Five plates of half-eaten sandwiches sat forgotten on the grand oak table. Five mugs of hot cocoa rested on the coffee table in the den, swirling steam through miniature marshmallows. Five women conversed and laughed around the roaring fire, all of them warm and merry.

It was early in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. Jasmine and Marie made their late lunch, Alice made the cocoa, Natalie added a shot of whiskey to her drink, and Rachel beckoned them all to the den. Rachel wanted to give out her presents a day early.

"As you know, I've been knitting a lot lately," she said. "So I made us all Christmas sweaters!"

Alice let out a squee and clapped her hands together. Marie and Jasmine wore their polite smiles, ones that said 'I-don't-want-to-hurt-her-feelings.' Natalie, mainly sober but with her 'edge' gone from the liquor, spoke before she thought about her words. "Is that it?"

"I'm so glad you asked," said Rachel, her face a picture of happiness. "It took some time to get it right, but I made each one...unique."

Rachel turned around and opened the bag behind her. The women looked at her, curious and speculative of what made these clothes special, as she dropped a pile of grey and black wool on the floor between them. Rachel continued speaking when she began sorting out one sweater from another, all of them the same patched scheme of grey and black.

"I had been looking up some information about how our devices and toys can divide us or delete parts of ourselves and came across something interesting. There is wool in our Sonic Knives."

"Wait, what? Those are metal, electronic knives," said Marie. "Why would they bother putting something flammable inside of it?"

"Because there's something the knife uses to function that attaches itself to wool, but there's no way to remove it from the wool once it's inside it," Rachel responded.

Jasmine, her mind fast and sharp, fired off the next question. "Then why attach it to wool in the first place?"

"That's the thing," Rachel said. "It's never been found on anything BUT wool. What's even weirder is further tests lead the experts to think that ALL of the wool in the world is covered in it, but they don't know how it gets there or what creates it. All they know is that sheep don't create it, but any wool they grow is covered in this stuff in less than a week."

She had separated all 5 of the sweaters, but left them in indeterminable lumps on the floor. Rachel had everyone's full attention now; any worry of a tacky festive sweater present had been replaced with excited anticipation, even if they were still kind of ugly.

"So this stuff on the wool - I think it's called spectra - doesn't do anything by itself. It needs something to activate it, like a chemical or electricity or something, and different things make it act different ways. So I used one chemical on the wool to make four of these sweaters work one way, and I used a chemical solution for the other one, and they actually work the way I wanted them to!"

Rachel stood up and took a step back. "Now each of you pick one. I'll go last since I know what they all do."

Natalie acted first. She leaned forward and swiped her arm at the sweater closest to her. "Okay, then I'll take this one!" She did not even look at the shape of the sweater before throwing the bottom opening over her head.

The other girls each reached or moved to claim one of their own. Rachel left the last lump where it laid, both wanting to be surprised by which one she would have left, and giving her friends an option to switch if they did not like their first choice. She should not have worried; every girl would wind up keeping the one they started with.

"Rachel? You forgot to knit some things on this one," said Alice. She was holding up her sweater by the edges of its shoulders. It looked rather ordinary, except there were no sleeves, or holes, for someone's arms.

"No, I didn't FORGET," Rachel said with polite emphasis. "I made it that way on purpose." She grinned as she turned her gaze. "Why don't you ask Natalie why I did something like that?"

The girls turned and gasped. Natalie was pulling her sweater down tight to her waist, but her sweater had no hole for her head. There was no bump, no ridge, nothing at all protruding under the taunt wool drawn across her shoulders. Her head and neck were gone.

Natalie's hands let go of the sweater bottom and reached for her missing head. She patted her shoulders a few times, then proceeded to take the sweater back off. When she pulled it away from her shoulders, her neck, head, and hair appeared like she was taking off any old sweater at all. She left it draped on her arms.

"Wow, Rachel, this works so fast! You're brilliant," said Natalie. She turned to the other girls. "I'm keeping this one!"

"Awwwww," said Alice, disappointed that she had not picked up Natalie's find first. She looked down at hers. A small smile twinged on her face and stayed; she didn't need EVERYTHING she owned to take off her head, and didn't she have plenty that could do that already? She moved to put her sweater on with renewed gusto (much to the relief and joy of Rachel) and said, "This one looks fun, too!"

Marie and Jasmine started to unfurl their wads of dark wool to see what was different about theirs. Alice bunched her sweater around her head before trying to pull it down the rest of the way. When the wool got past her chest, her arms sucked in and disappeared. Natalie, with her sweater only on her arms, helped Alice finish. She bounced and wiggled in joy, causing all of the girls to laugh...except for Jasmine, who was lost in thought on a large leather armchair.

Her topaz eyes had been focused on the shape of the wool garment in her hands. She had been turning it around and around to figure out which way was up. Jasmine's eyes had lit up when she had held it the right way. That is the moment the girls had laughed and her rapid mind had formed a single question.

"Hey, Rachel...are my clothes going to be fine?"

Rachel turned to Jasmine with a curious face. Upon seeing the sweater she had made in the hands of the woman she hoped would get it, her face blushed a fierce, mistletoe berry red. "Ah! Y-yes, your clothes will-uh, be fine," Rachel stammered.

Jasmine bowed her head in short acknowledgment. She kicked off her fuzzy white slippers. She held the garment by the shoulders, then made the same motion with it that she would have if she had been laying a towel on the sand of a beach. She slid both of her feet into the wide and deep neck of her sweater, then began to pull it up her legs.

"Wooaahh," said Alice. She watched as the sweater let Jasmine in one end but not out of the other. The bottom hole had been sealed shut. The nubs of her legs (then her knees...then her thighs) protruded against the wool from the inside.

Rachel's fingers fidgeted with her curled hair. She knew it was wrong to stare, but nothing could stop her from doing just that; Jasmine's tits bounced under her tight shirt at each shake of her hips. Rachel did not notice how she was touching her own small chest, daydreaming of a growth spurt while watching the matured melons of her friend.

Jasmine slipped her arms into the sleeves, then pulled up on the shoulders and deep neckline of her new top. Her body sank to her rib cage and stopped. She looked down at herself with her arms in the air.

Natalie took a long draw of her Irish hot cocoa. "Damn, looks like your tits ate the rest of you," she said. There was color in her cheeks and a gleam in her eye that the fire was not responsible for. "Can I keep you like that?"

Jasmine's hands were still raised as she locked eyes with Natalie. There was a smile in her eyes and warmth in her voice. "For as long as you want."

Natalie, Rachel, and Alice all cried out in joy and surprise, bringing them and Jasmine to a gust of laughter. Jasmine and Natalie's eyes remain glued to each other for a tense moment before breaking.

"...Marie? What's wrong," asked Alice. She had noticed Marie hadn't laughed with them. Her head was tilted to one side. Her empty shoulders made her sweater look like the world's largest dress sock.

"Nothing," said Marie. The grey and black wool was draped in her arms. "It's just that my sweater looks...normal."

Rachel had a gleam in her own eye; she knew what Marie had in store for her. She walked over to the last ugly sweater, hers, and picked it up as she responded. "It LOOKS normal, but I did say one of the sweaters needed a different chemical."

"Oh yeah," Marie said, then threw the sweater on. Her body outline stayed the same. Her hands and head came out of the wool untouched. She looked at her hands and said, "Okay...is my face different? Am I literally missing something?"

Jasmine was rocking back and forth on the large seat of the chair, struggling to get a better look from her lowered height. Natalie said nothing, her hands fidgeting with her sweater, her arms still in its sleeves. Alice said, "I don't think it's working," then wrinkled her nose and eyes, trying to ease a spot she could not itch.

"...you might want to take a seat on the couch," said Rachel, her grin stretching toward her ears. "I would do it soon."

Marie stared wide-eyes at Rachel for a second, then made a three-step power walk to the closest couch cushion. She was seated with her hair behind her shoulders, her hands on her knees and a small smile on her face. The sweater was cozy, even if the end of the sleeves were a little tight. And was this a turtleneck? She didn't remember seeing one, but the wool was hugging her neck nicely. "Well, what is it gonna do?"

"I think you mean, 'what did it do?'"

"What are you talking about, Natalie?"

"Look at your hands closely," said Jasmine. Her hands rested comfortably on the top swells of her breasts. Her elbows indented the leather seat of the armchair.

Marie's brow furrowed. She turned her head to her lap. She lifted her arms, her face and brow smoothing out, her mouth a capital 'O.' Her hands were still on her knees. The wool was closed and snug around her severed wrists. She squeezed, watching her fingers grip her legs.

"I...this is-AAAAAAAH!"

The rest of the girls had watched the neck of wool crimp Marie's neck by slow degrees. They kept quiet as it had happened, hoping she would not notice until the sweater had done its job. As Marie squeezed her detached hands, the neck of her sweater sealed together and detached her head. It tumbled down her torso, her golden hair trailing like a comet. Her scream lasted until her head landed on her thighs. She was facing straight up, her view crossed by tangles of her hair.

"Ah! Ha, ha...hoo." The girls laughed as Marie caught her breath, a bright smile on her face. She looked at her headless body, her stumps, the underside of her own chest. She didn't feel the tightness on her neck that beckoned her to swallow when her head was deleted. This was different. This felt...pleasant.

"Rachel...I love it. I didn't think I'd ever like something that takes my head off..." She brushed her face with the ends of her arms, then rocked her head onto them. Marie let her head slide to the crook of her elbows, then hugged it to her chest. Her wrists touched together. Her fingers flexed, her hands still at rest. "Thank you for making me this wonderful present."

Alice, Natalie, and Jasmine shared their own chorus of congratulations, and Rachel received it with a hand to her heart. "You're all so welcome! I'm just glad you like all of them so much."

"Almost all of them," said Natalie. "We can't like the last one until we see what it does." She drained her spiked cocoa to the last drop, then sat on the floor with her back against the front of the armchair. Jasmine leaned her small torso against her large chest to guide her fingers into Natalie's hair.

"Oh, this little thing?" Rachel held the wool between her hands. It looked like a winter cap that was twice the normal size. She took two steps to stand between Natalie's feet. "I can show you if you help me pull it down as far as it will go."

Rachel lifted her wool above her and rested it on top of her head. As she stretched it past and over her shoulders, her head disappeared under the cloth. Her body shifted her hands to a new grip, then pulled the sweater bottom down as far as she could. The edge of wool only reached past her perked nipples before her hands, arms, and shoulders all vanished.

"Hey Jazzy, I think we found the bottom half of your top," Natalie said. She reached up to her shortened friend and tugged the sweater down.

Rachel squirmed as the flat top of her body got lower and lower. The sweater took everything an inch above her belly button before stopping. Once Natalie let got of the sweater, Rachel turned her half body around and shook her ass in her face. Natalie gave it a spank, eliciting a jump and a wiggle from Rachel. The living legs started walking away from the girls.

"Hey, where are you-oh, she can't hear me," said Alice. They all chuckled, then watched Rachel stay balanced with small steps all of the way out of the den. Everyone (Rachel included) was surprised she did not bump into anything on the way.

"Well if she's leaving..." Natalie stood up, turned to Jasmine, and crouched. "Then so are we." They shared a long moment of eye contact before Jasmine raised her arms to be picked up. Natalie pulled her sweater on properly again and smoothed the wool covering her headlessness, then lifted Jasmine off the leather chair. She rested Jasmine's breasts on her empty shoulders and held the back of her head and neck in her hands.

"I'm not sure that's safe, Jasmine," said Marie, her head back on her lap. She lost sight of the piecemeal pair as Natalie walked them towards the stairs of the den. "Do you want us to help?"

"I'm fine, Marie. My baby has done this before. I can trust her."

Natalie walked without a misstep to the stairs. She even remembered to crouch when going through the doorway of the den, saving her girlfriend's head from getting hit on the crossbeam.

Alice watched them turn the corner to head up the stairs. She saw Jasmine's face the instant before she was carried out of sight. Alice couldn't remember seeing such naked happiness from her since...well, ever. It reminded her of the man that she could call her own but who couldn't be here with her now. A tear ran down her face.

"Alice? Honey, what's wrong?" Marie's headless, handless body moved to stand, but stopped when she realized it would send her head flying to the ground.

"I miss Gerald...I wish he could be here," said Alice. She sniffed. A tear streaked down her other cheek. She moved to wipe her eyes, realized her arms were gone, then hung her head. She looked like a real crying fit was on the way.

Marie pinned her head in between her forearms. She lifted it off her lap and sat it next to her. One stub arm fumbled to turn her skull to face Alice while her other arm spread in an invitation to hug and hold. "Come here, we can feel lonely together."

Alice smiled weakly and sniffed again. She trudged over to the couch and plopped down next to Marie, then rested her head on her friend's shoulder. One arm wrapped around her back and waist. The other wool-covered wrist gently brushed Alice's hair from her face. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

--------------------

Come, follow me as we take a tour that only we can take; a trip that jumps from one moment to another and from place to place; a path that shows us the women in pieces as Christmas Eve winds down from afternoon to night.

Here's Rachel wandering throughout the first floor as a pair of legs and hips. Look at her wiggle in delight of her ability to stand at her full height under the oak table. Now see her stumble and fall in the kitchen, then get back up with her flat waist sliding against the wall. Wait as she attempts to turn the handle of the closed bathroom door, reaching success by getting on her tiptoes and sitting on the handle to turn it, then falling backwards on her ass when the door flies open from her leaning on it.

How about Natalie and Jasmine, the friends-with-benefits who became a couple? Jasmine falling to the bed with endless jiggling; headless Natalie running her hands on her girlfriend's face and arms before settling on her chest; Jasmine's hands caressing the only rear end in the room, then sliding one hand into the front of the only worn pair of pants; Natalie reduced to squirming and gyrating in broken-thought passion.

Ah, back to the den we know so well to see Marie drag her stumps up Alice's sides, lifting the sweater up and off, her arms retuning in moments. Alice takes turns drinking her cooling cocoa and feeding Marie's head on the table while they lay cuddled up in each other's arms, the conversation flowing. A quick jump forward shows a wholly different scene; Alice laughing while holding Marie's giggling head between her tits. She darts and dashes away from Marie's body in a game of keep-away unlike any other.

Another bedroom, at another time, gives another moment of Rachel, still snug in her sweater, for us to view. She's sitting in front of her suitcase and using her feet to unclasp its latches, lift the lid, and grab a dildo with a suction cup at its base. See her close the lid, plant the dildo, and fondle it with her feet for a while. We'll watch Rachel catch the lip of her pants on the knob of a dresser drawer to pull them down to her knees, then leave her in privacy as she bounces on and around her thick toy.

As one girl begins her session of pleasure, we move to the ladies who have finished theirs. First, Natalie walking back to the bed after a trip to the bathroom with her sweater in her hands. Then, Jasmine's face transitioning from sultry smirking to confusion to awareness as Natalie approaches her and slides the headless sweater over her arms. Next, mock resistance dotted with giggles until the second sweater steals Jasmine's head, leaving her arms to writhe and her fingers to curl. Finally, both of them at rest; Natalie laying on her side, her head and hands nestled on and between her lover's breasts; Jasmine, reduced to arms and tits, a hand stroking through her girlfriend's deep red hair, a hand twiddling herself where her head used to be.

From romanced friends to playful ones we go, with Alice taking off Marie's sweater. The severed hands and head stayed on the couch; the spaces they belonged on stayed empty and blank. Surprisingly, Alice was worried and Marie was serene. See Alice reattach her hands without difficulty. Watch Marie pick up her head but not replace it on her sliver of a neck. Look as Marie walks out to use the restroom and Alice stares, a bright smile on her face brought on by the rapid transition of her friend from fear of part loss to enjoyment of division.

There is just one thing left for us to see in this tale, right here in the den, right behind Alice's back. An invisible black speck has appeared on the coffee table dead-center. It grew in a flawless circle to the size of a dinner plate. Its impossibly dark surface was threaded with neon swirls that slithered across it like snakes through water.

Watch the side edge of a parchment envelope rise vertically from within the hole. See the letter float and twist in the air as the circle recedes into non-existence. Look at the front of the envelope as it rests face up on the table, only a moment to go before Alice turns around to find it:

"To Alice and the Girls,

From Gerald"