Paying off the Debt

My days shift slightly. Madam Odette's lessons by day, keeping up my promise to Anne, then I spend the late evenings researching barriers until I finally get the knowledge I needed. With permission, I take down a decently sized tree. Not one of the large ones but it's pretty good-sized. I divide the trunk into three-eight foot sections to bury two feet of it in a hole in the ground. I can't let the rest go to waste. It gets cut up into firewood. There's still a need for it. The weather has not been too kind lately. It feels like it's getting colder.

The logs are planted into the ground and they are sturdy. They don't tower over me but they are a few inches taller than me. I stand at about 5'8" on a good day so about a 4" difference. I push on them as hard as I can making sure that they aren't going to budge. They are sturdy. Time to finally try this barrier I've been reading up on.

This was one of the most confusing subjects that I've come across. There are so many different kinds of barriers for so many different kinds of situations that have different kinds of effects. The broad idea is that you want to imbue an area with elements or forces opposite of what you are expecting to be bombarding what you are protecting. In my case, I would want a focus on water and cooling along with sharpness and deflection as I will be using fire and blunt forces against it. Deflection is probably one of the hardest ones to create too. It's reactive instead of stationary. It takes the hit and redirects the energy out and around. It's also possible to redirect the energy directly back to where it came from.

The part I am going to struggle with is combining both magical and physical resistance. I'm going to need both. Do I layer them? But then will one break because it's not fit for one of the forces pushing against it? I'm just going to have to go for broke. I wrap one of the logs with the barrier in hope that it holds. I can see the shine from the magic before it fades. I can tell it's there. You can kind of feel it in the air. I push on it with my palm open. I feel the resistance, not the wood underneath.

I rotate my body forward with force this time. My open palm hits the barrier and I can feel it push back. "Ow." It felt like I was hitting a wall. At least the physical portion works. I focus some heat on my paw and throw another open palm at it. The fire bursts in the air around my paw before I make contact. The warm air is shoved back into my face. But the barrier holds.

A closed fist this time. One quick strike! Another burst of flame! And the barrier shatters… I was worried about that. It can handle both at the same time but it can't handle much. Barriers can't just be amplified like I've been doing with my magic. They are much more intricate. They need to be woven together instead of just thrown out. It also has to be "glued" to an area or object to work. That was a whole chapter of reading within itself. Different materials require different compositions. I'm just lucky that wood is one of the easiest because it's fibrous.

I'm not too broken up about this. It's a learning process. I'll get it sooner than I think. I just need to keep my focus on the end goal here. I need to get stronger. I need to make sure that Madam Odette is safe. I reapply the barrier with a bit extra to try and reinforce it. It shatters like before with the same punch. I'll need to revisit this.

There's no sense in continuing this today. I'll just end up burning myself. Creating a barrier using an alchemic reaction is rather difficult. I'm sticking to the old method of using focal points to produce the result I want. It requires a strange focus on the outer skin.

My other obligations are calling. Anne and I are in the kitchen once again with Penny showing her another baking technique. She's been getting into some rather complex-sounding treats. So far, Anne has been doing a wonderful job doing things with Penny's direction. The three enjoy the little extra meal before Anne is sent away so the two can clean up.

It's unusually quiet tonight. Typically there's some form of conversation. We talked about Penny's family and my studies. Hell, I went over the mountain trip with Madam Odette and that scared her. She wasn't even there but the thought of being hunted by wolves put her into a new perspective that the manor isn't just theirs. These beasts live here. We're just working around them.

She's not just unusually quiet. She's also unusually focused. She's keeping her nose down, she's avoiding all contact. It's incredibly strange for her personality. I wonder if something is bothering her. The tone shift is rather unsettling. I better try something.

We get the last of the cooking supplies put away leaving just the two of us alone. With everything away, she leans on a counter with her shoulders back. Is she sick? I recognize that position as someone who is about to heave their guts. I go to place my paw on the center of her back but she jumped. She looked absolutely terrified.

I recoil my arm back taking a few steps to give her space. She breathes heavily before she covers her face. She squats down on the floor while she just kind of whines to herself. It almost sounds like she's crying. "Penny? Are you OK?"

I try to inch closer so I can get a bit of a better read on her. Before I can get too close she stands herself up wiping the tears from her eyes. She doesn't look mad. She looks determined! She's got a fire in her eyes that I cannot understand. She's about to spit that fire too. "Red! You've been dodging every attempt I make to collect on your debt!"

She's been caving under her own pressure every time. She gets to a certain point and then just crumbles. She charges me with some force behind her. I find myself up against a lower counter where if needed I can just pop myself up and sit. She continued on her tirade, "I'm going to collect this time. I came prepared!"

What does she mean she came prepared? I got my answer soon enough. She undid the buttons on her chief's coat, opening it wide. Her thumbs trailed down her stomach to her pants and she shifted them low enough that I could now see what she meant. She was wearing nothing underneath. My eyes raced to hers. Her face was just flaming red as her mouth was tense with her cheeks puffed from her heavy breathing. This is… oddly terrifying.

"I know you and Madam Odette have been intimate and that's what I wanted to see from you. So! Pay up!" She stood there with her shirt open and her pants slightly pulled down still as she panted. I don't… I don't know how to handle this. This is very new to me. She's hesitantly aggressive.

I kind of knew that this would come around one day. I can take a breath now at least. The initial shock has worn off so I can regain focus. "Is that all you want Penny? Just sex?" She gave no verbal answer, just one violent head nod.

Something… snapped. I could feel something inside me fight and give out almost instantly. I step forward pushing myself against her. I tower over her with at least a full foot of height on her. "Last time, are you sure?" Her eyes look like she's about to explode but she gives me the slightest nod.

I don't think she knew what she was getting herself into. Just at a glance, you could tell that she's a submissive person who will fit your paw little putty, no matter how you bend her. But I don't think she was ready to be pinned with her back against the wall with my thumb in her mouth.

Her eyes looked panicked from the sheer surprise. She had no time to react before she was put in this position. She's trying to grab onto the wall behind her but there's nothing to grip. She can only splay her paws out and try to dig into the concrete. The part that shocked her system seemed to be that she had lost all control immediately. She gave me such an open invitation that it would be rude to ignore it.

Her panting only increased as I found my paw between her thighs. "You wore nothing all day huh? You must have been imagining something during that time because I can tell that you are ready for anything." She tried to mumble something but my thumb in the back of her mouth kept her jaw lodged open. It didn't take long before she started drooling down the front of herself.

I get as close as I can to whisper in her ear, "Is this what you expected? Is this what you wanted?" I play with her, feeling through her folds until I find that one sweet spot where her whole body lurches. Her eyes begin to roll to the back of her head as I continue to play and tease her, "Why won't you answer me, Penny? A little distracted?" She has lost all sense of self. Her body is locked tight as I have her against the wall.

I don't want to stay too much longer. "Don't hold yourself back. Just. Let. Go." That was all she needed. She let out a whimpering noise as I could feel her tense and lock up. As she took her first real deep breath I step back letting her go. Her legs can't keep her up. She crumples to the floor leaning back against that wall.

She takes a deep swallow as she's finally able to control her spit. Her eyes are glazed but she looks at me. I step back over, giving her mouth the paw that worked her over. She gladly cleans her mess off of me with a pop as I pull them back. There's a small smile before a muttered "Thank you" leaves her lips.

The walk back to the cabin feels different. I don't know what it is. I'm not being watched. I just feel uneasy. What was the feeling back in the kitchen though? It felt like something tried to interfere then gave up.

Laying back in bed, I look out the window up at the sky. The clouds are blocking everything but I can still see them moving by. The faint glow from the fireplace is flickering off the walls. It's starting to lull me into a sense of relaxation. I need to do something. I need… to be better…