Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 08

When Nick finally arrived, Amara was standing perfectly still in the middle of the living room, her hands held high. Fire surrounded her fingers and palms, and she was pretty sure she could feel heat emanating from her horns as well. Her phone lay on the floor next to her, its case blackened and warped.

"Niiiiick this is really scary!" She shouted. Fear kept her perfectly still, she didn't want to risk setting the place on fire.

Nick's eyes were wide, his chest heaving from the sprint over here. He had clearly gotten dressed in a hurry, and was wearing what looked like very loose-fitting pajamas. "Okay, cliff notes, what happened?!"

"I was on my way home, and I ran into Derek, but he was super drunk and we kinda fought a bit, and then I got really angry and suddenly my hands were on fire and then he was on fire and he ran away and now I can't stop and I'm scared if I move I'll set something on fire and I don't know what to do!" Amara was talking a mile a minute, her words bleeding together as she tried to stay calm.

Moving closer, Nick held up his hands to mirror hers. "Okay, wow, that's a lot to take in, but we can get through this. Eyes on me, match my breathing." He made a show of taking big breaths, trying to calm her down. "We can get this under control, alright?"

Amara nodded, her eyes locked on Nick's. She already felt better with him here, but the flames on her hands refused to go out. "Okay, deep breaths, I can do this, I can do this..." She watched as he moved closer, and soon they were only a few feet apart. "How bad is it?"

He laughed nervously at the question, then took a minute to look her over. "Well, you're not Vee anymore. Your hands are on fire, and so are your horns, which also seem to have grown a fair amount; They've practically doubled in size. Wings are still gone, though."

"Okay, that's honestly better than I expected." She forced a laugh, trying to fill the silence. "So, options, what can we do about this?"

Nick furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought. "Oh! Didn't Evelyn make you buy a fire extinguisher?"

"Yes! That's perfect! It's in the hall closet!" She pointed down the hall, then jumped in surprise when a small ember jumped off her finger and floated a few inches before vanishing. 'Fuck! Sorry!"

It only took a few minutes for Nick to ready the extinguisher, and they moved to the hard floor in front of the main entrance. "Hands first? I'd feel weird starting with your horns."

"What, you're not into facials?" Amara laughed again as she pushed her hands forward.

He rolled his eyes before pulling the trigger. A cloud of powder burst from the nozzle, covering Amara's hands as she jumped in surprise. They both froze for a moment, waiting to see what would happen, and after a few seconds the flames returned.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" She groaned in frustration.

"Hey, at least we've learned something. I had a feeling this wasn't normal fire, the purple tint makes no sense. It must be magically resistant somehow." He put the extinguisher down before grabbing a towel to clean up the floor.

"That's cool and all, but it doesn't help me right now. What else can we try?" She leaned against the kitchen counter as she waited for Nick to finish cleaning.

"Well, there might only be one option left..." He sighed as he threw the towel down. "The one thing that seems most effective with you."

They locked eyes, and a moment later Amara figured out what he meant.

"Seriously? Now?"

Nick shrugged. "Hey, you're the one with sex-fueled superpowers."

Amara grew quiet, admitting that Nick had a point. She looked at him and nodded in agreement. "Alright, it's worth a shot. How do we do this? I can't really use my hands..."

"Some people would consider that a turn on, actually." Nick stepped closer, his aura stirring as he walked. "Ever thought about trying bondage?"

"It may have crossed my mind a few times. You?"

"Tried it once or twice, I think it's pretty fun!" He knelt down in front of her, his hands moving up her legs. "Not an option now, what with the fire hazard, but maybe something to try later."

He pushed her sweater up, exposing her toned stomach, and lightly kissed her. She bit her lip as he explored her waist, his hands pulling her pants down slowly. A cool breeze tickled her hips, but the tingling sensation was soon replaced by Nick's hands.

He grabbed her exposed hips, holding her tight as he tenderly bit them. She yelped impulsively, then giggled as he kept pushing her pants down.

"Mmm fuck, when did you become a biter?" She asked.

"You seem to enjoy it, I thought I'd turn the tables since you can't use your hands." He smirked, then bit the other side of her hips. She jumped again, then felt her pants hit the floor. Nick helped her pull her shoes and socks off, and soon she was eagerly kicking her pants to the side as well.

When he returned his lips to her thighs, she moaned softly. He was taking his time, which was perfect. With each passing moment, each teasing kiss, the panic from earlier faded. The tension gradually left her body, replaced by an all too familiar demonic itch.

He continued to tease her, biting the sensitive skin inside her thighs. She wanted so badly to grab his head, to make him pleasure her more directly, but she knew she had to keep her hands safely in the air.

Instead, a different thought crossed her mind. Adjusting her stance, she moved her tail between her legs and reached for Nick. He was still kneeling on the floor, and her tail traced up his legs before finding a hard bulge in his pants. She massaged it slowly, exploring what she could do with her tail.

Nick responded by hooking fingers into her panties, pulling them down frustratingly slowly. He kissed each inch of skin that he exposed, and she moaned when she felt his lips on her sensitive clit.

"Yes, please taste me..." She whispered, eager to feel more.

Amara twitched when his tongue ran over her pussy, her body tingling with excitement. He moved it back and forth, each time teasing her entrance as she pushed her hips into him.

Her tail moved up, pushing into his pants in an attempt to return the favor. It wrapped around his shaft, and she carefully started stroking him.

"Fuck, that's new!" Nick whispered, his breath hot against her sex.

Amara grinned at his surprise. "Good new, or bad new?"

He dug his nails into her hips to make her squirm again. "Very good! Just... surprising, it feels like a snake is giving me a handjob."

They both laughed, but Amara's voice quickly gave way to more moaning as Nick pushed a finger into her. He pushed deep, curling it the way he knew she loved. His free hand dug into her ass, pulling her close as a second finger entered her.

Moaning even louder, her tail squeezed his cock tight. "Mmmmyes that feels amazing!"

His fingers pulled back, almost leaving her, before pushing in hard. He started fucking her in long, slow strides, his fingers wet from her arousal. He kissed her clit again, teasing it with his tongue as he picked up the pace. She could feel her body tensing, an orgasm starting to build as he kept fingering her.

Nick was focused on her pleasure much more than usual, and the effect it was having was incredible. Before long, a slow, rumbling orgasm surged through her body, catching her completely by surprise.

"Nick! Don't fucking stop!" She moaned, her body tensing around his fingers. He kept a steady pace as he continued, his tongue continuing to massage her clit.

As she came, her body convulsing against the kitchen counter, she felt her senses expand once more. She connected with the space around her, and her apartment seemed more vivid than ever. The flames surrounding her hands and horns suddenly felt safe, as if they were just another extension of her body.

It took a minute for her orgasm to stop, and once it did, she looked down at Nick. He slowly pulled his fingers out, his eyes jumping to the fire in her hands.

"Fire's still going, can you put it out now?" He asked.

"I think I've got a bit more control? But that's not how this works, Nick."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a succubus, I need to feed on your arousal, your sex, not mine." She tensed her tail again, teasing his cock. "If masturbating could power my abilities, I'd be ruling Hell by now. How do you want me?"

"Let me lay down, I think that will be the safest." Nick pulled back, his cock leaving her tail's grasp, and started pulling his clothes off.

Once he was finally naked, Amara stood over him, her eyes glued on his cock. Using her tail, she carefully straddled him, lining up her entrance. She almost moved for a kiss before remembering that her horns were on fire too. Her arms were starting to get tired, and she hoped she would be able to get rid of all the fire after this.

Her tail, no longer supporting her weight, moved to his cock again. She wrapped around his shaft, testing all her different muscles as she teased him. His aura grew brighter as she stroked him, her flared tip playing with the head of his cock.

"Ready to be inside me, Nick?" She asked, taking full advantage of his love of dirty talk.

He nodded slowly, his body twitching as she kept stroking him with her tail. It finally loosened its grip, aiming his shaft at her entrance before she sat down completely. Moving her tail out of the way, she gasped as she started to ride Nick. Slow, purposely strokes, mimicking what he did to her just minutes earlier.

She watched his aura eagerly, adjusting her rhythm and angle to make it as bright as possible. Nick's moans grew louder as she did, his body thrusting deep into her.

"Fuck, Amara, you get better every time..." He whispered.

"You love it, don't you? Having your own personal demonic sex toy?" Amara kept bouncing on his cock, her hands grabbing her horns as she rode him. "I'm such a slut for this cock, I'd do anything to keep feeding on you!"

Her words strengthened his aura further, and Nick's hands moved to her legs as she picked up the pace. She focused on her newfound sense of control, reaching out with her senses to connect with his aura, and began to draw strength from it. While it had no conventional taste, she felt as if she suddenly had ambrosia coursing through her veins.

She kept a comfortable pace, taking care not to push Nick too far as she continued to feed on his sexual energy. She was amazed at how much insight she gained from his aura; it was incredibly easy to move him closer to, or further from, his orgasm.

"Don't think I can't see what you're doing, you're such a tease!" Nick whispered, his thrusts still meeting hers.

"Who, me? I'm just an innocent little college student..." She playfully bit a finger, flames dancing up the side of her face. Her eyes grew brighter, and this time she had a feeling their flare was a bit more literal.

"Well, if you're not in control, then I think I'll take what I want!" Nick shifted his hands, holding Amara's hips slightly, and started fucking her faster.

She watched as his aura grew quickly, its intensity pushing more energy into her. She felt her own body start to betray her, to ask for another orgasm, and she had every intent of letting that happen.

"I'm close!" Nick gripped her legs tight, his body tensing. As his orgasm approached, Amara did everything she could to fuck Nick back, looking for another climax of her own.

She moved her hands off her horns, instead grabbing her sweater. Her tail joined in, wrapping around her torso as she started cumming hard, her screams filling the room.

With one final thrust, Nick's orgasm joined hers, his cock emptying its load into her. Amara's hips twitched as she came, her senses overwhelmed with pleasure. Her tail burst into flame, joining with the fire on her hands to turn her torso into a small inferno.

Nick's hips continued bucking with pleasure as he finished cumming, but soon the moment started to pass. His body relaxed onto the floor, and it only took another few seconds until Amara felt her own tension ease as well.

As her breathing relaxed, she focused on the flames surrounding her body. She closed her eyes, connected with the fire, and tried to extinguish it. The flames dwindled, eventually dying out completely, but their potent energy lived on. Amara pulled it inside of herself, where it nestled comfortably.

When Nick opened his eyes, they immediately went wide with panic. "Fucking hell, Amara!"

"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?!" Amara looked down, scared she might see burns on Nick's clothes.

"I'm fine, but I could feel how intense the fire got. And look at your sweater!"

Looking down, Amara saw her tail was still wrapped around her chest. When she uncurled it, she realized the parts of the sweater it had covered were completely burned away. She was effectively wearing an elaborate, burnt ribbon for a shirt, and she was shocked it hadn't fallen apart yet.

"Well," Amara said, looking at Nick, "how does it feel to fuck the hottest girl on campus?"

Nick groaned, his head hitting the floor. "Can I assume the terrible joke means you're feeling better?"

Amara slowly got off Nick, his semi-hard cock leaving her body. She stood up, holding her hands out in front of her, and looked down at Nick. "You tell me! Any fire?"

He took his time getting up, making sure to pull his underwear back on, then looked Amara up and down. "Not a single spark! What do you feel like? Is there control? Or does it feel like the first shapeshift?"

"I can still feel the fire, but now it's inside of me? I think if I focus..." Amara paused, holding out a hand. She focused on the energy she'd moved earlier and tried to pull it into her palm.

Within moments, a flame appeared in her hand. She giggled as she watched it, running her fingers through the fire. The extent of her heat resistance finally hit her; she knew how hot the fire was but couldn't feel it in the slightest.

"AHH look at it! It's so cute!" Amara tested her control, bouncing the flame between her hands as Nick watched.

"Wow, that's... incredible! Let's try to be careful with this, alright? We have no idea how this compares to regular fire." Nick's face was, comparatively, filled with caution. "How about we put it out for now and test something else. What about your wings?"

Amara nodded, recognizing Nick's wisdom. She put the fire out, pulling its energy inside herself again.

Next, she shifted her attention to her demonic body parts. She flexed her tail, pulling it in front of her. Content that it existed, she then tried to connect with her wings. While she couldn't flex and engage them the way she had with her tail, she could still sense their presence.

Curious, she tried to reach for them, to pull them forward the same way she'd done with the fire. With a dull flash of light, and a small scattering of fire, her wings suddenly reappeared on her back. As they did, she heard a ripping noise, and watched the charred remains of her sweater fall to the floor.

Amara jumped for joy, running to Nick and squeezing him tight. In her excitement, she even picked him up, spinning him around slightly.

"NICK! This is incredible, thank you so much!" When she finally put him down, he gasped for air. "Oh, uh, sorry. I don't think I know my own strength..."

"Well, in your defense, it's been growing exponentially for the last few weeks." He coughed again while rolling out his shoulders. "Maybe we should start tracking it? Who knows, you might be throwing cars around by Christmas."

"Could you imagine?!" Amara jumped around the room for a moment before speaking again. "Okay, moment of truth, it's shapeshifting time. Who should I be?"

Nick moved to the nearby couch and took a seat. "You think that's a good idea? What if you get stuck again?"

"C'mon Nick, I gotta try! Pick someone!"

"Alright alright. You've already been Vee, how about Tessa? If something goes wrong at least you'll be able to talk to her about it."

Amara nodded her head, then closed her eyes. Connecting with that energy, that inner fire, felt comfortable. It seemed to be the source of her abilities, it could manifest her wings, it could appear as fire, but could it do more? Focusing on it, she pictured Tessa, then tried to turn that fire inward.

It took a few moments, but soon she felt a tingling sensation in her body. It was warm, coursing through her in a fraction of a second, and then she opened her eyes.

"Anything?" Amara immediately noticed that her voice was different, a little lower than usual.

"Oh, that's weird..." Nick mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"What? What'd I do?!"

"It's just... I've never seen Tessa without any eyeliner or piercings before." Nick paused a moment before his concerned facade broke, betraying his ruse.

"You can be such an asshole sometimes!" Amara sat down next to him, pulling out her phone and turning on the camera.

Sure enough, the body staring back at her was convincingly Tessa. She shimmied in excitement before looking herself over, marveling at the changes. "You're completely right though, I barely look like Tessa at all. I've seen her once or twice without her makeup, but the piercings too? Wild!"

Before turning the camera off, Amara took a few selfies and sent them to Tessa. She giggled maliciously, then looked at Nick. "Time to turn back!"

"You might want to stand up again, there's fire when you shift." Nick added.

In the middle of the room, Amara repeated her previous actions. She connected with her inner fire, aimed it at herself, and pictured.... well, herself. The same sensation from earlier washed over her, and within seconds she knew it had worked. It felt a little strained this time, as if her strength were wearing thin, but her body was hers once again.

This time, however, she hadn't manifested her demonic features. She pushed her hands through her hair, confirmed the lack of horns, then did the same with her low back.

"Looks like you're getting pretty good at this!" Nick said. "Did you get rid of the tail and horns on purpose?"

"I did! This solves all my wardrobe problems!" She remembered she wasn't wearing her sweater anymore and picked it up off the floor. "Although, it seems like I need to be careful when I bring my wings out."

"Good thing the sweater was already destroyed, right?" Nick yawned, leaning back on the couch. "Now, no offense Amara, but I don't normally get up this early... Can I crash here for a bit?"

"Now that you mention it..." Amara yawned herself, checking the time. "I was about to go to sleep when everything caught on fire, and the shapeshifting definitely took more energy than I anticipated. Maybe we should both get some sleep?"

The two nodded in agreement, hugging briefly before retiring to the bedroom and the couch, respectively. Nick set an alarm for both of them, mostly because he had other plans that afternoon, and soon the two had passed out from exhaustion.

-

By the time Vee was free to go, the sun was already close to setting. She pulled her hood over her head, doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone as she walked home. When she arrived, she caught herself staring at the front door, unable to picture herself walking through it. The thought of going inside, of being alone, sounded terrible. She pulled out her phone.

Vee: Hey, can I come over? Are you still sick?

Amara: I'm all better! I'll leave the door open :)

She happily left her porch, picking up the pace as she walked. Tears threatened to fall, but thankfully Amara lived close. After only a few minutes, she was closing the door behind her and pulling off her shoes.

Amara ran over, giving her a soft hug. "What's happening babe? It's been so long since we hung out!"

Vee couldn't respond, her mind was racing, and all she could do was look at Amara. She could feel the emotions building up, the heat growing in her face.

"Vee? Talk to me, what's going on?" Amara's tone grew serious, her hands landing on Vee's shoulders as she lowered her voice.

"I... I don't..." Attempting to speak broke what little control Vee had left. She fell forward, her arms wrapping around Amara as the tears started falling.

Minutes passed, neither saying anything as she buried her face in Amara's shirt. Her breathing was erratic, her body occasionally twitching as she released all the frustration of the day.

"It's... it's Derek..." Vee managed to say.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you?!" Amara had a fire in her voice, as if she were ready to go to war.

"No, nothing like that." Vee said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "He... he says I attacked him! That I set him on fire!"

Amara's face turned white, the shock more than apparent. "I... that's... that's absurd! You would never do that!"

I wouldn't. But a demon would.

She tried to shake her thoughts loose. "I saw him, briefly, at the station. Whatever happened, he's in bad shape."

Amara froze, her face betraying her confusion. "Wait, station? As in the police station?"

"He filed an official report. I was there all day, answering questions and shit..." Vee moved to the couch, shrinking into a corner as she continued sniffling.

"Okay, well, obviously you didn't do this. What do you think happened?" Amara sat down, draping one arm around Vee's shoulders. While the gesture was meant to be comforting, Vee could feel the tension in her friend's body.

I think the succubus knows I'm onto her.

The thought lingered, and Vee was unable to shake it loose this time. What other explanation was there? The succubus was trying to frame her, to warn her against continuing her hunt.

Despite Amara holding her, Vee felt hopelessly alone.

What if I told Amara everything? Would she believe me?

She leaned into Amara, wordlessly looking for what little comfort she could get.

It would be so easy! 'Hey, Amara, this is gonna sound weird, but I'm an Angel! A soul-sucking demon is trying to frame me!'

Despite her desperation, Vee couldn't bring herself to say anything. The church had warned her, time and time again, never to share her holy mission with humans. Either they don't believe you, or worse, they do. They become obsessed with divinity, the afterlife, worshipping you to gain favor and salvation.

Her friendship with Amara was genuine, one of the few things her divine lineage hadn't tainted, and she refused to give that up.

Minutes passed, the silence only broken by Vee's sniffling. She was glad Amara lived the closest of her friends; Tessa had a bad habit of being too flippant, and Chloé wasn't the most reliable in stressful situations. Amara had always been safe and comfortable, eager to help however she could.

"What happens now?" Amara said, breaking the silence. "They obviously don't have any evidence, since you didn't do anything."

"I...can't say for sure, but it seems like nothing is going to stick. Like you said, there aren't any witnesses, there's no evidence, and Derek was clearly drunk. They're probably only taking him seriously because... well, you know."

Amara nodded with acknowledgment. Derek's family was notoriously wealthy, and his father was the most influential person on the school's board of directors. Derek took full advantage of his position, and had essentially turned the campus into his own personal playground. Students and faculty alike bent over backwards to keep him happy, while those who stood in his way frequently regretted it. Supposedly, the last teacher to give him a poor grade had lost tenure within a year.

"Even if nothing happens, with how popular Derek is... school is gonna be a living hell. He's going to make sure everyone thinks I attacked him in cold blood."

"Hey, whatever happens, we're here for you." Amara shifted to look Vee in the eyes, "I'm here for you. I swear I'll find a way to fix this."

There was an unusual determination in Amara's voice. While Vee appreciated the concern, and had always known Amara to be protective, she was slightly taken aback by the reaction.

"Thanks Amara." Vee leaned closer, hugging her friend tight. "I knew I could count on you."

-

"No! Absolutely Not!"

"Tessa, this is all my fault! What other choice do I have?"

"Uh, the sensible one? The one that keeps you safe?" Tessa started pacing back and forth, her hands gesturing wildly. "I can't believe you'd even consider it!"

"I told you, didn't I? That went fine." Amara crossed her arms, her tail twitching in frustration.

"I'm a witch, Amara! I already knew magic and demons were real! And even then, are you forgetting that I almost left you there? I was terrified!"

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I have to try! What would you have me do? Nothing?"

Tessa moved closer, grabbing Amara's shoulders as her voice grew softer. "That's not what I'm saying. We just have to be careful about this."

Amara stayed quiet, moving her eyes to the floor to avoid looking at her friend.

"Look, this is a shit situation, I get it," Tessa continued, "but there's more at stake here. Our secrecy is what keeps us alive, in a very literal sense. You've heard of witch hunts, right?"

"Weren't those all made up by colonists to justify killing women they didn't like?" Amara asked.

"I mean, yeah, but the first one? The first one was legit. It got a lot of attention, and people realized that witch hunts drove communities apart, created a vacuum of power for whoever could control the narrative. Things are a lot better now, but that hatred can still be stoked under the right circumstances."

"Vee's our friend! She's one of the smartest, kindest people I know!"

"Her family is also super religious! Did you know she's got some kind of grant from her church? You think they're going to give out money to people who are down to fuck with witches and demons?"

"I... I didn't know that. Seriously?" Amara finally looked Tessa in the eyes, surprise in her voice.

"She doesn't like to talk about it, and I don't even know what it's for. I only found out because I was at her place when a payment came in." Tessa moved her hands to Amara's face, keeping their eyes locked. "Look, I want to help Vee just as much as you, but there's a right way to do it. I'm asking you to trust me."

Amara couldn't find the words to respond, and instead kept looking into Tessa's eyes. The same vulnerability she had seen before had returned, only this time it was laced with fear. She had a sneaking suspicion that Tessa wasn't telling her everything, but her words seemed honest enough.

"Alright, fine. I won't tell her." Amara sighed in resignation. Who was she to doubt Tessa's wisdom? Amara had only known about her lineage for a few weeks, but Tessa seemed to be speaking from significant experience.

There was another small pause before Tessa spoke again. "What about you? Obviously everything about this is fucked, but you haven't talked about, y'know... Derek attacked you."

"I'm... torn. It was terrifying, absolutely, but I also got out completely unscathed." Amara paused, taking a deep breath as she thought back to this morning. "You know what's weird? The thing that shook me to my senses was when he called me Vee. As far as he's concerned, he was trying to attack her, not me. My blood boils every time I think about it, but there's this tiny part of me that's... almost glad this happened?"

"Amara, what the fuck are you on about? Do you even hear yourself right now?"

"I know how it sounds, and that's not what I mean. I keep coming back to the same thought, over and over. What if he'd found her instead? He's obviously the type to do this shit, and if it's going to happen, I'd rather it happens to me than her. I was able to fight him off, but Vee..."

Tessa clearly wanted to say something, but it took a few moments before she did. "Fuck. I hadn't thought about that." She pulled Amara in for a hug, squeezing her tight.

"I'll make this right. For Vee." Amara whispered. She squeezed back, doing her best not to hurt her friend.

She felt Tessa nod, then pull back from her. "So, you can actually summon fire now?"

Amara looked up at Tessa, shifting her focus. "Oh, yeah! It's pretty neat, if a little scary at times. Wanna see?"

Tessa nodded enthusiastically, turning off the flashlight on her phone as she pocketed it. "Uh, obviously! My phone is close to dying anyways."

Holding out her palm, Amara turned her focus inward. She was able to find the connection much quicker now, and soon a small flame sat in her hand. "Just be careful, it's not normal fire."

The firelight reflected in Tessa's eyes as she moved closer. There was caution in her steps, but it was clear she was fascinated. "Can I just say how jealous I am? You get stronger by fucking, talk about getting lucky."

The flame moved higher, growing slightly brighter as Amara fed it more energy. She moved it back and forth, watching as it illuminated the room around them.

The two girls were currently under the cafeteria, as they had been trying to find more magic circles. With only a brief investigation, they had discovered an old storage room filled with discarded kitchen hardware. Industrial fridges, freezer chests, deep fryers, all sorts of massive steel contraptions. Some of this equipment had been pinning down a large throw rug, and they had found a magic circle underneath.

The most peculiar thing about the room were the breaks in the floor. The entire place had cracks in the foundation, through which dozens of different plants were growing. Most of them were quite small, but the sheer variety on display was impressive. As the firelight grew, the amount of plant life in the room finally hit them both.

When Tessa finally pulled her eyes away from the flame, she looked around and whistled. "Damn, this place looks like it's seen a few apocalypses. How long can you keep that flame going? We need to start moving this shit so we can see the circle."

"Uh, maybe a bit? I just figured it out today, remember. You get started, I'm going to try and get the lights on." Amara walked back to the entrance, flipping the light switch up and down a few times.

I wonder if they purposely fucked with the lights to keep people out. Who would want to wander around in a dark room filled with half-broken freezers?

She kept searching, tracing the walls in hopes of finding another light switch, or maybe a breaker. As she walked further away from Tessa, she kept focusing on her connection with the flame. It still floated roughly 10 feet up in the air, and it grew more difficult to maintain as the distance increased. Although she didn't have any physical muscles flexing to support the fire, she could feel the strain building, and managed to find the breaker just before dropping the flame.

"We have light! How's the heavy lifting going?" Amara asked, returning to her friend.

"I moved some smaller stuff, but the rest of this crap isn't moving without both of us." She gestured to a few large appliances still sitting on the rug.

"You can't just, y'know, float them away?" Amara tapped the side of her head and wiggled her fingers.

"My telekinesis has limitations, you know. Like I said last time, that energy has to come from somewhere."

"Alright alright, this one first?" Amara pointed at an ancient soda fountain, and the two of them got to work. While Tessa's telekinesis was unable to lift the whole thing, she still used it for her half of the lifting. Amara chuckled as they worked; it looked like Tessa was lazily supervising while a ghost helped her do the dirty work. As they worked, she found herself wondering how long Tessa had been a witch.

Presumably a while? She's had her tattoos since at least freshman year, and they didn't seem very fresh then. Were her parents witches? Wait, who are her parents? Holy shit, I don't know anything about one of my closest friends.

It took close to half an hour to finally clear the rug, at which point the two of them draped it over a nearby appliance. With the circle now uncovered, Tessa pulled out her notebook and started looking around.

"So, have we learned anything yet? I feel like we've found quite a few circles, but I don't really know what you've been doing with them."

"The first step of science, Amara, is gathering data. I've been familiarizing myself with all the symbols, the connections, the ways the circles are built. So far, they've all been pretty consistent, but I'm getting better at telling them apart."

Amara jumped to sit on a nearby freezer, pulling out her phone as she settled in. "But this all started because you felt... what did you call them, shifts? Changes in the magic around campus? Any clues on that yet?"

"I definitely have a few theories, but nothing concrete." Tessa started chewing on her lip ring as she looked over her notes. "Although..." She shifted, moving closer to a spot on the edge of the circle.

She started flipping through her book, hunting for a specific page. Amara leaned in, eager to see what she might have found.

"I knew it!" Tessa pointed at one particular symbol. "Someone's been fucking with the circles! Look, the rune here is newer, and the signature doesn't quite match."

"Signature? I'm still not a witch, Tessa."

"It's... how to put this... the context is wrong. Like, if we were talking and I suddenly said 'Thou art mistaken'. The language of magic has changed over time, which can help with identification."

"So, can you tell what it's for? The new bit?"

Tessa traced her hand over the symbol, comparing it to some writing in her journal. "It's a subtle change. Either it's trying to recalibrate the circle, or it's trying to weaken it. I bet if I..." She trailed off, mumbling to herself as the tattoos on her head lit up again.

Her fingers stopped moving on the rune. It pulsed slowly for a moment, but soon its glow spread to other parts of the circle. The whole thing now pulsed, several times in succession, before Amara felt a charge move through the air.

She braced herself, then watched as something burst out of the circle on the floor. It was moving fast, but Amara managed to spring backwards over her perch to avoid it. The sound of scraping metal filled her ears, and she jumped back again to avoid a large fridge as it tipped over. By the time she made it to the far wall, the chaos seemed to have stopped, and she finally looked around.

The far corner of the storage room, where the circle had been, was now covered with a thick blanket of deep green vines. The smallest ones were as thick as Amara's fingers, but many of them were much bigger. They had wrapped around most of the nearby appliances, and she could see that the nearby fridge wasn't the only one that had tipped over. The one thing she couldn't see was Tessa.

"Tessa! Are you okay? Where are you?" Amara paused, trying to listen for her friend. She soon heard a muffled response, too quiet to understand, but enough to start searching.

Moving closer to the vines, she tried touching one to check for movement or danger. It didn't seem to react, so Amara felt comfortable pushing further. She climbed over appliances and vines, looking for any sign of where Tessa had ended up.

"Keep talking! I can hear you, but it's faint." Another muffled response told Amara she was closer.

After another few minutes of climbing, she found herself closing in on the far corner of the room. The girls had pushed everything towards the center, which had left the walls completely open, and vines now clung to those walls eagerly. It was in this corner that she finally found Tessa. She was completely immobilized beneath a thick blanket of vines, though parts of her were still visible.

"Alright, I'm here. Let's see if we can get you out of this mess!" Amara moved closer, standing over Tessa as she reached for the vines covering her face. They were smaller, but she was caught off guard by how much they resisted her attempts to pull them off.

It took a few moments of heavy pulling, but soon Amara had freed most of her friend's face.

"Thank fuck, it was getting hard to breathe under that." Tessa looked around at the storage room, then at herself. "How the fuck did you avoid this shit?"

"I was further away from the circle, and I could tell something was about to happen. There was a weird shift in the air." Amara sat down on some nearby vines, looking for other ways of freeing Tessa.

"Well lucky you! Now are you gonna get me out of here, or what?" Tessa was straining, doing her best to break free, but nothing seemed to be happening.

"I'm open to ideas if you have any. I was barely able to move those small vines off your face, and everything else looks to be twice as thick." Amara kept testing different vines, hoping to find ones that she could pull at. "I don't suppose we could reverse the circle? Put everything back?"

Tessa threw a dirty look at Amara. "No, the circle doesn't have a built-in 'undo' feature." Her words dripped with bitter sarcasm.

"Hey, I'll never know if I don't ask." Amara stuck her tongue out at Tessa.

The two girls looked at each other, each sighing with resignation. They knew they were in for another long night.