"Remember, society is different, there. People are generally more sex positive, and open about those sorts of things."

"I can't just... ask these kinds of questions. Not when I'm talking to random strangers."

"Sure you can. If they don't want to answer, they don't have to. It's not a crime to ask."

"But what if everyone thinks I'm just weird and kinky?"

"Are you not?"

Mary couldn't help but laugh, a little bit. Jem smiled, leaning in a bit, and pulling her girlfriend into a hug. She lowered her voice, and spoke close to Mary's ear. 

"Hey. You'll do great."

Sunbright's name had fairly obvious roots. Well, perhaps not obvious to your average person, who wakes up after dawn. But if you're willing to get out of bed early enough, and walk the streets at sunrise, you get to see something beautiful. The golden paint of the towering buildings reflects and scatters the red-orange sun, bathing the city in a brilliant, otherworldly glow. Each street, awash in a kind of light that could make you zone out and relax, feeling like you're in a dream. Painted in the kind of wonderful pastel colours that make everything feel a bit warmer, a bit softer, a bit more comfortable. Mary had gotten up early today, waking up just as the sun came up past the horizon. She normally slept in and slept late, but... she felt a bit exhausted after yesterday, and fell asleep before 10. She woke up feeling bright and with a good bit of energy; a feeling she was new to. So, she was taking a walk. Taking in the sights. Taking in... the lizard tail headed for her ribs.

"FUCK-"

Mary falls to the ground with a thump, landing on her ass on the solid concrete. Her chest hurt too, having been hit pretty hard. She wasn’t badly hurt or anything (thank god for her fat ass) but she still had to take a moment, her head spinning. She readjusted the glasses on her face, and looked down, checking herself. Her bag was perfectly safe, her glasses were intact… Wait, her phone was in her hand a second ago, wasn’t it? She looked around in a hurry, seeing… a scattering of broken glass, around her phone. Shit.

“Oh, oh dear, I’m so sorry, here, let me help you up…”

Mary saw the arm of the figure first, and it was a strange sight. A humanoid, five fingered hand, but with long claws at the end of each finger, and bony scales across the back of the palm, and most of the arm. Dark green skin, with a strange texture that glinted and shined like glitter in the bright morning sun. As her head slowly turned, she took in aspects of her assailant one at a time. They were massive, at least 4 feet taller than Mary (though, Mary wasn’t exactly particularly tall), and they had on a baggy outfit that made them seem even bigger than they were. Their green scales covered their whole body, head to toe, with those bony plates on their shoulders and knees too, like built in kneepads. They had dark red, slightly disturbing-looking eyes, with black sclera that glimmered with occasional white sparks, reminiscent of stars in the night sky. Their teeth were long and sharp-looking, fitting together like puzzle pieces while her mouth was closed, and folding out to show themselves as her mouth opened. She had no hair, but had long, ram-like curling horns instead, textured and brown and scuffed with wear. Their jeans had seen some similar wear and tear, with scratched up holes at the knees and plenty of frayed threads and bleached lighter patches among its blue surface. Her shirt was modest, a white, slightly oil-stained t-shirt with the name of some obscure 90s rock band plastered on its front. Mary blinked as she realized that she had been staring, and took the woman’s hand.

“Oh, no- you’re perfectly fine, I’m just still getting used to all the big tails and taurs and nagas-”

“Wait, you’re new here!?”

Mary was taken aback by the stranger’s attitude, she seemed genuinely excited. She blinked a couple of times, having not expected the energy. “Kinda, yea… I’m not staying long though, only a few weeks. I’m a uh… reporter.”

The reptilian lady smiled, a slightly intimidating, toothy grin that spread across her face. “That’s amazing, it’s so rare to see someone new to the city~!” She moved around Mary, looking her up and down. “You still haven’t changed, have you? So… only been here a few days?”

Mary was kind of uncomfortable, at the moment. She had gone from being knocked on the floor to being inspected like a piece of meat, in the span of only a few seconds. She closed her eyes for a second and calmed herself down. People were more forward here, it was more important to be kind than polite. She was certain the lady didn’t mean anything by it.

“This is my second day, actually.” 

The lizard person tilted her head as she spoke. “Wow! You must have come in on the last Goldenrail trip… I came in on today’s, actually!” 

Mary blinked. “Wait, why were you headed into the city? Don’t most folks here never leave?”

The stranger smiled, seemingly proud of herself. 

“I run my own business. I’m an artificer, I make magic items. They’re worth nothing here, where everyone has their own magic… but they fetch a high price outside the walls.” She reached into her bag, taking out a necklace. The chain was fine, polished silver, thin and dainty, which starkly contrasted the big, bold gemstone that hung from it. It was a red ruby, which had been cracked down the center, the gap filled with gold. It was a repair made not in an effort to hide the damage, but to show it off, and to make the stone even more striking. Mary was in awe.

“This… looks priceless.”

“Not here it isn’t. People born here are bored of gold and shiny things, and magic is sold for pennies on the dollar. So I bring my stuff to the markets in nearby cities. Folks are always a bit skeptical. Can’t really blame them, I suppose.” 

She begins to put away the necklace, but Mary interrupts her momentarily. “What… does it do?”

The lizard girl blinks, freezing in place for a moment. “Oh, uh. Don’t worry about it. It’s boring stuff, I don’t want to annoy you, or anything-”

Mary was clueless. “Oh, you won’t bore me! I want to learn more about magical items… I heard they exist, but not much more.” She took out a notebook and pen. “In fact, how would you feel about answering some questions?”

Mary had a weird relationship with social anxiety. She would always overthink everything she shouldn’t overthink, and somehow not notice the most blatant social cues despite that. The dragon was blushing, but Mary didn’t notice, mostly because of her green scales.

“Ah. Eheh. Maybe… over some coffee?”

Mary smiled wide. “Oh, I’d love to! Although, tea is more my style.”

The dragon put away the necklace, and gave Mary a playful punch on the bicep. “Can’t handle coffee, huh?”

“Oh, definitely not. My anxiety would go haywire with that much caffeine.”

It was a few minutes later, before they got a moment to sit down. The lizard had led Mary to a little cafe, off of the beaten path, behind a much larger building, and with an easy-to-miss entrance. It’s the kind of place that Mary would never have even noticed by herself, but it was packed. There was only one table left, and it was tucked over in an awkward spot in the corner. Their drinks came quick, a plain black coffee for the dragon, and a hot Earl Grey for Mary.

“So, you were gonna ask me some questions, right?”

“Oh- yea! Sorry, hold on-”

Mary reached back into her bag, and took out her notebook. She flipped through it a moment, going past the pages about her previous two interactions. Both had their answers to all her usual questions… as well as some first-hand notes on how their powers felt. She didn’t expect that second part today.

“Here we go… What’s your name?”

“Willow Bark. My parents had a sense of humor.”

Mary wrote that down, smiling. She enjoyed how relaxed things were now that they were indoors. “Gotcha. How did the magic of Sunbright change you?”

“Well… I moved here just a few months ago. I felt myself becoming more powerful, over time, like I could lift a car. Scales started to grow, across my skin- and I got this awful, awful heartburn, for a few days. I think you can imagine where that went.”

Mary blinked, tilting her head in a confused look. Seeing that, Willow smiled and blew a kiss to the reporter, a bolt of flame shooting out of her mouth, reaching about a foot in front of her before fizzling out. Mary moved back in her seat slightly, on instinct. “Oh wow. Is that your power?”

“Oh- no no, my power is the ability to enchant. The fire breath helps with forging stuff, though.”

“How does… enchanting work?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, as if searching for the words to describe it. “It’s… like trying to convince an object to do something it otherwise wouldn’t. Like a back and forth conversation. It usually needs some offering to give it the power to do anything- Such as a gemstone, or some gold leaf. Something with inherent value.”

Mary jotted that down in her notes, already dreading the next question. “Okay, final question. Feel free not to answer, if it’s too personal.”

“Oh I’m sure it’s fine.

“...Have you ever used your powers in a sexual way before?”

The green scales of the enchanter’s cheeks turned a darker color, pretty much immediately. “Ah- Okay. W-what kind of reporter did you say you were?”

Mary shrunk slightly. She felt bad for embarrassing someone. She didn’t push for an answer to her question, and accepted the change in topic quickly. “Oh. I’m a writer for a blog called KINKSTERS, we do stories on safe BDSM practices, do reviews of sex toys, tutorials for rope bondage… that sort of stuff.”

Damnit. Now Mary was blushing too. She had been working for the blog for almost 3 years… and she still got embarrassed telling people about her job. Willow chuckled slightly.

“Ah, yea. Probably should have asked that beforehand… Well, fine. Cat’s out of the bag. Most of the stuff I make is sex toys, in one way or another. They each have magical effects meant to spice up the bedroom, so to speak. It’s… why I didn’t answer you earlier, when you asked what the necklace did.”

Mary blinked. Huh. “S-so, what… does it do?”

“It’s an aphrodisiac. The wearer’s libido is increased, steadily, until they basically start begging.” Willow wasn’t blushing as much any more. Perhaps because she wasn’t trying to hide anything, anymore. Perhaps because she knew Mary was working for a kink blog.

“H-huh. That sounds. Useful.” Mary, on the other hand, was definitely still a bit embarrassed. Some betraying part of her brain was putting ideas in her head, of being teased and played with, and made to beg. She tried to focus. “Sure seems like everyone here is… pretty kinky, huh?”

Willow smiled. She felt a bit more comfortable, at the moment. The embarrassment of the snack across from her helped to fuel her own confidence. “Well, in a place where everyone feels comfortable in their own bodies… most folks don’t have much of a hangup about getting comfortable with someone else’s.”

Mary blinked, and wrote that down, word for word. That’d be good for her blog. She was still  technically on the clock, after all… as much as she didn’t feel like it. “S-so, do you, um…” She tried to find a graceful way to word what she was trying to say. “D-dip into your own supply?” She failed.

The lizard grinned, with a crooked smile that might look malicious on someone else, but on her, it just looked mischievous. “Oh, of course. These things need testing! Can’t sell them to someone if I don’t know they work.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Hey, if you want to learn more about magic items… I could always show you, firsthand.”

Mary nearly spit out her tea, gulping it down in a weird, choking way, causing her to pound on her chest for a moment to clear her throat. “Ah- right, yea…” She blinked. “W-well, it is my job to… learn more about these sorts of things. A, uh… entirely professional curiosity.”

The lizard across from her nodded. “Of course, of course. A professional curiosity that is leaving you blushing like a sun-ripened tomato.”

Mary closed her eyes to save face. She hadn’t realized she had been blushing quite that much. She mentally cursed her own circulatory dilation. “Oh, uh, it’s just the tea, you know- it warms up my face and all that-”

Click.

Mary was snapped out of her state by the sound. Subtle, but strong, and close to her ear. Like a wallet being closed, or a snapping of fingers… and as she opened her eyes again, she realized exactly what it was.

Around her neck, was the necklace Willow had shown. It fit tightly to her skin, and the weight of the gem was a constant reminder of what she was wearing. She yelped.

“Hey, don’t worry, you can take it off at any time. I just thought you might want to go ahead and give it a try here.” The lizard’s sadistic smile has faded from her face, instead a now reassuring, calm smile. It made Mary feel like just dropping into the lizard’s arms… being carried back to a bed, being slowly pet and caressed as she-

Mary shook her head, as if trying to physically knock away the thoughts. She felt warm, a feeling radiating out from her chest, filling every corner of her body. Her eyes unfocused for a moment.

Snap. She broke out of her stupor for a moment as Willow snapped her fingers in front of her. “Hey, don’t go falling into your arousal quite yet, I need consent as to what you’re okay with.”

Mary still felt a bit hazy, but she slowly fit together an answer in her mind. “N-no touching my crotch… Nothing blatant in public… You’re fine otherwise…”

The lizard nodded. “Well, if we want you to not be ‘blatant in public’ we’d ought to act fast~” She stood up, grabbing the chain around Mary’s neck and tugging. Pulling her up, and out of her seat. She was rough, but in a calculated way, as to keep it enjoyable instead of painful. She kept dragging Mary, and the human struggled to take in her surroundings… her brain was already running on an entirely different track. She had images in her head of Willow holding her by a leash and collar, pulling her around the city as her personal pet-

Mary was pulled into a side room, and Willow closed the door behind her. The sound of the closing door snapped her back into the present once again- She was in a private room. Used for studying, or relaxing. It had a desk, and a small bench. She had seen these in other countries, but not in the states… Though Sunbright was so separated culturally from other places near it, it wasn’t surprising. Mary would usually have considered all of that, but at the moment, her mind was busy bouncing around in her head like a TV screensaver. The gem radiated with heat, as her mind was filled with images of being teased, and played with… and pushed up against a wall. It took her a second to realize that last part was real.

“O-oh, hi there-”

Mary was quickly cut off as she was pulled into a kiss. It wasn’t like any she had experienced before, with the strange shape of her partner’s mouth. She kissed at an angle, her sharp teeth brushing up against Mary’s cheeks in a slightly worrying way. It was a reminder that she was in the presence of a carnivore, a monster, something not entirely human. But in this moment, in this situation, it was a reminder of something more. Of how powerless she was. Of how that monster could control her, in both mind and body. A chill ran through her body as she leaned into the kiss, her eyes unfocusing, and rolling back slightly. After a few seconds, she felt the lizard lean back, breaking the kiss.

“Hmhm~ If you’re acting like this now, I’m excited to see how far I can push you.”

The gem around her neck continued to glow, flooding her mind with strange feelings, and strange visions. The general, submissive ideas that had once filled her head changed. Flashes of holding down someone else, tying them down, swinging a pendulum in front of their face as she slowly rewrites their brain… She felt a surge of confidence, running through her like molten steel. She grabbed Willow by the torso, and pushed her down onto the bench behind her, with a determined look on her face.

Willow tended to be a shy person, but for different reasons than most. She wasn’t worried about embarrassing herself, in fact, she could enjoy some good embarrassment sometimes. Her worries were always about other people. Being tall and imposing often caused people to be scared of her, or at least intimidated… And, beyond that, she tended to make others uncomfortable with the nonchalant way she treated sex. So she wasn’t shy in this moment, she wasn’t embarrassed or meek. She was confident. Mary met a grinning face looking up at her from the bench, and grinned herself.

“I don’t think you’re ready for the things I’m capable of when I get going, lizard.”

Willow visibly blushes, her scales shifting to a darker color around her face. “Well, are you going to keep talking, or-”

Mary practically pounces on the dragon, pressing those boney shoulders against the wall, leaning in close. She can feel the overwhelming heat on the dragon’s breath, like at any moment she could let loose a pillar of fire. She stares, for a good while, into those eyes. They were one of the first things she noticed about the enchanter, and they were brilliant. Unnerving, certainly, but there was a beauty in how scary they could be. Like looking into a blazing flame, standing a little too close. Feeling the heat radiating through you, knowing a step forward would have you engulfed. Mary felt her heart beating in her chest. She was certain that Willow could feel it too. Good. She wanted the dragon to know how worked up she was. She wanted her to feel that same dangerous feeling. In one movement, she reaches behind her neck, and pulls off the necklace.

The effect is instantaneous. Her arousal doesn’t just cut out, but the visions that were swimming in her head disappear like TV monitors flickering off, one by one. She feels far more aware, and in control, than she was a moment ago. Willow blinks, moving slightly forwards in her sitting position.

“Hey, all good? You seem a bit worn out.”

Willow blinked. She was. She felt exhausted, in fact. She had hardly done anything, but her body was protesting, and she was overheating- though, that may have been partially the fault of the dragon in front of her.

“Yea- no, I’m okay. Just might need to stop here for now.” She sits down on the other side of the room with a sigh, her body thanking her for the chance to relax. Willow frowns. “Yea, I’m sorry about that… this thing might need some more tuning before it’s ready for sale. They tend to draw on someone’s existing energy, if they don’t have enough of their own. Hey, want me to get us some water?”

Mary nodded. “...Yea, actually. That’d be nice.” She takes a deep breath. She was still aroused- more than she had been in a while. But she wanted to wait. Now wasn’t the time or place to play with the dragon. It was fun, but she needed rest. Willow stands up and leaves the room quickly, her size causing Mary’s seat to rattle slightly. When she pokes her head back in, she’s holding a couple bottles of water- passing one to Mary, and sitting down with the other, herself.

The rest of the time there was nice. Calm, unremarkable, but nice. Willow downed her bottle of water in an instant, causing steam to billow out from her mouth, and the two of them laughed at the silliness of it all. Willow talked about how fun enchanting is, Mary talked about how much she enjoyed reporting. They spoke back and forth, about fun things, and no things. Meaningless tangents, and fun stories. It felt good. Mary felt good.

“-Anyways, it’s getting around lunchtime, I’ve got a place to be.” Willow stood up, stretching, looking at her phone. “Heh, we’ve been in here for… about 2 hours, already.”

Mary stood up as well, giggling. “Wow, really? It doesn’t seem like that long. I almost wish you could have stayed.”

It was a bold play, from the meek reporter. Something she wouldn’t normally feel so emboldened to say. But she felt comfortable, around the dragon- and today was a bold day, for her. The dragon, on the other hand, seems a bit more taken aback, by the statement. For a moment, Mary worries that she said the wrong thing, that she was being too forwards-

“Yea. Me too.”

The words held in the air, for a moment, between the two of them. Mary found herself again staring up into those eyes, before Willow blinks, and puts her phone in her pocket.

“I’ll see you around, okay?”

Mary nods. “Yea. I really hope so.”