*Click!*

- ...16th of the Fifth Umbral, Research log. Just...Kill me. Take my body and throw it into the gutter. Maybe that way I'll get some rest.” A loud wooden scrape could be heard from the tomestone, the sound of a chair being pulled across the floor, followed by a long sigh. “I just spent the entire night on this damn data node, almost triggered the defence mechanism, overloaded the node twice! I bypassed the authentication system... And guess what, the stupid files on this thing are.”A loud metallic thud could be heard. “Encrypted! I don't know which Allagan this thing belonged to, but they apparently needed to go that far.”

- But, hey! Since I have access to the node's main systems now, I can actually let some of my tools run to try and get more access...And with the defence mechanisms gone, it's just a matter of time until I have full privileges. But if this is just another set of love letters that a noble decided to hide away instead of some proper research diagrams, I will -” A couple of wooden knocks transmitted through. “Mh? Right, end of log. Yes, you may enter - oh come on, would you shut do-”

*Click!*

Please, this tomestone wasn't going to play back the entire day back to her now, was it -

- ...Log, number two. Well...I didn't expect a Wood Wailer officer to knock my door today... There's been a couple of strange incidents in the East Shroud, and -”

Oh by the Twelve, really? This broken thing wasn't running half the damn time, and now, it decides to do it by itself? No worries, she'll just turn it off! If she could even reach it, that is! Right. Take a moment, think. If you retrace your steps, maybe you'll find a way to get out of this bind...

- ...Spotting of a clown clad in orange and green. Really? Pumpkin colours? I know All Saint's Wake is near, but come on...Right. Two disappearance reports. Investigation reports...Ah, they recovered the victims, that's good at least. Victims were left out in the open, not far off the beaten path, transformed...?”

Right. Transformed. She was starting to remember the papers that officer had given her - the guards had been terrified by what they had discovered. Both victims had both been made into inanimate trophies, displays, parodies of their former selves.

The first was a farmhand that had wandered off into the thickets after a night of drinking - only to be found later by his mates, an inanimate puppet dangling by their strings.

The second was a rookie Wailer, gone to investigate - transformed into a spring toy, he gave a proper fright to the travelling merchant who investigated the mysterious box that was lying down the road.

Both victims sporting what best could be described as a huge, eerie, almost unnatural grin. Both transformations exhibiting a unnatural, eye-catching shine. Whoever, or whatever, was lurking in the woods, wanted their work to be SEEN. A playful voidsent trickster, perhaps? Though those demons typically left their victims dead and drained of aether...And the local sylphs kept their toys to themselves, and would not be attacking Gridanians.

Ah yes, merely just a simple voidsent, right! Surely after everything she faced, a simple imp wouldn't cause any issues for her right? Turns out, when you barely had any sleep in the last few days, you're not exactly paying intention to every details in the scenery. Oh, yes, she did spot a flash of movement, of green and orange vanishing from sight, between faraway trees.

But in the rush of catching up to it, the problem was what she didn’t spot. A hidden whoopee cushion hidden in a patch of dirt. In her inattention, she had stepped on it, alerting her with a magnificently loud BRAAAAAP. She didn't have the chance to run - the pink trap exploding into a flash of light and smoke before she could react.

And now there she was, stuck on the ground, unable to move! Had she become a puppet? A Jack-in-the-Box, like these two other poor souls? No. She wasn't stuck in a box, and she still had some semblance of movement - if you could call it that. And while she couldn't turn her head right now, she could still contort her face a bit and look at the forest's canopy extending above her. So she wasn't totally inanimate - yet.

- Hello?”

And talk too. She'll take it, at this point.

The more worrying part is that she couldn't feel her limbs, or as a matter of fact, her entire body. Actually, that was not entirely correct. She could feel her body, everything about it just felt wrong! She couldn't even heave her chest to breathe - in fact, she wasn’t sure at this point she still had one. She could still wiggle her toes and fingers, but with this alien body, chanting or channelling any kind of spells or aether was out of the question.

But the worst of all was the breeze that had woken...She could feel the cold northern Ishgardian wind that was travelling between those trees, the air rolling over her exposed form. But it wasn't the cold bite that she'd typically feel this time of the year - no, it was a cool caress, making her entire being shudder. An ethereal cradle, making her wobble in place, the feel of each movement, each brush against the air, were heightened. An increased sense of touch was starting to now tickle at her, making it harder to concentrate. As she struggled to even move, the tomestone kept droning on:

- ...Conjurers have dispelled and treated the victims, however, the victims have remained under care as the transformation also tampered with their mental state...”

Tampering with their mental...She could feel a slight haze, yes, but it was manageable. She had endured way worse mental assaults – allowing to build at least some form of mental fortitude. This training, along with Hydaelyn’s blessing, had allowed her before to get out of binds that had broken many others before her. Though that tickling could go -

A sudden surge of wind dislodged her, sending her down the nearby slope. “Frrrrriiiiick - ” As she gathered speed, she rolled into one oak, then a second, and slammed into the third at full speed before bouncing off into a pile of dead leaves, slowing her to a halt.

She was expecting to get a couple bruises, a bit of pain, but that first impact knocked the sails out of the Roegadyn. Not of pain, no – a spike of delight. Then two, then three. She could not stop herself from releasing small gasped moans on her final stop in the leaves. The foliage cushioned her, small devilish prickles prolonged that fleeting happiness she just felt that coursed through her.

But another emotion was quickly swelling inside her, as her consciousness slowly took back control. Anger. Fury, as she suppressed a few old Limsan swears inside her throat.

That's it? She had been made into a mere ball? One of the greatest mage and scholar in Eorzea? Traveller of many realms, seeker of wonders, facing beasts and gods alike, and she got reduced to THIS?! A bloody human-sized toy? This...This humiliation will not stand, mark her words!

That voidsent jokester and her silly traps were going to be sent back to the Thirteenth with extra prejudice attached, she'll make sure of it!

...As soon as she was back to normal. Surely this spell could not last indefinitely, and would eventually run out by itself? Maybe someone would find her and bring her back to Gridania? She wasn't entirely crazy, and she did notify the guards of her whereabouts, after all - eventually they will send a patrol over her way. Sooner than later, hopefully. She just needed to bide her time, and hope she was not going to be...

- Now, now, what do we have here?” Found. Crap. She could feel someone stepping around her, disturbing the leaves that were brushing against her. “I did think I heard one of my dear toys going off, I thought I had lost it! Rolling off like this, you silly thing…”

She felt something - a foot? - nudging her from the top of her form, producing audible squeaking sounds. As Haldrael restrained herself from producing another moan from the touch, her captor pushed her back, freeing her from the mountain of dead plant matter. “Look at...Mh?” Finally, she was face to face with her captor, which seemed to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

By the Twelves, when she mentioned “Pumpkin” earlier, it was meant to be a joke, not the literal description! The person she was facing was entirely clad in a orange catsuit broken up by purple stripes, covering and contouring her entire body. Alongside this orange onslaught of a costume, she was wearing both tattered green gloves and a green jester cowl, bells jingling on both end of the cap. A literal, shiny, latex pumpkin of a woman - with two extra sized gourds, to boot. In fact, her chest was most of what the Roegadyn could see from her position down on the ground.

A couple seconds of silence later, Haldrael sighed.

- You know, had I known the bloody circus was in town, I'd have dressed differently.” Haldrael rolled her eyes, and took a better look at the surprised visage towering above her. A round face of a Hyur with piercing, purple iris was gazing through her. Her face was covered in a white monotone, only broken up by a sly smile clad in bright red lipstick. A clown. A god-to-honest, All Saint’s Wake Jester. Absolutely ridiculous.

...She was a looker, though. In fact, that black hair strand poking out of her cowl, curling across her cheek was only adding more to her looks, despite looking like an involuntary addition. Why did crazy and pretty always had to go hand in hand in her line of business?

The Jester, first perplexed, laughed off the Roegadyn's little quip. “My dear, you are dressed quite appropriately, I can assure you!” She gazed back at her, a wide grin spreading across her white face. “Although, excuse my surprise, but you're a bit more talkative than what I had expected.” She poked the side of Haldrael’s cheek. “As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t even be to speak! Your lips should have been as glue!” Her index slipped away as the Roegadyn tried to bite it in defiance.

- Fuck off!”

- And still quite fiesty, too...How entertaining! So much fight still left, to make you bereft…”

- Fight? I’ll show you fight, as soon as I get out of…” Her hands and feets jiggled awkwardly, flexing and clenching, struggling against her binds. “Rrrrrrgh, let. Me. Out!”

- Mmmmh…” The Jester inched her face closer to her victim’s. “No.” She punctuated that negation with a mocking laugh.

- You think you’re so damn funny, uh?” Struggled as she could, it was clear that without any limbs to speak of, she wasn’t about to go anywhere. A bit of time, that was what she needed. Enough time either find a way to free herself, or for a patrol to get their sorry asses over to these woods and rescuer her. “Also had a laugh with those other poor blokes you trapped?”

- The others? Mmh.” The Jester put a finger to her chin, her sight turning upwards, lost in thoughts. “Ah, yes, you mean these two. One tangled in strings, and one caught in springs.” She paced back and forth. “They made for fun toys, do get me right! But when I came upon them, most sadly, gone was most of their might.” She smirked. “Two, but very much unlike you, dear~”

- Lucky me, I’m different...” It didn’t sound like there were other victims then...Good news, at least. But she needed to keep her monologuing. “You left them in the open, why? You could have just…”

- Please. I'm no monster.” She said, irritated. “They weren’t…” She paused. Haldrael saw her smile retract for a split second, before returning. “I've had my fun with them, then made sure they would be left in your capable conjurer's care. Everyone gets back home, no-one else gets to pull their hair…”

- Yeah, right, as if that makes it better.” Something was off, here. That clown wasn’t quite telling the entire story. But she couldn’t focus enough to piece it out. Damn that sensory overload! And this constant rhyming did not make her mood any better!

- One can have some fun, prethee! And it was just two! But well, soon, very soon, to be...” Her grin returned, wider, her eyes focusing themselves onto her newfound victim. “...Three.” She slowly levelled herself down towards Haldrael, kneeling down into the leaves, her hands reaching towards her face. “Our little talk has been a joy... But I believe it is fair time to turn you into my toy!”

No. Nope. Not okay. Red Flag, red flag, never mind the patrol, she wanted out, now! There was something she could do, could she? A spell? Come on! No matter how much she'd move her hands, not a single mote of aether would even through her! And that grinning mad Jester was getting way, way too close!

- Stay away from me, you kinky bi-” Two fingers lodged herself in her mouth, holding her by the inner cheek. “-iiyyyyuuuuurrrgggggh.” Oh. Gods.

- Tut-tut, I will have no more of that foul language. You should make less of a fuss, and on my hand you should. Focus.”

Haldrael's tongue started absent-mindedly coiling around the Jester's fingers, feeling the rubbery material digging down her throat. She should be gagging, she should be biting and pushing back those invaders away, but she just...Couldn't. Her jaw, her mouth had a mind of their own, suckling, wrapping themselves around these intruders, her tongue dancing, licking the latex. This...This was different. Nice. Soothing.

The circular motions between her teeth, this taste, this smell… Divine. In that moment, it’s as if she had all but a singular purpose, as if she had to worship these blessed protrusions that had happened to venture between her lips. Simple instincts over, letting this mind-numbing, submissive feeling take hold inside her.

The Jester continued to grin, her thumb stroking her toy's cheek as she watched her eyes roll back in her sockets, lost in her own head...Before removing her hand, leaving Haldrael panting. Where...Where did it go...She needed...She was...What...What was that?! What was that Jester doing? How - why was this throwing her off like this?!

- Dear, you look quite lost, though this silly face does fit you most.”

- Urrgh...” The fog cleared a bit, mostly out of sheer annoyance. “If you're going to abuse me, at least stop the damn rhymes…”

- Abuse? Please, dear, that should be the least of your worries. Soon, you'll be just a thing for me to use.”

- As if I'd let myself become some bloody voidsent's thing!” The anger had returned. “Dear this, dear that, you like deers so much, what about you find antlers and kindly go shove -”

- Voidsent?” The jester looked perplexed for a second. “My, what assumptions you do make.”

- ...You're not -”

Wait. Both her, the Wood Wailers, and the Conjurer's guild had assumed a possible void incursion into the eastern shroud. Were they mistaken that entire time? Was that Jester not a voidsent? But...Actually, it was making sense. The lack of void aether, the victims left merely transformed in easy-to-find spots. Just simple polymorph spells, easy to dispel normally, but taken to new, different heights...

- ...You're just using All Saint's to pull tricks on people? You're not even a voidsent, you're just...” The Jester hushed her, popping her thumb inside her mouth while gently caressing her side. Once again, her mouth got right back to suckling the appendage. It did not stop her from angrily staring down her tormentor this time - though small squirms and whimpers were betraying her inner turmoil.

- Now, now, you shouldn't look too much into one's trick, that would just simply run the magic!” She replied with a grin. “Although, I do have to commend you. Staying alert and still trying to piece it together? You really are something!” With a loud pop, her finger retreated, giving Haldrael some reprieve. “But you are right. All Saint's is such the perfect time to try some new tricks, and why shouldn't I indulge? Trick and treat, all at once~”

- Really? Trapping people like this, it's just all fun and games to you? These two you transformed just before, they're still recovering from what you put them through! They might be back to normal physically, but they're still in the conjurer's ward!” She seemed to have given her opponent some pause. “Do you have any idea what you -”

The kneeling Jester had grabbed her by the sides and brought her in closer, towering hover her. Those green hands fell down on her like birds of prey, grabbing, sensing, groping and prodding at the round rubber surface.

- Such fury you spout still when all you should be thinking about is play! Hush now, and let this anger wash away.”

- Aaaaah, g-g'aaaaah...Guuuuh...” The Roegadyn did not get to finish her sentence under that novel attack. Sensual squeaks and strokes, each were sending jolts of pleasure inside her self – her little bouncing ordeal from before were but a jest compared to what she was now subjected. Latex gloves glided across her surface, tentatively dancing around two openings at her back... Two openings she was not aware were still existing after all this time, and were now squeezing in unison, expecting, waiting for the Jester to simply slide in and...

- Oh, do I love these sounds you make in this trance...But wouldn't it be a waste to already end this dance?” And then the Jester let her go, letting her roll away. Letting her recover, if only slightly. Every time she thought she had started to get a handle of it, she had to face a new trick, one she was wholly unprepared for, and was left scrambling for her thoughts. This constant teasing, these brain-altering sensations knocking her down, time and time again.

She had never sustained anything like this before. How long? How long could she still hold? Trapped. She was trapped in a storm of delight, and there was nothing she could do. She would break, eventually - she had hoped for time, and yet, she felt it was now running out. And for her jailer, with plenty of tricks still in her sleeve, this was all a game.

- Having difficulties, dear?”

- ...” Games...An idea started forming. “Alright... Alright.” She panted. This was a last ditch effort, but at this very point, what else could she do? All or nothing. “What about...What about a bet?”

- Oh? A bet? You say, a bet?.” The Jester could barely hold her excitement. “Do tell, do tell, don't leave me to fret!”

- Three minutes. Try to break me, fully, for three minutes. If I still manage to stay lucid after that, I win.”

- Daring, considering how well you've been faring!” She clapped. “But what, pray tell, would you win?”

- You...You don't get to transform anyone else. And you fuck off from these woods. No more playtime, no more of that jester business.”

- Now, why do you have to be so rude?” The jester pouted, crossing her arms. “That'd be no fun, no good!” However, it didn't take long before her mischievous smirk returned. “But if I win...” She brought her finger down on Haldrael's nose. “I get to keep you, thoroughly toyed and blissful. Until the end of the faire, a fate you seem to think oh so dreadful!”

- ...Fine.”

- How wonderful! Then allow me - ”

- Wait, hold on.” A thought had crossed her head. She could not afford to face another new trick, especially the threat of that particular one. “No back entries. It'd be too easy for you otherwise, wouldn't it?” The jester answered with a hearty laugh.

- I'll allow you this challenge, but in turn, one more change.” She retorted, holding five of her fingers up. “Not three, but five. Sure you can hold yourself together for five?”

- ...” Rhalgr save her, she already didn't know about three minutes, let alone five. Backing down, sadly, was no longer an option. “You have me for five minutes.”

- Perfect!” The rules were set, the game about to begin. The shiny entity reached back for her toy. 

She pulled her in, and squeezed her tight against her, burying Haldrael's face inside her latex chest.

- Mppph! Mmmh... Mmmmmmmh....” The Roegadyn's muffled complaints slowly turned to groans, her head encased on all sides by latex. The rubbery odours flared through her nostrils, her tongue reflexively slithered and partook of the orange fruit that had pressed against her lips. It smothered her face, her brain, as if a great weight held her thoughts in place. All the while, she could feel the pressure being exerted upon her, a hug that kept growing in strength, a cozy, soothing cradle. But she kept firm this time, locking eyes with that snickering clown.

- Oooh, putting up such resistance! I expected nothing less from a daring adventurer such as you. And yet...” Warm...The Jester was warm. Oh so warm... A lulling, soothing heat, numbing as it spreads. Her fingers, crisping from resistance, started relaxing slightly. A detail that was apparently noticed, as her captor delicately picked her index up before letting flop back down. “You will fall, too. Do you feel it? This latex taste? This beautiful smell? This close embrace? All for you, dear. All. For. You. Toy.”

- That's right, little toy. This stretching feeling? This intoxicating bliss? Let it all spread through your rubber body.” Her hand brushed against Haldrael's brow, scouring what little hair was poking out from the ball. “Let it all those sensations, these pleasures, sink inside you. Each squeaks, each caress, writing a new joy in your very being. Each a new step you take downwards into this delightful abyss. Down, down, and down further still, as you become my mindless canvas to brush as I see fit, my own little toy.”

These honey-like words were permeating through her ears, reverberating in her emptying head. Her hands were kneading her round shape, molding her mind with pleasure, as if she was putty in the trickster's grasp. She was wavering, losing focus, eyelids half-closing.

- And slowly you feel yourself draining away, sinking into my grasp. Your worries melting, your thoughts slowing. Letting it all...Drop. Down. Down. And down.” The Jester started grinding herself against her victim, her belly, her chest, her thighs gliding across the toyified surface, ramping up her assault. “Up, and down, and up, and down, your gears grind down, your consciousness grind down, further down...And it all feel so good to let it all. Go.”

Down, and down, her walls of her mind were tumbling down, and down. The hammers that had become her senses were picking at each small brick that composed her self, turning it all into dust. Her smell, her taste, overwhelmed by rubber, dulling her brain.

Her sense of touch, each vibration, each squeak, each stroke, an unending grind against the mortar of her memories. Her hearing, allowing those sneaking words into her, a lullaby that she was starting to lose sense of and yet would still continue to write itself into her psyche. An ever building tidal wave of revelry and bliss, but with no release.

She was losing, falling down. Keep it...Keep it together. You're not a toy. You're not a toy. You're Haldrael Wiltwydawyn. You're Haldrael. You're Haldrael.

And Haldrael felt so, shhooo gooooood~

- Oh my, already?” Groans turned to moans, as the Jester repositioned her toy to take a better look at her possession. “Oh, what perfect face you do make...” Haldrael face had contorted into a mad smile, her tongue wriggling out, her dilated irises practically hiding under her eyelids. It was all, all too much, all at once for the poor Roegadyn, which mind had now taken a backstep, just along for the ride.

- Only empty thoughts now.” The trickster gave a slap on her side, eliciting a long, drowned meowling. “Happy, and empty thoughts left in that toyhead of yours, and yet, I can take you deeper...” Her forearms started adventuring towards the back, fingers sliding down, and down, towards those two earlier openings. “And deeper...” Once again, they rimmed around them, pulling at them gently, stretching, opening these squeezing folds.

- And deeper still. I could give you the climax you seek. The final piece, crystallizing your being into the toy that you are now. No more thoughts. No more you. Safe with me, happy and empty. But...” She leaned in close, closer, her face hovering millimetres away from Haldrael's. “I want to hear you, toy. I want to hear you submit.” The grinding resumed, the Jester resuming her assault to truly push her words through.

- You crave it. You seek the emptiness. The happiness. Away from being a person, away from responsibilities. No more stress, just the simple life of a plaything, only to tease and please as your Mistress commands. Wouldn't it be so nice, to not worry? For a forever moment, to just be content?”

- You only need to say ‘Yes.’ and I will deliver to you your sweetest reward, and yet much more...” Her hand hovered over her clit, waiting for a single signal.

- Yy...” She caught that whisper in her throat, barely.

- Now, what was this sweet sound to my ear? You'll have to speak up, dear.”

- ...” She was gone, or rather had been gone for the last two minutes or so under a squeaking barrage of squeezes, fondling, smells and tastes. To a point where she could hardly remember her name, the last thread she kept hanging on. But hanged on, she did. “Not dear...Hal...” She...She was still there. Somehow. She had been a gibbering, moaning, crazed mess, but the Jester had failed. “Five...Five. Five! It was five minutes.” She smirked, her defiance surfacing back. “I...I win, pumpkin.”

- You...Win?” She was given an incredulous look, before the jester threw her hands in the air, stepping away from her. “You win? You win?! You were but a quivering mess!” By all accounts, Haldrael was wondering how she bounced back so quickly. Was it her blessing? It worked against tempering, did it somehow stop her from fully breaking here? What a relief, Hydaelyn still had her back after all this time. “Resisting the transformation in part, and then conjuring your mind back...Am I losing my touch, my art?!”

- Yeah, well...Yeah, I guess I am different.” Let’s not bring this blessing business out. If the Jester knew, she’d accuse her of cheating. “Anyway, lady. The deal...”

- Yes, yes, I know...” she sighed. “Although it pains me, you will not see a single shenanigan from me in these woods. Believe it or not, I will stand by my words. Fool’s honor. Although!” That eerie smile returned. “I could settle for the consolation prize...”

- What in Rhalgr's name are you on about now? I said -”

- You said ‘Not transforming anyone else’? Your words, dear. You've proven to be quite smart, I believe you can infer the rest.” Once again, her captor stepped closer, and freedom seemed to have escaped the Roegadyn's grasp. Crap. Crap! She didn't include herself, how did she even muck that off this badly? She was about to lash back, when the clown continued. “But there wouldn't be a point, would it? I do not get to keep you, nor do I get to play any longer. Such a shame for things to come to this end! It really is.”

The jester crouched back into the leaves, facing away from her.

- Oh, so here we are left, you bound, and yet somehow having bound me by words.” She sighed. “But the fun we had! I’ve not had anything like you in this little adventure of mine, you truly were spectacular. And I will say, you did seem to quite enjoy yourself. Ah, the looks on your face! I will cherish these memories.”

- Enjoy? Lady, you've trapped me - and I still am by the way - treated me like a plaything against my will, and you're telling me I enjoyed it?” She wasn't going to confess that it had felt good.

Frighteningly good. But the fact remained – she didn’t consent to any of this. “Screw off with that. At least, free me so we can be done with this.”

- Ah! It's all too plain that you'd take me to the guards clad in chain. You can stay as is.” She fiddled inside her cowl, before dropping a small device in front of her - her tomestone. “I do believe you'd want this back, however.”

- Oh yeah, thanks.” A thought crossed her mind. Hang on! “...How did you know where it was? You didn't just come across me? Were you leading me on that entire time?”

- Correct, and correct! You really should be paying more attention, dear, baiting you was merely small play! Not only that, you walked into my trap, clear as day! Constantly overworking yourself like this, even great minds like yours slow. And dear, it is not my fault you brought yourself low!”

- ...Really. Giving me life lessons now? With your terrible rhymes?” She heard the jester cackle. “Twelves, save me.”

The cackle settle into an eerie silence between the two, leaving them both in thoughts - and for the Roegadyn, still some lingering sensations. After a moment, the pumpkin woman got up, her bells producing an audible jingle across the woods.

- Alas, it would not surprise this one if your Wailer friends come looking for you, soon. Shame that our time together must come to an end!” She redressed her cowl, straightened her gloves. “The spell, if left incomplete, should dispel itself after a time, and you’ll not have to worry about another single rhyme! Adieu, dear.”

She had taken a few steps away, before Haldrael rose her voice.

- Hang on! I wanted to ask. Why the getup? Why all this? What’s your angle doing all this?”

- Why? My dear, you said it yourself, this is all Saint's Wake! A time of revelry, of panache, where all lose themselves in disguise and merrymaking! One should indulge a little bit, instead of losing their minds over silly old relics, or investigations, or whatever else you appear to be doing in your spare time. Do you even have any spare time, you poor thing? Goodness, I would not enjoy being in your boots. So much stress...”

- That’s how I do things, lady.” Haldrael would shrug if she could, instead she dismissed the Jester's worries with a wave of the hand. “And believe me, I happen to be very good at it.” With the exception of today, though!

- And yet, you cannot seem to stop to go through desperate, sleepless nights. I could hear how tired you were on your little device. And some of those gazes you gave me, they gave me such frights! Are you always this angry? When did you let go of your whimsy?”

- I...” This gave her pause. When was the last time she stopped working? Or even talked to someone proper? One day, it was a Allagan ruin, the other, a Behemoth on the loose in the Ishgardians Highlands. Then, a trip to Azys Lla, scouring for weeks for some old allagan knowledge, enduring failure after failure as most nodes would self-destruct upon capture. Then days, decrypting and shifting data in her Gridanian workshop. How long had it been since she grabbed proper rest? Work, work, work. “It’s none of your business, pumpkin. And I don’t find my ‘whimsy’ transforming people like you do.” She heard the jester sigh.

- Very well...Do be kinder with yourself, dear. I do mean that.” The jester took a step forward, not turning back. “Pumpkin. Eh. Not a bad name.” And after a last snicker, she took off. Climbing over the hill. Now, out of sight. Her steps, the crunching leaves, fading away... And now, she was alone. Just an overly sensitive ball, stuck in the middle of the woods. What would happen sooner, her transformation falling off, or the guards finding her first? The Wailers would probably have a proper laugh. The great Warrior of Light, brought low in such a humiliating display. She could already see the papers! What a bleeding joke, that was...

...Indulge a bit. That jokester was right about that, at the very least. And she hated to think about it, but being stuck as a blank object, with no responsibilities to speak of, was oddly...Appealing? No. Haldrael. No. Those were the thoughts of an exhausted woman who had been through way too much in the last few weeks. And yet, left alone with her thoughts, it lingered in her mind.

This was a bad idea. She knew it was a bad idea.

That clown had trapped two innocent souls in her clutches, and while she did release them back, it was still assault! And so it was the same for herself, as well! And yet, despite that questionable morality, she had been true to her words. Not to mention, she had forgiven worse criminals...Wait, why was she trying to justify this, was she out of your blasted mind?

There was also... She saw that act drop a couple times when she was talking about both previous victims. A slight twitch of the mouth, pauses that broke through that Jester persona. Was there more to this story? There was something, someone else behind that façade. Someone human. She knew her curiosity often landed her in stupid situations, but...

Should she call her back? Could she even, with her running off like this? There was little chance she'd be able to find her back as well - that woman would disappear, leaving not a single clue behind her.

Screw it all to hell -

- Fine! You win!” She yelled, at the top of her non-existent lungs. But only the rustle of the canopy and the wind answered back. Well. So much for that. With the guards potentially approaching fast, she was probably way, way far off now. Well, that was one mistake she wasn't going to commit, at the very least. “What am I even thinking…” Tingle. Tingle. Tingle tingle tingl-

- I do not know, what are you thinking?” A familiar white and green shape sneaked into view, the tinkling of bells announcing her return. “And what, pray tell, am I winning?”

- Pumpkin, I told you, could you quit your rhyming, before I change my mind?” The Jester chuckled.

- Quite alright, dear. But I'm still waiting for an answer~”

- Right.” She sighed. “I...I need a break. A serious one. If you see what I’m getting at. Everywhere I go, even if it's for a simple vacation, there's always some sort of crisis, problem, criminal or whatever the hell's going on the mice are doing what the cats aren't watching. And somehow. Every time. I get sucked up into it. If something is happening, I get involved. Whether a conspiracy, or a string of petty thievery.”

- Or me.” The jester continued. She was giving her a smile, but it was not the same eerie facsimile than before. It was kinder, more relaxed, more...Real?

- You really, really shouldn't be proud of that. “The jester suppressed a little snort, which Haldrael returned in kind. “Seriously though! There’s me, and there’s still these two poor bastards in the infirmary. Though you didn’t mean to mess them up this much, did you?” She spied a quick, sideways glance. Ah! She knew something was off. “Accidents?”

- You’re simply adorable!” The Jester replied, in a dismissive tone. “My dear, you were just complaining about work, and yet here you are, still seeking for understanding. You truly can’t help yourself, can you?”

- Oh, come on, pumpkin. You got a good act going, true, but you’re not as sly as you think you are. And don’t you forget, while I’m not sure what happened with these two...You still damn well took profit of me.”

- Mph! And yet, you called me back!” Scorned, the Jester brought her finger down on Haldrael’s forehead. “You have a lot of gall, for a ball!” She flicked it, sending the Roegadyn rolling backwards.

- Mmmmmh!” The brush against the dead leaves below her brought back those tantalising tickles. “Could you not?!”

- Please, dear, you were asking for this just now! As for your questions...Maybe you’ll have your answers. Maybe you won’t. That’ll depend on you, toy.”

- I’m not your toy, yet, pumpkin.”

- True. But...Well, throwing caution against the wind, against our better judgement...” Ours? “Do you truly trust me enough to be, dear?”

What an odd reaction. And an odd question. Trust...All the sudden, that Jester needed trust? Was she now testing the Roegadyn, as the Roegadyn was testing her? And trust? Now? After all of this? Should she trust her? Could she?

...She was that far, what was one more leap of faith?

- I...I’m trusting you.” She watched her clown friend growing perplexed. “Somewhat.”

- Somewhat? You still seem quite unsure, dear! What do you want, exactly?”

- What do I want?”

- Yes! What do you want?”

What...What did she want?

- I...I just need someone to hide me away from any conspiracies or what not. Someone out of it all. Keep me away from the world. And myself. You get your favourite toy, I get to indulge, as you said. Win win, and we got our separate ways.” The jester gave her a contemplative, judging look. “Twelves., you know what, no, I mean, this might be a bad -”

- Shhhh.” The Jester kindly laid a hand on her side, lightly brushing across the surface. She felt that same slight, pleasurable shudder from before ride across her mind - she let it ripple, this time, washing those worries away. “Enough. You think too much.” Same as that touch, her voice was soothing.

- I can offer you this: a reprieve of a few days, away from this world, and that demanding mind of yours. With the promise to return you as you were, safe and sound. You only need to say how long.” The jester act seemed to have drop entirely, revealing a kinder, gentler person underneath. Or was it another act?

- I…” She was actually going through with this, was she? “Two, three days? Four, tops? I can't afford to be gone for too long, people are going to be asking questions.”

- Four, then. Four days.” She paused. “For four days, I will keep you safe, and happy, until the time comes for us to part. This, I swear.”

-...Thank you.” She remembered...Some business needed to be cleared, still. “Actually, mind grabbing that tomestone for a second?”

_______________________________________________

*Click!*

- Hal, reporting! It was as expected - some voidsent had taken root inside the eastern shroud. A succubus, nasty piece of work, she didn't even drain her victims, she just preferred toying with them and leaving them as testament of her work. But nothing a couple Fire spells couldn't solve - no, before you ask, I didn't leave the zone as a fire hazard like last time. Abduction case closed.”

- Oh, and...I'll be taking a bit of a vacation. Not too long, mind you, I'll just be touring the Fringes for a week or so. I heard Gyr Abania is frankly lovely at this time of the year, so, why not? If there's any messages, just leave them at the Roost, my room there has pretty much become my personal lab in Gridania at this point. Toodles!”

_______________________________________________

They had moved to the side of a clearing a bit deeper in the Shroud, trading idle chats and quips. This spot was further away from the road and more importantly, out of the way of any potential patrols that could come across them. The jester cleared a small patch of dirt and set her inside, on a stable balance. Wiggling her hands or toes would get her nowhere - her only chance of moving anywhere lied with her now partner, now sitting a meter away from her.

- ...What are you doing?”

She had sat in complete silence for a good minute, gazing down her toy, a sly smile on her face. So close...And yet so far. She could nudge her, caress her, play with her mouth, embrace her, take her mind away like she did before. But...She wasn't. She just sat there, with a content smile.

- I'm waiting.”

- Waiting. Waiting for what?”

- Waiting~” Ah. There we go. There was that playful trickster again.

- I thought you were going to finish turning me into a toy?”

- Oh yes, I will.”

- ...When?”

- When you are ready, dear.”

- ...Ready?”

- You do not realize it, do you? It must be your lack of sleep, clearly.” She nudged closer. “There's quite the difference between breaking a toy...And a toy, wanting to be broken.”

- Wanting to be broken? What?”

The gears in her head turned. She didn't want it then, but she wanted it now. “You want me to ask?” The jester nodded. Right. Another game then.

- I...” This was humiliating. “Do I really need to do this? Really? You already...”

- Yes. Yes, you do. Show me. Show me you want to be my toy.”

- Uuuuh...I...Okay, you know what. Fine. I want to be a toy.” The Jester smiled, inching closer. “I want to be your toy.” Once again, that sly devil moved slightly closer. But not close enough. “Break me. Please?”

- My dear. This is not the way to beg.” She held her hands to her chest. “You want to be a toy, my little ball toy? This jester needs you to prove it. Prove it with your words, your deepest words, your most honest words. And when you've found those words...Then, you'll be ready.”

- You little...” She paused. No. No more quips. “Gods, you really want me to go all out, uh? Alright. Give me a second.”

- ...Pumpkin, do you remember the bet I made earlier? The one where I told you to not transform anyone else under my watch? The one where I conveniently left myself out? Maybe it was the exhaustion, or a lapse of judgement...But I can't help but wonder. Maybe I wanted this.”

- Maybe somewhere deep inside me, I longed finally to be taken away. Away from all this fighting, away from my responsibilities, away from...Me.” Maybe I wanted to fail, to lose. But there were stakes still. Sacrificing myself for others, as I always do. Funny as that never changed.” She paused, gathering herself. “But the stakes are gone. It's just me, and you. And right now, the one thing I want...Is you.”

- I want your touch across my skin, I wish for your fingers inside my mouth, I wish to take in your smell, I wish for my tongue to worship your body, I wish for your words to lull me into a thoughtless sleep... I wish for your hands to reach down behind me and claim me in my entirety, mind and body.” She looked up, staring right into the same eerie smile that she rejected before. And now, she was welcoming it, in its entirety.

- I'm yours.”

- Good.” Finally. She pulled her in. “Toy.” Wasting no time, the Jester immediately nudged her face into her chest, cradling her once again in her warm bosom. Her belly, her thighs, her breasts, her arms against her body, all rubbed and squeaked in a heavenly cacophony, reverberating through her. With nothing now to hold them back, those walls she had tried to hard to keep up earlier didn't just come crashing down, they disintegrated under thunderbolts of pure sensations.

- Was it so hard now? To let go? To let yourself lose, fall down into delight? You don't need to answer, just watching you is giving me all the answers I need. A good toy, such a good toy, a new thing to play as I see fit, to make mine, truly mine. So fall, toy, deeper and deeper still, into pure, unadulterated bliss.”

The only answer the Jester would be able to extract now were moans, the Roegadyn having truly lost its way in a sea of rubber. She could still hear Her, Her words coursing through her very being. Touches, smells, tastes, words, vision – each a different vector to mold her, change into Her perfect toy. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She was...Happy. She didn’t need to understand anymore. She didn’t need to worry. She didn't need to think. She wanted to be a toy. She wanted to be Her toy. Her Mistress's toy. No more Allagan nodes, or adventuring. No more Haldrael. She'd be back, eventually - but right now, the only thought had was that of being a good toy. To please, to service, and to be played with in return. Happy...And empty. As a good toy should be.

Steadily, the Jester arms adventured downwards, circling her openings, a predator eyeing its tired prey before the kill. Toy couldn't wait. This firework of sensations, this build-up of pleasure pushing every aside, Toy was tearing itself apart at the seams! More, more! She wanted more! She wanted to be made whole, to be complete rubber, to become the perfect object for her Mistress! An unthinking, mindless, blissful thing to be used and abused as seen fit! She wanted it - nay, needed this climax! No remembering, no thinking, just Toy!

- Ready, Toy?”

-...Eeeaaaaaaaaaaaaze...” Toy squeezed out. Toy couldn't speak - it had simply lost the faculty to. Instead, what came out of her mouth was particularly guttural plead, a last request. To finish her.

- Say no more, dear...” The Jester's left hand slithered in, playing with those rubber folds that had been denied to her just before.

- Hear Mistress's voice, robbing you of thoughts.” Her right wrist felt the squeeze of her anal ring, the toy's holes eagerly welcoming her Mistress. Aether channelled through her fingers, putting up the last touches.

- Feel my hands, my body, sculpting you into my perfect toy.” Latex creeped up across Toy's face, threatening to engulf her, rob her of her former identity. Moans turned to mute, balloon-like noises as it invaded her mouth, locking it into a wide, open smile. Her hair, shades of pink and brown, turned a shiny jade green. She could feel it tugging at her eyelids, forcing her eyes open. But she welcomed it. Toy didn't need an identity. Toy didn't need a face. Toy just needed to be Toy. Just a Toy. Just Toy….

- Look onto your Mistress, toy, one last time.” Barely registering the command, Toy's glassy eyes, still free, darted one last time towards that white, grinning, pretty face that was her Mistress. Pinned down by Her weight, it could do nothing but see Her, wearing Her most sadistic smile. Ready for Her grand finale.

- And Think. No. More.”

Pop.

Pop.

Her hands popped out from Toy's orifices, taking with them that last existing spark. Two last fireworks, blasting off with what was left of Toy. It gave one last shudder, and went silent.

The latex had taken her sight away, drowning her world in green - not that it mattered. Toy didn't think it was a Toy anymore. In fact, as a good Toy should, it had gone thoughtless. Well and truly blank. Just an eager rubber ball, without mind, without self. It could feel still - but it could not make sense of it. It didn't need to.

- What a sight! You truly make for such a good toy. Such resistance, and then such eagerness. And all you needed was a nudge in the right direction.” She gave her toy a stroke. The revel, the satisfaction of molding and crafting such a prize. “Such a shame I have you for so little time...But then again...Hal, was it? Your ‘pumpkin’ would be most happy to, once again, draw on your face a happy grin~” The last visible remnant of the great Haldrael, a face locked in a pure, unquestionable green euphoria, offered no retort. She'd miss her bratty jests, but right now, she could think of another use for that formerly foul mouth.

Sliding on top of the ball, she sat upon the former mage, her new throne. Her hand guided her toy's face towards a small opening in her catsuit, between her legs. “I've shown you my tricks...Now, what about you give me my treat?”

Unquestioning, buried between in her thighs, Toy woke, and got to work. “You will make for a proper seat...Mmmmh...What a deal...” As its rubber hands found purchase on her legs, it licked and suckled, nibbled at her clit with rubber teeth. Its tongue dug deep and deeper inside Her Mistress, as She ground against her head. “Good toy. Aaaah... Such a good toy! Such zeal!”

Her Mistress was content. Toy was content.

Toy was a good toy.