Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 07

"It is a matter of interpreting a master's intent and judging the ethical value of those intentions. With you, I try to correct in the other direction. Your intent is often far clearer and more noble than the words you use to tell me what you want," Quinn said with a small smile of his own.

"And that's alright?" Jack asked.

"It is necessary," Quinn replied. "Words are always imprecise, and as you pointed out, service and loyalty are different things. When they are at odds, loyalty must win."

"How do you know if you're loyal to the right things?" Jack asked.

Quinn was quiet for a time. "For me, it is a matter of faith."

"I wish I had that luxury. I've never been much for religion, personally," Jack said with a half smile. "I suppose it makes doing the right thing easier?"

"No," Quinn said. "It doesn't."

"Then what's the point?" Jack asked.

"It gives a path to follow, that is all. Whether that path is the correct one, or whether you can make the choices necessary to follow it, are all dependent on your own judgment," Quinn explained.

"Now it sounds even more complicated." Jack let out a small, sad laugh.

"In some ways," Quinn agreed. "Even when the path is clear, it can still be difficult to follow."

"I feel like I've done nothing but question my judgement lately. I never used to do that," Jack's brow furrowed bitterly.

"Such is the nature of consequence," Quinn said.

"And guilt."

Quinn nodded solemnly. "You question yourself. That shows better judgement than most. Questioning one's own judgement is the best way to hone it."

"That's part of why you do what you do, isn't it? To see which people will try to do the right thing, and which won't," Jack raised an eyebrow.

"One is not contingent on the other. I would still serve even if I did not have a habit of trying to understand my masters' motives. My interest in human moral choices is my own. Some of my people share my interest, but most do not," Quinn answered.

"Who are the people who tend to make the best choices?" Jack asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"The sad ones."

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"The energy doesn't have to come from you, it just needs to be received by you," Bella said. She was watching Captain Vex's back arch against the bed while Will's tongue worked between her legs. Belita stretched languidly like a big golden housecat, her expression happy and glazed.

"Received?" Tonya asked, not following.

"Well, it has to turn you on," Bella clarified. "That's not a completely accurate way to put it, but there's enough overlap that it will work until you have enough experience to discuss the nuances." Bella was sitting on the ground cross-legged at the back edge of the circle on the floor, leaning back against the bed frame. Belita jerked a bit and jostled the bed. Bella looked over her shoulder and smiled at the blond captain's pleasure.

"Well that's pretty easy," Tonya grinned. She was standing in the circle on the other side of the mirror, watching intently. Janie stood just behind her shoulder. The circle on the floor wasn't large, so they were close enough to feel the rising heat coming from each other's bodies. Tonya could feel Janie's breath just behind her. The taller woman's tension was palpable. Tonya glanced over her shoulder for a moment. "Easier for some than others." Janie didn't notice. She was too enraptured by the scene on the bed.

"There's a lot of energy in sexual tension," Bella continued. "There's a lot of energy in the release of it too, but how much you can gather and use overall is largely based on the amount of tension that is built up beforehand."

"Alright, that makes sense," Tonya said.

Belita let out a small gasp as Will did something she particularly liked. Her breasts rolled in opposite circles, her golden rings glinting in the candle light. Tonya felt herself growing warmer.

"Are you starting to feel it?" Bella asked.

Tonya nodded. "A little. They're fun to watch."

"Let it build. As it does, visualize the heat moving up into the pattern instead of staying where it is," Bella said.

Tonya nodded. This was the hard part for her. Gathering energy was easy. Moving it was hard. She tried to visualize the tension moving through her from her pelvis to her chest. She could feel it moving, but quickly it felt like the energy waned. She concentrated harder and the energy simply dissipated. She sighed and shook her head.

"Tell me what happened," Bella said gently.

"I tried to move it and it faded out," Tonya shrugged.

"I'm guessing you aren't turned on anymore?" Bella asked.

"No, not really. I mean, I guess I could be. They're still sexy. I just wasn't focusing on that," Tonya shrugged.

"You started concentrating on what you were trying to do, and not on being turned on," Bella clarified.

Belita let out a low groan and ran her hands into Will's hair. He adjusted slightly and did something that made Belita's whole body twitch twice. She laughed and held his head in place. "Right there," she said, her voice low and raw.

Tonya's frustration overrode her enjoyment of the scene. "It's a lot easier when it's happening to me. The energy doesn't slip away when I start thinking about other things."

On the bed, Belita's body convulsed. Her orgasm was small, but intense. She gasped loudly. Her hips lifted and she pushed her head back into the mattress. Another shudder ran through her, then she relaxed like a puppet with it's strings cut.

Bella continued her lecture as soon as Belita had quieted again. "That's because the sensations you're feeling during sex aren't things you need to think about in order to perpetuate. They're happening to you, independent of what you're thinking about at the time," Bella explained. "Part of learning to draw energy from others is to really appreciate what they are doing. You have to get sexual enjoyment out of sexual pleasure that you aren't experiencing directly. It's also a good exercise in multitasking."

"I might be too selfish for that," Tonya chuckled. "I can enjoy seeing people have sex, but mostly because I want to be involved too."

"That's where it starts," Bella smiled back. "You just have to be able to keep watching and enjoying while also thinking about what you're doing with the energy you're receiving and building up. It's easiest with things that really turn you on."

"Well then I'm going to need to see Will's sexy cock," Tonya grinned. Behind her Janie made a small choking sound. Tonya turned and met her new friend's shocked gaze. Janie didn't look aghast. She looked hungry. Tonya started laughing.

"You heard her, teaching assistants," Bella said stroking Belita's tawny mane. "My apprentice needs you to change things up."

Belita sighed dramatically. "I s'pose that was a good warm up. Your turn, Will."

Will crawled up Belita's body and lay down on top of her, their lips joining. Her strong legs wrapped around his hips and her arms draped around his neck as she tasted herself on his mouth. Then they rolled over together so Will ended up stretched out on the bed with the tanned blond draped over him. She put her hands on his chest and pushed herself up to straddle his hips, and rolled them for a moment before knee-walking backwards down his body, dragging her long blond hair over his torso until her face was even with his hips.

"Alright, that was sexy," Tonya commented. Her tension was back. She felt Janie tremble a bit behind her.

Bella looked over her shoulder to watch just as Belita tossed her hair to her right so the pair in the mirror could have an unobstructed view as she slowly took Will's erection into her mouth.

"Ready to try again?" Bella asked Tonya.

Her apprentice shook her head, her eyes locked on the bed. "Give me a minute." Bella chuckled and turned around again to watch the sensual scene unfolding behind her.

Belita's lips stroked slowly up and down Will's cock, reaching a little more than half way before she couldn't go any further and then pulling back until the edge of his crown was just barely visible to their audience. Will groaned and propped himself up on his elbows to watch too.

After a few slow passes down his length, Belita added her hand to the mix, stroking the lower half of his shaft in time with the rise and fall of her lips.

"You wish it was you, don't you?" Bella asked Tonya in a sensual voice.

"Uh huh," Tonya said, her eyes never leaving the scene on the bed. She watched Belita's sensual ministrations, followed the play of Will's muscles as he sighed. The treasure map tattooed on his chest rippled slightly and she could see his thighs tense as his pleasure grew. Behind her Janie let out her breath like she was trying to keep it from escaping.

"Keep watching them, and feel the heat inside you. Let it build up, but also let it flow upward. Don't try to just move it. Instead, see if you can think of it like a river flowing from where it starts to the pattern," Bella said in the same sensual tone.

Tonya nodded and started focusing on the heat between her legs. Watching Belita give Will head had definitely gotten her turned on. Watching Belita earlier had been pretty nice too, but hard cocks and pretty men always got her going the most. She imagined the heat flowing upward. That was easier. It didn't feel like a river though. She imagined it more like putting a bucket under a water pump. The trick was to make sure the pump didn't run dry. Manufacturing the energy from watching seemed like a trickle at a time. She really wanted there to be more energy. She really wanted to be the one in Belita's place. Then she noticed that the thought of wanting seemed to increase the flow from her metaphysical pump.

"Frustration makes it stronger," she laughed.

"Sure does. That's why I keep telling you that you need to practice holding back," Bella replied. "If you can learn to enjoy the frustration, you'll be a much stronger Witch."

"I'm not very good at that," Tonya wrinkled her nose. "Moving the energy is easy when I don't have to concentrate on where it's coming from," she continued. "Like now, talking about it makes the reservoir I'm drawing from weaker because I'm talking about magic stuff and thinking less about how much I want to get fucked."

"So stop talking about it. Just show me," Bella shrugged. Tonya nodded.

"She's not the only one who wants tae get fucked,' Belita purred. She crawled up Will's body and positioned herself over his hips again. With a small adjustment from her hand she positioned him at her entrance and slowly sunk down with a throaty moan that sounded like it was half growl. Will's eyes rolled back in his head. His hands went up to squeeze her full breasts. She pushed them firmly into his hands and began to bounce, lifting with her muscular thighs and dropping back down again. Her whole body rippled with the small impacts. She tossed her golden hair back and closed her eyes, lost in the sensations of Will's hard cock pistoning within her.

Tonya's breathing deepened as she watched. She squeezed her thighs together and mewled in frustration. Now that the flow of energy to the pattern on her chest had been established, she felt like things should be easy. Instead, it was getting harder. She could feel the trickle to the pattern, but she couldn't keep it flowing fast. Every time she stopped thinking about it to concentrate on what she was watching and keep the energy source full, the flow to the pattern waned back to a trickle again. She felt like she couldn't do both at once, and because she was generating more energy than she was moving, she was starting to feel like she was building up some kind of pressure. It wasn't the usual kind of sexual tension pressure. It was something else. "I really wish you hadn't taken Rocky with you," she muttered.

"You have fingers," Bella said with a small shrug. "If you need them, use them."

Janie made another small gasping noise. Tonya looked over her shoulder and into big blue eyes. "You alright with all this?" Tonya asked.

Janie nodded. "Are you going to...?" she trailed off.

"Yeah, are you?" Tonya asked. Janie shook her head quickly. Tonya shrugged and undid the knot of her skirts. They puddled to the floor and she kicked them free of the circle. In moments she stood nude from the waist down. Her hand ran down her smooth stomach to the cleft of her legs. She was already plenty wet. She took a deep breath, finally getting a small amount of release as she touched herself.

Will and Belita rolled again, the captain laughing as Will abruptly repositioned her beneath him. Belita pulled her hair out from beneath her and tossed it up to spill across the pillows. Will lifted himself up, his triceps bunching as he rose into position and started thrusting with his hips. Belita reached down and pulled against his lower back with her hands, adding a little extra to his thrusts. Her hips bucked every time he pumped himself into her. "Mmmmm," she purred. "Oh, that's so good."

"I love the way you squeeze me," Will said with a grin. Then his brows rose in surprise as she squeezed him on purpose with strong internal muscles developed from constantly having to engage her pelvic floor to keep her balance on a rolling ship. "Holy fuck!"

Bella couldn't help but look over her shoulder. Her assistants were very distracting. She wanted to touch herself, or to join them, but she had a lesson to focus on.

"Is the pattern charging?" Bella asked. She couldn't see any kind of glow or other indicator yet.

Tonya nodded. Touching herself helped. Suddenly she didn't have to concentrate on the energy itself. The sensations were generating it instead of trying to build it up through voyeurism. The channel was open, but it was still just a trickle and no matter what she did it didn't seem to flow any faster. "I can't get it to fill quickly. I think I'm building up energy in me faster than I can move it to the pattern."

"That's alright. That's what the circle is for. If you need to, just purge it like I taught you. Nothing will happen," Bella said in a comforting tone.

Tonya's brows furrowed as she concentrated. She imagined the channel between herself and the sigil getting wider, deeper. She imagined a slant, like water running down a hill. Nothing changed. The same trickle still moved, like a slow leak, nowhere near fast enough to compensate for how fast she was drawing energy in. Then she imagined the pump pushing harder. That did something. The pressure inside her increased. She wasn't building energy any faster, but what she already heald seemed stronger somehow. "What the heck?" she muttered to herself.

"Tell me what you're feeling," Bella said gently.

"I started thinking of it like a pump, drawing energy from the source, and pouring it into the sigil. That seemed to work. Then I started thinking about pumping harder, and instead of getting more flow, it made the energy I've already drawn feel weird."

"Weird, how?" Bella asked, trying to ignore the sexy breathing and moaning right behind her for a moment and concentrate on what she was trying to teach.

"Like pressure," Tonya shrugged, her fingers still idly circling between her legs. "Like what I've drawn wants to go somewhere but can't."

"You're trying to hard,' Bella said. "You need to relax and let it move itself. You can't pump it. That's what will cause you to lose control of it."

"When I try that nothing happens. It only wants to move at a trickle no matter how I think about it." Tonya was clearly frustrated.

"Stop thinking about it," Bella advised. "Concentrate on the enjoyment. Think of the sigil like it's a partner you want to please. Give yourself to it."

Tonya changed what she was visualizing. Suddenly the connection between herself and the pattern wasn't so abstract. The pattern in her head shifted into a man. Will. He was right in front of her, so he was the easiest one to think about. She imagined herself straddling him, looking down on his strong form and plunging his hard length into her. In her mind his chest bore the pattern that was actually on hers. She wanted him to feel her. To know her. To take her. She plunged two fingers into her wetness and let out a high pitched whine of frustration and release. The sigil on her chest swelled into light that matched the candles on the ground, and so did the circle on the ground. Her thighs shuddered. "Unnnh!" she groaned. She suddenly felt relaxed, but a bit empty. "Wow, that worked," she gasped as she regained her senses. It wasn't quite an orgasm. It didn't have the same big peak of ecstasy, but the aftermath felt similar. Then the swell of energy within her started again, but without any kind of trickle into the pattern. It didn't empty. It just wouldn't take anymore. The circle on the ground continued to faintly glow. "The flow is wide open, but I'm not sure it's working.

"The pattern is full. You're overflowing and the excess is going into the circle. You need to connect the pattern to the sigil next," Bella explained. Behind her Will hooked his arms beneath Belita's knees, arching her back further and making his strokes more forceful. Belita grinned wide and pulled gently on her nipple rings.

Tonya nodded. "How?"

"The mirror's magic is active, and active magical effects are always hungry," Bella explained. "You just had to know how to feed them. Remember when I taught you to recharge Rocky?"

"Yeah, but that didn't require a transfer pattern. I just did that with the energy I'd already drawn up."

"Exactly. This is even easier because the energy is in the pattern," Bella said, momentarily distracted by Belita having another small orgasm. She continued once the captain's sounds of pleasure had gotten quieter again. "You don't need to concentrate on holding yourself full of energy while you move it. You already did the hard part. Now if your own energy wanes because your concentration slips, the ritual won't end. The transfer pattern is like a buffer. That's why they are so useful. They let you perform a ritual in stages."

"So I just connect to the mirror, and then, what, dump the pattern into it?" Tonya asked.

"You won't even need to. The mirror will do the work for you. You just have to connect them,' Bella smiled.

Tonya nodded and concentrated on the mirror while she watched the lovers on the other side of it. She reached out with her metaphysical senses and found what felt like a vibration. "This would be so much easier if I could see auras," she muttered.

"That's divination. It's a whole different skill set. Besides, you need to learn to do things the hard way before you learn the shortcuts,' Bella shook her head. Belita's hand found Bella's hair and started stroking it.

"Hurry up with the teaching," the captain's voice was full of temptation and promise.

Bella laughed rolling her head against Belita's hand. "Almost done."

Tonya slowly matched her own spiritual vibrations to the one she felt from the mirror until they were indistinguishable. "So this is basically what you did to Will the other day, only I'm doing it to the mirror?"

"Essentially, yes. Good job catching that." Bella was thrilled that Tonya was catching onto the abstract concepts and how they fit together so well.

Tonya felt something pull. It was like she was being yanked from within. "Woah."

"Don't hold onto the pattern. Just let it go," Bella said quickly.

Tonya imagined herself releasing the pattern itself. Suddenly the glow from the circle on the floor dimmed to inert again. The strange overflow was gone. Instead, she could feel the flow of energy moving from herself to the pattern, but the pattern never seemed to fill. In fact, it felt like it was draining faster than she could fill it. "That was fast!"

"Told you it was hungry," Bella snickered. "Good job. That was it. Now you can just maintain that for as long as you want to." She stood up, happily anticipating joining the pair on the bed.