Ring~

The sweet chime of the tiny resin bell was like sweet, pulsing honey over Senya’s brain. He couldn’t remember what he’d just been doing. The ringing covered up anything that had come before, trapping him purely in the moment, glazing him in timeless pleasure. Ring. Ring. Ring~

“Gooood boy.” Sylvia giggled down at him. “Isn't that nice, sweetie~?”

“I... gguhh...” Senya nodded dreamily. He barely noticed the discomfort of his knees pressed against the living room floor. His hand was wrapped around his cock. He couldn't stop pumping. Good boys pumped. “Uh-huhhh...”

The Thriae alchemist gave him a wicked smirk. “Good boy~!” She raised the bell and gave it another dainty little ring. Senya moaned as the pleasure coursed through him, bucking into his hand, drooling insensibly. “ Teehee, you're taking soooo well to Bell #3, aren’t you?”

“S-Sylviaaa...”

Sylvia beamed. “Should we move onto the fourth bell~?” She reached for that leather case, and Senya’s heart gave a thrill. “Or does this trigger still need more... attention~?”

“P-Pleeease,” he whimpered. Pump pump pump. “I-I—” He didn't know what he was pleading for. “I, ah…” It just felt so... good... and his warden collar hummed so nicely around his neck with every ring, proof that Sylvia was starting to get a feel for its special resonance...

A loud, sharp knock pierced through the dripping goop of his thoughts.

Sylvia looked up sharply. She smiled. “That's enough for today.”

Her hand shot right in front of Senya's—

*SNAP*

---

“So, looks like you were having fun,” Valina chirped.

Senya blinked slowly. He found he was being led by the hand away from the Thriae cottage. He could dimly hear the beembos cackling above, and feeling a wetness, he slowly raised his hand to his cheek.

Oh. There were...

“Mm-hm.” The catgirl giggled, flashing him a little feline smirk. “Looks like she was having fun, too~”

Senya's cheeks burned. He dropped his hand from the glossy honey-gold lipstick stain. His face was covered in them.

“Hm.” Valina was side-eyeing him. “You've been visiting Sylvia a lot lately.”

“I… I guess so.” Senya bit his lip, trying to clear his head a little. He couldn’t quite read Valina’s tone, but he could tell there was something laced beneath her words. “I-I mean, she’s just, um… wanted me around a lot lately. And it’s good to keep her happy, considering how helpful she’s been lately.”

“Mm-hm. Well, hey, good thing the collar protects you from permanent stuff!” The catgirl’s tail flicked along his arm. “Otherwise I might begin to think you were getting, you know… hooked.”

Senya squirmed. “Uh... r-right.”

The collar did protect him, right? From Sylvia’s honey?

Sylvia could be trusted, right? He was pretty sure he remembered that.

“S-So.” He cleared his throat, feeling strangely compelled to change the subject. “Um, you interrupted us early.”

“Yeah.” Valina smiled up at him, ears folding back slightly, then leaned in close. Senya shivered as she purr right in his ear, “You seemed disappointed~! Weren’t you happy to see li'l old me~?”

Senya squeaked as he felt her hand slip between his legs.

Oh. Valina was... jealous.

“Maybe you need to spend some more quality time with Kitten,” she cooed, nipping his earlobe. He yelped, his cock throbbing involuntarily against her hand. “Heehee! Oh, you liiike that? I’m much hotter than those other cuties, aren’t I?”

“V-Valina,” he whined. “I-I—”

She pulled back with a satisfied little smile, then kissed him on the cheek. “Maybe we can make some time tonight. Don't worry, Senya.” Her tail flicked rapidly, as if barely able to contain the catgirl's intense need for mischief. “I won't keep you up too late.”

But Senya’s sort-of girlfriend was wiggling like she was about to pounce.

“But yes,” she said, turning away and continuing to lead him down the hill. “I did call you out early for a reason. The Ward has a new guest.”

“A... guest?” Senya missed a step and nearly fell. Valina easily caught him and forced him steady. “You mean another, ah, prisoner?”

She mrred in agreement.

“Ah. So I'll have to...”

“Mm-hm~”

Senya's face grew hotter. He was glad Valina couldn't feel him twitching, or her jealousy would probably reach new heights of wickedness.

Most catgirls weren't very good at commitment. Fey who spent too long in the Verdant Ward seemed to develop some very atypical behaviors.

“S-So, who do we have today?” Senya asked. “High Fey, or...?”

He knew better than to name specific examples. Last time he'd asked if it was a slime girl, she'd decided he had a 'craving' and started taking him to visit their slime girl tenants for the next five days in a row. His brain still felt a little goopy when he thought about it too long.

Valina just smiled at him, waiting. When he didn't fall for the bait, the catgirl pouted and turned back. “Mothgirl.”

Senya blinked. “Mothgirl?”

“Mmrrr~”

Senya stopped walking, staring at the departing catgirl in puzzlement. But Valina wasn't slowing down, and as always, he soon relented to letting her drag him wherever she pleased.

The Verdant Ward was architecturally quite similar to the Ambrosia Ranch. There were still fences, there was still a barn for the holstaur, and there was still a central farmhouse. The farmhouse was mainly used to house visitors nowadays, of course, since the warden rarely ‘needed’ to sleep in his own bed nowadays (in the opinions of the fey residents, at least). He only got to sleep there when Valina wanted him for the night, and he didn't get much sleep when she did.

The one major change was the outer perimeter. Although the great enchanted wall still stood tall—the sigils slithering across its silver bars were necessary to maintain magic like his collar—the lightning house that stood just within the gates was quite new. In a sense.

The lightning house—a squat hut-like dwelling hammered together out of sheets of thick copper—served two functions, according to the Crows. First, in a crisis, it could be used to signal the other functioning Wards. Second, something about its construction uniquely subdued fey that entered it. Valina herself had to don special bell earrings—Senya tried not to twitch at their soft chiming—in order to enter safely.

Senya's ancestors had destroyed the original lightning house soon after taking over the Ward and turning it toward private enterprise. The new one had taken months to rebuild.

The interior was small, but quite cozy. Pink and white throw pillows were scattered across the lush red carpeting. Flower pots hung from the ceiling, their colorful flowers spilling down from their pots to catch sunbeams shining through the many cracks in the roof. Senya recognized morning glories and sweetpeas from among them, but others were a mystery to him.

What resembled a large birdcage rose in the center of the room. It was more an emergency precaution for the more hazardous fey, although its silver bars were set widely enough that a smaller prisoner could probably slip out between them if they wanted to.

The buxom woman lounging inside was in no danger of fitting between those bars.

She was also, Senya noted, heart racing, certainly not any kind of hazardous fey.

The ‘mothgirl’ had bright pink skin and long flowing blonde hair that twirled in ringlets like trails of smoke. Large fuzzy antennae arched from atop her head, and her single-color eyes were large and dark, with just the faintest indications of concentric circles warning of potential to erupt into shimmering spirals at any moment.

She was wearing a pair of expensive-looking blue slippers. Senya wasn’t really looking at them, though.

Even from the confines of her tailored suit, her enormous breasts squished right up against the bars. She should have been locked up for smuggling curves that decadent into a suit that tight, instead of brainwashing travelers into giving her their money.

Senya swallowed, noting the dazzlingly bright, fuzzy pink-and-golden wings that fluttered behind her back as she turned to look at him.

She smiled. There was a predatory gleam in those eyes.

It took Senya a moment to find his words.

“Alright, so...” Valina cocked her head to the side. Jingle, jingle. “It's… Rosa, right?”

“V-Valina,” Senya squeaked. “There's, um...”

“That's right!” Rosa beamed. Her voice was light and high-pitched, with a sultry wispiness that reminded Senya of Sylvia's perfume. “And you must be my new, um, owners?”

Valina smirked slightly. “Well, no. Senya here is the warden. His job is to take care of you while you...” She gave his hand a prompting squeeze. “Well, I'll let him explain~!”

Senya squeaked and sputtered, caught off-guard. Valina always explained this part to the prisoners. She was really out to tease him today. He ducked his head, trying not to meet Rosa's gaze. “The Verdant Ranch is... that is to say, you're being held for taking advantage of travelers on the northern trails, and you're...”

“Look her in the eye, Senya.”

Senya squirmed. Valina was enjoying this far too much. He forced himself to meet the mothgirl's gaze.

She licked her lips. She had a very long tongue.

That did it. “Valina,” he managed, turning to the catgirl, “look, this isn't a—I mean, I think there's been some mistake.”

“Mm.” Valina blinked up at him. “A mistake? What do you mean? This mothgirl was capturing travelers and hypnotizing them into her little pets. That's exactly what we deal with here.”

“Yes, but she's not a—”

“Valina!” burst out a voice. They both turned to see one of the fairies flying by the entrance. Naturally, she didn't dare fly inside. “The beembos are giving the slimes trouble again.”

“Oh, no.” Valina rolled her eyes. “Senya, do you think you can handle the rest on your own?”

“B-But I—”

“You'll do fine!” She smiled at him, taking out and tossing a jangling ring of keys. “Just hang onto this, okay?”

“But she's not a—” Senya squeaked as Valina gave his ass a playful swat on her way out.

“Have fun!' Valina winked at him. “But not too much. Remember, she can't do anything while the feybindings are in effect! Just don't be a, um, loser. Don’t give her the keys. I'll be back in ten minutes.”

Senya's cheeks burned as the catgirl ducked under the curtain and raced off after the fairy.

As the curtain fluttered back down, he swallowed, turning to face the captive. She smiled lazily, fingers loosely gripping the bars of her cage.

“—fey,” he finished belatedly.

The dopterine's smile widened.

“Looks like it's just you and me,” she said slowly, clutching the bars to give a leisurely back-arching stretch. “So, didn't you used to be called Master~?”

Senya swallowed. “Y-You... you shouldn't be here.”

“No?” Rosa batted thick, dark lashes. The faint traces of golden light twinkled at the corners of those big black eyes. “But I've been, like, so disobedient, ‘Master’.”

Senya's heart fluttered at the mocking intonation of that title. That was too much. Too… familiar. “I-I'm not—I'm saying you shouldn't be here for your own good. You’re not fey.”

Rosa giggled. “Not fey? What do you mean?” She reached up and ran a finger along one of those fuzzy antennae, shivering slightly. “Do I look like a human to you~?”

“I mean I—” Senya tried not to focus on how delicately her fingertip stroked up and down that length. “I know what a dopterine is, even if they don't have them around here!”

Rosa considered him for a moment, head tilting slightly to the side.

“Hm~” Her eyes glimmered. “Gosh, but if I'm not fey...” A gold-painted nail went to perfect, plump red lips. “That's kinda bad, isn't it? I mean, a lightning house isn’t made to hold mortals, is it?”

Senya quickly ducked his head as those gold twinklings started blossoming into radiant swirls. He clutched the keys tighter. That cage was now all that stood between him and...

“Wait, h-how would you know how it works?” he blurted. “I mean—the Crows don't—”

“Maybe I'm just smarter than you.” Her hips swung dramatically to one side. Gods, her curves were a sin. “Maybe I know eeeverythiiing about this place, and you're just a dumb, silly Master who needs to learn his place.”

Senya's breath caught. He took a small step back. “Y-You...”

“Silly Master.” Rosa giggled, swaying to the other side. Senya couldn't help but stare at the drastic taper from her slender waist to those wide hips. “So, like, that’s the funny thing. I don't know when or how, but I can see dopterine magic, like, all over this place. Makes the Wards easy prey for a cute mothgirl like me, right~?” She winked. “And from what I hear, it sounds like you had a pretty good deal here before you wimped out on it!”

“Y-You want to restart the Ambrosia Ranch?”

“Hm.” She idly sucked on a fingertip, blinking big, endless orbs of night. “Well, that sounds like a lot of work. Plus, dealing with fey peddlers? Ew. Nah, I think I'll just infiltrate, take things over, then ransom it back, y'know? Maybe with a few new pets for me thrown in.” She smirked. “Like that pwecious wittle kitten!”

Senya tried not to squirm, tried not to stare at how her supple lips caressed her finger. “Her… name is Valina. And I—I won’t let you!”

“Yeah, well, oh my gosh, Valina is just too cute to pass up. Especially with that brat routine of hers. Which you seem, like…” She smirked. “... totally unable to do anything about. Someone should take care of her properly.”

“I-I'll.” Senya took another step back. “I'll tell her.”

Rosa's head tilted cutely to the side. “Hm~!”

Senya hesitated. “What?”

“Just...” The dopterine’s long tongue slid out and swirled around the finger, coiling around it briefly like a serpent in a lengthy, lascivious lick. “... kinda weird you keep telling me that instead of just leaving to do it, right~?”

Senya's face went hot.

She was right. Fuck, he was—he was habitually letting her push his buttons, making cheap threats while practically begging her to do something about it.

He backed up towards the doorway, heart pounding. His gaze was fixed firmly on the floor now.

“Awww~!” A wicked little laugh trailed after him. “And the second I suggest you run, you run. You're sooo easy~!”

He held in a gasp, squirming, feeling a familiar pressure building from down below. Oh no. “I—I'm not doing it because you—”

He forced his mouth shut. Stop it. Stop arguing and just run.

Or at least turn around. Turn away, before she sees...

“Oh, wow.” He saw out of the corner of his eye the dopterine licking her lips. Her wispy-soft voice rose again, moving around him like a caress as she cooed, “Does your cock really twitch every time a girl teases you~?”

Twitch.

Senya whimpered. No. No no no, this wasn’t the time…!

His collar only encouraged obedience to fey prisoners. Even without that, though, he'd spent so long at the Ward by this point… so long letting girls tease and torment him, so long letting them condition him, and when a girl started making fun of him, it just felt so easy, so good, so normal—

No. He shook himself and finally forced his eyes shut. Enough!

He almost instantly felt better. It was strange how instantly, actually. Patterns he hadn't even fully registered had suddenly vanished from his vision, and dimly, he remembered reading that dopterines could be very, very good at illusions.

Had she been subtly warping his vision? Subtly hypnotizing him this whole time?

It might all be in his head. It might not. He just had to—had to not look at her anymore.

He gave himself another firm shake, turned around to put his back to the dopterine, and opened his eyes.

The curtain had been replaced with a whirlpool of brilliant swirling colors.

Oh.

His lips parted. No. No, wait, he...

He heard a snap right next to his ear. “Good boy,” that sweet incense voice purred right up against him as his knees quaked. “Teehee, what a good boy for me~! You don't wanna run, do you?”

“I... nngh...”

*snap*

“Stare deeper.”

The colors swirled endlessly. Pulsed with pretty pink and gold. He stared into them, and he dimly felt his jaw dropping, felt himself starting to drool... the colors seemed to be pulsing right into him, pumping pleasurable trance into him… no, no, he… couldn’t…

“Good boy.” There was amusement in that voice. “Doing so well for me.”

“S-Stop...” Senya's voice was small and weak, distant, slurred.

“Shush.”

*snap*

“Let me in~”

Pumping. Pulsing. Throbbing. Spiraling...

Senya felt a funny tickle at the back of his head. A fuzzy, buzzy tingle. He mentally squirmed, tried to find the tickle, to isolate it, but his brain felt like soft putty, and then… then it was gone.

Or at least, he didn't notice it anymore.

His lips parted. The colors were so pretty, and he felt himself smiling dimly, dumbly, enjoying how they seemed to pulse straight into him… pulsing… pumping…

“My, my~!” A sweet, adorable giggle. “Sooo many triggers already in here! Too bad they're locked off for some reason, so I can't see what they are. Must be alchemical. Soooo lame.”

That voice... Senya felt like he should be worried. But this felt so normal. Girls always toyed with him like this. It felt good. Girls knew… best?

But something was... off. The pulsing colors were pretty, but he tried to blink, tried to close his eyes just for a moment, to clear his head a little, to—

*SNAP*

“Of course, snapping is suuuch a cliche, it’s usually a safe bet that it’s one of them. Looks like I was right! No mindweaver can really resist installing at lease one snapping trigger, teehee!”

Senya moaned softly as the colors strobed, their spirals glowing brighter, pushing further into him… so pretty, so endless, like a maelstrom of pink-and-gold pigments…

“Not like I'm immune, of course. Stare deeper, cutie.”

Deeper. Pulsing, pumping.

“Good boy. No looking away, now. I can only play around in here while you're staring, while you’re sinking, letting my magic flow so nicely into you through those pretty open eyes of yours. It's hard enough to focus on this when you're not looking at me properly. We'll fix that soon.”

“G... ghuhh... w-waaitt...”

“Aww. Don't worry, Master~! Just a few little triggers to install really quick. These are gonna make this sooo much easier.”

Pulse.

Swirl.

Pump.

Senya needed to fight this. He knew that, dimly. The Ward depended on it.

Rosa had just outright told him she was barely keeping control. He could still escape. He just had to blink once. Just… once…

Slowly, he started to force his eyes closed...

“Of course, I don't need you to remember them, and it's cuter if you don't, so...”

*SNAP~*

Senya gave a start. Rosa smiled at him from her cage, leaning leisurely against the bars. Her hand was extended outside the bars, fingers tensed to snap again.

“Wh…” His head felt weird and swirly. “What… um…”

She gave another snap. “Hellooo? You there, Master~?”

Senya blinked rapidly and jerked upright. “I-I—” His cheeks flushed. “S-Sorry, I, um. Must have zoned out.”

“Uh-huh.” Rosa's knowing smirk almost felt familiar, but he couldn't place what it reminded him of. She cocked her head brattily to the side. “So… you were saaaying, Master~?”

She was calling him that again. He knew he’d better not let on that it flustered him. He tried to meet her gaze, to show that she wasn’t getting to him… but that wicked grin flustered him so much, he quickly dropped his gaze to her feet.

Her feet looked… delicate. Dainty and soft and flawlessly smooth, with high, elegant arches. Had she… been wearing shoes before?

“I-I was saying—” He swallowed, forcing his gaze away from her entirely. He wasn't usually into feet. Was he? “I was saying that—” Gods, it felt weirdly hard to remember. He’d really zoned out. “—that you're not a fey, and when Valina, gets back, I'm telling her, and we're sending you to the.” His thoughts stuttered for a moment as the dopterine slowly pressed against the bounds of the cage. Even in that suit, he could see how her breasts strained against the buttons, could see that indulgent squish between the bars. “To the. To the.”

“To the authorities~?” Rosa supplied sweetly.

He nodded gratefully. “Yes. The mortal authorities.”

“Aww.” She pouted. “But we were gonna have soooo much fun here~!”

“W-Well—”

Her laughter sparkled. Out of the corner of his eye, she brought a fingertip to her lips and gave it a delicate, shameless lick. “Is Master… scaaared of li'l old me~?”

It felt hot in here. Senya stared intently at the floor, pushing back the brief intrusive thought to… no, no, he couldn’t even think about that. “I... I...”

*SNAP*

Without thinking, his head shot right back up to meet her gaze.

Rosa smirked. “You should look at me when you're talking, dum-dum~”

His heart started thudding in his chest. Forget it feeling hot in here. Senya felt like he'd been dropped in a volcano. “I—I—I'm just—”

Her eyes swirled with golden light. “Uh-huh~? You’re what, Master?”

He flushed and dropped his gaze. Gods, why was he even still here? Why was he letting her push him around like this? Why did he feel so confused trying to recall the last few minutes?

His breath caught as he realized his gaze had fallen back down to her feet. Her delicate toes were wiggling playfully, idly tapping the carpeted floor.

That was another thing. Why… why were her feet suddenly… so…

… pretty?