Convenience Ch. 01

The shop had been in the family since it opened. It had no proper name, but that didn't bother anyone. It was a convenient location, though no one could seem to agree precisely -where- it was actually located.

The building was two stories, an apartment on the upper floor, the lower floor split between a curtained off breakroom and kitchen, and a wholesomely cluttered combination of convenience store, and occult shop. Indeed, when the previous owner had been here, he had had a way of getting nearly anything one could possibly find at either of the two types of establishments.

But...he was gone now, wasn't he?

Melanie looked about the dusty shop. It had been closed for a few weeks, but the strong scent of hot dogs and incense still filled it. She'd been taking care of her uncle's final requests, and this...was the last. He wanted the shop to be taken care of.

The place held a lot of memories for her. Being a child and helping straighten the place. Growing up, spending so much of her time in its walls. Late night study sessions, spent taking care of strange customers. It had always been comfortable to her. It had always been there for her. It was reliable, even when nothing else in her life had been.

She trailed her hands over the various objects lining the shelves, walking over the thick, plush carpet that padded the floor.

"Wot'm I s'posed to do?" She asked no one in particular.

The walls creaked, but she passed it off as the building settling.

She brushed a white-bleached strand of hair from her eyes, climbing the stairs to her...new old flat. Her uncle had lived here before her. And before that, her grandfather. And generations before that. And now it was hers.

Her things had been moved in a few days before, while she had been out of town taking care of business. Everything was settled for her. Tomorrow morning, she would open the shop, and settle into her new routine. She had a plan. It was just a matter of following through with it.

She would run the place on her own, until she was confident enough to manage employees. She would take care of the shop. She wouldn't let it die. It was...the only family she had left.

A few minutes were spent in silence before she began stripping off her clothing, letting the weight of the last few days drop from her shoulders to puddle on the floor with the black and white material. She was pale, only barely more colour in her skin than in her bleached hair.

The air was slightly chilled, but the humidity made it tolerable. She could feel it clinging to her skin, as it rose in goosebumps. Her nipples hardened as she cast aside her bra, crawling into bed in only her panties, and collapsing onto the down comforter, enjoying the gentle prickle of feathers through the cloth.

She cuddled the blanket to her chest, rolling onto her side and holding it tightly, closing her eyes. It would be so nice to just...stop thinking, for just a little while. Spend a few days...settling.

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The new owner had finally arrived. Shop had, of course, known she would one day come to own it. It had watched her grow, and left her gifts. Fostered her development into a beautiful young woman. It had made sure she could never leave it behind, as its previous owner had slowly failed, falling to his illness after so many years of fighting.

Of course, it hadn't -wanted- to get him sick. It had loved him, as it had all of its previous owners. But it had been necessary to ensure its own future. If it had waited...she would have left. She would never have returned. It had had to hold her there with...familial obligation. He had understood. He had agreed.

Shop couldn't be allowed to die. It needed an owner to survive. It needed her, and all who came after her. She was the last owner alive.... -It needed her.-

As it watched its owner drift to sleep, it sent soft tendrils of energy into her mind, cradling and comforting, and fogging her thoughts, chasing away the nightmares that tried to crowd into her mind on the coattails of the past month's stress.

But oh, did it take an effort to not absorb more than just her nightmares. A month empty, a month without customers, or an owner, and its energy was so, so low. If she had taken even a few days more, it would not have made it.

More was still needed to save its life, though. It needed energy. The way its recently passed owner had provided it had been...extreme. Necessary, but extreme. Those who were sacrificed in the name of Shop's own life had been...unfortunate, but needed, supplementing the energy absorbed from its owner, and customers.

It couldn't ask Melanie to do that. It couldn't ask her to take such a dark path. There were other ways to gather energy.

As the evening wore on, it slid slowly deeper into her mind, diverting pathways here and there, repelling nightmares, allowing her to slip into more and more restful sleep. It sank deeper, finding her memories, repeating deep in her mind how much she loved her shop. How she would do anything for it, even if her morals were a little strained in doing it. What it had in mind was so much better than the alternative....

Soon, morning would come.

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There was dusty light spilling across the bed when Melanie woke, staring blearily up at the wood beams of the ceiling. A deep, aching warmth radiated from inside of her. She was hyper-aware of each brush of cloth against her skin. Each slight shift in the air. The slight dampness in her panties, as they clung against her.

She tried to recall what she had been dreaming of, but she couldn't think of anything. It must have been pretty good, if she had managed to sleep in this late.

Absently, she dragged her fingertips gently along her skin, circling one of her nipples with one index finger, blood rushing to it, darkening it from it usual pale pink, to the same darker pink as her lips. She repeated the same on her other breast, gently running her fingers over them when they were fully hardened.

"Ahh," she bit her lip. She had more important things to do with her time, but...the last month had been so, so stressful. Who could blame her for needing a...release? It wasn't as if the urge came on all that often. She was remarkably chaste for a young woman of 25. She'd had sex all of three times, and it had been uninspiringly boring each time.

Melanie's heart was pounding. She didn't feel alone in this place, but...it was pleasant. Normally the feeling of being watched, real or imagined, would make her think twice. But she felt safe, here.

One of her hands traced back down her skin, teasing along the hem of her panties, before sliding down to press the damp satin against her clit, pressing into it for a few intense seconds, before backing off. She couldn't let herself cum -that- easily. Feeling like this was a special occasion, after all.

She gently massaged her labia, already feeling them swelling with arousal. She ached to continue teasing her clit, but she resisted the temptation...for all of two minutes. It had been too long, and she was just...-too- horny.

Her knickers were shoved aside, two fingers buried deep inside of her as she massaged her clit roughly, soft moans passing her lips, hips lifting slightly off of the bed.

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Shop watched her as she teased herself, pleased with this turn of events. It was working as planned. If she couldn't provide the energy of a life...then she would provide the energy of a different type of release.

As she took her time, something resembling impatience washed through its walls. It needed her to cum -now.- It stirred her mind, encouraging her to give into her lust, stoking the fires of arousal, making her crave more.

Her moans of pleasure were like auditory candy, the energy of her release like the sweetest fruit. It continued prodding at her mind, forcing her climax to go on and on, pulling in the energy it needed to continue existing.

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How long had she lain there, fingers buried in her pussy, twitching, and writhing on the bed with the same, long orgasm? She'd been unable to pull her hands away, and when the pleasure finally began to fade, she'd been close to passing back out entirely.

Her walls spasmed, even as she began becoming aware of reality, aftershocks making her entire body jerk in reaction. She was so sensitive. Somehow more than she had been before she'd started. Each movement sent another jolt of pleasure through her, electricity straight from her clit to her brain, lighting her neurons up like a lightshow.

Even still, Melanie tried to sit up, knowing she didn't have the time to bask in the afterglow. She needed to...to open the shop. Right. Fuck.

The scent of her arousal clung heavily to the hot-dog-and-incense smell of the shop. She wondered if customers would notice. She didn't know if that scared her, or turned her on more.

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Shop's own excitement was building, as she went about dressing, coming closer and closer to opening for the day.

Of course, it controlled who found it and when. It could start this easy for her. Just let one, maybe two people in, and...settle comfortably in her mind. A little while longer, and perhaps it could explain. But for now, it would simply guide her.