by Van © 2024
		Chapter 4

Sky was naked, if you didn't count the pretty brown leather ensemble of restraints (with gunmetal hardware) she was testing for Auntie Kelly.

Also, at the moment, Sky was carefully and silently creeping towards the stable, close on the heels (but not to too close) of Lorelei and the naked, bound, and gagged Fiona.  Sky's box-tie binder-harness (with integrated open-cup push-up bra and arm-pinning strap) creaked a little, but only a little.  The noise was barely audible and wasn't going to give her away.  Her fist-mittens didn't creak, nor did the leather panel-muzzle-gag (with its large and semi-complicated mouth-plug) pressing against her lower face and cupping her chin.  Her open-toed sandals (with integrated ankle-cuffs) were also creak-free, and she was being careful not to make scuffling noises as she approached the stable's large, barn-like, open door.

The mostly naked free-range captive peeked around the edge of the open door in question.  There was abundant light shining from the cloister-style windows up near the roof, and as some of it was direct sunlight beaming through the exposed rafters, the stable floor was a geometric/semi-chaotic mosaic of light and shadow.  Sky quickly ducked inside and into one of the zones of shade off to one side.

Meanwhile, Sky's quarry (Lorelei and Fiona) were just disappearing into the last of the row of five horse stalls on the left side of the stable.  Lorelei was still fully dressed in her chosen Aussie cowgirl uniform-of-the-day and Fiona was still totally naked, if you didn't count her boots and socks, her hemp-rope-bound wrists and elbows, and her blue bandana-gag cleaving her mouth.  The long flaxen hair of both blondes was still wet from their recent swim but was starting to dry.  It was clear their tangled manes were going to require careful brushing and combing to resolve the inevitable snarls and tangles.

The golden-haired captor and captive fully disappeared into the last stall and Sky resumed stealthily sneaking forward.  Her sandals were virtually silent on the swept concrete floor.

Suddenly, Lorelei reappeared!

Sky froze in place.  Luckily, she happened to be in another of the zones of relative shadow and Lorelei didn't seem to have noticed her.  The nefarious kidnapper of Sky's BFF entered a room across from Fiona's stall.  Sky unfroze, quickly flattened herself against the wall, and waited... and it was a good thing she did because almost immediately Lorelei reappeared, crossed the open space, and reentered the last stall.  Oh-by-the-way, the grinning roustabout had been carrying several neat coils of the same variety of thin hemp rope already serving as Fiona's wrist-bonds, elbow-bonds, and leash!

Sky swallowed nervously... Gulp! ...then carefully and silently resumed creeping forward.  Unlikely as the prospect of either BFF rescuing the other might be, Sky just had to see what was going on in that stall!  She eased forward... peered around the open three-quarters-height door... and beheld her nearly naked, bound, gagged, and damp-haired BFF standing in her boots and socks a few feet from the back wall.  Her rope neck tether was now vertical, more-or-less taut, and tied with a quick-release knot through a steel ring dangling from the end of a vertical chain!  Eyes wide, Sky followed the chain up to a pulley attached to a rafter... horizontally across to another pulley... then vertically down the right wall to the drum of a hand-crank-style winch bolted at a convenient height!  Fiona wasn't going anywhere, nor was she free to do anything other than weakly squirm in her bonds and watch Lorelei drop all but one of the coils of rope to the floor.

The rope-collar around Fiona's neck wasn't especially taut, but it was there, which was more than a little disturbing.  Fiona's big blue eyes were on her smiling captor and gave no sign of having noticed that her 90% naked and leather bound and gagged ginger BFF had arrived to rescue her.  The helpless Fiona was giving every appearance of being stoic and brave (nearly as stoic and brave as a tomboy like Sky would have been in her place); however, it was clear she was at least a little nervous, something Sky found entirely understandable.  Also, Sky's 95% naked, bound, and gagged fellow captive was looking decidedly... hot.  That was an entirely objective observation, of course.  As she'd told Auntie Kelly, Sky and her bestie were not a romantic couple... not even a little... even if Fiona did look incredibly appealing, attractive, and/or alluring... all naked and helpless and trying her best to be brave.

Meanwhile, Lorelei (still grinning like a gorgeous villainess whose hair needed a careful comb-out and thorough brushing) had released the hemp coil's retaining hitch, let it fall open, doubled it, and found the center.  In short, she'd prepared it for use.

"Why don't you join us, Red?" Lorelei suggested, then turned her head and focused her smile on Sky!

Busted! Sky realized, stood erect... swallowed behind her gag-muzzle (nervously)... and stepped fully into the open doorway.  What else could she do?

"Mrrrf?"  That was Fiona, of course, her blue eyes wide and blinking above her cleave-gag as she reacted to the sudden appearance of her nearly-naked, leather-bound, and gagged BFF.

"Oh, excellent!" Lorelei gushed.  "The gang's all here!"  She then stepped forward, took hold of Sky's right upper-arm-cuff, closed the stall door behind them (shutting everybody inside the stall), then led the newcomer a few sandal-clad steps forward.

Sky turned her gagged head back and gazed at the closed door.  Like the other horse stall doors, its top third was fully open to allow hypothetical equine occupants to stick their heads out into the central area.  If she hadn't been encumbered by Auntie Kelly's pretty brown leather ensemble Sky was sure she could have scrambled over the top and back into the main stable, but not with Lorelei standing there and fully prepared to foil her escape.  More importantly, she was encumbered.  She was testing Auntie Kelly's pretty brown leather ensemble and escape was impossible.

Meanwhile—"Mrrrk!"—Lorelei was physically evaluating the fit of Sky's push-up-bra/upper-body-harness strap, as well as sliding her free hand along the upper-arm cuffs and forearms-binder!  Inevitably, during the process her fingers and palms brushed against Sky's exposed skin, including her breasts and nipples!  Sky conceded that at least some contact with her bare skin was to be expected if Lorelei was going to conduct an adequate tactile examination, but the smiling blonde didn't even seem to be trying to avoid such contact!  Lorelei wasn't being grabby, per se, but she was definitely taking liberties!  Sky's nipples had popped erect in response, but it wasn't their fault—meaning Sky's nipples' fault.  It was Lorelei's fault.

Sky seriously considered forcefully planting a bare knee or sandal-clad foot between Lorelei's legs... but she missed the opportunity.  Lorelei had stepped away (out of range), stooped, and retrieved the loose coil of hemp rope she'd dropped in order to "welcome" Sky into the stall.  The Ozzie Gull then turned and smiled at Sky as once again she prepared it for use.  "C'mere, Red," she purred.

Lorelei had done it again!  She's called her "Red!"  Sky hated being called "Red!"  Ginger hair, even gingery-auburn hair like Sky's, was beautiful and not to be mocked!  And the same went the freckles Sky had in abundance, so there!  She glowered at Lorelei, then turned her head and found her BFF still locked in the same expression of wide-eyed and blinking amazement.  Sky turned back to resume glaring at the other blonde in the stall... the one with the infuriating grin... and all the rope.

"Over here, Sky," Lorelei chuckled as she pointed to the concrete floor directly in front of the toes of her cowgirl boots.

Sky glared for a few more seconds... just for show... then stomped the three steps required to stand (defiantly) before the waiting blonde.

Lorelei "helped" Sky settle down to the hard but clean concrete floor, all the while ignoring the imaginary daggers streaming from Sky's green eyes and harmlessly bouncing off her own smiling face.  She then used the rope to bind Sky's upper thighs... then just above her knees... then just below her knees... then around her shins and calves.  Lorelei cinched the bindings as she went, and had just enough rope left to thread the end through the D-rings on the insides of the ankle-cuffs of Auntie Kelly's sandals, pull then together, and tie a tight knot.  Sky watched the process (still glowering) but was unable to tell exactly what kind of knot Lorelei had used to secure the ladder-tie now binding and slightly dimpling the skin of her freckled legs.  It was probably another complicated fisherman's puzzle-knot, like the one Auntie Kelley had used to secure her fist-sheath laces.  Sky wouldn't have put it past her.

Next, Lorelei stood, smiled down at Sky for a couple of heartbeats, then turned and left the stall, abandoning her captives!

Seconds passed.  Sky stared at Fiona.  Fiona stared at Sky.

Then, Lorelei returned carrying a stack of neatly folded horse blankets.  They were all thick wool and probably in colorful Native American prints.  Sky-Fi watched as their captor dropped the blankets to the concrete floor against the left wall, then partially unfolded and arranged them into a makeshift pallet roughly the size of a twin-sized mattress.

"There," Lorelei purred (gloated) as she lifted Sky and settled her on her side on the layers of scratchy wool.  She then picked up another coil of rope and prepared it for use.  "Now you have a comfy front row seat while I finish tyin' up yer girlfriend."

She's not my girlfriend! Sky silently fumed.  Why do they keep saying that?  Lying on her side, Sky squirmed and got "comfortable."  The pallet was thin, but the blankets were definitely an improvement over bare concrete... even if they were a little itchy.  She was sure she'd get used to it.

"In case yer wondering," Lorelei said, "while Goldilocks and I were skinny-dippin' in the pond"—she nodded at Fiona—"she shared the opinion that unless there's a gross difference in strength—like, say, between a petite damsel such as yourself and some great big hulkin' bloke—the one bein' tied up can usually make it bloody difficult for the rigger to do a proper job.  I countered that once the rigger succeeds in makin' the damsel even a little helpless, there are ways to make that unlikely."

Now both BFFs were staring daggers at Lorelei, but Fiona's imaginary cutlery was just as impotent as Sky's.

"Anyway," Lorelei continued, "there just happened to be some hanks of rope lyin' around, so I offered to stage a demonstration."  Taking the fully prepared coil of rope now in her hands with her, Lorelei strolled towards Fiona.  "We wrestled a little, I tied her wrists behind her back, then showed her how that made it impossible to resist my tyin' her elbows together.  Of course, to do a proper demonstration we'd need a lot more rope... so here we are."

Sky frowned above her gag-muzzle while she pondered three relevant issues:

(1)  They were skinny-dipping?  Sky supposed that shouldn't be totally unexpected as neither BFF had packed a swimsuit, not even a string bikini.  They weren't expecting to go swimming while backpacking in the high country.  Mountain lakes are cold, even in Summer, and while a suit weighs next to nothing, ounces add up into pounds and nobody wants to haul around unnecessary pounds.

(2)  While paddling around in the water Fiona and Lorelei chatted about the ins and outs and up and downs of tying up people?  Why?  Maybe Fiona was fishing around for tips on how to tie up Skylar Dundee!  The thought was... disturbing.  Sky might have to retaliate.  Maybe Auntie Kelly knows a few good tricks.  Next time I'm not gagged... I'll ask her.

(3)  Lorelei just happened to have rope with her?  Who keeps a cache of rope at their swimming hole?  Obviously, Lorelei had staged the entire encounter... probably.  She maneuvered Fiona into getting naked so she could tie her up!  What's going on here?

While Sky was busy thinking about swimming hole bondage, Lorelei had crafted a tight and elaborate upper-body-harness for Poor Fiona, the already helpless and immobilized damsel.  Fi's shoulders were now yoked by doubled diagonal strands and horizontal bands passed above and below her breasts, squeezing them together (slightly) and pinning her upper-arms to her torso.  Everything was tight and carefully cinched, further enhancing Lorelei's growing reputation as a skilled and experienced rigger, bondage aficionado, and gleeful kidnapper of innocent young women.

Next, Lorelei untied Fiona's rope leash/tether, then retied the dangling rope through the nexus of the harness and elbow bondage behind Fiona's back.  So, Fi remained tethered in place by the rope and vertical chain, but at least her neck was now rope-free.  Sky approved.  Her golden-haired BFF's predicament was now much safer as even the possibility of strangulation had been eliminated.  Safety first!

More coils were prepared and more bondage happened.  Specifically, Lorelei looped rope around the smallest part of Fiona's waist and her virtually parallel forearms, then cinched the bindings between her forearms and waist and the forearms themselves.  Next, she ladder-tied Poor Fiona's legs together in more-or-less the same manner she'd ladder-tied Sky.  Fiona's leg-bondage was just as tight and well-cinched as the hemp strands binding (and dimpling) the freckled gams of Red-the-Courageous.  Finally, Lorelei prepared one more coil, grinned (evilly), and proceeded to transform Fiona's belly/forearm bonds into a bona fide crotch-rope!!

Both Sky's green and Fiona's blue eyes popped wide—all four of them!  During their own rope experiments both halves of Sky-Fi had considered and rejected incorporating crotch-ropes into their escape challenges.  They had independently arrived at the conclusion that if they did so... a line would have been crossed... an intimate line.  They weren't ready for crotch-ropes.  (They might never be ready for crotch-ropes.)

Obviously Lorelei thought they were ready, and being thoroughly bound and gagged they weren't exactly in a position to object!

Anyway, in short order... Fiona's dark-blond-but-well-groomed pubic bush was bisected by four vertical strands of thin hemp rope that continued downwards and disappeared between her legs!  Two of the strands framed and pinched her pussy-lips together... while the other two cleaved the pussy itself!!  All four strands were tight, and when Fiona squirmed and tested the arrangement (which she did exactly one time), Sky formed the opinion that the crotch framing and cleaving ropes were somehow hitched through Fiona's wrist-ropes... probably.  She also strongly suspected her BFF's wrist bonds were attached to the top of her leg-ladder-bonds!  Everything was interconnected!

Sky was impressed!  Lorelei had crafted an elaborate lattice of hemp from Fiona's shoulders to her ankles!  Sky doubted Poor Fiona had ever been this helpless... but come to think of it, Sky herself had never been this helpless either!

And Lorelei wasn't finished!  She unlaced and removed Fiona's hiking boots... followed by her wool socks... then used a short length of thin cord to bind Poor Fiona's big toes together!  Toe bondage! Sky silently gasped.  That's just plain MEAN... and cool.

Wow!  Sky found no other reaction possible.  Fiona's now bare feet were flat on the concrete floor, but the vertical chain linked to the windlass mounted on the wall was more-or-less taut.  Her roomie might as well be tied to an invisible post!  The naked, bound, and gagged blonde (the one who wasn't Lorelei) weakly wiggled, twisted, and squirmed... and Sky continued watching.  Wow!

Lorelei continued watching as well... all the while smiling like a gorgeous Australian villainess with golden hair that needed brushing.  The seconds ticked by... more than thirty.

"Well," Lorelei said finally, "guess I better update the boss and see if she has any chores for me."

Sky and Fiona stared at Lorelei... then at each other... then at Lorelei... then at each other again.

She's gonna just leave us here like this? Sky wondered.  Well... of course she is, but... how rude!

Fiona appeared to be resigned to their naked, bound and gagged fate (as far as Sky could tell).  In fact, Poor Fiona heaved a deep, melodramatic, and well-gagged sigh.  Obviously she was channeling her inner damsel.

Meanwhile, Sky-Fi's captor had reached the stall door.  She reached over the top and released the latch, opened it, stepped across the threshold, gave her pathetic victims a beaming smile, then closed the door and was gone.

The BFFs heaved simultaneous gagged sighs... then did their best to relax.  The languishing phase of Lorelei's "demonstration" was fully underway.

Not surprisingly given the time of day, Lorelei found Kelly in her Writing Room in the Big House and hard at work on her next novel.  The grinning blonde breezed across the threshold into the generously sized and comfortably appointed Western/Rustic home-office and sitting-room and approached the desk.  Kelly's fingers were flying across the clacking keys of the ergonomic keyboard of her powerful desktop computer.

"Wait," Kelly requested (ordered) and continued typing.

"Sure thing, Boss," Lorelei answered, then settled in to wait while Kelly typed for several more seconds... then saved her work... then turned to an open notebook beside the keyboard and used a #2 pencil to checkoff an item on a list... flipped through the pages to made a quick note in the margin of a page of scrawled text... then flipped back to the original page and set down the pencil.  Only then did she spin in her comfy office chair, lean back, and smile at her grinning employee.

"Well?" Kelly demanded.

"They're both in the stable," Loreli purred, "in the last stall.  Cheeks is playin' with a little rope and Red is still conductin' yer test."  ("Cheeks" was Lorelei's nickname for the blonde half of Sky-Fi, in honor of her prominent and comely cheekbones.)

Kelly's smile turned slightly coy.  "Playin' with a little rope?" she quoted.

Lorelei shrugged, still smiling.  "She wanted a demonstration... so I obliged."

Kelly rolled her eyes, still smiling.  "Show me," she ordered as she vacated her chair.

The permanent residents of The Hermitage made their way from the Big House to the stable... then to the last stall.

Sky and Fiona were waiting.  Clearly, they had no choice but to wait.  The mostly naked (not counting their bonds) BFFs blinked and stared at their captors... or possible rescuers?

Hands on hips, Kelly turned and frowned at Lorelei.

Lorelei was unfazed as she pointed to Fiona.  "Like I told ya, Cheeks wanted a demonstration of how to deal with reluctant damsels."  She shifted her finger (and smile) to indicate Sky.  "And Red wanted to watch."

Kelly rolled her eyes, knelt in front of Sky, and began untying her legs.  "Free Fiona, do the laundry, and start on dinner," she decreed as Sky's ladder-tie-leg-bondage melted away.  Obviously, she was addressing Lorelei.  Sky's legs were about to be free, but she'd still be in no condition to untie her BFF or complete even rudimentary household tasks.  The untying of Sky's bare, freckled legs continued.

Meanwhile, Lorelei had retrieved the bundled boots, socks, jeans, blouse, and undies Fiona had removed prior to skinny-dipping in the swimming hole... then smiled and watched as her red-haired boss restored mobility to her still nearly-naked, leather bound, and leather gagged red-haired young cousin, helped her stand, then led her away; but Lorelei made no move to begin the inevitably long process of releasing Fiona from her shoulders-to-ankles web of tight, well-cinched, hemp bonds.

"Get on with it!" Lorelei's boss shouted from somewhere in the main stable.

"Sure thing, Boss!" Fiona shouted back.

Kelly and Red's boot and sandal steps faded in the direction of the stable door... and were gone.

Lorelei turned her smile to Fiona (aka Cheeks).  "All-rightie-then," she purred as she ticked off Kelly's ordered agenda on the fingers of her left hand.  "Do the laundry... start dinner... free Fiona.  Guess I better get a move on!"

Fiona blinked her big blue eyes as Lorelei coiled and hitched the coil of hemp rope formerly lashing Sky's freckled legs together... then refolded the horse blankets of Sky's former makeshift pallet into a neat stack... then followed her boss and Sky from the stall and out of the stable... leaving Fiona behind, still naked, elaborately bound, gagged, and decidedly not free.

"Nrrrrrm!" Cheeks complained (or possibly cursed) and resumed pointlessly (and gingerly, given the intimate crotch-ropes) squirming, twisting, and trying to free herself from Lorelei's demonstration.

Obviously, Kelly had meant for her roustabout to untie Poor Innocent Fiona before doing the laundry and organizing the evening meal!  Lorelei was being cute.  Fiona resolved to conspire with her BFF (once Sky was no longer on testing duty) and put the golden-haired Ozzie Gull in her proper and well-deserved place at their first opportunity.

Sky meekly followed Auntie Kelly from the stable... across the compound... into the Big House... then on to the Writing Room.  She supposed she could have tried to "make a run for it," but what would be the point?  Where was she supposed to run to?  What was she supposed to do once she got there?  Also, bolting for "freedom" might hurt Auntie Kelly's feelings, and she certainly didn't want to do that!  Her elderly (over forty!) cousin wasn't actually a deranged maniac who tied up people just up for fun of it, although it was a safe bet some sort of fun might be involved at some point.

Also, only the Evil Blonde Lorelei had taken what Sky considered to be "liberties."  So far.  Technically.  The liberties in question had been limited to a modicum of casual tactile contact, and it had been perfunctory and harmless, but it had been unsolicited and not appreciated.  Really.

Anyway, Sky was genuinely bound, gagged, and helpless and her Auntie's leather creations were exquisitely well-designed, stylish, beautiful, and totally inescapable.  Scampering away to hide would achieve nothing.

Sky was conflicted... or something.  In any case, she wasn't in control.  That was for damn sure.  Auntie Kelly was in control.  Lorelei was in control.  Sky and Fiona were not in control.

Also, Sky realized she was putting a lot more energy into rationalizing why she wouldn't be sneaking away than she had into preventing herself from being bound and gagged in the first place.  And what was going on with her complacently agreeing that leather bondage gear needed to be tested in the nude?  She could have objected.  She should have objected.  But she didn't, or hadn't, or whatever.  It was... puzzling.

"Now, let's get you comfortable while we continue the test," Kelly purred as they entered her inner sanctum.  With a graceful flip of her right wrist she indicated a leather couch and a pair of easy chairs across the room.  "Take a load off," she suggested (ordered).

Sky walked (stomped) to the conversation/lounge grouping and sat on the couch.  There was a cotton blanket in an attractive Native American pattern draped over the seat and back, so her bare skin wasn't in direct contact from the leather.  She watched as Kelly strolled to her desk, opened a lower drawer, pulled something from within, then strolled in her direction.  Sky continued watching as Kelly knelt at her sandal-clad feet.

The object in Kelly's right hand was a compact pair of pliers with a rather peculiar business end.  Both jaws were narrow and bent inwards, but one was simply curved while the other was both curved and bifurcated into a pair of bent tines.  Sky watched with interest as Kelly lifted her right sandal and slid the open pliers into the trio of holes on the curved upper surface of the gunmetal steel disk preventing the unauthorized removal of the sandal's ankle-cuff.  Kelly squeezed, there was a quiet click, and the disk popped free.

Kelly noticed Sky's interest and held the bottle cap size disk still in the jaws of the pliers closer for her inspection.  "I suppose, arguably, these things are more spring-loaded clamps than actual locks, and these pliers are just a specialized tool and not an actual key; but in any case, removing one of these disks with anything else would be clumsy, difficult, and nearly impossible."

Kelly pocketed the disk-lock/clamp, set down the pliers, unbuckled the sandal, and slid it from Sky's foot.  She then repeated the entire unlocking/clasping and removal process with Sky's right sandal. 
Sky's feet were now bare... as were her legs and the rest of her, all the way up to the leather upper-body ensemble currently undergoing testing.

Sky's gag-muzzle was next.  Auntie Kelly stood, turned Sky's head to the side, then used the pliers/key to unclasp/unlock and remove its disk-lock.  She then unbuckled the strap and eased the black silicon-rubber mouth-plug from Sky's mouth.

Sky worked her jaws and licked her lips as Kelly returned the pliers/key and the three removed disk-locks to the desk, then strolled towards the the Writing Room door.

"Wait here," Kelly requested, and was gone.

"Uh, sure," Sky responded (in a dry croak), then resumed working her jaws and licking her lips.  She wondered if her lower face was flushed and possibly creased with... gag-marks?  Is 'gag-marks' a word?  It would remain an open question because as far as Sky could see there were no mirrors in Auntie Kelly's Writing Room.

Almost immediately Kelly returned with a tumbler of ice-water sporting a protruding straw.  "Here you go," Kelly smiled as she held the tip of the straw close to Sky's lips.

Sky captured the end of the straw with her tongue and lips and sucked.  The ice-cold water was glorious!  Being gagged by an expertly designed muzzle-panel-gag with a tongue-trapping and bite-protecting mouth-plug was thirsty work, despite the excellent saliva retaining properties of the muzzle-like design.  Who knew?

"Thank you," Sky muttered (begrudgingly).  "I assume your gag passed its test?"

Kelly smiled and held up the gag/muzzle in question with her free hand.  "This old thing?  It's not new.  Lorelei has already helped me thoroughly test the basic concept.  The improved fist-sheaths and the bra-strap-harness are what need testing."

This did not make Sky feel any better.  "Then why did you use it on me?" she demanded.  She meant the gag, of course.

"Gags adds to the general ambiance and enhance the testing process," Kelly explained as she held the tumbler close so Sky could take another generous suck on the straw.

Bullshit, Sky silently fumed as Auntie carried the tumbler to a nearby side-table, set it on a coaster, then deposited the removed gag-muzzle and general ambience enhancer next to it.  At least it's not back in my mouth, she thought.  Meanwhile, Auntie Kelly had strolled back to her desk, settled into her comfy office chair, and beamed at her captive and mostly naked young cousin in what Sky considered to be a most irritating manner.

"You girls are very sweet to hike all the way out here to help me with my work," Kelly said.  "I hope you're enjoying yourselves."

Sky managed not to roll her green eyes, but it was a near thing.  "We're having a blast," she conceded (evenly), "and Lorelei is very nice... for a rope-happy psychopath."

Kelly laughed.  "'Rope-happy psychopath!'  I like that.  I'll have to remember it."  She spun in her chair, tapped the computer's keyboard, and the wide-screen monitor flashed to life, displaying a gorgeous photo of what Sky assumed was some other part of the Montana.  "I need to check my e-mail," she announced.  "Why don't you take a nap 'til its time to get ready for dinner?"

"Why not," Sky muttered, mostly to herself, then reclined on the sofa and rested her pouting but gag-free head on one of the end pillows.  She would have liked to have been able to fluff the pillow first, but the ongoing test of Kelly's fist-mittens and box-tie-bra-harness made that impossible.  She closed her eyes and listened to the keyboard clacking under her older cousin's nimble fingers... then opened her eyes.  She'd decided she simply had to say something on the topic of her continuing naked captivity.

"When is this test gonna be over?" Sky asked glumly.

Kelly smiled as she continued typing.  Her green eyes never left the screen.  "Soon," she reassured her test subject.

Sky frowned and was about to pursue the topic further, but was interrupted by Kelly.

"Oh, goodie!"  Kelly gushed, smiling at the screen.  "My neighbor has finally finished a project she's been working on and is gonna drop it off tomorrow afternoon for testing."

Sky frowned.  "More testing?  Your neighbor is also into leather-working?"

Kelly's smile widened.  "Jacy Bird is a carpenter and woodcarver.  A real artist.  You'll love her, and her little sister Tama as well.  They're part Blackfeet and part Cheyenne, as unlikely as that might seem.  There was a real Romeo and Juliet melodrama between the two branches of their families a generation back.  Anyway, yes, more testing!  I sometimes help the Bird sisters test their designs and sometimes they help me test mine.  Wait 'til you meet them.  They're very beautiful."  And with that, Auntie Kelly went back to staring at the screen and tapping keys.

Sky heaved a sigh and closed her eyes again.  She was looking forward to meeting a pair of 'very beautiful' Native Americans... but did not intend to volunteer for any more testing, no matter who was designing what.  And anyway... what sort of carpentry or wood-carving project needs 'testing?'

Eventually, the sound of the clacking keys lulled Sky to sleep.  Being nearly naked and restrained by stylish but inescapable leather accessories was tiring.  Who knew?

~   ~   ~   ~   ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Zzzzzzzz... ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

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