I emerged from the shade of the tree canopy and set my pack down to rest. I’d been hiking on a well-known mountain trail since early morning, and while I was making good time the exhaustion was starting to get to me. I sat down on a nearby rock and started taking deep gulps from my water bottle. I looked out over the nearby cliff face to a breathtaking sight. The sun was high in the sky, illuminating the early morning landscape of the valley, accented by puffy white clouds and flocks of passing birds. It had been brutal waking up so early, but the view alone made it worth it.

While I was focused on the vibrant scenery in front of me, a sudden gust of wind loosened an old receipt from my pocket. The wrinkled white paper danced in front of my face, giving me just enough time to dart my hand out and snatch it from midair. Relieved, I stuffed the receipt into a side pocket of my backpack. Whenever I went on camping trips as a kid, my father was always adamant about the golden rule of the outdoors: Leave no trace. The natural world is beautiful, but it’s also vulnerable to human interference. Animals can choke on litter, wanton damage to natural structures can destroy habitats, and trampling plants can kill them as well as deprive the things that feed on them as food. Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, that’s what he always said. Truthfully I never had much need for that golden rule—I stopped camping in my teenage years—but my dad’s wisdom came back to me later on in life for a different reason.

See, when I turned eighteen I suddenly found myself with a powerful ability. To this day I have no idea how or why it happened, I simply woke up one day to find that I could manipulate the thoughts, actions, and memories of others. It took some experimentation, but I quickly discovered the scope of my abilities. I had to be near a person to manipulate them, but that was effectively the only restriction. Once I overcame my initial shock, I became enthralled with the staggering potential of my abilities. It wasn’t long until I began using my powers for personal gain. I went to a local bank and had the teller withdraw a respectable sum of money for me from a local corporation, I had my professors give me perfect grades, and of course used it for sex.

It started out with a classmate of mine. I made her believe I was her boyfriend and turned her sex drive up to eleven. Not only did I lose my virginity to her, but I had her doing just about every sex act under the sun. I didn’t limit myself to her either. I started having her bring her friends around too, first for threesomes then full-blown orgies later on. I even turned one of them into a sort of servant of mine; Cleaning my room, cooking for me, essentially acting as a sexually available personal maid. And I didn’t stop there,  if I saw any woman anywhere that piqued my interest I would take her at my earliest convenience, consequences be damned. Mothers, teachers, police officers, nobody was off limits. Unfortunately for me and everyone else, the consequences were damning.

I had naively assumed that simply erasing and altering memories would free me of any responsibility, but I soon realized I was completely wrong. The bank teller that had withdrawn my money for me was promptly fired and charged with fraud after he couldn’t explain the unknown transaction I had made him do. I was eventually able to get the charges dropped, but I had to alter the minds of every single person in a wave of bureaucracy, not to mention ensuring all the evidence and court documents were destroyed. The teller himself was a wreck by the time I found him his girlfriend had left him and many of his closest friends and personal acquaintances had cut ties. When I probed his mind, I was horrified to realize he was nearly suicidal.

I did everything I could to repair the damage; I erased the memory of the whole incident from the teller and everyone who knew him, restored his relationships, and replaced the memories of turmoil in the months since he was charged with new memories of a normal day-to-day existence. This process, however, was brutal. It took weeks to track everyone down and even now I fear that I may have missed something. And even if I did fix everything perfectly, I still can’t replace the time I stole from that man. Maybe he would have taken up a hobby or gotten promoted. Maybe he would have spent precious time with his girlfriend. Sure they’re still together, but a part of their relationship is fake - no photos, no dates, just an unremarkable period of time I forced them both to ignore.

During this time, I realized I had done the same thing to the women under my thrall. How many opportunities and experiences did my classmate miss while she was sucking my cock? What if she could have fallen in love - ACTUALLY fallen in love - but she was too focused on serving me? And her friends too. It’s honestly a miracle nobody ended up pregnant or inflicted with an STI. All I could hope to do at this point was clean up the damage I had done the same way I did for the teller, erasing my existence and sending them on with their lives.

Now, I don’t want to spend too much time on my moral high horse here. These powers changed my life in a way that was impossible to ignore, and I don’t think I could ever bring myself to give them up entirely. Maybe that makes me a bad person, frankly I might be too far gone to know. However, I did decide that I could rely on my dad’s old advice: Leave no trace.

I realized I was too close to the people I was controlling. Even after all my damage control, I remained concerned that my presence in their lives would cause confusion and reopen wounds I hadn’t even seen. So I decided to go on a trip, a long trip. I began traveling the country solo, hoping to find myself out in the great wide world. Maybe once I have a greater grasp on my morals I can find somewhere to settle down, but for now I’m a wanderer. It’s not a bad life though, not when you can dodge all the pesky costs of travel like hotels and tickets.

That’s part of what had brought me to the mountain trail to begin with. I wanted to do something for myself—no help, no mind control, just me. I was sore as hell, but it felt surprisingly good to have to work for something again. And the view was worth it, my reward for a job well done. At that moment I heard a rustling of leaves from somewhere behind me. I turned quickly, hoping I wasn’t about to be gored by a wild animal.

Thankfully, what I saw was far better: A young woman coming up the trail behind me—probably somewhere in her early 20s. She had a short but athletic build, her blonde hair tied into double dutch braids. She was wearing hiking boots, a pair of gray cargo shorts, a navy green tank top, and a white baseball cap. Her whole aesthetic was classic outdoorsy girl, not that that was a bad thing. Not at all, in fact.

She smiled at me as she approached, clearly also winded by the hike up. “Pretty great view, huh? I’m surprised anyone beat me up here.”

I smiled back, genuinely enjoying the company “No kidding, it was worth the climb for sure. You do this trail a lot then?”

“Yep, just about every Saturday! I never get tired of it.” Her smile never wavered as she surveyed the landscape, a familiar awe in her steely blue eyes. I looked her up and down while she was focused on the view, sizing up her tight, lean build. Deciding we both deserved a reward for reaching the peak, I stood up from the rock I was resting on and focused my attention on the girl.

“Kneel” I told her calmly. I didn’t actually have to say it out loud, but I still enjoyed the little rush of power that came from vocalizing my commands. Without a shred of resistance, the girl dropped to her knees in front of me. Her arms fell slack at her sides, drained of their agency. I placed my hand under her chin and gently lifted her head to face mine. Her expression was completely neutral - not blank per se, but utterly accepting of and unbothered by her situation. I began probing her mind (again, not something I needed to do out loud, but I got a kick out of it).

“What is your name”

“Brianne”

“Are you a virgin, Brianne?”

“No”

“Are you sexually active”

“Only occasionally”

“Is there any reason you and I having sex right now would negatively impact your life?”

“Not unless you hurt me, or I got pregnant”

Her responses came in a dreamy monotone, only distantly echoing the friendliness she had been showing me a moment ago. I smiled at her answers, they were exactly what I was hoping to hear. I briefly considered setting up some sort of complex scenario to act as foreplay, but decided our surroundings were doing enough legwork to keep the encounter interesting.

“Listen to me Brianne. I’m your long-term boyfriend. You don’t know my name, but don’t worry about that. We just reached the top of this trail and you’re in a celebratory mood. As soon as I clap my hands, you will awaken knowing this to be the truth.” I wasted no time doing just that. As the clap of my hands echoed through the open air, Brianne stood up and shot me a smile of complete joy.

“We did it!” She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around my torso in a tight embrace. I hugged her back, pulling her tight athletic body closely into mine. Brianne withdrew from the hug, only to cup my face with her hands as she reached in to kiss me. I didn’t hesitate to return the gesture, relishing in the softness of her lips as I held her body close to mine.

After a few blissful moments in Brianne’s embrace, I slid my hands down her back, dragging my fingers just above her beltline. She pushed her hips closer to mine in response, kissing me even more deeply in the process. Feeling myself getting hard, I grabbed her ass cheeks with both hands. They were firm and round, a dream to handle. Brianne let out a small gasp, pulling her mouth away from mine just enough to meet my intense gaze.

“You want it here?” she uttered, her voice hushed but full of intensity.

“Yes” I replied, running my thumb along the underside of her belt.

Brianne looked askance for a moment, mentally weighing the strength of her desires with the risk of being caught on a public trail. Biting her lip, she turned back to me with a look of slight disappointment. “Sorry babe, it’s just a bit too risky. Maybe when we get home…” It seemed she needed a bit of help.

“But Bri,” I began, “don’t you love the risk?” Brianne just continued staring into my eyes as my words, reinforced by my powers, washed over her. It was subtle, but I saw an undeniable flicker, a surefire sign that her hesitation had been overtaken by her desire.

Brianne took a small step back, undoing her belt and dropping her shorts and panties to her feet with an excited grin on her face. I barely had time to take in the marvelous sight of her bare legs before she was whipping off her top and hat. “Leave the hat” I interjected, receiving an amused smirk in response as she put her hat back on, now the only article of clothing she was wearing. I didn’t think the view from the peak could get any better, but seeing a nude Brianne bathed in the late morning sun most definitely proved me wrong. She was just toned enough that every muscle served to perfectly accentuate her features. Her pronounced ass, smooth but shapely legs, and pert tits were all brought into stunning focus by the unrivaled scenery behind her. All topped off with a sly, playful grin and eyes that were practically screaming at me to fuck her.

Brianne didn’t care how I planned to take her, but I had a particular vision in mind. I stepped towards her, her breath hastening in anticipation as she idly bit her lip. I placed a hand gently on her hip, hearing a soft but unmistakable gasp as I did. Her skin was delightfully smooth and warm to the touch. I slid my hand from her waist to the small of her back, leveraging myself to pull her closer. I leaned in, softly whispering instructions into her waiting ear.

Once I was done she looked up at me for a moment, her face awash with anticipation. She turned around, bending her body over the rock I had been resting on moments earlier. She was now positioned with a perfect view of the stunning natural landscape, while I was positioned with a perfect view of her legs, ass, and pussy propped up for my enjoyment. She invitingly swayed her ass, enticing me, and I was finally ready to give her what she wanted.

I unbuckled my belt and dropped my shorts and underwear, exposing my cock to the fresh mountain air. I’ve had a lot of sexual experience since getting my powers, so my standards for arousal are a bit higher than they used to be. With a situation and woman this hot, however, I had no trouble reaching a throbbing erection. I placed my hands on Brianne’s waiting ass, positioning myself to fuck her into sensory overload. I ran the tip of my cock down the surface of her vagina, feeling how wet she was as I prepared for entry. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the landscape in front of her, but I felt an excited shiver run down her body. It was time.

I slowly pressed myself into her, feeling a rush of warm pleasure along my cock that quickly surged throughout the rest of my body. Brianne let out a gasp, finally satisfying the urges I had been projecting into her since I first placed her under my control. Her breathing quickly grew rapid and labored as I began thrusting in and out of her, every movement sending waves of arousal across her body. Her tits and braids swung in sync as her body jolted with every lunge of my cock.

I began moving my hands up her back, leaning my body more heavily into hers to compensate for the change in position. Brianne stifled a moan in response, barely containing herself as I intensified my thrusting. I reached past her neck, grabbing one hair braid in each hand. Before she could realize what was happening, I moved myself backwards, pulling her head upwards by her braids. She let out a yelp as the shock of the movement divided itself into pain and pleasure. I made sure to use my powers to limit the pain caused by pulling her braids, but I didn’t eliminate it entirely. She wouldn’t have wanted me to.

Feeling my climax approaching, I upped the intensity of my fucking. I began to thrust deeper, more rapidly, pulling harder on her braids. For her part, Brianne did her best to maintain her rapidly dwindling composure. Her legs were trembling, eyes unfocused and teary, and she could no longer stifle her piercing moans. Finally, I sent a deluge of pleasure into her brain as I let go of her braids and pulled my cock out of her pussy, triggering a powerful orgasm. While she doubled over from pleasure, I shot my cum down the small of her back.

With that, Brianne collapsed over the rock. Drenched in sweat and red in the face, her limbs were slack from exhaustion. Her panting was interrupted by residual moans while her brain tried desperately to catch up with her body. Brianne lay helpless upon the rock, sweat and cum glistening along her toned back. I stepped back to admire the scene: The rivers shining in the valley and they flowed down the landscape, the radiant sun sitting at the highest point in the sky, all acting as a backdrop to the centerpiece of the scene, a beautiful woman splayed out in the throes of incomprehensible passion. Complete sensory overload. I wished I had the talent, time and resources to paint the scene, but had to settle for the next best thing as I pulled up my phone and snapped a picture.

I used the remaining water from my canteen to help her wash up. Brianne had yet to find the words to express herself, but her face was painted with ecstasy and gratitude. As I used a cloth to wipe away the remaining sweat from her back, she whipped her body around and locked me in a passionate embrace; the kind that can only come from the purest, most raw emotions.

“I love you” she muttered through quivering lips. I embraced her back, savoring the warmth growing in my chest. But I knew it was temporary.

“Well then, shall we go?” Brianne asked warmly. She was cleaned up, dressed, and stretching her legs. I admired the view she was giving me with her leg stretches, but it was time to set things back to normal. I sighed, digging through my bag until I found what I was looking for: A small plastic bag filled with pills. I turned back to face Brianne, her disarming smile almost making me reconsider, but I knew it couldn’t work. We hadn’t been dating for years, she didn’t even know my name. Hell, I didn’t even know she existed until an hour ago.

“Sorry Bri, but this is where we part ways” I uttered. She looked back at me, confusion etched on her face for only a moment before her eyes glazed over and her mouth fell slack.

“Hold out your hand” I commanded. She obeyed robotically, extending her arm to receive the pill I dropped into her palm.

“Swallow it.” She placed the pill in her open mouth and gulped, showing no change in her blank expression. It was a morning-after pill. The last thing I wanted was to get someone pregnant with no memory of even having sex.

“Now Brianne, you will stay here in this mindless state for the next five minutes. You will forget ever knowing me. You came here for your typical Saturday hike and decided to stay at the peak for a while because the scenery was so beautiful. After you wake up, you will find nothing about your immediate situation strange and will carry on with your day as normal.” I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Goodbye, Brianne,” I whispered, before slinging my backpack on and descending down the trail. I passed an elderly couple not long after, giving them a quick command to rest for a few minutes so they didn’t run into Brianne while she was still in her trance.

I felt a strange, familiar sadness as I descended the trail. The life of a traveler has its perks, but close relationships aren’t among them. I pulled up the picture of Brianne I took and smiled wistfully. Perhaps I let myself get a bit too close this time. No matter, I’d get over it soon enough. I took a deep breath of fresh air as I descended through the forest canopy, brainstorming where to go next.

Brianne was stunned by the view of the mountain landscape. It was familiar to her, she hiked this trail every Saturday after all, but today was particularly stunning. The sun was high in the sky, illuminating the early afternoon landscape of the valley, accented by puffy white clouds and flocks of passing birds. She yawned, realizing how tired she was. The trip up must have been more taxing than usual, her legs were sore. So were her groin and the ends of her braids, but there was nothing strange about that.

After spending a few more minutes resting on a rock and taking in the scenery, Brianne decided to start making her way down the trail. Right before she left the peak, she felt the strangest sense of absence. Like something that had been a part of her life had somehow gone missing. But the sensation was fleeting, and she carried on with her standard pep, smiling at an elderly couple she passed on the way down. She felt great, thinking to herself that she couldn’t wait to make the journey again next Saturday.