A while later, everyone came back out into the dining room for an afternoon coffee break.
Kat spoke up, "Hey, I got this one... you guys go ahead and take a load off." "Aww, Thanks, Kat!" said Sarah.
Of course, Kat didn't really feel like making coffee... Her decision to seat everyone else first was based solely on the fact that she weighed the least of the four and she liked to maximize Dan's suffering.
Sarah, Steve and Jack all sat down on their comfy deerskin seats. Kat started the coffee pot and passed out strips of venison jerky to everyone.
As Kat was brewing the coffee and everyone else was snacking on their jerky, Kat spoke up, "By the way, Steve, Sarah, thank you again for letting me move in here with Jack." "Oh, no problem," said Sarah, "You're always welcome here, and as you know, we have plenty of room."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Since Kat was already up, she opened it..
"Oh, Mom!" said Kat, "so nice to see you!"
"Hi Kat, I thought I would drop by with a few of your things. Heard you're moving in, so..."
"Oh, Thanks Mom! That's so helpful!" said Kat. "No problem, Kat," her mom answered.
She set a large box on the floor.
"Hey everyone, I'd like you to meet my mom!" Kat announced. "Hi everybody, my name's Julie! So nice to meet you all," said her Mom.
Sarah and Steve stood up for introductions. For some reason, Jack remained seated, but Julie already knew him.
After introductions and some quick chatting, Julie asked "Jack, could you please be a dear and take this box up to the room Kat's staying in? Maybe you could open it up and arrange a few of her things for her..."
"Certainly, ma'am," replied Jack, "No problem!" Jack set off with the box.
Julie started to speak, "Sarah, Steve, it's really a pleasure to finally meet you. I do need to talk with you about a few things however. And Kat, I need you to stay as well."
"Of course," said Sarah. "Sure," said Steve. "Ok Mom," said Kat, "would you like a coffee, Mom?"
"Please, sweetheart," Julie answered. Sarah, Steve and Julie all sat down at the table, on the deerskin cushions of course. The coffee was done brewing, so Kat poured coffee for everyone and then sat down to join them.
"Ok," started Julie. "I understand you all know by now that Kat is a witch." "A very clever one too," Steve chimed in. "Yes," Julie replied, "Well, I am as well. That's why Kat has these powers."
"So everyone knows, I've been a witch obviously for much, much longer than my young Kat has. I already know everything she has done here and everything she has shown you."
Kat turned red with embarrassment.
"So," Sarah asked, "Is it true? Did you really have a son named Dan, Kat's brother, who she says she turned into this deer that I shot?"
"Yes and no," Julie answered, "Yes, because everything Kat told you was true, but also no because she cast a spell that made it so that he never existed.... to anyone other than that deer there, herself, and of course myself."
"Ohhhhh...." said Kat, nervously, as she shook a bit in her chair.
"We're going to have to change some things," Julie continued, "but since we are where we are, I can tell you this. Dan was.... a mistake. He just never should have been human in the first place, which is why I didn't interfere with Kat's spell. He needed to be moved down the food chain, so that was all fine."
"Are you serious," said Sarah?
"Yes, I am," Julie answered. Kat relaxed a bit.
Julie continued again, "Dan was always such a pain in the ass..." Julie lifted up, adjusted herself and sank back into the deerskin cushion, and went on, "and as far as I can tell from my seat here, he is no longer. In fact, my rear end is very comfortable and quite enjoying him at the moment."
Everyone chuckled. Julie spoke again, "Yes, he was always far too difficult, far too much to handle... and now, he can be handled with simple kitchen utensils, right?"
Sarah smiled and said "Yes, those do seem to work very well on him."
Julie went on again, "But here's the problem, KAT... Although I am proud of you breaking out on your own as a young witch, you need to be more careful with your powers. We witches keep these powers to ourselves. We do not go around boasting or bragging. Even your own father doesn't know I'm a witch, and I've been married to him for 27 years!"
"I'm sorry, Mom," said Kat.
"That's fine, but now we're going to fix some things..." Julie said, "I am going to cast two spells of my own First, I am casting a spell on you, Kat. This spell will not take away any of your powers, but it will stop you from informing any non-witch of them. Aa a result, you and I will be the only two souls who know about Dan... other than Dan himself... And he's a fucking deer, so the secret's safe with him. Got it?"
"Yes Mom, I understand," said Kat, "What's the second spell?"
"The second spell will remove all memory of the fact that you are a witch and that this deer is anything other than any ordinary deer... from everyone in this house, including Jack. Kat, you, me and Dan are the only ones who will ever remember this conversation."
"Ok, I understand," said Kat.
Sarah spoke up, "Julie, so what will we remember about your having been here right now?"
julie explained, "You'll all remember our introductions, sharing a nice cup of coffee together, and telling me the story about how you took this nice 12 point buck here, sound good?"
"Yes," said Sarah, "And just to be clear, we won't remember anything about Kat's powers or Dan... We'll just know Kat as our son's boyfriend, and we'll only know this nice buck here as a regular deer that I shot?"
"Precisely," Julie answered, "That includes Jack... He won't remember saying those cruel things to your deer... He will only know that you hunted this deer and love cooking with venison. It will be nothing more than a deer you shot, a trophy mount on your wall, food to eat, and simple seat cushions that you had made from the hide."
"Ok, that sounds great," Sarah said, "So no more guilt. None at all?!" "Right," Julie answered, "Kat will know, but my spell keeps her from telling anyone. Dan will still know, but he's a dead deer. He will only be able to talk to Kat, telepathically. All her spells will still apply to him otherwise. So he will only say pleasant things, and only when asked directly by her, telepathically. She won't be able to share those conversations with anyone."
Sarah asked "Ok, all sounds good, but what about you, Julie? Will you ever talk to Dan, or let him talk to you?"
Julie answered, "I certainly could if I wanted to, but I dealt with him long enough. I have no interest. I am glad to be rid of him. Besides, he heard everything I said today. He will remember that for eternity."
"Ok, now I will cast the spells," said Julie.
*poof*
"Wow, that sounds like an incredible opening day you had, Sarah!" said Julie.
Sarah replied, "Oh yes, it was a really exciting day! My first deer. I was so proud of myself! I was most proud of the fact that I dropped it with a single shot right through the heart. Thing dropped instantly. No time to suffer at all. It was a real thrill to take such a beautiful animal. This mounted head here brings such happy memories."
Dan was horrified. He was of course relieved that he wouldn't have Jack in his face anymore, but he was horrified that Kat could literally do anything she wanted to him... and no one would ever know. Even she wouldn't know how he truly felt, due to the opposite spell. The only other person who will know is their Mother, and she made it clear that she's staying out of it.
Steve spoke to Julie, "Speaking of that big old deer Sarah bagged, I'm going to be grilling up some venison burgers tonight. It's one of my specialties. Would you like to join us?"
"Oh, I'd love to!" Julie said, "Thank you so much!"
Kat, feeling much relief, bounced on her seat with excitement, "I'm so looking forward to this! Gonna be delicious! Oh Mom, Steve and Sarah are such good cooks!" She licked her lips in anticipation.
Steve spoke up again, "Well, it's 3:00 now, I'm gonna fire up the grill around 6:00. Shall we do a bit more decorating for Christmas?"
"Oh, can I help?" asked Julie, "I love Christmas!"
"Sure! We'd love that!" Sarah chimed in.
"Oh, by the way, Julie," said Steve, "You gotta try this jerky I had made. Turned out great."
Julie pulled a strip from the jar on the table and ate it, never casting Dan a glance but insuring that he was able to watch her savor every lip smacking delicious bite.
Dan felt the pressure, stretching and pulling from the four on his skin through the entire visit, every single bite that was taken of the jerky, and wanted to cry. No one knew, but Kat. Well, she didn't even bother to check in with him, but she knew her spells were still working, she knew he was suffering terribly, and she knew that if she did check in with him she would only hear pleasant things.
Everyone finally got up from their seats.