John could put the minds of his parents at ease was rather comforting to him. It seemed even more comforting then he had thought as he considered the situation. “I guess in some ways it's true. I'm currently working on a secret research project with extremely tight security. It just happens to be a bit smaller then it sounds. Plus my work has the potential to influence a lot of lives especially if you keep on healing people.”

 

“That's true and I intend to do so. We're also working to remove dangerous witches from the game so we're helping to protect people as well.”

 

“You'll influence even more lives if you help me to become the Resonance!”

 

For a moment John went silent and looked at Rina. What she said was true if it was possible given what she said would happen to Julia. Yet John had the feeling that goal was a long way off. How long could they keep this up? How long until Julia came upon a witch that she couldn't defeat or escape and what would happen to him after that? What would happen to her? From what Rina had said and he'd seen things could be very dangerous for the witches as well. There was after all nothing keeping the winning witch from killing the loser. “We can sure give it our best.”

***********************************************************************************

Mavon 30, 1558 HH

 

“ Are you sure you want to help these people?”

 

Julia couldn't help but roll her eyes. She'd just avoided being side swiped by another car while driving around Brexington. She knew that John detested the city and to an extent she agreed with him. The road and more importantly the people who drove on them seemed to have a serious issue. She wasn't ready to condemn the entire city though. “Now John. Perhaps they really needed to get to wherever they were going. Besides that was only one pushy.” Julia froze for a moment as she could have sworn she felt something nudge her bumper. It wasn't sufficient to call it an impact but as she looked in her mirror she did notice another vehicle driving quite close to her bumper. “Driver.”

 

“What's going on? One of them is on your tail aren't they? Blast it they did that to me the entire time I was here. Watch this if you let the bastard pass you he's just going to slow down to ten miles below the speed limit. Think you could make his engine blow up?”

 

A sigh escaped Julia though she continued to drive the speed limit. This wasn't the first pushy driver she'd found behind herself and she wasn't going to let them rush her. “John that's not a proper use for the harmonics.”

 

Rina, “Sure it is. It's not likely you'd get caught or anything. A lot of witches have used their harmonics to take revenge on people or get rid of the annoying ones. My mommy's witch liked to make people get sick whenever they upset her. She even made a few men lose their penises and turned some women fat! She said it was to match their mouths and make them think more clearly.”

 

For a moment Julia was silent as she imagined the patients she'd been dealing with lately. In truth they were a few she wanted to hurt as well. “Well that isn't the type of behavior you're going to find me contributing to. If I'm going to use my harmonics to injure someone they're either going to have to done something to deserve it or I'm going to have little choice in the matter. But. John I'm getting a little hungry with all this driving around. Do you know any good restaurants here? What about an Eddy's?” Julia felt her mind freeze up for a moment as she remembered speaking to John after he had visited Brexington. She found herself regretting the question before he even responded.

 

“No. This place is the city of cheap knock offs. That Eddy's is just a rip off of Denny's and I don't even like Denny's but that place is just. I swear I think the food shows why the drivers and cops are all idiots around here. It taste like it's been medicated and.” John didn't get to finish as Julia suddenly spoke up.

 

“Oh look it's a Brig's. You like Brig's right?” Julia had felt her heart positively flutter whenever she saw the restaurant. She didn't truly need to ask. John had praised Brig's several times in the past and lamented there wasn't one within easy driving distance of the hospital. He'd posted comments on their website that they needed one close by. The fact that he didn't start spouting hate immediately told her that she was right.

 

“I want a fish platter, a bag of hush-puppies and thick fries.” John actually chuckled a bit whenever he heard Julia give a sigh of relief. He knew that he'd been hating Brexington rather intensely. His dislike for the city was true but complaining about it wasn't going to help Julia. He would restrain the complaining for the rest of the trip. At least he wasn't the one driving. Though he had a feeling if he was setting in the passenger seat and capable of seeing what was going on he would be complaining even more.

 

“Good and what would you like Rina?”

 

“I'll have what both of you are having! I want to try it all.”

 

Julia was immediately thankful that Rina hadn't decided to try the entire menu. She got the feeling that John was thinking the same thing as she drove over to the drive through and rolled down her window. She could practically feel John wanting to say something as they waited at the speaker. “Pardon me. Pardon me! I'd like to make an order.”

 

“Hold on one minute!.”

 

Even at his size the sound of the voice over the speaker struck John as winy. He actually had to cover his mouth to keep from saying something. An act that didn't go unnoticed by Rina who was currently looking strait at him and grinning. After a moment John removed his hand from his mouth.

 

“What do you want?”

 

When John covered his mouth again Rina burst into open laughter as she looked at him. “Julia you should see John! I think he really wanted to say something.”

 

“He's not the only one. Yes. I'll have two fish platters, two thick fries, two bags of hush-puppies, two hardy chicken salads, two melon limes and two waters.”

 

“Get over to the front.”

 

Julia actually clinched her hands. It wasn't just the drivers. John's complaining had exhausted some of her patience as she'd driven around. The way the cashier was speaking with her wasn't helping matters as she began to pull around to the service window. “So the culture here is a little different then our home. That is. Natural. I'm sure they don't mean to offend.”

 

Rina, “I believe John disagrees! He's grinning and chuckling.”

John was about to open his mouth whenever he felt something to his northwest as if a light was gently shining on him. The feeling was becoming increasingly familiar the more often he experienced it and easier to call upon. “I believe that I located a witch.”

 

“Well that's good.” Julia was a bit surprised whenever she glanced to her side and noticed the window open and noticed the young lady looking back at her. The expression on her face was not what Julia considered respectful.

 

“OH did we take too long getting your food ready? Next time I'll tell the kitchen to rush for you.”

 

Julia couldn't help but bite down on her lower lip. She could make this girl sick. It wouldn't have to be permanent. Just change the PH balance of her blood a little. It wouldn't have to be enough to hurt her and after drinking some water she'd be fine. Julia contented herself with a deep breath as she took hold of the food and placed it in the passenger seat. As she began to count out the money she was assaulted by another unwelcome remark.

 

“Are you going to be eating that all by yourself? Bit of a hog don't you think.”

 

“Do I look like I eat this much?” As she spoke Julia set up in her seat and pushed out her chest to better show off her figure. “From the way you're looking you should probably eat something yourself.”

 

It was impossible for John not to grin upon hearing Julia's response. He couldn't actually see the cashier but he suspected that her chest didn't even begin to compare to Julia's. The fact that Julia had a well conditioned athletic build to go along with her chest only made it more amusing. The fact that another word wasn't said until Julia pulled away from the window made it all the more amusing. “Now that was a nice one.”

 

“Give me a moment and I'll get your food to the both of you. Rina could you create some tables for you and John to eat at?”

 

“Eat now? But we need to find the other witch while John can feel her! Plus it's bad to do something physically demanding on a full stomach.”

 

After a moment of silence Julia gave a nod. “You have a good point. Okay this can be our victory dinner. Let's go get ourselves a witch.”

 

***********************************************************************************

“If this keeps up I'm going to end up being killed.” Even as she lay on her bed Julia wasn't comfortable. She had learned from her previous injuries and instead of altering her own body she'd modified a few plants to create a pain killer. She wished she'd made something stronger as she settled into the motel room bed. Before laying back completely she picked up a cup of water and took several large swallows as she glanced down at her bandages. “I hope that no one comes in before I can fix this. I don't want to explain why I had to use towels to bandage my body.”

 

“I doubt they would even recognize them as towels. They're more likely to wonder what happened.” John had been right when he told Julia he felt another witch. This one had surprised them though. Instead of retreating or even getting out of her vehicle she had forced Julia to pursue her. As they had drove through Brexington she had used harmonics that would be invisible to other people to attack Julia without stopping their vehicles. This had included trying to overheat her body without the creation of fire. Julia had thought to counter this directly whenever he had recommended cooling the inside of the car and letting that cool her to save energy. Fortunately Rina was there to keep him warm which she still seemed to be trying to do. “Rina you can set me down now.”

 

Julia hadn't realized what was going on whenever Rina said she would protect John. She had simply been grateful that the sprite had been there. Now she didn't have the energy to really scold Rina as she continued to hold John against herself while smiling happily. “This is going to be so unpleasant whenever the magic stops sustaining my body. Can you think of anything else that I should do?”

 

“I wish that I could.” In truth John was a bit nervous. Julia had always managed to make it home before whenever she confronted another witch. “I'm still wondering how that witch seemed to know what was happening.”

 

Rina, “I'm pretty sure she knew the harmonics to influence minds! Sense Julia is a witch and you're a bane and I'm a sprite she probably had some warning. Though a witch's mind is harder to read then a humans and a bane's mind is harder still. I believe she tried to attack your mind a few times.”

 

Even while she was speaking Rina had continued to hold onto him. John was beginning to wonder if he should let her given how she'd protected him. “Why do you say that? I didn't feel anything.”

 

“I saw the harmonics trying to touch your mind. A bane isn't likely to notice such harmonics attacking them. Witch's with such harmonics are actually some of the most dangerous to banes as banes stand out a bit to them. Of course. A witch that only knows such harmonics is likely going to die if she confronts a bane directly.”

 

Julia, “That witch knew more then how to influence the mind.”

 

“Yeah! Isn't it wonderful! I wonder how many harmonics you're going to gain over the next day or so. Well depending on how long it takes your body to heal. This is so wonderful!”

 

As Rina spoke Juila could swear she felt the sprite's wings flapping. It was true this looked to be another very beneficial victory but as she was slowly reducing the magic she was influencing her body with she could feel the pain creeping in. She could feel her skin opening up, burns from frost and fire forming and a pain in the back of her throat. Her right eye was hurting as well. “So says the one that isn't in pain. Rina would you handle feeding John? And I mean reduce his food to the proper size not breast feed him. I just don't have the energy in me right now.”

 

“Sure.”

 

It didn't surprise John whenever Rina chose to fly while carrying him. As they were moving towards the table though he looked back at Julia. “Hey Rina why can't you boost Julia's body so that it heals more quickly?”

 

“We sprites are limited in how much we can do to help our witch. We're not allowed to fight with them just like they're not allowed to attack us. I wasn't helping Julia I was protecting you earlier.”

 

“Then what about when that other witch tried to influence my mind?”

 

“That wasn't me helping her that was you helping her and even then it was indirectly. All I did was keep you from freezing to death or being burned alive. Nothing I did for you would have saved Julia.”

 

John didn't have to think long to realize there was a mistake in Rina's beliefs. He didn't know the danger of questioning them though or the danger of not questioning them though. If he was going to help Julia to the best of his abilities he needed to know as much about the harmonics, sprites and the rules that governed the contest as he could. “Rina I hope this doesn't get me killed but if you wouldn't have protected me I could have been killed which would have made it easier for the other witch to target Julia.”

 

“Oh that's not a problem! That's like saying if I hadn't been flying there the other witch wouldn't have glanced at me and given the victor an opening. Everyone has to have some level of responsibility.”

 

“I see. So if I had some method of harming the other witch directly.”

 

“I couldn't protect you in that case as you're involving yourself too much. When you resist an attack you're involved in the conflict when you attack you're involving yourself. Hey do you think Julia would mind if I ate some of her salad?”

 

“Rina I believe Julia is going to need all the food she can get in her whenever she feels up for eating. Please just leave her food alone.” There was a bit of disappointment for John. He had hoped for a moment that he had found a way to more effectively help Julia. With that hope proven false he would have to rely on what he had managed so far and hope inspiration hit later.

 

“Okay. You know John if you can think of any medicine that you'd want made. Even if it was too large for you to use. I wouldn't mind making it.”

 

John nearly let his jaw fall open as he looked up at Rina who had finally set him down. He wasn't used to trying to bind the rules but he didn't expect Rina to do so. It had been her suggestion that allowed him to speak with his parents though even if it was indirectly. As she flew into the back he turned his attention back to Julia and began to wonder what medicine might help her heal. There wasn't a great deal coming to mind but he could think of a few salves that would at least help with the external healing. “Rina do you believe you could smear some things on Julia's body for me?”

 

“Sure but I think she'd prefer if you did it.”

 

“Perhaps but I want the job done properly and at this size that's not going to happen or it'd take too long.” As he spoke John found himself looking around the room trying to find something that they could use to make a salve from.

 

***********************************************************************************

“Rina do you want to help Julia? I mean. Not just to gain more power.” Currently John was setting on the dining table along with a growing Rina. The fact that her height had been increased by nearly twenty five percent had given him an idea of how powerful of a witch Julia had defeated. Given her condition he wished that he had a means of detecting how powerful a witch actually was.

 

“I'm sad because Julia is in pain.”

 

It wasn't quite the answer John had asked for but it was one he was willing to take. He knew that Rina enjoyed it whenever she gained new harmonics. She was quite open about that. If she cared about Julia's pain or not was another question he had and now had answered. “I'm glad to hear that to be honest. I shouldn't have needed to ask. You're dedicated to our studies after all. You've even began exercising to see if it influences Julia or not.”

 

“It's alright! She's important to you in many ways so it's natural you'd worry considering that she and I are partners in this. I worry about you to. I believe my initial believe that you should be killed was very wrong.”

 

A slight chuckle escaped John as he remembered his first impression of Rina. “Well I'm glad to hear that. What about you though? How are you doing? How does it feel when you and another sprite merge? I haven't actually seen it happening.”

 

“Oh it's happening right now. When our witch is defeated our connection to this world is lost and we returned to our world. Then we're drawn into the victorious witch through the part of our being she took when she defeated the other. After that we merge into the sprite of the winning witch. You really can't see the harmonics?”

 

“No.” It was actually a bit of a surprise when John considered it. He had become used to being able to see it when Julia was using magic.

 

“I guess the natural harmonics of our world exceed even the perception of a bane.”

 

“So you're really okay? It doesn't hurt?”

 

“No. Don't worry! How should I explain it. When we sprites merge our memories merge together and it becomes our memories or my memories as we're no longer two. I'm not really the same Rina that you first met after merging with so many other sprites. Our intelligence improves and the better aspects of our personality are further augmented. It's just our melody is the dominant one.”

 

Was that the reason for Rina's increasingly insightful behavior? She was becoming wiser? “Okay so. It's like an orchestra. The flute is the dominant instrument in this recital and even while other instruments join the flute you remain the star of the show and the one best heard.”

 

“That's a good way of looking at it! But we have a lot more instruments then one of your orchestras. We're each a unique instrument to some extent. We'll we believe we are. I mean there could be another me but we've never met so we don't know of one another. They're a lot of us.”

 

“How many?”

 

“None of us know. We've never been able to count all of us.”

 

As John considered what Rina had told him he took a bite of his food. Part of him wanted to complain about Brexington's diners being inferior to their counterparts but given Julia's condition he imagined she'd find it more annoying then funny. “So did any of those witches know anything about other witches in the area?”

 

“They had some thoughts about them and methods of looking for them. Would you like to hear about them?”

 

John took a moment to glance back at Julia. She was in no condition to fight and wouldn't likely be in any condition to fight for some time. Fortunately he couldn't feel any other witches at the moment. If he could he didn't know what he would do. Likely he would have encouraged Julia to do what she could to escape to a safer location. “Is there anything to indicate they pose a threat to Julia right now?”

 

“No.”

 

“Okay let's talk about it whenever I have something to write with. I'll want to take notes. In the mean time. What else have you learned from the sprites you merged with?”

 

“Well mostly things about their mothers and the witches they were partnered with. Some of them learned different things from their witches. Some of it disagrees with what I've learned from you and Julia.”

 

Given how the other witches had been using their harmonics to remove unwanted humans from their lives John couldn't help but worry. How would this knowledge influence Rina? “Well you know that in several of those cases it was using their harmonics to harm people that lead Julia to them.”

 

“I know. That kind of makes it funny!” For a moment Rina went silent and gave a slight laugh. “They thought they were being cunning because there was no way such a crime could be linked to them. It didn't seem to occur to them that one of the witches might be a police officer. Not that Julia is a police officer but she's in a situation to notice the strange injuries.”

 

“That is true. So is it rare for a witch to work as a nurse?”

 

“Well a lot of witches try to think of ways to use their harmonics to benefit them. The last two witches Julia took power from actually managed to obtain a lot of money using their harmonics. If they survived their injuries they should be quite well off. Actually. It seems a lot of witches have a similar goal. They attempt to gather enough belongings so that even when they lose their power and some aspect of their being it'll still be worth it.”

 

“That is actually pretty good planning.”

 

“Other witches tend to seek revenge first. The first two witches Julia defeated actually sought to be rid of people they saw as in their way. I don't know why the second witch considered the other dancers in her way. If anything they were covering up for her shortcomings and helping her to get better.”

 

“Is that what you learned from the sprite you merged with?”

 

“Yes! I didn't think she was using her harmonics very wisely. She managed to find another witch and take her power but that was more luck. She heard the other witch's harmonics and then ambushed her later. Julia is careful when she uses her harmonics though I was worried whenever she healed the lunges of the dancer. If the other witch knew how badly damaged they were she would realize that something strange was going on. She didn't realize how much damage she'd done though the first or the second time.”

 

“Rina please correct me if I'm wrong but I get the feeling that most of the witches Julia has taken down if not all of them have been very unpleasant people.”

 

“Well they didn't seem to be before. Most of them were nice people in the beginning. They seemed to become less nice when they obtained their harmonics.”

 

John felt a comment coming on but chose to keep it down and considered what Rina had said. He didn't want to blame it on the magic. Likely these people just needed the ability to do as they wished without being caught. That was his hope at least. “Rina as Julia learns new harmonics are they going to influence her mind?”

 

“Well she might obtain intelligence or insight from a defeated witch. That would influence her mind.”

 

“That's not quite what I meant. Do the harmonics have a will of their own?”

 

“Oh! You want to know if the harmonics will try to control the witch or force a nature upon her.”

 

“Yes.” John actually found himself feeling rather nervous about this question. He didn't know what he would do if the answer was yes. He could hope that Julia would become an even better person as she gained new harmonics but given the witches they'd encountered so far he didn't know if that was likely. The fact that Rina was taking her time to answer only made him even more nervous.

 

“Well she has an aspect of myself in her but I have no power over her mind. The harmonics brings with them knowledge and new abilities and that can influence how a person thinks. I don't believe humans would normally consider shrinking another human and taking care of him a serious option. I don't believe the harmonics should influence her personality though anymore then obtaining knew knowledge and power normally would.”

 

“Well that's better then what I feared. I guess I don't have much of a choice in the matter.”

 

“You shouldn't worry! Julia wants to do all sorts of things with you but none of them are meant to be mean. She gets so much joy from taking care of you. It's a shame you can't feel how happy she is while cooking or cutting up your food for you.”

 

It seemed a good thing Julia was sleeping now as John looked at her. He did smile. He wasn't ready to tell Rina or Julia that he would prefer to cut up his own food yet especially now that he knew it made Julia happy. Part of him was glad she wasn't awake to cut up his sandwich for him. “Well I'm glad that it makes her happy. So did any of those sprites pick up on any good cooking techniques?”

 

“Yep! I also know some really nice dances now. Would you like to see some of them?”

 

John was actually a bit alarmed whenever Rina was already standing up. “Wait! Don't you want to finish eating your food first?”

 

“If I wait though Julia might complain if she wakes up. Now I can show you the dance and she won't be upset. Don't worry it's not an intimate dance. She did this in front of a lot of people.”

 

John's more cautious side was telling him to decline. He knew that one of the people Julia had defeated was a ballet dancer but Rina had merged with sprites that had themselves merged with other sprites. There was plenty of room for other dancer types to be mixed in with those he knew about. Rina had been very helpful though. “Do you want to show me this dance?”

 

“Yep!”

 

“I might have to ask you to stop but if you really want to show me knowing that it's fine.”

“Yay! Don't worry. The witch I learned this from said no one ever wanted her to stop once she got going.”

 

Rina hadn't even began to move yet and John was already regretting his decision. Instinctively he glanced back at Julia to make sure she was still asleep. There was a temptation to ask Rina to take them into another room where they were less likely to be seen. However, that would imply he was trying to hide what was happening from Julia or trying to get away with something. That wasn't his goal. As Rina began to manipulate the air to produce the desired beat he was questioning that decision more and more.

 

***********************************************************************************

Anon 3, 1558 HH

“I don't believe I fully appreciated the amount of damage that witch did to you.” The first time Julia had been banged up after fighting a witch it had taken a bit over a day for her new traits to really start showing. John had actually began to think Julia had obtained more mental or traits that wouldn't be physically shown on her body after her most recent win. Now he knew that wasn't the case. Not only had Julia increased in height but her bust had once again expanded. Currently Julia was standing in the mirror examining herself.

 

“Neither did I. Wow.” As she spoke Julia pressed up on her breasts feeling their weight. Each one had grown to roughly five fourths the size of her head. The fact that they had remained firm despite their increase in mass made Julia appreciate that she was taking traits from these other witches and not just body parts. They were larger but they were as firm as her much smaller breasts had been. “Bras are going to be expensive.”

 

John gave a slight chuckle as Julia turned to face him. Currently she was wearing one of the largest bras that she had purchased in advance and even it seemed to be struggling to contain her. “I don't doubt that.” As Julia walked closer to him John tried to keep his eyes on her face. This was less a matter of respect and more a game due to her increase in chest size. He was beginning to have trouble looking over the slope of her chest whenever he felt her right hand take hold of him and lift him in the air. As he was lifted he gave her thumb a kiss and ran his hands over it. “Actually shouldn't you be able to alter the bras you have now that you can manipulate inorganic materials and organic?”

 

It felt like Julia had been smacked upside the head. She could feel herself blushing as she smiled down at John. Using her left hand she parted her breasts slightly and settled him down within her cleavage. Her fingers had become fairly skilled at detecting just the right level of pressure to hold him securely but insure his comfort as well. As she settled John between her breasts she looked towards the mirror once again. “Sure. I'm the witch but you're the one that knows how to use the harmonics. It would make sense. Everyone believes that I've always been this tall and well endowed. Well except you, Rina and myself.”

 

“Does that influence other witches as well?” As he spoke John shifted about within Julia's cleavage. Fortunately he was able to raise himself up slightly to gain a better look at his surroundings. The smooth curves of her cleavage still raised high above his current position but he could look forward and see himself in the mirror. It made him look smaller but oddly he didn't feel any less important despite that.

 

“Yes it does. That's why we can't just look around and try to find women we don't remember looking that way. A bane the victorious witch and the sprite of that witch are the only ones that aren't influenced. Well to my knowledge. I'm beginning to wonder if you have more of that then I do. So do you like your new ride?”

 

Before responding John leaned back and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath and waited a moment to appreciate Julia's sent and the warmth of her skin. “It's wonderful if a bit restricting.”

 

“Well perhaps you'd rather set up here.” As she spoke Julia gently rubbed the top of her right breasts. It wouldn't offer the same security but as long as they were careful she was confident John would be fine on top of her breasts. Given how much they'd increased in size he would have plenty of room. “We're going to have to find a new comfort zone for you tonight.”

 

“Actually Julia I've been thinking about that for a while now and there is another spot I've been considering.”

 

“Oh?” Part of Julia was a little nervous. She knew that John might want to return to the bed in his home every once in a while. She just hoped that he enjoyed spending time with her enough to return to her bed. Given that a fitful night for her could be extremely unpleasant for him she understood why John might want to return to a bed sized for him.

 

“Yeah I was thinking about trying to sleep some place a little lower.”

 

“Lower? You mean like in my belly button? The last time you were there you did fit quite nicely.” As she spoke Julia reached down and ran her finger around the edge of her belly button. It wasn't her cleavage but the idea was exciting.

 

“A little lower then that actually. Underneath some cloth.” John could see it in Julia's face whenever she realized what he was talking about. Her smile formed into a small grin when she looked down at him and he could feel her body shifting. He had a good idea that she'd reached further down.

 

“You don't believe it'd be too warm for you? It can get very hot in there.”

 

“I can't be certain but it seems like it'd be worth trying.” As he spoke John began to rub the massive breasts to either side of him while leaning backwards and looking at the underside of Julia's chin. He was worried the heat and Julia's scent might be overpowering but part of him found the thought extremely stimulating and exciting. At the very least it seemed worth trying.

 

“Mm it does sound nice. My lips could kiss you the entire night if they didn't end up swallowing you. I wonder what I could do to help make sure you're comfortable. Well let's see. Sleeping without the covers seems like a good start. Would you like to help me pick out the panties I'm going to be wearing?”

 

“That sounds like fun. I wouldn't mind later.”

 

“Later?” Julia gave a grin as she squeezed her breasts inward on John though not enough to engulf him. “What do you mean later?”

 

“Julia I've been worrying myself about your well being for a few days now. Now that I'm sure you're healthy I'd like to relax a bit.” John was a bit relieved whenever Julia relaxed her hold on her breasts and glanced down at him.

 

“You make a very good point. So anything in particular on your mind?”

 

“How about finding something good on television and watching it?”

 

***********************************************************************************

Julia took in a deep breath as she felt John moving around inside of her panties. They had talked about what to do if she became cold due to the lack of covers but in truth she wasn't worried about that. With the improvements to her body she'd gained from the other witches and her improved physical condition thanks to Rina's exercise routine and her own as well as a good heating system she felt fine. Now she was just trying to let John settle in while keeping her excitement in check. “Oh this is so neat. Hey John if this works out do you think you'd mind coming to work with me down there or perhaps going out? Just thinking about having you hidden in my panties around all those people is getting me excited.”

 

“I can tell.” John was actually feeling rather excited himself as he moved around within the darkness of Julia's panties. The panties they'd chosen for her to wear were relatively thin and more important soft. This made it easier for John to breath and move around while inside of them. Despite the relatively good air circulation though his every breath was thick with Julia's scent and he could feel her heat flowing into his skin. If she increased her tactile sense he knew she would feel his excitement as he crawled around inside of her panties moving towards her lower lips. “We might be able to do something about work but I'm going to require a method of escape in the event things get too hot.”

 

“Yeah. I wouldn't want you suffering down there. We would need a method of getting you home safely and quietly if things became uncomfortable.”

 

“Can you imagine if I began to over heat during surgery?”

 

“Eww! I don't believe I'd be bringing you into surgery. Just you know. Whenever I was talking with the patients and other nurses.” A slight gasp escaped Julia as she felt John's hand brushing against the top of her labia. “Now make sure you're comfortable.”

 

John felt a rush as he began to move against the sticky flesh of Julia's labia. As he moved over the moist skin he desperately wanted to press his body against it. He wasn't certain if he could sleep in such a location but at the moment he wanted to be there. He didn't know how he would feel when he woke up soaked in Julia's fluids but he could find out later. As he settled against her flesh John pressed his left arm down between her lower lips. There was a thrill when he considered the fact that Julia's labia was taller then he was. As his left hand pressed down into her flesh with his full weight he settled down atop one of her lips and pressed his lips against it. Julia's moan rolled throughout his body.

 

“If you're going to do that we're going to have to take care of something before bed.” Julia didn't bother looking at the clock. She wasn't certain what time it was but she was certain that she had time to enjoy some private time with John. She felt it whenever his tongue began to move against her flesh and had to resist the urge to squeeze her thighs together.

 

“Are you sure you could handle this all day at work?” While he spoke John lightly rubbed his penis against Julia's pussy lips. His left leg pushed against her flesh and made it further in then his arm did. As he began to pull the limb out he was caught off guard by how sticking her fluids felt at his reduced size. When her lips squeezed in on the limb he thought he would have to fight for it. The muscles relaxed before he could really begin to struggle and he settled down against Julia's lips not yet certain if he wanted to taunt her pussy further.

 

Julia gave a slight gasp whenever she felt John's legs slip free of her labia. The temptation to push his entire body within herself moved her hand but she regained control of it before it could. “It sure seems like it'd be fun trying.”

 

“I don't know. I wouldn't want you making any mistakes with a patient.”

 

“Oh! True. True.” Julia gave a slight sigh and managed to relax a little even while she felt John lightly petting her lower lips. Reaching down she gently ran her fingers over the outside of her panties and against John's back. “I suppose that we'll have to reserve this for bed time if things work out and maybe while we're out on the town. Such a shame.” Julia gave a shiver as she felt John crawling once again though this time he was moving over her lips instead of just towards them. Her hips shifted slightly as she pressed up on the underside of her breasts upon feeling John taking hold of her clitoris and lightly licking it.

 

“I know we're suppose to be sleeping but how about a little fun first? To help us both relax.”

 

“I like that. What do you have in mind?”

 

“Well as much as I enjoy taking care of those breasts of yours how about you handle the girls tonight and I take care of things down here.” As he spoke John once again shoved his left leg into Julia's labia. The force with which her lips gripped his leg surprised him such that he reflexively tightened his grip on her clitoris. He heard a sharp gasp from Julia and felt his world roll slightly as she shifted in her bed.

 

“That sounds good. That sounds really good! Fair warning though. Don't blame me if you get swallowed up.”

 

John's first instinct was to tell Julia that he could handle her flower but as he felt her petals gripping his leg he wasn't certain of that. He would never admit to such feelings naturally and instead silenced any protest in his mind by pressing himself more firmly against Julia's clitoris.

 

***********************************************************************************

Anon 5, 1558 HH

John felt a little strange. He'd been going over the knowledge Rina had gained from the sprites she'd merge with and he believed he'd managed to find some other witches by combining the information. Rina had been a lot of help in that. Yet he wasn't certain about the witch he'd found. It wasn't that he doubted the information rather he wasn't certain that he wanted to go after her. “As far as I can tell she hasn't used her magic to harm anyone. She's found some gold and precious stones but that seems to be it.”

 

Julia looked down at John but she didn't try to read his notes. Rather she took a moment to admire how he looked and felt setting on top of her right breasts. Currently they were setting in the living room relaxing a little while he reported his most recent findings to her. From what he had said Julia was concerned as well. “It's strange though. Rina are you sure her sprite contacted you?”

 

“Yep! One of the sprites that are now part of me at least. It happens from time to time. A witch gains her harmonics but she hides herself away and uses the magic for something else. Eventually the sprite will try to bring down her own witch but apparently the other witch was too scared to act on the information. I'm not sure why. Can I please set on your left breasts.”

 

John. “It's fine with me.”

 

“John!” Julia glanced down at her lover and professional witch investigator. She just rolled her eyes whenever he grinned up at her. “You may set on my shoulder if you wish Rina.” It surprised Julia just how quickly Rina settled atop her right shoulder. She was even more surprised by the weight of the sprite. “What about you John? Any idea why this other witch avoided her?”

 

“Perhaps she feared it was a trap?”

 

“That is possible. I wonder what we should do. If she isn't harming anyone I would hate to take away her harmonics but if I don't then another witch will try eventually. If she isn't actively seeking to increase her power she's going to end up in trouble eventually.” Julia didn't want to say it but she was actually hoping that John would make the call on this one. The idea of taking the harmonics from a witch that hadn't harmed anyone wasn't pleasant.

 

“Well why don't we try getting in touch with her? There is nothing wrong with two witches talking after all. If what Rina was told is true you should be far more powerful then her given she only has a single harmonic so the threat shouldn't be that great. Perhaps you could find out what she intends to use her harmonics for or why she hasn't been hunting other witches. I would actually prefer to leave her alone if her sprite wasn't trying to sell her out.” The entire time John had been working with Julia and Rina it had never occurred to him that a sprite might turn on her witch. “Now Rina you're not planning on betraying Julia are you?”

 

“Nope! She's done a really good job of hunting other witches and has you to help her as well. Plus you're both really fun to be around! I like you two.”

 

Both John and Julia grinned at Rina's response though Julia worried Rina might like John in ways she didn't approve of. She chose to keep this quiet though. “That's wonderful to know. Now John do you have any ideas on how we should get in touch with this witch?”

 

“Well first we need to find her. The information Rina was able to give me gave me a good idea of where she is but things might have changed sense then. Once we know where her is. Well Rina could you go speak to her? If I recall you wouldn't be in any danger plus it's not like you'd have found her. If anything speaking to her would be you warning her so no one should be able to claim that you helped Julia too much.”

 

“Oh! That is true but you always said being able to surprise someone is a good thing.”

 

“It is. However, depending on her answer we can just leave and surprise her later.”

 

“That's good! Can I set on your left breast now? It looks softer then your shoulder.”

 

Now Julia glanced out of the corner of her eye at the sprite. “Are you sure that's the only reason you want to set on my boob?”

 

“Yeah! For now. John seems to like setting on it so much that I want to find out what it's like. I don't see why you won't let me sleep in your cleavage now that John's sleeping in your panties.”

 

Julia, “He doesn't sleep there every night and you don't sleep.”

 

“That doesn't mean I can't lay there a long time like he does! Besides I want to play your naked games to.”

 

John couldn't help but chuckle whenever he heard Julia groan. He'd been listening to Rina for so long that he was becoming indifferent to the sprite's comments. The fact that she could still get through Julia's skin had started to become funny several weeks ago. Now he had to resist openly laughing for fear it would make Julia mad at him. It was fairly clear that Julia needed some help though. “Rina some things for us humans are just private. Is there anything that you'd like to keep to yourself?”

 

“Nope! Some of the elders are like that but I believe that's because they can't merge with other sprites anymore sense they can't find themselves a witch.”

 

After a moment of consideration John gave his head a nod. It was true. Rina was constantly merging with other sprites who in many cases had merged with different sprites as well. She was constantly changing who she was and knowing all her personal memories would be granted to the new being that formed from their merger. “Are you sure about that? It's one things to share memories with beings who are going to become part of you. Is there something you wouldn't want to share with separate beings?”

 

“Nope!”

 

“Then what about your bed?” John couldn't help but laugh whenever Rina gave an alarmed yelp and quickly glanced towards the cage. He also noted how Julia's face seemed to light up.

 

“That's right Rina. I only want to share my body with John just like you only want to share your bed and other belongings with yourself.” Julia was actually a bit surprised by how Rina had responded to the idea of sharing her bed. With all the changes that had happened in Rina as she merged with other sprites she had expected that to change.”

 

“Well. I wouldn't mind sharing it with John.”

 

John could swear that he saw fire in Julia's eyes. Given her harmonics he wouldn't be surprise if he actually did. “Sorry Rina but Julia's the only person that I want to share a bed with.” It was actually a relief for John as he noted Julia calming down quickly. In the back of his mind though he couldn't help but wonder what Rina might say next. “Now Julia I've been thinking about something. You mentioned that the magic changes peoples memories whenever your body is changed but it doesn't influence past decisions. How is that working out?”

 

A slight chuckle escaped Julia after a moment of consideration. “Well I heard Brad comment that he didn't know how he went so long without really noticing my breasts. Before he seemed to think that I did a really good job of dressing down but I'm not sure if there is any dressing down these.” As she spoke Julia pushed up on the breasts John was setting on. “In truth it's stretching things a bit and I'm kind of scared of a few issues.”

 

“Such as?”

 

“Photos for one thing. The magic doesn't change them.”

 

For a moment John went silent and let what Julia said sink in. “Wait. You mean there is photographic evidence that you weren't always like this? Julia that could be a huge problem.”

 

“I know. But the hunt began long before photographs were invented. I've already altered all the old pictures I have of myself and those I know about.”

 

“What about pictures your parents or siblings might have? I mean it isn't just your chest. You're a lot taller and shapelier in other areas as well.” John was actually relieved to know that Julia was actually working on covering up her tracks. Yet the fact that the magic didn't influence photos and similar records seemed like a serious issue.

 

“I thought about those. Most of the pictures my parents have of me are older pictures so they're not a huge concern. I modified the others.”

 

“When?”

 

“Well remember when I came home late a few days after gaining my earth harmonic?”

 

“So that's what that was about. I just reasoned work had held you up.” John gave a slight chuckle as relief seemed to wash over him. He knew Julia wasn't a fool. It was natural that she'd handle such concerns without him reminding her to do so. “Well now that you've actually learned to influence the minds of others you should be able to handle it if any unexpected images pop up. Well unless they happen to be another bane.”

 

“Please don't say that! I'm so grateful that you're the one that happened to be immune to my magic. If it had been someone else I don't know what I would have done.”

 

***********************************************************************************

Anon 6, 1558 HH

 

It felt rather awkward not to have Rina or Julia around. John didn't know when was the last time he'd had a woman free five minutes. Julia had gone to work and Rina was gone to speak with the sprite they'd learned about. Without Rina around John couldn't continue his study of the harmonics though he had taken some time to prepare a detailed report of his findings if only to organize his thoughts. He also needed to continue speaking with Rina about the memories she'd gained from the other sprites that might help them locate another witch. Even as John tried to occupy his mind he gave a jump whenever he heard a light thump and looked out into the larger house.

 

Since he had been shrunk John had felt relatively safe if he didn't include the first three days. He had always had Julia or Rina in the home with him and he could sense other witches it seemed. Now that Rina was outside of the home though he had remembered that there were other threats to him. What would happen if some thieves broke into Julia's home while she was gone or a snake managed to find its way in? He managed to calm his heart by reminding himself that the cage had been altered with magic to protect him. So long as he stayed within the bars he should be safe from most threats. The fact that a little thump had caused such a fear response actually made him feel a little nervous.

 

“Hi! You must be John I'm Lina!”

 

John didn't have time to keep the concern from his face as the first being truly his size appeared before him. He immediately knew she was a sprite both from her glow and her wings but what surprised him was that she was even smaller then Rina was whenever he first met her. Currently she was flying just on the other sides of the bars of his home with a wide smile on her face. The fact that he didn't sense Lina's arrival only added to John's concern. He had been able to detect witches so easily that he hadn't considered that he wouldn't be able to sense a sprite. “Hello Lina. Are you the sprite Rina went to talk to?”

 

“Yes she is.”

 

The relieve John felt upon hearing and turning to see Rina actually astounded him. Part of him wanted to run over and hug her. The fact that his body moved to do so for a moment only made it more clear how much he disliked being in a vulnerable position. “I see. So then. Lina what brings you here?”

 

Rina, “She wanted to talk to you about her witch.”

 

Lina, “That's right! Sharon doesn't have any interest in the game you see. She used her harmonics a lot early on and I thought she'd be a great hunter because she was so practiced. Then she revealed to me that she had no interest in hunting. So I've been trying to find a witch that would defeat her that way I could merge with another sprite.”

 

John gave his head a nod though Rina had already told them as much. “I see. Now what does Sharon think about this? I admit I'm rather surprised to see you here. Rina did tell you that we're not certain if we want to confront your witch right?”

 

“Yeah but here is the thing. Sharon wants out of the hunt. She's used her harmonics to obtain what she wanted and now she's prepared to accept the loss that comes with losing them. She won't just submit to any witch though she has to know that afterwords you'll leave her alone. She's fearful that she'd end up giving her harmonics over to a cruel witch that would kill her or take her things away from her. Personally I think she deserves it. She made the contract with me but then decided she just wants to use my harmonics to help herself and not do a thing for me.”

 

It actually surprised John how hostile Lina sounded. “I see. Lina are you certain that Sharon wants to give up her harmonics?”

 

“Yep! She's got what she wants so now she's afraid that she'll encounter a very powerful witch that will not stop at taking her power. I spoke to Rina about Julia and she seems like she'd be wonderful. I admit that I had hoped to surrender myself to a more powerful sprite. Especially one who's witch would make Sharon pay for tricking me like that. I mean. She didn't even try to hunt one witch!”

 

For a moment John was silent but gave his head a slight nod. He wasn't certain what to think of this. From what Rina had said the sprites did have a contract with their witch. When he considered Julia's original fears though Lina's story made a lot more sense. “ If Rina isn't as powerful as you hoped why did you decide to come here and how has Sharon survived so long when you're looking for another witch to defeat her? ”

 

“She's scarey! As for why surrender myself to Rina. She told me about how many successful hunts Julia has had already. She's really developing quickly plus she has a bane on her side! I don't know of any other witches that have a bane on their side.”

 

Now John glanced over to Rina suddenly feeling far more concerned. Rina had mentioned that Lina had contacted another witch before but they hadn't been willing to make a move on Sharon. He didn't know how powerful this other witch was but it had concerned him then. “Just how is she frightening if she only uses one harmonic?”

 

“She's been using it to alter her body a lot.”

 

“But doesn't such alterations wear off?”

 

“Not the way she's doing it. She's been altering the minerals that she takes into her body and that make up her body but not like magically it's like. She's been taking them and moving them around and stimulating her body from the inside out with them. They're still natural minerals she's just adjusted their placement.”

 

While John wasn't entirely certain of the fine details the implications of what Lina was telling him were fairly clear. Despite his concerns though he found his mind turning to Julia. She had several harmonics so surely she could use similar methods to alter herself. If Julia didn't take Sharon's harmonics from her Rina would also gain Lina's memories which would make it easier to implement the same techniques. It would be something to look into. “She sounds clever especially if she knows how to manipulate her body on such a fine level. So does she know about this?”

 

“Yes she does. I told her a long time ago that if she wasn't going to hunt other witches then I would find witches to hunt her. She offered not to resist if I could find a witch that wouldn't harm her after she'd taken the harmonics.”

 

“But you've been wanting to find a witch that would harm her.”

 

“Yes but that just means she could have fought back!”

 

It was impossible for John to keep the concern off his face as he glanced over at Rina and then back to Lina. “I see. So please a yes or no answer. Does Sharon know what you're talking with another witch at this moment?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Okay and we know that she doesn't want to be involved in the hunt anymore. If she truly doesn't want to be part of the hunt then I believe Julia would be fine with accepting her harmonics. Now I have a question for the two of you. Do witches have to fight one another in order to take the others harmonics?”

 

Rina, “One witch can surrender them to another. Often that's how a witch who has mind influencing powers gains her first harmonic. Then again I guess that's a form of fighting. It can be done willingly though.”

 

“And how close do they have to be to one another?”

 

Lina, “They have to be able to clearly see one another. Are you thinking of arranging a transfer?”

 

“Well yes. It seems that Sharon's only issue is fear for her safety which is understandable. From what I know humans can't see harmonics unless they're a bane. So if they're not going to be a fight over it there is no reason they couldn't meet in a public place where they would likely both feel much safer. They can have the transfer and both of them leave without any real fuss.” John didn't want to mention it but he was also thinking of Julia's safety. If this other witch could scare away potential threats she must have refined her body a great deal. “A quick question. What harmonic does Sharon have?”

 

“Earth.”

 

After a moment of silence John gave a nod. “And she was able to use that to stimulate her body's development. Lina it sounds like you made a contract with a very smart witch.”

 

“That's why I chose her! She just has no interest in hunting. I thinks he was tricking me from our very first meeting. She had a plan.”

 

“That does sound possible and honestly it scares me.”

***********************************************************************************

“Hello may I speak with Sharon Witman?”

 

“Speaking. May I know who is calling?”

 

“Hello My name is Julia Lanonze. Your associate Lina was speaking to my friend earlier today. I was hoping that we might be able to talk.”

 

“Oh! Hey I was hoping you'd call. So are you the one thinking of taking this burden off my hands?”

 

“That's what I was calling about. I understand that you have no more interest in hunting so I was thinking that I might be able to help you. Though I also want to be sure that you actually want to give up the hunt. If you have intentions to continue then I don't want to interfere. You seem to have been conducting yourselves well.”

“I am interested in leaving the hunt but only a certain way. It's become a little bit dangerous for my liking. I'm looking to leave while only paying the minimum price. Does that sound acceptable to you?”

 

Julia couldn't help but feel silly. Both she and Sharon were trying to avoid admitting to being witches while still speaking with one another. She doubted anyone was listening to their conversation but neither of them wanted to take a chance. The end result was she sounded like a crazy conspiracy nut. “That is perfectly fine. Now my councilor suggested that we should meet in a public location for the exchange. He believes that it'd help us both feel more comfortable and I agree with him.”

 

“He?”

 

A sheepish grin appeared on Julia's face when she looked over at John. He had noticed her slip of the tongue as well and was giving her a scolding look. “Yes. I would rather not get into that. When would you be able to meet with me?”

 

“Well that depends on where you want to meet.”

 

“How about a nice restaurant? I was thinking Maya's just off interstate eighty seven ramp twenty three. If you'd like.”

 

“Oh I know that restaurant! I have been wanting to eat there for a while now. You're talking about the one with the red lettering on their sign and a big section of the building is glass so that you can look out into the forest right?”

 

“Yes that would be the one.”

 

“I can do that. What time would you like to meet?

 

“How about tomorrow at seven fifteen?” Julia was actually quite surprised by the eagerness in Sharon's voice. It seemed like eating at such a restaurant had been a long term goal of hers. Exactly what had she been before she became a witch?

 

“That sounds great. That gives me time to go shopping and pick out a nice dress for my final day as part of the hunt. Oh! We're going to need a means of recognizing one another. Well you shouldn't have any trouble picking me out. I'm the one built like a brick house and probably going to be wearing a black or red dress.”

 

“Okay. Well.” For a moment Julia was silent then glanced down at her chest. “I'm around two meters tall and each one of my breasts are larger then my head.”

 

“Are you serious?”

 

It was impossible for Julia to keep from chuckling as she noticed Sharon's tone. “Yes!”

 

“Okay I don't believe too many women fit that description. I'll see you there.”

 

Julia actually felt light headed as she hung up the phone and glanced down at John. “Okay that just seemed too easy. Now I'm scared that I'm walking into a trap. John where is Rina?”

 

In truth John felt a little out of place as well. As dangerous as hunting another witch could be the fact that Sharon was just surrendering her power seemed unreal. From what he'd seen of the hunt he could understand a witch wanting out especially after she'd already gained a lot. It still seemed far too easy. “Make sure you augment your body before you actually speak with her. I know you're good at self defense and you've been conditioning your body but let's play it safe. As for Rina. Well I think she's teaching Lina how to play video games. She wants to try something.”

 

Despite her concerns Julia couldn't keep the shock from her face. “What?”

 

“Rina wants to see what game Lina likes the most now and then see how their desires change whenever they become one being. She's doing the same thing with food as well. I'm pretty sure she also had Lina write down her opinions of you and me. That last one actually got me to thinking a bit. Is it possible that a merging could result in Rina's view of me changing? So far I've been pretty happy with her seeing me as more of a friend then someone to be killed. I would prefer if that that trend continues.”

 

“That's actually a scary thought. It seems that as she's merged with other sprites she's become more concerned about your well being. I wonder if her feelings about you remain consistent but how she responds to those feelings might be changing. Blast it. Now I want to take you to work with me even more so I don't have to worry about something happening to you while I'm gone.”

 

John held his tongue as Julia took hold of him and lifted him towards her face. He waited until she held him at just below eye level to begin speaking again. “Well doesn't the contract insure that she can't harm me? After all you're working within the rules.”

 

“That's a good point. Still she's surprised me more then once with what she can do while working within the rules.” A sigh escaped Julia and she lowered John further and tipped her hand so that she was pressing him into her chest. “I think we should talk to her about this now actually. Otherwise I won't be able to relax at all while I'm at work.”

 

Rina, “I have no desire to harm John and a rather strong desire to make sure he's comfortable and safe. I have positive feelings towards him based on how he's treated me and how useful he's been. I will work to insure his safety within the guidelines of the rules so long as he doesn't break them especially if he continues to be of assistance. Please hold all comments and questions until later.”

 

Julia couldn't help it. Her jaw loosened and her mouth slipped open for a moment. Naturally Rina had heard everything they'd said. Her choice on how to respond to their concerns was a bit shocking and in truth reminded Julia of a child that didn't want her play time interrupted. After a moment she remembered to close her mouth and glanced down at John. “Well that seems good enough for now.”

 

“Uhuh.”

***********************************************************************************

Anon 7, 1558 HH

“Now you promise to protect him?” Julia couldn't hide her concern as she glanced down at John within her cleavage. Currently Rina, Lina and John were all setting within their little safety egg. With Rina's growing body this had become rather crowded and the sprite was currently holding John and Lina in her lap. This was something Julia intended to fix but it would have to wait until later. Currently they had just pulled into Maya's and she could feel her heart positively racing.

 

“I promise he'll be safe Julia. Even if you have to fight the egg is super strong now.”

 

After a moment of consideration Julia gave a sigh and a nod. “Can you feel Sharon inside John?”

 

“Yeah but I swear Julia her harmonics don't seem anywhere near as powerful as yours. Well they don't seem to be as intense. I'm still rather new at this but she just doesn't seem on par with those other witches.”

 

“I hope that you're right.” As she climbed out of her car Julia was already augmenting her body for a fight. She didn't want to risk using too much energy but she couldn't leave herself vulnerable either especially if what she'd heard about Sharon was true.

 

John took a deep breath and locked his hands together in a silent prayer. He didn't want to tell Julia but he was scared. None of the witches he'd seen so far would want to fight in such a public location. This witch may not be playing by the same rules the other ones were though and that scared him. Lina seemed to be certain things would work out but he didn't truly know her. Rina on the other hand he'd come to trust and she seemed confident which made him feel a bit better. He didn't even realize they were inside until he heard Julia speak up.

 

“No thank you. I'm here meeting a friend. Oh! There she is.” Julia smiled at the greater who gave a slight nod upon turning around and seeing Sharon waving to Julia. Julia took in a deep breath and moved towards the rather comfortable looking witch. As she walked she could see what Sharon had meant by built like a brick house. Her dress was drawn tight against her body revealing remarkably toned looking muscles. Thanks to Julia's own harmonics she could sense how refined Sharon's muscles were and in truth it frightened her. A few steps closer and it also became clear to Julia that Sharon was easily two hundred twenty centimeters tall.

 

“Hi Julia. I'm so glad you came. Isn't this place just amazing? I mean. Wow.”

 

Despite how nervous she felt Julia gave a smile and set down. “It is very nice. I don't get to eat her too often because of the price.”

 

“This is my first time here! I thought the guy upfront would give me trouble but he backed off after he looked up from his book.”

 

“I can see why. Your work is remarkable.”

 

“Thanks! But that's actually one of my problems. My physical appearance has changed so much that I can't risk going around my friends. There is no way they'd believe this happened naturally. Fortunately once we do our little exchange that won't be a danger anymore.”

 

“That is true but Sharon still. Wow. Would you mind telling me how you did it?”

 

“It would take a little longer to explain all the details then I have time for. I can give you the basics though.” As she spoke Sharon took a moment to raise her right arm and flex her bicep flaunting its size for a moment. “Before we do any of that how about we end this game? Like I said before. I want to be out of the hunt. So I'm just going to set here and relax and you focus on drawing the harmonics out of me. That way you can stop worrying so much!”

 

“I'm sorry. I know that this must be very uncomfortable for you and here I am being the scared one.” In truth Julia felt rather silly. In terms of harmonics she was a much more powerful witch then Sharon. Yet when she looked at the witch's body she could imagine Sharon snapping her neck in an instant. She wouldn't need magic for that just her muscles.

 

“It's alright. The fact that you're so nervous actually made me feel a lot more comfortable. Rina told me a lot of good things about you though.”

 

Julia gave her head a slight nod and felt herself reaching out to Sharon. She was actually surprised whenever she felt the part of Lina that had been placed within Sharon responding to her call. It was the first time she'd felt this happen without the witch being incapacitated first. The fact that the energy was flowing from a healthy body and a still conscious witch seemed to alter its behavior. Yet she could still feel it flowing into herself. “This is very strange.”

 

“I wouldn't know. It's my first time.” A delighted giggle escaped Sharon as a blush formed on Julia's face.

 

It didn't take long at all for Julia to absorb the energy from within Sharon's body. She felt a rush of energy flow into her body as if stepping inside a warm building after standing in the cold. The energy sank into her skin and then seemed to radiate out from her being while a ripple seemed to run throughout the environment. Julia had taken to thinking of this as the reality warping wave though in truth she didn't know its purpose or if it had one. All she knew is it happened whenever she absorbed the power of another witch. As Julia took the energy in though she was rather surprised by how little she felt. “Wow. I'm kind of surprised. When I looked at you I had expected a bit more of an energy rush.”

 

“Well I only had one.”

 

“True true but you just don't look it. I.” Julia took in a deep breath as she felt every muscle within her body tighten up. It would be several hours before she felt the full affect but already she could feel it happening. “Sharon how strong are you?”

 

“That's my secret. I tried to make sure I'd still be plenty strong even after I was defeated Now you wanted to know how I got here. Well you know what harmonics can alter minerals but I'm betting you don't know how those minerals influence the body.” For a moment Sharon went silent and gave a slight chuckle. “Are you sure we should be talking about this here though I guess it's our only chance. I don't believe you'll see me again once we leave here.”

 

“What? Are you planning on leaving?”

 

“Yeah I want to make sure I'm well and away from the hunt.”

 

“I see. I understand but I would appreciate it if you could tell me more. No one is listening to us I assure you.” Julia bit down on her lower lip gently. She didn't want to seem overeager but she did want to know how Sharon had influenced her body.

 

For a moment Sharon went silent and rubbed her head. “Julia to really understand what I did you'd need to know a lot about microbiology, human physiology and material sciences. I mean I assume you want to duplicate my results. To put things simply don't try to alter yourself directly. Instead work on augmenting those aspects of your body that help you to grow stronger. That way even whenever the song fades you'll retain the main benefits. It's like trying to work a puppet with a set of strings that are attached to the handles that are themselves attached to other strings or at least sticks.”

 

John, “She has a good point Julia. With your ability to alter living life forms this should be even easier for you.”

 

“What the?” For a moment Sharon's eyes widened as she glanced towards Julia's chest. “That glow in your cleavage. Is that Lina and Rina?”

 

Julia felt herself blush slightly. “Yes as well as my companion. I'm not sure if Lina told you but I have a bane helping me hunt. Wait. I had to adjust my ears just to hear John. How can you?”

 

“So that's how you did it! As for hearing him. I became very good at working my puppet.”

 

While the surprise in Sharon's voice was clear Julia was surprised that she had remembered to keep it low. The fact that she could hear John was even more surprising. “Yes. Honestly I didn't intend for this to happen to him it was an accident.”

 

While Julia and Sharon talked John found himself focusing on something else. Rina's body had began to glow more brightly while Lina's had began to dim. Neither of the sprites seemed to be frightened though and both were smiling. Lina had turned to her side and curled up against Rina while Rina had placed one of her arms upon her fellow sprite. He could see slight wisps raising up from Lina's skin as if she was evaporating and they were being drawn into Rina. “Lina are you alright?”

 

Rina, “He wants to know if it hurts.”

 

“Are you worried about me.”

 

“Yes. I believe I am.”

 

Lina gave a slight chuckle before she looked at John. “It doesn't hurt. I'm not. Well what you humans do. I'm not dieing. My awareness will still exist I'll just be part of a larger awareness. I can feel Rina opening up and changing to let me in.”

 

“What about you Rina?”

 

“I like carrots more then I used to.”

 

For a moment John wasn't certain what to say. Out of all the things he'd liked to know about how much Rina liked carrots wasn't one of them. Yet it did show that she was changing. “How do you feel about me and Julia?”

 

“I still like you and think you're a good friend but your chin isn't quite as cute as I remember it. Exercising with you sounds like more fun then it used to. There are a few shows I'm going to confront Julia about as they really annoy me but I still care for her a lot to. I don't like Sharon one bit.”

 

“Because she broke her contract with you?” John took in a deep breath as Lina and Rina nodded their heads. It seemed their sense of self joined very quickly. Despite the implication of the situation John couldn't help himself. “Does that mean you're going to start depending on me less to beat shadowlands for you?”

 

“Nope.”

 

The fact that both of the women responded once again made John's nose twitch. Rather then continue his questions though he settled against the side of the cage and continued to watch Lina and Rina wishing that he'd remembered to bring a note pad. At least now he could focus on the harmonics. Yet despite the clear magic involvement he couldn't hear or see anything that would indicate it was in use.

 

***********************************************************************************

Anon 8, 1558 HH

 

Julia smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her muscles were toning up remarkably well thanks to the traits she'd taken from Sharon. As she looked at herself in the mirror though she had to remember that these weren't just Sharon's muscles. They were also the ones she'd already developed. The implications were clear. Sharon still had plenty of strength despite what she'd lost. This actually did more to excite Julia as she imagined what she'd be able to do with her harmonics. After a moment more of self admiration she looked down at John. “Well do you like what you see?”

 

“A great deal. But there is something I've been thinking about.”

 

“What's that?” As she spoke Julia carefully picked John up and held him against her chest.

 

“I was just wondering. Once a witch has been defeated can another sprite make a contract with her.”

 

“Huh. That is a good questions. Rina?” Even before she responded Julia had began to walk over towards the sprite who was currently settled in her bed.

 

“Yeah but what sprite would make a contract with a witch that has not only lost already but one that has lost some of her abilities.”

 

For a moment John was silent. “Well. If I'm not mistaken one witch can't have a contract with two sprites. What if the witch used the powers of the first sprite to better herself to grow stronger. Then she intentionally gave up her abilities so she could form a new contract. That witch might be strong enough to form a contract with one of the elder sprites. You know the ones that people normally don't live long enough to contract with.” John felt his heart jump a beat whenever Rina suddenly shot upright in her bed.

 

“That bitch! She was using me even then!”

 

Julia was actually a bit surprised by Rina's response though she had to agree with John. It was a possibility at least. “You really think that's what she might have been doing?”

 

“Well look at it this way. If her plan works she gains a contract with one of the most powerful sprites there is without having to do any hunting. If her plan doesn't work she still has a superb body and vast wealth. It seems worth it to me.”

 

For a moment Julia was silent. A slight chuckle escaped her after a moment of consideration. “That Sharon might be even more cunning then we thought. Fortunately I have someone very cunning on my side as well.” Without a moment's hesitation Julia lifted John higher and planted a kiss on him that covered nearly his entire body. “Now how about we go to bed and enjoy these new additions?