“So, what was it like being turned into an inflatable reindeer?”

   Sophia blushed slightly at Mischa’s question, glancing down at her tea, suddenly captivated by the swirls of steam rising from the cup. As a witch, it was her job to transform other people, though that didn’t stop the occasional… accident. It was the sort of thing she’d avoid mentioning in front of customers, but Mischa was a regular now and Sophia was happy to have someone to confide in, even if it was a little embarrassing. The two of them were sitting in the backroom of the emporium, lit by a roaring fire, the only sounds the gentle patter of rain against the windows and the snoring of the sphinx curled up in front of the fire…”

   “Well,” Sophia began, after she’d regained her composure, “it was pretty illuminating. I’ve turned enough people into inanimate objects, I guess it was about time I saw what it was like on the other side. At least I didn’t go floating away like you did…”

   It was Misha’s turn to blush, remembering his first time at the shop, the feeling of stretching and weightlessness as his body turned into a helium-filled balloon, and the excitement after the sphinx ‘accidentally’ left a window open. 

   “Being weightless was pretty fun, not sure I would have enjoyed bursting so much,” he laughed, remembering the sensation of his skin stretching tighter and tighter before Sophia’s daring broomstick rescue.

   “Ah, we’d have put you back together… after we’d found all the pieces, at least,” Sophia winked, never letting Mischa be sure whether she was joking or not. “Still, you’ve been back a few times since… what have you been, now? A balloon, some bubblegum, a bottle… lots of things beginning with ‘b’...”

   “Don’t forget Phoibe turned me into her pillow for a while…”

   “Ah, yes,” Sophia turned to glance at the sphinx, looking so sweet and innocent in front of the fire. It had taken Sophia and Evie far too long to notice the sphinx’s mysterious new pillow.

   “So…” Sophia began, changing the subject, “is there something on your mind? I get the feeling you didn’t come here just for a cup of tea.” She smiled warmly at Mischa, looking into his eyes. As a witch, she had a powerful intuition for what people wanted, all the better to help them. 

   “Well,” Mischa grinned sheepishly, shuffling in his seat slightly, “I’d been thinking about becoming an object long-term. For several months, at least. Something useful.”

   “Something useful?” Sophia repeated, leaning forward slightly, half-teasing Mischa as she imagined a few options for him. “Not a tea-cup… we’ve got enough chairs… something close to me, perhaps?” Mischa blushed again, she was getting warmer. “Well, I could always use a new keychain…” Mischa’s eyes lit up. Bingo. 

   “A keychain? How- what would that be like?” Mischa replied, more than a little flustered. It was something he’d definitely thought about, though he was far too embarrassed to admit to it. “I guess that could be pretty fun…”

   “Just imagine it… being squashed flat under acrylic,” Sophia teased, “immobilised but kept safe and sound, always with me, maybe bouncing around in my pocket?”

   “I suppose I could give it a try,” Misha smiled, trying hard not to blush, feeling his heart beating faster with excitement, “though, of course, I think I’d need to look a little different first.”

   “Oh really…? I wonder, did you have a new look in mind for yourself?” Sophia pressed, delighting in making Mischa squirm.

   “Well, I did always like the genie look…” Misha replied, looking over Sophia, her skin still glowing and glittering faintly from her own time as a genie, shimmering brighter as she blushed. 

   “Sounds perfect…” Sophia stood up, her gold and blue dress swishing around her as she turned to one of the workbenches behind her, rummaging around in the drawers, before setting a crystal bottle down on the table between them. It glowed a faint pink, something inside the wide base swirling and glittering, the thin neck tapering to a golden stopper. “Just imagine the genie you’d like to be, and open the bottle.”

   “Okay…” Mischa reached out, closing his eyes, trying to imagine his dream genie. His hands found the stopper, fingers wrapping around it, cut facets of crystal digging into his skin. He breathed out, concentrating, feeling the image become more solid in his mind. The stopper came free with a faint pop. Opening his eyes slowly, he could see golden mist spilling out from the bottle, gently swirling around him, his skin tingling with electricity. 

   The mist gently lifted him from his chair, carrying him over the table, almost up into the store’s rafters. A slight breeze started to whip around him, the golden smoke dancing in a spiral, lifting his clothes, making them flutter about on his skin. The wind picked up loose petals and papers from the room around him, carrying them in a lazy whirlwind, the flames in the fireplace dancing. Soon, the only thing left undisturbed in the room was Phoibe, still dozing obliviously in front of the fire. 

   “Hey! This tickles!” Mischa couldn’t help but laugh as the glowing smoke swirled across his skin, the electric tingle growing more intense. The dust carried an intoxicating aroma of perfumes and spices, calming, almost hypnotic. He could feel his body growing lighter, a strangely familiar sensation as his legs dangled freely below him. A few moments later and the dust began to settle on his skin, glowing brightly, bathing his entire body in a soft glow.

   He could feel his skin growing smoother, tighter, the feeling of warmth wrapping around his body and squeezing gently. His body started to shrink, slowly and evenly at first, dropping a few inches in height. As his body changed, his clothes grew looser, flapping about on his shrinking frame. He could see his skin becoming smoother, almost impossibly smooth, any trace of hairs or imperfections lost in an unnaturally even tan as the glow spread up his arms, over his chest, rapidly covering his body. 

   Mischa’s arms grew thinner, the tight feeling in his skin easing off as they did. Soon his hands and fingers followed suit, becoming smaller, almost dainty, traces of creases and wrinkles vanishing. Holding his arms up in front of him, he ran his fingers across each arm, feeling how soft and smooth his skin had become. There was an almost cartoon-like quality to them, the even tone, the way the glow bathing his body picked out the edges like an inked outline. 

   “Oh–” realisation hit Mischa, thoughts turning to the genie he’d imagined. It was a body he’d always dreamed of having, beautiful, female, and a cartoon. Mischa couldn’t help but grin, already imaging that body as their own. 

   Sophia couldn’t help but laugh slightly as Mischa explored his changing body, watching him dance and turn in the air above her, admiring his changing body. 

   The changes reached up over his shoulders, drawing them inwards, his whole torso narrowing. The same cartoonish look spread down his chest, visible under his billowing clothes, curved outlines forming as his chest started to swell, pressures growing under his elastic skin, breasts rising up to meet his billowing clothes. 

   Mischa’s t-shirt glowed brilliantly, split by a flash of light down the front, shifting to a light vest. As the glow subsided, the fabric shifted lighter, turning a rich red lined with brilliant gold, settling over Mischa’s shoulders. More bands of red swirled around the changing chest, shifting into solid strips of fabric, wrapping around the growing breasts, squeezing them gently. 

   Mischa couldn’t help but giggle a little as his new clothes settled around his new form, his self growing closer to the body he’d dreamed of, the sensations from his new breasts so wonderfully pleasant. He carefully ran his fingers across them, the sort of perfect curves only a cartoon character could have, so fantastically soft and smooth. Golden smoke continued to swirl around his body, settling around his wrists, solidifying into thick golden bands, the weight of them strangely comforting. Lifting his arms, he saw red smoke trailing from each of the bands, gradually forming into a bolt of red cloth joining the two together, the fabric trailing and billowing behind him. 

   A gentle squeeze below his breasts reminding Mischa his body was still changing, his waist pulling in unnaturally thin, his waist pushing out slightly into cartoon-perfect hourglass proportions. Giggling more, he ran his hands across his narrowing waist, tracing the subtle impression of his navel, left bare by his changing clothes. Looking down, he could see the golden smoke swirling tighter and tighter around his legs, his feet no longer visible amidst the billowing cloud. 

   His pants started to morph and shift, facing in the same light, red material as his vest, settling around gleaming underwear pulling into a golden thong, snug and tight around his swelling rear. Reaching down, he ran his fingers across the soft fabric, feeling the shape of his thighs underneath until they slipped seamlessly into the dense tail of smoke shifting beneath him, trailing into the crystal bottle on the table. Curious, he tried to slip his fingers between his legs, slipping straight from smooth skin to a foggy haze, no trace of anything below his waist. 

    “Wow…” was all Mischa could manage, stunned a little by the scope of the change, even as he could feel his shifting skin reaching around his neck, crawling up his face. His neck grew slender, vocal cords tingling slightly as they shifted to the melodic voice of the genie of his dreams. 

   His whole face started to shift, as though invisible hands were working their way across it, carefully sculpting his features. Smoothing his jaw, shrinking his nose, tugging gently on his lips. He reached up, tracing his fingers over his changing features, feeling how smooth and round his face seemed now. 

   He could feel a tugging on the tips of his ears, drawing them upwards slightly, lengthening them before drawing them outwards, emerging from his hair. He reached up, fingers tracing the edges of them, feeling the way they swept out to the sides, tapering to sharp points as they went. A pair of sharp pains, then the feeling of something tugging at the base of them, the growing weight of golden earrings tugging and swaying with every movement. 

   Mischa’s view shifted slightly as his eyes began to change, growing wider, becoming the large, hazel-shaped eyes of a cartoon genie. The room seemed to shrink in his view, seeing so much more of it at once, a shrunken and petite nose blocking little of his vision as he glanced down over his changing body. 

   The final change came with a sudden cascade of purple, thick and luxurious hair flowing down from his hair, blocking out his vision for a moment. He could see the individual strands starting to draw together, forming into bunches of smooth purple colour, the solid shapes of cartoon hair bobbing about gently. A moment later, and they swept upwards, a solid gold band forming at the base of a huge and sweeping ponytail, purple bangs perfectly framing his new face. 

   “So, what do you think?” Sophia’s voice cut across Mischa’s thoughts, the reality of his new body starting to sink in. “Here, take a look…” the witch added, pulling an ornate golden mirror into view, leaving Mischa staring at the reflection of a beautiful genie, looking like something that had stepped straight from a cartoon. She turned this way and that, admiring her new body, the shape of her curves, the exaggerated proportions of a cartoon character. No matter how she moved, her body kept the same smooth colours, the same neat outlines just at the edge of her features.

   “Wow… I look… perfect…” Mischa spoke slowly, the melodic voice seeming to echo around the room, like a choir speaking in unison. The genie’s body was the sort of thing Mischa had only dreamed of but now it felt so right and so natural, who she was, her old body seeming so ill-fitting in comparison. 

   “I’m glad you think so,” Sophia replied, picking up Mischa’s bottle, tugging gently on the genie’s smoke tail as she did, “I think you’re going to make a lovely keychain…” 

   Sophia whispered a few words, and Mischa watched as the bottle in her hands started to quake and change, shrinking, flattened by some invisible force. Soon, the bottle was just a small piece of printed acrylic, the trail of smoke flowing from it solidifying into a golden chain, snapping free from Mischa’s billowing tail. 

   “A genie always matches their bottle…” the thought bubbled to the surface of Mischa’s mind. She let out a slight squeak of delight as she felt her body starting to change, shrinking down, the room growing larger and larger around her. She could feel her body becoming strangely heavy, and sluggish, sinking gently down towards the table. Her tail bumped against it, smoke coiling and bundling into a fluffy cloud, the swirling mist freezing into place. 

   “Oh… this is weird” Mischa gasped, feeling something hard pressing in from behind, her body squashing gently against it as it pressed forward. Ahead, she could see the air rippling, light sparkling like rainbows as it solidified, pressing into her. Sandwiched by the acrylic, she could feel her cartoony body painlessly flattening, pressing inward from the edges. She shifted her head to the right slightly, looking down over her arm, watching her fingers freezing into place as they flattened completely, outlines becoming clearer, more defined. 

   She tried to tug on her hands, but they were firmly stuck, frozen in place by the acrylic sheets, knowing the rest of her body would follow shortly. As it squeezed about her waist, pressing up against her torso, it felt strangely snug and comfortable, imagining herself like someone stuck in a vacuum bed, finding it harder to move with every second. 

   Her heart beat faster in her chest as the acrylic pressed in tightly, excitement growing as she realised she was almost completely inanimate now, smiling in satisfaction as her face froze in place, still looking slightly to her right. 

   With the last of her movement gone, she could feel herself falling. Slowly, at first, she was tipping backwards, the room around her swinging out of view as she gazed up into the rafters. She landed against the hard surface of the table, only a minute tremor from Sophia’s perspective, but Mischa could feel her whole body shake with the force of the vibrations. Being this small was going to take some getting used to… 

   “You okay there?” Sophia called, her voice at once booming and strangely distant, her face looming into view over Mischa. 

   “Yeah… I think so…” Mischa spoke, glad to see she still could, though her voice sounded strangely strained inside the plastic. She could only imagine how faint and muffled she must sound to Sophia. She looked around the room, cartoon eyes shifting across her 2D body, seeing Sophia pick up the golden chain, the bottle, the snap of a clasp, the vibration of the chain locking into place just above her head. 

   A moment later, and she felt herself being lifted up in the air, the chain tugging at her body. The whole room spun around her as she swung to and fro, spinning around on the chain before warm fingers caught her, squeezing gently. 

   “Sorry about that… though I think you might just have to get used to it.” Sophia smiled, staring down at Mischa’s diminutive form, pleased to see Mischa smiling back at her. More swinging, more vibrations carried through the chain, and then the muffled jangling of keys. “There, perfect. If I ever lose you– er– if I ever lose my keys, I can just summon you straight into my pocket. Plus, you look really cute…” Sophia added, smiling. 

   “Okay!” Mischa squeaked, barely audible, smiling giddily at the idea of being so useful, wondering just how long Sophia was going to keep her like this… not that she was going to complain. 

   “Right… should get back to work for now, I’ll see you when I lock up-” Sophia smiled at Mischa, bundling her into her hand, dropping her into her pocket, snug and warm against her keys, the genie perfectly content. 

   Sophia whistled faintly to herself, starting to pack away the teacups and all the mess from the miniature whirlwind, Phoibe finally starting to stir in the fireplace. 

   “Were you talking to someone…?” the sphinx purred, groggily rubbing sleep from her eyes with a furry paw. 

   “Oh, no, it’s just us~” Sophia replied, gently patting against her pocket. Some things were best kept secrets from mischievous sphinxes…