We all have mad moments where we do something impulsively. If we're lucky other people don't notice them but it can be rather embarrassing when they DO notice can't it? Events unfold including but not limited to: Eris requesting a spelling lesson. John groaning (for various reasons) and Hannah needs a bra ASAP!

 

“Well that was awkward, as if we’d.. be like that..”
I couldn’t quite meet his eye and my blush decided to flare up again.

This is just stupid, why did she have to say something like that?!

MARRIED!
ME and JOHN?!

AS IF!

My hands shuffled in the messy sleeves of my conjured robe.
The edges are starting to fray, I need to sort that out at some point.

Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and shot a quick glance up at Johns face.
He’s blushing too but he’s trying to cover it, better than I am at least!

He offered me a tight little smile for the second before I ducked my eyes down again.

Not to get into too many details but I’m sweaty from the ‘wrestling’, my only clothing is starting to unravel and my stupid body can’t seem decide whether I’m hot or cold judging by my burning cheeks and annoyingly hard ‘pop up thermometers’ that seem to have decided that I’m standing in the middle of a snow storm since approximately the moment I ended up pinning John to the floor and falling on top of him so suddenl-

The reason behind my body's annoying reaction finally clicked in my head and with a surge I folded my arms tightly over my chest to hide them from view.

I need a bra.. desperately need a bra!
RIGHT NOW!

“I’m going to go get changed, my robes starting to unravel, can you make sure Eris is okay for me John?”
Judging by the relieved sigh he let off he was more than happy for the excuse to leave the room in a rush.

I’m not the only one feeling majorly awkward because of his Mum’s little ‘marriage’ comment, although I am the only one who’s body is giving away just how turned o-
um.. bra!.. yes, definitely need a bra..

..I think I’m the only one who’s showing at least?..
Against my better judgement my eyes trailed down John’s body as he passed me on his way towards the door.
I can’t really tell, his jeans aren’t exactly good for showing if he’s.. ya know..

wait..
WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!!

I spun on the spot to face as far away from John as humanly possible.
I was just staring at my best friends-!

Stupid past-incarnations!
It’s GOT to be their fault!
It’s ALWAYS their fault when this stuff happens?!

I don’t even find him attractive!
It’s just what his Mum said about us getting together playing tricks on me that’s all!

..deep breaths..
Calm, Zen, Breath in.. and out..

Okay.. I’m good..
I’m good, calm Hannah.. not naughty staring at John’s-
DAMN IT!

“I need to get changed.. changed into something frumpy and comfortable after a nice long cold shower..”
..good idea me! let’s go with that and see how we get on shall we?..

======

“Yee-ai!”
Okay, note to self, cold water on hard nips is NOT a good idea either!

I shivered and turned away from the water to protect myself as much as possible.
..stupid girl body..

“Forget it! That’ll do, frumpy clothes time!”

Rather than waste another second drying off I flared my magic instead.
In seconds I felt better, although it did do the same thing it always does and made my hair fluff up into an annoyingly ‘pretty’ style which also brought my attention back to the fact that it’s still bloody BLUE!

Ah, screw it!
If nothing else the blue hair makes me look less like ‘Arista’ I guess?

It also makes me look less like a ‘sane person’ but I’m kind of happy to have something which takes me away from HER for once.
Since my second awakening it seems like life in general has just been pushing me further and further towards being the new version of HER!

“Stop overthinking things Hannah. The worlds not out to get you, your just being too sensitive..”
I carefully wrapped my now dry towel around myself and made my way across the hall to Mrs Jones’s guest bedroom, the one I’ve taken over for the next day or two.

Normally I don’t bother with towels to cover up but that’s mostly because I have an en-suite bathroom at Mum’s place and at Sarah’s flat we never had much of a ‘decency’ issue to worry about.

“Right.. okay, boring?.. dull, frumpy, un-sexy stuff.. definitely a good idea..”
It took me a few seconds digging into my bag and ‘summoning’ things with that vague goal before I had a workable outfit.

It turns out I don’t seem to actually HAVE many ‘frumpy’ things to wear?
Between Mum buying my stuff, Sarah adding in things she found funny and my not having a chance to go shopping alone yet for stuff that fits my new body, I’ve not got much that isn’t in the ‘dress, skirt, flattering top’ category.

The outfit I managed to cobble together isn’t great but it will do until I can get something better.
..maybe I can steal something from John?..

Now THERE’S an idea!
He’s not THAT much taller than me.. well.. kinda..
Okay so he IS a bit taller than me, and wider.. and more muscly..

DAMN IT FOCUS!

Yes, he’s bigger then me, but he’s probably got some old stuff around I can be swamped with, in a completely unflattering way.
The kind of ‘completely unflattering’ way that I need pretty badly at the moment!

I just need a break from being.. me, I guess?..
Since my second awakening I’ve kinda sunk into the relatively girly side of me which come’s part and parcel with being ‘Hannah’ in general.

I need some Al time.
All this Hannah time is messing with my head, making me blush over stupid things and stare at John’s cro- AH!

Uh.. making me.. um.. yeah, I need some Al time?

I slipped on a comfortable stretchy pale yellow pair of undies and pulled a new sports bra over my head before moving on to the clothes.
I only need to wear them long enough to reach John’s closet really.
Despite my slight optimism on that idea it still leaves me tugging myself into a pair of nearly skin-tight bellbottom jeans and a cowl-necked earth tone fuzzy sweater for the trip, which REALLY don’t do a very good job of ‘de-emphasising’ everything I’d rather hide right about now..

“Stupi-d ti-ight JEANS!”
The back finally pushed past my annoyingly perky butt enough that I could pull the waistband up properly.

I feel like a particularly juicy sausage in these things!

..that’s the second time I’ve called myself a ‘juicy sausage’ or something like that lately?..
Sometimes I get the feeling Sigmund Fraud would have a field day if he got his hands on me!

“End goal Hannah, stop talking to yourself and focus on the end goal.”
Stealing John’s clothes, the best end goal I’ve had in a LONG time, it’s got the lowest chance for things to go wrong as well!

With that happy thought in mind I slid the surprisingly comfortable sweater over my head and snuck out of ‘my’ room to head for John’s door.
It’s far too hot to wear this sweater for too long, comfortable it may be but I’m already starting to feel warm with it on.
We may be near the lovely overcast big city heights of Seattle but that doesn’t mean it’s not still SUMMER after all.

I shot a cautious look around to make sure the coast was clear and carefully eased John’s door open.
It took a moment for my mind to process what I was seeing but almost as quickly as the view registered in my head I managed to react.

The reaction happened to be more in the ‘squeal and slam the door shut’ kind then the more useful ‘shut the door quietly and leave at a jog’ sort sadly but it’s the thought that counts I guess?

“SORRY!”

..Oh powers, when did JOHN get a six-pack?!..
SHUT UP BRAIN!

“That you Hannah?”
John sounds about as confused and unsettled as I feel!
At least I’m not suffering alone I guess?

“Yeah, sorry John, I was just going to borrow some of your old clothes and I didn’t think you’d be in there and I CERTAINLY didn’t think you’d be naked and.. and I’m babbling and I’ll.. um.. I’ll just.. g-go.. now.”

Without another word I broke into a sprint, slinging myself around the doorframe into ‘my’ room and slamming the door tight behind me.

“URRRGGG!!”
Damn it Hannah! For once in your life can’t you just STOP making a fool of yourself for five POWERS DAMNED minutes?!

I practically threw myself onto the bed and screamed angrily into the pillows.
What’s gotten into me?!

This can’t just be Mrs Jones’s little ‘marriage’ comment anymore!
There’s definitely something going on, I’m acting like a love sick little school girl.. about bloody JOHN!

======

When I’d finally gotten all the yelling, rather childish tantrums out of my system.. and beat up one of the pillows to the point where I actually started feeling sorry for it.. I eased myself up slightly on my elbows to huff out an annoyed breath.

I feel better now.
Not great, not normal, not even ‘good’, but better at least?

Naturally the moment I came to that monumental decision on life’s long journey of self-discovery someone had to knock on the door and ruin it!

“Hannah?.. is it okay if I come in? I’ve got some of my old stuff you wanted..”
Nooooo!
John, why did it have to be JOHN?!

I rolled over on the bed to stare up at the ceiling and huffed a breath out that made the hair just above my eyebrows flutter slightly.

There’s not much to be gained by laying here all day feeling sorry for myself is there?
I just wish I could have a bit more time to gather myself back together again before facing him!
Like.. a day?.. or a week?.. maybe a month?.. a year or two?..

“Hannah?”
I sighed heavily again and let my arms flop out onto the covers limply.

“Come in John, I’m dressed.”
..at least one of us is..
SHUT UP BRAIN!

John eased the door open and peered at me uncertainly for a moment before taking the last big step inside and shutting the door behind himself.
He’s wearing a loose T-shirt with some Jeans, his usual day-wear choices really, he’s never exactly been adventurous in his clothing choices for some reason.
He also has a bundle of cloth under his arm that includes a sweatshirt which looks vaguely familiar?

“You okay?”

Stupid question, of COURSE I’m not bloody okay!
My stupid brain is rebelling against logic and common decency with HIM at the center of it all!

When did this start?

I think.. I think I need to talk to his Mum?
Maybe my turning into a hormone driven blushing mess is a side-effect of the mental magic she did to me?

“Thanks for the clothes John. Do you know where you’re Mum is? I kinda need to ask her advice..”

As he stepped closer to me I sat up on the bed and reached out for the clothes in his hands.
When I had a solid grasp on them I tried to pull them back into my chest but they stopped short?
My eyes drifted up to John’s face in confusion and I could feel myself freeze in place as he fixed me with a surprisingly deep, searching look.

“Are you okay Hannah?”
Don’t do this to me John.. don’t look at me like that..

I could feel tears building in my eyes before I knew what to do with them.
My hand dropped from the clothes between us and shot up to rub harshly at my eyes as I sniffed forcefully.

Don’t look at me like that.. don’t act like you’re worried for me and you care and you.. and you..

“S-Stupid John..”
His eyes softened when I managed to eke out that slightly stuttered statement of fact.

What’s gotten into me?!
This isn’t like me!

He leaned forward and pulled me into a gentle hug.
Despite myself I practically folded into him, sinking my head against his chest as my breath came out in little uneven gasps.

“..sorry John..”

He laughed.
I could feel it more than hear it with my ear resting against him.

“What are you apologizing for?”
He sounded amused but there was definitely a note of confusion mixed in there as well.

My lip trembled and my voice broke slightly when I answered him.
Against all logic tears started forming in my eyes all over again.
“..I don’t know?..”

He finally seemed to work out that something was seriously wrong with me at that point.
I nestled my cheek into his warm chest a bit tighter and my shoulders started to shake with supressed sobs.
..I don’t know what’s happening..

“..ah hell..”
John’s magic felt conflicted.
I don’t think he knows quite what to do or how to react at this point?
Me being unreasonably angry and lashing out at him is pretty much standard with us but tears and shaking are new for the pair of us.
“..shhh, it’s okay Hannah. Whatever’s wrong we’ll sort it out..”

His hand came up and patted my hair like I was some kind of startled pet he needed to calm down.

..it’s kind of nice though..
I don’t like admitting it but it kinda IS actually?

He’s surprisingly soothing to cling to, his body AND his magic are just SO warm.. and he feels really gentle too..

My neck gave up the last of its strength, mushing my cheek hard into his chest in the process.
Slowly I started losing track of the world around us as his hand played with my hair and he made soothing sounds that just felt SO good for some reason?

..he smells really good too?..

======

“She’s not asleep?”

The hand stopped scratching my ears for some reason?
I mewed in annoyance and raised my head slightly higher to butt against the palm hovering above me.
The stupid human doesn’t seem to understand what I want..

“Do you know what’s happening?”
I purred a little from the back of my throat and rubbed against the nice smelling chest that rumbled with the voice.

He smells so nice.. like food but also like a mate?.. I like both of those things!

“I think my attempt at suppressing her seer talent was a bit more effective than anticipated?”
The food-mate thing with the warm chest sighed heavily and shifted us slightly.
It only took me a moment to get settled again so I didn’t protest, this time at least.
“It happens sometimes, a particularly powerful latent ability or a larger set of conflicting ones end up suppressing each other for an awakened mage until they are in some way disabled, allowing the others to come back into force shortly afterwards.”

“I can follow that, I’ve seen that happen before, it’s rare but.. okay, so what does that have to do with her doing a cat impersonation?”
I purred again as the warm food-mate’s chest rumbled.

I like him, I’ve never had a food-mate of my own before..
..I wonder what he tastes like?..

“I’m no expert on the topic but if I had to guess I’d say the change in her mental balance that came with me blocking her seer talent, along with the associated incarnations involved with it, has caused a power vacuum and thrust forth a once subconsciously suppressed spiritual skillset.. along with its accompanying incarnations.”

The food-mate shifted.
I stretched slightly, digging my somehow blunt claws into his arm to show my distaste with his actions.

“So that all means.. what exactly?”
I love how his chest rumbles.
It’s like he’s purring even when he’s just making noise!

“It turns out that hidden under the seer talent that’s been pretty common among a lot of Arista’s incarnations, Hannah has a surprisingly strong connection to her spirit animal?..”
The food-mate moved again.

I slammed my paw down on his arm and hissed at him lightly.
Food AND mates should know when not to move, a food-mate DEFINITELY should!

“So she’s-”
The food-mates arm moved again.
I growled low in my throat to warn him not to keep defying me.. stupid human..

“She’s in a waking, instinct driven, daydream state where she thinks she’s a cat of some kind.”

“oh? well that’s.. weird?..”
..mmm, nice rumbles..

“I’m honestly not sure how to shake her out of it? Mind magic and the baser ‘spirit’ skills don’t tend to crossover very often sadly..”

The food-mate moved his arm.
With an angry hiss I surged forward and sunk my teeth into it.

He yelled out in surprise and tried to pull away from me but I locked my jaw down and moved my head along with him, my body arched up and what little fur I had stood on end.
..I WARNED YOU HUMAN!..

It took almost half a minute for him to calm down.
The other voice moved closer and slowly started petting my head like the food-mate should have been doing from the start of things.

Finally a human who knows how to behave properly!

When her fingers pushed down into that perfect spot near my left ear my legs went limp and my jaw opened so I could purr happily in approval.
The food-mate pulled his arm away from me quickly.
..stupid human..

The scratching hand moved slightly and I rolled over on the lap of the food-mate to give the hand better access for proper scratches.
As I rolled over my nose crinkled a little.
I couldn’t resist the urge to sneeze slightly and clear the food-mate’s taste from my mouth.

It turns out the food-mate smells better then he tastes?
..I wonder what his fur tastes like though?..

My eyes rolled up to stare at the food-mate.
For some reason he suddenly started looking really nervous?

A moment later the scratching female reached my collar bone and I collapsed completely into a pile of too long fur-less limbs as she hit the PERFECT spot!

She’s SO good at this!
It’s a shame she doesn’t smell as good as the food-mate though..

“Any idea’s where we go from here then?”
The female stopped scratching for a moment as her face scrunched up.
I barely had to twist and nip at her before she started up again though.

I wonder if she has an owner already?.. she’s surprisingly well trained, much better than my food-mate at least..

“Try not to piss her off and work on a way to re-awaken Hannah’s core personality?”
The food-mate rumbled something in return but at that moment the female hit JUST the right spot and I lost the world to the pleasure that hit me.

======

“Where did these come fr-”

“WAIT!”
The sudden loud noise made me jump and stare wide eyed over at the food-mate.

The female was holding up some loops that look familiar for some reason?
The food-mate quickly moved over to the female and took the loops of material from her delicately.

“Holy crap, she actually finished them?.. she was talking about it at breakfast but I didn’t think she’d gotten THIS far into it..”

I rolled over on the sofa and brought my paw up to my mouth for a bit of cleaning.
Now the food-mate has stopped yelling it looks like things are safe again.

“What are they?.. they look a bit kinky?”

The food-mate twitched and shouted out something like ‘MUM!’, I didn’t stick around long enough to find out more.
Loud noises are never good!

As I left the room on all fours there was some kind of commotion behind me.
The food-mate tried to grab me but with a twist of my chest he ended up landing face first onto the floor instead.

I barely made out his groaned ‘crap’ before I got far enough away that I couldn’t hear him anymore.
There’s got to be somewhere nice around here to sleep, maybe somewhere with a nice warm sun-spot or something?

I sniffed the air uncertainly and in the process picked up a new, rather interesting smell.
Without another thought I broke into a run chasing the new smell with determination.

======

The food-mate thinks he’s being sneaky.
Humans are so dumb, how can you be sneaky with big heavy feet flapping around when you move?

He reached out to touch us but I just hissed at him and reared back.
He quickly retreated to a safer distance, it’s nice to see he CAN learn eventually!

The kit shuddered and I nuzzled my nose down at her ear to reassure her.
Despite my calming movements and licks she didn’t seem to be calming down much for some reason?

“..Dad?..”
She sounds so nervous?!

It’s got to be the food-mate’s fault!
She’s calling to him and he’s here now!

He moved a step closer and I shifted to hide the kit better while giving him a warning hiss just in case he’s thinking of doing something stupid.

“It’s okay Eris, your Mum’s just having a bit of a.. uh.. she kind of think’s she’s a cat?”
The kit made an uncertain noise in the back of her throat.
I glared at the food-mate, he’s making her upset!
“It’s going to be okay Eris, she won’t hurt you. If I toss these bands over to you do you think you can slip them on her? The thick one goes around her neck like a collar, the little ones on her wrists, the long one around her waist and the last two go on her legs.. I think?..”

The kit nodded and twisted her face up to stare at me with worry.
I leaned down, licking her to reassure her.

Judging by the way her face had scrunched up when I finished she didn’t appreciate it for some reason?
..Kits! They’re so picky sometimes..

The food-mate tossed the familiar loops over at us.
I glared at him and pulled the kit closer to myself.
HE shouldn’t throw things at MY kit!

The kit snatched up the loops with her odd human-shaped fingers.
Not that I’d ever tell her but she looks kind of weird to be my kit?

She looks kind of like the food-mate or the female human really..
If she didn’t just SMELL like my kit I’d have my doubts but she smells like she’s mine and she tastes like me so she must be mine!

She reached up and slowly rubbed her fingers around my neck.
I wasn’t sure what she was doing at first but eventually she finished and leaned back leaving me with something loosely set around my throat?

Did she.. did she put a COLLAR on me?!!
Naughty kit!

I hissed at her a little and gave her a warning look but she didn’t seem to understand for some reason.
She just looked scared?

With an annoyed little chuff I leaned back in and licked her strange paw to show that I didn’t mean to snap at her.
She’s just a kit, it’s not her fault she doesn’t know what she’s doing..

Saying that, what IS she doing?

I watched with mild interest as she looped something around my belly and clipped it shut somehow.
When I didn’t hiss at her she seemed to build a bit more confidence in herself.
She reached out for my paw and actually offered me a little smile.

I leaned down and licked her fur in approval.
It’s good that she’s calm, I don’t like it when she’s not calm.

She finished fiddling with my front paw and moved on to my other one.
I got slightly distracted by the sparkly little thing she’d put on me?
Slowly I brought my paw up to my nose and sniffed it cautiously.

I can smell metal, metal and beef?.. old beef..
There’s something else though?

I brought my paw really close and rubbed the new thing against my cheek.
The metal-beef thing feels like me!
How odd.. it’s kind of nice though?..

The kit finished whatever she was doing and moved down towards my hind paws but I ignored her in favor of nudging at the metal-beef thing with my nose and trying to bite on it to see what it tastes like.

“When you get that last one on step back quickly Eris, there’s probably going to be some kind of reaction..”
I jumped in surprise at the food-mate’s voice.

I’d almost forgotten he was there?
He’s being surprisingly well behaved.
Since he tossed the loops over to my kit he’s barely moved a muscle!

The kit tugged on my back paw slightly and suddenly shot back, making a dash towards the food-mate who scooped her into his arms protectively.

A growl started building in my chest when the food-mate moved as if to step away from me.
HE’S STEALING MY KIT!!

My back arched and I hissed low in the back of my throat.
Seconds before I could lunge at him my body just FROZE!

With a strangled yelp I collapsed to the floor as a floppy puddle.
A chill made its way down from my chest and along my left leg to my foot.
..I don’t feel so good..

Magic practically burst out the sole of my foot as a wave of nausea hit me like a punch to the gut.

“..hurk..”
Heavy breathing, panting and my best efforts didn’t save me in the slightest from a final indignity.

With one more pained ‘hurk’ sound I threw up what felt like most of my breakfast and finished the job by collapsing to the side in a dead faint.

======

“Uuhhnermmpa..”
Did anyone get the number of the bus that hit me?.. or the one that followed it and reversed a few times just to be an asshole about it?..

“I think she’s awake?”

Eris? What’s Eris doing here?
I thought she was down the hall watching TV or something?

“Hannah?.. Hannah I need to know if your.. you?.. can you hear me?”

Ughh! Not now John?
Can’t you see I’m suffering?!
Why didn’t you stop the buses you useless asshole!

..stupid food-mate..
Yeah! Stupid food-ma.. what?..

He shifted and moved closer to me, I could feel him by his magic and his smell got slightly stronger.
He smells REALLY good? I wonder what deodorant he’s wearing, it must be new?

With a light shove he managed to roll my limp body over so I was staring up at the ceiling this time.
Slowly his hand moved in front my face, waving back and forth a few times until he seemed to give up on that idea.

Eventually his hand moved down in an unmistakable action that I’ve seen happen in movies FAR too many times.
It never works in the movies either so I have NO idea what he’s thinking!

“I swear to everything that’s powerful John, if you slap my cheek to ‘wake me up’ I’m gonna shove your fist so far up your ass you’ll be able to brush your teeth with your mouth closed!”

His hand froze, I’m not sure why but I felt a bit smug that I made him freeze so easily.

..stupid food-mate?..
Stupid foo-
What the.. where the hell is that COMING from?!

Shut up brain!
You’re obviously drunk or something?!

Wait.. am I drunk?.. is that why John’s acting so weird?..

“okay? that answers the ‘are you Hannah’ question I guess?”
Shut up John!

..my head hurts..

“What happened this time?”
I think something happened?
I was freaking out a bit over John.. naked John..mmm-AH!

uh.. yeah.. so something was messing with my head then John came in, with clothes on this time, and hugged me an.. and I just kind of drifted off?..

It feels like there’s something missing here?
For a start I swear this isn’t the same guest room I’ve been using?!

“You had an adverse reaction to the blocking of your seer traits.”
Oh hey Mrs Jones, didn’t see you there?!

“Lovely.. am I better now?”
Well sometimes it’s easier to just ask then assume, ya know?

“I’d hesitate to use the word ‘better’ but you’re at least stable thanks to that ingenious little set of BDSM jewellery you apparently crafted while we were all sleeping?”

BDSM jewellery?..
Ohh, the selective suppression system!

I guess technically they could be considered a bit like that, leather and chains, that sort of thing?
Well.. at least we know they work now right?

With that in mind this is probably a perfect moment to test one of the features we worked so hard to fit into them!

My hand moved slowly up to my throat and after a bit of feeling around I managed to get a thumb and finger on the two control runes needed to trigger John’s basic ‘self-hiding’ glamor system.
In seconds I could feel a slight tingle run up my spine but a moment later it finished and, despite the fact that I could still feel them on me, I couldn’t SEE the suppressors at all.

John’s Mum gasped in surprise.
Eris moved quickly from her previous unseen position behind John to stare at me in open curiosity.
John leaned back slightly and offered me a smug smile of approval.

Seems like I actually managed to lay things out well enough after all?
Don’t put Estis runes next to Esti runes my ass!

I told him it would work perfectly well like this but would he believe me?!
“Now that the aptly named ‘BDSM jewellery’ is hidden, can someone tell me what the hell’s been going on please?”

John flushed slightly in embarrassment.
Mrs Jones looked a bit unsure of herself for a second too.

“What’s B-D-S-M mean?”
With a jerk my eyes cut down to Eris in shock and horror.

“Uhh.. so, what did I miss?”
Please let her forget it!
Please let her forget it!!

Mrs Jones sighed heavily, offering me a weak smile which was honestly a LOT better than John visibly shaking with laughter and Eris staring up at me with a worrying amount of intense curiosity.

“Well Hannah, it seem that when I blocked your seer talents there was a-”

“What’s B-D-S-M mean?!”
Eris tugged on my shirt for attention, cutting across Mrs Jones explanation neatly while causing John to make a loud ‘snerk’ noise as he held in his laughter as best he could.

With inspiration born of frustration and embarrassment I turned to my carefully ‘not laughing’ best-friend and smirked darkly.

“You’re Dad knows Eris, why don’t you ask him to explain it? I’ve got to talk with your Gran for a minute okay sweetie?”
Eris’s bright eye shifted quickly from me and focused like little lazer-sights on John instead.

John’s jaw dropped open in surprise.
Mrs Jones tried to hide the laugh that bubbled out of her chest by cupping her hand over her mouth, obviously it didn’t work too well..

Eris let go of my shirt quickly and in the blink of an eye she was clinging onto John with big begging ‘puppy-dog’ eyes set to stun.

I felt tempted to just watch the inevitable circus show that would be John’s attempt at stopping her curiosity but there’s more important things going on, like what did I miss happening and where the hell did the whole ‘food-mate’ thing come from?!

“So, as you were saying, something happened after you blocked the seer stuff?”
Mrs Jones blinked slightly in surprise but quickly realised what was happening and offered me a devious little smirk as her eyes cut back over to the now flustered John for a second before opening her mouth to carry on with her interrupted explanation.

======

“Just to be clear.. a cat?.. really?..”

Mrs Jones sighed heavily.
I think she’s getting a bit frustrated with my attempts at oversimplifying things.

“Sort of, it was more of a symbolic 'what you think a cat would act like' kind of change but in general you ran around on all fours, licked things, bit John, hissed, slept a lot and purred surprisingly often.”
She almost hesitated for a second but in the end I don’t think she could resist asking whatever was on her mind.
“Just out of curiosity, do you like having your ears and belly scratched?.. I tried it to calm you down at one point and you practically melted in joy over it all.”

Ear’s and BELLY?!
NO!

At least.. I don’t think I do?

It’s never really come up honestly.
Sarah used to tickle me a lot when we were younger because I’d end up with practically no defence against her from it but I’m pretty sure she never focused on my ears or my belly at all?

In the end I shrugged to Mrs Jones unhelpfully but I think she understood my general point of not having the slightest clue one way or the other at least.

“Oh, you recognised Eris as 'yours' in some way too because you snagged her up and wouldn't let us get near you both? In the end John had to toss her your suppressors and get her to put them on you.”

I sighed heavily and cut my eyes over to the pair of them.
John’s still valiantly trying to distract Eris from the embarrassing ‘BDSM’ question with a moderate amount of success.

It seems like Eris has pretty much forgotten the reason she was annoying him in the first place at this point and has moved on to the much more fun game of trying to see what she can get away with in pushing his buttons with silly demands like seeing if he can lick his elbow?

“Okay, I went cat, claimed Eris.. great.. anything else I should know?”
Mrs Jones looked thoughtful for a moment.

My stomach decided to chime in on the long pause with a deep rumble of discontent.

“Oh! You also threw up so you’re probably hungry?”
Lovely.. never let a strange series of events happen without Hannah managing to puke on something, it’s practically tradition at this point!
..Edith always did say I don’t have the stomach for a lot of stuff..
“With that in mind I think it’s time we get to work on lunch, can you come give me a hand while Johnny and Eris.. uh.. play?..”

My stomach grumbled before I could quite get an answer out.
I guess that’s answer enough though, it seemed to be considering the amused look Mrs Jones shot me as she lead the way back out to the kitchen.

“Okay, so you CAN lick your nose. That still doesn’t explain what B-D-S-M means daddy?”
I had to stamp down hard on the impulse to laugh as John groaned audibly from behind us.

It turns out Eris isn’t quite as easily distracted as I’d given her credit for.
She’s a clever girl for her age.

..’always my clever girl’..
DAMN IT! Stupid Mother Arista thoughts!

======

Eris bounced in proudly and landed on one of the chairs with hope shining in her little eyes.
John came in at a much more subdued pace which only seemed to amuse her even more.

My eyes cut over to Mrs Jones and we shared a knowing look.
It seems she finally managed to crack John in one way or another..

I wonder what he ended up telling her?

I’ll admit I caught myself feeling a bit too ‘domestic’ as we worked on lunch together without the pair of them.
I know it’s not right but somehow we’d still ended up falling into the classic old stereotype of ‘women in the kitchen’.

I’m determined to not let it happen again!

It’s not like I’m even any use in here usually?
If we weren’t making something simple like sandwiches at the moment I’d probably have given up and ordered takeout or something.

I may be a better cook then John but that’s like saying that a baby is a better swimmer then a rock.. it’s a kinda,‘well DUH!’ situation, ya know?

“Ham with the crusts cut off for the conquering heroine, and cheese’n’pickle for the valiant but defeated looser.”
Eris grinned at me brightly and I couldn’t help but grin back at her.

John didn’t seem to find his title funny but he definitely appreciated the ‘cheese and pickle’ sandwiches at least.
I’ve never had pickle before, not this type at least, apparently his Mum picks it up whenever she’s back in England to see family.

I always thought pickles were like.. green and pimply?.. this stuffs more like brown mush!

Either way, Mrs J got me to try a bit and it’s honestly VILE in my opinion!
..really tangy..
It made my mouth itch and it’s just.. bleh!

How John can stomach it I’ve got no idea but judging by the speed at which his sandwiches are disappearing he must somehow ‘like’ it.. he’s weird sometimes but that’s just pushing it!

I ducked back into the kitchen for my own ham sandwich and followed Mrs J back through as she carried out her well-used teapot.

======

Feeding time lasted for a good ten minutes with sips of tea, juice in Eris’s case, and some mild chatter about random things.

For once I managed to have a nice quick meal with John around without something stupid or strange happening.
It was rather nice to be honest?

Yet again I had to shake off the creeping sensation that I was being a bit too comfortable with things and taking on the role of ‘mother’ without thinking about it, especially when Eris finished her juice in one big go and I automatically borrowed one of Mrs J’s napkins to wipe around her mouth without thinking anything of it for a good few minutes afterwards.

When everyone’d finished I leaned back with a contented sigh.
My stomach approved of the food at least.

It wasn’t exactly five-star cooking but then I’ve always been more of a one-star cooking fan anyway.
Give me bacon on something and I couldn’t honestly care if the sauce was finely ground from Prussian-sourced red beans or bought in a large tube for a dollar at the local store?
Good food is good food, whether it’s a cheap and cheerful sandwich or a full on steak dinner!

======

“You still want to go to the Bazaar before we leave?”
John’s question jolted me out of my happy little food coma.

It would probably be a good idea to drop in at the very least?
There’s a fair few things you just CAN’T get in Klamath Falls, even from Edith’s shop.
A lot of spell and ritual ingredients along with pre-fabricated spell focus items flow through the Bazaar every day, it’s almost always worth a look.

“Sure. When are we leaving for home?”
I know technically this is John’s home with his Mum living here and all but he knows what I mean.

Not to be disparaging of Mrs Jones’s hospitality but I’m kind of eager to head home now that the most pressing issue going wrong in my life has been sorted out?
There’s a lot of stuff I need to sort out back in Klamath Falls, family and the Hub to name just the most obvious ones.
While technically some of them are probably going to be easier to handle if I leave them a bit longer to settle down others certainly won’t!

Sarah.. for instance?
..she sounded pretty pissed off before..

Sarah being angry is hardly ever a good thing and NEVER a fun experience for anyone involved.
If we can’t leave soon then I’m probably going to have to bite the bullet and call her back just to clear the air a bit if nothing else.

“I figured as soon as Mum gives you a clean bill of health we can leave?”

John’s statement seemed to catch Mrs Jones off guard by putting her in the hot-seat suddenly.
She shot a reluctant glance from me and down to Eris before sighing heavily in what I think was disappointment?..

“Normally I’d suggest a few more days for observation but those B-”
Her eyes cut sharply down at Eris as she realised she’d come dangerously close to kicking THAT whole can of worms over again before she continued.
“-your new jewellery, Hannah, is surprisingly effective at keeping you stable. At this point I would normally expect wild mood swings and personality shifts as your core tries to re-center itself around the drastic change in your psyche that would come from us forcefully suppressing such a large and active part of your very being, but instead your.. well your about as normal as could be hoped for from what I can tell?”

Runes conquer all!

She’s pretty much hit the nail on the head there.
I felt clearer and more stable when I woke up after her mind-magic ritual but that faded fast as things got out of control.
Now though, with the suppressors on, I can think clearly and I just feel so FREE all of a sudden?!

It feels like I can laugh and smile without this constant ever-present weight pushing down on me again.. I hadn’t even noticed it happening before, the change was so slow and gradual I guess, but her putting a stop to the ‘seer’ stuff seems to have eased a lot of the mental pressure for me?

I’m not perfect.
I’m still getting those annoying little ‘Motherly’ thoughts and moments just HAPPENING at random, but they aren’t pushing down on me anymore.
They happen but even though the thoughts themselves are jarring and off-putting I’m not acting on them against my will like I was before?

I can deal with that.
I dealt with that kind of thing for years after my first awakening, it’s so much EASIER than facing the crushing depths of emotions and feelings I’ve had since my second one..

It’s a bit like riding a bike I guess?
You never forget how to handle this sort of thing after you’ve been through it once before.

======

“I guess we should head out to the Bazaar then?”

Even John didn’t sound too sure of himself this time.
I probably should have said something beforehand as confirmation for his sake but I kinda got lost for a moment there.

I feel kind of sorry for Mrs J now?
It can’t be easy for her to handle being here all alone while John stays at the Martials and everything..

“If you’re not busy you could always warp down to Klamath Falls and stay for a visit if you want?”
The words tumbled out of my mouth before I’d quite finished thinking them through.
Mrs Jones’s head perked up in surprise and, if I’m not mistaken, some level of ‘joy’ as she processed the idea.

“Oh no, I really couldn’t impose like that. It’s bad enough Johnny’s staying with Lily and Jim without adding me in as well..”

She REALLY wants to visit though.
I can tell by the looks she keeps shooting John.
To a lesser extent she’s even doing it with me and Eris too!

I think she’s lonely?

“It wouldn’t be an imposition.. Powers know my house has enough people in it at the moment to start our own small island nation, I doubt one more person is going to break us or anything.”
She’s tempted, I can tell, she doesn’t want to be too obvious about it but she totally wants to be around John more, what mother wouldn’t miss their child like that?

Just another nudge or two will do it!

“You’d probably be doing us a favor. Mum’s getting a bit stressed out over everything and she could use a spare pair of hands or just someone to talk to who isn’t either her family or my ‘family’ to be honest?”
Phrased like that there’s no WAY she can resist!
It’s kind of true too, aside from Aunt Lily I don’t think Mum has many ‘friends’ as such.. not ones I know of at least..

It would be good for both of them to bond again, even if Mum doesn’t remember her properly.

Plus.. just think.. TWO ‘Grans’ for Eris to hang out with when I’m busy!
It’s a no brainer and you can’t beat free baby-sitters!

“Okay, if you think it would help your poor old Mum.. how is Susan anyway? I’ve not seen her in years..”
Ah.. yeah, well uh.. I guess she’d find out eventually huh?

“She’s not been too great honestly.. um.. okay so, cards on the table, she possibly doesn’t remember you and if she does she certainly doesn’t remember that you’re John’s Mum at all..”
Her jaw dropped a little in surprise.

“What?! How can that be? Susan-”
I waved my hand for attention before she could build up too big of a head of steam about it all.

This is gonna be one long and messy explanation.
Even I don’t know all the facts still!

“Gran, my Gran, would be able to fill you in better but basically someone’s been fooling around with memory charms and-”

======

“That’s simply horrible!”
I nodded along calmly as Mrs Jones glared at the table hatefully as if it had mortally offended her in some way.
“How can someone DO something like that to someone like Susan? She’s such a sweet woman!”

For a moment I felt the irrational need to validate myself a bit by pointing out that, when she wants to be my ‘dear sweet’ mother can be a RIGHT bitch, especially when ‘Al’ is involved.. but that’s all in the past now?

In the meantime Al is long gone and not likely to show up until I can find a way to turn back into a guy somehow, rehashing over past problems after Mum’s seemingly come to her senses a bit and sort of ‘vicariously’ apologised to me for being that way would just be petty and not a little bit stupid of me.

I may take fun from getting at John with his old misdeeds at times but HE deserves a kick in the ass sometimes and until I’m male again I’m not going to let him forget that he messed up badly if I can help it!

Forgive but never forget and all that philosophical mumbo-jumbo.

“Do you want to come with us to the Bazaar as well?”
This time John glared at me slightly for asking.
I think he wanted to shop unhindered and, let’s face it, who wants to shop for anything with their Mum around?

I certainly wouldn’t!
It was bad enough when I went ‘clothes’ shopping a few weeks ago thank-you-very-much!

“Oh no, I couldn’t Hannah dear, but thanks for the offer all the same. You kids go have fun.”
She reached out and patted my arm with a warm smile.
“I’ve got a lot of packing to do if I’m going to warp to Oregon in a few days.”

John almost let out a relieved sigh at that point but he quickly managed to hide it from his mother’s view even if I caught it easily enough.

“Right then, lets gather up our stuff and head out. I guess we’ll be seeing you in a few days then Mum?”
He didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about that idea either but he covered it well, I just know him better than that.

With a heave I managed to get myself back to an upright position and on my way to the guest room I’ve been using.
I’ve not got much to pack but if nothing else I need to change into something less ‘frumpy’ for going out and my bag needs dragging back down to the Truck.

It took me a moment to realise that Eris had slipped into my side as I moved and put her hand gently into mine.
She offered me a slightly lopsided smile which I returned without a thought.

Looks like I’m getting changed with an audience again I guess?
Come to think of it I should probably sort her out a new outfit too while we’re at it, until I can find her something in the Bazaar properly at least.

You’d be surprised what you can find in a magical shopping district, normal clothing and even low cost magically-imported beer are the first two things that come to mind?
It’s amazing the price-cuts you can offer when you use magic to remove delivery costs AND import taxes from the items you’re selling!

“What do you fancy wearing Eris? Remember nothing too off-the-wall this time, we still have to get into the Bazaar unnoticed by the non-magical people around first so let’s stick to something practical shall we?”
She looked mildly disappointed for a moment but that passed quickly as she seemed to get an idea.
Her hand came up and she blushed slightly as she beckoned me closer to her.

I couldn’t help but smile a little at her shy antics but dutifully knelt down to be within hearing range for her whispered request.

“Can we do matching stuff again Mom?”
Her breathy little whisper made me shudder a little as the air tickled my ear but after a moment to recover I turned to face her with a resigned sigh.

Well I should have guessed THAT one was coming!

Oh.. what the hell!
It’s not like it matters in the long run.
Considering I apparently get to pick what I’m wearing first, at least it won’t be anything awkward or weird this time!

“Okay sweetie. Go use the bathroom and wash your hands quick while I conjure us something.”
She let out a happy little yip of joy, shooting back out of the room towards the upstairs toilet at a sprint.

My smile lingered for a moment more as she disappeared but slowly dissolved into a thoughtful frown.
What the hell am I going to conjure for us?
I don’t think I thought this whole deal through well enough!

Oh well.. it could be worse I guess?
At least there’s not going to be any ‘dirndlgwand’ dresses in sight this time!

“Let’s get started then!”
I clapped my hands together and rubbed them to limber up a little.
Conjuring isn’t hard but technically this is the first bit of magic I’ve done since putting the suppressors on so it might take a bit of fiddling to get the power balances right again if nothing else.
“Hmmm.. trousers or a skirt?..”

Decisions, decisions!