A Study in Fragrance Pt. 17

Naomi shrugged, testing the one on the far right. "Elderberry extract. Yikes. I wonder what that's good for." The top didn't budge. "Well, that's a dud."

Em tried another with the same effect. In all, they were able to unscrew only one bottle, Abraham's Balm that hardly had any smell at all. "Hmmm..." she looked through the wall to the bathroom, thinking about unscrewing the rest of them. "You want to try and open the rest?"

Naomi smiled for the first time that day. "Yes! Absolutely!"

They closed up the kit and carried it to the bathroom, leaving Jamie sitting on the floor studying Abby's sketchbooks. Setting the box on the floor next to the sink, Emily started the hot water tap. "Hot water. Works like a charm."

"You have anything we could use for leverage?" Naomi started opening drawers, "like a pliers or..." and before Emily could stop her, found the bunny tail. "What's this, Em?" She pulled it out, studying it.

Emily felt the embarrassment bubbling out of her core, the butt plug suddenly feeling huge inside her, Complicit's tendril expanding. "Uhhh...fuck." She took it from Naomi, glancing between the pink fibers and her friend's face, eyebrows raised, waiting. "So, it's...it's part of my...fuck, N! I told you guys on Sunday I'd agreed to be Cos's...Cos's servant-cunt...! Right?" She barely could get the words out, but she knew she had to, the tendril rising up to attention. Standing so close to her friend they sounded crude and awful. She pleaded with her eyes not to judge her, relieved when Naomi just nodded, her expression unchanged. "So...well...this is part of what he's asking me to do..."

Naomi just shook her head, not understanding, looking at the puff ball, waiting.

"Fuck, Naomi," Emily turned off the tap, vapor rising out of the sink. "It's part of a set...of...a training set...of..." She was struggling to reveal what she was doing, even though the tendril was only getting stronger, responding to her resistance. She's going to see it later. What's the problem? But the problem was she was standing right next to Naomi and the problem was she was going to have to show her, and she wasn't ready. But Complicit wasn't letting her off the hook. "Fuck," she breathed out, setting the ball down on the side of the sink, unbuttoning her shorts. "I might as well show you. You'll see it later today anyway." She pulled her shorts down and turned to show Naomi the black disk shoved against her butt hole.

Naomi stepped back, surprised and uncertain what was happening, as she watched Emily take the bunnytail and snap it into place. "Oh my god!" She put her hands to her mouth, laughing. "That's so cute!" She giggled, reaching down to feel it. "Holy fuck, Em! I love it!" She ruffled it a little, her knuckles lightly grazing her friend's cheeks.

Emily's embarrassment only increased feeling Naomi's fingers behind her, her hands reaching back to stop her. "Fuck, Naomi...! This so hard for me. It's so...weird! What he has me doing! But..." she could feel the tendril thickening, threatening to pierce her brain, and if she let that happen she knew she'd do something way worse. "I...it's...just the first...it's to prepare me..." She looked over her shoulder, hoping Naomi would get it.

But her friend just looked at her, shaking her head. "Prepare you...for...?"

Em felt the tendril strengthening. "Preparing my asshole to take his cock. He's too big and I'm too small for him to fuck me there..." It all came out in a whoosh, before she could stop herself.

"No...no...fucking way..." Naomi was studying Em's face to be sure she wasn't fucking with her. "Oh, Em. I'm so sorry..." She reached up to hug her, but hesitated awkwardly. They were in a weird position, the bathroom was tight, and Emily was half-naked.

Emily turned, pulling her shorts up, the pompom falling off to the floor, and embraced her friend for the second time, relieved she had pushed through the shame, the tendril drooping. "It's so fucking intense, N. I'm...he's...it's just so intense." She relaxed into Naomi's hands rubbing her back, caressing her.

"It's okay, Em. I mean, I'm okay. I don't...know what to say. Are you okay?"

There was something in Naomi's voice that Em couldn't place; or maybe she was too wrapped up in her own emotions to decipher it. She nodded, sniffling a little. "Yeah. I'm okay. It's just so much to process." And then for some reason, she didn't know why she said it, even months later when she reflected on it, she said, "there's a whole kit of them. In my bedroom. Different tails, different sizes." Somehow that admission was a turning point, but it didn't seem important at the time.

Naomi pulled back, her eyes lit up. "Really? Can I see?"

Emily just stared at her, trying to figure out if she was for real, nodding hesitantly. "Yeah...now?"

Naomi nodded, excited. "Could I?"

The bottles forgotten, Emily grabbed the bunnytail and walked to her bedroom, Naomi right behind. So fucking weird. This is so fucking weird! But she knew it was just part of whatever Complicit had in store for her: being open about her status with Cos. It wasn't enough she had committed to being his servant-cunt. She had to be transparent about it, too! What lesson is Complict teaching? But she knew what the lesson was; it was about when to keep secrets and from whom.

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She turned from the octagon to look at the back of the bookcase. Abby's cloak hung like a superhero cape, a symbol of her alter-ego, hiding in a closet. She laughed a little at the Psych 101 analysis, but knew it had some truth to it. Emily shivered a little remembering that moment, when Naomi had asked to see the training kit, recognizing its importance and how little she had understood Complicit's power over all of them. Them. Not each of them individually, but all of them. As a group. The clues had been emerging, but she hadn't understood them: Steph and Jamie seeing the same image for the BLN, Jamie's sketches. She shivered again, wondering for the umpteenth time if things could have gone differently; that if she'd been less competitive she could have put a stop to it earlier. Not that it's awful, she reminded herself. It's just so awkward. She turned to the cabinet.

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She tossed the tail onto the bed, knelt down and pulled the box out from where she'd hidden it, placing it on her comforter. Naomi watched as she pulled the top up and over, gasping and giggling when she finally saw the contents.

"Shit, Em. How much do you think that thing costs?"

It hadn't occurred to her. She shrugged.

"It's got to be expensive," Naomi reached in to feel the foxtail, lifting it up to look at it more carefully. Turning back, she pulled out the smallest plug, playing with how it attached and detached from the tail. She looked up at Emily, staring at her. "Sorry...but it's pretty wild, Emily! I...did...like, this...is this what people get off on?" And then she felt bad. "Oh, shit! I'm sorry. I mean, you..."

Emily started laughing at her discomfort, not put off by how weird the whole thing was. "Yeah. No. Naomi! Remember? Two weeks ago?" She waved her hands around. "Nada. Zilch. Nothing. And now...?" She raised her eyebrows, looking at the foxtail with its plug in her friend's hands.

Naomi rolled her eyes and nodded, understanding. "So fucking weird, Em." She paused, thinking carefully. "Does it hurt?" Her eyes darted to Emily's shorts.

"No...sort of. Not really 'hurts,' except when I put it in." Emily's eyes glanced at the open slot in the box and back again. "He's got me using one that's a little bigger..."

Naomi followed her gaze and then focused on the plug between her fingers, gears turning. She looked up and hesitated. "Would...I...fuck." She stopped, her face flushing a little. "I want...don't be freaked out, k? But...I want to try it. Would it be okay if I tried this one?"

It was Emily's turn to look surprised, her eyebrows rising. "Really...?" She saw Naomi nodding, inspecting the plug. "Ummm...if you want...?"

"Does it need lube?"

Emily stared at her friend, realizing she knew more about this than she had let on. "Hold on N. Talk to me straight here. You done this before?" She looked straight at her face, studying her reaction. She's been thinking about it. Maybe watching porn?

Naomi giggled self-consciously. "Maybe. A little. Not like animal shit...er...tails but these are so damn cute! I'd love to see how I look in one!"

"Wait. Hold up. Let me get this straight. You've 'maybe, a little,' played with toys in your butt?" She had to know more. Naomi was the closest of her friends, and she'd never told her anything about this.

Naomi smiled shyly, keeping her eyes on the plug. "Sort of. I got a toy a while back and it had an anal plug attachment. But I didn't really push it in...but I've been thinking about it ever since..." She looked up to see if Emily was judging her.

She shrugged. "Be my guest," she smiled. "He'll probably never expect me to use that one, since I'm already three sizes up." She giggled a little, her hand moving back to rub her shorts, pressing on the plug. "There's the lube. You want me to leave, or...okay?!"

Naomi had already pulled her shorts and briefs down, reaching for the lube. "Does it need much?" She didn't wait for an answer, blurping a pinky knuckle's glob onto the plug. "You were going to have yours in tonight, right?" She stared at Emily as she reached behind her to spread her cheeks, the plug shiny with gel in her other hand.

Emily just stared at her, wondering if maybe Complicit was responsible. She was trying to imagine her friend doing this a month ago. Is it me? Was I just so out of it that I didn't know my friends were this far along? Naomi's mouth made an 'O' and then she smiled, looking over her shoulder and down.

"So fucking cute! Em! What do you think?" She turned to show it off. "I could definitely go a size larger. Or more."

Emily stared at Naomi's landing strip, so carefully maintained, her skin so different from her own, a dark olive tone, her hair jet black. Naomi's glutes were toned, hard won at the gym, Em knew, and now, peeking out from between them a reddish white tail pushing out and drooping down.

Naomi giggled, rotating her hips to make the tail wag up and down. "Oh, that's so fucking cute. Hey, Jamie! You want to see this?!"

Em jerked up in surprise, knowing where Naomi was about to go next. She shook her head, not in protest, just in disbelief, watching as Jamie appeared in the doorway, her eyes questioning.

And then she saw what Naomi was doing and her hand jumped to her mouth, her eyes shocked and then smiling. "Oh my goodness, Naomi! What is that!???"

"Cool, hunh? Em has one too." She looked over at her. "Go on, put yours on!"

Em stared at the two of them, hesitating until the tendril threatened to swell, then retrieved the pompom from the bed. Complict has got be doing this to her. I can't believe this is happening. And even though she hadn't felt self-conscious being naked in front Jamie the day before, this felt different. Different enough that she hesitated again, the tendril continuing to thicken. Noooo! Fuck! She pulled her shorts and briefs down, letting them fall to her ankles, bringing the fur ball behind her to snap it onto the base. She turned to show it off.

"Oh goodness that's so cute. They're both so cute! How do you make them stay on?" Her attention on Naomi's tail, already bringing a sketchbook up, her pencil flowing across the page.

"They're shoved up our ass, Jamie. They're attached to a plug that's inside our butt holes." Naomi's bravado, even as she was laughing.

Jamie stopped mid stroke, looking between the two of them, blushing bright pink. "Ohhh...sweet Pete...I...didn't...really?"

Em nodded, standing to the side, watching the scene and wondering why she hadn't seen this one before. So much I don't understand about Complicit.

"Can I...would it be okay?" Jamie nodded to where Naomi was standing, her butt pushed back wiggling, inviting Em to model next to her.

Em screwed up her face, not believing that was what Jamie wanted: to sketch their bare asses with animal tales sticking out. But the tendril was watching carefully, swaying ominously above her core. She turned and stood next to her friend; Naomi smiling at her.

"So fucking amazing, Em." Naomi's eyes were sparkling. "I've so wanted to do something like this...I mean...not like this, this," her hands waving a little in front of her, her eyes looking back, "but like, mmmm, I kinda like the way it feels inside me, you know?" She stared at her. "Don't you?"

Em just watched Naomi's expression, hoping she was being sincere, convinced Complicit had something to do with her excitement and still not believing any of this was happening. "I...uhhh...it's...I don't really like it a lot while I'm just walking around..." And then she shut up, before she revealed too much. But even as she stopped, she knew that the tendril expected her to finish her thought. Of course Naomi picked up on it.

"but you like it when...?"

FUCK!"I like it when Cos is fucking me, hard. I can feel his cock pushing against it, filling me up even more." She closed her eyes, the shame washing over her, the tendril collapsing, Jamie's gasp only making things worse.

Naomi just 'mmmhmmd' and stood there for a few heartbeats. "You seen enough?" She popped up and looked over her shoulder at Jamie. "Cuz I'm starving and I want to eat something. Let's go eat!"

Jamie nodded, continuing to sketch even as the two separated, retrieving their shorts.

"Wait," Naomi stopped before grabbing hers. "I really could take one or two sizes larger." She reached over for the #3 plug and lube, and before either of the other two could react, unseated the plug inside her, replacing it with the new one, her face wincing until it was pushed back in.

Emily had watched, glancing between Jamie's shocked expression and Naomi's rosebud hole, transfixed as first the plug came out, stretching the wrinkles a little, and then as she pushed the larger one in, the lube glistening. She wondered if hers looked the same to Cos, its wrinkled skin stretching smooth until it popped over the top, the black plug sliding in, the plate hiding everything. She glanced back at Jamie who had recovered enough to return to her sketchbook, rapidly moving the pencil.

Naomi shimmied her shorts up around the tail, forgoing her underwear, reaching back inside to fool with it until she was satisfied. Em pulled her tail off. She already knew it was too uncomfortable, pushing against the seam or when she was sitting down. "Everybody ready now?" Em asked with a hint of sarcasm, wondering what else Naomi could do to surprise her. "I'll drive...unless you don't want to come back...?"

"Hey! Let's see!" Naomi pulled Jamie's arm down to look at the sketches.

Jamie was good. Two figures, obviously Em and Naomi but impossible to say exactly how, rendered with quick strokes, their bottoms detailed a bit more, the two tails clearly standing out. Em just exhaled, shaking her head. She noticed Jamie had dated the page. Fuckkkkkk.

This late in the morning they got a booth as soon as they arrived, Emily watching as Naomi jerked when she sat down. On the ride over she could tell the tail made her uncomfortable. "You know," she said under her breath as she slid into the booth, letting Jamie take the outside seat, "you can take it off while you're sitting. Just set it inside your shorts or something."

Naomi looked up and smiled. "Uh uhn, this is too cool. I kinda like how it makes me feel." She looked around to see if she'd said it too loudly. "The way it pushes around inside me and against my butt hole...and the way the fur feels against my skin." She closed her eyes and murmured something, smiling slightly.

Jamie had turned to her menu, reddening slightly, but Emily wasn't sure why. Because she's embarrassed? But how could that be any more embarrassing than what she'd seen them do back in her bedroom? And she sketched us!! And then another thought occurred to her and she laughed, causing both of her friends to look over at her, questions in their eyes. "Sorry," she mumbled, glancing at the menu. She's getting turned on by it. Her 'chakras' are lighting up. And they weren't even at the house. Complicit was starting to work on her. "Just a stupid thought. What y'all having?"

All the way through breakfast, Naomi couldn't stop fidgeting, trying different positions and laughing at how the tail tickled her. She didn't stop talking about it either, sometimes loud enough that Jamie sshhed her more than once, her shyness only encouraging Naomi more, her eyes lighting up, a mischievous expression on her face.

"Hey, N.?" Emily's suspicion about Naomi had only grown more certain since the house. She paused between bites. "Are you fucking with us?"

Naomi froze, her eyes shifting between the two of them. "Fucking...wha? How...what do you mean?"

Em studied her expression, searching for anything that she might be hiding. She looked sincerely confused, like her sudden obsession with wearing an animal tail up her butt was nothing new or remarkable. Usually Naomi talked this way about a new bathing suit she'd seen, or a line of make-up she was considering.

"What?" Naomi still stared at them. "You mean...Oh...wait. Wait. You mean, like how much I'm enjoying my new accessory?" She smiled wide, her eyebrows shooting up, questioning. "Oh! Wait! You think the fragrance is doing this to me?" She laughed a little, her eyes narrowing again, glinting.

Emily nodded her head, not tearing her gaze away from her friend, studying her carefully. She read nothing but authentic excitement, the mischief about something else. She's hiding something, but she's really into the tail. "What else is going on, Naomi? I'm convinced. You like having a tail up your butt." Emily said it without dropping her voice; if it was good enough for Naomi it was good enough for her. In her peripheral vision, she caught Jamie's jerk of her head. "But you're keeping something else from us...what is it?"

Naomi just laughed, looking back at her plate, grabbing another forkful of eggs. She smiled around her chewing, staring back at Emily. "You remember that thing...from last night?" Her eyes flicked to Jamie and back. "With Mitch, yeah?"

Emily nodded, wondering where she was going. Her friend's face was open, relaxed. Nothing like it had been the night before.

"We texted...like all night. He was really embarrassed at first, but now he's really happy that I know. And he's coming out with our folks," she looked at her phone, "in about an hour."

"N!" Emily interrupted her. "Do you need to be there? Does he want you there?"

Naomi shook her head. "Nah. We chatted about it. He wants to do it alone with them first, and then we'll have a family dinner tonight."

But Emily could still see the shadow of mischief, a tightening of Naomi's mouth, the way she moved her eyes. "That's great, N. Right? That's really great? You're okay with it, yeah?"

Naomi laughed. "I'm blown away. My highschool crush is gay?" She glanced at Jamie and back, the mischief still on her face. "Yeah, it's okay. It's way better than what I had been thinking..." her face darkened for a second and then recovered.