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From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} Prudence, TX Population 1276 25 (Mff ff Mm rom)
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Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://prudence.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Prudence and our other stories. Send an email to velvet@pele.cx and
I'll add you to the mailing list to be notified when Prudence
updates. 

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
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Because of the possibility that the school might call him there, Mark
reluctantly took Kristen back to his house. He'd have rather stayed at
Steven's, and she was nervous about the idea of being in the old house,
too, but told him she'd be okay as long as he didn't leave her there alone.
As he had _no_ intention of leaving her alone anytime soon, that worked
just fine for him.

Around noon, when she'd had enough time to grow truly frustrated with her
immobility, she asked him, "Couldn't I go ahead and try the crutches? I
promise I won't put any weight on my foot. I've got good balance, y'know."

He shook his head. "No. Remember what the doctor said -- I don't want you
damaging your foot anymore than you already have."

She frowned thoughtfully. "What if I'm floating?"

"Hmm," he said, considering it. "Okay... that's a thought, but can you
control yourself well enough you won't fall?"

"I... think so? I've been practicing, and it's getting easier," she said.
She lifted up into the air, hovering a couple inches above the couch,
barely quivering at all. "See?"

"Okay, if you _promise_ not to put any weight on it," he said, then smiled.
"I thought you liked me carrying you, though..."

"I do, it's just..." She shrugged. "I just don't like feeling totally
helpless."

He bent over and kissed her. "I was just teasing you, love."

She grinned. "You've got to _tell_ me these things," she said.	"Besides,
your arms are bound to get tired."

He shook his head. "Nope. Not if they're wrapped around _you_."

She snuggled happily against him. "You know, we need to remodel the
bathroom here."

"Oh?" he asked, thinking that he might also want to remodel the bedroom...
after his dream last night, it made him more than a bit uncomfortable.

"We need a tub like my dad has," Kristen said.

"Oooooh, _good_ idea," he said, remembering Steven's hedonistically
luxurious tub. "You up to helping me do it when your ankle's well?"

"Um... I can _try_," she said uncertainly. "I don't know if I'd be any good
at it, though. Kayla would... they wouldn't let her take shop, but she uses
her dad's stuff all the time."

Mark nodded. "I think it would be fun to work together. Hmm. We'd have to
let her parents know she was doing it, though. Which means figuring out an
excuse other than 'we want to work with our lover'. Any suggestions?"

"Money. Hire her to help you."

He looked skeptical. "You think they'd actually go for that?"

"Why not?" she asked. "A lot of kids do odd jobs here and there to make
money."

"Well, if it would work..."

"I can't see why not," she said.

"Then you need to get well so we can get a good bathroom," he said,
nuzzling her neck.

She giggled. "Well, if you can keep me glowing, and I can float, I
don't see any reason we couldn't--" She gasped as she fell abruptly
back to the couch. "Oops! Okay. So it's a bit energy intensive."

"Looks like it," he said. "And I'm not sure you shouldn't save your energy
for healing."

She sighed. "Well... still... if I use just a touch, just to keep me
balanced and light on the crutches rather than totally support me, I should
still be able to go to school, right?"

He looked thoughtful. "Possibly. Especially if you wait one more day."

"So day after tomorrow?" she asked.

He nodded. "Possibly. Depends on how you're feeling, love."

"Good. I feel... well, safer among a lot of people. Silly, I know, but I'm
paranoid lately."

"Well, I've felt paranoid, too, so I don't blame you," he said, his face
growing troubled as the memory of the dream crept back into his mind.

She looked at him for a moment, then kissed him, putting such effort into
it that it began a distraction process that lasted quite a while. Their
love-making was done on the fold-out couch, though... Mark couldn't stand
the thought of going in the bedroom with her, not yet.

All in all, it was actually a very pleasant day. Kristen studied, he worked
on class notes, and the two of them cuddled on the sofa-bed and watched
movies until it was time to go back to Steven's to meet Kayla after school.


Mark put the remodeling idea to Kayla and asked, "Are you good with tools?"


"Getting that way. Family trait," she replied. "Remodel how?"

"Put in a bigger tub, among other things," he said. "Basically tear
everything out and replace it. It'll be a lot of work, but I think it'd be
worth it when we're done."

"Hmm... ever done any plumbing?"

He shook his head. "Nope, but I can get books, and I can learn."

"Well... it might be fun. Okay," she said. "Can't get the stuff around
here, though. We'll have to either order it or go shopping in the city for
it." She looked at Kristen appraisingly, and changed the subject. "Are you
not glowing, or have you got better at suppressing it?"

"Um... I don't think I'm glowing. But just barely."

"She was levitating earlier," Mark said, "and I think she used it all up."

"Hmm... someday soon we'll have to do some controlled experimentation to
discover rate of consumption," Kayla said thoughtfully. "But, for right
now, I think we should go to bed."

Mark grinned, in complete agreement. "Sounds good."  And the two of them
endeavored to ensure that Kristen had _plenty_ of energy.

Only afterwards did Kayla get around to asking, "So why are we here instead
of at your house?"

He shuddered. "Nightmares last night. Really, really, really bad ones."

"Ah. Okay. Y'all both have been having too many nightmares recently. Gotta
be a warning of some sort," she said, frowning.

He nodded. "I dreamed about what happened to Emma Barnes. He was... was..."
He shuddered again.

Kayla finished for him, "A crazy monster."

Mark shook his head. "Worse than that. Much worse than that." He looked
sick again, and pulled Kristen to him, wrapping his arms around her
protectively.

Kayla nodded. "Karen wouldn't go _near_ your house. Said getting close to
that much pain made her physically ill."

"Karen?" Mark asked.

"Karen Wilson," she said.

"Ah. I didn't realize you'd known her that well," he said.

She looked very sad. "Yeah. I did. We were friends, even if I was just a
kid."

Mark reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She tried to smile. "I'm okay. It's been a long time."

He squeezed her shoulder gently. "Well, all I know is... I'm terrified for
Kristen right now. I think... I think he's back."

"I... don't know, Mark," Kayla said. "It's been 20 years. I mean, I believe
in going with your instincts, but surely he's dead by now?"

"There was a warning the other day," he said, "written on the mirror.
'Beware. He is near.'"

Kayla shivered. "Oooookay. Gotcha. Fuck. That does sound bad."

Kristen nodded. "But... it was from a ghost. Maybe she meant _his_ ghost
was near."

"Why would she warn us about a ghost, though?" Mark asked.

"Well... she seems to be able to affect the real world," Kristen said,
"so... maybe he could, too?" She nibbled her lower lip. "Maybe we should
talk to the preacher," she suggested.

Mark raised an eyebrow. "I never figured you for the religious type, love."


She blushed and shrugged, embarrassed. "Just because they don't want me to
come to church doesn't mean I don't care," she said defensively.

He sighed. "I don't think the preacher would really work, love. We'd have
to tell him about us."

"No, not really," she said. "Just tell him you think an evil spirit might
be near your house."

Mark sighed again. "Damn it, I really wish I'd paid more attention to
Melissa when she was talking about this sort of stuff. But I didn't believe
in magic, so..."

Kayla grinned. "Apparently, magic believes in you."

"Apparently," he agreed, with a wry look. "She was pagan. She'd probably be
able to help, if she was here."

"Not necessarily," Kayla said with a sigh. "Pagan is a pretty generic term,
really. Basically, it means 'non-christian'." She glanced uncomfortably at
Kristen, then went on, "Practicing takes a talent, um, I would think. But
believing is hard not to do when a ghost leaves you warnings on your
bathroom mirror."

Kristen nodded. "What she said."

He raised an eyebrow. "True," he said, then looked at Kristen. "If I were
to get some information from Melissa... how would you feel about it? I
mean... how do you feel about pagans?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's not really any of my business what anyone
wants to believe, right?"

"True, but some people are really uncomfortable around pagans," he said. "I
mean, how would you feel if I started practicing magic?"

"Um... safer? I mean, if it's going to happen _anyway_," she said, "better
to be in control of it. Besides, I'm going to hell no matter what."

He leaned over and kissed her. "I can't see you ever going to hell, love."

She shifted awkwardly. "Yeah, well, don't worry about it. _I_ don't
anymore."

Mark realized suddenly that she was serious, and glanced at Kayla in
confusion. Kayla shrugged helplessly, and he sighed a bit, deciding to
reserve that argument for later. "Honestly, though," he said, "I'm not sure
she could teach me enough over the phone to do us any good right now. I
suspect I'd need to have been practicing for a few years to be any good at
it."

"Um..." Kayla hesitated, then said, "That's not necessarily true. Karen
said that some people just have, like, natural talent."

"Oh?" he asked, curious. "How do you find out if you do?"

"Well... remember it's been a long time since I talked about this sort of
thing... but, like, you'll be able to just sort of _sense_ things. Spirits
and things will be attracted to you. Your life might be really weird. When
you try something, it'll work. That sort of thing."

He looked thoughtful. "Try something? Like what?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Like a spell, or a divination, or something.
_Not_ an Ouija board, though, or any kind of channelling. Those are...
Karen said those are really dangerous, especially if you do have the gift."


"Okay. So if I wanted to find out I was talented, what could I do?" he
asked.

She hesitated for a long time, then offered, cautiously, "Look... I have a
book you could read that Karen gave me, but you've got to promise to be
really, really careful and not let anyone but me and Kris see it."

He nodded. "Okay. What is it?"

She nibbled at her bottom lip, glancing again at Kristen who was just
waiting curiously. "Um. Okay. Um. It's called 'Buckland's Guide to
Witchcraft'. It's, like, Magic 101."

And it's got spells and things I could try?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, and some pagan religious type stuff. But you've gotta know that the
religious part isn't, like, a bible or anything. Just one way of looking at
things," Kayla said in a rush.

Mark glanced over at Kristen to see how she was taking the discussion. She
looked a little bit uncomfortable, but also rather intrigued. "I think I'd
like it," he said, "if Kristen's not too uncomfortable with the idea."

Kristen shrugged. "Like I said, it doesn't matter what we do. I mean, I
won't hurt anyone or anything, but if it doesn't hurt anyone, it doesn't
bother me. Scary, yeah, and not just because of what it is. If you were to
get caught..." She shivered.

He nodded. "I'd be _very_ careful," he assured her.

Kayla sighed. "Okay. I'll bring the book to school wrapped up, and you can
open it when you get home."

"Okay, just be careful, Kayla," he said.

She laughed. "Hah! You're telling _me_? Damned straight." She grinned.
"Well, kinda crooked, actually, I guess."

He completely failed to suppress his smirk. "I'd say you are hardly
straight, given where your head was an hour ago."

Kayla stuck her tongue out at him.

Kristen said, seriously, "It's more fun not to be straight, Mark. You
should try it!" Then she blushed brightly.

This time, he didn't even try to suppress his smirk. "You'd like to see
that, would you? Well, if Aaron's still interested..."

Kristen was bright red. "I'm just going to shut up now," she mumbled, and
Kayla giggled.

"Yeah, he is," Kayla said. "Though... um... there's something I needed to
talk to y'all about," she said nervously. 

Mark looked at her, surprised to see that she was now blushing just as
brightly as Kristen, and sat up. "Oh? What's that?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
e-zine of sf/fantasy/paranormal erotica. The first issue is on sale
now for $2 at:

http://strangelove.pele.cx

Take a look!

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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