• M-mistress?

Lara turned her head to look at the cute Labrador standing next to the couch she was sitting on. He had a butler uniform on, as always, and his gloved paws were fidgeting nervously. She picked up the remote controller and paused the movie she was watching.

• Hey Barley. You want anything?

• Yeah, I was just… I had a thing that I w-wanted to ask you about, if that’s okay, Mistress…

She nodded, scooted towards the side of the couch and gestured for him to sit by her side. He looked at the seat, but didn’t move from where he was standing.

• … u-um…

• Something wrong?

• Could you, uh, p-please turn off the vibrator, or at least turn it down a bit? It’s, um, a little distracting…

She grinned, showing her fangs, watching him squirm in place helplessly. She reached for her pocket and took out a different, much smaller remote control with only two buttons.

• I suppose I could. Have you been a good boy and kept your paws to yourself, like I said?

He nodded quickly, still squirming, his cheeks bright red.

• Alright. Well, in that case, I guess you’ve earned a bit of a break.

She tapped one of the buttons on the remote, and he stopped squirming right away, letting out a sigh of relief. He then walked over to the couch and sat down by her side.

• Th-thank you, Mistress.

• Heh, no problem at all, cutie. Now, what did you want to talk about?

• Well, uh, so, here’s the thing. I’ve been… reading about some stuff, watching some videos…

Her pointy bat ears perked up in curiosity.

• Ooooh?

• So, it’s, um… just kinda… don’t laugh, okay?

• Of course I won’t. What is it?

• … training.

Her grin only got wider, and she crossed her legs.

• Training, huh?

• I- I know it sounds silly, but I’ve been reading about people who can effortlessly control what their submissives do with just a few words, and… um, I mean, of course I will always follow Mistress’ orders! It’s just a different thing where you don’t even think about it, your body just acts on its own, I don’t know how to explain it, but uh…

• I think I get what you mean.

• Y-you do?

• It’s kind of like hypnosis, right?

• Well, uh, that is a part of it… Like, I’ve seen people fall into hypnotic trances and such but I don’t know how realistic that is, cause… well, it is hot, but some of it looks kind of fake, so I thought maybe there was something we could do that isn’t exactly… you know…

Lara let out a small chuckle.

• You’re in luck, cutie. A friend of mine happens to be a bit of an expert in this topic. I never saw the appeal myself, but if you’re interested, I can contact them and ask for a little… guidance.

Barley’s tail started wagging rapidly.

• Really? You mean, like, a real hypnotist?

• Yes. And trust me, I’ve seen their abilities for myself at parties. They’re the real deal. If you want, I can speak with them, and I’m sure I can find out some interesting stuff we could do together.

• I- I- I’d love that, Mistress! Thank you so much!

• Heh, seeing you all excited like this already makes this worth it.

Barley lowered his head as his cheeks turned a little red, grinning sheepishly.

• Now, was there anything else you needed?

• Um, no, nothing else, Mistress.

Without hesitating, she pressed the button on the remote she was holding, and a low buzzing could be heard, followed by a sudden yelp.

• In that case, I think it’s about time you went back to cleaning.

• Mmph… y-yes, Mistress!

He stood up and walked out of the living room, tail wagging away, while Lara followed his movements with her eyes, smiling.

• Barleyyyy.

Lara walked in through the front door, locking it behind her, while her servant peeked his head in through the hallway.

• Hi Mistress!

She smiled and extended one of her arms forward, while he dilligently walked closer and took her handbag and her coat, carrying it all to her room while she followed behind, letting out a long, drawn out sigh.

• You sound tired, Mistress.

• Yeah. Dinner was lovely, but I think I’d like to go straight to bed. I’m exhausted.

He nodded, knowing what was expected of him, and patiently waited for his owner to sit down on the edge of the bed. When she stretched her arms up in the air, he grabbed the bottom of her sweater and pulled it up over her head, then repeated the process with the T-shirt she was wearing underneath and neatly folded them both in record time, leaving them to the side.

• Aaaaaah…

She took the opportunity to stretch her arms outwards, extending the webbing under her wings, before falling back onto the bed with a “fwomp”. Barley stood in place, giving her a moment before she sat up again.

• So. Remember that thing we talked about a couple days ago? About my hypnotist friend?

Barley’s tail quickly started wagging again.

• Y-yeah?

• It was them that I was having dinner with. We’ve had a veeeeery interesting conversation.

Lara raised her left leg, and Barley quickly knelt down, grabbing her boot and wiggling it off her foot.

• In short, what you want is definitely possible, but there are a few things you need to be warned about before.

He looked up at her with a curious look in his eyes, pulling her sock off her left foot as well without looking, before she raised her other leg so he could repeat the process.

• First of all, hypnosis is totally a thing we can do. We should agree on what you want to happen and what is off limits before we start, but we have plenty of practice with discussing that, so I think we’ll be fine. I can’t really get you to do anything you wouldn’t want to do anyways.

• E-even if you could, I’d be fine with that, Mistress! I trust you, you know?

She couldn’t help but smile, looking down at him.

• I know, I know. But regardless, that safety net is there. Hypnosis is powerful, but it’s not magic. It’s more like… guided meditation, but the effects can be very fun if you know what you’re doing. In any case, what you should be aware of is conditioning.

• Conditioning?

Once both her boots were off, Barley left them by the side of the bed and walked up closer to her to remove her pants. She lifted her hips off the bed slightly to help, while she kept explaining.

• I’m sure you know what it means. Being conditioned to respond to something in a certain way. It’s a broad concept, but here I’m talking specifically about things like… trigger phrases. I can train you to do or feel things when I say a specific thing, for example.

She could see his cheeks lighting up and his tail wagging faster. He finished pulling her pants off, leaving her in only her underwear, and added them to the pile of folded clothes.

• I know that’s what you want, and a hypnotic trigger is really useful, for example. But you have to be aware that it will be literally rewiring your brain. If you ever wanted to get rid of that, it is possible, of course, but it will most likely require a lot of time and effort, and maybe some help.

• Get rid of it? Why would I-

• We don’t know what could happen in the future, Barley. You remember Cait, right?

He nodded. Caitlyn was Lara’s former servant, who had to leave because of family issues.

• Well, yeah, but… still…

• Listen, I get it. The idea is hot. But I want you to give it at least some thought, okay? The consequences wouldn’t be very severe, but you might get yourself distracted at inappropriate times because someone said your trigger phrase, or… I don’t know. The point is that you should think about it, alright? Will you do that for me?

His ears lowered as he nodded again.

• Okay, Mistress…

She gave his head a quick pat.

• There’s a good boy. Let me know when you’ve decided on something.

He nodded, smiling, then turned around and walked towards the door.

• Hey, where do you think you’re going?

He froze in place immediately and turned his head, only to see his owner scooting back on the bed and tapping the space by her side with her hand.

• You’re sleeping with me today, cutie.

His tail quickly started wagging at full speed.

• R-really, Mistress?!

• Really. Now get that fluffy butt over here.

He walked over and excitedly hopped into the bed, while Lara flipped a switch near the nightstand to turn off the lights, then rolled over and hugged Barley from behind, squeezing his smaller body into hers. His tail, trapped against her belly, kept fruitlessly trying to wag.

• So you’re sure about this then?

He simply nodded his head, with his legs hanging off the edge of the bed.

• Alright. As long as you’ve given it some thought…

The room was clean and well lit. A scented candle burned on the nightstand giving off a slightly sweet smell, but not enough to be overpowering. The street noise was quieter than usual too, devoid of any loud vehicles. Conditions could hardly be more ideal.

• Okay, Barley. I want you to take a deep breath.

He, of course, did as he was told. He slowly breathed in, then out.

• That’s right. Close your eyes and keep your breathing steady like that.

She gave him a few seconds to do exactly that. When she spoke up again, her speech was deliberately a bit slower. She moved closer to him, speaking closer to his ear.

• If you ever feel uncomfortable during this, I want you to stomp the floor with one of your feet. Do you understand?

He nodded slowly, still trying to keep his breathing steady. He wondered when she was going to get started.

• Good. I want you to focus on my voice, as well. Pay very close attention to my words.

He was, of course, used to paying attention to what his owner told him, but her voice did sound a little… different. His keen nose couldn’t help but pick up on the scented candle every once in a while, so he tried his best to focus his attention on her voice. Maybe that’s why it sounded different.

• You should be feeling very relaxed now. At ease. Your mouth might feel a bit dry, and you might need to swallow. That’s okay, you can let it happen.

Oh yeah, his mouth did feel a little dry. He swallowed.

• You may also hear some noises coming from outside. They are not important. Just do your best to keep your attention on Mistress’ voice.

He could feel the warmth of her breath on his fur. Maybe she moved a little closer. There was in fact some noise outside, but he did as he told and focused on her voice instead. The noise seemed to fade into the background, unimportant.

• Now I want you to extend your arms to the sides.

Again, he did as he was told and raised his paws to either side. He thought that seemed like a bit of a silly exercise.

• And now, you’re going to try lowering them again, but you’re going to find that you can’t. Your shoulder muscles are tensed up, and it’s actually very difficult to bend your arms back down.

… wait, what? She was right. He couldn’t bend them down. His shoulders were all tense.

• It’s as if there’s some invisible force holding them up. Every time you try to move your paws down, they get pushed back up.

This was so weird. He didn’t remember his shoulders feeling this stiff before. What was going on? Was there something wrong?

• This is because you’re already hypnotized.

He was… already hypnotized?

• You’re already in a trance. It is not very deep, but it is enough to make you follow suggestions.

Already? Part of him found it hard to believe that it was so easy to hypnotize someone… and yet, when he tried bending his arms down again, he found it impossible. There was no denying the facts.

• Now, I am going to touch your shoulders, and when I do, all the tension in them is going to evaporate, and you’re going to let your arms hang down again.

After a few more seconds of straining, he felt the familiar touch of Mistress’ hands on his shoulders. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as his arms finally moved down, his muscles relaxing all at once.

• There we go. See? You are already in a trance.

• I am… in a trance?

Her hands stroked down his arms. It felt comfortable and warm.

• That’s right. It might not feel very different, but if you think about it, you’ll realize that the signs are all there. Do your muscles feel relaxed?

Wow, he hadn’t realized his head was drooping. Must have happened when he let his arms drop. He nodded.

• Does your head feel quiet?

The noise was all much more… in the background than before. He nodded again.

• Does speaking feel difficult?

He opened his mouth, but he found himself having to put a lot of effort to even say the word “yes”. Instead, he nodded.

• There you go then. The trance isn’t very deep, so we’re going to do some deepening exercises now. You can open your eyes, it’s not important that you keep them closed.

His eyelids slowly opened up, but only about halfway. He could only see… a wooden closet. He blinked a couple times.

• You’ll probably have trouble focusing your eyes on anything. That’s okay, it’s not a reason to worry.

She was right. He couldn’t make out the wood grain texture on the closet. It all felt kind of blurry. His mind felt blurry too. He felt one of her warm hands being placed on his head.

• Now, I want you to visualize Mistress is going into your head. Imagine that your mind is behind a series of doors, and each of them will give Mistress access to a deeper part of your mind when it opens. I am going to start opening those doors now.

Doors. A series of wooden doors, one behind the other. He had no trouble imagining that.

• Now, Mistress is going to start counting down from ten. With each step she is going to open one door. When she is done, you will be in a much deeper trance. Do you understand?

He nodded slowly.

• Good. Let’s get started now. Ten.

Her hand started stroking the fur on top of his head. He pictured Mistress opening one of those doors, and then walking inside.

• Nine.

Another door. His head drooped a little further down.

• Eight.

His vision was still blurry, and everything felt a little quieter. Wow, this was actually working.

• Seven.

Just a few steps, and the change was already noticeable. He wondered how it would feel all the way at the last door…

• Six.

His breathing was still steady, very regular. He wasn’t thinking about it anymore, only following the order to keep it steady.

• Five.

The soft smell of the candle surrounded him. Even his tail slowed down, from a quick wag to a slow wave left and right.

• Four.

Mistress’ hand brushed against his ear. She really was going into his mind. It felt…

• Three.

It felt… good. He could trust Mistress.

• Two.

Almost done now. It was getting hard to think. But it was fine, Mistress’ voice would let him know what he had to do.

• One.

So quiet. So deep.

• Zero.

Zero.

• You are now in a very, very deep trance. You can feel it, right? Mistress’ voice going deep into your head and merging with your thoughts. All the doors are open. There’s nothing stopping her from reaching into your subconscious.

Nothing stopping Mistress’ voice. He nodded.

• I want you to say “yes, Mistress”.

• Yes, Mistress.

He spoke up immediately, in a plain, emotionless voice. He didn’t have to think about it. He simply did as he was told.

• Good. Now I am going to give you a few more orders. You will do a few of your usual tasks while in the trance. You have been doing it for so long that it is all automatic to you. There is no need to think.

He nodded again. No thoughts.

• Get up and follow me.

He rose to his feet, his arms hanging down to the sides.

• Ten.

Barley blinked a couple times, trying to focus on whatever was in front of him. A brown blur. A… wooden closet?

• Wuh? Wha…

• Take a moment to relax. You have just woken up from a trance, Barley.

A trance? Right. A trance. He just heard Mistress counting up from zero to ten, and that was…

• Your head is probably going to feel very weird right now. It takes a while to come out of a trance completely.

Her hand softly stroked his back. He blinked again.

• Y-yeah. It does feel, uh…

• It’s okay. You don’t have to talk right now. Give yourself a few minutes, okay? You can also take a nap if you need to. I’ll be here.

He turned his head to the side and looked into her eyes. She was smiling back at him. It took him a few moments to process it, but he smiled back.

• I’d, uh, like that.

She helped him down on his back and pulled the blanket over him, before turning off the lights and stepping out of the room.

• So. How was it?

Lara asked her servant while they had dinner together.

• Wow. Just… wow.

• That good, huh?

• I mean, you see it in videos and such and it looks so fake! And I’m sure some of it was actually fake, but the fact that you can just…

• Yeah. I’ll be honest, I was quite surprised too. I had to hold back from asking if you were faking it.

• I really wasn’t! I did feel so… I don’t know how to describe it.

• Quiet?

• Yeah, exactly! It was like all the usual background noise from, like, existing was gone. Not the noise from the street, I mean like… in my head.

• Yes, I know what you mean. My friend told me that was very common. It’s sort of like a meditative state, after all.

He nodded, taking a bite.

• What did I even do? I remember the process of falling into the trance, but the rest not so much.

• You washed the dishes and swept the floor.

• Oh yeah, now that you say it…

• I made sure there weren’t any knives to wash, and I followed you closely to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself, but I don’t think you noticed.

• Y-yeah. I really didn’t.

• Oh, and you also spoke in a totally monotone voice, all robotic and such.

• Well, um, I WAS hypnotized, right?

• Actually, according to my friend, that’s not really because of the hypnosis. People who are in a trance are capable of talking normally a lot of the time, but they tend to subconsciously imitate what they see in movies and such.

• Oh! That is interesting, actually. I have seen a movie or two myself, yeah.

• Just a couple of them.

They laughed together.

• Also, do keep talking like that when you’re in a trance. I think it’s really cute.

• I-it’s not like I can control it, but alright.

• I know, I know. Also. For next time. I have a couple of ideas.

Barley’s ears perked up.

• What do you say we start playing around with trigger phrases? It probably won’t work right away, but the idea of having a phrase that makes you drop into a trance is… quite interesting.

• O-oh? I thought you weren’t very interested in this stuff, Mistress…

Lara shrugged.

• Well, what can I say. You just look so cute, with your eyes all unfocused like that…

Barley’s cheeks lit up, looking down at his now empty plate.

• M-may I put these away, Mistress?

She simply gestured at him, and he took both of their plates and carried them to the sink.

• I’m thinking of something like… “The door is open”. Makes sense, and it’s also inconspicuous enough that I could drop it into a casual conversation. What do you think?

• U-um… I think it’s perfect, Mistress.

She grinned, watching him walk back from the kitchen.

• Good to hear. We’ll work on that next session. Oh, and!

• And?

• I’ve been thinking of something else. What would you think of having someone over while you’re in a trance?

• Wha-! S-someone else?!

• Yep. You’ve always had some exhibitionist tendencies, haven’t you?

• Well, b-but! You can’t just! I mean, I can’t just have a bunch of strangers-

• You can’t, really? Then why is your tail wagging like that?

His mouth closed and he reached behind himself, fruitlessly trying to hold his tail in place.

• You’re so cute. Relax, Barley, it’s not even a stranger. I’m thinking of inviting Caitlyn over for dinner.

• … oh! Caitlyn? Is she available?

• She’s been very busy, but she has a couple of free days next month. Her sister will be taking care of their mother for a bit, so I was thinking about having her over. Would that be okay with you?

• Of course! B-but you want me to be, like… hypnotized?

Lara let out a chuckle.

• Only if you’re okay with it. And if she’s okay with it. It’s not polite to shove your kinks in someone else’s face without consent, after all. But I know her pretty well, and I’m almost convinced she’ll be fine with it.

Barley paused for a moment, looking down at the table.

• I- I’ll think about it.

• Take your time. There’s plenty of stuff we can do until then.

• … stuff, Mistress?

She grinned, showing her fangs, and reached for the small remote in her pocket.

• Stuff.

It was late at night. Barley lay on his owner’s bed, wearing his uniform as usual. His arms and legs were spread wide, and he was staring at the ceiling. Lara was sitting by his side.

• Zero.

Barley’s eyes were half closed and his breathing was steady and regular.

• You are now in a deep trance. Everything Mistress says is slipping directly into your mind, unfiltered. You can feel the power in Mistress’ voice, can’t you?

He nodded slowly.

• Today, Mistress is going to take you into an even deeper trance.

• … deeper…?

• You remember all the times you’ve fallen into a trance during these past few weeks, don’t you?

Barley’s head nodded again.

• You remember how, with each time, it becomes easier and easier for Mistress to pull you into this state, right?

A slight hitch in Barley’s breathing, followed by another nod.

• Mistress is not done with you. Today you are going to go much, much deeper than those other times. You’re going to be completely mindless and obedient. And it’s going to feel so good.

Lara put a lot of emphasis into those last two words, and Barley, even through his daze, couldn’t help but let out a whimper and bite his lip.

• That’s right. You like the idea, don’t you, boy? I can tell you’re quite excited already. I bet you want to slip your paw into your pants and touch yourself.

Barley nodded faster. His eyes remained unfocused, looking at nothing in particular.

• Who owns you, Barley?

• … Mistress…

• And if you want to touch yourself, whose permission do you need?

• M-Mistress…

• Say it. Say that you are Mistress’ property.

• I am… Mistress’ property…

• Good boy. Go ahead.

Barley’s paw slipped into his pants and he started rubbing himself. His whole body was squirming.

• You’re pretty wet already, aren’t you? And your body feels hot. Itchy. Like there’s something building up inside you.

He nodded, his other paw placed on his chest, covering part of his shirt.

• Do you know why that is?

His movements stopped as he tried to think, but couldn’t come up with a reason.

• It’s because you’ve been following Mistress’ orders so well. And following orders makes you feel good.

His rubbing resumed, faster than before.

• Say it.

• Following orders… f-feels good…

• Good. Say it again.

• Following orders feels good…

• There we go. Can you feel that thought slipping into your head, going deeper every time you say it? Keep going.

• Following orders feels good… following-mmph! orders feels good…

• You’re starting to get quite close already, aren’t you? After all, you’ve been following orders for a while. You must be feeling reeeeeally good right now.

Barley’s squirming intensified as he nodded helplessly.

• Of course, you know that you can’t finish without Mistress’ permission. Keep saying it.

• F-f-following orders feels good…

• Good boy.

She grinned and watched her servant rub himself with increasing desperation, letting him repeat his mantra to himself, over and over and over again.

• You’re already in a much deeper trance than before, aren’t you? Every time you say it, you slip in a bit further. I wonder if you can even form any coherent thoughts right now.

• Fol-low-ing or-dersss… ah!… fe-els gooo-oood…

She chuckled to herself.

• Of course you wouldn’t. You’re just a mindless servant right now. Completely at the mercy of your Mistress.

Even if he wasn’t responding, Lara knew her words were reaching him. Barley started bucking his hips.

• Getting desperate, are we? You won’t get any closer to finishing like that. You know only Mistress can let you. But with every second that passes, you want it more… And more…

• Following… orrrdershhh…

Barley’s speech slowly devolved into a bunch of moans interspersed with half-baked attempts at words. He kept trying to hump his own paw, with little success.

• When Mistress snaps her fingers, all that pressure is going to finally be released. Imagine how good that’s going to feel, with no thoughts whatsoever in your head to distract you.

• Aaah… nnnghh…

• Just a mindless little toy, whose only purpose is to serve his Mistress. And you know what Mistress wants?

Snap

• She wants you to cum. Now.

Barley let out a louder yelp and then immediately froze in place, going completely silent. His lower body twitched in place while his mouth hung open.

• There’s a good boy.

After a few more seconds of twitching, Barley seemed to relax into the bed as his eyes closed, letting out a long sigh.

• H-hhaaaaaaaaaaahhh…

• There we go. You’re doing great, Barley. Now you’re going to relax and let the calm afterglow spread through your body.

He nodded weakly, his paw still stuck in his pants but not moving anymore.

• Your body feels very heavy now. It’s very difficult to move. But that’s okay, because you don’t need to move. You only need to relax.

• Hah… hah…

• You’re going to try to sleep now. It might take a little bit, but that’s okay. You just need to stay here, with Mistress.

• M-mis… tress…

• Shhhhh. No talking, Barley. Relax.

She crawled up to him and hugged him close to herself from his side, quietly flipping the light switch off. Barley’s mind drifted aimlessly for only a few minutes before he fell into a deep, comforting sleep.

• So remember that friend that taught me about this stuff last month?

• Yeah?

• I told them about our progress this morning. They seemed pretty impressed that we’ve managed to train so much stuff into you so quickly.

• So much… stuff?

• Well, we now have a couple of fully functioning trigger phrases, don’t we? And there’s also…

She brought her hand up, grinning, and got into the position to snap her fingers.

• M-m-mistress!!

Alarmed, Barley’s paw instinctively went to his crotch. Lara chuckled.

• Don’t worry, I’m just teasing you. But we know it works. We’ve checked. And I think that’s good progress.

Barley’s cheeks went bright red.

• I- I suppose you’re right…

She lowered her hand and grabbed the cup of tea in front of her, on the dining table, before taking a brief sip.

• I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d be enjoying this as much as I am, but it’s-

The sound of the doorbell interrupted her. She checked her watch.

• Oh. It’s not even noon yet. She’s early as always.

Barley quickly turned towards the door and went to open it. A fox girl in casual clothes was standing on the other side. He greeted her with a warm smile.

• Miss Caitlyn, welcome!

• Barley! Hi, it is good to see you again.

He stepped to the side, letting her walk in, and closed the door behind her. He then extended his arm forward.

• May I take your coat?

• What…? Oh, sure! Here. This is a little strange, hehe. Last time we met, we were the other way around.

• Heh, I guess you’re right.

He took Caitlyn’s coat and took it to the guest room while Lara stood up and walked to the hallway to greet her guest.

• It’s very good to see you again, Cait.

• You too, Mis- I mean, um. Lara. Sorry. I know we text a lot, but when talking…

She let out a chuckle.

• Old habits die hard, huh? Yeah, that’s going to take some getting used to. No worries. Come on in, I’ll have Barley prepare something for you.

• Oh, uh, speaking of Barley. Is he… you know, right now…

• Ah, right, I did ask you about that. No, not at the moment, but it’s actually really easy to get him under. Check this out. Hey, Barley!

The Labrador walked back into the dining room, waving his tail left and right.

• Yes, Mistress?

• Remember how we agreed to show our guest that little trick of ours?

• Trick? Um, I don’t…

• “The door is open.”

• … wuh…?

Barley’s last word trailed off into an incoherent sound. He blinked a couple times and then simply stood there, quietly. Caitlyn stared at him in surprise.

• That is… all it takes?

Lara placed her hand on her waist, smiling proudly.

• Yeah. I’ve trained him well.

She waved a hand in front of his eyes, which seemed to not pay attention to it at all, instead focused on some unknown point in the distance.

• Barley. Caitlyn is our guest for today. You are going to obey her orders just like you would mine.

• Yes, Mistress.

Caitlyn’s cheeks turned slightly red.

• S-so now I can tell him to do anything?

• Yep. Go ahead, tell him what you want to drink.

• Okay. Let us see… I- I would like…

• No, no. Try phrasing it as an order instead.

• Oh. U-um. Barley.

• Yes, Miss Caitlyn?

• Go make me a cup of coffee.

• Right away, Miss Caitlyn.

With a far off look in his eyes, Barley turned away and walked towards the kitchen, as Caitlyn watched in amazement.

• Woooooow… So it really works? That is impressive…

• You know it. He knows plenty of other tricks too, I’ll show you later if we have time.

Lara gestured at her guest to follow her towards the dining room.

• Come on, Cait. We have a lot to catch up on.