Luna and Feliciana

"...Lift your head back up and open your eyes, but remain deep in this nice trance..."

Luna tensed her muscles at his words, preparing to move after being lost to the abyss of relaxation, of trance. She slowly lifted her head up, like a puppet loosely tugged by strings, and opened her eyes, revealing a blank, glazed expression. She was in, and there was no doubt about it. She could hear nothing but her brother's voice.

"...How do you feel?"

It was written on Her face that she didn't take long to process his words, as if it skipped the process of ears understanding it entirely and went straight to her brain. What did take a moment was the answer, having her think about how to express how she felt in the fewest possible words. After a moment, she settled on "...good...relaxed..."

He shifted himself closer, but she didn't mind very much. She wasn't sure of the last time they'd ever been this close. "That's right...you feel so good and relaxed...you like this feeling, don't you, Luna?" She let out a positive sounding hum, slow and breathy, as if it took effort to get it out.

"That's right...you really like this feeling...in fact, you want to feel this way again, right?"

At the onset, she seemed unconvinced, at least as unconvinced as a blank, empty stare could be. Still, she couldn't deny it. "...yes..." Her ample chest rose and fell with every breath she took.

"You know that...being hypnotized makes you feel this way...feeling so fantastic...so warm...and so relaxed..."

Her finger twitched just a little bit, but enough to be noticeable. She did feel warm, and relaxed, and maybe fantastic, but...her face started to contort. He noticed.

"It's all okay, Luna...just taking nice, deep breaths in...and slow breaths out...you feel so nice right now..."

With the return of the deep breaths, she stopped twitching, the air surrounding her seeming to calm down. "...nnnhh..." Her tongue lazily lolled to the back of her mouth. Nice.

"Do you know why you feel so nice and relaxed right now, Luna?"

"...hmm...?" She seemed unable to answer. She trusted a lighter, easier one would come soon, and sure enough, he rephrased the question.

"You're in trance right now, Luna...does that make sense?"

She relaxed a bit, understanding the physical truth more than the conceptual, or the emotional, truth. This was what was happening to her. She didn't have to think about anything else. "...trance..."

"Yes...you've started feeling this way when I put you into hypnosis, right?"

She stopped to process for a second, but the chain of logic checked out. She gave a light nod. He smiled in satisfaction, even if her dulled eyes couldn't see it.

"And do you like feeling this way, Luna?"

Relaxation wasn't a constant in Luna's life. It was barely an occasional feature. It was so hard to always, always be on top of things. She had to watch her body, watch her friends, watch her brother, watch her art, do everything and make it all look effortless. Maybe that's why she was curious about the hypnosis, why the question to her Mom was tinged with slight jealousy - she wanted the drop, but she couldn't ask for it. To ask for it would be a failure. She really liked it, and he could tell without her saying anything. Maybe it was the creep of a smile from the corners of her lips. He nodded.

"Yes...so following that, since you like this feeling...you would like being hypnotized, yes?"

Again, it was hard to argue, especially in her influenced state. "...mmm..."

"Then you can admit it, Luna. You like being hypnotized...that's the truth."

A slight hand twitch came at his sudden assertiveness, but nothing more, besides another positive-sounding hum. Luckily for her, he eased off a bit.

"Would you say it, Luna? You like to be hypnotized."

She spoke before she thought. "...I..." Suddenly, a wave of hesitance came over her. He cleared his throat lightly.

"I'm here to help you relax, Luna..." His tone was soft, leading.

"Relax..." It was so nice.

"Lying stresses you out, isn't that right?"

Her forehead creased. "Not...lying..." She seemed offended.

He sighed. "I'm not saying you're lying. I'm just stating facts...I'm not wrong, am I?"

A pause came over the conversation, both parties unsure of what to say. After a too-long moment, her mouth opened, no sound coming out. He blinked, tilting his head a little bit.

"Luna?"

"...you're...not...wrong..." She was exerting a lot of energy just to say this, exhausted in her mental frame.

"Yes...keeping the truth from another would be stressful, right?"

She eased back, her muscles relaxing more than they had before. "...yes..." She sounded weak.

"And I'm here to help you relax, so if keeping the truth inside is stressful...then naturally, you'd want to simply let it out, yes?"

She nodded, but she was conflicted.

"Will you keep the truth from me, Luna?" Another pause.

Silence came over the space for a brief moment again, before she grunted, not giving away her response. She wasn't sure, but she wanted to be.

"You want to relax, don't you?"

Luna loved to relax. That was her favorite part. She graciously let out "Yes..."

"Answering honestly would help you relax, wouldn't it?"

This logic was considerably less sound, but the conversation on relaxation had addled her brain enough to follow it anyway. "Yes..."

"So to relax fully, will you answer me honestly, Luna?"

"...yes."

He smiled when she agreed. "Then, Luna...do you like to be hypnotized?...Give me a full answer, please..."

She took her first deep, loud breath in a while. "...I like to...relax..."

"Yes...and being hypnotized?"

"...It's nice..."

"You like it, don't you?" He was more confrontational than he'd been. Her brow furrowed, but she answered nonetheless.

"...yes."

"You want to feel this nice relaxation again, right?"

Her forehead tensed again, and she hesitated to answer. Her mouth was open, though.

He tried to prod her. "Yes?" He was so close.

The space between Luna and her brother became tense. "...yes." She sounded even less sure.

"You like this relaxation...is there any reason why you wouldn't want to feel this again?"

She sighed under her breath. "...you're my...brother..." Her eyes narrowed a bit.

He sighed as well. "Why is that a reason?"

Her subconscious thought back on her past, on the time they'd spent together. She couldn't articulate it, especially not in her current state of affairs, but something had changed. She seemed sadder than before.

"...Luna?"

She looked for the words, words that were direct but not exactly mean. She settled on "...It's so...personal...so vulnerable..."

He tilted his head in confusion. "...Is that wrong?" He asked curiously.

She hadn't considered that. "I don't..." Nothing followed, and he gave a sharp breath at his sister's incomplete answer.

"If you don't know something, you'd defer to someone who did know, right?"

Back into the concrete, much more her speed. "Yes."

"So if I told you that I knew the answer to that, then you'd defer to me, yes?"

Back to her brother, much less her speed. "...maybe."

He squinted a little. "Why just maybe?"

"I...don't know if I'd...believe you..."

He tensed. She couldn't see. "Why not?"

"You don't know...all the things...about me." A soft breath.

"Sure, but there's a chance I'd know things that could be related. Like if being personal with someone is wrong or not..."

She dwelled on that thought for a moment before replying. He was training to be a psychologist, after all. "...I guess..."

"Then with most things, if you didn't know something, would you defer to me if I knew?"

The wheels spun longer this time. "...most things."

He nodded lightly. "Would this count, then? On whether being personal with me is wrong or not?"

She sat in silence for a bit. She couldn't see him as he looked right in her eyes, her vision too vague and half-formed to make anything but colors and shapes. He gulped quietly as he waited for a response; the anticipation was palpable.

"...yes."

He smiled. "It's not wrong, Luna. Being personal with someone is how you get close with them."

She was more amicable than ever. She hadn't been close with her brother in so long. "...close..." That was an attractive point with her. He gave a nod to her repetition.

"That's right...and being close with someone isn't wrong, is it?"

It couldn't be wrong, it had felt so right so long ago. "No..."

"So being personal with me like this isn't wrong, is it, Luna?"

A is to B as B is to C, therefore A is to C. She was pretty good at math. "No..."

"Good. That's exactly right."

Grant talked to his sister softly before checking on the time. He figured he still had a ways to go before she'd get suspicious. He nodded, even as it felt like he was pulling an anchor stuck in the sand to do anything at this pace. Still, this was incredible. Fantasizing about it was one thing, but actually getting to the point of this feeling...he wasn't sure about it. It didn't feel right, and yet, he wanted to feel it all the same. She sat as he looked around, getting used to the unprodding silence. This state was great without the questions. Even with them, it was still pretty amazing.

"Since hypnosis feels personal, then there's no way being hypnotized by me is wrong, is there?"

"...no..." He suspected that she had let most of the chain of logic slip from her memory, and now she was going directly off of emotions. This was where he wanted her to be. This was where she was the most malleable to his will.

"Then you agree...nothing's wrong with being hypnotized by me?" He asked her, hoping for the answer he wanted.

"No...nothing's wrong with being....hypnotized by you..." She took a deep breath for the first time in a while.

"So, Luna...you want to feel this relaxation again after this, right?"

Silence. If she was feeling anything, it didn't show on her face. He blinked when she remained quiet.

"Luna?"

"...yes?" She perked up a little at her name, her eyes opening wider.

He was confused. "You want to feel this relaxation again, right?"

The silence came back, fiercer than ever. He was getting kind of annoyed.

"There's nothing wrong with being hypnotized by me," he reminded her softly.

She nodded, letting out "...nothing wrong..."

"And you enjoy this relaxation, yes?"

"...yes..." Her tone got more excited. That was clearly her favorite topic.

"Then there's nothing wrong with wanting to feel it again, right?"

"...no...there is something wrong..."

He gave a harsh breath, his brows furrowed. "What's that?"

She didn't seem to acknowledge his frustration. "...this is...a one-time thing..."

He stared at her. "Who said it was a one-time thing?"

"...it's...weird..."

"But it isn't bad, is it? It isn't wrong..."

"...not...wrong..." She was more hesitant than she was before.

He nodded when she said that, staring back into her vacant gaze. "Hypnosis is personal... which means it would help you get close to me..."

It actually would. That was a good point. "...yes..."

"You want to be close with me, don't you, Luna?"

The confrontational vibe visibly unsettled her, her fingers twitching some more. She started to let out a response, but he interrupted her as he noticed. She didn't complain.

"It would be nice to be close to me again, wouldn't it?" He eased off, asking her slowly and softly.

That would as well. "...yes..."

"Being close to me would be something you'd want, right, Luna?"

"...I guess so..."

That piqued his curiosity. "Is there any reason it wouldn't be?"

She sat in silence for a moment. "...no." That meant the small portion of her that could still think couldn't think of one, which was very encouraging.

"If there's no reason to not want to be close to me, then you must want to be, yes?"

She took a deep breath, her words getting slower. "...yes...I want to be...close to you..."

"That's right...so if hypnosis is a way to get close to me, would you not want to keep doing it?" He asked softly.

His softer voice was more soothing, and as a result more convincing. She visibly relaxed from earlier. "...Yes. I would want to...keep doing it..."

He watched her excitedly before she finally answered in the positive, and he nodded happily. "You want to keep being hypnotized, then?" He kept his tone soft, just to be safe.

She waited. About a minute passed, neither of them breaking the silence, before she finally, truly acknowledged it. "...yes..." She let it out softly, but no less officially.

He smiled. "You want to keep being hypnotized."

She was slightly more confident now. "...I want to keep being hypnotized."

He sat back on the couch, basking in his hard-fought victory. It took him nearly an hour, but now he was sure that he'd be able to keep doing this. "You'd like for me to keep hypnotizing you, right?"

"...I'd like for you to keep hypnotizing me."Her voice was monotone and firm.

"Would you come to me and ask me to hypnotize you again?" He asked curiously.

"No." Equally firm.

He sighed. He'd have to do something about her resistance. "Why not?"

She paused for a bit. "...it'd look...desperate..."

He sat back in thought for a bit. "Why would that be bad?"

"...I'm not...desperate..." A hint of editorializing tone crept into her voice, a hint of 'obviously, how did you not consider this.' He was peeved at her opposition, shaking his head. "Then...would you agree if I came to you and asked if I could hypnotize you again?"

"Yes."

He nodded lightly at his sister's approval, catching the time out of the corner of his eye. It was time to wake her up. "Okay...well..." He wondered if a trigger might help make this faster next time, give him more to work with. "...Luna...whenever I touch your forehead, and say the word 'Drop'...you will come right back down to this nice, relaxing trance...do you understand?"

She let out a small sigh. He knew she wasn't going to turn down more relaxation. "...Yes...I understand..."

He nodded when she answered affirmatively, giving a long breath and thinking over what he planned to do next time before getting to it. "Then...on the count of three, you'll come out of trance...feeling nice and refreshed...one...two...and three," he counted, before snapping his fingers.

Luna blinked for a second, unmoving, when suddenly it felt like all the feeling had returned to her entire body at once. It was incredibly disorienting. She took a moment to process where she was and what had just happened before moving her arms around the back of her head and looking her brother in the face. "So, uh," she offered, visibly thrown off.

"How do you feel?" She was dizzy.

She looked at her brother's analysis of her, his gaze like how one would analyze a curious specimen under a petri dish, but she was too out of it to muster any kind of backlash. "I feel...weird...but good. Yeah, I feel good."

He nodded. He shifted himself back against the couch. "Did it feel nice?"

She took a breath before answering. "Yeah. Yeah, it was really relaxing."

He smiled when she said that. "That's good to hear."

She nodded, her shoulders visibly less tense than when they'd started. Standing up, she headed to the kitchen, getting some water before facing back towards her brother. "Thanks for that. It was nice."

At his sister's reaction, he smiled. "Oh, it was no trouble at all. It helped me as well."

Something seemed to dawn on her, as she recalled that this was originally to help him practice with hypnosis. "Right, right. Glad I could help."

His brows arched when she said that, and he chuckled a little. "Well, would you like to do this again, sometime?"

She tried mightily to hide her excitement. "Yeah, sure. That'd be fine. When were you thinking?" His brows arched.

"Well...tomorrow I'll be doing it with Mom, so...when would be the soonest you could do it?"

"Oh, um..." She thought about how great hypnosis had felt, how bored she was before he had helped her out. It didn't take long for her to decide. "Does the day after tomorrow work?"

He nodded at the fairly soon date. "Uh, sure, that works."

She looked up, happy, but putting on a facade of disinterest. He could tell both levels of her interaction, smiling at her front. "Cool."

"Well, thanks again. I'm going to go read up some more in my room."

She noticed how things were returning to their natural state: her hanging out in the living room and her brother in his room all day. "Alright, have a good time." She sighed as his door, the door they shared for most of their lives, closed, sitting down on the couch again and pulling out her phone. She went to bed a few hours later, a bit before her mother came home, slightly tipsy. Their mother kissed him on the forehead, wishing him good night. He wished her a good night too, hiding his arousal as she left his room. His sister clearly couldn't remember a thing from her trance, and he had plenty of tools at his disposal to shape her mind, to shape his mother's. He couldn't wait.