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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.”

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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.

 

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