I’ve been busier than usual the past week or so, but wanted to write up a short piece to go with this art I got with my partner @CyrusStormfang for Macro March just in time before it ends!

Art is by @CoolBearwulf on Twitter

This is part 1 of a 2 image series. I’ll be posting the second part (the “after” to this growth scenario) tomorrow. Please enjoy this short (~1.5k word) story to go with this piece! As always, feedback on my writing is always appreciated!

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Synopsis: Sieg is a modern wizard, using his magic for mundane household tasks. When he finally cracks a growth spell, he invites Cyrus over to give it a test. What could go wrong casting a spell you’ve just crafted on something as complex as a person?

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PART 1

Sieg padded towards the door, answering the excited knocking of fists against it. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he opened the door, letting the fist on the other side pound on air.

“You don’t have to knock so many times, I heard the first few.”

The tiger on the other side gave a bashful grin, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, you can’t blame me for being excited.” The tiger entered the lion’s apartment, shucking off his jacket carelessly on a nearby armchair, ignoring the coat rack placed by the door.

“You’re the one who said you finally figured it out. I can’t help it if I’m jittery and nervous.”

The lion chuckled. “Fair enough. Yeah, I did figure it out. At least the first part of it.” He led the tiger over to his dining table before leafing through stacks of loose papers, each covered carefully with ink that shimmered in the naturally lit room.

Cyrus peered over Sieg’s shoulder. He had never understood the lion’s fascination with magic. The spells were often too slow and required too much to get stuff done. Why waste time casting a spell to clean when he could just vacuum or sweep in half the time?

But for this… he’d carve an exception out for this. After all, it wouldn’t be possible without it.

“So… how long until you can do it?” The tiger fidgeted, nervous excitement causing him to bounce on his feet and look around.

“When can I do what?” The lion gave Cyrus a teasing grin.

“You know what…” The tiger’s ears folded as heat rose to his face. He mumbled out his reply, something the lion couldn’t make out.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Make me big,” came the tiger’s reply, just a tad louder.

Sieg looked at Cyrus, cupping a hand to his ear. “Can you repeat that, I couldn’t quite hear.”

“When can you make me big?” Cyrus’s voice rose just a bit higher than a normal speaking voice, though he didn’t seem to realize.

“Woah, no need to shout, it’ll be a few minutes. I know you want to be big.” Sieg smirked at the tiger, tail swaying lazily.

Cyrus’s tail lashed lightly, growing annoyed with the self-proclaimed wizard’s antics. “Jerk… you didn’t have to make me say it so loud.”

“No, you’re right. I didn’t. But it did buy me time to get my materials in order.” The lion held up a thick book: hundreds of pages, each penned by himself, bound in a soft brown leather and adorned with golden accents. A simple, reliable spell book - one that the lion referred to as the “four door sedan” of spell books.

“So we can do it now?” The tiger spoke quickly, excitement clear in every word.

Sieg gave a patient nod. “Yup, just need to go to the usual spot.”

The tiger’s ears perked up and his tail lashed in eager anticipation. “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go already!” He began to usher the lion towards the door, and in moments they were headed out.

As the pair padded down the hallway in silence, Cyrus couldn’t help his racing thoughts and pounding heart. It was going to happen! Finally! He’d waited for so long.

When standing side by side, the lion was always the larger of the two. He stood a clean six-foot tall and had a belly that only came with working desk jobs and eating unhealthy foods. On the other hand, the tiger was a good few inches shorter and despite their bellies being proportionally equal, the height difference was enough to make Cyrus feel small in comparison - a feeling he didn’t particularly enjoy.

On the flip side, he knew Sieg didn’t like being larger. The lion often joked about being tiny, or at least being shorter or slimmer. He wasn’t a fan of standing out, and while he wasn’t substantially taller than average, he was still self conscious that he took up too much space in a room. While Cyrus looked forward to the spell making himself taller, Sieg was looking forward to finally feeling small compared to someone else in his life.

It only took a handful of seconds to reach the maintenance room on the far end of the floor. Each floor in Sieg’s building had a laundry room, and each of those had a maintenance closet. Pulling some strings, that closet was now Sieg’s for an extra fee every month.

The lion and tiger entered the laundry room, passing by a bear carrying a basket full of folded clothes with a small nod. Sieg fished a key out of his pocket and unlocked the maintenance door at the back of the room, slipping inside and practically yanking the tiger inside before shutting the door.

Yanking a chain hanging from the ceiling, the lion illuminated his “workshop.” In reality, it was simply an unfinished room - exposed brick walls, concrete floor and no windows. The floor was covered in scorch marks, but was clear. Everything that could have been on the floor was thrown randomly on the desk and shelves pushed up against the back wall.

“You really need to clean this place…” Cyrus eyed the dimly lit room warily. “It’s… a lot more beat up than the last time I was here.”

“Yeah, I know. But it just gets messy again and I know where everything is right now.” The lion gestured to the middle of the room. “Now, if you’ll just stand there we can get started.”

Cyrus moved slowly to his designated spot, steps filled with quiet trepidation. He was finally going to get what he wanted! But something about the environment unsettled him even if he knew it would be fine.

As the tiger settled into place, Sieg took his spot in the middle of yet another scorched circle. He opened the book and flipped to one of many dog eared pages. He nodded as he double checked the complicated glyph he’d drawn on the paper. “You ready?” He asked without taking his eyes off the page.

Cyrus nodded before realizing Sieg couldn’t see him with his nose buried in the book. “Uh, yeah.” He fidgeted a bit in place, waiting for the lion to start the spell. He had been meaning to ask something, but he couldn’t remember what.

Sieg gave a small nod before lifting one hand up and raising his head to look at Cyrus. He focused on the glyph, pouring every ounce of himself into making this spell work. Slowly but surely, his hand was enveloped in a soft blue glow. As the lion put more energy into the spell, the glow intensified and circles formed underneath the pair with a burst of energy, marking the ground with magic.

As magic began to weave itself out of the air, forming into bolts that whipped wildly around the pair, Cyrus remembered his important question.

“You HAVE tested this before, right?”

Sieg nodded. “Yeah, you can see the test right there.” He yanked his head in the direction of the nearest stack of trinkets. “See? Right there. Those cheap birdhouses. They were the same size when I bought them.”

“But like… what about living things - like people?”

Sieg paused for a moment, eyes glazed over in thought while the energy of the spell picked up. The force of the magic had begun to whip through the room like wind, throwing his mane in disarray and causing the pair’s clothing to flap. “Err… not on people. Just the birdhouses.”

Cyrus’s jaw dropped in disbelief. He could feel the magic taking hold of his body. “What?! Why wouldn’t you test it on like… I dunno, a piece of fruit or something first?!”

Sieg winced. “Okay I probably should have… but it looks like it’s working.”

Cyrus glared at the lion. He was mad, but he couldn’t deny the feeling in his body. A tightness, like his body was being pulled in two directions. He could feel his bones and muscles groan softly as his body was stretched upwards. In short order, he was taller than Sieg, a clean six-foot-three.

The lion stopped channeling the spell, and the magic around them died down. “There, see? It all worked out.”

Cyrus was about to say something when he paused. Something wasn’t right. He still felt tense, like the pulling hadn’t stopped. In fact, his clothes felt increasingly tighter, and the ground looked ever so slightly farther away with each passing second.

“Wait… why aren’t you stopping?” The lion’s normally calm voice betrayed a hint of panic. “I… I can fix this.” He began to focus once more on the spell.

With a sudden surge of light from below, everything went wrong. Cyrus exploded in size, beginning to fill the room. As he grew suddenly, his shirt ripped open, scattering buttons violently throughout the room. One of which found its way square between the lion’s eyes.

As Sieg fell backwards, unconscious, Cyrus could only utter one word: “Shit.”