Let's Talk About Hex (Lay the Very Best - Chapter 417)

A wall of roots folded open, spilling amber glow across the floor. Brandy squeezed Dani's hand and led her forward, shoulders brushing as they stepped into the light.

The wall stitched closed behind them, careful not to snag their clothes. Dani swallowed hard. "That was polite," she whispered.

"Polite can still be dangerous," Brandy murmured. Her eyes narrowed on the glow ahead. "But we can hope she's a little fond of us."

The tunnel widened out into a cathedral of thorns, with roots knotted into ribs overhead, letting light in through gaps that seemed to form a goofy face with huge eyes and a little smiling mouth on the ceiling. The wood around them creaked in and out in slow time like the whole chamber was slowly breathing. The air was warm, scented with the earthy smell of fallen autumn leaves.

In the middle of it all was quite the scene to behold.

Sparky, Nibbles, and Chew were bound upright in coils of living root. Not swaddled so tight they couldn't move, but wrapped artfully with thin roots that twisted over each other, leaving deliberate gaps where their bodies strained out against the wood. Their eyes were open but glazed, all three breathing to the same slow tempo.

At their side loomed a giant woman wearing a wooden mask that had once been carved into a solemn face, but had been crudely notched at the edges of the frown to turn it into a goofy, bug-like smile. Her body was carved from wood to be very feminine with some truly sinful curves, but through the cracks in the trunk, black wispy smoke curled out into long-fingered hands and formless feet. Brandy couldn't help but notice that the wooden armor had a very showy bulge at the crotch, black smoke seeping through the seams as if it couldn't fully contain what was below.

Pokémon came in all shapes and sizes, but it was easy to forget some were really far out there. A living smoke-woman possessing wooden armour was an exciting new possibility. How would you even be intimate with smoke? Did they need wooden toys, or…

Ghost Pokémon weren't really for Brandy, but the possibilities their unusual bodies offered did have her curious. She'd had great fun with Dinah and her liquid body that could possess fabric, after all.

This was clearly a Phantump, though a much bigger one than usual. As a Ghost/Grass type, she would have been the one who used Growth to make Val huge, and had turned that Move on herself as well.

But the last woman in the room wasn't the unnatural giant size you got from Growth. She was really damn big. Easily eight feet tall, she towered over Brandy, who was poured into a purple velvet gown cut with jagged hems and lace that accentuated her curves. Her hips shifted like waves beneath velvet, the fabric pulled taut over curves with every sway of her hips. She was breathing hard, and it threatened to split the bodice over her heavy chest. Her hair, a storm of dark violet curls gone feral, puffed and tangled down her face, framing dark purple eyes that gleamed with manic delight.

She clasped her hands in front of her chest, bent to get at eye level with them, with the kind of childish glee that made her overwhelming frame all the more impossible to ignore.

"Visitors!" she cried, the words spilling out of her like she was overflowing with them. "Finally! I knew Sassy would fetch me someone interesting."

She swept into a spin, her dress snapping tight across her hips before flaring out in a ripple that made the roots stir as if applauding. It only took a few pirouettes before she was right in front of them.

"Brandy and Dani!" she cried, beaming down at them as she rose back up to her full height. "Perfect, perfect. I've been waiting forever to say hello."

She leaned in, her chest straining the velvet inches from their faces. "Too much?"

Brandy flicked her eyes to Dani. Dani gave the tiniest shrug, and before Odile could blink, both of them reached up together and gave her breasts a firm squeeze through the straining velvet.

Odile gasped, her towering frame wobbling in place like she hadn't expected anyone to answer her question so literally. Then her mouth split wide in a delighted laugh, booming through the chamber and making the roots shiver.

"Ohhh, marvelous!" she cried, swaying her chest forward into their palms. "You two are going to be so much fun! I'm Odile. Welcome to my arcade. We haven't had ladies here for a long time; we were getting bored. Now we've got someone to play with finally."

The Phantump rumbled low in agreement, her roots tightening with anticipation.

Brandy's eyes darted across the roots binding Sparky and the others. They were watching, but all of them were doing it politely. Which was freaky for Sparky and pretty out of character for Nibbles and Chew. What had they missed?

Odile clapped her giant hands, palms cracking like thunder. "Aren't they darling? Such good girls."

"That's... new," Brandy said, giving Sparky a meaningful look. She blushed. Sparky blushed.

This was bad. This wasn't just Poison; they'd done something to her bug.

The giant Odile bent her head to place it on Brandy and Dani's shoulders, her chest growing warmer in their hands. The roots edging towards them, slithering along the ground.

Brandy squeezed Dani's hand. They had to act quick. "We're here to collect our friends."

Odile's grin widened, sweet and dangerous. "Oh, please do…" Her voice purred as she let the weight of her towering frame bear down until she all but smothered them. Her chest heaved against greedy hands, her head tilting just enough to see her dark purple eyes gleam. "…but surely you don't expect me to just give them back?"

Before Brandy could reply, Odile swept her velvet-clad arms around them and pulled them in to a hug. Her massive chest absolutely engulfed them, warm and heaving, the bodice straining so tight Brandy thought it might split. Dani squeaked as she was pulled in too, the three of them crushed together against curves that left no room to breathe.

Odile bent low, her hair spilling over them, her voice purring in their ears. "Mmm. So small. So soft. I could keep you here forever." She gave Brandy a playful squeeze against her hip, fingers strong enough to remind her this was no gentle hug

Brandy braced her stance. If she wanted to get close, then Brandy was happy to use that. "Dani. Splash!"

Dani didn't hesitate. She jumped, eyes wide but trusting, and her legs shimmered as water-light rippled down them. In a blink, her limbs fused into a strong, gleaming orange tail.

The transformation gave her a surge of raw power. She twisted midair, tail whipping sideways with a resounding crack.

It struck Odile across the hips, the impact so sharp the fabric rippled and the huge woman staggered back a step.

Odile gasped, then moaned, head tipping back, laugh bubbling up wild and delighted. "Ohhh! Yes! What was that?" she purred, pressing a hand to her hip, velvet still quivering from the blow. "That was a smack. Do it again!"

The Phantump rumbled low in answer above them, the roots bristled and snapped, splitting apart into spears.

"Sparky, Bug Buzz your way out of there!"

Sparky looked at Brandy, blinking her big blue eyes, and then bit her bottom lip. "But I'd ruin Sassy's root work, I don't want to annoy her."

"What did you do to her!" Brandy gasped. "This is weird."

The chamber pulsed, roots tightening, and then a new sound rolled through it. It came from the Phantump's hollow armor, words stretching and bending in cheerful tones.

"Bad girls," Sassy said brightly, voice doubling over itself, as if two women were trying to sing the same line a beat apart. "Wiggle and fuss and scratch. But I make them good."

She straightened, her mask tilting, the orange light in her eye sockets glowing like a lantern. Her voice trilled, almost sing-song, even as the roots twined tighter around Sparky's waist.

"Good girls work together. Good girls smile. Good girls stay still when told. Her long, smoke fingers curled as she tugged at the mask's mouth excitedly. "So many bad girls today!"

Sparky shivered in her bindings, her lips pulling into a dreamy half-smile. "I'm a good bug, Brandy."

"Oh fuck no," Brandy shivered. "You're the best, but you're never good. I'm snapping you out of this. Nibbles too and Chew."

Chew signed in the air quickly, Nibbles looking to her hands and dreamily saying.

"My best friend, Chew, wants you to know she didn't get hit by Forest's Curse. She's just into this."

Right. Of course. Hex Manaic's were kind of gothy and this one was absolutely huge with giant tits. Obviously, Chew wouldn't fight her.

Odile tilted her head, hair spilling down over her side as her grin got weirder. "Mmm, I love a fiery little Trainer. Just like Sassy loves her lessons. They were all having fun before you showed up," Odile spread her arms, velvet groaning across her chest as she gestured to Sparky, Nibbles, and Chew breathing in their eerie rhythm. "Good girls, every one. And I think they'd love for you to join them."

"Sorry, Odile," Brandy said, pulling Dani to her side. "I've got a bit of a bug in me. You want me to be good. You're going to have to make me."