The Tournament of Change - Chapter Eight, Forgetful Bargains

Story by ScribblingSerpent on SoFurry

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#8 of Tournament of Change Adventure One

Chester and Ciera make a deal with the lamia that will certainly never come up again and be no problem ever. Then, they return to meet with their companions, as they each try to cope with their particular issues.


Chester and Ciera had spent a few hours now finishing random tasks for Leila. She seemd to take great pleasure in lounging around, lazily ordering them to do small tasks for her, delighting in their groans of annoyance and frustration. They had cleaned her tent, reorganized her pillows to her exacting demands at least twice now, and been asked to find and fetch various obscure objects for her from other random corners of the encampment.

As frustrating as it was, they were both also somewhat relieved that Leila was 'taking a break' from her usual game of more deviant commands and tasks, so they tried not to complain too hard. Ciera did notice that as Chester grew more and more frustrated, she also seemed to get more distracted, her eyes darting more frequently towards Ciera and lingering in ways that told a telling story. Ciera had no idea_exactly_ what the lamia had done to Chester, but it was clearly more far-reaching than a single new trigger being implanted.

As far as Chester was concerned, it was just another stumbling block in a long line of stumbling blocks. The last few days had been nothing but added difficulty after added difficulty, and she was now too exhausted, mentally and physically, to be surprised or angry about it anymore. That had to be why she no longer felt quite as _prickly_around the lamia, why whenever she wanted to go back to insulting or berating her in answer to some ludicrous request, she found herself simply nodding and doing what she was asked to do. It was clearly exhaustion, obviously. As for the slow, creeping rise in her arousal...perhaps the fey magic had _matured_somehow? Did the lamia find out about what Percival had told Chester somehow? Did she manage to learn about his half-remembered dream from under that great tree they had found?

If so, Chester was in trouble. She didn't fully understand what all had been done to her (she was still waiting until she was safely in camp with her companions to test out her shapeshifting abilities again), but she was beginning to feel as though a long chain of dominoes had been set up inside her somehow, and all she could do was watch as they slowly fell, one after the other, approaching some distant point...

"Well, my petsss, you have done a fine job. You worked diligently, even if you lacked passion or ssssskill. I appreciate sssssuch things. Now, it isssss time for us to have a_difficult_disssssscussion. Both of you, come, ssssit before me."

Chester and Ciera shared a confused look, but did as ordered. The lamia looked down on them both with a playful gleam in her eye.

"I have told the both of you that I like my time with my sssservants, however fleeting it may be, to have a lassssting impact. I like to be_remembered_, but...well, sometimes I also like my sssservants to remember how much they enjoyed not remembering. To that end...I am offering the both of you another choice. You can either remember the next sssseveral hours of debauchery and worshipful admiration of me, or you can not remember it. I promisssse to make either choice...sssspecial in it's own way. The both of you musssst agree, however, and I will give you a moment to decide."

The both of them were immediately concerned about this offer, which seemed a difficult decision to make. Ciera had not personally experienced the lamia's hypnotic influence, but was quite aware of it's power. The offer was genuine, at least.

"She could easily mess with out heads, Ciera," Chester said after a brief moment of thought. "Without knowing what exactly she's done, it could be very dangerous..."

"Yes, but, if we take the offer...won't it basically be like going to sleep and waking up with this all behind us? She gets what she wants, a few hours of us doing whatever she asks, and we get to return to our companions sooner. I mean, not really sooner, but, well..."

"Ciera, that's a dangerous line of thought. At least if we remember, as embarrassing as it may be, we can fight back against whatever might happen. God, she's already got at least two triggers in my head, imagine what could happen if we just give her several hours alone with us?"

"I can do those thingssss anyways, puppy, I just wouldn't let you_forget_ them," the lamia interjected, clearly enjoying their discussion. "And, if anything, remembering your triggers could make you _more_nervoussss, more worried about what might happen to you. Food for thought, no?"

Chester seemed unconvinced, but Ciera clearly didn't want to have to remember whatever the lamia had in store for them.

"Chester...I will abide by whatever decision you make. We won't sit here arguing about this forever. But...just think about it. Before it's time to go, I'll need to be milked at least once more, you're going to have to probably, er, deal with your particular problem...what if we just skip all of that? She's going to mess with us either way. Maybe she'll even go easier on us if we let her play her little game! It doesn't look like she really wants to hurt us, just mess with us a bit. We can handle that!"

Chester spent a few moments in deep thought, her eyes darting around the room as she tried to weigh the options. In the end, while Chester knew that strategically it was wiser to know what the lamia was doing to them, to be able to plan and prepare appropriately...she didn't_really_ want to have to go through the next half-day or so. She remembered what the lamia's power was like, almost like sleeping. Just closing her eyes, and then waking up, ready to leave and meet their friends...

"Fine. We choose...not to remember it. But, to be clear, we want to wake up and be _ready to return_to our friends. No games with us being in compromising positions, or anything like that! We wake up, and we return to them."

"I accept those conditionssss, my petsss. Well, this issss going to be sssso much fun! Sleep, puppy."

Ciera started slightly when Chester slumped forward, barely supporting herself as her eyes fluttered closed. She then made the mistake of glancing up at Leila, in askance, and meeting her gaze.

They were swirling gently, the color shifting between pale shades of yellow, green, blue...the lamia wasted no time in approaching, curling her fingers underneath Ciera's chin as they continued to lock eyes, inches away from one another. Ciera tried to struggle, briefly, as she felt her body relax against her will. It felt like her control, her sense of self, was slowly concentrating, moving towards a point just behind her eyes. When it finally coalesced there, her entire will focused into a single bright point of resistance...Leila smiled, and snuffed it out.

Karla was concerned for Vivian, who was now looking quite a bit more worse for the wear than earlier in the day. It had been _hours_of moans, faint gasps, and other evidence of Vivian's plight. Karla couldn't begin to imagine whatever Ciera was going through with the lamia, and was certain she would have many questions for her and Chester when they returned. For now, however, they simply needed to wait. They would be returning soon.

Vivian on the other hand was struggling. She had been through enough over the last few hours that her usually calm demeanor had broken somewhat, her hair a little bedraggled, her face still noticeably flushed. She was angry, mostly at the lamia, but some part of her was frustrated enough that she even felt a little upset at Ciera. After all, it was Ciera's_body that was so sensitive, so _easy to push over the edge...and as a result, Vivian had been over that same edge an incredible number of times this afternoon. At first it was almost pleasant, but as the pleasure continued, assaulting her without any ability to rest or wait, she had begun to get a little more annoyed. Still, she was a professional, and once this was over she and Ciera could have a _talk_about dealing with this new little problem.

When Karla finally did see Ciera and Chester wandering towards camp, she did a double take as she saw the lamia approach with them. Their eyes seemed glazed, unfocused. Karla approached cautiously, glaring at the lamia as she did, but if anything the lamia had an almost disarmingly friendly smile.

"Wake up, petsss...your time with me issss, unfortunately, over."

Chester and Ciara both seemed to stir slightly, like they had just woken up. They glanced around the camp, before quickly checking over themselves, as if frightened something would be different. The lamia simply chuckled.

"Well, it sssseems you are both a little nervousss...but I assure you, I have every intention of sssseeing you once more in the Tournament, sssso I wouldn't do anything to untoward. Sssstill...well, all in good time."

Vivian had heard the conversation as she approached as well, taking in the scene with uncharacteristic anger in her expression. As she looked at Ciera and Chester, seeing their still-dazed expressions as they continued to wake, her eyes went wide.

"What did you do to them? This could take weeks to undo, depending on how deeply she-"

"I wouldn't undo anything, sssssweet Vivian. I promise you, should you try anything...there will be consequencesssss..._But, that having been ssssaid, perhapssss it could be entertaining if you_did try, sssso do as you wish," the lamia said, chuckling slightly as she finished.

"We_will_ find you again. You'll regret this," Vivian said, in many ways trying to mimic Chester's usual intimidating harshness.

"Regret? Let me assssk you, do you regret these lasssst few hourssss, Vivian? You sssseem a little out of sortssss...I should remind you, the connection you and Ciera share goessss both ways. Perhapsss if you had decided to attend to yoursssself better, you would be feeling more at easssse...and, well, Ciera certainly would not have remembered it," the lamia said, briefly running her fingers underneath Ciera's chin.

Ciera and Chester were just beginning to have the presence of mind to step away from the lamia, Ciera lagging behind just slightly as she looked back after the lamia's touch.

"Well, it wassss fun, but I will leave you to your own devicessss...but not without a gift. Two giftssss, really. You have all been travelling on the ssssurface, yes? Perhaps you should be looking for wayssss to access the vast underground cavesss underneath us assss well. Most of the valuable artifacts ressside there, assss do the most dangerous trapsss...and as a reward for the obedience of your two companionsss..." the lamia said, pulling a coin out of seemingly nowhere, and flipping it onto the ground in front of everyone.

"Is...is that-" Karla said, approaching to get a closer look.

"Yessss...it can remove a single consequence placed upon you as the result of a duel. It comessss with one condition. You do not use it on Chester. In fact, if I were you...I would wait. You may think what hasss been done to you isss already difficult to deal with, but thingssss are only going to get worssse. Best save that for when you_really_ need it."

With that, the lamia grinned and winked at Ciera and Chester, who both looked more confused than anything at her playful expression, and then she turned away and slithered back into the thick jungle.

Afterwords, Vivian and Karla immediately attended to Ciera and Chester, looking over them to make sure everything was alright. Thankfully, other than their disheveled clothing (and both of them looking exhausted), they seemed perfectly alright. Soon enough, they were sitting around the campfire with the best of their rations as Vivian interrogated them.

"So, you only remember a few things she did, but there could be more? How _much_more?"

"Well...it was maybe...eight hours? A little longer? Really, she could have done anything..." Chester replied, glancing over at Ciera. Neither of them were telling the whole truth, they had failed to mention they had willingly made the choice not to remember their last stretch of time with the lamia, and Chester had been particularly cagey about what exactly the lamia had done to her.

"So, to recap...a lamia, one of the most naturally gifted races when it comes to twisting the minds of any who cross their paths, had you in trance, doing _whatever she asked_for more than eight hours?" Vivian said, the frustration in her voice rising as she completed the question.

"It wasn't our choice!" Ciera replied, "Mistress Leila is...I mean,Leila is very poweful..."

Vivian put her head in her hands, trying to pointedly ignore Ciera's slip of the tongue. "Ciera...Chester...it's too risky right now to for me to touch anything she did to you. I'm skilled, but it would have been trivial for her to put in some trigger or trap inside your minds that would cause you to pretend to be in trance, and then betray us or something at a later date. She could have done practically anything. We have to trust that she really is interested in keeping us in the Tournament, and hope that she didn't do too much damage. Just...both of you, pay attention to any odd behavior. Whatever she did could be subtle, maybe even something that won't happen for weeks."

Chester cleared her throat slightly, and tried to change the subject. "Well, we got some good out of it. We learned that we may have been going about things the wrong way, I've definitely noticed a few pitfalls and traps that led into deep pits all over the place...maybe they're deliberate entrances to some underground portion of the Tournament grounds? Not to mention the coin she gave us, does anyone have any idea what we should do with it? I'm more than a little upset that she specified it couldn't be used on me, but..."

"We should save it, just as she suggested," Vivian replied. "We each have our...issues right now. There's nothing urgent though. Nothing that's going to end our journey. It's important to remember, the only way any of us actually loses is through concession. One of us has to give up, willingly. We're all frustrated and annoyed right now, maybe even a bit _embarassed,_but no one is going to run for the hills, right?"

"No, of course not," Karla said, sighing. "It makes sense for us to save it. Eventually, one of us will make a mistake that will make it difficult for us to participate in combat, and that will necessitate some way to fix the problem. I'm beginning to see why many people suggested that having a full team of four was actually a_disadvantage_, we can't safely split up really, so we're just getting four times the consequences as anyone else. And the one time we had a four on one fight, we lost! Let's just hope not _every_group aiming to win the Tournament is that skilled..."

Chester sighed, leaning back and closing her eyes slightly as she did. "Either way, I'm exhausted. I'm sure Ciera is too. Can we just put a pin in things for now? We can...talk about things later. Frankly, the less we talk about Mistress Leila, the better. I mean, Leila. Damn it, just, let's get some rest..."

Vivian and Karla both gave Chester a concerned look, but it was clear that there would be no use in pushing things now. They both agreed to handle keeping watch for the night, and let Chester and Ciera rest. Chester went into her tent as quickly as she could, trying to avoid the gaze of her companions, but Ciera lingered behind, sitting with Vivian and Karla.

"I, um...I can't go back to my tent yet. I...I need to be milked."

Karla blushed, she had been getting a little better about not openly staring at her companions. All three of them now that Chester had been...changed. In fact, Karla was feeling more than a little ambivalent about Chester's new skimpier armor, which she had politely decided not to bring up until later. There was now basically nowhere she could look without being tempted to indulge her particular fixation, and even with her getting better at resisting, it was _not_easy.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to do it, Ciera," Vivian said, practically taking the words from Karla's mouth.

"But, Vivian, it's a terrible idea to get me to do it too!" Karla replied.

"Look, you've already helped her with this at least once. She almost certainly doesn't want Chester doing it, especially since she's hiding away in her tent. If I do this, and she...reacts strongly to it, which I suspect she will, I won't be able to focus on actually finishing the task," Vivian said, carefully trying to avoid the details.

"But, I...Ugh, fine! I know I _want_to do it, it just seems like a bad idea. Er, Ciera, do you want to do this in your tent? How do you want to make this work?"

"In my tent is fine..." Ciera said, blushing, but Karla noticed that she seemed less ashamed about this than she used to. Perhaps some good had come from the her time with the lamia.

With that, everyone returned to their tent, Vivian begrudgingly preparing herself for what was probably about to happen. She tried to push down the little voice in her head that thought, just for the briefest moment, that maybe she should be _looking forward_to it. It could be dangerous to think like that.

Ciera led Karla into her tent, undressing fairly quickly to the surprise of Karla.

"Wow, Ciera, uh...god, those look lovely. I mean, you seem less...you seem more used to this."

Ciera raised an eyebrow, smiling a little as she watched Karla struggle to think clearly. "Well, I guess it just doesn't seem quite so bad anymore. Um...this is maybe going to sound like an odd request...but could you get a bucket?"

Karla managed to shake her head and focus just enough to be a bit taken aback. "A bucket? I mean, I guess that would make less of a mess..."

"Y-yes, and, well...it just doesn't feel right to, er...to waste the milk. I know we might not actually use it for anything, but, um...I just don't feel right about wasting the milk all over the ground. It might be a...cowgirl thing."

Karla nodded slightly, saying "I know what you mean, I think. I've noticed that I've been just slightly different, when it comes to some things. It feels like...it's somehow been both easier to be distracted, and easier to focus. Even the way I move feels...slinkier? I don't even think about it, it's just...well, I'm just saying you're not alone. I'm sure Chester is dealing with it worse than either of us, I'm actually surprised she's handling things as well as she is."

"Yes, that slutty puppy is-" she said, suddenly clapping her hand over her mouth.

"Uh, what the hell was that, Ciera?" Karla asked, with a concerned look.

Ciera carefully removed her hands from her mouth, taking a deep breath. "N-nothing, I was just trying to talk about our slutty puppy - I mean, I was trying to use her name! The slutty puppy's name...Oh, oh no, this isn't good, this is really really bad..." she said, eyes going wide as she grew more and more anxious.

"Calm down, Ciera! Is this Leila's work, something to humiliate Chester maybe?"

"No, no, it's worse than that! If the slutty puppy hears me say that, I mean, if..._you know who_hears me say that, she'll...just, it will be bad!"

Karla narrowed her eyes, trying to understand. "So...something bad will happen if Chester hears you call her that? Other than her being_pissed off_? Well...does it only happen when you try to use her name?"

Ciera played with the idea a little, testing herself. "Okay...I can talk about our shapeshifter friend, our sneaky rogue...I can talk about 'her' and say 'she'...I think it is just when I try to say slutty puppy! I mean, you know what I mean..."

Karla sighed, shaking her head. "Well, that's easy to deal with at least, just be careful. I know you don't want to go to Vivian for help, but...if you get really worried about it maybe she can help. For now, maybe we should keep this to ourselves."

"That could be for the best, Karla...now, um, if we could please get a bucket..."

Karla sighed, and left the tent briefly. They had a number of supplies, some stored using semi-magical means, and buckets were handy to keep around. It didn't take her long to return to the tent, a large metal bucket in her hands. Ciera was already in a comfortable position, with an oddly expectant look on her face.

"Ciera, are you sure everything is okay with you?" Karla asked, setting the bucket into position.

"Y-yes, Karla...It's just, I've kind of waited a little long already. I think I haven't been keeping up with it well, I've been needing to be milked more often..."

Karla sighed, her eyes riveted to the beautiful sight before her. She knew, in that moment, that her little curse was going to be a problem again tonight. Well, there would always be tomorrow. With that, as gently as she could, she began to milk Ciera.

Chester sat in her tent, fidgeting as she tried not to focus on the noise the rest of the camp was making. If anyone within several miles was trying to find them, they'd have an easy time of it at this rate. That wasn't really the worst part, though...the worst was how horny she felt again already. She knew now that if she tried to deal with it without doing it 'the right way,' she wouldn't feel any real relief, but she couldn't stomach the thought of doing something that would give away her little problem. She could feel it, like a whisper in her ear, the kinds of things she could do. Walk in on Karla and Ciera, stripping and pleasuring them, asking them to call her their - No! Not even thinking about that phrase was safe.

There was another problem. She had become aware that she _knew_something. The lamia had said they wouldn't remember anything about what happened...but maybe she had left behind a little something anyways. She was certain she had, in fact.

Ciera had a phrase just like Chester did. And Chester knew exactly what it was, just sitting there in her head. If she let loose, let her guard down and became...that way again, would she use it? What if everyone in the camp heard, what if...what if Karla and Vivian learned that their companions could not be trusted, that all it took was a few words to make them...

But they wouldn't. Chester would never tell them, and Ciera was smart enough to know not to say...to say the wrong thing. Chester knew she would have to figure out a way to deal with her growing arousal, but she would figure out a way to do it in private. Maybe, if she let herself give in privately, debasing herself without an audience, it would be safe...

But Chester knew that was the most dangerous thought of all. Because, deep down, some part of her _wanted_to feel okay with this hyper-sexual persona, because it would feel so good to give in, without worry...Urgh, if only everyone else could stop moaning like the camp was a damn whorehouse, she could focus!

Ciera was laying on her back now, mentally and physically exhausted. Karla was practically nuzzling her breasts, still playing with them slightly, but she couldn't even muster up enough thought to think about that fact. Her brain was just _flooded_with the gentle pleasure of having been milked. She felt so thankful to Karla, felt like she would do anything to show her thanks, her appreciation. Perhaps some small part of her was actually happy Karla was so tit-obsessed, maybe that means just being close to her like this was reward enough for Karla.

Eventually, Karla stirred out of her dazed reverence, her eyes almost half lidded. There was still a slight stain of milk around her muzzle, she had eventually decided to forget the bucket, after it was half full. "Ciera...you're going to need to talk to Vivian. Every time you have to be milked, she's...she's stuck with all the pleasure and sensation as well. She's a little upset about the whole thing, in fact. Maybe you should go and talk to her, apologize a little. She won't try anything, not unless you ask her to. After that, you should get some rest, I know I'm going to. After, um, after a little time to myself."

Ciera tried to let her mind refocus, taking a few deep breaths as she sat up. She noticed Karla's eyes following the movement of her breasts with intense focus, and couldn't resist giving them the slightest shake as she did. The way Karla's eyes went wide, her breath catching..."Karla, you're practically drooling. Get a hang of yourself," she said, gently smiling.

"S-sorry, I'll go. Consider it, Ciera. Talking to Vivian. Goodbye, I suppose...I guess we'll need to do this again tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Karla. Thank you...Goodbye," Ciera said, gently pushing Karla to leave before she lost her train of thought again. She spent a moment getting dressed, before deciding that she probably should speak with Vivian. If only to apologize for the events of the last day or so, and give her some kind of explanation. She deserved that much.

When Ciera entered into Vivian's tent, she was a little surprised at how disheveled things were. She hadn't really visited before, so maybe Vivian was just a fairly disorganized person, but still...it worried her a little.

"Yes, Ciera, what is it? Are you finally done?" Vivian asked, her breathing still heavy, tinged with slight annoyance.

"Y-yes, sorry Vivian. I, um...I can't help it. Ever since I became a cowgirl, it just feels...different being milked."

"Yes, I can tell. I can't...I can't tell what part of your body is being pleasured, or any specifics, I just feel this intense arousal, with no physical cause...and then it builds, and builds, until without any decision on my end the dam _breaks_and I'm...well, I feel what I assume you're feeling."

"W-wow, I haven't, um...I haven't felt that at all. I guess...I guess you've been holding back."

"Well, it's only polite. I figured you were dealing with quite a lot, didn't need a random orgasm hitting you like a truck to make things worse. We need to talk about how we're going to deal with this. I've been thinking and...it might be best if we, um...if we try and _sync_when we're...well, if we're planning on getting a little relief. I know it's humiliating to think about, but if we don't do that we're just making things harder on each other. That means from here on, probably, during your milking sessions you might feel a little...extra pleasure. I assume that will help both of us keep from surprising one another."

"T-that seems like a good idea Vivian. S-sorry about, well, everything, the last day or so has been-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm frustrated, but not really at you. We'll have our vengeance on the lamia, just not today. But...Ciera? It looks like you can't control yourself, if it gets to the point, maybe after some future change, where you can't keep from making things difficult on me...we will have to implement some kind of solution. It is within my power to keep you from tipping over the edge without_permission_. If that becomes necessary, I will do so. And you _know_I'm not lying about that. "

Ciera swallowed slightly, the look on Vivian's face suddenly quite intense. For the first time since they had started, Ciera was actually...slightly _worried_about Vivian. Whatever she said, she seemed quite on edge. She wasn't lying, she _couldn't_lie, but...but what might she be carefully concealing?

"I...I understand, Vivian."

"Good. Now please leave my tent. You might...feel something tonight. It's been a long day."

"Y-yes, Vivian. I understand, it's alright. I'll go..." Ciera said, backing out of the tent, happy to leave Vivian to herself.

Karla was past the point of struggling. She had gone to her tent, her mind still filled with thoughts of Ciera, of her breasts, the way they felt, smelled, tasted, she just wanted her senses to be overcome from every angle by her magnificent, milk filled tits...and Karla was done pretending like this wasn't the absolute, impossible to ignore truth. Her hand had slipped down to her clit the moment she stepped into her tent, she didn't care what the consequences might be. Let them see, tomorrow, let them see what she'd become. Maybe her tits would be a few sizes bigger, and they'd know exactly what she'd done. The thought was humiliating, but it was nothing compared to the joy she felt at the idea of just _letting go_to the thoughts running through her head.

She placed her other hand over her mouth as her first orgasm racked her body, her mind lost in the fantasies ravaging her mind, breasts, tits, boobs, she didn't care anymore. She would call them whatever let the world know how obsessed she was, and she would do it with a smile on her face, because she knew what she was. She felt rather than saw the slight growth, slight expansion of her own chest, her armor starting to get just a little tight. The curse placed upon her as a result of her previous loss was agonizingly slow, each time she activated it she barely grew, as though it was _just_enough to be noticeable...but then, maybe that meant she could enjoy this a bit longer. Maybe none of her companions would notice at all if she made this mistake just a few times, maybe just once a night...maybe twice tonight...

Karla grinned, her mind awash with relaxing joy at the thought. It's fine, she thought. I've got this under control. I just know what I want, is all.

It's fine.