Yuki stretched, hands up over her head. Her back popped pleasantly. She looked around. A wide eyed, open mouthed Bee sitting on the bed. A half-naked, grinning Jenny lay upon the ground. It was time for some serious magic. Yuki bounced a bit, feet moving in an almost dance. She couldn’t help it; it was finally time to become a real sorceress!
But first, clothes.
Yuki walked about and dressed in the same clothes as yesterday. The mental image of drawing arcane doodles on Jenny’s back in her birthday suit had too many bad occultism’s connotations from the before. Better to not taint the experience.
Dressed, Yuki sat by Jenny’s side, powder satchels, a bowl, and the crossbow bolt deposited in front of her. Following ingrained system instincts, she poured the three types of powder inside the bowl.
Yuki laughed, low and sinister. “Huhuhu ha he ha.” She took the bolt and cut a nick on her hand. “With a wave of my hand, you know who’s in command.” Blood seeped from the wound and into the bowl. “I’m the quintessential queen of sorcery.” Her words lilted at the end, trying to imitate the pitch and tone. With the blood still dripping, she used her fingers to mix the powders into the ink used in the magic. It took more blood than she thought it would until Yuki was satisfied with the mixture and consistency.
“I keep a potion in my purse,” Yuki sang, kneeling by Jenny’s side. She put the bowl nearby on the floor and dipped a finger into it, “That’s worse than any curse; no, you wouldn’t want to mess with me.”
Yuki drew, still humming the music. She remembered the tune and melody but not the rest of the lyrics. She drew circles and lines and pictographs. Yuki lost herself to her own fantasies, her finger never once stopping its work. A distant part of Yuki’s mind, not entirely focused on the magic, noticed the things around her. Bee wide-eyed, watching, a hand covering her mouth. Jenny’s struggles to stay quiet and the subtle squirming. Was Jenny weak to tickling?
Sooner than expected, Yuki was done. She observed her work. It was beautiful—bits of silver, gold, and sapphire mixed with viscous blood and infused with magic.
Yuki checked the drawing one last time before starting on the second part. She waved her hands and chanted the words, adding the movements of the [Enchant] spell. With a final wave of her hands, she willed magic to obey.
The symbols she drew glowed for a moment before being absorbed by Jenny’s shifting flesh. Jenny’s bones popped, her hands grew, and her hair changed from blonde to burnt brown. When the transformation was over, no symbol adorned Larissa’s back. Yuki felt the connection to the magic flowing from her core and sustaining the transformation. Her shoulders drooped, releasing all the tension she hadn’t been aware was there.
“It’s done,” Yuki announced, hands raised in triumph! Yuki’s whole body ached like she’d just run a marathon. It was the first time casting magic felt this draining. Yuki glanced at the ink bowl; a respectable amount remained. Not enough for another spell — unless she bled even more — but it seemed a shame to just let it go.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Jenny sat down, looking herself over, then over her shoulder, trying to catch a glance of her back. A smile broke on the woman’s face. She put her clothes on and tousled Yuki’s hair. “Thank you, Biscuit.”
Yuki looked away from the bowl. She wanted to do more magic, but she had only two magic points and no natural way of working those points into a permanent magic item. She shook her head, trying to dispel the ideas.
“How are you feeling?” Yuki asked.
Unfortunately, Jenny stopped the head pats and did a basic stretch routine. “I feel normal.”
“Right,” Yuki said, cleaning her hands with fabric. After that, she tied the powder satchels and tidied things up, storing their personal belongings inside Jenny’s bag. “What’s the plan now?” she asked while organizing things.
Jenny had finished getting dressed and putting the armor on again. “Breakfast first, then check out Isabella’s secret hiding spot.”
“Fair.” Yuki agreed, looking at Bee. The girl perked up at the mention of her name but just looked between the two. Right, they were speaking in a possible dead language.
“Isabella,” started Jenny in the local dialect. “Washroom, then breakfast. Will you guide us to your hiding spot after that?”
The girl nodded, head bobbing up and down so fast Yuki thought someone pressed the x2 speed button.
----------------------------------------
Breakfast was a quiet affair. Yuki ate with gusto. Sausage, smelly cheese, hard bread, and some bitter herbal tea she couldn’t name. She ate it all until her belly was stuffed and uncomfortable. She had to use the opportunity since Rabbit-Yuki ate leaves and mushrooms and was more than satisfied with those.
Human-Yuki’s senses were leagues below from her rabbit self, but probably still better than a baseline human. She had noticed people staring at her hair and flinching when they met her eyes. Yuki guessed because white hair and red eyes weren’t something familiar here. Apart from that, even from the table at one corner of the inn, she could hear the hushed conversation between Jenny and the inn's old lady. She didn’t understand all the words, but something about taking girls to find a home or something similar. The conversation didn’t take long before both women approached.
Bee had already eaten two servings and was in the process of devouring her third. The freckled girl looked guilty when Jenny and Peggy arrived.
“Look here, girl,” Peggy spoke to Bee after a brief look in Yuki’s direction. “Did you learn how to do the dishes and wash clothes?”
Bee nodded before squeaking. “Y-yes!”
“Right,” Peggy said after glancing at Jenny, then back to Bee again. “If you can’t solve things with your folks, come back here, and I’ll put you to work.”
Bee gasped, food forgotten. She got up and hug-tackled the old woman. “Thank you!”
Peggy rolled her eyes, but her lips twisted in what could be interpreted as a smile. “None of that.” She said, pushing Bee away. “Now, shoo, I have more important things to do.”
Yuki picked up Whisker, who had fallen asleep, from her lap. She got the general idea of things. “Go?” She asked in her broken language.
Jenny turned to Bee. “Have you eaten enough, Isabella?”
Bee blushed, looking away. It was Jenny’s turn to roll her eyes. She passed the girl a few copper coins. “Ask Peggy for food for the rest of the day; we’ll leave once you have it.”
Bee took the coins and ran towards the counter. Jenny turned to Yuki. “Something’s changed since yesterday.”
“Bad news?” Yuki asked.
“Maybe; Yesterday I saw—”
Jenny didn’t finish. The inn door was pushed open, clanging against the wall loudly. In stepped a man dressed in heavy metal armor with a sword on his hip and a shield at his back. Yuki noticed the small details in the armor; nicks and dents, as well as subtle gold and red decoration. The man looked apologetic toward the door and Peggy. He took in the inn and the patrons, eyes lingering on Yuki for far longer than he had at anyone else. Then he sat down at an empty table on the opposite side.
Jenny looked from the man back to Yuki. “— saw some church warriors in the town square.”