“Merry Belated Christmas,” called Dirk cheerfully as he entered Tina and Amy’s apartment.  “Ready for the big day?”

Tina grinned down at him as she closed the door.  “Oh yeah.  Being seven feet tall and extra muscly has made the packing so much easier.”

Dirk peered around.  “You haven’t packed Amy up, have you?  Where is she?”

Tina patted her belly, and Dirk’s eyes went wide. “You ate her?”

A tiny mouse-head poked up from a kangaroo-like pouch in Tina’s belly.  “Yeah, she finally talked me into it.  Said it would make the perfect Christmas present.  It’s like a waterslide in here!”

Dirk chuckled softly, and petted Amy’s little head.  “I’m glad you’re having fun, then.  Planning a role reversal later?”

Amy shrugged.  “Maybe.  If Tina promises to make my belly non-fatal.”

“Of course, sweetie.  I know you didn’t like that.  I just...  Being swallowed is such an intimate thing, isn’t it?”  Tina reached down a great muscular paw, and Amy hopped into it.  She was dwarfed by the paw, but showed no fear of the claws that were as long as her body.  Tina lifted up the tiny mouse, so Dirk could get a better look at her.

“Wow.  I didn’t realize you could get so small.”

Amy scampered around in Tina’s paw giggling.  “This is nothing.  I’ve heard of people going as small as a grain of sand.  I want to try a night flea-sized, hiding in Tina’s fur.”

“Wouldn’t it be too easy to squish you by accident?”

“Not if she’s careful.  And even if I do get squished, I’ll pop right back to normal when time is up.  We’ve... kind of done that already.”

Tina sighed softly.  “And I’m still sorry.”

Amy kissed the pad of her immense sweetie’s paw.  “It’s fine!  I’m fine.  It barely even hurt.  If you make me a tiny flea-sized mousie, you can turn my pain senses off, and a mistake won’t hurt at all.”

“I can?” asked Tina.

“You can do that?” asked Dirk.  “That...”  He bit his lip.  “Could you help me with that?  I’ve wanted to do something extra-special for Janice for a while now, and...”

Tina’s eyes went wide.  “You’re not.”

“I’m curious.  C’mon, let’s go ask.”

Tina followed Dirk into the living room.  Boxes covered much of one wall, but the terrarium on the coffee table was still in its usual place.  A metallic snake was watching them approach, a grin on its face.  It hissed a soft staccato of Morse code.

“Hey sweetie, good to see you too.  I come bearing gifts...”  Dirk opened up an ornate box, revealing a row of shiny, silvery pieces of high-grade coal.  “They got in more from that mine you like best.”

Janice popped her head out of the terrarium, and studied the offering carefully.  She delicately plucked the juiciest piece of coal out of the tray, and swallowed it whole.  Her eyes closed to mere slits and she hissed happily as her peculiar digestive system went to work on it.

Dirk set the box beside the terrarium, then scooped up the metallic snake.  “Mmm, you get so nice and warm like this.”

Janice hissed a soft reply that made Dirk blush.  He took a deep breath.  “I have an offer to make.  You can say no if you like.”

The snake studied him expressionlessly.

“You’ve heard what Tina and Amy have been doing.  I want to try that.  With you.  Get Tina to turn me into the perfect piece of coal, and... become a diamond.”  He looked away uncomfortably.  “I know it’ll take a while, and I’d have to be turned into coal for a couple of days, maybe a week, but we’ve got some time now that we’re ready for the big move at the end of the month, and...”

Janice bit him to get his attention, making him laugh.  “Sorry, did you...”

She hissed emphatically.  [Yes.  Nipping you isn’t enough.  I will eat you.  And I will enjoy it.]

“Now?” asked Dirk.

[Now.]

Tina gave Amy a quick squeeze.  “I guess we’re heading to the Venn Machine.  What do you want?”

“You’re finished packing, right?”  At the nod she got in reply, Amy grinned.  “I want to make you so tiny I can barely see you.”

“Someone needs to be big enough to drive us home,” said Tina.

Amy nodded.  “I guess I’ll need to be normalish sized, then.  Pity, I wanted you hair-sized to me at this size, but the other works too.”

“Next time,” said Dirk.  “I’ll drive you home in a petri dish if you like.”

[Go already!] hissed Janice.

Everyone laughed, and soon the three were bundling out the door.

Janice slipped back into her terrarium, curling up around a small hoard of her diamonds.  She’d insisted on keeping a collection of them once Dirk had started selling them.  She had found herself oddly drawn to some of her larger stones, and unwilling to part with them.  She’d bitten Dirk a few times before he got the picture.

As the noises of her friends’ departure faded, Janice let her eyes slip closed.  The warmth radiating from her core was soothing.  Hissing contentedly, she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke again, she could see Amy eating a light dinner beside her terrarium.  She vaguely recalled what salad tasted like, but it paled in comparison to how her body felt about a really nice piece of coal.

Amy looked over to her and smiled.  “Oh, hey, you’re awake.  Have a nice nap?”

Janice barely noticed her reflex to reply acerbically.  Instead, she nodded her head and smiled.  [Dirk?] she hissed.

Amy held up a little gift-wrapped box.  “Thought I’d make it extra special.”

Janice delicately nipped the ribbon off the box, then tugged the paper away.  She nosed the lid open, and hissed happily at the lump of shiny, silvery meta-anthracite nestled within.  It was larger than her usual lumps, and her jaw unhinged reflexively as she nuzzled up to it.  Before long it was sliding down into whatever passed for a gullet in her mechanical body, and the teakettle whistle of her digestive system kicked into high gear.

Amy watched in wonder as Janice curled up contentedly in her terrarium.  The metallic snake appeared to be glowing softly from her internal fires.  Before, Amy had thought it a trick of the light.  This time it was distinctly noticeable, even more so when she turned out the lights to confirm her suspicion.  “Well.  It appears you two do have some kind of chemistry after all.”

Amy curled up on the couch to watch her cheerily glowing pet snake.  After a time she started drifting toward sleep, gently patting the area of fur where she’d deposited Tina.  “Sweet dreams little one,” she murmured.

Tina appeared early the next morning, and was quite disappointed to find herself human once more.  She gave Amy a little shake.  The mouse-girl yawned and stretched.  “Oh!  I almost didn’t recognize you.  Did you have fun?”

“Not really.  I got lost in a jungle of fur,” said Tina with a pout.  “I wanted to find something fun, but when it got dark I realized it was hopeless.  I went to sleep, and woke up human.”

Amy patted Tina’s hand.  “Aww, poor thing.  I could make you big enough to peek over the top of the fur, would that help?”

Tina shook her head.  “I’d rather try it while you’re furless.  So I can see where I’m going.”

“To see the mountains ahead?”

“I was aiming for a valley,” replied Tina with a wink.

Amy purred at the suggestion.  “I should make you a more useful size if that’s your plan.  Think you could have fun at an inch tall?”

“Honestly?  I’d rather just be normal for a bit.”  Tina studied her hands, flexing them this way and that.  “I’ve forgotten what it was like.”

“Okay.  Should I go back, too?”

“Would you?  I haven’t seen my sweetie Andy in soooo long.”

Amy giggled.  “Wow.  That is my name.  I’d... well, not forgotten, but...  You’re right.”  Amy peeked at the snake, who was still dozing and glowing cheerfully.  “I’m sure Janice will be fine without us.  That was one big lump of coal.”

“She looks happy.  Which is not something I’d ever thought I’d say about her, human or otherwise.”

*** *** ***

Andy and Tina returned the apartment arm in arm, and once the door was closed Andy pulled Tina into a toe-curling kiss.  

“I can’t believe how different kissing is without muzzles!” exclaimed Tina once their lip-lock had unsealed.

Andy grinned.  “I bet I can find a few other differences, too.  Race you to the bedroom.”

Half an hour later and much, much sweatier, they agreed that human bodies had other advantages, too.

Janice slept through it all.

*** *** ***

The next day, Janice laid the biggest stone ever.  She placed it atop her pile of favourites, and curled up around it contentedly.

The day after that, Tina came home as tall, muscular, human Tony.  Janice ignored the noises from their bedroom, coiled contentedly and fueled by the tasty coal from Dirk’s Christmas gift.

Another day later, Andy was back to petite but still human Amy.  The noises from the bedroom were getting louder.  And Janice still didn’t care.

Moving day, Amy asked Janice nicely for the stone that Dirk had become, the big one.  Janice hissed at her, making no attempt to code an answer, her tone was response enough.  Amy asked Tony for help, and when he tried to fetch the egg he lost a fingertip to a vicious bite from Janice.

Janice apologized after the blood had been cleaned up.  She hissed very contritely, but her instincts would not be denied.  [Can’t have my egg.]

“But Dirk only wanted this for a week.  We changed him for a month so he could... he won’t change back on his own, and he has to go back to work soon.”

[How much from diamonds?]

“Uh... just under a million.  Most of that’s going into the house we’re moving to tomorrow.  Dirk wanted to be there to help with the move.”

[No.]

“Please?”

Janice curled around her hoard and glared at them balefully.  [Take others,] she hissed.  [These are mine.]

“Dirk knew what he was getting into.  I hope.  We’ve got professionals coming.  If we buff you up, Amy, we’ll be fine for the move.”

Amy giggled. “Think you can handle me as a big muscular girl?”

Tony laughed.  “You know it, girlfriend.”


*** *** ***

The move went smoothly.  Amy and Tina unpacked boxes for days, taking a short break New Year’s Eve to visit the Venn Machine so they could celebrate that night in new bodies.  Amy returned as a cute little bunny, and Tina as a scaly lizard-girl.  She pouted about the lack of breasts, and Amy pointing out her unhinging jaw only mollified her briefly.  Long enough to swallow Amy, that is.

Janice watched the whole thing.  She chuckled softly to herself as she watched Tina storm back and forth in the room when she realized that Amy hadn’t given herself an easy way out.  [Go back,] she hissed once Tina wound down.

“Oh sure, hop into a Venn Machine with no escort.  Sounds smart.”

[Go in.  Hit red.]

Tina sighed.  “We only changed for eight hours.  I’ll wait.”

[Still alive?]

Tina whimpered.  “Yes.  Feels so good to have her squirming inside me.”  She flopped to the couch and curled up on herself.  “She wouldn’t make it to the mall, right?  I mean, it’s closer now, but not that close.”

[She knew.]

“I know.  She asked for her pain receptors to be reversed.  She’s probably in ecstasy about now.”  Tina moaned at the renewed squirming inside her.  She spoke to her belly.  “Does it feel good?”  The squirming intensified, making Tina collapse on the couch.

Janice watched and waited.  When the room was finally quiet, she hissed softly, [Done?]

Tina raised her head slowly.  “Yeah.  I don’t know what she did to me.  Felt amazing.”

[Looked it.  Dirk was good, too.]

“I’ll let him know when he changes back.”

Janice hissed plaintively.  [How long?]

Tina shrugged.  “Three weeks.  There’s nothing you can do.  Don’t think about it.”

Janice curled up over her hoard, nosing the biggest stone a few times then settling.  [Thanks.]

Tina and Amy returned to work and made excuses for Dirk.  His substitute was happy enough to pick up more shifts.  Their boss had pointed questions for them, but didn’t want to rock the boat.  He knew that thanks to Janice they were now rich enough to walk away any time, the only reason Tina was staying on at all was that she loved doing the weather.

As the weeks passed, Amy turned Tina into the lizard-girl more frequently, to the point where she would “sleep” in her gullet every few nights.  Amy claimed it was especially restful.  Tina wasn’t entirely sure about that, but accepted Amy’s eagerness.

This left Tina with lots of time to talk to Janice.  Janice taught her how to hiss in code, and Tina found it entertaining to carry on whole conversations in hisses.  It was slower than normal speech, but they had time.  They talked of each other’s hopes and dreams.  Janice had never cared for the weather, it was only a stepping stone to bigger things, using her looks to promote herself.

Eventually, she admitted that it was all about the money.  For a self-described [pretty bitch] with few skills to back it up, it had seemed the best path to follow.

Tina shook her head.  [Resent me?]

[Not any more.  I watch you.  You’re great.  You love it.]

Tina smiled, and nodded.  [So much.]

[And I make money.  Lots.  Not my plan.  Still good.]

A sharp bang echoed through the room.  “What was that?” cried Tina, forgetting her hisses in her alarm.

[Egg!]  Janice unwound from her hoard.  A large crack zig-zagged up the side of the large stone.

“It’s hatching?” asked Tina in amazement.  As she watched, the crack grew with a grating noise, and the stone rocked back and forth.  “It’s hatching!  Oh My God.”

The stone broke in half, revealing a tiny metallic snake within.  It looked up at Janice and hissed softly.  [Mama.]

[Dirk?]

The tiny snake cuddled against Janice’s side.  She studied this tiny copy of herself, a wondering look on her face.  [Baby?]

Tina fetched a piece of meta-anthracite from their stock, and offered it to Janice.  She nipped a small chip off of it, and offered the tiny morsel to the baby snake.  The little snake took it from her jaws and hissed like a happy, tiny teakettle.  Soon it curled up to sleep, and Janice curled around it.

Tina put a few extra bits of coal into the terrarium, then turned down the lights and retired to the bedroom.

*** *** ***

Over the next week, the tiny metal snake grew quickly.  It was unsatisfied with a diet of pure coal, and would hiss plaintively until it was fed shavings of various metals.  Iron and copper were its favourites.

And then, the fateful day arrived.  The baby snake vanished, and Dirk appeared.  Janice was disconsolate, weeping glittering tears in his arms.  His presence calmed her, she was far worse in his absence, biting at everything including herself.  She refused to eat, refused to speak.  Over the next few days, she became lethargic, and eventually stopped moving at all.

“You know what I have to do,” said Dirk, staring at Janice’s limp form.

“How long do you want to be coal this time?” asked Tina.

“Being reborn as her little snake was... transformative.  A year?”

“Are you sure?”

“Do it.”