Rumble of Thunder, Howl of Wolf. [Spain]

”Just.. a little.. more” She breathlessly voiced to herself. This track she was running would be the death of her, hopefully that wasn't in the literal sense. Another hour had passed, with it, another fifteen laps. She was at 55 now. That was.. just over half, barely over half of the total duration. The burning in her calves, her thighs, and her torso grew until they were painful, even to her. It was clear that she was nearing or at her limit, still going a distance.

Without her abilities, this was much, much harder than she had thought. How could she not finish this? It looked easy enough. 88 miles. That was simple, right? She'd driven this kind of distance before, yeah? It was easy! This whole thing was easy! She could do it, nothing to it at all!

...At least that's what she wanted to think, but it was simply no use. She could only go a handful more, making it to 62 laps before her trek brought her back to a Mirja who had been mediating, but was now staring directly at her. The stare she used was hard and heavy, basically challenging. Ceal -with her pinked face due to the heat and exertion- slowed to a halt in front of her, clearly winded and breathing heavily as she dropped to her knees, leaning back to get some air. She was taking in large bursts of it, her insides clearly elated that she finally decided to stop.

She may had only gone past her limit for a few laps, so fortunately for her, there wasn't anything wrong with Ceal that she wouldn't simply recover from in a moment's respite. Her face glistened with sweat as she used one of her forearms to wipe it away, breathing heavily with her mouth slightly ajar. With slightly drooping, lazy eyelids, Ceal cast her stare upon Mirja again, wondering what manner of scolding she'll get.

”Not... Not even close. Sixty-two laps? So... So frustrating. I'm stronger, I know I am, but my body isn't what I have been training!” She said, clearly displaying a level of inward anger as she metaphorically beat herself up for being unable to finish. Much to Ceal's amusement, all of the sweat she had been sweating was able to clean her ace off of the blood that had been caked on it from earlier.

With a creaking body, she learned forward with her upper body, lowering onto her knuckles as she crawled forward, closing the distance between her and Mirja, aiming to rest her head on her lap. ”...How are your wounds doing?”

Surprisingly, for Mirja, Ceal actually came to a stop at the sixty sixth mark. Mirja was almost sure she'd push herself on until she passed out, and then Mirja would have to make sure she was punished to a point she did not neglect her Mistress' orders again. Still, she should have stopped on the sixty mark, that was when her limit was hit. This gasping and panting would not let her jump one meter, let alone eight point eight meters. But, Ceal needed her praise, and so Mirja reached out a hand and played with her fox ears, smiling softly to herself.

"I know you are a lot stronger than this with your magic. That is why I banned them. Temporary enhancements won't do you here, darling. It has to be permanant. If you don't have the right kind of fortitude, you'll literally cook yourself from the inside out from the raging power of your Dantian. I have experienced a localized version of that myself when I tried some really powerful atifacts. They burned my skin severely, from finger tips to elbow. Which is why I am not teaching you anything about it until you are ready. And yes, Tai Chi applicants can do this, sometimes takes years upon years of practice and training and dieting. A lot of Cultivators are peak physical condition before they start cultivating. You, are far from that. Spiritually enhanced to be stronger than a human, maybe. But a human can still beat you in several areas of physicality"

Mirja then nodded her head to the house, giving Ceal a smile and some more headpats as she did so. The fox girl was a good girl, after all.
"Come on. Get a shower, I'll made dinner, then you can pet down for the night and we can begin practice in the morning. You can attempt this next week. And I promise you'll do a lot better than today"

Ceal couldn't help but feel that she let down Mirja because she couldn't finish. It was thick on her face of course when she looked up at her wolf. Part of her even wondered of Mirja expected her to complete it anyway, or simply just wanted to use it as a baseline to see how far Ceal could go before she stopped, fainted, or died. Maybe she was exaggerating on that last bit, but the thought was what mattered.

When Mirja reached out and played with her ears, smiling even, Ceal felt something in her chest melt a little bit. She was pretty sure it was her heart. Ceal felt an overwhelming surge of emotions as happiness flooded her being, looking up to her and smiling, chuckling warmly for seemingly little reason. She was just so happy it was hard to contain those feelings. It truly felt like this entire day was magical, even as the sun was beginning to set now in the far west of the hills.

Then Mirja spoke about how she acknowledged Ceal's skill in magical prowess, it was among one of the first times Mirja had really taken notice or verbally expressed her acknowledgment of Ceal's power sets at all. To be completely honest, Ceal was stunned, floored even. It was almost like it was a praise in her own right. Seemingly making this feat easily possible with the use of Ceal's supernatural abilities Though, what she finished with concerned Ceal a little bit. It wasn't that she was being impatient, rather she was concerned.

”Years, you said? That.. I mean, I guess it seems fair...” Ceal said, responding to her words, the ending of her sentence had an unspoken “but” to it, as if there was more she wanted to say on the matter, but she ended up thinking better of it, shaking her head and standing up, her body still creaking and popping as she stood. It felt good, but it also caused her to groan in pleasure/agony.

Ceal felt the pats on her head and made a noise of glee. She really did love it when she was pat on the head. It was never like this before, but with so much of it happening ot her she couldn't help but get addicted to it, as with all good things.

”Alright! That sounds good~” She said, replying to Mirja's words. It really did sound like a good idea for a shower after... well, everything that happened today. Plus, she had been sweating like a pig ever since lap 30, talk about arduous. It was almost like a torture to have to run that much, for that long. But Ceal knew that if she tried too hard and hurt herself here, that Mirja would show her what torture really felt like. She shuddered at this thought as she walked into the house, opening the door for her Mirja, bowing politely.

Mirja rolled into the house, and smiled to Ceal as she opened the door and even bowed politely. She'd make a fine servant out of this one yet. On top of everything else she did finely. Not least of which was, have an ass. And that sentence was a bit disjointed and got away from her as she repeated it, but shush head voice, don't bring up specifics. But, speaking of asses, Ceal had a nice one, very spankable. It would almost be rude not too, and Mirja was anything but a rude girl. So that was exactly what she did. The tiny Miniskirt gave unparraleled access to it as well. Almost as if it was reaching out and saying 'hey, spank me'

"Mmm, so supple, and firm. But yes! Ci Lan Tsu started training when she was ten. Finished the Devil's Eighty Eight when she was ninteen. You are different, sure, but you are still going to take a while, little Fox. The only but I want from you is the one with a red handprint on it. Now get in the shower" she ordered, rolling to the kitchen to prepare dinner. The tattoo on her back would slowly stop glowing, and stop being so hot. But, in the vicious sun, Ceal probably didn't notice the heat that was coming from it. So the thing worked, it seemed. That was good.

For dinner, she was going to make a special dish for Ceal that would ensure a good, deep night's sleep and replenish the desires of her exhausted body. Mirja was a master in the kitchen, mixing alchemy and culnary powers together, and then sticking them in the oven. While they were cooking, she snuck into the bathroom, and stole all Ceal's clothes, leaving a soft silk Kimono in it's place, and only that. It had latex inlines and certain ridges in special places, making it a happy thing to walk in.

As Ceal followed her, opening the door and whatnot, she felt a sharp smack to her rear as Mirja the Lecher passed. Ceal jumped with a start, a squeak escaping her lips as the no-doubt smug wolf cruised along. She knew full well what spanking did to her! The audacity, the nerve, the boldness! Perhaps it was lucky that she was exhausted from all the running, too exhausted in fact to even be too aroused at something like that. Though, she supposed it didn't stop her body from reacting accordingly. Gah!

”M-master, can you... please, not do that?” She said, her voice extremely meek as her fingers fiddled with themselves. When Mirja spoke to her, talking about how even Madam Tsu herself taking nine years, after knowing how powerful she was now. Just wow, just how long would Ceal take to get there? She was still determined, but the she would be lying if she said she didn't feel overwhelmed by the idea.

Now that she was in the cool shade of the house, likely several fans blowing air through it, she could feel the tattoo on her back begin to cool. Woah, she didn't realize it before, but now that she noticed it, it had been burning hot this whole time! She looked over her neck just in time to see the glow fade from the tribal designs. ”Wow.. to think that it took her that long, that's... daunting, to say the least. But, still, I won't give up! I'm pretty satisfied with how strong I am now on the supernatural level, so I can take this with due diligence. No matter how long it takes,”

Bowing to her master, she did just as she ordered, moving into the bathroom to take a shower. It wouldn't take her long and she definitely didn't notice Mirja come in and gaffle her clothes away. She didn't make the shower very hot, though. She was rather enjoying something just warmer than lukewarm, cooling her body, chilling her and calming her. She hated heat so much, she was willing to cool herself with a shower as such. Before too long, Ceal got out of the shower, looking at herself in the foggy mirror. This was probably among the first times Ceal got a really good look at the tattoos she was donning. The ones that went up the sleeves of her arms were symmetrical, tribal in design. She noticed females don't typically get this much, or these types of patters. Normally girls went for something cute or beautiful. While that probably wouldn't have been something Ceal minded, she was proud of the design Mirja so painstakingly drew upon her. The patterns snaked all the way up, nearly to the neck as they coiled around her shoulders, connecting to one that spanned across the top of her shoulders. They still retained the greenish hue from earlier, she had a feeling that color just might stay, they matched her eyes at the very least.

Ceal smiled at herself in the mirror, turning around to.... NOT, get her clothing. They were gone, replaced by a sketchy looking kimono with a low cut along the collar. Biting her lip, she could only imagine what that silk would feel like on her bare skin and she put it on, having some minor difficulty setting it right and tying the sash around her well enough. ”M-Mirja, you monster, I-I can't believe you~” She said softly to herself, her voice shaky and weak. As she put it on, she could tell that there were certain grooves, lines, and ridges of latex that would.. uh.. “stimulate” certain places both top and bottom, every time she moved.

Still, her shower took about twenty minutes and she was finally out, shakily walking to the kitchen, her hands nervously out in front of her, one clasped over the other. She looked at her Master with a blushed face, Her hair up in a lose up-do that she used a ribbon for

”...It smells delicious, Master. T-to think you'd cook for me, it's still quite touching.. I guess. I should be cooking for you, after all” She said, her voice soft, though shaky from the forsaken kimono. It was comfortable, except for “those” bits, so she was merely just squirming in it, her thighs rubbing on each other as she fidgeted in place.

Mirja looked over and saw a squirming Ceal in the Kimono, the special cut obviously going to town on her. Mirja loved the way she looked. So beautiful and prim, yet also with a face of pleasure, a body of passion, and a slowly building need that would demand release soon. Still, they were going to bed after this, so there wouldn't be enough time for the need to build up beyond soft wet desire. Which was the best thing to go to bed on, after all. Well, that was what Mirja believed, and she was sticking to that believe.

"Honestly, I like cooking, my Kimono'd Fox. How's it treating you, by the way? It's quite a unique thing, huh? As to cooking, I find it is rather relaxing and engaging to see something grow from inedible gunk to culnary beauty. So I'll not force that on to you. You'll have a lot of things to be doing, after all. Super training, farming, vigerous night sex. All the good stuff, ya know? Cutie like you really gets a girl going at night. And at day. And basically any time you are around them regardless of what you are doing or what you are wearing"

Mirja grinned at Ceal, her words teasing and sensual. And then she laid down the food in front of her and went back for her own portion. There was a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, both of which semlled well done. The meat, garnished with some soft red herbs that stood out on the brown of the meat. But, it was doubtful that Ceal would give much care to what was on the food, with the way it smelled. She was a rather vigerous eater, after all. Which was why the plates were larger than normal plates.

"Cooking is my thing. Try to invade and we will go shopping for supplies with you in a naked apron"

She really, really didn't like how this kimono felt on her. It was giving her various thoughts, and when she looked up at mirja, those thoughts only grew. That wolf, she was always one to keep her wanting more, giving her just a small slice of desire, only to tease and tantalize her about more. It was a vicious cycle, one that Ceal would fawn over for days, for weeks. Closing her eyes, she sniffed the meal that was to be prepared for her. It was a wondrous scent, one both herbal, but hearty as well. She idly wondered if there was anything that was explicitly spanish about this dish, those seasonings and such likely in more abundance around these parts.

”Uh, yes! I can tell that you like to cook. It smells wonderful, I never knew you were such an accomplished culinarian, It's... frankly it's amazing. It makes me want to cook for you more, though you know. Like you, cooking brings me happiness, especially if it is for someone important to me~ And... as for this kimono.. well, does it have to have this sort of inside? It makes me a bit... restless, for.. for obvious reasons,” She said, still squirming and fidgeting in place.

However, Ceal decided to dismiss the topic of cooking. Mirja did have a point at least for these following weeks. So, with a flushed face, Ceal sat down at the table gently, looking up to Mirja with a suggestive expression that she didn't even mean to have, it was just a depiction of her overall state of... restlessness, she had at the time. Once the plate was laid out in front of her, Ceal clapped her hands together for a small prayer before tentatively digging into the food. It was absolutely smashing. As she ate, the wondered on what was to come of these two weeks, rigorous strength and endurance training was a no-brainer but Mirja... she had, well... “Unique” ways of persuasion.

”N-No invading for me, then. I don't want everyone seeing my behind...”


Spain
Two Weeks Later, Sunday
Midday, 62 Degrees F
Mirja's Country Home


She was right, of course. She was always right about the levels of torment Mirja was capable of, or were at least always surprised as they went further down. Ceal was trained in several feats. Weights for strength, long walks carrying heavy items -complete with a pony tack- for both strength and endurance, long spats of meditation to gather one's energy. Every single day Ceal was pushed to her limits, she was pushed beyond them in very few sessions, those being heavily monitored and controlled, so Ceal wasn't liable to hurt herself and make that entire exercise bomb for no reason. There was very tentative workouts daily, typically from sun up, to sun down.

Every day, Ceal would lay in bed, completely and entirely exhausted to the point that as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was done. Out like a light. Of course Mirja also prepared meals throughout the day every day. It was something she really did seem to take pride in, something that she genuinely enjoyed. Ceal would just resign herself to watching Mirja work sometimes, all while smiling the whole time. The more time she spent with Mirja, the longer time that she appreciated her. It was easy to feel something negative when Ceal witnessed how quickly she had grown in power. But with this, Ceal felt, well... at ease. She wanted Mirja to gain her power back as much as the next guy. Especially her legs even. She even wanted to actively help with this endeavor, but, it was like... With this having now affected Mirja, she felt different. She felt.. changed. There felt like there was more to Mirja now than there was then. It only made Ceal fall for her more than before.

But, those were thoughts for another time.

Right now, Ceal was currently re-trying the Devil's 88. It was a midday sunday, and just like before Mirja was watching Ceal run the track. She would note how Ceal had changed, how she'd gotten faster, and was able to go far longer with smaller effort. She was already on lap 72. Other than having a pink face, and a sweating body, Ceal felt fairly strong right now. She didn't have the familiar pain in her muscles yet from such trek, even past the 3 hours it had taken her to get this far. She was nearly done, in record time at that, at least for her.

With Ceal's hair up in a ponytail she continued to run, she thought about the last two weeks as she ran, nearly losing track of the laps she'd been on since she started a few times. She guessed that was easy to do when you become so engrossed in one's own little world. Ceal even thought about one day in particular, Mirja and her had went out, down to the small town here in spain that was closest to Mirja's house. It was likely there where she went to get groceries. She had taken Ceal in not just anything, but that very self-same kimono she had been fretting about just some days ago! It was something of a magical venture, to say the least. Mirja knew just how worked up that kimono got her, and decided to take her around in it as a "date" of sorts.

Ceal's face that entire time was flushed from both reasons. The very fact that she was taken out like this caused her heart to well up with emotion, and then there was the fact that this Kimono was specially made to bring out agony and sexual frustration pushed it even further. She struggled to keep up with her, she would sometimes have to stop to rest, but when Ceal could rush up to the wolf and hug her arm, latching onto her... it more than made up for her sinister sadism streak.


This day wasn't nearly as hot as the day when they first started. It was a cool fall day at least, so Ceal had some of the finest weather to her. She loved the fall, and loved that crisp, cool air.