An Unorthodox Commission
Jahoda had to stop and think, how had she gotten into this situation? One moment Boss Nef offered her a raise if she could pass some sort of trial, so why was Lumine suddenly getting in her face with a mischievous grin? Sure, maybe Boss Nef had mentioned something about "training her self-control" or whatever, but Jahoda had been far too distracted thinking about that pay raise.
As Lumine raised a hand, twirling a single feather between her fingers, it all started flooding back. Jahoda had gotten in trouble with Boss Nef for blowing her cover on a recent mission, but that wasn't fair! Boss hadn't seen just how dusty the place was, anyone in her position would have been sneezing their head off! It was a wonder she managed to stop at only four! Well, then she had started back up again, but Boss Nef didn't need to know that part.
"H-hey! Take it easy, Traveler," Jahoda stammered, snapping back to the present as Lumine raised the feather up to eye level. "Sorry Jahoda, but I'm getting paid double if I get you to sneeze."
Jahoda turned her gaze toward Nefer, but before she could say anything, she felt a slight twitch as Lumine rested the feather just under the tip of her nose. "Hey, I didn't know we were starting yet," Jahoda began to protest, but Nefer cut her off. "Jahoda, dear, you should focus on the task at hand." From the corner of her eye, she noticed Nefer setting a timer. Three minutes. That must be how long Jahoda had to last.
Lumine began by swiping the feather under Jahoda's nose. Jahoda tentatively braced for the worst…
…And then the feather swiped back.
Back and forth it went. Steady as the ticking of a metronome. Jahoda breathed a sigh of relief. "Ya know," she scoffed "You are allowed to actually try."
"O-oh…" Lumine stuttered, not quite making eye contact. Her eyes flicked to Nefer as if seeking approval. "I guess I'll try it like this."
Lumine began tracing the feather along the rims of Jahoda's nose. Jahoda's nostrils flared for a moment as the feather stirred up the faintest itch on the surface, she stifled a giggle.
For a moment, Lumine hesitated as though she may try sticking the feather up a nostril, but reservedly she just resumed brushing it along the outside of Jahoda's nose.
"Oh no~" Jahoda mockingly exclaimed "You're really getting me now."
Jahoda tipped her head back so that she was staring straight up at the ceiling and flared her nostrils wide a few times.
"I have this dreadful itch under my nose, would you scratch it for me?"
Lumine shyly turned aside, attempting to conceal her blush at the request. She playfully flicked Jahoda on the tip of her nose. "I get it, the feather isn't working. How about…"
Jahoda followed Lumine's gaze to the table beside them. It looked like Nefer had prepared plenty of instruments for the Traveler to test out on poor Jahoda. Lumine briefly surveyed her options, while Jahoda's gaze was fixed on just one: a Glaze Lily.
Jahoda's eyes flicked briefly to Nefer, who only replied with a slight smile. 'Boss knows I'm allergic, that's cheating!' Silently, she prayed that Lumine would grab anything else.
Naturally, moments later, Lumine was gently waving a Glaze Lily right under Jahoda's nose!
"Huh, just a flower? You've gotta try better than that" Jahoda bluffed. 'Surely the Traveler doesn't know about my allergy, right?' She just had to tough it out and get her to move on to something less… dangerous. "I'm out in nature all the time! No flower would-"
"Jahoda dear," Nefer cut her off "You're meant to be trying to keep quiet." Nefer smiled politely at her, silently conveying her true message: 'Stop trying to breathe through your mouth.'
Jahoda gulped silently- at least she hoped it had been silent- as she only had one option left. She adjusted her posture as she began to hold her breath. 'As long as the Traveler doesn't know I'm not actually breathing in the pollen, maybe she'll give up and move on.'
Dare to dream.
Lumine tilted her head, appearing to inspect Jahoda's nose. "Strange, it almost looks like you aren't breathing at all. Could it be that-"
The jig was up, Jahoda had to act fast! She gave an audible sniff, theatrically scrunching her nose as she did so. "Really? I just don't care for the scent of these flowers, b-but if you want to keep running down the clock-"
With a huff, Lumine pulled the Glaze Lily away as she turned to grab a new tool. Jahoda quickly squeezed her eyes shut. Scrunching up her nose, she forcefully exhaled as silently as she could. The inside of her nose was already starting to prickle with that familiar allergic sensation, but maybe she'd done enough to keep it from getting worse.
She got back in position just in time to see Lumine turning around holding a few strands of Ashru's fur.
"Hah, no way is that gonna do anything to me, I hang out with Ashru all the time! Plus, I'm not even allergic to cats," Jahoda proclaimed proudly. A slight smile tugged at the edges of Lumine's mouth as she brought the hairs up to Jahoda's nose, hesitating for a moment while they tickled at the rims of her nostrils.
Jahoda sniffed softly, hopefully the Glaze Lily's effects would die down while the Traveler wasted time with cat hair. Jahoda smiled smugly. "I told you, didn't I?" Her nostrils flared briefly "There's no way that'll make me snee-gah!!"
Jahoda's breath caught as Lumine suddenly jammed the cat fur up into her left nostril! Jahoda's smug face dropped as Lumine swirled the hairs around. Slowly, firmly, carefully building up the tickle more and more with each twist.
"Ack, t-that's a bit much, isn't it?" Jahoda's eyelids began to flutter and her jaw trembled open. She fiercely gritted her teeth, refusing to concede any more ground.
"Well, that seems to be getting to you a bit more." Lumine observed in a measured, almost thoughtful tone.
"Y-yeah? Well I'm bah-barely feehling a thing!" Jahoda replied, her bravado undermined by her increasingly hitching breath.
"That so?" Lumine glanced back toward the table. For a moment Jahoda could have sworn she saw a flicker of excitement on the Traveler's face, though through fluttering eyelids she couldn't be certain.
Lumine had let go of the fur, now preparing her next weapon. Jahoda scrunched up her nose once more, forcefully exhaling through her nose to clear out the cat fur. "By the way that wasn't a sneeze for the record!" She quickly stammered, "I was just clearing my nose."
Jahoda's attention turned back to Lumine just in time to see her next challenge, the Traveler had a pinch of spice in her palm. She slowly dragged a finger through it, as if savoring the moment while she lightly dusted her finger with the fine grains. Then, she stuck that finger right up Jahoda's already irritated left nostril.
"Urk, that's kinda-ahh" Jahoda was cut off by another hitching breath. As Lumine swirled her finger around, she was very lightly coating the interior of Jahoda's nose with the spice. This prickling, slightly burning sensation was going to get the better of her.
"W-woah! H-hey, is s-sheeehhh ehhh-even al- allowed to dohhh…" Jahoda turned to Nefer in protest, who remained silent, arms folded.
"Well," Lumine replied, "You did ask for a challenge, so I…" Her voice trailed off as Jahoda's hitching only worsened.
Jahoda scrunched up her nose once again, then exhaled forcefully trying to rid her nostril of the invading spice. But with Lumine's finger blocking the exit of her nose, the spice had nowhere to go. Jahoda reflexively sniffed- big mistake. The grains of spice were sucked even deeper into her nostril, further than Lumine's finger would have ever been able to carry them.
"H-hey, wai… Y-ya gotta give… meh…" Jahoda's head was beginning to rear back as the tickle slowly started to overtake her. Her jaw kept inching open further and further, her lips no longer quite coming back together as she tried to stammer out her protest. "Yer fingeh… t-that's nah- n-naht fa-fair!"
Jahoda's left eye was now squeezed firmly shut, while her right eyelid fluttered desperately as she fought for control. She could feel her breath catching in her throat, this was bad! Any longer like this and she was done for! Barely able to see, and with her head now rearing backward all on its own, Jahoda reached up lazily with her right hand, fumbling for a grip on Lumine's wrist to get that pesky finger out of her nose before…
Just then, Boss Nef's alarm went off! Lumine withdrew her finger from Jahoda's nostril, but her fingernail brushed just the wrong spot along Jahoda's septum as it slid free.
"Hhhhaaaa… Hhnng'yaaaahhh…!"
"Time's up," Nefer declared, "but you still need to hold that sneeze, dear."
"Hahh hh-hhnn'gaa wh-wah…?" Jahoda hitched desperately. Just when she'd thought she was free, now she had to battle down this intense tickle? She fumbled clumsily trying to pinch her nose, but felt Nefer's hand firmly grasp her own. "Nuh-uh-uh! You need to will your way through this one."
Both of Jahoda's eyes were squeezed shut at this point, and she could feel teardrops forming at the corners of her eyes. As her jaw hung open, trembling, she was faintly aware of Boss Nef whispering in Lumine's ear. She could've sworn she caught the word "enjoy". Jahoda felt a slight pressure on the tip of her nose… Why was Boss Nef lifting it upward slightly, almost like she was inspecting the inside of her nose!
But Jahoda couldn't focus on that now. She tried to clench her jaw as her torso was wracked by another desperate inhale.
"Hhhiii..! Hhaa…hhaaa nngaAAHH..!"
Her tongue arched in her mouth as a final, desperate attempt to stymie the oncoming disaster.
The finger slipped just a fraction of an inch lower, but it was just the break Jahoda needed. That tiny bit of pressure under her septum provided just the barest relief to her tortured nose. As she started to wrestle control back of her body, Jahoda managed to clench her teeth back together for the first time in what felt like hours.
"Hnnn… Hi.. H-HHAaah… hhh…"
As Jahoda started to relax, she managed to slightly open her eyes. To her surprise, it was Lumine who was face-to-face with her, and whose spice-dusted finger was pressed against her nose. Lumine gave a playful grin as she pressed her finger harder, tilting Jahoda's face a bit further back and-
Revealing the lightbulb glowing just behind the Traveler's head!
Jahoda's pupils constricted instantly. Normally she wasn't photic, but already this close to the edge…
"H-ha g'hhaa n-nahhh I-I aaahh'm g-gaahhh-nnaaah-nnaah aaahhh… s-sn-sneeEEHHHH-"
She managed to squeeze her eyes shut, head reared back and flailing from side to side as she resisted with all her might. Without thinking, though, she had pulled away from her last remaining lifeline! With Lumine's finger no longer offering what little relief it had, Jahoda couldn't fight it back any longer!
"GGYYYYAAAAACCHHHHOOOOOO!!"
The first sneeze ripped out, but she'd been teased for so long, just one wouldn't satisfy her nose.
"YYAAAACCHHOOO! HHHAAAACHHOOOO! HA-HA-HAA HHHHAA'KKAAATTSSHHHOOOO!!!"
Jahoda's hands grasped helplessly in the air as the sneezes tore through her. It wasn't until she had finished that she realized- Lumine's face had been right there in front of her own! Oh Archons, she hoped she hadn't-
Her train of thought derailed at the sound of Lumine's laughter. Jahoda cautiously opened her eyes to see Lumine giggling softly with a hand over her mouth. Jahoda cracked a soft smile and felt herself blush. She supposed if Lumine was happy that's all she cared about…
Until her eyes panned up to meet Boss Nef's. 'Oh no she saw that?!' Thoughts buzzed through her mind as she silently pleaded: 'Please don't tell on me, Boss!'
