Give and Take (Or Something Like That)

by IHeShe

Summary:

Aroma and Ascalon's somewhat peculiar relationship is proceeding well all things considered, if perhaps more quickly than either one would've expected, but some details about the way they approach each other are still a little rough around the edges. Slightly unpolished, as one would put it. Or perhaps it's just that rather annoying feeling of something being not quite right. Whatever the problem might truly be, Aroma is determined to resolve it and, for better or for worse, Civilight Eterna is just as determined to help the two out.

Again.

Notes:

A direct continuation of "A Good Way to Start (or End) the Day".

Give and Take (Or Something Like That)

Truthfully, Ascalon still held doubts about whether that entire ordeal was a good thing or not. While an employee of Rhodes Island, Aroma was not under Ascalon's command, in fact Aroma was around as removed from Ascalon's entire line of work as your regular Rhodes Island employee could possibly get, so the risk of committing an abuse of power was not one of Ascalon's worries. Time was not one of her concerns either. Being the head of S.W.E.E.P. came with a lot of responsibilities, but it also meant she had near complete freedom when it came to the when and where of taking care of reading, writing and examining reports, documents, briefings and the like, so long as she got it all done on time. So spending some of her -admittedly limited- free time to have breakfast with Aroma didn't constitute a problem either. She had woken up an hour earlier than usual to take care of Scavenger's latest report, and that was it.

No, what troubled Ascalon was the nagging feeling that Aroma was expecting something more than just a breakfast. Perhaps not on that particular morning, admittedly, but the thought just wouldn't leave Ascalon's head for more than an hour or two before coming back. Granted, with the way their second encounter ended up playing out Aroma's expectations wouldn't have been exactly weird anyway, Ascalon just didn't think the lupo could make for a... proper partner. For as little action Ascalon might've seen in the bed over the years, she was nonetheless pretty confident she knew what she wanted from someone she'd be sleeping with and Aroma just... she checked some boxes and not some others, that'd be the most accurate way to describe the way Ascalon visualized it in her own mind. Truthfully, the sarkaz did occasionally wonder whether she and Aroma were even a good match at all or if the... enjoyment she felt on their second meeting stemmed more from just how long it'd been since she had last gotten intimate with anyone.

With all of that said, however, what well and truly qualified as Ascalon's most pressing concern as she walked through the landship's halls towards Aroma's room was something else entirely. Someone, rather.

"... your highness" she said, barely whispered even "I appreciate your concern, truly. But there's no need to walk with me all the way there"

"I'm fully aware" Civilight Eterna replied with a soft smile, sidestepping a pile of crates lying in the middle of the floor to not clip right through it -only for the hem of her dress to do that instead, admittedly- "I'm just a little curious. I'd like to see how you approach others when neither work nor obligations are involved"

Ascalon's steps paused for a moment.

"Do you plan to... come in as well?" she asked while swiftly resuming to walk, her words so faint one couldn't help but wonder whether she could even hear them herself.

Eterna bent her neck a little bit, as if deep in thought.

"I thought that might be a good idea" she replied then, walking right through a passersby who couldn't perceive her presence in the slightest "But... you're right, you and Aroma might need some privacy"

"It's just a breakfast" Ascalon replied, though she did suppose that'd be more like dinner for Aroma since she was still working the night shift "Aroma will expect privacy since it's her room, but I don't think the situation will truly require it"

"You told me something rather similar for your previous encounter, but as you told me yourself that's not how things went" Eterna said back with a soft, tender smile.

Which still didn't keep Ascalon's tail from jolting ever so slightly.

"That was an... accident"

"Not all accidents lead to bruises and bandages" Eterna pointed out "And Aroma is such a lovely lady. Oh, but try to reciprocate a little this time, if she asks to. Or would that make you uncomfortable? Be honest with me, Ascalon: if you don't want to answer that's fine, but I don't want to worry whether you're lying, or maybe telling an half truth"

Ascalon considered bringing up the Crown's powers for a seventh of a second before discarding the idea, simply walking up the stairs instead. Her destination was close by, there wasn't much time left for that conversation.

"With all due respect, your Highness, aren't you spending too much time with me lately? I'm certain Amiya could use your assistance much more than me"

"A valid concern, but you don't have to worry. I can return to Amiya's side faster than even you can blink if need be. And besides, I don't want to make her think I see her as someone in need of constant supervision"

"That's... reasonable. This is the place" Ascalon then declared as she stopped in front of a door, one identical to hundreds if not thousands of other doors located on the landship, nothing but its ID number to distinguish it from all the others.

"Then I'll take my leave now. If you're willing to tell, I'd love to listen to your recollections later, just like last time"

On one hand, Ascalon found that slightly awkward. On the other, she couldn't really see anything happening that morning that would make it more awkward to narrate than last time.

"Take care" she simply said instead, watching Eterna's holographic projection disappear from her sight. It was possible for her to still be right there, in truth, but Ascalon just couldn't picture her doing something like that.

So she knocked on the door instead, to get that morning break started with and, perhaps, over soon as well. It took a little more than she had expected for Aroma to answer, in truth, but... that was evening for her, when taking into consideration the night shift she was working. Wouldn't be weird in the slightest if she was tired.

"Ascalon! Good morning!" she greeted with enthusiasm.

Her hair was ever so slightly wet, and the fragrance of lemons around her was a bit stronger than usual. Her clothes weren't creased in the slightest, and her skin looked rather smooth.

She already took a shower.

"Good morning, Aroma. Can I come in?"

"Sure! Make yourself at home" the lupo welcomed her in, stepping aside and even closing the door behind her "I, uh, forgot to ask you what your tastes were last time so... " she began to explain, her words trailing off as she scratched her head in embarrassment.

"I'm not picky" Ascalon replied, and had Aroma not gotten somewhat used to her tone already she'd have thought the sarkaz was upset.

She still wondered whether she really wasn't, to be honest, she was just leaning more towards the 'she is not' option.

As for Ascalon herself, she noticed a few minute differences here and there in Aroma's quarter compared to a couple of days ago but, since none of those were worth focusing on, she stared at the desk instead, set for two. She had expected something a little unorthodox for a breakfast, that was Aroma's dinner after all, but for as much as nothing in her body language gave it off, Ascalon was quite surprised. There were scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, bacon, pancakes, cereals, sliced bread, at least four different kinds of jam, apples, oranges, strawberries, a few slices of burdenbeast meat, a couple of finballs, seasoned cold rice, brioches, salad, crepes, yogurt, tarts, pastries and another two or three things. And on top of all that were the drinks, which included apple juice, pineapple juice, red wine, coffee, tea, water, beer and something which probably was sorbet. Truthfully, if Ascalon were asked what the most impressive part of that display was she would've picked without hesitation the fact that Aroma had somehow managed to fit so much stuff on that desk. There was probably enough food on there for six people.

"Did you carry all of this by yourself?"

She could see a couple of food boxes poking out from behind the bed, but she decided there'd be no point in bringing that up and kept quiet.

"It's not that heavy compared to some stuff I've had to lug around for work" Aroma replied with a slightly proud grin on her face as she moved to pull back Ascalon's chair for her.

Ascalon noticed that and acted first, to not impose too much on the lupo, and she did it casually enough for Aroma to just assume she hadn't been noticed.

"Were you expecting more people?"

"Eh? Ah, no no no, I'd have told you otherwise" Aroma replied while taking her seat across Ascalon and reaching for some bacon and eggs "I, well, I did get a bit carried away I suppose... but I'll bring some of the leftovers to the folks at Logistics and put the rest in the fridge"

"That's a good attitude"

Somewhat to Ascalon's surprise, the conversation ended there and didn't resume for a while. Aroma was hungry, she could tell from the way she was eating, even though she could also tell the lupo was making a point to not be too ravenous. She wouldn't have minded either way, but since she couldn't find a way of telling her that which could come off as natural she refrained from bringing it up to begin with and simply ate her breakfast.

"What kind of job do you have?" Aroma asked after a little bit longer than Ascalon had expected "If I can ask! It's just that there aren't a lot of jobs I know of that start after ten in the morning"

An half-truth sounded like the best option.

"I'm doing paperwork at the moment, and my boss is not overly concerned with when exactly I start working as long as the documents get done in time. Within reason, naturally"

"Oh, that sounds nice"

Ascalon had already prepared a safe answer for a couple of follow-up questions, but Aroma didn't ask them. Had she figured out Ascalon didn't really want to talk about her job? That was... pretty nice, actually. In two different ways.

"What about that lupo, is she doing fine? I think she wasn't feeling all that well when we met or something, I didn't really catch what you two were saying. ... I'm not prying on private matters, am I?" she paused, half a slice of bread covered in butter and jam stopped right next to her mouth.

"You're not" Ascalon replied while peeling an apple "She is taking her medications. A few more days and she'll be back to normal. This isn't confidential, but she'd appreciate it if you kept quiet either way"

"My lips are zipped up" the lupo replied, mimicking the act of pulling a zip over her mouth.

Then followed another short pause as they both focused on their meal. Ascalon was by no means an heavy eater, Aroma noticed, and while she wouldn't have described her as elegant she couldn't help but notice that she wasn't making even the slightest mess, there weren't any crumbs on the desk even as she bit into a slice of rather crunchy bread. She tried smelling the air as inconspicuously as possible and once again she couldn't catch the slightest scent coming from Ascalon. It was odd, but also... charming.

"... about... about last time"

Ascalon swallowed a mouthful of water. It looked like a perfectly natural gesture to Aroma, but it was actually ever so slightly forced.

"I want to apologize again. I didn't think about the time at all and you ended up having to go to work without even getting off once, that was really awful of me"

"... do you always talk about this sort of things at dinner?"

Aroma's ears twitched. Ascalon wondered whether the lupo drank a gulp of red wine in an attempt to hide the mild redness on her cheeks or not.

"Not at all, I swear! It's just, you said it was fine but it's really bugging me"

"Is this your way of hitting on me?" Ascalon said, purposefully keeping her gaze on her pancakes as she spoke.

She still noticed Aroma jolting for a brief moment out of the corner of her eyes though.

"It's... it's really not, but it might be if you're up to it? Kind of?"

"As I said last time, there's nothing you should feel sorry about. It was a pleasant experience either way"

The absolute composure she said that with, combined with the complete lack of body language of any sort indicating nervousness of embarrassment or anything of the sort, made Aroma's heart skip a beat.

"I, uhm, I'm not really sure I can ask this, Ascalon, but... are you the type who gets off off getting others off?"

This time Ascalon lifted her eyes to look at the lupo. It was clear as day she was feeling awkward about her own question, but there was also a certain degree of excitement visible in her, mostly through the angle her ears were bent at.

How do I answer this?

Ascalon was fairly confident she did know the answer, she just wasn't sure what the best way to phrase it might've been. No, before that, she wasn't sure whether even telling Aroma the truth would've made sense in the first place.

"What do you think?" she resolved to ask back instead, perfectly composed on the outside, just a tiny bit shaken on the inside.

Aroma felt her heart skipping another beat. There was something about the way Ascalon presented herself which just made her feel like melting into a puddle at her feet and relish in her gaze from down below, possibly while covering her feet in a lemon-scented fragrance.

... the heck was that? No, no, don't answer.

"Well" Aroma began to answer, stuffing a slice of meat into her mouth to gain a few more seconds "You looked very comfortable in the part, so... I don't want to make assumptions, it was just one time after all, soooo... "

"Would a second time help you reach a conclusion then?"

Aroma dropped the slice of bread she was holding but, since it fell on her lap and not on the floor, she scrambled to pick it back up. Good thing she hadn't put any jam on it yet. Then she looked at Ascalon again, only for the sarkaz to no longer be at her seat.

"Would you like a second time?" she asked from behind Aroma, an hand resting on the lupo's shoulder, her tail perfectly still while Aroma's began wagging left and right without pause.

"I'd love to, really!" she said, her enthusiasm once again startling Ascalon a fair bit -not like she actually showed it- "Let me just-" she continued as she moved to get up, only for Ascalon to effortlessly push her back onto the chair and lean down.

"I told you my boss isn't strict about work hours" she said as she leaned down, talking right into Aroma's ear -that... actually wasn't the case, she hadn't gotten that close, but that's how it felt to Aroma- "But I like to stick to my schedule when possible, and I don't have too much time left" she explained, her other hand moving, her fingers almost grazing the lupo's thighs "Is that a problem?"

Aroma swallowed a lump of saliva, and with it a little bit of meat which had previously gotten stuck between her teeth.

"Not at all!"

... this is now what I had planned Ascalon thought, wondering how exactly things had ended up there again while sliding her fingers underneath Aroma's shorts, then past her leggings too and, since she had gotten that far already, beneath her underwear as well.

Aroma held on to the chair with one hand and to Ascalon's arm with the other, twitching as the sarkaz's fingers slipped right inside of her, welcomed by a warm dampness and a tight grip.

"A-A bit further up, please"

Ascalon adjusted her grip on Aroma's shoulder. The way the lupo's entire body shivered and her ears twitched told her Aroma might've just misunderstood that gesture though, but... it couldn't be anything too bad, so she just paid it no mind.

"I'm aware" she said instead, pushing her fingers a little further in -she wasn't in the best position for that sort of act, but she'd dealt with much worse in exceptionally more troublesome situations anyway- and smothering Aroma's clit with her palm at the same time "I have a good memory"

The fact that her tone of voice wasn't at all different from the one she used while exchanging greetings at the door set off sparks inside Aroma's mind, igniting whatever the sarkaz's fingers inside of her might've failed to set ablaze a few seconds earlier.

She's a bit loud Ascalon thought while fingering her, focusing specifically on the lupo's most sensitive spot while constantly pushing down on her clit for three different reasons, one of which she wasn't certain about, another one of which she actually completely ignored, if only at a strictly conscious level It's... not bad.

"A-Ascalon, wait a moment" Aroma said, clinging to her harder as her hips began to shiver, much sooner than she had expected, so much so in fact she even felt a little mortified.

"Is that a request or an order?"

"Ahem... a -aahh- a plea?"

"Do I have to take your word for it?" Ascalon pressed.

... this is not an interrogation she reminded herself.

"You -aaahhh- you don't, really"

That just makes things difficult Ascalon thought But... not really bothersome. I think.

There was something surprisingly... pleasant about how hard Aroma was holding on to her, enough for Ascalon to push her down with her whole arm too, ensuring she couldn't get off the chair without tossing herself and the whole chair to the ground.

Earnest she mused, because for as conflicting as her words might've been Aroma sure wasn't making any attempt at keeping her body language under control.

Oh dear go- she's even better than the other day! Aroma shouted -only in her mind, but she shouted- as her hips bucked again against Ascalon's fingers, the sarkaz's touch intense and precise, each motion of her digits sending an hot spark up the lupo's spine and down her tail, leaving a tingly sensation in its wake.

And to be completely honest, Ascalon had truly gotten better at fingering Aroma, if only because she was the sort of person who learned best with practical experience and that was her second time doing that.

"Can I touch you too?" she managed to ask between a raspy breath and a somewhat sultry whimper.

"You're doing that already" Ascalon replied matter-of-factly, sending Aroma's tail into an even wilder wagging frenzy.

Sh-she totally likes being on top! Absolutely! Aaahhh, n-not so soon though!

Aroma found herself in somewhat of a pickle. On one hand she didn't want to hold up Ascalon for long if she didn't have much time to spend there, but on the other she didn't want for it to end that quickly either. But in the end the former sentiment won out over the other.

"C-can I touch myself then?"

Ascalon nearly raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'll allow it"

That probably wasn't the best way to word it.

"Thanks a lot!"

... or... or was it? Ascalon wondered, confused but also quite... pleased by Aroma's earnestness, the lupo sliding an hand underneath her hoodie to fondle her own chest with one hand while clinging even harder to Ascalon's arm with the other.

She adjusted her grip on Aroma's nethers, leaning down a bit more to push her finger that little bit further in, and turning her hand to replace her palm with her thumb to better tease her stiff clit, the sparks going off inside Aroma's mind now joined by the shivers coming through her breast, her chest moving up and down with each quick, heavy breath she took, beads of sweat running down her skin and filling the room with the distinctive scent of arousal.

"If you want to come" Ascalon said, trying to take inspiration from the way Aroma herself had spoken the other day "Now is the moment"

"Y-yes!"

Aroma bucked her hips further against Ascalon's hand, groping her chest hard and even pinching her nipple, but what really got her over the edge had probably been the sarkaz's words in the first place, that calm, composed, almost cold and detached voice telling her to either get off right there and then or wait until the next chance to be granted release by those blissful fingers.

Which was... not quite exactly what Ascalon had meant, in truth. But that couldn't stop Aroma from reaching her high, her legs closing and her tail standing still as her orgasm shook her from within, pleasure spreading from deep within her all the way to the tip of her fingers, ears, tails and even toes and then rippling back, leaving her breathless and silent for a long second, two, three, almost four. Ascalon slowed down her fingers considerably and then stopped them completely, leaving them buried in the lupo's hot, twitching folds for a short while before pulling them out and taking a step back, leaving Aroma to catch her breath, slumped on her chair.

"I need to borrow your bathroom"

"Sure, go ahead... " Aroma replied between one ragged breath and the other.

Could it be... that she's going in there to take care of herself... ? she wondered, only to discard that thought right away when Ascalon came back less than two minutes later, barely the time to wash her hands.

"I'll get going now"

"Ah, wait!" Aroma called out, jumping to her feet and hurriedly fixing her clothes "If we have enough time, can I get you off too next time?"

Why is she so fixated on that? It's... not a bad thing per se, but... Ascalon wondered, not really sure herself of how that thought was supposed to end.

"When would the next time be, supposedly?"

"Well... uhm, tomorrow morning, same place, same hour? I won't get this much stuff again" she added, gesturing to the table still holding enough food for at least four people "But if there's anything you want in particular I'll try to get it... ?"

"We'll see about your offer. And... some salted caramel ice cream would be nice" she dared to ask.

"Sure!"

---

Aroma was panting heavily, wrists held high above her head and pinned against the wall by a single, seemingly unmovable hand holding her in an exceptionally firm but only slightly tight grip. Her feet were dangling right above the ground, barely a centimeter between the tip of her toes and the cold surface of her dormitory's floor, a distance so incredibly small and yet more than sufficient to keep her from resting any of her weight on her legs.

"As I told you yesterday, I have a schedule I'd rather stick to" Ascalon spoke, her face close enough to Aroma's to smell her sweat and arousal, not enough to feel her ragged breaths on her skin "I'm certain you know what that means"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Aroma replied, the desperate wagging of her own tail obstructed by the wall making her even more aware of her situation.

Pinned, lifted up, unable to so much as wiggle her wrists. There was probably a bit of ice cream melting on her cheek or chin, she wasn't sure. That detail was a little embarrassing. As for her pants, they were pulled down to slightly below her knees, as were her panties, a visible wet spot on them. Ascalon's hand between her legs, the sarkaz's finger buried within her aching, dripping nethers, fluids slowly trailig down along her thighs. Ascalon's index and ring finger were around as deeply inserted as they could physically get, and at the same time they seemed almost firmer than even the wall at Aroma's back somehow.

Having received the message, the lupo started bucking her hips, shaking this way or that to try and get as much stimulation as she could out of those slender digits pinning her in place, each stroke sending a jolt through her body, a shock through her nerves. She couldn't quite hit the spot the way she wanted though. Between the way she was suspended with -uncomfortable and also slightly painful in truth but, perhaps somewhat paradoxically, in a most pleasant way- and the range of motion she had available -exceptionally narrow, she could wiggle her hips in every direction but only very slightly- all the lupo's attempts at scratching that searing need burning her from the inside out were failing, leaving her more frustrated and yet also more aroused.

"Should I repeat myself?" Ascalon inquired, taking a fourth of a step forward, making the small distance between her and the lupo grow even shorter, to the point getting any closer without bending her head would probably result in her horns hitting against Aroma's forehead.

She felt Aroma's folds contracting on her fingers, closing down somewhat like a grip, a warm and wet and pulsating but also not very tight -for someone with Ascalon's physique, at least- grip.

"There's no need to! Just a minute and I'll get there, I promise!"

"I'm looking forward to it" Ascalon said, a part of her own mind wondering why she had phrased it like that.

"I won't disappoint you, really" Aroma replied.

Then, quite to Ascalon's surprise admittedly, Aroma used Ascalon's other hand as an anchor point and lifted herself up a little bit, wriggling her hips this way and that and then lowering her body down on the sarkaz's other fingers again, rubbing herself on those precious digits as much as she could before pulling herself up again. That sort of pull up routine was clearly taking a toll on her, and in truth it couldn't be terribly healthy for her wrists either so Ascalon made a point to not let her keep that up for too long, but she could feel the lupo's growing excitement on her hand, in her nose, in her ears.

It was... amusing, that sight. And kind of... kind of arousing too, Ascalon decided to admit. At some point she noticed Aroma's gaze trailing down to her cleavage and even to her waist and hips, but she saw no reason to bring it up. She normally didn't care about that sort of stares, but something about the way Aroma was gazing at her was slightly... thrilling would've been too strong of a word to describe it, but stimulating might've been a surprisingly apt way to put it.

"Twenty five" she said.

"I'm al- ah?!" Aroma began to say, only for a startled whimper to cut her off, forcing her eyes back to herself.

"Twenty four"

Ascalon's tail was raised and pointed at her. Or rather, it was standing perfectly still in the air, positioned perfectly within Aroma's limited range of motion.

"Twenty three"

"Thanks a lot, really!" she said back, lifting herself again as well as she could -not very well, to be completely honest- and dropping herself back down again, scratching her insides on Ascalon's finger and bumping her clit on the tip of her tail, a sensation she wasn't used to hitting her sensitive nub and making her fur shiver.

"Nineteen" Ascalon continued her countdown, each word bringing Aroma even closer to the high she had been struggling towards for the past minutes.

"Thirteen"

"I'm there, I'm there, I swear I'm almost there!" she nearly shouted, desperate to fulfill Ascalon's expectations.

She's pretty... cute, when she's this honest. ... hold on. She's always like this though?

Oh god, oh heavens! Is she blushing a little bit? No, no way, that's gotta be my imagination. Aaaahhhh, I'm about to-

Ascalon could more or less gauge Aroma's heart rate just by looking at her. It wasn't an highly accurate estimate, but still good enough to be pieced together with all the other signals the lupo was giving off and come to the conclusion that she was about to have an-

-Ascalon's silent considerations got cut short by the distinct sensation of wet folds clamping down on her fingers even harder, Aroma's body growing stiff and falling limp at the same time, the lupo's legs twitching slightly for a couple of seconds as her orgasm, made all the sweeter by the effort she had to put into achieving it, rocked her from ears to toes, her lips letting out a brief but intense moan before falling silent, only the sound of heavy panting coming from her.

"That was... very pleasant" Ascalon simply said while lowering her down and helping her regain her balance "... well done" she added in an attempt at... she wasn't sure. Saying that didn't make her uncomfortable though so, for as much as she didn't know why she should've said that, she didn't see any reason why she shouldn't have said it either.

This feels pointlessly complicated.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Aroma. And for the rest too" she said before making her way to the bathroom, having confirmed that the lupo could stand on her own legs steadily by now.

"W-wait, you're going again?" Aroma called out.

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, I mean... no, You've got your work to do, just... next time I'll take the lead, ok?"

"... we'll see about that" Ascalon replied, and for some reason Aroma felt like that wasn't a challenge of any sort but rather just a simple statement, which seemed kind of confusing in truth.

---

"... what is the meaning of this?" Ascalon asked, and in truth the fact that her voice sounded ever so slightly more... bothered than usual oddly felt like a good sign to Aroma.

"Well, they're handcuffs!" the lupo replied, bright smile on her face and vibrant red on her cheeks as she puffed out her chest slightly.

"I know what these are. That wasn't my question" Ascalon inquired, lifting her wrists to better convey the message, the cold steel wrapped around them doing a good job of catching Aroma's attention.

"Well, it's just... I told you I'd take the lead this time, so this is about that... I guess?" she said back, confidence slowly leaving her with every word she spoke, although it didn't quite entirely abandon her.

Maybe I should've drunk another glass of wine while eating...

"Aroma. I... appreciate your determination. And I do believe your idea is... of the right sort, in its own way" Ascalon said while taking a couple of steps forwards, grabbing the lupo's hand and looking down to meet her gaze "However, there is a fundamental flaw in your plan"

"Ahem... y-you're not into bondage, maybe? I don't have much experience with it either, no, more like I don't have any experience at all, so... yeah, I should've asked first, just let me get the keys and-"

"Handcuffs like these can't hold me"

"Eh?"

A clicking sound reached her ears together with those words, making them twitch. A couple of seconds later, the lupo realized that not only Ascalon's hands were free, but that her own were now cuffed together behind her back.

"... wait. Wait wait what? When?! H-how?!" she asked, squirming around a bit and trying to pull her arms away, thinking that perhaps the handcuffs were broken or too large or something of the sort.

But no, they were firmly locked and too tight for her hands to just slide out of. They were working perfectly. That sent a tingly shiver through Aroma's body, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"Consider this a trick I learned at work"

"... while doing paperwork?"

"I'm doing paperwork while waiting for medical exams' results. My job is usually on the field"

Oh. That made sense, Ascalon wasn't the first person Aroma had heard of in that sort of situation.

"You're really reserved about your private life" she commented instead, since that hadn't come up at all yet, and by that time they'd had breakfast slash dinner -slash, uh, entertainment- together five times already.

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all! It just... makes you more... charming" she resolved to answer instead "Wait, how much longer are you staying on the landship for then?"

"I will probably leave in two days. I'll be busy with the preparations"

"So this is our last meal together for a while?"

For a while. She was taking for granted that they'd eat together again when Ascalon returned.

That was... not really annoying, actually. Not in the slightest.

"That's the case" Ascalon replied, placing her hands on the wall on each side of Aroma and staring down at her, seeing her shivering with an ever so slightly troubled smile on her face, her tail wagging left and right against the wall "Should I take the handcuffs off?"

"I'd appreciate that!"

"Do you mean that?"

Somehow, Aroma's tail started wagging even more. Ascalon found it kind of impressive in its own way. Perhaps ever slightly concerning.

"Not at all!"

... ...

...

... ...

"How are you doing?" Ascalon asked, sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, one arm resting on her lap.

Aroma panted in response, her breathing heavy and ragged. She was lying face-down next to the sarkaz, her knees on the floor and her face in the sheets, fully clothed from the waist up, her trousers and underwear pulled down all the way to her ankles, her wrists still firmly cuffed behind her back, sweat running down her skin, fluids of a different sort running down her thighs too. And Ascalon's other arm resting on her lower back, her fingers still plunged deep into her dripping sex. Aroma breathed in again, then tried to tell her that those might just have been the most intense ten minutes of her life, but as it turned out she was still too out of breath for that.

... did I go overboard? I don't think I acted any rougher than the other times Ascalon wondered.

"... I'm doing great... " Aroma managed to say after another minute or four of ragged, heavy but regular breathing "Oh, right, thanks" she added upon hearing a click and feeling the handcuffs sliding off her wrists.

... had she given Ascalon the keys? Well, she clearly had, the excitement probably made her forget about that little detail. Pretty wild, she thought, but then again... for as composed as she always acted, Ascalon did make for a surprisingly wild experience so that was fitting. No, wait, that's not how it worked. Maybe? Aroma realized she hadn't fully recovered yet from that string of orgasms the sarkaz had just put her through.

"I'll borrow your bathroom for a moment" Ascalon said as she got up, going to wash her hands once again before taking her leave as had become usual.

"How long will you stay away? If I can ask" Aroma probed while pulling herself up the bed and wondering whether to pull up her clothes or not.

"Hard to tell"

"I'll surely be off the night shift by the time you come back then" Aroma said back, an hand on her own chest to pace her breathing a bit, the other between her legs because, for as much as putting her clothes back on would just get them even dirtier, staying fully bottomless and in plain view like that might've been just a tad too much for her to bear so casually.

"That would make things easier. I'll keep that in mind"

In her head, Aroma jotted that one down as a win.

---

"May I come in?" a voice echoed for a moment inside Ascalon's very head, prompting the sarkaz to pull her face off her hands and herself up from her desk.

"Of course" she replied while swiftly fixing the cup of tea placed on the very same desk before going to open the door.

The fragrance had gotten a little bit better, compared to the first times she had tried making tea.

"You didn't have to" Civilight Eterna replied as she walked in, walls and doors not truly constituting an obstacle for her "Is this a bad moment?"

"It's the bare minimum I should do, your Highness" Ascalon said back, closing the door and pulling a wooden chair back for the hologram to -pretend to- sit down on while taking a foldable one for herself.

"I've heard that your ribs have fully healed"

"They have. I'll be departing tomorrow at three in the morning"

"So early. I won't keep you for long then"

"You don't have to worry about such things, your Highness. I can catch up to sleep later on"

Ascalon pushed the cup of tea slightly while saying that. A silly act she silently reprimanded herself over for.

"I know you've had breakfast with Aroma quite a few times over the past two weeks. I take it you enjoy her companionship?" she asked, hands resting on her lap, lips curled up into a tender, warm smile, bent neck ever so slightly to the side.

"That's... not wrong"

"Have you had any orgasm during your meetings?"

Truthfully, the main reason Ascalon didn't react to that question was that she had kind of seen it coming. She didn't deem Eterna's concern wrong, though she did find it rather awkward.

"I... I didn't. We ate breakfast, I used my fingers on her for a while, then I went back to work. That's all"

"Oh dear"

Ascalon nearly reached for the cup of tea to drink a gulp of it, but stopped herself. If it was anything like the previous times she had made tea, the taste was not one she was in any hurry to experience again.

"Your highness, I'm thankful for your concern but-"

"Ascalon" Eterna interrupted her, leaning forward and placing her palms on Ascalon's hands, artificial and yet perfect tactile sensations making the sarkaz feel like someone physical was genuinely touching her at the moment "According to what you told me yourself, this is the closest you've ever gotten to being well and truly physically intimate with someone else in decades. The fact that you got so close multiple times has to mean you like Aroma as more than just a breakfast companion, right?" she pressed on, the concerned look on her face backing Ascalon into an awkward corner "What is stopping you from making that final leap then?"

Eterna had a few theories, but she refrained from voicing any of them out of fear Ascalon might go along with anything she said in an attempt at pleasing her, or perhaps just to not let her down, and that just wouldn't do. Ascalon, on her part, looked away for a second or two before moving her gaze back to Eterna. To her chin to be more accurate, because despite everything she'd been through in her life that sort of conversation -with that one specific interlocutor in particular- still managed to make her feel slightly uncomfortable, enough to refrain from properly returning Eterna's gaze. The silence which followed was an awkward one, not to mention a rather long one too, but Eterna waited patiently without saying anything else. Eventually, Ascalon reached for the cup of tea she always prepared for her whenever she dropped by and drank a gulp. The taste had somehow gotten worse yet.

"... Aroma can't push me down"

Eterna blinked.

"I believe very few people would be able to push someone like you down, Ascalon. But please, elaborate a bit further. I don't think I can help you with only this much information"

Ascalon further averted her gaze for a moment or two. She didn't blush, not the tiniest bit, but her tail did nearly whip the floor. Then it actually whipped the floor for real, prompting her to look back up.

"Sex can't work properly if it's not between people who can pin each other down"

Eterna blinked again. Suddenly she realized exactly where that conversation was going to end up at but, in the off chance she was wrong, she decided to press Ascalon a little further.

"And... why do you believe that?"

This time Ascalon's gaze dropped to her own hands and didn't come back up.

"... that time in Kazdel, all those years ago, when Manfred and I... hid in the wardrobe of your private quarters and saw your Highness and Master... make love"

... oh dear. We talked about that, but not like this...

"You kept taking control of the situation away from each other, and it... looked like that was really working for both of you. And, when Manfred and I... tried that, I was always the one in control, Manfred never managed to take the lead, and it just... didn't feel... that great... for either of us"

Oh dear me, I guess we really messed up back then...

"Ascalon. Ascalon. I am positive we told you that the... power struggle was merely a game, not a genuine fight for dominance. And I'll ask this out of genuine concern and nothing more, so please answer with the utmost sincerity. Is that one experience the reason why you never got intimate with anyone ever again after that one time with Manfred? Because there can be many, many reasons why sex between two people doesn't end up working for either one of them, not just that"

Had nearly anyone else asked her something like that, Ascalon would've killed them at worst, ignored them at best. But since it wasn't 'anyone else' she was talking with, she felt the intense urge of biting off her own tongue instead. She didn't do that however, for better or for worse.

"I don't think that played a real part in it. I was just... focused on more important matters. Busy"

"Then why don't you try and let Aroma put you in a position from which you can't regain control? Leaving your Arts aside, naturally"

Ascalon looked back up.

"... excuse me?"

"I am talking under the assumption that you were in complete control and dominated Aroma the whole time during your sexual encounters, is that wrong?"

... are we truly talking about this?

"It's... it's not, your Highness" Ascalon replied, clenching her fists ever so slightly.

"But she loved it, didn't she?"

A couple of questions popped up inside Ascalon's head, but she decided to not pay them any mind.

"That's not the expression I would use, but... I suppose she did"

"So she was never in charge and liked it, and you were always in charge and also liked it. This should already tell you enough, Ascalon, but to experience being on the receiving end with Aroma the same way she does with you -or as close to it as possible- you'll have to let her put you into a position from which you can't take back control, not easily at least, and that's clearly not possible if you actively try to remain on top"

Ascalon swallowed. Not her tongue, unfortunately, which meant she still had to answer. She took another sip of tea, which had grown lukewarm in the meanwhile, but for as revolting as its taste was it clearly wasn't bad enough to make her tongue rot off either.

"You... you have a point, your Highness"

"Shall I help you with this matter as well then?"

"H-how?"

"I can talk with Aroma while you're away from Rhodes Island and make sure she's ready for your return"

A rather vague answer, in a certain way, and while Ascalon wasn't usually fond of those, on that particular occasion she almost welcomed it.

"I... I'll leave it to your judgment, your Highness"

Eterna clasped her hands together, smiling with radiance and confidence.

"You have my word, Ascalon, you won't be disappointed"

... I suppose this is... good... ?

---

Aroma decided to have breakfast at one of Rhodes Island's bars that day, that relatively new one with all the metal crabs wandering around, bringing customers' food and drinks to the tables and even taking orders. Well, that was technically a cafe and not a bar but, like, same difference right? The first time she walked inside there she got really worried about the place's hygiene, to be honest, but she quickly learned that Beanstalk's metal crabs were as clean as they could get when working at her cafe, which to be fair was not even half as impressive as the fact that they worked at the cafe to begin with. They did brighten the mood just by being around too, what's with their wobbling flowers and surprisingly cute appearance, and there was something deeply amusing about watching them sweeping the floor or climbing up the seats to get the trays to the tables, not to mention the younger crabs playing around in the pool near a corner of the cafe, and the biggest crab standing at the counter and keeping watch over everything was, to be completely honest, pretty damn cool. Aroma even nearly thought about playing with the little crabs a bit too, once, but the kids who often frequented that place seemed to have somewhat of a monopoly on that and the lupo would've felt a bit bad -and a bit embarrassed- about barging into their territory like that.

With all of that said, the main reason Aroma had gone there that morning was one unrelated to the metal crabs' services or even presence. Beanstalk only served alcohol at her cafe on friday evenings and, since it was neither friday nor evening, that meant Aroma couldn't order anything that would get her drunk. She had half a feeling she might end up taking one beer too many were she to eat anywhere else on the landship at the moment, after all. Beer, not wine, because it was her personal belief that if wine was meant to be savored while sober, beer was meant to be drank in large amounts to temporarily forget about one's own worries. Well, she kind of strongly doubted she'd end up getting drunk even if she could order beer anyway, it's not like she was that depressed or anything, but... alright, maybe she actually really just wanted to see the metal crabs, yeah.

In short, Aroma was sitting by her lonesome self at a table and waiting to place her order, while casually eyeing the other customers and the metal crabs. Not many people around, that morning.

"Hey, it's been a while" Beanstalk herself said as she walked up to the lupo with pen and notepad in hand, a little metal crab on her shoulder and mimicking her without actually holding anything in its pincers "Night shift again?"

"Yeah, for another couple of weeks I think"

"The usual then?"

"I think I'll take a triple hot chocolate today"

"Woah" the reproba said back, leaning in and whispering to avoid being overheard by the other patrons "Got some sorrow to drown?"

"More like a concern, maybe?" Aroma replied with a slightly forced chuckle as she scratched her nape "But it's nothing you should worry about! I'm sure I'll get over it. And... who's that one?" she added, pointing as politely as she could to a little stash of metal crabs all sitting on top of someone slouched over the counter, numerous enough to hide the person from direct sight.

"Oh, that's Archetto. Liberi, orange hair, heterochromia, a tail that'd be more fitting on a feline, walking advertisement for her monastery's products, you might've seen or heard of her"

"That does sound kind of familiar... but why is she buried under the metal crabs?"

"You can try and ask her, she's not dead. Oh, and she doesn't bite either!" Beanstalk concluded with a wink before going back behind the counter to get Aroma's and a few other patron's orders ready.

That wasn't quite exactly part of Aroma's plan for the morning -or evening, relatively to her day's schedule- but if Beanstalk herself had suggested to strike a conversation Archetto probably wouldn't have minded so... yeah, why not. It's not like she hated meeting new people, after all. The lupo decided to leave her seat, walk the rather short distance to the counter and grab a stool next to Archetto.

"Is this place free?" she asked before sitting down, for good measure.

Archetto, who had been slumped over the counter up until then as if asleep, pulled herself up and straightened her back. Swiftly, but not so much so as to shake off the metal crabs which had clung to her, though they did reposition themselves, with some simply jumping off on their own and scuttling elsewhere.

"Yes, I'm not waiting for anyone"

Aroma suddenly found herself swallowing a lump of saliva, but she played it off and pretended nothing was off.

"Thanks. Do you come here often?" she asked while sitting down.

She could smell flowers on Archetto, but whether she smelled like that because the metal crabs had been resting on her for a while or the other way around, that she couldn't tell.

"Sometimes when I'm by myself"

Archetto had a large glass of something in her hands. It was half-empty and, by the looks of it, tea. Lukewarm, if the way she was holding it was of any indication.

"The crabs really keep you company, don't they? Ah, I didn't mean you specifically-" Aroma said, only to then realize that might've come off wrong when told to the person who had been buried under metal crabs up until a minute ago.

"The youngest ones can be a bit too feisty at times" Archetto replied with a soft smile "You never had your tail pinched?"

"Oh, please" Beanstalk chimed in from the other end of the bar "That doesn't happen anymore. ... mostly"

"I know, I was just joking" Archetto said back, her gaze briefly following the large tray being carried their way by a metal crab a fair bit bigger than average.

"Thanks" Aroma told the not-so-little critter as it placed the tray down in front of her before scuttling away.

"I'm not saying this to bother you about your habits, but that's quite the heavy breakfast you're having" Archetto commented while taking another sip of her tea.

Admittedly, what Aroma had ordered included two slices of cheesecake, an apple, a salad, a glass of water, a few croissants, a cup of hot milk, some rusks with butter and sugar, a slice of caramel cake and... was that a glass of triple hot chocolate? Did she have some sorrow to drown maybe?

"This is actually my dinner" Aroma replied before digging into her meal.

"Oh, you work a night shift?"

"Fhorh fhe tihmeh beheinh" Aroma replied back while chewing on a milk-dipped croissant, one which as it turned out was filled with cream.

Well, the croissants there were tasty and as it turned out Aroma was closer to going to bed than she was to having gotten out of it, so Archetto didn't mind. In fact, she refrained from talking too much for the following while to let Aroma enjoy her breakfast slash dinner in peace, though they did make some small talk about some mundane matter or the other.

"Oh, ahem, Archetto" Aroma eventually resolved to ask, and between the sudden -albeith relatively minor- change in her expression and the way she was now leaning to the side towards the liberi, Archetto decided to lean in herself "I'm not sure I should be asking this but" the lupo whispered basically in her ear "You're one of the models for that collection of erotic pencil portraits of people in bondage that's available at the library, right?"

Archetto kept herself from swallowing a lump of saliva, though she failed to prevent her cheeks from turning a bit red. She did manage to keep her tail still though.

"I... I did agree to having some of those published in the artbook, so I shouldn't be surprised that someone eventually came to me to talk about it... yes, some of my portraits are inside there"

"... some? You mean you posed for more? Woah" Aroma said back, genuinely impressed.

The liberi was already the most recurring subject in that artbook, after all.

Archetto faked a cough, successfully distracting Aroma from her own thoughts.

"May I ask why you brought that up?"

"... well, you see... I... was wondering" Aroma said, the two women having to lean closer and closer to each other as the lupo's words grew fainter and fainter "Since you pose often for bondage portraits... maybe you could teach me how to tie someone up in the bedroom?"

Archetto's tail waved up and down a couple of times. Her feathers nearly quivered.

"... for starter, Aroma. This is not the best place to have this conversation at"

"... ah. Oh-oh gosh, you're totall-"

"Calm down, if you get all flustered now you'll only make us stand out even more" Archetto interrupted her "And also... I never tied anyone up myself, I only know the very basics at best"

"I'm afraid those wouldn't be enough" a third, soft spoken voice said, startling both women who turned around to see a person sitting on the stool next to Archetto and opposite from Aroma.

"Oh, Eterna. Good morning" Aroma greeted.

"... hold on... you... " Archetto said instead.

That sarkaz who had just taken the seat next to her reminded her of someone. She had seen a couple of pictures of someone who looked exactly like that in a few history books. Sure, there were hundreds of thousands of people on Terra and someone was bound to look similar to someone else despite being completely unrelated, but that felt less like a resemblance and more like an exact copy, almost like a living portrait of the very same person.

"Good morning, Archetto. You can call me Eterna, I'm somewhat of an assistant of Amiya" the woman then introduced herself with a slight bow.

"Oh, ah, good morning"

... no, it can't be her. She died a few years ago, that's on every history book worth the paper its written on. Must be a very weird coincidence.

She refrained from offering her hand for a shake and simply bowed in turn instead, since that's how Eterna greeted her, and -wait, something looked a little off between her dress and the seat-

"Aroma, I was looking for you"

"Really? Am... am I in trouble?"

"Why not, why would you be?"

"I just kind of think I might've been too pushy, I guess?"

"Don't worry, she's not bothered by your attempts"

"Shall we switch seats?" Archetto then asked Aroma, because it was as clear as day those two were having a conversation she wasn't involved with and sitting between them just made things awkward.

"Please, wait. There is something I would like to talk about with you as well, in truth, though it would be better to sit at a table instead"

Aroma was about to ask what that something was but, on second thought, she could kind of guess. Archetto, on her part, seemed a fair bit more confused, but she did accept the invitation and, after another couple of minutes during which Aroma finished her meal, the trio left the counter to go occupy a table in a corner of the cafe. Although the place really wasn't large enough for that in itself to provide a whole lot of privacy.

"Allow me to ease your worries once more, Aroma" Eterna began, sitting across from the other two "Ascalon was not troubled by your last attempt at taking the lead-"

"Ho-hold on, Ascalon?" Archetto interrupted.

She had never met her personally, but she had heard of her every now and then from Blaze.

"You know her?" Aroma asked "She, uh, didn't strike me as someone with many friends, if I can say that?" she spoke, casting Eterna a glance as if asking for permission to say what she had just said.

"Well, we're not friends, I wouldn't even call us acquaintances really, I just... heard of her from someone"

"Now, before continuing with our chat allow me to make one point clear: I am only having this conversation with you in her place because Ascalon's work required her to leave the landship as soon as she was ready, and she didn't want you to have the wrong impression for the entire time until her return"

"Going off the landship for work every now and then doesn't sound bad though. But what did she leave for?"

"She helps out with manual labor wherever needed"

"Uh, that sounds kind of rough"

... I don't really know all that much myself, but... how much does this woman even know about Ascalon? Archetto wondered.

"Now, I have no intention to keep either of you busy for long so allow me to return to the main topic. Ascalon is willing to try and let you be in charge, but on the condition that more... functional gear than what you had last time is provided"

"Wait. Wait, hold on a second. What kind of gear are we talking about here?"

There was a tiny, little, minute, very small, not large at all part of Archetto's mind that believed they might be talking about handwoven baskets.

"The, uh... the sort of stuff used in those portraits" Aroma replied.

Of course it wasn't about handwoven baskets.

"And, well, we tried using handcuffs" Aroma continued to explain, barely whispering that last word to not be overheard "But she slipped out of them right away, and I honestly think she'd be able to tear cheap leather apart because... those muscles... "

Archetto could honestly empathize with the way Aroma's expression had turned dreamy -even if only for a brief moment- at the thought of a woman who could effortlessly lift her up with just one arm doing exactly that, but she was nowhere near close to voicing that. Not there, at least.

"Alright, and... you wanted to ask me if I could help you out with the technical part, so to say?" she asked instead.

"I was hoping to ask Pallas directly" Eterna said "Since, according to both the rumors and the information provided on the two artbooks, she personally takes care of it whenever drawing a portrait"

"But she's not on the landship" Archetto pointed out.

Nor were Blaze or Pozëmka. The whole reason Archetto was slumped over the counter drinking tea that morning was that her return to the landship had gotten delayed and she ended up missing the chance to see those three before they'd in turn have to leave for a while. As for the tea, that's simply because she believed drinking beer by herself that early into the day to be a bad idea, she did have other things to take care of later after all.

"I get why you came to me in this case, but I really am barely an amateur when it comes to, well, binding people like that"

"I'm afraid you're speaking under a mistaken assumption, Archetto. I am not here today to ask you to teach Aroma the skills required to emulate the most artistic of those portraits"

Oh, thank the heavens Aroma thought, because she really felt like learning how to tie ropes and knots and chains like that safely would take forever and also be really difficult.

Granted, she had approached Archetto with exactly that in mind just a few minutes ago, but sometimes a few minutes were enough for a person to change their mind or reconsider their position.

"I was merely hoping you'd know of someone who can provide gears of high enough quality"

Archetto stared at her blankly for a few seconds. Aroma did as well, in truth, which in turn left Eterna quite startled.

"... can't you just... look at the landship's store? There's a section for that sort of gear"

"Oh my, truly?"

Archetto suddenly found herself wondering whether that woman truly was Amiya's assistant, because surely someone in that position would know about all of the landship's official facilities and services.

"Well, there's some stuff you'll want to avoid since it's on the lower end of the spectrum as far as quality is concerned, and if you want something a little customized you'll have to have it worked on after the purchase but I think I know someone who might... alright, I think it's gonna be faster if I just help you through it"

"That'd be really appreciated" Eterna replied with a soft, polite smile.

Aroma, on her part, was still wondering why everything about her relationship with Ascalon felt so weird.

As for Archetto, she only then realized how odd it was that nobody batted an eye at their conversation. They hadn't been all that explicit nor did they raise their voices, but the cafe was quite small and rather quiet after all. For some reason, however, she wasn't actually all that worried about it. Perhaps because nobody seemed to have heard them after all, or at least nobody seemed to have found anything weird with their conversation.

Eterna's smile grew a little wider.

---

A couple of months had gone by since then. The person assigned to night cleaning shift at the kitchens usually changed every couple of weeks, but Aroma had decided to volunteer for a longer period given the circumstances and ended up waking up at noon and going to sleep late in the morning for three whole weeks longer than usual, after which she went back to the day shift. Partially because other people wanted the night one too, as that did come with an increased pay. In fact, that was one of the main reasons Aroma had held on to that shift for so much longer than was habitual of her, and also the reason why she doubted she'd be getting that shift again anytime soon. The gear Archetto helped her pick was a lot more expensive than she had initially expected after all, going well over five hundreds gold certificates. Granted, the liberi herself had asked her four times or so whether she truly wanted to put that much money into it instead of going for something more affordable to start out, but at the same time Aroma had a strong feeling she'd need something really secure for Ascalon to be satisfied. Archetto, on her part, was actually certain of it, despite having never really met the sarkaz in person, but still. But with all of that aside, Aroma's days and nights went by rather normally, except maybe for those times when Eterna dropped by to chat. It didn't happen often, less than once a week in fact, but it also usually involved Aroma accidentally pushing a door open past her ethereal body and freaking out for a good couple of seconds. She kind of suspected Eterna was doing that on purpose, to be completely honest, but could never bring herself to inquire about that with her for one reason or another.

As for the event we're about to take a look at, it took place on what by all means seemed like an ordinary evening. Aroma had gone about her day like usual, breakfast, work, lunch break, work, dropping by the musical room to try playing the keyboard and nearly getting kicked out for how terrible the sounds she made were, dinner, taking a shower, watching a movie with her friends, then sorting out her stuff and making plans for the next day as she had it off work. She was about to go back into the bathroom to take another shower just to relax, but the thought of taking a bath instead kept her walking in circles for a minute or so before she decided to go with the latter idea. Only to be interrupted again by a knock at the door.

"... it's not Vigna coming to tell me I actually got banned from the music room, is it?" she half-joked to herself as she made her way to answer.

For starter, Vigna didn't have the authority to ban anyone from the music room, nor was she the sort of person to do stuff like that even if she could. And besides, her performance at the keyboard hadn't been that bad.

... alright, that last part might've been somewhat debatable, but it was also beside the point.

"Is this a bad moment?"

The calm, almost distant question, posed without even a greeting, took Aroma by surprise, leaving her startled for a few seconds at the unexpected sight, her ears twitching two or three times as her mind processed the meaning of those words.

"Ascalon!" she then beamed "Not at all! I had no idea you were back, come in!" she welcomed her inside, stepping aside and gesturing for her to walk in.

As enthusiastic as ever Ascalon thought while accepting the invitation.

With a little bit of hesitation in truth, though Aroma didn't notice that. In her defense, however, the number of people currently aboard the landship who would've noticed that didn't reach the double digits.

"I had no idea you were back already" the lupo said as she closed the door behind the sarkaz and tried to fix her clothes and hair as casually as possible "How was your work?"

"I returned a few days ago, but the paperwork kept me busy" she replied, neither lying nor telling the truth as she simply stood not quite in the middle of the room and observed Aroma.

"Really? That sounds annoying. Oh, do you want a drink? I've got something in the mini fridge"

"I'm fine, thanks. And... this is for you" Ascalon said, producing a small cardboard box from... honestly, Aroma had no idea where she had pulled that thing from. It wasn't a big box by any means, but it wasn't so small as to fit into her pockets either "Consider this a thanks for all the breakfasts you treated me to"

"... oh. Oh, thanks a lot! You didn't have to. Really, I think I'm still the one who got the best end of the bargain with those meals... ah-ahem, I mean!" she said, her voice dropping down to a whisper partway through her sentence before picking up volume again "Mind if I open it now?"

For a split second, Aroma nearly saw confusion on Ascalon's face.

"I don't see why you wouldn't"

"Allow me to then"

Aroma already had a rough idea of what was inside, if only because that was the sort of box used in clothing stores, the store's name was even on it, though she didn't actually recognize it nor the brand. It did feel a little weird to hand someone a gift just like that, but it... kind of fit Ascalon somehow, really. It made her a little giddy.

"Oh. Woah" is all she said as she pulled an hoodie from the box.

It was a simple garment, long and light, with sleeves reaching just above the elbows, although the left one was slightly longer for some reason. It looked cool though. The hood itself was of the sort with hard fabric to cover the ears instead of just a pair of holes for them to poke out from, and the hoodie as a whole was mostly of a light but not overly bright green with a few simple, white patterns running down its back.

It also had the image of a caprinae playing a literally blazing harp painted on the front, which was pretty nice actually! But also completely unexpected.

"I... thought you might like something related to music, but I don't know if you actually play yourself or not"

"I do! I mean, I like it!" Aroma immediately corrected herself "I'm terrible at playing but I like music, how did you know?"

"You left some disks on your desk one morning we had breakfast here"

"... oh. Uh, sorry about the mess, I thought I had tidied everything up" Aroma said, scratching her head a little bit.

... how does she get flustered over something like this after everything? Ascalon wondered, puzzled but also kind of amused.

"Oh, I also have something for you! If you... would... like, like to try it, I guess, since you know, the cuffs didn't work out at all and- listen, just tell me if I should stop pushing for it!" she said, slightly red in the face, ears tall and tail still as she fetched a box herself from under the bed and placed it on top of the sheets.

Ascalon didn't say anything, feeling like she was missing a bit too much information to speak up while also having more than just an hunch of knowing what that was actually about. So she simply walked up to Aroma and opened the box, taking a look inside and even pulling a couple of things out to get a better feel of what they were exactly. Next to her, the lupo felt even shorter than she actually was. Perhaps she even shrunk a little bit.

"Is this where you want to lead the conversation after less than ten minutes?" Ascalon asked, and had her voice not been just as neutral and slightly detached as ever Aroma would've most likely found herself an hole to hide inside of for the next couple of months out of shame.

"W-well, you see... " she replied, scratching her nape as she spoke -she did that rather often when flustered, Ascalon noticed- "I chatted a bit with Eterna, and she said a few things and I heard a few things and -alright, listen. This is really not the pace I go at usually, but it's not like we haven't hit third or fourth base multiple times already yet and Eterna told me you were only on the landship for so long last time because of those medical exams, and I also really want to be told loud and clear if you want to stick to topping or not because I wouldn't mind that but I just have to be sure to stop worrying about bothering you" she said, and to be completely honest Ascalon was midly surprised that Aroma had managed to say all of that without averting her gaze and -much more impressive- while keeping her tail rather still.

"What Eterna told you is not wrong. I'll depart again in four days at most, probably less" she said back, opting to not dig at all into what else exactly Eterna might've talked with Aroma about, although her own last conversation with her just the previous day gave her a rather clear picture anyway.

"That's pretty soon, yeah. So... I think I have a few slices of cheesecake in there if you want" Aroma replied, pointing to her mini fridge.

"... no. No, this is fine" Ascalon said, lifting the garment -let's call it a garment for now- in her hands and offering it to the lupo "I trust it you know how to put this on and off without needing assistance"

Aroma blinked. Ascalon could see her fur prickling up before her tail started wagging.

"You mean me putting this on you?"

"I'm... not opposed. And this looks well made" she said, implying it shouldn't be as easy to get out of as a pair of regular handcuffs "If you really want to go through with this"

"Of course! Absolutely, I'd be delighted to!" Aroma replied, redness dying her cheeks as Ascalon began to casually undress, leaving her clothes in a neatly folded pile over an empty spot on the desk and even managing to hide a few blades between the layers without Aroma noticing "I'll make sure to not touch your neck either, I promise" she added, the memory of last time's incident still vivid in her mind.

"I appreciate it"

"... s-say, if I can ask" Aroma then resolved to inquire, swallowing a lump of saliva as Ascalon began to take off her underwear too, an arguably rather surprisingly plain set of panties and bra for someone who didn't mind sporting that sort of cleavage "Can you... keep your panties on? Ah, but I've gotta strip too, right!" she added, frantically taking her own clothes off with all the haste Ascalon lacked.

"That's... fine" the sarkaz said, somewhat confused but not really bothered as she simply removed her bra and stood there, virtually but not fully naked and waiting for Aroma to be done as well.

A shower and then she could walk back to her own room just fine even with a pair of dirty panties to get changed, after all. It'd just be midly uncomfortable at worst, nothing else. It didn't take long for Aroma to strip down as well -completely, on her case- but Ascalon still found that time to be more than enough to take another look at what the lupo had prepared.

It was a set of restraints, for starter. A straitjacket with two legbinders to be more precise, as well as two or three other things as well. Both the straitjacket and the legbinders were made of thick leather, died a dark shade of red and with a soft padding on the inside, and came with a lot of straps and buckles firmly secured to them on multiple areas. There were also what felt like thin but solid steel cables embedded into the leather to make it sturdier, or that's the impression she had gotten upon grabbing them earlier. Ascalon was still not sure about that whole ordeal, in truth, but she couldn't deny that Aroma simply had no way of forcing her down the way Ascalon could do with her, so allowing herself to be put into that sort of gear sounded like the only way to let Aroma take the lead, at least with the way Ascalon mostly believed intercourse to be meant to be. Which was sort of its own problem, one could argue, but also not really the matter currently at hand.

"So, uh, let's start then! Alright, I practiced this a few times with an expert" she said, deeply relieved at Ascalon's eyebrows not raising in the slightest at that "But I'm not one myself so please bear with me"

"I will. You don't need to be so nervous"

... easy for you to say, you're not the one dealing with the most gorgeous person you'll ever meet in your life...

... she is rather... cute though, flustered like this.

Neither one voicing their thoughts, and for surprisingly similar reasons at that, the two began. For starter, Ascalon put the straitjacket on, sliding her arms into the purposefully too long sleeves and leaving the open side of the garment -though calling it a restraining device would be more accurate- on her back. The front was partially open as well, to be completely honest, to leave her chest exposed, a thick strap running down between her breasts as if to frame them. That did make Ascalon doubt the straitjacket's quality as far as containment went, but she had never really used nor seen one used before so she refrained from making any hasty judgement and simply took note of how surprisingly comfortable the inside felt.

"I'm closing the back now" Aroma said, a special kind of focus preventing her hands from trembling as she slid each strap on one side of the straitjacket's back through the corresponding buckle on the other side, pulling and fastening them one by one and even guiding Ascalon's tail into the hole meant for it "Is this too tight?"

"It's too loose"

"... really? I've been told a straitjacket shouldn't cut off the blood flow or get uncomfortable, but... are you sure?"

"I will tell you if anything feels off. Don't worry"

"... alright then!" Aroma declared, her enthusiasm genuine for the most part, but also ever so slightly forced to not give away her mild nervousness.

And so she pulled the straps again, going through them one by one and putting more strength into it, eventually feeling like she was really pulling them too tight but continuing anyway because Ascalon didn't seem uncomfortable in the slightest. In the end it took her a good five minutes just to be done with those first five straps.

"How does it feel?"

"More comfortable than I had expected. The inner side is firm but also soft. It's a surprisingly snug fit" she said, her tail lying nearly still while pointing to the floor.

Eterna had given Aroma all of Ascalon's measures precisely to make it fit as nicely as possible, but Aroma couldn't bring herself to say that. And Ascalon already suspected that anyway.

"That's nice! Alright, I'll secure the crotch straps now" Aroma said before kneeling down and reaching for the straps hanging from the front, pulling them between Ascalon's legs and up to the buckles meant for them on her lower back.

She also made a point to take a good look at the sarkaz's round butt, to be honest. It wasn't embarrassing so much as it was simply exciting, and the fact that the sarkaz still had her panties on did make the sight all the more alluring, but Aroma didn't want to get sidetracked before the preparations were done and forced her eyes elsewhere. Those straps did require a fair bit more attention after all, they ran directly on Ascalon's skin for a short part of their length and she didn't want her skin to end up pinched or anything of the sort.

"And this is done too. Now, now, the sleeves" Aroma said as she got back up, mentally going through the motions and grabbing the left sleeve of the straitjacket to pull it through a loop in the leather on the right side of the garment, then doing the same with the right sleeve on the other side.

"This is going well, I think. You ok?" she asked as she circled around Ascalon to stand in front of her, reaching for another set of straps on the front but waiting for her reply before continuing.

"As I said, you don't need to be nervous. If anything is wrong I'll tell you"

Cool as ever... that's... well, cool...

This sensation is not unexpected, but... quite surprising still Ascalon thought, refraining from testing the strength of that straitjacket as it wasn't fully fastened yet but already finding a certain thrill to the act of donning it.

"Sorry! It's just, you see, it's my first time with something like this"

"I understand"

Ascalon wasn't entirely sure why that simple reply made the wagging of Aroma's tail grow more intense, but she didn't really mind either and simply stood still as the lupo fastened the straps on the front as well, firmly securing her arms to both each other and her chest, right beneath her breasts, which ended up pushed out slightly and appearing ever so slightly bigger than the already were. Only for Aroma to then unfasten those straps.

"I should've done the other ones first!" she equally scolded herself and explained as she moved back behind Ascalon, grabbing her right sleeve, pulling it and making it do a full circle around the sarkaz through a few specifically placed loops in the leather before fastening it to two buckles, taking care to make it as tight as she could since once again Ascalon moved no complaint of any sort, the sleeve shaped in a way which forced Ascalon's hand open and flat inside of it, with her palm pointed towards herself. Then she did the other arm as well, and only then walked back in front of Ascalon again to fasten those straps too, the sarkaz's arms now more firmly secured and locked in place than before.

"So, the straitjacket's done!" How does it feel?"

There was a faint chill trying to run up Ascalon's spine. It was soft, weak even, but rather pleasant. She tried pulling her arms away, struggling against the leather, and felt the steel reinforcements again. They weren't thick enough to be uncomfortable, and to be entirely honest Ascalon believed she'd have been able to simply tear the straitjacket apart with brute strength with enough time had those not been there, but they were and they seemed of good quality. Which meant that yes, she was actually stuck. So...

... it was...

... sort of thrilling, yes.

"It's pleasant" she said, taking one step forward and pushing her leg between Aroma's, looking down as the lupo lifted her chin to return her gaze "Let's continue"

"Ehm, sure! But I think I'm the one who's supposed to be in control now"

... wait, did she just smirk for a sec-

Aroma's thought got interrupted by the sudden lack of solid floor beneath her feet, together with the feeling of freely falling through the air, swiftly followed by the familiar sensation of sheets beneath her back. By the time she reoriented herself and regained her sense of direction, Ascalon had already stepped on the bed as well, one foot lying on Aroma's belly and pushing down, not strongly enough to hurt but strongly enough to make the lupo feel like she'd have an easier time lifting the entire bed with one hand than she'd have pushing that foot away and getting up.

An excited smile curled her lips up, a startled whimper escaping her as Ascalon's toe poked her stiff clit, sending a weak but thrilling shiver coursing through her.

"You aren't yet" Ascalon said flatly, getting the lupo even more worked up.

"That's what the legbinders are for though!" she managed to reply, with somewhat of a pout admittedly "Geez, I know you know I love having you on top of me but I'm supposed to be in charge today! Let me get there!"

"You're right"

A small part of Aroma was almost disappointed that Ascalon complied so quickly, taking her foot off the lupo and sitting down, her legs folded and apart.

"Proceed then. I am in no hurry, but that doesn't mean we have unlimited time either"

"Sure! Right"

Ascalon briefly considered grabbing Aroma's tail with her own for a moment, just to see how she'd react, but discarded the idea. She'd be going against her own words after all.

"Alright, lift your leg a little... like this is good" Aroma instructed as she slipped the legbinder on Ascalon's leg.

It was functionally a leather sleeve meant to go around a person's folded leg, ensuring the leg couldn't be stretched out, and having one on each leg meant it'd be impossible to stand up, or kick for that matter. Putting those on took a bit more time than the straitjacket, mostly because unlike that those legbinders could amper the blood flow if pulled too tight due to the position they forced the leg into. They also came with an inner metal reinforcement of sort, and after a few attempts Ascalon concluded they were as secure as the straitjacket.

As for Aroma, the sight of Ascalon nearly naked and deprived of the use of all four limbs right on her bed sent her thoughts flying and her heart racing.

"You're not done yet" Ascalon said, her voice alone still making Aroma feel like the one leashed rather than the one holding the leash "The legbinders are secure. Let's move on"

"Sure! As you wan- wait, it should be 'as I want' this time I think"

... dear lord, did she just smirk for a second again? Focus, Aroma Rinaldi, focus! We're almost done with the preparations!

There was hardly anything left at that point though, in truth. Just two things, to be more accurate. To take care of the first, Aroma walked around the bed to get behind Ascalon. She nearly told her she was about to grab her tail but, thinking about Ascalon's general attitude, she reconsidered and simply reached for it instead, silently praying that doing so wouldn't annoy the sarkaz. It... didn't seem to, much to her relief, the only reaction she got being a slight twitch of that very same tail, which in turn allowed her arousal to grow even further. She brought it up and secured it to a much smaller but still firm strap placed on the upper back of the straitjacket, basically right beneath the neckline. Ascalon's tail was long, around as long as her legs if not a little more, but with the tip tied down like that its range of motion was considerably reduced. But, slightly for good measure and mostly for entirely different reasons, Aroma tied that tail down along its middle point as well, to a second and final tiny strap placed roughly in the middle of the straitjacket's back. With that done, Aroma fetched one of the last few things left in the box and walked back in front of Ascalon, holding it up in front of the sarkaz. Who had to actually look up to meet Aroma's gaze now, with her legs restrained as they were.

This feels kind of wrong, but also hot... the lupo thought.

"I am aware of what a gag is, if that's your concern" Ascalon spoke, taking Aroma away from her own thoughts.

"Ah, no, I really didn't doubt that! I just wanted to be sure you're fine with this, because... between the straitjacket and everything else, how am I going to know if you need some water or if your nose is itching or stuff like that if I also gag you?"

"Did that not occur to you when you prepared the gag?"

Aroma felt so pleasantly small and tiny.

"It kind of did, but I also sort of think you'd just still be in charge somehow if I don't use this"

"I'll take that as a praise"

Seriously, how is she this composed in that state? Aroma asked herself.

She was making a conscious effort to not rub her thighs together, but Ascalon seemed as calm as one could possibly be.

"Don't worry. You can put that on me"

"Are you sure?"

Ascalon's tail twitched ever so slightly. The motion had been so minor the restraints barely affected it, but they still did and that made the sarkaz feel an unfamiliar sensation. An ever so faintly uncomfortable and yet warm tingle, walking from the tip of her tail down to its base and then back up along her spine, one step at a time. She wouldn't have said it was better than what she felt when holding Aroma down with one hand and ravaging her with the other, but she wouldn't have deemed it worse either, and at the moment she wasn't interested in that comparison anyway. She was in the midst of gathering data -if we want to put it that way- and conclusions were meant to be drawn later. So she simply opened her mouth instead and leaned forward, presenting her lips to Aroma. The lupo felt around as excited as she did the first time Ascalon pinned her down to take her, and in fact she had to take a couple of deep breaths to ensure her hands wouldn't tremble from the sheer anticipation.

"Alright then! Here we go" she declared, pushing the gag in its place.

It was a rather simple model, all things considered. The central piece was a sturdy ring placed between Ascalon's teeth, preventing her from closing her jaw and ensuring her mouth would remain open. Attached to it was a leather harness, matching the straitjacket in color but not in thickness as there was no need for that particular piece of equipment to be that sturdy. The harness included a few straps to secure the gag to Ascalon's head, with a couple even going around her horns. Lastly, there were a few additional metal hooks connecting the ring -with which they formed a single piece, in truth- to the harness to make sure the ring couldn't get flipped on its side, which would make the gag functionally useless. With that last piece in its place, Aroma stepped back and took a good look at the final result.

Ascalon was... motionless. And much more composed than Aroma, the lupo could tell even without a mirror to check how she herself looked at the moment. The sight was beyond alluring, and in truth also somewhat... wrong, in a way. Aroma could still feel those slender fingers wrapped around her and effortlessly pushing her down, or holding her up for that matter, just by thinking about it, and seeing that very same Ascalon so... defenseless, it was a kind of thrill she had thought herself ready for, but if her pulse was of any indication she had clearly overestimated herself. The fact that she couldn't catch any sort of scent coming from Ascalon either only made the situation that much more exciting.

Ascalon, on her part, was feeling surprisingly unsurprised at that point, at least from her own point of view. She could feel her blood flowing ever so slightly faster than usual, and the dampness between her legs came almost as a sort of relief in truth. A part of her had worried that the mere fact of being in a position of submission such at that one might have made her feel unease, which in turn fueled an exceptionally small but nonetheless existing doubt about Aroma's possible real enjoyment of all their previous times together. She was aware that different people liked different things, yes, but given what her admittedly somewhat distorted notions about sex were like, that confirmation took a burden off her either way. One thing which did exceed her expectations, however, was the tail restraint. Ascalon's tail couldn't quite entirely be considered prehensible, it could wrap somewhat around things and she could put a little bit of force into it, yes -... probably more force than ordinary people could put in their arms, in truth- but she never really used it like that. She hardly ever used her tail at all, even, so she hadn't at all expected that the one part of those bindings which would've made her felt the most restricted would've ended up being the two straps holding her tail down. It was... kind of exciting, in a way. And so was Aroma's gaze as well, transfixed and almost dreamy, focused on Ascalon and yet on no singular, specific part of her body. Though Ascalon was certain the lupo's eyes were wandering somewhat often to the saliva beginning to drip from her forcibly open mouth down along her chin.

With all of that said, Aroma was kind of taking a while to start doing anything, wasn't she? Ascalon didn't mind the wait all that much, but she didn't find it particularly pleasant either. At least not compared to, well, anything else they could be doing at the moment.

She didn't do much at all, she really couldn't, but the simple act of shrugging her shoulders still managed to startle Aroma out of her daze.

"Ah, yes! You were so stunning I got lost for a moment, sorry" she said.

Ascalon didn't answer, obviously, but something about her expression changed. It was hard to tell with her mouth gagged, but it almost seemed like her lips had just curled up a tiny little bit while her gaze grew slightly sharper. Aroma made no effort to keep her tail still, but she did consciously keep herself from shivering too visibly -well, she tried to, at least- while stepping forward, placing an hand on Ascalon's side and another on her chest to push her down, perhaps not quite as gently as she had meant to. Ascalon wondered for a moment whether she could push back enough to keep herself up even in that state, but decided to leave that for later and simply fell down on her back as the lupo sat on her knees on the bed, right in front of her. She couldn't feel the hand on her side all that much. She could tell it was there but, as far as actual sensations went, the leather dampened them a bit too much for them to cause a particular reaction of any sort.

The one on her breast, however.

That touch made Ascalon realize that her nipples were stiff, much more stiff than she had thought. Aroma's palm rubbing against it sent soft shivers through her chest, mild but nonetheless pleasant jolts, and the way the lupo began to feel up her ample bosom made a tingle between the sarkaz's legs slowly grow in intensity. Aroma didn't consider herself an experienced person when it came to bed manners, much less when that sort of gear was involved, but she could still tell that Ascalon probably couldn't feel much through the straitjacket and moved her hand from the sarkaz's side to her other breast, her own breath growing heavy as she fondled and massaged that generous chest. Ascalon wasn't trashing by any imaginable metric but, since she was leaning against her, Aroma could tell that she wasn't quite entirely still either, her body twitching in a barely perceptible way as the lupo felt her up. A thought then occurred to her, and Aroma dared to pinch the sarkaz's nipples.

For a split second, Ascalon did grow perfectly still, and for the following second Aroma did as well, fearing that she might've gone a little too far. Their eyes met and, for as composed as Ascalon looked, her face did seem a little flushed. Then, to answer Aroma's sudden halt, she pushed herself up a bit, leaning against the lupo's palms. She felt her tail trying to move a little bit, its inability to do so sending another shiver down along it, made stronger by Aroma's resumed fondling, now more intense, the lupo occasionally pinching her nipples or sinking her fingers into the supple flesh.

It felt nice. Odd, maybe, and to say Ascalon felt completely at ease with being restrained to such a degree would've been a lie, but Aroma's touch was pleasant, enough to make her believe she indeed had a fair bit of prior experience, which all things considered was a positive.

Then, however, Ascalon closed her legs on Aroma. She couldn't put her in a leglock with the way her legs were restrained at the moment, but she still had enough strength to make the lupo suddenly feel pinned, startling her a fair bit.

"Hol-wait, I'm supposed to be in charge here!" she said, only for Ascalon to push herself back up again to rub her chest against Aroma's palms, even if in a decidedly limited fashion.

"Ok, I get it, I get it!" Aroma shouted, much more excited than anything else as she pushed Ascalon's legs apart -the effort she had to put into actually doing that made her excitement increase that much more, and even then Ascalon hadn't actually put up as much of a resistance as she could've- and fetched something else from the box, now nearly empty "We'll use this too, o-ok!" she announced, turning her sentence from a question to a statement at the end while holding the spreader bar up for Ascalon to see.

Aroma waited a second or two and, since she received no signal of any sort, she grabbed Ascalon by the shoulders and rolled her over on her back, trying to be both rough and gentle at the same time and getting an hint of an headache for it, although her efforts were admittedly being appreciated. Ascalon mostly just pretended to put up a bit of a resistance as the lupo attached the spreader bar to her knees, she sincerely doubted Aroma would've been able to push her legs apart otherwise even in that state, and not too long after the sarkaz found her legs forced at a constant distance from each other, while a strap wrapped around her ankles and connected to her waist to take even more mobility away from her. Aroma's heart was nearly pounding out of her chest at the sight of an even more helpless Ascalon on her bed, her arousal so intense she just couldn't stop her own hand from sliding down between her own legs, her fingers sinking into her dripping sex with ease and dragging a pleased whimper out of her, one which in turn made Ascalon's tail twitch ever so slightly. Aroma moved her other hand to the sarkaz's firm, pleasantly round butt and felt it up through her panties, the shape and consistency underneath her palm and fingers getting her even more worked up, her touch stoking a pleasant fire within Ascalon in turn, although what the sarkaz found most thrilling was the lack of control rather than the physical stimulation in itself.

This is completely different, but also... strangely similar to being in control she thought, the sensation being both utterly unalike and yet nearly identical to what she felt when pinning Aroma down.

Aroma then rolled Ascalon back around, making her lie on her back again and straddling her, one hand still nested in her privates while she reached behind herself with the other, finding Ascalon's underwear damp.

"I know there's that in the box, but let's not rush too much ok?" she said, almost more to herself than to Ascalon as she pulled her panties aside and rubbed her sex with three fingers for a few seconds, getting a feel of her wetness and in turn getting that much more wet herself "Let's enjoy ourselves a bit" she added, making a conscious effort to not put too much vigor into the fingers stirring herself up to avoid getting off too soon, her other hand teasing Ascalon's entrance for a little bit longer before plunging in.

The sarkaz's breathing was still perfect, calm and composed as if she was simply standing on a chair doing nothing, but her expression had changed, there was a redness to her cheek, even if one exceptionally difficult to spot, and perhaps that was just Aroma's mind playing a trick on her but she could've sworn she could see a bit of excited expectation on Ascalon's face.

Woah... she simply thought as her fingers entered Ascalon, her warm flesh wrapping around her much more tightly than she had expected, to the point she had to put in a bit of force to even get her fingers further in at all despite the natural lubrication aiding her This is so hot...

Ascalon was nearly motionless, but not entirely. Aroma could see the tip of her tail, poking out from between her back and the sheets, next to her neck, and it was moving a little bit. Not quite swaying, not really twitching either, but it was moving. Then there were her hips, which the sarkaz had managed to lift up a fair bit despite all the restraints holding her down, pushing Aroma up a little bit. That in itself was more than enough to make her thoughts go haywire, and the chance that maybe Ascalon was doing that to lean further into Aroma's fingers only made it harder for the lupo to keep herself from reaching her own climax too soon.

Steady breaths, in and out, steady breaths she paced herself, taking the composed, regular up and down motion of Ascalon's chest as a guide to regulate her own breathing, although focusing on that part of her body might've been ultimately more damaging than helpful in that regard.

Her fingers still moving, those within herself avoiding her most sensitive spots to not reach the end too quickly, those inside of Ascalon scratching the sarkaz with more intensity, more vigor and, to a degree, more focus as well, her thumb even doing its best with Ascalon's stiff clit, Aroma brought her gaze further up, resting it for a few long seconds on Ascalon's neck and chin, made slightly glistening by the saliva pouring from her forcibly parted lips, before proceeding up to her tongue, still and in plain sight and so alluring.

... thinking about it... they'd never kissed, right? There was something really, really hot about the idea of kissing someone while they had a gag on, enough to make her knees lose all strength -good thing she wasn't standing up at the moment- but at the same time she kind of wanted her first kiss with Ascalon to be a little bit more... on equal grounds?

... though I wouldn't hate her ravaging my mouth either... i-is her tongue kind of really supple or am I losing it?

In the end it actually took a little less time than Ascalon had expected for their eyes to really meet again. Aroma's fingers were... pleasant. Perhaps a little awkward in their ways, though Ascalon didn't dare make that judgement with how lacking her experience in that field was, but they did scratch some good spots inside of her, some sensitive ones even. The sensation was almost new, so long it'd been since she had last felt it. The tingle spreading from her nethers, the mild goosebumps on her inner thighs and lower abdomen, the slowly building heat within her... it was all pleasant, yes, very much so even. Aroma herself also made the experience surprisingly better. The lupo made no attempt at holding her moans and whimpers in, but she was by no means a screamer either, in fact her voice had what Ascalon considered to be just the right volume for such an occasion, to the point it made her wonder whether she shouldn't have vocalized a bit herself. She wasn't making any conscious effort to remain quiet, not making unnecessary sounds simply came naturally to her after all those years.

... would those count as unnecessary in this situation? she wondered, the memory of the twins' time together suggesting a negative answer to her.

Aroma also had a nice fragrance, though between Ascalon having no particular affinity for scents and the lupo enjoying lemon-scented soaps she could honestly barely notice it, if anything the carnal smell slowly filling the room was a lot more difficult to miss, downright impossible even.

"Is this good?" Aroma then asked, breaking character for a moment perhaps, and Ascalon simply nodded.

That apparently prompted the lupo to put more enthusiasm in her fingers, a warm surge jolting through Ascalon in response to her digits digging a little bit further in, spreading out within her and then coming back together to apply more pressure in a single, sensitive spot before spreading out again to scratch her all over, back and forth. And through all that Aroma kept fingering herself as well, even if with not quite as much vigor Ascalon noticed. Which was flattering, in an odd way. And to add to it all, Aroma was leaning back to get a better access at Ascalon's nethers while straddling her, enough to push her chest out a bit as if to flaunt it. Which really wasn't the case, Ascalon was sure of it, but... her somewhat small breasts made for a startingly pleasant sight, sweat dripping down them, her chest heaving up and down with every breath.

Sooner than Ascalon had expected, something began to tip over deep within her, a pulse which echoed weakly from her innermost to her shoulders and knees, then followed her muscles to the tip of her fingers and toes, her tail falling still as she began to experience something she knew in theory but which she had pretty much forgotten in practice. Aroma noticed the tip of Ascalon's tail no longer moving, but ordered herself to not jump to any conclusion and kept touching the sarkaz, focusing on any minuscule sign she could spot, because Ascalon was around as vocal as a broken stereo with no disc inserted so she had to look for more minute telltales of her condition. And... maybe that was just Aroma dreaming, but she decided that no, Ascalon's hips had really just pushed her a little bit further up. Impressive given her current circumstances, but also terribly exciting. She felt Ascalon's insides contracting a bit more against her fingers, it honestly nearly hurt from how much pressure those folds were applying, but that didn't stop her. There was a bead of sweat or two running down Ascalon's forehead, and her entire body seemed to have grown even more motionless.

It'd been years since the last time Ascalon had experienced an orgasm, and yet she could still tell very clearly that her last one hadn't been quite that intense. Every muscle in her body grew taut, she didn't make a single motion, nor did she let out any sound, but on the inside she shivered and trembled as an hot jolt pierced through her from within, leaving an intense sensation somewhat akin to electricity in its wake. Her breathing, which had stopped for only a second, resumed, and her muscles escaped her control for a few moments, pushing against the restraints holding her down and finding them solid and firm, which caused the afterglow of her high to suddenly pick up in intensity, making her freeze up for a moment again, the heat not quite beginning to abate but not increasing anymore either.

"Did you come?"

Aroma's question took her by surprise, admittedly. She hadn't expected that degree of straightforwardness. Then again, a quick look was all it took Ascalon to realize that said question had flustered Aroma herself a lot more than it had her, which admittedly wasn't a particularly high bar to clear but still. Besides, she saw no reason to lie, so she simply nodded a second time.

And that sent Aroma herself over the edge, a noticeably louder moan escaping her as her body grew stiff for a moment before beginning to tremble and quiver, her fingers slipping out of both herself and Ascalon as she placed both palms down on the sarkaz to hold herself up. And while she couldn't feel it due to the straitjacket being waterproof, Ascalon saw a stream of fluids pouring out of the lupo's nethers as her climax shook her, leaving her sweating and panting for air. There was a specific term used for that, but Ascalon didn't know it nor did she care anyway so she simply took note of the fact that Aroma usually didn't, well, leak that much when having an orgasm.

"Oh-oh god" Aroma panted, breathing quickly and heavily as she processed what had just happened "That was awesome... what about you? Ehm, nod if it was good?"

Ascalon nodded.

It was... entertaining, that sort of communication under those particular circumstances. Though she couldn't deny a certain desire to switch their positions around. She could keep it under control though, and only in small part because she physically couldn't perform said switch at the moment.

... well, she technically could if she used her Arts, but hers weren't Arts which could be used carelessly like that.

"Alright" Aroma said as she straightened her back a bit, adjusting her position over Ascalon and stealing a feel of her chest again while she was at it -not a bad sensation by any means, really- "I'll start taking it off then" she added as she began to move, only to be startled still by Ascalon suddenly shaking her head.

... no way... ?

"Hold on, do you want to continue?"

Now, Aroma didn't know sign language. She doubted Ascalon did either, and even if she did she couldn't make any sign at the moment anyway. Still, the soft shrug of her shoulders and the mild nod felt like like clear enough signs to her anyway.

No way! Aroma thought again I don't have work tomorrow, right? So... yeah!

"So, uh, we've still got this!" she pretty much shouted, jumping off the bed and fetching the last thing left in the bag, once again holding it up to show it to Ascalon "Want to try it?"

Right, that one. To say that Ascalon was curious would be an overstatement, a massive one even, but to say she was opposed to the idea would be even more wrong.

She nodded.

"Alright then! Just... give me a minute, I've never put one of these on before" Aroma replied as she turned the strap-on around in her hands, her fur prickling up at handling a toy as explicitly obscene as that one for the first time.

It didn't seem to be shaped after any race in particular, though Aroma really didn't know much about that sort of specific differences between races and wouldn't have dared making any connections in the first place. Ascalon was much more knowledgeable, but said knowledge pertained more to the differences in average bone density, muscle mass and other similar characteristics, so that particular sort of information was not something she had ever really looked for. Still, all the tiny bumps placed at regular intervals from each other and the extra bit poking out from above near the base made her strongly believe anatomical accuracy was not the concern of whoever had made that thing, which was understandable she guessed.

"Alright, I've got it" Aroma announced as she figured out how to unwrangle the straps and fasten them around her hips, fumbling around with them a little to stop the toy from wobbling around without cutting off her own circulation either "There should be a remote here too... found it!"

Ascalon could get a good enoug look even while lying down on the bed, and in truth she found the mixture of restlessness and excitement painted all over Aroma's face a much more interesting sight than the toy in itself. That was probably normal, she thought, although she wasn't quite of the same mind about the intensity with which the lupo's tail was wagging. She'd have almost worried it might fall off at some point, had she not known that to be physically impossible.

"Alright, uh, I'll pull you a little bit like this" Aroma said before putting the remote down within reach and grabbing Ascalon by the legs to drag her a little over the sheets, putting her in a more comfortable position and then getting on all four on top of her "I'm pushing it in now" she announced, moving an hand to the toy to better aim it.

Once again, Ascalon simply nodded.

Her extreme composure was doing things to Aroma's mind the lupo didn't want and perhaps couldn't even put into words, but there was a small part of her which wondered what it'd take to get her to act a bit more... disheveled, perhaps? Simply sliding the strap-on into her folds clearly didn't cut it, because for as much as the penetration sent a shiver up Ascalon's spine and down her legs it didn't really phase her at all.

... I had... almost forgotten this sensation she thought, slightly conflicting feelings whirling around inside her mind as a sense of fullness fueled the still burning tingle within her.

"Alright, last thing is, where did I put it, here!" Aroma said from atop her, leaning forward to reach the remote.

Ascalon nearly considered pushing her head up a bit and licking the lupo's stiff nipples as her chest dangled right above her for a couple of seconds, but she decided against it. Why, she wasn't quite sure herself. A small part of her even regretted it.

Then the faintest shiver coursed through her skin when Aroma activated the strap-on, a somewhat intense buzzing noise suddenly filling the room as the toy began to vibrate and even rotate on itself a little bit. Aroma stared at the uncharacteristically powerless sarkaz beneath her, at her slightly flushed cheeks, at her skin which had barely sweated at all, at her still rather kept hair, and then at those ample breasts as well because good lord, were they a sight to behold. Though the more she stared at them, the more Aroma found herself appreciating Ascalon's horns as well. The tip of her tail was also just so lovely.

She nearly jumped when Ascalon pushed her hips up against her, startling her so much Aroma almost found it embarrassing, but that did remind her of what she was supposed to be doing and so she got started on it right away, adjusting her position a bit to rest more of her weight on Ascalon's hips before pushing her own down as much as she could, the little protusion at the base of the strap-on hitting against the sarkaz's clit and setting off pleasant sparks inside of her, made more intense by the constant buzzing, all the little protusions along the toy's length scratching her softly from within. Aroma breathed in and then pulled back out, her focus entirely on Ascalon to at least try to catch any sign the sarkaz might give off, of any sort. Then she pushed back in, out, and then in again. Not feeling anything herself -physically speaking, at least, because mentally she was beyond thrilled- made it a little hard to figure out a good pace, but she eventually settled for a somewhat fast back and forth motion, one which allowed her to move an hand to Ascalon's breasts to fondle and pinch her without losing her balance.

Ascalon appreciated that, even pushing her chest up a little bit -not like she could manage much more at the moment- and enjoying the jolts the lupo's palms and fingers were sending through her chest, her excited and kind of rough handlying of her breast further fueling the still burning fire within her. At some point Ascalon even realized her tail had tried to wrap itself around Aroma's arm or leg, and its inability to do so made her much more... excited, yes. Aroma felt Ascalon struggling against the straitjacket and the legbinders both, her ankles even pulling against the straps tying them to her lower back, all to no avail, and realizing once more than the sarkaz was currently at her mercy nearly got her over the edge a second time right there and then. Still, she made a tentative thumbs up in front of Ascalon to check whether everything was ok, and since Ascalon nodded once more she kept going. At some point she even brought her other hand to the sarkaz's chest, feeling up her curvers with both palms and fingers and occasionally pinching her nipples too, even if that made moving her hips a fair bit more awkward.

Then Ascalon startled Aroma again by pushing her own hips up when the lupo was pushing hers down, meeting her in the middle, the sound of flesh against flesh echoing with more intensity than before. And when Aroma pulled herself up Ascalon pulled herself down in turn, moving back up to meet her again matching her tempo. Aroma couldn't feel anything from that as far as real physical stimulation went, naturally, but the act alone was making her breath grow heavy again, sweat running down her skin, her grip on Ascalon's chest growing tighter as she held on for balance, much to Ascalon's own enjoyment in truth.

Then, for a split second, Ascalon stopped moving. It lasted such a short moment Aroma would've missed it, had she not been so intensely focused on her, but she did notice the sarkaz's hips missing hers by half a second if not less, the tip of her tail no longer moving for the time it'd take her to blink. Even her tongue, forcibly laid bare by the gag holding her mouth open, had twitched for a moment, though Aroma wasn't certain the faint quivering she had felt truly came from Ascalon's muscles and not from her own. Either way, she stopped moving herself for a moment, partially because she wanted to focus even more on Ascalon as she went through her orgasm and partially because she kind of worried the sensation might overwhelm her had she kept going.

... no, the more she thought about it the less likely that latter option seemed. But still.

But still Ascalon made basically no noise. Her breathing had grown ever so slightly faster, but it was such a minor difference Aroma wouldn't even have noticed it had she not been listening to her breathing for a while already by that point. She hadn't let out a moan, much less a whimper, and she was still as composed as she could get. Aroma thought back to how much of a whimpering puddle she would turn into during and after Ascalon's ministrations, and she realized that she... she wanted to see if she could get Ascalon anywhere near that state, since they were in that situation already.

So she adjusted her position, moving to sit on her knees without pulling the strap out of Ascalon, causing the toy to push this way and that inside of her and sending pleasant shivers through her nerves, made more sensitive by her two recent orgasms. Then she removed the spreader bar from the sarkaz's knees as it was getting in the way and grabbed Ascalon's butt, the contrast between the fabric of her panties and her naked skin making Aroma's fur stand further up as she took in the pleasant shape and consistency of the sarkaz's rear before using it as leverage to lift her hips up, pulling her against herself, the angle of the penetration causing the toy to buzz and vibrate against a more sensitive spot inside of Ascalon. Her tail twitched a little when the lupo's grip on her butt grew more intense, and then it shivered when Aroma started moving her hips back and forth again, this time more quickly than before, putting as much strength as she could into her arms as well because in that position Ascalon couldn't really move her hips so Aroma decided to do it for her instead.

I... I think I'm getting close again... Aroma thought, somewhat mortified but mostly puzzled.

She could tell that Ascalon was struggling against her restraints, it was... well, to say that it was clear as day would be an ovestatement, but compared to before the difference was still rather noticeable, and that was making something hot and tingly and intense grow stronger within Aroma in turn, her grip on Ascalon's heavenly rear growing firmer still, her hips moving back and forth with more abandon, her breath growing heavier as if she was the one on the receiving end and not the other way around.

As for Ascalon herself, she was enjoying that. The way Aroma was handling her was getting rougher, which she found not only pleasant but also, in a way, flattering, a consideration Ascalon also found rather odd to tell the whole truth. Still, the new angle the toy was entering her from allowed it to reach the most sensitive spot of her insides, her inner folds clamping down on it with every thrust, its bumps scratching her all over as they twisted and vibrated, the extra bit at its base making her heart skip a fifth of a beat by hitting her stiff, sensitive clit whenever Aroma pushed her hips as further against Ascalon as she could, burying the toy inside of her all the way to its base. She could feel a third climax approaching, the warm pleasure growing hotter within her, searing even, the tingly waves resembling electricity surging from her core, spreading through her limbs and then bouncing back, as if rebounding against the restraints holding her down. For the first time, Ascalon's body trembled in a perceptible way, Aroma's ears standing tall as an oh so soft whimper escaped her parted lips, falling out of her mouth almost like another drop of the saliva which had stained her chin and neck before dripping off onto the sheets. Aroma's mind stopped working for a couple of seconds but, or perhaps precisely because of it, her hips didn't, keeping the same intense tempo as the pushed and pulled the toy back and forth, the soft redness on Ascalon' cheeks bringing her even closer to a climax she was feeling somewhat conflicted about.

But her hips didn't stop even as her thoughts connected with each other again, chasing another little bit of vocalization from Ascalon, another whimper, however soft, a moan, even if only a whispered one. She kept pounding, flesh hitting flesh as she kneaded the sarkaz's butt almost violently, sweat running down her skin from the strain of constantly moving her waist and hips up and down like that. With the spreader bar gone, Ascalon decided to close her legs around Aroma as best as she could and simply relish on the onslaught of sensations even further, listening to the lupo's ragged panting, enjoying the way she almost desperately moved her hips and forcing Ascalon through her high without giving her time to ride it off, taking her slightly overly stimulated insides to the next climax without a pause, a soft tremble shaking Ascalon's thighs. Then, with no conscious thought put behind it, Aroma pulled an hand away and brought it back down on Ascalon's butt with vigor, an almost thunderous spank suddenly filling their ears.

That one did surprise Ascalon, and even moreso did the sudden shiver which coursed through her from her buttock to her very core, making the searing wave building up within her tip over once again and wash over her from within, making her muscles grow stiff and her breathing come to an halt for a moment, her folds clamping down on the toy with such strength Aroma suddenly found herself nearly unable to move.

And, at the same time, a soft moan escaped the sarkaz.

It had been a whisper if not even less, the only reason Aroma even managed to hear it was that she was so close and had been waiting for it for the past minutes, but it was nonetheless a moan, and hearing that from Ascalon brought the lupo over the edge as well, her body growing stiff for a moment as, for the first time in her life, she reached an orgasm with no real physical stimulation provided, something she genuinely didn't know whether she felt proud or mortified about because it seemed just so weird. Ascalon noticed it as well and, on her part, simply wrote it off as amusing, the sight of Aroma experiencing her own climax and being decidedly more vocal than her about it letting her enjoy her own orgasm more, the still buzzing toy buried in her nethers prolonging the sensation, her insides stimulated enough for just that vibration to be enough to make her inner thighs shiver ever so slightly.

Then, for a series of reasons, Aroma pulled her hips back enough to fully remove the strap-on from Ascalon, then she dropped both the sarkaz and herself down on the bed, snuggling up to the still bound sarkaz while fumbling with the gag with one hand. And reaching for the remote with the other, because leaving the toy active when not in use felt like a waste, and it was also kind of awkward too. Ascalon... wouldn't have minded keeping the gag on for a while longer, in truth, but if Aroma wanted to talk then she'd talk.

"Oh my god, Ascalon, that was amazing" she panted while snuggling up to her even more "What about you? Was I good? Did I do something wrong?"

Ascalon tried out a couple of answers in her mind before speaking, because admittedly that sort of conversation was still rather new for her.

"You were good. I enjoyed myself"

"That's great!"

I'm not sure that was an answer worth hugging me this strongly over, but... I don't mind.

"Then, uh, do you mind if we stay like this a bit longer?"

"That's fine. Next time I'll be sure to return the favor"

Aroma had to wrestle the mental image of Ascalon holding her down and making sure she couldn't walk straight for a couple of days out of her head, because for as much as she liked the idea of getting topped again she just couldn't quite take any more stimulation at the moment.

"Then I'll return that the next time over!"

"That's acceptable"

Oh lord, is this what they call a switch dynamic? You did it, Aroma Rinaldi! Grandma would be proud! No, actually, let's leave grandma out of this...

Ascalon wasn't sure why Aroma suddenly let out a not too spontaneous laugh, but since there didn't seem to be other signs of discomfort coming from her she decided to not give it too much weight.

"Oh, actually... don't get me wrong, sex with you is incredible, but how about watching a movie or something like that too sometimes?"

Ascalon rolled the idea around in her head for a while.

"My time on the landship is limited now that I have resumed working, but I'm not opposed to the idea"

"Great! We'll talk about that later though"

"I concur"

And so the two just spent a while longer lying on Aroma's messy bed together, one enjoying the firmness of her restraints and the lingering heat in her nethers, the other trying to keep her mind from getting fried by everything that had happened. Ascalon did have a few things on her mind not pertaining to her current position and situation, work never truly left her thoughts after all, but at the moment her main concern was one not related to that.

... her Highness will want to hear about this too...

She didn't hate the idea of telling her about it.

She just wasn't certain she was ready for how awkward that conversation might end up being for her.

But hearing that would make her Highness happy, probably, and that was a good thing.

Besides, the tired smile of Aroma next to her made all those thoughts feel a little bit more distant anyway.