After AnimeCon: Campfire Toast (Patreon)

    With quick jerking motions, a crouched Kelly was able to scrape sparks from the flint and steel into a tuft of fire starter on the ground—she managed to make the whole thing indecent by making eye contact with Brian and sharing a salacious smile, as if she’d just tugged him off. Unknowingly adding to the silent joke Stephanie was quick to lean down in and blow on the tuft after it began to smoke to produce a flame from the bit that had started to catch fire. While the innocent pink-haired girl’s chest heaved and her cheeks puffed as she hurried to blow through those adorable pursed lips, Kelly rocked back on her heels and gave Brian a knowing smirk.

    Still holding Christine against him, Brian grinned back and shook his head, turning towards where Emily and Rebecca were fussing over breakfast.

    What he thought of as a large fantasy glass potion flask had powdered milk carefully measured into it with a teaspoon from a small tin, then Rebecca had Emily raise the flask a bit higher and she eyeballed the amount of water to add from one of their jugs. From where he was standing he couldn’t see measurement markings on the bottle, but he supposed she knew what she was doing from experience. When the potion bottle was filled to satisfaction Emily corked it, and then the Latina did a cute little shimmy back and forth as she shook their concoction.

    Hovering over the mixing bowl of eggs with a serious expression like a witch performing dark alchemy, Rebecca withdrew glass vials from her mess kit and unstoppered them one after another to introduce ingredients to the runny mixture. Healthy shakes of sugar and then cinnamon, a pinch of salt, a dollop of flour, and when Rebecca again grew extremely vigilant with pouring in an exacting amount of liquid from one, Brian could smell the overpowering vanilla extract even from where he was standing on the other side of the fire pit.

    With a pleased nod Rebecca then stoppered the vials and slid them back into the leather loops of her mess kit, which then folded closed into a little pouch.

    “Emily—I think that’s good,” Rebecca gestured for the bottle of reconstituted milk. “Let’s dump this in, then can you stir everything? I have a fork right here. Then, I’ll rinse out that bottle and help them with the fire.”

    “Can I help with anything?” Brian asked, sliding his hand down to the small of Christine’s back.

    “Nope!” Rebecca answered in a chipper voice, giving them a smile. “You’re right where you should be—you stay right there.”

    Christine was still clinging to him while hiding her face up against him, and he could sense that she didn’t want to pull away—that it would be difficult for her to face him afterwards. When they were at arms length their budding new relationship with each other was strained and she mostly seemed to send him distraught looks of grief and shame. When the distance between them actually closed like this, she instead seemed unable to let go of him.

    “We didn’t start the fire—” Stephanie muttered in a sing-song voice. “‘Cause it’s been always burnin’ oh since the world’s been turnin’—”

    While Brian had been watching Rebecca prepare the cooking in fascination, Stephanie and Kelly had managed to transfer their fire into the fire pit and were watching it begin to consume the little lean-to of sticks.

    “Yeah-huh you did,” Emily retorted in a cute voice as she furiously stirred the french toast mixture. “I saw you start the fire. I seen’d it.”

    “Steph, oh my God…” Kelly sighed with infatuation. “Can you like, actually sing? You’re cute as fuck when you sing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you really try?”

    “Um! No?” Stephanie flushed in a bashful way as she poked at the little flame that they had going. “I can’t sing! Not with people watching. I’m just… really really happy. All of the sudden. Christine’s, um, her bad feelings all went real quiet and then she just got… happy. Really happy. It’s really nice when Brian hugs her like that? Oh! Oh. Nevermind now she’s super embarrassed again…”

    Christine’s shoulders had tensed once again within Brian’s embrace, uncomfortable with everyone’s attention on her. It was nice knowing, really knowing that this was something she enjoyed, though, and he was sure Stephanie knew what she was doing by drawing Christine back into the limelight now and then. Stephanie was watching them with a blissful, dreamy look of contentment as though she was the one being held.

    Hmm, although on the other hand, Brian thought. Maybe she’s just kinda getting high on the happy feelings as they go into the air? Hah…

    “I… don’t deserve to be happy,” Christine said, making as though to push her way free of Brian’s grip.

    “Oh, shush,” Kelly retorted, rolling her eyes. “You’re gonna have to just deal. Your ‘rehabilitation’ is gonna be both carrot and stick, you know? S’how this is gonna work.”

    Pulling her face free from Brian’s chest but no longer struggling out of the hug, Christine turned an uncertain look in Kelly’s direction.

    “We’re gonna punish you with like, housework and domestic stuff,” Kelly said. “Dress you up in a cute apron, make you do housewife stuff that Chloe would’ve hated since she was off in her crazy radfem thing. Then—”

    “—Maid outfit, too—” Emily added. “Cute and sexy. Somethin’ that shows off like a ton of leg, the kinda thing that woulda made Chloe go ballistic, blow a blood vessel.”

    “—Yes, that, and then,” Kelly continued. “We’ll also reward you with all kinds of affection. Hugs from Brian, kisses. Headpats. Handholding, I dunno—whatever else kinda sicko shit these absolute degenerates cook up. All sorts of like positive affirmation and shit. People caring about you. Appreciating you.”

    “You—” Christine responded in a timid voice. “You don’t have to do any of that.”

    “I think we do,” Brian said. “I, uh, I want to joke say all that’s just how this brainwashy mind control stuff works, since this is supposedly the love magic path, but—honestly? I kind of really want to prove Chloe wrong. About everything. About us, about how we’ll treat you now that we have power over you. I… want to show you what a loving relationship can be, now that I guess we finally have you really open to that.”

    “OoOOhh—” Stephanie crooned. Her eyes were dilated wide and she was smiling, but then she was also twisting her mouth as though she had bitten into a lemon. “She um, she really really likes that? She loves that? But, it also, it um, heightens her shame?”

    “Is it turning her on?” Emily teased.

    “Goodness! Leave her be,” Rebecca scolded, swatting Emily’s shoulder. “Even if we have an empath, that doesn’t mean we should, well, just be pulling out every little thing into the open.”

    “Oi?!” Emily dropped the fork with a clatter, looking aggrieved. “Don’t hit me—Steph’s the one snitching on all her feelings! Not me!”

    “I asked her to,” Kelly surprised them all by taking responsibility. “We’re in a weird situation with Christine, and it’s hard to know what she’s thinking or how she feels about all this stuff as things develop. So, I asked if Stephanie could give us running commentary. This way, yeah sure it’s probably kinda mortifying for Christine, but all of us will know for sure what’s going on. Then, there’s no room for doubts or suspicions. Steph’s going back to college after today—she won’t be with you guys to help things along like this later, so she needs to do it right now while she’s on hand to help.”

    “And,” Stephanie cleared her throat. “I agreed. I think she’s right, her, well, her reasoning. I’m sorry Christine if this is, er, very uncomfortable. But, it should help you integrate into the group with everyone much faster.”

    “Right,” Emily gave a proud nod. “So, was that turning her on?”

    “No, I don’t think so,” Stephanie shook her head. “Now it’s mostly fear and anxiety. Worry about living up to our expectations, maybe? Concern for the future. She doesn’t feel worthy of being held, or—or I guess a lot of those things. But, she didn’t about the hug either, and then once she got it, it um, it was really really good and she couldn’t even say no.”

    “What do you think, Christine?” Brian asked. “Why don’t we give her a chance to speak for herself.”

    “I…” Christine looked down. “I was just thinking that, the carrot and the stick—the housewife punishment, and the being affectionate as a reward—it kind of. Blurs? I can’t tell which is punishment, and which is reward. They’re each kind of… both. A little bit. I don’t know how to describe it.”

    “Well,” Brian paused. “Do you think you’re against—”

    “No!” Christine interrupted him before he could finish. “I’m not against it. You all—you all need to do whatever you feel is right. With me. Whatever you guys decide. It’s up to you.”

    “Ahem ahem ahem,” Rebecca got their attention. “Breakfast time!”

    “Thank God, I’m starved,” Emily moaned. “I thought I was gonna die.”

    “So. Here’s how this works!” Rebecca produced a loaf of bread from the bag she had brought up. “I dip these into our mixture one at a time, and then we’ll get the bread situated onto the roasting sticks. Each of you can hold them over the fire, to toast them however you like. I’m gonna just pour out the last of the syrup into a little dish here, since there wasn’t much left, and whoever wants can just dip into it once you feel like your slice is cooked the way you want it. Campfire toast!”

    Disengaging from Christine so that they could line up for their bread slices felt awkward, so although they were no longer entwined Brian kept his hand at the small of her back in a show of support. She didn’t seem to know what to say or who to look at, and when everyone lapsed into silence she seemed a little frightened that anyone would turn their attention towards her. Emily received her skewer stick of mixture-coated bread slice from Rebecca first, but she proudly presented it to Brian instead of keeping it for herself.

    “For you,” Emily said. “Because—I love you. And like, this whole thing is your harem. You should go first.”

    “Uhh, thanks?” Brian chuckled, hefting the roasting stick.

    It was long, right around the length of a fireplace stoker, and because the mixture was a little runny he turned it in his fingers to keep it from dripping. Although his hand left Christine’s back he noticed Kelly’s hand replaced it there—he couldn’t tell if she was ensuring Christine was looked after, or simply urging her forward in their little line to get their first slice of breakfast.

    Brian returned to the firepit, crouched down as close as he could, and with a gesture waved the french toast over the campfire. The slice sizzled immediately, releasing an absolutely divine delicious smell into the air that immediately captured his full attention, and because he was holding it low it cooked fast. Fast enough that after another beat or two he twisted the skewer in his hand, deftly flipping it so that the other side could cook.

    “That smells fucking amazing,” Kelly observed.

    “It does,” Brian agreed, already salivating with anticipation.

    “Language!” Rebecca ribbed them with a smile. “C’mon. It’s no wonder you have Steph starting to swear! My goodness…”

    With giddy steps, Stephanie pranced over to crouch beside him, and then her french toast and his were jockeying for the best position over the burning sticks and glowing coals. She giggled, bumping bread with him several times as they jousted again and again for that good spot. When Christine’s slice joining them over the fire seemed hesitant to intervene Brian pulled his back, deciding it was done. By now, the scent of campfire toast seemed to fill the entire clearing, and although it was scalding hot—Brian took a bite of his right from the stick.

    “Woowphewwphh—” Brian tilted his head back to blow steaming air out as he tried to quickly chew and swallow.

    “How is it?!” Rebecca demanded.

    “This is… fucking amazing,” Brian answered honestly. Holy crap. We need to pull Rebecca into the harem before someone else pounces in and puts a ring on her.

    “Guys, try it with the syrup, too!” Rebecca insisted, lifting the other dish with her free hand as she helped Kelly finagle a skewer through a slice. “It’s homemade, my grandma and I make it. It’s really good, I promise!”

    The mixing bowl of batter for french toast had been nearly full when they began dipping slices of bread into it, but all of it quickly disappeared as the group ate breakfast around the fire. Because Rebecca was still doling out the pieces for them, Brian made sure the next one he toasted was given to her to eat; Stephanie shared part of her first french toast slice with Kelly while Kelly held her own one over the fire, which was then shared back again with Stephanie in return. Once again Emily’s eyes turned out to be bigger than her stomach, and after two bites into her second one she couldn’t finish and sheepishly passed it to Brian.

    “Still, though!” Emily threw her hands up in the air. “Rebecca, these are amazing. You were giving these to Chloe every morning?! She was out here eating better than we were this, past month!?”

    “They are really good,” Christine admitted in a small voice. “The first week they were actually even better? We had powdered sugar on them, too—but, I think it all ran out.”

    “Confectioner’s sugar, actually!” Rebecca said. “Powdered sugar gets all clumpy. But, yeah—a pinch or so on top really adds to the flavor. And the presentation! Can’t forget that. These ones should be okay enough, but my grandma would sigh and shake her head at them. I’m so sorry I forgot to restock all of my mess kit! I was in a big hurry the last time I made a grocery run, and only picked up essentials.”

    “Mmm-hmmm this is so yummy,” Stephanie sighed in admiration. “Are you allowed to give out your recipe?!”

    “I’d be happy to!”

    “Christine’s first task as our live-in slave will be to learn how to make these,” Kelly decided with a nod. “We could be having these every morning.”

    “Sure,” Christine agreed.

    “Hey, now—” Brian sighed. “She’s not our slave.”

    “Brian, she can be our french toast french maid slave, though!” Emily exclaimed. “Frilly black and white maid frock, going around with a plate of those bad bois, servin’ them up every morning? Hells yeah.”

    “I can, if you want,” Christine said.

    “Hah, there’s just one problem with that,” Rebecca laughed. “It should be obvious, but. These are special—you can only make awesomesauce campfire toast by cooking them over… a campfire.”

    “Shoot,” Emily groaned. “We can—wait, they really have to be over a legit fire? Stove or skillet won’t cut it?”

    “Yep yep yep,” Rebecca nodded. “S’gotta be over a real fire. We’ve tried and tried, but they just don’t turn out the same otherwise.”

    “You know… Aunt Mattie’s place has a fire pit,” Emily pointed out. “We could—”

    “Well, theirs is not exactly a pit,” Brian said. “They have a big setup for bonfires. But, we could try to make bonfire toast?”

    “That should work!” Rebecca smiled. “You do still have to call it campfire toast, though. It’s campfire toast.”

    “Michael and Tanya did invite us out for a bonfire,” Kelly remembered. “But then instead, Emmie and I just kinda fell into our own routine while we were holding vigil for Brian. Weren’t really in the mood to go out and socialize.”

    “You met Michael and Tanya?” Brian was surprised.

    “Yeah—I thought we told you that already,” Kelly said. “Michael helped us carry you inside, after we got you home. Tanya was worried about you.”

    “We uhhh,” Emily paused. “We mighta actually been super pissed and basically blamed your injuries and everything all on Chloe? So, um, that might be something we have to… either clear up, for Christine? Or get our stories straight, for?”

    “Whatever you want to do is fine,” Christine lowered her head. “I’m willing to take responsibility for it. None of those friends should even be the least bit surprised. They knew me, knew how I was.”

    “Wait, wait,” Brian made a ‘T’ with his hands. “So—I had the spell frame stuff painted all over me, back then? Did they see it? What did you tell them? You just had Michael lug me inside while I was unconscious, and he was like, what? No worries mate, just another ordinary day, cartin’ around knocked-out people and not asking questions?”

    “Basically,” Emily shrugged. “C’mon, Bri. It happens all the time in video games.”

    “We… bullshitted them,” Kelly explained. “Tanya didn’t seem like she was buying anything we said, but Michael just kinda rolled with it? No idea what they actually think.”

    “Should probably swing by once we’re back and uh, at least tell them you’re still kickin’,” Emily winced. “I guess.”

    “Well,” Rebecca stood up, brushing off the skirt of her tunic. “We should get to that, then. Emily, can you rinse and wipe the mixing bowl and the skewers? I’m going to go fill the open grave back in, so no poor critters wander into it and get trapped down in a pit or anything. I’m planning on packing things up and heading back to Seneca by noon.”

    “Dishes? Sure,” Emily waggled the roasting stick in her hand. “Do I just use the same water jug that—”

    “I can clean everything up,” Christine interjected. “Please—I can do it.”

    “Uhh, okay,” Emily said, passing her the skewer. “Wow, yeah. Day one of having a loyal slave, and I’m already—”

    “What Emily means to say is thank you,” Brian rolled his eyes. “Christine. We appreciate it. We’re going to appreciate everything you do, whatever all that winds up meaning, and not treat you like a slave or like you’re lesser than us or like we’re entitled to just have you do all the busywork all the time.”

    “It’s no big deal,” Christine said, walking around to collect everyone’s skewers.

    “No, it is,” Stephanie insisted. “Thank you.”

    “Thanks, Chris,” Kelly said.

    “...Thank you,” Emily sighed. “Sorry.”

    “I didn’t appreciate Brian back when he did everything for me,” Christine gave them a shrug. “It’s really fine. I don’t care even if you make things difficult for me. I deserve it.”

    “Ughh, you know, I’m just remembering we brought stuff for s’mores, but didn’t make any,” Emily clapped her hand against her forehead. “And, now I’m already stuffed.”

    “We’ll save them for a bonfire at Aunt Mattie’s,” Brian suggested. “Tonight or tomorrow, or whenever we can all get together again. Rebecca—I’ll help you fill in the grave.”

    “Sure!” Rebecca smiled at him.

    “Everyone ‘cept Steph,” Kelly groaned. “Unless… Steph, can you take a few more days off from college? Pretty please?”

    “I wish,” Stephanie sighed. “I probably shouldn’t have skipped today’s classes. I’m very glad I was able to! Especially with Brian being back, and with everything going on, here. I can justify making an exception because of all of that, but I really can’t stay longer. It would be impossible to leave…”

    “Oh, hey—the charm’s down there in the grave somewhere, too,” Emily said. “I, uh. I think I probably dropped it down there when everything with Chloe was going on. It was dark!”

    “Should we just bury it, too?” Brian chuckled. “Less risk of any accidents happening.”

    “No—we’re gonna use it to add a bevy of busty beauties to the harem,” Emily said. “Just you watch.”

    “A whole bevy, huh? Am I not satisfying you?” Kelly teased, arching her back as if stretching out her arms. “Are my massive fucking tiddies not enough anymore, Emmie? Even though they’re right here for you to fondle and suckle and play with, whenever you please?”

    “Yours are very choice,” Emily said, giving her an exaggerated thumbs-up. “But more is always good, right? Like, what if I’m already busy motorboating those fat honking jugs of yours, but then Brian also wants a super stacked rack to clap, at the same time? We can’t both—”

    “Guys…” Stephanie sighed in exasperation. “Don’t start this again!”

    “Oh, motorboating?” Kelly arched an eyebrow. “But, Emily… motorboating? You’re not a motorboat. You’re a little tugboat. Emily, you’re just a little helpless tugboat.”

    “Noooo—no I’m not!”

    “You are.”

    “You guys are being silly,” Stephanie wrinkled her nose at them. “Brian? They’re just being silly.”

    “You’re just a big-tiddy bimbo liner!” Emily called back, stabbing an accusing finger towards Kelly. “Guys, back me up here. Look at her! Absolutely shameless—like, imagine walkin’ around in public with those slutty shirt-stretchers bouncing around all over the place. Just swinging around her big ol’ meaty pair of milkers, like some kind of hussy!”

    “Tugboat?” Rebecca paused at the edge of the clearing, confused. “Just a ‘little’ tugboat? Aren’t tugboats bigger than motorboats? A motorboat is just… any small watercraft with a motor on it, right?”

    “No, Rebecca—motorboating is like brllbrrrllbrblblblll—” Emily demonstrated by holding her hands up to her face and blowing a raspberry. “It’s when you smash your face into a fat set of party pillows, and then just make sloppy engine noises.”

    “All the noises you make are sloppy though, Emily,” Kelly jabbed. “It’s like the braying of an animal in heat. Constant unintelligible noise, and it never lets up.”

    “Kelly!” Stephanie protested.

    “Best to just pay those two no mind?” Brian shook his head in amusement. “When they start flirting, it’s like what they’re saying just devolves into absolute horny nonsense.”

    “Yeah—he’s saying you’re a horny little sex-goblin,” Kelly made a sneering face. “A pervy little shortstack always begging and pleading to be bred.”

    “Pfft, that’s rich coming from our resident brainless big-tiddy bimbo,” Emily shot back with a big grin. “You really put the thot in thoughtless. No thoughts! Head empty. Just boobies. You’re just a smooth-brain coom-bait bimbo.”

    “Guys!” Stephanie protested. “Don’t be mean!”

    “Steph, we’re just playing—you join in, too,” Kelly encouraged. “C’mon—uhh, cream-pie cutie-pie? Didn’t Brian bust a huge nut into you, last night? We heard you moaning over there, you must’ve been getting pumped full of baby batter, right?”

    “Wh-what?!” Stephanie blustered. “We were—I wasn’t—don’t drag me into this!”

    “Yeah—you shy little slut!” Emily joined in, shaking her head in apparent dismay at Stephanie. “You act all innocent, but you’re a total closet nymphomaniac, huh? Completely sex-obsessed! You’re secretly a trollop! A strumpet!”

    “Y-you’re both just name-calling! Why are we all name-calling?!”

    “Hey, at least Steph is milking massive loads out of him when they do stuff,” Kelly goaded the Latina on. “You love to talk a big game, but then turns out you’re a teaser and not a pleaser?” 

    “Oooh, wow, yeah you’re so funny,” Emily retorted. “Who’s the one who filled up the cum jar yesterday? Oh, that’s right, it was me.”

    “Yeah uh, all you did was hold the jar,” Kelly rolled her eyes. “Steph did all the real work, shakin’ those hips.”

    “Hey, whoa whoa whoa, don’t I get any credit?!” Brian jumped in. “I mean, damn—my abs are still aching from all that.”

    “I-it, it was a group effort!” Stephanie blushed. “We uh—”

    “I’m, um, I’m done cleaning things?” Christine said in a quiet voice, wincing at the entire exchange. “I can start taking down the tents?”

    “She should take down Brian’s tent, if you know what I mean?” Emily joked.

    “Tent?” Brian laughed. “Emily, you realize I don’t just spend all day every day with a constant boner? I’m not even hard right now.”

    “Then, she should work on that,” Emily gestured as if explaining the obvious. “Duh!”

    “Brian… I’m gonna go fill in the grave real quick,” Rebecca said with a sigh, shaking her head at the antics of the girls.

    “Right, yeah, I’ll come and help,” Brian stepped after her.

    “Look at those two, sneaking off by themselves!” Emily grinned, still having a blast. “They’re one hundred percent off to fool around. Brian pretends all this wasn’t gettin’ him turned on, but secretly? He’s startin’ to grow a chub. Who can even blame him? I kinda do have a way with words. Sometimes, I impress even myself!”

    “Hey wait! Future me just Sent us something,” Kelly put her fingers to her temples as if receiving a psychic transmission. “She said Emily’s color turned out to be blue, ‘cause her power turns out to actually just be blue-balling everyone. Oh, wow—the whole group in the future calls you their edgelord? Since you’re so into edging everyone, but you’re never the one to actually give release?”

    “Oh, please,” Emily let out a laugh full of bravado. “That’s like not even in the top three reasons they would call me an edgelord! And hey Steph, guess which one of us was all nervous and blushing and changed outfits three different times, ‘cause she was so excited you were coming by to see us, yesterday? Actin’ all tough and like she’s a baddie, but actually deep down she’s like this blushing bride? Who was that? Huh, oh yeah, it was—”

    “Did you know Emily has this total oral fixation?” Kelly interrupted. “She’s all super embarrassed by it. Like, if you give her something to suck on, or even start playing around putting fingers in her mouth, she’s suddenly just fuckin’ soaked. Sopping wet, down there, and she gets all squirmy. Squirmy like she’s been a bad kitten and she wants to cum but she needs a pacifier in her mouth. She actually loooves my nipples? Lurves them. Here, want me to show you guys?”

    “B-both of you, be nice!” Stephanie interjected with a nervous giggle. “Guysss! Kelly, you didn’t mean that. And, Emily—”

    “Actually, I kinda did—”

    Brian’s last look at the cabin clearing before he followed after Rebecca was the sight of Stephanie standing with arms raised between Emily and Kelly, holding the two apart. The back and forth banter was crude but playful rather than mean-spirited, and both of the feuding girls had put Stephanie’s hand onto their respective breasts and were holding them there as they continued to shoot disses and innuendo at each other.

    Christine looked absolutely mortified, hiding off to the side and pretending not to listen in as she started to remove tent stakes.

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