You felt pleasantly exhausted, the soft warmth at your side snuggling closer. The sensation of the body was soft and pleasant, plump, in comfortable ways that made your hand just ease its way down the slope of the woman's back and towards her hips. A sigh accompanied your caress, and lips kissed you, spicy apple.

You groaned slightly as you realized your morning wood was up and standing at attention, a hand slowly approaching it. Opening your eyes in full, you met Kiara's golden ones, her kiss slow and relaxing.

Wordlessly, you drew breath, glancing around as you quietly moved her hand out of the way. "No initiating," you declared hoarsely. What time was it? Where were the others? You had to blink, ignoring the wordless grumble of the infernal while taking in the room.

It was simple enough to spot the other three. Diane, Monica, Raven- they laid on the floor, sprawled haphazardly. Each of them looking supremely exhausted, drenched head to toe; you could almost taste the sex and sweat in the air. A little relief trickled through you when you realized they were breathing. They were only unconscious.

"Do you really think I'd kill them?" Kiara asked with a tone that felt amused.

"I know the last time I passed out fucking I woke up with an extra corpse," you replied, not pushing her off and laying back on the bed. "I'm guessing after the thing..."

"I took a little break, and then used the rest of the night's worth of 'right to initiate' with the others," she replied smugly, eyes flashing with a promising glint. It moved to a pretended moment of shock as she made a gesture at the bed. "Ah, I didn't sleep on the bed, Master, I've yet to sleep, in fact."

That word, that tone, that little quiet irony. With a sharp intake of breath, you closed your eyes and laid back on the bed. "Do you want to sleep?"

"Not really." Her finger traced a line down your naked chest, twirling circles around your nipples. "Why do you ask, Master?"

"You're my pokegirl," you replied flatly. The day was starting and already this. You needed coffee.

The tracing of her finger stopped, and you opened your eyes to watch her as she was, in turn, looking at you. Her expression had lost the smugness; it was serious. "And what does that mean?" Her words felt precisely measured. It seemed she was testing the waters.

"That I can't have you going around starving or exhausted." A little unamused shrug accompanied your words. "What use would you be then?"

The roving finger resumed its movement through your chest, and a thoughtful frown crossed her face before she shrugged again. "I want my tail returned to normal."

"Is that why you're playing nice?"

"Could be."

So she had a problem and wanted it solved, and she knew she couldn't force you... "Hm..." Opening your eyes again, you looked over her shoulder, at her tail. It was a little surprising to realize the redness had spread. The irritated colouration appeared to be all over it this time, especially on the tip. "Did you piss Diane off or something?"

"She did this while I was... resting, that first time," Kiara spoke with a scowl. "I went through a healing cycle, it didn't go away."

You idly chewed on that statement. Kiara had exhausted everyone in the room, taken the pokedex, left the room, gotten herself healed, and then returned. Her breed needed only two hours of sleep. There were a lot of things the Succubus could do if everyone was out like a light. It'd clearly been a mistake not to put her into the fireproof metal restraints last night.

"No more leaving the room without permission," you sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose. The Succubus didn't even react to that- would she comply? Did you have a way to check? Hm... The dex had a recording function, so you'd put that to use next time. A pause- were you seriously considering using a security camera feature to check whether Kiara opted to do anything while you were asleep?

That coffee couldn't come any sooner.

"My tail? Are you going to fix it?" The infernal pushed with a frown.

That made you switch tracks. You thought back on the Rapha and how she'd used her powers on you, changed you without asking. Even if it'd been out of something that felt convenient... You glanced at her tail, your fingers tracing down her spine and caressing the reddened base. The reaction was immediate- Kiara became tense as a shudder ran through her, quickly followed by goosebumps.

"You managed to get them all even with your tail like this?"

"They get tired. I don't," the infernal hissed through clenched teeth.

"Does it hurt?"

"It's... sensitive. Not exactly comfortable." The words came through grit teeth and little gasps.

You quirked a brow. "Want me to stop?"

It'd been the wrong question, and her eyes narrowed. "Is this a-"

"I'm not going to make everything a challenge, Kiara," you replied, pulling your hand away, irritation climbing. "I've got better things to do." A scoff followed. "Just tell me if the tail thing feels like something that'll make you less effective in a fight or not."

"As is? Yes." She didn't try to stop you as you shuffled off the bed and towards the shower.

"Then I'll have Diane reduce it," came the answer.

You'd really wanted to ask her if she just wanted it gone or not, but whatever, this was as good as having asked that anyway. You left the bed with more effort than you thought it ought to take you. Your body felt drained. But the worst part was that you couldn't really know if it was just feeling older, if it was that you'd over-exerted yourself, that it'd been Kiara's draining...

...or if this was some strange side-effect of halting whatever Diane had been doing to your body.

A flash of anger coursed through you as you scowled, stopping on your steps as you noticed the Succubus had been moving to leave the bed in the same direction you had. Your thoughts moved away from the more irritating things and you tried to shift gears. The half-dejected look on Kiara's face felt entirely out of place.

"What is it?"

The question caught her by surprise. Her eyes flashed towards the shower and then at you, clearly not expecting this reaction.

Though she didn't say anything, you connected the dots and rolled your eyes. "It's a shower, I think I can handle it without risking breaking a leg." Your annoyance caught her further by surprise, but the infernal remained entirely quiet, flopping back onto the bed and looking at you with a strange look.

Was she expecting some different behaviour? Treatment? Whatever, you were not in the mood to handle this, you entered and turned on the hot water, as hot as you could handle it. Closing your eyes, you pretended like you were alone, no Kiara, no Diane, no nothing. Just you, just the shower, its warmth seeping into and through you. Normally you'd use the time to think about what you'd have to do during the day but not this time. You just closed your eyes.

And cleared your head.

The sensation of relaxation ended with the realization a pair of eyes were looking intently at you.

Just like that, the effect of the shower was undone. You sighed, didn't turn around to look at the Succubus, and shifted the water to as cold as it went. The blast struck you like a hammer, chest tightening as you sucked in air sharply. Focusing yourself on not jumping out instantly was a rather effective way to wipe out the starting niggling feelings at the back of your head.

Cooled off, you stepped outside and paused when you saw Kiara as she laid on the bed, still looking at you. There was that calculating edge to her gaze, and something else as well. The smirk certainly appeared very entertained.

With an inward scoff, you dried, dressed up and turned towards the trio on the floor. Diane and Monica were cuddled against one another, Raven not too far away. Not even the shower had woken them up; they must be completely spent then. How long ago had the orgy come to an end? Saying things were messy would be an understatement. You checked the dex- no messages, but it was well after ten in the morning.

As much as you wished you could throw all your troubles down the drain, you couldn't. Time to get moving.

"You want to earn some points?" You glanced at the infernal, recalling the three on the ground. You'd put them through healing and cleaning, and let them rest inside their pokeball.

"What did you have in mind, Master?" Kiara purred with an even broader smirk.

"Cut the crap," you said without amusement. "Call me whatever you want, but drop the sarcasm. I don't expect my girls to call me 'Master' if they don't mean it." The tongue-lashing sobered her up fast, and there was somewhat of a scowl that followed. "And you can cut on the whole bimbo act, I only really expect you not to do things that'll start fights."

This time the scowl deepened. That had annoyed her? Good. "And what else?"

"That's it for now," you answered, moving towards the door but pausing. "I'll ask again, do you feel like you want to earn a couple of points? I'm going to do this gym challenge and as far as I've been told just Monica could mop it up."

"Asking, Rick?" She said, snorting loudly. "I thought you owned me."

"And I'm feeling generous," you replied through clenched teeth. "Do you want to do a gym fight or not?"

"How many badges?"

"The first one." You turned to leave, no more patience left. "If you're not interested then just stay put, I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Wait, wait!" Kiara flew off of the bed and towards you before you could open the door. "This I need to see."

"Great, I'll put you through a clean cycle first." She hadn't noticed you'd been holding onto her pokeball, and her expression turned into a startled one as she vanished into the red light.

A bit of a smile came to your lips- it was the little things.

Now if only you could get your hands on some quality coffee that didn't cost an arm and a leg...

Healing and cleaning for everyone, a mention at the desk that the room was going to be in use another day, and you stepped outside. You picked up some food from the rations. Mostly tasteless and bland, some water to push it down. Maybe it wasn't satisfying, but at least it helped with the sense of hunger that had been clawing at you.

It let you turn your attention towards everything else more easily.

The sun was bright, the skies were clear, and only a couple of clouds were hanging about. There was a gentle breeze that smelled of spring. The people mulled through their life with different faces. Some were happy, others tired, most were neutral and just focused on getting someplace or another. If it weren't because almost all of them were pokegirls, you would've thought this to be no different to some random street in some random picturesque town.

Enjoying the peace and quiet for a minute or four as you walked, soaking in the sun, you pushed yourself to face the music again. Time to release Kiara. The Succubus appeared and looked around quickly before locking back on you, her wings spread wide and... She paused as your eyes narrowed. A huff followed.

"No flying, right." She proceeded to roll her eyes, walking towards you as you'd not stopped your own steps. "Were you serious about the gym fight?"

"First badge." You tossed her your dex, but kept a close eye.

This time she scowled, looking at the screen before you snatched it back out of her hands. "You're shitting me, how have you been a tamer for less than a month? I thought you were going around with the kids because the geezer was paying you or something."

A shrug of your shoulders. "Stick around long enough and I just might tell you."

Kiara's eyes narrowed. "And if I guess it?"

"Knock yourself out, it's not really going to change anything." You proceeded to ignore her, walking towards the gym's general direction and keeping an eye around for the crowd. The little voice in the back of your head kept gnawing with that low level concern that had never quite left you.

They were pokegirls, they could kill you.

It was like walking down the street when everyone was carrying bazookas while each and every one of them kept their finger on the trigger.

It was hard to ignore; you focused on your other thoughts. A little part of you hoped to maybe catch sight of any of the others, but no luck. Combined with the lack of messages, you guessed they'd either opted to leave without you or had yet to fully reopen to the idea of talking. If it was the second, you'd just send a message later today, but if it was the first, you'd have to reconsider some things.

The main reason you were going towards Ebony was that Mr. Gabriel sought to settle down there with some ranch-related job. Without the need for you to escort him there... You had to wonder where you'd rather go. Being a tamer was definitely not something you wanted to keep doing indefinitely.

You'd have to-

"Hey, Rick," Kiara's voice interrupted your thoughts, and you glanced over your shoulder to look her way as she walked behind you. Her hand was pointed at her own back. "Do you plan for me to fight with my tail like this?" She waved the red appendage behind her.

A heartbeat. She'd downed your whole harem. You scoffed. "You think you couldn't win even with it?" You asked back plainly, rolling your eyes. "I said I'll deal with it, you'll just have to put up with it for the time being."

Returning to your steps, you cut off potential replies from her part. The gym building was the one you'd visited before the farmer mission came into sight. The last time you'd been here, Kiara had bothered you on the way. My how things have turned around now. The interior was cool and fresh, both receptionist desks were devoid of much activity, and the number of people mulling about was practically nil. Perhaps everyone was having real breakfast. On the plus side, there was not much of a wait before it was your own turn.

A simple exchange; your match was scheduled for the following hour.

With nothing better to do, you moved to sit on the waiting benches.

It was then that you opted to acknowledge Kiara again. She was standing in front of you and looking annoyed. "What?" You wondered, her gaze looked at the seat, then your lap. You frowned. "What?"

"Where do you want me to sit?"

"Why should I tell you?" You frowned, gesturing next to you. "Just take a seat, we'll be here for an hour before the match."

Her eyes turned to the side, and you glanced at the other tamers that were waiting. It was only then that you paid attention to their pokegirls. They were standing or kneeling in front of them, and the sight caught you somewhat by surprise. And just as you were about to hide that emotion, you realized Kiara had caught it, eyes sharply looking at you as she moved to sit next to you.

The only pokegirl seated on one of the wait benches. "Like this?" The tone wasn't mocking so much as... testing. She was clearly trying to gauge your reaction. It was a strange impression, the mockery, the sneers, the haughtiness, she wasn't showing any of it. The Succubus was looking at you with a scowl and that look of a student trying to guess if you were going to pass them or not.

"Good enough," you shrugged, leaning back and fishing out your dex.

With a sigh, you turned your attention towards the encyclopedia of entries that were present within the device. The thing listed at least a good seven hundred or so entries. Feeling like there wasn't anything better to do, you opted to start on the most common breeds. It might be something that could come in handy later down the line.

"Are you seriously reading entries?" Kiara had been looking over your shoulder.

"Yes." You didn't turn away from the screen, frowning.

The infernal pressed her cheek against your shoulder, and you could feel her horns tickling the back of your neck.

But she didn't add any comments.

So you just kept reading.

That is, until you felt a finger caress your thigh. You held back the roll of your eyes, focusing on the entry regarding the Doggirl. More than anything, you were keeping a close focus on the aspects regarding feral behaviour. You'd had suspicions about it with Monica as well as the spiders, but by the looks of it, even feral, pokegirls could prove far smarter than most wild animals.

The finger moved towards the edge of your trousers.

"Don't start anything," you stated flatly. "I'll make that an order if I need to."

"But I'm... peckish," Kiara purred.

"Then it's time to diet," you replied.

That killed that mood quite fast. You took to the next page of information- the canine pokegirl had an intense sense of smell, though not quite comparable to an actual dog. Strange. You checked the evolutions; it seemed the next forms had stronger senses. If the breeds were designed and mass-produced, why didn't the Doggirl have the stronger sense of smell right off the bat? Was it progressive design? Sukebe didn't have the know-how from the start of the war?

That posed-

The finger now trickled your neck. Your head turned towards Kiara, finding her pouting as she suckled on one finger, the other on your neck. "You seemed to like it when the cat did it, why not me?"

You blinked. Wait. She'd acted like an airhead with Tomas. This was an act too, wasn't it? She was trying to determine how to approach you. "You can drop the game of pretend, I'll have Diane undo the tail thing later." A roll of your eyes. "Besides, I happen to like 'the cat'. I still don't quite like you," you replied, raising the dex to read it and moving her hand away with the other one. "If you're bored take a nap."

"That's rather cruel of you, Rick, telling a pokegirl you own you don't like them." Her voice had that pout in it that was hard to tell whether it was real or not.

"I'm sure you'll get over it." You returned to reading, trying to regain your train of thought, if-

Her head laid on your lap, looking up at you with a smirk, eyes narrowed with barely disguised amusement.

Fine.

"Ok, Kiara, you want my attention. Bend over my lap."

"Spanking?" She appeared equal parts eager and entertained.

"Have you done anything to deserve it?" You asked.

"Does there need to be a reason for a good spank?" She raised her skirt, presenting her plump pale ass to the air as she laid atop your lap.

She was far lighter than you'd imagine her to be. You caught as she was looking at you again, gauging. Your eyes trailed through her body. She was yours. The thought intruded into you and wormed its way through your irritation. It made you feel a slight... something... stir inside of you. Only a moment later did you notice Kiara's grin was growing ever so slightly, her rear waving slightly in an attempt to draw your attention.

You made an effort to focus on your real objective.

Leaning over her, you put one elbow right between her small black wings so you could use it to lean forward slightly, and you then reached out for the spade of her tail. The leathery texture was warmer than you remembered it being. You squeezed, though not as much as your initial impulse had urged you to.

Kiara instantly shuddered, her face flustered, and just as she'd been about to attempt to struggle, you applied just enough pressure with your elbow. The infernal stopped struggling with a dejected sigh. "Now," you said. "How about we work a little communication? Tell me how you'd enjoy me touching your tail."

"W-why?" She harshly breathed out, scowling deeper, she was on the backfoot.

"I could claim it's an order, but eh." Shrugging your shoulders, you squeezed a bit more, watching her cringe, and you couldn't help but grin slightly. "I plan to stay like this until I get bored, or you force yourself off and lose. Might as well make it enjoyable, no?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Lose?" She was competitive.

You could work with that. "If you hold from hopping off until the time is over, and then win the fight, I'll let you fly around for the afternoon."

Another shudder went through her, her jaw tightened. "That's it? Only one afternoon?"

"I mean, this shouldn't be too hard for you," you replied offhandedly. "First badge for a Succubus? Pretty sure you should be able to win blindfolded." Well, you weren't sure about it, but she didn't need to know that.

A glare. "Fine," she growled, closing her eyes. "Be softer."

"Rude, but sure," you replied, releasing her tail and hearing the infernal sigh. Carefully, your fingers moved to lightly stroke the tail from the base to its tip, drawing another sigh. The goosebumps were traversing her body now. You slowly increased the pressure a little with each pass up and down the fleshy limb. Then a slight grunt escaped her; her shoulders relaxed. You reached the spade and squeezed ever so gently; the shudder ran through her and her body became warm. A moan escaped her lips, one she'd cared not to cover or hide. It surprised you slightly, watching her moan like that and not even blinking at it. It had made you stop for a split second before you continued.

How much of this was sexual? Actually, how much of this was normal? Your eyes glanced around, watching the others in the lobby- no one had readily paid attention in your direction. No one had so much as glanced twice at the Succubus as she squirmed on your lap.

Carefully your fingers kept stroking with that edge of pressure, making the Succubus blush harder, moaning louder. "Oh~, right there Rick!" She called out. You'd thought something like this, public, would maybe embarrass her. Much to your surprise, she didn't seem to care whatsoever. "Own this Succubus!"

Your eyes widened slightly. She'd read you earlier.

"Someone's rather loud," you said, controlling your voice and ignoring the little wiggling of desire at the back of your head.

"If you give me your cock to suck, I should be quieter," she replied with a pleased grin. You were quite sure she meant it unironically too. As far as you could tell, it wouldn't even be weird by the normal standards. What would be the Succubus' limits?

Focus. You squeezed the spade a little, and she closed her eyes, groaning, leaning down to lightly close her mouth against your thigh. You felt her body pulse with heat. "No," you stated.

"What?" She was broken from the spell a little.

"No powers," you said, firmly. "I'm not interested in causing a scene. Keep your voice down and your powers off."

Kiara rolled her eyes but she kept quiet, the strokes of her tail drawing moans, but the infernal now not uttering a word. The action was intentional enough it now brought up more questions you weren't sure you'd want to ask. You kept yourself to just stroking and squeezing her limb, making some mental notes on how the infernal appeared to enjoy the most when you applied a little more pressure than when you stroked Monica's tail. But forcing yourself not to escalate.

The moans and squirming only grew as the minutes ticked by, even if she did use your thigh to quieten her voice.

And from time to time, she'd bite your pants, closing her lips, shuddering as her body warmed up. Her eyes would flash at you with that little edge that reminded you of that feeling you'd had during that first date with Diane. Was Kiara now playing you? Were you playing her? You had to focus to avoid getting distracted.

"Rick A. Hill?" The voice called out before you could start wondering whether you should stop or not.

With a huff, Kiara shuddered and hopped off of your lap. "I won."

For a heartbeat, you thought she meant she'd found a way to sink her claws on you. But you quickly pushed that doubt away. "Eh? Ah, no, you still have the match," you nodded, pushing yourself to look absent-minded about the matter. "Well, let's get this over with."

Your response appeared to irk the infernal as she looked at you. "You weren't even trying to win were you?"

Inside, you were thankful Succubi weren't able to read minds. "I mean, now I know you can enjoy having your tail played with. So it's a possible future reward from here on out." And that it could also be used to punish her. You shrugged, walking ahead as she stumbled to catch up. "Now you just have to win the match and you get your afternoon of flying."

"I want my tail back to normal," you heard her growl under her breath. She said nothing else as you approached the double doors. They led further into the building. The one who'd called out for you had eyed the infernal warily and stepped out of the way as you approached. "Room number #2."

"Thanks," you nodded at her, entering a rather long looking corridor, and immediately taking a left as the numbered door cropped up.

"Welcome challenger and..." The booming voice that had spoken up as you'd opened the door died out as the man at the opposite side of the room looked at you.

"Rick A. Hill, correct?" The man asked. You nodded. "You'll have to excuse me, I... expected someone younger."

"Is my profile that shocking?" You asked.

"No badges, yet owns a Succubus, a Boobcat, and an Arachnae." He said. "I couldn't really believe you'd been a tamer for only a couple of weeks... even less believable being that you've done almost thirty salvage matches in that period of time. For a second I thought you were sandbagging."

"Sandbagging?"

"Salvage dictates you can't challenge tamers that are much lower than your own badge count," he commented. "Some... less savoury people intentionally forfeit gym matches so they can abuse this."

"What happens to those people?"

"They get interrogated," he replied. "Intentionally losing gym battles is a crime, whether it was done so directly or indirectly." A pause and a sigh. "It did strike me as odd that all your salvage matches involved the same group of people... and the same two Doggirls. So you were playing with the salvage cooldown?"

That made you frown. Right, the league had access to your dex, they had access to your every move. "Anything illegal about it?"

"No, nothing... illegal," the man replied, looking at you for a moment. "I'd suggest not using it to take someone's pokegirl and then keep yourself from being challengeable. That would get you interrogated if anyone notices."

So being forced to challenge the gym wasn't just for the league to keep a gauge of how strong your harem was, but also to get your profile regularly reviewed. You pushed down that sense of distaste. These were bioengineered weapons. You'd keep a close eye on the people handling them too. "Well, strange isn't going to get me fined or jailed. If you've got questions about my profile, just ask Major Huge from New Bark," you replied. "I'm just here for this badge and carry on."

Mention of Huge didn't seem to startle the young man much- he'd likely read something about it from your profile. "Technically, the team I should bring here wouldn't stand a chance against your harem," he answered. "So I brought something closer to your calibre."

You paused at the comment. "Why?" You wondered. "If you don't mind my asking."

A moment of hesitation. "The point of a gym match is to help the tamers improve themselves. If you just show up and stomp things and leave then... what's there to learn?"

You could see the sense in those words, still, you sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose. "What's your name?"

"Nicolas."

"Nicolas," you nodded. "I'm closing in on thirty. Do I look like someone who can keep the pace going around as if this is a serious competition? I just want to leave this mess and find a stable job." There was a moment of hesitation as you blinked. "Besides, with how salvage rules are set down, wouldn't preventing me from earning more badges mean I could potentially bully weaker tamers? Getting more badges sooner would mean I'd quickly be challengeable by tamers that are of a rank similar to one my harem reflects."

"I guess you're right," he nodded, though not quite convinced. "I'll just call it a wrap. The whole point of the first medal is to see if you can at least control your girls, and seeing an orgy didn’t break out in the lobby…” His eyes trailed to Kiara, who rolled her eyes and scoffed. “...I don't see the sense in bringing out the girls and going through the motions. They’d just get pummeled, it's bad for their training and self-esteem. We'll call it a technical victory." A long sigh. "Anyway, are you interested in the token?"

"So long as it shows up that I won the match in my profile, I don't particularly mind," you shook your head. "Will that be all?"

"Your profile has been updated," he said with a slight shrug.

"Thanks, have a good day," you nodded, turning to leave. "Kiara?"

Wordlessly, the Succubus followed along as you proceeded to leave the gym. She was quiet up and until the automatic doors closed behind you. "That still counts as my win," she declared. "Can I use the afternoon worth of flying to another day?"

"Sure," you shrugged. "Just use it within the week or it's gone."

"I had a question about the tail thing," she continued, not missing a beat. "You said it was now a potential reward." She tilted her head. "I've seen you petting the cat, was that a reward specifically?"

"I just felt like it." Your eyes moved around before recognising the street you'd taken with Diane the last time you'd been around here. "You've been behaving surprisingly mild, I thought you'd cause more trouble."

"What would I gain with trouble?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm. You weren't looking her way, but you could guess that the answer to the question involved her tail not being returned to normal.

You ignored the subtext of her words. "You caused trouble for Tomas."

"He didn't own me," she replied with a click of her tongue.

"So this is how you behave when you can't push someone to get what you want?" You looked at her for a long moment.

She looked at you for a long moment as you stopped. There was a slight smirk to her lips as she leaned close, her finger caressing your chest. "It just means you're harder to crack, Rick." The words, though spoken with a smile and a wink, felt like a threat. "Now, you said something about my tail?"

"In a minute." You turned. With the gym done, there was a second issue to handle.

Reaching for your belt and touching the pokeball, it took you a moment to remember which one had the nurse and bring her out. She appeared seated on the ground, slightly dazed. Her eyes glanced around and she took in her surroundings before she jumped to her feet. "Master," she called out, nervously looking at Kiara and then at you. "What... happened?"

"You were out like a light, thought I'd let you rest while I challenged the gym. Anyway, Kiara, going to ball you for a while, but you're going to return her tail to normal when she gets out." At your words, the infernal let out a disappointed sigh but said little else before she vanished into the red light.

Now you were alone with Diane. You turned to walk, and she followed.

Carefully you had to take the moment to sift through your thoughts and emotions. How much of this was normal and how much of it was... artificial? "I need to know the psychological consequences of what you did."

"Yes, Master," Diane tensed behind you. "The shift was mild enough it shouldn't have manifested in a-."

"Consider the worst-case scenario," you growled, turning to give her a warning look. "Were your medical books written with pureblooded humans in mind or humans that already had some pokegirl in them?"

That shocked her for a moment before she bowed her head. "We are made to study the variations human physiology could react to medical treatment depending on their pokegirl related ancestry. So pureblood human physiology is always the baseline. I was approaching the issue considering Master's body was extremely sensitive to any variation, so the treatment was kept at minimal degrees."

"Issue," you said the word. It tasted like copper in your lips, and you turned to look at the nurse. "What issue?"

Diane gulped. "Master is... older," she said. "Being a tamer is strenuous, repeated sexual activity almost on the daily if not multiple times a day? That was a prospective problem that would have certainly caused troubles." She fidgeted. "Seeing the problem, I chose to begin treatment early so that Master would have adjusted by the time you owned a full harem."

You scowled. "Worst case scenario, what would be the consequences?"

"It has only been a week of treatment, the effects, even at their strongest, shouldn't manifest in more ways than a temporary mild increase of libido and..." She hesitated. "...irritability."

"Well, I'm pissed," you said. "And now I'm not sure how much of it comes from you meddling with my body or from my own head," you growled.

She went quiet, lowering her head. You turned to keep walking, the nurse quietly following you.

Slowly, your steps retraced the ones she had taken the last time. You took the chance to calm yourself and organize your thoughts. Soon enough you were on that small balcony that overlooked a large chunk of the town and the fields next to them. You didn't really look at the landscape as much as you turned your back to it, glancing at Diane as you crossed your arms and leaned against the railings.

"I'll be blunt," you said. "Last night, when I found out about what you'd been doing to my body, my first instinct was to get rid of you." Your words got the intended result, her eyes widened and she froze. "That is what I would've done had we been in my world. Cut the relationship, never see you again. But we're not there."

"Master?" She hesitated.

"I need you. Plain and simple," you continued. "I look at my odds of survival without you around, and they drop. I look at my prospects without you around, and they shrink. I can't trust Raven or Kiara, both of them are too new, and Kiara is... dangerous And I can't trust Monica with anything that complex." Your eyes hardened as you looked at her firmly. "And what trust I had in you almost entirely evaporated after I learnt about that stunt you pulled with my body."

The nurse flinched, lowering her head.

"I'm not going to go into some spiel over emotions or sentimentality." With a glare, you opened your arms, using them to grab the railing and sigh. "I am not your lover, that door has closed. I am, however, your owner. This is a weird situation for me." Calmly, you looked at her. "This means I will have you around, and I will give you orders I expect to be obeyed. Are we clear on this?"

Her arms tightened as she held on to the edge of her skirt. Her eyes were misty, and her lips trembled. "Yes, Master." Her voice shook.

A deep breath, a sigh. "The good news is that, so long as you stick around, trust can be earned back." You levelled your gaze with her own, killing the hopeful smile before it bloomed on her face. "No more stunts, you ask first, you ask always. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Master," she nodded quickly. She gave a half step in your direction but froze, lowering her head further. "I'm sorry, Master. Thank you for your kindness."

A second deep breath. You closed your eyes- could you trust her now? No, but you were certain she'd at least not pull another stunt like that ever again. Opening again, you watched her as she stood there, knuckles white as she held onto her dress. "Let's start simple, come."

She hesitated but complied after a second, reaching you. You leaned away from the railings and hugged her. Her whole body trembled against yours once before she let out a sob. "I'm sorry Master." She whimpered. "I didn't know, I-" Her arms tentatively wrapped around yours and she hugged you.

Sighing, you let her remain against you, hugging tightly until she'd calmed herself down.

By then, your shirt had a big wet stain. The cynic in you wondered how much of it was acting and how much actual emotion. She'd played pretend while playing with your metabolism after all. As if it'd been the most harmless thing in the world. How far would she have pushed had you not caught it and put a stop to it?

"Now." You helped her dry her tears before nudging her a step back. "Stand firm."

With a nod, Diane straightened her back, gulping loudly, drying the last traces of moisture out of the corner of her eyes. "Yes, Master."

"You did well last night." With earnest words, you nodded. "And I liked what you did to Kiara's tail. How long does it take you to apply it?"

"Half an hour if I apply myself completely, Master," she answered.

"And to undo it, the same amount of time I take it?" The question was met with a nod. "Ok, that's good to know. We're going to use that to our advantage whenever convenient. For now I'll have you return her to normal once I bring her out."

"Master is that... wise?"

"I do not want such indirect attempts at questioning my orders, Diane," you stated flatly. "If you have anything to say, you can either help me understand the pros and cons of a course of action and the potential alternatives. Or you can question over the details on how to fulfil them if you're uncertain. That's it." A harsh look. "Now, take a second to think your words carefully, what cons would this decision have you'd think merit pointing out?"

The nurse hesitated, lips clamping shut as she swallowed, turning her gaze downwards before she spoke. "It would make it harder to overwhelm her... Master."

"Great point, Diane," you nodded. "Now my counter-argument: during the day to day, the last thing we want is to have Kiara being easily overwhelmed especially by potentially people other than ourselves. Since it takes only half an hour, then applying it can be done before any situation we expect she might need to have such weakness."

The nurse nodded back. "I understand, Master, thank you for explaining this to me, Master."

"I don't want blind obedience, Diane. If you think something is a bad choice you argue it." Your hand reached down for the belt, your fingers brushing against Raven's pokeball. "I plan to take Raven out and get a chance to know what I'm dealing with better. I expect you to spend the time doing the same with Kiara while you reverse her tail to normal."

"Do the same with Kiara?" She frowned.

A pause and a frown. "Kiara is incredibly smart, and by the looks of it, patient in certain things. If you do not understand properly what you are up against, she is going to become the alpha sooner or later."

"Would Master...?"

"In time, if she earns my trust? And if proves herself better able at it? Yes," you answered earnestly, looking into the nurse's eyes as she choked a little. "Earn your rank, Diane, no more free rides. This is me giving you the wake-up call, you're going to need to keep proving you're the best option for the job."

There was a deep breath from her- you recognised the gesture, you'd done it yourself plenty. She opened her eyes and looked at you. There was some hesitation, but she nodded; the rest of her was filled with determination.

"Yes, Master."

 

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Dex Entry of the day: Sorceress -- Original Art

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