Publisher Tier - Aniyub 3 - Sweet Dreams

Neil inhaled the desert air contentedly. The weather felt far nicer in the robes provided, almost heavenly with a breeze. He assumed Cyyani would be difficult, their introduction was extremely coarse, but gradually he felt her open up. She remained dominant, but carried herself with just a bit more care and sensitivity towards him. She strode into the bedroom and smiled down at him benevolently.
“Hello, love.” Neil greeted. The woman truly was perfect. He had thought that when he saw her. If she we calmer and a bit more lenient she could be the perfect woman. A nice, caring Jackal that would press him, but not hurt him or break him as she suggested.

Cyyani smiled pleasantly and leaned down while gently gripping the back of his neck. She pulled him into a gentle kiss, then as she removed her lips from his, into her generous cleavage. It was warm, comforting. He felt a bit warmth retreat from his body however, and along with that a pulling sensation drew him away from the scene in an instant. He gasped, awaking to see him burying his face in his pillow. He groaned.
“Gods, what a nice-”

“Dream?” Cyyani sat beside him. He had no idea how long she had been with him, watching. She stared down at him, completely lacking the benevolence that she had in his dream, though she was still smiling in a deceptively sweet manner, rubbing his side. She had pulled the covers off of him, leaving his half naked body open to the morning air. He shivered. The warm desert was surprisingly cold in absence of the sun.
“What were you dreaming about, my dear?”

“Nothing.” Neil stated vehemently.

“Nothing.” She repeated, a skeptical glint in her eye. He had no idea if she knew or not.

'No... She couldn't know.' He convinced himself.

'Do not crack.'

Cyyani ran her hand up his body, over his chest, around his neck before finally sliding up his cheek. She leaned close and stared into him.
“So tense. Are you telling the truth.”

“I promise!”

“A promise is it?” The Aniyub looked amused.

“If you tell the truth now, it will only be a small correction. If you lie, it will be torment.” She removed her hand from his cheek and waited. Watched.
“You may tell me the truth, now.”

'There is no way she could know... Right?' Neil began to question himself.
'Is Cyyani in my head? Is that within her power?' He looked at her, just waiting patiently.

'Only a small correction...' He imagined it, and then cringed at the possibility of torment. She was not even saying he would be rewarded. The reward was simply a lesser correction. He cringed and surrendered.

“I'm sorry... I was lying. My dream was about you.”

“Good boy.” Cyyani leaned over him. He closed his eyes and braced. She waited and played with his anticipation by doing nothing until he opened his eyes. Only then did she nip sharply at his ear. He jolted and held it as her teeth left it.

'No blood...' He confirmed.

“In your dream what happened? Sit up and describe it to me.” She was not asking and it was not simple curiosity.

Neil sat up and lowered his head submissively. “In- In my dream I was here.”

“That's good. I'm glad your mind is here.” She complimented.

He breathed. “Then... you showed up and you were gentle with me.”

“Oh, how sweet. What did you do?”

“I accepted it. I-” He thought of an out.

“How could I refuse you? Even in my dreams.”

Cyyani leaned back on her palms beside him and sighed. “That is the idea, but you failed. What you were suppose to do was fight the urge to relax. Submit and refuse the situation that you KNEW to be incorrect. The version of me that was incorrect.” She furrowed her brow.
“Well... You don't know, yet. Not really. You don't know how you should always behave. My fault.” She shrugged.

“What do you want from me? I was dreaming? Are you even saying YOU gave me that dream? This is...” Neil paused as she stared at him, imploring him to continue if he dared. He was going to say 'monstrous' but simply trailed off.
“Regardless... Y-you can't set me up in a situation where I'll fail and then punish me for-”

“I can do whatever I like.” Cyyani offered.

“I said I would break you and remake you. The point of this is that you can not dream to escape that. The sooner you surrender and truly break, the sooner we can begin.”

“I-I'm broken! I'll do whatever you want already!” Neil insisted.

“You'll do whatever I want because I am powerful and you are weak. If the powers were reversed would you still do the same?” She smirked. Neil was afraid to answer. Truthfully, he would like not be as cruel, but he would certainly not concede to her.

“Poor, poor Neil..” Cyyani cooed.
“Your thoughts betray you. That was the point of this exercise. A teaching moment. When you dream in the future, or at any point where you see me, if you feel it to not be real I want your training to come into effect. I want you to submit, to concede and to be ready to serve. Do not allow yourself to slip.”

“You want to rule over me even in my dreams?” He whined. Neil felt helpless.
“I-I don't want this anymore. How do I just make it stop, or end it faster? How do I crack?” He begged.

“That's good! That's a good feeling, darling. But... I'm afraid it wont happen because of anything you do. You can't do anything. It's in your nature. You're going to try to act like a good boy and you might even believe it, but until your mind is shattered you will not be complete. Down.” She ordered.

“Y-yes, Cyyani.” Neil slipped off the bed and onto the cool stone floor in front of her. He shivered. The sun was still not quite over the horizon.  She pushed her foot in front of his bowed head. He leaned down and kissed it, then gripped it to massage it. His other hand slid up her leg to massage her calve, as well. She smiled contentedly.

“You're learning the nicely. We still need to decide what torment you need to be treated to for your indiscretion.”

Neil stared up indignantly. “But I was honest! You said-” He stopped, a feeling of dread washing over him. She was smiling down at him more like a demon. He missed the woman that visited him in his dreams. He wanted her. He wanted to kneel before her. The woman he was pampering at this moment was a monster. A creature more fit for a nightmare.
“I-I'm really sorry, Cyyani. I misremembered.”

“Human memory seems so unreliable, honestly.” She teased.
“Prove to me that you aren't stupid, Dear.”

Neil's shoulders slumped, his strength left him. “I needed to be punished for my actions in the Dream, and for lying to you.”

She looked surprised, wiggling her toes in front of him gleefully. “My... Is that what happened? Actually, on second thought, you told the truth, didn't you?” She cocked her head to one side.

Neil felt so lost and confused. He thought she wanted him to say what she wanted to hear. Now was she asking him to contradict her? Would him contradicting her lead to an even greater punishment. He gritted his teeth anxiously.
“N-no... You are misremembering. I lied. I lied and I was disobedient.”

She covered her mouth and stared down in surprise. Neil braced, no lash or correction came. “Beautiful...” She remarked. She closed her eyes and inhaled with deep satisfaction.
“So beautiful.”

Neil could guess that he did well. He could assume that she was complimenting him. But she was not the type to offer rewards for compliance. No, her compliments were the best he could hope for, and possibly a lesser punishment but in that moment, when those were the only things he stood to gain, he felt weight lift from his shoulders. He felt a satisfaction to mirror hers. He was participating and partaking in her pride and enjoyment as if it was his own. He gulped and quickly shook it off. He was still expectant of whatever torment she had in store.
“I really am sorry, Cyyani.” He admitted.

“I know you are.” she said softly.
“I know you're hurting, as well. Don't worry, I am very good at what I do and you will not have to hurt or worry much longer, so long as you continue to behave...”

“B-beautifully?”

“That's right. Now the torment.” She did not seem pleased to hurt him. She did not mind, either. It seemed to be a bother or an annoyance to her. She pulled her foot from his hands and stood up, then guided him to his feet as well. She nodded approvingly when she did not have to remind him to keep his head lowered. It was instinct. Self preservation. Exactly how she wanted it.

“Would you like a collar, a bracelet or a ring, to signify our marriage?”

Neil looked down at his feet. “Bracelet?” He asked, hoping it was not another test. He wondered how an accessory would act as torment.

“Good choice. If you had asked for collar to please me, it would have been nice, but I do not know how I feel about you 'wearing' one. It is not for someone of a status such as yours.” She explained.

“I-I don't understand. Am I important, or am I worthless?”

Cyyani sighed and preened his hair as they left. Not quite affectionate, but it still made him shudder. “Make no mistake, Neil. I would not go to so much effort for someone that was not important to me. I claimed you the moment I saw you and that does hold some meaning to my people.” He felt an odd satisfaction in that. What it meant and what it had done for him so far was horrifying and painful, but it was some comfort to know that she did not hate him as much as her actions seemed to suggest. In the absence of any light from her, even her tacit admission that she cared was beginning to feel like it was a reward.

They did not have to walk far before they reached a terrace of her palace where a woman was slaving away at some sort of design.
“Tiani.” Cyyani ordered. The woman stood at attention.

“Yes Commander!”

“Bracelet this man and be kind to his skin.”

“M-my skin? What?” Neil began to tense up as the Aniyub girl known to him now as Tiani gripped his arm and pulled him over to a table where she rested it and sat so that she may crane her head over it. The dim firelight was directed onto his forearm. She pulled a set of needles and ink out from beneath and prepared him. He began to shake.
“N-no no no... I can't. I-” He felt hands resting on his shoulder from behind. They were not restraining him, because he could move. What the soft hands provided was a calm reminder. Surprisingly, the fear of her wrath became for more intimidating than any tattoo.
“Okay.” He breathed.

The woman began to work, regardless of whether or not he stated he was ready. Neil cringed and groaned, but endured as she wrapped smooth pictures around his forearm in a sort of bracelet. It was 'torment' but he had to admit that the design was quite beautiful. It was appropriate to the Anayub and even on his angry red skin, the setting ink looked like a sign of acceptance into her culture. He could have been mistaken, but that was how he chose to interpret it. It was not an ineffective punishment. If his art needed to be added to each time he committed a grave sin against her, he would go mad. It was a good deterrent but not brutal or cruel. His arm shook as Tiani released it after admiring her work. He glanced back and saw Cyyani staring down proudly. She released his shoulders.

-

Neil rubbed his eyes. His arm ached. He was sitting on a balcony outside his room watching the sun set. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. For the entire day Cyyani had him follow her around as she performed her duties. She trained the men all day and essentially ignored him. Perhaps it was a good thing that he did not give her a reason to pay him any mind. It was done, however and after paying her his respects he was finally allowed to settle in with a warm drink. He was slumped down in his chair, but immediately became tense as he heard the clacking of heels on stone behind him, along with the jangling of gold on gold. He turned quickly to regard her and lowered his head.

Cyyani chuckled. “It's okay. They day is over. You can be at ease.”

His body almost relaxed. His mind almost slipped. He clenched his fists tight and slid off of his chair onto his knees before her elegant form.
“Greetings, Cyyani.” Neil offered in a respectful, trained manner.

“What... Are you doing? I said you can be at rest? Are you disobeying me?” Her voice was soft and sweet. She knelt down to be on level and stroked his arm.
“You've been through a lot today, Love.” Neil grimaced. He wished for it to be real. He wanted it. He  wanted so bad for him to raise his head and for her sweetness to carry on and engulf him, rather than end cruelly as he wakes. If it wasn't fake, he was declining something he wanted so bad. Her affection.
“This is your reward for being such a good boy.” She cooed. If it were a reward, a genuine reward and he denied himself the affection he wanted so badly from her...

“It's not real...” He whimpered.

“This is just another torment.”

“Be calm. You're safe.” Cyyani assured him.

“I'm safe...” He strained.
“If I am good and I obey.”

“Is this what you want? For me to rule over you even in your dreams?” She asked.

“Y...es.” He struggled to say it.

“But... That's so sad. What if we just sit together and talk until the sun fully sets?”

His resolve weakened. “I want to be familiar with you... Would this damn me?” He whined.
“How could it?”

“Search yourself. Is there anything wrong with simply sitting with me and talking?”

Neil gulped and closed his eyes tightly. “With... With the real you, yes.” He opened them and felt the fatigue wash over his whole body. The sun was still setting. He remembered now; he had collapsed into bed as soon as he was released and it was before the light had even started to fade. The hardships of the day. He was surprised she let him, but with that dream at the back of his mind he knew why. He glanced over and saw her silhouette from behind with her tall ears and long, luxurious mane. He wandered onto the balcony with his head lowered.
“May I sit beside you?”

“You may.” She responded, patting the spot beside her on the love seat. Neil was grateful to sit on it. He sat straight up, tense.
“Lean on me.” She said flatly.

“S-sorry?”

“I don't st-stutter like you, so don't pretend you didn't hear me.” She was annoyed. He did not want to see Cyyani become more annoyed so he just did as she asked and leaned onto her. Her body was warm and sat solidly, almost immovable, but it was also soft and comforting to lean on. Neil hazarded a glance up. The sun was setting, for real this time.

“I can tell you're confused. Lost. Pained.” She commented. Neil remained silent. It felt like the right thing to do.
“Those feelings are the man you used to be leaving behind who you are becoming. Even that may be frightening but...” She sighed.
“You have made enough progress in such a short time to know for a spell what a perfect moment can look and feel like when you are with me. Rest your head on my lap. You're tired. Stop trying to hide it and just give in to your body...” She uttered, allowing Neil to rest his head on her soft, warm lap. She placed a hand on his side, and another ran through his hair.
“Why are you resisting sleep?”

“Because I want to see it set over the dunes.”

She exhaled through her nose, her tail wagging subtly behind her. “Then see it.”

“Yes Cyyani.” As Neil said that and closed his eyes right after the sun dipped below the dunes a small, genuine smile crept across her perfect lips.

“Sweet dreams.”