Moving on

Eventually, you and Brighid manage to polish off your plates and you run out of questions to ask. You're sure more will come up later, but you are feeling much better equipped to handle the present and plan for the future now. You help Brighid clear the table, then finish getting dressed and preparing to go out on the day's errands. By the time you and your Companion step outside, the sun is high overhead and the mists are at their lowest. As you start to walk, you place one hand on Brighid's flank, lightly but possessively stroking her fur. She gives you a happy smile and you notice that she chose a shirt with a wide neck and arranged her hair so that the hickey you gave her last night is clearly visible, if not necessarily prominently displayed.

Your first stop is Siwan's shop, and the bubbly blonde centaur gives you and Brighid both a warm hug. As she pulls back from hugging Brighid, you see her eyes widen just a little as she notices the hickey, then dart downward to where your hand rests on Brighid's side. She raises one eyebrow and smirks at you, but makes no further comment on the matter. Instead, she asks, "Good to see you again, Aidan, and allow me to say that I am happy to see that you have been accepted as one of us. I assume that means you won't be taking dear Brighid away from us just yet?"

You shake your head in response and say, "At the moment I have no reason to leave and very good reasons to stay." Siwan smirks at you again but doesn't interrupt. "I know this path will not be easy, but where I'm from there is a saying which goes, 'no pain, no gain'. The good things in life come for those who fight for them, and I intend to fight to make a life here with the tribe. Although maybe not literally fight for it, since I'm pretty sure that as I am now any of you brutes could stomp me flat, present company included!"

Siwan smiles at you and laughs, "Fortunately you have Brighid here to handle that for you! Just point her at an enemy and give her a slap on the rump to send her charging off, hey?"

"I don't know, she might misinterpret that. Probably wiser to just tell her what I want her to do; she takes direction well." You and the blonde share a grin as Brighid practically vibrates under your hand. You steal a glance at her and she is blushing brightly and biting her lip. You decide to let her off the hook, for now, and get down to business with the seamstress. "I'd like to ask you to make some additional clothes for me. I will need another few pairs of pants and I would like some heavier clothes eventually for when the weather gets cold. These pants fit me well, but they are a little tight at the groin. I have been informed that the tightness is intentional and appreciated, but it would be distracting in a fight, so if I could get a couple pairs which are a little less restrictive, I would appreciate it. I'd also like to commission some shorter, lighter pants which I can wear under these. I'm sure it never occurred to either of you since you all get to walk around in just a shirt all day, but things tend to get sweaty and sticky down there and it's cleaner and more sanitary to have some under-clothes. There's also a special request I want to make, in private. Stay here and browse or something, Brighid; don't try to listen in."

Brighid's eyes widen when you give her a direct order in front of her friend, but she just says, "Yes, Sir." and walks over to look at some shirts on racks in a corner of the small shop.

You beckon Siwan over to the opposite corner and speak in a low voice. "First, thank you for helping me tease Brighid. I could tell you picked up on what was going on right away, and you playing along instead of raising a fuss made it better for her."

The blonde responds with surprising fierceness, "If I thought for a even a second that you were mistreating her, you would find out just whether present company could stomp you flat, I assure you. But I can tell that you make her happy, and as long as that continues to be true I will quite enjoy having an opportunity to make her blush and fidget for once. She has always intimidated me, just a little, so it's nice to see her on the back hoof from time to time."

You share another grin with her, then say, "Thank you, I do appreciate that, all of it. The second reason I wanted to talk to you in private is that I want to commission something for Brighid but don't want her to know about it until it's done. I don't know if it's something you can or would do, though, so please forgive my presumption if I overstep myself. What I would like is a strap of leather or thick cloth, about two finger widths wide, and just long enough to wrap around her throat snugly but without restricting her breathing, even in combat. Ideally there would be just enough space to **** a finger between her neck and the leather. It would need a clasp to keep it on, obviously, but I would also like a metal ring at the front." At Siwan's puzzled expression, you explain. "As I know you noticed, Brighid trusts me enough to be somewhat ... deferential to me in certain ways. Where I'm from, it is customary for a person taking on that sort of role to wear a collar, choker, or similar adornment around their neck to indicate when they are, hmmm, on duty, I guess is the polite way to say it. Traditionally, the ring at the front holds some sort of charm or marker to indicate who their partner is, as a kind of symbol of their deference. It will belong to her and the decision on when to wear it will be entirely up to her. It is considered a grave, terrible misdeed to try to **** someone into putting on a collar against their will, even if their collar has your marker on it, so please do not worry that I would misuse it. I understand if you aren't willing to be quite this involved in what is growing between Brighid and I, though."

Siwan shakes her head and hugs you again. "No, no, I think it is a lovely idea. Like I said, you are making her very happy and that makes me happy. I can make what you're asking for. Do you have any particular color or pattern in mind for the item itself, or do you trust me enough to design it myself from your description?"

You smile at her and hug her back. "You're the seamstress here, not me, and I gather you've been making Brighid's clothes for a while now. By all means, I'm sure whatever you come up with will be perfect. Can we discuss price while we're over here? It's a bit of a sensitive subject for me since my Skills are a bit ... lacking ... but because this is a gift for Brighid it doesn't feel right to lump it in with whatever she works out with you for my clothes. I would offer to pay for those as well but..." You shrug and finish, "There isn't much I can offer you in the way of Skilled work, but maybe you need some manual labor done?"

Siwan taps her chin thoughtfully and remains silent for a moment, then says, "I don't really do anything which requires heavy lifting, unfortunately. I will propose this, however: I think I know some other people who might be interested in this sort of thing. I will make the collar as a gift to you and Brighid if you will allow me to, discreetly I assure you, make some others and offer them to some of my other customers. If we do this right, not only will I have something I can offer that my competition doesn't even realize they're missing out on, but we can also build up a secret little club of like-minded people behind the two of you. All three of us win, yes? All I would need from you is the length around her neck. That isn't a measurement I have for her as she has never liked high-collared shirts."

With a relieved smile, you readily agree to Siwan's proposal, then ask her for whatever she uses to take measurements. She hands you a long, thin cord with a series of knots worked into it at very precise intervals; each small knot is about an inch apart -- why is this in Imperial measurements when everything else is in Metric? you wonder -- with every 5th knot being larger and every 10th knot being larger still. Holding the cord, you walk over to Brighid. "Kneel down a moment. Siwan needs some measurements and, for now, I have decided that I will be the only one allowed to touch you without your clothes on. Oh, yes, by the way: Shirt off." Brighid's eyes go wide and she hesitates for a long moment, staring at Siwan like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. You snap at her, "What are you looking at Siwan for? She has seen you naked already. Kneel. And. Remove. Your. Shirt." Her eyes snap back to you, then she moans softly and shudders all over. A bright red blush suffuses her face, neck, and torso, and she kneels in front of you then removes her shirt. The hard points of her nipples protrude prominently from her dusky rose areolas. "Back straight, chin up. I can't get accurate measurements if you've got your head bent like that. There you go, that's a good girl." Brighid's skin reddens further and she whimpers very quietly, but she does as you order. Siwan walks over and watches with interest as you put her friend through her paces, and that just increases Brighid's embarrassment -- and arousal.

You take the knotted cord and stand in front of her. You loop it around her waist, just above her belly button, drawing it taut but not tight, and take the measurement. "Waist, 29 and a half knots." You loosen the cord and slip it up to just under where her heavy, remarkably well-shaped breasts sit on her chest, then again tighten it around her. "Under the bust, 34 knots." Now you move the cord up again, wrapping it around her breasts right at the level of her nipples. This time, you make a frustrated sound in your throat and move the cord up and down across and over her long, stiff nipples several times, making them bend with the pressure and then snap back into place as the cord passes them. Brighid takes in a deep breath, trying to suppress another moan, but you swat her across one breast lightly and say firmly, "Stop that! Breathe normally. When you puff up like that it makes the measurement off and I want anything going over these," You grab one each of her breasts in your hands, squeezing them and tugging on her nipples, and her moan escapes her as you continue, "to be nice and snug. No loose shirts for you." Finally you give a mock sigh and draw the cord taut across her areolas and touching her nipples. "We'll call it 44 knots even for over the bust. That might be a tiny bit tight, but you'll just have to deal with that since you couldn't control yourself."

While you measure her sleeve length, you think to yourself Great and benevolent Patron, that makes her, what, between a 38DD and a 38F? And not even a hint of sag to them! Finally you get to the actual measurement you need. "Reach back and lift up your hair so I can get all the way around your neck. Good girl." You wrap the cord around her neck, making sure it is snug but not completely tight, then tell Siwan, "Right about 15 knots." You look at Brighid critically, examining where her hips would be on a human woman, which is roughly the same area but very differently shaped for a centaur. You glance over at Siwan, who is looking a little flushed herself, and say, "For a human we would get hip measurements too, but I do not know how or even if you take that measurement on a centaur." She blinks at you a moment, clearly distracted, then shakes her head.

"No, for our shirts they either stop at the belly, or we cut them low on the back and long in front. That's everything I need for what you wanted."

You nod and hand her the measuring cord back, then look down at Brighid, still submissively kneeling with her tits hanging out. "Oh, get up and get your shirt back on. We're not stopping back at your house before we head to your mother's, so deal with those as you will." You wave casually at her prominent nipples. Still furiously blushing, she gets her hooves back under her and pulls her shirt on over her head again. Her nipples are extremely obvious still and you doubt they're going to go away any time soon after this. "Now go ahead and figure out the price for my clothes. I'll do what I can to pay you back."

You allow Brighid and Siwan to talk for a few minutes and do your best not to overhear their hushed conversation; you're fairly sure it's about much more than bartering for goods and services. Finally they break up and Siwan gives you both another hug. You gesture Brighid ahead of you out the door, and just before you step through, Siwan stops you with a touch on the shoulder and a whispers in your ear, "If you want me to make her some clothes like you were teasing her about, come back and talk to me sometime. I believe we might be able to ... come to an arrangement." You look at her, startled; her eyes are slightly hooded and her cheeks flushed with arousal. She gives you a low, predatory grin, and clarifies, "Not you, sorry, I like you well enough as a person but not like that. I wouldn't mind having the upper hand on Brighid for once, though. Just a thought to keep in mind..." She playfully pushes you out her door as you ponder that.

Congratulations! You have reached level 4 in Dominance.
Congratulations! You have reached level 1 in Sewing. You are now Unskilled at Sewing.