Marcia adjusted the fit of her top as she stepped into the elevator. She'd been thinking about this party all day, and she didn't want to make a bad first impression. Well, first impression for most of them, anyway.

The whole thing was only happening because of a chance encounter. She'd run into Teodora at a bar one night, when she was looking for a way to kill an evening. She'd just been sitting at a table out of the way, when this stunning woman walked over and asked if she could join. After making clear that both of them were spoken for and this wasn't flirting or anything, the conversation had gotten over to entertainment, and how none of it seemed any good lately. When Marcia had implied that it was getting harder and harder to feel amazed lately, Teodora mentioned that she was part of a group that made amazement their business. She'd actually used the word 'coven,' and normally it would seem like a major red flag, but Marcia only got more interested. It ended with Teodora handing Marcia a card, with a time, a date, and the code for the elevator.

Her mind raced as she wondered what sorts of wonders this party had in store for her. She pictured fire spinners, or maybe an acrobat. After all, the party was in the penthouse. There was lots of room for performers up there. But when the elevator doors opened and Marcia stepped out into the penthouse, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

The room was filled with people, mostly women, all having a good time dancing and mingling. A big jacked dude stood at one end of the room, wearing nothing above the waist but an executioner's hood and holding a sword. As Marcia watched, he brought the sword down on the neck of a woman who was kneeling next to him. Her head dropped clean off, landing on a pillow at her knees, while everyone nearby watched and cheered. He stood back, while the woman felt around for the pillow, took her head in her hands, and rejoined the party, congratulating herself like she'd just pulled off a keg stand. She joined a group of other partygoers, all of whom were carrying their heads in their hands.

At the other end of the room, a woman sat by a table that was set up like a shop stall. Body parts sat out on the table and on shelves, arms and legs and hands. A couple of torsos sat at one end, and an entire lower half sat motionless on a stool. A big sign in the middle of the table said, 'For Using, Not For Holding!' As Marcia looked around at the table, she noticed a few people who seemed to have mismatched parts, or who were missing them entirely, just making their way in the party.

A pair of women made their way through the crowd, greeting people and checking in with everyone. Well, Marcia was assuming it was a pair of women, because there were two heads and four arms, but they seemed to be riding on a single pair of legs. The legs were clad entirely in leather, with a large wooden platform secured on top of the hips. The two upper halves were also wearing all leather, each clinging to a brass pole in the middle of the platform with one hand while waving to people with the other. Marcia couldn't tell whether one of them was controlling the legs and the other was along for the ride, or whether the legs were on their own and the other two were just sharing.

Marcia felt her pulse begin to race. Teodora wasn't wrong. This was amazing.

She wandered through the crowd, accepting hugs from random people, until she felt a little tickle in the back of her mind.

Glad you could make it, Marcia. I'm over here.

She felt a tug, a feeling that led her toward the back of the room. Beyond a couple dozen gleeful partygoers, she found Teodora, sitting on a gigantic beanbag, looking stunning as ever. She wore a simple black crop top, black jeans, and black leather boots, and she looked completely at ease, just like when Marcia first saw her.

"Welcome to the party." She got to her feet, glided toward Marcia, and kissed her once on each cheek. "I know you just got here, but what do you think so far?"

"You were right," said Marcia, holding Teodora's hands. "This is amazing. How are you doing all this?"

Teodora chuckled. "You want me to show you? You ready to join the party?"

Marcia's pulse quickened even more. "Wait, you mean, we all get to..."

"Everyone who wants to," said Teodora. "Most of them are just here to play along. They're here for some fun and games, and they leave with nothing but some good memories. A few of our guests get a little something to take home, though." She stepped closer and held Marcia's hands closer. "And you did say you wanted your mind to get blown."

"You mean you can teach people how to do this themselves?" said Marcia. "As easy as that?"

Teodora smiled, and Marcia felt a gentle warmth in one arm, like there was a finger rubbing along her skin just above the elbow. She saw Teodora bring her hands up to her chest, with one of Marcia's hands still gripped in them. She looked down, and one of her arms just ended. Teodora had pulled one of her arms off, as easily as breathing.

"As easy as that," said Teodora, slowly running her fingers along Marcia's detached forearm. "For those who are open to new experiences."

"I will be as open as you need me to be," said Marcia. "If you can teach me that, then I will open my mind as wide as it can go."

"Good," said Teodora. "Take a seat on the beanbag, and cross your legs."

Marcia climbed onto the middle of the beanbag and sat down, and Teodora knelt down in front of her. She set Marcia's arm down next to her, and she looked straight into Marcia's eyes.

"It's about control, Marcia," she said. "It's about feeling the energy that makes you who and what you are, and learning to take hold of it. It's not easy to figure out all on your own, but once you know it's there, you'll see the way forward. Now close your eyes."

Marcia closed her eyes. She heard Teodora's voice, but she felt it as well.

Deep breaths. In and out.

Marcia focused on her breathing, just like her morning yoga routine. This time, though, she felt something welling up.

Be aware of yourself, from head to toe, said Teodora. Your head. Your shoulders. Your arms. Your hands. Your chest. Your stomach. Your hips. Your legs. Your feet.

These are parts of you, Marcia. They are yours to control. They do what you tell them. You can make them do things, without relying on what you're used to.

She felt Teodora's fingertips on her chin, tracing down her neck, along her bare shoulders, down to her hip.

Feel yourself take control of yourself, and let go of everything that you don't need anymore. Here. Let me show you.

Her whole body felt warm, like she was floating. But then she realized. That wasn't floating. It was falling.

She opened her eyes. She was looking up at the ceiling, with Teodora looking down at her. She felt a pressure on her thighs, and something was pressed against her cheek. Whatever it was, it was wearing her tube top.

Teodora bent down over her, reached out, and took Marcia's head in her hands. She felt a slight rush as Teodora turned her head around to look down at the beanbag.

Her feet lay to either side of her legs, no longer attached at the ankles. Her torso laid face down on her lap, while her hips had rolled backward away from the rest of her. Her other arm was on top of the whole pile, and her legs must have been somewhere under it. She had worn a pair of tight pleather capris to the party, so presumably her thighs and hips were still in one piece.

"There you go," said Teodora. "Now you're taking control."

"Really?" said Marcia. "Because it kind of feels like I can't move."

"Are you sure? Try."

She tried waving a leg around, and a pleather-clad thigh slowly protruded from beneath her torso, with a smooth stump where the rest of the leg should have been.

"Well, okay, I can move," she said, "but I might need a little help getting up."

"Of course," said Teodora. "Here." She tucked Marcia's head under one arm and rolled her torso over, revealing the rest of the pieces. She reached for one arm, and then the other, placing each of them back where it belonged. Each time, Marcia felt that same warmth as the parts joined together. It was growing more and more familiar.

Finally, Teodora placed Marcia's head in her hands, and she guided Marcia in positioning her head above the stump of her neck. "Remember, Marcia, be in control. This is your head. It should do what you tell it."

Marcia lowered her head into place, feeling the two stumps touch. This was where her head belonged. It ought to stay in place without her hands being there. It was her head, after all. That was what it was for.

She felt the warmth return. As it faded, she took her hands away. Her head stayed.

"Very good," said Teodora. "Now show me what you have learned."

Piece by piece, Marcia reassembled her lower half. One of her feet had rolled out of her reach, and Teodora handed it over for her. She caught herself enjoying Teodora's touch a little more than she'd been expecting..

When her lower half was back together, Marcia lifted herself in place above herself for the final join, and with that, she was whole again. Then, she placed her hands on her hips and pushed down, once again willing the warmth into being, and she separated again. Just as she wanted. She was in control.

She lay back on the beanbag and caressed her leg, while Teodora knelt down and smiled.

"You're learning quick," she said. "You're almost ready."

"There's just one more thing I wanted to ask first," said Marcia.

"What's that?"

"I really, really want to kiss you right now."

Teodora arched an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were spoken for."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "You are too. I just wanted to show my appreciation for the lesson."

"Oh, well, then," said Teodora, turning around to sit next to Marcia's legs. "It's always nice to feel appreciated."

She leaned toward Marcia, and her torso glided off of her own legs. She lowered her upper half on top of Marcia's. Their arms wrapped around each other.

Marcia almost lost her focus as she disappeared into Teodora's embrace, but she remembered just in time. She was in control. She wasn't about to go into any more pieces than necessary.

Her hands explored every part of Teodora's torso, from the back of her neck to the underside of her breasts, to the flat bottom of her ribcage where her hips used to be. Out of sight, she felt Teodora's legs entwining with hers, beside them on the beanbag.

When the energy between them subsided, Marcia lay on the beanbag catching her breath, until she realized that she couldn't feel her legs anymore. She looked over, and she saw Teodora getting to her feet. Or rather, she saw Teodora getting to Marcia's feet. Her own pleather capris were beneath Teodora's crop top, the skin tones not quite matching. Teodora's own denim-clad legs stood alongside her, with her hand resting on top of them like a shapely end table.

"I thought you said I was in complete control," said Marcia.

"Apparently not," said Teodora. "You must have been distracted for a minute there." She tossed her hair a little.

"Well, what are you planning to do with those? I hope you're not going to mess up my favorite shoes."

"Don't worry," said Teodora. "I'm not taking them from you. I'm just borrowing them. You'll leave here with everything you arrived with, I promise."

As Teodora turned, and Marcia watched her own rear end as it walked away from her, she felt one last thing from Teodora behind her eyes.

You've got a long and wonderful path ahead of you, Marcia, and you've only just started following it. There are still a few more lessons for you to learn before you leave tonight. Trust me, and trust the rest of the coven. You'll be fine. It'll be fun.

Ladies, give my friend Marcia a dance, will you?

Just as Teodora and her spare legs disappeared into the crowd, the two leather-clad women emerged from it. They knelt down by the beanbag, their torsos perfectly balanced on the platform like they'd been born to it, and they reached down to Marcia.

"Hey, there!" said one of them. "Need a leg up?"

"Thanks," said Marcia. She grabbed each of their waists, and each of them placed a hand under Marcia's arms and lifted. She rose up and settled herself onto the wooden platform, and each of them pulled her in and planted a big kiss on her, one on each cheek.

The three of them interlaced their arms around each other's midriffs, the pole sandwiched in the middle as the shared legs moved them into the middle of the dance floor.

"Can we have this dance, my dear?" said the other one.

"Of course," said Marcia. "Just as long as nobody steps on any toes."

They giggled and pulled her even closer, and the three of them spun across the room while the party went on around them.

Even without legs of her own, Marcia was having the time of her life. This coven was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and Teodora had said there was even more to come.

The music swelled, and the party went on.