Outsiders Pt. 02

"Welcome back, Boss," Felicia said. She was sitting on the arm of the couch, watching some talent show rerun on TV.

"Turn that off and come with me," Ben said.

"Coming, Boss," the cat said as she stepped on the off button on the remote and jumped up to follow her master. They went into his bedroom. "What's up?"

Ben closed the bedroom door, crouched down low and whispered, "I'm going to turn you into a big, hairy spider and you're going to slowly creep all over Krista's face."

"Ooooh, yeah," the cat said, "count me in! This is part of her punishment for stealing your folks' money from you, right, Boss? And for the crap she tried to pull last night, too? Am I right?"

Ben nodded and began to cast the Baleful Polymorph spell. Three seconds later, Felicia turned into a large spider, covered in orange tabby fur. "Bleh, you're ugly," he said.

"So this is the thanks I get," Felicia grumbled, "for eating the spiders that crawl around your room while you sleep and stopping them from laying their eggs inside your ear?"

"What spiders," Ben asked.

"Exactly," Felicia replied, tapping one of her limbs to stress her point.

Ben rolled his eyes at his familiar, opened the door and nodded towards the den. "Go get her, tiger," he said.

Felicia laughed a giddy laugh and scurried off to the den, effortlessly coordinating her eight limbs. Ben felt Krista's anticipation turn into sheer dread when she spotted, out of the corner of her eye, the tarantula advancing towards her face. When Felicia put her two foremost limbs against Krista's cheek to climb it, Krista's dread turned into raw panic. Only Ben's orders prevented her from jumping up screaming and trying to rip the skin the spider has touched off her own face.

Ben felt Krista's torment and was very uncomfortable with it. He felt Krista's agony and anguish reach a crescendo as Felicia climbed atop her face and perched there. He felt Krista's mind all but shatter as she withdrew deep into herself to deny the utter terror that sat upon her nose. Ben rushed towards the den, yelling, "Get off her!"

Felicia scurried off of Krista's nose, but it had no effect. He couldn't feel any of Krista's relief. He entered the den to find Krista lying on the floor where he had ordered her to. Her eyes were shut tight. She wasn't moving and was barely breathing. "Krista," he called out to her. He couldn't feel her even perceive his voice, let alone respond to it. "Oh, crud! I broke her!" In desperation, he sent her the telepathic order to repair her mind and let go of the trauma she had just gone through.

Ben nearly collapsed with relief when her feeble efforts to resist the order failed and it took root in her mind. She calmed down, drew a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Oh, man," Ben moaned. That had been way too much. He had pushed her too far, too fast. He hated himself for doing it. He made her experience her absolute worst fear come to life while she was paralyzed on the floor, rendered helpless by his orders. He felt like he was a wet shit that had somehow learned to walk on two legs.

He decided he had enough of punishing Krista. He sent her the order to go outside and stay at least seventy feet away from the house for the next two minutes. He also sent her the order to stretch and relax and to regain her faculties and repair her calm. Krista quietly got up and walked out the front door, not meeting his concerned eyes once. He wiped his brow and shook his head, reproaching himself for tormenting her like that.

"Come on," he said to Felicia. He led her to the bedroom, the room furthest away from the front door and spent a minute casting the spell of Break Enchantment to turn her back into a cat.

When he finished, the cat tilted her head and said, "Boss, are you going to be alright? You don't look so good."

"Don't worry," he said, "I feel much worse."

"Is there anything I can do to help, Boss?"

Ben shook his head, sadly. "No," he said. "I don't know." He sat down on his bed, reached up and put his face in his hands. The humiliation and hurt of Krista trying to play him for the second time abated and the guilt at having raped and tortured her took over in his mind. "I don't even know why I sent her out of the range of the spell. I might have released her with it." He shook his head. "I've hurt her, Felicia. I've hurt her so badly... I just don't know..." His voice trailed off when he felt Krista's glad anticipation. She was walking back towards his house and feeling excited at what was going to happen inside. Ben frowned and looked up towards the front door, as if he could see it through the walls.

"Well, Boss," Felicia said, "let me remind you that the female dog in question had it coming to her, when all is said and done. She played you for a fool, took all your money and then thanked you for saving her life by playing you for a fool again. As far as I'm concerned, what she needs is for me to give her some cosmetic surgery." Felicia stood up on her rear paws and held up her front paws with claws extended. "And by cosmetic surgery, I mean me clawing her frickin' face off so she can't use it to play nice guys like you anymore, Boss."

"I'm not a nice guy," Ben said.

Krista walked into the house and Ben got up to meet her. They stood facing each other in the hallway. She looked down to his utility belt and the big pouch on his side where the d20 and her folded up list were kept. He felt her excitement as she looked at it. His jaw dropped. "You want to gamble on," he asked, incredulous.

Krista blushed a little before grinning and nodding her head emphatically. Ben exchanged a shocked look with Felicia. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Boss," the cat mumbled. "This one is Looney Tunes, through and through."

Krista extended her hand towards him, all but demanding the placement of the d20 into the palm of it. "Krista," Ben said her name, as if hoping the mention of it would bring her to her senses. "You just lost a dice roll and had a tarantula walk over your face because of it. Do you really think you should risk that happening again? Isn't it time you stopped rolling dice, once and for all?"

Krista gave a half-grunt, half sniff in response. It was a delicate, feminine sound, almost elegant in its execution. Ben felt the annoyance and exasperation his questions inspired in her and he heard the dismissive snort as her saying, "Mind your own beeswax, num-nuts, you don't have a clue what you're talking about!"

His brow drew down. He couldn't believe he felt sorry for what he put her through just moments ago. "It was her own doing," he told himself. "She made the entries on the list, she rolled the dice and she's the one that wants to roll it again." He reached into the pouch and retrieved the dice. He slapped it into the palm of her hand and resolved to let Felicia the spider fall asleep on Krista's face if she rolled a one again.

Without receiving an order from him, she crouched down on the floor, rolled the dice around in her hand and then let it loose to roll across the floor. It rolled to a spot between the wall and Ben's foot. He stepped aside and bent over to see which number was on the topmost face. It was number thirteen, which meant something from the "yes, please" part of the list. He felt her giddiness and pulled out the list from the pouch. He sent her the order to read aloud the list item and explain it.

"Number thirteen," she said, "go swimming on a white, sandy beach. I want to go swimming in crystal clear waters where you can see the bottom like there wasn't even any sea there at all. I want to see all the fishes swimming around and then have the Sun dry me while I'm lying on a beach made of the whitest, softest sand there is. And I want no people to come around and disturb me. I don't want anyone around for miles and miles!"

Ben looked at her for a few pregnant moments. He couldn't believe that not even having her worst fear come to life could damage her love affair with the dice. He had only introduced her to the d20 that morning and she was already hooked on rolling it. He sent her the order to go to the den and find a beach that would match her wishes.

Felicia sat at his side and looked up at him, saying, "Seriously, Boss, she is cuckoo for cocoa-puffs."

"Don't I know it," Ben said.

"Ah, well, at least you can take comfort in one thing, Boss."

"What would that be?"

"The crazies are supposed to be really good in bed."

Ben rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "Guard the house until we get back from our beach vacation!"

Felicia stood up and walked off towards the back door. "Always with the 'guard the house' routine," she softly grumbled. "Can't wait for him to come up with something original."

Krista soon found an island in the south Pacific. It was uninhabited, but frequently visited by people that lived on the sea, or took long pleasure cruises on their own sailboats, partly because of its beauty, but also because it had fresh water. The beaches were white sand and there were many beautiful, natural sights to see on the island itself.

She was all but skipping in her excitement to see the island and experience its wonders. Ben leaned over the laptop and scrolled the many amateur pictures depicting the island's attractions. Krista was distracting him so he sent her the order to put together some provisions for their stay on the island. She went to gather towels and put together a picnic basket.

Left alone to concentrate, Ben picked a spot on a beach and made a mental image of it. Krista came back with the towels and his small cooler and put her hand on his shoulder. Ben sent her the order to accept his teleport, as a precaution against her staying put to make mischief. He couldn't just discount the possibility that her eagerness to keep rolling the dice was yet another nefarious ruse of hers.

He recited the word for the Greater Teleport spell and they found themselves on the beach. Once again, the teleportation left a deep impression on Krista. The sand was white and the rising Sun was making the water appear dark in contrast. Krista sighed happily and stripped off her T-shirt. Her perky breasts bounced free, drawing Ben's eyes to them. He paid special attention at their jostling while Krista skipped on either leg to shed her boots and socks. "Last one in is a rotten egg," she called out when she was done rolling her tights down her legs. She stood up, faced him, smiled and took her red panties off. She tossed them at his face and ran into the surf.

Ben stood still and watched her jiggling ass as she ran. It was a pleasurable sight to see. Krista walked through the water, laughing in delight. When she walked out far enough, she dove in. Ben watched her swim along the beach. Her strokes were sure and graceful. The waves kept pushing her back towards the sand and she responded by trying to swim farther out to sea. The waves were stronger and she jumped up, took a deep breath and then dived under them. Ben gathered her clothes, shook out the sand and patiently waited for her to surface. He could feel her delight at spotting a brightly colored fish and chasing it under the surface.

He spread a towel on the sand and set the rest of their things down on it. He sat down, took a look inside the cooler and retrieved a bottle of juice. He sipped on it while he felt her enjoyment of the simple pleasure of swimming in warm, clear water and diving after brightly colored fish. She was almost childlike in her wonder at the beauty of the nature around her.

She swam for the better part of an hour, until her arms were starting to feel tired. She slowly walked out of the surf, reminding Ben of Bond girls doing the same in movies. The difference here was that Krista was buck naked and flailing her arms around for balance as her inner ear was struggling to adjust to dry land again. She fell over twice, helped along by the strong waves, and Ben laughed heartily at her ineptitude.

Finally, Krista managed to recover her balance and step out to terra firma. She walked over to him and said, "That wasn't funny, mister rotten egg."

"Looked hilarious from where I was sitting," he said.

She grunted softly, but made no comment. She wrung the water out of her soaked hair and said, "I need to wash this salt off. Teleport us home?"

"There's no rush," he said. "According to your internet research, there is a waterfall over that-a-way," he nodded westwards, "and I thought we might go and wash the salt off your skin there."

Krista smiled and said, "Lead the way." He picked up their things and started to walk towards the stone-rimmed pond and the waterfall that fed it. It was less than a quarter of a mile away. Krista followed him, naked under the early morning, Pacific Sun. He felt her wonder and delight when she caught her first glimpse of it. The low resolution pictures hadn't done the place any justice. It was beautiful. The water was clear and surrounded by rocks that were neither smooth, nor rough. They were just about right for a wet foot to step over them and neither slip nor injure itself. A small, quiet waterfall on the north side fed the pool with fresh water. On the east side, the water drained over the low lip to dribble down into a creek that wound its way to the sea, not far from the beach she had been swimming on.

Krista sat down on the edge of one of the rocks and dipped her toes in the water. He could feel her shiver. "Ooh, it's cool," she said. She drew a deep breath and slid off the rock to dive into the pool.

As he watched her glide through the waters like a nymph, he suddenly realized she had said, "Teleport us home," earlier. It had completely slipped under his notice that she had appropriated his home. He found himself admiring her perseverance. He had seen Krista keep her cool with the bikers and he had heard her seamlessly go from one seduction attempt to the next while they had her at their mercy. And now, despite being his magically dominated slave, she was in complete command of her faculties and using them to try and subtly manipulate him to her ends.

He found himself wondering if she really was that cool and collected, or if there was some deep, dark pathology at work inside her head. "Either way, she got game," he thought. If it hadn't been for Felicia catching her sneaking around his house at night, she would have successfully played him again, he was sure of it.

She surfaced and said, "Join me?"

Ben grinned and said, "I'll just watch, thanks. No salt in my hair, remember?"

"Your loss," she said and dived into the water again.

Her form cut through the water gracefully, under his admiring gaze. She swam to him and stood up next to the rock he was standing on. The water only came up to her navel. His eyes lingered over her perky breasts as the water ran off them in big beads. He tracked the drops as they went around her erect nipples in their travels downwards.

"So, do I roll again now," she asked, smirking at having captured his attention so thoroughly.

"Huh," Ben said.

Krista smiled and said, "The salt is out of my hair now. Do I roll the dice?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," Ben stammered. He couldn't believe her beauty made him lose focus yet again. "It's like she's the one with magic," he told himself, "and not I." He held up a towel and said, "Come out and dry yourself before you roll!"

Krista climbed up on the rock and stood naked before him. She looked him in the eyes, smiling a smug smile and not saying a single word. She made no move to dry herself, as if she was expecting him to do it for her. Ben felt his face flush. He could feel sweat rolling down the side of his face, much like the water ran down her smooth skin. He recognized that he was locked into a tiny contest of wills with her. She was pushing back at his domination and pitting her beauty and charms against his magic and she was winning. She wanted to have him do something for her, even something as insignificant as drying her skin after a swim. He didn't know what such a small victory would mean to her. He wondered if it would give her hope that she could manipulate him, somehow?

The only reason that he was considering actually drying her off was to grope her. "You could have been doing that the whole time, Ben," he told himself. He blinked his musings away and decided it would be best to crush any hopes Krista still had of playing him. He sent her the order to towel herself dry. Krista bent down and took the smallest of the towels and began to slowly dab at the water clinging to her skin. Her movements were delicate and sensual and her body was all but writhing from one sexy pose to the next as she "dried" herself. Ben stepped back to enjoy the show.

After a few moments, he realized she was perverting his order and testing its limits. Instead of a functional toweling, she was putting on a show worthy of any strip club, which only removed the water from her skin as a side effect. Ben's brow drew down and he sent her the order to quickly dry her hair. Krista stood up straight, took a dry towel in hand and wrung out her hair with all due haste. "That's better," Ben thought to himself.

Once her hair was as dry as it could get with a towel, he sent her the order to roll the dice. Krista held out her hand and he fished the item from his belt pouch and put it in her palm. The pair of them then looked around themselves to find a flat surface on which she could roll the dice. Krista spotted a large, flat rock behind Ben and pointed it out. They walked over to it and she rolled again. The dice showed fifteen this time. Ben fished out the list and sent her the order to read aloud the entry and explain it.

"Number fifteen," she said, excitedly skipping from foot to foot and making her breasts jiggle, "go skydiving. I love skydiving. I love, love, love, looooove skydiving. I go skydiving whenever I get a chance to do it and I just love it! I love everything about it! The pure adrenaline rush of seeing the earth rising up to meet you and knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it, except pulling your cord. The danger of your chute failing, the whoosh of air as you whiz through it, everything!" She sighed and looked off into the distance. "Nothing made me feel so alive as when I first stepped out of that airplane and went falling through the air..." She looked to Ben as if she was reliving a fond memory. She snapped out of it and cleared her throat.

"The only thing I don't like about skydiving," she said, her voice no longer nostalgic, "is that I've done it too many times. It's gotten to the point of being almost boring. What I wouldn't do to get that primal, will-I-live-or-will-I-die rush of uncertainty again! Oh, man, oh man..."

The way she was talking about skydiving made Ben want to try it himself. Taken by her enthusiasm, he decided he would definitely go skydiving with her. Thinking about her desire to get that live or die rush gave him a naughty idea. He grinned and said, "Put your clothes back on, we're going skydiving!"

Krista gave an excited whoop and kissed him on the cheek as she walked past him to get back to her clothes. Ben watched her hurriedly get dressed. He was a bit disappointed that she wasn't putting on another show for him, but he guessed she was in a hurry to get to the rush of free fall. When she got fully dressed, she looked at the cooler and towels in confusion.

"Leave them," Ben said. "We'll come back for them later."

"Ok," she said. She walked to him and breathed deep. A big, goofy smile was plastered across her face.

Ben sent her the order to grab a hold of his wrist and not let go. When she did that, he sent her the order to accept his teleportation. He spoke the word for the spell of Greater Teleport and they instantly found themselves in mid-air. Gravity immediately took hold of them and pulled them downwards. In the initial second of free fall, Ben felt like his organs were trading places. All of his ticklish spots were tingling like razor blades were being drawn across them. As the pull of gravity increased, so did his pulse.