Lesson Over Tea, A
A witch's tea party is a much more complicated affair than your average get together. I don't mean that in an arrogant, "Oh you mundane folk just can't understand the ways of magic" sort of way. I am speaking quite literally: older witches use these gatherings as a way to judge an evaluate their peers on multiple levels. Choice of tea and food, sipping versus slurping, how one crosses their legs; all these things supposedly display hidden truths that the senior practitioners of witchcraft will analyse and discuss with great enthusiasm as soon as the younger ones go home.
As an aside, I am a familiar. A robin, specifically. My mistress is out dealing with some demon princeling or something of the sort, so I've been left home to occupy myself in the home she shares with three other witches: Bubblebun (a rounded matriarch with strong feelings about manners), Toggy (angular, finds imporance in presentation) and Fizz (short, very odd). All of them are rapidly approaching middle age and have converted any trepidation over such a milestone with an increased sense of duty when it comes to guiding the next generation.
Thus, the current tea party and their current guest, a talented but haughty witch named Clair. She's tall, dark, dynamic - with a winning grin, sharp, short hair and a custom battle witch's garb with knee socks and a cape! A strong start, truly.
She's also very robust! From what I understand, she wasn't always quite this big, but lots of activity combined with equal over-consumption took their toll in good time. Thick, powerful limbs, an ample upper and lower half with a (relatively) tapered waist, all mixed with near perfect ratio of muscle and softness. Clair might be called "hourglass shaped" were she even the slightest bit delicate. She's honestly a bit more like a barbell. In spite of her size and energy, she handles herself well at the table. She may have a plate full of snacks and cookies, but she keeps her manners while eating them.
Were that all, Bubblebun and the others would likely be satisfied with Clair and send her off, settling to make catty remarks about her figure and eating habits later. But naturally that's not all - Clair's ego was dominating the conversation.
"...And look, I'm not saying someone else couldn't have handled the Mire Lord, but it would have been a lot worse without me there." Claire slurped the last of the prickleberry tea with a satisfied smirk on her face.
The remaining witches stirred uncomfortably for a moment, looking towards one another before all nodding in agreement. Bubblebun stood with an melodramatic flourish, her ample hips nearly knocking over her chair with their sudden motion.
"Clair! It may surprise you that you have been brought to this tea party to be judged!"
"Not in the slightest." Claire set her cup down. "I mean, why else to witches even hold these?"
Bubblebun stammered as the others proved to be no help. "She's got a point." Fizz added abruptly. Toggs nodded.
"Be that as it may-" The matronly witch muttered. "It still stands that while it's clear you're a competent and talented mage, you've got a lot to learn when it comes to humility!"
Fizz and Toggs both nodded this time around. Clair seemed genuinely amused, her hand already reaching for her staff.
"Try me you old-" A surge of magical energy slammed into Claire's soft, cookie and tea filled belly. Bubblebun had her wand tucked in her sleeve - that's the sort of slyness you can only get with age.
"Your ego is rather inflated - and soon your body will be too!" Bubblebun crossed her arms with a smug look on her face. The other older witches actually looked confused. Clair was livid, the magic blast was enough to stagger her but she remained on her feet. The sudden and increasingly loud noises coming from her belly were not enough to deter her.
"I'll show you, you judgmental old ninny!" She swung her staff about, hurling an arc of magical energy at Bubblebun just as her stomach surged outward, straining a button or two. The gurgle coming from within her only got louder afterwards, causing her to wince in embarrassment and discomfort. Toggs moved forward to cover her ally, deflecting the younger witches assault towards-
...towards me, actually! Sorry for the skip there, had to dodge.
"What the hell Bubblebun?" Toggs shouted at the group's self-proclaimed ring leader. Clair was distracted by her predicament. The spell moved throughout her body with alarming speed, puffing her up all at once. She was retaining her basic shape, just becoming significantly thicker. "You're blowing her up with air?"
"Well, magical gas technically..." Bubblebun summoned a magical shield to block another counterattack, cued off by growling belch from Clair. Their victim's motions remained strong but stiff, her puffy limbs were clearly getting harder and harder to move. Her retaliation was followed by another bout of growth, a few seams splitting enough to reveal dark, soft, but clearly strained flesh.
"Well that's traditionalist nonsense! I thought we were going to weigh her down, like so!" Toggs let out a snort and spun her own wand around, sending a spiraling beam straight into Clair's chest. The strong lines in her face suddenly vanished under rounded cheeks and a double chin. Her stomach went from simply bulging to sagging a bit from weight as well. While the gas building within her hadn't vanished, the prideful witch's body was now rapidly accumulating fat as well. "You see, burdened by her own hubris and all that."
"You three are crazy!" Clair made increasingly heavy steps towards her attackers, her movement slowly becoming a rather aggressive waddle. The shape the fat was forcing her into was different. Her formerly cinched waist was exploding outwards, much of the added girth accumulating in her midsection. This granted her a sizable paunch and rounded love handles, as well as a significant jiggle to accompany her efforts.
"Toggs, that's insipid! There is no clear metaphorical connection there, you just want to try out your fat spell!" Bubblebun is furious, causing her to turn away from Clair at a crucial moment. The swelling sorceress seems to realize that conventional movement will not get her anywhere in her increasingly bulky state; she instead strikes the ground with her staff, launching herself like a cannonball with magical force. Her gas bloated, pudge swollen body collides with Bubblebun with a drum like thump, sending both of them crashing to the ground. The matronly witch flails helplessly as most of her form becomes obscured by Clair's increasing girth.
"How do you like that, huh? Maybe regretting turning me into a ball of lard now-" Clair choked as she was pulled off of Bubblebun by a magical hand generated by Fizz's wand. The tiniest of the trio had finally decided to join in. With a long sigh she looked up at Clair, suspended in mid-air like an over ripe fruit.
"Well I think we should fill her with liquid, mainly because I don't want either of you to be right." Fizz waggled her wand again. Clair's body switched from gurgling noises to a sloshing sound as a sudden deluge formed within her. The fluid introduced into her seemed to pull downwards and gravitate towards her lower half, each of her tormentors getting a rather candid view as her enlarging bottom nullified the effectiveness of her skirt. Thighs and calves thickened immensely, actually shredding her boots and leaving her comparatively dainty feet and toes waggling in frustration.
The magical hand Fizz had created was actually beginning to strain under Clair's weight, eventually depositing her onto the dining room table roughly before vanishing. She made short work of the furniture, crashing down and splaying out on the ground, a bit like a beached whale. The spells affecting her had begun to mix, and she was now filling rapidly with all three things at once. Her robust but defined shape had morphed into a much rounder one - the forces within her were pushing her body outwards in all directions, making her jiggly, globular and incredibly strained. She seemed impossibly large now, dominating at least half the room with her elephantine presence. Grunts and pained whimpering mixed with curses hurled at the three who dared humiliate her like this.
"Goodness." Bubblebun stared, mouth agape. "She's so big!"
"Much too big." Toggs placed her hand on her chin. "I don't think she could take another moment of this."
"Maybe we should stop the spells then?" Fizz suggested, as if commenting on the weather. All three of them moved to end their magic without a moment to spare.
The trio approached Clair cautiously, drawn in by morbid curiosity. Tatters of a once lovely outfit fluttered about. Thick, heavy limbs lay flat against the ground, jutting out of a widened torso and a dark dome of a belly that arced high in the air. Toggs extended a bony finger for a test poke against Clair's waist. She had a very odd consistency to her, with a layer of soft flab stretched across her blimped form, all buoyed by a large amount of fluid. Numerous embarrassing noises responded to the elder's touch, but Clair's shouts had stopped. The billowy witch was so full she seemed afraid to breathe too deeply.
"W-well...now you that you see the folly of your ways..." Bubblebun cleared her throat. "We'll be going. Um, we won't mention this to anyone if you don't..."
They couldn't see Clair's face, but I fluttered to a vantage point so I could. The fury on it was clear in spite of being comically puffed up. She managed to squeeze a response out through gritted teeth. "I'm going to kill all of you."
Fizz had already bailed and Toggs was already halfway out the door. Bubblebun herself only tarried for a moment to issue a final statement. "Well uh, honestly don't try anything until you have a chance to deflate a little, dear. You're just about ready to bust."
She exited with a start when Clair let out bubbling snarl. Then followed a moment where she didn't make a sound. Well, except the ones her engorged body was making, but you can't blame her for that, right?
That moment didn't last.
"Those old hags are going to pay...J-just gotta do a counter spell..." Clair's fat arms and pudgy hand extended towards her staff, which was a foot or so away from her. Every inch of her enormous body groaned as she struggled to move. I fly to a higher perch, just in case.
"C'mon..." She grunts, shifting her weight - the liquid insider her flowing a bit to the side she wriggled, pulling the entirety of her girth with it. She lets out a startled yelp as the motion is out of her control. And you know, it would have been brilliant if that one part of her very expanded belly hadn't manage to land right on top of a broken teacup.
During the resulting explosion (I will spare you the details) I can only wonder how I'm going to explain this to my master when she gets back.