Fingers.
Smooth, slender fingers.
There were fingers on his arm. Fingers that slowly caressed him, comforted him. He blinked. The fog of sleep crept from his mind like a nocturnal animal retreating back into its hole. He squinted momentarily at the morning sunlight peeking in the window at him while those wonderful fingers continued to roam across his bicep.
Alan lifted his head to look over at the woman beside him as he gradually began connecting thoughts in a logical pattern once more. Lucky was asleep, yet continued to stroke the tender skin of his inner arm. He smiled at her as he remembered his mother once telling him that the most peaceful moments in life were spent watching your loved ones sleep. He hadn't truly known what she meant until now. His connection with the four genies in his life was wonderful. It felt normal to sleep surrounded by his art collection again, next to the hum of his computer, in his own bed, albeit still a little damp from the night before...
Thoughts of yesterday invaded his mind as he got his bearings. He realized then that he could no longer see through his wall. Had he ever been able to? He didn't want normal, not after the experiences he had been having. He felt a pang of longing for Misty as he remembered learning how much she had done for him. Had it been a dream? Did he imagine -- no, that wouldn't explain Lucky still being in his bed, and she was definitely real. And still very naked.
He decided there was one quick way to solve everything. He got up out of his bed, letting her hand slip lamely onto the pillow. He rubbed the last of the sleep from his eyes as he picked up his jeans and drew them back on, trying to focus his attention. He stared at his fingernails for an eternity trying to assume some form of control. Although he sort of understood the concept now, his experience was still minimal.
Though he was expecting it to happen, he couldn't prepare himself for what he saw. His fingertips abruptly dissolved into nothingness causing his breath to catch in his throat as a sense of panic gripped his heart. His conscious mind told him to calm down, told him that everything was going exactly as he needed it to. At the same time, however, the rational person inside his head was flailing about yelling that his fingers were gone and he would never get them back. This wasn't some fancy smoke-in-mirrors. This was the real deal. His fingers were gone, and his hand was slowly following.
Alan blinked. He wasn't seeing things, the invisibility that had begun with his fingertips was spreading and had now consumed most of his right hand. Even as he watched, it advanced slowly up his wrist.
Reason escaped his thoughts only to be replaced by panic.
He lost his calm demeanor and frantically started shaking his arm back and forth in an effort to fling the magic off his body as though it were a fungus growing steadily up his forearm.
Lucky sat up in the bed, awake now and looking to see what had him in such a state of distress. He looked at her desperately and reached out to grab her by the shoulders as his own shoulder was slowly being erased from existence.
"Lucky!" he began, gripping her tightly, his eyes wide with terror. At that moment, he realized that he could feel her warm flesh against his, and he grabbed for that one rational thought. Relief surged through his veins like ice water. He took a deep breath and sat down beside her on the bed, feeling a little flushed and light headed from the shock. His logical mind had regained control and was now reasoning with him. His hand wasn't gone or else he wouldn't be able to feel her shoulder. He wouldn't be able to grab her without a hand. It was working just the way he had envisioned it in his mind.
He understood now that magic was symbiotic in nature. It worked to achieve the result that he had pictured mentally through the means he had been expecting. He had wanted only to test it on his fingers, but as he saw them disappearing and the idea entered his mind that he could become entirely unseen, his magic adapted itself to his new vision.
The soothing fingertips tracing across his back continued to calm him as his face joined the rest of his body in its vanishing act. His body had become entirely invisible, but Lucky still knew he was there and could continue to touch him.
He stood up again and moved his body around feeling the familiar way the air resisted his movements slightly, the heat of touching his own body. His other senses all told him that he was still there. He was acclimating quickly. All the same, he was eager to return to normal and be sure that his wall becoming re-solidified was not a mistake. He tried to focus on himself again, but knew right away from the nagging memories instilled in the corner of his mind that since he wasn't creating an illusion, that wouldn't work. Instead, he focused on the illusion that already existed. It took him a moment to find the feeling -- he knew what he was feeling for, thanks to Magik, but had never experienced it or how it felt. Once he felt the illusion for the first time, he played with it for a moment and found he could grasp it with his mind almost as easily as a person could grasp a pen with their fingertips. He could banish it at will or keep it in existence, whichever he desired - complete control.
A smile crept onto his face. He decided against banishing the illusion to see if he could have a bit of fun just yet.
"Lucky, I'm going to the harem to explore this magical aspect of myself a little bit. Feel free to join me."
Without waiting for a response, he hurried across the hall to see if the other three genies were awake just yet. As he entered, he found all three of them awake and getting dressed, and they were now adorned in their wispy mesh silks, giving them the appearance of caressing the air as they moved gracefully around.
He had never quite understood just how they managed to get those enticing outfits to stay on without tying knots in the cloth.
Alan immediately walked up behind Carmella, who was brushing her hair in a mirror. He felt like he was having an out-of-body experience as he gazed into the reflection and saw only her face. She showed no indication that she knew he was there.
He paused for a drawn-out minute and just watched her. The curves of her pelvis showing just over the top of her silks. Her delicious midriff was exposed -- a flawless expanse of skin that joined with her full chest. It was a unique moment openly staring at her taut body without worrying that she was judging him or that he might be offending her. The anonymity of being unseen was emboldening. He felt around for his fly, unzipped it, and flopped his cock out, already starting to get hard from watching Carmella's breasts strain against the fabric of her silks. She stopped brushing for a moment and leaned her head to the side to get a better look behind her in the mirror.
Her eyes locked on to his. He froze. Their eyes held there for a long time, looking at each other in the mirror, before he took an experimental step back and realized that she was looking
through
