Chapter 16 - Mischief Is Always Easier As a Cat
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As Mittens hit send on her latest reply text to Valli, assuring her that both of them were okay and she'd talk more with her soon, Krystal called her attention upwards with a clearing of her throat. "Well?" Well, she asked, doing a slow turn. "How do I look?" Mittens gave her a deeply thoughtful scan, pretending to mull over some long inner monolog of thought. Krystal, of course, looked utterly adorable. They'd lucked out with finding some paws and a tail that were pretty close to the same green as the ears pinned to her head. The fuzzy arm and leg warmers had been easy enough to find in a similar shade.
She'd changed her usually dark blue eye and lip make-up to green as well, to better go along with the rest of the assemble. Aside from the cat costume pieces, she was clad in a short, form-fitting spandex tank top and bikini bottoms, both also a similar shade of green. A nude-colored elastic band circled around her hips with her tail attached to it. The top was thin enough that you could just make out the shape of her nipples beneath and the bikini only barely covered her pubic thatch. Mittens could actually see a few stray hairs of it peeking out of the top.
"I feel like you're missing something." Mittens drawled slowly, making a meal of the set up.
Krystal looked down at herself, surveying the minimalist outfit. "Well, I suppose some kind of bodysuit or something might make it look better." She grimaced and added in a half mutter. "And make me panic less to be seen in."
"No..." Mittens countered. "I think what you're missing is..." She took a slow deep breath before bouncing up to her feet. "ME!" And promptly leapt from the bed and snatched her up into a wiggly hug, rubbing her naked body all over Krystal.
Krystal cackled with laughter as they smooshed together, doing her own little wiggle against Mittens. She seemed in generally better spirits now, as though their ordeal from the morning had never happened. In truth, Mittens had been pretty amazed at just how truly resilient Krystal seemed to be. She'd been locked in absolute darkness, possibly going into hypothermia, for more than an hour. Yet, she'd recovered from that experience with surprising quickness.
Possibly, Mittens just made her feel safe. It was also, heartbreakingly, possible that she'd simply been bullied and tormented so much over the years that she'd grown numb to these things through repeated trauma. Most likely, she had just become really, really, good at hiding behind all that make-up. Whatever the reason, there was no mistaking that she was genuinely happy at the moment.
"Let's go show Chloe and Master Brooksend. Especially before I chicken out and throw on something a lot less revealing before your company gets here." Krystal said with a fresh grimace, looking like she was mentally trying to convince herself not to actually go grab a large sweater or something to hide in. "I feel like I'm going to pop out of this top if I move too fast."
Mittens peered at her. "I's purty sure that shirt's faaar more like-a-lies ta burst than anything else." She gave mischievous grin. The top did seem to be straining to contain her rather full bust.
Krystal winced. "Same thing, basically." She forced a nervous chuckle. "But I want to try and convince myself to stay this way. I'm hoping that maybe if Master Brooksend 'commands' me to do it, I might find more courage not to go jump into a nun's habit or something." A slight jitter passed through her body, but the goofy smile told Mittens that she was serious about wanting to push herself outside this comfort zone.
"Okay, but jus' knows that nobody's gonna hold it against ya, if'n ya chicken out." Mittens assured her. "Jus' don't feel pressured."
Krystal's smile turned into something more confident. "I don't. Ever." She gave Mittens a kiss on the cheek. "I want to do this. I want to be more brave."
Mittens pulled her into a proper hug, giving Krystal's cheek a peck of its own. "I'm glad you feel safe." She said softly. "Though, if'n ya asks me, yous tha bravestest person I's ever met."
Krystal snuggled into the hug warmly, seeming truly grateful for it. "I doubt that. I'm still not sure I'll ever be ready to just run around completely naked like you and Chloe do."
Mittens leaned back and gave her an amused look. "You do realize that ain't what I were talkin' about, right?"
Krystal rolled her eyes. "I keep telling you, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was chilly in there, but it wasn't a freezer or anything. I wasn't going to die of anything but humiliation."
Mittens wasn't too sure about that. The storage closet was set to around fifty degrees Fahrenheit, she recalled. She'd looked it up once they got home and, while she could have gone for hours before hypothermia set in, if no one had found her until that evening or the next day, she would have seriously needed a hospital...or a morgue. As far as Mittens was concerned, those idiots could have killed her with their little stunt.
"Well, I still think you're amazing and tough as nails." Mittens replied, not wanting to try and argue the semantics. In the end, what was important was that Krystal seemed to not have suffered significant trauma from it. At least, no more than her life had already given her many times over. "Ands I plans to keep ya's really warm wif hugs an' blushes tha rest o' tha day."
Krystal laughed. "I believe that completely!"
The two of them headed downstairs, paw in paw, Krystal already starting to build up a pretty bright flush in her cheeks as they got closer to her being seen by others. Master and Chloe had agreed to patiently wait in the den while Mittens went about 'Mittenizing' her friend, but it appeared that the two of them had decided to keep themselves occupied while they waited. Chloe was standing in the middle of the room, arms behind her while Master was carefully trying to sort out binding them with rope.
Though he wasn't very good at Shibari, he did know a few knots and bindings, and was apparently trying to brush a little rust off before Marsha, with her expertise, arrived. So far, it looked pretty good, though Master was frowning at it as though stumped by something. Chloe, however, seemed to be in an almost dreamy state, enjoying the feeling of being bound.
"You two ready fer tha newest kitty ons tha block?" Mittens asked as they entered from the side hall. As they both turned to look towards them, she stepped to the side and waved her paws in proper presentation of Krystal.
For her part, Krystal did a little pirouette in place, seeming a little embarrassed, but having fun with it. "Meow!" She said once she was facing them again. Both Master and Chloe smiled brightly at the whole get-up, looking delighted. Master looked a bit surprised at just how daring Krystal had allowed herself to be, knowing that she was a fairly shy person.
"Hello, little kitten." He said to her, giving her an approving nod. "Would you like a pet?"
Krystal bounded over and lowered her head to him in welcome of it. He stroked her affectionately for a few moments, scratching her behind both her real and fake ears. "Good kitty." He said finally, putting a finger under her chin and guiding her head back up to look at him. "How do you feel?"
"A little nervous, but kind of excited." Krystal replied. "I wanted to push myself a little and be a bit daring with the whole thing. It's not...naked, like your other subs, but this is pretty close for me." She blushed a little more brightly. "Are you proud of me?" The words had a kind of neediness to them, as though his opinion held a lot of weight with her.
Mittens considered how little Krystal's father seemed to interact with her anymore, only realizing just how much she might be wanting some kind of authority figure to tell her that she was worthy. Mittens could understand that, she realized, because Master had kind of filled that empty space in her own life. Chloe too, had come from a life where her guardian had mostly expected her to be independent from a young age.
"I am very proud of your courage." He said to her, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead. Something about how he said it made his words feel like he was talking about more than just her decision to be so exposed in front of them. "You are beautiful and I am honored that you feel comfortable to show so much of yourself to me."
"Thank you, Master Brooksend." She replied dewily, her expression showing an abundance of joy. "I wanted you to know that I trust you."
"Your show of trust is gratefully accepted and I thank you for it." He replied back, his hand softly brushing her face. Despite all the obviously sexual aspects of the whole scene, two of the women around him effectively naked and the third pretty close to it, not to mention one of them being tied up with rope, his show of affection seemed somehow so deeply innocent and sweet that it made Mittens mist up a bit.
She suddenly leapt over and snatched the both of them into a big hug. "YAYS!!" She squealed cutely.
They all laughed together for a moment, Master giving his pet a kiss first on her head, then another to her lips. Chloe nuzzled into them after a few seconds as well, wrapping her arms around the group of them. For a moment, the four of them just huddled there, letting the warmth of the whole scene flow about them.
After a beat, Krystal blinked and curiously asked. "Um, Chloe, weren't your arms tied behind your back a second ago?"
Master gave a disappointed sigh, Chloe barely holding back a light snicker.
Finally, they broke the huddle and Master gestured for Chloe to return back to where he'd been working on tying her up. She obediently returned to her position, a broad smile on her face, and handed the coil of rope she's effortlessly slipped out of so he could began working again. However, as he started over with the binding, he addressed Krystal.
"I would like for you to remain like this for the rest of the evening." He said simply, his words even and gentle, but with a note of authority that made it sound like a solid command. "Also, when Mistress Thurgood and her submissive arrive, I want you to go greet them at the door with Mittens."
Krystal didn't immediately respond, just swallowed audibly as she fully digested what he'd just said. "I...um..." She stammered a little, uncertain.
He turned to look at her, a kind smile on his lips. "A request, not an expectation." He said softly, letting her know that he was pushing at her boundaries, but that she could refuse without needing to use her safeword.
