Phoibe was prowling. The sphinx’s feet padded along the broad rafters of the Rosewood Emporium, the wood well-worn from Phoibe’s claws as she stalked the customers of the magic shop below. Though she was technically the shop’s resident expert in ancient artefacts, she was most often found above the stacked shelves, dropping potions upon unsuspecting and unwary customers, watching them change while the two witches who worked with her failed to see the funny side of things. But today had been a quiet day and Phoibe was bored, eager for a light bit of entertainment… and if she couldn’t find a customer, maybe a witch would have to do…
She found Evie carefully sorting the potions – the same potions Phoibe had stashed away amongst the rafters the day before – the witch carefully placing them back into the wooden cabinet, far too busy to notice Phoibe’s feline form lurking above. The sphinx had chosen the potion carefully, one that would make sure Evie was powerless to change herself back, at least until the other witch noticed she was missing. With cat-like grace and precision, Phoibe hooked the potion bottle with her tail, gently uncorking it. She held it above Evie, watching her bending over, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Evie felt the warm liquid splashing against her back, soaking into her dress, instinctively stepping back as surprise and shock took over her body. Surprise quickly gave way to realisation, looking up at the ceiling for the tell-tale glimpse of fur and wings darting away into the shadows. She called out into the rafters, though the sphinx had already disappeared, and if Phoibe wanted to stay hidden and out of reach there was little she could do about it, particularly when she had the potion to worry about…
She could feel the potion seeping into her skin, already beginning to change her. Evie’s mind raced, trying to figure out what was going to happen to her, what she might become, the only clue so-far being a strange tightening sensation in her skin. Looking down, she could see her dress fading into nothing, the potion magicking away her clothes, soon leaving her naked as she made her way through the store – grateful, at least, the shop was already closed. With Sophia out shopping for supplies, her only chance was making it to her workbench in the backroom, and brewing an antidote before it was too late.
The potion continued to run over her bare skin, gleaming in the light of the store. Evie could feel more of her skin tightening, tugging down her right side, a churning sensation inside her body as organs started to shift and change. Soon she was leaning sideways, ever so slightly, her torso starting to bulge out under the potion. Risking a look down, she could see her skin changing underneath the gleaming liquid, turning smooth and eerily perfect, bands of purple starting to form across her waist, wrapping around to her back.
Making her way to her workbench, Evie leant against it, feeling weaker with every passing moment. Part of her wanted desperately to reach across her belly, to feel what was changing inside. It would give her some small clue to what was happening and what ingredients she would need for the most effective remedy, but in the process would spread the potion over her hands, only hastening the change.
Evie tried to ignore the sensation in her right leg, the feeling it was being pulled into her torso, her muscles tired and aching as they faded away, her skin almost unbearably tight. With her left leg starting to shake under the strain of supporting her weight, she busied herself grabbing the ingredients, pooling them together in a small cauldron. She continued her work, expertly mixing and preparing, so focused on her task she was oblivious to the sphinx staring down at her from the rafters above, waiting impatiently.
As she worked, Evie could feel her belly starting to push out, the pressure inside her building, squeaking as it rubbed against the workbench. Of course it would be an inflatable, the witch thought to herself, trying to think what ingredients she could need to add, her hand wavering over the empty bottle of aspen root. She would need it if she had any chance of stopping her change, her only hope lying in the storage cupboard behind her.
Turning slowly, still bracing herself on the edge of the bench, she could hear her right foot – or what was left of it – squeaking against the floor below. She shuffled over, looking down at her legs, the right little more than a crude cylinder, plastic-skin turning blue, crumpling under her weight as she slowly made her way to the door. It was only a few meters away from her, but it might as well have been miles. She could already feel her left leg starting to give, the potion trickling down the sides, flesh and bone fading into air under taut plastic skin.
Step after step, Evie clung desperately to shelves, cauldrons, anything she could reach to hold herself upright, feeling more tired and empty with each passing moment. Eventually, the handholds ran out, a stretch of bare wall before the door, and with no choice but to make a desperate leap for it. She braced herself on the wall, trying to slow her breathing, calming herself as she focussed on the door handle ahead of her.
Pushing off, she made only a few tottering steps before tumbling, landing awkwardly on the bare stone floor. Her expanding belly cushioned her fall, her whole body shaking with the vibrations, a shockwave of air running through the hollow parts of her body. Struggling to roll herself upright, she realised too late her mistake, brushing her hands across the potion-slick skin of her legs, her fingers already starting to tingle as their changes started.
Cursing her mistake, she started crawling over to the door, staring at her arms as her hands expanded slowly, shining skin swallowing up her fingers, leaving useless mittens in their place. It was strange to watch the potion sliding over them, sinking into her skin, changing flesh to plastic, her left arm turning a bright yellow while her right turned a brilliant red. All the while, behind her, Evie’s legs continued to change, pulling into her body, the shape of her ass swelling up behind her, stretched tight over the air of her changing body. Reaching the door, she pushed herself upright, wobbling awkwardly on her changed rear, weakening arms reaching out for the handle. With all her remaining strength, she gripped tightly, watching her skin crease and crumple around the handle, skin straining and squeaking as she turned, gasping in relief as the door clicked open.
All that remained was to reach up for the pot of aspen root, batting it carefully off the shelf with one hand, catching it in the crease of a steadily inflating arm, letting her inflated body soften its fall. Desperately, feeling her rapid pulse already starting to fade as the changes crept up her arms, spreading across her shoulders and down over her breasts. She tried not to think of the way they gleamed and pushed out, snapping and popping as more of her gave away to the changes, her body almost perfectly spherical. She could feel something starting to push out of her belly, the hardened plastic of a nozzle rubbing and catching against the stone floor, as she pulled herself forward. The coloured bands around her body started to press into each other, slight seams forming where they met, a wheel of colours coming together around her nozzle.
It was only when she reached her workbench that she realised just how much she’d changed, the wooden surface looming high above her transforming body. She might have made it back with the aspen root, but the cauldron – and the rest of the potion that might save her – lay almost out of sight, and far out of reach. Making a mental note to get revenge on Phoibe, she used the last of her strength to push the pot of aspen root next to the table, hoping Sophia would discover her before Phoibe did.
With the last of her arms pulling into her spherical body, she could feel the air pressing out against her taut skin, pushing up around her neck, her head sinking down into herself. With the rest of her body almost perfectly round and inflatable, the weight of her head tipped her off balance, making her roll gently to the side, the stone floor pressing Evie’s face flat against the rest of her. Her features smoothed out, her mouth forced into a wide grin, twitching as Evie desperately tried to speak before her plastic skin overtook her face completely. Her nose pressed flat, eyes pulled wide into cartoon eyes printed across her wide body, ears lost amongst her orange hair, spilling out around her as it formed the last colourful segment of her inflated body.
Phoibe dropped down next to the new beachball, purring with delight and satisfaction, pacing around the transformed Evie. She playfully extended a paw, batting softly against Evie’s shining skin, sending her whole body vibrating as she bounced softly against the hard floor, vision spinning as she tumbled.
"Mmmm… you make such a lovely ball,” Phoibe teased, purring all the while. She extended a claw, gently pressing it into Evie’s body, her plastic skin pinching and creasing around it, the tension carried through her. With another paw, Phoibe spun Evie around, plastic squeaking and protesting, her whole body vibrating. The witch’s cartoon face beamed back at Phoibe, fixed in an expression of delight at odds with the frustration Evie was feeling inside, “you’ve been so stressed, I thought the two of us could have a little fun together.”
Grinning wide, fangs glinting, Phoibe deftly flicked Evie in the air, watching the coloured panels blurring together. For Evie, the whole room spun around her, the sensation dizzying if she still had ears, catching brief glimpses of the sphinx rolling herself onto her back, paws raised to catch her. After a moment of weightlessness, Evie came tumbling down, bouncing off the sphinx’ paws. Vibrations shook her body, skin stretching and releasing, shockwaves of air bouncing back and forth inside her. The witch was utterly helpless, at the sphinx’ mercy as Phoibe battered her back and forth, sending her sailing up into the air again and again.
“It’s a pity we don’t have a pool…” Phoibe purred, catching Evie with all four paws, squeezing the beachball tightly against her warm body, “I’d love to watch you float about…”
Sophia arrived to find the store strangely quiet, with Evie’s potions still left in disarray, a puddle of potion congealing on the floor, and with no sign of either Evie or Phoibe. Though it wasn’t strange to find Phoibe missing, the sight of the spilt potion made Sophia start to worry.
Setting her bags down on the floor, she quickly locked the door behind her, leaving the cheerful genie keychain dangling in the lock as she carefully made her way to the back of the store. The rest of the store was still quiet and tidy, something that was hopefully a good sign, as Sophia reached the door to the workshop, slowly pushing it open.
Sophia was met by the sight of Phoibe, worn out from her earlier adventures, her furry form now curled tightly around a brightly coloured beachball, her arms clinging to it tightly. Stepping around the sphinx’ slumbering form, Sophia looked over Evie’s workbench, the half-prepared potion, the pot of aspen root lying at its foot, now half-spilt across by Phoibe’s playfulness.
“Oh, Evie…” Sophia whispered, finally spying her friend’s eyes, her cheerful expression peeking out from amongst the sphinx’ fur, still trapped in her inflatable body.
“Let’s get you changed back,” Sophia reached out, carefully slipping her hands around Evie, starting to tug her gently out of Phoibe’s arms. The sphinx purred in her sleep, rolling over and tugging Evie out of Sophia’s hands, feline paws squeezing the inflatable even tighter
“On second thoughts,” Sophia sighed, “let’s wait until the morning…”