Lya stared at the book in front of her, concentration written across her face. The book - a thick hardback, the largest book Lya owned - sat still and motionless on the coffee table. Lya let out a sigh of frustration, taking a moment to relax and shake herself loose.

        “Okay, Lya, you can do this.”

        The book shifted slightly in front of her. It was barely any movement, but it was something, and Lya couldn’t help but grin. A deep breath. Focus. The book shifted again, lifting up on one side, spinning around on a corner. It started to shine, the rough cover smoothing out as Lya continued the spell in her head, coarse fabric turning to gleaming plastic. The book started to bulge, lifting slightly from the table, dropping down for a moment before bouncing off and up into the air, a streamer of ribbon trailing behind it as it rose. Drifting around, Lya watched with glee as the covers bulged out more, creases forming as the plastic material pinched at the corners. Between the covers, the edges of pages blurred together into a cartoonish concertina. The paper within turned into helium, pressing out against the rubbery surface of the balloon the book had become, lifting it higher and higher into the air until it bumped up against the ceiling.

        “I did it!” Lya cried with joy, pulling down on the string, a slight squeak as the balloon bobbed about on the end. “I’ve got to show Mini this…”

        “Please tell me I didn’t come over here so you could show me a bunch of balloons,” Mini looked around Lya’s house, staring at the multitude of balloons bobbing around her friend. There were several books floating about, a pot plant with bulging leaves, a mug that somehow still had a hollow inside, and a couple of teddy bears, their proportions exaggerated into cartoonish shapes.

        “Well, yes, but no… watch this…” Lya grinned as she pulled out her phone, bouncing a little from excitement. Holding the phone out on her hand, she concentrated again, working the spell in her mind. A moment later and the phone started to bob in the air, bulging out as solid plastic and metal turned into the rubbery skin of a balloon, electronics fading into helium within. The screen stretched out across its surface, detailed icons shifting into cartoonish images, just ink printed on a balloon’s surface. As it rose, a ribbon glittered into existence beneath it, quickly caught by Lya before the balloon floated away.

        “Holy-” Mini started, stunned into silence by the impossible sight.

        “I know, right?” Lya grinned wider, pulling the balloon that had been her phone back down, “and look, it still works!” She tapped one of the icons, the printing on the balloon responding just like a phone, opening the camera app. Mini stepped closer, peering in amazement at the screen showing a cartoonish version of the room behind the phone, the real thing visible through its translucent surface.

        “I can’t believe it, there’s nothing inside, how?” A thousand questions ran through Mini’s mind. She reached out to the phone, prodding its surface, feeling it give under her finger before bouncing away.

        “I think- I think I’m a witch,” Lya said, a little sheepishly, it still felt such a strange thing to admit, “I don’t know quite how it happened, all I know is I can cast spells now. I’ve been practising all day,” she added, nodding at the balloons floating around her.

        “A witch? Are you serious? That’s amazing!” Mini could barely hide her own excitement now. “What else can you do?”

        “Ah, um, it’s the only spell I’ve been able to practise so far-” Lya looked down, a little embarrassed.

        “Are you kidding? This is still fantastic! It’s not like I can turn a plant into a balloon,” Mini reached out for her friend’s hand, squeezing reassuringly, “I wonder what it would feel like…”

        “Well…” Lya started to say, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, “there’s one way to find out.”

        “No, you can’t be serious, I can’t be a bal-” Mini’s voice rose higher as she spoke, the tell-tale squeak of inhaling helium, “oh- oh- this feels so weird-” Mini could already feel a slight pressure inside her, the helium expending in her lungs starting to press out inside her chest. Reaching her hands down to her belly, she could feel her stomach starting to push out slightly, rounding out in front of her.

        “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Lya grinned a little sheepishly again, leaning down slightly to look at Mini’s expanding body, slowly pressing out against the fabric of her shirt, “what does it feel like?”

        “I don’t know, kind of… giddy?” Mini squeaked again, pressing her hands down against her stomach, feeling her skin stretching under her fingers, the helium expanding inside pressing back, “oh, it’s weird… it’s like I can feel my clothes, like they’re a part of me.” Brushing her fingers across her top, she felt only rubbery smoothness, seams vanishing against her body, replaced with bold outlines of her clothes.

        “It looks almost like it’s… drawn on you,” Lya said, leaning in closer.

        Mini found herself giggling slightly, the helium spreading through her body making her feel giddy and lightheaded. She knew it must be her insides fading away, making her whole body so light and buoyant. Looking down, her body seemed almost unreal, the almost cartoonish look of the clothes around her waist spreading up and down over her body. As it spread, she could feel the pressure spreading with it, the feeling of her skin stretching and pushing outwards into her clothes, detail vanishing as more of them turned into a printed design.

        “Oh wow-” the changes reached her chest, swelling outwards like the rest of her, losing definition as her breasts pressed against each other, skin blending and merging. She reached across herself, running fingers over the inflated form of her breasts. Only the faintest hint of cleavage remained, vanishing with a subtle squeak. Her body shuddered slightly, the vibrations of her touch carrying across the stretched skin of her chest, made all the more sensitive by the changes. Mini could see her skin turning to plastic, gleaming in the light, the same printed look as her clothes, the bold outline of cleavage forming up the middle.

        “You’re getting rounder…” Lya stepped around Mini, watching as her torso pushed out all around, losing shape and definition. Her expanding balloon skin started to press out against her arms, thighs pushing out into each other beneath her swollen waist.

        “It’s getting harder to move,” Mini’s voice was strained and faint, the changes making her feel strangely relaxed. Her arms seemed to stick to her sides, expanding outwards and pressing into her body. Each tiny movement sent squeaks rippling across her skin, making her bob about slightly, bouncing on her feet, “it’s like… I’m falling into an air mattress.” With more of her body transforming, so much of her limbs now full of helium, she could just relax her body and let the helium support her.

        She could feel the helium running down her arms, reaching her fingers, pushing out in every direction. They stretched out, becoming simple shapes, her skin tone becoming unnaturally even and perfect for a moment as it transitioned to mere printing on a balloon’s skin. A slight tickle as an outline started to form, a bold line of black running down each arm, tracing cartoonish fingers before running up the other side.

        “Oh, you’re really looking like a cartoon now,” Lya watched, still so surprised by the changes, the way the spell was working on such a large and complex form.

        “Am I-?” Mini tried to say, no sound escaping her lips. Even her head seemed sluggish and hard to move now. The sounds of squeaks and vibrations louder now they echoed through a solid head. Helium pressed out, Mini’s head growing simpler as features drew tight across her skin. Her mouth seemed to collapse from the inside, closing up inside, leaving just her teeth and lips pressed out into a cartoon grin. A sudden smell of rubber as her nose and ears followed, drawing flat against her head, just simple shapes edged in black outlines. The world seemed to grow quiet, the sounds of Lya’s voice muffled, the subtle vibrations picked up across Mini’s taut skin. Even her vision shifted as her eyes grew wide and flat against the surface of her head. Her hair was last, a plastic sheen rippling down across her hair as individual strands bundled together into bold shapes, standing proud from the rest of her.

        “Oh, oh wow-” Lya gasped in amazement, looking at her friend, now a life-size balloon of a cartoon character, “are you okay?”

        Mini just bobbed about slightly in response, expression fixed in that cartoonish smile, eyes staring fixed ahead of her.

        “Ah, hang on, I might be able to let you move again-” Lya concentrated, imagining a slightly different form for Mini, willing it into being.

        A moment later and Mini’s body started to squeak and groan, the pressure inside her body growing more and more intense. At first, Mini thought she must be expanding again, skin stretching out all over her as more helium filled her. Instead, the world around her started to grow larger, her own body shrinking slightly. Still the helium pressed out, straining against the sides of her body, pushing outwards. The printed outlines running along the edges of her body started to split, brilliant red plastic appearing between them, growing wider.

        As her printed body continued to shrink, the new parts of her ballooning form pressed out, arms merging with her sides, bridging the gap between her legs, growing wider and wider at her waist. Her body squeaked and popped as more parts of her merged, the printed design of her old self left floating in the middle. Her body continued to shrink, lifting off the ground, a squeak and ‘thunk’ sounding through her body as a knot form below her. Then, a slight tingle as a ribbon form below her, trailing to the ground as her lightweight form continued to bob and rise in the arm, the world spinning around her.

        “There, how’s that?” Lya asked, her face looming large in front of Mini. She grabbed hold of the ribbon, tugging Mini back down, sending shivers of pleasure through Mini as the vibrations cascaded back and forth over her increasingly round body.

        “Oh, that feels weirdly good…” Mini spoke, feeling with relief that she could move her mouth again, though she still couldn’t hear her voice. Instead, a speech bubble appeared next to her head, a slight tickle across her rubbery skin as it formed, “oh that’s even weirder…” another bubble formed, the last fading into nothing.

        Experimentally, she moved an arm, the printed design of herself shifting as she did, the sensation like her body was gliding over a smooth trampoline. Moving her legs, she felt like she could ‘step’ on the rubbery skin of the rest of her body, slight creases forming on her body as she moved around.

        “I guess that answers your question,” Lya grinned, unable to stop herself from teasing Mini a little, “and you do make such a cute balloon. Now all I need to do is figure out how to change you back…”