Wanderer Groo
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Third installment of my Tower of Gargalesis Fanfiction. It is a direct sequel of the previous one (“Home Improvement”), so it is recommended that you read that first to know what’s going on. Also recommend the first fanfic (“Good Touch”) and the game itself for a better understanding of the universe and the events therein. Not really planning anymore fanfics, but I wasn’t after the first one either, so who knows?
For the uninitiated, Tower of Gargalesis is a tickling RPG by DeusExProcella. Go play it.
Good Touch: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=61167
Home Improvement: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=62081
Tower of Gargalesis main thread: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=56446
Comment, critique, spit on my puny attempts at literature, etc.
Home Defense
A Tower of Gargalesis Fanfiction by Wanderer Groo
His face was covered, but Ambrose had to be looking at her like she was nuts. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as I was when you asked me five minutes ago.” Celine was sprawled across the porch swing, stretched out and enjoying the warm weather. She looked more bored than anything, a strange expression for one who would be fighting for her life in a matter of hours.
“Entirely unnecessary,” the armored warrior reminded her for the third time. “We can grab anything you want from this place, haul it anywhere you like. No chilly cell for the Outsider, no Ma’am. Most people see you as a hero, and plenty owe you their freedom. Lots of spare bedrooms available for you, nice and cozy, and you won’t have to worry about cleaning or cooking. I can think of three families that’d fight each other for the honor of putting you up. Heck, if that didn’t work, I’d let you stay at my-“
Ambrose’s lecture ended abruptly as he realized what he just said. He mumbled a little and fidgeted, metal plates scratching as he rubbed his fingers together.
Celine offered him a wry smile. “You know, you’ve got to be the only one I’ve met who doesn’t jump on any suggestion of intimacy. What, is the big helmet to hide your red face?”
“No, nothing of the sort.” His posture relaxed, the man relieved at the change of subject. “While a mamono may intellectually know I am a man inside of here, her…er, base instincts are not aroused by a walking block of metal. Unless they’re starving, mamono just ignore me. Which, of course, suits me just fine.”
“I get it.” Celine grinned, happy that Ambrose was finally opening up to her a little. “And I also get the mamono’s response – you’ve got to be the only one I know who I’ve never had the urge to tickle senseless. No offense.”
“None taken, Ma’am, it is a fact I am actively grateful for.” He clapped his hands once. “And that’s enough talk for now. The mamono said she’d return at night, so we don’t have much time. Let’s get your things.”
Celine sighed. “I’m not moving, Ambrose.”
”But why? This is dangerous and entirely-”
“-Unnecessary, yeah, yeah.” She held up a hand, forestalling further debate. “This is my home. My property. Mine. Aside from my gear, it’s the only thing I own. I risk my butt protecting other people, I sure can risk it protecting what’s mine. No mamono is going to run me out of my own house. Conversation over.”
“Fine, fine. See you later.” There was an unspoken ‘maybe’ after the statement, but cynical wit wasn’t his style.
She liked him well enough, but Celine wasn’t sad to see Ambrose leave today. One, she already had enough doubt over this little confrontation without him voicing it. And two, what he thought was boredom was actually the look of a very tired woman trying to catch forty winks before yet another desperate battle. She hadn’t gotten much sleep this week, and it was going to be a very long night. With the guard gone, warmth and fatigue rapidly did their parts in rendering her unconscious.
A gentle nudge from Spaz brought her back into the land of the living. Contrary to her name, the goblin seemed sedate. Serious. She knew this was the calm before the storm. Celine reached up and held the hand Spaz had set on her shoulder. They offered wan smiles, taking a bit of comfort in each other’s presence. Whatever monster showed up tonight, no one would have to fight it alone.
Speaking of night, the sun was sinking low in the sky. Celine stood and turned her back to it, staring into the open doorway. Her own property. But it looked so menacing right now. The dusk cast wobbling shadows across the entry parlor, bathing the room in an eerie half-light. Familiar objects looked freakish and evil. The doorways to other rooms were nothing but yawning dark nothingness. It was hard to tell what the flowery wallpaper looked like in the twilight: patterns of sinister sneering faces, or heads with mouths horrifically widened in the midst of a scream (or laugh?). As she stepped slowly forward, Celine couldn’t help but note how badly the porch planks creaked underfoot.
“I’m normally not this hesitant,” Celine said with a nervous giggle. Talking to Spaz, talking to herself, she went on. “I mean, seriously. Dungeons. Dark woods. Haunted Houses. And I’ve even seen worse in my old world. But this…I dunno, it’s my home. It’s supposed to be a safe place. You know, my refuge, my castle, and so on. But it’s been perverted. It feels so wrong now.”
A pair of slender arms came around her stomach, hands grasping each other over her belly button. Spaz gave a gentle hug from behind, nuzzling her nose in between Celine’s shoulder blades.
“Lookit you!” Celine laughed and awkwardly reached her arms backwards to return the hug. “Since when are you the calm, motherly one?”
“C’mon, let’s get some lights on in here.” They reluctantly pulled away and began moving about the house, lighting the lamps. She knew it was childish, but Celine breathed a little easier with each shadow dispelled.
After the main rooms had been lit, they moved on to the little ones. Celine stepped in her bedroom and snapped her fingers. A glow of fire burned at the edge of her thumb, and she stepped to the dresser. She gave herself an encouraging smile in the dim mirror and bent down to poke the wick of her lamp. It burned readily, and a second snap extinguished her own flame.
But when she looked again, there was another face in the mirror. Celine shouted in surprise and whipped around, but there was no one behind her.
Some days she wondered if she was going insane, but she knew she saw something then. She turned back, and was not too surprised to see someone coming out of the mirror like it was water. What struck Celine most at that moment was not the bending of reality, but the mamono’s eyes. The hair was grey and the body was light blue, giving her a muted, spectral appearance. But the eyes were bright orange. Even more oddly, they were narrowed in anger. Celine had pegged this “ghost” for a predatory being looking for its next meal. But the girl didn’t look haughty, or hungry, or lustful, or even particularly self-assured. Just angry.
The mamono was human shaped and sized, clad in a white dressing gown that left her slinky shoulders and narrow feet exposed. The hair carelessly flopped down in front of her face and around her neck. She stepped fully out of the mirror and glided down from the dresser to stand face-to-face with Celine.
The eyes were a little unnerving, but honestly, this girl wasn’t very intimidating compared to some of the real demons Celine had dealt with. The mage thrust out a hip jauntily and smiled, speaking loudly in the hopes Spaz would hear. “And you are?”
“You want…” the girl spoke loudly and hesitantly. Celine realized this was probably the first time she’s spoken in decades. “To know me? Fine. I am Cognita. And you…should have left when you had the chance. This house…mine. It’s mine. You’re in it. You’re mine.”
Celine shook her head, body tensing for the first move. “My house.”
A thought struck her, and the smile vanished. “And it is time for some serious payback for what you did to Spaz.”
Celine swept upward with her hand, the exaggerated movement summoning a gust of wind from beneath the mamono’s feet. Cognita squeaked in surprise as her dress billowed upwards. The garments only served to focus the breeze inwards, sending the slashes of ticklish wind bouncing back and forth between her thighs.
She rallied quickly though, a little too quickly for Celine’s liking. Cognita propelled herself at the mage, fingers grasping for her belly. Celine held her footing as the charge slammed into her – compared to Spaz’s pounces, this girl was a featherweight. And while Celine was no athlete, her opponent evidently wasn’t either. Cognita couldn’t knock her over or really exploit her momentum, leaving the two of them tussling evenly. Their feet were braced against the floor, arms wrestling and grasping, neither able to work in much more than a poke before the other countered.
They stumbled out into the kitchen, both still keeping their feet. The two were glaring at each other and grinning from the light tickles.
“No spells for you now,” The ghostly mamono smirked at Celine. “What say we take this…downstairs, hm?”
Celine matched her smile humorlessly, trying to keep thoughts of the bondage-themed basement out of her mind. No, she couldn’t get her spells off like this. But she could already hear Spaz thumping towards them.
This undead dom is gonna regret messing with us- “WOAH!”
Just as Celine pushed her weight into another shove, the mamono’s smirk widened and she disappeared. Well, she was still there, but her weight and touch vanished. Off-balance by the sudden change, Celine tumbled through her incorporeal form. Seeing the wall looming before her, the mage closed her eyes tight, praying the impact wouldn’t knock her out.
But there was no impact. The walls lost their touch as well – or was it Celine who turned insubstantial? Either way, her eyes shot back open as she fell through the wall. She suddenly felt Cognita’s hand on her back, aiding the momentum, pushing her into a veritable summersault forwards.
Celine gagged violently as the wall abruptly turned solid around her throat. The tumble had pushed her nearly upside-down, leaving most of her body encased in plaster and wood. Her fingers and knees were utterly paralyzed, eliminating any hope of a counter-attack. She could wiggle her feet (precious little comfort THAT was), and by craning her neck she could glance about the room. Though part of her was still in the kitchen, the head was now in the entry parlor. The door was still open, fading sunlight and nearby buildings taunting her with unreachable escape.
A chill ran down her spine, and the ghost passed through her and stepped directly in front of the doorway. Cognita turned back to the trapped mage, hands on her hips and leer on her face. “My house, girl. It transfers essence to me. I see through its walls. It rises to my aid. It’s mine.”
She began to laugh, traces of her earlier anger vanished as she eyed her captive. “Normally I’d take you to the play room, but honestly I like you where you are right now.”
“No distractions,” Cognita said curtly as Spaz bounded into the room, righteous indignation on her face. The step that was supposed to send her leaping onto the mamono tripped on a large snag that suddenly appeared in the carpet. Spaz fell flat, and the wall carpeting began peeling from every direction, twisting around towards the goblin. Her look of determination changed to one of fear as they began wrapping around her. Pushes and swipes knocked the attacking fabric back, but for every one strip she forced away, two more began engulfing her legs, arms, and head.
Cognita’s look of lust grew as Celine called out the goblin’s name. “I’ll pick up where I left off with her later. For now…”
The ghost faded through Celine again, the action once more sending a chill through her. Tears began coming down Celine’s face as Spaz finally vanished beneath the assailing carpeting. Only a pair of grasping hands and twitching feet were visible as the wrap tightened around her. The mage was desperately trying to formulate a plan, but despair was taking root.
We picked a bad fight. And she’s going to pay for my stupidity. Again. I’m so dumb. What sane person would go this far for a stupid house?
She was beyond such depressing thoughts all too soon. Chill as the grave and entirely too substantial on her flesh, an index finger stroked her side. Starting at the armpit, moving slowly, feeling its way across each rib before ending with a final tweak of the hip. Celine giggled, eyes widening as she realized she couldn’t even thrash. The damn cheating ghost was tickling body parts stuck in the wall.
A few seconds passed, and the finger came again, following the exact same pattern on the other side. Celine began breathing rapidly, utterly unable to fill the desperate need to react to the tickle. There weren’t even bindings to strain at or weight to press against – there was just her, utterly immobilized.
Far too quickly, Cognita seemed to grow bored with gently teasing her sides. Celine couldn’t even shudder as the chilly fingers began feeling their way in between her thighs. She gasped and squealed as they felt around, lightly stroking her inner legs and dancing around the edge of her genitals.
She gagged again, clenching her toes and gritting her teeth as hard as she could. The teasing was causing her clit to swell, but encased in the wall, it had nowhere to swell to. That caused pressure in her pubic region, which stimulated her more, which caused the lips to flatten and the clit to swell still more…
It was nothing short of madness. A nonstop river of giggles escaped from Celine’s mouth. Her eyes widened, and she was rapidly pushed beyond all rational thought. Between the arousal and the tickling, she felt an absolute need to move in some way, a need she was unable to satisfy. Even hard, loud laughter was too much to ask for with the wall constricting her chest. Adrenaline without an exit flooded her system; she felt like she was going to explode, and more than half hoped she would do just that.
“Umm…”
Celine’s eyes were snapped wide open, but only now did she muster up the will to glance upwards towards the inoffensive voice. The tickling stopped at least, and in the corner of her vision she could see Cognita’s face appear out of the wall.
It was Ambrose of all people, standing in the doorway, holding a can of apple juice.
“I uh…” he fidgeted with his free hand, stammering as if he walked in on her bath. “I thought this might…come in handy?”
“Goodbye,” Cognita sniffed, sinking back into the wall.
Celine smiled a little, well aware it was likely her last real smile. “Ambrose? Thanks for everything, okay? You were the only person who didn’t treat me like trash my first day, and I’m glad I got to know a little of the man behind that helmet. Now hurry, before she decides she wants you, too.”
Without a word, Ambrose spun on his heel and ran down the stairs. Celine sighed, letting her head droop. Okay, so maybe I was hoping for a rescue. At least it wouldn’t’ve killed him to leave with a little more dignity.
She groaned in frustration as the fingers came again, this time at her knees. At least it was less tortuous than before. Celine looked up and took as deep a breath as she could. She blinked in surprise at what she saw. Ambrose had stopped several paces from the house and was bent over, seemingly adjusting his boots. He turned around.
No way…
With an extended shout of his own, Ambrose took off at a sprint. He bounded down the path, up the stairs, crossed the porch in one stride, and went through the doorway. Momentum building with every instant, he dashed directly towards Celine…who was screaming as loud as she could, confident she was about to be crushed to death by the metal-clad human stampede.
Nearly a hundred pounds of his weight was armor, but Ambrose was plenty big and strong by his own right. There was an explosion of wood and plaster as he slammed into the wall directly next to Celine. And the charge carried him though the wall, though only far enough to stumble into the dining room table. Caught in the blast, Celine tumbled after him, battered, scraped, shocked…and mobile.
Maybe she had to be partially-solid and vulnerable in order to tickle Celine, or maybe she was just surprised. Either way, Cognita was knocked out of the wall as well. All three of them struggled to regain their footing, tripping on chunks of plaster and scattered chairs.
Cognita was the first to rise, and glared down at Ambrose with rage in her eyes. “You little EEK!”
Celine was right behind her, and slipped both hands under her armpits. Not very effective normally, but the mage’s hands were frigid with magically-created cold. Cognita shivered and laughed out loud, clamping down her arms. That only brought twice as much skin in contact with the chilly fingers, sending the Mamono flailing, her laughs growing more frantic as she tried to break the hold.
“Ambrose, go!” Celine shouted, struggling to maintain her grip. “Thanks a billion! I seriously, big-time owe you. Now go!”
Once more, the man didn’t protest or delay in making an ungraceful exit. As the two tumbled around the kitchen yet again, Celine caught a glance into the parlor and smiled. Once more, there was more to his retreat than prudent fear. There was a ripping sound as Ambrose struggled to tear away the animated carpet engulfing Spaz.
“STA-STA-STOPAHAHAHAHA!” Cognita was roaring her laugher now, twisting and bucking to try to dislodge Celine’s chilly grip. It’s wasn’t quite a tickle, but the cold brought on the giggles. That was enough to be dangerous.
“GET OF ME! BWAAAAAAAHAAAAA!” The sound rose to a scream, Cognita’s face caught in a queer twist between rage and forced laughter. One of the dining room chairs lifted of its own accord and slammed into Celine’s back. The mage grunted and staggered, but kept her grip. It swung around again and impacted her side, making her lose her breath in a gasp. Celine braced for the last blow, but it hit the exact same spot as the second, smashing into a newly-formed bruise. Celine cried out in pain and staggered back, all the opening the mamono needed to escape.
The two faced each other a few paces apart, both bent over and gasping. But Celine was battered by physical injuries, wounds not nearly as draining as tickled exhaustion. The time in the wall was bad, but more for her constriction than any real deviousness or skill of the attacker. Cognito, on the other hand, was quite clearly staggered. Celine really nailed her that last time.
Celine caught her breath and stood to her full height, looking down at her still-panting opponent. The mamono was back to glaring, this time with desperation as well as anger.
“You have some kind of connection with the house.” The mage voiced her thoughts, more to confirm them than to taunt. “Otherwise you could just animate my clothes or something. You’re a poltergeist. A ghost, sure, but definitely a mamono too. Are you bound to this house?”
“I can leave if I wanted to.” Cognita snarled. As her passions rose, the hesitancy in her speaking seemed to vanish. “But I’m not. And neither are you.”
“Sheesh. Gonna have to put you DAMN!”
She really should have seen something like this coming. Cognita strained, her face taking on new lines of fatigue and weakness. But at that exact moment, the floor opened up under Celine. Once more she fell, and once more the fall was arrested halfway through. The ground closed around her chest, leaving her bust squished painfully against the floor. She could feel her feet dangle in the chilly basement air, and didn’t even waste her strength kicking.
A better position than last time, at least. But Celine didn’t feel very lucky as she looked up. The smirk was back on Cognita’s face, but it was contorted by a grimace of anger. She walked around behind Celine.
“Time. To. Pay.” Cognita pressed her foot on the back of Celine’s head, forcing it into her own up-pressed breasts. Celine gagged and choked as her head was pushed down further, suffocating her in her own twin blessings. Stars danced in front of her eyes, and she earnestly prayed she wouldn’t die in such a stupid way.
The pressure relaxed, and Cognita stepped around to her front again. “I really shouldn’t play with my food.”
She giggled as Celine gasped. “But I can’t help it! I love the restriction, the helplessness…”
This time, she pressed the sole of her foot into Celine’s face. The mage tried to turn away, but that only encouraged the ghost to push in harder. Celine’s head was forced backward, the pale blue foot planted firmly on her face.
Cognita licked her lips and reached a hand up to fondle her left breast. “I don’t have much metabolism anymore, being, you know, dead. I don’t even think I’ve eaten since I died. I was so hungry when you showed up, and you and your minions were nice enough to tickle each other silly. But I got the essence, oh yes, I sucked it right up through the house. And now that I have the power to make you mine, I’ll be able to set myself up for a good long while. I guess there’s a good thing to even bad things like you.”
Celine’s mind worked frantically even as she tried to twist her head around the foot. Bad thing? How could an unsuspecting victim coming to a starving mamono be a bad thing for the mamono?
Anyway, time to shake things up. This is gonna be so weird.
She didn’t have much movement with her arms – they were stuck out almost above her head. But she could still work the gestures needed for magic. No aiming was possible, but there was a spell that made the caster’s body course with static energy. Celine could feel the hairs on her head rise as the electricity built up. Abruptly, she stuck out her tongue and gave the foot a lick. One little poke was all the energy needed to discharge into Cognita.
“YAAIIIIEE!”
The mamono fell on her butt, laughing helplessly as her foot tingled insufferably with ticklish electricity.
But the moment passed, and she gingerly stood back up. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at Celine the same way Celine looked at many mamono – eyes filled with grim determination to see a job done. And Cognita sunk into the floor.
“Oh come on!” Celine roared in frustration as she felt a hand in the void below experimentally slide along her ankle. “Why does it always come down to my stupid feet? The most stupidly ticklish part of my body, and they always go for it sooner or later. Why can’t any of them be obsessed with knees, or hips? Just don’t go for my feet!”
The hand moved up and began stroking in between the thighs again, working its way to her crotch. With room to work with now, her body began taking its cues, and she could feel her legs unconsciously spreading out. Celine’s mouth moaned, but her eyes rolled. “Oh, that’s better. One day, I swear I will learn to shut up.”
With a quiet whimper, Spaz stepped into her vision. The goblin looked none the worse for wear, and her face radiated concern. Spaz knelt down before Celine, touching her on the shoulder.
“I’m fine, eheheh, Spaz,” Celine managed, grunting as her thighs quivered. “But I, heehee, need out!”
Spaz didn’t hesitate. She clambered back to her feet and leapt up to the table. She gulped a little, eyeing Celine and scooting a little further away. Finally she sighed, closed her eyes, and jumped. In a feat of intense agility, Spaz spun around a few times in the air. As she did so, she pulled out the giant club Celine had always seen her carry around. With superhuman strength she brought the club down on the floor…and down went the floor.
There was a shattering from the point of impact, and once more Celine found herself tumbling down as a result of collateral damage and thankful for the fact. Owing to more luck than skill, she landed feet-first on one of the beds, catching one of the high posts to balance herself. Spaz landed on her feet as well, swinging her club about and grinning wildly.
The basement wasn’t a friendly place – although covered in debris, it still held its unnerving array of bondage gear. But it was their turn now.
Cognita gaped wide-eyed at the devastation, too fatigued to be as quick on the uptake as before. Celine came in with both hands, dancing her fingers across the mamono’s belly. The girl crumpled in her grasp, falling to the ground and laughing, affecting no greater defense than curling up into a ball.
Celine could feel the ghost’s remaining strength melt under her fingertips. What came next wasn’t pretty, but it came with the territory: keep tickling until the mamono vanishes.
“I don’t get it,” Celine asked, pausing briefly. “You’re not tied to the house? Why not leave? You know, hunt and stuff. Why stay here and starve?”
“Not gonna leave,” Cognita gasped as Celine resumed. Her laughter subsided as she lost feeling – it would be over soon.
“This is my home.”
Celine jerked backwards as if burned. She reached her hand forward again to finish the job, but paused and looked at the girl. Really, looked at her. Those freaky orange eyes were staring off into the distance, accepting that the end was here. She was panting, sighing, twitching. That aggressive gleam had gone from her eyes.
Home. It all made sense. Even after death, she was too stubborn to leave. Even in hunger, she would never dream of abandoning her beloved home.
How Stupid. How stubborn. Celine smiled sadly, reaching her hand down to touch one of the fragments from the shattered floor. Risking it all, throwing away it all to fight for a pile of wood and rocks that you don’t even need. And that’s why she tried to scare me off. She didn’t care so much about starving. She just wanted the intruder gone.
“Who would be so dumb,” she asked with a chuckle. Cognita blinked and looked up at her, eyes still drained of hope.
“This is my house.” Celine pointed at herself. The other sighed, aware the fight was over.
“And…” Celine turned the finger around to point at the girl. “It’s your house.”
“Yeah.” Cognita blinked again, realizing something strange was happening. “What?! I mean yes, but…but…”
Tears were in her eyes. She was gazing up at the mage, hardly daring to hope.
Celine poked her firmly in the forehead. “But! We need to lay down some ground rules. No nonconsensual touchy. Just as important, no…disappearing floors, moving chairs, whatever.”
“I don’t think I can do anything major anymore, Mistress.“
“Celine,” the mage abruptly corrected her. I get it…she lost powers and aggression just like Spaz did when I dominated her.
“Celine,” the girl dutifully added. She moved slowly to a kneeling position, still looking up. “But…why?”
“Because, oh I dunno…” Because I’m a sucker?
Nothing wrong with honesty, I guess. “Because that was the same reason I was fighting. To protect my home. Hell, you starved yourself to stay here, so it’s not like you’re a terrible evil I should rid the world of. You don’t seem really bad, I guess…but speaking of bad, what’s up with this…bondage stuff? Trampling me, a BDSM basement, and like…always going for my woman bits. Does that give you extra power or something?”
“No…” A raspberry blush graced Cognita’s cheeks. She curled into a sitting position and looked away. She tittered a few seconds, looking for all the world like an embarrassed schoolgirl. “It’s just my…um, my thing. You know – I like it. B-but I won’t do it again if you let me live here!”
The blush deepened as Celine reached her hand down and patted her on the head. The mage sighed, accepting that she just picked up another weirdo. Guess that makes me the queen of the weirdos.
“Just…not without permission, and stop when they want you to stop.” Aello is going to love her.
Cognita’s head snapped back up in surprise. She beamed, tears of relief and joy coming down her face. She leaned forward and hugged Celine tightly around the knees, silently pressing in her wet eyes. Spaz probably didn’t understand what was going on – or maybe she did? Either way, Celine’s approval was enough for her. The goblin scampered over and put a hand on Cognita’s shoulder while Celine stroked her hair.
“Our home,” Celine said with finality. “And hoo boy, does it need fixing.”
-----
Celine didn’t see much of the ghost afterwards. Cognita would appear when summoned, but mostly she seemed content to watch from the walls. Yet every morning there was a pot of coffee already sizzling, and after every hot day working on the exterior there was a glass of lemonade waiting for Celine when she came in.
It took weeks of work to finish repairing and restoring the house, but the time was lightened by the company. Silent Spaz, always there and always ready. Ambrose, nearly as silent, asking neither thanks nor recognition for his part in making it possible. Honey Bee stopped by a few times to help, but like Aello, she didn’t really “get” why this was so important. For her own part, Aello came frequently, helping or hindering the work as the mood struck her. Cognita lured her into the basement one day, and soon the two were spending so much time down there Celine grudgingly fixed the stairs to the “playroom.”
There were others as well. As word spread that Celine had vanquished the ghost, the other townsfolk became much less shy about stopping by with gifts and offers of labor.
Finally, tired and thrilled, Celine declared the job “done.” That evening saw a quiet celebration: Some friends, unmatched cups, and a few jugs of juice.
“Thanks, you all,” Celine raised her glass in a toast.
“No, thank you, Celine.” Even now Ambrose spoke from behind his helmet, drinking his juice through a straw. “I’m just glad one of us was finally able to do something for you.”
Spaz stood on tip-toe and kissed Celine on the cheek. The goblin’s face immediately turned bright red and she scampered behind a chair.
“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” Honey Bee smiled into her orange juice, eyes slinking down to Celine’s feet.
“She’s great, isn’t she?” Aello smiled distractedly, already bored with the inaction.
Cognita stared into her cup. Her slow metabolism had a hard time keeping up with the sugary juice, and she was mumbling sleepily. “I watch her every night while she sleeps and touch myself.”
Oooooooooookaaaaaaaayyy…
A loud, heavy clomping on the porch steps drew everyone’s attention, breaking the awkward silence. A few ripping sounds emerged as heavy feet dragged clumsily along the porch. The door slammed open, followed by a grinding and smashing noise.
Blood rushed to Celine’s face as a cheery, booming voice sounded through the house. “Hey, Darlin’, heard you were having yerself a party!”
“Hathor,” Celine breathed. She shuddered in the best kind of anticipation, and her body reminded her just how *long* it had been.
Celine slammed her glass down and ran to the parlor. She skidded to a stop at what she saw. Yes, there was Hathor, big, happy, busty, and incredibly sexy as ever. But behind her, gouges had been torn into the wooden steps Celine had labored so lovingly to fix and paint. A chunk had been knocked out of the wooden post at the edge of the porch. The paint on the porch had been scratched, and the heavy mamono seemed to have stepped on the bottom doorframe, crushing it out of place. Hathor clearly had one thing on her mind as she walked towards Celine, licking her lips. Celine had one thing on her mind too: That the parlor carpet which had taken a full day to restore was *perfectly* white, and with every step Hathor was grinding in grass stains.
Hathor carelessly kicked the door closed behind her, revealing that the opening slam rammed the doorknob into the wall, ruining a chunk of the plaster and wallpaper.
“Ah swear, they do not make doors with heifers like me in mind,” Hathor chuckled, continuing her advance. “And I’m not no good with steps, neither. Hope y’can make it worth mah trouble.”
A vein pulsed on Celine’s face. Her eyebrow was twitching. The other guests quietly backed into the kitchen, Ambrose pulling Aello back by the scruff of her neck.
Celine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Yes, it had been too long. And yes, she was really mad.
She opened her eyes and smiled broadly at Hathor. “It’s been too long! And I mean, yeah, way, way too long. Let me show you around the place!”
The cow mamono licked her lips again, leaning over to better display her massive cleavage. “Hell, Darlin’, I just want you to show me to the bedroom!”
Hathor eyed the look of pride on Celine’s face and sighed, smiling wistfully. “But if it means that much to you, sure, we’ll tromp ourselves around a mite. Nice place you landed yerself. Saw them flowers you planted outside and helped mahself some. Purty good taste they got.”
It was painful, but Celine managed to keep the smiled on her face. “That’s great. I’m so happy you’re here!”
She took Hathor’s arm and began guiding her. “Let me start by showing you the basement…”
For the uninitiated, Tower of Gargalesis is a tickling RPG by DeusExProcella. Go play it.
Good Touch: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=61167
Home Improvement: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=62081
Tower of Gargalesis main thread: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=56446
Comment, critique, spit on my puny attempts at literature, etc.
Home Defense
A Tower of Gargalesis Fanfiction by Wanderer Groo
His face was covered, but Ambrose had to be looking at her like she was nuts. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as I was when you asked me five minutes ago.” Celine was sprawled across the porch swing, stretched out and enjoying the warm weather. She looked more bored than anything, a strange expression for one who would be fighting for her life in a matter of hours.
“Entirely unnecessary,” the armored warrior reminded her for the third time. “We can grab anything you want from this place, haul it anywhere you like. No chilly cell for the Outsider, no Ma’am. Most people see you as a hero, and plenty owe you their freedom. Lots of spare bedrooms available for you, nice and cozy, and you won’t have to worry about cleaning or cooking. I can think of three families that’d fight each other for the honor of putting you up. Heck, if that didn’t work, I’d let you stay at my-“
Ambrose’s lecture ended abruptly as he realized what he just said. He mumbled a little and fidgeted, metal plates scratching as he rubbed his fingers together.
Celine offered him a wry smile. “You know, you’ve got to be the only one I’ve met who doesn’t jump on any suggestion of intimacy. What, is the big helmet to hide your red face?”
“No, nothing of the sort.” His posture relaxed, the man relieved at the change of subject. “While a mamono may intellectually know I am a man inside of here, her…er, base instincts are not aroused by a walking block of metal. Unless they’re starving, mamono just ignore me. Which, of course, suits me just fine.”
“I get it.” Celine grinned, happy that Ambrose was finally opening up to her a little. “And I also get the mamono’s response – you’ve got to be the only one I know who I’ve never had the urge to tickle senseless. No offense.”
“None taken, Ma’am, it is a fact I am actively grateful for.” He clapped his hands once. “And that’s enough talk for now. The mamono said she’d return at night, so we don’t have much time. Let’s get your things.”
Celine sighed. “I’m not moving, Ambrose.”
”But why? This is dangerous and entirely-”
“-Unnecessary, yeah, yeah.” She held up a hand, forestalling further debate. “This is my home. My property. Mine. Aside from my gear, it’s the only thing I own. I risk my butt protecting other people, I sure can risk it protecting what’s mine. No mamono is going to run me out of my own house. Conversation over.”
“Fine, fine. See you later.” There was an unspoken ‘maybe’ after the statement, but cynical wit wasn’t his style.
She liked him well enough, but Celine wasn’t sad to see Ambrose leave today. One, she already had enough doubt over this little confrontation without him voicing it. And two, what he thought was boredom was actually the look of a very tired woman trying to catch forty winks before yet another desperate battle. She hadn’t gotten much sleep this week, and it was going to be a very long night. With the guard gone, warmth and fatigue rapidly did their parts in rendering her unconscious.
A gentle nudge from Spaz brought her back into the land of the living. Contrary to her name, the goblin seemed sedate. Serious. She knew this was the calm before the storm. Celine reached up and held the hand Spaz had set on her shoulder. They offered wan smiles, taking a bit of comfort in each other’s presence. Whatever monster showed up tonight, no one would have to fight it alone.
Speaking of night, the sun was sinking low in the sky. Celine stood and turned her back to it, staring into the open doorway. Her own property. But it looked so menacing right now. The dusk cast wobbling shadows across the entry parlor, bathing the room in an eerie half-light. Familiar objects looked freakish and evil. The doorways to other rooms were nothing but yawning dark nothingness. It was hard to tell what the flowery wallpaper looked like in the twilight: patterns of sinister sneering faces, or heads with mouths horrifically widened in the midst of a scream (or laugh?). As she stepped slowly forward, Celine couldn’t help but note how badly the porch planks creaked underfoot.
“I’m normally not this hesitant,” Celine said with a nervous giggle. Talking to Spaz, talking to herself, she went on. “I mean, seriously. Dungeons. Dark woods. Haunted Houses. And I’ve even seen worse in my old world. But this…I dunno, it’s my home. It’s supposed to be a safe place. You know, my refuge, my castle, and so on. But it’s been perverted. It feels so wrong now.”
A pair of slender arms came around her stomach, hands grasping each other over her belly button. Spaz gave a gentle hug from behind, nuzzling her nose in between Celine’s shoulder blades.
“Lookit you!” Celine laughed and awkwardly reached her arms backwards to return the hug. “Since when are you the calm, motherly one?”
“C’mon, let’s get some lights on in here.” They reluctantly pulled away and began moving about the house, lighting the lamps. She knew it was childish, but Celine breathed a little easier with each shadow dispelled.
After the main rooms had been lit, they moved on to the little ones. Celine stepped in her bedroom and snapped her fingers. A glow of fire burned at the edge of her thumb, and she stepped to the dresser. She gave herself an encouraging smile in the dim mirror and bent down to poke the wick of her lamp. It burned readily, and a second snap extinguished her own flame.
But when she looked again, there was another face in the mirror. Celine shouted in surprise and whipped around, but there was no one behind her.
Some days she wondered if she was going insane, but she knew she saw something then. She turned back, and was not too surprised to see someone coming out of the mirror like it was water. What struck Celine most at that moment was not the bending of reality, but the mamono’s eyes. The hair was grey and the body was light blue, giving her a muted, spectral appearance. But the eyes were bright orange. Even more oddly, they were narrowed in anger. Celine had pegged this “ghost” for a predatory being looking for its next meal. But the girl didn’t look haughty, or hungry, or lustful, or even particularly self-assured. Just angry.
The mamono was human shaped and sized, clad in a white dressing gown that left her slinky shoulders and narrow feet exposed. The hair carelessly flopped down in front of her face and around her neck. She stepped fully out of the mirror and glided down from the dresser to stand face-to-face with Celine.
The eyes were a little unnerving, but honestly, this girl wasn’t very intimidating compared to some of the real demons Celine had dealt with. The mage thrust out a hip jauntily and smiled, speaking loudly in the hopes Spaz would hear. “And you are?”
“You want…” the girl spoke loudly and hesitantly. Celine realized this was probably the first time she’s spoken in decades. “To know me? Fine. I am Cognita. And you…should have left when you had the chance. This house…mine. It’s mine. You’re in it. You’re mine.”
Celine shook her head, body tensing for the first move. “My house.”
A thought struck her, and the smile vanished. “And it is time for some serious payback for what you did to Spaz.”
Celine swept upward with her hand, the exaggerated movement summoning a gust of wind from beneath the mamono’s feet. Cognita squeaked in surprise as her dress billowed upwards. The garments only served to focus the breeze inwards, sending the slashes of ticklish wind bouncing back and forth between her thighs.
She rallied quickly though, a little too quickly for Celine’s liking. Cognita propelled herself at the mage, fingers grasping for her belly. Celine held her footing as the charge slammed into her – compared to Spaz’s pounces, this girl was a featherweight. And while Celine was no athlete, her opponent evidently wasn’t either. Cognita couldn’t knock her over or really exploit her momentum, leaving the two of them tussling evenly. Their feet were braced against the floor, arms wrestling and grasping, neither able to work in much more than a poke before the other countered.
They stumbled out into the kitchen, both still keeping their feet. The two were glaring at each other and grinning from the light tickles.
“No spells for you now,” The ghostly mamono smirked at Celine. “What say we take this…downstairs, hm?”
Celine matched her smile humorlessly, trying to keep thoughts of the bondage-themed basement out of her mind. No, she couldn’t get her spells off like this. But she could already hear Spaz thumping towards them.
This undead dom is gonna regret messing with us- “WOAH!”
Just as Celine pushed her weight into another shove, the mamono’s smirk widened and she disappeared. Well, she was still there, but her weight and touch vanished. Off-balance by the sudden change, Celine tumbled through her incorporeal form. Seeing the wall looming before her, the mage closed her eyes tight, praying the impact wouldn’t knock her out.
But there was no impact. The walls lost their touch as well – or was it Celine who turned insubstantial? Either way, her eyes shot back open as she fell through the wall. She suddenly felt Cognita’s hand on her back, aiding the momentum, pushing her into a veritable summersault forwards.
Celine gagged violently as the wall abruptly turned solid around her throat. The tumble had pushed her nearly upside-down, leaving most of her body encased in plaster and wood. Her fingers and knees were utterly paralyzed, eliminating any hope of a counter-attack. She could wiggle her feet (precious little comfort THAT was), and by craning her neck she could glance about the room. Though part of her was still in the kitchen, the head was now in the entry parlor. The door was still open, fading sunlight and nearby buildings taunting her with unreachable escape.
A chill ran down her spine, and the ghost passed through her and stepped directly in front of the doorway. Cognita turned back to the trapped mage, hands on her hips and leer on her face. “My house, girl. It transfers essence to me. I see through its walls. It rises to my aid. It’s mine.”
She began to laugh, traces of her earlier anger vanished as she eyed her captive. “Normally I’d take you to the play room, but honestly I like you where you are right now.”
“No distractions,” Cognita said curtly as Spaz bounded into the room, righteous indignation on her face. The step that was supposed to send her leaping onto the mamono tripped on a large snag that suddenly appeared in the carpet. Spaz fell flat, and the wall carpeting began peeling from every direction, twisting around towards the goblin. Her look of determination changed to one of fear as they began wrapping around her. Pushes and swipes knocked the attacking fabric back, but for every one strip she forced away, two more began engulfing her legs, arms, and head.
Cognita’s look of lust grew as Celine called out the goblin’s name. “I’ll pick up where I left off with her later. For now…”
The ghost faded through Celine again, the action once more sending a chill through her. Tears began coming down Celine’s face as Spaz finally vanished beneath the assailing carpeting. Only a pair of grasping hands and twitching feet were visible as the wrap tightened around her. The mage was desperately trying to formulate a plan, but despair was taking root.
We picked a bad fight. And she’s going to pay for my stupidity. Again. I’m so dumb. What sane person would go this far for a stupid house?
She was beyond such depressing thoughts all too soon. Chill as the grave and entirely too substantial on her flesh, an index finger stroked her side. Starting at the armpit, moving slowly, feeling its way across each rib before ending with a final tweak of the hip. Celine giggled, eyes widening as she realized she couldn’t even thrash. The damn cheating ghost was tickling body parts stuck in the wall.
A few seconds passed, and the finger came again, following the exact same pattern on the other side. Celine began breathing rapidly, utterly unable to fill the desperate need to react to the tickle. There weren’t even bindings to strain at or weight to press against – there was just her, utterly immobilized.
Far too quickly, Cognita seemed to grow bored with gently teasing her sides. Celine couldn’t even shudder as the chilly fingers began feeling their way in between her thighs. She gasped and squealed as they felt around, lightly stroking her inner legs and dancing around the edge of her genitals.
She gagged again, clenching her toes and gritting her teeth as hard as she could. The teasing was causing her clit to swell, but encased in the wall, it had nowhere to swell to. That caused pressure in her pubic region, which stimulated her more, which caused the lips to flatten and the clit to swell still more…
It was nothing short of madness. A nonstop river of giggles escaped from Celine’s mouth. Her eyes widened, and she was rapidly pushed beyond all rational thought. Between the arousal and the tickling, she felt an absolute need to move in some way, a need she was unable to satisfy. Even hard, loud laughter was too much to ask for with the wall constricting her chest. Adrenaline without an exit flooded her system; she felt like she was going to explode, and more than half hoped she would do just that.
“Umm…”
Celine’s eyes were snapped wide open, but only now did she muster up the will to glance upwards towards the inoffensive voice. The tickling stopped at least, and in the corner of her vision she could see Cognita’s face appear out of the wall.
It was Ambrose of all people, standing in the doorway, holding a can of apple juice.
“I uh…” he fidgeted with his free hand, stammering as if he walked in on her bath. “I thought this might…come in handy?”
“Goodbye,” Cognita sniffed, sinking back into the wall.
Celine smiled a little, well aware it was likely her last real smile. “Ambrose? Thanks for everything, okay? You were the only person who didn’t treat me like trash my first day, and I’m glad I got to know a little of the man behind that helmet. Now hurry, before she decides she wants you, too.”
Without a word, Ambrose spun on his heel and ran down the stairs. Celine sighed, letting her head droop. Okay, so maybe I was hoping for a rescue. At least it wouldn’t’ve killed him to leave with a little more dignity.
She groaned in frustration as the fingers came again, this time at her knees. At least it was less tortuous than before. Celine looked up and took as deep a breath as she could. She blinked in surprise at what she saw. Ambrose had stopped several paces from the house and was bent over, seemingly adjusting his boots. He turned around.
No way…
With an extended shout of his own, Ambrose took off at a sprint. He bounded down the path, up the stairs, crossed the porch in one stride, and went through the doorway. Momentum building with every instant, he dashed directly towards Celine…who was screaming as loud as she could, confident she was about to be crushed to death by the metal-clad human stampede.
Nearly a hundred pounds of his weight was armor, but Ambrose was plenty big and strong by his own right. There was an explosion of wood and plaster as he slammed into the wall directly next to Celine. And the charge carried him though the wall, though only far enough to stumble into the dining room table. Caught in the blast, Celine tumbled after him, battered, scraped, shocked…and mobile.
Maybe she had to be partially-solid and vulnerable in order to tickle Celine, or maybe she was just surprised. Either way, Cognita was knocked out of the wall as well. All three of them struggled to regain their footing, tripping on chunks of plaster and scattered chairs.
Cognita was the first to rise, and glared down at Ambrose with rage in her eyes. “You little EEK!”
Celine was right behind her, and slipped both hands under her armpits. Not very effective normally, but the mage’s hands were frigid with magically-created cold. Cognita shivered and laughed out loud, clamping down her arms. That only brought twice as much skin in contact with the chilly fingers, sending the Mamono flailing, her laughs growing more frantic as she tried to break the hold.
“Ambrose, go!” Celine shouted, struggling to maintain her grip. “Thanks a billion! I seriously, big-time owe you. Now go!”
Once more, the man didn’t protest or delay in making an ungraceful exit. As the two tumbled around the kitchen yet again, Celine caught a glance into the parlor and smiled. Once more, there was more to his retreat than prudent fear. There was a ripping sound as Ambrose struggled to tear away the animated carpet engulfing Spaz.
“STA-STA-STOPAHAHAHAHA!” Cognita was roaring her laugher now, twisting and bucking to try to dislodge Celine’s chilly grip. It’s wasn’t quite a tickle, but the cold brought on the giggles. That was enough to be dangerous.
“GET OF ME! BWAAAAAAAHAAAAA!” The sound rose to a scream, Cognita’s face caught in a queer twist between rage and forced laughter. One of the dining room chairs lifted of its own accord and slammed into Celine’s back. The mage grunted and staggered, but kept her grip. It swung around again and impacted her side, making her lose her breath in a gasp. Celine braced for the last blow, but it hit the exact same spot as the second, smashing into a newly-formed bruise. Celine cried out in pain and staggered back, all the opening the mamono needed to escape.
The two faced each other a few paces apart, both bent over and gasping. But Celine was battered by physical injuries, wounds not nearly as draining as tickled exhaustion. The time in the wall was bad, but more for her constriction than any real deviousness or skill of the attacker. Cognito, on the other hand, was quite clearly staggered. Celine really nailed her that last time.
Celine caught her breath and stood to her full height, looking down at her still-panting opponent. The mamono was back to glaring, this time with desperation as well as anger.
“You have some kind of connection with the house.” The mage voiced her thoughts, more to confirm them than to taunt. “Otherwise you could just animate my clothes or something. You’re a poltergeist. A ghost, sure, but definitely a mamono too. Are you bound to this house?”
“I can leave if I wanted to.” Cognita snarled. As her passions rose, the hesitancy in her speaking seemed to vanish. “But I’m not. And neither are you.”
“Sheesh. Gonna have to put you DAMN!”
She really should have seen something like this coming. Cognita strained, her face taking on new lines of fatigue and weakness. But at that exact moment, the floor opened up under Celine. Once more she fell, and once more the fall was arrested halfway through. The ground closed around her chest, leaving her bust squished painfully against the floor. She could feel her feet dangle in the chilly basement air, and didn’t even waste her strength kicking.
A better position than last time, at least. But Celine didn’t feel very lucky as she looked up. The smirk was back on Cognita’s face, but it was contorted by a grimace of anger. She walked around behind Celine.
“Time. To. Pay.” Cognita pressed her foot on the back of Celine’s head, forcing it into her own up-pressed breasts. Celine gagged and choked as her head was pushed down further, suffocating her in her own twin blessings. Stars danced in front of her eyes, and she earnestly prayed she wouldn’t die in such a stupid way.
The pressure relaxed, and Cognita stepped around to her front again. “I really shouldn’t play with my food.”
She giggled as Celine gasped. “But I can’t help it! I love the restriction, the helplessness…”
This time, she pressed the sole of her foot into Celine’s face. The mage tried to turn away, but that only encouraged the ghost to push in harder. Celine’s head was forced backward, the pale blue foot planted firmly on her face.
Cognita licked her lips and reached a hand up to fondle her left breast. “I don’t have much metabolism anymore, being, you know, dead. I don’t even think I’ve eaten since I died. I was so hungry when you showed up, and you and your minions were nice enough to tickle each other silly. But I got the essence, oh yes, I sucked it right up through the house. And now that I have the power to make you mine, I’ll be able to set myself up for a good long while. I guess there’s a good thing to even bad things like you.”
Celine’s mind worked frantically even as she tried to twist her head around the foot. Bad thing? How could an unsuspecting victim coming to a starving mamono be a bad thing for the mamono?
Anyway, time to shake things up. This is gonna be so weird.
She didn’t have much movement with her arms – they were stuck out almost above her head. But she could still work the gestures needed for magic. No aiming was possible, but there was a spell that made the caster’s body course with static energy. Celine could feel the hairs on her head rise as the electricity built up. Abruptly, she stuck out her tongue and gave the foot a lick. One little poke was all the energy needed to discharge into Cognita.
“YAAIIIIEE!”
The mamono fell on her butt, laughing helplessly as her foot tingled insufferably with ticklish electricity.
But the moment passed, and she gingerly stood back up. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at Celine the same way Celine looked at many mamono – eyes filled with grim determination to see a job done. And Cognita sunk into the floor.
“Oh come on!” Celine roared in frustration as she felt a hand in the void below experimentally slide along her ankle. “Why does it always come down to my stupid feet? The most stupidly ticklish part of my body, and they always go for it sooner or later. Why can’t any of them be obsessed with knees, or hips? Just don’t go for my feet!”
The hand moved up and began stroking in between the thighs again, working its way to her crotch. With room to work with now, her body began taking its cues, and she could feel her legs unconsciously spreading out. Celine’s mouth moaned, but her eyes rolled. “Oh, that’s better. One day, I swear I will learn to shut up.”
With a quiet whimper, Spaz stepped into her vision. The goblin looked none the worse for wear, and her face radiated concern. Spaz knelt down before Celine, touching her on the shoulder.
“I’m fine, eheheh, Spaz,” Celine managed, grunting as her thighs quivered. “But I, heehee, need out!”
Spaz didn’t hesitate. She clambered back to her feet and leapt up to the table. She gulped a little, eyeing Celine and scooting a little further away. Finally she sighed, closed her eyes, and jumped. In a feat of intense agility, Spaz spun around a few times in the air. As she did so, she pulled out the giant club Celine had always seen her carry around. With superhuman strength she brought the club down on the floor…and down went the floor.
There was a shattering from the point of impact, and once more Celine found herself tumbling down as a result of collateral damage and thankful for the fact. Owing to more luck than skill, she landed feet-first on one of the beds, catching one of the high posts to balance herself. Spaz landed on her feet as well, swinging her club about and grinning wildly.
The basement wasn’t a friendly place – although covered in debris, it still held its unnerving array of bondage gear. But it was their turn now.
Cognita gaped wide-eyed at the devastation, too fatigued to be as quick on the uptake as before. Celine came in with both hands, dancing her fingers across the mamono’s belly. The girl crumpled in her grasp, falling to the ground and laughing, affecting no greater defense than curling up into a ball.
Celine could feel the ghost’s remaining strength melt under her fingertips. What came next wasn’t pretty, but it came with the territory: keep tickling until the mamono vanishes.
“I don’t get it,” Celine asked, pausing briefly. “You’re not tied to the house? Why not leave? You know, hunt and stuff. Why stay here and starve?”
“Not gonna leave,” Cognita gasped as Celine resumed. Her laughter subsided as she lost feeling – it would be over soon.
“This is my home.”
Celine jerked backwards as if burned. She reached her hand forward again to finish the job, but paused and looked at the girl. Really, looked at her. Those freaky orange eyes were staring off into the distance, accepting that the end was here. She was panting, sighing, twitching. That aggressive gleam had gone from her eyes.
Home. It all made sense. Even after death, she was too stubborn to leave. Even in hunger, she would never dream of abandoning her beloved home.
How Stupid. How stubborn. Celine smiled sadly, reaching her hand down to touch one of the fragments from the shattered floor. Risking it all, throwing away it all to fight for a pile of wood and rocks that you don’t even need. And that’s why she tried to scare me off. She didn’t care so much about starving. She just wanted the intruder gone.
“Who would be so dumb,” she asked with a chuckle. Cognita blinked and looked up at her, eyes still drained of hope.
“This is my house.” Celine pointed at herself. The other sighed, aware the fight was over.
“And…” Celine turned the finger around to point at the girl. “It’s your house.”
“Yeah.” Cognita blinked again, realizing something strange was happening. “What?! I mean yes, but…but…”
Tears were in her eyes. She was gazing up at the mage, hardly daring to hope.
Celine poked her firmly in the forehead. “But! We need to lay down some ground rules. No nonconsensual touchy. Just as important, no…disappearing floors, moving chairs, whatever.”
“I don’t think I can do anything major anymore, Mistress.“
“Celine,” the mage abruptly corrected her. I get it…she lost powers and aggression just like Spaz did when I dominated her.
“Celine,” the girl dutifully added. She moved slowly to a kneeling position, still looking up. “But…why?”
“Because, oh I dunno…” Because I’m a sucker?
Nothing wrong with honesty, I guess. “Because that was the same reason I was fighting. To protect my home. Hell, you starved yourself to stay here, so it’s not like you’re a terrible evil I should rid the world of. You don’t seem really bad, I guess…but speaking of bad, what’s up with this…bondage stuff? Trampling me, a BDSM basement, and like…always going for my woman bits. Does that give you extra power or something?”
“No…” A raspberry blush graced Cognita’s cheeks. She curled into a sitting position and looked away. She tittered a few seconds, looking for all the world like an embarrassed schoolgirl. “It’s just my…um, my thing. You know – I like it. B-but I won’t do it again if you let me live here!”
The blush deepened as Celine reached her hand down and patted her on the head. The mage sighed, accepting that she just picked up another weirdo. Guess that makes me the queen of the weirdos.
“Just…not without permission, and stop when they want you to stop.” Aello is going to love her.
Cognita’s head snapped back up in surprise. She beamed, tears of relief and joy coming down her face. She leaned forward and hugged Celine tightly around the knees, silently pressing in her wet eyes. Spaz probably didn’t understand what was going on – or maybe she did? Either way, Celine’s approval was enough for her. The goblin scampered over and put a hand on Cognita’s shoulder while Celine stroked her hair.
“Our home,” Celine said with finality. “And hoo boy, does it need fixing.”
-----
Celine didn’t see much of the ghost afterwards. Cognita would appear when summoned, but mostly she seemed content to watch from the walls. Yet every morning there was a pot of coffee already sizzling, and after every hot day working on the exterior there was a glass of lemonade waiting for Celine when she came in.
It took weeks of work to finish repairing and restoring the house, but the time was lightened by the company. Silent Spaz, always there and always ready. Ambrose, nearly as silent, asking neither thanks nor recognition for his part in making it possible. Honey Bee stopped by a few times to help, but like Aello, she didn’t really “get” why this was so important. For her own part, Aello came frequently, helping or hindering the work as the mood struck her. Cognita lured her into the basement one day, and soon the two were spending so much time down there Celine grudgingly fixed the stairs to the “playroom.”
There were others as well. As word spread that Celine had vanquished the ghost, the other townsfolk became much less shy about stopping by with gifts and offers of labor.
Finally, tired and thrilled, Celine declared the job “done.” That evening saw a quiet celebration: Some friends, unmatched cups, and a few jugs of juice.
“Thanks, you all,” Celine raised her glass in a toast.
“No, thank you, Celine.” Even now Ambrose spoke from behind his helmet, drinking his juice through a straw. “I’m just glad one of us was finally able to do something for you.”
Spaz stood on tip-toe and kissed Celine on the cheek. The goblin’s face immediately turned bright red and she scampered behind a chair.
“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” Honey Bee smiled into her orange juice, eyes slinking down to Celine’s feet.
“She’s great, isn’t she?” Aello smiled distractedly, already bored with the inaction.
Cognita stared into her cup. Her slow metabolism had a hard time keeping up with the sugary juice, and she was mumbling sleepily. “I watch her every night while she sleeps and touch myself.”
Oooooooooookaaaaaaaayyy…
A loud, heavy clomping on the porch steps drew everyone’s attention, breaking the awkward silence. A few ripping sounds emerged as heavy feet dragged clumsily along the porch. The door slammed open, followed by a grinding and smashing noise.
Blood rushed to Celine’s face as a cheery, booming voice sounded through the house. “Hey, Darlin’, heard you were having yerself a party!”
“Hathor,” Celine breathed. She shuddered in the best kind of anticipation, and her body reminded her just how *long* it had been.
Celine slammed her glass down and ran to the parlor. She skidded to a stop at what she saw. Yes, there was Hathor, big, happy, busty, and incredibly sexy as ever. But behind her, gouges had been torn into the wooden steps Celine had labored so lovingly to fix and paint. A chunk had been knocked out of the wooden post at the edge of the porch. The paint on the porch had been scratched, and the heavy mamono seemed to have stepped on the bottom doorframe, crushing it out of place. Hathor clearly had one thing on her mind as she walked towards Celine, licking her lips. Celine had one thing on her mind too: That the parlor carpet which had taken a full day to restore was *perfectly* white, and with every step Hathor was grinding in grass stains.
Hathor carelessly kicked the door closed behind her, revealing that the opening slam rammed the doorknob into the wall, ruining a chunk of the plaster and wallpaper.
“Ah swear, they do not make doors with heifers like me in mind,” Hathor chuckled, continuing her advance. “And I’m not no good with steps, neither. Hope y’can make it worth mah trouble.”
A vein pulsed on Celine’s face. Her eyebrow was twitching. The other guests quietly backed into the kitchen, Ambrose pulling Aello back by the scruff of her neck.
Celine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Yes, it had been too long. And yes, she was really mad.
She opened her eyes and smiled broadly at Hathor. “It’s been too long! And I mean, yeah, way, way too long. Let me show you around the place!”
The cow mamono licked her lips again, leaning over to better display her massive cleavage. “Hell, Darlin’, I just want you to show me to the bedroom!”
Hathor eyed the look of pride on Celine’s face and sighed, smiling wistfully. “But if it means that much to you, sure, we’ll tromp ourselves around a mite. Nice place you landed yerself. Saw them flowers you planted outside and helped mahself some. Purty good taste they got.”
It was painful, but Celine managed to keep the smiled on her face. “That’s great. I’m so happy you’re here!”
She took Hathor’s arm and began guiding her. “Let me start by showing you the basement…”
