Willow stared up at the enormous figure towering above her. Her gaze travelled from the gathered-up waist of a brilliant blue tea gown, up a lace-covered bodice and trim collar, elegant shoulders and neck, and finally to the face, partially darkened by a frilly white parasol. She stood in the shadow of this giant, cowed by her brown-eyed stare. She felt like her feet were being pressed into the rock she stood on, as though gravity had become stronger. The sudden urge to fall over backward came over her as vertigo threatened to crush her balance.

“O-oh, god…” Willow whispered, her voice reedy and high, completely void of control. The full attention of the giantess was overwhelming. The statuesque woman bent at the knee, that huge face coming closer alarmingly fast. She was like the tallest of trees, moving quick and fluid as a rockslide. Her eyes were on Willow, a deadly intelligence working behind the raw power of her movement. Willow found herself fallen on her ass, backpedaling as quickly as she could. Her wings caught under her hands, tripping her.

The giantess didn’t speak. Her face was so close Willow felt the heat emanating from her skin. Willow’s eyes darted around wildly, taking in panicked, random information. The giantess had a mole on her left cheek, small for giant standards but probably as large as Willow’s palm. Fine hairs, peach-soft, covered the skin above her lips and her cheeks. Her eyes were brown, but the light shone through them in a liquid-amber glow. Her face betrayed no emotion, no curiosity or smugness. There was something cold and calculating about her gaze, like a predator inches from prey. Willow backed up and cried out when her back hit a wall – no way out.

Willow’s gaze settled on the giantess’ lips, plump and soft. She could feel the warm breath from the giantess’ nose on her like a muggy summer wind. The lips came close, parting slightly to reveal a sharp toothy edge and utter darkness.

“Please, NO! DON’T DO IT!” Willow’s voice was so twisted and desperate she hardly recognized it as her own. The lips continued to approach, the top one pressing softly into her chest, leaving her view trapped on the fuzzy cupid’s bow. The bottom lip touched her moments later, she felt it squish on her belly. She squirmed and screamed nonsense words, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted to go home. She wanted to get out of here. She felt a warm, wet, powerful tongue nudge the two lips apart forcing her shirt up. The slimy thing tasted her newly-exposed belly. Willow pushed at the lips, trying to get them off her, but her weak attempts were nothing compared to this mountain of a woman.

Suddenly, the lips parted fully and tilted to grab Willow’s full body between them. Willow shrieked, feeling teeth grip her behind those soft lips as she was lifted high into the air, far above where she normally flew. The mouth easily flipped her around so she faced away from the giant, her butt, back, and left leg completely inside the living cavern. The crackling of saliva filled her ears as she felt the tongue lick all along her back, slowly, gently. “Please, stop! Let me go! Don’t eat me, please!” Willow’s words tangled together as she felt the lips above and below her flex, shifting her deeper into the mouth. Both her legs were inside now, only one arm and her head were outside. The giantess gently suckled on her body, her flower-petal skirt pulled off with absolute ease. The tongue briefly stopped its writhing, controlling motion and the giantess swallowed the skirt. The smacking and suction struck a sudden, terrible, primal fear into Willow. She was next.

The tongue lazily felt its way between her legs as Willow shuddered and sobbed. She felt her whole body react in both revulsion and ecstasy as the enormous muscle worked over her clit, ass, and labia indiscriminately. The mouth was very hot and wet. The giantess tasted every part of Willow, taking her time to enjoy her morsel. With one last pleading cry, the giantess took the little fairy into her mouth completely. Willow’s muffled screams were heard only by the giantess, who walked elegantly to a deftly woven wicker chair. A delicate glass table held a China tea cup with a gold rim. The giantess lowered herself onto the chair, her mouth working as she savoured her struggling sweet. She picked up an embroidery loom, plucking the needle from its temporary home between threads. As she began her needlework, she tilted her head back and prepared to swallow the little thing alive.

Willow’s world was dark and wet and constantly moving. She felt the tongue press her against the giantess’ hard palate, then coax her into a cheek, then slime up and down her in a saliva-covered assault. She was screaming constantly, unless her mouth was forcefully covered by the tongue, or by the flesh of the giantess’ inner cheek, or simply by a web of thick saliva. Her every muscle strained against the constant, chaotic pressure to no avail whatsoever. She was a leaf, bent and spinning and crushed by a white-water rapid. She was being treated as a small bite of food. She was a small bite of food. Willow sobbed but her the salt of her tears was simply washed away by the riptide of tongue and flesh.

Gravity shifted. She slid backwards, and realization hit. Willow struggled with everything she had, but nothing she could do would stop the almost mechanical will of the giantess’ throat to simply transport food from the mouth to the stomach. “NO!” Willow desperately screeched, before her scrabbling hands, then arms, then head, then body, then legs, were taken into the fleshy, muscular esophagus. It squeezed her down, down, deeper into the body of the giantess. The thunderous, wet sound of swallowing echoed in her ears.

---

Willow awoke to sun streaming into her face, her bed completely drenched in sweat. She had had stress-dreams before, but this was something completely new. Her wings were disheveled beneath her and she hurried to straighten them out. Today was the third day of Attuning. Strange dreams or no, she could not be late.

---

"Excellent job, Yarrow." 

Yarrow looked up gratefully at Professor Rose before sitting down. His freshly attuned mana stone shone brilliant green, slowly fading to a soft, jade glow. It was about the size of a marble, embedded in his wrist like a permanent watch. He leaned back against the sloping wood of the classroom’s walls, brushing soft green hair from his eyes.

That left just one student standing.

Willow felt sweat dripping down her face. Her concentration was completely shattered by that dream. She could still feel the lips around her, the tongue assaulting her. She tried desperately to forget, to focus, but her mind wandered without fail.

All fairies can attune if they try hard enough - that's what her professor said, that's what her parents said, her peers, everyone. Magic was everywhere, you just had to open your eyes; reach out and touch it. Willow didn’t see magic. She saw only her classmates, watching. Twenty pairs of glittering eyes, staring at her with the same intensity as the giantess’, some bored, others mocking. They all sat on the smoothed wood floor, colorful petals adorning their outfits, and a softly glowing mana stone embedded on the backs of twenty hands.

The classroom was seated deep in a hollow tree. Everyone before her had no problems whatsoever attuning to their respective mana stones. It was a simple process, in theory: concentrate, open your eyes to the second world, the world full of silvery lines connecting everything to everything else. Grasp them, weave them between your fingers, up your arms, until you are like a pendant dangling from a thread. Wind them around the stone until a solid conduit of magical line binds you together. When done correctly, the deep well of mana within the stone is yours to use as you please. When done incorrectly -

Willow felt a lump in her throat. She swallowed hard, but it wouldn’t go away. Her vision blurred. The strings simply wouldn't appear for her. She tried again to focus, recalling everything that people taught her to do. Breathe deep. Imagine yourself falling. Unfocus your eyes. Try not to blink.

At least the tears helped with that.

Whispers - Willow caught sight of Belladonna smirking. Belladonna, the perfect student. Curly, dark hair tied back, dark skin, eyes like two gold coins. She leaned over and whispered something to Saffron, her blonde partner, who giggled. Their eyes bored into Willow. 

"That's enough." Her professor's quiet voice. Professor Rose wore a thinly veiled frown. He took off his thick glasses and began to clean them with a bit of white cloth. He wore an immaculate spider-silk suit, dyed deep burgundy, in contrast to his stubbly face. "The rest of you, go. Enjoy the power of the mana stone, I hope it serves you well. Willow," he turned to his trembling student. His face softened just a bit. "We'll try this again tomorrow." 

There was a shuffling of clothes and wings as the rest of the students fluttered out of the hollow. Willow's heart sank. For the last three days, students had been attuning. Some, like Belladonna, got it on the first day. By the end of the second day, it had just been herself, Saffron, and Yarrow. She was the last one. The only fairy in her class who couldn’t attune.

“Thanks, professor.” She said, turning to leave. She couldn’t wait to get out of here.

“Listen, Willow,” Professor Rose said, stopping her. “Everyone gets it eventually. You are no different. It just takes time.” He stared at her, brown eyes magnified behind his glasses.

Time, she thought, as she left the tree trunk. She flew aimlessly away, not wanting to go home just yet. The woods were her solace, the one place where she felt at peace. She flew further and further from the fairy nexus, just wishing to get out of sight. If she saw Belladonna, or the Professor, or anyone really – she didn’t know what she would do. Die of shame, maybe.

The sky grew dark as Willow found herself in an unfamiliar grove of gold-needled larch. She flitted about, the beautiful trees seemingly calling to her. She basked in the quiet of her surroundings, almost forgetting about the day as she floated from branch to branch. The mana flow here was strong, she could feel it almost guiding her wings this way and that, on a meandering path through the grove. This was what she loved about the woods. Even if she couldn’t control the threads of magic, she could still enjoy them, follow them, allow them to take her down a path she normally wouldn’t.

Eyes closed, Willow didn’t even notice as the mana flow gently pushed her towards a waiting trap. The enchanted net was so delicate it was almost invisible, and as soon as Willow touched a sticky thread it collapsed on her, tightening and constricting around her and tethering her between two branches of golden larch. Willow screamed, yanked out of her reverie. The scream echoed through the woods, swallowed into silence.

Willow had stumbled into the territory of a great and terrible witch, the Spider in the Wood.

Avalee closed her eyes and inhaled. The woods were full of delicate scents; the sweetness of pine mixed with rich cedar and the earthy smell of the soil. An autumn chill was beginning to set in, but the sun still held the golden memory of summer. Avalee opened her auburn eyes and smoothed out her blue tea dress. The scent of the woods was like lace – it harbored patterns and wove together a story; something that only made sense when it was all there, together. She called upon this image, and the world opened before her. Delicate strands twisted and moved, pulling taut in some places and loose in others. She held out her hands as though commanding an orchestra and began to weave a new pattern.

It was fairy hunting season.

Each year around autumn, fairies gathered to attune. Those freshly attuned would be the most vulnerable, with access to great power but with no knowledge on how to use it properly. Avalee’s fingers danced in the air as she began to lay her trap. Something subliminal, something almost hypnotic – something that a strong fairy would resist almost by instinct, but a weak one would simply fall into. The wind whispered against her long, slender hands as she wove strands of magic into a gentle current. It meandered through the trees, reaching out toward places she suspected fairy nexuses would be. Where the currents met, she wove more aggressively, tightening strands until they twanged into reality. These she coated with a sticky sap-derivative and hung between the branches of larch trees, knotted such that any motion would collapse them on an unwitting visitor. And with that, the trap was set.

Avalee walked out of the larch grove. The forest changed as she walked: tall, piney coniferous trees thinned out into waist-high brush, the blackened corpses of burned trees standing skeletal. Avalee returned to her cottage, in the centre of this burned-over section of the forest.

She was almost out of fairies; she had but one left, caught in the off-season by pure luck. She planned to use it tonight.

---

Avalee set the jar on her glass table, and beside it set her ritual embroidery. The little thing in the jar glowed softly, its screams muffled. She unscrewed the jar and tipped it, letting the fairy inside tumble onto the table. She stood her full height and stared down at the little creature.

On the table, Sage scrambled to her feet. She had been trapped in that jar for a month on a shelf in the Witch’s home. The orange sunset blazed through her as she struggled to get her bearings. It was the first sun she’d seen since she was caught. A shadow fell over her as her eyes adjusted.

“Oh…”

The giantess above her was gorgeous. Even as fear gripped her heart, Sage felt something else stir within her. The way the enormous woman held herself – the poise, the perfectly fitted cut of her dress, the way the deep blue perfectly complemented her expertly pinned brown hair, and her face – her full lips, her commanding brown eyes – gods above, Sage wanted to touch her face. Almost granting her wish, the giantess bent down, putting herself at eye-level with the smitten fairy.

“Please…” Sage said, her voice trembling. The giantess’ presence was imposing, but Sage was determined. She could feel the giantess’ gaze on her, making her feel more vulnerable than ever before. She felt a desperate instinct to run and hide, just to rid herself of that gaze.

“I’ve heard the rumors,” Sage continued. “But maybe you aren’t as bad as they all say?” Her soft green wings fluttered behind her. Her mana stone glowed purple in her left wrist.

A smile tugged at the corner of the giantess’ mouth, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Rumors always have a grain of truth to them,” she said. Her voice was deep and velvety rich. “Tell me, little fairy, what have you heard?”

Sage backpedalled and her back hit the jar. She pressed against it, feeling the need to slide down and make herself smaller. She squeaked as the giantess reached out a hand and touched Sage’s face with the huge pads of her fingertips. Sage trembled, the warm touch sparking sensation in her crotch.

“I’ve heard…” She said. The long, slender finger slid downward, brushing her neck. Sage had to tilt her head to make space for it. Fuck, she’s huge, she thought. She could just pick me up and –

“What?” The giantess’ tone changed. Her finger poked Sage’s chest and knocked the wind out of her, applying pressure until the little fairy squirmed.

“I heard you eat fairies for breakfast!” Sage choked. “I heard you do it because you like it! Because you’re evil!” The finger drifted further down and was joined by the rest of the hand as the giantess grasped her whole body in her warm, unrelenting hand.

Avalee picked up the pathetic creature. She admitted that she was curious about her reputation among the small folk. She told herself it was so that she could gauge whether the local population was getting too antsy about her; if she should shift her hunting grounds. Deep down inside, tucked away, she felt powerful. Garnering such a fearsome reputation felt good. She wanted to terrify them. She wanted to play with their little emotions like toys, traumatize and tease, dragging out her ritual until the final act. None of this showed on her face. Despite her darkest desires, she had a job to do.

“Hmm. How much of that do you think is true?” Avalee raised the squirming fairy to her face and studied it. The little thing was red in the face, breathing heavily. A natural fear response, to be sure. Avalee squinted. No, not fear, at least not entirely. Avalee’s lips pressed together. She had seen this lusty expression before. A pang of grief interrupted her thoughts, but she waved it away. The sooner she consumed the little thing, the sooner she’d complete the ritual, the sooner the grief would be quelled.

“I – you –” Sage couldn’t form a complete sentence. The giantess’ face was right there, right in front of her. She could feel the giantess’ warm, humid breath. Her lips were so beautiful and plush, she just wanted to touch them. Again, almost granting her wish, the giantess moved her closer. Sage reached out to touch the lips when suddenly they engulfed her. A huge, monstrous tongue attacked her, and she screamed into the darkness of the giantess’ mouth. Her little fists pounded on the teeth and gums of her captor as the tongue undulated beneath her, tasting her. The tongue began to explore, and Sage was rudely reminded of how wet she had been moments before. The feeling was electric as the giantess’ tongue caressed her inner thigh, probed her most intimate parts. She screamed in fear and in absolute pleasure as the tongue brought her incredibly close to orgasm but drew away. She was tossed around, pushed to the roof of the claustrophobic mouth and rubbed up and down by the powerful muscle.

Avalee took the little thing into her mouth quickly. She sat in her wicker chair and confirmed her suspicions: the fairy was slick and salty with desire. She played with it almost idly as she picked up her loom. On it was the roots, trunk, and branches of a tree; she had yet to fill in its leaves and flowers. As she sucked on the squirming fairy in her mouth, she began to sew. Stitched crossed over each other as she deftly wove colour into the fabric. She concentrated on the task at hand – each thread was made of real cotton, but with intent and purpose she wove threads of magic into the piece simultaneously. She savoured the struggles of the fairy as she finished the first branch, then the second and third, meticulously stitching long, drooping leaves and fluffy grey florets. She pushed the fairy to the roof of her mouth and swallowed the spit around it, sparking a new wave of desperate struggles in her prey. It was almost over, the ritual almost complete. She stitched the last branch, her tongue tasting arousal.

Sage shrieked as the giantess swallowed around her. The flesh of her enormous throat loomed beneath her, ready to take her in at any moment and force her down. She scrambled toward the front of the mouth when the tongue once again overtook her and began to taste her vulva in earnest. She moaned maniacally as she was brought closer and closer to climax by this woman who would eat her alive. The fear, the hormones, the constant assault of flesh on flesh, of gliding, wet power against sensitivity – it was too much to handle. Sage came harder than she ever had before. The tongue did not relent, instead doubling its efforts as it tasted her climax. Sage weakly resisted but the giantess was too powerful. Her body was limp as she realized her situation.

“No, god no, not like this!” She said, struggling to move after being so physically drained. She felt the giantess tilt her head back. Sage slid backward toward the throat and could do absolutely nothing as the giantess swallowed her whole.

Avalee swallowed her snack, taking a moment to enjoy the moment. The fairy slid almost effortlessly down her throat, past her chest and into her waiting stomach. She trailed a hand to her belly, feeling the little thing trapped inside. Its mana stone was now hers to use, if only for a few fleeting minutes. Once the fairy perished, the mana stone would fade in power too. Avalee felt a rush of energy as she tapped into the source, feeling the threads of magic dance at her very thought, without having to lift a finger. She finished her embroidery, pulling tight the last leaf on the tree. She brought out a pair of long, silver shears and snipped the final thread.

A long sigh echoed around the house as Avalee sat in her chair. Her eyes unfocused as the hallucination took over. The embroidery was held firm in her hands as the world beyond her porch shifted. Trees regrew around her, back to what they were before the flames took them. The woods darkened as the trees began to block out the fading sunset. A woman stepped out from behind one of the trees, her bright affect instantly bringing a smile to Avalee’s face.

“Lee, have you been sewing in the dark again? You know it’s not good for your eyes.” The woman was short and a bit on the plump side, her curves filling out a set of denim overalls and a soft, knitted yellow shirt beneath. She grinned, walking up to the porch and lighting a lamp a few feet in front of Avalee.

“Hannah,” Avalee breathed. Hannah’s voice was just as delightfully cute as she remembered. Avalee yearned to leave her chair, to drop her embroidery and embrace her, run her hand along the fuzz of Hannah’s buzzcut, but she knew if she got up the spell would break. “Considerate as always.”

“I mean, you don’t have to listen to me. I think you’d look great with glasses. Oh, did I show you? I found a patch of lavender on the southside, I’m going to take a shoot and replant it here tomorrow. I didn’t have my gloves on me, huuuge mistake. Had to lay a thread all the way from there to here so I’d be able to find it again.” Hannah rolled her eyes at herself, and she and Avalee shared a laugh.

“You could have just used your hands,” Avalee said.

“Tons of thistle in the area. I would’ve gotten all scratched up!” Hannah pouted and leaned against the porch entrance. “You would have had to massage the wound cream all over my arms with those strong and nimble fingers of yours…” She smiled slyly, and whispered, “Maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad after all.”

Avalee almost reached forward but stopped herself. She could feel the warmth of the mana stone slowly fading, and the struggles of the fairy itself within her were petering off as well. “Hannah,” she said.

“Yes, Lee dearest?”

“I love you.”

Hannah blushed and looked down. “I love you too.”

With that, the forest bent and snapped back to where it was; burned remnants of a happier time. Avalee closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn’t wait to go back. She needed another fairy.

She reached out, feeling the lines of magical thread leading to the trap she set and was pleasantly surprised to feel the fluttering of something living on the other end. The trap was sprung.

Avalee put her sewing down and walked off the porch into the now moon-lit woods. It was time to collect her prey.

Deep breaths, deep breaths. Willow tried to calm down as the strands constricted around her. Professor Rose had shown her and her cohort traps like these; fairies used them to capture fireflies for food and light. She knew the more she struggled, the tighter it would pull. This particular trap was pretty rudimentary as far as she was concerned – the loops were large and loose and the weave was uneven. Nevertheless, it did the job. Focusing on these details calmed her somewhat. She slowed her breathing and hung as still as she could.

The stickiness of each fibre was particularly annoying. They smelled of pine. Willow began slowly, methodically detangling her left arm from the web. She worked it through the loops and tangles, pulling mightily against the sap. Sweat beaded on her forehead in the cool evening air. Straining as hard as she could, she finally pulled her left arm free. In utter exhaustion, she dangled from the trap, catching her breath.

Through the taut strands she felt the earth shake. Her blood ran cold. The rhythmic, heavy steps of a giant pulsed through her. She began working her other arm at once. This wasn’t a trap set by fairies, it was set for them. She looked on in horror as a giant woman thudded into the clearing, her brilliant blue tea dress contrasting against the yellow larch.

“No, no, no!” Willow screamed, becoming increasingly frantic as she tried to free herself. The footsteps stopped and Willow felt that heavy gaze upon her. She felt exposed, naked; she felt so unbelievably small. Dread seeped through her and seized her heart. Her breath quickened. She felt an almost painful tingling in her wings and feet, adrenaline willing her to run, fly, hide. She tried to focus on freeing her other arm. A shadow fell over her and she screamed helplessly. Tears sprung to her eyes as she looked up at her enormous captor.

Avalee walked to where her prey hung from the web. She watched it struggle for a moment. The fairy had chin-length, wavy, lilac-coloured hair and a dress made from what appeared to be white lily petals. Its wings were gossamer like a dragonfly, but wide and papery as a moth. Very good targets for a sap trap. She watched as the little thing grew more and more panicked. Avalee smiled slightly. Her mere presence was enough to stir the fairy into a frenzy. She reached out a hand and hooked two fingers under the fairy’s back, pulling it closer. Avalee felt something stir within her as the most delicate touch caused the fairy to flinch violently.

“There, there, little thing…” Avalee said, her voice deep and soft as sweetgrass. She lifted the fairy into her left hand.

Willow struggled as much as the bindings would allow her. They dug into her skin as she moved. Willow tried to use her free arm to fend away the giant’s huge, probing fingers, but could do nothing as she was pulled into the giant’s grasp. She felt the warmth of the vast hand below her and her mind reeled at how wrong it felt – too much skin, too much flesh. The giantess’ fingers approached and Willow screamed and squeezed her eyes shut, scrunching her body into the fetal position. She felt the huge pads of the giantess’ index finger and thumb press around her shoulder. She felt the immense power behind them. She knew she could be crushed between them with a passing whim. Heat bloomed from the strand wrapped around her back and shoulders and the slightly acrid smell of burning pine overwhelmed Willow’s nose. Her eyes snapped open as the giantess peeled the strand away. Willow couldn’t understand what was happening. She stared dead ahead, dissociating completely as the fingers came down once more.

Avalee gently, almost lovingly removed the trap from her prey, calling upon some subtle magic to burn away the sap. The strands glowed and smoked, filling the air with a pine-scented haze. The fairy trembled and curled up like a piece of burning paper. She was so light that Avalee was almost worried she would blow away.

When the last of the strands was removed, Avalee splayed the fairy out on her palm with two fingers, unfurling its defensive position with ease. Her eyebrows raised. “What’s this,” she murmured. The fairy’s hands were whole and unblemished. There was no sign of a mana stone in either. Anger swept through Avalee, and for a moment she considered consuming the fairy right there and then. It had no use to her, and she couldn't just let it go back and warn its friends. And yet - Something about the way the pathetic thing shook, helpless and vulnerable, not even possessing the magic to theoretically defend herself - Avalee bit her lip. Another emotion fizzled to life within her, something she thought had died with Hannah.

Something nurturing and kind. An urge to protect. An urge to teach.

Surely it will pass, thought Avalee. But perhaps keeping this thing around will prove useful. It might grant me information on the nexus, or on the Attuning. I only have a rudimentary knowledge at best. Understanding the meaning behind their patterns will make me more efficient.

Willow stared up at the giantess, her eyes glazed. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that this was the same woman from her dream the night before. The blue dress, the lacy bodice, the pinned up brown hair, the mole on her cheek – it was all the same. She knew what was coming. She could already feel those full lips upon her, the warm, wet heat of her mouth, and then the noise and constriction of swallowing…

“You're not attuned,” The giantess said. Willow blinked, feeling herself return to her body. She felt cold and hollow. Her body ached from being so tense. She lay on her back, prone, as the giantess’ fingers held her arms down on either side of her, preventing her from curling back up. She felt the pressure of those fingertips pushing her into the soft flesh of the palm. The giantess’ words finally registered in her sluggish mind. Willow laughed. The sound came out high-pitched and hysterical.

“That’s all you have to say?” Willow said, her voice shrill. “You’re about to eat me alive! Is it not enough to have me suffer so much? You want to torture me mentally as well?” Willow felt tears flowing down her cheeks. She was so lightheaded. Everything was too bright.

“I’m sorry for frightening you,” The giantess purred. Her voice rumbled through Willow’s body. Her auburn gaze never wavered. “Do you believe the stories your kin tell you? I’m not going to eat you, precious thing.”

“Lies!” Willow screamed. The giantess’ eyes widened. “I saw you! You-you swallowed me up and…” Willow gulped air, hyperventilating and sobbing. “And you liked it! You monster!”

Avalee stared at the fairy as it shook with a tear-filled coughing fit in her palm. There was no way a fairy could be spying on her. She only consumed them in or around her home, and the whole place was laced with traps. Its words were a bluff. Although, the absolute certainty with which the fairy made these proclamations held with it a passing familiarity...

“I don't believe we've met.” Avalee said. "I'm sure I would remember a sweet little thing like you." Clearly the fairy was hysterical. Or perhaps, she dared think, it would confirm her dormant suspicion –

“Just get it over with.” The fairy spat. “If you’re not going to eat me then let me go!”

“Shh,” Avalee whispered. She lifted the fairy to a sitting position in the palm of her hand. She began to stroke its pale purple hair with the tip of her index finger. The fairy flinched at the touch, but Avalee kept going. "Shhh..."

Willow's mind raced as the giant finger petted her head. Her whole body was tense. She felt like a songbird being preened by a hawk. Surely this was meant to lull her into a false sense of safety. At any moment, the huge thumb to her right and the unseen fingers behind her could snap closed. Willow looked up at the giantess' face and saw she was not looking back at her. The giantess' gaze flitted back and forth. She was clearly thinking about something. The way those eyes almost glowed in the sunset light was transfixing. Willow swallowed hard and sat very still, feeling the finger stroke her hair with surprising gentleness. She should fly. She should escape while she had the chance. And yet –

The giantess met her gaze. Instantly Willow looked down. Sustaining that stare was just too much to handle. She felt like the giantess was peering deep into her, like she could read her every thought and expose her every secret.

"You know," Avalee said softly. "Attuning is only a small part of magic. Humans don't need to Attune to practice it. You've been having difficulties Attuning, haven't you?" Avalee had put significant effort into tracking the patterns of Attunement each year. She hoped her charts and theories were correct enough to make the assertion that this fairy was late.

Avalee felt the soft tugging of a new strand, a new connection formed between her and the fairy. She smiled inwardly; she was right on the mark. The connection was weak and fragile, but it braided itself around an eyelash and fluttered when she blinked, glittering as it wove into the fairy’s hair. The fairy looked up at her. It looked exhausted.

Willow was drained. All the adrenaline had worn her down. The words the giantess spoke, paired with the warmth of her hand gently beckoned her to let her guard down. How did the giantess know? And moreover, Willow had seen this moment – or perhaps, a moment in her near future – clear as day. The déjà vu made her dizzy. The colours, the movement, everything was so familiar. But the giantess’ words made her feel something new. She felt mana flow between the two of them, guided by those enormous, auburn eyes.

"You seem tired," the giantess said. "Let me take you to my home to rest. When you wake, we will speak more on this. For now, I bid you sleep..."

Willow felt herself falling. Her head hit the palm of the giantess' hand as the world darkened.

Avalee pulled on the knot keeping the fairy awake. With a gentle tug it came undone. The little thing collapsed. Its body relaxed into the contours of her palm. Avalee smiled and began to walk back to her cabin, taking care not to wake it.

Avalee cradled the fairy in her hand as she walked briskly home. The sun had set below the tree line, deep shadows taking hold of the forest. As she entered the burned-over clearing containing her cabin, she felt another trap spring. The fairies are restless tonight, she thought. Good.

She turned the brass handle to her home and entered, closing the door behind her. She set the fairy down onto her empty kitchen table before breezing over to her cabinet and retrieving a glass fairy jar. She unscrewed the lid and was about to pick the fairy up when she stopped. If I wish to endear myself to it, I should treat it better. She put the jar away and rifled around in the cabinet for a moment before making a decision. She left the cabinet and went to her bedroom, finding a sewing tin full of thread and scraps of fabric. She removed the errant bobbins and found a piece of silk large enough for her liking, tucking it around the rest of the scraps to act as a makeshift mattress. She found a cut of velvet and returned to the kitchen, tin in tow.

Avalee lifted the purple haired fairy up with her thumb and fingers, delicately placing it in the tin and covering it with the velvet. She set the tin on the table. Moonlight drifted in through the kitchen window, painting Willow in silver. Avalee looked at it a moment and pondered her options.

Once again the thought of simply consuming it passed through her mind. She wondered why she hadn’t already. Surely this was all more trouble than it was worth. Still, something seemed wrong to her about eating the little thing. Unlike the other fairies she had consumed, this one was completely, utterly helpless. No magical ability, no powerful conduit of power, just a creature of the woods. Avalee bit her lip. Just as Hannah had been, her mind spoke, unbidden.

No, consuming her in this moment was out of the question. Instead, she would slowly teach her the ways of magic, just as she said she would. In turn, she would subtly interrogate her on details of the fairy nexuses; location, population, patterns and traditions, and roughly how many there were in the immediate vicinity. She would crosscheck the answers with the results of her own research as validation, and perhaps find something new along the way. And then, when the thing wasn’t so helpless anymore…

Avalee licked her lips. It did look delicious.

A tugging on her consciousness reminded her that her trap had sprung. She turned toward the door but stopped. Just in case, she thought, and wove a tangled barrier around the tin. The barrier was invisible to the eye but resembled a woven basket turned upside-down in the magical plane. It would isolate the space within it from outside magic and vice versa, as well as prevent the fairy from leaving physically. Now any ritual Avalee wished to perform wouldn’t wake the sleeping thing, and any attempts from the fairy to leave magically (if indeed it could) would be severely dampened.

Satisfied with her handiwork, Avalee left the cabin once more and walked into the dark of the woods.

---

Avalee approached her trap and broke into a large, grin. Struggling in her trap was not one fairy, but two. They both seized up as she approached, staring at her with wide, terrified eyes.

“Belladonna…” Saffron whispered, their whole body shaking. “Leave, hurry!” Saffron’s blond hair shone white in the moonlight. Their body was hopelessly tangled in the silky web, arms twisted at odd angles. Belladonna was entirely free from the trap save for her left hand, which was stuck to a particularly large globule of sap. She tried to free Saffron, fighting harder with each passing moment as the giantess approached.

“I’m not just leaving you here,” Belladonna said through gritted teeth. Her gold eyes flashed as she focused on the task at hand, willing herself to not look at her impending doom. She braced her feet against Saffron’s hip and pulled at a strand with all her might, tearing it free of her paramour. She was so intent on removing the web that she physically jumped when she felt a set of huge, warm fingers curl around her.

Belladonna and Saffron screamed in unison as Avalee plucked them up. The giantess smiled down at her prey and began to burn away the thread just as she had before. Pine-smelling smoke filled the air and the two fairies fell into her waiting palm. She closed her fist around them, two little heads poking out from behind her thumb.

“My, my,” Avalee said, feeling the little struggles. “What have we here?”

One of the fairies – the dark-skinned one – spat onto Avalee’s thumb. Avalee’s smile widened. “A feisty one, aren’t you?” She raised her hand slowly to her lips and heard their screams become shriller. She pressed her huge, soft lips down gently on the dark-skinned fairy’s curly, tied back hair and deposited an overwhelming kiss upon the little thing. “You’ll go down nicely.” She said.

Saffron and Belladonna screamed, the giantess’ grip like soft, warm iron around them. Belladonna shrieked in horror as the huge lips descended over her, certain she about to be enveloped and eaten. The giantess instead kissed her, and Belladonna flew into a manic rage. “LET US GO!” she yelled. “Get your filthy hands off us!”

Avalee smiled. “Hush now,” she said. “Let’s go home.”

The giantess lumbered back into the woods, carrying her two prizes like a pair of flowers she had picked from the forest floor. Saffron was inconsolable, sobbing into the giantess’ hand. Belladonna’s mind raced. One of her arms was free and she used it to stroke Saffron’s hair, consoling them quietly as she worked to find some means of escape. Overpowering the giantess physically would prove impossible, but perhaps she could find a way to distract her magically…

Avalee reached her cabin. An embroidery loom was already sitting on the glass table on her porch. She could remove some of the design from earlier that day and redo it. She needed to see Hannah again. It was a good thing she had caught two, she could at least save one for later. Avalee dropped the two fairies into the open jar that once housed Sage and screwed the top. She began unravelling green and grey thread from her loom.

Belladonna and Saffron hit the glass floor of the jar. They both shivered as the heat of the giantess’ hand left them.

“This can’t be real…” Saffron said. They touched the glass wall in front of them tentatively, looking up at the enormous woman sitting in a chair right next to them. She was absolutely huge. Her body cast a long, deep shadow in the moonlight, turning her into a terrifying silhouette. Her motions were too fluid for a creature that big. It was like watching a storm coalesce in the clouds. Something powerful and horrible was about to happen.

Saffron was wrenched out of their thoughts by a flash of light behind them. They turned and saw Belladonna’s hands dancing, pulling and snapping strings, crackling white sparks flashing with each snap. The metal lid above them had air holes punched in it, and Belladonna focused on one of them. The metal sparked as she pulled her hands back as though she were combing her hands through a staticky woolen fabric. Belladonna’s face was a mask of concentration. She felt thread between her fingers as desperation guided her actions. The hole widened slightly.

A sudden shadow, a flit of movement. The giantess’ hand slammed over the lid, knocking the two fairies back. The sparking metal fizzled and became inert once more.

“Powerful little thing…” Avalee said, her hand pressing against the lid. A smile tugged on her face as she looked down on the two fairies cowering below her. She could feel the heat of the metal on her palm. “Intriguing…”

The giantess picked up the jar and unscrewed the lid. Belladonna tried to shoot upward toward the opening, but her wings wouldn’t respond the way she expected. She felt sluggish. In that moment of confusion, the giantess swiped her into one hand and Saffron into the other. Dazed, Belladonna opened her eyes to the magical plane. She gasped at what she saw.

The cabin was surrounded with an extremely dense web of magical line, so thick that moving a hand through it was like strumming a harp. She watched in awe and terror as the giantess’ concentration swept through this mire of thread, knots tightening and pulling in a wave following her thought. Her power over this place is immense, Belladonna realized, her throat tightening in panic. She was even able to mask her true ability from a casual glance. There’s no way we can beat her if she’s paying attention…!”

Belladonna saw and felt ice-cold thread constricting around her wrists, ankles, and wing-tips. The giantess opened her hand, letting Belladonna dangle in mid-air by string invisible to the naked eye. Belladonna struggled and screamed in frustration, her mind letting go of the magical realm and returning to the physical one. Her stomach dropped and anger swiftly gave way to despair.

Avalee held the blond one between two fingers as she bound the dark-skinned one. The blond struggled mightily as she rolled it this way and that between index finger and thumb. A yellow mana stone glowed in its wrist. Avalee lifted it to her mouth. She exhaled slowly, parting her lips and blowing hot, humid air onto it. Her eyes glanced up to the bound one and she smiled, watching its anguish. Powerful as it might be, it couldn’t do anything if her concentration was on it. She briefly considered eating that one first instead, but thought better of it. She had experienced a debilitating, weeks-long sickness from eating too many fairies at once before, and she believed it to stem directly from how potent their combined magical ability was. Though Sage was quite weak in that regard, she didn’t want to risk anything. Two weak fairies in a day shouldn’t be a problem.

Saffron screamed into the void between the giantess’ lips, their hands pushing at the soft flesh, trying to get it away from them. “Please, please, please, no!” they yelled, the heat from the giantess’ breath overwhelming them. They could hear the crackling of saliva from just beyond those lips as the giantess’ tongue moved. The merest edges of white teeth were visible, shaking Saffron to their core. She’s going to bite me in half, Saffron thought, panic filling them to the brim. I’m not food, I’m not food, I’m –!

The lips came forward and Saffron was pushed headfirst into the dark, hot maw. Their screams were silenced to the outside world as Avalee held them there, hips and legs dangling from her mouth.

Belladonna let out a strangled cry when Saffron’s upper half slipped between the giantess’ lips. She struggled harder than ever against her bonds as she watched their legs kick ineffectively at the enormous chin. The giantess returned to her sewing, horrific sounds of sucking and smacking punctuating each stitch.

“Let them go! Oh god! You disgusting witch! Let them go! Saffron! Saffron please!” Belladonna screamed. The chill of her restraints subsided and was replaced by something white-hot as Belladonna pumped as much energy as she could through them. She felt power flow through her, every vein in her body tingling with sensation as fire spread from within to without. Her bonds began to smoke.

Suddenly the giantess’ eyes were on her and the heat was swiftly shunted away through the vast network of thread. Belladonna froze, the giantess’ gaze pinning her in place. Their eyes met and Belladonna was overwhelmed by the feeling of being totally exposed. She was nothing to this witch. She could do naught but watch as a terrible tongue poked between Saffron’s legs, curled up behind their ass, and took them inside, sealing them forever inside the giantess. The great witch stared at Belladonna, brown eyes burning with an intensity Belladonna almost envied. Her lips squished and stretched as she maneuvered Saffron within, a long, deep “mmmmmmmm” rumbling from deep within her throat. The giantess was enjoying Saffron’s taste. Belladonna’s stomach turned and her blood ran cold as she realized the inevitability of Saffron’s fate. “No no no…”

The witch did not break eye contact. She swallowed Saffron down, whole and alive. A lump slid down her throat, any semblance of the blond masked by smooth, pale flesh. The giantess’ lips parted once more as she sighed. Saffron was gone.

A light went out in Belladonna. All the fight disappeared. She barely registered as the witch picked up a pair of scissors and cut a thread in her needlework. She passed out as a wave of powerful energy washed over her, plunging the world into shades of red and black.

Avalee held the little blond dangling from her mouth, tasting its face and chest with an uncaring, probing tongue. She pressed it up against her hard palate, rubbing it back and forth as she felt its ineffective little fists punch her lower teeth and gums. She worked on her embroidery, stopping only as she felt a searing heat on her face. She looked up and her eyes widened. The powerful fairy was glowing bright as a lantern, gold veins in its wings searing into the night like incandescent filament.

As she sucked on her treat, Avalee willed the net around the fairy to tighten, and was surprised when it didn’t immediately respond to her. She tried again with renewed concentration, putting down her needle and thread to touch the magic line with her fingers. This time it did as she willed, and the brilliant energy dissipated as fast as it formed. Avalee stared intently at the little golden-eyed fairy. Something about that terrible heat reminded her of that day. Her mind clouded with hatred and anger as she and the fairy glared at each other.

With a flick of her tongue, Avalee took the blond the rest of the way into her mouth. She tasted its panic and let out a low moan, exaggerating her own enjoyment to torment the fairy trapped in her web. She smacked her lips and wrestled her sweet with her tongue, being a bit more rough than usual. It put up a valiant fight, but was no serious match for her. Without looking away, Avalee maneuvered the fairy to the back of her throat. She felt its movements intensify as it realized where it was going. Saliva built up in Avalee’s mouth, already aiding in the digestion of the struggling creature.

Avalee swallowed the fairy. She felt it travel down, down her esophagus, pause deep behind her chest, and then drop into her waiting stomach. She felt the power from its mana stone course through her, and felt an immense satisfaction when the bound fairy slumped in defeat. She picked up her scissors and let the ritual take hold. As the trees sprung up around her, one of her hands found its way to her belly. She rubbed it slowly, warmly, knowing that behind the blue fabric of her dress, behind her smooth pale skin, was a living fairy trapped within her body forever, destined to be completely absorbed and used to fuel her delightful ritual.