Don't Label Me! by Arwen Jayne

of some kind with people. I was wondering if you’d mind
just being in the room when I interview prospective members. You
could give some kind of discrete signal that would tell me they’re
okay or not. It was easier in the past when BDSM was a hidden sin.
People only came forward through recommendations of existing
members. Now we’re getting all and sundry turning up at our door. I
usually turn them away if they’re a total unknown but that means
I’m also rejecting potential income for the club.”
    Sathi’s respect for Sheila’s powers of
observation went up another notch. She’d thought she’d been doing
well hiding the certain strangeness that had visited her of late.
The occasional snippets of what appeared to be other people’s
thoughts, glimpses of colours flashing around their being, even an
increasing sense of well being like nothing she’d experienced
before. She couldn’t put a finger on the cause of it but it seemed
to go back to the time she’d met Kit and Helena. What the
connection was she didn’t know but she could see no harm in using
her new skills to help her friend. “Is that all? Of course I don’t
mind. Why would I mind?”
    “ Some can get a bit agro when I tell
them no. You might not like the vibes of being in the room. I think
you’re sensitive to such things as well, am I right?”
    Yeah she didn’t like being around the ones
that flashed red or some of the sludgier or darker colors. They
felt somehow prickly, like their energy rubbed against hers.
Sometimes she’d feel nauseous or headachy after being around people
like that. “If they get too much I’ll leave the room. In fact we
could use that as your subtle cue that they’re a no-go. I’ll simply
excuse myself for some errand.”
    “ Good thinking. I’ve got a few
potential members booked for interviewing in about an hour. You be
okay to leave this for a while and come down a bit before
then?”
    “ Yeah, sure. I’ll just package this up
for the accountant before I come downstairs to your
office.”
     
    The first few prospective members were nice
enough. A well groomed domme in her fifties and her forty something
hunk of a sub who quietly sat at her feet throughout the interview.
They’d obviously been a couple for some time and were just looking
to ‘come out’ and mix with like minded souls.
    Then there’d been the goth girl, all dolled
up in a black lace and leather outfit, black mascara and equally
black nails. She’d been shy, still uncertain of what she was but
certainly no threat to the club. After the young woman left Sathi
spoke to Sheila about the girl’s lack of self esteem. Sheila would
make sure that she got a minder assigned to her when she started
coming to the club. The girl would grow into herself but only with
adequate protection.
    “ Who’s next?” Sathi asked as her boss
scanned the names on the list.
    Sheila picked up the application that went
with the name. “A Sebastian Fishwyck. A businessman with a dom
fetish. He doesn’t have a sub of his own. We’ll have to be
particularly careful with this one. We don’t need any dom wanna-be.
Fair enough if he’s willing to learn but we’ll need to be on the
look out in case he’s someone who might harm one of our more
submissive members.”
    Yeah, members like their new goth. “I can’t
promise I’ll pick up everything about him but I’ll give it a go.”
If she could pick through his thoughts though she’d know.
    “ Don’t sweat it. We’ll get background
checks done on him too. You’ve been doing great so far.”
     
    Sathi sat off to the side of the office,
appearing to be going through some papers. She glanced up when Mr
Fishwyck entered the room and couldn’t steel the horror from her
face. Staring back at her from within his aura was something evil.
It had to be the biggest, snarliest beast she’d ever seen and it
was purely etheric. The nightmare of a reptilian creature had
tangerine eyes in an almost lion-shaped head.