FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A cup clinked in the background as it was set down on its saucer, coinciding perfectly with Holly's clap.

"Well, I think that's the end of my story! I'd say it's someone else's turn now, wouldn't you?"

Kate blinked and sucked her tongue back into her mouth. That unsightly habit again. The quiet murmur of conversation around them reminded her that there were other people in the café. Feeling self-conscious, Kate covered her mouth and coughed to clear her throat, which had become dry during Holly's story.

Although Kate didn't want to admit it to herself, Holly's story had been quite... stimulating, especially since the Galvantula's peculiar use of webbing hit dangerously close to Kate's tastes. Although Holly looked careless on the outside, Kate knew that the other girl was more perceptive than she let on. Holly had probably already figured out one of the main quirks of their little club through their previous interactions.

The three girls had originally met online on a forum that catered to their shared interests; the forum was for people who were enjoyed interacting with Pokémon in a different, more sensual way than keeping them for pets or partnering up for work. In short, it was a site for people who had sex with Pokémon.

While their group of three was initially formed as a result of compatibility and convenience - they were around the same age and were currently living in central Kalos - it just so happened they each had a penchant for sadomasochism. None of the three had openly admitted it, but Kate had her suspicions. Especially after the story Holly told and Alice's reaction to it.

And of course, there was Kate herself.

The silence wore on uncomfortably as Holly's unanswered question hung in the air. Eyes cast stubbornly downward, it seemed as though Alice had no intention of volunteering herself just yet. Well, that was fine; after seeing Alice's demeanour today, Kate had expected it to come to this.

"I'll go next."

Holly quirked an eyebrow in surprise. The suddenly wide-eyed Alice looked up so fast that Kate thought the other girl was in danger of giving herself whiplash.

"Y-you're a psychic?" It looked like Alice nearly bit her tongue as she blurted out a response.

"I can't say it matches your image, but why telepathy all of a sudden? Feeling shy?" Holly inquired, sparing Alice an amused glance.

Slightly taken aback by Alice's exaggerated reaction, Kate reverted to normal speech. "Yes, I am. A psychic, that is," she added as Holly started to grin again. "Not a particularly strong one, mind you; I can only transmit thoughts a short distance, read general feelings, and move small objects."

Alice looked a little relieved at this, though Kate was unsure why.

Turning to Holly, Kate continued: "And I'm using telepathy just as a precaution. I don't mind sharing things about myself, but some of the things I'll be talking about have ties to my research, which I'd prefer others not to hear about. Of course, this is on the condition that you two keep what I'm about to say to yourselves, as well."

"I understand. You have my word." Holly was still smiling, but her tone was uncharacteristically serious.

"Ah... Yes. Mine as well," Alice replied.

Gauging the two of them for a moment, Kate felt reassured of their trustworthiness. It seemed like they were being sincere. Not that she had any reason to believe otherwise, but Kate had considered the possibility that she wouldn't be able to tell twthis story. After all, she did take her work quite seriously.

"Then I'll start. It was a Friday afternoon..."

---

"Remember, if you guys feel anything wrong, stop immediately."

"Yes, ma'am!" came a mental chorus.

"Alright, then. Reuniclus and Ditto team: are you ready?"

"Aye aye, ma'am!" was the swift reply.

"Good. On my count... Three, two, one, start!"

When Kate's countdown ended, silenced reigned in the white-walled lab. In front of her was a circle of five Reuniclus with their translucent, three-fingered hands joined together. At the moment, they each had an expression of fierce concentration on their faces. As fierce as a green baby could look, in any case.

Kate held her breath in anticipation and stared at the test panel. As she waited, she thought she saw the slightest yellowish discolouration on the white metal square. Seconds passed, then a minute. The yellow became deeper until it was a deep orange, forming an ethereal, rippling circle on the panel. The slightest breeze began to blow in the room-

-until there was a sharp snap! and the Reuniclus fell apart, causing the circle to vanish as if it never existed in the first place. The air grew calm once more, and Kate exhaled silently. Another failure. At least the ring kept its form for over a minute this time.

Progress is progress, I suppose.

Kate glanced at the five Reuniclus that were now on the ground, looking tired but otherwise unharmed. A few of them seemed to be losing their shape. Unconcerned, Kate called out:

"Good work! Let's call it a day. Ditto, you can rest. Reuniclus, I want to talk to you for a moment about the experiment."

Four of the five Reuniclus promptly dissolved into quivering pink puddles, revealing the true forms of the Ditto. The one real Reuniclus raised itself off the ground with psychic power and floated gently toward Kate. They had been sitting on the ground before to conserve energy, but now that the experiments were over, it was more convenient for the Reuniclus to float.

Kate was working toward the creation of a miniature wormhole for the transportation of organic matter. In short, a portal to transport humans. Teleportation technology already existed for items and Pokéballs among other things, but nobody had come close to repeating the feat on the scale Kate was trying to achieve.

It was theoretically possible to use a computer to make the calculations necessary to create the portal in question, but a machine capable of that feat was out of Kate's grasp. Instead, she was making do with a biological alternative: psychically-linked Reuniclus.

Kate finished asking the Reuniclus about his measurements in the latest trial and thanked him, she recorded the data in the laptop she had placed on the table beside her. She then shut the laptop and carried it out of the lab, leaving the others to pick themselves up on their own time.

---

The Ditto team seemed tired again today. Perhaps Ditto simply can't handle the intensity of a five-member psychic network.

Lost in her thoughts, Kate strode briskly out the entrance of the Sycamore Pokémon Lab and turned right at the cobblestone streets of Lumiose. The sun had already set and the sky was beginning to darken, but the bright lights of nearby buildings and the Prism Tower in Centrico Plaza lit her path forward.

Although... they were tired at first with four members, and it'd be difficult to get access to five actual Reuniclus. Maybe I'll let them try again on Monday and decide what to do then.

As she neared Lumiose Station, she spotted two familiar green-and-white shapes huddled next to the building. This was always a detour worth taking. Walking up to them, she knelt down a short distance away and quietly examined the sleeping Pokémon.

The two Skiddo snored softly as she watched, their leaf-like pelts rising and falling gently. Kate could feel her heart being healed by their cuteness. Not wanting to disturb them, she spent only a minute in front of the pair before standing up, walking away while muffling her footsteps.

Feeling refreshed, Kate hummed a little under her breath as she approached the turn to Jaune Plaza, where her apartment was located. Her cheer was short-lived. She was just about to turn when a pink-and-grey blur rammed into her, winding her.

"Oof!" Kate fell back onto her butt, landing painfully on the cobblestones. Rubbing her behind, she glared up at her assailant. Her eyes widened when she realized she didn't recognize the Pokémon that floated before her, grinning like a maniac. It had two curved grey horns and a pair of hands disconnected from its body. Hanging from its horns and abdomen were three bright gold rings, the same colour as its glowing eyes.

"Hi there! I'm Hoopa!"

"Never heard of you. Can you please watch where you're going next time?"

"Aww, I'm hurt. And after I came here specifically to find you!"

"You came here to- what?" Kate was baffled. She had never seen this strange talking Pokémon before and much less gave it a reason to come find her. Her curiosity was piqued, though; talking Pokémon were a rarity, and one that she didn't recognize... could it be some kind of mythic Pokémon?

"I- came- here- to- see- you. You know, like a visit? You know what a visit is, right?" The Pokémon that called itself Hoopa flew circles around her head as it spoke, causing its voice to come from different directions.

"Yes, I know what a visit is," Kate replied, sounding a little irritated despite herself. "What I don't know is why you've come to see me, specifically."

"Oh, that's an easy one! It's because of the portals you've been making, of course!"

Kate froze. No outsider should know about that. She had placed strict controls around the lab she was working in. Voice shaking slightly, she asked, "How do you know about that?"

Hoopa paused in front of her, suspended in midair. "Well, spacial movement is my specialty. I can tell if someone's doing something similar to what I do. You're getting pretty close, so I thought I'd come give you a hint!"

"A... hint?" Kate couldn't keep up. First this Pokémon was saying it knew about her experiments and now it was saying it knew enough to tell her something she didn't know?

"Yeah! Here, look!" With that, Hoopa pulled one of the golden rings off its head and held it in front. Throwing the ring in front of itself, the ring expanded to the size of a doorway and became filled with a dark, swirling shadow. Flying into the shadow, Hoopa disappeared without another word.

Kate picked herself up, in awe. She took a cautious step toward the ring to examine it more closely.

As she approached, she heard a cheerful voice from behind her. "Well? Isn't it cool?"

Kate almost jumped out of her skin. Whipping around, she saw Hoopa floating behind her a few feet away. Behind it was a ring filled with spiraling darkness identical to the one that it had flown through in the first place.

"Cool, huh... More like amazing. You really weren't joking."

"Teehee, I got praised! As a prize, you get this!"

Kate barely had time to react as Hoopa tossed something at her. Catching it, she found in her hand a thick golden ring. A portal, she corrected herself in a daze. The metal felt warm to the touch.

"Are you serious?" Kate couldn't believe what Hoopa had just said. This was too powerful of an item to simply hand out to strangers. She had never seen anything like it.

"I'm not gonna let you keep it, of course, but I can at least let you borrow it for a while." When Kate looked up, the large portals had disappeared. She noted that Hoopa once again had a ring hanging off each horn. Fascinating. "I think it'll be really interesting if you figure out how they work!"

"So you're doing this just because it's interesting?"

"Yup! You get bored after a few thousand years of not much happening."

Definitely a mythical Pokémon. Or at least, one that acts just as whimsical as one.

"Well, thanks, I guess. When will you want this back by?" Kate decided to make the most of the opportunity, dismissing the possibility that it could be dangerous. Hoopa seemed more mischievous than ill-intentioned, that much she had sensed. And although the method of portal creation seemed different at a glance, there was a chance she could find a breakthrough by examining Hoopa's ring.

"I dunno, I didn't think that far." Hoopa looked thoughtful for a second, then clapped its hands together gleefully. "I know! I'll come back after a little while to check up on you, so do your best until then!"

With that, the little Pokémon created another portal and vanished as quickly as it came, the ring disappearing as soon as it left. Kate was left standing in the growing darkness, more baffled by the little whirlwind of a Pokémon than she ever remembered being.

A while, huh. I wonder how long that is to a Pokémon who's lived for over a millennium.

With that last thought, Kate finally turned the corner and made her way to her apartment.

---

"I'm home!" Kate called out as she closed the door to her apartment behind her. Seconds later, a small blue cat Pokémon ran toward her.

"Master! How was your day?"

"It was fine, Dwyer. A little disappointing, perhaps, but fine nonetheless."

The male Meowstic bounced up and down around her as she walked toward the living room. In contrast to the unsociable attitude a member of his species would normally possess, Dwyer was instead energetic and curious. Almost too much so sometimes, but today Kate was too preoccupied to care.

"Is your work not going well?"

"Not as well as I'd like, but we're making progress. But enough about that for now. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, Master!"

"I'll prepare dinner, then."

Kate walked into her room and placed her bag on her bed. When she walked back, she noticed her other Meowstic, this one female, curled into a ball on the couch in the living room.

"Not going to greet your owner, Nel?"

"You know I dislike niceties," came the unamused reply. The cat Pokémon didn't move an inch even as it spoke. This one was a more typical example of a Meowstic. Stoic, nonchalant, and difficult to faze. It was difficult to believe the two Meowstic were siblings with such different temperaments.

"Anyway, get up in twenty minutes. We'll be eating then."

Nel didn't reply, though one of her white curled tails gave a lazy twitch of acknowledgement.

Suddenly, a different voice piped up. "Your Pokémon have such cute names!"

---

Kate massaged her temples, exasperated. "Of all things, you chose to interrupt me to comment on what I name my Pokémon?"

Holly at least had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry. I'd forgotten how nice it was to nickname your Pokémon."

"Why can't you?" Alice asked, curious.

"It's not like I can't, but an informal League rule is that you shouldn't call your Pokémon by nicknames while battling. Because of that, I kinda got used to calling my Pokémon by their species names even after I named them. Maybe I should rethink that..."

"I think it's fantastic that you've figured that out. May I continue?" Holly gave Holly a meaningful stare.

"Sorry, sorry! Go ahead."

"Ahem. Now, where was I?"

---

After washing the dishes, Kate told Nel and Dwyer not to disturb her and shut herself in her room. Dwyer complained a little because he wanted to play with her - it was a weekend after all - but Kate firmly refused, saying that she'd play with him later.

Thankfully, Nel seemed as uncaring as ever and had quickly resumed her nap on the couch.

Door closed behind her, Kate opened her bag and pulled out the golden ring she had stashed away after her earlier encounter. Spinning it idly in her hand for a moment, she wondered how she should go about investigating the ring.

Kate briefly considered researching Hoopa's origins, but promptly dismissed the idea. If Hoopa had lent her the ring, he probably intended for her to examine it directly. She could flip through old books anytime she wanted.

So: to start with what she knew. Kate recalled that Hoopa had shown her three distinct ways to manipulate the ring: the ring could be resized, replicated, and turned into a portal. No doubt two rings could also be fused back together after being replicated. She tried to stretch the ring with her hands. No luck; the thick hoop of metal was as unyielding as it looked.

Well, it wasn't like that was unexpected. Kate walked over to her desk and got to work.

---

"Hey, sis. What do you think she's doing in there?"

No response.

"Hey, hey, I think she could be playing with something from work. I can feel psychic energy."

"Why do you even care?" was the exasperated reply. Nel frequently wished her brother would act his age. Or even just his species, for that matter. She wondered if he had more canine heritage in him than feline.

"We always play on Fridays, and we always have so much fun! But she said no today. Do you think what she's doing is even more interesting than what we usually do?" Dwyer paced around the living room, twin tails swinging back and forth.

"Oh?" Nel's tails twitched ever so slightly. Even her dear brother could make a good point once in a while. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, she seemed distracted at dinner. She almost threw away our berries instead of the skins. Do you think she's hiding something, sis?"

Now Nel's interest was truly piqued. Their Master was many things, but she wasn't careless.

"I don't know, dear brother, but I think you might be onto something. Shall we investigate?"

"B-but she said not to bother her!"

"Then you can stay here while I take a peek. I'm sure our little kitten will understand."

---

Kate stretched, feeling a little fatigued after using her psychic abilities for over three hours without rest. It was all worth it, though; she had managed to reproduce Hoopa's feats and more simply by imagining the action and pouring energy into the metal.

She had also learned some of the ring's less obvious properties. First, two rings had to be paired psychically in order for a portal to be opened. Anything that went through a paired ring would appear out the other ring. A single ring could only have one outgoing connection and one incoming connection. Probably a good thing; Kate could imagine numerous possibilities if the limitation didn't exist, and all of them were dangerous.

A less useful property Kate had discovered was to temporarily fix the ring to any substance it was touching. She had been using this property to attach a door-sized ring to one of the walls. She suspected there were a myriad other physical functions of the ring that made it easier to use in practice, though she hadn't had any luck in finding them.

Unfortunately, she also hadn't found any way of gleaning information about the ring's inner workings, so there would be no direct benefit to her lab work just yet. If she was optimistic, maybe she could consider seeing a polished final product as a benefit in itself, even if she couldn't reverse engineer it.

Kate sighed, then stood up. She could think more about this tomorrow after getting some sleep. No point having the same thoughts bounce around in her head. Opening her door, she left the room to wash up for bed.

As Kate passed by the couch, she spotted Nel and Dwyer curled up together, sleeping. How cute. Smiling, she made her way to the washroom.

Unbeknownst to Kate, the two Meowstic were wide awake.

"So? What do you think, dear brother?"

"It's not fair! She had something cool like that and she hid it from us!"

The two had been observing Kate's experiments through their astral bodies, a trick that the stronger psychics were capable of. Their Master was aware of this ability of theirs, but had no way of preventing them from using it.

Normally, the two Meowstic would feel a slight twinge of guilt about spying on their Master. But this was different. Their Master had betrayed them first by hiding something fun from them. Not to mention that the Master had skipped out on their usual playtime. There could be no mercy in their retribution.

With that belief rooted firmly in their minds, the siblings plotted the night away.

---

There was a Munchlax sitting on her chest. Kate tried to push it off, but it wouldn't budge. For some reason, she couldn't roll over, either. She simply lay there as the Munchlax stubbornly stayed right where it was, compressing her chest uncomfortably-

"Wake up."

Kate opened her eyes blearily, still groggy from sleeping. The bright morning sun shone through the window in her room, forcing her to half-close her eyes again. Her far vision was a little blurry without her glasses, but she could see clearly enough to recognize the blue-and-white shapes sitting on her chest, causing her light blue button-up pajama top to ride up awkwardly over her stomach.

She loved her Pokémon, but Dwyer and Nel could be surprisingly irritating sometimes.

After a second, Kate blinked. Wait, Nel was in on this too? That was unusual.

"I realize you were asleep, but really? I'll have you know that the two of us don't weigh nearly as much as a Munchlax." Nel commented in her usual, unamused tone.

"Sorry. If that's all, could you two move?" Kate tried to push them off of her, but for some reason she was having trouble doing so. As her mind rapidly cleared from the fog of sleep, a faint sense of dread crept into its place. Something about the situation she was in was setting off warning bells.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. You've been a naughty girl, you know."

Struggling harder, Kate found that she couldn't even move an inch. She was being pinned down by an invisible force, one far stronger than her own abilities could muster.

"And you know what we do to naughty girls, don't you? I know you do, little kitten."

Ah. So that was it. Kate stopped struggling as she finally grasped what was happening. She was being purposefully restrained by her Pokémon and though she hadn't tested it, she knew her psychic abilities had been sealed by Dwyer's Imprison.

In other words, it was playtime. Kate had forgotten her obligations yesterday, so engrossed was she with Hoopa's gift. This was her punishment.

Nel gently stroked Kate's face with a soft-furred paw. "Tell me, little kitten. Where have you erred?"

Each time Nel called her that, Kate relaxed a little more. Cheeks glowing, Kate dutifully replied, "I forgot about our playtime yesterday."

"You are correct, little kitten. I believe it was our agreement that Friday evenings were our time. By your own consent, that time was granted to us. It is no longer yours to forget."

Kate nodded, burning with embarrassment. She bit her lip and swallowed her excuses and apologies; Nel would not want to hear them. It would only make things worse.

For the first time since Kate woke up, Dwyer spoke. "And? What else did you do, little kitty?" His mental voice was harsh and tinged with displeasure. There was none of his usual playfulness. His emerald green eyes stared unblinkingly at her.

Kate flinched. There was only one possibility. They knew.

"I hid something from you."

"On our time, you attempted to deceive us. You tried to hide something interesting when you yourself are only a mere belonging of ours. Do you understand your folly, little kitty?" Dwyer's condemnation rang through her head, hard and unforgiving.

Kate's heart sank. The weight of the two Meowstic sitting on her chest felt heavier than ever as she realized the severity of her blunder. In a whisper, she confirmed Dwyer's accusation. "Yes."

"You may have had reason to hide this from others." Nel's voice was calm as she gestured at Kate's desk, where the golden ring still lay."Such was evident from our observations of its power last night. However," she added in a disappointed tone, "We are yours, and you are ours. If even we cannot be trusted, then is such a relationship shallower than we had believed?"

"No!" Kate cried, dismayed. "No, I would never think-"

"Oh, but you did. Have you already forgotten, little kitten?"

Kate's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. There was nothing she could say to that. She didn't go out of her way to hide the ring, but it was true that she hadn't wanted to tell Dwyer and Nel about it last night.

Unheeding, Nel continued, "Now, little kitten, we will discuss the matter of your discipline."

Dwyer's words followed without pause: "In accordance with your offenses, we shall exact a fitting punishment to correct your behaviour. Little kitty, do you wish to maintain the nature of our relationship in the future?"

For Kate, there was only one possible answer. "Yes."

"Then we will need to reaffirm that. Are we in agreement?"

"Yes." Kate knew that one word had sealed her fate.

Both Dwyer and Nel's lips curved upward.

"Phew! Being strict is hard," Dwyer commented only to Nel, sounding like his usual cheerful self. Kate wasn't privy to this part of the conversation. "I don't know how you pull it off all the time, Nel."

"Stay in character, Dwyer," Nel admonished him. "Remember the plan?"

Dwyer sighed mentally. "Yeah, I know."

"Our kitten needs a good reminder of her situation every so often. Besides, you can have a different kind of fun this way."

Dwyer's smile returned, more feral this time. "That I can agree with, dear sister."

The entire conversation happened in the blink of an eye.

Turning her attention back to Kate, Nel continued: "In that case, little kitten: shall we begin?"

The force holding Kate down suddenly lifted as Nel and Dwyer jumped off Kate's chest. Dwyer now stood at the foot of her bed while Nel had left Kate's field of vision entirely. However, Kate didn't move. After all, she hadn't been told to do so.

A few seconds later, Nel reappeared beside Kate on the bed. Held in the Meowstic's paw was Hoopa's golden ring.

"Dwyer and I were really quite disappointed with you yesterday, you know. This new toy of yours seemed very interesting indeed, so we decided to include it in today's play. Do you have any complaints, little kitten?"

Kate gulped and shook her head.

"I didn't hear your response. Don't make me repeat myself again, little kitten."

"N-no, I have no complaints." Voicing an objection would only be a repeat of Kate's mistake. She trusted them with this; she no longer had any doubt about that.

"Good." With that, Nel eyes glowed slightly. A second later, she was holding two rings, one in each paw.

Nel walked down the bed to stand near Kate's hips. Kate held herself still as Nel opened a portal between the rings. Sliding a paw under Kate's panties, Nel pressed one of the rings firmly into the flesh around Kate's pussy. The ring stuck, creating a slight pulling sensation as the skin was forced to stay in contact with the warm metal.

"Now, kitten. Masturbate."

Already knowing what had happened, Kate moved a hand down between her legs and tried to pleasure herself. Instead of coming into contact with her own flesh, there was a force that repelled her hand as she tried to push through the center of the ring. If she hadn't known any better, Kate would have thought there was a solid disk covering her snatch.

The night before, Kate had found that portals were one-sided. Not in the sense that one could only pass through in one direction, but that the other side of a ring in which a portal had been opened became a barrier to entry as long as the portal was open.

_ "As you can see, little kitten, I now hold your orgasms in my hand."_ Nel held up the other ring, through which Kate could see her own narrow slit. Nel blew on the ring gently, causing Kate to shiver. It seemed that despite being disconnected from her body, the sensations Kate felt from Nel's teasing were no weaker than usual.

"You may stop." Kate ceased her futile ministrations. "Now, I could deny you any way of touching yourself," Nel said as she slowly traced the line of Kate's snatch with a paw, "But that wouldn't be any fun. After all, we do so enjoy watching you squirm." With those ominous words, Nel handed the ring to Dwyer-

-who smoothly continued Nel's teasing, drawing a circle around Kate's slit using a dull claw. Although it didn't make a difference in everyday life, playtime was the reason Dwyer and Nel kept their claws worn down. They were an excellent tool for drawing out all of Kate's little moans and squeals as a virtuoso might draw music from an instrument.

When Dwyer reached Kate's clitoral hood, he placed the ring on the ground and added a claw from his other paw into the mix, pulling the hood up with the curved appendages. Kate couldn't see what he was doing, so every sensation was unexpected.

Kate's hips jerked whenever Dwyer made an especially sudden movement, but to no avail; the ring stayed perfectly still on the ground in front of Dwyer, who continued his attentions by casually taking her clit between his claws, squeezing and rolling it around until the little nub grew into an engorged bud.

Meanwhile, Nel had moved to sit on Kate's stomach and was now kneading Kate's perky breasts through her pajamas. At the same time, Kate's pajama buttons were coming undone one by one as Nel manipulated them with her mind.

When Kate's bare flesh was visible from her navel, up through the cleavage that was rising and falling with her quickening breaths, and up to her smooth collarbone, Nel flung the two sides of the pajama top aside and let Kate's breasts spill out from underneath and started caressing the two now-exposed mounts directly.

Firm heat assaulted Kate's nipples as Nel pressed down with her paw pads, followed by sharp pinpricks of pain-filled pleasure as Nel dug her claws into the tender flesh and pulled, tweaking the nipples this way and that. There was a brief release as the claws retracted before the cycle started anew. Kate's nipples were already tall cones, standing not only from their cruel treatment but also from her growing arousal.

Kate's eyes were squeezed shut and her hands were clenched in fists beside her, grabbing onto the sheets as she clung to her rapidly-escaping rationality. Her legs had closed themselves off tightly in an attempt to deny access to the one tormenting her lower folds, but failing that she could only rub her thighs together in protest.

Kate could feel herself getting wetter and wetter, but her fluids didn't flow down her legs to pool on the bed, as they usually would; her pussy was pointed into the air, causing her juices to pool inside of herself. The little that escaped was being lapped up by Dwyer's soft-barbed tongue, which stroked and pulled at her nethers delightfully as it moved lasciviously across her slit.

Pain and pleasure mixed and melded as Kate's mind became increasingly muddled in the face of the continuous assault. The skin of her labia buzzed with pleasure as Dwyer licked her there while her clit almost hurt from the constant attention. Her tunnel and anus clenched painfully on themselves as her hips bucked into the pleasure. The pinpricks on her nipples felt so good, yet the soft massage that followed only left her yearning for more.

Kate heard a girl cry out as Nel nibbled roughly at her collarbone, almost piercing the sensitive skin there. Kate was only half-conscious of the fact that the noises were coming from herself. Kate's knuckles were white and she writhed and moaned louder as she approached her peak, and then-

-everything stopped. Dwyer brought his mouth away from Kate's dribbling hole, licking his lips with relish as he caught the droplets of dew threatening to escape from his mouth. Nel likewise lifted her head, but not before she dragged her barbed tongue over Kate's collarbone for one final parting lick.

Kate eyes shot open and she stared at her Meowstic in heartfelt anguish as their attentions ceased simultaneously. This was a trick they had pulled a few times in the past: Dwyer's Imprison took away not only Kate's psychic abilities, but also her mental resistances. Without them, she couldn't stop Dwyer and Nel for probing her mind for how close she was to orgasm.

In other words, they could control her pleasure just as easily as they could control her body.

"Aaahh... please..." Kate groaned without thinking, her mind focused only on her mounting frustration.

"You'll have to tell us exactly what you want, little kitten," came Nel's soft and teasing words.

"Or are you so pleasure-addled already that you can't even do that much?" were the words of her crueler counterpart, mocking Kate's sorry state.

Kate hugged herself tightly, shuddering as the residual pleasure from their earlier actions slowly but surely drained from her body. "P-please let me come!"

"Very well," Nel said, smirking at a joke that she didn't voice. "You have ten seconds."

Suddenly, Kate felt her white cotton panties become drenched, with more of her fluids running down between her legs and seeping into the bedsheets. One of her hands flew down to her pussy and three fingers were instantly engulfed knuckle-deep in her feverish tunnel, pistoning in and out as fast as she could while rubbing the palm harshly against her clit. Her other hand grabbed a breast roughly and started kneading and pulling as Nel had been doing earlier.

It took only six seconds for Kate to reach the same heights as she had before her Meowstic had left her out to dry. She was getting closer and closer to the edge. Arching her hips, Kate's fingers were a furious, frantic blur as she tried to get herself off-

-but then her fingers stopped. Slowly, her fingers pulled themselves out of her sopping, aching hole. Kate cried out at the loss and tried to drive her hand back in, but she could no longer control either of her arms. The hand soaked with her juices continued to move of its own accord until it neared Nel's face. When the hand reached Nel's mouth, the Meowstic gave Kate's fingers a long, teasing lick.

"Mmm. Delicious. It's a shame you couldn't quite get there, isn't it? I'm afraid now it'll have to wait."

Kate tried to protest, but she was swiftly silenced by Dwyer. "You'll survive. Get up, kitty."

Kate felt the force restraining her arms disappear. Her body shivering like a leaf in the wind, Kate pushed herself off the bed. She couldn't stop her hands from exploring herself down there again with the faint hope that she still had a chance. Her fingers met only with hard resistance. The portal had been opened again and with it, her window of opportunity had closed.

Kate heard the sound of a drawer being opened, then shut again. When she looked up from her new sitting-up position, she saw Nel holding two of their more frequently-used toys. In one paw was a highly-adjustable strap-on harness. Kate had seen both sides of this particular item on more than one occasion, depending on what her Meowstic felt like doing on any particular play session.

Held In the other paw was a large, realistic replica of a Luxray penis. The tip was an inch-long cone that rapidly widened into a wide ridge. The rest of the silicone dildo started nearly as thick and was gently tapered; the shaft before the flanged base was only marginally thicker than the ridge of the head.

However, the shape of the shaft was the only gentle thing about it. Aside from the smooth head, the entirety of the silicone rod was adorned with wicked-looking spines that faced the flanged base of the dildo. Although the spines were only slightly rigid unlike the spines on a real Luxray, Kate knew from experience that whoever was on the receiving end would definitely feel the soft hooks as they raked through the walls of the hole the shaft was inserted into.

Nel let Kate's eyes wander over the barbed member for a few seconds, watching the girl's throat gulp in anticipation as memories of past sessions stimulated her imagination. But it was not to be. Sliding the dildo into the hole on the front of harness before handing it to Kate, Nel said, "You'll be using this on me today, little kitten."

Kate blinked in surprise as she gingerly took the harness into her hands. She hadn't thought she would be fucked by it immediately, given Nel's earlier statement about further delaying her release, but everything that happened so far had put Kate on the bottom. She had expected to be commanded to suck it off, maybe even deep-throat it until her breath was short and tears were coming out of her eyes.

Kate shook her head to clear away the lewd images in her imagination and stood up. Bending over slightly to strip off her wet panties, she stepped into the leg holes of the harness and tightened the straps over her waist and thighs, securing the entire thing snugly over her pelvis. The cruel-looking member jutted at a slight upward angle as the base pressed against her pubic mound.

Beside her, Dwyer was making preparations of his own. He had taken out the bottle of lube stored in the same bedside table and was liberally coating his member with the slippery, transparent liquid. The Meowstic's penis looked fairly similar to the one Kate was wielding, though it was noticeably smaller than its silicone counterpart in every direction.

When Dwyer was finished, he handed the bottle of lube to Kate. She moved to lube up the dildo, but Nel stopped her.

"No need for that today, little kitten. I am already more than prepared for it. Dwyer will be making use of your back end, so get yourself ready for him."

This wasn't a particularly strange request, so Kate began lubing up her asshole instead. Nel could certainly be a size queen at times despite her own small stature, and Pokémon were remarkably stretchy both inside and out. In nature, only the most ridiculous pairings ever needed any additional assistance, so there was no doubt the Meowstic could take it if sufficiently aroused.

By the time Kate was finished, Nel was already on the bed and had gotten on all fours, thick tails casually covering her backside. Kate quickly joined her and Dwyer followed, sandwiching Kate between the two Meowstic. Nel's curled tails unfurled to a surprising length and wrapped around Kate's hips, the tips ending just behind Kate's midsection.

Although Nel was no longer looking at Kate, her voice resounded all the same. "Hands on my hips. On my signal, you will take me as hard as you can. I will handle the aiming, as usual. If you can properly show me your determination - that is, if you can make me moan - you may claim a reward as you please. But if your efforts fail to elicit a reaction from me, know that we intend to punish you further."

Kate inched forward and gripped Nel's hindquarters. So that was her game. It was Kate's chance to literally fuck Nel into submission. Dwyer was another matter, but the two Meowstic usually acted together. If Kate could make Nel moan, Kate could do whatever she wanted.

That being said, Kate wasn't just going to make Nel moan. She planned to make the smug little Meowstic scream. Kate lined herself up as best she could without seeing her mark, since Nel's tails were still in the way. Those same tails pushed and twisted Kate's hips to make small adjustments to the dildo's trajectory.

"That should be fine. You may begin whenever you're ready, little kitten. Try not to keep me waiting." Nel giggled lightly. Kate gritted her teeth and braced her hips before thrusting forward hard, pulling Nel's body back toward her as she did so.

"Hnnnnngh!" Kate immediately realized her mistake, but it was too late to pull back. The dildo slid in smoothly, disappearing into Nel's body with nothing more than token resistance. Hilting admirably on the first thrust, Kate's pelvis met Nel's rear with the sound of flesh meeting flesh.

But instead of following up on her praiseworthy first thrust, Kate remained almost motionless, hips still arched forward and face contorted into an expression of exquisite agony.

"Is there something wrong, kitten?" Nel sounded as if she were barely holding back her laughter. There was no indication that Nel had even felt the dildo that had been shoved more than a few inches into her body. The reason being, of course, that Nel _hadn't_felt it.

Kate's teeth were still gritted, but this time it was from the stars flashing before her eyes. As if on cue, Kate's earlier thrust had been mirrored by a vigorous intrusion into her own needy tunnel, callously driving the walls of her tunnel aside and carving a burning path into her deepest recesses. Thanks to Nel's adjustments, the angle was perfect, leaving the thick, tapered member pressing against Kate's cervix as it nestled deep inside her.

Belatedly, Kate remembered the portal's earlier reactivation and Nel's inconspicuous tail positioning to hide where the other end of the portal had been hidden - attached to Nel's body. Kate groaned and tried to stay motionless as her body adjusted to the thick intruder that had suddenly made its home inside of her. She had fallen for Nel's bait-and-switch hook, line, and sinker.

"No, I'm... ah... fine." Kate responded distractedly, holding Nel's body close to herself. Since Kate could no longer move forward, every motion made the barbs inside of her pull teasingly at her walls.

"It doesn't look that way to me," came Dwyer's deep, breathy voice from Kate's rear. "Let me give you some encouragement."

"Dwyer, wait-" was all Kate managed before the male Meowstic spread her cheeks and slowly drove his hot, pointed member into her well-lubed asshole. Kate's moaned unintentionally, cutting off her own protests as she was utterly filled by the two feline cocks that pressed against each other, compressing the thin wall of flesh between them.

Before Kate could react, Dwyer pulled back, causing his barbs to drag along her sphincter. Kate instinctively backed up to try and lessen the impact of the barbs, but she only ended up pulling farther away from Nel, instead causing the spiny member in her pussy to graze her vaginal walls.

Kate couldn't even relax to decrease her burden; her sphincter and snatch clenched reflexively in response to the scraping caused by the spines, causing the pointed protrusions to dig even deeper into her flesh. As her holes tightened up, the dual cocks felt huge inside of her, their conical heads dragging at her insides in a different, equally intoxicating way.

Nel's tails held Kate's hips and pushed, forcing Kate away from Nel until the dildo had pulled out until the head. Dwyer retreated at the same time, leaving Kate feeling terribly empty before he hilted himself just as Nel pushed her hips back, eliciting a shudder from Kate as she was once again sandwiched between her tormentors.

Kate's holes were already stinging from the barbs, but the two Meowstic didn't let up on their assault. Thankfully she was wet enough that the spines didn't do any real damage, but it still felt like her insides were being run ragged by the constant grinding. The sensations stacking up faster than she could handle, Kate released a long whimper of ecstasy as she came for the first time that day, her holes clenching even harder as jolts of pleasure ran up her arched spine.

Dwyer quickened his pace with a grunt, throwing their thrusts out of sync. The tapered members were now alternating in and out, in and out, leaving Kate with no respite. It was simply too much. Kate came again and again, her every crevice of her oversensitive walls constantly being pulled, prodded, and pushed aside to make room for the two overzealous invaders.

Kate's continuous moaning was punctuated by the muffled slapping of fur against wet skin. The heady, musty scent of sex filled the air, another constant reminder of the carnal acts taking place. Nearing his own climax, Dwyer accelerated to a fever pitch before slamming himself into Kate with a small roar. His shaft contracted and pulsed before a jet of hot liquid washed into Kate's rectum. Nearly incoherent, Kate nevertheless managed to squeeze down on him to milk his cock for all it was worth.

The only sound remaining in the room was Dwyer's rough panting as he pulled out completely, his barbs and bulbous head raking Kate's sphincter one last time. When he moved out of the way, Kate fell backward onto the bed, taking Nel with her. Drooling slightly, Kate's mouth was matched only by her spasming anus as thick spunk dripped out of the hole, gradually cooling as it spilled onto her skin.

Nel sat patiently for a minute as she waited for Kate to recover, but the girl showed no sign of movement. Sighing, Nel twisted her body around to face Kate, still sitting on the dildo. Kate's hips twitched and her hands grabbed the sheets again, but her eyes were still glazed over with pleasure.

"Naptime is over, little kitten." Still no response. A little annoyed, Nel lifted her body up and sat back down, hard. Kate jolted and groaned, grabbing onto Nel's furry thighs to stop her from moving. Eyes slowly becoming less clouded, Kate looked at Nel properly for the first time in a while.

"That's better. I don't mean to interrupt your little break, kitten, but I thought it was time to remind you of our little agreement."

"Our... agreement?" Kate could barely process Nel's words, let alone remember what the Meowstic was talking about. Kate shook her head to clear it.

"Yes. You failed to elicit any sort of reaction from me, as disappointing as that is; therefore, as per our agreement, we will take it upon ourselves to give you one last punishment. A rather amusing one, if I do say so myself."

Kate didn't have the heart to muster up a response to that. In truth, she had completely forgotten about their deal during that flurry of passion. The result had clearly been rigged, but she didn't argue with it; the punishment itself might be enjoyable, after all. Just as she was wondering what they had in store for her, Dwyer entered the room carrying a large metal bowl filled to the brim with berries.

"What are those for?" Kate asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"You showed a disturbing lack of willingness to please, so instead, we're going to have you show your perseverance." Nel smiled naughtily as Dwyer approached the bed. "You're going to be laying these."

"Laying?"

_"Yes, laying. It's quite simple, but allow me to demonstrate."_With a wave of her paw, the ring that had been attached to Kate fell off and shrunk into a small, golden ball. Another wave, and the ball abruptly floated up and pushed itself into Kate's pussy. Kate wriggled a little as the ball worked itself deeper. It was small and smooth, so it didn't take long for it to reach the back of her tunnel.

However, when the ball reached her cervix, it started to expand rapidly. Squirming with discomfort, Kate could feel the ball return to the shape of a ring, stretching her insides. It felt exceedingly strange; the ring had become large enough that Kate couldn't keep her legs completely closed without the metal digging into her from the inside, but the rest of her hole was untouched.

Nel had unattached the other ring from herself and was now holding it up. Kate could see her own pulsating flesh in the portal, wrinkled and still slippery with her juices. Dwyer set the bowl of berries down and handed one to Nel. It was an occa berry; it looked vaguely egg-shaped, though the bright red colour and slight vertical ridges differentiated it from an actual egg. Roughly three and half inches in length and just over two inches in diameter, the occa berry wasn't particularly large compared to many other berry species.

But that felt much less relevant when it was heading straight for the ring in Nel's hand.

"Ah!" When Nel pushed the berry through the ring, Kate gasped as she felt a hard, heavy weight settle in her abdomen. Sitting up fully, she could feel the occa berry pushing at her closed vaginal walls, though it couldn't make any downward progress unless she relaxed. Pushing down on her pelvic area with a hand, she could feel the hard resistance of the occa berry's tough outer layer.

"I believe you understand now." Nel's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Your job is to push out all of these." Kate looked up and stared at her, then at the bowl that Dwyer had set down on the bed. There were at least thirty berries in there, and if appearances didn't deceive, the other type of berry in the bowl was larger and had a more exotic shape that would be far less forgiving to her than the occa species.

"Are you serious?" Kate caught herself salivating and swallowed before she started drooling again. Her tongue peeked out of her mouth momentarily as she licked her lips. The fantasy of laying a clutch of eggs had passed through her mind more than once in the past, and this was about as close as she could get to that. Even if that were the case, however, there were still far too many of them!

"I am always serious, kitten. Now, I think it's about time you got started." Nel picked up another occa berry from the bowl. Kate's current sitting position had trapped the first berry in place, so she got onto her knees instead and inserted two fingers in her slit. She could just barely feel the heavy orb inside of her, though it was starting to slide down her slick tunnel from its own weight.

Taking her fingers out and rubbing her clit instead, Kate tried to relax as much as possible, the occa berry sliding down a little more as she did. Seeing this in the ring, Nel promptly dropped the other occa berry in as well, though this time she didn't push. The combined weight of the two heavy fruit drastically increased the pressure on Kate's inner walls, and she moaned as she gave up on relaxing and pushed with her muscles instead.

The first occa berry came out of Kate's tight cunt with a wet plop, landing on the bed as the second berry took its place in her tunnel. Kate let out a long breath and moved the red bulb aside before resuming her focus on the one still inside of her. The pile of berries slowly grew as she repeatedly pushed more and more occa berries out of herself. Before long, there was a small collection of eight berries sitting in a growing wet patch on the sheets.

"It seems you've gotten the hang of it." Nel walked up to Kate and used a paw to trace the girl's bare midriff, which was trembling from the exertion.

"Or maybe you're going too easy on her, dear sister." Dwyer held up a different berry; it was a wiki this time. The vivid purple berry was only slightly wider than an occa berry, but the wiki berry was covered with short knobbly protrusions to help Pokémon grip the berry as they ate. He tossed it from paw to paw as if to demonstrate this fact before tossing it to Nel, who caught it easily in her idle paw.

"Perhaps I am, indeed. Well, little kitten? Are you ready to move onto the main course?" Nel dragged the wiki berry she was holding down Kate's body from the navel to the tip of her slit, the nubs creating some resistance as the berry moved.

"Yes, please!" Kate tried not to sound too excited for the sake of her dignity, but definitely failed. Nel raised a single brow, looking a little amused. Kate didn't care; the feeling of having the occa berries sliding around in her was addictive, and she couldn't wait to experience the other specimens.

"Very well, although it is questionable whether this is still a punishment if you are enjoying it so much." Kate could feel herself flushing in embarrassment, but didn't say anything. "No matter; I'll let it slide this time. And speaking of sliding..."

Nel took the wiki and pushed it into the ring, gentler this time than with the occa berry. The large ball spread apart her walls, the nubs digging into her in a way not unlike the barbs of the feline visitor that had graced her pussy earlier. When Nel had pushed the entire thing into her, Kate tried to push with her muscles, just as she had done with the occa berries earlier.

Nothing. The wiki berry didn't even budge this time, though the clenching of her hole sent pleasurable pangs through Kate's body. She tried widening her stance to loosen herself up, but even that barely made a difference. The thick fruit stayed put stubbornly inside of Kate, and the only thing her movements were achieving was to turn her on even more.

It wasn't so much the size of the berry that was impeding its progress; it was the knobs growing out of the skin that were holding onto her insides, preventing the whole thing from moving. Not that Kate minded, but it would probably make her task a little more difficult.

"Um... Nel? I think it's stuck."

"Oh? That's unexpected." One look at Nel's expression made it clear that this was a shameless lie. "But I have an idea. Here, take these and see if you can figure out a solution."

Nel handed Kate the ring and grabbed something else from underneath her tails. It was the Luxray dildo from before. Kate took both items. The dildo was only slightly slick now from their earlier activities, though she was sure another plunge would immediately change that. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was supposed to do with these.

Peering into the ring for a second to gauge the situation, Kate used the tip of the dildo's head to trace around the edge of the wiki berry. Instead of pushing the walls aside, she only managed to turn the berry in place. She stopped for a moment as she braced herself. It looked like there was no easy way out of this.

Pushing the dildo slowly into the ring, the head pushed against the back of the berry. At first there was no movement, but Kate forced herself to relax as much as she could. Nudging the berry forward every few seconds, the large fruit and dildo slowly made their way down her tender hole.

It was a painstaking process, but eventually Kate managed to push the first wiki berry all the way out of herself. It landed with a thump on the bed, but Kate felt as full as ever with the full length of the dildo now filling her. She could feel the head nestled just inside the entrance of her cunt, a different sensation from the usual. The flanged base was pushed right to the edge of the golden ring she was holding.

Kate prepared herself and swiftly pulled the dildo out, the barbs refreshing the old lines of delicious agony as she did so. Her walls clenched hard in response to the cruel treatment and she shuddered before withdrawing the silicone member out completely. There was little reprieve, however, as Nel promptly stuck the next berry into the ring Kate was holding and pushed it in. A heavy presence that was familiar by now settled snugly inside of her, and Nel went to work on expelling the next invader.

Kate repeated the process over and over again, occasionally glancing over at the bowl and seeing the heap of fruit slowly dwindle over time. It might've been her imagination, but she could swear that Dwyer was putting a few back in every once in a while. Not that she minded the extension to their playtime.

Upon pushing out the third wiki berry, Kate finally came, unable to handle the constant stimulation from having berries and the barbed dildo sliding in and out of her. The sensations were less intense than their earlier fuck-session, but the fact that Kate was inflicting this rough treatment on herself made it no less arousing. When that thought passed through her mind, she came again, clamping down exquisitely on the dildo that was completely embedded in her, having just pushed out another lumpy orb.

When all the wiki berries had disappeared from the bowl, Kate was fit to collapse. The exertions of the half hour or so had taken a lot out of her. Literally. She was proud of her accomplishment, but she couldn't rest just yet; about halfway through, she had noticed one last trial hidden at the bottom of the bowl, initially buried beneath a sea of purple.

A sitrus berry. Not only that, but a particularly large one. The top of the yellow berry looked unassuming, sized and shaped similarly to the occa berries that Kate had already dealt with. However, the bottom of the fruit rapidly widened out like a canine's knot. The sitrus berry was about as long as the others, but the widest part of the bulb boasted at least an extra inch of diameter compared to even the wiki berry.

Hefting the heavy gourd-shaped fruit, Kate winced. She compared the sitrus berry to the ring in her hand. It would fit as-is, but just barely. She slid the thinner end of the berry into the ring, letting it settle comfortably for a moment. Then, she began to push the bulb in.

"Hnngh!" Kate grunted and lay down on her back, spreading her legs as far as they would go. Her overworked tunnel protested the overly large insertion, pushing back at her best efforts to get the darn thing into herself. Placing her thumbs on the back of the fruit and the rest of her fingers on the ring, she started pushing with both hands, feeling a tremendous fullness as she finally managed to work the widest part of the berry past the perimeter of the portal and into her body.

After that, Kate was at a bit of a loss. This was significantly more challenging than even the wiki berries. She didn't want to use the dildo to push for risk of damaging the toy, so she settled for using her hands for now. The bulb pressed against each part of her walls in turn as it made its slow progress down. Every few seconds her inner walls would clench involuntarily, causing the berry to move back up her tunnel due to the vaguely conical shape.

When the berry finally reached the midpoint of her pussy, Kate marveled at her current situation. If this is what a knot feels like, I have to try this with a canid Pokémon, she thought to herself. Her fingers could no longer reach the sitrus berry and the going had become a little easier, so she picked up the dildo again and pushed it in carefully to finish the rest of the job.

Although it seemed like her slit didn't want to let go, Kate finally managed to pop out the sitrus berry in all of its glory. The feline dildo still lodged in her, she sat up and looked around. Berries of all shapes and sizes were littered on the bed around her, though Dwyer had already started gathering some of them back into the bowl.

"Good job, little kitten. I'm impressed; you've proven yourself quite well today." Kate turned around to see Nel giving her a real smile, a proud smile. The Meowstic rubbed the girl's head affectionately with a paw.

"So I take it playtime is over?" Kate asked, leaning into the attention. It felt good to have her efforts acknowledged.

"Yup! Did you like it, Master?" Dwyer's cheerful voice surprised Kate after going so long without hearing it. Dwyer's dominant act was rarely used and still a little unpracticed, but Kate had enjoyed it thoroughly. Nevertheless, a lighthearted Dwyer was the best after all.

"I sure did. I can tell you two put a lot of thought into this one," Kate said as she playfully ruffled the fur between Dwyer's ears.

"We did what we must to make you see the error of your ways." Nel's crimson eyes stared at Kate meaningfully.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about hiding this from you two," Kate said, gesturing at the ring. "I was excited about what it could mean for my work, but I'll try my best not to let that come between us in the future."

"As long as you've learned your lesson," Nel said, sounding a little embarrassed. She wasn't particularly good with shows of emotion.

"We can still have playtime as fun as this in the future, though, right, Master?" Dwyer piped up.

"Yeah, of course." Kate gathered a Meowstic in each arm and gave them a warm hug. "Thanks," she murmured into their fur softly.

They stayed like that for a moment before Kate pushed them away. Both Dwyer and Nel felt a sudden chill in the air; Kate's eyes looked positively murderous. The girl growled in a low, exasperated voice.

"I'm glad we've settled that, but what are we going to do with all these berries?!"

---

A cup clinked again in the background. It was noisier now and the light from outside was brighter; the lunch rush was almost here.

"After that, it was wiki salad for three straight days. The occa was fine since it has a shell, but the rest wouldn't be able to keep if we hadn't eaten it."

Holly laughed loudly, causing the people around them to give her a few strange glances. She then commented, "You and your Pokémon have a strange relationship, huh."

"Is it that strange?" Kate replied in her normal voice before taking a sip of her drink.

"I guess it isn't really, as far as people like us go," Holly responded thoughtfully. "I haven't met many other Poképhiliacs before, so I don't have much to compare to. I wouldn't have pegged you as the type who likes to be bullied, though."

Kate was about to protest, but couldn't find the words; nothing that Holly wouldn't be able to see through, anyway. Especially since Kate had to admit Holly was kind of right.

"I'm also curious about what happened after," Holly continued, choosing to ignore the mixed emotions in Kate's expression. "Did you-know-who come back? I've never heard of someone like him before."

"He came back after I finished work on Monday. I was worried because I hadn't done much of what he'd asked, but he seemed to be amused by what we had done with his ring. He's letting me keep it until further notice, provided I let him look into my mind for a play-by-play every so often. It's a little embarrassing, but it's more than a fair deal."

"No kidding." Holly sat back in her chair and raised an eyebrow knowingly. "You're planning to get good use out of it, then?"

Kate flushed and looked away, but again she couldn't deny Holly's statement. Kate's gaze fell on Alice, who seemed to be in her own little world again. The blonde girl hadn't said a word since before Kate started telling her story.

"Alice, are you okay?" Kate asked. The other girl didn't respond. Slightly concerned now, Kate tried a different method. "Alice, can you hear me?"

Alice blinked once, then twice. She finally lifted her reddened face and looked straight at Kate. Seemingly still dazed, Alice spoke slowly. "Mmmm... Yes, I'm okay."

Holly seemed to disagree. "Are you sure? You don't look so good."

"Happens... sometimes. My imagination gets a little... carried away." Alice's body swayed and Holly moved to catch her, cradling the younger girl's head against her body. Kate noticed they were getting some strange looks again.

"If you don't mind, would you like to take a rest at my place? It's quiet and close by. You should come too, Holly."

There was a moment of silence. Kate briefly regretted giving such a forward-sounding invitation to a younger girl in a state of vulnerability, but she shook the thought off. It wasn't like Kate planned to do anything.

"That... would be nice. Thanks, Kate, Holly." Alice's blissful, innocent smile blew away all of Kate's worries. Kate's heart almost leapt out of her throat as she contemplated the dazzling creature in front of her.

"Then it's settled." Holly said with Alice still leaning against her. "Kate, can you take care of the bill? I'll pay you back when we get to your place."

"Of course. I'll be back to help in a minute." Kate stood up hurriedly and rushed off to pay at the counter. It seemed like their meeting would have to wait for now.