‘It hurts… it hurts! I can’t, breathe!’

Her neck, it was on fire! She was burning alive! But, even with her mouth hanging agape, nothing could come out, as her air was taken from her lungs by force. Hanging in the air, as a painful hand held her suspended, the little brunette gargled and shook as she was hung by the creature before her.

Its black and furry fingers, sweltering her flesh causing burns to travel across her skin. The heat of its body, like painful rays of the sun showering her in its fiery fury. Its piercing hate-filled eyes. The bloody red eyes, of a Monster…

"AAARGH-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!"

It’s cry, it wanted her. It wanted her, dead. It didn’t care, that she was just, a child. It wanted her dead. Clutching at the hairy black arm that held her suspended, the brunette soon felt pain spread across her fingertips to her arms forcing her to let go.

She couldn’t even touch it. Its very presence radiated hellfire… It was nothing short of a Demon. No one could stop it… nothing could… and, it looked like it got what it wanted… Closing her eyes as her vision grew blurred, the child began to fade out of existence, as her life was forcibly stripped from her, by the all-encompassing creature before her…

The last thing she saw, was its hellish face… sickly yellow canines… bloodshot furious eyes… matted black fur lit aflame… it was… it… was…

“STAY BACK! LET HER GO!”

Falling to the ground as she was dropped into the dirt beside her mother, Abby’s eyes wavered briefly, as something… no, someone else, stood behind the hellish Monster.

Watching as it waved its arms at it, both began to move away from her, leaving the little girl in pain, as she began to fall into unconsciousness…

“D-Da… Daddy…”

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Jolting awake in an instant, Abby panted loudly as sweat rippled down her face. It happened again… 

Moving a quivering hand up to her forehead, the diminutive human rubbed her temple as she tried to calm herself. Her body was sweltering. Wiping away her sweat, the teenager looked around somewhat confused before she calmed upon looking up at the colossal face that rested beside her.

‘Good, I didn’t wake her this time.’ Smiling weakly, Abby’s hand extended before she lightly brushed Casey’s cheek, the Dullahan was still sound asleep after their prior night’s activities. Taking a deep breath and relaxing, the smaller girl leaned up weakly before closing her eyes.

‘Maybe I should tell Eve about these dreams…’ This was becoming a recurring thing for her. But she didn’t know why. She had never had night terrors like these. Though, perhaps it was nothing to be concerned with. Scowling as she knew that was probably not true, the teenager fell back into the overtly large pillow she had been sleeping on before closing her eyes once more.

‘Dad…’ She remembered him. With her eyes closed, she could remember his face… alongside her mothers. She had almost all but forgotten what they looked like, after so long. Moving her hand back onto the sleeping Hominal’s face, Abby stared back at Casey now before quietly shaking her head. 

‘I wonder if you’re both rolling in your graves knowing how I’m living now.’ She already knew what the people of Darrowford would say. Harlot. Luder. Monster… It made her giggle just to think about it. Smiling in amusement at the thought, the smaller girl took in a deep breath as she bathed in the redhead’s scent.

She couldn’t smell any sea breeze on her like Eve had claimed, but she had a scent unique to herself that she could associate with the younger girl. Giving the slumbering girl a small kiss, Abby calmed considerably as she saw an almost angelic smile fill the sleeping Titaness's face. ‘I wonder if she felt that.’

Sighing soundly as she felt her troubling thoughts beginning to leave her, the brunette shifted back under the Dullahan’s blanket before snuggling back up against her for warmth. She couldn’t tell what time it was but she knew that she was still tired. Perhaps a few more hours would wash away her troubling nightmares.

Perhaps…

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“This feels, kind of weird…” 

‘Waddya mean? The boyd bats always in yer head. Whys it gotta be weird when I do it?’

Chuckling dryly as she shared a mental conversation with her future mate and current guardian, Abby sat atop the giantess’s shoulder as the younger redhead made her way towards the commons. After they had woken up, they had gone about the morning as they usually did with the younger girl giving her stuff to eat before helping her with her… other, morning activities. 

Though, something had surprised them both. Unlike how they usually interacted, it seemed they were now connected in the same manner Eve had been with the brunette. When the shrunken human wanted something, Casey knew it. Or when she felt something, the Dullahan felt it too. 

She had grown accustomed to it with Eve since it had been prevalent since their first meeting… but, not with Casey. 

This would take some getting used to. ‘Heh, for the both of us I’d say. It’s like ya never shut up in my head! N-Not that I mind! I kinda like hearin ya this much. Ya sound… nice.’ 

Knowing the Hominal was probably blushing red, Abby smirked before leaning forward and giving the younger girl a small peck earning a flustered eep from her titanic… girlfriend? She still didn’t know what to call Casey just yet. Or for that matter Eve either. 

Normal things such as girlfriend or wife wouldn’t work, but neither would mate since they didn’t do whatever bonding they needed to yet for that to become a thing. ‘I wonder when Eve wants us to do that…’ ‘Same. I thought for sure last night would have been it! I’m still kinda pissed!’ 

Patting the younger Hominal's cheek, Abby quietly chuckled before shaking her head. “There’s no need to rush into this. Mating is supposed to be a one-time thing. Why try to force it just to have it? For us Humans when you marry someone, it's something sacred and celebrated accordingly. Don’t you think mating with the two of you should be too?” 

Pouting as the smaller girls’ words made perfect sense to her, Casey simply huffed before reaching up to pet the smaller teen. “I hate when ya make sense… Yer no fun…” She really wanted to mate already! Leaning into the giantess’ finger, Abby smiled in amusement as she looked up at the fluorescent fungi hanging from the ceiling. 

“Do you think we should check on Kari before we go to see everyone else? She was acting… strange last night.” Humming as she thought back to the night’s prior events, Casey simply shrugged. After they had met up with the young witch and calmed her down enough with Eve’s help, the toddler went from hysterics to… inaudibility as she started talking about something, she had read in one of her spellbooks. She almost sounded like she was speaking in another language with how quickly she was talking to them. Though, she seemed more focused on her work than on actually explaining just what the hell it was that got her in a tizzy. 

“Come to think of it, she did seem focused somethin fierce on whatever the hell she was doin. I guess it’s up to you, Abby. We gotta make a lot of stops for everyone, either way, today to feed the lot. If ya want to make a detour for the boyd, we can.” It was going to be a long day. 

Something else discussed the night before was also feeding everyone. For the Dullahan and Vampire, they were both rather sated, but most of the energy Abby had given out had been meager in comparison. From what Eve had told them all, each of the others would need another dose soon. If the brunette had been at her usual size, then just one session should have been enough for a week or so, but that wasn’t so much the case when she was in her doll-like state. 

“I guess we can. I need to find Nya anyways. She’s probably somewhere near Kari. But… shouldn’t I feed her too?” The little Witch had never taken any energy from her. Wouldn’t she become feral if she remained unsated for too long? 

Feeling a light tap on her head, Casey simply huffed as she turned the corner leading down to the younger girl's chambers instead of the Commons. “The wee boyd can’t handle essence Abby. Ya know that. She’ll be on fumes again in no time, but leave it to Najia to fix her. She can make something up the eejit can drink. It's how she always did it in the past. I think it was because of somethin her mum showed her like that. Conventional, ain’t in that brainless girls’ book of words when it comes to feedin.” Casey snarked before propping her hands behind her head. 

Sighing, the smaller teen quietly nodded before crossing her arms. Just because Kari didn’t like it doesn’t mean she could just ignore her hunger. “That’s what I’ve been tryin ta tell er!” Casey screamed before let out an airy sigh. 

“Either way, ya said Najia should be up and about soon, so leave the boyd to her.” Nodding in return, Abby soon smiled before reaching up and touching the redhead’s cheek again. “Even so… let's go check up on her. I think she might need to rest if she’s been up all night doing whatever it was, she wanted to do yesterday.”

The last time the younger girl had done that she passed out from Energy exhaustion. It would be bad if that happened again without a way of properly giving it back to her. Nodding her head weakly, the Dullahan simply paced on as she made her way to see her younger friend.

Hopefully, she wasn’t already on the verge of collapsing… again.

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“B-Bloody hell… what the fuck is wrong with ya, Kari…? Ya missin some screws again or somethin?!” 

Gawking, both Casey and Abby looked around in concern as they saw the botched way the toddler’s room now looked. Her large medicinal table was shoved far out of the way along with all chairs and just about anything else that was moveable leaving the largest space possible for what she wanted…

And what that was… was what troubled them. All across the ground, was paint of some kind as the little Witch sat dead center in a large circle of it that she had made. Both her hands had a red gooey substance sticking to them, and it even coated most of her face and clothes! WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE EVEN DOING?!

Walking forward as she stood outside the large ruined circle, both Human and Hominal looked around as they tried to make out the strange markings all placed down near-symmetrical distances from one another. ‘It looks… like a spell of some sort…’ 

She had seen something like this before, though not nearly as complicated as this one was when the sandy blonde had restored her destroyed room back together with her magic. So, that just left the question, what did this one do?

“Hey ya eejit! Are ya deaf or somethin?! What the hell are ya doin!” Casey yelled out at the younger girl, though her glowing magenta eyes never left the circle as she continued to scribe new ruins onto the stony floor, inaudible whispers escaping her lips every so often as she laced whatever it was, she was placing down with her mana. She was focused again. It was just like they thought.

Sighing in annoyance, Casey rubbed the bridge of her nose before attempting to walk over to the blonde, before Kari’s head shot up instantly freezing the Dullahan in her tracks. “NO STOP! DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!” 

Wobbling on one foot badly, Casey winced as she looked where she was about to step. There was a ruin right beneath her hovering shoe. Giving the toddler a sadistic look now, Casey moved her foot closer before wiggling it. 

“Well, if ya care so much about it, then why don’t ya fuckin tell us what the hell it is so I wouldn’t have ta step on it in the first place!” It was the girl’s own fault! They had tried to ask her, but nooooooo. Why answer like a normal person when she could just ignore them like they weren’t even there! 

Standing up angrily, the little Witch hopped across her scribbles before standing in front of the older girl angrily. “I had to finish it! Don’t yell at me!” “I’LL YELL AT YA AS MUCH AS I PLEASE! NOW, ARE YA GONNA TELL ME WHAT THE HELL YER DOIN OR WHAT!” “I’M TRYING TO BUT YOU WON’T SHUT UP!” 

Watching as both Hominal soon butted heads together, Abby sighed before looking back at the vast circle of runes and scribbles Kari had created. This had to have taken her hours. “You haven’t gone to bed since last night, have you?” 

Shifting her angry expression away from Casey and over to Abby now, the little Witch blinked briefly before tapping her lower lip. “It’s morning already…?” “YES, YA EEJIT! NOW GO TO BED!” Raising her hand to silence Casey as she heard her usual brand of *concern* in her angry cries, the teenager took a much calmer approach to what was going on.

“Kari, can you tell me what this is? You tried to explain something to us last night but you were in near hysterics… I couldn’t figure out what it was you wanted to show us. But I’m guessing this is it… right?” Nodding her head up and down frantically, the child simply smiled now before reaching up towards the shrunken girl.

“It is! I-I was reading Najia’s spellbook last night when I was waiting for you… I-I wanted to go with Casey, but she said I had to wait here instead with Nya!” “And for good reason ya half-pint! The hell did ya plan to do, fly in ta Ebon’s den weepin all over the place?!” 

Wincing as her cheek was pulled by her diminutive passenger, the Dullahan cringed as she felt the anger radiating from her Abby. “Casey… Let, her, talk. Continue Kari.” Sticking her tongue out at the redhead, the little Witch huffed before pulling the shrunken human into her hands and cradling her. 

“A-Anyways… I was reading to try and calm down… and… I think I might have found something… for you.” Blinking a few times as she registered what the younger girl had just said, the brunette’s eyes slowly began to widen. 

“You mean, for, this…?” She whispered before waving to herself. Nodding up and down quickly, Kari whimpered briefly before looking back at the circle. “I… I don’t know if it will work or not… but, it should! I think…” 

Feeling her heart beat faster in her chest, the shrunken girl licked her lips as she felt, a foreign feeling pass through her. She could change back… Kari did it… Furrowing her brow as she looked between her friend and lover, Casey scowled now as the human’s thoughts began to litter her mind… and they weren’t ones she knew about.

“Hang on a second… Kari… Don’t tell me, you couldn’t change Abby back before now…?” Looking up at her friend in surprise, the little witch gulped before averting her eyes. Taking her friend's silence as an affirmation of guilt, the Dullahan’s eyes suddenly took on a red hue before she grit her teeth. She had lied!

“I… I can’t believe what I’m hearin! WHAT THE HELL IS- “Casey… not another word.” Falling silent as she heard the hostile tone from her Storeen, Casey stared back down at the shrunken girl as she saw her firmly glaring back at her. ‘B-But… she lied… to ya…’ 

Shaking her head steadily, the teenager kept her eyes firmly planted on the younger girls as her face told it all. “Kari came clean about what she did. And I accepted her apology already. There’s no point getting angry with her after I’ve already forgiven her. Plus, I’m going to give her a spanking when I’m returned to normal.” “YOU WERE SERIOUS ABOUT THAT?!” 

Staring back at the pair as Kari cried frantically back at Abby while the smaller girl made some swatting gestures in return, Casey simply leveled her gaze before sighing. ‘You’re both such a pain… jeez…’ She would have been angry, but they didn’t need to keep her in the dark about such an important matter like this! 

Giggling as she saw the pleading eyes of Kari frantically staring back at her, the teenager quietly shook her head before looking back up at her guardian apologetically. “I’m sorry Casey. I should have told you… I just didn’t want you two to fight over something as trivial as this.” 

Giving the shrunken teen a deadpanned look now, Casey leaned down herself before scoffing. “Trivial?! Ya can’t even pop a squat without help! I’d call that a lil more than trivial! Sheesh, yer both hopeless.” Groaning, Abby let out an airy sigh before looking back at Kari hopefully now, the little witch now somewhat calmer as the conversation took a turn from her behind being punished to her friend’s acceptance of the matter at hand. 

“So… about your spell…?” Blinking a Kari soon gasped before quickly nodding. Running into the circle (her feet careful not to smudge any of the markings she had scribbled out), the little witch moved her much smaller companion towards the cavern floor with a gentleness usually only she seemed to poses. 

Looking out now that she was on ground level, the brunette could only see runed marks all around her. It hadn’t been as apparent from up above, but they were layered. Some were higher than others. But, predictably, none made sense to her. ‘She can do all this, but she still questions herself all the time’? It was comical really… 

Stepping outside the line of the circle before staring down at her friend, Kari smiled hopefully before pressing her gloved hands down onto the bedrock. ‘P-Please… please work! Please just give it back to her! Even, if it’s just temporary…’ She deserved to have her size returned… She had done so much for them all… Even if this didn't fix her, it would still be enough. 

Breathing in deeply, as she tried to cause her breath to match the vibrations, she felt flowing through her, Kari soon nodded before her eyes glowed a vibrant magenta hue, the various runes all beginning to glow the same eerie light soon after. Cracking them open once she was sure, the young witch exhaled, before her eyes snapped open fully. 

“IMMADESCO… ANATHEMA!” 

Hearing her voice echo out around her, the younger girl's voice seemingly bouncing between the dozens of markings she had created all around her, Abby soon felt, an all too familiar feeling overtake her. Falling to her knees as her vision grew dark, the smaller girl winced as the hairs on her body raised. She could feel it… Feel, something. It felt, unnatural. But… it didn’t scare her. It was Kari’s magic after all… 

Raising her hands at once as her cry died off in the large chamber, Kari gasped before panting tiredly, her eyes losing their glowing sheen before returning to normal. She used it. She used it all! Every drop of energy she had remaining, was for Abby! 

Looking up as the blinding glow all around the human, began to slowly ebb away, all that remained was the usual glow that surrounded the cavern in its normal light. Did, it work…? She could see movement… coming, towards her…? 

Stiffening as something wrapped around her tightly, Kari all but froze up like a timid doe, before tears swelled up in her eyes. Shivering as she finally stepped forward once whatever weird magic her friend had used was fading away, Casey’s eyes widened before she shook her head. She did it. She was able to reverse it… 

Her body felt heavy. It was like gravity had hampered her in a way she didn't realize before she had been shrunken. And now, it was all returning. There was no pain, but it was a feeling that she never knew existed. And she was just as happy to have it since it meant she was restored to what she had once been... 

Clinging onto Kari as the young witch slowly began to sob, Abby’s breath came out labored, as her whole body quivered with a foreign feeling, she didn’t realize she had forgotten. She was normal. She had been grown back. More or less, it seemed. 

Looking at her forearms wrapped around the dirty blonde, the older girl could see, faint traces of a glow beneath her skin. Something had happened to her that was otherworldly… but as far as she was concerned right now… it didn’t matter. 

Leaning away from the crying girl, the teenager slowly began to smile as she once more saw Kari now back in her own body. Well, normal-sized one at least. It made her heartache, to know she had looked on at this face, and thought what she had before. 

‘K-Kari…’ Moving her fingers up before wiping down her cheeks from her tears, Abby softly began to laugh as more began to form on the younger girl. “D-Don’t… don’t cry. Not after this. Thank you, Kari…” Moving her hand back around the child before cradling her closer, the older girl couldn’t help but feel some tears of her own come out even after her words to the young blonde. 

Whimpering as she held onto the human in front of her, Kari sputtered and cried as she tried to talk… but, she just felt so happy! It worked! Abby was normal! Her spell had worked! She didn’t know if it would… She was worried it would have made things worse even! But it worked! SHE WAS NORMAL AGAIN!!! 

And… and she was hugging her… She didn’t hate her… for all the pain she had caused her because of this… 

“I-I’m… s-sorry… I’m sorry, it took… s-so long…” Kari whimpered. Feeling a grin spread over her face, Abby simply shook her head. “Don’t… don’t worry about it, Kari. You gave me the chance to meet all of you. That was worth it. It was worth, every minute of it.” Smiling even brighter as she heard more cries come from the young Hominal, the older girl looked up before staring back at her new friend’s face. 

“W-Wow… Y-You… You look, p-pretty… Heh… I guess, I knew ya would… but still…” Blinking slowly, Abby’s head came up, before looking behind her at Casey. The redheaded girl was wide-eyed with a bright blush dusting her features. Feeling her legs move on their own, as they had done when she had first hugged Kari, the brunette quickly ran over to the Dullahan before embracing her too… With, a bit of surprise of her own. 

Hugging the startled girl's head affectionately, Abby almost forgot, that it wasn’t attached… Looking down, before grinning apologetically, the older girl smiled as she cradled the gobsmacked Hominal’s head between her arms. “S-Sorry! I didn’t think, I was going to pull it off! H-Here!” 

Moving her prior guardian's head back towards her body, Abby eeped in shock as she watched her detached form suddenly fall to her knees. “C-CASEY?! W-WHATS WRONG?! CASEY!” Staring back at the younger girl’s face, the brunette's own… soon softened before a bright blush dusted her own. 

Panting loudly, the younger girl’s jaw trembled as weak whimpers escaped her lips. ‘What… is going on with her…?’ She had never seen a look like this on her face before! Was she going to cry?! Did she hurt her when she pulled her head off?! 

“A-Abby! G-Give her head back! Holding a Dullahan’s head is something only their mates do!” Kari called out as a panicked look came over her face. Furrowing her brow now, the teenager slowly began to blush before it dawned on her what she had just done. 

Looking back down at Casey’s face, with a bit more understanding now, it became glaringly obvious to the human, that she wasn’t in pain. Quite the opposite. Quivering on the ground as her hands ran over her own body in a caressing fashion, the headless girl never stopped panting as a euphoric expression traveled over her face. 

“I-I… I wanted… ta give ya it… w-when you grew, back… I-I never thought ya would just take it!” Casey whimpered. The happiness she felt right now, was beyond words she could even think of saying! Part of the reason, she always hated the twin’s Eve always had loitering around her was due to that simple fact. Giving your most precious possession to your mate for a Dullahan, was the ultimate sign of trust for their kind… 

Feeling a bit dirty now when she had meant to just hug her future mate, Abby’s face reddened further as she tried to give the younger girl her head back. “N-No… no, need… Ya… Ya can just, keep huggin it, r-right?! P-Please!!!” Casey sputtered out, her eyes wide with neediness the brunette had never seen her show before. 

Biting her bottom lip in contemplation, Abby inevitably nodded before pulling the happy girl into her. Hugging Casey’s face into her chest once more, the older girl smiled softly as she heard a muffled cry of joy from said Hominal. ‘I guess this is a thing…’ She would have to get used to doing things that might seem off to normal humans like herself. 

‘And what part of you would be considered normal, my amore? As far as I’m concerned… You are the pinnacle of what your race should be~. Fufufu~.’ Almost dropping the redheads… well, head… Abby soon turned around, already knowing where the voice was emanating. Even if it was in her mind, the one it belonged to usually made an entrance like this. 

Smiling lovingly as the same feeling she felt for Casey came back to her upon seeing who she had already expected to see, Abby shivered in delight, as she watched Eve strolling into Kari’s cave, a bright smile plastered to her features as her grin was wide enough to peak her fangs out. 

“Now, this… This was unexpected. I saw you regaining your former body. Najia was the one to do it. Very view futures had Kari be the one to do it. This is both wonderful, and somewhat concerning of a revelation. But, for now, it’s cause for celebration. I finally get to see my mate properly now~. O-Our, mate… I should say…” Eve corrected herself as she looked over to Casey. But it didn’t seem like she had a rebuttal for once. She was acting… a bit weirder than normal as her hands caressed and groped herself. 

Furrowing her brow, an understanding came over her as she latched onto the feelings the redhead was feeling. ‘Hmm, quite… graphic…’ Though, the blonde could say she felt similarly. Abby, for all intense and purposes, was in her prime now. And she was truly, breathtaking. 

Walking forward as her smile widened, Eve gazed up at the brunette for once as her grin grew tenfold. She could feel it. Feel her love. It was a feeling, the vampiress never knew she had needed to feel. Not until now at least. And almost certainly… not, from a human. But fate always had something in store, as Najia used to preach. And it most certainly did. 

Reaching a hand out for her, Eve smirked as she felt the younger human wanting to hug her. But her hands were a little full. This would have to suffice for now. Cupping the one free hand of her lover, the younger-looking blonde leaned down, before gently giving the blushing human a kiss on her backhand. 

“We’ll have time… Oh don’t you worry, we will indeed~. But I am ever patient.” Eve smiled mirthfully. Casey could have her moment. She had all eternity to be with their lover after all. Time was of little consequence, least of all to her. 

Feeling the affection from one simple act, Abby almost felt like crying now, before finally doing so as she felt something collide with her back. Shaking her head, the teenager chuckled before cradling the Dullahan’s head tightly in her arm, before moving her other one around to hold onto Kari too. 

She had wanted to hug them all for so long… And this wasn’t even nearly enough for her. She loved them all so much. 

Continuing to bask in the love of everyone around her, the now restored human continued to cradle her precious friend and lovers closely, as she let it all sink in. 

Everything had worked out. Everything was wonderful. And most of all, everyone loved her so much. And she loved them all too. 

But… There was plenty of girls, she still had to meet all over again. Now that she was restored, she wanted to see everybody for what would feel like the first time. She had made so many friends… 

And she looked forward, to making even more as time went on. 

To be continued.