Chapter 8 Paradise & the Poisoned Fruit (Part 5/7)

The group boasted four women and two men. One of the men, who appeared to be a halfling, gave off the sense of a subservient nature, as he was very timid and quiet. The women themselves were each quite beautiful representatives of their races, which appeared to be diversified among feline, aviary, elven, and serpentine traits. The last of the group, which appeared to be the leader and was the offending individual, appeared to be a humanoid tom cat. He appeared to embody the traits by which his character was known for. Cunning, manipulative, very charming, and vengeful, all packaged in a golden brown and white colored pelt.

Apparently, he had seen Victoria, who put all his other supposed harem to shame, and desired to add her to the list of his conquests.

While in the shop, he practically hovered around her, offering platitudes and compliments of a sexual nature. He must have been putting off some kind of pheromonal musk, because the air around him had begun smelling and feeling like a sort of woodsy, sweet, and earthy tone.

As he exuded that scent, he began rubbing his furry hand or paw up and down Victoria's right arm, then he began tracing her neck and leaning his clawed finger down towards her neckline. I myself began to feel fearful for my teacher's sake as she appeared entranced by this Tom's advances. Her left hand left unattended, had begun lightly caress the fur on the back of his neck. The Tom even closed his eyes as if in bliss and gave off a deep-toned purr.

Then, quick as a rabbit in startled fright, she thrust herself away from him. This only served to fan the flames of lust in his amber eyes as he moved in to further pursue her. All that had happed to my teacher before, occurred so quickly so as to catch me off guard. Now however, as she had separated from him, I made myself ready to come to her aid in case she fell to his charms again.

Continuing to appear like a startled and shy rabbit, she quickly made her way back behind the counter, which separated the back part of the shop off from the customers. This was done in order to retreat from this very forward Tom. Once behind the counter, and with the opening latch closed, I saw the very realistic expression of startled arousal on her face disappear as if it had never existed.

In its place, was a look I had seen small hints of occasionally, when certain customers came to visit her shop. Those rare customers that put off a distinct feeling of fearful caution, were ever so polite to Victoria in the little interactions they as customer and shop owner, had. I always felt that there was a sort of obscure history between those that exuded such fear in her presence, like they had experienced a terror of nightmare proportions.

Thinking back to that mage who Victoria had been very forceful with at the mages guild, I subconsciously nodded in commiseration with their plight. If they had experienced even a portion of that which was visited upon the poor man, then their fear was rightfully justified.

The look now on Victoria's face was that of viciously gleeful expectation. Seeing that quick transformation in her face, the Tom halted his advances, while the look of lustful expectation his eyes began to transform. The first sign that I noticed something was wrong, was the sudden fluffing of the fur on the back of his neck. Next his shoulders began to swell and rotate, like a bully getting himself pumped up to deal out some damage to some innocent bystander that dared to be in his perceived way.

Anger pulled at his features, causing a feral and hideous gleam to exude from his eyes. *Hissssss!* Like a literal cat would make in anger, he hissed at Victoria and me. I could see his back twitching as if agitated by some kind of very uncomfortable stimulant. His claws on his raised hands unsheathed themselves as if he was preparing himself to pounce at Victoria from across the counter.

*Sigh* Victoria let out a noise as if in exasperation. She only now finally spoke up in the midst of this growing conflict. "You really should have backed off and taken that little 'treat' as punishment for your overly forward actions. Did no one warn you about how to act in my apothecary when they told you where to find it?" Her tone was that of indifferent boredom, while her hands spoke an entirely different story.

All the while these actions were happening, the halfling lay crouched down in a small corner of the shop as if seeking to appear invisible amidst the fallout. The accompanying women, who had at first appeared somewhat indifferent, now seeing the actions of their beloved Tom, began to have various expressions of fear and anger cross their faces, aimed at Victoria. To me, this had the extreme trademark of mentally and emotionally abused women seeking to stand up for, not against Victoria's attacker.

The Tom, who appeared unfazed by her spoken words, became far more wary at the rapidly growing and floating ice particles, now forming amidst her hands. At this show of strength, Victoria's voice took on a far more angered tone as she spoke. "You have been warned and received your just punishment for attempting to feel me up and use your pheromones for sexual manipulation." Flicking her hands causing the ice to congeal into over a dozen glistening, finger long, and knife sharp shards, she added. "If you seek to escalate things, I will be happy to fill your worthless pelt full of holes."

Nodding her head to the exit, she said. "Now as you have already made some purchases, I'll grant you some leniency, and allow you to leave with that which you have paid for, but Nothing else!" Her words were coated in deadly ice, just like the shards hovering threateningly around her.

At her declaration, the halfling was already returning the non-purchased tinctures he had been studying, to her shelves. Following that, he made a hasty retreat out of her shop doors. The four remaining women appeared split between unsheathing their weapons to engage, verses joining the halfling in his retreat.

Seeing this impasse, Victoria decided to up the ante. With another flick of her hand, the hovering ice shards began to rotate along their length, slowly at the start, but then they began to rapidly pick up speed in their hovering rotation. The very air in the shop begun to cycle and pull towards the now hyper rotating shards, while deep blood lust exuded from her in a very real sense. I felt as if every single hair across my body was raised in fight or flight mode, heavily leaning towards flight.

THIS, finally appeared to break through the anger and great agitation of the Tom. Fear began to etch his features as his shoulders slumped and his previous bluster simply folded in on itself. Almost dropping his bag of previous purchases, he made a hasty turn-around and retreat from the shop. The startled women barely allowed him to pass them before they joined him unabashedly in his flight.

Even as the door lay open for a moment longer after their departure, I watched as my teacher waved a hand at a previously unseen yellow liquid puddle, sitting on the floor. The puddle quickly coalesced into a yellow snowball of sorts, which flew rapidly out the closing shop door, to then smack into the back of the retreating Tom.

His distant figure appeared to freeze to stillness for but a brief moment, before he then continued at a more rapid pace to vacate the general vicinity around Victoria's shop, as if the demons of hell were upon his bristled tail.

*Sigh* "Good riddance." Victoria voiced her opinion of the whole escapade in just those two words, filled with disgust and scorn.

The shop itself wasn't any worse for wear. There were a few tinctures that had been just set or dropped on the ground by the fleeing women. Likely, they had neither the time nor presence of mind to restore them to their rightful place in the midst of their hasty retreat from the shop. Small favor was that none of the bottles were broken as they lay on the ground in disarray. Or maybe that was simply a testament to the high quality of Victoria's products.

Without her even asking me to, I set about restoring them to their correct placements among the various shelves of her store. I caught Victoria taking a washcloth of sorts from behind the counter, dousing it with some liquid and rubbing at the spots on her arms and neck that the Tom had made contact with. Minor revulsion at his lingering touch lingered in her eyes as she wiped off the traces of his musk and memory.

I didn't know how to broach the subject, and I honestly felt somewhat fearful of my teacher in that moment. However, I felt that I should be safe to inquire, as she had never raised her hand in violence, nor raised her voice in anger toward me before. "Victoria. . . . If I may ask." Her eyes rose from her work with the cloth to meet mine. With a nod at me for me to go ahead, I wet my lips and continued. "What was it that triggered his sudden aggression? I mean, I saw you back away from him and he still appeared ready to pursue you, then without any further contact with him, or words from you, he suddenly went. . ." I struggled to find the right word for a moment, something to incorporate all that happened. Then I thought of it with completeness. "He went berserk."

A vicious smile, seemingly not aimed as me graced her lips and eyes at my assessment. Her response was spoken with vindictive satisfaction in her tone. "Oh, I just dosed him with a much faster acting and intense version of the itching powder you experienced the day you went to pick up those insects for me." She went on to continue explaining. "Those that admire me from a distance, I have little to no compunction with allowing their thoughts to run wild." Her eyes then hardened. "It is those that cross the line and make inappropriate advances toward me, seeking to enslave me to their will and sexual desires that I have a disagreement with."

Glancing back at the washrag that now lay discarded on the counter top, she added. "If he had only caressed my arm and neck, and pursued me no further when I distanced myself, then seeing as he is not acquainted with my reputation, I would have let him off with a stern warning. However, he intentionally utilized his musk in an attempt to mentally and sexually suppress me to accept his will in overriding my own thoughts. If you were watching closely, despite my appearances, I was at no point truly under his influence. It was simply an act to allow me to sprinkle a fair portion of my special itching powder down his back. I figured fair play was allowed. Since he used chemical seduction and suppression of my will, then I was obligated to return the favor with chemical suppression of his desires."

My mind blanked at this revelation. Then it began churning in thought as I made connections that had previously been left unaddressed. The reminder of my dosing with the itch powder had me wracking my brains as to what I did that day to upset Victoria, but nothing truly came to mind. So I had to ask, no matter the fallout. "Wait, then what was the reason for you dosing me with the itch powder. As far as I know, I haven't made any advances, at least intentionally toward you."

A smile tugged at her lips before she responded. "Oh, I've noticed your looks, which I do find complimentary, and you've never sought to take advantage of me which I do appreciate."

My face flushed with embarrassment. I honestly thought I had been inconspicuous with my occasional observations. "Then why did you give me the itch powder when I didn't do anything?!?" I practically screamed.