Familiar Bonds 01: Forging the Bond

CW: magic; mind control; unsafe BDSM; dubious consent; brainwashing; forced orgasms; transformation; group sex; unsafe anal; orgasm control

Though she wasn't technically a witch yet, Bri was starting to let herself get into the mindset more and more each day. For the better part of three years, her life had evolved around absorbing the wisdom and tutelage of the venerable Witch Catherine Oliver, and there wasn't much that could distract her from these final few classes which promised to see her graduate out of being an apprentice.

If there was anything that could distract her, however, it was the smell of Jamie's breakfast wafting through their flat, creeping in under her bedroom door as she dressed herself.

'You can't cook something like that today!' she shouted. 'I have to be gone soon!'

'You always have to be gone,' Jamie shouted back, his voice muffled by her door. 'And I always have to have breakfast. Don't you be blaming me!'

Bri's bedroom was a reflection of herself - a mix of simple genius, and a lack of time to really sort things out. Clothes hung from hangers and were piled into neat piles of dresses and trousers, but she'd not taken the time to store them properly. Her desk was a mess of loose papers, writing quills and screwed-up notes, all of which - if read properly - were full of insightful and detailed thoughts on the interactions of physics and magic. Her bed was unmade, but had been upsettingly comfortable to pull herself out of only an hour or so ago, and a damp towel from her shower this morning was still draped across it.

She was a woman of results, not means. That's how she justified it to herself, anyway.

She already had on her undershirt and underwear, so grabbed the dress from its hangar in her half-empty wardrobe to pull on over her long, brown hair. She flattened her simple natural-green dress down over her thighs, patting it down as she stood, and stepped into her shoes. With a wave of her finger, and a little gust of magic, they tied themselves up over her socks, the laces coming up over her shins. She quickly pulled up the socks again, so they were up over her knees, and grabbed her satchel inside was her spellbook, full of spell combinations, notes and suggestions, and even a few alchemical recipes she'd taken down during that one lesson Catherine had raced over a few months ago.

She was ready.

Bri opened her bedroom, and got a full breath of Jamie's incredible-smelling breakfast, and cursed herself for agreeing to Catherine's 8-am starts for her apprenticeship schedule.

'Oh, god, that smells good Jamie,' she moaned as she crossed the shared living space. They lived in a humble one-story abode that sat over two different ground-floor shops - a stationary store and a tattoo parlour - which had been their home for several years now. Since they started University, even.

Well, Jamie started at Shimmerglade University. Strictly speaking, the Uni didn't accredit the sponsorship she'd received to work with Catherine, so she wasn't technically enrolled, but it was basically school. She had classes, a portfolio of work, and a lot of coursework to get through.

'How's the piece on transmutation of organic whatevers?' Jamie asked, half-remembering the last piece Catherine had assigned her. He was standing at the stove, a buttoned-chest top on with sleeves rolled up, and an apron over it. He slid some eggs from the frying pan onto two plates, and passed a plate to Bri nonchalantly. She hadn't even asked.

'Done,' Bri said. 'Handing that in today - we're moving on, I think.' She looked down at the plate - two eggs, fried; a sausage, tomatoes, and some toast. 'Wow, Jamie, you didn't have to-'

'Eggs were going off today,' he said with a shrug. 'Once I'd decided on those, I figured we might as well eat well. Besides, I have my own work to get on with.'

'Yeah?' Bri asked, taking a bite. Those eggs were salted to perfection.

He nodded. 'My piece on sustainable building materials and sourcing has turned into something about carpentry somehow. I need to get it back on track before I hand it in, or... yeah. That's a failure waiting to happen.'

'Ahh, the joys of higher education,' Bri said.

'Well, we can't all be protectors of the realm,' he said with an earnestness Bri was still not used to. Then, he cringed semi-apologetically, hands up. 'Sorry - I know it's not exactly public knowledge but... I'm stressed.'

Bri took another bite to hide the dwindling of her smile. 'Uh-huh. Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out.'

There was a pause as she ate a little more, and Jamie started to clear up, before he pulled the apron off, revealing the shorts he was wearing. 'Didn't you have to be somewhere?'

'SHIT!' Bri shouted, leaving the breakfast half-finished, and bolting out the door.

'You're welcome,' Jamie said, picking up her plate as he heard her scurrying down the stairwell, and the external gate swinging open outside.

~o~O~o~

Past the University, which encompassed the breadth of the town of Mirbeck, there were pathways filled with carts and pedestrians starting their day. Locals who worked at the University, or the broad deluge of trade shops that had sprouted around the campus, were walking to work. Coffee filled the air between the thin trees that dotted the gravel paths and cobbled roads; chatter of friendly neighbours flitted between apologetic 'I have to go's. The town was awake, and stretched appropriately.

Above, in the scattered-cloud sky, a raven tracked Bri's hurried movements. It watched her race through the centre of Mirbeck, dodging the opposing flow of traffic with half-spoken apologies. The University buildings here, in the centre of town, gave way to the markets, which were all still readying for the breakfast rush, which meant the raven was able to follow Bri easily from chimneys and windowsills.

From east to west, it watched her run. The western side of Mirbeck was largely farmland, dotted with the cattle trades and some roads that flowed deeper inland - however, Bri wasn't here for the sheep, nor the travellers. She followed less well-travelled roads, dusty pathways that she found most mornings, and the raven watched her eagerly as she went.

Eventually, nestled between a University building and a shop that sold woollen jumpers made from the farm next door, Bri found her destination. A tower, older than the University and the farm. A hundred years ago, this would have stood a few miles north of Old Mirbeck, before the University was built and the town expanded.

Back then, this tower was out of the way enough to belong to the Witch of Mirbeck that had come before them. Now, it wasn't the Witch's home - but it was where she was training Bri, day in and day out.

'You're late,' the Witch said through the Raven's mouth as it followed Bri in through the stubborn door.

Bri was fighting against the strain of the rusted hinges. 'Sorry, Catherine. Jamie made breakfast, and-'

'Well, I couldn't possibly presume to interrupt your breakfast,' Catherine said, her voice no longer emanating from the raven. Instead, she called to Bri from deeper in the tower, where they had a wide-open space of semi-natural seclusion. Weeds poked up through the floorboards, and parts of the walls had fallen away, replaced by vines Catherine had curated over time to block out unwanted prying eyes.

'Apologies,' Bri said again, coming to a stop and nodding to the Witch.

Catherine Oliver.

Not a local woman - nor did she look it. Most people in Mirbeck were humble enough, though some students naturally arrived at the town gates with money and an ego - but small-town life was good at rounding those edges pretty quickly. Catherine, however, had never lost herself to it.

Her posture was perfect, as she stood tall, head up and hands behind her back, no doubt poised and ready to throw Bri's lesson at her. Maybe even literally throw it. The raven landed on Catherine's shoulder, the flap of the wings only slightly shifting Catherine's hair, before settling nicely.

'You have two achievements left to accomplish,' the Witch said. 'Only two. Do you remember what they are?'

Bri nodded. 'Yes, of course. One, I need to demonstrate a significant feat of magical ability in some form - to be accredited by yourself, of my own choosing.'

'The other?'

Bri glanced at the raven on Catherine's shoulder. 'I need to forge a bond with a familiar.'

~o~O~o~

The Beckwalk forest could be a dangerous place. Deep and dark, creatures known and unknown to man lurked and scurried and hunted and died. It stretched for tens of miles across the land, cut open by trade routes as old as the Mirbeck village - some of those roads had been stretched and strengthened by the commerce brought by the University. But the beasts of the deep forest didn't know - nor did they care - about why people might cut across their land.

Nearer to the town was much fairer, the trees equally old, but tamed by human contact. Walkways and hiking tracks papered the immediate vicinity, some leading up the bluffs to overlook the ocean, others up sharper hills or down into the valleys between. Lots of secret places for secretive people. It was, of course, beautiful.

Unfortunately, the beasts of the deep forest did not always shy from the more shallow trails - and some came from even further afar, specifically looking for a hiker or two that had strayed too far into the woods.

'You're sure you've been here before?' asked a young woman, sweat on her brow and aches in her ankles. Her hiking boots were thick and supportive, but she hadn't been ready for a trek this far out.

'Of course,' panted the young man next to her. Slightly out of breath himself, despite being in good shape, he gave her a smile and pushed forwards, deeper into the crack of a valley that ran between two twelve-foot outcrops. It was a sliver of trail, gravelled and overgrown.

'Eddie, this feels like the middle of nowhere,' she said, reaching for his arm.

'Kris,' the man said, a kind smile in his eyes. 'That's the point.' He tugged her towards him, and she relented, letting herself be swept up in a passionate kiss. His arm found her butt, clad in walking shorts, and squeezed. Kris yelped, but smiled, and bit his lip.

'So... no one is around?' Kris asked, that look in her eye the exact one Eddie had been hoping for.

'Not a soul,' he said.

'I wouldn't say that's quite true,' came a voice.

Eddie and Kris looked upwards, into the shadows cast by the trees up on those outcrops, high, high above them. The shadows seemed to deepen, clouds covering the sun and robbing them of the little light that made it down to them.

In a moment, this valley-trail felt less like a secret, and more like a trap.

'Come on,' Eddie said, grabbing Kris' wrist and pulling her onwards - further along the path.

'Oh, she's cute,' said a new voice, lighter, more feminine. Just as unseen. 'And he looks... strong.'

Eddie pulled Kris along the path, taking long strides, not looking back. For a moment, he staggered and dropped her hand, but in an instant, her fingers locked in his again. He didn't even look back - he just powered onwards.

'Determined, too,' said the first mystery voice - unnervingly closer, now. Coming not from above, but behind. 'Look at him stride.'

'It opens up just round here,' Eddie said, partially trying to reassure himself, never mind Kris. He felt her other hand on his forearm, her touch soft and warm, and sucked in a breath through his teeth as they turned round the blind corner - half expecting to see some hideous monster before them.

But no - there was the clearing. The cliffs turned to hills, which met them comfortably, and ahead was the break where the forest gave way to an ocean view.

'Come on,' he said, charging ahead.

'But don't you want to go back for your beau?' asked the voice. That feminine voice, in his ear.

Eddie stopped dead, heart skipping a beat. All of that early-morning sweat seemed to vanish in an instant to a cold shudder that went through him. He looked down, first at the hand that was holding his.

The fingers did not belong to Kris. Instead of her lovely, familiar digits, there were instead slender, deep-blue/purple fingers encompassing his hand. He followed the forearm upwards, following swirling tattoos up the arm, to a bare shoulder, until was face-to-face with the demon whose hand he was holding.

'Hi gorgeous,' she said to him, flashing a wide smile full of teeth. Her features were unusual to Eddie - a strong jaw bone, soft nose, wide eyes glittering yellow, and pillowy lips that looked just made for kissing. From her forehead sprouted two curved horns that folded back against her hair, pierced and adorned with gold filigree that caught what little light there was.

Before he could do anything, say anything, even panic, the demon gripped his hand like a vice, and yanked him round and towards her. He fell forwards, into her, and felt her other hand find his waist, holding him in place as she leaned in and, horrifyingly, pressed her lips to his.

'MMHMMFF?!' he tried to yell into her mouth, but as he struggled he felt her hand on his back slip up beneath his shirt, scratching his skin with whatever inhuman claws she had.

He yelped, starting to panic now, but the yelp was a mistake - his mouth opened, and before anything could be done, her tongue slid into his mouth. Despite the horror and the panic and the fear, Eddie realised he couldn't pull away.

He couldn't fight her.

He didn't want to.

'Good boy,' the demon muttered into his mouth. 'And you just wait to see what's being done to your pretty little friend...'

~o~O~o~

Jamie passed the stone arch gate for the hiking trail up in the Beckwalk Forest, paused to appreciate the beauty of the town he'd grown up in, and then continued on past. The bag over his shoulder was heavy with notebooks, neatly organised and filled with neatly-organised notes, and the warm mid-morning sun was bright overhead.

It really was a beautiful day in Mirbeck.

Taking the scenic route, as he had no classes until this afternoon, Jamie wandered through the nicer parts of the Shimmerglade University campus, where there were delightful parks and natural spots to sit and read. He passed other students, out in the squares and parks, chatting in groups or buying snacks or reading under the shade of trees. He took a deep breath of the clear air, enjoying this brief moment of calm before he headed back into the energy and, at times, chaos of the University building itself.

Shimmerglade University had been built piecemeal, with a central building focused on the historically popular areas of Literature, Sciences, Mathematics and History. Slightly off to the side, in an appropriately more pastoral area, was the building Jamie had spent the bulk of his time in - the Engineering wing. Jamie's focus was mainly in building materials, but that had little to do with his interests. This was more a situation of... necessity.

After all, there weren't many courses his parents would have happily paid for, and he was dead set on attending University. Especially as Bri was - at least, at first, she had been - and he honestly didn't really know who he was without his oldest friend. Now that Bri had dropped out on her new 'scholarship programme', Jamie had just been... chugging along with it. And it wasn't a bad degree to be taking - with it, he could maybe make a difference. Help improve the resource allocation of building materials, or strengthen trade routes with other towns.

All he wanted to do was leave the world a better place than he found it.

He approached the redbrick Engineering wing, with its on-site specialised library on the right side. He walked past the main entrance, circling round and going to the Library's side entrance, pushing the as-ever-unlocked wooden door inwards.

Light spilt into the slightly dusty space, his presence kicking up some dust into the air as he carefully closed the door behind him. He looked around, and was slightly deflated to see that he was alone. He'd hoped that he might find someone - or, a specific someone - in her usual spot, reading up on sustainable energy alternatives. The other reason he had carried on with this degree, despite it not really appealing to him.

That desk was empty, however, so he went to his usual spot - directly next to the empty space - and set his bag down with a sigh. At least the Library being open meant he'd have all the headspace he'd need. Jamie pulled out and flipped open his notebook, and looked over at the chair no one was sitting in.

'Wonder where you are, Kris,' he muttered.

~o~O~o~

Bri and Catherine held a sturdy eye contact across the space, until Catherine flexed her palms. From both, an off-white blast of energy crackled through the air, screaming across the room at Bri.

Bri let out a breath, and dodged one blast, while catching the other in her palm, as per Catherine's instruction - though, not really.

As soon as she made contact, she knew she'd done something wrong, because the crackle transferred quickly into her wrist and forearm, and she yelled out as the burning sensation set in.

Catherine stepped out of her combat pose, standing straight. 'You need to master this, Bri. I thought we'd covered energy conversion weeks ago.'

Bri nodded, shaking her hand out. Crackles of white shook off her. 'Yeah - slightly out of practice.'

'That's worrying,' Catherine said. 'Again - come one. It's vital you get this.' She set back into a combat-ready pose, knees bent, hands at the ready.

Bri shook off the pain, and mirrored Catherine's pose. 'And, I appreciate that I'm out of practice, but-'

Catherine fired two more blasts; this time, Bri was able to catch one and redirect it downwards easily. The second one flew past her chest, hitting the wall behind her. She smiled, enjoying feeling successful.

'-what does this have to do with the familiar?'

Catherine didn't change her stance - threatening another shot. 'Forging a bond with a familiar is all about energy control. Either creating a creature of magical energy entirely from scratch, or-'

She fired another two shots. Bri redirected them both this time, remembering her training. One up at the ceiling, one back at Catherine, who smirked as she easily transferred it into the floor.

'-filling a living creature with enough magical energy to transform them into a magical creature. Like Haider, here.' The raven behind her ruffled itself, and took off. 'Then, you can do things like this.'

One blast of energy emerged from Catherin's palm, but a second emerged from the raven's beak. The first, Bri was able to redirect into the wall, but the second hit her from a new angle.

'Fuck, my shoulder,' Bri hissed as she dropped to her knee. 'That's pretty cool, though.'

Catherine gave a different kind of smile. 'It's very cool - once you're good enough to do it.'

Bri nodded, shaking off the pain in her shoulder. 'Okay - and how do I get good enough?'

Catherine nodded back, approvingly. They both relaxed. 'Always asking the right questions. Now, get up. Let's keep going, until even Haider can't hit you.'

Bri stood up.

~o~O~o~

'Wouldn't you like just a little more?'

'Yesss,' Eddie hissed, his breath short and his thoughts thin. His brain was swimming, placid and sweet, the smell of sex and flowers filling his nostrils, and one hand gripping the hair of a demon while his other hand felt the naked slip of her lower back.