There simply was no getting round the fact. As far as Luna was concerned, once she was safe and snug, wrapped deep in her slumber, there were few things that could bring her back out of it. Unless she wanted to wake up, of course.

But at the moment she didn't want to wake up. She was lost in a wonderful dream where she was alone in a haunted house, running from things that moaned and whispered such terrible things in her ear. It wasn't the running or the ghosts that thrilled her so much; it was what they promised to do if, or when, they caught her - which, knowing the nature of such dreams, they would. Something sweet, they promised; something helpless, something wickedly delicious and indulgent.

The ghosts had caught her. Those cool and invisible hands had found her ankles and her wrists while she'd been running to the safety of the front door. They caught her, stopped her run with very little effort, and then they carried her gently, helplessly, back into the dark depths of the house - where none could hear her and none would think to find her. They put her in a dusty cushioned chair, comfy despite its appearance. All around her the ghosts were whispering in tantalizing tones.

Luna grinned and bit her lip in her sleep.

The ghosts were taking her shoes off, then next came her socks. Oh, tittered the ghosts, she wouldn't be needing them again - not that she would have the breath to miss them. The air in the room was cool but the first touch of those ghostly fingers on the soles of her bare feet was deliciously cooler. They brushed and stroked lightly up and down, scratching her arches and her heels; with a heart quickening gulp of helplessness, Luna's dream self felt the first cry of what she knew would be endless feet-tickling delight breaking the silence of the room.

"Mm..." she muttered and stirred in her sleep.

Luna prided herself on her ability to sleep wherever and whenever the need took her, in fact; all who knew her at all, knew that she was someone who would literally sleep through anything; yelling, shouting, shaking, even the odd fire alarm going off. Yet on this particular occasion, something gentle and completely life changing roused her from her sleep. It was especially odd because at the moment of waking her dream had reached its thrilling conclusion. Yet something woke Luna up! Something strong enough and strange enough happened that broke the trance of her dream and the spell of the ghostly fingers.

"Damn..." she sighed.

Suddenly Luna giggled out loud. Her legs twitched sharply enough to break her slumber. At first she dismissed it as little more than an over-reaction to her dream but no soon as she closed her eyes again, eager to recapture the dream that had slipped from her, she felt something soft brush her left foot. It made her twitch.

"Hee hee hmmm..."

Still half asleep, she giggled again, enjoying the soft brush and the feel of it on her foot and not for a second wondering what it was that could have touched so delicately. It touched her foot again, this time falling down from her toes along the inner arch. She pulled her foot up, eyes opening now, enjoying the feeling of the tickle but wanting to get back into the dream.

Then a deep, soft purr rose to fill the interior of her bedroom.

Luna froze tight under her duvet, not making a move, but not in fear or alarm. The sound was rich and reassuring, reaching deep to push any sense of fear from her mind. She gulped and licked her lips, her heart beating faster with a sudden giddy sense of excitement.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," cooed a voice far too honeyed to be human.

"H-hi...."

"Nice dream?"

"Mm."

The voice chuckled so softly it made Luna shiver. "Feet tickling ghosts, eh? Delicious."

"W-what?"

"Your dream; being carried off, gently, helplessly, somewhere no one can find you while those cool fingered ghosts have their wicked way. And what better for ghosts to do than tickle your tootsies?"

Luna turned slowly onto her back. "How did you know that?"

"Magic, sweetie."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kit-chi," said the voice.

"Kit-chi?" she asked and smirked. "As in Kitchy koo?"

Kit-chi chuckled. "Exactly like that," he said. "Like those whispered little teases that put a delightful warmth under the skin and make the touch of feathers and fingers all the sweeter. Kitchy kitchy koo. But more important than who I am and what my name is - is what I am and why I'm here."

Luna frowned. "Why is that so important?"

"Turn your light on and see for yourself."

Luna sat up in her bed, resting her back against the wall. The duvet fell away and in even in the gloom the black of her long sleeved shirt stood out. She reached across to her bedroom table and switched on the lamp. What she saw at the foot of her bed made her smile and gulp excitedly.

Kit-chi knelt at the foot of her bed and at once she knew he was one of the most beautiful beings she had ever seen. He was covered in silky thick fur the colour of snow and had golden eyes that sparkled in the gloom. His body was large, muscular but possessed of an innate elegance that bordered on the sensual.

"Wow," Luna said, flicking her silver fur out of her face. "You're...."

"Beautiful?"

"Delicious, I was going to say," she said and grinned. "Like I want to sink my teeth into you."

Kit-chi shrugged and flashed her a grin. "Delicious?"

"Mm."

"Compliments from someone as cute as you are always appreciated."

Luna grinned. "You think I'm cute?"

"Oh, yes," he said. "though, not so much that I want to go ahead with the whole teeth sinking thing. What say we just stick with chit chat and making you blush."

"But I'm not blushing."

"Not yet, but you will be."

Luna snickered. "You seem so sure," she said.

"I am," he said and swishes his tail. "Very sure. I've never failed to make someone blush once I put my mind to it and you, my sweet little Luna, will be no exception."

"You make a habit of making people blush?"

"Oh yes, whenever I can. And as often as I can."

A moment of silence passed between them, as one regarded the other. After a while, Kit-chi's smiled broadened. "Do you know what I am?"

"No," she said and frowned, chewing on a black tip of her hair.

"Shame. But you'll never forget me once I go."

"I believe you."

Kit-chi purred.

"I've not seen anything quite like you before," said Luna. "And yet, it's the weirdest thing. I feel like...I've known you for all of my life."

"I'm a cat," said Kit-chi, "And that familiarity you feel is thanks to a little part of the magic that makes us cats. It helps to keep things nice and chilled, so you don't run off screaming or try and beat me."

Kit-chi said spoke so matter-of-factly that it made Luna giggle. "I'm not really the one for screaming and hysterics," she said.

"I'll be the judge of that," he said, his tone rich and warm and a twinkle in his eyes.

Luna bit back the warm rush of a flush at the look in his eyes. "And as for beating you," she said, ignoring her reaction to his words "why on earth would I want to do that?"

"You'd be surprised at the reactions I get," he said.

"I can't imagine anyone's first reaction to seeing you being the urge to hit you."

"I know," said Kit-chi. "Someone as cute and delicious as me dropping by, all sweet and
charming, you'd think they'd be swooning over me, right?"

"Mm," she said, feeling a little of that swoon feeling coming over her.

"You see," he said, "it's all about the magic I was talking about earlier. Probably worth a little more explanation. It's an innate power given to all of us cats; it kicks in unconsciously and is largely out of my control. It makes me sweeter and more...alluring to the people I visit. Let's them open up and ask for things they wouldn't usually ask for."

"Like what?"

Kit-chi mewled but didn't answer her, as if waiting for her to get whatever he was hinting out.

"Sounds a handy gift to have," she said, moving the conversation on.

"It is," said Kit-chi. "Works wonders for first time nerves."

"And it's worked a treat," she said and grinned. "I don't think I'd be chatting with anyone else quite so freely if they broke into my room like you did. You woke me up, didn't you?"

"I did."

"You...you tickled me," she said.

Kit-chi grinned and a look of delight lit his feline features. "I did indeed, sweetie," he said.

"Why?"

"Because I like to tickle people," said Kit-chi.

Luna gulped. "You do?"

"Oh yes," he said. "And as you were dreaming of gentle-handed ghosts tickling your bare feet, I bet you like being tickled too?"

Luna blushed.

"Told you," Kit-chi said.

Luna shook her head, caught between realising she was blushing helplessly and the fact that he had stumbled on something very close to her. "It was just a dream," she said.

"Really?"

Luna nodded, but the look in Kit-chi's eyes told her that he didn't believe it for a moment. It made her feel a little uneasy, not in a dark or threatening way, but more in a way that she might end up saying something shouldn't. It was as if he were seeing right through her. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, quite a thrilling one in fact; it was as if he knew more than she did of how much she liked the feel of his fingers on her foot.  

"So...you don't like tickling?" he asked.

"It's all right," she said. "If you like that kind of thing."

"You like it."

"Is that so?"

Kit-chi nodded. "Because I'm pretty sure that when you were having that dream and those kindly ghosts had put you in that chair - nicely helpless and barefoot, that your heart was racing, your pulse was pounding and the sweetest of expectant smiles on your face; you, my dear Luna, were clearly enjoying it. You wanted them to tickle you. And when you felt those first cool fingers brush on your soles, you didn't want it to end."

Luna blushed visibly now and had to fight the urge to squirm. "How did you know?"

"I wouldn't be here if you didn't like it," he said.

"Jeez..."

"There's no shame in it, sweetie," cooed Kit-chi, "Who wouldn't want that kind of attention - so tender and titillation? To be so utterly lost, without hope of being found and without the desire to be found, all of that while invisible and irresistible ghosts give you the gentlest and sweetest of tickles."

As he spoke those words, Luna shivered, feeling like she was reliving the dream. "Shut up!"

Kit-chi grinned. "Now, I'm not a ghost or anything," he said. "But..."

"But what?"

"But I'm certain I can give you for real what they gave you in your dream."

Luna felt like her cheeks were on fire. "You...you want to tickle my feet?!"  she said it as she could barely believe she was saying it.

"You catch on quick."

"But...I'm not ticklish!" she replied with a gulp.

Kit-chi shot her a disbelieving, almost incredulous look. "Is that so?"

Luna nodded, well aware that she was blatantly lying and hoping against hope that Kit-chi, this marvelous and unexpected visitor, would take the time to prove her wrong. She curled and uncurled her toes.

"Then you won't mind a test?" he asked.

"T-test?"

"Mm," said Kit-chi.

Luna's heart was beating so fast now that she felt certain he could hear it.

"Sure," she said, "do whatever you like."

Kit-chi rose slowly to his feet, standing almost six feet tall. Luna saw him in full now; he wore black silk trousers marked with odd hieroglyphics. He looked quite regal dressed in them; the look would have been made more so if he hadn't been topless - not that it was a bad sight. He was quite stunning to the eye.

As she watched, aware of her scrutiny, Kit-chi took hold of her king size duvet and with a simple flick of his wrist, he sent the duvet flying from her bed.

"Hey!" she said, curling up a little. She was dressed in her black top and red pants, her usual sleeping garments. "W-what are you doing?"

"I'm going to test you," Kit-chi said, smiling wickedly. "But I can hardly do that if you're all tucked up in your duvet can I?"

Kit-chi sat on the bottom of the bed, his eyes never leaving her as he moved. He put his legs over the edge of the bed and then patted his lap.

"What?" she asked.

"Put your feet in my lap."

Luna froze. Her heart was thundering. "W-why?"

Kit-chi grinned and reaching into his pocket, he drew out a small fluffy looking feather before him. "Because," he said and wiggled the feather before her. "I want to tickle them; slowly, gently, helplessly."

"W-what?!"

Kit-chi twirled the feather between his thumb and finger, looking at it with his dreamy eyes. "I think this little chap would feel just lovely sliding between your toes, brushing up and down your feet."

Luna shivered helplessly bit her lip. Was this actually happening?

"What do you think, sweetie?" he asked.

Luna's eyes went wide, looking between Kit-chi's face and the exquisitely soft looking feather in his hands. She gulped and could almost feel it tickling her.

"Would you like me to tickle your feet with this?"

Her heart was in her throat and she couldn't find the words to reply strongly enough. So, teeth still nibbling her bottom lip with a giddy sense of excitement, she did the only thing she could. She let out a brief giggle and with slow, robotic movements, she pushed her legs straight out before her until her bare her heels rested on Kit-chi's lap.

"Good girl," he cooed. "Now, before we start, I'd like you to do something for me."

"W-what?" she asked, unable to take her eyes off of the feather.

"I want you to ask me," he said. "I want you to say 'please tickle my feet'."

"I...I can't..."

Kit-chi gently locked her ankles between his legs and then, making sure she could see it, he lowered the feather and brushed it very gingerly over the tops of her toes. It was a sweet and fleeting touch, ridiculously delicate.

"Hm hee hee," Luna giggled.

"Say it, sweetie," said Kit-chi.

Luna's nerves were all a tingle in the aftermath of the feather's touch and there was a little voice in the back of her mind, growing louder all the time, demanding more. She pulled on her legs but there was no way she could get free, even if she wanted - which she didn't. All she wanted was more feathery kisses.

"Please...." she said, somehow, finding her voice. "Please....tickle my feet..."

Kit-chi purred happily and his beautiful face lit up. "Now," he said softly and with no small amount of relish, "let's see if you really are the one for hysterics."

The feather swept once more to the left and then back to the right, kissing the skin at the top of her toes. It swept with a cool, shiver giving softness, back and forth along the line of her toes. She clenched and unclenched them helplessly but the feather, so soft and so kind, matched them and didn't give them any reprieve.

Luna blew out her cheeks, fighting against the urge to laugh.

"Oh," Kit-chi tittered. "You're going to try and fight it?"

"I'm not...ticklish!"

Kit-chi didn't respond straight away, seeing no need for him to do so. He could see the laughter and the warm delight the touch of the feather gave her bubbling behind her eyes. It was only a matter of time before it cracked. So he just nodded and let the little touches of his feather do the talking for him.

"Mnnnnoo, no," she muttered shaking her head, "I'm not ticklish!"

"So...this doesn't feel good?"

Luna tried to shake her head, but couldn't. She didn't have it in her to verbally deny it.

"Because I could do this for hours," said Kit-chi. "Imagine it, sweetie; letting the hours slip by with your feet in my lap, this little feather tickling ever so softly and you not being able to do anything about it. Nothing but laugh, loud and free."

Luna's face reddened further and she started breathing faster, struggling visibly to keep her laughter in. It was almost impossible to keep it in with him talking like that.

"Just like in your dream," said Kit-chi. "Yes, you're dream, Luna. You remember that, don't you? Those nice, feet tickling ghosts?"

"Mnnnphhh...eeeehehe...."

"Come on," he said. "Just...let it out for me. Giggle for me. Tickle tickle tickle..."

That was too much for Luna; the memory of the dream and the idea of being so sweetly tickled was just too wonderful to ignore.

"Hehehehahahahahahahahaha!" she cried. "You baahaahahasstard! Ahahahehe! Ahahahahahahahaha!" The laughter came out a lot easier and quicker than she expected. "Hehehehahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahehehehaha!"

"There we go..."

"Damn you ahahahehehaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Kit-chi grinned triumphantly. "Now we can just focus on the tickling," he said deeply and let out a sigh. "Kitchy koo, sweetie..."

The feather turned and fell gently between her toes, where it paused only a moment before sawing back and forward.

"Eeeeeehehehehahahahahahaha!!"

"Tickly toes..."

Luna couldn't even manage a nod of her head. The moment he had said it Kit-chi's free hand feel to her other foot and his nails, sharp and gently, wiggled between her toes. They raked and scraped with a pain-staking delicacy. She bent her knees, involuntarily jerking at the touches.

Kit-chi purred and let his eyes settle on Luna's helplessly wiggling toes. He kept his nails moving with a slow but relentless speed, giving her skin between her toes only the barest moment to recover before touching them again. He grinned, watching them wiggle at his touch and then drew the feather to tickle the tops of both feet.

"Mm," he purred. "Such...helpless...tickly feet..."

"Shut...up! Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!" she said, grabbing her bed with her hands. "Ahahahahehehehehehehehahahahahahahaaaa !"

"Such loud laughter," Kit-chi purred with a smirk.

"Shaaahahahdaaaaap!" she cried out. "Bahahahahaha! Aahahahahahhahahahaha!"

Kit-chi drew the feather over the tops of her feet, kissing each toe with silky softness, before shivering its tip down both arches of her feet. It was done with a slow, luxurious grace, one that allowed for the maximum exposure of the feather. It rose and fell, swishing up and down, up and down, unhurried and relentless in Kit-chi's masterful grip.

"Is this nice, Luna? Mm?"

She nodded wildly. "Yeeeeaaaah ahahahaha hahahahaha hahahahaha! Hahahahaha ahahahaha hahahahaha! It tickles too much!!"

"I'm only getting started."

"Nooooooo hahahahahahahaha!"

Kit-chi let the feather drop, feeling it was no longer needed and that the time had come for his equally delicate and skilled fingers. He curled his tail around his waist and used its tip to stroke around her heels and ankles. It rubbed and stroked as if it had a life all of its own.

Luna bolted and jerked helplessly under this new tender sensation, the fur feeling soft yet bristling on her soft skin as if it were made of something coarser. She gripped the bed tighter, her knuckles whitening and the laughter pouring faster and louder.

"That's it sweetie," he said, "Laugh for me, let me hear how much you love it."

Kit-chi set his dextrous and wonderfully tender fingers to wriggling and wiggling under the soles of her feet.

Luna erupted. "AHAHAHAHA! Oh god! It's too much hahahhahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "Because this isn't going to stop."

As good as his word, Kit-chi didn't stop. He kept her feet locked between his legs and his long nailed fingers stroking, teasing, wiggling and please; it was a sweet and irresistible cat that fell on her feet, one she would never forget and would always dream of.

Luna  laughed for what felt like hours, under the quiet but twinkling eyes of her tickler. She writhed and pounded and twisted but nothing could free her. Never before had she made such loud and unfettered cries of ticklish laughter than those hours with the cat.

Later, with her sides and cheeks aching from the effort, Luna feel asleep. She had a vague memory, only half remembered, of Kit-chi replacing her duvet and kissing her on the forehead before sleep stole her away.

Luna woke the next morning, smiling and still blushing a little. Her room was immaculate, as if nothing had happened and she hadn't been visited.  She stretched and sat up, still feeling a little tender from all the laughing. Her feet twitched, as if they still remembered the tender rush Kit-chi had given her.

"Wow, what a night..."

It was then Luna noted there was a small box sitting on her bedside table. Frowning, she reached over and picked up the black velvet box. It was light but there was something inside. A single silver feather sat on the top of the box.

"What is this?"

Luna opened the box slowly; inside there was a shining silver bracelet made up of two dozen interlinked feathers. A note was tucked into the box. With a grin and flutter in her heart, she opened the note and read aloud what was written in it.

'For the pleasure of your company and the treat of your ever so ticklish feet. Never forget, Luna. I'm just a wish away. I'll see you again, Luna, in your dreams'

Luna laughed and sat back.

"I hope so, Kit-chi, I really hope so."