Pisces

"God," she gasped, closing her eyes while placing the tips of her fingers against the glass.

She could do it. It was so clear to her now that she almost laughed. The Victoria in her imagination spoke casually and clearly to Elias. Speaking to him as an equal. Telling him how much she enjoyed working with him and how wonderful he was to her. Polite, understanding and accommodating - all things she looked for in a significant other. Rather than submissively hinting with 'If you'd like to get drinks sometime, I'd be happy to go with you' she would tell him: 'Have drinks with me tonight. I like you and I want to get to know you better.'

Her clothes were a problem, she knew. The skirts were too long and her shirts too conservative.

"I'll stop wearing a bra," she told her reflection and the thought pleased her.

No bra and a few buttons undone. To declare her interest and intent to Elias while also giving customers a show. Going about her business as if nothing was unusual but secretly enjoying their looks. She reached behind her back to her bra strap. The anklet tapped against the fabric. She frowned and pulled her hands around to stare at her right hand. For some reason, she kept forgetting that she still held the thing.

"Well, why not?" she asked herself before bending to touch her right knee to the ground.

Victoria turned the anklet in her hand until the latch faced forward. She slipped it over her leg, above her left ankle. It snapped shut, clicking into place with the slightest touch.

Now she stood and she reached back once more, unhooking her bra. Watching the flow of foot traffic below as she stood in front of the window. Sliding the bra over her shoulders and arms until it hung from the tips of her fingers. Boldly inviting anyone to look as she tipped her hand to drop the bra to the floor.

Her breath quickened. She stood straight, lifting her breasts proudly. Raising her hands to them. Palms against the smooth, warm skin. Sliding around the curves and up to pinch her pink nipples. Moaning quietly. Teasing herself until she was yearning for more.

Fingers into the waistband of her skirt, pulling it away from her hips while pushing down. An imagined lover stripping her in front of the window. For all to see. Her simple white panties were dark between her thighs, soaked from her excitement. She could feel it when she rubbed her legs together, sawing them back and forth until she was able to step out of her skirt.

Now turning. Bending slightly. Thumbs hooked into her panties. Looking over her shoulder. Praying someone would see her as she slowly slowly slowly slid her panties over her ass. The sticky hot mess tugged gently at her labia and she moaned when she felt the cool air against her bare pussy.

Victoria bent forward, guiding the panties down while her ass raised slightly. Once more she lifted one foot and then the other until she stood completely naked before the window. She gripped her ankles, staring at the gold band wrapped around her left foot while spreading her legs. Her pussy lips opened to show a thin clear sheen of cum.

She imagined a crowd watching her. More in the building opposite, staring through their own windows. Enjoying the show she put on. Masturbating to her.

"God yessss," she hissed, sliding her hands up her legs and between her thighs until her fingers surrounded her pussy lips. She opened them wider before sliding her middle finger inside. Her other hand touched the wall next to her for support when she added her ring finger. Muscles tightened against the two fingers as she slowly thrust them back and forth.

"Look at me," she told the imaginary crowd. Her fingers worked faster and she tensed around them, squeezing them to enjoy the feel of them. She was already close. Already aroused by her earlier performance and still so very sensitive. "I'll cum for you. Watch me. I'll cum for you."

Keratin formed beneath her skin around the band of the anklet, building thin layer upon layer until they pushed through her flesh in thin lines that widened into narrow ovals. The bone-colored lumps grew dark as they hardened and the anklet clinked faintly on the obsidian scutes ringing her lower leg.

The fibrous protein spread, radiating outward from the anklet in a slow progression with a new hardened plate growing nearly every minute. Between them, her pale white skin faded, color draining to gray.

Victoria's fingers made wet squelching sounds as she pounded them deep inside. Whining and moaning as her orgasm neared. It was monstrous, built upon the foundations of her exhibitionism and the imaginary crowd watching her. They took pictures, they unzipped themselves to grab their cocks or play with their clits, they recorded videos of her, they moaned out her name while begging for more and she responded, screaming out from the orgasm that exploded within. Her legs grew weak, forcing her down to her knees.

The clasp locking her anklet melted away, fusing with the golden band to leave it in one unbroken piece. It slid against the smooth, hardened scutes covering her lower leg before catching against her skin.

She held herself up with her left hand while her right lay trapped between her trembling thighs. The girl swallowed and moaned and leaned against the wall next to her, short red hair cushioning her head.

No panties, she told herself, picturing herself at work with customers wandering around. Walking between them to help. Bending to retrieve something. Her shortened skirt pulling high to reveal bare legs and the hint of more. Sitting to masturbate quietly. They'd be drawn to her, forgetting what they came for as they crowded her desk. She'd push back, raising her legs in front of them while rubbing herself.

With a low, needy groan, Victoria's fingers pressed between her slick, swollen lips. She sighed, exhaling with a long breath as she began again. A hole opened over the top of her right foot, spreading to allow keratin through in order to create a new scute. Another grew higher, closer to her ankle. She pushed back, ass bouncing against her heels while the joints of her big toes clicked in a rhythm to match. When she shoved down, they separated from her foot to angle inward.

A hard, thumping knock at her door interrupted her. Victoria jerked, startled from her reverie just as Elias, in her imagination, was stripping out of his clothes in front of the customers as work.

She stood, swaying on unstead feet with her large toes pointing further inward. Dense layers grew over her toenails and each was darker than the last until the black tips were forced forward, curling to tick-tack-tick against the floor until she reached the door. Faint white scratch marks marred the wooden flooring where she'd stepped.

More pounding shook the door on its hinges when she stood before it. She hesitated, suddenly frightened by the ferocity of the knocking.

"One moment," she called out.

Victoria stood on her tiptoes. Her claws gouged the floor beneath her. The locked door swung open, forcing her to squawk and stumble backwards.

A squat, wide man dressed in an open Hawaiian shirt and white slacks stepped into the apartment. Victoria stared at him before looking over, and up, to the tall woman following behind him. She was dressed in a classic business suit with an immaculately knotted black tie and black jacket.

"You can't just-!" Victoria started to say but they ignored her.

"Is it her?" the other woman asked.

"Oh yeah, hundred percent," the man replied. He held a stick in his hand with an emerald crystal attached to the end. It glowed with a weak, pulsing light in front of Victoria.

"Who are you people?" Victoria asked, stepping further backwards. The way they both ignored her was almost as terrifying as the fact that they'd just walked into her locked apartment without warning.

"She's not a sorceress, that's clear," the other woman said, watching the crystal for a moment before closing the door behind her. "I don't think I've ever seen such a low affinity."

"Most of it's coming from that bauble she's wearing," he told her.

"Damn," the woman said.

The tall woman took a long step forward before kneeling. Victoria tried to get away from her but the woman grabbed her left leg with a surprisingly strong grip to keep her in place.

"Nah, you don't even need to check," the man told her. "I can see from here that it's too late."

"What's too late? What are you talking about? Tell me who you are!" Victoria demanded, struggling in the woman's hand.

Skin tightened around Victoria's breasts while fat melted away. The pendulous curves flaring out to the sides of her chest vanished as they pulled inward, shrinking until they lay completely within the frame of her body.

"Pisces, gold, and air," the woman said, tracing the symbols on the anklet around Victoria's left leg. "We are too late. What do you suppose? Raven? Gavin? Oh, Gavin, for fuck's sake. Concentrate."

"Hmm?" The man asked while staring down at Victoria with his hand against his crotch. He blinked rapidly, shrugged and scratched at the stubble on his cheeks. "Woof. That's a strong one, Maddie."

"She picked it for a reason," Maddie muttered. "Bonded tightly to her. We'll have to bring her in. No wipe will work here."

"Let me go!" Victoria yelled, pulling hard. Her taut ass jiggled slightly while stretching around muscle and fat growing beneath. She pulled again but the other woman let go and Victoria fell backwards onto her padded ass. Bones creaked within her hips. They flexed open, pushing against her waist until her slim figure widened into gentle curves. Strands of muscle multiplied beneath her thighs, accentuating her new curves.

"How were you able to buy this?" Maddie asked, staring down at Victoria's prone, naked body.

Victoria stared defiantly back up at the woman with her arms down at her sides. Her big toes tapped against the floor in front of her, cracking scutes and curved black claws against the wood. They were nearly horizontal now - still moving and independent of the rest of the toes.

"I asked you a question, girl," Maddie growled. She twisted a ring on her right hand while pressing her thumb into the amber stone inlaid within.

A peculiar sensation bloomed inside of Victoria's skull. Tentacles lanced out, latching onto the various systems inside her brain. There was a feeling of pressure and otherness that made her feel sick.

"I- I- I- don't- don't-" she chattered before groaning.

"Is she resisting it? That's impressive," Gavin said, standing on his toes to look over Maddie's shoulder.

"I d- don't know what you muh- mean," Victoria said. The words were forced from her as if she were a puppet made to speak. "I just buh- bought it. From the store. By the smoothie store. Wuh- What- what are you doing to me?"

"Go easy on her before her brains leak out," Gavin said while placing a careful hand against Maddie's upper arm.

Maddie shook him off but relented and Victoria collapsed, falling to her back. He gasped for air while staring at the ceiling and waiting for the vertigo to pass.

"I don't understand," Maddie said. Her foot tapped against the floor. "Elias is smarter than this. He'd have the proper protections in place. We'll need to petition the council to interrogate him after we tear his shop apart."

"I think you mean," Gavin said while scratching his cheek once more. "I think you mean we'll beg the council for the privilege to inspect Elias' shop while he supervises us and then hope that he allows us to politely ask him a few questions, Mads."

"Elias... didn't... anything," Victoria groaned. "Leave... alone..."

The pair turned to look down at her. Gavin clucked and shook his head when he watched Victoria's innermost toes pop and angle downward. As they'd rotated, they slid along her feet until they jutted from the base of her heels. The nearly white skin on her soles lost their coloring when her scutes consumed the top of her feet.

She jerked when her feet jumped and her toes popped. Tendons and muscle pulled the small bones apart, stretching them until her toes curled into fists with her dark claws bent to press into her gray forefeet. Her legs trembled. The clenched toes slid apart while her feet widened. She gasped, opening her toes while slamming her heels into the ground.

Victoria yelped when her big toes, resting against the back of her feet, hit the ground. They curled and the other toes followed suit until all five were rolled inward.

"I think raven," Maddie said while watching the spectacle.

"Nah. Something showy," Gavin said. "Peacock, maybe?"

"Bet?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah, I'll take that," came the reply.

Bone deep pain brought lancing agony that shot up into Victoria's legs. She shoved her legs out, opening her toes while stretching as much as possible. Flesh grew between her little toes and the neighboring toes, sealing them together into one large mass while her arches elongated, forcing her toes further away. The tendons pushed against her flesh until the gray skin swelled to accommodate them. The pain faded slowly, allowing her to rest her feet against the floor.

"Let's get her up," Gavin said. "We'll need to get her into holding before the auction tonight. Chris and Tanya found five others, all together in one place. Bunch of dumb college girls found a book in one of Lester's old hideouts. Remember that asshole? Figured they'd get day drunk and play at magic a bit."

Gavin reached down to slide his hands under Victoria. She tried to resist but the room spun. He lifted and held his arm around her, carefully placed well beneath her breath.

"Sorry, girl," Gavin said quietly while walking her towards the door. "One of the girls - a rhinoceros. Can you believe it? And not happy about it. Took two whole other teams to knock her out. That one's got some heavy lifting in her future."

"Where. Are you taking. Me?" Victoria asked.

"Auction house," Maddie told her after opening the apartment door. "For better or worse, you've got a new life ahead of you. Someone will come for your things eventually."

The world righted itself when they reached the stairs down.

"Help!" Victoria screamed while pounding on Gavin's back and chest. He held her tight despite the onslaught. "Somebody help me! I'm being kidnapped."

"Damn birds always get their bearings back too fast," the man grunted. "Their metabolism and that whatever- inner ear thing for flight or something. That's what I think."

"You want me to bind her?" Maddie asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Nah, she's good," he said. "Don't want to rough her up more than necessary, poor thing. And, you know, doesn't really hurt. Light as a feather and all that. Just like a peacock should be. It's good magic."

"Raven," Maddie told him.

"Help, please! Why- why won't anyone help me!" Victoria screamed again when they reached the street.

People walked along the sidewalk, talking with their companions or loved ones, browsing their phones, or just enjoying the scenery as they traveled around town. All of them made a wide path around the trio.

"Lady- you- you with the dog, please! Why- why won't they-"

"You're going mad, that's why, and all of this is just a psychotic break," Maddie told her.

"Aww, that's just mean, come on, Mads," Gavin said. "Look, girl. It's magic. I don't know what else you expected, honestly. We're walking you out in public, naked as the day you were born, during the daytime without gagging you and you think, what, you think nobody will say a word? The world's not that dire yet, sweetheart. Somebody would come to your rescue if they could see you, you can bet on that. You're gonna need to start using your head a lot more from now on. You're in a whole new world with all kinds of strange rules."

"Please," Victoria begged. "I didn't do anything wrong. Please just- just don't hurt me. I don't have a lot of money but-"

"Here we are, then," Gavin told her as they stood before a plain white van.

Maddie pulled the handle on the side door, sliding it open to reveal a padded interior. Gavin gently lay Victoria down inside. She sat up but he held up a single finger.

"Stay," he told her. And she did. Frozen in place by the command until Maddie slammed the door closed.

"You always do that too hard," Gavin huffed, his voice muffled by the sound proofing inside the van.

"Get off my ass," Maddie told him.

Gavin replied but their voices faded. Victoria strained to hear them speaking but she heard nothing until the driver and passenger doors shut with a quiet 'thump.' She squawked when the van began to move, throwing her off balance temporarily.

Victoria scratched her arms while looking around the inside of the van. Her knees were bent before her with her legs to the side and her feet out of sight. There was nothing in the van. Both the back and the dividing window were blacked out and every surface was covered in a plush white cushion.

Her nails raked down her upper arms and then down to her forearms. They were crossed under her smaller breasts and she found herself rubbing her arms against her body while scratching as deep as she could.

Tiny cavities opened in her arms. Flesh was forced aside to make space for the tubular sockets while cells divided and multiplied at a frantic pace. Victoria groaned while scratching the insane itching sensations they caused and, in return, she found pleasure in it. Her nails dragged down her skin hard enough to leave hard marks.

A hardened shaft bumped against her left finger. Victoria held out her right arm to watch, with wide eyes, as the follicles opened. Thin, spiny white shafts forced the holes to widen as they slipped through her skin to emerge.

She screamed while waving her arms and the papillae moved in rippling waves against her body. They felt like strange painless daggers jabbing into her, solidifying in place within their follicles. She winced as she watched them grow, expecting agony where none existed.

The strange shafts were short over the top of her arms but they elongated to absurd lengths along her biceps and inside of her arm. Victoria kicked back, as if she could escape from them and only then did she notice her massive, clawed feet. She shrieked, flapping her arms in fear until the bones creaked.

Her skin was stretching over her arms. She turned, knocking her hands against the divider between the cargo area and the front of the van. Her proprioception was wildly out of place, screaming at her that her hands weren't where they should be. She raised her arms carefully to stare at her fingers. Her brain tried to reconcile how far away they were from her body but it shelved the issue when she realized how stiff her fingers were.

"Come on, come on," Victoria groaned as she tried to spread her fingers apart. They twitched feebly but barely moved. "I can- I can do this."

The tips of her fingers curled but the effort exhausted her and they opened flat to create her alula. Holes opened in the formless mass of flesh consuming her fingers. More papillae, thin and short, pierced the skin until her arms were completely covered in milky white quill-like structures. They weighed against her and the stress of the situation wore her out until she lay her arms against her legs. The shafts settled against the padded flooring around her.

Her thumbs flexed. They were separate from her now-shapeless hands and she could still move them. But the joints were radiated with a throbbing ache that made her grind her teeth. She hissed, breathing through her nose when the thumbs popped. The first joint swelled when the base of her nails pushed into the flesh beneath, keratin growing around the bone to lock it in place. Once anchored, her thumbnails grew thick, white fading to gray and darkening further to black until they were an inch thick and curving away into cruel, sharp tips.