The tailor's face was glowing like a late-night fireplace as they waved to Larya. "Goodbye, Miss!" they called. "And if—if that dress, um, doesn't fit well, or you ever have need of another, you're always welcome to drop by again for another fitting!"
Larya beamed up at the tailor as she hopped off the porch of their little shop. "I know," she said with a wink. "I might come back in the morning, actually. This dress is more of a rental."
"W-Well, um, hey!" The tailor gave an unconvincing shrug. "Entirely up to you! M-Maybe I can give you, um, store credit for something, or, um..."
Larya licked her lips, not bothering to suppress a mischievous grin. She loved getting new clothes, of course—as an adventuring druidess, she rarely had the chance to wear anything
nice
—but more than anything, she adored the fitting process. Especially when the tailor was a cute, bashful mess who could be reduced to stuttering babble by the slightest wriggle.
The druidess twirled in her dress—a lovely, elaborate, frilly sort of thing, the sort of thing that got dirty by looking at it too long and would wrinkle from a bad breeze—and giggled. "It might be a
bit
messy by the time I get back, but I'm sure we'll work something out!"
The tailor nodded with a squeak.
Larya made sure to give her ass a little swing as she sauntered off down the gravel road.
Oh, that had been lovely. She was on
such
a winning streak lately—between the tailor, that sorceress and the knight from last week, it felt like she was finally, finally moving past the submissive, um,
rut
she'd been in the last couple of years. It was nice to be a bit more dominant from time to time, and after a couple weeks away from her favorite fling, she couldn't
wait
to see Lim tonight for their date... and finally teach that smug little catgirl a little lesson. Lim always loved to take charge, to tease and torment and deny Larya within an inch of her mind—well, not
tonight
.
She'd even gotten all dressed for it. Larya beamed down at her beautiful blue dress. It complemented her long, dark hair, and the fishnet thighs were an indulgence she almost never allowed herself—to say nothing of what lay underneath the frilly, twirly delight that rippled with her every step. Delicate ribbons trailed from the hem of the skirt. A pair of long, sky-blue silk gloves felt like a second skin as she adjusted her fetching red bow. The bow was styled to call to mind cat ears, which was sure to earn some teasing from Lim.
But for once, she thought, smirking,
Lim
would be the one begging, and
Larya
would be the one teasing her for it afterward, joking about how much of a slut she was, how easy it had been, how wet Lim had gotten.
Larya couldn't wait to see the look on Lim's face.
~ ~ ~ ~
Of course Lim was late. Lim was
always
late.
Larya scowled, kicking her feet idly, sending ripples across the surface of the strikingly reflective pool. The Mirror Pools were a semi-famous landmark in the area, a favored nighttime destination for couples during the summer months—though this time of year, Larya was alone. Frustratingly alone.
She turned around, careful not to mess up her dress as she scooted on the smooth stone she was sitting on, and studied her reflection in the water. Gods, she was gorgeous. The dress was practically painted on, and Larya almost wanted to take her own breasts and squeeze them, in the way trashy actresses did in stage plays, just to admire how well her cleavage was displayed. Larya was going to have Lim licking her hand like a kitten in five minutes, tops.
But it was close to midnight, and Lim still wasn't here, and Larya was
bored
. She pouted, pulling her feet out of the water. Why couldn't the catgirl ever be on time? Even once would be nice. Especially this once, when Larya was all dressed up and ready to top, ready to put that pussy beneath her and lick that smug smirk right off Lim's cute freckled face.
She licked her lips. Oh, Lim was going to... going to...
She blinked, tilting her head, peering at her reflection. There was something odd going on there.
At first, she'd taken it for some pretty stones at the bottom of the pond, but the Mirror Pools were perfectly reflective. That was why they were called the
mirror
pools, after all. Next, she'd assumed it was a reflected moon or two, but the moon was over there in the water, several feet away, its reflection shining bright gold.
There were, right over the shoulder of her reflection, two enormous, gleaming green eyes in the water. Even greener than Larya's. Something was almost somehow...
too
green about them. Unnaturally green. Like toxic fungi, or neon magic.
But they were beautiful nonetheless, shining right over Larya's shoulder. Larya frowned, staring down at her own reflection. They were almost rippling, those eyes. Those beautiful, shiny green eyes.
There's someone else here,
Larya thought vacantly, licking her lips. She leaned in slightly, trying to get a better look.
The eyes glimmered radiant in the darkness. It made Larya feel awfully nice, looking into those eyes. She bit her lip. The eyes were so friendly. So knowing, like they shared a secret with her. A secret she didn't quite understand.
It felt so easy to look at them. Calming, even. Larya felt her doubts drifting away, and she licked her lips again, self-conscious about drooling.
And in her reflection, Larya could faintly see out of the corner of her vision that her own eyes seemed to be reflecting those same green lights. That made sense—she was staring at the eyes, so her own eyes would reflect them back into the water, which would reflect them back up at her. She watched her eyes growing wider, and found herself sinking deeper, staring at the reflection of the reflection, seeing the reflection of herself in those eyes, her eyes within even more softly, sweetly lost...
I can look deeper,
she thought, licking her lips.
And... and deeper... and deeper...
She found herself leaning in further, her breath coming in impossibly soft, as if a misplaced sound could frighten the eyes away and leave her alone in the gloom.
"
That'ssss right,
" purred a distant, sweet, sibilant voice in her ear, as Larya's lips half-parted. "
Ssstay on the edge for me, my sssssweet...
"
Oh. Larya swallowed, squirming atop the stone. That voice sounded. Sounded so. So very.
A strange vibration passed through Larya, and her mouth opened to give a small moan.
She blinked.
She stared down into the water, puzzled, feeling her head sloshing a little as she awoke. There was nothing in the water. Nothing but her own reflection.
"Must've dozed off," she mumbled to herself, seeing her cheeks reddening in the reflection. "I-I'm just tired. Imagining getting hypnotized." She giggled slightly, wiping her lips of a bit of drool. "Probably because it's been so long since it's happened."
She looked up, just to be safe. No sign of the eyes' owners. And she didn't see any sign of anything having been around her—just the darkness of the old oak canopy.