Haze had been right. Everyone seemed to have forgotten the other night. If they continued shoving enough major changes into their lives, they wouldn't feel a thing by tomorrow.
A wall of sound hit Cutlery as she opened the dining hall door. All of the 'children' were trying to shove as much food into their new bodies as they could. They spoke loudly about all the odd things that were happening. Arcane energies boiled from some in the form of clouds of color, sparks, odd smells, and prickling sensations as one walked by. Their small spells darted across the chamber in all directions. Some magic whizzed by Cutlery and scintillated off the door.
She looked about and saw the goliath from yesterday. The same one who had been a full adult inside the metal hallway. Cutlery realized it was the same child goliath as before. Now fully grown like her. The goliath had reshaven their body. Their tattoos were still stretched tiny bumpy dots. Before their growth spurt, the tattoos had been spiky spheres.
The goliath sat with a new group of kids now. Other hulking characters, whose bodies rippled with muscle, talked amiably together. It seemed that everyone had grouped up by the changes that had happened to them.
The muscle table had half the kids seated at it. Beanstalks who rolled tiny magical effects across their hands dominated the other available table. Rega screed and rushed to the magic table. Two boys scooted apart for her to sit between them. A few of the boys whistled at her cropped shirt and slender body. Sparks blew up in their faces and they yelped. Rega giggled and immediately dived headfirst into mingling with everyone.
Cutlery waited, unsure which table to go to. She thought about going with Rega since she knew her. But, well, she sure as hell couldn't use spells. Maybe goliath will remember her, she thought. She grabbed some food and moved to the beefcake table. She passed two dozen soldiers that were lined across the walls. Most appeared bored. A few were chatting idly, pointing at the tables. She walked close and listened to what they were saying.
"I remember this. It's like a switch, one day you're eating rats, used to friends dying, the next you're a goddamn hero in your own story." A man said cynically.
"Maybe you! I grew up in an actual house! I can't believe how easy it was to move on from that first night." A younger guard said. Cutlery almost stopped, that first night? Did they do this to everyone they took? Kill some and then grow the survivors up? Why did they need so much manpower that magically growing children was necessary? Cutlery was surprised at her own thoughts. They had evolved as well! More, adult. More... boring.
The goliath had room to spare around them at the table. Even if people smiled and chatted with them, they still feared their size. So the nimble new body of Cutlery sat right into that gap. The table quieted. Everyone looked at her. The goliath didn't react at first. Turns out they didn't even notice. They followed everyone's gaze down to their ribs.
"Oh!" The goliath said in a deep voice. "Siz you!" The goliath's voice had a deep accent that rolled along the roof of its mouth. "I member due! You hid by the door the whole night, small as a flour, steel our!" The goliath said. Everyone laughed.
"She seems, bigger." One man said, his body was all wiry muscle. His eyes darted nervously after he had spoken.
"Yea you're a really... uh... smoker." Another man said. His chest barely fit in his shirt from all the hair spilling out. Why were they so nervous? She sat thinking for a second. Then it clicked. Were they trying to hit on her?
These 'men' had been boys just a few hours ago. Most of them hadn't heard of stuff like The Pink House. Her advantage in this situation was she, at the age of six, knew what fuckin was. To them, it was still a swear word. So she prepared for their next lesson in life. She turned and smiled at the hairy-chested man-boy.
"Shut the fuck up bitches. I'll slit your goddamn throats if you assholes so much as look at me wrong cunts." Cutlery said. She had used that line on a group of alley kids only a few weeks ago. The alley life seemed distant now. A much harsher, more dangerous world.
The taunt muscle boy went white and the hairy boy dropped his fork. His haires bristled as he began to stand and his muscles bulged. Uh Oh, Cutlery thought. Then goliath laughed. the laugh went a full five seconds. It resounded off the walls. The rest of the room went silent. The table began to chuckle, then laughed awkwardly. The goliath then slapped Cutlery so hard on the back, her face smashed into her plate. That made the table erupt.
As her body ricochet off her plate the goliath let out a snort and placed huge palms on her shoulders.
"er eh alright?" The goliath said. She groaned and smiled. "Zas good." The goliath said and relaxed. A napkin rubbed across her whole face. The palm of the goliath was so much larger than the napkin, that the skin did most of the wiping. The laughter slowly died and the table resumed eating and talking.
She would have to watch out. It wouldn't be just the boys testing their new limits. Everyone would have new bodies going on. If her morning was anything to show, more than just magic had entered some of their systems. Everyone was gonna have their entire teenage and young adult lives packed into only a few days. Luckily she had already done that in six years, not all of it, but most of it.
-
The soldiers watched carefully as the kid's competed. Cutlery's table shook with arm wrestling. Rega's table sizzled with spellfire slamming into each other. Once the kids stopped going back for more plates of food, the guards spoke.
"The only rules today are to stay on this floor and follow orders. Enjoy the day off, Haze's orders. Can I get a hoorah!" The soldier asked. The beefcake table gave a loud response.
The adult kids stayed in the dining hall chatting for some time. Eventually, the magic table got up to find somewhere to compare spells. After some chatter, they moved out into the hallway. The muscle table, as they had been dubbed, followed along to watch.
The mages lined up in the hallways and took turns launching spells. All the hexes fizzled out in the air after a few dozen feet. Some of the new mages would pray, say complex words, or just force a spell to happen. The blue demon girl from before was now tall and her horns now curled thrice backward along her head. Her glowing eyes were the only sign before she shot a bolt of fire. The magic kids ate it up. They asked her how she did it.
"Just do! It's like it's a part of me!" She explained. Some nodded and agreed while others tried to ask her how the magic worked. She couldn't answer. She looked down at her short affiliates with a gleeful smile.
"Show us something different than what an archer can do!" The hairy man-boy said. The magicians looked at him, then began discussing. A small girl with black skin and curly hair stepped out eventually.
"I can heal. But, no one is hurt right now." She said with a small voice. Gears turned in heads until the hairy man boy spoke up again.
"Let's just get hurt! Whenever my brother hurt me or I got hurt he would just say, we'll take you to the cleric Roddy." Roddy said.
"Your name is Roddy?" Cutlery asked. Roddy turned to look at her along with everyone else.
"We already have some beef with you cussing me out like a little... b-bitch." Roddy said, with a stammer at the end. Cutlery laughed.
"Alright then, let's fight. The winner gets healed first so the loser sits in the pain a little longer." Cutlery said.
"What's your name first?" Roddy said. He smiled as he stepped away from the crowd.
"I'm Cutlery." Cutlery said. Roddy stared then laughed.
"Like forks and knives!" He asked.
"Yea, like forks and knives." She said. She strode out of the muscle crowd. Crouching and raising her arms as she faced Roddy, Cutlery smirked. She was used to street fights, but something felt different. Something in her very being seemed ready to pounce. The Muscles in her arms and legs seemed to know something she didn't. There was some fighting spirit in whatever they had juiced her up with.
Roddy stood about thirty feet away and brought both his hands up in fists to block his face. He placed one foot in front, one in back. He crouched slightly and his body flared, his muscles flexing as he tested them. The room grew deathly quiet.
"I can't heal all too much I don't think, so don't push i-" The curly-haired girl said. Roddy burst forward before she finished.
-
In four steps Roddy was already tensing his right arm to jab her. Cutlery waited. There was no cover, no weapons, all she could do was fight. Roddy dropped his weight low and went for a full tackle. He exploded forward on his final step. Cutlery raised a knee. Roddy's face smashed into it soundly. While Cutlery herself was impressed with this, Roddy was heavy.
Cutlery had just raised her knee. So even though Roddy's nose was smashed inward by his speed. Cutlery was sent into a backward spin. Her leg that had been raised shot out from under her with Roddy's momentum. That caused her face to spin downward. Roddy landed on his stomach and Cutlery slammed face-first into his ass. Roddy let out a cry as landed.
Cutlery was happy her fall had been broken. She was prone nonetheless. Roddy tried to spin around but Cutlery started kicking the back of his head while she planted her hands on his butt cheeks.
"What the hell is this!" Roddy yelled.
"Just copping a feel." Cutlery said back. Roddy started trying to spasm her off. Cutlery rolled to the side of him and stood. Roddy did some kind of super push-up and rolled on his heels to a crouch. The group laughed and cheered. The sound of clinking armor came from down the hall. This party would be over soon.
Roddy's nose was crooked and blood flowed freely out of his nostrils. Cutlery was feeling wonderful. This time Roddy began carefully moving toward her. He raised his hands in front of his face again. His blitz start had faded to pure concentration. Cutlery crouched low and waited for another opportunity to counter. But Roddy was careful.
Roddy got within three feet of her. When she lost her composure and jerked to the side, he punched her. The first attack snapped at her and she whipped her neck backward. His knuckles snapped over her head. Cutlery was bent more than ninety degrees at the waist, but oddly she still felt balanced. His fist struck the cobblestone behind her head. Bits of stone hit her neck and cheek. She planted her hands behind her and double-kicked up toward Roddy's stomach.
Both feet planted right into his abdomen. Which she learned happened to be made of steel. He let out a quick breath at the impact and raised a fist. Stone flecks streamed from it as the other fist came down on her. She brought her legs back and wrapped them around the approaching arm. It slowed it, but he still punched her right in the crotch.
"Oh, my ba so-sorry..." Roddie's adrenaline faded and a blush filled his face. Cutlery wrapped her ankles around his shoulder and pushed on the floor sideways. Roddy spun sideways and slammed his skull against the floor. Any normal person would have been knocked out instantly. Roddy grunted. Luckily Cutlery wasn't done. She twisted. A snap echoed.
Roddy howled. The sound turned into a bellow. His hand still between her wrapped legs grabbed Cutlery's crotch. He did this with his twisted and broken arm. What the hell kind of monster was she dealing with? The pain cleared his embarrassment as he lifted her entirely off the ground. At the same time, his other fist snapped out to meet her rising face.
A shining hand blocked her view suddenly. The gauntlet jerked back from the intercepted strike. Gleaming silver plate armor stood between the two fighters. A soldier had caught Roddy's fist.
"Who the hell!" Roddy roared as he went for another. Three rapid thuds echoed and Roddy's arm went limp. Cutlery began to fall but was caught.
Chloe smiled at her. Cutlery was on her feet and being brushed off before Roddy even hit the floor. The hallways erupted into cheers.
"You alright? With your build, you probably shouldn't be wrestling muscle-bound freaks!" Chloe said happily. The crowd rushed in. Some pointed in awe at the shattered stone floor. Others helping Roddy made hissing pained noises seeing his rotated shoulder blade pressing through his shirt.
The small girl from before came forward to Cutlery.
"That was awesome! I'm Kopie! You can just call me Cop though. Let me heal you!" Cop said. She placed a hand on Cutlery. Many bruises that hadn't even fully formed began to fade away. "You didn't take much damage! Wow, that was impressive! You were so casual about it at the start too! Different than his macho stupid swings!" Cop spoke with sparkling eyes.
"I guess so." Cutlery said. She had done a lot of actions she had never done before. But they had felt natural. Somehow she would have learned to do those things eventually, but it was like that time had come and gone already. Cop turned and placed her hands on Roddy. She encouraged him as well. What a nice girl.
"Better than the slapping I told you to do!" Chloe said. "Let me find Rega, I got some more tips to give you two!" Chloe told her. Cutlery looked out at the kids. Many of them were looking back with big smiles.
Some of the boys flexed at her and nodded. She was in, she had done it. Maybe someone would be her friend without her having to feed them something she had stolen. Here, she didn't have to buy friends, she could just beat them.
