An infectious hex

Andrea didn't run toward the window, at least not yet. She felt like she still had more to say, upset that you defended Tori at all, trembling with the revelations. "You think we're over..?" She clenched a fist. "How do you not get it, she's a freak, Peter! There is no universe where you and Tori can be together! Because I'm going to make sure everyone knows about her channeling curse! Doesn't matter if I'm in her or not, I will make sure people learn the truth, and there's no way she and you could EVER have a normal life together!"

Andrea had decided to go for the nuclear option, it seemed. You'd already decided that a 'normal life' with Tori didn't matter in the least, but her safety was extremely important to you. Andrea had already proposed some really destructive behaviors in public, but if she could convince others that Tori actually had a real curse, even if proving the powers would be difficult? You could picture the fallout: people who want to catch a glimpse of this cursed girl in action. People who would show up at your doorstep, thinking Tori could help them with problems and then getting angry when they were told they didn't have a genuine need for her? People who wanted to **** her to channel another person or creatures because they thought they could get a shot at using her body for their own depraved purposes? You didn't know if it would be worse if they succeeded or if they failed and chose to retaliate. In either case, Tori had no more control over her future if she showed herself in public again as her normal self.

Andrea's eyes suddenly went wide, and she stumbled forward. You quirked an eyebrow, as a brief streak of purple light orbited her. "What was--" Andrea fell to her knees when a second streak of purple light shot around her, erupting from Tori's body like solar flares! "Pete, what's happening! Ahh!"

the eruptions of Tori's cursed energy continued to grow, until her whole body seemed enveloped in these swirling purple bands, and you couldn't see her again. The bands expanded outward, building up energy like a tornado, and you had to brace yourself against the doorframe as the energy threatened to knock you down. When the magic faded away, two women remained kneeling on the floor, both breathing heavily.

Tori's eyes opened first, and she glanced around, and down at herself. It was Tori's face, hair, and body--but she was dressed in Andrea's jacket and yoga pants, fidgeting as the garments didn't fit her as well as they could, but at least it was better than Andrea's outcome, where she was in Tori's pajama pants and nothing else, with the permanent marker on Andrea's stomach and less prominent chest. Tori got to her feet and bolted to you, wrapping her arms around your waist in genuine fear and confusion, which in turn surprised you. "Pete, what happened? It's like a disaster zone in here! Something feels really strange, too, I'm not sure how to describe it... but I've never felt the curse eject someone from me before."

You blinked. "You didn't do that somehow? Andrea was trying to come up with ideas to harm your reputation, but it wasn't until she threatened to reveal the curse to the public that things went sideways. ...More sideways."

Tori glanced down and then over to Andrea. "I see. The magic is kind of a conscious thing, it makes decisions in order to enforce the rules. But it must have some sort of safeguards, maybe it's a self-preservation thing. It was nice of the magic to give me her clothes, I guess, it's a neat jacket."

"Maybe the magic actually likes you, or something?" you suggested. "You're a good person who goes out of her way to help others and went into a field that maximizes your use of magic. You're not the typical cursebearer, you know." Tori snorts a little, gripping you tightly again, as you seemed to help her calm down. Really, you were amazed with how composed she was in this moment.

Both of you looked back at Andrea. She'd not moved much for a while, sitting in a sort of trance-like state. But right as you were about to say something, Drea opened her eyes. "What..." she looked up, seeing Tori--in her clothes--standing by you. Then she glanced down at herself. "What the hell did you do, you freak! Give me my clothes!"

Glaring at Drea, you stepped between her and Tori. "That's enough! Don't call her a freak again, Drea. If you want a shirt, there's plenty of bleached ones right behind you, but you knew that already. You need to apologize to Tori and promise to fix this. I need you to fix this."

Andrea stood up, her face contorted in anger. She looked between you and Tori, considering her next words, before her brows furrowed further. "Never."

The moment she denied your request, her hand reached out--glowing purple. You glanced at Tori for an explanation, but she looked at you for the same. Andrea started to hyperventilate. "What the hell?! What's going on with me!" Her eyes glassed over, as she took one step toward you, then another. You took a step back, but Tori's runner legs sprinted at you, until she touched you.

You briefly disappeared for a moment, before your consciousness began to see your surroundings from Andrea's angle. You looked into Tori's wide eyes, at about her height, before you glanced down, seeing Andrea's body--permanent marker and all--under your command. Tori covered her mouth with a hand. "The magic didn't just remove Andrea from me, it passed the curse on to her!"

With a blink--and a sudden rush of awkwardness in being barely dressed--you grabbed one of the ruined t-shirts on the guest bed, slipping it on. It may have been Andrea's awkwardness you felt, but at the moment, she was under your control and you felt a lot of what she would have felt--at least, minus the crazy vengeful behavior she had expressed earlier. "Did you know it could do that?" you asked, feeling at least a little better with something over your body--Andrea's body--but it felt so bizarre, so foreign in her form, knowing that she could do nothing but be compelled by your will to do as you needed. And you were genuine in your need for Drea to fix this mess--the moment she declined to do it personally, it seemed the curse decided to step in.

"I didn't know any of this could happen," Tori said, stepping over to look at you more closely. "She threatened to tell a ton of people about the magic, right? I'd told people who I thought needed to know, like you. ...Well, Lucinda did, but I still wanted you to know so you could help me! But this must be why the channeler curse isn't well-known, even though each channeler might channel hundreds, maybe thousands, of beings in their lifetime. I always thought that channeled beings didn't talk because they were just grateful for the help, but maybe they're bound to similar rules. Or maybe it only mattered when they're mid-channeling and the magic could assess them? I don't know, it seems like there's a lot to learn. How do you feel?"

You shrugged, moving your body a little, like jogging in place to feel those runner's legs do their thing. "I feel pretty normal, healthy, got a lot of energy... Tori, I'm really sorry. I know maybe it's weird that I'm using Andrea to apologize, but I feel like this is both our faults. I could've done more to stop her from hurting you, or really I should've recognized the red flags for what they were."

With a smile, Tori came over and hugged you. You could tell she found it a little awkward herself, hesitating to put her arms fully around you, but eventually she squeezed tight when you wrapped your arms around her as well. "Hey, you shouldn't worry about it. Maybe this will be a good learning experience for Andrea, but if she goes back to the city, she is going to have a hell of a time adjusting. So, I don't envy her if she chooses to do that, but I can't make those decisions for her, just offer her that warning."

"Even for someone who destroyed all your things and wanted to run around topless downtown, you're still thinking about ways to be kind and helpful to them..." you smiled at Tori. "You really are special, you know?"

"Ah, it's just stuff," Tori said as she looked at her things. "It wasn't a lot, what's more important is that I'm still here and not hurt or anything." After a moment of curiosity, Tori held out her hand, and you both saw blue energy emit from her palm. "I even still have my willful channeling power! I wonder if Drea took the curse, or if it merely copied. I wouldn't know until tomorrow at the earliest, but I think I'll avoid channeling the rest of the day, to be honest."

You tapped your chin. "Even so, Drea responded to a need of mine to fix things for you. I personally think at a bare minimum, she owes you some replacement clothes. Can I take you into town and get you some replacement stuff? With her credit card, of course. I think that's more than fair, honestly! After all, the curse thinks so."

Tori giggled. "Well..."