Mittens Has Class Ch. 17

Mittens Has Class

Chapter 17 - All Cats Like Cookies, Cause Of the Milk Probably

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Once Marsha and Opal's bags were deposited upstairs, the group of them all settled into the den to socialize and for everyone to better get to know each other. As well as Marsha helping Master with his roping skills as they all talked. For her part, Krystal asked a number of questions about the relationship between Opal and Marsha, seeming genuinely in awe of how easy they made it sound. The pair seemed to have no end of patience with their answers, practically telling their whole story over the course of it.

It hadn't been a perfectly smooth trip, with Opal initially being very uncertain about a lot of things. Though the modern-day church was more generally accepting, her abuela, the aunt who'd mostly raised her, had raised with much less modern ideas of what was and wasn't 'right' in the eyes of God. Not just on homosexuality, but any kind of sexually 'deviant' practices. She'd had to keep this side of her life far away from her abuela, and her parents in Mexico, for fear of their reactions to it. As much as she wanted to believe they wouldn't exile her from their lives, there was no question that it would result in endless drama as they all tried to convince her to 'repent' her choices.

Despite this, she'd felt drawn to exploring her sexuality, finding herself very aroused by images of bondage and sexual masochism. In her limited knowledge of BDSM, based solely on the very biased main media versions and the overly exaggerated pornographic depictions, she'd found herself contacting Marsha for her services. Marsha had initially seen her as nothing but just another client, someone confused and clueless that didn't really know what they were looking for. However, Opal had taken to being a masochist the way Chloe had taken to being a lifestyle slave.

For her, the pain and suffering that Marsha inflicted became almost like some sort of religious experience in and of itself. It felt spiritual and freeing, as though whatever punishments her Domme gave her were purging her of impurity. It had helped her reconcile a lot of her conflicts with her more conservative upbringing, though she doubted her abuela or parents would have agreed with that interpretation.

Even though she usually whimpered, cried, and begged throughout many scenes, she rarely felt the need to use a safeword. In fact, they both joked that three out of four times she did evoke it, it was because she had to use the bathroom, not because she was exceeding any sort of limit. It had become such a thing that she now actually had two safewords. One that meant she was getting pushed too far ('apricot') and one that simply meant she had to pee ('squirt-gun').

Despite her immediate love of BDSM, it had taken time for them to somehow find themselves more than just client and Dominatrix. For months, they only saw one another during appointments, which became more and more frequent. Then it evolved into Opal sometimes hanging out afterwards, if there wasn't another client coming. Which somewhere along the way turned into them sometimes just getting together to spend time outside of the dungeon. Eventually, without either of them really broaching the subject, they'd found themselves in bed together.

"Not sexually, at first." Opal pointed out. "We'd just spent a whole Saturday together, going all over Atlanta doing... nothing in particular. We'd picked up some take-out on the way to Mars' place and ended the day binge-watching this random show. Next thing we knew, it was one in the morning."

"I mentioned going to bed and ditzy here just nods, half out of it, and walks to MY bedroom." Marsha chuckled as she worked at a particularly complex knot around Chloe's knees. "I didn't even question, just brushed my teeth and jumped in with her. After that, it just became a regular thing."

Opal grinned. "The first time more than sleeping happened was just as out of the blue."

Marsha shot her an amused look. "Not that out of the blue. I'd spent over two hours torturing you on the couch first. I'm pretty sure you would have humped the armrests if I hadn't scratched that little itch for you."

Opal grinned coyly. "I guess that's fair. Anyway, there wasn't much discussion about it, we just climbed into bed and... all of a sudden, we were making out and grinding."

"Don't let this daffy bitch fool you." Marsha said smugly. "She jumped my body like I was a life-raft leaving the Titanic. We usually snuggled and were a bit affectionate sometimes, just this naughty slut went on the attack that night."

Krystal looked at Opal with a curious expression. "You're the one who initiated it? Even though you still thought of herself as 'straight'?"

Opal shrugged. "I wanted it. Wanted Marsha. I don't think either of us really questioned it as it happened. I think it had just been building up for a long time. It wasn't our first time kissing one another, but it was the first time outside of a scene. I just wanted to have sex. Likes Mars said, I probably would have molested the furniture if not her. She was just... a lot more desirable than a sofa."

Marsha chuckled. "Sofas don't leave your back covered scratches though."

"Like anyone could have told with all the rest of the marks you left on me." Opal countered slyly. "Anyway, after that... it just became... something we did. We never really discussed it or analyzed it, just accepted that it was an option now."

"But you still maintain that you're just...'friends'?" Krystal asked cautiously, looking as though she was worried she might be pushing this point a little too much.

Marsha paused in her tying to look at Opal, who returned the look for a long moment before answering. "She's my best friend. She's... my person. Just as we don't put a label to what we are sexually, we don't need to put a name to what we are to one another. We're just... us. If someone wants to think we're more, I don't really feel the need to correct them, but for us, it just is."

"I'd agree with that." Marsha said with a little nod, before turning her focus back to the ropes on Chloe.

However, Mittens thought she could see a little something more in Marsha. Like a tiny note of sadness that the woman she obviously thought of as something she definitely had a name for couldn't find that same name for what they were. There was little question that they loved each other, but she didn't think she'd ever heard them actually say those words to one another in a meaningful way. Not the way she said it to Chloe and Master or the way they said it back to her. And yet, it was so obvious that that sentiment was there between them, waiting silently to be acknowledged.

"Okay. Done." Marsha said suddenly, standing up and surveying her work, before looking to Master. "Did you follow all of that?"

Master gave her a sheepish smile. "Um... sure."

Marsha rolled her one visible eye, then turned its attention to Chloe. "Try to move, sweetheart."

Chloe began wriggling and struggling against the rope, trying to slip out of any part of it, but couldn't. After a moment, she grinned. "Seems pretty secure, Mistress. However... To borrow Opal's word...'squirt-gun'."

Marsha had Chloe free in less than a minute, unfastening the ropes almost like performing a magic trick. Once she was loose, Chloe got permission to run as quickly as she could to the toilet from Master as Marsha looked to the other three submissives in the room. "One of you want to play rope-bunny?"

"I would." Krystal said nervously, looking between Mittens and Opal, as if to make sure they didn't object. Both of them smiled at her encouragingly.

Marsha began working her fantastic skills on Krystal, Master watching every loop and knot carefully, trying to absorb something, but often seeming to just get swept away in the beautiful grace of her talent. She seemed able to use the rope like an artist's brush, making the bindings not just effective, but pleasing to the eye. She could weave clever devices into the rope that added predicaments, such as something specifically rubbing a sensitive place, just right, anytime you struggled.

This, of course, would have only made Mittens struggle as much as she could.

In this instance she was simply putting Krystal into only a secure set-up that would leave her completely immobile. For her part, Krystal seemed almost at peace with the complete restriction of her movement, completely trusting Marsha. Halfway through the tie, Marsha paused, looking over to Mittens.

"Come here, kitty-cat." She said with a little grin.

Mittens practically bounded over, a big toothy smile on her face. "Needs me ta puts ma finger on somefin so's ya can ties tha big bow?" She asked playfully.

"I'm going to bind the two of you together, actually." Marsha replied, still with that evil little grin on her face. "First, I need to catch you up to your friend here." She set about getting Mittens wrapped up into a very similar binding as she'd put on Krystal, her hands moving more quickly than before, this time not doing it slowly for Master's benefit. By the time Chloe had returned from the toilet, Marsha already had Mittens well trussed up and just as immobilized as Krystal.

She guided the two of them up to each other, nestling them together, Mittens' face brushing into Krystal's neck. She could feel her friend tremble slightly as she lightly nuzzled into her jawline affectionately and purred playfully. She glanced up at her face, making sure that her friend didn't look uncomfortable with the gesture, but the smile she found there encouraged her to place a soft kiss against at the base of her cheek. "You okay?" She asked her.

"Completely." Krystal answered without any hesitance. "I'm enjoying this." She paused a second before tilting her head down and putting a kiss of her own on Mittens' nose. When she retracted back, she suddenly snorted in amusement. "Um... oops." She grimaced.

"Ma nose is green now, ain't it?" Mittens asked with a giggle.

"Yeah."

"I looks good in green." Mittens replied nonchalantly. "More green kisses please."

Krystal laughed, but obliged, placing a handful of random kisses about Mittens' face, making sure to firmly press her lips with each one in order to leave a print. As she did so, Marsha was expertly working the long loose ends of the ropes between the two of them, seeming quite pleased that the two of them were distracting one another.

A moment later, Mittens realized why as she felt a rope suddenly go snug up between her thighs and wedge into the cleft of her labia. The look of surprise that come to Krystal's face a second later said that another rope was now in a very similar place. Then her face went scarlet when Marsha come up beside her ear and whispered into it.

"I'm going to pull your panties aside so that the rope is against your skin." Marsha breathed the words, making them sound as if this was something that was going to happen whether Krystal wanted it or not, but she waited, eye looking carefully at Krystal's blushing face. She was obviously wanting to give her victim a chance to use a safeword if it was too far, though the shock on Krystal's face made Mittens wonder if Krystal realized this herself.

"If you're not comfortable with her doing it, you can--" Mittens started to say, but Krystal gave a quick smile, though it looked half-stricken.

"I... I don't need to use it." Krystal said, her voice a little shaky, but she glanced to Marsha and gave a slight nod of acceptance.

"It won't be enough to really expose you, sweetie. I promise." Marsha reassured her.

"D-do what you need, Mistress." Krystal replied back nervously, her blush rising a little more, though her expression showed far more embarrassed amusement than any kind of actual mortification. She flinched suddenly, Marsha apparently making the adjustment below.

Marsha worked another minute with the ropes, tying off the final loose ends, then stepped back. "Okay. Now if one if you wiggles, it's going to stimulate the other one." Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she gave Krystal's ass a heavy smack with her hand. The reaction to it sent the rope drawn up into Mittens' pubis singing with motion, instantly making her react to the unexpected stimulation.

It became a chain reaction of cause and effect, with each of them reacting to the motion of the other and generating their own motion to trigger the other's rope. Another rope had them tethered together so they couldn't move away from one another far enough to make the rope sawing across their nethers become too tight and be painful. While neither of them could they move their arms at all, Marsha had left just enough mobility in their legs to maintain balance. Regardless, Mittens noted that Master and Marsha were each positioned to catch them, should they tip over.

Krystal's eyes rolled from it all, but the huge smile on her laughing face said that she was enjoying the predicament. In fact, Mittens was certain she was now purposefully jiggling and waggling, just to add to it all. Mittens began doing her own little dance of shimmy and shake, making it like a sort of naughty tug of war.

"I think we should just leave them like this." Marsha said after a moment. "They seem to be having fun."

Master laughed. "You're going to have leave me instructions for this one."

Marsha gave him a little nod, as if to say 'of course'. She then reached out and steadied the two of them. "Okay, kitties, enough playing with your strings. They're going to start chaffing quickly." She grinned at them. "Very good kitties though."

"Thank you, Mistress." Both Mittens and Krystal said together, then giggled at each other.

Once Marsha had the two of them back out of the rope, Master suggested that they start getting dinner together. All of them retiring to the kitchen, the four submissives made a light dinner of chicken and greens for their Dominants and all of them settled in around the dining table. For a while, the atmosphere became mostly jovial and laid-back, all of them discussing various random subjects. Marsha and Opal told more stories of their own lives, most of them rather amusing.

"I know Mistress Thurgood never gives a real answer about how she lost her eye, but I noticed you had a scar around that same eye, Opal." Krystal said after most of the plates had been emptied of food and everyone was just taking a moment to let their meal settle. "Is it okay if I ask about it?"

Opal reached up and touched the flesh around her eye, the faintest sign of an old scar leading up to the socket and subtly parting her eyebrow. "I had someone push me down a hill when I was in first grade." She answered with a sour smile. "He was this bully who thought of me as some kind of illegal alien, calling me all manner of rude names. I was actually born in America, but my parents were both Mexican immigrants who had become legal citizens of the United States well before they even met each other."

She gave her head a little shake at the memory. "To him though, it didn't matter where I was born. All he saw was someone who didn't look like he did and that made me his target. He chased me on the playground one day and up to the edge of this steep ravine. He shoved me backwards and I fell into it and onto some sharp rocks that only barely managed to miss damaging my eye."

Marsha reached over and put a hand on Opal's arm, an expression of empathy for her friend and anger at the little twerp that had hurt her. "It actually made Opal's parents decide to just return back home to Mexico, meaning to take her with them. However, her aunt convinced them to let her stay here in the U. S., so she'd have better opportunities. She could enroll her into a private school that would take better steps to keep something like that from happening again."

"Luckily, the community where my aunt lived was a lot more accepting than my old one. And, I think the fact me and Mars had both suffered injuries around the same eye gave me and her a kind of weird point to bond over." Opal said with a smile meant to say that everything worked out. However, there was a slight sadness in her expression at the memory of it all. While the scar the kid had given her might have faded to almost nothing, the scars on her heart from his ill treatment had remained.

"I certainly hope that little creep got punished for what he did." Chloe groused, looking as though she would reach across time and pop the racist bully in the nose, if she could.

Opal chuckled sourly. "Not sure what happened to him back then, but last I heard, he's gone into politics." She gave another chuckle, this one lighter in tone. "Honestly, I don't really think much about it anymore. He was just some dumb kid who didn't even know why he hated me. It's the ones who have excuses to 'validate' their bigotry, especially in the last few years, that have bothered me a lot more."

"Well, I still hope he got some kind of punishment for pushing a little girl off a cliff." Chloe persisted. She'd had to deal with a creep of her own just a year prior. An idiot drunk whose name had literally been 'Chad' and lived up to the stereotype the name carried. Last time she'd run afoul of him, he's assaulted her in a parking lot, but got the daylights beaten out of him by Shawn, who worked as the bouncer of the club they'd been leaving.

While she'd mostly been able to put the whole episode behind her, Mittens knew Chloe still had nightmares of the man occasionally. She sincerely hoped the man had either drunk himself into a permanent coma or gotten himself arrested for something that would keep him off the streets until he was too old to be a menace again. Sadly, she doubted it. People like him, like Tweedle-dickhead, and like the little cretin who'd put a permanent scar down the face of someone as sweet and gentle as Opal seemed to never get what they deserved.

"Well, I think I'm ready to see this infamous 'mirrored dungeon' of yours, James." Marsha gave a clap of her hands together, seeming to want to change the subject. "I feel a desire to play with my toy here." She reached over and gave a little caress of Opal's cheek.

Opal beamed in response to the touch. "I'm rather curious to see it myself."

"It's pretty amazing." Krystal told them, her voice a bit awed. "It's like being in a Hibert space, arranged as a looping infinite dimensional construct." Everyone at the table paused, giving her a curious look. It took her a moment to realize that she was being stared at in bewilderment. "What?"

"I'm guessing you're a sci-fi geek?" Marsha asked with a laugh.

Krystal gave a sheepish grin. "More like a nerd. I'm really into quantum mechanical theories and Einsteinian physics. Unified field theory and all that."

"I'm guessing you're a science major?" Opal asked.

Mittens realized that she actually had never asked Krystal about her major before. She thought it was something like a general degree or something similar, but wasn't entirely sure. "I never realized you were so into science. I don't think I've heard you ever really go into it that much."

Krystal gave a little shrug, seeming to be shrinking a little all of a sudden. "I... I mean, I'm not into all science or anything, just find quantum mechanics... you know, interesting." Her eyes flicked downwards, voice going softer. "I mostly just know a lot of random stuff. I'm not even one hundred percent certain that 'Hibert Space' is the correct term or not..."

Mittens reached over and put a hand on her arm. "It is interesting. I'd love to hear some of your favorite concepts sometime."

Krystal gave her a grateful smile. "Okay, probably should wait until right before bed though. Me going on about it is usually better than sleeping pills." She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. Looking back towards Marsha and Opal, she forced a bright smile. "And I'm technically an art major... for now. I'm actually not really sure what I'm wanting to get my degree in, ultimately, or if I even will finish one. I'm more in school just for something to do."

"Does that mean you can draw?" Opal asked, lighting up with interest.

Krystal grimaced. "Not very well. Not very good at painting or sculpture either. Pretty much why I say 'for now'. I'll probably change majors next semester."

"I didn't realize you were in any art classes." Mittens said to her, thinking back on what classes she knew Krystal was taking.

"I'm not... anymore." Krystal muttered cryptically, looking off at nothing.

Mittens decided not to really push the matter any further, something about all this apparently making her friend uncomfortable. She rose up. "Anywho! Let's get tha table cleared-ed an' head downstairs fer some spankin's!"

Twenty minutes later, they were all down in the dungeon, Master giving their guests a proper tour of the space. Opal, in particular, took a moment to just admire the interesting effect of the seamless mirrored walls making it look very much like some sort of endless extra dimension full of erotic toys and devices. Marsha, however, was far more drawn to the various torture devices carefully arranged within the very finite space.

It didn't take them long to find some things they wanted to make use of, Opal stripping off her blouse and skirt to reveal lacey lingerie beneath. She and Marsha quickly set to play, leaving Master to his own submissives.

"Would you like to try getting flogged, Krystal?" He asked off-handedly, considering a large Saint Andrews cross.

Krystal blinked in a bit of surprise. "Um... me? On... that?"

Master nodded, turning to look directly at her. "Nothing too heavy or intense, but I will be fastening you to it securely. I'd also need you to remove your shirt, so if you're not comforta--"

Krystal impulsively grabbed the bottom of the tank-top she was wearing and pulled it up, her breasts slipping out of it. She exhaled a heavy sigh, as if she'd been needing to get the tight thing literally off her chest for a while now. She also turned as red as a beet at her own action, seeming to be fighting the impulse to quickly cover herself with her arms. "Y-yes, Master Brooksend." She said shakily.

He paused a moment, taking her all in, but very obviously looking most directly at her face, not her exposed chest. "I'm proud of you." He said softly to her, which brought a large smile to her face and drained some, but not all, of the blush from her face. He looked to Chloe and Mittens. "Would you two mind helping me get her mounted onto the cross?"

They helped her up onto the platform of the structure, settling her against the padded surface of it and guiding her limbs to where they needed to be for him to strap her ankles and wrists firmly in place. Mittens could feel Krystal taking deep, steadying breaths and trembling slightly, but again didn't seem so much frightened or uncertain as just excitedly nervous. A crooked grin was plastered on her face.

"He's really good at this." Chloe said reassuringly. "Floggers are one of his favorite toys, so he has a lot experience and training with them. They also aren't very painful in general, if that helps."

Krystal looked at her with a little note of gratitude for the encouragement. "I... I know they aren't. Just more kind fighting my own shyness at the moment."

"I think you're beautiful and brave." Chloe replied back to her. "You have nothing to be shy about."

The look of gratefulness deepened and the blush in her face faded a little more. "Thanks, Chloe."

"Before I start, are you sure you're comfortable, Krystal?" Master asked her once all was in place, his voice was gentle and patient, spoken with genuine concern.

Krystal gave a slight shimmy of her body, leaning into the padding on the Saint Andrews Cross. "Y-yeah, it's not too bad. The cushions are a little stiff, I guess."

He gave a slight chuckle. "I meant whether you were emotionally comfortable with what we're about to do?"

Krystal gave an embarrassed giggle. "Oh! Yeah. I trust you, Sir. I'm comfortable with what's about to happen."

Mittens giggled as well, very glad her friend was joining into the play. Before coming down to the dungeon, Master had put her in one of his play collars. She'd seemed particularly excited as he'd put it on, as though it were a beautiful piece of jewelry. She'd even asked him put an actual lock on it, not just use a small carabiner to fasten it. Perhaps, that was where she was finding the courage to take things so much further than she'd intended.

"I'm going to go pretty easy, at first." Master said, standing close beside her and lightly brushing his hand up and down her back. "I'll spend most of my time on your torso, but I'll occasionally give some love to your thighs too. If you need to use your safeword, either because you start to not enjoy what is happening or simply just need a moment, I'll stop immediately and we'll do whatever you need to feel okay again, understand? Even if that means being done for the night and going back upstairs and getting dressed again."

"Yes, Master Brooksend." Krystal said solemnly, showing that she was taking this seriously. With that same seriousness, she asked. "What if... what if I find I want... more of it? Like, if I'm getting really into it and want it faster or harder?"

Master gave her a smile. "You say 'faster' or 'harder'." He gave her a wink. "Or just taunt me, if you want to be playful. You're welcome to play a little bratty, if you want."

Krystal gave a little chuckle. "Never been much a brat, really. But I'll try to have fun with it." A fresh blush rose up on her face. "Can... can you touch me more like that before we start though? I like what you're doing right now." She gave a definite tremble as she said this, looking hopeful that he'd accept her invitation.

His light grazing touch on her back became something more pronounced, a definite caress of her body that seemed tenderly intimate and sensual. Krystal cooed out a long sigh at the feeling of it, her blush increasing, but an intoxicated smile bubbling up on her face. Master leaned in and gave her a tiny kiss on her shoulder, causing Krystal to shiver with pleasure.

With that, Master stepped away and took up a flogger in each hand, but looked at Mittens before he began. He mouthed the words 'keep an eye on her'.

Mittens nodded obedience, turning her full attention to her friend as Chloe stepped over near Master to act as his 'assistant'. As he began working Krystal's bare back slowly and gently with the soft leather floggers, Mittens took in the expressions and reactions of her friend to the feel of them slapping across her torso. What she saw there made her remember the first time Master had flogged her. He'd worked almost every inch of her body, or so it felt like, with the toys, until she felt as limp as jelly. Afterwards, they'd made love with her wrists bound behind her back and him holding onto a leash attached to her collar.

As his floggers beat a gentle rhythm across Krystal's shoulders and sides, each lick like a caress to her body, Mittens watched her friend settle into the scene, very much enjoying herself. She found herself fascinated by every detail of it, drinking up the mix of expressions on Krystal's face, the sounds of the leather slapping against her bare flesh, the look of focus on Master's face as he worked the floggers. She could feel herself growing aroused, though she was unsure if it was more to have her own turn on the cross... or on Krystal herself.

Every so often, Master would make a swat a little harder than the rest, bringing a slight wince to the girl's face, but it was a look of thrilled surprise, not pain. She looked deeply happy and as removed from the horrible events of that morning as she possibly could be. She even looked as though she were getting aroused herself.

As if to punctuate those perceptions, Krystal sighed out. "Harder... please?"

Mittens considered how close she was starting to feel with this wonderfully odd and fantastically beautiful girl. A part of her was a little bit in love with Krystal, infected by her sweetness and her eccentric mix of shy and outlandish aspects. She felt like a kindred soul. Both of them had endured terrible torment for so much of their lives, but had refused to let those slings and arrows remove their desire to be their own unique selves.

Though she'd really only known her for a few weeks now, Krystal was feeling more and more like a very close and dear friend. She wanted to just wrap the girl in her arms and protect her from all the evils of the world that seemed to just be drawn to her vulnerability. She wanted to protect her from people like the two idiots who'd locked her in a refrigerator. Or Chad. Or the demon-spawn that pushed Opal down a hill. She wanted to throw herself around this girl and just protect that wonderful weirdness from being snuffed out by bullies. It made her wonder if Erin's love for Krystal had come from a similar place.

After a few moments, she found her thoughts shifting to something a little more torrid, fantasizing about Master ending the scene by disrobing and mounting Krystal right there, still bound firmly to the Saint Andrews. The mental image of him claiming Krystal sexually made Mittens' growing arousal almost palpable. She wondered what Krystal would think of that image.

Master only continued the scene for about fifteen minutes, after which he handed the floggers to Chloe and stepped close to Krystal, once again caressing her back and sides with his hands, face leaning in close to whisper to her. There was something deeply personal and delicate about it, the obvious care in his touch, the compassion in his body language. His whispered conversation was likely nothing more than him making sure she was okay, letting her know how well she had done and how proud he was of her as a submissive. Yet, Mittens treated it with the same respect she would give someone sharing a private exchange with a loved one, moving over to stand with Chloe while their Master made sure Krystal knew she was safe and accepted.

While most media portrayed BDSM as all whips and leather and people screaming, this was the true face of the lifestyle. This intimate exchange of emotion. People focused so much on BDSM being about the giving of pain, but the real heart of it was the emotive release when that pain was over. The rush of freedom that came once someone was released from the bondage was far more powerful than the feeling of being bound. It was that sense of intimacy that came after that made being securely bound begin to feel like a love language, like an act of affection.

When Master trussed her up in restraints, it felt like he was holding her himself. When he released her, it felt like something earned, but also made her long to return to that sacred womb of bondage. Master's best talents were imparting those things to the people he played with, be they a lover or someone who was nearly a stranger. He could convey love with a spanking, acceptance by giving pain, connection through commands.

Master withdrew from Krystal and motioned for her and Chloe to come help release Krystal again. The three of them unfastened Krystal from the structure and guided her to a nearby area full of cushions and blankets. They settled her down into the softness and Master cuddled up with her, motioning for Mittens and Chloe to do the same.

Krystal soaked up the affection and snuggles with relish and joy. She seemed drained of energy, almost too limp to move, but with a smile so fully etched into her face that it seemed like it would remain there permanently, no matter what later emotions she felt. It was as though she'd been regressed to a child-like state, cradled in the arms of her parents, knowing that no bad thing in the world could hurt her in this fortress of affection.

After a while, Master whispered softly. "I'm going to go grab some water for you to drink, Krystal. The girls will stay here with you. I'll be back in a minute. Are you okay with that?"

Krystal gave him a little nod, looking at him gratefully. "I'm good, Master Brooksend. Thank you."

A moment after Master had stepped away, Krystal looked over to Mittens and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Just a brief bus of the lips, gentle and unassuming, but there was a very strong sense of emotion behind it. "Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you for giving me the courage to be here, right now."

Mittens gave her a shrug. "Oh, I's didn't do's nuttin'. Tha courage is all you."

Krystal gave her head a small shake. "No. I would have never let myself do all this normally. Getting mostly naked, getting all tied up, flogged... When I went to that club with Danielle and Sasha, there wasn't anything anyone could have done to convince me to do something like this. I was curious about it, sure, but I was too afraid and embarrassed to even consider giving any of it a try."

She leaned meaningfully into Mittens, nuzzling her in a cat-like manner. "You make it easier to be brave. Make me feel like I'm safe."

On the other side of her, Chloe looked over at Mittens with a smile of such warmth and pride that it made Mittens blush a little. "She really is an amazing cat, isn't she? She helped me with a lot of things during my first few months as a slave. I'm glad you two became friends."

Krystal turned to regard her, smiling agreement, then shifted to snuggle into Chloe. "I'm glad for all of you, actually." She replied. "All three of you make me feel like I... like I'm not just some broken weirdo." Her voiced faltered every so slightly, as if a surge of emotion had threatened to rise up and silence her.

Chloe ran her fingers through Krystal's tinted locks, petting her with so much acceptance and affection that nearly brought tears to Mittens' eyes. "We're all a little broken here and we're all definitely weird. In this place, you fit in perfectly, Krystal. We like you a lot." She looked towards Mittens. "And I know Mittens completely adores you."

Mittens grinned. "Ya gots that right! Krystal is all kinds o' amaze-balls!"

Krystal giggled, looking back at her with complete amusement. After a second, she blushed deeply, a grin on her face, and sucked on her lower lip for a moment. "So... I... um... I might be...*ahem* really horny right now." She muttered.

Mittens laughed, giving the tip of her nose a tap with a paw. "You's in tha subby-space." She said with a wink. "It doeses that ta ya."

Krystal chuckled, a coy look crossing her face. "What would you say if I admitted I'm feeling... even more adventurous, from being in this...'subby-space'?"

A hundred dirty thoughts flashed through Mittens' mind like a slide show on fast forward, but she closed her eyes and sighed melodramatically, as if in utter lament. "I still gives ya tha respect o' not takin' advantage o' yer weakened inhibitions." She moaned cutely.

Krystal gave a soft, self-deprecating, laugh. "Oh." She started to say something else, but suddenly demurred, a little of her joy and amusement fading. "I'm sorry. I'm probably giving off all kinds of mixed signals right now. I was just... never mind." Her features filled with a look that suggested she was starting to chastise herself internally.

Mittens quickly got her attention by lifting her face up to meet hers and smiled warmly into those beautiful, deep blue, eyes. "Not at all. I know you're just floating right now and would probably flirt with a bag of tortilla chips in this state."

Krystal let herself give a small laugh. "Tortilla chips do actually sound kind of yummy right now." Her expression changed back to one of gratitude, but that note of regret was still there.

"If you want to talk about actually exploring and experiment together, we can. Buts! Firstly, I needs ya ta be in yer best mind. Which ain't right now." Mittens gave her a reassuring smile. "Tomorrow was can talk about it. Then, if ya wants Master to get ya in a more 'pliable state' again, we'll have him puts ya back in subspace again so's I can takes ya upstairs an' hump yer brains out." She gave her a small kiss on the tip of your nose. "And I won't take it to mean anything more than exploring. No worries about 'mixed signals'."

A true and genuine look of happiness came back to Krystal's smile, taking in the both of them with the beauty of it. "Thank you." She focused her gaze especially on Mittens. "Thank you for... for jumping into my life." She felt Krystal give a slight shudder, heard a soft tearful hiccup of emotion.

"Thank you for falling into mine." Mittens replied back softly, feeling herself starting to tear up.

The three of them pulled one another into a big hug, quietly letting the emotions of the moment just soak through their souls. The spell was broken only when Mittens realized that Master was lingering nearby, a bottled water in hand, giving them space to share their private moment. Though he'd obviously heard most of what they'd said, he'd not wanted to interrupt them.

Grinning toothily, she gestured to him that it was okay to come join them. He handed the bottle of water to Krystal before settling down among their legs, not wanting to break up the snuggles they'd formed. "Be sure to drink as much as you can." He said to her. "But not too fast. A scene can do a number of your system, especially with us going as strong as we did."

Krystal swallowed a mouthful of the water before shooting him a curious look. "Was that considered a 'strong' scene? I thought you were keeping it light."

"I was, at first." Master chuckled. "However, someone kept asking me to go harder. Still probably not as extreme as what I might put Mittens or Chloe though, but you're also a beginner."

Almost as if someone had given her a cue, the sound of Opal crying out caught their attention. "¡Santa Madre! ¡Mi culo está en llamas!"

They looked over to where Marsha was currently using a riding crop on Opal's rear end to the point that it was starting to bleed. It was funny enough in the moment itself, but when Mittens noticed the look of utter shock on Kystal's face only made it all the funnier. For the two of them, it was just a Thursday, but it served as a well-timed point that Krystal had only seen about a 'two' on a dial that went way past 'eleven'.

After a second, she looked towards Master. "I's gonna steal Krystal for a bit and head upstairs for a little bit. That okay?" She glanced towards Chloe. "I figure that you'd like a little time to play with your own 'toy' anyway."

Master looked to Krystal. "Do you think you've had enough aftercare?" He asked her, almost parentally.

Krystal smiled at him. "I think I'm good. My legs aren't all wobbly anymore and I feel pretty 'cared for'."

"Make sure to finish that bottle of water and grab another upstairs." He instructed her before taking in Mittens with his gaze as well. "If the two of you decide to call it a night, I'll see you in the morning."

"Thank you, Master Brooksend." Krystal said to him with a nod. "I've had a lot of fun tonight. I hope that I did well."

"You did wonderfully." Master said, giving her cheek a caress. "You are a very good sub and I had a lot of fun too." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll be cooking up future scenes for you, when you're ready to experience more."

As she and Krystal extricated themselves, Mittens gave Master a deep kiss and whispered into his ear. "Come check in with us afterwards, please." He gave a silent nod.

She led her friend back up the stairs, out of the dungeon, and the two of them headed for the kitchen. "I wants juice!" She announced as they went. "Ands we both gets cookies. Tha chocy-chip kind."

Krystal chuckled, following along behind her. "Shouldn't it be cookies and milk? 'Cookies and... juice'... seems kinda weird."

Mittens considered the point a second. "We adds milk fer tha cookies part. First though, juice. It's gots tha vital-min C's!"

Krystal chuckled again, but accepted, letting Mittens lead the way. When they arrived in the kitchen, Mittens poured them both glasses of apple juice and gestured for Krystal to drink up while she also fetched another bottle of water as she put the jug back. After they'd both taken a couple sips of the juice, she looked meaningfully at her friend.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." She said, trying to keep it sounding conversational. "You've really pushed yourself a lot this evening. A lot more than you said you were intending." She glanced meaningfully at Krystal's torso. "I mean, you don't even seem to have realized you never put your shirt back on."

Krystal looked down at her exposed chest, blinking in surprise at the fact that she hadn't even realized she'd not covered back up. However, after a beat, she just took another sip of the apple juice and looked back up at Mittens. "It was a bit awkward at first, but once I got used to it, it started to feel exciting. Everyone being so nonchalant about it helped, I guess."

"I just..." Mittens paused, taking a second to best think through how she wanted to frame what she was about to say. "I wanted to make sure you weren't trying to push yourself more than you really should be. It's great you're exploring, but I don't want you to feel like you have to... make up for something. Especially with the whole 'do me while I'm open to it' thing." She winced a little, hoping that Krystal understood what she was trying to say and that it was being said out of love and friendship.

Krystal took a long pull off her juice, seeming to be digesting the sentiment. "You're worried that I'm overcompensating?" She asked softly, meaningfully not looking towards Mittens. "That I'm afraid I'll lose you if I don't push myself outside my comfort zones?" Her tone suggested that she'd already asked herself the same question.

Mittens put her glass down and came over to her friend, taking Krystal's out of her hands and then taking them into her paws. "It's obvious you really have been having fun tonight, but I want to make sure you're having it because it's what you want, not because you think you think it's required. It really is important that you know that no one here expects you to be anything other than just you. My 'Midwest Peanut Butter Fudge Surprise' weirdo best friend."

Krystal didn't immediately respond. For a long moment, she just stood there, her body language closed up, returning to that shy introverted posture that was so much more indicative of her out in public. Finally, she looked at Mittens, something that seemed to be taking a little bit of effort on her part. "I don't know. I do want to do all this stuff. And I want to be open to letting myself just... love whoever I love. I am a little scared that... if I just do my usual wallflower act, eventually you're going to disappear. Like Erin. Like Danielle and Sasha."

Mittens pulled her into a hug. "I'm not going anywhere, no matter what you do or don't want to be a part of around here. If you want to explore, I'll be there." She leaned back and looked her meaningfully in the eyes. "If you just want to be a walnut, that's fine too."

Krystal giggled a little. "A...'walnut'? Do you mean 'wallflower'?"

"Nope! You's a 'walnut', 'cause ya's hard ta crack." She gave a wink before shifting her expression to something more sober. "Which also means you're very strong and very wonderful. I like walnuts. 'Specially in brownies."

Krystal giggled again, seeming to be coming back into good spirits again. "I really like you, Mittens. Did you mean what you said, just now? That I'm your 'best friend'?"

Mittens nodded. "Yeah. You really kinda are. I mean, Chloe is my 'best friend' in a very different way, but you've definitely become my best friend. That's why it is so important to me that you know that there are no expectations. Why I'm really saying 'slow down and let's discuss'. As much as I would be more than happy to share something intimate with you, it is YOU that I want in my life, not what you're doing with me."

Krystal smiled at her with deep gratitude. "I still want to discuss the idea tomorrow. If only just to explore the idea. In case..." Her smile fell and she looked down.

"In case you ever find Erin again." Mittens finished for her, pulling her back into the hug.