This Ascent to Divinity is Lewder Than Expected

7.42 – Remote Pleasure II

There were five stages to the Wand of Remote Pleasure and, thankfully, the first wasn't too overwhelming. Maddy jolted out of her curtsy, spine straightening and knees clenching together, but she didn't fall to the ground as the inserted toy began to buzz inside her, hidden underneath the plaited forest green skirt she'd shyly come out of the dressing room to show off.

"Not … wasting time, are you?" Maddy struggled out, voice unsteady, and clearly trying to play off how much the toy was affecting her.

"Life's short, and all that," Zoey agreed. She fiddled with the omni-directional control-ball, tilting it toward the right and taking note of the slight changes in Maddy's posture that told her something had very much changed, even if she couldn't see what.

If she strained her hearing, she could hear the magical artifact letting out a buzzing noise, hidden away by fabric. But only because she had the senses of a fourth-advancement wayfarer. It was a subtle, muted noise, perhaps magically dampened. Normal people on the street wouldn't notice the noise, nor most wayfarers. Only those of high rank specifically paying attention would, and probably not if they were in a crowd. So, being caught because of the noise wasn't something they had to worry about.

She toggled the switch up one level and enjoyed the way Maddy squeaked and clamped her hands between her legs. At a two-out-of-five intensity, she wasn't so overwhelmed she couldn't recover, but it did take a short adjustment period. She straightened her spine again and wrangled her face into a normal expression, though her colored cheeks gave away the fact that something was out of the ordinary.

Her cute exhibitionist had never been the best at hiding things. Maybe because she always had her illusions to fall back on.

Zoey toggled the toy back down to the first level. It seemed only the first two settings would be suitable for being out and about, with maybe the third for when she wanted to tease Maddy especially hard. Undoubtedly, four and five would all but make her keel over whether she wanted to or not. And that might be fun in certain circumstances, but she wouldn't be taking advantage of that power quite yet.

"We should probably set some ground rules."

"Pretty sure I'm supposed to be saying that to you," Maddy groaned. "This is going to be a long date, isn't it?"

Despite the content of what she'd said, Zoey could hear the gilding of excitement in Maddy's supposedly exasperated tone. Everybody was weak to being caught in public, but of her teammates, Maddy was without a doubt the most vulnerable. Just the thought that someone might discover her indiscreet hobby was enough to have her breathing hard, and likely, her panties starting to soak through.

Maybe that was why only the first two settings would be suitable for this mission. Anything more than mild stimulation would cause her to reach climax in moments, and that wasn't her goal. Dragging it out was way more fun.

Though—quick climaxes. Not necessarily a trait Zoey found unattractive, either.

"A very long one," she agreed with a smile. "First rule. No illusions."

"H-Huh?"

"Those help us get away with the more exciting stuff, but we shouldn't need them here." Her smile widened. "The whole point's that you might get caught, right? If you aren't careful? You're too good at magic, so illusions are cheating. No cheating allowed."

"That's … fair, but don't you think …?"

"Secondly," Zoey said. "No getting caught. And I'm not saying that just to say it. Like Rosalie said, we're not famous in Mantle yet, but we do still have reputations to look after—because our reputation is hers. You care about the team's image, right?"

"Yes, but …"

"So don't ruin it. Thirdly," Zoey said, thoroughly enjoying her teasing of the mage at this point. "I'm not going easy on you just because of the risk. It's your job to weather the storm, it's my job to have fun with you. So don't think that if things get dangerous that I'm going to ease up. I'm not going to show any mercy."

Of course, she would if she needed to. Like with the dream event with Fe, most of what she was saying was for Maddy's sake. There were genuine consequences to being caught. If Maddy started to come apart mid-way through a conversation with a stall vendor much less somewhere even more public, Zoey would flick the toy down to a lower setting.

But Maddy didn't need to know that. And by the illusionist's quickening breath, she enjoyed Zoey's threat. She wondered if she believed it.

"You two girls doing alright?"

Maddy squeaked, spinning to face the shop assistant who had appeared at their side. Zoey had also been caught off guard. Which said something for how absorbed they'd been in each other, that two fourth-advancement wayfarers had been snuck up on by a clothing store attendant who hadn't remotely tried to conceal her approach.

"Wonderfully," Maddy replied in a tone several octaves too high. "Thanks for asking."

Zoey flicked the toy up from its first setting to its second. A visible shiver went through the girl, but impressively, there wasn't a reaction besides that. Impressive. But not what she'd been looking for. Casually, she went another level higher. This time, Maddy bent over slightly, a muffled noise escaping the back of her throat that she couldn't force down no matter how hard she tried. As expected, even just the halfway point of the vibrator approached an intolerable level of pleasure. Levels four and five must be seriously overwhelming.

As Zoey replied to the attendant, she also idly fiddled with the omni-directional sphere that gave her direct input into what Maddy was feeling.

"No problems here," she said with a smile, dragging the attendant's attention away from the illusionist who was having issues composing herself. "Thanks for checking in."

"Just let me know if you need anything," the woman said sweetly, confused eyes flicking briefly to a trembling Maddy, pausing, before smiling and departing.

Maddy sagged in relief.

"You're a bully," she groaned. "Turn it down."

"It's only on the third setting."

"Of how many?"

"Five."

"Five?! I'm kind of scared, now." She shook her head, a hand clamping between her legs. "Seriously. Turn it down."

Benevolent master that she was, Zoey deigned to do as she'd been asked, bringing the toy's intensity down to the lowest tier. Maddy sighed in relief and seemed to regain some control of herself.

She knew the mage was still feeling it, though. The huge drop in intensity had just brought temporary reprieve. She wondered how long Maddy could last at the lowest setting? Surely not that long. She could turn the toy off entirely if she was ever worried of a climax happening too early, but it would be more fun if she didn't have to.

"I do like the skirt, by the way," Zoey commented. "Then again, everything looks great on you, so I'm not sure how much my opinion matters."

"Oh, quiet, you flatterer."

"Not intentionally," Zoey shrugged. It was true; she didn't think there was an outfit in the world she wouldn't find Maddy cute in. "Besides, I've never had a good sense of fashion. Especially in—" She faltered slightly, looking sideways. "You know. Where I'm from." A different world. Maddy didn't have her sound illusion thrown up, like she had earlier, so she shouldn't say it outright. As far as secrets went, that was up there in the classification tiers.

Maddy caught the implication. She was a sharp girl, even if she was distracted at the current moment. She flushed at the compliment and said, "I don't care what other people think, though, I care about what you do. So what do you like?"

"Something shorter," Zoey said, lips twitching in amusement. "My favorite skirt would be no skirt, for that matter."

"Zoey!"

"Kidding," she laughed. Well, actually, she wasn't, because if she was forced to pick between nude and clothed, nude would usually win. But that didn't mean she didn't have styles she liked. She rubbed her chin, ruminating over the favorite outfits she'd seen that Maddy had been showing off. "This one's a winner, though, for sure," she decided. "That pink blouse from earlier, too? Oh, and the crop top." Couldn't forget that one. "Those have my vote. Let's go buy them?"

Maybe she was rushing them out with that suggestion, but she wanted to get back out onto the streets, now, and see how much fun this new toy could be.