A Second Postcard from Barkroot

[Demandred]

Hello!

Here's another part to the Barkroot story. I hope it's to your liking, I've not written about the group for some time so it feels rather strange at the moment. Comments appreciated!

- Dem





A Second Postcard from Barkroot

Having been given a job as temporary art teacher at Oakswood, Nathan was just a little put out by Kane announcing his forced resignation in the midst of their intimate day off together.


“It doesn’t make sense” I said, not for the first time. Kane sat on the sofa looking bored, having already heard this. Sophia, Jennifer and Wendy sat on the other sofa and Colette made no show of being the slightest bit bothered. I folded my arms, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. “All that stuff over last two years and now I’m not supposed to go back at all?”

“I don’t think Oakswood is done with you yet Nay-Nay,” Jennifer said soothingly. “Just go in tomorrow and see what the Head has to say to your face. I don’t know why he hired an eighteen year old boy to teach A-Level students anyway, it seems pretty stupid if you ask me.”

“Maybe he found someone else to teach,” Wendy suggested. She pushed her glasses up her nose and sipped at her tea.

“Even if he has you should go in. I’m pretty sure you should be paid,” Jennifer added.

I sighed, heading into the kitchen for something to eat. Kane appeared next to the fridge looking apologetic. It wasn’t a look he suited; it made him look constipated. “Of all the times to tell me,” I began with a scowl. This was something we had also been through several times, with the same ending each time. Kane teleported to the bedroom with his pained expression closer to his usual scowl, and I helped myself to some of Sophia’s leftovers. She was the sort who went into work on her day off, probably to show Jennifer she wasn’t a deadbeat like Kane. I was grateful for her dogged devotion to her job right then as I finished off the cold sticky lasagne in the plastic tub.

There had to be some benefits to not being at the school as Art teacher. I probably wouldn’t get so awkward and nervous again, causing that unusual temporary growth spurt. I flexed my hands, watching my fingers envelope the fork. I could find a job in Barkroot if I had to – there was always manual labour to go back to, and I wasn’t too proud to worry myself with doing common hauling. Also, the night classes in business studies would begin after Christmas, so I had that to look forward to in a couple of months.

I went back into the room, where the girls had already decided to do a CV for me on Sophia’s laptop. I rarely used mine, and they knew I’d never make a CV through my own free will. Sophia already had her pink laptop on her knees and invited me to sit with her.

“Look, we can do a CV in, like, ten minutes tops.” Sophia put the laptop on my knees, though it happily perched atop just the one. “This one’s mine, I took out all my details. You just need to put yours in now. Your achievements, what grades you got, volunteer work...”

“Oh,” I said as I peered at the laptop screen. I felt like I’d snap it in half, but Sophia was entrusting me with it. “Where’s the mouse?”

“You use this, silly.” Sophia put her finger on the laptop and moved the mouse using the... square bit at the bottom. Oh. I’d never seen that before. “It makes it so much easier.”

Ten minutes later, I owed Sophia a new laptop and I was left on my own in the living room. I held up the two halves of Sophia’s laptop and wondered if it wasn’t beyond Robin’s machine repairing abilities to put it back together. Perhaps the Sec could do it. If I could, I’d take it with me and ask the pair of them when I saw the Head. I didn’t bother mentioning it to Sophia, she was not in the mood to listen to the oversized idiot she lived with.

“You seem to cause a lot of problems, more than you solve, don’t you Nathan?” That was Colette, perched on the chair across from me. I looked up from the two bits of laptop and frowned at her.

“Why are you still here?”

“You’ve only been here a few weeks and you’ve managed to break three things, am I right?”

I shrugged my immense shoulders. “The laptop, the sink and a doorframe,” I listed them off.

“And the doors are wider than normal to avoid these accidents,” Colette tutted. “The laptop I can understand, your fingers probably can’t help but press more than one key at a time. And I suppose the taps are a little small for your big clumsy hands. But the doorframe...” the young woman tutted again, shaking her head. “All this time and still no control.”

“I really hope you’re with Wendy if she ever relapses,” I told her flatly. Colette seemed to like this, and went to Wendy’s room looking pleased with herself. That left me alone again to feel sorry for myself. She did have a point – I did cause a lot of problems. If it wasn’t for me, Flat D wouldn’t have been attacked quite so many times, and we could have rented a normal house in the main part of Barkroot. Instead we had to search out this one so I could fit in it, and like Colette pointed out I was still managing to destroy everything I touched. I drummed my fingers on the sofa thoughtfully.

-

I went to Oakswood a few days later. Kane kept giving me wary looks, wondering what I was up to, but I wasn’t about to tell him. He’d see for himself soon enough.

I didn’t head for the Head’s office. Instead I took a right and went to see the Sec, who was sat looking at a map of the London underground for some reason.

“Morning Nathan,” he said without looking up. His ginger hair was starting to thin at the crown, I noticed as I filled the room. “What can I do for you?”

“A Suppressor would be nice,” I said. “Do you think there’s one strong enough?”

The Sec, disturbingly, didn’t look surprised. “As a matter of fact I do. The Head wanted me to make one, and with Robin’s help I think this will work quite nicely.” He pulled a large wristband from under the desk. “You do realise it’ll make you your original size, yes?”

“I know,” I said. “That’s what stopped me coming here quite a few times. Do you think the Head would give me that Art teacher job back if I wore this?” That they’d gone through the trouble to make me a Suppressor was a little discomforting – did they ever expect to use it? I figured it was best not to think on that.

“Probably,” the Sec supposed. “You can always go and ask him, he’s in his office.”

Figures. The man never seemed to leave the place, or even get dressed for that matter. I held out my forearm, easily thicker than a normal man’s biceps. Probably bigger than a big man’s biceps. Luckily the Sec had anticipated this, and the wristband coiled around tightly. It was a cold blood-coloured metal, and it clicked together loudly. I couldn’t see where it came off. I felt cold spikes mark around my right wrist, and bit my lip. It actually hurt!

“By the time you get to the Head’s office it’ll have worked,” the Sec said. Already I thought my clothes were a bit looser. “Don’t try to take it off if you like the use of your right hand.”

“I’m a leftie anyway,” I muttered as I prodded at the device. “Thanks a bunch. I’d better get changed first.”

I don’t want to go through how it felt, becoming small and skinny again. I’ll skip to the part where I was changed into my best suit, something I had to buy new before getting to the school, and stood before the Head in his office. As always, he was in that porn star dressing gown and drinking some tea.

“I almost didn’t recognise you,” he said as I shuffled my size 9 feet. I’d not thought to get shoes. “I suppose you want your job back?”

“If you would. Just the Art part,” I said. I flexed my hands, frowning at the outline of the band under my black jacket. “Unless you have a replacement teacher?”

“No,” the Head sighed. “At this rate they’ll have to all do Computing instead or something. And all that comes from that is kids playing games instead of doing their work. Though I did enjoy Dolphin Olympics...”

“I’ll try my best,” I said keenly over his musings. I wasn’t so worried, which was strange but true. I thought I could take care of the class just fine now I was smaller. A nice, normal young man. “Thanks.”

“It’s fine,” the Head said. “Anything else?”

“No,” I said as I picked up my bag with my old clothes.

“Not even a new Power?”

“Huh?” I asked, dropping my bag. “A new Power?”

“Yours is repressed now, after all,” the Head said over his cup of tea. I sat at the seat opposite his desk to listen. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to thank you for the last two years, and this seems to be a good opportunity if you’re interested.”

“I...” I swallowed, and took the cup of water offered. “I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”

“That’s fine. Just come and see me when you want a new Power,” the Head said with that smile. I knew I shouldn’t trust him, but left it at that. “Keep it between us though, alright? Otherwise every kid who can only turn into a caterpillar will want to be a dragon and I can’t do that. Natural balance, and all.”

“I don’t want any more dragons,” I groaned.

The Head leaned forwards, that smile gone. “Dragons aren’t your problem anymore Nathan. They were reserved for the guy who kept breaking my doors.”

-

I got the bus back to Barkroot. This one wasn’t driven by one of Edgar’s spies, and I wondered for a moment if any of them were actually left roaming about Barkroot. They probably were, if Barkroot was as full of people with powers as the nurse suggested. It was someone else’s problem now.

I didn’t realise walking would get me quite so out of breath. I only walked for ten minutes from the bus stop to my house, but I was a little warm and not feeling as fresh as I would have liked. The house looked much larger now, but I was more bothered about taking the mini boats off my feet.

“You went and fucking did it.”

I looked up to meet Kane, and I hadn’t even opened the door all the way. I stood on the doorstep like a rabbit in the headlights. Kane actually had a cigarette in his mouth. And fuck, he was tall! I didn’t realise, but he’d grown since I was last this size. Kane took my wrist in one strong hand, pulling the jacket back to reveal the wristband. He tried to get his fingers beneath but it was stuck to my skin.

“Gerroff,” I mumbled as I tried to pull back. It was all my strength and it didn’t work. Shit. I didn’t exactly fear Kane right then, but I was somewhat wary. I never really appreciated how built he was, partly my fault. He let go, moving to take out his cigarette.

“Better come in,” he said as he went to the kitchen. I followed his broad back dutifully.

“Kane!” Wendy squealed from the kitchen as I approached, “I already told you about smoking in here! Some of us are very asthmatic...” she broke out into coughs of self pity, more put on than genuine. They stopped when I shuffled into the kitchen and took a seat. I knew I was small when Wendy looked larger than I had anticipated. “Oh. Mygawd! Nay-Nay, you’re pint-sized!”

“Five-ten tall,” I muttered. “Same as before I got my Power. Where’s Sophia?”

“She’s doing overtime.” Wendy looked at the clock, “she should be back soon.”

Kane paced the kitchen. I didn’t like it. It was my job to be the one who paced about looking ready to fight evil. I must have been quite the sight.

“You went and got a Suppressor, didn’t you?” Wendy asked.

“Yeah,” I said as I showed it to her. I didn’t like talking about it when Kane was there, not when he was glowering so.

“Ooooh, that looks nicer than mine. Mine’s on my ankle but it is pink.”

“It doesn’t stab into your skin?” I asked drily.

“Oh, no. I suppose mine is nicer.” Kane teleported away, and her face fell. “He seemed to know when it happened. I didn’t want to go to work in case he did something stupid, but he mostly teleported everywhere and smoked a lot. That’s why I smell like an old man’s pub!”

“Don’t be daft, it’s illegal to smoke in a pub now,” I said half-heartedly. Wendy hadn’t been given a new power, hers was just dulled. Mine was completely taken away, fully hidden. That was another difference. Wendy seemed to realise I wasn’t thinking about cigarettes, or even Kane. She got me a glass of milk and I nursed it in both hands feeling sorry for myself.

-

I went to see the Head the next day. After a night hugging into the warmth of Kane’s back, I knew I wanted at least something to give me a bit of an edge. Back in the man’s office, I turned down a cup of tea as he explained a little more about Powers.

“There are two main categories of Powers, regardless of the final strength.” The Head held his hands out to either side. “On one hand you have the powers which are always “on”. These ones are Active. Your super strength was one of those, as is something like turning everything to gold with a touch. You can’t just switch it off.”

“Does someone have the Midas touch?” I asked over my cup of tea.

“How do you think we can afford to run this school?” The Head asked. “Anyway. The other kind are Switch powers. Those you have to turn on and off to use, so to speak. Kane’s teleportation, glowing, turning into an animal, reading someone’s mind, most powers are of the Switched variety. As a general rule the Active ones are both the weakest and the most powerful. A bit like how left handers are either delinquents or geniuses.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t give you another Active power, those are way too expensive to keep.” The Head stood up. “Geoff is going to take you to see the ones we do have so you can choose. He’s just upstairs...”

I let the Head go and turn into Geoff, not thinking about having to be near the Dad who wasn’t actually a Dad. I was just thinking of Kane and what he would think. But somehow I knew it would even things out a bit if I still had a power; technically I was just a human at the moment.

Geoff appeared wearing the same dressing gown the Head had worn. He really had to be more careful with that. I made a point of not looking as Geoff flexed his hands, twisted his ankles and shrugged his shoulders. This isn’t a father-son sort of story.

“So where are they kept?” I asked as Geoff moved over to the bookshelf in the office. “Don’t tell me they’re behind this bookcase.”

“Not quite,” Geoff said with a smile I didn’t like. He pulled a book and the chair I was sat in fell into the floor, taking me with it. I fell for what seemed like a long time, but when I landed with a thud the office was barely 20ft away.

Geoff entered the dark stony corridor through the door to the side.

“What was the point in that?” I demanded, “when there’s stairs?” I rubbed my ass, the landing was softened by lots of pillows but still...

“That’s the guest entrance. The Head likes to have little secret levers and things.”

I frowned. If I was my normal size... no, my old size, I would have probably been stuck at the armpits. Geoff set off down the corridor and I followed. I suppose the need for clich?d suspense was carried on with the torches flickering their fires at me from either side. Electricity has no place down here, I supposed as we went on for what seemed like a very long time. Geoff was silent, for which I was grateful.

We came to a large metal door. Geoff put his hand in the latch in the centre, and a clicking noise told us it was unlocked. I followed him in and looked around, impressed. The room was shelves upon shelves of clear jars of all sizes, filled with strange glowing lights and labelled with the nature of the Power. I moved to look at a buzzing yellow one, which simply said “honey secretion”. Not what I was interested in. There was another door which held the Active Powers, but the ones in here were plentiful. I’d never get through them all!

“There’s so many,” I said. “Wouldn’t it be so bad if I knocked a shelf over, and it knocked the next one over, and it-“

“It would kill you, and if it didn’t then I would,” Geoff said. He wasn’t smiling.

“Killjoy,” I muttered as I peered at the ones closest to me. Geoff shut the door and I looked on, surprised at the variety. “How do you even collect a Power?” I asked.

“It’s given voluntarily, mostly by people who want to have a normal life. Some people give them when they die, kind of like donating a special organ. Others are too dangerous and simply have them removed, but doing it that way is... painful... and takes too long to be effective most of the time. Easier to restrain them, or kill them.”

“Right.” I grimaced and looked around some more. I didn’t want to know why the Head was storing these Powers so I didn’t ask.

I knew which one I wanted as soon as I saw it. It wasn’t a case of liking what was in the jar, it was the colour that attracted me. It was a silver, so clear and brilliant that I could see my eyes reflect the colour in my warped face in the jar. I turned my head, blinking at how intense my eyes were even with the imperfect makeshift mirror. Wow.

“Seen one you like?” Geoff asked as he approached. I nodded and picked the jar up.

“This one,” I told him. “What do I do?”

“You just have to open it when you’re on your own,” Geoff told me. “You can take it with you.” He folded his thick arms and peered down at me. “That’s it.”

“Oh. Say,” I said on impulse, “is your power Active or Switch?” He frowned at me and I carried on, “I mean, you have to make the conscious choice to swap, but then again you’re always one or the other, and maybe it’s not really optional to change, and I’m going to shut up now.”


“Good idea,” Geoff said. “Geez, you’re more annoying than when you were bigger than me.”

I didn’t know whether that was a compliment or not, and decided I didn’t really care what the man thought. He might have been my Dad, but he was still a bit of a dick. I put the jar in my bag and followed Geoff back out, using the stairs this time.

“Come back tomorrow morning to start teaching,” he told me as I dusted off my suit. “Don’t mess it up.” The “again” part wasn’t muttered, but I could hear it in his voice.

-

I walked back home from the bus stop and took the jar out of my bag. I couldn’t help but look it over, and it impressed me to see the different flickers of colour that made up the silver. I still hadn’t read the name of the power. Part of me screamed that it had better not be lemonade production, but I got the feeling in my gut that it would be the right power for me.

I was knocked over by an unseen force. I fell flat on my face, my nose cracking and the jar smashing between my outstretched hands. I groaned in pain, feeling myself get rolled over by invisible hands. What the hell was happening? I tried to get up, but I couldn’t even move my hands to support myself.

“Ahh, shit,” I managed to sigh. I felt something force itself into my mouth, but it wasn’t a painful experience. It was the power, filling me up like pouring silver glitter into a jug. My eyes actually burned, and as I blinked the tears away I realised that despite my lack of ability to move, I was actually full of energy. Suddenly, being trapped by invisible air wasn’t such a big deal anymore. “I thought you were dead,” I said to Edgar as casually as I could.

“It’s not Edgar,” a voice said. I tried to turn my head to see who it could be then, because it sure sounded like him. A shadow covered my body and I winced as a hand reached down to touch my forehead...

There was a sudden jolt of bright light that had my captor stumble back, cursing loudly. My binds disappeared and I jumped to my feet in an instant, my light body more dextrous than it ever had been. I reached out with my hand without thinking about it and silver-blue lightning aimed straight for the man who was crouched on the floor. Within seconds the man was unidentifiable, a black charred corpse who was still screaming in my head. It was so sudden I didn’t realise what had happened until I was throwing up on the side of the pavement. It had been so easy. And that was my new power now, apparently. I clicked my fingers and watched as a small flicker of silver light bloomed. It looked pretty cool. Already I forgot Edgar... if it was him... as I headed back home, unaware of if I had been seen. I doubted it, we were so out of the way that the only people who came this way were heading to our house.

I entered the house and looked around, kicking off my shoes. They were my old shoes, so they were far too big. I was glad to never have to wear them again. Why I hadn’t worn some of Kane’s to the school instead was beyond me, but maybe I could do that tomorrow? “Hey Kane!” I called. “Are you here?”

He appeared in the doorway, and my breath caught in my throat. He was wearing just a pair of boxers... and holding a spatula. What was he doing? Cooking? Wait... he was actually cooking?

“Are you being supervised?” I asked with a smile as I approached him. Looking up at Kane was no problem when he looked as he did. He only wore boxers because the girls hated him being naked for some reason, but they were so tight and bulged so much that really there was no point in them. His thick legs, hairy and firm, had to stand a bit apart to make up for it. It was a feeling I could relate to, at one time. I shifted my gaze up to his sturdy midsection, which supported two heavy pecs. In turn, they were topped by broad, rolling shoulders and thick arms. His free hand pulled me in closer and Kane leaned down to kiss me. His body was so warm, so thick and delicious. I ran my hands over his shoulders and he jumped back with a shout. “Kane?” I asked, worried.

“Damn!” he cursed, “I got a static shock.” He shook his head, then paused as he looked at me. “Your eyes,” he said slowly. “They’re... damn.” Kane moved over to me, dropping the spatula as he pressed against me and kissed me hard. I could feel the bulge of his crotch against my stomach as it shifted and swelled. “I love you in a suit, but...” he gasped through sheer lust alone and stroked my face with a large hand. “You’re pretty damn handsome anyway.” He pushed me onto the sofa and climbed on top of me, pressing against my body as he kissed me. His hands worked on my shirt and he groaned low in his throat as he tried to get to my body.

The smoke alarm went off, and Kane swore loudly as he rolled off me and ran to the kitchen. I took the opportunity to sit up and work on my buttons before he ripped the shirt off. As I took it off I eyed my body with interest. I’d always been skinny before Oakswood, and looking at me now, I was lean. Not emaciated, but lean. I tugged at the band of my trousers, which were loose by an inch or two. My upper body was taut with lean muscles, not bulky but trim and defined. I had no fat whatsoever. I felt my biceps with interest – I was a fan of muscles, but I had to admit I quite liked being toned too. As I pulled my trousers down I caught a glimpse of my eyes in the mirror, and I wasn’t surprised to see that they were almost glowing silver. Funny, I went from burnished golden amber to ethereal silver. I was pretty impressed. Did this mean I had something else inside me, my... soul... altered? I didn’t feel like it, though if I kept electrocuting people it would be a bit of a problem. I could always have sex in oven gloves I supposed.

Kane returned to the living room and blinked at my appearance. “Wow, you’re... fitter,” he managed. He looked at my straining underwear with visible shock. “Fuck!” he managed. I followed his gaze and let out a small yelp too. I was pretty big, which was strange considering how lean I’d become. When I looked up Kane was lifting me up to kiss me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms about his neck as he carried me towards the bedroom. We got on the bed and removed our underwear, letting our respective cocks stand tall and free. Kane was already stroking his, looking me over with lust in his dark eyes.

“I can’t help it,” he said as he pumped away. “You’re just so... I have to fuck you.” His big hand worked along the thick, veiny shaft and he eyed me in that way he always did when he wanted something. I was hardly about to deny him what he wanted.

“You can,” I assured him as I moved over to lean on him. He moved his hands to wrap them around me, reluctantly at first but then he enjoyed holding my ass. Kane made a heated moan in his throat as he kissed me, and I could tell he was trying not to just flip me over and get on with it. I fumbled for our box of things, pulling out a condom for him. After much amusing practice, I’d learned how to put one on using my teeth. I did just that, holding Kane’s twitching dick still as I tugged it on. As soon as it was in place Kane was turning me over and lubing us up.

Being fucked by Kane always felt good. Even before, when I was bigger, I enjoyed it. Now I was smaller it was a tighter fit and it felt even better, something I hadn’t really thought about at the time. It brought tears to my eyes but as Kane bucked and thrust away, his big hands roaming my sides in need, I never felt better. I massaged myself with my own hands and marvelled at the size of my own equipment as I moved in time to Kane’s steady thrusts, and soon by the sound of his heavy breathing he was going to reach an explosive climax. When he came he let out a loud gasp, his hands gripping my sides tight as he continued to thrust into me. I felt his warm seed fill me and soon followed in my release, ejaculating all over the bed.

Kane slipped out of me slowly, taking off the condom and putting it in the bin. Then he leaned back and pulled me in close. We hadn’t gone for very long, but it was intense and there was plenty of time left in the day. “I love you Nathan,” he said as he leaned in to kiss me. By the time he stopped we were both ready to go again, and couldn’t keep our hands off each other. It was business as usual for Nathan and Kane.

At least, I thought it was. As we lay there in content much later, I was positively buzzing. I was already getting hard again, much to my surprise as well as Kane’s.

“Shit Nathan, we just...”

“I know!” I said, but I couldn’t help it. I was already turned on and happily playing with my heavily erect member. Whilst it was hardly as prodigious as when I was my old size, it was still pretty fucking big and there was no denying that. Kane rolled his dark eyes and lay back with a tired groan.

“Seriously Nathan, it’s teatime and I’m starving.” He pushed off the bed and went to put on his boxers, sliding the dark material over his taut butt and stuffing his heavy genitals into the confines of the material. The sight of his strained boxer shorts as he left the room kept me going for a long time. “Come on out when you’re ready,” he said as he headed to the kitchen. That I let him cook for us as I played with myself has to be a testament to how horny I was at the time. The thought of Kane’s broad shoulders shifting as he moved about the kitchen, his full, darkly haired chest a little sweaty from our exertions, overwhelmed me as I lay there. I imagined him reaching up to get something out the cupboard, exposing a dark armpit and the smell of him reaching my nostrils. Once he got what he wanted, he’d adjust himself a few times, thinking about needing some larger underwear or something before scratching at his furred abs and proceeding to burn down the kitchen as he tried to make a chicken and tomato pasta bake.

-

Sophia woke up for work at 6am, and seemed startled to find I was up and making breakfast. I wore some of Kane’s clothes, they were somewhat baggy on me but they would do for the time being.

“Nathan,” Sophia said warmly as she looked at the food on the table. “You’re up early.”

“I know you have an early shift so I thought I’d send you on your way with something warm for your stomach,” I said to her.

“Did you even sleep last night?” Sophia asked me, watching as I buzzed about the kitchen with wiry energy.

“A few hours,” I said, waving it off casually. “I’m at Oakswood soon, got to prepare my lessons!”

Sophia tsked as she settled down to eat. “Kane’s going to drop you off at half 8, you could have slept in until 8; you’re a guy, you can do that.” She pursed her lips, “I hope this new power of yours doesn’t break any more of my laptops. Oh, and that it keeps you out of trouble as well.”

I hadn’t mentioned the Edgar-who-couldn’t-be-Edgar to anyone, and fortunately nobody had happened upon the corpse. At least, if they had I hadn’t heard about it. I began to cook for Wendy and Kane, waving off her concern again. “I don’t get into trouble,” I said airily, “it just finds me. And I’m a smaller target now.”

“A very handsome target though,” Sophia pointed out with a smile, her eyes taking in my body. I wore my work uniform, the fitted suit which was probably not alternative enough for an Art teacher and more suited to a man who taught Maths or Law. But a basic black suit with a black tie and a white shirt always worked, so why wouldn’t it now? I put my hands on my hips to pose for Sophia, and she bit her lip at me in a way I was familiar with. I recalled dominating her when we lived at Oakswood, remembered undressing her with hands strong enough to tear her clothes off before pinning her to the bed, to the wall, on the counter... Sophia looked back at her meal and the sensation passed, but it would come back. Even if I had to make it so.

Kane was as good as Sophia’s word and woke up just to take us both to work. Sophia went to work a happy lady after her nice breakfast, and even Kane seemed to be in a better mood than usual as he whisked me off to the outside of the large school entrance. At least, he wasn’t in a bad mood, which was pretty much the same thing.

“You be good now, don’t take any shit off your students,” Kane warned me as he gave me a kiss. I could only shake my head and press myself against his thigh before turning and heading inside. I had things to be about, as did he. Mine just differed in that I was working for my money, not watching cartoons and teleporting wherever I pleased. Though the prospect did sound appealing, I thought before I entered the classroom and began to plan out my lessons for the term.

-

The next few weeks went by without incident. I slept about four hours a night at the most, waking up before the sun and cooking for the house before going to Oakswood. In the afternoon Kane would pick me up, we’d head home to eat and then we’d have a nice evening together. Jennifer and Collette appeared frequently, and even Janine came to visit from time to time. Really, even if she was in detention it wasn’t as if anyone could stop her, apart from perhaps a Ghostbuster.

My lessons seemed to go well. After introducing myself as Mr Lane again and convincing the kids I was the same guy, Art wasn’t so bad at all. I was wired enough to plan the lessons, teach vibrantly, mark promptly... they probably had a hard time keeping up, if anything. But I suppose not everyone was to be pleased.

“You know what, Mr Lane?” Penny asked me one day as we sat about making tie-dye shirts. It was the last week before Christmas so we were doing something fun instead. “I like you being our teacher. But I think I liked you more when you were big.”

“You did?” I asked, a little surprised. I wasn’t offended at all, I just straightened up and schooled my expression to a friendly smile. “How come?”

Penny had clearly thought about this. “I think you were more you,” she said, dropping her eyes from my silver ones and twirling her shirt about on the table. I didn’t know what to say to that, just patted her shoulder and moved on to the next table to see what was what. Now they were coming into their powers, the kids were becoming more friendly, more themselves. Fortunately nobody was turning into a dragon or turning people inside out, or at least if they were they didn’t take Art as a subject and that was fine by me. One guy could only speak in rhyme, but apparently he was now getting a book of poetry published and really, if a few limericks were the worst I had to deal with I thought myself pretty lucky.

On the last morning before the Christmas holidays, I went into work my usual chirpy self. I smiled at the girls cleaning the corridor – one of them could make paint whenever she held a pencil in her hands, which would have been great for art if it wasn’t only tepid brown – and headed down to the Art rooms for what was going to be a great day. The lessons would be calm and help the kids wind down for the holiday season, which was always nice. I had a box of chocolates somewhere, and Jennifer had given me enough sweets to pass out to the kids all day. They didn’t know where they came from so I looked even more awesome, which was fine by me. By the time the sugar hit their systems I’d be heading home for Christmas and laughing my ass off. Two weeks with Kane, what could possibly go wrong? Tonight was our designated “put up the Christmas tree” night, even Sophia had taken time off work and she practically lived to work in the kitchen. I think there’s a sexist joke there but I like Sophia, so I won’t think on it.

The classes came and went just as I’d anticipated, and I paced the room keeping an eye on things with a smile on my face. I never could sit still anymore and the art room had been completely cleaned out and moved around to be how I wanted it.

“Can someone switch the lights on?” I asked the first class of the afternoon. After some broken bulbs and blackouts in the school we decided it was best for me to wear oven gloves, or never touch a plug socket or light switch. I went with the latter, though when I did risk it I made sure to have said oven glove to hand. Right then a student went to flick the lights on and I set the class off with their “work” and sweets for the afternoon. “I’ve also got your last pieces of work here,” I said to them, holding up the stack of paper. “I’ll pass them round and let you ignore them over Christmas. But in the New Year we’re going to work on your Art theory!” Really, Michelangelo was a Tenant Mutant Ninja Turtle, but he was also an artist. Really now, some people... Raphael was clearly more superior.

I passed the papers back to the class with my usual precision, having learned everyone’s names quite quickly. “Here you go Harley.... very nice work James, why not write in pen rather than pencil crayon next time though?... typing your work is all well and good Dean, but at least use a spellchecking thingy first... no, the Royal Wedding is not an excuse to write about them instead, unless Kate Middleton is a Renaissance artist now?...” and so on.

“Hey!” one of the lads squawked, a burly one named Kevin who thought the Renaissance was a pizza topping. “You gave me an E!”

I turned to look at the table behind me where he sat, having given out the rest of the papers. “I did,” I said evenly, “if you want to talk about it after the lesson then we can, but I did write down a few things-“

“You’re, like, 18 years old,” Kevin growled, getting to his feet. That couldn’t be good. “What do you know about marking people’s work?”

“I’m 19,” I pointed out, having had a lacklustre birthday in September. “And I’m also the teacher, so if you have a problem with that then take it up with the Head.” Admittedly, why he hadn’t replaced me yet was a little strange, but I had money and that was what mattered. Part of me wondered if this conversation would even be happening if I was my former size, as I liked to think on it.

“I’m taking it up with you,” Kevin said as he moved around the table. The class was silent, and where I would have squared up to him before, the realisation that he was a fair bit larger than me had me taking a couple of steps back; his eyes were glittering an unnatural green, so of course the Head was going to have to hear all about this after they peeled me off the ceiling.

“There’s no need to get upset about it now, just take a seat and we can talk about it-“

“Who said I’m upset? I’m pissed off!” Kevin lunged forwards at me and that was when I saw what his power was. His right hand was twice its normal size and armed with sharp, jagged blades; as he grabbed me with his left hand, this hit me square in the neck, dragging up across my cheek before Kevin threw me into the nearest table. Hot pain flared along my neck and face, and I let out an involuntary yelp as Kevin picked me up again and pushed me into the wall. I shifted my left hand in an attempt to shock the student into submission, but he batted it away and tore the suit open as he pierced the skin. I resorted to covering my face as Kevin hit at me and banged me against the wall a few times. I could handle being beaten around, it was something I hadn’t had happen to me in a long time but I knew it was best to just curl into a ball and let them get it over and done with. My arms soon flared with pain and I was vaguely aware of rather a lot of my blood being spilled... why was nobody helping me?

In a flash of dark smoke, Kane landed just to the side of Kevin, put a hand on his shoulder and disappeared with the student.

It happened so quickly I thought I was hallucinating, but it had actually happened; Kane had come to my rescue. I slumped to the floor and leaned against the wall with my eyes shut, not wanting to see how badly I was bleeding; blood was never my friend. Kane’s return was swift, I could feel him crouching next to me with one big, warm hand on my shoulder. “Nathan, I’m gonna get you to the hospital now,” he said with quiet ferocity. “Just hang in there, alright?” I nodded briefly, letting out a relieved gasp now I knew I was safe. Wherever Kevin was didn’t matter right then, Kane was there and that was all I needed. I felt him get to his feet, hoisting me up with a grunt at the effort and a mutter of “shit!” I probably wasn’t supposed to hear.

“I would’ve had him,” I mumbled into Kane’s arm. “Couldn’t touch him... but I would’ve, y’know...” Kane patted my head, a few soothing noises made before he addressed the rest of the room in his usual angry tone.

“Thanks for all your help there, you fucking pussies,” he announced to the gawping class before he teleported the pair of us away. Unknown to us both at the time, on the floor in a puddle of my blood lay the Suppressor, clawed into three pieces during the attack.

[Reeza]

Well, your writing and this story haven't lost any of their power over me! I never imagined how hot it would be if Kane were larger than Nathan for once. Your descriptions of Kane in his tight boxers really hit the spot for me on a lazy Saturday morning. It's a pleasure to read you again.

[MonsterMash62]

Awesome story, as usual. The Barkroot series is awesome, and I get excited every time I see a new post in the series. Well-written, with fully fleshed out characters, interesting story, hot descriptions, the whole works.

Can't wait for more, as usual

[umlerian49]

I'm delighted you've chosen to write another chapter-- I was starting to lose hope!

That Nathan would want to give up his power surprises me, though. I thought he liked being big. I guess the grass is always greener, etc. The ending makes it clear he's going to have another chance at it. I'm looking forward to finding out.

[Mass Driver]

Another great chapter.
Keep Writing.

MD

[philat99]

Thank you for bringing our adorable friends back for another romp at Barkroot. I'm guessing that Nay-Nay will be growing again now that the suppressor has been hacked off. I look forward to your continuation.

[chocomus]

this was even more awesome than what i first thought when i saw a new installement of oakswood

although the last part made me think 2 things, one good, one bad. if his supressor is off his body.... is he back at his big "natural" size? and, Does he still has his hand attached?

I also wonder what will haepped if he has both powers active... heh, maybe the shock energy one will energize his growth even further X3

And I hope Kane found a nice active volcano to throw that bastard into.

[anpuZA]

A bit late, but...

that's a cliff hanger if I ever saw one... and I did...