FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Somehow, disclaimers seem superfluous. You know what's about to follow, else you wouldn't have gone so far out of your way to find it.

The hut carried the earthy smell of dust and clay from outside. A touch underneath it was the scent of fresh, green tea leaves awaiting only the warming water from the kettle. But above that, surprisingly powerful despite its host's unconsciousness, was the male scent of a young husky.

The mix of scents was pleasant to K'yon as he patiently awaited his afternoon tea. His ears were trained on the sleeping husky as they had been for the two days that he had been unconscious, but the rest of his focus was on the kettle heating over the hot coals he kept in his fire pit.

It was warm, even for K'yon. He had dressed a bit loosely in hopes of combating the summer heat and was clad in only a white toga that hung loosely at the shoulders and was both drawn with a gray sash and pinned with wooden nub at the shoulder. It left his arms and some of his chest exposed, but the draft didn't reach the insides of the gown as much as he would have liked. At the end of each wrist hung a pair of simple, gold bangles large enough to fall off his black paws if he wasn't careful. Altogether, black paws and red ribs alike were warm enough to be uncomfortable but not hot enough to sweat.

The constant, even breathing of the one sleeping behind him helped keep his mind off his discomfort. That and the promise of his afternoon tea.

It was the quiet stirring and the subtle change in breath that brought K'yon's attention back to the gray-furred husky laying under the wool blanket. The kettle still had time before the water was ready to pour over the tea leaves, so the fox moved immediately to the awakening John Doe that had been placed in his care just two nights earlier. He settled into a kneel with his heels under his rump just in time to see his patient's eyes slowly open from his bed on the floor.

Whoever it was, was truly a fascinating individual in K'yon's opinion. In the two days that the fox had been caring for him, this mysterious husky had never groaned or stirred while he was still unconscious. Even from the way he seemed to peacefully sleep, it seemed that his lack of consciousness had been caused by exhaustion more than the numerous wounds he had been brought with.

A couple of the Telgarin villagers had brought him in, and in the midst of all their babbling, K'yon managed to put together how they had come to find him. He had been in the ruins of a camp near the main road and he had been unconscious then. His clothes were torn all over and his body covered with bruises, cuts, gashes, and burns on top of his left forearm being broken. The two parts of the story that interested and worried K'yon the most though were that the camp was filled with more furs with similar wounds though they were all easily pronounced dead on the spot, and that the burns on this husky's body definitely had the touch of magic all about them.

Intrigued yet concerned, K'yon watched his patient's eyes closely as they opened in a single, slow movement.

"How long...?"

While not completely surprised, K'yon was taken aback a little by the question. The usual first question was either "where am I?" or "who are you?" Given the way this fur was looking at the ceiling without focusing on it at all, K'yon guessed that he was thinking, though of what, the healer couldn't tell.

"It's only been two nights, sir. You're a short walk from Telgarin Village right now. I'm K'yon, the Telgarin Village healer."

K'yon's voice was lighter than other's, though if it was because of the injuries or not, the fox could not tell.

For a moment, there was silence. The unnamed husky shut his eyes again and K'yon could see shifting under the blanket. His patient sucked in a quick breath of air and winced as he moved his shoulder.

"Your arm is broken. You suffered from many physical wounds and even some magical wounds. Your..." he paused for a moment in his uncertainty before carefully continuing. "...comrades weren't so lucky. You were the only one that survived."

"You healed them..." It was more an acknowledgement than a question. "I thank you."

He spoke slowly as if he took the time to think about all of his words before he spoke them and his voice seemed a step above baritone range so that it was pleasant to the ear without invoking a shiver in the spine. He smiled, just a bit and K'yon chose to believe that it was in gratitude over the healed wounds instead of the news of the demise of his comrades.

"Not completely. You only had one injury that was deep enough to be life-threatening, but I took care of that one. I've spent the last two days re-knitting the flesh and repairing the pelt. I took care of a couple of the harsher looking burns but there is still a little bit of that and seared fur to finish. As far as the broken arm, I can't help with that. And the bruises..." I don't know how to fix... "...I generally leave to heal as they do since those are the least of most injuries."

As he was speaking, K'yon began to pull the wool blanket down to reveal a lean chest of white fur surrounded by the same, soft looking gray to the sides. There was a thin layer of sweat since the blanket was unnecessarily warm but other than that, it was mostly fine. His chest and abs were tight and his stomach flat. His arms were lean but looked to carry a lot of strength. While he lacked an abundance of muscle, this individual was in great shape.

K'yon let the blanket rest on the base of the husky's abs which kept the more interesting bits out of sight. He allowed himself a moment to admire the body before him, eyes working their way up from the tight, flat abs up the chest to the defined pectorals hidden under the cloud-colored white fur. He hoped his eyes didn't betray the lewd thoughts turning in his mind, for it had been a long time since he'd shared his bed with another male. And the last one didn't look half this nice.

As his gaze fell to the splinted left arm resting on the ground, he shifted back into a more professional mindset. The only place on the upper body that still maintained wounds was a rather nasty looking burn on his side. The pelt had been burned to a deep burgundy and only the blackened bases of the fur remained in a patch about as large as K'yon's palm. He sighed to himself, annoyed, as he noticed that the pelt was split open at the center of the burn for the first time.

I'm going to have to cleanse and repair that wound first... He grumbled in frustration, knowing that it meant he'd be spending all his strength on this one wound. The urge to curse and grind his fangs was suppressed from years of practice and complacency, but it was still there.

"Geita..."

It was so quiet that K'yon was hardly sure that he heard it, but he looked up to see the husky looking back at him with deep, black eyes and that same, slight smile on his muzzle.

"Geita. My name, it's Geita."

K'yon couldn't help but smile back as he looked back into those eyes so dark that they were unreadable, yet were oddly comforting at the same time.

"Nice to meet you, Geita."

"So, which Qraft do you follow?"

K'yon chuckled a little to mask his surprise. Most furs knew that magic existed and some of the more intelligent ones recognized that there were multiple ways of drawing it, but to recognize and call them out as the Qrafts they were was something the average fur didn't do.

"Tomeqraft, actually."

For a moment, it seemed as though there was something in Geita's expression at the response. The husky's jaw seemed to hesitate more than stop before closing and he paused--mid-breath--before resuming. Then, his eyes seemed to light up with enthusiasm and his smile widened.

"Wow, I've never met a Tomeqrafter before."

"That's not true..." K'yon couldn't help but chuckle at the lame joke he was making. "You've met me, now haven't you?"

As he spoke, he reached over the far side of Geita's bed and grabbed hold of a rather large, hardcover grimoire. As always, the snow-white cover was warm to the touch and the emblem of a phoenix with spread wings was etched into the front in a gray outline. It was around 6 centimeters thick with pages the color of dust, but the cover itself seemed to almost shine as if it had been bound just the day before. Multiple shreds of cloth hung over the backside from between pages, marking particular spells that he used often. He held the artifact with the cover facing the husky so that his dark eyes could take it all in.

"Heh, yeah, I guess I have."

And then the both of them were laughing.

As their mutual laughter at the moment subsided, K'yon opened the text from one of the bookmarks and let it fall open over his left palm. He glanced at the page for only a moment to ensure that it was the right one before placing his right just above the burned patch on Geita's side.

By some unspoken command, Geita knew to lie still, but he turned to watch as the palm of K'yon's paw began to glow the color of the sky. The grimoire's cover also began to shine a little brighter as K'yon drew from the magic of its encrypted text. From his peripheral, the fox could see the last couple lines of the page glowing gold while the rest remained the simple black it had been inked in.

Had he been able to split his focus, K'yon would have laughed quietly at the way Geita twitched as the initial "tingling" from the cleanse spell kicked in, but for one of his level, stray thoughts while casting were a luxury not to be had. Instead he merely held his palm over the wound for a few more seconds before he casually released the spell and turned the page to another bookmark.

"What was that?"

"Hm?" He looked up from the text just after making sure he was on the right page yet again. "Oh, the pelt here at the burn was split open some, so I had to cleanse it before I seal it. I should be able to both heal the pelt and then regenerate the fur to this spot and it'll be good as new."

"Ah."

Feeling rather certain that Geita's response didn't require anything on his part, he held his palm over the wound again. This time, it glowed fainter and yellow, but he could visually see the flesh draw itself closed before sealing. As he released the spell, he could feel a bit of sweat on his chest and back from the strain and his breathing had picked up a bit.

Geita looked over to examine the burn mark to see the pelt solid though still burgundy with wide eyes.

"Wow... that's amazing."

K'yon nodded and smiled as he turned the page to another bookmark that was a bit further into the grimoire. He choked down the anxious feeling like a stone had been dropped into his belly as he mentally braced himself for the next spell. The tail that had been casually waving back and forth behind him settled to a stop and the smile on his muzzle evened out into a look of neutral determination.

He grit his fangs together as his palm began to glow pure white. Geita twitched and groaned a little, but K'yon didn't pay the movement any attention. The spell was slower--much slower, and it wasn't particularly easy to maintain. His strength was draining, but he was used to the feeling, and as the burgundy burns began to visibly heal, his paw began to shake under the strain.

By the time he released the spell, much of the fur on his face was soaked in his own sweat and his breathing was as labored as if he had just jogged to Telgarin and back.

"Are you ok?" The concern in Geita's voice was welcome though not alien. Villagers asked that same question as if it were a prayer whenever the fox was required to cast near his limit. It was comforting to know that they cared about his well-being enough to ask, though he knew well enough that when one's limit was reached, the spell would merely stop and the caster would be left only exhausted.

Between breaths, he managed a smile as he turned the page for the last spell--the furthest bookmark in the grimoire before setting it down on the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Those are just tough spells to cast. Don't worry."

He was lying and he knew it, he only hoped that it wasn't evident in his expressions. If Geita didn't know anything about Tomeqraft, then K'yon could keep the embarrassing truth of his feebleness to himself so long as he didn't give it away.

The husky in question merely nodded before looking over at the now correctly colored pelt dotted by the black stubs of singed fur. Eagerly, he shifted on the bed to test the recovery only to freeze suddenly with a quiet yelp.

"Yeah, the wound is gone but the pain remains. That's a separate spell and, I'm afraid, I won't be able to cast that right away. One of the... joys, of Tomeqraft, I suppose."

He managed a feeble smile, feeling amply embarrassed, but Geita didn't seem to mind all that much. The husky maintained his smile once he recovered his composure and merely said "Ok" and settled back down.

An airy whistle filled the hut as the tea kettle reached a boil and K'yon was grateful for the extra moment of rest he'd be given to prepare his tea.

"I'll be right back."

The fox's breathing was beginning to calm, so speaking wasn't too difficult. Geita merely nodded his assent before shutting his eyes as K'yon went to prepare his tea.

The kettle rested upon a steel grate that covered the shallow pit. Within the pit lay the simmering coals, filling the air around with the scent of thick smoke and the heat of burning coal. Sitting next to the fire pit, was K'yon's wooden cup with the strainer filled with green tea leaves fitted neatly on to the top. With nimble fingers, the fox poured the heated water over the tea leaves and into the cup where it mixed with the ground sugar at the bottom.

Satisfied, he removed the strainer and the excess tea leaves and set them aside--along with the kettle--to be cleaned up later. On the way back to Geita's side, he grabbed one of many leather water skins propped up against one of the walls.

A few steps later, he was kneeling next to Geita again, but the husky had taken the liberty of sitting up (an action that was sure to cause no little discomfort) and was already reaching for the water skin with the arm that wasn't splinted. Even leaning forward, K'yon noticed as he handed the husky the skin, Geita's stomach didn't fold over itself much; this traveler was truly a thing of beauty.

"So... Geita..." K'yon began as he handed off the skin and placed his cup on the ground. "'Geita' isn't a Kingdom name. Do you hail from Republica?" He had reached for the grimoire as he spoke and was ready to start the spell as soon as he finished the sentence.

Geita had been drinking from the skin when K'yon had posed the question, but he still paused before answering. He held his arm up just enough to keep out of the healer's way as he saw the now familiar glow of the fox's palm.

"Actually, I am from Kingdom. I'm named after a fur from the Plains though."

This time, Geita didn't even so much as let his voice jump as the magic poured from K'yon to his wound. The fox held his amusement back until he released the spell and was looking at the patch of new fur, fitting perfectly into place with the rest.

He shut the white book and set it aside again, thoroughly spent before leaning back on one of his palms. He carefully reached for his tea, arm shaking just slightly and breath freshly heavy while he turned the response over in his head.

"A fur from the Plains-- Not a common thing to name a child after..."

He tilted his head to the side with a mildly quizzical expression as he watched Geita take another couple swallows from the skin.

"Yeah. My mom used to live near the border between Kingdom and the Plains when she was a little girl. She said she accidentally wandered a little while into the Plains chasing a feral ferret and she didn't notice how far she had gone until dark. When she tried to get home, she only got more lost." Geita shrugged a little as if he didn't care all that much about what happened when his mother was so young. "Anyway, more or less, a fur named 'Geita' helped her get back home the next morning and she swore to herself that she'd name her first son after him."

K'yon sipped at his cup slowly, thinking over the husky's tale. Though what happened to Geita's mother wasn't what interested him so much as the fur who had rescued her. Deep in his thoughts, he didn't realize when he started speaking them.

"A fur from the Plains... if he was living out there, then he must have been..."

"Been what?"

The fox looked up, a bit bewildered as Geita's words drug him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry. If he was living in the Plains, then he should have been Duskclan. They're the ones who inhabit that area, but I suppose it's possible that there are some who aren't Duskclan that can live out there."

Though his breathing was slowing and the sweating stopped, the room still seemed a bit too warm for even the toga. Without a second thought, he reached up and unfastened the nub keeping the garment connected at his shoulder, letting the cloth fall down as far as the sash at his waist.

He had been staring off into space as he considered the possibility of Geita being named after a member of the Duskclan, but he brought his focus back to the present just in time to catch the husky looking over his now bared chest.

It was nothing compared to Geita's for he didn't travel. The muscles there couldn't really be seen under his fur but there was a lack of fat as well. He was a rather small creature, both in height and in build and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed under the gaze of his patient. The fur on his sides was the same dull red-orange that covered his head and arms, but the fur on his chest was so white that it seemed to stand out against the other tame colors. Even the black of his paws, ear tips, tail tip, and lower part of his forearms didn't seem to have the sharp color distinction of a deep black. But his chest was something akin to the color of a cloud.

And Geita didn't seem like he was going to avert his eyes anytime soon--a realization that caused K'yon to blush and look away while he supped at his tea. He caught a glimpse of a reddening sky through the window but only idly acknowledged that the time had gotten away from him.

"Duskclan?" It was some time before Geita abruptly ended the silence, picking up the conversation as if he hadn't spent minutes openly gawking at his caretaker.

"Dusk... oh, yeah. Duskclan. How should I put this...?" He looked about the room for a moment as he attempted to collect his thoughts, all the while, Geita remained silent. "Every Qraft has a representative in the royal courts that the monarch keeps for whatever purpose is necessary. Some are kept for advice, some are kept for ability. It doesn't really matter. For most Qrafts, sending a representative is a simple task of sending the Qraft Master because most Qrafts follow a single order."

The fox's eyes fell to the ground and his tone grew a little somber as he continued.

"But Tomeqraft isn't like that. There are two orders in Tomeqraft and they're divided into two clans. The one I belonged to was the Riseclan. The other, is called the Duskclan. How much the two disciplines differ, I don't know, but I've heard from some that both clans are nearly akin and from some that they're nothing alike. But since they both are Tomeqraft, there can be only one representative."

K'yon sighed and took another, longer sip of his cooling tea. He was mildly aware that Geita was looking at him with something of concern on his face, which lead the fox to realize his ears were folded back.

"Trying to get a Tomeqraft Master into the courts was a terrible debacle filled with constant bickering and dispute. But about 300 years ago, the monarch at the time came up with an idea spawned from his terrible love for watching combat. Every 75 years, a competition is held between the two clans and a spell is embedded into every one of our Risetexts. Members of the Duskclan and Riseclan face off against each other wherever and whenever for 15 days in matches that end only when there is a decisive winner. The embedded spell records each victory made against a rival grimoire and after 15 days, the results are tallied."

K'yon cast a haunted look to his Risetext, the only thing in the room whiter than his fur.

"The winning clan is given the right to stay in the silver tower near the center of Kingdom. The losing clan is exiled to the Plains until the next competition."

He set the almost empty cup down.

"It's called the Moh'ra Tai."

K'yon heaved a sigh before looking back up to see Geita staring up to the ceiling.

"So I take it you guys don't really get along?"

The fox took a moment to answer that, delving into memories of the time spent in the silver tower. When he answered, he had managed to drive most of the sadness from his voice and replaced it with a more even tone.

"I don't think that's the case... I did my training in the silver tower and, from what little I learned of the Duskclan, w--they merely think of them as a school of different thought. Other than during the Moh'ra Tai, there is supposedly very little tension. But then again, the Riseclan has been in the silver tower for almost 225 years now, so I suppose it's natural for them to not have animosity towards the Duskclan.

"Hm. Interesting."

The husky spoke offhandedly as he resealed the water skin and set it down beside him before laying back down. He pulled the blanket up over his chest and stared off into the ceiling, letting the room fall into silence.

In the fading light, it was hard to see much of the room save the smoldering coals and a glance out window the showed K'yon that the sun was nearly set by now. He reluctantly resolved to clean up the kettle and strainer in the morning but he'd leave the coals to keep the room warm through the night. He reached for his Risetext and rose to stand and looked down as Geita looked up.

"Go ahead and get some rest. After some rest, I'll be able to do some more work on your wounds, but there isn't too entirely much left to do. I'll be asleep in the next room, so just call for me if you need anything." The fox felt a sudden weariness as the efforts took their final toll on his body. He had overexerted himself with that last spell, but he had known it would happen before he cast it.

A quiet "ok" was the last thing K'yon heard as he strode tiredly to the doorway that separated his bedroom from the main room where he housed patients. Just as he was about to slip into the darkness of his unlit room, he heard the husky call out his name. He paused in the doorway, managing to mutter a reply just as quiet as the call.

"Yes?"

"If you met a Duskclan member that needed treatment... what would you do?"

Geita drew out the pause as if to leave an impression of the first part before asking the second. His query hung in the air like a heavy mist, and the silence seemed just as thick, but while the question seemed a bit strange, the closer he got to his bed, the less K'yon wanted to think unnecessary thoughts. So he just answered.

"I would do my best to remain undiscovered as a Riseclan member. I can tend to most kinds of wounds even without my Tomeqraft if it was absolutely necessary."

Silence again, though not as thick. When Geita finally breached the silence, there was that comfortable warmth to his tone again hiding under the layer of fatigue that he seemed to have caught.

"Interesting indeed. You're a good guy, K'yon."

"Heh, thank you."

And with that, he left Geita in the coal lit room and made his way to bed.

---

In two days time, K'yon had been able to make swift work of the rest of Geita's healable injuries and fashioned a rough sling from some the shreds of the husky's ruined garments. Whether or not the material of the sleeveless tunic had been scorched black or dyed the color of midnight from the start, the fox didn't know. Most of the rest of the time was spent with the husky enrapturing his caretaker with the countless stories of a wanderer.

The lack of a suitable set of clothing restricted Geita to traipsing about the hut in the buff, but he seemed almost oddly comfortable with being completely nude all the time. For the sake of his arm (and general decency), K'yon was rather stern about the husky remaining both bedridden and covered throughout most of the day. If anything, Geita seemed to enjoy spending as much time without the bed covers to hide his rather impressive form as possible and made frequent trips to refill his water skin or relieve his bladder; his tendency to linger about before finally covering up again gave K'yon ample time to sneak guilty peeks.

Admittedly, it did seem a bit foolish to try and hide glances from the other male. Geita seemed, if anything, to show off when exposed. The fox had noticed that Geita's tail always seemed to be just enough to the side to show his rump unhindered and the husky seemed to draw conversation from his caretaker often while standing face-to-face. More than once, K'yon tossed silent prayers of thanks to whatever deity was listening for his fur being a deep enough red to cover his blushes, because he was sure that he had done it multiple times trying to make conversation with his naked charge.

It was a completely different thing looking at the husky whole. For two full days, Geita had been unconscious and it was two more that K'yon's days had been spent hovering at his physical limit to repair the numerous wounds the other had incurred. Scorched fur and torn pelt had kept the fox's eyes more chaste than lewd as he dutifully made tending the wounds his first priority, but the Geita that had just left to relieve his bladder again a moment ago was nothing like the near-dead John Doe from just a few days ago.

The transitions in his fur were flawless. The cloud colored fur on his stomach and chest traveled down passed his sheathe and matching balls to a half dozen centimeters down the insides of his thighs. The border of white and gray was so perfectly straight that it seemed to have been drawn rather than grown. The same applied to both the matching white fur that started at his paws and stopped at his elbows and from his footpaws to just below his knees. It was just long enough to ripple but not long enough to catch a breeze and it seemed like the light itself got caught in the normally plain colors.

K'yon suppressed a shiver from his spot on the floor. His strength was fresh this day and there were no more wounds he was capable of tending with his Qraft. With the exception of the black cloth that supported his arm, Geita was physically perfect in more than one sense of the word. His fur was untarnished even under close examination and his muscles moved with the ease of comfort, giving K'yon a completely new understanding of how fit he was. What seemed like mere leanness while lying relaxed ended up being a light layer of firm muscle concealed well under the naturally plain color of his gray fur. With a careful eye, he could see the minor flexes and relaxations with each step and twist of the husky's form and it left many, many mental images with him now that he had the strength to retain them.

It occurred to him that under his intense focus on tending that gray fur, he'd never taken the time to really feel how soft it was because it looked a little smooth for a random traveler. As he sat there, clothed only in the white hakama that was short enough only to reach his shins, he caught himself wondering how it would feel to have that exact fur pressed against his back.

He was terribly grateful that the material was too thick to allow his thickening sheath to show as he gave into the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind off and on since Geita had awoken. How his warm body would feel pressed against his own, smaller frame. How the husky's weight would press him into a mattress with that lean, strong body. How he would sound growling possessively. How his eyes would look hazed over in passion. Even how his abs would tighten under the effort of thrusting under the fox's willing tail.

By the time he heard the soft steps of Geita's return, he was blushing so hard that his face was hot, and his ears unintentionally folded back as he realized the husky he had been so lewdly thinking of had returned. At least the hakama--while keeping his legs absolutely sweltering from the thigh to the shin--kept his peeking erection from view. But it did absolutely nothing for the scent--a revelation that he came to a moment too late.

Geita didn't say a word, but he made a point of inhaling far louder than he needed to. And as he listened, K'yon couldn't help but feel as though he wanted to shrink into a corner. He kept his eyes on the ground before him with his head bowed lightly in embarrassment even though he kept his back to the husky.

"Feel better...?" Surprisingly, his voice didn't quiver as much as he thought it would as he spoke, but his paws were still shaking in his lap.

Behind him, there was no answer and strangely enough, not a sound. K'yon strained his ears, expecting some sarcastic response or something to drive his embarrassment even further but nothing came. In the hut, there was only the sound of his own breathing.

He was just about to turn around, confusion getting the better of him, when he suddenly felt the solid warmth of another body pressed firmly into his back. As a white and gray arm slipped under his to wrap around his stomach, Geita's scent refilled his nose from sheer proximity alone. It was loose and hard to grasp, familiar but distant; he always felt it was like an exotic spice that he recognized but couldn't name. His heart rate picked up immediately but the scent was surprisingly calming as he hesitantly let his arm rest to cover the husky's; the underlying scent of Geita's arousal made his cheeks burn hotter.

"Now what's that wonderful smell?" He drew out the word "wonderful" as he spoke, his voice edged with a bit of mischief that was new to K'yon and the fox tensed a bit as he grew nervous at the sudden--albeit appreciated--proximity.

He let himself be pulled into a one-armed embrace, tail draping over Geita's left thigh and his legs bumped against the husky's through the thick hakama as he sat. He was aware in his peripheral of Geita's snout coming to rest on his shoulder and give his neck a long, loud sniff which sent a shiver through his body. Husky fingers rubbing lightly in the fox's white, belly fur made K'yon forget that he had been posed a question and did a lot towards making him feel more at ease.

Against the small of his back, he could feel the hard, wooden splints on Geita's left arm and he tried to shift his hips away a little to keep from disrupting the limb. No sooner had he started, he felt himself tugged back, but it wasn't the splints that he felt against his lower back that caught his attention. It was the thickened sheathe he felt pressed snuggly against the base of his tail.

"Uh... um..."

He really felt that the only reason why he wasn't hyperventilating was because of the gentle belly rub he was getting, but that didn't completely set his anxieties to ease. Sure, he'd been wishing that something like this would happen just moments ago, but having it step from the world of fantasy to the world of reality was something he wasn't ready to handle.

"G-geita... what are you...?" A light nip of fangs against the side of his neck killed the words in his throat. He was aware that he was quivering as he felt a warm tongue gently cover the spot that had just been marked by bone. He wasn't sure of whether he willed his head to the side or not, but he soon felt the husky's shoulder under the back of his head as Geita continued to massage that single spot with his tongue.

He let out a quiet moan before he could stop himself and his reward was another nip on the neck before Geita exchanged kiss for nuzzle. K'yon knew he was beginning to settle down and his heart was proof; he was beginning to find himself growing comfortable in the unexpected embrace. It was so comfortable that he had a hard time formulating his thoughts at all, but he did manage to gather them despite how that near-Zen moment made him want to just relax.

He wanted to say something. Anything. For what end? He wasn't sure. But he wanted to say something because something told him that something needed to be said. But as he felt the rise and fall of Geita's chest between his shoulder blades--smooth and even as though this were as common an occurrence as the endless conversations they'd shared--nothing seemed important enough to risk the moment. He was nervous, but Geita seemed to just make things a little bit better.

Though he still nearly yelped out loud when he felt the husky's finger tips squeeze into the tight space of his well tied hakama.

He both heard and felt Geita's growl of frustration as his fingers wiggled frantically, his attempt at a smooth entrance into the pants ruined. Despite the shock, he couldn't suppress the inevitable moan when those same, furred fingers graced the peeking head of his member. The very first thought as the tingle of pleasure brought new life to his thighs was 'Damn it's been a long time...'

He still had to still his rising anxiety as Geita calmed to more direct stroking, using his finger tips to trace the outline of the fox's head. His touch wasn't as tender as his kiss, but it wasn't rough either despite the lack of space.

"Geita..." A particularly nice rub of his head forced him to inhale suddenly and whatever he was going to try to say was forgotten.

"Take it off..." Geita almost grunted, the comforting confidence in his voice disappearing in favor of a sterner, more annoyed tone. He pulled his fingers free with a bit of a yank and leaned back.

It took K'yon a moment to comprehend what Geita meant and it wasn't until he felt the touch of cold nose between his shoulder blades that he was compelled to stand.

"Oh... right. Okay." He hoped that his voice merely sounded smaller in his own ears than it really was at the moment. He drew himself up to stand but kept his back to the husky and as soon as he no longer had the warmth all about him, his previous shyness came back to full strength along with the chilling realization that Geita had just told him to strip.

Whether or not Geita heard him or not, K'yon wasn't sure because the husky had slipped back into that eerie silence that made him wonder if Geita was even still sitting there. With shaking fingers, he untied the knot that held the traditional pants up and felt the waist line loosen immediately. He grabbed hold of the sides as the tips of the long belt fell to the floor while it remained securely sewed to the back.

He had to bend over to lower it carefully off his frame, his self-consciousness causing him to hide his backside with the fluff of his tail. Looking down, he could see Geita's white and gray legs still on either side of his feet to prove the husky hadn't moved. Still, try as he might, he couldn't hear the sound of breathing over his rapidly pumping heart.

"I... just need to... fold..." His voice died off somewhere around "fold" and he knelt down and placed the pants flat on the ground. His paws were shaking vigorously now and the uneasy feeling of butterflies in his stomach and chest was not going away even as he folded the garment--with motions made perfect from practice--into its traditional bundle. His erection was only a memory by the time he had finished.

Even as he cursed himself for not being able to look back at Geita, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Paws clenched into shaking fists were pressed into his knees as he tried to control his breathing and the mix of shame and anxiety welling in his stomach made him feel close to tears. When Geita called his name, he didn't hear it. It wasn't until he heard a soft whisper--

"Beautiful..."

--and felt a warm breath against the inside of his ear, did he come back to reality. This time, when Geita snuck up on him, he didn't jump in surprise. He was actually relieved to feel that warmth against his back again and that paw resting on his bare thigh right where the white belly fur met the red.

The corners of his eyes were wet, but he was still smiling. And with Geita's body closing in on him, it seemed okay. The husky was kneeling behind him with his legs pressed against K'yon's outer thighs. It occurred to him how silly it was for him to be so nervous at the moment--it wasn't the first time he'd shared his body with another, but that did nothing to steady his palms even as he unconsciously leaned back into Geita's warm embrace and felt the husky's even breathing against his back.

He had to suck his breath in quickly when he felt the husky's paw land lightly on his sheath whereas his fingers pressed more firmly against it and the pair of light, black balls. K'yon arched his back against the splint pressed sandwiched against his spine as a gradual warmth filled his thighs. His eyes closed slowly as he melted into Geita's chest, the kneading digits quickly making his anxiety less than pressing. The husky's chin rested on K'yon's shoulder once again just before he felt the skin of Geita's palm stroke his revealed member.

He let out a quiet gasp and reached up to grab hold of the nearest part of the husky he could get his paw on. It so happened to land on his shoulder, and K'yon held on, making sure his claws didn't scratch the fur and pelt. His muzzle fell open as more of his member came out to Geita's administrations, the husky patiently coaxing the fox cock out of its hiding place through careful, but firm strokes and only paused once in a while to push the sheath down a couple centimeters.

The fox wasn't aware that he was grinding into Geita's palm until he heard the husky moan quietly and realized that the movement was causing his unkempt tail to grind into Geita's peeking member. He felt like he needed to say something though the words eluded him. The desire to even do so was abruptly cut off as Geita gave the nub of K'yon's growing knot a firm squeeze. He was only mildly aware that the husky was grinding a little more forcefully into his tail as Geita began to get down to more direct business with the sheath finally out of the way.

The moan K'yon let out was louder than he thought it would have been but he wasn't in much of a position to do anything about it. The husky's grip tightened around the base of his shaft and started stroking all of its 16 centimeters from the base of the knot to the tip of the head. His fingers relaxed only as much as necessary to fit around the quickly growing knot without losing any of the pressure. It had been a long time since a paw other than his own had touched that member, and Geita was doing it masterfully.

He let his head fall back on Geita's shoulder again, right next to the paw which was gripping it much more tightly and just let the moans fall out as they came. In the span of every other breath, he could feel those fingers squeeze around his knot and shoot a hot tingle up as far as his abdomen. He was aware that he was leaking pre only because he could feel Geita's grip get tighter without feeling additional friction, and the husky's stroke grew quicker and quicker as if he could sense that K'yon wouldn't last much longer.

Through the thick fur of his tail, he wasn't sure, but he was pretty confident that it was a rock hard member grinding against him from behind. The thought of what it looked liked only pressed him closer to his limit, a pole of nearly fiery red sticking up from a white sheath and resting upon a deliciously scary knot. K'yon let out a long moan as Geita gave him a particularly savage squeeze at the knot and he bucked--hard--into the husky's paw.

His toes curled and his body tensed as he felt himself hitting his climax. He shut his eyes hard and his muzzle fell open wide. From the shiver behind him and the quiet grunt, he figured he'd accidentally gripped the husky's shoulder with his claws, but it was only 2 seconds later that none of it mattered. He drew in a deep breath as he rode it up, the moment when the heat gathered in the deepest parts of his groin and he could almost feel his nuts pull up to his thighs. The moment before lingered a half second longer than he had anticipated, so when his climax shook him, it shook him hard and slightly unexpected. He let out a strangled cry and held onto Geita for dear life, bucking hard into the paw as he came. Two shots hit the floor before the rest merely drizzled over Geita's fingers, and the whole time K'yon could do nothing except eagerly pawfuck his way through the first orgasm he'd had in years that wasn't of his own devices.

He all but collapsed against Geita's chest, still heaving breaths as he managed to get his eyes open. The husky's fingers slowed their motions, but still toyed with his member as the remnants of the heat of pleasure took their final laps about the fox's thighs. He let out another, long moan that was more out of gratitude than pleasure as he sunk into Geita's embrace; it was inexplicably nice to feel the contact of another so intimately after living alone.

It wasn't until Geita let his paw rest on K'yon's thigh that the fox finally pulled himself free enough to twist around and face Geita. Sated, he found himself blushing again, but he didn't feel nearly as nervous considering what had just happened. The grin that Geita wore was impossible to describe at the moment. At a glance, it seemed like a cross between a smug, know-it-all grin and the content "I told you so" kind of grin you get from a mentor or elder brother, but K'yon couldn't help but feel like there was something else in it. It didn't help that his eyes were so dark that they were virtually unreadable.

He'd never really looked into the husky's eyes before in the way that he could now--the intimacy of a few minutes ago making things completely different. Unlike some eyes he'd seen that were merely dark, dark brown, Geita's were perfectly black as onyx. Try as he might, even with the fading light of early evening, he couldn't differentiate the iris from the pupil. Light didn't reflect off it, instead it seemed to be swallowed by the darkness as if the husky's eyes were the opening of a bottomless pit. They were intriguingly simple, and K'yon didn't even realize he was staring until Geita closed them, accompanied by a suppressed groan.

Looking down, he realized his paw was resting on Geita's naked thigh--apparently he'd been moving closer to get a better look at those eyes--and the bobbing of the canine's crimson member suggested that it had been disturbed. At a guess, Geita's exposed cock was 15 cm long but the knot had swollen too soon and was stuck inside the sheath--an experience that K'yon knew too well was pretty uncomfortable. It twitched, full of blood, under the fox's gaze and a bit of pre had not only gathered at the tip, but a little had even dripped down the front with a couple stray fox furs in it.

"Ever given oral sex before?"

K'yon didn't even look up to answer the question, his confidence growing slowly by the second.

"Once or twice."

He answered rather matter-of-factly, but he was already tugging at Geita's sheath as he spoke, effectively freeing the trapped knot. It was big enough that K'yon couldn't quite close his fingers around it and capped off the husky's member at something in the vicinity of 20 cm.

"Practice does make perfect."

There was something beyond the smugness that Geita was trying to push off. If anything, there seemed to be genuine need for satiation that was more than just simple lust. As he lowered his head towards the twitching member, he toyed with the thought that it had been a while for Geita too since he had an orgasm that he hadn't caused.

That train of thought seemed significantly less important as his muzzle stopped just shy of Geita's member, giving him the chance to deeply breathe that tip-of-the-tongue scent in its rawest, most potent spot.

"Go ahead..."

Geita urged him with both word and paw and K'yon's ears subconsciously pressed a little flatter as he felt a gray paw pressing his muzzle into the canine member. He gripped the knot firmly just as he parted his lips and flicked his tongue experimentally over the slit at the top and snatched the bit of pre that had gathered at the tip. He turned it over in his muzzle for only a second to savor its salty taste before taking the whole head between his lips.

It wasn't until he started flicking his tongue over the surrounded head that Geita began to react, though it was no more than a shift in his hips and an offbeat breath. K'yon sucked on the meat just hard enough to gain suction while he licked the head clean until he tasted nothing but the crimson flesh. His saliva started growing thick from the quasi-seed as he let himself be pushed a little further down the pole and the taste of pre touched his tongue again.

He breathed evenly about the member, twisting his head just a bit as he took in the powerful scent of musk and sweat from point blank. His tongue pressed against the underside of the member, effectively forcing the head to rub against the roof of his muzzle as he descended the pole and licking the spare pre from the underside.

He felt a little pressure on the top of his head as Geita lightly and slowly bucked up into his muzzle while exhaling audibly. It was on the verge of a moan, K'yon could tell and he leaned more of his weight forward into the husky's lap. One of his ears twitched a bit as he pulled back off the flesh flavored member until his tongue was dragging against the head once more before he twisted and descended again, carrying the fresh bulb of pre he'd drug the bucking male.

He reached around with his other paw, letting it rest on Geita's ass as he pressed his face down the last few centimeters and his lips stopped at the knot far too swollen to fit past his jaws comfortably. He gave it a squeeze as he twisted his muzzle again right in time for Geita to grind up into his muzzle. The whole thing fit into his vulpine muzzle with ease, though he would have had to throat a good few centimeters if he would have taken the knot too.

It was strangely exciting to be doing this again and the final bits of nervous hesitation left the fox as he settled into the rhythm of slurping, sucking, and twisting. So eager was he to enjoy the act of actually giving head, that he forgot about the desire to make the husky climax, so when he felt that paw grip his head a little tighter and those hips press a little harder into his muzzle, he was a little disappointed.

Geita didn't shoot hard at all, if anything, his climax was as quiet and relaxed as everything else the husky seemed to do. The only tell-tale signs that he was actually about to were the subtle tensing of his legs and the almost inaudible grunting as he ground into K'yon's face. The nearly bitter taste of seed filled his muzzle slowly enough for K'yon to swallow it easily before licking the member clean and pulling back.

He rose to his knees holding the backside of his paw to his muzzle as he simply stared in silence at the bobbing member, still standing strong despite having just been serviced. He turned over the mix of saliva and un-swallowed remnants of seed with his tongue as he tried to thin the filmy feel of it coating the inside of his muzzle.

He was unaware of the husky staring at him in silence until he raised his eyes to meet those impossibly dark eyes again and smiled. He wasn't really nervous at that point, but it still felt a little weird to be sitting there naked with his breath smelling strongly of dog.

"It's late." It was. "C'mon, sleep with me tonight."

Geita proposed it so effortlessly that it made the whole encounter between them seem like it was just another everyday occurrence between friends and the husky's casual smile seemed to keep any awkwardness at bay.

Whatever he thought he was supposed to feel towards the husky, he didn't. Instead, he borrowed from his new friend's confidence and nodded his consent. They were asleep within half an hour under the covers of K'yon's bed with the thick sheathe of a semi-erect husky cock pressed against K'yon's tail comfortably.

---

Geita had still been asleep by the time K'yon sent Elgrah and her son away. They had come just after first light to get a gash on the boy's arm sealed up and had left shortly after the sun had fully risen with a fresh looking limb and a suggestion to nibble on a spheltah leaf or two throughout the day. Elgrah had been kind enough not to mention the obvious smell of seed in the hut nor the way K'yon was dragging from a few too few hours of sleep. The fox rubbed his eyes tiredly as he ushered the pair of raccoons out the door in the morning light and breeze.

He stood leaning in the doorway with his tail absently waving back and forth as he looked off towards Telgarin. The way the landscape folded made it impossible to see the village even though it wasn't even half hour's walk by a casual stroll. He smiled a little to himself as he heard nothing in the morning air save the chirps of a few birds and peaceful breathing of a sleeping husky. He fingered over the white binding of his Risetext as he breathed in the morning air; he could still feel his pelt warm from where Geita's fingers had touched it, so he was sure it would be a good day.

He was about to head back inside and go back to sleep for a little while longer when he caught sight of a pair of figures coming around a hill along the same road that Elgrah had departed on not long before. Tired as he was from having gotten up prematurely to cast magic, his healer's mindset pushed away the unpleasant thoughts that fatigue were bringing up. He waited, in the doorway, as he watched the two figures approach.

Before he could make them out clearly, he could tell that neither were limping. That was good. As their figures advanced from the distance, he could gradually see them better. From what he could tell, their clothes seemed travel worn and possibly frayed; but that sort of thing was common in travelers. He grew increasingly curious as they grew closer and he identified one clearly as a hyena and the other a bobcat. From all he could tell, they were perfectly healthy.

By the time he noticed the weapons they were carrying, he was a little nervous. But it wasn't until he saw the malicious smile on the bobcat's face that he put two and two together.

He was a bit on the short side, not much taller than K'yon himself. As the fox had predicted, the cat's clothes were dirty from travel and frayed at the sleeves and neck. His paw rested on the hilt of a sword strapped to his belt and a pair of pearly fangs slipped out of the unsettling smile that he wore. There was a bandage wrapped diagonally across his face as to cover only one eye and set over the hidden iris, was a ruby the size of a thumbprint.

The hyena next to him stood more quietly and a half-step back. His irises were narrow and dark and while his clothing was of a slightly higher condition, it still bespoke strongly of a bandit's attire. A sapphire, set in chiseled stone, hung in a pendant from his neck and glowed dimly in the morning light. He didn't smile, and something about his silent presence and the wrapped halberd strapped to his back made K'yon unsure of who was more dangerous.

"Oi, you there."

Impossibly enough, it seemed like the bobcat's smirk saturated even the words he spoke. The sound of his mid-register voice sent an unpleasant shiver down K'yon's neck as he unconsciously stepped back.

"I'll take it by the pants that you're the healer out here the villagers were blabberin on about~"

He tossed on what sounded like a "mewrl" at the end of his sentence and shifted his weight to one foot as his grin deepened to reveal more, poorly maintained teeth.

"Y-yes, I'm the Telgarin healer. W-what can I do for you?"

He didn't need to ask. Most healers were paid excruciatingly well their services to a village. Most didn't have to worry about it because few bandits were willing to risk crossing paths poorly with a Qrafter. The ones that did didn't often get the chance to repeat the mistake... but not every Qraft was strong with both healing and harming... and not every Qrafter was adept.

The bobcat's laugh was so shrill that for a moment, K'yon considered that the hyena was throwing his voice. Yet the canine's face remained as firmly set as polished marble.

"Yeah... you can. I love this part..."

K'yon had only lifted his eyebrow before a ball of flame shot out from the ruby over the cat's eye the size of his head. It wasn't terribly fast, but it was surprising enough that K'yon just barely managed to pull his Risetext up in time to block the flame from burning his face. The heat was intense and singed his fingers, which resulted in him dropping his grimoire as the impact of the spell knocked him to the ground.

His fingers felt like they were held up to the knuckle in boiling water even as he cradled them against his bare stomach and curled into a loose fetal position. With his eyes closed tightly and his fangs grinding against his teeth, he tried to hold off the tears and the quiet whimpering. He didn't have to look to know that his Risetext was undamaged in the slightest, but his fingers weren't so invulnerable and he was sure that they were burned rather badly.

His ears twitched under the mad cackling that rung in his ears. He curled a little tighter as the situation began to truly dawn upon him and the fear set in. Terrified, he drew himself up enough to see his attacker as he forced his eyes open. He couldn't keep himself from trembling, but he managed to keep his whining down enough so that when he loosened his jaw, he didn't audibly cry.

The bobcat was doubled over and barely noticed when K'yon sat up and wiped an imaginary tear from his visible eye as he stood back up.

"No one ever sees it coming..."

It took a couple tries to get his breath under control enough to speak.

"Please... the villagers don't pay me. There isn't any gold here."

"Oh? But those pants of yours look awfully nice for some poor, civil ascetic."

He trembled harder as he saw the light catch in that ruby. It reflected the sunlight like a gaze piercing right through him in sharp contrast to the cat's other, hazel eye. He wanted to cry.

"The villagers gave them to me, they belonged--they belonged to the last healer."

A sob broke his speech. The smirk the bandit wore was almost as intimidating as the glowing ruby and while it promised no magical danger, it promised the intent to do harm.

"For some reason, I don't believe you~"

Again, he colored the end of his sentence with that feline sound and with a tilt of his head to the side.

"Maybe if I set that lovely tail on fire, you'll tell me where you keep your earnings. But I guess it doesn't matter really, I'm going to turn this place inside out after I kill you anyway, nyaaa~"

He let out a sinister giggle as he gripped the hilt of his blade underpawed and drew it only a couple centimeters so that the blade could be barely seen.

A sudden warmth between his legs let K'yon know that he'd just released his bladder. Despite the cat's light tone, he had no doubt that this bandit wasn't bluffing. He was beyond words at this point as tears and sobs took over his ability to speak.

"Nothing to say? Oh~ weeeeell~"

He had started cackling again, eye closed with his face raised to the air when the nearly forgotten hyena's eyes rose a little. K'yon didn't notice it at all as he was fully absorbed in his imminent death until he felt a leg rest against his back. Surprised, he looked up to see Geita standing over him in his naked splendor with nothing but that black sling holding his arm. The husky wasn't looking down, instead, his gaze was out the doorframe to the hyena and the oblivious bobcat.

In those dark eyes was something that K'yon hadn't seen in the few days he'd known the husky. Like many of his other emotions, he couldn't quite place it, but it seemed like a cross between boredom and agitation at a glance.

"Are you hurt?"

His voice was quiet and calm as though nothing had happened, yet controlled and forced enough to suggest that he was concerned. He didn't look down, though he seemed to have recognized K'yon's confused head shaking as the fox's voice still wasn't under his control.

"Good."

"W-what are you doing?"

It was hard enough to get his voice to cooperate, but he did and his answer didn't come in the form of any words from Geita. He heard the chilling voice of the bandit as he recognized Geita's presence for the first time and he knew fear all over again. He wanted to reach out and grab Geita's leg and tell him to run, but he couldn't move.

As terrible mental images of his new friend scorched and burned just like before filled his head, he didn't pay attention to how calmly Geita's tail swung behind him. As he struggled to find his voice and scream for Geita to run, he didn't notice the husky hold his paw out with the palm up. He did, however, notice when the deep violet light appeared over Geita's outstretched paw. And though he'd never seen one in person, it was impossible for him to mistake the violet tome that materialized from the dark light and remained floating before the husky, who's expression hadn't changed at all.

Deep enough purple to be nearly mistaken for black, there was the outline of a crescent moon half covered in fog etched with eerie violet, and it hovered over Geita's palm before slowly opening to a page without being physically touched at all.

In confused awe, he found himself looking up at Geita; friend, patient, and Duskclan Tomeqrafter.